Video: Guilty Crown Original Opening
Set in a futuristic Japan, the country is finally recovering from the outbreak of a deadly virus known as 'Lost Christmas', that nearly a decade ago instantaneously infected and killed thousands. In order to save the country, an organization known as 'The Antibodies', established by the UK Government, was founded and sent into Japan to purge those carrying the virus and see that such an outbreak would never happen again. Provided with safety at the cost of freedom, life in Japan has returned to normal though many still live in constant fear of 'The Antibodies' and the various groups that threaten Japans safety. When student Shu Oma one day gets caught up in a plot run by infamous terrorist group, 'Funeral Parlor', his quiet existence comes to a halt when he is granted a strange power known as 'The Power of the King'. With this new found power Shu now has the chance to change the world and save those he loves, but the cost for safety and security is high and it may be too high for Shu to bear.
Why I began this series: Guilty Crown was yet another series I'd been meaning to see. I had long ago created an 'Anime to See' list and Guilty Crown was at the top - so we began.
What I liked about the series: I loved the first half of this series. The characters were interesting, the plot was unique and the animation/visual effects were astounding. I took an early liking to Guy, the leader of Funeral Parlor, and the main protagonist Shu Oma due to their simple yet complex motives. As the series continued Guy and Shu evolved in ways I didn't think possible, though the series and both these characters fell off a cliff at the halfway point. The original concepts of Guilty Crown were also incredible. It was like nothing I had ever seen before in anime and each exciting, fast paced episode made it an easy watch for the first half of the series. But perhaps the greatest thing about Guilty Crown was its animation and visual effects. Only made a few years ago, Guilty Crown had some incredibly stunning scenes, that provided moments of true, visual beauty. The visual effects added greatly to the series dark tones while making it a visual spectacle that only made me want to continue to the next episode.
What I didn't like about the series: Regrettably, Guilty Crown suffered from some major setbacks beginning with its script. If there is one thing the series is constantly and consistently criticized for it's for the writing, and I ultimately have to agree that the script made many aspects of the series suffer tremendously. Characters especially, including personal favorites Guy and Shu, suffer from bad character writing and development with a script that at times seems thrown together and uneven. All the characters seem stuck because of this, but the one who suffers most is the series female lead, Minori. Because of her limited script and character interactions Minori throughout the series feels more like an afterthought, instead of being the main female protagonist. If Minori wasn't the holder of what is most arguably the more powerful Void in the entire series, she does not add much to the series and her overall relevance would be in question. I was anxiously and impatiently awaiting for the episode where Minori would either break out of her "plastic doll" mold or surprise me, but that sadly never happened. But having the characters struggle due to the writing was not the only issue, as the series plot also became disjointed and confusing in the second half of the series. Let's just say that the second half of the series was so bad that it brought my overall opinion of Guilty Crown down drastically, and it went from a series I would do anything to own on DVD, to a series I could definitely do without owning. The entire series as a whole was almost an exact replica of another favorite anime of mine, Code Geass, though Geass is far superior than Guilty Crown.
Guilty Crown started out a a wonder, but unfortunately ended up low on my recommendation list. While I may not have enjoyed the series more than I originally anticipated, Guilty Crown is still a series worth the watch if you're looking for a more modern, high action anime.
*For another perspective on Guilty Crown, here is a review of the series done by another anime buff known as Glass Reflection whom I follow on YouTube. This review holds all of my opinions on the series and is a review I would highly recommend watching.*
Vampire Knight (2008)
Video: Vampire Knight Original Opening
Cross Academy: A higher institute of learning that houses two class of students, The Day Class and The Night Class. Taught and separated at all times, it is the job of Disciplinary Committee Members Yuuki and Zero to see that The Day Class students are kept apart from The Night Class and that no other rules pertaining to the two classes at the academy are broken. But Yuuki and Zeros job is much more demanding than it seems, and is not only done to maintain order, but also safety. The night can be dangerous, but perhaps even more dangerous are the students of The Night Class themselves, those that are kept in the darkness: vampires.
Why I began this series: I had started Vampire Knight some time ago and stopped after episode two, as at the time I was not huge into anime. After many of Kissanime's videos were deleted, I took to Netflix to fill my anime fix and I once again came across Vampire Knight, so I decided to start all over.
What I liked about the series: What I loved about Vampire Knight was purely its supporting cast. The Night Class of Vampires were the only thing that helped me get through this original season, as these characters were not only interesting, but also funny and great foils to the series leads. I specifically took a liking to Aido, as he was the comic relief of the series and the vampire who seemed to be most "human" like.
