A History of Mythril
As Mythril is only mentioned as a background setting and since I have only wondered briefly into the lore of Mythril I thought it was rather lacking in depth. As such, I decided to write a history on Mythril, the following does not mention Caelan and is not directly affiliated with him. However, it does go into the various factions, territories, races and organizations of Mythril. Additionally, I wish for this section to be graded along with the biography above as I put a large amount of effort into it. It is rather extensive and reading it will take some time, however, I will do my best to write it in a way that is interesting and engaging. It will be split it numerous sections to accommodate for its size. Enjoy~
The formation of Mythril
The creators are all powerful beings and were responsible for the construction of the Universe. The creators are known by many names and are sometimes even addressed as materials such as matter, darkness, light, so on and so forth. Some call the creators by the name ‘God’, inferring a single entity. Whatever the case, little is known about the creators or their purpose. When Earth was first created dragons were placed in the skies as all-powerful arbiters (The history of this was discussed in Avius’ bio) and the different races were placed to be ruled over by them. However, as you may know, mortal races began to worship the dragons as gods and this was not at all what the creators intended. The creators retaliated by creating a hero that was to destroy the dragons and quell the rumours of their godship. This was mostly successful and the creator’s plans were fulfilled. However, now that the dragons had been all but eliminated there were no beings to rule over the people of Earth.
The creators did not enjoy using their time to deal with problems they viewed as insignificant and decided to create some new arbiters, these arbiters would be granted the status of minor gods and would rule over the lands discreetly, that is, they would not be permitted to reveal themselves to the mortal races of Earth. This would prevent the races from creating religions around the new minor gods. There were initially 6 minor gods created, however, 4 more were added afterwards to accommodate for unprecedented factors. The original gods and their realms of rule are as follows: Dragan, the arbiter of justice. Mirya, the arbiter of love. Shacka, the arbiter of peace. Helga, the arbiter of protection. Jilgar, the arbiter of luck. Kirra, the arbiter of innovation. 3 males and 3 females to represent equality. However, it became apparent that these minor gods were not sufficient to deal with the negatives of society. As a result of this, 4 more minor gods were created to deal with the more nefarious side of the races. Yaelrah, the arbiter of strife. Irkya, the arbiter of greed. Jackval, the arbiter of lust and Witchul, the arbiter of suffering.
The freewill that the races had led to lots of conflict and wars were frequent. It became a depressing place to rule and the minor gods were not satisfied with having to rule over a place that seemed to be getting worse as technologies progressed. To try and satisfy their own wants, the gods decided to create a new land, a land that was not a product of the creators and would be peaceful and nourished with bountiful wealth. They came to the joint decision that this new land was to be nothing but a myth to the already existing people of Earth. Following this decision the continent of Mythril was created. It was protected by wards and great magic’s so as to keep its existence a secret from the rest of the world. The land’s environments were created according to whichever god ruled over that particular province, the land of Mythril was split into 10 provinces that ranged from harsh desert to lush forest to beautiful isles to rocky mountains.
Next, the inhabitants of Mythril were created. Dragan created mountain orcs and trolls, these two races coexisted in the province of Drag, a province completely made up of steep mountains and caves. Mirya created the elf and fairy races, these occupied the lush woodlands of the Mir province. Shacka created the nomadic race of men that roamed the great plains of the Shack province. Jilgar created the men of ebony coloured skin who lived in the isles of Afrique. Kirra created the giants and dwarves who occupied the volcanic land of Urkul. Yaelrah created the angel races who thrived in the lush, foggy mountains of the province Yael. Irkya created the imps and goblins who lived in the rolling hills of the Kya province. Jackyal created the were-races (Werewolves, werebears, etc.) who survived in the deserts of Yal. Finally, Witchul created the demon races (vampires, succubus’s, etc.) who resided within the great ravines of Chul.
