Arcane Specials: Top 20 Anime Openings Of All Time

Top 20 Anime Openings Of All Time

Happy Holidays ladies, peoples, and animals! It is I, the Arcane Reviewer, here to bring you another extra treat this week. Earlier this week I gave you guys a little extra review from me to you but I still had to do something to make up for no Wednesday review right?  Well I've decided that I will give you lovely people my favorite anime openings of all time. Now before I begin I will say that this is my list so If you dislike it well I'm sorry but this is my own personal taste. But if you feel like you have a better list then please make your own and share it with me, that could be very fun to see. So now lets get this show on the road with number 20!

Number 20: "Rock The Dragon" from Dragonball Z

Ahh, nostalgia. Yes I can remember this song being played all through out my house and this song being stuck in my head for weeks. Despite that fact that DBZ has had some pretty damn good Japaneses songs none of them really hit the level of awesome and excitement that Rock The Dragon seemed to inspire. The song is just full of like 7 lyrics, people screaming, and fighting. Which fits oh so perfectly with what DBZ is all about. Plus you can't deny that guitar is just badass. Rock The Dragon, it sure as hell rocked all of us as kids.

Number 19: "Never Say Never" from Danganronpa

This opening. What can I say about this opening? Oh I know, it's so bad that it's good! Like this opening has some pretty cheesy white boy rapping then some Engrish lyrics going on. But this song just seems so beautiful in it's cheesiness that I love it so much. While the anime itself looks pretty fun and interesting to watch I can that if it's a disappointment then at least I still have this cheesy ass song to listen to. Never Say Never, it's so awful it some how becomes awesome.

Number 18: "I Wanna Be The Very Best" from Pokemon

You know damn well that you where singing this song back when you where a kid. This song single-handedly cursed all middle schools across the land back in the early 2000's and I wouldn't have it any other way. Yes this intro is so damn famous that people actually forget that Pokemon even had a Japanese intro. Don't worry folks I didn't know either. This song is not only catchy but it's genuinely really well written. The song just inspires you to do something great and soon you start wanting to be the very best at whatever the hell it is that you're doing at the time. It's that damn good. The Pokemon intro, my God are you catchy.

Number 17: "Sakura Kiss" from Ouran High School Host Club

Yes I admit it! I love Ouran and even more so I love this intro to death. Sakura Kiss is a very sweet song and I feel that it was a very cute way to open up Ouran. I would always enjoy sitting through the intro then getting ready to enjoy some Host Club and I never once got tried of listening to it. I love this song and you should too, on a side note go watch Ouran it's amazing! Sakura Kiss, I am in fact this songs love.

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Number 16: "Smile Bomb" from Yu Yu Hakusho

This song is just beautiful but only the English dub. While I have nothing against the original Japanese version I feel as though the song really made it's mark as an amazing intro when the dub was made. The singer is just great at delivering the lyrics and the song sounds so heart touching in English. It also helps that I grew up to this version so I am in fat very bias to it but hey it's my list. Smile Bomb, like it's namesake it always puts a smile on my face.

Number 15: "Freckles" from Rurouni Kenshin

This song is kind of a trick. The song starts off heavy on the guitar and you think that it's gonna be all hardcore and badass but then the lyrics kick in. Once that happens you kinda have to stop and wonder if the song changed or something. That my friends is why Freckles is so awesome. It plays with your expectations and then gives you something that you didn't really ask for but you're glad that you got it anyway. Because despite that fact that the sing is pretty cutesy and silly it's pretty damn catchy and easy to get stuck in your head. But at the same time it matches the character of Kenshin, a man who could take out an entire army of people but at the same time is just a big lovable goof. Freckles, oh how you toy with my mind.

Number 14: "Pure Pare-Do" from Toradora!

My god this song is so full of energy! This is the reason why I feel that's it's so damn good because you feel like a lot is going on in this song and the intro itself. The song is just to faced paced and fun to listen to I feel like it would be a crime for me not to put it on the list! I just have the biggest and the dumbest smile on my face ever I listen to it and I just can't get enough! The anime is pretty good to so you should also check it out. Pure Pare-Do, what the fuck does that even mean?

Number 13: "What's Up, People?!" from Death Note

This song is fucking metal! Now I do like Death Note's first opening I never felt like it ever had the same impact that the anime had. It just didn't seem to fit to me. So imagine how surprised I was when I was laying down about to watch another episode of Death Note on Adult Swim. When suddenly this song comes out of left field and just attacks me with heavy metal and dark Gothic imagery. This opening is what I felt like should have been the opening from the beginning, because not only is it just a kick ass song to play but it really does match with the fucked up imagery and dark nature that Death Note had to offer and that's why it's on the list. What's Up, People, what a pleasant surprise you were.

Number 12: "My Soul, Your Beats!" from Angel Beats!

Say what you want about the anime itself, I know I have. My Soul, Your Beats is by itself a brilliant song. The song just pulls you in thanks to the lovely piano and it just so pleasing to the ears to listen to all the way through. The animation is also a nice addition to the song as it shows off all the characters nicely and has some pretty images to show off. Really you can't go wrong with this opening as it is just pretty as a whole. My Soul, Your Beats, such a lovely song for such a lack luster anime.

Number 11: "Moonlight Densetsu" from Sailor Moon

Another nostalgia bomb heading your way! Yeah I just couldn't resist putting this song on the list because I just adore it. Even though the English dub is very nice I feel like the original Japaneses version wins by land slide here. The song just sounds mystical and almost surreal that it goes very well with the tone and style of Sailor Moon. Plus this song is a classic in the anime world so it has all of my respect. Moonlight Densetsu, charming your ears by moonlight and relaxing your senses by daylight.

Number 10: "Crossing Field" from Sword Art Online

Now while I don't really care for Sword Art Online itself I will not lie about how good it's opening is. This opening is just a joy and gets you in the mood to get into a fight......like in Skyrim or something not for real. This song can just pump you up and you're just in for the ride the whole time. Also the drums do a great job in making this song really badass! Crossing Field, if this song played every time I played the game I don't think I'd mind being stuck in it.