What I didn't like about the series: Unfortunately, there was much about Vampire Knight that I did not enjoy. The plot was uneven, often leaving huge plot holes that were ultimately unexplained and left me confused. The biggest offender of this was the concept of each vampire having a specific set of powers used to fight other vampires and this idea was stressed highly in the first few episodes but sadly neglected in the end. I still do not know who has what power and why they were even talked about to begin with only to fall by the wayside. To go along with this, by the end of the season I was unaware of what had been accomplished in the series and wondered how they could pull off a second season. But my biggest issue with Vampire Knight was its male lead: Kaname Kuran. Though nice to look at, Kaname did nothing for me and after watching a few episodes I soon realized that Kaname was similar to another anime character that I'm still not particularly fond of, Ken Kaneki from Tokyo Ghoul. My main issue with Kaname is the fact that he and his personality is incredibly dry, and additionally he is very controlling when it comes to the series female lead, Yuuki. It's understandable why he is so protective, but it came across as annoying and somewhat creepy. Perhaps it was the anime itself that painted Kaname in this light, but he overall is definitely not one of my favorite characters.
While I wouldn't highly recommend Vampire Knight to many anime fans or be the biggest fan myself, it's sequel series, however, is a completely different story.
Vampire Knight: Guilty (2008)
Video: Vampire Knight - Guilty Original Opening
I decided to review Vampire Knight: Guilty separate from the original season due to one thing: the fact that I thoroughly enjoyed Vampire Knight: Guilty so much more. Season two took many of my original feelings and thoughts on the series and changed them drastically. Characters I originally hated, with the exception of one, I grew to like, and some of the questions left unanswered from season one were answered. Furthermore, the twists of the sequel caught me completely off guard and were a drastic improvement from the original seasons plot. I find it amazing that the seasons themselves are related, as in my opinion, season two far outdoes the first.
Vampires: creatures that lurk in the dark, feast on human blood and are hunted down and exterminated by the Vampire Hunters Society. Though Cross Academy houses both day and night students, it has thus far succeeded in bringing the two races together and proving that vampires and humans can peacefully coexist. But that peace is not to last. As Yuuki continues to struggle with her feelings for Kaname and the vampires, Zero faces struggles of his own which both connect and tear him apart from joining the Vampire Hunter Society. Through it all Kaname has sworn to protect Yuuki and do whatever it takes to see that she is happy, though she is merely a human living in a vampires world.
What I liked about the series: Vampire Knight: Guilty had many strengths, with its two greatest being the development of its characters and its use of plot line twists. Vampire Knight: Guilty solidified for me that the real stars of the full series were the students of the Night Class and I grew to greatly like and root for them far more than either Yuuki or Kaname. Perhaps this was because each character was given specific, individual attention that helped them to evolve both themselves and with other characters. Once again, Aido became my favorite character, followed by Zero and many of the other vampires residing at the academy. But characters cannot grow or change unless a significant change or events occurs, and Vampire Knight: Guilty thrived with this. Without giving away too many spoilers, almost all of its twists took me completely by surprise and helped me to finally pick a side over who should win Yuuki's love and affection. The series additionally had me on the edge of my seat many times or in disbelief, something the original season was not able to accomplish whatsoever.
What I didn't like about the series: Like the original season, my continuous issue is with its main leads, Kaname Kuran and this time, Yuuki Cross. Kaname, once again, was incredibly off putting and unlike the first season made me quite angry at times. I felt that many of his actions were uncalled for, and though Yuuki appears to be a weak person she is her own person and Kaname's drive to protect her comes off as clingy and childish. But this fault is not entirely Kaname's, it's Yuuki's as well. While Yuuki is involved in less action throughout the series, she does not add anything either and instead appears to just be there so Kaname can have a love interest that is out of his reach. Even when Yuuki's behavior changes later in the series, everything she does is does for the sake and gain of Kaname. Yuuki reminds me of a Disney Princess who gives up everything for the sake of a boy, and though Disney is in no way in the same league as anime, she is not a strong female lead.
Despite its leads, Vampire Knight: Guilty was an excellent series. Filled with drama and romance, Vampire Knight: Guilty is a series that I would definitely recommend watching.