Each race was gifted with specific traits and abilities that gave them strength to survive in their respective environments. Mountain orcs and trolls were powerful and possessed innately high levels of strength. Elves and fairies were gifted with nature magic. The nomadic men of Shack were able to telepathically control and communicate with animals. The ebony skinned men were able to control one of the four major elements; wind, earth, fire, and wind. The giants and dwarves were capable of smithing legendary steel that they infused with the magic of the volcanoes. The angels were able to fly and wield cloud magic. The imps and goblins were capable of digging effectively with their hands as well as being able to sense where metal objects were. The were-races were able to turn into hybrid man-animals. The demon races were capable of wielding shadow sorcery and blood magic.
The races began to form their own cultures, governments, social structures and religions. Each province worshipped their corresponding god and devotion was a large factor in life for all races. Animals of all kinds roamed the lands of Mythril, some magical, some not. The provinces all progressed quickly and each had lots of power and wealth, travel was easy and frequent, trade was established between all provinces and peace was enjoyed by all. Mythril was seemingly the peaceful utopia that the gods and dreamed of ruling over, thus, their duties to the rest of Earth quickly became forgotten and the world continued to be stricken by famines, wars, conflicts, and suffering. The creators soon became aware of this and wished to interfere, they would not allow such a thing to happen. And so they acted.
The Breaking of Peace
The creators wished to interfere but did not wish to do so in an obvious way, they wanted the minor gods to think that their creation was flawed and that the events that would transpire were their fault. Thus, the creators decided to work through the minor gods themselves, namely, the four minor gods who were in charge of strife, lust, greed, and suffering. They first began to place thoughts and urges within Witchul’s mind, Witchul was the minor god of suffering and was the most easily corrupted. She realised that her races were quite powerful and that she could expand her particular empire by urging them to conquer their neighbours, the dwarves and giants of Urkul. However, she would first need the support of some other minor gods if she was to get very far in her plans. Thus, she contacted the minor gods of greed, strife and lust and proposed to them her plan. Irkya was the first to agree as he was the arbiter of greed, Yaelrah and Jackyal quickly followed suit and the Alliance of Thropia was born. The races of these gods began to prepare in response to their orders, machines of war were constructed in secret and armies were trained. The events of The First Great War were about to take place…
An angel walked through the halls of the palace he was currently in, he was within the Yal desert, the province of Jackyal’s people. It was a rather bland palace, it didn’t really deserve the title of a palace but the were-people who reside there were quite stern about doing so. It was easily the grandest structure in Yal, but the were-people were not exactly known for their fantastic building skills. The palace was simplistic and heavily fortified by 10-meter tall walls on all sides, the walls were around 5 meters thick and even the sceptical angel currently walking had been impressed by them, though not for their beauty. His people were capable of making intricate structures that were both defensible and beautiful, the were-people were practical at best. The walls were lit by torches, the fire that burned cast flickering shadows against the wall that danced and jumped. It was currently night time and the moon hung huge and close in the sky. The angel stopped as he reached a set of double doors, two guards stood outside and said nothing. They did, however, gesture to his curved scimitar that hung from his hip. The angel was capable of cloud magic that was beyond the power of any angel before him, so he didn’t see why the guards needed to take away his steel.
Albeit, he complied. It would not do good to jeopardise the Thropian Alliance over a sword. He unbuckled his belt and gave it to the guard on the left. The guard took the sword and placed it in a basket that sat on a pedestal, he grunted and opened the door. The angel found the were-people curious, they hardly spoke but they were incredibly loyal to their Pack Head, their version of a king, and would willingly die for him. They looked to be average humans but they could instantaneously transform into a specific beast that varied from were-person to were-person. He nods to the two guards and enters the room, he had to tuck his large, white wings in slightly so that he could enter the door. His wings had already been furled which just showed how narrow the doorway was, even if they were double doors. The room consisted of the Thropian Alliance’s council, it was not very large, only consisting of the three leaders of Yal, Yael, and Kya, as well as three generals from the same.
