Hello all HSA followers/commenters/supporters!

Please support and vote for our allied singing group on YT- Gorgeous Geek- in Round 2 of Youtube Chorus Competition by doing the following:

1) Watch the video:

2) Go to voting website

3) Insert this format in the form to vote (the rules on that page will make it clear):

Nickname: (insert your nickname — just whatever you want to go by)
YT Name: (Please type in your youtube account name/DA/etc to verify yourself)
Votes: Gorgeous Geek Gang

4. Please vote for us only once! No duplicating please!

5. Leave a comment so we can thank you~ All votes are appreciated! We are the underdog in this competition so let’s pull through together!!

-Minnie

Minnie: It’s been a while~ The fall season is almost out! Is anyone else excited?! As for us, we’ve been busy doing something completely different… Hey, Say, Anime is proud to finally announce our long-time alliance to a YouTube group call “Gorgeous Geek Gang”. I’m not sure whether it’s a real alliance or not because I’m the leader of both but meh. In any case, Gorgeous Geek Gang is in a competition call YTC Battle Competition and HSA would appreciate if all of everyone who read this post can support and vote “Gorgeous Geek Gang” in the first round of Competition!! We definitely will!!

The video we’re promoting for this singing competition:

Instructions on how to vote are as below:

1) Go to this link: http://ytchorus.livejournal.com/556.html
2) Read instructions
3) Post a comment
4) Put any nickname for “Nickname”, your youtube username for “YT Channel”, and…
5) “Gorgeous Geek Gang” for “Votes” in the first slot
Optional: Since there are two more votes, you may vote for “Zodiac”, “MMChorus”,  or “Banana Kurimu”
7) Submit it anonymously and…

You’re done!! If you voted, please leave a comment so then we can thank you personally~ And please look forward to our fall season of blogging as well as future music videos by our allied group Gorgeous Geek Gang!!

Dari: Merry Christmas, everyone, or if you’re not Christian, Merry X-Mas… or should I say Merry Commercialmas… no… must stop my self… *Stops himself from ranting about the commercialism of Christmas*

Dari: Ok, here I am, writing the last Under-hyped anime in the Winter Countdown, and also the oldest, with the 1st release of it coming out  in June 1990 (it‘s actually a few months older then me…), while the next oldest anime in this list, Princess Tutu, Came out 12 years later in August, 2002 (though Ric would have gotten 2nd oldest Anime if he had gone with the OVA of Black jack, that came out in 1993, instead of the 2004 TV series), but enough of this competitiveness, and onto the Anime.

Dari: The Anime I’ll be talking/ranting about is Cyber City Oedo 888, or Cyber City for short. It’s three Episodes; “Time Bomb“, “The Decoy“, and “The Vampire”; were released from the 21st of June, 1990, to the 4th of October, 1991 (or at least according to MAL it was), and was Directed by Kawajiri Yoshiaki, who also directed Ninja Scroll and Vampire D: Bloodlust, along with some other anime.

Dari: This was actually the 1st anime that I bought, though at the time it wasn’t even on my to-watch list, I happened across it when I was in Labrador city three years ago, where I saw it in a store (I can’t remember which one) for $5 , so I bought it, and the end result is that I’m telling you about it.

Plot:

It is the year  2808, crime is so bad that the Cyber Police decide to offer some Criminals the chance to reduce their sentence by working as Cyber Police Officers. The Three Criminals given this offer are Sengoku, Benten, and Goggles, who each have sentences in the hundreds of years (that’s what happens when there is no maximum sentence and you abolish the death sentence). As you can expect, the Police are not going to trust these criminals to do police work, so explosive collars are attached to their necks (just like Battle Royale… except Cyber City is older then BR… anyone that can tell me the origin of the exploding collar gets my thanks). If attempt to remove the collar, or if they do not complete their mission on time, generally 24 hours, it will explode. Each episode has them working on a different case, and the story doesn’t develop much from episode to episode… in other words, it is very episodic…

Art:

Well, what can I say, it was made back in 1990, you can’t expect art like in some of the modern anime greats, like the Kara no Kyoukai movies (no, I will never shut up about KnK, I wasn’t sure if it qualified as under-hyped though, seeing as how popular Type-moon is and all, that‘s why I went with Cyber City) but it does the job, and could be worse. The style is typical of 90’s Cyberpunk, and I guess it grows on you if you watch enough cyberpunk.

