dj722 give us his review:

Euereka 7 – Pocket Full of Sunshine OVA

Okay, so it’s been awhile since I posted a review since I’ve been busy. So this is going to be a quick “cliff notes” version. Lol. I might post a more full blown one on the main page of the forums later.

First off, the you either love E7, or hate it. There’s been plenty of debate on why it was good/bad, but I won’t go into that given that this is supposed to be a non-biased review. Lol.

Storyline: If you think that this is a continuation of the original E7 series, you’ll be dissappointed. When E7 ended, there were fans who were upset that it ended the way it did, which is understandable, so many thought that there was going to be an OVA to tie things up. Unfortunately, it’s not the case with this OVA. Instead, the movie is a re-telling of the entire series from an “alternative universe” kind of standpoint. Meaning, same characters, same voice actors, completely different storyline. The actual core plot is somewhat similar though, aliens attacking the earth, earth defending itself, and the love story between a boy and an alien girl.

So what’s the difference? For starters, the movie skips over things like what trappar is, what the LFO really is, where the Gekkostate came from…etc. Renton is already aboard the Gekko-go, but instead of a civilian he actually enlists in the army. Also, the story has a different telling of why Holland and the others are rebelling against the army, and where Eureka came from. Nirvash is there, but he takes on a completely different form and starts off looking something like Mokona from Tsubasa Chronicles(the girls will love it).

So in a nutshell, here are my thoughts. The animation itself is still top quality, as is expected of Studio Bones. While it’s an interesting “revision” of the story, I was annoyed by the fact that there was a lot of focus on Eureka and Renton and their undying love. Don’t get me wrong, it’s cute. But those who hate E7 will agree that Renton can be a little annoying and super emo all the time. The actions scenes were really well played. There are some slight changes to the LFO’s, more notably Hollands. Instead of flying the original LFO we see in the original, he’s actually piloting something like THEND instead. As for the ending..hmm..I’m 50/50 on this. I have to admit that it was much better than original ending, but I was still left with the “ftw…where did that come from and what the hell just happend” reaction.

Aside from Renton’s crying, I have to say that the movie wasn’t too bad, and was enjoyable. Just don’t expect any closure from the original anime. I can’t really go into much detail about the changes since it might spoil most of the movie (I think that the purpose of the OVA was to retell the story…kinda like an alternative ending on a DVD). Hardcore E7 fans will enjoy it to see all the characters again from another point of view. There’s also one thing to look forward to in a fight scene on the gekko -go….and as much as I want to say it, you’ll have to watch (unless you really wanna know, then PM me). If you’re just looking for something to watch, look for something else. The subbed version was difficult to find since the anime is licensed.

dj’s score: 6.5/10

Tell us what you think of Eureka 7 and anything J-related in our forums!

Review: Eureka 7 – Pocketful of Rainbows (Movie)
By: Soulsavior42 (Zeronuckols@gmail.com)

Animation: 9/10
Story: 10/10
Music: 8/10
Action: 10/10
Overall: 9/10

Length: 120 minutes
Themes: Romance, Coming of Age, Mech

Highlights:
Nostalgia Factor – For those who actually liked the series, all the same faces
Hair Factor – You get a ton of awesome scenes with Eureka’s hair down, what more can you ask for?
Fresh Factor – For those who didn’t like the series, great new story
Cheesy Factor – E7 still is its same cheesy self, not saying its bad though

All right so before I get into the actual review I’m going to say this now, I hated the Eureka 7 series, when I say hate I mean HATE. There were many different factors in my opinion and are justified in my eyes, but that’s for another review another time. That aside, I went into this movie under the assumption not reading up on anything about it, that it was going to be an alternate retelling, or a follow-up of the original series since that seems to be the going trend right now for animes. Still keeping the hope that Bones would pull out another FMA movie on us and just blow our minds away. Well I’m not going to go as far as saying that it was as amazing as the FMA movie but you cant compare two separate genres against each other. The E7 movie aside from the fact of having a flamboyant name (Pocketful of Rainbows) was really damn good, from start to finish it kept you entertained and intrigued. From my perspective of hating the series previous it was refreshing not having to deal with a lot of the emo side of all the characters along with the 3 horribly obnoxious kids from the series that have only a brief cameo towards the end of the movie with Renton’s Grandfather.