”Ah, Lord Ligar, you decided to join us have you?” Asks the Pack Head of Yal, he was an impressive man. Tall, very tall, around 7 foot in fact. His muscles were defined and tightly packed under the skin, his great barrel of a chest easily the most profound feature. He sported a black beard that covered his lower face and his black eyes complimented it very well. Ligar studied the were-man's eyes for a moment, they were deeply set and due to possessing no whites, were completely black. Ligar smiled and responded, ”I was taking a midnight stroll, Chazar. It is quite nice when that harsh sun of yours has fallen.” Chazar’s brow furrowed slightly across the top of his pit-like eyes but said nothing more. ”While you were taking your stroll we were discussing some simple strategies for our imminent invasion of Urkul. The giants and dwarves there are mighty indeed and it is vital we strike them first, their weapons of war far surpass ours.” Said the Goblin King of Kya. Beside the Goblin King sat his general, an imp that Ligar did not know the name of. The small, yellow skinned general nodded in agreement to his King.
”I see… We have been discussing plans for a week now, today we should be able to finalise them. So what do we have so far? Also, I was wondering when those demons would come and join us. Witchul’s people are incredibly strong and due to their numbers should be able to assist us greatly, they were the ones to reach out to us after all, but my people have not received any further messages from them.” The were-people’s general spoke up this time, she was a beautiful woman and tall like her ruler. Her brown hair was quite silky and shone nicely in the firelight cast by the torches. ”The Chulians are not exactly the most talkative of people, being demons they are more creatures than men. Besides, I do not like them so I am personally glad that they are not here at this time.” She says simply. ”Calm yourself Caitlyn, they are our allies and imperative to any victories we hope to achieve. You best make peace with them.” The Pack Head states wisely. Caitlyn obviously didn’t agree with this, her scowl made this much apparent. Ligar took a seat next to Haegar, his general. Haegar merely nods to Ligar, who in turn nods back.
The council began to talk over plans and other vital aspects of the war to come, their food stocks were important obviously but they decided that they would easily be able to feed their armies with the great stocks that the giants and dwarves possessed. They would obviously be attacking the capital city as it lay on the outskirts of Urkul. The only reason that the dwarves and giants had decided to build their capital on the outskirts was because of the abundance of ores beneath the ground. The Pack Head suggested that he could gather all of his soldiers that could turn into flying beasts to launch an aerial assault alongside the angels of Yael and any flying demons of Chul. The council seemed to agree to this plan and after this, the Goblin King added that the goblin and imp army would be able to tunnel beneath the soil until they reached the Dwarven mines and attack simultaneously from here. The mines ran into the city so this was a rather good plan as the giants and dwarves would have to defend against an attack from outside their walls and also within. The troops that could only attack from the ground would launch a full-scale attack on the walls of the capital. It was a solid plan and due to the fact that it would be four armies attacking only one city it would most likely result in the Thropian Alliance’s success.
The Goblin King stated that he currently had 23,000 goblins and 11,000 imps in his armies, the Pack Head said that his army consisted of 9,000 were-people, Ligar shared his own army’s figures which were 32,000 strong. None of them knew how strong the Chulian army was but their collective numbers would far outnumber the Urkulian armies. There were around 4,000 dwarves and 3,000 giants in the capital that acted as soldiers, the rest of their army was spread out across Urkul in the various cities. The highest concentration was definitely in the capital though so taking over the other cities would be a relatively easy task. As they were about to conclude their strategic talk the doors to the council room swung open and a man strode in. He was clad in black robes and a hood that lay atop his head. He raised his hands, which possessed long, pale fingers with black fingernails, and removed the hood. This revealed neatly combed black hair, a pale, drawn face, and two blood red eyes. Ligar recognised this man to be a vampire. ”I am of the Chul people, our leader is currently… unable to attend this meeting so I, one of his commanders, will be attending instead. I am head of the vampiric division within our forces and have brought with me 7,000 vampires, all are wielders of blood magic obviously.” He says with a cold tone.
