Recently, there has been really strange and unexpected comebacks of older and sometimes forgotten franchises. I was browsing on Facebook and something caught my eye like a sore thumb: FLCL. I kept seeing FLCL on Facebook and didn't think much of it, until I saw it so much to the point that I had to click on the link. And to my shock, a ghost from the past had reemerged from my childhood and slapped me across the face. There was going to be new material for FLCL.
FLCL was a nostalgic series for me growing up as I remember watching it back in elementary school and rewatching as I got older. The older I got, the more I understood what the series represents, and to this day, FLCL is something to always remember as I start to reminisce my younger and more carefree days.
But besides all those sentimental emotions of mine, FLCL is coming back with 12 more episodes. 12. That's big. A series back in 2001 is having a sequel, after 15 years of just being satisfied with the ending, but at the same time yearning for more FLCL. Toonami and Production I.G. will be producing the next 2 seasons, and the show will be airing around late 2017 or early 2018. I was a little surprised about Toonami, but I don't really care. I am just glad FLCL is back.
10 Reasons Why You Should Watch Prison School
An edgy and raunchy anime, Prison School is not what it seems. This is not your typical ecchi anime.
Here are 10 reasons why you should watch Prison School.
1. Fan Service
Personally, I'm not a fan of fan service, but for those of you that love it, Prison School is the definition of fan service.
2. This is truly a man's show
If you are a heterosexual male, Prison School is the epitome of a man's dreams and fantasies.
3. Gakuto
He is the definition of a true bro. But besides that, Gakuto is the most amusing character in the show. He's the most eccentric character of the cast. His obsession of the 3 Kingdoms is comical to the point that his entire manner of speech is influenced by it. Every time he has a chance to talk by himself, the anime staff humorously plays a Chinese theme.
4. It's outrageous
Truly outrageous. No but really, Prison School presents itself a crazy situation with crazier ones.
5. Comedy
Unlike other anime that heavily use fan service, Prison School actually utilizes its fan service for the plot and the comedy.
6. Facial Expressions
The extreme facial expressions in this show are hilarious.
7. Voice acting
The energetic voices for the love of tits and asses is great.
8. The girls are crazy
All the girls are crazy in their own ways. If you want to see men dominated by the female species, this is the anime for you.
9. The chairman
The way the anime staff perfectly enacts the chairman's eccentric behaviors and speech pattern is.....great!
10. It's actually good
I admit, I had very low expectations for this series because of the amount of fan service, but this anime is very good. It will always keep you laughing and its extremely unpredictable to the point that it seems like you should always just expect the unexpected, and that really is the reason why Prison School is so interesting to watch.
Prison School is definitely worth a watch in its full-HD Blu-Ray goodness. You can actually buy the entire season onAmazon!
Prison School Season 1 Blu-Ray
10 Reasons Why You Should Watch One Punch Man
With all the hype around One Punch Man, why haven't you started watching it yet?
Here are 10 reasons why you should watch One Punch Man.
1. The Art
The character designs are so good.
2. The Animation
The animation looks crazy good to the point where you'll mistake it for a high budget animation. Particularly, fight scenes involving Genos look really fluid and exciting.
3. The Passion
Despite having a small budget, the passion and spirit of the anime staff is evident. They even admitted it themselves that what drives this anime's quality is not the money, but rather the staff giving their 110 percent.
4. The Action
Despite One Punch Man being comedy oriented, the action is so energetic and exciting. There isn't any anime series that I can think of in the recent years with blood pumping action sequences that can match up One Punch Man, with the possible exception of Hunter x Hunter.
5. The Comedy
One Punch Man is a comedy and a really funny one at that. The fact that the One Punch Man is a bizarre universe with eccentric heroes and villains gives a unique hilarity. The classic gag of One Punch Man is when Saitama easily beats an enemy that seems impossible to beat for others.
6. The varied cast of characters
I don't how, but One Punch Man seems to pull out a bunch of random characters out its glorious ass. Each of the many characters have their own unique abilities and design.
7. Not your usual hero anime
One Punch Man is not your typical hero story. In retrospect, One Punch Man actually has some deep philosophical undertones despite its silly story.
