BakaSensei
January 10th, 2005, 02:05 PM
ケロロ 軍曹
Keroro Gunsou
(Sgt. Frog)
This anime is really a great example of the insanity that is humor anime. The basic premise is a small force of aliens (5) have been sent to earth as advance scouts, with the potential to gain a foothold on our planet. These aliens have incredible weapons, lifelike human “suits,” and have built an amazing underground base utilizing technology that can fold the fabrics of space and time. Unfortunately, these aliens are cute frogs and only knee high. It is also tragic that their leader, Keroro Gunsou, is more than slightly inept, neurotic, and too infatuated with constructing Gundam models to actually get anything done.
The characters and situations are great, as the troop interact with a small clique of humans, society in general, and the ghost that lives in the basement. I can’t recommend this anime enough. It’s appropriate for all ages, as is the mange currently produced by Tokyo Pop.
http://www.keroro.com/ - official Japanese site
侍７
Samurai 7
Quite simply, this is one of the most beautiful anime ever produced. The visuals, sound, and basic production aims for the lofty heights of a Miyazaki film. Combine this with the fact that it is a modern adaptation of one of the greatest films of all time (Shichinin no Samurai), and you’ve got an instant classic. If you know the film, you can literally pick out scenes and direct quotes from the original. If you’re young, don’t know the film, and just love anime, it works for you as well.
To update the plot, the settings are quite familiar to the film, but a new twist has been thrown in: mech. Mech simply refers to the style of anime that utilizes giant robots and advanced technology. Instead of getting in the way, Samurai 7uses mech to spice things up. The raiding bandits are now “nobuseri,” giant robots housing former samurai that rely on theft for a living. The character of “Kikuchiyo” is now a mechanical life form. As absurd as that sounds, it really works well. Initial thoughts are this company is trying to update this great tale for the modern Japanese children. What they’ve actually done is produced a great anime.
http://www.samurai-7.com/index.html - official Japanese site
舞HIME
Mai Hime
Mai and her brother have been accepted to a high dollar boarding school. Upon traveling to the school, they encounter a young girl brandishing a giant sword and another with what is best described as a lethal, ice shooting transformer. Caught in between the two battling, Mai discovers that she has some super powers of her own. Mai is a HIME.
This story has so many levels of interest. First, you have the premise of a number of super powered young girls called HIMEs. Each girl has a special ability, such as creating a special weapon from thin air, controlling and element, or controlling technology. Secondly, you have the backdrop of the boarding school with the usual school entrapments (studies, teen romance, etc..). There is also a strange air about the school as everyone seems to have some sort of a secret and have been enrolled for a reason. There are also auxiliary characters that know more than they’re letting on.
Part of the enjoyment of this anime is the discovering of the HIMEs. Initially, you are given the first three, but there are a total of twelve. In its own right, this is partly based upon the “Shichinin no Samurai” story as the girls are gathered for some upcoming conflict. Some of the HIME join, some don’t. Some of the HIME are not exactly interested and some are almost evil in nature. This is a diverse group.
While all of this would make for an interesting story, there are other elements added in. After a few episodes, we start to encounter the “oufans,” who are different types of giant monsters the HIME have to deal with. We also encounter an interesting type of vampire. Finally, we discover along the way that the story of the HIMEs is directly tied with the valkyries of German lore.
In retrospect, this anime has a lot of similarities to the cult classic “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” as the themes of female empowerment meet the forces of evil in the same style. This show will switch gears by interjecting an incredible monster fight in the middle of Mai preparing for her first kiss. There are also humorous moments interjected such as the oufan who loves to steal women’s undergarments to Mikoto, another HIME, having bad experiences with too much curry.
If you’re looking for a complete, thought provoking anime, Mai HIME is the place to start.
http://www.sunrise-inc.co.jp/my-hime/web/index.html - official Japanese site
Keroro Gunsou
(Sgt. Frog)
This anime is really a great example of the insanity that is humor anime. The basic premise is a small force of aliens (5) have been sent to earth as advance scouts, with the potential to gain a foothold on our planet. These aliens have incredible weapons, lifelike human “suits,” and have built an amazing underground base utilizing technology that can fold the fabrics of space and time. Unfortunately, these aliens are cute frogs and only knee high. It is also tragic that their leader, Keroro Gunsou, is more than slightly inept, neurotic, and too infatuated with constructing Gundam models to actually get anything done.
The characters and situations are great, as the troop interact with a small clique of humans, society in general, and the ghost that lives in the basement. I can’t recommend this anime enough. It’s appropriate for all ages, as is the mange currently produced by Tokyo Pop.
http://www.keroro.com/ - official Japanese site
侍７
Samurai 7
Quite simply, this is one of the most beautiful anime ever produced. The visuals, sound, and basic production aims for the lofty heights of a Miyazaki film. Combine this with the fact that it is a modern adaptation of one of the greatest films of all time (Shichinin no Samurai), and you’ve got an instant classic. If you know the film, you can literally pick out scenes and direct quotes from the original. If you’re young, don’t know the film, and just love anime, it works for you as well.
To update the plot, the settings are quite familiar to the film, but a new twist has been thrown in: mech. Mech simply refers to the style of anime that utilizes giant robots and advanced technology. Instead of getting in the way, Samurai 7uses mech to spice things up. The raiding bandits are now “nobuseri,” giant robots housing former samurai that rely on theft for a living. The character of “Kikuchiyo” is now a mechanical life form. As absurd as that sounds, it really works well. Initial thoughts are this company is trying to update this great tale for the modern Japanese children. What they’ve actually done is produced a great anime.
http://www.samurai-7.com/index.html - official Japanese site
舞HIME
Mai Hime
Mai and her brother have been accepted to a high dollar boarding school. Upon traveling to the school, they encounter a young girl brandishing a giant sword and another with what is best described as a lethal, ice shooting transformer. Caught in between the two battling, Mai discovers that she has some super powers of her own. Mai is a HIME.
This story has so many levels of interest. First, you have the premise of a number of super powered young girls called HIMEs. Each girl has a special ability, such as creating a special weapon from thin air, controlling and element, or controlling technology. Secondly, you have the backdrop of the boarding school with the usual school entrapments (studies, teen romance, etc..). There is also a strange air about the school as everyone seems to have some sort of a secret and have been enrolled for a reason. There are also auxiliary characters that know more than they’re letting on.
Part of the enjoyment of this anime is the discovering of the HIMEs. Initially, you are given the first three, but there are a total of twelve. In its own right, this is partly based upon the “Shichinin no Samurai” story as the girls are gathered for some upcoming conflict. Some of the HIME join, some don’t. Some of the HIME are not exactly interested and some are almost evil in nature. This is a diverse group.
While all of this would make for an interesting story, there are other elements added in. After a few episodes, we start to encounter the “oufans,” who are different types of giant monsters the HIME have to deal with. We also encounter an interesting type of vampire. Finally, we discover along the way that the story of the HIMEs is directly tied with the valkyries of German lore.
In retrospect, this anime has a lot of similarities to the cult classic “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” as the themes of female empowerment meet the forces of evil in the same style. This show will switch gears by interjecting an incredible monster fight in the middle of Mai preparing for her first kiss. There are also humorous moments interjected such as the oufan who loves to steal women’s undergarments to Mikoto, another HIME, having bad experiences with too much curry.
If you’re looking for a complete, thought provoking anime, Mai HIME is the place to start.
http://www.sunrise-inc.co.jp/my-hime/web/index.html - official Japanese site