The people in the room all noted the vampire’s aura of power and made the unconscious decision to respect the demon. After updating the vampire on their plans, which he agreed to, they decided to go to their chambers for the night. When they awoke the next morning, the leaders and their generals all gathered together for a final debrief of the plan, they then went to assemble the armies and get them into marching formation. The vampire army was by far the most organised, every one of them was dressed in the same black robes as their commander and they were lined up in neat and orderly sections. The march began, the trek would take a week or so as they had to pass through the volcanic borders of Urkul unnoticed. The angels would be able to conjure up a mist to obscure them using their cloud magic, this was normal for the volcanoes of Urkul as well, to have an abundance of steam and mist. It came in sporadic seasons so the inhabitants would not suspect much if steam or mist began to form.
The massive army of the Thropian Alliance, numbering 82,000 in strength, marched through the volcanic mountain range of Urkul. They had chosen to take Yael’s path, a relatively wide parting in the range that allowed their armies to pass through easily. Mist from the angel’s cloud magic hung above them and all around them, obscuring them from any watchful eyes. Ligar rode atop his steed, a brown mare who had a fierce temper, he enjoyed the horse’s personality. After 5 days they finally broke free of the mountains and entered the Death Plains, rocky plains with no vegetation or water. The rocky ground possessed cracks and was extremely uneven, lava pools were evident on occasion and lava channels led down from the volcanoes. Even here they were able to project a mist to obscure them so they could continue their march uninterrupted. Eventually, they reached the end of the Death Plains and were able to see the capital city of Urkul. It stood sturdy and tall, its walls towering at least 50 meters into the air, these massive walls were made of bronze, cobblestone, and what looked to be steel plating. This was what Ligar could see as he was at the forefront of the army, the mist was still active so the Dwarves and Giants would not be able to see them. Ligar gestured to the Goblin King to initiate the first move and the Goblin King nods before talking to his Imp general for a second, the imp runs back into the mist to the Imp and Goblin army.
The sound of scratching filled the air as the goblins and imps began to tunnel downwards. ”It will take around an hour for them to reach the mines.” The Goblin King states to the Thropian Council members. The vampire commander nodded at this information, ”We will wait for half an hour and then begin our assaults.” They all nodded to this as they had already gone through the plans beforehand. As they were attacking the walls from the ground and air, the Urkulian forces would be distracted and focus on defending the new threat. Meanwhile, the goblins and imps would be able to break through into the mines and attack from within the city itself. Consequently, this would thrust the Dwarves and Giants into immense confusion and they would be crushed. Half an hour passed, during which each army organised itself appropriately while obscured by the mist. This was when it began. The mist began to dissipate as the angels released their control and they took to the air, bows and crossbows at the ready. Their white wings flapped as they flew through the air in a massive V formation, Haegar the commander at the front of the aerial attack.
Ligar himself stayed on the ground and watched his forces approach from the sky. The vampire commander and the Pack Head both gave the orders and their armies charged, the were-people that could turn into flying beast taking to the air and those that couldn’t instead charged on ground. War cries and the sound of running filled the air like a great thunderstorm. Bells could be heard ringing in the Dwarven city and the defences came to life. Giants stood atop the walls, great hulking beasts that stood around 10 feet tall. They placed huge boulders into massive catapults and launched the rock projectiles through the air. The catapults were unlike any Ligar had ever seen. They were capable of great power and range due to their colossal size and the boulders slammed into the charging forces, obliterating whole groups of men at a time. The next things to come to life were huge mounted crossbows that fired three bolts of in the space of a second. They were seemingly not operated apart from the dwarves loading in new bolts each time it shot. These crossbows were aimed at the sky only and angels began to fall from the clouds.
Sections of the wall began to open up and cannons were revealed, these too, were humungous in size and shot out smooth cannon balls at the approaching ground troops. However, the speed of the attackers was too much and they soon reached the walls. Dwarves and Giants alike shot their arrows into the air and also at the ground to try and defend their home. The angels shot back, their aiming incredibly precise, and each arrow found a mark. The were-people in the air ranged from eagles to hippogriffs and dove downwards at the enemies atop the wall, destroying the crossbows and catapults while slaughtering the Urkulian forces. The grounded forces began to scale the walls with ladders and were slowly able to swarm over the walls. The goblins and imps had now been able to break out of the mines and attack from the inside out, the dwarves and giants were slowly crushed from the might of the two-pronged attack until a surrender was called.