8. The voice actors of the villains
Hearing the crazy voices of these crazy villains just makes you laugh. You can tell that the voice actors are enjoying voicing the villains.
9. Easy Appeal
One Punch Man has an easy appeal for newcomers. From hype to fan service, One Punch Man is easy to recommend to someone.
10. Each episode is worth a watch
The anime is budgeted for 12 episodes. You won't require a lot of time commitment to watch these. In fact, each episode is thorough and very satisfying to watch. I find myself even re-watching episodes just because they're so great.
With some of the best animation in recent years, One Punch Man is best enjoyed in the highest quality on your couch. You can check out the Blu-Ray on Amazon here!
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part II: Battle Tendency
[JoJo's Bizarre Adventure episodes 10-26]
Genre: Action, Supernatural, Comedy, Shounen
Synopsis
The second JJBA series takes place in the 1930s, and follows the misadventures of Joseph Joestar, the grandson of Jonathan Joestar, as he fights vampires and ancient super beings with some help from a cybernetically-enhanced Nazi and an Italian man he has a lot in common with.
Preface
Alright so I admit, the first part of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Phantom Blood, made me fidget throughout most of the anime except towards the last segment of it. I mean, it's pretty understandable for Hirohiko Araki's earliest works, but Battle Tendency is guaranteed to keep you glued to your seat (or bed). David Production did an excellent job in adapting the first 2 parts of the series, even with a low budget, but what made the first part less enjoyable than the second was solely because of the source material (the manga) they had to work with. Battle Tendency is crazy, and in a good way, and it also started the flamboyant pose trend.
You never see poses like these anymore.
What more reason do you need to watch Battle Tendency? The opening itself is what sums up the show; Battle Tendency is flamboyant, crazy, and very entertaining.
Because of the low budget David Production had for Phantom Blood and Battle Tendency, I am not going to criticize anything caused by the tight budget as it's amazing what they did for a series that hadn't seen an anime adaptation in 2 decades. What do I mean flaws caused by the tight budget? Well in the video that I've shown, the animation quality isn't the best; the animation is a little rigid if you know what I mean. It's all very minor problems that require you to have a trained eye in order to spot these technical flaws, but even thenyou'll forget about them because this show is crazy entertaining.
Characters
Joseph Joestar
Joseph Joestar is a brash, rowdy trickster who hates egotistical people, but ironically is egotistical himself. He might seem stupid, but it's all a part of his plan in deceiving his opponents. Joseph is a tactical genius, which is one of the main reasons why this show is so entertaining. The complete polar opposite of his gentleman grandfather, Jonathan Joestar, this guy is wild, rude, and will always insult his opponents. This guy is my personal favorite JoJo because he's such a crazy character; everything he does is nothing you'd expect to happen. Just watching this guy is outrageously hilarious, especially his secret move.
Even Speedwagon is here.
Speedwagon is an uncle-like figure to Joseph and is respected by him, which is rare because Joseph rarely respects anyone. The man of many memes, this guy is what started the Speedwagon trend (a character is screaming out on the side about the crazy thing that's happening at the moment) and the Speedwagon Foundation. Highly lovable character because even Speedwagon agrees.
Shizaaaaa!
Caesar Zepelli is the pompous playboy who is charismatic and charming. This guy is die-hard prideful in his Italian heritage and Zepelli lineage. He is way more reserved than his fighting partner, Joseph. Saying anything more about him is a spoiler and I don't want to spoil anything about Caesar because he's a great and memorable character.
Note: You guys might wonder why I haven't wrote much about the other characters, well it's because I don't want to spoil anything and Joseph Joestar is basically the star of the show.
Animation
Despite the low budget, David Production is able to make use of what they have. The animation is colorful throughout and resembles the art style of the manga very well.
All these colors lol.
I also really like how they change the color scheme during scenes to highlight specific moments. It's a style that David Production frequently uses in the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series and I think that it's an excellent idea as it looks great.
Yup.
What got me into the entire JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series was basically this video that sums up the colorful animation style of David Production:
The moment that I saw this video, I quickly decided to watch the series.
