Tears to Tiara

Hannah Tan, Shoujo animes and we might think that Animax might have got it entirely wrong. Or at least part of it. Introducing Tears to Tiara. Hosted on Animax, every Sundays, 12.00-1.00a.m or early Monday if you would prefer that better.

Hoping to get a good start in quenching your Monday blues, this story revolves around the Demon King Arawn. And it begins with the sacrifice of a priestess, Riannon, in reviving him. The ritual fails but Arawn is successfully revived. This would lead later to a partnership with Riannon, her swashbuckling brother, Arthur and a small companion of weapon wielding travelers in an epic battle against the Divine Empire, which are obviously the main antagonists of the show.

The show on Animax, however is coming to an end and I would say it would be a 20-something episode anime. It was taken from the game with the same title and even though there ain't much in a total character development; you would want to give this one a shot when its out of DVD.

And as always, below would be a video and this time it is the opening theme. English subbed for all those who'd love some karaoke.



-Reviewed by Rempit-

Mobile Suit Gundam the 08th MS Team

Writer: Takeyuki Kanda
Director: Takeyuki Kanda, Umanosuke Lida
Production House: Sunrise
Review Type: Anime OVA
Status: Completed
Genre: Mecha

Synopsis

U.C. 0079 - In the middle of the One Year War, Ensign Shiro Amada is transferred to South East Asia to command Kojima Batallion's 08th MS Team, a small army of soldiers piloting RX-79[G] Gundam Ground type units. During the skirmishes in the jungle, he confronts ace Zeon pilot Norris Packard and falls in love with Aina Sahalin, a pilot involved in testing Zeon's top-secret mobile armor. This relationship leads to the Federation doubting their trust in Shiro. Now Shiro must prove his loyalty in the battleground or die a traitor.



Chibi's 08th MS Review

Unlike most Gundam series out there (0079, Z Gundam, ZZ Gundam, Gundam Seed and more recently, Gundam 00), which are usually an intergalactic political action-packed drama extravaganza, this series decides to go the opposite way by scaling it down a little. It focuses more on an average mobile suit team in jungle warfare, rather than Amuro Ray (the most established Gundam pilot of the war) and the battles that eventually led to the end of the Earth Federation and Zeon conflict. The series is essentially a mix of a war film, mecha and Romeo and Juliet, which strangely works in this case. The love story is between the optimistic and compassionate Shiro Amada and the beautiful and caring Zeon, Aina Sahalin. It was love at first sight, but unfortunately war gets in the way of their relationship, with them being on opposite sides. Another aspect that I love about this Gundam installation is that it does not try to portray how righteous one side is and how evil is the other, but instead we see war from both sides and it is not a biased perspective.

Another plus to this anime is that it does not bother to be philosophical or complex, but it is much rather a tale of ordinary soldiers and their experiences on the front line. This realism is what I like so much about this series. The MS team are not aces, but they are normal pilots and they make mistakes. The Gundams look gritty and realistic, moving like machines and having a weighty feel to them, unlike in other Gundam animes where they fly around making effortless maneuvers like they're weightless. We actually see the Gundams get repeatedly damaged all over, and you will see in several episodes where the MS team is conducting repairs. The characters in this series are also realistic and approachable, making it easy for the viewer to warm up and relate to them. With excellent animation, the mecha battles look really explosive and powerful, with each movement so vividly portrayed you'd swear it was an action flick instead of an anime. Fans who are not already Gundam freaks would find this an accessible Gundam series with it being just 12 episodes long, and Gundam fans would love the mecha battles. The 08th MS theme is a good introduction to viewers wanting a taste of what the Gundam franchise is about.

Mobile Suit Gundam The 08th MS Team aired in 1996 spanning 12 episodes. A movie called Mobile Suit Gundam The 08th MS Team:Miller's Report followed the year after, although it was more of a compilation of the original OAV. It is directed by the late Takeyuki Kanda, whose other works include Dragonar, Dragon Warrior, SD Gundam Musha, Knight, Commando (OAV), and Doraemon: What Am I for Momotaro (movie).


Chibi's Review



Storyline: 4/5
Character Development: 3/5
Art: 5/5
Originality: 3/5

Heroic Age

Writer: Toshimasa Suzuki
Director: Toshimasa Suzuki
Production House: Xebec
Review Type: Anime
Status: Completed
Genre: Mecha, Sci-fi

Synopsis

Answering the call of the 'Gold Race', all the sentient races launch into space. The human race is the last to launch, and are thus known as the 'Iron Race'. Much time has passed since then, and humanity is threatened with extinction at the hands of the more dominant 'Silver Race'. In order to save her people, Princess Deianeira sets out on a journey to a galaxy far away, following the prophecies of the Gold Race handed down by the royal family.