Elfen Lied (2005)
Video: Elfen Lied Original Opening
Scientists have secretly been raising and studying a new form of human mutant known as a Diclonious. Born with special powers known as vectors and characterized by a pair of horns growing from their head, each Diclonious is kept under strict watch so as not to escape. But when a Diclonious named Lucy escapes the lab by using her vectors and slaughters everyone in her path, Japan's top laboratories and scientists must do all they can to apprehend her before she kills more and completely destroys mankind.
Why I began this series: I was not even considering watching Elfen Lied, until my friend had me over a week or so ago and I sat through a few episodes while he did his homework. Since the series was so short, I started it over and went completely through, and I'm still not sure how to feel about it all.
What I liked about the series: To be honest, Elfen Lied is the first series I've seen that I have just not enjoyed. I'm glad to have seen it, but most likely I will never watch it again.
What I didn't like about the series: This series had many disconnects and even a few turnoffs for me, which I haven't really experienced in anime thus far. My main issues with the series, funny enough, are in fact the things that Elfen Lied is known for: gore and nudity. I was surprised I wanted to continue watching after the first episode, as for the first ten minutes I could not believe what I was seeing. Past the opening "excitement", the violent aspects of the series became bothersome as it was only used to portray the Diclonious in a certain light and be shocking just for the purpose of being shocking. Likewise, the nudity found throughout the series was extreme and mostly uncalled for. Much of the scenes involving the nudity could have been done without it and it only appeared to be used to further shock viewers. But Elfen Lied has more problems than just these two, mainly its pacing, plot and character development. This series pacing was honestly some of the worst I've ever encountered and had I other things to do at the time of watching it, I could have done anything and still known the bare minimum of what was going on. As the episodes continued they dragged slower and slower, and I only wanted to finish the series to say that I'd seen it. Equally as bad however were the characters and overall plot of the series. All the characters felt manufactured and unapproachable, setting themselves up for little to no character development or personal gain throughout the stories plot. Elfen Lied is the first anime series to not have me pick favorites, as there was no character that stood out or remarkable in any way. Part of this problem may have to do with the writing of the series and the English Dub itself, but the characters all around suffered from beginning to end due to these elements. Surprisingly enough, the character I was most attracted to in the series was the most minor and ultimately insignificant character of the cast, Chief Kurama's Diclonious daughter, Mariko. Only used to enhance a specific plot point in the series, Mariko was the most interesting and complex character of the bunch purely because she didn't want to kill people with her vectors all the time. Mariko seemed to be the most human though she is in reality the most powerful Diclonious of all, and her emotional situation and constant torment made her stand out in the short screen time she has. Mariko, however, could not save everything - and Elfen Lied's plot was far from saving. The plot jumped around and created new twists for the sake of creating twists, which ultimately made the plot more hard and confusing to follow. With a plot that makes little sense, characters that are boring and bland, unending violence, immense nudity and an overall series that had me question "why" every five minutes, Elfen Lied had many, many struggles that it was ultimately not able to overcome.
Elfen Lied, it's not gonna work out. It's not you....OK, it's totally you.
Free! (2011)
Video: Free! Original Opening & Ending
Free - it is one of the most simple, yet complicated words. For Haru, Free takes a meaning of its own that's reflected in his one true passion: swimming. Since joining a Swim Club in Elementary School with fellow classmates Makoto, Rin and Nagisa, Haru has always felt the need to be in water. Now in hight school, Haru still tries to fill this need though he seems to have given up on swimming, despite being reunited with his childhood friends. When Nagisa one day convinces Haru they should start a Swim Club, Haru is reluctant but agrees to participate as it is yet another opportunity to be in the water. But as the Swim Club forms, what painful secrets will emerge from the depths and threaten to destroy both the club and Haru's friendships?
Why I began this series: I had read many good things about Free! and spontaneously decided to watch it all in one day - and I'm so glad I did.
