Anime Briefs

Recently I've watched (and in some cases finished) several anime series that have been sitting around my house. Just because I can, I'm going to give you my two cents on the stuff I watched:

Neon Genesis Evangelion

I know, I know. This series is ten years old, and chances are if you are even a little bit interested in anime you've seen this show. This is one of the classics of anime, and people still talk about it despite its age. Strangely enough, despite the fact that I've been watching anime since 1997, I've never seen "Neon Genesis Evangelion" until now. A couple of months ago Right Stuf was having a 40% off ADV stuff sale, and I bought the entire series in one swoop. Then I let the DVD's sit on my shelf for a couple months. When I finally got around to watching it earlier this week I ended up watching the whole series in three days. When the series was over only one thought lingered in my mind: What the heck was THAT?!

Not since "The Vision of Escaflowne" had I been so engrossed in an anime series. "Neon Genesis Evangelion" is not only one of the best anime out there, it is one of the best shows I've seen PERIOD! This is the kind of show that redefines what TV, shows, animation, and storytelling can be. It's a feast for the eyes, food for thought, and it's EXTREMELY (and joyishly) twisted to the core! And then there was the ending. You know, I had been warned about the ending for a long time, read every piece of information about how it still puzzles people to this day, and I can honestly say that now that I've actually seen the ending, that it was all 100% true. Regardless how many people warn you about it, you're just never prepared for how this series ends.

I'm not sure whether the ending makes or breaks this series, but it was at least one more sign of how unique this series truly was, and there is a reason we haven't seen anything like it since.

Koi Kaze

Now on a little bit of a different note, "Koi Kaze" is one of the most controversial animes to be released in years. It is about nothing more then two people, a twenty eight year old man and a fourteen year old girl, falling in love with each other, only to discover that they are really brother and sister. It is controversial, it is confusing, you're never completely sure what it is you're supposed to think about the situation, but it is always interesting. I can't say I like the show. I can't say I hate the show. I can't even really tell you if I agree with the ending or not, and even after I had finished the show I was trying to sort everything I had just seen out in my head.

This is a show that is hard to recommend. You can't really recommend it to just anyway, as I'm not really sure if this show was even meant to be entertaining. I do know that it does keep you interested if you have the patience...and an open mind. The entire series has been released by Geneon on three DVD's, and whenever there is a Geneon sale going on you could make far worse impulse buys. So whether you decide to check this show out or not, just keep this in mind: When was the last time an anime made you think so much about life in general?


That's all for now, seeing as how it's getting late and I need to go to work in seven hours, but stay tuned, as I've got more anime I want to talk about in the near future.