For AV actors Iwaki and Katou, it is all getting the part. When the two find themselves auditioning for a new film that may be their last big chance at success, they prepare to outdo each other in every way possible. But when they arrive and learn that that director would like them to make love to determine who will get the lead role, will something more than friendship bloom for Iwaki and Katou, and could what follows next possibly mean the end of their careers?
Why I began this series: I honestly don't know how I came to find Embracing Love, I just did.
Thoughts on the series:
For being an older anime Embracing Love had a very positive point to it, being the relationship between Iwaki and Katou. Starting out as a rivalry for a role and quickly turning into something more, watching their relationship change and grow was one of the best things about the series. Iwaki's stern personality was a great foil to Katou's young but devotional attitude towards Iwaki as well as his work, making the series different and somewhat refreshing from other yaois. Aside from this aspect however Embracing Love suffered in many major areas, beginning with elements of its plot. Certain parts of the series felt disjointed while others I did not agree with or find enjoyable, an example of this being the "experimentation" that occurs between Iwaki, Katou one fellow work member and a complete stranger. Things such as this both caught me off guard and made me very uncomfortable, making me question why they had to be done in the first place even if they were done just to prove a point. Embracing Love also suffered heavily in its animation, with its overall look appearing very standard and rough even though it was only made back in 2005. But Embracing Loves biggest misfortune was that there was no spark to it and it was easily a series I could have turned off at any time. I always try to power through a series I have started for reviewing purposes but I had to power through Embracing Love in order to do so.
With all of the other yaoi and shonen ai available today, Embracing Love ranks low on the list. A series that is worth the watch only to add to your collection, Embracing Love is a series that either will make you a fan or leave you wanting something more than what you got.
Gravitation (1999-2000)
Shuichi Shindou wants to become Japans next rock star as the lead singer of the band known as Bad Luck. Alongside his best friend Hiroshi Nakano, Shuichi dreams to becoming famous and following in the footsteps of his idol Ryuichi Sakuma, once famous for being a part of a group known as Nittle Grasper. When Shuichi one night is writing lyrics in the park for Bad Lucks new song and his paper gets swept away, he meets a man who tells him his writing is garbage and he has no talent. Persistent to know more Shuichi seeks the man out and learns that he is the famous novelist Eiri Yuki, known for his many successful romance novels. For Shuichi it soon becomes clear that his feelings for Yuki are much deeper than just a friend - but does he really know Yuki? What dark secrets is he hiding? And what does their relationship truly mean?
Why I began this series: I had stumbled across a two episode series called Gravitation: Lyrics of Lost Love and watched it on an impulsive whim. Little did I know there was a previous series, known as Gravitation, that recounted the events of Lyrics of Lost Love before that part of the story was told.
Thoughts on the series:
Gravitation may look like an average, overly frothy comedy that tries too hard on many occasions, but deep down it deals with some very serious, heavy issues. At the start I didn't care much for the series at all but as it continued I grew to like it a great deal more, with the second half of the series ultimately changing my opinions on it all together. Dealing with issues like trauma, alienation, and even gang rape, Gravitation became a series that was less about delivering laughs and more about its characters dealing with such series issues that impacted their current relationships. While the plot overall in the beginning was bland, these shining moments in the second half made the series excel greatly from its slow start and none of it would have been accomplished if it wasn't for the series characters. I honestly did not care for either of the male protagonist and main pairing of Shuichi and Yuki, though I greatly preferred Yuki by the series end, as I thought that their relationship was never really defined. Nothing became of it, and while it was apparent that they did have feelings for each other, there was never a confession of love or any sign that Yuki truly felt anything more for Shuichi. Because of this I often felt that Shuichi and Yuki were stuck in a rut that they were never really able to pull themselves out of even a tiny bit until the final episode, when parts of Yuki's past were revealed. But while I did not care for the main pair, there were two secondary characters I grew to enjoy quite a lot. The first was fellow Bad Luck band member and guitarist Hiroshi, whose personality and calmer head was a nice foil to the scatterbrained and somewhat annoying Shuichi. Additionally, Hiroshi had some of the greatest character growth throughout the series as he attempted to help Shuichi with his problems in addition to understanding his own feelings while at the same time doing all he could for their band. Though a secondary character, Hiroshi was a genuine guy who proved himself to be a true friend to Shuichi and gained my respect very quickly from the start. The other character I took an immediate liking to was K, Bad Lucks second manager. While he was a much rougher character that Hiroshi, K was often seen as Bad Lucks driving force and the reason for their initial success. His "all business" like personality and comic yet violent sense of humor was also a nice change to the series attempts at various failed comedic devices. In a way, the secondary cast saved the show in many ways and without them Gravitation may not be the beloved manga and series it still is over ten years later. Many other elements of the series seemed average, from its animation, to its overall pacing and especially its comedic timing. With all these struggles, it seemed for a while that Gravitation had no decent qualities about it besides its second half epiphany, but then came the soundtrack. A mix of various Bad Luck songs and minimal instrumental tracks the small but powerful soundtrack from Gravitation added another level of emotion to the series that the plot itself was not able to do, with some of its most simple instrumental tracks taking center stage. Along with both a catchy opening and ending faux 80's sounding theme, the soundtrack of Gravitation was one of its greatest triumphs - as should be the standard for any music anime.
