#2: Saint Seiya - The Hades Chapter

I miss the original 80's opening for Saint Seiya. It was all synthesizers and sound effects and yelling lyrics. It was loud and fast and hilariously dated probably the second it was released and I loved it. The opening for this OAV series is much more sedate, with a pretty female voice singing soft lyrics and very little sound effects nonsense backing her up. It just isn't the same.

Unfortunately it isn't the only thing that isn't the same. Made almost 20 years after the original television series, Saint Seiya - The Hades Chapter has the same character styles (giant hair, rounded limbs, pointy faces) as the original show BUT the animation itself uses more modern techniques. It's done with computers instead of being hand drawn so it's all smooth and shiny but it looks weird with the old school style. I had trouble getting passed how odd it looked so focusing on the story itself was a little difficult.

It may have also been a little difficult because I never finished the original Saint Seiya series, so don't know exactly what happened with all of the characters. I did some internet research on it so I could kind of follow along with the new show, but surprisingly enough the plot of Saint Seiya is kind of complex and there are dozens of characters so it can still be confusing trying to figure out what is going on.

Basically what I got from the first episode was that Hades was coming from the Underworld to fight Athena, or Saori in this incarnation, and the Saints were going to have to stop him. But Saori forbid the Bronze Saints (like Seiya) from helping out as she was worried they'd all just get their butts kicked. Mu, the Aries Gold Saint, was told to do Hades' bidding and kill Athena/Saori, though I'm not sure why exactly he had to follow Hades' orders when, as a Saint, he should be working for Athena. And Seiya showed up out of nowhere and picked a fight with some dead Saints who were brought back by Hades to do bad deeds, but was told off by Mu for being a weak little Bronze Saint who had been dismissed by their goddess.

Really there was a lot of talking and fighting and surprised facial expressing in the first episode. I'm kind of surprised to look back and realize just how much happened when at the time it seemed like mostly talking. But maybe I was missing things cause I really was stuck on that weird combination of 80's/early 2000's animation. With only 31 episodes in the OAV series, I'll probably get around to watching the rest soon, to see if I can follow what all is going on finally if for no other reason.

#1: Ghost in the Shell: Arise - Ghost Whispers

I love Ghost in the Shell.

Like LOVE it.

I've seen the original film. I've read the original manga. I've seen the anime series and the second feature film and read the second manga.

I cosplayed The Major at an anime convention once. I have a movie poster and a manga-based wall scroll in my room.

I even have a tattoo of The Major.

So when I say I love Ghost in the Shell, I really, REALLY mean it.

And seeing a new take on the story has been absolutely delightful. Ghost in the Shell: Arise is an OAV series made up of five hour long 'episodes'. There is also a TV series apparently (Ghost in the Shell: Arise - Alternative Architecture) but I haven't gotten to see that.

Anyways, Netflix has several of the OAV episodes so I've been working my way through those. I'll admit it took me a bit to really get into the first one (Ghost Pain) but I think that was because it's such a different - and yet not entirely different - take on the story. As it begins Section 9 doesn't exist yet and The Major, Batou, Togusa, and all the rest don't even know each other. I kinda missed the team being the team. But as the episode progressed I got more and more hooked and by the end I was just as in love as I had ever been.

And by episode two (Ghost Whispers) I was a fan. The plot of this one basically breaks down like this: Kusanagi has gone freelance working for the government, though Aramaki really wants her to just give in and join Section 9 already. While working on her own, The Major must battle memory wipes, traffic control hacks, possibly untrustworthy robots, possibly trustworthy members of other government agencies, and people she'll eventually be comrades with.

It's interesting watching the way things are set up here with Kusanagi and Batou and the rest. There is actually a scene in this episode with them beating the crap out of each other. These are people that love each other and respect each other and have each other's backs NO MATTER WHAT by the time we meet them in the original manga/film. And yet here they are wailing on each other so hard they're ripping off mechanical body parts. It looks like quite the bonding experience.

I'll admit some moments during the episode were a bit confusing for me, especially when I was watching in Japanese with subtitles. But that kinda happens from time to time with Ghost in the Shell. The plot of the second movie was so confusing for me that after multiple viewings I'm still not entirely sure what happened in it. It was really pretty to look at though.

Ghost in the Shell: Arise is also really pretty to look at. The Major looks much younger and smaller and more feminine than she did in the motion picture and in the Stand Alone Complex TV series. She still kicks ass though, and I actually quite like her red leather jacket/pants combo outfit (and yep, I totally have plans to cosplay it at a convention sometime soon).

While not every reboot/sequel/prequel/side story/new series/etc is worth watching, I'm gonna say this fan is more than satisfied with what the creators of Ghost in the Shell: Arise have accomplished and I look forward to seeing more of this series as it comes out.

The Triumphant (not quite) Return of the AniMia365 Project!

This has been a wacky year. I've done a whole lot of no personal blogging.

I miss it.

So I'm gonna rectify the situation and get back into my writing/blogging/watching projects.

Starting with this one.

Once again, I'm gonna attempt to watch a different anime (not necessarily a brand new never before seen by me anime, just a different one) every day for 365 days. There is so much new stuff out now, and I've got access to so many streaming services with good anime collections, that I'm excited to see what all I come up with to watch.

And this time, dammit, I'm gonna make it past 30 days/30 anime (that seems to be where I top out most times when I attempt this).

Wish me luck, folks, cause today AnimeMia365 begins anew!

28/365: Irresponsible Captain Tylor

Tylor is that guy you hate and love at the same time. You hate him cause he just seems to stumble his way into awesome thing after awesome thing. You love him cause he's adorable and lazy and fun and he just seems to stumble his way into awesome thing after awesome thing.