Comedy:

Ok, the three episodes are not pure blood fests, and there is some comidiec relief, mainly coming from the robotic aid to the 3 main characters, who takes everything they say literally.

Screen-shot with comments:

(I did try to resist, but couldn’t…)

ah yes, nothing cures a hangover like an explosion in the neck area.

it’s A.D. 2808, and they’re still driving cars…

I’ve actually noticed a slight obsession with Australia in anime, and other modes of Japanese fiction as well…

How do you outsmart a zombie hooked up to a supercomputer in the year 2808? walk in a straight line.

the guy’s been dead for about 15 years, but he still bleeds…

… that’s going to hurt…

Also contains Decapitation.

and metal claws through throats.

and Vampires are still around…

Big cyber cat that shoots Lasers from it’s mouth… so cute, I want one.

Post Epilogue

Well, That’s all that I have to talk about Cyber City, I hope this post has kindled some interest in the OVA, and I swear I did try to minimize the number of screen-shots so it didn’t become about 90 % screen shot. Till next Time, farewell.

Tea: Oh my goodness it has been forever since I blogged but fear not! I haven’t forgotten about this awesome Winter Count Down of Underhyped Anime! My weapon of choice is the Gonzo series Last Exile. Like Marrissa I have no choice on the format and what not so I am just going to fangirl over this series as well because it deserves a lot of fangirling =3

PLOT~~~

The story focuses on two childhood friends, Lavi and Claus, who fly around their fathers van-ship which is a mix of a 1940s fighter planes with a modern twist. They fly around delivering letters and enter races to win money. One day a van-ship crashes during one  of the races and Lavi and Claus go to help. They are left with an important parcel which throws them into a world of war and leads them onto the “unsinkable ship” named the Silvana. …Yeah, I am not the best at summaries

WHAT DREW ME IN~ I remember watching the Anime show on Techtv…back when it was called Techtv and they were running a marathon late at night, what first struck me was the superb animation and pretty solid voice acting. I also found the designs for the planes to be super cool; I am quite the plane junkie especially older ones mainly set in World War Two. Also, the characters seemed interesting enough, especially Alex Rowe the captain of the Silvana …who in English is voiced by Crispin Freeman which is always an automatic win for me! =3

MUSIC~~

I think the only person who would really know how much I loved this series soundtrack would be Katt, haha. The opening song along with the animation really tugged at my heart for some reason. It was such a haunting melody that I would listen to it on repeat for days. The inserted songs and instrumentals are always wonderful. The scores are diverse and each piece fits well, molding together one solid soundtrack. I actually dusted off my copy and listened to it just to get me into the psyche to blog this wonderful under appreciated series.

OTHER REASONS I COULDN’T FIT INTO A CATEGORY~

The series has planes! And pretty boys! It is a recipe for win~ But in all seriousness the animation quality, the character development, though, some get more then others and the overall story mold into one category of squeals and amazement. The little romantic scenes, work kind of well into the series as well…which makes me crave more fanfics, teehee~I love Alex Rowe whom I find should defiantly have more development but him sitting there looking angsty and indifferent is enough for me to drool over *marry me* Each episode drew me in and it had a nice light heartened beginning, sad moments and overall a good feel anime which causes me to watch it over and over again.

ENDING NOTE

Personally, Last Exile is one of those classic animes that have slipped under the radar and have mostly gone unnoticed. Which is sad since I don’t get to read as much fanfiction and cosplaying is minimal BUT at the same time, it is one of those that I can say holds dear to my heart and not many other people can say that…making me special =P  I know enough people who have seen it to not make it a fail but it isn’t one of those super popular animes…at least not here in North America. So, if you are able to squeeze some underhyped anime time, Last Exile is an excellent choice that I don’t think anyone would be disappointed with.

Also…Merry Christmas and other happy holidays to those that don’t celebrate Christmas <3 Next in line is Dari for his underhyped anime on Christmas.

Duke: Anyway, I am here to talk about Peach Girl (What really caught my attension is the hot girl, so for those  boys out there, watch this ). 