Number 9: "Just Communication" from Gundam Wing

When it comes to Gundam openings I feel like this is the best. I love how this song has a bit of that techno sound to it but if also assisted by great vocals and  awesome Gundam fighting in the back. Simply put this song stands out when it comes to Gundam openings and I've yet to hear a opening that can top this one. Just Communication, the definitive Gundam intro, in my opinion.

Number 8: "Disillusion" from Fate/Stay Night

Fate/Stay Night, why can't I escape you? Well at least this time I can say something good about you instead of tearing you to pieces like I normally do. As you can see Fate/Stay Night wasn't a very good anime but I can say that it have a wonderful intro song! Disillusion is the type of song I expect to here in a anime about legendary heroes from across time fighting it out. This song has such a mysterious vibe and a mystical sound that it just makes you almost sleepy but in a good way. Then it builds up to a fast and battle like tune that gets you all excited and pumped for some out of this world versus matches that you could only dream of! This intro is truly one hell of an intro. Disillusion, why couldn't you be Fate/Zero's intro song?

Number 7: "Guren No Yumiya" from Attack On Titan

Look at that! Attack On Titan's opening is on a top openings list! Shock of all shocks I did not see this coming! Yeah I know this is a obvious as hell choice but guess what? Fuck it, this song's awesome. Guren No Yumiya is just a badass song that has pretty much exploded all over the internet as well as the anime that's it's attached to. It really is just one of those songs that very anime fan can agree on in saying just how good it is. It's also nice to see that the song has a little bit of German in it seeing as how Attack On Titan takes place in Germany. Guren No Yumiya, this song well be playing while humanity wins over the Titans.....my God that sounded nerdy.

Number 6: "Duvet" from Serial Experiments Lain

Duvet is a very unique song indeed. Not only because it's the opening to one of the most interesting and surreal anime that has ever been made but that fact that it's actually in English. Yeah the original to Lain is in English, the song hasn't been translated at all. I feel like this fits right into the almost alien like setting the Lain finds herself in through out the whole anime. The song's lyrics also have some pretty heavy meanings in them and they seem to reflect off of Lain herself so well. You feel just as lost as she is as this song goes along and it's just a beauty to listen to. Duvet, a surreal intro for a surreal anime. Would you have any other way?

Number 5: "Lilium" from Elfen Lied

If there was any opening that I feel earned it's spot on this list from just one listen alone it's Lilium. With Elfen Lied being as crazy popular as it is and it being my personal favorite anime of all time I feel like it would be criminal not to put this high up on the list. The song is just so beautiful to listen to that it can bring tears to my eyes and the vocals and violins are just to die for. You also have the art in the opening which is modified versions of actual paintings which fits perfectly because this song and opening are just that, art. Lilium, truly a modern among anime openings.

Number 4: "H.T." from Trigun

Oh yeah baby! This is the be all end all of guitar rifts! H.T. is the song that created air guitar and it is still unmatched even to this day when it comes to guitars in anime openings. Simply put it this song is just so sweet you'll find yourself trying to copy the notes, it's that good. It also fit well with the wild and hectic feeling and tone Trigun has and it's just so damn fun to sit through this then watch a damn fine episode afterwards. H.T., excuse me folks I think I have some air guitaring to do.

Number 3: "Tank" from Cowboy Bebop

Okay 3, 2, 1 here's why Tank is awesome. Sorry I tried to sound as cool as that dude in the song but yeah Tank is just plane cool. With a show like Bebop that pays so much tribute western movies and music it only seems right to have an intro that not only pay tribute to jazz music but also to the Bond films. Seriously you can't watch this intro and say it doesn't look like a Bond film intro. To this day I don't think that any intro has hit the same level of cool that Bebop hit but that in of itself a very hard thing to do. That being said there are two entries here that I fell have hit that same level of quality that Bebop has, so how about we move on huh? Tank, see you in space cowboy.

Number 2: "Cruel Angel Thesis" from Neon Genesis Evangelion

This opening right here is not only catchy but it really get's you in the mood to watch Eva! Even the half of the show where everyone has lost their minds........yeah. But in all seriousness this song really is a classic when it comes to intros. The fits really well with what's going on while at the same time being really energetic about watching a bunch of depress people on the verge of killing themselves..........wow. Eva's fucked up. Cruel Angel Thesis, a catchy song for a depressing as hell anime.......I think I need help.

Number 1: "My Dearest" from Guilty Crown

This ladies, peoples, and animals is the highest point for an anime intro. Now while I did say that Guilty Crown it self was a bit of a crappy anime I have to say that this song is just so beautiful that I couldn't in good conscious put it anywhere else on this list but the number one spot. This song just oozes out all the makings of a great intro. Beautiful animation, amazing music, heart touching lyrics, and oh my God the drums. The drums are just so outstanding that it almost makes the whole song. But you also have the violins, guitar, and piano that just pushes this song's quality even higher that is breaks through the damn atmosphere and sitting on a thrown on the moon, waiting for another anime opening to even try to reach it's level of awesome! Yes folks I believe that this song is that damn good. I've yet to see any other anime opening that can match this one and trust me, I've seen a lot of anime. My Dearest, my number one favorite anime opening of all time.

I hope all of you guys enjoyed this list and it was a blast making it for you. Happy Holidays and have a great New Years. Now if you don't mind I have some wonderful songs to listen too.

Side Note: Just in case you're wondering. I will be reviewing Fate/Zero next week, I promise.

Arcane Reviews: Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works

Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works

Hello ladies, peoples, and animals it is I, the Arcane Reviewer! Happy holidays to all of you and I hope you guys enjoy today's early and special review. I know it's season of giving so why not give you peoples a little something extra! So let us see what I'm going to review tonight......mother fucker. So now I give you ladies, peoples, and animals. My review for Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works. Someone kill me.

Story:

So if you read my Fate/Stay Night review then it's basically the same set up here. But instead this story focuses on the Unlimited Blade Works route from the original visual novel. So in the movie we see more attention on Rin and Archer. Also we see a huge part of the movie given to both Shirou and Archer as a lot of the movie is given to the two to develop there relationship to each other. Same thing goes for Shirou and Rin as the route was about the two of them as well. Now while Unlimited Blade Works is my second favorite route in the visual novel you also have a lot of crap to do in that said route, something that the movie couldn't do well. At all. The movies tries to tell the whole story of Unlimited Blade Works while at the same time cutting out a lot from the story and also trying to recap what's going on so far so no ones lost and try to close the story as a whole. So the movie is a complete mess and everything is so rushed it's not even funny. This movie is just to cluttered together and is't just painful to sit through.

