Hello!
Welcome to The Anime & Manga Review!
It has been my dream to create a world on TheO where users can go for anime and manga reviews and finally here it is! I plan to make this world an active, exciting and helpful place for learning about and finding entertaining manga and anime to read/watch.
Wow! Thank you all so much!
Thanks to your support this world is right on the brink of 2000 views! *bows* I know I’m getting redundant but… thank you for helping me keep this world running!
Tell you what when we make it to 5000 views I’ll do something ultra special!
Ok to the point! A little mini article to celebrate!
Manga VS Anime
Which do you prefer?!
You just heard about that new good series, there’s an anime for it and there’s a manga for it! Which do you decide to check out?
I know a lot of us turn to the internet or a friend to tell us which is better, but lets face it, there are always people who vote on either side and in the end you have to make to choice yourself.
So is it manga or anime?
Lets look at some pros and cons of each.
Anime
PROS
It’s awesome to see our favorite characters moving.
Color! Its sooo much fun!
CONS
Takes a long time to watch
Isn’t always true to the manga (may not apply depending)
The episodes may release slow.
Those rehashes at the beginning reminding us what happened (I just don’t like those…)
Manga
PROS
Usually by the time there’s an anime adaptation there’s quite a few chapters released! (Binge reading time!)
More detail, the story has more time to be fleshed out
Faster to read than to watch. (you can read that DBZ battle in less than an hour to the 3 or 4 in anime for example)
CONS
It doesn’t move or talk… and that’s fun in anime
More reading (I don’t mind it but hey we all get tired during those really wordy chapters when its all talk and explaining)
Again possible slow chapter release
So which do I prefer?
I’m a manga reader. I read a (probably) unhealthy amount. (I read on average a series or so a week, plus I keep up with weekly updates) >.> I am such a terrible terrible geek… *cough* To the point! Manga to me tends to be better than the anime, as it tends to be more detailed. Of course there are a handful of series to which I would say skip the manga, but those tend to be series that are manga adaptations of the anime or and anime and a manga based off the same light novel. For instance, the Darker than Black manga…. (at least the first one) just isn’t that good, or at least nowhere near the awesomeness of the first season of the anime.
There are also series where I feel both have merit in one area or another.
Now mind you! I still go all google eyed when my favorites get the anime treatment!
The anime’s out! The manga is available!
Which do you grab?
~Tsu
PS. There will still be a regular review this week. No idea what it will be yet… I should get on that…
Well as I’ve mentioned on some other posts I’ve made, I took a trip to a near by bookstore that gets Japanese imports and right around the corner is an Asian video store that has anime, dramas and just about everything else. (Including a rather large selection of plushies) And I saw it! Director Makoto Shinkai’s latest work, The Garden of Words! (The same director as of The Children Who Chase Lost Voices, which I reviewed several months ago. Check it out!)
Not surprisingly his work is once again gorgeous! I knew I was in for a treat when the salesman got really excited while I was holding it and came up to me and said “That’s my absolute favorite. It is so beautiful.” Nice to know anime can still bring people together lol.
Oh man! Even having seen his work before I was utterly blown away by the animation! I actually paused it in several places to make sure it wasn’t actually live action! (No lie I really did that)
While this movie is worth watching for the animation alone, I really enjoyed the plot as well. It’s about a high school boy who ditches school one mourning to enjoy the rain and work on his shoe designs. (He wants to design shoes for a living) He goes to his favorite spot near a pond and finds a woman already sitting there. Not to be deterred, he sits down anyway and sketches. He soon finds himself curious about her afternoon beer drinking and chocolate eating habits and before you know it, they begin to talk to one another.
Unlike Children Who Chase Lost Voices, a kids/family movie, I feel like this film was aimed at an older audience. Not because it’s got mature action or anything like that, if anything it is a very tame PG movie, but because the subject matter is more about real life. The story is very simple but has that “yeah this could really happen” vibe that makes you think of similar things that may have happened to you. And that realism is a rare thing to see in any film.
Seriously watch this, its only 46 minutes and is lovely!
While my personal favorite is still Lost Voices, this movie was still just wow!
10 anime I’ve never seen, but are on a ‘top ten anime you should see before you die’ list, looked good and now I am watching them. For those curious what they are here's a link to the list I'm using: LINK
Man that’s a long name for my first ever segment on this world! But I do think this is a good place for a review site to start! As I watch these anime I shall be posting who would like it, who wouldn’t, and my opinions on them!
My personal rules for these are 1.) I must finish the anime (every last episode!) before I can post! 2.) I must give no spoilers 3.) I must watch them in a timely manor! No more than 30 days between posts! If I post on the 1st of the month I have to post again by the 30th! 4.) If I break a rule I must make a wallpaper for every person that's commented on any post in this series of posts. (Luckily I’m not expecting many commenters! ^-^)
(And thank goodness too! Since I haven’t done this since I started this world… >.> Luckily I’m still not expecting many commenters! XD)
Ok let’s do this!!!
Cowboy Bebop
If you consider yourself an anime fan and haven’t seen Cowboy Bebop yet… Well then you don’t count. (I myself didn’t count until I watched this several months ago in prep for this review series…) Cowboy Bebop is a classic and is totally deserving of that title!
Cowboy Bebop is very episodic. What I mean by that is instead of, like in many anime, where you have an over aching plot that lasts the entire season, Bebop focuses on smaller mini stories and has, I believe, only 2 story arches that last more than an episode. This doesn’t make the show bad, on the contrary I would argue it makes the series really great!