The most beautifully animated scene is towards the end, and trust me, David Production did not skimp out on that scene at all, but I won't spoil anything because it's a Goddamn beautiful scene.
Music
Like I said about David Production and their low budget, they really know how to optimize their low budget. Most of the music that you'll hear is an intense electronic music (a lot of dubstep as well), which pretty much characterizes how energetic the show is. Here's an example a track that I'm talking about, minus the vocals.
Only during the most important or emotional scenes will they use a very beautiful operatic song or a triumphant orchestral fanfare. You know how sometimes when you're reading a tragic scene in a manga and your eyes are dryer than California, but when you watch it animated with music, a rain never stops from your eyes. The most beautiful and tragic scene of the show utilizes the most beautiful song in the soundtrack, but you should hear it for yourself when that scene happens.
Voice Acting
Now normally I wouldn't write about the voice acting in a review because people have preferences in what language they want to hear their anime in, regardless of quality. But because there was no English dub at the time of this review and a phenomenal performance from the cast, I just had to mention something about the voice acting. The voice acting is gold. You will not hear anything of this caliber in most animes out there, except for Gintama and Dragon Ball Z (Japanese dub). There is so much energy within the voices that you feel pumped up for certain scenes. Usually poor English pronunciation is cringe-worthy and sounds unprofessional, but the voice actors create magic with broken English because the energy in the voice acting is invigorating. You'll notice this in the Stardust Crusaders' anime especially. Tomokazu Sugita's voice performance perfectly captures the personality of Joseph Joestar and makes the character even more enjoyable.
Plot
The plot is a crazy thrill ride. A continuation from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part I: Phantom Blood, Battle Tendency features Jonathan Joestar's grandson, Joseph Joestar. The first fight scene that you'll witness is Joseph beating up corrupt cops in New York in order to defend a thief that just robbed him. The moment when you see Joseph demonstrate his Hamon is when you realize that this show is going to be damn good. Joseph Joestar is the show as he brings so much energy to the table because of his unorthodox battle tactics that are highly entertaining and unpredictable. This show consists of mostly action. The action scenes are great because of the unpredictable twists that come along with Joseph's calculating fighting style. So don't expect a mind-boggling plot with layers of complexities; the plot straightforwardly progresses as the mysteries of the Stone Mask are uncovered. Expect the unexpected when it comes to plot twists though. There isn't really much to criticize about the plot except for the lack of character development with 2 supporting characters, Messina and Loggins, due to a timeskip (but blame that on the source material, the manga). Any unanswered questions is resolved at the conclusion of the story. The last scene basically foreshadows Stardust Crusaders, and you're going to want to watch Stardust Crusaders after watching Battle Tendency.
Conclusion
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part II: Battle Tendency is a crazy, bizarre, flamboyant, and exciting anime that will keep you on your toes with unpredictable plot twists and fight scenes. Despite the low budget that David Production had with this anime, the technical flaws are greatly overshadowed by how great this anime is. The animation, music, and voice acting adds to the exciting and energetic tone to the anime. The ending is satisfying and you'll want to move on to the next part in the series. Overall, this anime is fantastic and I highly recommend it. If you like battle anime, what are you waiting for? You're missing out if you're not watching Battle Tendency.
Rating
9/10
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part IV: Diamond is Unbreakable
Genre: Action, Comedy, Mystery, Shounen
Synopsis
The fourth part of JJBA focuses on Josuke Higashikata, the illegitimate son of Joseph Joestar, with Jotaro Kujo and Joseph Joestar along in a supporting role. Apparently feeling that Stands needed more explanation, Araki retroactively introduces the "Bow and Arrow," an ancient artifact which causes latent Stand ability to develop in people. Apparently Enya used this artifact on Dio, which then caused Stands to develop in the Joestar bloodline as well.
Preface
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is a long-running manga franchise that has spanned for almost 3 decades. The long life span of this franchise is proof that it has high quality content, especially when certain animes spoof it.