When I watched it, it was funny in the beginning, then heartbreaking, and then funny again. Whenever an episode ended, I was excited on what was going to happen next. So then it will be funny, heartbreaking, exiting and then I had hope and then later on I became sad then at the final ending I became happy it was really wierd expierencing these mood swing when watching the anime . It was a beautifully-written anime… I was sad when it ended. I got so caught up in the anime that I would just stare at the computer all day. When I finished it, I thought it was incredible.

  PLOT

Duke: The plot was like just any other anime, but how it had an amazing twist to it- the details and other love disasters! OK ! I know your confused and all, so I’ll explain it because I kinda forgot xD. Its kinda confuzing. So in the beginning, she was in love with this guy (all anime has this ). The guy dumps her (not very interesting yet, is it), but (here’s where it gets better) she meet another guy that she also fell in love with. The thing is it turns out his brother is a pimp and stole her away from that other guy. After that experience she reliezed that she was in love with him! But its not as simple as that… You’ll see the rest for yourself when you watch the rest of the anime. Isn’t it dramatic?

OTHER REASONS

Duke: In this heck of a love tornado all sorts of things happened. Then from watching this anime it got me to mood swings. It was hilarious, heartbreaking, exciting, funny, sad, and happy in the end! Then you will see a really annoying girl but you see she has a deep meaning to her and she moves the story line! She will use force if she has to move this storyline! Her name is Sai:

But she’s still helpful from the story line!  She makes people stronger I really do admire her for her courageous attitude and funny personality.

Duke: The plot line is quite weird XD Its mixed up love! A girl is choosing between 2 boys and one of the boys is choosing between 2 girls =) And one of the girl can’t say her feelings towards the guy she loves. In the middle of all that, the guy she likes has a stalker girl who is now __________? Watch to find out what she says! The story has great creativity to this and has marvelous characters that’s why this anime is genius! It also has a great plot to it and many details. Plus the drawing it awesome!

Tomorrow will be Octavia’s Day I believe. Good luck Octavia. Meanwhile, I welcome all flames because like always, this is a flame bait post. Throw as many as you like! Please!

Marissa: OMG!!! It’s been sooo long since I’ve blogged anything for HSA! GOMEN~! But have no fear~ I’m back now and better than ever with my underhyped anime of choice… NODAME CANTABILE!!! To be honest, I have NO IDEA what to type for my post… or what format… or anything like that. BUT I do know that I’ll try to tone down my FANGIRLING~~~~~~~~ For the sake of everyone here… okay??? *_________*

(more…)

Ric: Well, it’s my turn today. Beware, I come with scalpels. ;]

Today, I bring you a series that, as the rest of the team will tell you, I will not ever stop recommending. It’s just that awesome. It’s one of those rare series that will just suck you in from the very beginning, Tezuka’s charm shining through from the beginning to the end.

But as 63 words doesn’t quite cut it as a post, I’mma tell you all in detail why you should watch this.

Story:

Black Jack itself is essentially an episodic series that you would think would be based primarily around Black Jack himself, but surprise.

It isn’t.

The majority of the series is in fact based around his patients, and the trials that they all go through as individuals. Black Jack himself serving as a more of a plot device rather than a character, well, at least most of the time anyway.

One of my favourite examples of this is during one of the earlier episodes (Keeping in mind that I’m talking about the newer version here.) where Black Jack is forced to amputate the arm of a young gymnast, instead replacing it with a claw-like appendage.

Eventually, the arm begins talking to the young boy, with him eventually taking up chess with the encouragement of his arm, and becoming amazing at it.

As is turns out, the twist is that the “arm” is actually being voiced by his best friend, using a radio not too far away from him.

Overall, the series itself is full of fantastic “one-shot” characters that are beautifully developed in the incredibly short time we see them in a way that I honestly wish I could see more often. (Casshern SINS is one of the only things that even comes close.)

Although be warned, many of the operations will make no sense whatsoever. Especially if they involve super-intelligent Deer. (I KID YOU NOT.)

Art:

Now, this is one of the things that seems to divide people and push them away from the series. Which in my opinion, is very sad.

Those who have seen the art of Osamu Tezuka in the past should know what I mean. Tezuka’s art is very unique, and of course represents the era in which his work was originally released. People willing to accept that it’s not like what we typically see nowadays, should be able to appreciate the look, enjoying it even.

In my personal opinion, the art to this series is great, and while it doesn’t really stand up to the sheer beauty of things like Samurai X (Although that was an OVA, to be fair.) or even some of the scenes in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (Which I swear, has a budget the size of the Moon.), is still an enjoyable watch.

