Anime

In a relentless move to gain control of a rare mineral that only seems to be in abundance in Japan, the might of what was the Britannian Empire decided to take over the nation of Japan. Once completed, the Empire would strip the nation of its rights, reshape the flag, and even rename the country itself into a mere designation. From this day forward, Japan should be called Area 11. The campaign to gain control of Japan started on August 10, 2010.

Super powers such as USA could not stand a chance against the military might that is Britannia, and surrendered – thus signing the country and the entire continent over into British ruling. That gave the Empire a nearly unmatched technological superiority. However most military equipment of the Empire relies on sakuradite, which is available in high abundance in Japan.

It is then when Lelouch Lamperouge is disowned by his father, and would soon after meet an immortal witch named C.C. (Shi-tzu), which then bestowes a supernatural power on him – the Geass. It is a power that, when used on others, enforces absolute obedience. People will do as Lelouch commands them. Using this power, Lelouch would soon after create an alter ego, Zero, and then use it to form a movement that would fight the Britannian rule and free Japan of the Britannian stronghold.

In the years to come, The Order Of The Black Knights would form a formidable enemy of the Empire. What began with the idea to defeat the British ruling, nearly became World War III – which could be averted by the elimination of Lelouch/Zero at the end of his “Requiem” campaign a few years after.

I’d so queue for this on the premiere!!

We’re on a world named Prester. There, the inhabitants primarily use something called a Vanship as the primary means of transportation from A to B. Prester is, as the name says, not a representation of Earth, but seems fairly similar in composition. Prester is torn in two parts, by an endless war that is going on. There only seem to be two large landmasses, and each is a country that wage the war – Anatoray and Disith.

It all begins when Claus, a fairly skilled Vanship pilot, and Lavie, a mechanic and navigator, our two main heroes, are asked to deliver a girl that, apparently, holds the key to unite the two factions and to end the endless war that is going on. You see Vanships always require two people to fly and operate the machinery. The mission to deliver the girl is rated 7 out of 10 stars. Little did they know on what ride they just embarked upon.

Their mission to deliver Alvis leads them to land on the Vanship Silvana – a ship somewhat reminiscent of the largest warships ever build here by the air force – almost the size of an aircraft carrier. And airborne. Since the Silvana is equipped with all kinds of weapons, it is widely known as the Kill-Em-All-Silvana and has been deemed “unsinkable”.

Things get more interesting when Claus and Lavie get to know the captain of the Silvana, a man named Alex Row. He appears to be a fairly quiet man and keeps to himself, however for some reason he believes Claus, Lavie, and Alvis will eventually lead him to complete some personal task he set out for. His first officer, Sophia Forrester, seems to be a more friendly personality and quickly makes friends with Claus.

The two war-waging countries are divided by a fairly big atmospheric phenomenon, named the Grand Stream. It appears to be a blizzard of sorts… No Vanship was ever able to cross it to get to the other side – and thus to the opposite country… or so the legend says. Claus learns from Alex that his father attempted to do so, which also explains why Claus’ father never returned home after taking on one mission. One of the utmost importance to everyone, so it is said.

What starts as just another delivery mission for Claus and Lavie, turns out to be a journey that will change their lives forever. Not only theirs, also the ones they come accross aboard the Silvana. The mission becomes THE ultimate mission for the both of them, and they must complete it – at any cost. It is a journey that will take you to the skies at high-speed, fast-paced maneuvers, EPIC air battles, and once you land it will leave you nothing less than inspired, in awe about the way the show was performed. It is a story you will remember for sure. Get this one right now.

Last Exile
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Steampunk
Directed by: Koichi Chigira
Studio: Gonzo
Original Run: April 7, 2003 – September 29, 2003
Episodes: 26

It is about 5 years after the first events that Jun, Nori, and the Rozen Maidens went through. The full of life dolls now live in Jun’s and Nori’s house and have become a part of their lives, their family even. Shinku is as calm as ever, Hinaichigo full of squeee, Suiseiseki, well she’s herself also. The events of some years ago have faded into a distant past, distant memories. They are happy in the place they are.

However, those memories are being recalled quite quickly, when Shinku is forced to enter the “M-field” once again. She’s in for quite a surprise when Barasuishou appears, and she claims to be the seventh of the Rozen Maidens. Barasuishou informs her about her intentions to revive the Alice-Game, and to win it – no matter what. This is quite some information for Shinku, as she always thought there were only six Rozen Maidens – but now only five, as she defeated Suigintou in battle over five years ago.

Uncertain what to do, she consults Jun. Shinku is troubled and believes this somewhat important piece of information should not be revealed to the others, as it might upset the delicate balance of peace too much. Jun however advises her, that, since they are a family and sisters, they deserve to know. It would not be fair to not to tell them… Shinku hesitates, but then one morning when Jun is out to school, she reveals her meeting to the others. Who take it surprisingly well, or so she says, and she has the support from every of her sisters.

Meanwhile though, Shinku and the others are unaware of the fact that Suigintou has in fact been brought back to life, and is joining the Alice-Game once more. The Alice-Game is a battle to the death, the Maidens have to fight each other, and when one Maiden is defeated, the winner has to take the Rozen-Mystika – the soul, the spirit, the energy that gives them life. Suigintou was turned to junk five years ago, and as you can imagine, she doesn’t want that to happen again. However, her medium this time around is a hospitalized girl, who has a death wish. The doctors don’t know what’s wrong with her, she was assumed to already have been dead 3 times because of her condition (that is not really specified, but seems to be some form of cancer).

