The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

One of the better directed anime films, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time was a work of genius. The film starts by only giving glimpses of the characters and the setting. In the meantime the credits role in between these scenes. You get the feeling you are watching a big budget drama film. The movie will fool you over and over again.

The Plot of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

Leaping Through Time

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time starts out a bit slow. Makoto Konno is a very clumsy high school girl. She is not smart, but not dumb either. She is average. She has two male friends which she plays baseball with, Chiaki Mamiya and Kōsuke Tsuda. Makoto goes to put up note books from her class. She stumbles into the science room after hearing a noise and falls onto a shell of some kind. On her way home her brakes on her bicycle stop working and she hits a RR crossing guard. She is thrown from her bike and the train hits her. She wakes up a few feet before the train tracks and is still alive. This is where she begins to notice she has the ability to leap through time. Literally, she leaps through time. To activate this ability she has to get a running start and leap. Once she learns of this, she goes back through time (only to recently passed months) to fix mistakes such as a bad grade or a clumsy mistake.

All the while she tells her aunt, Kazuko Yoshiyama, about her ability to leap through time. Her aunt works as an art restorer at the Tokyo National Museum in The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. Kazuko suggests that Makoto may be hurting other people while changing her own past. Makoto starts to take notice of this when a classmate is given her misfortune in cooking class. She also uses this to escape a love confession from Chiaki. But she does not only use it for herself, but to help out her friends. She is able to get Kōsuke a girlfriend, Kaho Fujitani, whom has been in love with him for a while.

By the end of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Chiaki asks Makoto if she has been using this ability. To escape from him asking this, she uses her ability for the final time. Doing this causes her friends Kōsuke and Kaho to get into the train accident meant for Makoto. As she is weeping she realizes things suddenly change and Chiaki saved the two from dying. He explains that he is from the future and cam to see a painting, ironically the one Makoto's aunt is restoring. He had lost his device in the school and found it used up by Makoto. She asks him why he can not go back and he explains he used his last time to save Kōsuke and Kaho. The ending is a bit intense so I will not even begin to ruin it for you.

The Characters of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

The Three Friends

The characters in The Girl Who Leapt Through Time are very realistic. There is no magical powers, or odd hair coloring, or strange monsters. The characters feel as if they could be very real. The dynamic between the three friends makes it feel as if the writer was putting personal experiences in the film.

Makoto is the main character of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and like I said, she is very clumsy. She is your average high school Japanese student. She doesn't know what she wants to do with her life. Chiaki is more of the comedic relief of the group. He is also an average student. Kōsuke is the smart student in the group. He is a very respectable person and remains calm at every situation.

The Painting of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

The Painting

Makoto's aunt is restoring a painting throughout The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. This is the same painting that Chiaki comes back in time to see. During the film setting is the only time which this paintings whereabouts is known. In the future it is destroyed and he was unable to see it. The painter is unknown, but the painting itself is strange and relaxing. A mixture of brown colors with a slightly hidden face and four blue orbs.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is definitely one of the better anime films I have seen. It tops most Miyazaki films. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is not at all what you expect, it far exceeds any expectation. This should definitely be on the shelf of any Otaku.

Overall Grade 10/10

Purchase Here: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time Limited Edition

Creating Great AMVs

Creating AMVs

When first started watching anime I was also getting into music. Thankfully the two occurred at once and I was able to find some amazing AMVs. This also helped me expand my music taste. Watching AMVs are fun, but creating them is a whole more fun. When I started to create AMVs I used others as a basis of what I should be doing. Finding great AMVs to give you motivation can be hard. Here are a few that I was able to find when youtube was not even around.

Escaflowne Let's Get This Party Started AMVs

This was one of the first AMVs I had seen by NHMK. Every video of NHMK is awesome. Never letting you down when it comes to sequencing the music with the video. Picking a great anime is not the only thing you need to do. Like NHMK you need to make sure your characters line up with the song.

Dragon Ball Z By Myself Trunks Tribute AMVs

This is the first AMV I had seen. I loved the song and Trunks happens to be my second favorite character in the DBZ sagas. The history of Trunks was a great video to put to By Myself. This AmV was created by TysonForEveryone.

Final Fantasy This is War AMVs


This AMV actually inspired me to create my Supernatural Music Video. The song is amazing and what CodeX313 did with the video is also amazing.