The movie is set in a universe aside from the series only really having similarities with the characters and very general plot. So other then that you can kick out all previous knowledge of E7 and enjoy watching a new movie, new story line, and somewhat new character relations between everyone, I almost want to say that besides Renton, Holland, and Eureka everyone is playing different personalities for this story, which is nice since you don’t have to deal with all the side characters no one really cared about in the series.

The movie starts out with young Renton and Eureka witnessing a flower blooming and some other events that set the stage for the story, next thing you know your in present day with Renton on the Gekko-Go who is enlisted by the military now which is explained later in the movie, since those who watched the series will know its supposed to be the exact opposite. Though dragging a bit in the middle of the movie with a lot dialog and little to no action, it stays solid for its story telling all the way through to the quite epic ending which cant be said for the series.

Animation
Well being a Bones series, everyone including myself have come to expect top quality from any of their work, be it E7, Bounen no Xamdou, or Soul Eater, which they definitely never disappoint. Pocketful of Rainbows is no exception except in one aspect which is more nit-picky then anything from my stand point. In the E7 series the animation quality was awesome, you really cant much better unless your going to be watching OVA’s or Bones movies like FMA: The Conqueror of Shambala. So obviously you expect the movie of such a well animated to be better right? Sadly aside from the final quarter of the movie the animation is basically the same thing as the series, which was a bit of a let down since, they had so long to work on the movie. Giving animation an 8 that I was originally going to while watching the movie is made up for the absolutely stellar ending battle sequences bumping it to a 9.

Story
Definitely this aspect of the movie was the strongest out of the 4 categories for me. The writing for Bones series has always been top notch but they brought it to the next level with POR. There wasn’t one part of the story that was random or wasn’t explained by the end and given a logical justification. To me this is a great stand along movie to those who never have seen the series and aside from the normal E7 shenanigans like magical mech upgrades in the middle of battle you accept it and sit back and admire all the pretty colors. A solid 10 from start to finish for sure.

Music
There isn’t anything to spectacular for this aspect, I mean the E7 music has always been good and well placed though with POR there is a significant lack of music in parts that could have added much more to the scenes then just pure silence. For the rest of the scenes that have music, its well done and fitting for the context of the movie.

Action
Well besides the fact that they didn’t scrap the idea of surfing robots, the action is pretty damn awesome, lots of explosions and very fluid. The only thing I wish is that there was more blood, but what ever, that’s definitely not enough bad to take off a point, so another solid 10.

Overall
I personally was VERY impressed with this movie, it exceeded all my expectations and gave me a newfound love for the series as a whole, even though I still think the TV series should never have been made and they just made a movie for it. For those newcomers to E7 I recommend watching the movie first, and if you like it then maybe go watch the series if you enjoy watching 10 people feel sorry for themselves for 16½ hours of your life. As for the people who have seen the series this is a VERY refreshing addition to the series and should definitely be watched and appreciated. I’ve have always loved Eureka’s character and her character design, especially when her hair is down and not some ugly buzz cut. So I got a lot of good “hair down” action in the movie, which was great, and then at the end you get to see her with really long hair, which is just more icing on this cake of awesome.

V4sh brings us this awesome review for the new S&W Ova!

ITS HORO TIME AGAIN!!!!

(Horo is not impressed that you haven’t watched this yet.)

I thought I’d review this as well to make up for the Valkyria Chronicles review being late. Following on from the largely unknown and underappreciated anime from last year, comes the first episode of the new series of Spice & Wolf. This episode was released on April 30th as a bonus DVD with the latest in the series of light novel written by Isuna Hasekura. This episode sees Lawrence and Nora getting to know each other better in a bar, and reminiscing about last season, Horo looks suitably impressed at this situation, and later falls ill. The usual random conversations ensue, usually food focused as this is Horo after all. This episode is rather more comical then the previous series had been, but still manages to keep a semi-serious tone, touching on the relationship between Horo and Lawrence, and Lawrence’s own mortality. The main focus in this OVA is Horo unlike the previous series in which Lawrence had taken the lead. The animation is slightly different to last season, most noticeable are Nora’s eyes which are substantially larger then they were in the past, but small changes like that are to be accepted as for this season there is a brand new art director. Music is absolutely stunning just as last seasons was. Due to this being a DVD only release the video quality is very high and the resolution is 720×480.
For all those fans of the series there is yet more Horo on the horizon, as the second series of Spice & Wolf is due to air in July. I personally cannot wait.