Animation:

Well here's something good I can say about the film. The film has very good animation and it looks very nice. While I wasn't too crazy about the shows animation I can say that the movie is a big upgrade. All the fight scenes gorgeous to watch and the film has one of the best fight scenes I've seen in anime. On a side note movement in the movie seems very fluent and seemed to move naturally. Even scenes where characters are doing a whole lot of nothing look pretty damn good. So animation here gets a pass in my book.

Music:

Music here is just alright. While some tracks were really cool and added to the weight of the scene some tracks where pretty forgetful at best. Not bad though because the film could have done worse when it comes to music so I'll give them some credit here. Music just barely passes in this category.

Characters:

This is where the movie fails. Hard. Shirou and Rin are not very interesting characters and can get very annoying at points in the movie. They go around the film and just have almost nothing to do and just stick their thumbs up their ass. We also have characters that I would love to see more of get next to no screen time at all. Poor Saber is almost not even a character through out the whole film. The only saving grace is three characters. Shinji, Archer, and Gilgamesh. These characters just steal the whole film that it made me sad that they didn't have more screen time. So only three characters are good in a movie that has a huge cast of characters. Yeah that's good writing right?

Nitpicks:

Well what can I say? I know what I can say here that really bothered me, the complete lack a shits given during the whole movie. I feel like there wasn't any effort put into the film aside from the animation. The characters aren't given any real time to develop and the story rushes it's self so badly that you feel that there is a lot missing. We also have an ungodly amount of pointless deaths all through out the film. Characters die in this film just because they can die and it's freaking ridiculous.

Overall:

In conclusion I say don't watch this film. It offers nothing at all. If you've seen the anime and you liked it I guess you might enjoy this to some extent. But if you already read the visual novel then you should just ignore this like the plague. But if you haven't seen the anime or played the visual novel you should just play the visual novel. Because this films gives you nothing compared to what the visual novel can give you.

Arcane Reviews gives Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works a 2 out of 10

Hope you guys enjoyed this little extra review and I hope you guys have a wonder holiday and a great New Years. See you guys next time. 

Arcane Reviews: Fate/Stay Night

Fate/Stay Night

Hello ladies, peoples, and animals it is I, the Arcane Reviewer! Here to bring you a new anime review. As you might not know, unless you stalk me and if you do please stop. I am a fan of the Type-Moon universe. Type-Moon is a gaming company that has produced very popular visual novels. Novels such as Kara no Kyoukai, Tsukihime, and Fate/Stay Night. With the major popularity of these titles and well these titles being visual novels to begin with of course they would adapt them into anime. So here today I'll review they're most popular novel Fate/Stay Night. Is it any good? Well let's find out.

Story:

The story of Fate/Stay Night is a pretty badass one really. Very few years there is a "war" that is taken place called The Holy Grail War! Int this war 7 mages are chosen to be the master of 7 servants. The servants are epic heroes from all through time and from legend like King Aurther and Hercules. The winners of the Holy Grail War will be granted any wish that they desire. We end up meeting our hero Shirou Emiya. A high school student who really has no talent what's so ever but ends up in the Holy Grail Wars. He becomes the master of Saber, a beautiful and tough as nails warrior who is set on winning the Holy Grail War. Now just from the premises alone I was already won over and to be honest the show does start off pretty good. But unfortunately I can't have nice things so when ever the anime started to get really good it kinda took a noise dive into crap. The anime thinks that the huge battles between heroes from all across time and legend and instead decides to focus in on Shirou and his stupid teacher and boring friend Sakura. The anime has a nasty habit to draw focus away from the fights to instead do some stupid melodrama and it can get really frustrating. However I will say that when ever the anime starts to put attention on the story of the servants and the masters then it starts to get really good. But also the big climax at the end is pretty predictable. Especially if you accidentally watched Fate/Zero before watching Fate/Stay Night. Yeah, my bad.

Animation:

Animation here is pretty good....at points. Whenever the anime decides to show off their pretty fight senses the animation does look very good. But when it doesn't have any cool fight senses to show off nothing really happens. The animation really does look nice but not a lot a praised can be given due to all the nothing that happens. But I guess it better then having ugly animation so I'll be kind to this show and say that it visually looks very nice.

Music:

The soundtrack for this show can be described in one word. Awesome. While I feel that the music isn't super amazing and super legendary but it does get the job done. Fight senses get an extra boost in excitement due to the music that helps makes it more awesome. Also you get tracks that have a very slow and slightly creepy sound to it. These track help put a emphasis on the important moments in the anime. Also the first opening for the anime is freaking great. The opening has such a cold of kinda unfeeling tone to it and it's such an awesome intro.

Characters:
Oh boy these characters. This is not a very good cast of characters, in fact a lot of the interesting characters don't get a lot of screen time and they give all of it to the characters that aren't very fun to watch. Shirou is a bit of an idiot in the anime and he can get really fucking annoying. You also have Rin Tohsaka who is not as bad as Shirou but is very much just as annoying. She's a typical tsundere and she has a little bit of depth but not much to wipe the slate of stupid she also inputs into the anime. Saber however is a badass and is a godsend to the whole anime. She has an interesting backstory and she has an actual personality to her as well. It's always fun to watch her in the show and she's become one of my favorite characters. The rest are not even worth mentioning because they either don't have a lot of time to shine or they're fucking annoying to watch. Well except Illya, she's fun to watch. Why? Fuck if I know but I loved her.

Nitpicks:
Goddamn this anime has a lot of things that I really didn't like. Aside from everything that I named up above the main thing that really bothered me about this anime is just how much they got wrong from the original visual novel. They cut so much from the novel and try to cram so much of the Fate route and a little bit of pieces from the Unlimited Blade Works route all at the same damn time! This was really awful to watch and it was obvious that they couldn't fit all of the story in here. Also like I said before the characters made this show hard to watch mainly because a lot of screen time is given to people I don't care about so in return I really didn't care about these sense that seem to take up so much space in the anime.

