Anime titles for Halloween!
Hello folks. Happy Halloween. Even if I dont live in the U.S., people celebrates halloween in various countries including mine. A perfect time for cosplays and also to watch anime, the creepy ones. Here are some titles I plan to watch this day. I find this titles suitable for this day because it has those spooky elements or just for plain fun.
Magic Knight Rayearth OVA
A three-part OVA was released in Japan a few years after the end of the manga and the TV series. The OVA was named simply Rayearth and its story was quite different from the original. The characters are all the same, but the relationships, places and events changed radically. Here we find that Hikaru, Umi and Fuu are already friends who go to the same school and will soon be leaving for high school. Suddenly, a strange fairy (which turns out to be Mokona, the creature from the original series) appears in front of them. At the same time, strange monsters and wizards start to appear in the city of Tokyo. One of them is Clef, who tries to guide the three girls in order to let them become the Magic Knights, awaken their Mashin and fight against the evil wizards from Cephiro, who are trying to invade the human world.
This title could sound odd for halloween. Magical girls battling evil in mechas. Yeah, but this differs from the TV Series. It is so dark that I find this title appealing. Imagine being trapped in a different world or dimension battling a princess whose in love of a dead man. Probably you will not find this appealing for Halloween, but hey, give it a shot at least.
Tsukihime
Tsukihime chronicles the story and life of a teenage boy named Shiki Tohno. As a young boy, Shiki suffered a life-threatening injury. As a result of this injury, Shiki became able to see “death lines” on objects and people; if Shiki traces these lines with a sharp object, the person or object that they belong to will be cleanly and easily cut. Soon after discovering this power, he is given a special pair of glasses by a mysterious woman. While wearing these glasses, Shiki cannot see the lines, and can thus live life as normal. Later, Shiki discovers that he can also see a place where the lines meet known as “points” on objects and people; these act as more immediate and powerful versions of the “lines.” Eventually, it is revealed that Shiki is not merely killing a person or destroying an object when he cuts its lines or stabs its points, but is instead annihilating the victim/object’s existence, therefore killing the victim/object as a side effect. The game plot begins during Shiki’s second year of high school. After spending eight years away from the Tohno household, which he was banished from after his injury, he moves back home following the death of the head of the Tohno family, Shiki’s father. Shiki’s sister, Akiha, assumes the responsibility of being the new head, and decides to let Shiki come back. As the story progresses, Shiki gradually discovers his mysterious past, and becomes implicated into strange adventures.
This is a good one. Vampires, an evil curse, a guy that can see the lines of death. I find this anime title perfect for Halloween.
Doomed Megalopolis
The plot concerns a spiritual battle within Tokyo during the early 20th century. In 1908, Japan is undergoing an process of industrial renovation due the influence of western ideals. Technology and politics shift the country’s emphasis away from the traditions of the past. At the same time, Yamumasa Hirai, an Onmyoji of the Tsuchimikado family, has been called from Kyoto to Tokyo in order to participate in a secret meeting concerning plans to turn Tokyo into the most commercial city in all of Japan. Unfortunately, the spirits of ancient Onmyoji are stirred by all the modernization. There is also a dark curse left by the spirit of the warlord Taira no Masakado. The two forces give life to a spiritual warrior who will take revenge upon those who have forgotten old Japan. The result is Yasunori Kato, an evil Onmyoji whose only desire is the complete destruction of Tokyo. Yamumasa Hirai and Kato Yasunori meet, and an spiritual battle is waged between the powers of Light and Dark.
Kato is really evil. You can feel the darkness surrounding him and the rest of the characters. This series is old but still can give the chills.
Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust
Charlotte, a young human girl, is abducted by Count Meier Link, a vampire nobleman who is known not to harm humans needlessly. Charlotte’s father hires D to find her and kill her humanely if she turns into a vampire. At the same time, her older brother also hires the notorious Marcus brothers for backup. The two parties (D and the Marcus brothers) race inexorably after Meier Link. However, Meier Link hires the Mutant Barbarois; a group of lethal mercenary body guards. They consist of Caroline, a shape shifter; Benge, a shadow manipulator; and Mashira, a werewolf. As the story progresses, Meier Link’s abduction turns out to be an escape by him and Charlotte, as they are lovers. Through the journey, D talks to Leila and tells her that she can have a life that someone like him could never have, the life of a normal human. They make a pact, if either one of them survives, the survivor can bring flowers to the other’s grave. Near the end of the movie, Meier Link goes with Charlotte to the Castle of Chaythe, where Countess Carmilla, Meier Link’s patron, waits for them. Carmilla, a ghost of a vampire who died long ago, reigned supreme within the Castle of Chaythe when vampires were all-powerful and unchallenged. However, her bloodlust was so strong that Count Dracula, D’s father, killed her in disgust. It turns out that D’s reasons weren’t monetary and that his main reason for preventing their marriage is to stop them from bringing another dhampir into the world. After going to the Castle of Chaythe, D fights Carmilla, who plotted to kill Charlotte and return to life. D, along with Leila, let Meier Link leave for the City of the Night with Charlotte’s body. In the final scene of the movie, D arrives at Leila’s funeral, watching from a distance. Leila’s granddaughter greets him and invites him to stay with them for a while. D declines, saying that he simply came to “repay a favor to an old friend, who feared no one would mourn her death.” The girl thanks him, and D replies by smiling gently at her, and leaves. “There, you’re not so bad,” the parasite in D’s hand comments. “You just dress bad.”
Vampires has a powerful presence in halloween and this is classic stuff for the day.