Animation is all around very good as well, never failing even during some of the more frantic scenes.

Interesting things you may not know:

Tezuka’s habit of using a short list of characters in pretty much every one of his series, rather than creating new ones shows through a lot in the show, with guest appearances from Rock Holmes, The Phoenix, Ban and even Tezuka himself, appearing as another doctor, who happens to be a friend of Black Jack’s.

It’s actually really fun to just sit back and look for cameos from time to time, even. (I think I found like, five in one episode once.)

Ending Comments:

In summary, all I can tell you without spoiling anything, is that this is my favourite series, and with good reason. The direction, the style, and the simple fact that it manages to pull off “episodic”, without ramming the same messages down your throat over and over again should be enough for a basic recommendation. But it’s so much more than that.

Almost every episode is touching in some way, the fantastically written characters and situations bringing forth emotion in ways that has rarely since been captured, and makes for something that everyone should try watching at least once.

It’s things like Black Jack that show you just why Osamu Tezuka EARNED the title of “Father of Manga” that he’s so commonly referred to as.

Watch it, read it, believe me; You’ll probably love it.

Oh, yeah. While I’ve got your attention, I’ll tell you about something else I think deserves a little more recognition. (Don’t know why I’m the only one who did this, really…)

Wildcard Pick:

The Question – Volume 1
(36 Issues/6 Trade Paperbacks)

Summary: (Shamelessly stolen from the DC wiki) When Vic Sage, a television investigative journalist, encountered stories he couldn’t investigate by normal, legal means, he donned a special mask (kept in his belt buckle) that made it appear that he had no face.  As the Question, Sage investigated corruption in the face of all danger, leaving a blank “calling card,” which, when touched, emitted a smoky question mark.

Story: This particular series comes as a sort of “alternate” origin for the Question, a retcon created due to DC’s Limited series, Crisis on Infinite Earths, as well as DC having bought out Charlton Comics, original owner of characters such as The Question and Blue Beetle, so thankfully, there’s nothing you will need to read to understand the story. Which is very nice, and makes it accessible to  a much wider audience. (Hell, this is why I’m recommending this over some others.)

Basically, the story takes place very shortly after Vic Sage became the Question, during a period of time when he doesn’t necessarily take his work all to seriously and was, as Batman himself so eloquently put it, “A Fool, an arrogant, incompetent dilettante.“.

This attitude of course, doesn’t last long, and shortly into the book, he nearly dies, leading to him eventually to one of DC’s more powerful (Well, non superpowered.) characters, Richard Dragon, who teaches him a new way of life, as well as powerful forms of martial arts.

After changing so heavily, he returns to Hub City, his town that may very well be just as bad as Gotham, filled with incompotent politicians, corrupt policemen and an almost neverending stream of mobsters.

Art: I’ll say this, Denys Cowen’s art is awesome, fitting amazingly with the tone of the book, while never taking your attention away from the story, as things should be.

Granted, Cowen isn’t Alex Ross, I’ll admit that much, but he’s still great, check out this, and some of his other works if you want to.

Interesting Facts: The Question, as well as several other characters from Charlton comics, such as Blue Beetle and Captain Atom, were in fact the inspiration for the protagonists of the Alan Moore classic, Watchmen. The Question himself being the main inspiration for Rorschach, the one Watchmen character that everyone seems to love.

The comic itself actually makes note of this fact, joking about it later on in the series in a rather delightful  few scenes (Vic finds a copy of the book, reads it, and hilarity follows.)

Another interesting fact is that Steve Ditko, the creator of The Question, is also the co-creator of Spider-Man, Dr. Strange and the Superhero duo, Hawk and Dove. Personally, I would call that one hell of a C.V.

Ending Comments: For anyone looking to get into comics, this is a great place to start, for anyone who enjoys reading comics, this is a great book to read. It’s accessable, clever, and fantastically written, to the point where I honestly can’t understand why it isn’t more well known.

While the character has recieved a little more recognition thanks to 52 and his appearances in Justice League Unlimited, The Question just seems to be a character that well, noone ever really talks about; and it’s a shame, because Vic Sage is such an interesting character that he deserves to get the same sort of recognition as the “higher ups” in the DC Universe, like Batman, Flash, Green Lantern and such.