Gintama's Stand Arc
Now personally, I've only watched part 1, 2, and most of 3 (the Stardust Crusaders anime is almost done) and read part 4 and the first portion of part 5. So far, part 4 has been my favorite because character development is one of my favorite aspects of a story. A story doesn't have to be a grandiose adventure (part 1 and 3) or a prevent-the-end-of-the-world-scenario (part 2). Unlike its predecessors, Diamond is Unbreakable has a smaller setting in a small town of Japan, which is something new and refreshing for the series after the previous stories consists of traveling the countryside in order to stop a vampire,
Phantom Blood
fighting vampires in Mexico and Italy,
Battle Tendency
and going on a journey from Japan to Egypt for the purpose of killing a vampire.
Stardust Crusaders
Characters
Josuke Higashikata has a pompadour styled in the same way as his childhood savior. He instantaneously becomes furious with rage and relentlessly attacks a person when they insult his hair. He is also the illegitimate son of Joseph Joestar and the uncle of Jotaro Kujo. Unlike the previous JoJo's, Josuke is a more varied character compared to the noble Jonathan, the trickster Joseph, and the serious Jotaro. One would say that he shares similar characteristics of all of them combined because he has been shown to fight for what's right, play mind games on his opponents, and become serious when his hair is insulted. His Stand, Crazy Diamond, has a unique ability that restores anything back to their previous physical state (this ability really creates interesting scenes, especially in the intense action sequences) and is similar to Star Platinum in the way that it attacks with a barrage of fists.
Jotaro Kujo is the stoic nephew of Josuke (but is older than him) who goes to Japan in order to find Josuke so that Joseph Joestar has an heir. He is very quiet compared to Josuke and is like a mentor to him in this story. Enemies view him as the real threat because of his Stand, Star Platinum.
Koichi Hirose is at first, a meek short boy who's life completely changes when he meets Jotaro Kujo. He's acknowledged by many characters as a person with true virtue and bravery. Initially, he seems to be a lackluster character and appears to have the character archetype of someone who always has to be saved. Despite all of this, Koichi undergoes through significant character developments throughout the story and is pivotal to his allies' victories. His character is really similar to Yugi Moto from Yu-Gi-Oh.
Review
Like I said earlier, there is no grand scheme of an adventure in this JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. The story takes place in a Japanese town called Morioh. Because it has a smaller setting compared to its predecessors, Diamond is Unbreakable has a more slice-of-life feel in the story as it focuses more on the daily activities of characters like Josuke and Koichi. The setting is so casual to the point that you can relate to Josuke and his buddies in their daily activities as high school students and their typical troubles of women, money, and family. While Stardust Crusaders only had the Stands fighting battles, Diamond is Unbreakable has a more everyday use with Stands like cooking and cosmetics.
Tonio the chef
The Stand, "Cinderella"
Diamond is Unbreakable consists of several short stories which gives it an episodic nature. Even though these short stories don't seem like they add much to the plot, they always play a role in character development. To sum it up, each short story always contributes to character growth, plot elements, and character relationships. They're like puzzle pieces that contribute to the final product. Given the slice-of-life elements and a focus on character development, the story might seem a little slow paced at first and it might turn some people off, but it's a necessary slow pace that really adds to the suspense later on. The action scenes are some of the most exhilarating battles I've seen from a manga, not just in the terms of extreme fights, but in the sense of mind games and the creative thinking involved with these fights, which really highlights Josuke's character. I swear, I can't wait to see Josuke's battles animated because they're so creatively done. Another thing to mention is that the antagonist is always changing throughout this manga; therefore there is no central antagonist (until the last half). You won't really notice it until there is a shift in tone from the slice-of-life mood to a more sinister and suspenseful plot. Trust me on this one, the last villain in Diamond is Unbreakable is worth the wait as he is one of the most satisfying enemies I've seen in the entire JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series.
Conclusion
Diamond is Unbreakable is a quirky manga with a relatable cast of characters and a setting that is more character-focused rather than action. The action scenes are top notch with high suspense and creativity, the character developments are really intricate and well-done, and the last villain is one of the best villains I've ever seen. I tried my best not to spoil anything in this manga because I want you to read it. This is the best Bizarre Adventure that I've read (I've only read/watched Parts 1-5); therefore it is a must-read.
Rating
10/10
Disagree or agree with my review? Let me know what you think in the comments below!