I owned both the entire anime series and OAV series on VHS tape once upon a time. I got them at an amazing sale even though I'd never seen any of them and had no clue whether I'd like them or not. Lucky for me I totally loved the show and was happy to have spent my money on it.

The animation is old school and hand drawn. The characters have pointy faces and silly hair. The character costumes don't always make perfect sense. The dubbed voices don't always seem to match up with what you expect from the characters they are matched with.

Still. Irresponsible Captain Tylor is a wonderfully good time. Tylor joins the space military specifically to get out of having to get a real job. He thinks his life will be easy peasy once he joins up, and the recruitment officer is so confused and bedazzled by Tylor's lunacy that he goes along with it. Several minutes later Tylor is captain of a ship (because why not) and wackiness (of course) ensues.

While you can imagine all the comedy this show contains, there are also some really good serious, emotionally complex moments throughout the series. Especially later on in the original series. I haven't gotten through all of the OAVs yet but I have a feeling it has a similar story-telling style.

This is a good show with a lot more depth than it at first appears. It might not be as pretty and flashy as anime today, but it makes up for it with a great story, fun characters, and a whole lot of heart.

27:365: Chrome Shelled Regios

Oh fer cryin' out loud! The Big Bads in this series have a really stupid name. Contaminoids? Really? That's the best you could come up with? They do look horrible and they make some icky sounds and they do a regeneration thing that is creepy, but it is just so hard to take something seriously when the name makes me want to laugh every time someone says it.

But hey, that sexy voice from Kaze no Stigma popped up in this show so it gets points for that. Probably not enough to help it out after the stupid name for the Big Bads. But at least a little bit.

Holy crap, the hair in this series is ridiculous! It goes above and beyond normal silly anime hair and reaches epic new heights (sometimes literally) of absurdity. Seriously? Who comes up with this stuff?

So stupid name for the main enemy, ridiculous looking character designs, and one or two sexy voices. I'm not sure this particular anime is gonna be able to do it for me. I want to look past the silly business in the beginning but it is definitely a struggle.

Which is kind of sad really cause usually I love the post-apocalyptic stuff. All those nasty wastelands full of deadly creatures and tribes of leftover humans trying to figure out how to scrape by from day to day without becoming monster chow. Or having to submit to bigger, stronger humans bent on world domination.

And really I don't mind the fight scenes in this series, or most of the serious talking scenes, but the show devolves into overly dramatic silliness on a regular basis and that just annoys me. Too much screaming and talking fast and blushing and fainting in clouds of smiling steam.

Ugh.

Anyways this show seems to be about a kid with super fighting skills who enrolls in this school/city where they are all about the super fighting skills. Even though he doesn't want to fight anymore he gets sucked into that world of Big Bads and evil humans and super fighting nonsense.

I don't know. I got more sucked in as the first episode went on, and I am mildly curious to see what happens next. But I can't guarantee I'll watch the entire series. The cons still outweigh the pros for me at this point.

26/365: Fairy Tail

This show wasn't at all what I expected from the opening. Which is a good thing, cause I really didn't expect to like it. There was this narrator doing his thing about wizards and lands far far away and it seemed kind of Disney-ish and hokey to me.

But once the story really started and I started laughing, I got over my first impression. Go me! I'm like mature and shit.

So the story basically revolves around this blonde wizard girl (with Ayano's voice from Kaze no Stigma which made me immediately like her) who wants to join the Fairy Tail wizard guild cause they're like, the coolest guild ever! (Or so Sorcerer Monthly Magazine would have us all believe.) She randomly runs into a wizard from the guild, helps him out, gets saved by him in turn, and then tags along with him when he returns to the guild. The zany adventures go from there.

And what zany adventures they be. The big thing about the Fairy Tail guild is just how destructive they are when working wizarding jobs. They destroy enemies, ships, harbors, mountains, towns, and their own guild hall on a regular basis.

It's hilarious. Just the intro to the other wizards in the guild hall was pretty funny. It shouldn't have been because of the way it was set up, but this show is just so good-natured in its camp and silliness that it comes off pretty well.

Sure there are some moments where things get all serious and backstory-ish. That part was a little cloying, but it didn't last too long before things were all destructive and fun again. I'd watched my way through several episodes before even realizing that it happened. If that isn't the sign of a worth-watching show I don't know what is.

PLUS the dude who did Kazuma's voice in Kaze no Stigma pops up in Fairy Tail as well. I quite like that voice (mhmmm) and am happy to hear it whenever I can (girl moment, can't be helped).

25/365: Samurai Champloo

I'm a couple days behind. I know it and it sucks but it can't be taken back now so I'm moving on.

How adult and emotionally mature of me.

Samurai Champloo is so badass. I am happy to see that even though it's been years since I watched it before it has retained all of its awesome.

Some shows really don't. We won't go into it now because I've gone into it before.

But yeah.

This show, however, is still badass. The music is still great. The story is still funny and deep and sometimes kind of dark. The characters are still hilarious assholes.

Yep, Samurai Champloo totally retains its awesome.

The story basically follows Muugen, Jin, and Fuu, three reluctant ... friends I guess? ... who are traveling together looking for a samurai that smells of sunflowers and having lots of wacky adventures along the way.

Sometimes even wacky tabacc-y adventures, but I digress.

Watching this series is entertaining and fun and sometimes educational. The animation style is an interesting mix of loose and sloppy alongside detailed and clean. Not my favorite but it really works with the story it's paired up with.

If I was going to recommend an anime to someone new to the party or someone who'd never seen anime before, this is probably one of the first shows I'd name. It has a little something for everyone, and really is just so dang badass it would be hard for anyone to resist.