All in all, this is a great storyline, showing off the character’s strengths fantastically, even melding him with the modern DC Universe, all while managing to be an incredibly easy read for those who are familiar with comics, and even those who aren’t.

If you find it, read it. It’s awesome. :]

Tomorrow we’ll have our resident “~” abusing fangirl, Marissa speak about her pick, expect plenty of “~”, everyone~

-The Lean, Green Tangerine

Angel: Of the few series I have watched while on the HSA! team, I have enjoyed Pandora Hearts the most and I believe that it should receive more love and attention!

Yes, Tales of Abyss sucks except for Guy. <3

On a serious note… Stalin likes bananas… I am so glad I passed my exams and I am on holiday break… Yep. OMG I AM BANANA.

What else is going on in my mind besides random garbage? Har har, I actually have a delicate criteria for determining my favorite anime. First, the series must obviously have fantasy/mystery/action/comedy elements. Then, the series must be dark in some way, as in a character has a mysterious or conflicted past and events go wrong, among other tragedies. Next, I do not want to see said character becoming upset over the hardships, but learn and mature from them, ultimately developing into a strong and consistent character. Thus, the image above is misleading; this is no sugary bishie romance, but a fairy tale with rich yet dark twists, comical moments, and well-rounded characters!

In other words, how to cook anime to perfection: dark storytelling, memorable characters, and brilliant soundtrack.

Overview

Premiere

One of most highly anticipated series for Spring 2009, Pandora Hearts primarily attracted attention from the preview’s clean animation (and background music). However, as soon as the first episode aired, fans became irked as the animation studio, XEBEC, instead used a dull 90s art style. Furthermore, the episode initiated with some slice-of-life scenes, somewhat forced comedy (e.g. Oz’s teasing of Gil, plus the latter’s unexplained fear of cats), and dropped mysteries (e.g. Oz being attacked by a strange girl accompanied by talking dolls and flames) with little significance nor development until later. Thus, some fans who would rather waste their brain cells watching harems and ecchi became bored and dropped PH after 1-3 episodes.

In other words, the first episode does not do justice in revealing how awesome Pandora Hearts is!

As long as you can get through episode 3, your life is smooth sailing from there. PH starts off slow but picks up fast as the plot unfolds and intrigues your mind. For instance, I found myself speculating in my sleep as to who killed Alice, which is a feat I have not repeated since Code Geass, my all time favorite series.

As with every good series, the first few episodes depict the context (situation and characters) to establish some level of stability TO SOON CRACK AND COLLAPSE :’D so please, do not expect to be spoon-fed every clue and answer. PH invokes you to think and speculate, not watch so aimlessly like Naruto… Some old battle, just another face; nooooooo. PH constantly develops the plot by becoming increasingly dark, especially during the Cheshire Arc (episode 10, I believe) when many mysteries are linked simultaneously, almost orgasmic, woot. Maybe I should back up if you are not catching on…?

Synopsis

The heir to Duke Vessalius, Oz Vessalius, is living a luxurious life at age 15 and is attending his coming-of-age ceremony. Despite maturing into a noble role, Oz prefers to play with his little sister, Ada, and his best friend and faithful servant, Gilbert. While playing, they discover a hidden underground grave and find a pocket watch, which Oz keeps. Later, the ceremony begins, but is soon disrupted by dark robed “death gods,” who sentence Oz for his sins into the Abyss, a deep cryptic chamber in an alternate dimension where prisoners are sent. Upon arrival in the Abyss, Oz encounters strange monsters called Chains, in particular, a Chain disguised as a human girl called Alice. In order to escape from the Abyss by using Alice’s power to transform into B-Rabbit (the strongest Chain), they establish a Contract, only to return to reality 10 years after the coming-of-age event. Their connection arouses suspicion within a special organization, Pandora, albeit the common goal is to uncover the truth about Alice’s past, the Abyss, and the Tragedy of Sablier.