For more information on this great anime check the wikipedia page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spice_and_Wolf

Download Torrents (english subbed):
[BSS] Spice & Wolf II Episode 00

[ASR_Kurou] Spice and Wolf 2 OVA  [v2]

Quick Stats

Title: Freedom (OVA)
Directed by: Shuhei Morita; Character Design by Katsuhiro Otomo
Total # eps: 7
Opening Theme: “This is Love”, Hikaru Utada
Genres: romance, sci-fi, adventure
Released:2006-2008
Fansubbing: Licensed; Image courtesy of Bandai Entertainment

The Story
In the year 2041, mankind created their first space colony on the moon. But after a freak cataclysm devastated human civilization on Earth, the republic of the moon built a domed megalopolis known as Eden. Now in the year 2267, a boy called Takeru spends his time engaging in hover-craft races against rival street gangs, unaware that he is about to embark in the journey of unearthing Eden’s origin. -Courtesy of Anime News Network

What dj thinks: <===== in major awe right now

2 reviews in a row! First of all, let me say that there are few series or OVA’s that I would actually go out and by (and it’s not cause I’m cheap). Freedom is worth every penny. If you’re a Otomo fan (Akira, Steamboy, Perfect Blue, Metropolis), this is definitely worth getting. As always, he lives up to his creative brilliance amidst the shameless product placement of Nissin Cup-o-Noodles..lol

Storyline
The OVA was actually created in collaboration with Nissin’s 35th anniversary in 2006 (which is why you see Cup-o-Noodles everywhere). The plot for Freedom is something that we’ve seen time and time again. Humans mess up earth and colonize on the moon. They then live a life similar to caged mice believing in a false reality, while a higher power hides the truth to maintain order. I have to say that the story is really similar (if not the same) as Megazone 23, minus the blood and violence, and the crazy tentacle robot alien. The storyline isn’t very deep; however, a great job was done in keeping the show from becoming too predictable. As the story progresses, you find deeper meanings to the plot. Also, Freedom’s diverse cast of characters really added to the anime, struggling with issues like autocratic rule and going against what is deemed the norm in the pursuit of truth. The last ep is filled with so much drama and emotion, that it will either make you cry, or call your best friend to tell him/her that you love them….guys, please don’t call you bros and say “I love you”.  A simple fist bump will do.

Characters/Animation & Design
Seriously, I can write forever on this. The visuals for Freedom were amazing. Otomo did an outstanding job with the characters. As in most of Otomo’s films, his unique style of focusing on the character’s eyes in order to convey emotion is very prevalent. Otomo really focuses in on human emotion through his characters (and for some reason, he likes big foreheads) to drive the story and provide conflict within them. Also, the futuristic backgrounds were really top notch and extremely detailed. Everything from the moon base to the vehicle designs was both clean and imaginative. The one thing that I enjoyed the most was the design of the motorcycles. A lot of the bike scenes were created as if they were paying homage to “Akira”, while the action was well choreographed with the musical score. My only complaint was that you could tell that most of this movie was done in CG, and there were some instances where scenes looked flat. But that’s me being nitpicky.

Closing Comments
I try to keep my reviews condensed, but it really hard when you watch something this good. Freedom was an awesome OVA from start to finish, carrying with it messages of friendship, love, and to never stop dreaming. Also the musical score was great, and it really added to the drama. If you haven’t already seen this anime, I highly recommend it. It’s worth buying and keeping for your collection.

Story: 5
Visuals/Animation: 5
Entertainment Value: 5
Characters: 5
Music: 5
Overall: 5 (woot!)

Next time: Old School Classic Anime review??? FTW?…lol

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!  Thanks for reading the reviews that I put up.  Hopefully there’s more to come in 2009.

-dj722

Hellsing Ova IV

What to discribe this… What word could be used? Oh! I know! “Magnificent”.
This piece of animation is just amazing, no! is more than that! Is marvelous! Is music, is a symphony of violence, great drawings, a great story and more into my senses.

Many german references, the story gained form in this OVA, we also see a fight between Alucard and Rip Van Winkle(another vampire). We see the purpose and madness of what “Millenium” is. We see many new characters and a few abilities.

And we get the longest OVA yet! Sadly at the end you keep starving for more! We see more madness in Alucard’s character(which I personally loved). We see seras straving with the blood and the dilema of vampire and human.

But enough, wont spoil it for you! But let me tell you this! I’ve been watching Anime since around 1991. And believe me when I say this series are a master piece. Of course, not PG-13. This is a very mature and adult oriented piece of animation.

Nipponmedia.net rates this OVA episode as “Magnificent”.