Overall:
To some up this review I guess I can say is that Fate/Stay Night was a real let down. It could of done so many things right but instead it was just a crappy show in the end. The on e good thing I can say about it was that the love story that centers around Shirou and Saber was actually done pretty well. Yeah I was actually surprised how natural the relationship between the two actually felt. Sadly though this does not do much to save the show as a whole.

Arcane Reviews gives Fate/Stay Night a 5.5 out of 10.

You know I just really wished that this could have been so much better. Like have it center all around the Holy Grail War and have all the characters have a good amount of screen time. Yeah so that you don't really know which is the main character and it actually feels like a real war where you can't tell what the outcome will be. You know what, I think an anime like that in the Fate universe that does exist. What was it called though? Oh yeah.

Next Review:

   

    

      

Arcane Reviews: Angel Beats!

Angel Beats!

Hello ladies, poeples, and animals it is I, the Arcane Reviewer! Now some of you my not know this but I am a huge sucker for a nice romantic anime. Though they are a pain to find sometimes once in a while you'll end up finding an anime with a romantic plot that just melts your heart and makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside! Yeah this weeks anime isn't like that at all. While it tries to be all warm and fuzzy it's a little bit more of lost and unbalanced. So enough beating around the bush it's time for my review of Angel Beats! Let's rock!

Story:

The story follows our main character Yuzuru Otonashi, a young man who finds himself in the middle of a high school and he can't remember who he is, what he's doing there, or even how he got there. He soon figures out that he actually dead. Yup he's dead and the whole high school is a purgatory like space. Why a high school? Well because in Japan nothing exists after high school! But anyway it's in this new high school that he ends up meeting a young girl named Yuri Nakamura. A young girl who's in charge of the SSS Battlefront, a group of teens who have not accepted the fact that they're dead so now they stand up to fight God himself. While joining them he also meets another young woman who's SSS Battlefront's biggest enemy. Her name is Kanade Tachibana, she is an angel so in return she's SSS Battlefront's sworn enemy but a part of Otonashi doesn't see her that way and instead want to know her more. So with all of this set up Angel Beats has a lot of stuff going on for it. Not only does it has a fairly original story but it also has a huge cast of characters. So with all this story to cover and all of these characters to balance out the show has a lot to juggle, unfortunately the anime can't juggle all of this stuff due to a very shot time span. The show's only 13 episodes long and you can just feel how rushed it can be at points, the show will start an episode at an average pace but then it'll rush along and then it has to handle the drama aspect. The episodes that aren't completely drama focused will try to shoehorn the drama and it feels completely out of place. You can't just show me a guy being crushed in a funny fashion then have the main character talk about how her siblings murdered just 7 minutes afterwards. While some episodes did stand out for being either completely funny all the way through or being completely dramatic all the way through there wasn't enough of them which made the anime come off as bipolar and inconsistent.

Animation:

On the technical side of things this show looks good and nothing else really. The animation didn't really do a lot for me but that doesn't mean it was bad it was just really bland. Characters don't really have anything that stands out besides the 4 main characters odd hair colors. While I'll say that the animation in the fight scenes looked pretty damn good nothing else grabbed my attention. So animation is pretty if uninspired.

Music:

Music here is kind of a mixed bag. You have tracks in the song that do stand out as well as the opening to the anime. But aside from those few tracks nothing really was memorable like at all. I am not even kidding when I tell you that I can't remember any of the songs from Angel Beats, it was that bland. So music just okay here but once again uninspired.

Characters:

Now on the the main characters of this shin dig......there also pretty bland as well. Otonashi is pretty much the typical straight man to all of the crazy shit that the rest of the cast does in the show. He also has no real personality to speak of he's just the guy that thinks everybody is crazy and that's pretty much it. Both Kanade and Yuri are just clones from much better characters from much better anime. Yuri is a clone of Haruhi Suzumiya and Kanade is a clone of Rei Ayanami. Though I will give Yuri some credit as she does have more of a personality then the other two main characters but she doesn't seem to have a same amount of charm as Haruhi. But where the main characters fail the side characters succeed! Like I said the cast of Angel Beats is pretty damn big so it's nice to see that a lot of them actually get a good amount of screen time. They make the show freaking hilarious at points and are just so much fun to watch. Also when ever the show decides to give them a episode completely focused on the the show gets really good and it's awesome! In fact two side characters get a love story and I found myself more invested with that then the main love story! So yeah main characters are ass while the said characters kick ass.

Nitpicks:

Well it's pretty clear here that Angel Beats has quite a few things that I didn't like about it. In fact the only saving grace of this show is the side characters and the love story that happens with two of the side characters. This is a good thing and a bad thing because if you make a show with the main characters falling in love with each other a big part of the story and I don't really care about them. That's not very good writing. Also the ending has a huge gaping plot hole that just about breaks the whole story and instead of making me cry like it made everyone else it just made my break down the show for having a stupid ending.

Overall:

Well I guess I should wrap things up here so here we go. Is Angel Beast bad? Yes and no. Angel Beats has a lot of bad writing and uninteresting main characters to pretty much make the show bad but at the same time the rest of the cast just make everything so damn funny that I enjoyed myself all the way through. So I guess I can say that this anime isn't for everyone but I had some fun watching it so I recommend it.

Arcane Reviews gives Angel Beats a 6.5 out of 10.                        

Arcane Reviews: Guilty Crown

Guilty Crown

Hello ladies, peoples, and animals it is I, the Arcane Reviewer! Fear not I am here to bring you a new review for all of you. Oh boy this is gonna be fun. To jump from the awesome that was Madoka Magica to the ahh......potential that is this weeks review which the anime that hit 2011 with minimal storm. I bring you the Guilty Crown review, enjoy.