And so it begins… once more. For Jun though, things take a different turn when Tomoe, Jun’s high-school friend, shows him a doll store and repair shop near his house. This store has either not been there before, or Jun did not notice it. Either way, when invited inside, Jun is witness to some very delicate doll-making. He has not seen someone making dolls before, but this does strike him as extremely odd.

The game is on once more for the Rozen Maidens, the fight to become the absolute and perfect doll – “Alice”. It’s a fight to the death. Most of “Jun’s” Maidens are hesitant to partake in a cruel fight like this, but have no choice. And so the M-Field becomes the center stage once more for a battle that decides who’s junk and who’ll go on. However Jun discovers an intriguing truth about the owner of doll-store… but what that is, you better find out for yourself.

It once again is a very emotional ride – much so like the first time around. It will make laugh out loud with the jokes and humour – it will touch the very soul of your heart in some moments, it will make you cry. It is a ride for the whole family to enjoy. The score is fantastic, the voice acting is better than the first time around. The visuals are just as impressive and is most certainly something you won’t forget soon. In my opinion the sequel to Rozen Maiden gained on momentum and is equally as good, if not even better, than the first one. In other words… you ain’t getting the show yet already?! Order it on Amazon, BitTorrent it, whatever you are fancy. I don’t care how you get it – but really, pay for it. It is that good.

Rozen Maiden: Träumend
Director: Kō Matsuo
Studio: Nomad
Network: TBS
Original Run: 20 October 2005 – 5 January 2006

Lia
Doll
Gunslinger Girl OST 2

A while ago I came across the name of this show, nothing more. I thought it sounded interesting so I got my hands on it, and started watching it. Little did I know that I have downloaded one of the everlasting anime classics, a truly legendary piece of animation. As the name suggests we are in the 31st century – so 1,000 years from now. Mankind seems to have gotten the hang of space travel and seem to have expanded into space. It is just after the all-new Odyssey is launched, when Ulysses – commander of the Odyssey – dares to defy the Gods in a rescue mission to save his son and a little girl.

Usually before I start watching an anime, I get a little detail about the overall plot. And it was only at the moment when I saw the actual spaceship the show centers around, when I had a serious flashback. I had seen this show as a small kid, but I never remembered the name, neither do I remember the show having ever aired again. Maybe it will joggle your memory too when you see the Odyssey.

Unfortunately I couldn’t find a higher resolution image. It seems the ship represents some of the bleeding-edge technology of its time.

So like I said, Ulysses defies the Gods in a rescue mission on the maiden voyage of the Odyssey, kinda making the Gods a bit mad. For that, the Gods (Zeus and all those chaps) transport the ship and its crew into an unknown part of space and wipes the ship’s databanks – so that Shirka, the ship’s computer, is unable to plot a course home (utilizing methods like star location, compensate for spatial drift, etc).

Also, the Gods put all of the crew except Ulysses, Talamakus, No-No and Yumi, into some sort stasis. However they also mention that if they find the Kingdom Of Hades and make it through, Odyssey and the crew will be allowed home.

Needless to say that Ulysses decides to do everything he can to bring his fellow crewmen, his son, Yumi, and the robot No-No back home, back to Earth. Obviously the Gods are not so fond of that ever happening so they plaster the possible routes toward the Kingdom Of Hades with traps that Ulysses should fall for. The journey is filled with emotions, strange new worlds, decisions, fights and eventually they learn to trust each other.

While the show is nearly 30 years old, it still holds up pretty nicely in today’s standards. The effects are pretty superb for a TV show at the time, the Odyssey is incredibly detailed and some camera flights are just sheer impressive. The AI seems to have a personality of its own but is always loyal and obediently executes commands given to the ship.

Not only is the show a good ride for kids and adults with lots of things to learn, for us adults it is also a ride of pure nostalgia and of a time that has come to pass. If you have kids and you want to show them something of a time when you as parents were young, this is the show to let them watch. I guarantee you neither you (if you haven’t seen it yet) and your kids won’t be disappointed about the voyages of the Odyssey, into this strange new world of the Gods. In other words, this is a show that even though fairly old, you won’t forget – no matter when you see it. A timeless classic that, I hope, went down in history books of TV animation and storytelling.

Ulysses 31
Created by: Jean Chalopin, Nina Wolmark, inspired by Homer’s ‘Odysseus’
Voices of: Matt Berman, Adrian Knight, Anick Faris, Kelly Ricard, Howard Ryshpan, Vlasta Vrana
Country of origin: France, Japan
Episodes: 26
Original run: October 10, 1981 – April 3, 1982

I am a big fan of El Cazador de la Bruja, and so, similar to Madlax, I had a shirt made. It features the “Wanted!” poster which at some point is given to some bounty offices. I picked it up today and it’s pretty awesome!

So today I sat down and decided to make a tribute to the anime I recently finished watching. It occured to me that the best music and intro type that can go with it, is that of the world-famous game “Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons Of Liberty”.

It took about 13 hours to make, but I’m glad with the outcome. Also available in HD, in which it should obviously be enjoyed.

WIN or FAIL – you decide. So here goes.

Metal Gear Zero: Sons Of Liberty

One man’s uncompromizing vision of the future.

Remember Remember The 5th Of November.

I cried at this, also at the last episode… All hail Lelouch!!

Snow Patrol
Run
Final Straw