Gravitation Original Soundtrack - Yuki's Theme
For many anime lovers, Gravitation was the first yaoi they ever watched. A series that while old still has a great deal of love behind it, Gravitation is a yaoi that is much calmer than many of todays yaoi favorites and focuses more on the people themselves and their feelings for one another, rather than the active relationship yaoi fans would expect.
Dagashi Kashi (2016)
Video: Dagashi Kashi Opening
Kokonotsu Shikada wants to become a manga artist, though his father Yo has other ideas. Wanting him to take over the family dagashi shop, Kokonotsu's father often tricks him into watching it while he runs off on mysterious adventures. Left alone to watch the shop Kokonotsu one day meets a young girl named Hotaru, a strange girl with a passionate love for dagashi and who highly resembles the heroine in Kokonotsu's manga drawings. When Hotaru informs them that she was sent by her father to recruit Yo for his snacking company, Yo blatantly refuses - unless Kokonotsu agrees to take over the shop. From that moment on, Hotaru vows to convince Kokonotsu to both take over his families shop, that dagashi is much more than mere candy and that Kokonotsu is worthy to be her dagashi rival.
Why I began this series: Dagashi Kashi was another winter anime I was working though as Broadcast Dubs were released week to week alongside many other winter series.
Thoughts on the series:
Though Dagashi Kashi in its entirety is one big Japanese snack food and candy sales pitch, it was still an enjoyable series. With its premise completely surrounding all types of popular Japanese snacks and foods the series had little of your standard typical "anime shonen plot", with each episode simply introducing viewers to all sorts of common treats found in Japan. But while this "plot" did not make for the most consistently entertaining matter, the series characters were a different story. The driving force of the series, the characters of Dagashi Kashi brought the series to life with a wacky and colorful cast of personalities. First was Kokonotsu, voiced by FUNimation English Dub favorite Todd Haberkorn, whose quiet and shy personality quickly made him a secondary character. The series female protagonist was quite the opposite however, as she was always loud, front and center. Hotarus wild, wacky and insane personality and love for dagashi snacks was hard to take at first, but as the series progressed she grew to become a much more lovable character who deeply cared for all things edible. Of the entire cast, only comprising of five characters in total, Hotaru was the most interesting and the only one who had me coming back week to week just to see what she had to say about this weeks snack. The supporting characters were mainly background but added to the series in their own unique ways. Kokonotsu's father more resembled Hotaru in that the two shared big personalities along with a deep love for dagashi, while both Kokonotsu's childhood friend Saya and her older brother were more quiet and reserved like Kokonotsu himself. Having these characters personalities split on two separate sides set up an interesting premise for the romance elements hinted at throughout the series, and I was very curious to see in the end whether Kokonotsu would pick his childhood friend Saya or the big chested Hotaru. With all these one sided and high strung personalities the series comedic timing was generally well done though at times it seemed hokey. The series comedic timing was quite good and helped Dagashi Kashi feel more like your standard anime rather than an anime simply filled with lots of food porn. The series additionally had a distinct and simply animation style, with its hand drawn character designs that might lead viewers to feel like the characters of Dagashi Kashi were in a manga themselves. With the exception of Hotaru, the character designs looked pretty standard, allowing the viewer to completely focus on the weeks specified snack. This was also the case with the series soundtrack and script, as the producers apparent ultimate goal was to make the viewer want and learn about Japanese treats. In the end, it's all about the dagashi.
Dagashi Kashi was enjoyable, but not a series I would necessarily recommend to every anime fan. If you're looking for a mindless, silly anime series about random foods that you could easily multi-task to, Dagashi Kashi is right up your alley.
Ajin: Demi Human (2016 - Netflix Original Series)
Videos: Ajin Opening & Ending Theme
ED - How Close You Are - Mamoru Miyano
Ajin: Demi Human (2016 - Netflix Original Series)
Videos: Ajin Opening & Ending Theme
OP - Can You Sleep at Night? - Flumpool
For thousands of years the worlds has been made up of humans - not anymore. A small percentage of the worlds population are classified at Ajins, immortal humans who are sought after by the government, scientists and other organizations. Additionally, it is said that if you capture an Ajin and hand them over you will be greatly rewarded, thus many of the Ajins remain in hiding. When young school boy Kei Nagai discovers that he is an Ajin after being struck by a truck, he flees his home in Japan for a safe refuge. Aided by his best and only friend Kaito Kei begins his long journey to find a safe haven where he will not be persecuted by humans, but are humans the ones he should truly fear?