This anime's theme is loosely based on stories from Greek Mythology, particularly those surrounding Heracles, whom the main character, Age, is based on, and his 12 labors. Set in a distant future, Heroic Age tells the story of the quest of the human race to find the messianic individual that holds the power to save mankind. This savior, named Age, is the only human to have been raised by the Golden Tribe before they departed from the universe. The young princess of the humans, Dhianeila, and the crew of the Argonaut - an advanced spaceship able to travel between stars via lanes called Starways - find Age on the ruined planet Oron. After fending off an attack from a rival tribe, the Bronze Tribe, the human race sets off on a journey of salvation, led by Dhianeila and Age.



Chibi's Heroic Review

This anime at first glance is easy to overlook, with the simplistic designs of the Nodos (kind of a biological mecha that morphs with Age and several members of the Silver Tribe) to the Gundam Seed style character artwork. I must confess it took me a while to actually buy a copy of the DVD and actually watch it, and i was skeptical even after hearing so many good reviews and recommendations to go and watch it, me being a huge Gundam freak myself.

How wrong i was indeed. The series itself in essence gives off a feel of this video game i used to waste my college years on playing called Starcraft, as both the anime and the video game has 3 prime races in it, which are so identical to each other i could have sworn it's written by the same people. Age himself is a really interesting character, full of youthful exuberance and almost oblivious that he is the one individual dubbed mankind's savior. Also possessing the most powerful Nodos (the Silver Tribe has the remaining 4) , Age chooses to side himself with the Iron Tribe (humans) as he seems to be rather drawn to princess Dhianeila, thus truly giving mankind the edge over the Silver Tribe and the insect-like Bronze Tribe (or Zerg as i like to call them, another starcraft reference) in their intergalactic battle. This being a 26 episode series, the writers waste no time in laying the plot lines in the first few episodes, and as the story unfolds you would find yourself drawn to the intricate battle scenes, war subplots, twists to even Age behaving like a kid, and will get u caught up in the story in no time. The simplistic mecha designs which i was complaining about belies the fact of the series' lush scenery art and vibrant space battles, and as the series progresses the mecha designs grow on you more and more, and be sure to look out for the morphing sequences. With so many mecha animes out there with a lot more exposure (Gundam, Robotech, Evangelion etc) it's easy to overlook this gem, those who got the opportunity to watch it will be rightfully converted straight away. So if u got a weekend to burn marathon-ing an anime or simply love huge intergalactic CG battles give this series a shot, although i must warn you it's addictive to the point of finishing it in one sitting is not totally unheard of.

Heroic Age was released as a 26 episode anime series in 2007, ending in the same year
and was released by Xebec. It is also directed by Toshimasa Suzuki, whose credits include directing episodes of Fafner, Shaman King (storyboard), and MoonPhase to name a few.


Chibi's Review



Storyline: 5/5
Character Development: 3/5
Art: 4/5
Originality: 3/5

Hajime No Ippo

Writer: George Morikawa
Publishing House: Kodansha
Review Type: Manga
Status: Ongoing
Genre: Shounen, Sports

Synopsis

Hajime No Ippo basically centers around the the life of 16 year old gopher and social reject Makounochi Ippo, who is the son of a late fisherman and also helps his mum handle the business after his father passed from a young age. After some inspiration from magazines, videos, and boxers, he decided to take up boxing.

Ippo's desire to take up boxing initially seems pretty straightforward, as he is constantly bullied and beat on in school, and decided to take up the sport after his senpai and gym mate Takamura Mamoru helped him fend off a few bullies one day and gave him a little taste of what boxing is really all about. As he enrolls himself in Kamogawa Gym, his first training session also made his coach Kamogawa Genji notice his talent in punches, which prompted a sparring match with another gym mate, Miyata Ichirou, who is also dubbed a boxing pedigree, a term only used for boxers who are sons of boxers. During the spar Ippo unleashed a punch that caught Miyata cleanly and won him the match. This angered the prodigy Miyata, and thus prompted him to quit Kamogawa Gym and declared Ippo his rival, vowing to finally settle the score in the ring once and for all, as gym mates could not fight each other.


Chibi's Hajime Review

Well folks, despite the simplistic plot overtones, this series is proof of keeping things simple will also work in the manga and anime universe. George Morikawa, although not a household name like Eiichiro Oda (One Piece), Tite Kubo (Bleach), or even Masashi Kishimoto (Naruto), in my opinion deserves a lot more credit than he actually receives based on this manga alone. In terms of character development, all of the characters in this manga actually do age (the timeline in this series up to the latest chapter has been approximately 6 years after Ippo joined Kamogawa Gym), and the manga does not solely focus on one character specifically, or as Morikawa sensei likes to state, all the characters in this manga is a main character. This is evident when one of Ippo's gym mates or rival boxers have a match coming up. The focus would be solely on them and the trials and hardships they have to go through before finally reaching up to the day of their planned matches. There's also stories on their journey in becoming a boxer, and each boxer's journey is so different and varies so much that i can't help but think the characters in this manga are actual people. It is truly one of the rare sports mangas that transcends the sport itself, and also focuses on real life hardships (Ippo's mum collapse due to overwork as Ippo's more focused on boxing), which actually makes the characters all the more believable.