The entire battle had lasted for around an hour and by the end of it, only civilian Urkulians and around 100 soldiers stood. They were immediately put under slavery conditions and were put to work repairing damages to the city as well as mining, farming and other essential work. The news of the attack slowly spread to the other cities in Urkul, while most were smart enough to surrender when the Thropian forces approached, some resisted. The first to do this was used as an example, the entire city was levelled and every dwarf and giants slaughtered, regardless of age or gender. The location was wiped from the map and all that was left were ghosts and remnants. The first 6 gods noticed that Urkul had been taken over by the Thropian alliance and they formed their own alliance for the preservation of their people. Dragan, Mirya, Shacka, Helga, Jilgar, and Kirra all formed the Jugian Alliance. Though Kirra was quite insignificant in this alliance as her people, the giants and dwarves had already been defeated. In correspondence and loyalty to their gods, the other provinces began to train their armies, harvest their crops and prepare for war.
This was the initial event that broke the peace of Mythril, conflicts became more frequent and death was commonplace. The Alliances changed and split and changed some more, sides swapping from one Alliance to the other. Borders fluctuated and Urkul was even able to regain its power and became an independent province was again, though, it was now filled with many different races instead of just giants and dwarves. Mythril was war torn and spiralled into a dark age, just how the creators had wanted.
Holy shit I laughed so fucking hard (more than any other comedy show I've seen), this transcends beyond the point of a show being "so bad it's good" making it hammy as hell! I'm so glad this was made since it's another Future Diary (since that show was just so jarring)! To make it even better it's made by the same author and animated by the same studio, holy shit is that just simply perfect or what?! Like holy shit the author must be a comedy genius to even think of this masterpiece! Best anime of all time! Better than Evangelion and Tatami Galaxy! Fuck those titles this is where it's at!
** Last Set of Winter Anime Season Final Impressions **
- Lupin the Third (2015) -
The resurrection of Leonardo DiVinci? Are the Templars behind this!? Story silliness aside I flat out had an solid fun, retro blast watching all episodes of the new Lupin anime and I'm already considering this one of the best animes already for 2016 (even though it started last fall but finished at the end of the winter season in Japan). However the series isn't all that perfect, such as the quality of the art and animation does dip up and down from each episode and some of the stand-alone episodes are more on the duh-duh side of things, like the one about the "love wine" and the school bomb plot. Yet setting aside the negatives everything else was very satifying and extremely fun to watch and plus the whole 1960's/70's heist soundtrack really gives the whole series a huge retro flare and you just cannot forget that freaking amazing opening theme as well as the ending theme. There is one more gripe about the series, midway through the show's eyecatch changes to some oddly animated bits of Lupin and Fujiko and they didn't remove the little voice bits from the older eyecatch that more fitted the earlier ones but not the newer ones and just seemed kind of weird. Overall whether you are an older Lupin veteran or someone just finding out about this long, ongoing series the anime is a must watch, and you really don't need to know hardly much backstory to get into it, and I absolutely cannot wait to get my hands on the US BluRays, whenever or even if ever those come out yet there's already plans for an English dub of the whole series. I rate these new monkey thief capers an 8 out of 10. You can stream all of the newer series on Crunchyroll.com. Discotek Media recently gained the licensing of some of the older Lupin TV series and specials as well as the more recent movie "Lupin III: Jigen's Gravestone" but have yet to announce the release or license of this.