Characters

Designs, Development, and Deliciousness

While I will not advocate that the characters are flawless, each PH character grows onto me as their personalities are defined. My favorite characters are Alice and Break, although I can squeeze in Oz and Gil too. <33333

Alice is a brunette and is a lovely tsundere (respect!), so I am instantly inclined to love her antics. Alice loves meat, claims Oz as her personal man-servant, and honestly does not care what others think about her as she does as she pleases. As a tsundere, in one scene, Alice is spacing out and Oz asks if she is okay, which angers her as he left her alone for most of the episode, causing her to kick Oz down a flight of stairs. Another example of her adorable personality is during the arm wrestling match, where the guys could not win by sheer force (Gil surrenders, Oz persuades) but Alice do so, plus progressively changing her aura from mellow, to sassy, to full RAAAAAGE. Once she wins, she gleefully hops around, causing Oz to slightly blush. How ferocious yet sweet! <3 In contrast, Alice almost softens up near the end of the series as she becomes more aware of her relationship with Oz. For example, they lean on each other back-to-back in front of a fireplace and eventually, Alice becomes jealous when Oz is elsewhere. Despite these changes, her stubbornness shines throughout as she continues to be headstrong in battles, to the point of trying to ignore commands. Underneath, Alice’s past is explained, which is quite tragic as she is not only connected to mysteries, but is closer to them than you can imagine. I am trying to refrain from spoilers; must move on before I spill everything like a gossip girl!!

Break is the gray haired guy (most characters with gray hair are not that old, but I wonder about Break…!) but more importantly, he is hella funny! There is not an instant when I am angry nor self inflicting face palms with Break. From disappearing in cupboards to rolling on tables, carrying a talking doll to delivering sly comments to disturb the main cast, Break is always smiling and kidding. Under that lighthearted exterior, Break has a wicked side, seen especially during the Cheshire Arc and later action scenes as despite bleeding, Break kicks more ass. Then, (I would like to refrain from spoiling, but here is a hint) Break’s past is developed as to why Break works for Pandora to use the power of the Abyss to change the past, which appears cynical on paper but proves otherwise.

Oz, fair haired (SHOTA! -shot-), and Gil, the dark haired, go hand-in-hand in their development, although I say that Oz changes drastically. Oz is quite a cool character, as despite having his birthday party ruined, is apparently betrayed by his friend, is sent to a foreign dimension for the sin of his existence, and is attacked by Chains, he calmly eats cookies and jokes around with Alice… Perhaps this is not cool in your eyes (perhaps disturbing, mmm), but the reasoning behind Oz’s dissociative (and yandere in the manga, where Oz cuts up a rabbit or later makes comments about him being better off dead to tease Gil) personality is explained later on in a rather depressing light: parent issues. T__T Well, Gil is consistent, although his level up from clumsy servant to a badass gun toting bodyguard is instant win for me. Basically, Gil transformed from a gender confusing (Ric and I debated on Gil’s gender after watching episode 1, haha) to one sexy character… Mmm… Jack is another sexy one, but I am trying to get my mind of the gutter, oops.

Plot

Onto the Main Appetizer, Shall We?

Ah, plot; how I despise writing about you! To keep things simple, I will say that PH starts off slow by introducing the aforementioned level of stability (peaceful empire, friends, family), all the more to emphasize the CRUSHING OF HOPES AND DREAMS (school has rotted my brain) when things go horribly wrong, bwahaah!… Ok, nothing major happens like bloody massacres, much to my chagrin. >:C However, the plot becomes increasingly dark as one, no two, perhaps ALL of the major characters become involved in a tragedy.

Well, I cannot reveal much, as episodes 1-3 establish the context, episode 4-5 depicts the gang’s first few battles to find pieces of Alice’s memories, and episode 6 presents the first enemy struggle plus a wicked cliffhanger of Oz pointing a gun to himself (tense, not emo). Then, the plot is genuinely picked up around episode 7, which reveals some clues of Alice’s memories and connections to the Vessalius family, specifically Jack Vessalius. Mmm, it is all about that mysterious blond bishie (distracted :Q). So yes, instead of mindlessly fighting enemies to find the computer room memory shards, the cast actively addresses the main source of question, the Abyss. Basically, active > passive, children.

In contrast, PH can become confusing at times (e.g. when you finally start to grasp the truth behind Oz and Jack, Alice and…) but the events execute well (although the ending could have been inconclusive to allow a second season). Just digest PH, and if you cannot, pick up or download the manga because I know that you are not doing anything important otherwise. ^____^ If I can marathon, you sure can, as my attention span is limited; although my mind is stimulated by well defined characters and twisting plot, it can be subtly captivated by the little cherries to the ice cream known as aesthetics.

