Vampire Hunter D

US Release: Urban Vision

Genre: Action(Vampire Horror Action)

Suggested Age/Content Guide: 16-up / V4 N2 M2 L2

Series Type: Movie

Length: 80 minutes

Production Date: 1985-12-21

Synopsis

10,000 years in the future, the world has become a very different place; monsters roam the land freely, and people, although equiped with high tech weapons and cybernetic horses, live a humble life more suited to centuries past. This story focuses on a small hamlet plagued by monster attacks and living under the shadow of the rule of Count Magnus Lee, a powerful and very ancient vampire lord. When a young girl is bitten by the Count and chosen as his plaything, she seeks out the help of a quiet wandering stranger, D. It so happens that D is one of the world's best vampire hunters, and he takes it upon himself to cut through Magnus Lee's many minions, and put an end to the Count's rule.

Content Guide

Very violent, with some mild sexual content, for a 16+ rating. Note that there is an edited version that was shown on the Sci-Fi Channel.

Violence: 4 - A fair amount of spurting blood and dismembered bodies.

Nudity: 2 - One shower scene.

Sex/Mature Themes: 2 - Nothing direct, but some mature themes.

Language: 2 - Some harsh language.

Rurouni Kenshin: Reflection

US Release: ADV Films

Genre: Drama (Historical Action Romance)

Suggested Age/Content Guide: 13-up / V3 N1 M1 L1

Series Type: OAV

Length: 81 minutes in 2 episodes

Production Date: 2001-12-19 - 2002-03-20

Plot Synopsis

Ever since his days as the Hitokiri Battousai, Kenshin has been searching for ways to atone for those who died at his hands. After the ending of the TV series, Kenshin lives happily with Kamiya Kaoru, or so it seems. There is a deep rooted sorrow behind the smiles and grins of Kenshin. His hollow happiness is not enough for him. He now looks to seek for true atonement while all Kaoru can do is wait at the door. Will Kenshin come back and find his answer?

Review

One thing that should be mentioned before viewing this is that, unlike the "Remembrance OAVs", Samurai X: Reflection should only be watched after completing the series. This is because the film refers back to the series often. Also I'd strongly recommend the subtitle rather then the dub as it takes away from the story and many of the voices are poorly done.

Right away it is apparent that "Reflection" is far brighter in color than the first four OAVs although the style itself closely resembles them. It should be too, since it is no longer the days of the Tokugawa Shogunate and the viewer should notice this right from the second scene of the first episode. Another alteration that becomes quickly apparent is that Kenshin looks older and even fragile at times. Of course everyone else looks aged too and I did not find that any of their appearances were disappointing. Altogether the animation is as good, or better than the "Remembrance OAVs".

The first time I watched this, I noticed that one must pay close attention because, like "Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal", you'll find that it subtly changes from present to past often and if you're not careful you might get confused. However, I do not consider this a negative mark towards the film whatsoever. If anything, this is a realistic way of how people reflect on their past.

I have read some reviews that state this film refers back to the series far too often and all it really is is just a monotonous recap of what we've already seen. This could not be farther from the truth. Though specifically, Kaoru thinks back to the times she and Kenshin have had together frequently, it is never done in a gimmicky fashion that is only there to fill up time. Not only are the scenes redone with terrific detail, they give you that sense of excitement as you wonder how they will look.

Getting to the story, I found that it revolves around Kenshin and Kaoru just like "Remembrance" centered around Kenshin and Tomoe. Without ruining or spoiling the movie I'll just say that throughout, we see how Kenshin and Kaoru come to a more intimate relationship between one-another both in the past and present. We also see how they persevere through each trial that arises in Kenshin's life and how they are affected by it all. Though Kenshin appears to be worn in both body and soul, he strives to atone for his past crimes and I found that I was pitying him at times. Like in the series, we see once again in a stronger way how Kenshin has changed the life of others through risking his own. For example this is shown in Yahiko as he is now a mature young man and living an upright life with strong beliefs like Kenshin.

This is truly a story held together by its deep, intricate characters and their development. Even though a couple of vicious fights occur, never is it merely for show, or to satisfy the viewer's shallow enjoyment of action and gore. Fight scene or not, it all seems to be based around the characters and to further develop them.

No doubt, there will be die-hard fans of the series that will be disappointed because of how mature and serious characters such as Kaoru have become. No longer is Kaoru punching Kenshin through a doorway with white, demon eyes and Kenshin is not saying "oro" twenty times an episode. Though I enjoyed that in the series, it just wouldn't be appropriate to try to force those humorous scenes into an hour and twenty-one minute film so focused on more crucial subject matter aimed toward the characters. Therefore I disagree with those who might fault "Reflection" for its change in character tone.