Berserk Fight Song AMVs


Honestly I just found this video today, but NHMK knows exactly how to create AMVs. Again the song goes perfectly with the characters and the anime.

Gundam 08th MS Team 10th Man Down AMVs

This is my favorite song of Nightwish and Rubyeye just made it more amazing. This is definitely how Gundam AMVs should look like. The song is too perfect for Gundam 08th MS Team.  

When finding someone to look up to i the AMV world you need to make sure they have what it takes to be a great AMV artist. Do not just look for view counts on youtube, but also for the rating. Any AMV can have a lot of view counts, but only the best will have the ratings. It is also good to look for AMVs that have been around for awhile. Just pick someone who makes great AMVs and strive to be better than them.

Bloodhound: A Vampire Story

Bloodhound

Kaori Yuki has brought to life her own vampire story in Bloodhound. Again she brings to life characters that you come to love and a story that is confusing until the end. Bloodhound is one of her shorter stories, therefore you would feel it is rushed. That is not the case here. Having four chapters (a fifth as a bonus) she is able to get in the right amount of information. There is nothing unnecessary about this Bloodhound so pay attention to everything.

The Plot of Bloodhound

Bloodhound revolves around a girl named Rion. Rion is a high school teenager. She sets out to find her missing friend, Shiho. Shiho leaves a clue for Rion. Rion mistakes the address and goes to a Vampire host club called Kranken Hause. There she meets Suou, a vampire that claims she is his lost love. Once she finds out that Suou might be responsible foe Shiho's disappearance, she breaks a wine bottle so they force her to work there. Soon her father finds out and he and a group of adults go to find her. Her teacher takes it upon herself to walk Rion home. This is Rion finds out her teacher is responsible for the disappearances. Suou saves Rion and Shiho.

The next chapter in Bloodhound is where the story really takes off. Here you find out about Schwarz Wolf. A club created to create witches. The head of this organization happens to be Suou's brother, Mikhail. Mikhail has also been looking for Rion. In the past, Mikhail was going to marry Ellione (Rion), but she fell in love with Suou. Betrayed, Ellione was burned at the steak as a witch. Since then Suou has been looking for her to drink her blood and end the vampire curse.

The bonus chapter tells you how everything ends, happily. Here you are led to believe Rion is in a mental institution for believing in vampires. You find out later that she is really just stuck in her mind in a hospital bed.

The Characters of Bloodhound

Rion is the main character of Bloodhound. Rion is your average high school drama girl. She is passionate about her friends and really does not believe in the fact she is a reincarnated woman. She is hot tempered at times.

Suou is the other main character. He is a vampire, of course, and uses his abilities to lead women in and to suck their blood. Only he does not do it against their will nor does he kill them.

The characters in Bloodhound are very well thought out and all are important to the story. Though some may seem they are for 'show' they really do have their minor roles to play. No character is unnecessary in Bloodhound.

The Art of Bloodhound

This is my favorite part of any Kaori Yuki manga. Bloodhound is no exception. She is so detailed in everything that she draws. The characters are always so dreamy looking. You can see that Kaori Yuki loves to play around with outfits and hairstyle. The expressions of the characters are always perfect to the situation.

Bloodhound is an excellent manga to pick up and read and should be on every manga fan bookshelf.

Read Bloodhound Here
Support Kaori Yuki Here.

Overall grade 8/10

Clamp's School Detectives

Clamp School Detectives

If you are a damsel in distress then the Clamp School Detectives will help you out. Made up of three elementary students: Nokoru Imonoyama (6th grade), Suoh Takamura (5th grade), and Akira Ijyuin (4th grade). The three Clamp Detectives also make up the Clamp School Elementary Division chairman, secretary, and treasurer.

The Plot of Clamp School Detectives

Detectives in Action

The Clamp Campus is not just a school, but is built to be a community as well. Over 10,000 people live within this Campus. It was created by the Imonoyama Family to create a better educational future. Any one is allowed into the Clamp Campus as long as you show potential or have an incredible talent.

The three boys are over the Elementary Division. Nokoru is the chairman while Suoh is the secretary and Akira the treasurer. The three are always planning school events and are constantly chased by admirers (of all age).

After helping a few females out, Nokoru decides it is his duty (and his friends) to help every girl in distress that they can. He creates the Clamp School Detectives Agency to solve problems of females in sad times. Through out each section, small mysteries are solved by the three. Either by finding a peacock or finding a box of chocolates. All along, Suoh always attempts to get the chairman to do his paperwork.