Story:

Guilty Crown takes place in a future where Japan needs help from the U.N. due to a event which cut down Japan's population. This even t is called Lost Christmas and the results were a new type of virus called the Apocalypse Virus, a sickness that give the infected crystal like skin which consumes their whole body. It is in this future that we meet our main character Shu Ouma, a 17 year high school student who is just pretty much moving through the motions of life with no real purpose. This all changes when he meets Inori Yuzuriha, a beautiful but mysterious young women who is most known for in this world for making YouTube like music videos. No I'm not kidding. Inori ends up pulling Shu into the world of  Funeral Parlor (Or the Undertakers if you watch the Japanese dub) a rebellion organization that is fighting agents the dictator like government of this new Japan. During this war between the two is where Shu gets a hold of the Guilty Crown, a weapon that allows the user to pull the Void out of a person and use as a weapon. Voids are pretty much the object representation of that person's personality and feelings. So with all the pieces in place and a pretty interesting plot you'd think that Guilty Crown would be a collection of pure badass and enjoyment right? Well no, in fact Guilty Crown is kinda shit in the story apartment. The story in the first 12 episodes were actually really fucking good! I was having so much fun with and I couldn't get enough of it too. But then they decided to drop the ball really, really, really fucking hard for the last 10 episodes. The story itself started to fall apart and the quality of the anime's writing also started to suffer a lot. I really feel like the writers after they wrote first half of this show they just looked at each other and said "Fuuuuuck I'm all out of ideas." You can really see the huge drop later in the show and it kinda broke my heart watching it. This show that I was loving is just turning to crap! So yeah story isn't great here. Starts out strong but then falls flat on it's ass.

Animation:

Holy shit this show looks gooooooood! Sorry about that but yeah this anime looks really damn good. Production I.G is behind this one and I'll be damned if they didn't give it their all for this one. The animation is top notch here and it never drops at all for all 22 episodes. Simple little things like background and scenery is given full attention to detail and all the fight scenes in here all just awesome to watch! Just about everything in this anime is given a lot of detail and handled with care and I love it all. So even if the story is shit at least the anime looks pretty.

Music:

Well what can I say? This soundtrack is amazing! From full orchestral themes to full blown J-pop tracks made for the show and including one of the best intros to an anime that I've seen in a long time. So as you can guess the music here is once again top notch. Tracks were mainly used for the fight scenes and they fit pretty damn well. All orchestral themes are used to emphasize the drama of the moment and I'll be damned if it didn't actually made said moments more important or just more suspenseful. So once again music saves Guilty Crown here.

Characters:

Now this here is pretty much a mixed bag. While you have some pretty damn good characters that actually get full and complete character arcs like Shu, Inori, Yhiro, Ayase, and Hare. But then you get characters that start off good but then became irrelevant or had their characters completely rewritten for no reason what so ever like Gai, Arisa, Daryl, and Haruka. The anime does build up some good characters but once again after episode 12 a lot of them get completely new personalities or hell just aren't in the show at all afterwards. Then you have characters change all motivation then what was established in the earlier episodes because.....I don't really fucking know except for the fact that the writers had no fucking clue what to do with these people so they just went fuck all lets make them do this now with no explanation what so ever. Which is shitty fucking writing! 

Nitpicks (Warning: Spoilers Ahead!!!):

What didn't I like about this anime? Well aside from the drop in quality in the later half of the show, the complete disregard of making a new climax for the last episode and just literally redoing the climax in episode 12, and the awful rewriting of characters! The thing that I really fucking hated about this show is the ending. The ending was just fucking awful. The shows ends (Mind you after redoing the climax in episode 12) with Shu not only going blind but guess what? Inori dies for some unexplained reason as well! Yup the show has a sad ending just for the sake ofn having a sad ending and it didn't even earn that sad ending at all. Though out the later half of the show, almost every character ends up getting killed. So many characters die that it realloy becomes a normal thing and ends up losing all impact that a death should have. Now this is not to say that Inori's death wasn't sad but I felt like it lacked all the emotional depth that it should have because you've seen so many main characters die you can guess that Inori isn't going to get out lucky by the end of this show. Not only that but me being the romantic that I am I find it very fucked up to not only to kill the secondary main character who was also the main love interest but you make the main character fucking blind and alone only ever able to see the woman he loves in the music she left behind for him. Yeah no show you can go fuck yourself.

Overall:

To ends this review I guess I can say that Guilty Crown is just a big disappointment. While the animation and music was great and the first half of the show being amazing I can't really say the same for the second half. I do not recommend this anime to anyone but I feel like I have to point out that the first 12 episodes I do recommend just not the last 10. I still get some pleasure out of this show from my own personal stand point but as a critic I have to say this show is bad.

Arcane Reviewer gives Guilty Crown a 5 out of 10.          

Arcane Reviews: Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Hello ladies, peolpes, and animals it is I, the Arcane Reviewer! Here to bring you another anime review. Well I'd be lying if I didn't say that I have been looking forward to this review. An anime that has taken people by storm when if first released in Japan and an anime which is a brilliant deconstruction of the magical girl genre of anime. I bring you my review of, Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Let get started shall we?

Story:

The story centers around a young girl named Madoka who is relatively a normal girl. She has a loving family and two very good friends as well. Everything changes though when a new student named Homura Akemi comes to her school and she seems to know Madoka in some strange way. Later on she meets Kyubey, a cat like creature who ends up offering Madoka and her friend Sayaka to become magical girls. But little do they know, a dark destiny awaits young Madoka and her friends. A destiny that will change Madoka and all of her loved ones, forever. Madoka Magica's story is truly a very amazing thing to see. The story is a deconstruction of the magical girl anime as a whole. It takes the normal lay out of what happens in magical girl anime and just shows all of the dark reality that comes with it. This show does not pull any punches when it happens either and the story is more character focused as well. Sure we get surprisingly well animated action scenes but that's not really the point of the show. You get the real meat and the real action from all the dialog and character interaction we see. This my friends is why the story is without a doubt the best part of the show.

Animation:

Production wise this show looks great. Don't let the art style fool you, just because they have all this cutesy light hearted art style and character design doesn't mean that they don't get dark and heavy on the visuals for the story. The animation just looks so freaking great all throughout the show and it never drops quality through the whole 12 episodes. The show starts off fun and happy like what you would expect from a magical girl anime but then when the show gets fucked up, the animated does a damn good job to make everything seem even darker. Studio Shaft does a great job here and make Madoka a wonder for the eyes.

Music:

Oh my fucking god! The music......the music!!! The music in this show is just plan out amazing. I absolutely love the music in this show and the music just goes hand and hand so well with every event that happens in the show. The music just pulls all of the heart strings to just make you feel all of the ways of emotions that the show throws at you. Also you get a great amount of badass battle music when a fight goes down! All of the music in this show is just oh so wonderful to listen to and I love it all.