The music just as before is breath-taking. If you've seen "The Last of the Mohicans" then you'll be delighted when I say that the music here is comparable. As to whether it is better then the first four OAVs? That is debatable. Simply put, it's some of the best I've ever heard and is incorporated into the film perfectly.

Altogether I found myself loving "Rurouni Kenshin: Seisouhen" tremendously and even more each new time I watched it. There is so much to take in that I'd strongly recommend viewing it several times; you will not be disappointed. Trust me when I say that there is much more to say but I do not want to drag on.

One final thing I'll mention is that this is clearly meant to be a conclusion to a timeless tale so those expecting any new revelation to appear might be disappointed. However, if you keep an open mind, then you'll be sure to realize just how amazing this film is and how well it fits in.

Content Guide

Rated 13-up.

Violence: 3 - Very few bloody scenes, especially compared to Rurouni Kenshin: The Remembrance.

Nudity: 1 - Partial perhaps.

Sex/Mature Themes: 1 - One implied scene.

Language: 1 - Nothing serious if anything at all.

Shingetsutan Tsukihime

Story & Characters

Tsukihime is a tale of a high school boy, Shiki Tohno, with the Gaze of Death and his encounters with a vampire princess named Arcueid Brunestud. Shiki is not your ordinary school boy. He is quite frail and often passes out. He also has the ability to see the world as a series of lines. By cutting along those lines, he can destroy anything, from humans to buildings. Shiki had been living with his uncle for the past 8 years since an accident caused a major falling out between him and his father. His father recently passed away, so his sister, Akiha, invited him to return to the Tohno estate. The day after he moved in, Shiki was walking home from school and was suddenly compelled to kill a blonde haired woman. Fortunately, that girl was not an ordinary human, but a vampire princess named Arcueid Brunestud. Using her abilities, Arc was able to revive herself and set her sights on acquiring Shiki's abilities for her own cause. There has been a string of serial murders in Shiki's city recently. All victims had fang marks and their blood drained. Arc explains that these murders are caused by Proselyte vampires lurking in the shadows of the city. There are two types of vampires, the Primordials and the Proselytes. Primordials are almost a part of nature itself, similar to spirits. Proselytes are humans that had their blood sucked by Primordials. They're the typical vampires people think of. Primordials like herself don't need blood to survive. However, some suck blood for their enjoyment and that's how Proselytes were born. Arc hunts Proselytes and Shiki now has a duty to aid her.

Review

Tsukihime is a rather short (12 episodes) anime adaptation of the TYPE-MOON doujin eroge of the same name. Given the type of fanbase that TYPE-MOON has, I was actually quite eager to watch Tsukihime, in spite of the slow burn of the Fate/Stay Night anime adaptation, and the warnings about how disappointing Tsukihime was.

Tsukihime tells about young Shiki Tohno, who has th

e ability to see lines. Yeah, I can see lines too, but the lines that Shiki sees represent the life of the object (I believe he has Shinigami eyes), and give him the ability to just obliterate things with a few precise cuts from his knife, Nanatsuya. One day, he has this sudden urge to completely cut down a beautiful blonde for having way too many vowels in her name, and this is the beginning of a deep and loving relationship with the vampire (Shinso) princess, Arcueid Brunestud. Fortunately she survives getting cut to

pieces, and enlists Shiki in her hunt for Roa.

The way I figured, the characters in Fate/Stay Night were pretty interesting, and the premise behind Tsukihime sounded intriguing, so how bad could this 12-episode be?

Boy was I wrong. Tsukihime is incredibly boring from start to finish, and I was just dying on the inside as I marathoned the series. The only part I remember being exciting was the knife fight between Shiki and Roa, simply because you so rarely see knife fights, and they really captured the desparation of the battle (since even a slight cut could

obliterate the victim). I can’t explain it, but I almost feel like just reading a text/novel version of the story would have been better than the drawn-out way the story was animated. Not even marathoning could save it.

And then the characters! I took this part for granted, thinking for sure they’d be awesome, but by and large, they totally sucked! While I can appreciate that they gave Arcueid and Nrvnqsr names that represented the timeless battle between vowels and consonants, the vampires were very boring, and seemed quite weak. Essentially, they

were just very difficult to kill. But as bad as the vampires were, Shiki’s harem was so much worse. Ciel’s character was so damn absurd, and this Clark Kent method of hiding your identity/power with glasses simply has to stop. Even Shiki with his thickass glasses could tell who she was. There is also Shiki’s bitchy sister, and his twin meido, and while everyone is supposed to be mysterious, they all come across as boring and poorly developed.

This is not to say that Tsukihime is all bad. The music is at times quite good, and the ending was acceptable. I was even a little saddened. I also thought that the romance between Arcueid and Shiki was decent; although how she could love him is beyond me. I mean, how could you ever win an argument against a crazy dude who can slice you to pieces on a whim? This, of course, brings me to my next point: the one thing I enjoyed about Tsukihime is how incredibly easy it is to mock. Just Shiki’s ability and that annoying blurry-cam effect alone had me snickering throughout the series (don’t even get me started on the psycho chibi-knifing flashbacks).