- God Eater -
AKA: "Attack on Aragami" Let's see: Humanity on the brink of extinction from an unknown supernatural horde of devouring threats - check. Young teens and adults using highly specialised weapons to fight said horde - check. A huge walled off city - check. A super-powerfull enemy that the humans have literally 0 chance of defeating - check. A certain human who has been given some of the powers of the supernatural enemy - check. Yep, it's pretty much "Attack on Titan". Being that this is originally based on a video game series, animes of this type usually tend to be "cream of the crap" of the season but I will at least say that studio Ufotable (who did the more recent Fate/Stay series) didn't make this anime look like total shit although the story and plot are definately not a solid winner in the books. Watching Eren... er Lenka trying to be the very best Aragami killer was fairly enjoyable, including his very sad backstory that may make you shed a tear or two, along with the other members of the God Eater squad, especially Alisa and her rather odd choice of battle attire. Now I would of expected for the final four episodes to be highly revved up in animation and awesomeness, they were delayed for nearly three months from it's original summer 2015 run, and after watching them I would agree that they are definately a cut above the earlier episodes, especially with the final two which I think had the largest weapon I have ever seen a human-sized being ever use, this is like badass mecha-caliber shit here! I did really like the anime's soundtrack with it's great use of English vocal tracks although the opening and ending themes are kind of on the 'meh side. Overall in terms of video game-based anime it's pretty impressive to watch through however compared to all of the other anime that are out there, you have a whole lot better ones to watch instead of this, Attack on Titan included. I rate these titan... er "god killers" a 7 out of 10. You can stream all of the anime on Daisuki.net, Hulu.com and eventually on Crunchyroll.com (still being added once per week) however the series is not licensed for a U.S. release. Also, Bandai-Namco has plans to release "God Eater Resurrection", an enhanced version of the original Playstation Portable game for Playstation 4 and Vita, in the U.S. sometime in Summer of 2016!
** Other Animes Watched or Finished **
- Digimon Adventure tri. part 2: Ketsui -
The 2nd installment/movie of the follow-up to the original 2000's anime series. In my impressions of the 1st part of the anime I stated: "being that this is shown in Japanese theatres I would expect some really decent animation qualities out of this but sadly that is not the case and after watching the 1st part it really more seemed like I just watched the 1st four episodes of a typical anime done for broadcast TV. I will admit some of the action scenes were decently animated and the 3D CG work for the evolving transformations were done fairly good but honestly not much else really stood out from the rest of the series. Also I'm not sure if splitting the episodes up into four was a really good idea because it more seems enjoyable just watch all at one time than each separtely because the pacing in each episode can get butt grinding slow." Sadly all of that applies to this one here, and also the only battle in the new episode at the very end hardly had any action and was just mainly made up of average CG transformation sequences. Plus the whole bathhouse parts and the school "Tilted Kilt" knock-off was pretty stupid but I don't know, it's still makes me happy to watch the original digimon creatures again and their cute ways of going about things. Also I have no damn clue who the kid with the sunglasses is (who does seem familiar though), I have to more get back to my digi-research on the original anime for that one. Overall it's fun and cute to watch but is completely not perfect and the very average animation doesn't make it a pretty one. Just hope the next installment get's more serious and intense than just becoming more of a wasted follow-up.
- Sailor Moon Stars -
This is it! The end of an era! I've been watching VIZ's original Sailor Moon anime re-releases on Hulu.com for nearly the past two years and, sadly, now after episode 200, it is finally over! Did I enjoy myself after watching all of those episodes? Absolutely. Sure there were some hefty grinding through good chucks of utter crap but overall I had fun. Now what I'm going to more focus on is my final impressions of the final part of the series that has never seen the light of day over U.S. shores and that's "Sailor Moon Stars". Overall out of each of the five seasons I would rate Stars #4 but deep down both Stars and Super S are very closely tied for last place although IMO Galaxia is a slightly better villian than anything from those circus baddies and also the Starlights are kind of cool. I thought the series ending was more falling on the lame side and seems like just yet another "love conquers all" anime deal and makes the whole world better, also I really didn't think Sailor Moon had to be fully naked while in the final moments of the anime (albiet no actual nudity is shown), but whatever. Animation wise the quality of the show didn't really seem to improve ever since the Stars series fairly strong beginnings and gets slighly less and less fluid and brilliant with each episode, although at least they did improve much of the special attacks over time, especially with the Starlights. Speaking of the Starlights, being a rock/R&B band they could of at least had a couple more songs to play instead of "Search for your Love" almost every single time they do a concert. And then there's Sailor Chibi-chibi......ummmm.....yeah..... still damn freaked to see a 2-year-old in senshi wear. Hopefully once the "Sailor Moon Crystal" series gets to this part of the original manga series then it will finally show how this story really should of been although I am not sure how it will be any better, though I will say the "Death Busters" arc of SMC is really off to a great start. In the end, this tale of intergalatic love and friendship earns a 7 out of 10. Right now every single Sailor Moon episode in it's original Japanese version are all available on Hulu.com and will eventually be released on DVD and BluRay in the near future. Currently all of the 1st two seasons are available on disc sets.