The Clamp School Detectives

Nokoru seems as though he would be a real ladies man... Which he happens to be! Every girl is always after him because he is cute, smart, and a real gentleman. He can be really lazy when it comes to School Division work, but will every ounce of energy to the Clamp School Detective Agency.
Suoh is a very quiet and cold child. The girls are still all over him though. He is always roped into helping Nokoru even though he knows the paperwork should be done. He is very talented when it comes to any sport, including martial arts.

Akira is a the cooking genius of the group. He is always bringing in food to the other two boys. He is a very energetic boy and is also really good at sports. Though he is the youngest of the three, he is still chased by the girls.

The character in Clamp School Detectives are well rounded and very believable characters. Each person leaves a great mark in the story and in your heart. They all act a lot older for their age, but that is why you get with a bunch of genius!

The Art of Clamp School Detectives

Clamp never lets you down in the artistic section. Characters may look alike, but each one is drawn so delicately. The backgrounds are always so beautiful and detailed. When the you meet each character you get to see another beautiful creation. The outfits are mostly the same, since they do go to a school. While the students may wear uniforms, they do have free time in which Clamp Creators are allowed to express their freedom.

Clamp School Detectives is a great read. The story may seem childish since the main characters are in elementary school. The situations can be real though at times. Just stick with it and you will find out what these Clamp Detectives are made of!

Read Clamp School Detectives Here.
Support CLAMP Here.

Overall grade 7/10

Miyuki-chan in Wonderland and....

                       

Miyuki-Chan in Wonderland

Miyuki is your usual teenage girl, only she gets sucked into other worlds. Another short (really short) manga by Clamp. Miyuki is taken to six different worlds in this manga. Created to less loose Mokona's female character designs. This is an all female manga. No males are anywhere in here. Throughout each world, Miyuki always seems to get caught in sexual situations. Yes, this is a Yuri manga.

The Worlds

In the first world, Miyuki is taken to Wonderland. In the first scene she is running late somewhere. She comes across woman dressed as a bunny. Everywhere she turns is another character a twins, a cat, and a 'mistress'.

The second world is in the Looking Glass. Miyuki is brushing her hair in the mirror when she pulls herself into that world. She meets the Red Queen and the chess pieces.
TV Land is the third world. Here Miyuki is taken into the TV by a pair of legs. She is taken captive and eventually is rescued by an angel.

In Part-Time Job Land, Miyuki is forced to fight several different women at once. She gets far by avoiding them as they take each other out. Eventually Miyuki and another girl are left in the ring. Miyuki does not get much further.

After learning Mah-Jongg, Miyuki's skills are tested. She plays a game of strip mah-jongg with four other girls.

In Video Game Land, Miyuki must play a hero to get out of the game. She dawns armour and tries to defeat the enemies only to fail.

X Land is the work of X/1999. Miyuki is in the theater watching Clamp's X. She is mistaken to be Kamui and forced to choose the destiny if the earth. Only the females of X are present.

In each section she is basically stripped of her clothes by other women and dressed in something more erotic. Miyuki is just a poor girl trying to live her teenage life. Each section also ends in a loop.

The Characters

Miyuki is really the only character in the manga. The rest of the women involved are just random characters with the majority having no names. The story does not allow time for character development, not even with Miyuki. In each section you meet certain characters that never cross over to the next.

Miyuki-chan in Wonderland is just a manga to read if you are a fan of Clamp. I know I picked it up mostly for the X Land section. It is a decent read if you have nothing else to do. If not, then just look at the art, that alone is worth reading about Miyuki's life.

Read Miyuki-chan in Wonderland Here.
Support CLAMP Here.

Overall Grade 4/10

Clamp's Clover

Clover Review

Clover is one of Clamp's shorter mangas. Like most of Clamps mangas, it was too short. Everything about Clover was really good though. Clamp never skips out on the story or artwork when it comes to anime or manga.

The Plot of Clover

Clover is about a man named Kazuhiko taking a girl, Sue, to a safe place. Little does he know she is a four leaf clover. She was part of a government project dealing with children which have incredible powers. Sue is the only four leaf while two three leafs exist as well. Ran, another clover, helps the two out by transporting them close to their destination. Along the way they run into people trying to capture her and use her powers.