Perfect Blue
Perfect Blue is a 1997 feature-length anime film, directed by Satoshi Kon (loosely based on the novel of the same name by Yoshikazu Takeuchi). The film is a psychological thriller about Mima Kirigoe, a member of a Japanese pop-idol group called “CHAM!”, who decides to pursue her career as an actress. Some of her fans are displeased with her sudden career change, particularly the stalker named Me-Mania. As her new career proceeds, Mima’s world becomes increasingly reminiscent of the works of Alfred Hitchcock and Philip K. Dick: reality and fantasy spiral out of control, and Mima discovers that Me-Mania is the least of her troubles.
This is one of the best thrillers in anime. Satoshi Kon plays with your mind and give the chills. There are some violence and stalkings and you dont know what happens until the very end.
Of course this are some of my guilty pleasures I like to watch this Halloween and it is not THE ultimate halloween list. There are so many more and agree with all of them. If you can recommend other halloween guilty pleasures, feel free to comment.
Dragon Ball Z Live Action Trailer
October 27, 2008 by Toonleap
Filed under Live Action
Well folks, this is the real trailer of Dragon Ball. Found it on YouTube. Probably everyone already watched it. My comments after you watch the trailer.
My thoughts
They are doing the same mistakes with anime / game adaptations into doing a live action movie. I wonder why they keep doing things like this. Probably some fan with money wanted to do it, milk a franchise and exploit the popularity of the title or they just want to do crap movies. Dragon Ball probably is among those reasons. When I saw for the first time this trailer, the first thing I recalled was SUPER MARIO BROS. the Movie. They changed the whole environment of the anime series and see things like modern cars. I bet you…this cars are not made by CAPSULE CORP and reminded me of something that came out of a “Fast and the Furious” movie. Piccolo looks like that character from HELLRAISER and none of the characters looks like their anime counterparts.
Of course, it is a little bit too early to judge this movie just by looking at the trailer…but I must say it..”I have a bad feeling about this”…It seems We have a new SUPER MARIO BROS movie again in this century. The only thing I will probably will like to see is the KAMEHAMEHA thing.
Kamisama help us!
Bleach: Soul Carnival for the PSP
Bleach is back for the PSP, but this time, things are different. The new title is called Bleach: Soul Carnival and it is pretty different from previous PSP titles such as the Heat The Soul series.
This time, it looks like a 2D side scrolling game but actually there are 3D environments, the characters looks chibi (Big heads, little bodies), however, They can use their swords and spiritual power as well! Another thing I really like about the game is that it has finally an animated intro! I was missing those since Bleach II PSP game.
The Plot of the game starts during the last stage of the manga where Ichigo and friends has to rescue Orihime from the clutches of their enemies. According to Sony, the game has around 70 different characters! so if you have a favorite character, chances are that character is in it. One of the strongest points of the game is that you manage to play with different characters when you advanced thru the levels of the game. Controls for the game are very easy. Just X for jump and Square for slash, still have to find the special moves. Game is in japanese and almost all instructions for special moves are in that language so it could be a little bit difficult to perform the special moves. However, there are tutorials so you better have a good memory or pen and paper to write down.
Other nice touch of the game is that you can summon other characters during the fight scenes so for example you can play as Ichigo and summon Rukia to do a deadly team. On other levels, you can play as Ichigo or other characters. After each level, you get into Ichigo´s room where you can see your progress, listen to BGM, and other interesting facts. After each mission, theres a map where you can see the whole town and choose the next mission or play the mission you won…Certainly the game has good stuff in it.
The game package has a nice bonus…a psp strap with Ichigo fighting on it. It has some interesting functions like an alarm clock…Can you imagine Ichigo waking you up?…I tested and yeah, Ichigo says…Wake up!! You can choose between Ichigo, Rukia, Orihime and more!…It is nice but I would hate to leave my PSP turn on for the whole night.
I just cant say anything negative about the game. Just plain fun. Please dont let the chibi appearance of the characters fool you because the graphics looks quite nice and has lots of action, plus for any Bleach fan, this game is a must and a nice pace of change for the Bleach PSP game series. For more information about this game, visit the official website.
Review: Star Ocean First Departure for PSP
It has been a long wait but finally Square Enix released the english version of STAR OCEAN: FIRST DEPARTURE for the PSP.
Basically this is an improved version of the Super Famicom version, made originally by Tri-Ace. The following is from Wiki
Star Ocean, the first game in the series. It was released in 1996 for the Super Famicom and never released outside of Japan, but was unofficially translated into English through emulation by DeJap Translations. It established the series’ staples, including the futuristic setting, real-time battle system, item creation, and private actions. It takes place in 346 SD, and follows the adventures of Ratix Farrence as he searches for a cure for a sickness on his planet with the help of two Earthlings.
They added animation, cut-scenes and voices to the characters to enhance the experience. In this era of 3D CGI in most of RPG titles, fans of the original game will feel glad that this game feels like traditional 2D sprite game but with improved graphics using 3D technology . Music is very catchy in the OP and I am glad this game has a nice introduction fully animated with the original japanese vocals. The background music is another story. It is pretty average in my opinion.
The Bad thing is that unfortunately, during the gameplay, We can only hear the english cast and there are no option to switch voices for the original japanese cast…Something I really appreciated in games like Riviera: The Promised Land.
The game features real time combat and battles dont take too much time keeping the gameplay fluidly.
Animation was made by PRODUCTION I.G. so you can expect high quality in that department. With an animated opening, a catchy song and good cut-scenes, you will feel like living an anime.
For the people who played the first Star Ocean game, this is really a nice remake of the game with additional features like new characters and extended scenenarios pushing the adventure to new heights. For people who play RPGs for the first time and have a PSP, this game is good for a try, but I think they will find that the plot and the game itself are pretty old and cliched. The original game was released about 12 years ago so probably they will want to pick something more new and sophisticated.
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