Aesthetics

Animation

Okay, I have heard of many complaints about PH’s “dirty” animation — I have high standards, and I did not have a problem watching this. In fact, I believe that the desaturated and retro look is an appropriate mood for this series, as opposed to a bright/clean/colorful animation style. This is a dark series as in a journey through hell and back, not a a journey across a rainbow, so it is essential to have unsaturated colors to complement the sullen mood. So yeah, thanks for turning an eff up into a fix up, XEBEC.

Music

Pandora Hearts has STELLAR music; such raw talent makes my spine chill. Even if you do not watch this series, I highly recommended that you listen to samples of Yuki Kajiura’s music. I am having some difficulty identifying a specific genre, but her work is definitely not pure pop/rock/rap/metal, among other distractions, haha. Her work reminds me of some elegant and classical instrumental piece (piano and violin influences) with Gothic elements (ominous chants), which is always wonderful to relax too. Literally, I am at peace when I listen to her music at 2 AM in the morning.

To listen for yourself, simply search for “pandoraheartsnetwork” on Youtube for a nice list of the OST. From that, my favorite tracks would be the opening, #01 Pandora Hearts, and the pocket watch’s tune, #26 Melody(Lacie). The opening speaks for itself and you will not regret spending 90 seconds of your life listening to it; as for Melody, I have a penchant for jewelry box music (I used to play a similar tune so I would fall asleep). I would list so many more, but I feel biased enough.

I would discuss dialogue too, but my knowledge of Japanese voice actors is so limited. Shame, I even forgot Lelouch’s VA. ;; Overall, I enjoyed the voices, as Japanese VA’s rarely disappoint me. The main starlet would be Cheshire’s VA as he really fits his character, a twisted and rejected pet cat, haha.

Bon appetit!

Overall, as I have addressed and praised in my reviews (I wonder if many read them…), Pandora Hearts has a remarkable tale and characters to share. Give Pandora Hearts a chance, like I have before I once considered dropping it around episode 4, and it should become an instant favorite.

Next up on the calendar is my amazing friend, Ric. Do look forward to his article and corny jokes. (b’-')b

Until next time, my lovelies.

TAAN: I doubt many people have heard of Noein. I wouldn’t have known about it if my brother didn’t tell me, and he heard about it from some guy suggesting anime which are amazing yet no one’s heard of. Well, that may be moot now, since apparently the Syfy channel airs it, and the dub is as good as the sub (according to unreliable sources), but who cares. Of course, I’m not here to say it’s amazing, I’m here to prove it. Hopefully.

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Miken: Hihi~ Miken here with a post that’s finally on schedule~ Then again, Minnie is threatening me…Anyways, on with the post of my favorite underhyped anime of all time!

When I just started getting deeper into anime and started watching subs and such, I was randomly choosing shows left and right. Then, along came Le Chevalier D’Eon. I was simply looking for more series done by Production I.G. after loving their work in the cutscenes of the Tales games and was pointed in the direction of this anime by the cover of a volume of Newtype USA, which I bought on a whim. I went into it unassuming, which is something I really wish I could do nowadays…But I digress. The wonderful visuals and charming if not slow plot did get the better of me. The added historical in-jokes got the better of my inner nerd too~

The Story

Synopsis (shamelessly taken from the back of my Vol.1 DVD — courtesy of ADV): “Paris 1472. A coffin floats in the shimmering Seine. On the lid, a world written in blood — “Pslams”. Inside, the body of a beautiful woman. Lia de Beaumont.

Now her brother, D’Eon, seeks the reason for her mysterious murder, and uncovers an evil that casts shadows in both the  palaces of kings and the dark alleys of Europe. A power wielded by spell-casting Poets and manipulated by royalty. A force so poweriful it brings Lia’s soul back from beyond to seize the only weapon she can possess to avenge her death — her own brother.”

Though I do suppose that a series with the plot involving a young man being possessed by his dead older sister and subsequently becoming even more feminine than before would offset some people, what with certain anime these days and the growing popularity of traps  (ie Kampfer and Maria Holic), it shouldn’t be too much of a problem. This transformation, however, is not played lightly. I mean, why would D’Eon be happy when he’s possessed by a vengeful spirit? Lia also kicks major ass whenever she takes control too, making her a stark contrast to her brother, who isn’t so willing to kill in cold blood.