What I liked about the series: Not to start this review with a pun, but Free! was such an absolutely refreshing anime series. While only available with English subtitles, Free! went above and beyond my expectations and was so good that later that evening I began watching its second season, Free: Eternal Summer. Free! had everything I could have asked for - a good plot, incredible characters, beautiful animation and a gorgeous soundtrack. A 'Slice of Life' anime, the plot of Free! was simple, though it had complex meanings hidden underneath the surface. When starting it I was worried it would be a series that purely focused on the fact that the main characters were a group of hot, buff guys who just wanted to show off, but that wasn't the case. While there is no denying that all swimmers in this series are hot and buff, using a plot that focused solely on each characters goals and relationships was incredibly brilliant and made for some great character development. The plot and characters themselves go hand in hand, making the series feel more like an everyday circumstance rather than an "anime". Each character was unique, stood out and had me cheering all the way from episode one to episode thirteen. The other three elements that made Free! an absolute joy to watch, was the Japanese voice acting, the animation and the soundtrack. I am usually not one for Subtitled animes, but this series with the original Japanese was perfection. It is hard for me to picture an English Dub for the series, though its second season has already been released with and English Dub. Each voice actor captured their character perfectly in tone and personality based on their characters appearance and back story, proving that not all Japanese voice acting in animes is the same. Along with its voice acting, was its animation - which, like everything else about Free!, was stunning. Much of the animation reminded me of My Little Monster, with some of the characters drawn similarly and having somewhat similar names, but ultimately the animation held its own and was a vision - especially is all swimming or water-involved scenes, which was a majority of the anime. And finally, the soundtrack. How the soundtrack is used and the overall compositional quality of any anime soundtrack is a make or break factor for me, and the soundtracks simplicity yet incredible moving ability added a great deal to all the episodes with its mix of techno, EDM and classical style music.
What I didn't like about the series: I honestly loved everything about this series, and can't really find any fault.
Free! - go watch it!
Free: Eternal Summer (2014)
Video - Free: Eternal Summer Original Opening & Ending
The story continues as Haru, Makoto, Nagisa and Rei all begin thinking of how life will change after graduation. With Haru and Makoto graduating at the end of the year, the Swim Club is trying to recruit new members to join while simultaneously training for prelims, regional and national swim competitions. Meanwhile, Rin has been named the new Captain of the Sumezika Swim Team and looks forward to the day where he can once again swim with Haru and his team. But as everyone prepares for the next step, what will the future hold? And has it all been worth while?
Why I began this series: After finishing the first season I knew I had to continue. For a change of pace, I decided to watch Free: Eternal Summer with the English Dub though I will most likely go back and re-watch the entire series in Sub as well.
What I liked about the series: Free: Eternal Summer addressed many of the common things high school seniors face when approaching graduation: excitement, uncertainty, freedom, fear. Free: Eternal Summer used these things as their main underline focus, alongside the series original plot line of the Swim Club continuing to advance in swimming competitions, and it totally worked. I would say that this season is the definition of 'Slice of Life Anime', taking a story with characters who are facing real life scenarios and situations that not only affect them in the moment but also in their future. It was additionally intriguing that Haru, the franchisees main protagonist of the main four, has both an apparent outward and inward struggle over what he should do come graduation - should he continue swimming or maybe go to college? Seeing Haru struggle like this was very refreshing, as in the first season we do not see his emotional side or how complex he is as a character until everything begins to sink in that he will shortly be moving on. Similarly, the other main three characters go through their own crises (all of which are very well done) and ultimately try to find a way to make every moment they have together count. This more serious tone added much to the series plot and greatly enhanced the character development, which was not lacking in the first season but not as successful as Free: Eternal Summer. With its real world application plot and its incredible characters, many of the successes found in the series original season can also be found in its second. The animation all around, especially scenes involving water, were beautiful and something that is truly one of a kind. Similarly, the soundtrack for the second season matched the first, providing an array of powerful, moving, tear-jerking tracks that not only helped to enhance the emotional turmoil of the series but were just plain stunning. Finally, there's the English Dub featuring my personal voice actor favorite J. Michael Tatum as Rei and other favorites such as Vic Mignogna as Rin, Todd Haberkorn as Haru, Johnny Yong Bosch as Makoto and Greg Ayres as Nagisa. Having seen all these voice actors is various other anime works I was thrilled to see the four of them together to play this club of characters, and I was surprised how well many of the voices fit the characters. Going from the first season subtitled to the second season in English was quite a leap, but over the first few episodes I was able to not compare the English Dub with the original Japanese. The dub is wonderful and it goes without saying that these voice actors have done some of the most incredible work in anime, and just as with their previous projects, they did not disappoint.
What I didn't like about the series: The only thing that slightly suffered in this series was its pacing. Unlike its original season which is fast paced due to the plot and the ultimate question of "can they do it?", Free: Eternal Summer was much slower in terms of pace with the only reason being to help enhance each characters personal struggle. This slower pace did not bother me, though a few episodes felt dragged out at times.
Of all the animes I've seen thus far, I can easily say that both Free! and Free: Eternal Summer are some of the best. It's more than a series of buff guys who look good both on dry land and in water, but something much deeper and truly special. I have quickly become a fan, not quite of fangirl status, but I might - in time.