Why I began this series: I had seen this series both on Netflix for quite some time and had seen posts from one of its English Dub cast members and the voice of protagonist Kei Nagai, Johhny Yong Bosh. When it seemed that I would not find a fourth series to add to this review and I learned that Ajin was only thirteen episodes, I watched it in its entirety in two days.
Thoughts on the series:
What does it mean to be human? What is considered a monster? Who is really in control? Only a few of the questions and concepts explored, Ajin proved itself to be on par with many other popular animes today. Being a Netflix Original Series I was skeptical at first of its validity and success, though the series itself for only having been English Dubbed and recently released in the United States only for a few months has already gained a huge fan following and high popularity among both anime and non-anime fans alike. Many things about Ajin seemed strange from the start but by the series end those things turned into the elements that made the series enjoyable, and gripping from start to finish. The first and biggest sucess found within Ajin is its uncertainty - many things are left unexplained, and when we finally get some explanation it is never fully complete. This at first greatly bothered me, both as a reviewer and a viewer, as I personally like to know everything from the start and know what I'm getting into in order to determine if I will continue through the entire series or not. This was not the case with Ajin and its uncertainty and constant questioning ended up driving me to continue on, despite its vague plot line. Even by the series end much was left unexplained and out in the open, which not only sets up Polygon Pictures for a second season (which is already in the works) but will hopefully give fans the answers and information they desperately want, even if they haven't read to manga. The series plot was also of great note, as it is one of the most interesting concepts I've ever come across. Humans who are not human, people who are not only immortal and can revive themselves but are also able to summon black ghosts that poses an incredible power of their own. From the series initial episode this concept was exceptional and I was highly interested to see where it would be taken, ultimately going somewhere I never thought it to go. Without spoiling too much of the series, Ajin (more about plot ya ya ya). Then there were Ajins characters - a small, monotone cast that proved forces to be reckoned with. First is Kei Nagai, the series main protagonist voiced by anime fan favorite voice actor Johnny Yong Bosh (Lelouch Lamperouge in Code Geass, Black Power Ranger in Power Rangers, etc.), who portrayed Kei as both incredibly serious and utterly terrified, while still being cold. This said however, Kei ended up being one of my least favorites characters of the series as he never really added anything of his own. Besides becoming Japans third Ajin Kei was merely background for other characters of much more import and interest to come to light. But while Kei may not have been the most appealing of protagonists, much of the supporting cast filled the void with performances that were unbelievable. Kei's best friend Kaito, voiced by Bryce Papenbrook (Eren in Attack on Titan, Kirito in Sword Art Online, Rin in Blue Exorcist, etc) was far more interesting than Kei, purely because of his mysterious nature. Thrown into the action rather quickly and with much of him still a mystery as he only appeared in the series three to four episodes, I wish that we had seen more of him or some backstory on him and Kei. With so many unanswered questions, I look forward to a second season where we will learn more about Kaito, why he helped Kei and if he has "abilities" of his own. But the true stars of Ajin lie with the performances of the psychotic Sato (aka Man in The Hat) and the emotionless Tosaki, voiced by anime favorite Todd Haberkorn. While the actor who voiced Sato in the English Dubbed version is unknown, his performance is simply chilling. His deep voice accompanied by his bone shaking, cold, ruthless personality easily made Sato one of the best anime villains and one I would never want to come into contact with. Foiling this performance was that of Todd Haberkorn as the mysterious man known as Tosaki. Like Kei and Kaito, much of Tosaki remains a mystery and this is his greatest quality. I gravitated early towards Tosaki not only because of his stoic, haunting and "all business" appearance, but also due to Haberkorns strong performance as a character who is more tamed and reserved. Often playing characters of high energy such as Sgt. Keroro from St. Frog, Natsu from Fairy Tale and many others, I was interested to see Haberkorn tackle a more serious character - and I was blown away. Next to Sato, Tosaki is perhaps the greatest character of the series - hands down. The most interesting part of Ajin however is its animation - completely CGI. Seeing a series made completely with CGI programming at first was a huge turnoff, but as the series progressed further it became something truly special. No other anime series can lay claim to being made completely and well done CGI animation, and Ajin is a true testiment to showing har far CGI has come in the past few years. Finally, the series soundtrack was intense and emotional, from its high action scenes to its mellow and reflecting moments. The greatest parts of this soundtrack however are its opening and ending themes (see above), each overflowing with symbolism, power and emotion that made skipping them seem like a crime.
As a Nerflix Original Series, Ajin: Demi Human is a great success. A somewhat underrated anime that has taken the anime world by storm, Ajin is a differently flavored anime that will leave you with many questions and wanting more and more.
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