Characters:

If I could wish for anything to see in all other anime that I watch, I wish that all anime that I see in the future will have such a strong and fleshed out development as all of the characters in this anime. The characters in Madoka are the strongest part of the show. They all get enough development and there personalities and back stories are given so much care and attention to that I just couldn't believe that I could get so invested into a character this much in only 12 episodes. The character that I feel is the true start of the show is Homura Akemi. She's just a completely well made, well developed, well thought-out character that I just fell in love with her. Her back story is also amazing too! Without giving away any spoilers I'll just say that after watching her back story, the show left me in tears. That's how damn good she is.

Nitpicks:

Once again I find myself in a awkward position because it would be a sin if I say anything bad. I loved everything about this show so much that I couldn't find anything that I disliked. So once again I suggest that we move on to the overall section.

Overall:

If it wasn't obvious from this whole review I guess I'll just say it here. I fucking love Madoka Magica. This is one of the best anime I have seen and it stand with some of my favorites like Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, Elfen Lied, and Evangelion. I highly recommend this animes to anyone who's a fan of anime. It's an amazing treat and it's one of my favorites.

Arcane Reviewer gives Puella Magi Madoka Magica a 10 out of 10.    

Arcane Reviews: Serial Experiments Lain

Serial Experiments Lain

Hello ladies, peoples, and animals it is I, the Arcane Reviewer, here to bring you a brand new anime review. Oh boy I've got a special treat for you guys. Considered an anime classic I bring you, Serial Experiments Lain. An anime that I feel has won a special place in my heart. But enough of all that I think I should tell you just what Lain's all about.

Story:

Lain takes place in a cyber punk future in which mankind has the Wired. What the Wired is basically is the internet but on steroids. The Wired is such a huge part of everyone's life that it pretty much is a whole world in of it's own which is crazy at times. In this cyber punk world we see a high school girl ends up jumping off a building and no one knows why. Later we're introduced to Lain, a very socially awkward who is so disconnected from society that she doesn't even know how to work her computer. She learns from her fellow classmates about the young girl's suicide and finds out that everyone's been getting emails from said dead girl. Finding this very odd, Lain jumps on her computer for pretty much the first time ever she actually gets in contact with the dead girl. She soon figures out that the reason for her suicide was because she's found a God in the Wired. This all leads Lain into a spiral of deep madness and cyber punk goodness. Lain's story is really a gem of a story, really because it doesn't follow the conventional means of story telling. Lain takes the the linear way to tell a story and plays with it to the point of a story that feels like you're missing something but you don't know what. Like while a story goes into a straight line with all pieces falling into place nicely, Lain goes into the line but decides to rip large pieces of that line out and leaves you wondering where the pieces are. It's a show that you need to pay attention to because you'll be lost if you don't. It's a really interesting story that if you give it time you'll be sucked into the story but you will be very lost until you put the pieces in yourself.

Animation:

The animation here is pretty freaking good. Mind you I have the remastered version that FUNimation re-released on blu-ray so of course it's gonna look good. But that being said the animation style is very gritty and unpolished but this look works for the mood that the show gives across. The show having a very dark and very unclear mood that the show gives across so in response the style goes hand in hand with the mood. It was a very nice thing to see but I will say that it's pretty ugly at times. While I understood why it looked like this I do feel that some people will be turned off by the it because the show was in made in the 90's. So no matter how much you clean up animation it will always looked aged and Lain's animations has aged. While it hasn't aged badly I still feel as though people that are too used to the animation of today they might not like this animation.

Music:

Now this is gonna be a little tricky of a topic to talk about here. The reason being that Lain has very little music that it's almost pointless for me to talk about. Now the show does have music that really isn't anything to talk about in full length. Now the music that is presented in the show does match the feeling and the mood of the scene and the overall mood of the show I have nothing to say that isn't note worthy. So music is not Lain's biggest strength but I don't think that's a bad thing.

Characters:

This is also a tricky thing to talk about as well. The characters are very hard to talk about here but not because of little scene time or even because they're bad but because they don't have one particular character trait or even one character type. The show will introduced a character and that character might changed their personality by the second episode. Lain is the only real clear cut character as well as her friend Alice and at the same time these two go through so much crap and mindfuckery that by the end of the show they're completely different characters. I do fell that the characters are great because they're just as lost as you are while watching but they do have a better understanding of what happening but not by much. So I feel that the characters are great but they are a bit out there and might not be easy to grasp at first.

Nitpicks:

This is going to be a tough one for me. I really like this show but to be completely honest the biggest nitpick here is that the show is too weird and misleading for it's own good. The show is not and I mean is not for casual viewers, you be lost and you will want to turn off the T.V. Also the voice acting is just okay, In thought is represented the very lost feeling of the show I do think that people will just see it as the voice actors just sucking at their jobs. The show is a bit of a mess of a show and it will turn poeple off which hurts the show a lot.

Overall:

To end my review I will say this, I love this show but not everyone will. If you're a person who loves anime that has deep philosophical and is very open ended with the way it portrays it's story telling and the way we see society. The show tells a very interesting story that brings up a lot of meaningful questions that I feel still hold up today, which is why I love it so much. But for everyone else I have to say you should pass on this one. It's a show that demands you're attentions or else it will leave you in the dust.

Arcane Reviewer gives Serial Experiments Lain a 7.5 out of 10.

Arcane Reviews: Trigun

Trigun

Hello ladies, peoples, and animals it is I, the Arcane Reviewer here to bring you another anime review. Now I feel as though that I have enough experience to review an anime classic........okay maybe I don't but I feel as though I can probably handle one of the most beloved anime of all time. I am talking of course of Trigun. So can this anime stand the test of time? Well lets find out.

Story:

The story of Trigun takes place on the fictional planet of Gunsmoke where we follow the two lovable business ladies Meryl and Milly as they are sent on a business trip to come in contact with the Human Typhoon Vash the Stampede. A man who's so dangerous and merciless it's said that he took out a whole city full of people all by himself. Vash is so dangerous that he has a bounty on his head that's almost unheard of, sixty billion double dollars! Why they're called double dollars is something that I always wanted to know but at last it's never explained. But anyway, Vash is a monster of a man......or so Meryl and Milly though. It turns out that Vash is nothing more then a loud mouth, doughnut eating, womanizing, idiot.The is so much of an idiot he actually forgot that his gun was empty........while being held at gun point. So we follow Vash, Meryl, and Milly as they go on little adventures all through out the desert covered land of Gunsmoke. Now I know this story doesn't seem like much at first glance but trust me, once the ball starts rolling it will not stop. The anime starts out very light hearted and fun! Then it takes a nose dive down into some really dark stuff. Now I won't go any farther as to not spoil the rest of the story but i will say that it not only gets intense but it gets really emotional.