I’ve always liked action series more than other genres, and Le Chevalier D’Eon fits the bill perfectly and adds some genuinely interesting intrigue to the mix. Obviously, there’s a reason for Lia to not want to rest in peace just yet. The added bonding of the “Four Musketeers” over the course of the story also endeared this series to me. Each one of them (D’Eon, Robin, Durand and Teillagory) has something interesting about their characters, and though they are teammates, they all still have their own personal goals…

The Art

The art in this story really makes me love it more and more for both its simplicity and surrealness. There are no huuuuge bulging moe eyes or bustlines down to the center of the earth. Instead, we have gorgeously designed costumes fitting the era and eyes of a more physically possible size. The dresses are pretty amazing to look at. Though they do not shine and glitter and flap in the wind so much, the elegant simplicity is just so good and fits the characters well~ For example, Queen Marie has a beautiful creme colored dress that fits the elegant air she puts about herself while the Marquise de Pompadour wears a brighter dress with gaudier colors and many more frills and such. Character designs in general fit well and are not completely outrageous.

Additionally, the series has naturally strong production values because Production I.G. has pretty big budgets. This shows with the fluidity of the battles as well as some pretty well done CG work, including luscious shots of the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles. While there may still be a few awkward shots, the general high quality of the show still shines through.

The Music

While the music probably won’t be nominated for any amazing awards, it’s strong in its own sense. There are also two solid numbers as the OP and ED. Miwako Okuda’s “BORN” is strong and sets a nice tune for each episode to start off on while Aya’s “OVER NIGHT” is much slower and fades the episode out. Though “OVER NIGHT” might offset some people for being sung in Engrish.

As for the background music, it does its job and sets the mood well, but a good number of people will overlook the music if they’re not trying hard to keep track of it. However, if you’re good with gentler music, there are some very good tracks, here are a couple to sample out:  PSALMS, Saiaiou, Seiyaku Kawaseshi Sha, Sekiwan no Kenshi, Owari no Mata Kotoba Ariki … I could list more, but that’d probably be the entire OST. As you can see, the tracks are all orchestral, so there are no rock tracks to completely throw you off.

The Plot, Characters and Other Comments

Overall, the plot does well for itself and comes to a strong finish. The mystery does hold strong throughout and while there are some lulls slightly before the Russia arc and a little bit into it, the series does pick itself up. After all, despite being dead, what we do glimpse of Lia continually reminds us that she also has a story to tell, and that story encompasses the entire story. And although there probably isn’t anything new in the plots or characters, the way the characters are used make up for it. Speaking of characters — while the Four Musketeers are the central figures of the story, numerous others do add to the mounting pile of questions…Like why the hell does Queen Marie talk to the skull of a dead little girl every time she’s alone!? Additionally, it’s very interesting to see D’Eon’s initial shock and coming to terms with the whole possession thing…

Despite the name and the implications of it being set in France, the series does spend substantial time outside of France and in Russia and England. There are also little in-universe takes on historical events fitting the story and even involving the characters. The rise of Catherine the Great? Check. Maximilien Robespierre? Check (though not in the way you expect him). If you like history and you’re also open to it getting flipped on its head and mutilated a little bit, this facet of the series will amuse you. Additionally, the plot is riddled with many different factions who know more than they seem to tell pulling the strings and adding more substance to the mystery of Lia’s death. Obviously, it’s nothing so simple? After all, it’s a 24 episode series.

As for the action…Most of the time, it’s Lia fighting the battles as she possesses d’Eon with the aid of the other musketeers. These battles are usually normal swordfights — no loud shouts of skill names here. The battle choreography is flowing as well and not prone to overly flashy stunts. However, since the series has its own magic system of Psalms and such, there are a few instances here and there where  it enters into battles. It adds a nice twist but doesn’t come off as too much or out of place. In fact, it can call for some pretty…uh, gruesome? ways to die.

Interested now? Go watch it~ You just might like it!

(Also — if you want a more Hellsing-esque take on this series, go for the manga~)

<3

Next up in the countdown is Raccoon TAAN~ Be sure to check out his post because it’ll probably be more organized and easy to follow than mine is. Come back for more every day till Christmas Day to get the rest of the underhyped series that we want to hug to death. \o/