Overall, Shingetsutan Tsukihime (the anime series) is boring and tedious, in a way that will make you wonder how it can seem so drawn-out in so few episodes.

higurashi no naku : the moment of cicadas cry

Type: TV

Episodes: 26

Status: Finished Airing

Aired: Apr 5, 2006 to Sep 27, 2006

Producers: None found, add some.

Genres: Psychological, Mystery, Horror, Game, Drama, Comedy

Synopsis

After moving into the quiet town of Hinamizawa, Maebara Keiichi spends his days blissfully in school often playing games with his local friends. However, appearances can be deceiving. One fateful day, Keiichi stumbles upon news of a murder that had occurred in Hinamizawa. From this point on, horrific events unfold in front of Keiichi, as he soon learns his close friends may not be all that they seem. Based on the amateur mystery game by 7th Expansion, the story is told in a series of different scenarios.

Gunslinger Girl

US Release: FUNimation

Genre: Drama (Film noir)

Suggested Age/Content Guide: 14-up / V3 N0 M2 L1

Series Type: TV Series

Length: 13 25-minute episodes

Production Date: 2003-10-08 - 2004-02-19

Plot Synopsis

The Social Welfare Agency, Section 2. To most people, it appears to be a section of the Italian government, and a rather kind-hearted one. Helping adolescent girls with severe injuries or life-threatening illnesses by repairing their bodies and returning them to perfect health.

Of course, those who work for this agency know that this act of mercy is in exchange for the patient's services as assassins for the Italian government. And the loss of their memory.

A new girl named Henrietta has just come to Section 2, and she has embarked upon her first mission...

Reader Review

Know one thing going into Gunslinger Girl: this is not an action anime. Now, granted, the guns are drawn with incredible detail (almost unnervingly so), and when the action does break out, it's fast and it's furious. But, for the most part, Gunslinger Girl is an anime that's about the relationship these girls have with their Fratello (literal Italian for "brother"), or their trainers. See, at its heart, this anime is a film noir; a very dark, very slow, and very interesting trip into the world of crime. Do not expect an action scene per episode like the eponymous Noir.

That being said, Gunslinger Girl is very well plotted and even better written, with only a few missteps along the way to make up for its relatively short runtime. If ever there was a show that needed a longer runtime, it was this one. Many compromises seem to have been made along the way to make up for the fact that the writers only have 13 episodes to work with¹, but even these don't hinder the overall focus of the show, which is more-or-less Henrietta and her fratello Jose.

The series is very episodic, with each show offering a little more insight into either one of the girls' pasts or into the inner workings of Section 2. For the most part, these episodes prove fascinating (especially the character-centric episodes), but in the end, I kind of wished there had been a stronger plot².

The animation and character designs in Gunslinger Girl are excellent. The characters are all very attractively designed (though Angelica and Claes look rather similar) and for the most part are quite realistic. Rico can most certainly be considered French in ancestry, as can Henrietta German and Triela Italian. In fact, it was kind of refreshing to find an anime so completely European in feel and setting (one of the only other ones I can think of off the top of my head is Noir, which has several parallels to this series, but is rather different in tone). The guns, as I said before, are very well designed and animated and the action sequences, when they do break out, flow very well and are intense. Voice acting is of high quality all around.

The moral ambiguity of the series is certainly a major contributing factor of this show's appeal. These girls are still... well... girls, albeit girls with superhuman powers and elite military training. The immorality of using these children as hitmen is brought up several times in the series, and even though it is never really satisfactorily answered, it's nice to see that the writers knew that this was wrong. It should be mentioned that there is never even a hint of anything besides a platonic love between the fratello and that the girls are not being forced to kill people. Of course, they have had their brains altered to make them more receptive to the training, but still...

In the end, Gunslinger Girl is a fantastic slice of dark anime storytelling. Sure it has its flaws, but the end product is still darn good, and well deserving of at least one viewing. Consider it recommended.

Content Guide

I'd say 15 and up is a good rating. Anyone younger would probably be bored to death, anyhow. Funimation calls it TV-14.

Violence: 3 - Borderline 4. The violence, while not gratuitous, is certainly realistic and sometimes upsetting. A good amount of blood is present and there is a suicide.

Nudity: 0 - Not even hospital-nudity. The show was very reserved in this aspect.

Sex/Mature Themes: 2 - While certainly no pedophilia or romance, there are some VERY dark themes in the show.

Language: 1 - Sometimes a character, usually a trainer, got a little out of line with the language.

Official Gunslinger Girl Website