The plot starts off following Jet and Spike who are space bounty hunters. (Awesome right?!) Throughout the show several new characters are added, including the mysterious and awesome Faye Valentine, a very smart corgi and the rough an’ tumble hacker girl Edward (Ed). While I say there isn’t a true over arching plot, what I mean is they aren’t on the quest for the blah ditty blah, or trying to get to so and so. The series really focuses on developing these characters and the world they live in. Thus the over arching plot is simply watching them do their thing while learning more about them and the world they live in. All the stories are really interesting and very engaging, I found myself finished with this show almost too quickly!
I love it! The music and sound design are particularly great in this series and is part of what makes this anime so famous! In all seriousness I could watch the theme song over and over! (I may be doing that right now…) I freaking love it!!! <3 And I am picky… a serious has to do a heck of a lot to breach my personal top ten.
So would you like this?
Do you like scifi? If you do, don’t pass this one up! Outer space, pirates, bounty hunting, and lots of other scifi goodies!
Also the actual animation in Bebop is really quite something! Their play on shadows and light are particularly impressive.
Action! Gotta love some space action! Guns and a ‘western in space’ theme leaves you pumped!
An oh yeah... This series is hilarious and balances serious moments and great humor seamlessly! Who wouldn’t like this?
I suppose if you really hate scifi this might be a bit spacey. Also I figure you wouldn’t like it is you really hate action… but even then they’re episodes in here for you…
I think most people would enjoy this… Part of why its sooooo popular is because its so excisable and why probably most people reading this review have seen or at least heard of it.
~Tsu
ps. I do not know which of the 10 anime will be next. ^-^
Towa no Quan
Sometimes seen as Towa no Quan and Towano Quan
Towano Quan is a series of 6, 45 minute (Time wise it works about to be the same as a 12 episode anime) movies about a group of humans with supernatural ester (they're psychic) abilities. They are hiding out from a secret organization that is hunting them down, capturing some and killing others depending on their ability and danger level. The organization uses cyborgs to fight these dangerous "inhuman" espers. Anyways, to delve into the plot a bit more, the main character Quan, is the appearingly young leader of the group of espers. He has a dark secret and idealistic dreams as he and the other espers try to learn to control their power and survive while fighting this secrete organization and cyborgs. (How can you not want to see that?!) Also the cyborgs have a very fleshed out story arch themselves and produces my favorite character in the series.
This series has a lot of similarities to things like X Men and Tokyo ESP. So if you like those or are a fan of action/supernatural this is absolutely one to watch!
The animation is really cool! Especially a certain flashback scene that is stunning and different!
The story has quite a few anime cliches but this didn't bother me at all. I didn't think the recognizable cliches distracted or detracted from the story and I found them very enjoyable!
So in conclusion this action, supernatural, cyborgs, and scifi movie series is a really fun, action packed anime is really worth a view and I kinda even want to watch it again as I'm writing this.
Check this one out its worth it!
~Tsu
ps. Sorry this review is a bit shorter than usual as I am currently a bit busier than usual.
Next week I plan to do something WEIRD! So yeah look forward to that! ^.~
Not the best trailer but it does showcase the animation and basic plot of the first movie.
This age old question is a favorite breaking the ice conversation starter both online and at cons. No matter who you are, no matter how long you've avoided the question, if you're an anime fan and talk to other anime fans you WILL be asked this… so subs or dubs?
Well as some sub person will say "Only noobs watch dubs! American voice actors suck" and as dub people will say "I don't want to read while I watch tv! Besides American voice actors are awesome" (I've seen both soooo many times)
And with that I have boiled down the biggest stereotypes of the subs vs dubs people.
Dub people all hate reading and sub people are kinda snobs.
While I have met dub people who annoy me with their "I will ONLY watch things in English" and sub people with their "Subs are for the REAL fans" attitudes most people enjoy a healthy mix depending on the show, its availability in their home language, and whether they are a fan of that particular voice actor.
So what are the real pros and cons to subs and to dubs?
To answer this I shall focus on the positives!
Subs
PROS:
You tend to get a better flavor of the actual dialogue being spoken.
You're not limited to what has been dubbed, one of the biggest changes I've noticed in anime DVDs over the last few years is that their are more movies being translated but not dubbed. (Oh yeah and the internet)
Dubs
PROS:
You do not have the fight between written words and images which does give the benefit of being able to focus on the artwork.
It's kind of nice not having to read….
So time for the big question! There's the DVD menu, haunting, offering the dub or sub option…
So which side am I on?
Well honestly, I am a sub person.
I prefer the Japanese voice actors to English ones 90% of the time. Full Metal Alchemist, YuYu Hakushou and Rurouni Kenshin I will only watch in english. (And Descendants of Darkness because the voice acting is so miscast and awful that its kinda amazing.) On the other hand I would never dream of watching Trigun in English, the Japanese voice actor for Vash gives such an amazing and powerful performance that I just can't…
I have also come across censorship in dubs as well as official subs in the past, and since I have some knowledge of speaking Japanese (Two years and a minor later...) I can catch some of these in the subs whereas I can't in a dubbed version.
Which side are you on?
~Tsu
PS.
I will still be doing a review later this week. (Probably vampire manga or Towan no Quan) But I had some time and was thinking about this so… XD
Also I do want to try a little video, but despite all this time I have floating around I've just been a bit lazy. lol