* Now that I have finished all of the classic Sailor Moon series I would like to announce that on every other Monday starting 04/18 I will be watching the series "Revolutionary Girl Utena" which is all available in Japanese with English subs on Nozomi's Youtube page. Ready to take in all of the massive amounts of shoujo and yuri goodness.
** Movie Impressions **
- Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie -
Animated by Production I.G. (Ghost in the Shell series, Suisei no Gargantia, Robotics Notes)
Directed by Kazuya Nomura (Robotics;Notes, Joker Game)
Written by Tow Ubukata (Ghost in the Shell: ARISE, Psycho-Pass Season 2, Mardock Scramble)
- What Wiki Says -
The film is a continuation to the plot of the Pyrophoric Cult episode of Arise, and ties up loose ends from that arc. It involves the assassination of the Prime Minister of Japan which is publicly described as the "greatest event since the war". It is up to Public Security Section 9, led by Major Motoko Kusanagi, to discover the true nature of the murder. They are aided by the Prime Minister's son, Osamu Fujimoto.
- What I Say -
I personally don't consider this as a full-on "movie" but just another entry to the already established "ARISE" OVA series, even though each of those episodes along with this were all premired in Japanese theaters. Also I'm sad to say that the "movie's" quality and budget really do not seem to be any better (and even sometimes worse) than each of the older OVA series so like I said, it's just another ARISE episode, albeit a longer one. Personally I don't consider that a bad thing though and I actually quite enjoyed watching it and also older fans of the original 1995 movie will be in for a treat toward the end which this more seems to connect with. The story does have it's ups and downs but at least it's fairly engaging throughout it's run but of course it's nowhere near as good or rememberable as the original movie nor much of the "Stand Alone Complex" TV series. Of course the movie still has the unrememberable Cornilius electronic soundtrack which I am really not a big fan of. Personally I say if you highly enjoyed all of the ARISE series then this movie is a must buy but if you didn't like much of ARISE (and I'm sure there are a bunch of people who didn't, but not me included) then this is a solid skip. This cybernetic augementated police case earns an 8 out of 10. The movie is currently available on BluRay and DVD from Funimation.
- Lupin the IIIrd: Daisuke Jigen's Gravestone -
Animated by Telecom Animation Film (Lupin the Third: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine, Yowamushi Pedal)
Directed by Takeshi Koike (Redline, World Record story from "Animatrix")
Written by Yuuya Takahashi (Lupin the Third 2015, Luck & Logic)
- What Wiki Says -
The film serves as a "continuation spin-off" to the "Woman Called Fujiko Mine" TV series. In the story, Lupin & Jigen have their sights set on a treasure worth stealing called the Little Comet which is located in the country of East Doroa. The country has fortified its border after a singer named Queen Malta got assassinated in the neighboring country of West Doroa upon visit. Despite the two countries being enemies, Lupin & Jigen still plan to steal the treasure. During the heist, Jigen almost got killed by a skilled sniper named Yael Okuzaki. His specialty is preparing tombstones for his targets before executing his kills. Its said that no one has survived after Yael makes a grave for that target.