Animation:
The animation it actually quite good here. Now I will admit that this show is pretty old so it might seem a little weird to people who are used to the really slick and clean animation of today. But all that being said I love the the animation in this show. Everything moves very nicely and while the show may reuse old animation from time to time they never really over did it with the reusing it. I felt as though the whole show was very well animated and does indeed stand the test of time by still looking very good even to this day.

Music:
The music from Trigun is pretty awesome. The music in this show is actually very different from what you'll see in other anime. The music is very western and comprises of guitar and drums, all of the music is really sets the atmosphere perfectly to the whole setting of the anime. Also it has one of the best opening theme songs in anime history. The whole theme is just played in guitar with drums and bass. No lyrics are needed here my friends this opening is just so damn awesome the thought of lyrics in this intro would just ruin it. So music is really freaking awesome here and it puts you in the mood for some Trigun action.

Characters:
Characters is Trigun's strongest and weakest point. To starts off the main character Vash is probably one of the most well written characters in anime. He has a character arc that flat out just stomp on every other character arc I've ever seen in any anime. We also have a very good supporting of really three. The characters being Meryl, Milly, and Wolfwood a badass priest who caries around a giant cross that doubles as a machine gun and a rocket launcher, also it has a whole set of pistols in stock just in case.......Wolfwood is awesome! We also have really cool villains that I can't go into sadly for two reasons. One if I were to talk about them I would have to spoil the plot because two of them are very tightly nit together to Vash's story that I would have to go into Vash's story which I won't. Reason two is well, none of them are really given enough focus like at all. They are pretty much one episode villains that do tie into Vash as they learn something from him. But they don't ever come back after that one episode. That being said I still enjoyed them because I still feel that the main cast more then makes up for it.

Nitpicks:
Little things that I didn't like about the anime was really just what I said up on top. The villains aren't given much a lot of episodes to show up in and I feel as though it would've been fun to see more of them through out the series. A side from that I have no real nitpicks that break the show, just those that miner one.

Overall:
In conclusion I feel that apart from my nitpick, Trigun is an amazing anime to watch. It has such a great story only made even better by having a great main character that if you're an anime fan and you haven't seen it yet, shame on you. You are doing yourself a huge injustice by not watching this anime. So to end this review I will leave you with this; go watch Trigun now.

Arcane Reviewer gives Trigun a 9.5 out of 10.

Arcane Reviews: Pokemon: The Origins

Pokemon: The Origins

Hello ladies, peoples, and animals it is I, the Arcane Reviewer here to bring you a brand spanking new review. Now I'm gonna level with you guys, I love pokemon. I know what a shock indeed but this is true I love pokemon so much so that I was super excited when I heard that they were making a brand new anime about the pokemon video games! The anime was not going to be related to the already exciting show which would be going into it's new season anyway so I was hyped. A anime that was set to follow the first original two pokemon games? Say it an't so, oh but it is so! But the question is, is it good? Let's find out.

Story:

Our story follows the young up and coming pokemon trainer, Red. Red is on a journey sent by the always awesome, Professor Oak to finish his pokedex. Seeing as how he's an actual scientist you'd think he'd already have the thing completed but I digress. But Red isn't the only one to be sent on this journey, his rival and the professor's nephew, Green (seriously what the fuck is up with these names?) is also sent on this journey. So now Red and Green are off to complete the pokedex, in a whole new world filled with strange pokemon they've yet to meet and evil that plans on doing horrible things to said pokemon! So yeah the plot is pretty much Pokemon: Red and Blue or Green if you're in Japan. The story is nice and simple and doesn't require much thinking. It's just a nice easy to follow story with a whole lot of fun to come along with it and I enjoyed it very much.

Animation:

Productions wise, this anime looks great. Everything is nice, smooth, and very clean to boot. Everything moves fluently and the animation never drops. The show also had a funny little gag in the beginning of every episode, in which the text boxes from the game would pop up and every episode began and ended with the save menu from the original games. It gave the show a nice little feel to it that was pretty funny to see each time.

Music:

The music in the show was pretty "meh" at points. Don't get me wrong the music wasn't bad but nothing in it really was rememberable. Most of the song from what I can tell were from original games. Now I haven't played the original game in like years so I can't really say. The only tune the was worth while was the Lavender Town song in episode two. But that's really only because it's the Lavender Town theme, any pokemon fan would get a kick out of that. So sadly music wasn't this shows strongest suit.

Characters: 

Character wise the show pretty much covers the basics when it comes to it's characters. Red is the strong headed main character that ends up learning about pokemon in the end. Green is the rival jackass that gets his come uppings in the end. And the rest of the cast is pretty much just characters from the games. Now to be fair, almost none of the characters get any real character development. And if any character does get any development, it's pretty damn rushed. That's really the shows downfall sadly, it's pacing it really quick. So you end up going from place A to place B really fast without any real time to get to know the characters in said places. But saying all of that I think it's time we disused that.

Nitpicks:

Now for as much as I like the show there is one little problem that hurts the show to the point of almost completely ruins the show and here it is. It's too damn short. The show is only four episodes long. The show crams all of the first two game's story into only four half hour episodes. This really hurts the show's story. The story is so rushed that you almost can't take it. They actually skip the Elite Four, yes you heard me right. They skip the Elite Four! The show just skims over them and jumps to the battle with Green......also the Green battle isn't even that long. The show is just too rushed for it's own good. while I enjoyed it very much I couldn't help but feel like I missed a lot of the journey because of the length of the anime.

Overall:

So in conclusion to my review, how do I feel about Pokemon: The Origins? Well while the show is a great time for fans of the games I can't really say it'll sit well for casual watchers of Pokemon. With all that I have said I can't really give Origins a high rating seeing as how it has some major flaws, but taking that fact that this show was made for fans of the games I will say this, If you love Pokemon then you must watch Pokemon: The Origins. It's a great treat for long time fans and you won't regret it, seriously it's a great show for you guys. But for anyone who doesn't care for Pokemon, I suggest that you look else where because this show is not for you.