There are five wizards whom have watched over the four leaf clover. The one, General Ko , allows her to make her journey to Fairy Park (an amusement park) to be set free. When Kazuhiko finally arrives with her, he learns she never intended to return to the cage. She goes there to die.

The Characters of Clover

Kazuhiko looks alot like Fuma from Clamp's X/1999. Ran resembles Kamui from the same manga. Other than that, though, the characters actually look alot different in Clover. You really never get too know the characters either. This is due to the short plot line. Kazuhiko is the main character of Clover. He is quiet and calm and has the ability to create weapons with his genetically engineered hand from the army.

Sue slightly resembles Chi from Chobits. She was sold by her mom to the Clover project. She is constantly singing a song created by her and Ora, Kazuhiko's dead lover. She has the ability to fly and an incredible power.

There are supporting characters and also some enemies. The main enemy though is Bols , the man that took Kazuhiko's hand. He calls Kazuhiko 'prince'. He works for the Azaiean army and has intentions of getting holds of the Clover powers.

The Song of Clover

Throughout Clover, Sue is singing a song. Making a manga in which the characters constantly sing is somewhat annoying. You can never get the tune right and therefore I feel it takes away from the song. Besides repeating it over and over got annoying as well in Clover. Though the song is important to the plot, songs just do not belong in comics.

Clover was a great manga and as always, Clamp delivered well. Creating a new world is never hard for Clamp. Clover is definitely a good short manga to pick up and read.

Read Clover Here.
Suppoer CLAMP Here.

Overall Grade 7/10.

SAO: The Art of Online Gaming

Sword Art Online Review

When I first heard about SAO, I figured it would be too similar to .hack//. I never really wanted to give this anime a chance. Finally I broke down and watched it out of curiosity. Watching the first episode I really was not that interested, but I tend to give anime a few episodes to get into them. In a few days I watched the entire series. I literally could not stop watching SAO at all. The anime really knows how to pull you in and keep your attention.

Halfway through SAO when the game becomes Alfhiem, you may start to lose interest. It feels as though there is no plot to the second half of the series, but just a continuation to make more money on the series. That is not the case at all though. You really need to give Sword Art Online a chance and watch the entire series.

The Plot of Sword Art Online

A new virtual reality world has been created as an online gaming experience. The game is called Sword Art Online. Unknown to the players logging into to SAO, there is no log out button. The creator, Kayaba Akihiko, did this on purpose. He has an alternate plan for the game. He created SAO as his own playing field where if you die on the game, you die in reality. The only way to survive the game is to reach the 100^th level and kill the final boss. When this is finally accomplished, around 300 people are stuck in virtual reality ‘limbo’.

That is until Alfhiem Online is created. Alfhiem is a much safer game and has an emergency logout system. Nobuyuki Sugo is the mastermind behind a project going on in Alfhiem with the 300 people from SAO. He is attempting to control pain and thoughts of humans. This is the only place in which he can conduct this illegal experiment. The ending is definitely worth the entire anime so I will not spoil it for you.

The Characters of Sword Art Online

Kirito (or Kazuto Kirigaya) is the main character of the Sword Art Online. He has a great advantage in SAO due to the fact he was a Beta Tester (or beater). He takes a lot of heat for this from other characters that have lost someone. He is a mainly quite and keeps to himself, that is until he became really good friends with Asuna (or Asuna Yuki). You first impression of Asuna is a someone who would not make it very long. Eventually you see how strong she really is and proves herself as a major character. The two fall in love in the game which eventually leads to the destruction of both games (SAO & ALO).

Each character you meet in episodes has their own stories, both sad and happy. You are sucked in to each episode through these characters. You need to know if they survive or die. It is rare to find anime’s such as this now a days.

The Artwork and Soundtrack of Sword Art Online

The artwork in Sword Art Online is the standard tradition anime. The fact the hair color in SAO are believable makes it even better. It brings you even closer to the anime when this happens. The characters are more realistic and you are able to relate to them in a deeper way.

The soundtrack seems to be the only place lacking in SAO. Although the music is very beautiful and performed by Yuki Kajiura, there is little variety to the show. There seems to be five songs and that is all. They are extremely great, don’t get me wrong, but a little more would’ve been nice.

Sword Art Online should definitely be on every otaku’s shelf. This is an anime you do not want to pass up. It is definitely in my top ten!

Overall Grade 9/10