Reading this from start to the latest chapter is no easy task either, as to date the latest translated chapter is 865 (!!!), it took this author almost 5 months to complete reading the whole series, but rest assured you will be loving every minute of it. It is definitely one of the best sports mangas that i've had the pleasure to read, comparable to dare i say it, Slam Dunk!, which is an industy standard as a sports manga.

Hajime No Ippo was first released in 1989 by its mangaka George Morikawa in Shukan Shonen magazine, and is still running. A 76 episode anime was originally released in 2000 which ran for two years, and a new series has also been released in January 2009 with 26 episodes released, titled Hajime No Ippo : New Challenger. A movie called Hajime No Ippo - Champion Road was also released in 2003 and an OAV titled Hajime No Ippo - Mashiba vs Kimura was released shortly after.


Chibi's Review



Storyline: 5/5
Character Development: 5/5
Art: 3/5
Originality: 3/5

Mushishi

author: Yuki Urushibara
review type: anime
status: completed
genre: Action
episodes: 26
original run: 2005

Mushishi follows the adventures of Ginko, a mushi master (something like a doctor for the supernatural) who travels around studying various types of mushi and helping people who are in need. He encounters people with bizarre illnesses that cannot be cured by modern medicine. With his knowledge on mushi, he helps treat patients and at the same time, gather new knowledge for future references on mushi.

What's really unique about the anime is the pace and the overall theme. For a supernatural series, it is very laid back and serene while at the same time captivating. The feeling while watching it is like resting on a hammock by the beach while enjoying the cool breeze from the ocean. The music score fits perfectly with very minimalistic sounds, even the opening theme (OP) is a simple acoustic song.

Highly recommended to watch on sunday afternoons.
Created by Yuki Urushibara as a manga series from 1999 to 2008. Parts of the manga was adapted for anime in 2005. A live action movie was made in 2006, directed by Katsuhiro Otomo.


Baboon Bites

Character Development: 3/5
Plot: 5/5
Art: 4/5
Originality: 5/5

Golden Boy

author: Tatsuya Egawa
review type: anime
status: completed
genre: ecchi, comedy
episodes: 6
original run: 1995

Golden Boy follows the adventures of Oe Kintaro, a 25-year old who wanders around Japan doing odd jobs and getting himself into some rather unusual circumstances. It's not that he's a troublemaker, but he's very perceptive of other people's misery and misgivings, and therefore, will always arise to the challenge to help them solve their problems. Especially if they are beautiful!

At first glance, Kintaro is just like any other men; normal looking, a bit geeky, a bit weird and very much perverted. Women won’t even give him a second glance, but by the time each adventure ends, the women are at awe of him. His abilities to solve problems and help these women are so inconspicuous; it makes them even more doubtful that he is able to do it. Until the final realization hits them so hard it leaves them breathless!

As each episode ends, viewers will be reintroduced to Oe Kintaro, a law student who has completed all his modules but chose to abandon his graduation to wander around Japan to meet and converse with people.
Created by Tatsuya Egawa, the manga started in 1992. This was followed by a 6-episode anime in 1995. Although it has a mild ecchi/hentai flavor, the greatest attribute to this series is the super-deformed (SD) scenes that’s very over the top and therefore, hilarious!

Note: Tatsuya Egawa appears in a cameo role as himself in episode 6 of the anime.

Baboon Bites

Character Development: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Art: 5/5
Originality: 5/5

Tower of Druaga: Aegis of Uruk

We all like free anime. Who doesn't? well hook up crunchyroll for a good taste of the Tower of Druaga. This one is part of that 1984 2-D gaming franchise release by Namco with the same title. The Aegis of Uruk is definitely as you've guessed it: the continuation.

it begins after King Gilgamesh defeated the tower 60 years ago and the main character is Jill. This 12 episode anime is definitely worth the watch, despite the cuteness (well i guess there are people who lovveeee cute stuff) and the plot is well crafted. The development of the characters may not be thorough (well it is 12 episodes...) but it does keep you glued to the seat for all 12 of them. So seek this out earnestly and may you enjoy Tower of Druage: Aegis of Uruk and do not forget to check out the trailer below.

-reviewed by rempit-