- What I Say -
Even though this installment is only 50 minutes long I will gladly say this is one of the best 50 minutes I have ever watched in almost any anime. Takeshi Koike and the animation team did a flat out fantastic job with all of the 1970's European style and settings and everything is amazingly fluid and eye-popping (and popping in other places, if you know what I mean...). Really makes me wish Koike had part of the more recent TV series which still is a freaking fun show to watch already. Also if you have been a really, longtime veteran of the Lupin franchise then the after credits ending scene may make you happy because it ties into the very first animated film of the series (hint: it's not Cagliostro). I do want to give you a warning about this and the whole "secret club" scene may really disturb you, I actually had to almost shut my eyes while watching it, it's pretty cringe-worthy. Other than that this was definately one of the best and most entertaining Lupin installments I have seen yet and the whole surprise reveal at the film's climax was one of the most (literaly) mind blowing events I've ever seen done. This film is an absolute must buy for all Lupin fans, and please, please, please Discotek, get your guy's butts working straight on releasing the 2015 TV series out in the states, I know you guys got it! I rate this revenant revenge a 9 out of 10. The film is out right now on both BluRay and DVD from Discotek Media.
Why can't I find a good shoujo anime with romance and comedy as well as some school drama and really good art, music, and animation? I just don't get it. Am I too picky? (Hint my sarcasm)
I am too picky.
Help.
I'll stick to my Spice and Wolf 2 for now.
Potencial desperdiciado
No te ha pasado que ves un anime y te parece que mejoraría muchísimo si mataran a todos de una manera innecesariamente grafica? Esta semana vi el capítulo número 2 de Kiznaiver la propuesta de Trigger que está bastante bien teniendo en cuenta que todo era Inferno Cop, Uchuu Patrol Luluco y Ninja Slayer (ONAS de calidad bastante cuestionable, menos luluco que la pasan en tv), y me surge una duda:
Trigger ¿Hasta cuando tienes planeado ser la sombra de Gainax? (No les dijeron que FLCL 2018 sera de Producion IG)
Gainax aporto mucho a la industria del anime, nos dejó FLCL,TTGL Y Evangelion (han pasado 16 años y Hideaki Anno no admite que no tenía idea de cómo terminarla) entre otros más recientes como Medaka Box(Ojala anuncien pronto la 3ra parte ). Trigger que quedó enganchado a FLCL no ha hecho más que tomar malas decisiones y no es que este mal ese estilo alocado pero todo tiene su momento, probablemente yo termine de ver Kiznaiver y la disfrute hasta cierto punto , pero siempre me quedare pensando que es un desperdicio que una historia así esté en manos de Trigger, porque no pueden ponerse serios un momento y tienen que salir con sus situaciones ridículas para llamar la atención como diciendo "mira somos un estudio sin identidad que vive en el pasado" el concepto de Kiznaiver es bastante oscuro, pero trigger se esfuerza a rebajarlo al nivel de caricatura norteamericana ochentera, una muestra es el mismo episodio 2 cuando Honoka está en la morgue esa escena tiene el impacto que ver palomas comiendo en un parque, no hay forma de tomártelo enserio porque no dejan de hacerse lo payasos en el episodio, aparte de que eso no es gracioso, es molesto y me da deseos de tirar el monitor por la ventana.
Inou-Battle wa Nichijou-kei no Naka de es el título de un anime que ellos lanzaron sobre adolecentes con poderes y es una adaptación de una novela del mismo nombre es un slice of life adolescentes con poderes y un harem, básicamente le tipo de cosas que le gustan al otaku estereotípico, pero detrás hay una guerra entre bandos de chicos con poderes con potencial como para ser un segundo Index, pero en el anime apenas se menciona y quieren que nos conformemos con ver al protagonista elegir el sabor de chica que quiere. La otra cosa es Kill La Kill de la que solo diré que hubiera ganado muchísimo si fuera un anime de 10 episodios. Actualmente está en emisión que es un anime de 7 minutos y más de lo mismo.
Para concluir espero que en algún momento cambien de mentalidad, o se dediquen hacer series puramente de comedia, o empiecen a tomarse un poco más enserio su trabajo.