Arcane Reviewer gives Pokemon: The Origins a 6.5 out of 10.  

       

  

Arcane Reviews: Summer Wars

Summer Wars

Hello ladies, people, and animals it is I the Arcane Reviewer here to bring you an anime movie review. But this is no ordinary anime movie oh no no. This my fellow readers is Summer Wars or as I like to call it, OH MY FREAKING GOD THIS MOVIE IS AMAZING!!!!!.......Sorry I kinda lost myself there. Let us begin shall we?

Story:

The story takes place during summer (shocker I know) as we see our main protagonist, Kenji, is sulking over not being able to represent Japan in the math olympics. But just as soon as it would seem that Kenji would end up having a very boring summer one of the most popular girls in school, Natsuki, come to Kenji offering him a job as a fake fiance for her family's big get together for her great grandmother's 90th birthday. So all seems well with Kenji messing around and getting to know Natsuki's whole family. That is until he ends up unleashing a horrible A.I. that plans on hijacking the entire network and using it to possibly send the actual world into chaos. Nice job Kenji.

Summer Wars has a very funny set up to it's story that just ends up going off the rails when the whole evil A.I. is introduced but in a good way. The story also isn't so much focused on the rough A.I. as much as it focuses more on family values all through out. This movies really shows that family really is none of the most important things in life and it comes across as very natural and not forced. The story is a big strength when it comes to this film.

Animation:

Oh my god what do I say here? Long story short Summer Wars looks amazing. The animation is just jaw droopingly beautiful, it just looks great and it does a good job at separating the real world with the cyber world as the art style changes. It just look amazing and obviously is a point into it's favor.

Music:

The music in the movie is also pretty good. The movie knows just what type of music fits the right moment. When the movie has to be up beat and funny it plays music that just makes you smile hearing it but when it comes time to take things slow and really draw the audience with the emotional weight of a moment in the film it really does give you emotionally filled tunes that just pull on your heart strings like a kitten with a ball of yarn. The film knows what it wants to portray when it uses it's music and it does one hell of a job.

Characters: 

Now this really is when the movie is just in the okay factor. There are a lot of characters in this movie and you can't really get a feel on them. Kenji is the only one who does stand out without being an odd character. He pretty much is an everyday man but everyone else is a character archetype. Like you have the annoying kids, the drunk uncle, the over bearing mother, and the over protective cousin. The characters aren't given a lot of time to develop pass the archetype that the movie has set for them. However, with all that being said, none of the characters are unlikeable. They all have at least one or two scenes to shine and are a absolute treat to watch on screen seeing as how they're meant to be funny and absolutely are. So even though the characters are just okay when they come to development they make up for it in charisma. 

Nitpicks:

This is the part of the review where I layout all of the little thing that I didn't really like about the movie. Well guess what.....I have no nitpicks. Yup, this movie is just so fucking awesome that I regret ever making this part of the review because I have nothing to put here......so......scroll down or something I don't fucking know.

Overall:

Well as all of you can tell I love this movie. This is in fact my second movie of all time! I have nothing bad to say about this movie and it really is a great piece of animation. Anyone who says that they love anime must check this film out and you will not regret I promise you.

Arcane Reviewer gives Summer Wars a perfect 10 out of 10.  

         

Arcane Reviews: Elfen Lied

Elfen Lied

Hello ladies, peoples, and animals it is I, the Arcane Reviewer here to bring you a review. I'm going to start doing anime reviews here and I think it would be cool to start off my first review with one of my personal favorites.

Story:

The story of Elfen Lied centers around a young woman named Lucy who escapes from a research facility but not before taking a nasty bullet to the head. We then meet two college students, Kouta and Yuka. As they end up meeting Lucy who now has developed a split personality called Nyu. They decide to take her in only to end up in the middle of an crazy and emotional filled ride that involves a new species of human, the possible end of mankind, death, sorrow, and a whole lot of fan service. The plot of Elfen Lied, without giving away any spoilers, is a very interesting one that explores all of mankind's darkest sides. Though one might say the story could be a bit dull at points I feel as though it does keep you wanting to know what else is in stored for the characters as more secretes are revealed as the show goes a long so I will say that is it's biggest strength.

Animation:

On the technical side Elfen Lied looks very good. Characters are drawn very nice and no one is very stiff, everyone moves fluently and the quality of the anime is very good with almost no drops happening through out all 13 episodes. So I think that this is also a another strong point for the show.

Music: 

The music in the show doesn't have a lot of variety and that is one of the weakest points. The one track "Lililum" is a beautiful song and has many different interpretations of it that mainly rounds up Elfen Lied's soundtrack. There are other tracks but not a lot and they aren't to important seeing as how the show mainly showcases "Lililum". 

Characters:

Elfen Lied's characters can be hit or miss sometimes. Lucy the main character is a very interesting character so anytime the show focuses on her it's very good. But sadly the characters of Yuka and Kouta aren't. You can forgive Kouta at points but Yuka is an awful fucking character. She never shuts up about anything and pretty much just comes off as an annoying bitch. Other side characters go from okay to being very one note and pretty much add nothing to the overall story. Thankfully the show doesn't focus on them to much so more of the focus is on Lucy or another interesting character to I can forgive the show for that.

Nitpicks: 

Well here is the part that I point out all the little parts the I didn't really like in the show. First off is the nudity. Elfen Lied shows off a lot of nudity and I mean A LOT. So much so the it gets really damn silly as to how they find ways to get the characters naked almost to the point of comical. Another thing is the overuse of blood and gore, though I never really got sick of it I will admit the level of violence in the show did get a little crazy. It seemed like everyone drank Kool-Aid before they where killed.

Overall:

Well overall with all the good and bad I have said about the show I still find myself highly recommending this anime to you. Though I feel that it's not the best anime out there I still find myself loving every second of this show and I always look forward to re-watching from time to time. It is my personal favorite anime and I feel that even if you don't love, you'll find something here to talk about. So go and check this anime out because it really is something different from the normal anime you'll see.

Arcane Reviewer gives Elfen Lied a 9 out of 10.