Top 5 artistic anime of all time! by Birdiebo

Yay! Once again it's time for Fangirl's anime review!
This time around I asked good friend Birdiebo to do a top 5 artsy anime review.  She did an amazing job and if you aren't just impressed with her writing skills you can check out her website on blogspot or her deviant art page.  She is always down for monies so hit her up for a commission!

5. ‘Soul Eater’: Soul Eater is a fairly new anime that’s still being released.  It follows three teams of weapon wielding meisters who’s goal is to have their weapons defeat and absorb the souls of 99 evil humans and one witch.  If they do this in that order then the weapons will dramatically increase in power, making them Death Scythes.  Besides the really cool story, Soul Eater is eye candy to watch.  With it’s wacky designs (my faves are the Sun and Moon) and rapid action sequences you’ll be begging to watch the next episode…I know I can’t wait!!!

4. ‘Speed Grapher’: I really loved this anime so much that I would put it in my top five.  Of course it’s not for everyone, and I think that’s one of the reasons why Speed Grapher sticks out in my head.  It begins with Tatsumi Saiga, a photographer, that stumbles upon a secret fetish club and becomes entangled in the life of their 15 year old “Goddess”, Kagura.  I won’t give much more than that for I’m afraid it might ruin the fun of the show.  The character designs are pretty wicked for this anime and they do a really great job with conveying emotion through the animation.  Speed Grapher’s animation is right in sync with the feeling of the music as well.  If you want a truly different story and you can stand super creepy fetishes, then this is your show!

 

3. ‘Samurai 7’: This anime is based off of Akira Kurosawa’s highly regarded 1954 film ‘Seven Samurai’.  Every year in a village named Kanna bandits come and pillage all the rice from the yearly harvest.  The elder of the village finds samurai who are willing to protect and fight for their village.  ‘Samurai 7’ was one of the very first anime I have ever watched, and it holds a very special place in my heart.  It has a more realistic style of animation for it’s characters, not the typical giant eyed mode, and it’s fight scenes are well thought out and executed.  You’re not left thinking…”What just happened?”, but rather, “Whaaaat!?  Did he just slice through that whole robot!?”

2. ‘Princess Mononoke’:  It is safe to say that most of you have already seen this 1997 Hayao Miyazaki film.  It is the first anime film I have ever seen and still one of the best.  I’m not going to go into the plot of the film.  I will say that if you haven’t seen this, drop what you’re doing and do yourself a favor…rent it, buy it, netflix it, whatever the means because it’s totally worth it.  Miyazaki films have their own type of animation style.  Mostly hand drawn with touches of computer animation, he’s able to reflect a character’s thoughts and emotions so well you can’t help but feel connected to the character and their journey.

1. ‘Mushi Shi’: Finally we end with ‘Mushi Shi’.  A funny named anime that has very self contained type episodes.  Although the story follows one character named Ginko, each episode focuses on the individual journey’s he takes.  Ginko is a Mushi Master who travels mainly to research and aid people on all things Mushi.  Although there is no overall plot line, this series is one of the most beautiful one’s I’ve seen.  There is a mixture of classic animation against an almost watercolor like back ground.  The mellowness of the style makes you want to live in this calm Mushi filled world, and well…you can only hope that you have Ginko on speed dial.

What a great top 5 Birdiebo!  We love your style and I will definitely check these out soon!

Top 10 Girly Anime!

This site is all about fun and newb nerd education, I thought it was time to start with my extreme girl knowledge! As my friends can attest, I love all things pink and cutesy and I dread gory/horror items that will give me nightmares for months. Fortunately, I have a boyfriend who knows me rather well and when I was starting to watch anime, he could give me recommendations rather easily. After a while though, I really wanted to discover things on my own and took the plunge.

Here is my list of the top ten Anime I recommend to all those who like glitter and fluff:

1. Karin: she is a cute adorable little vampire who can walk in the day light! No you aren't having a nightmare, this isn't Twilight 2.0!  Unlike the glittering fangs of that literary abomination, Karin is the only one of her kind! She does the opposite of everything a regular vampire should do, such as when she bites some one instead of drinking their blood, she gives them hers!  In the eyes of her family, she is really strange but to the outside world she's just a typical girl.  The only bad thing about her reverse vampirism is that when she doesn't feed, her blood builds up and ewww! Super nose bleeds!  Cute to the core, that is why Karin is my number one pick!

2. School Rumble: If the opening credits in the first season don't hook you right away, this definitely isn't the show for you. It's a story, about a girl who fell in love with a boy who fell in love with curry...cut back to a tough guy who fell in love with that girl who loves the boy who is in love with curry...cut back to a rich girl who is love with the tough guy who is in love with the girl who is in love with the boy who fell in love with curry...now if you didn't follow that don't worry, it is hard to keep track of all the love triangles at first but the show is so hilariously cute that it doesn't really matter what is going on!

3. Wallflower: So while the female lead of this show isn't very girly (Sunako), her aunt (Auntie) desperately wants her to be! Auntie has 4 bishonen boys living in her house and if they want to have free rent then it's up to them to make Sunako a lady as quickly as possible.  These gorgeous boys are used to getting everything they want just by looking pretty, so when they see Sunako they are confident they will be living rent free.  Little do they know that her heart belongs to the darkness and she'd rather die than join the creatures of the light!  How will these boys get her on the "road to woman hood" and away from her skeletons and ultra violent horror flicks?  By exploiting the thing she loves the most!  Extortion at it's finest! 

4. Ouran Host Club: this is basically a typical anime case of mistaken identity. Girl gets gum in hair, girl chops off hair, girl now looks like boy. Said girl breaks a 100,000 vase, girl is now forced to repay her debt by joining an all boys host club. The best part is that no one else realizes that she is a girl! Fun and hilarity ensue as these situations go and soon you find yourself in a heart warming situation! We love the Host Club!

5. Full Moon: This has to be one of the cutest anime ever!  Our leading lady is a young sickly girl who is searching for her one true love!  They were separated from each other when he was adopted by a family from America.  As he left he told her they would always be able to look at the full moon and that is how they would always be together.  The years pass, she decides to find her love because her illness is becoming worse and wants to see him one more time...the only way for her to do this is by becoming an international pop star!  Of course, this dream can only become reality with the help of her magical guardians!  This anime is bursting with sprinkles and rainbows so if you worship the ground L walks on, this definitely isn't for you.

6. Fruits Basket:  Every girl's dream is to be surrounded by beautiful boys...it is also every girls night mare to be surrounded by beautiful boys that she can't touch because when she does they turn into animals!  Forced to survive on her own after her mother's death, Tohru is found trespassing on the property of the most popular boy in school!  After finding out his darkest secret, Tohru is forced to take care of him, otherwise he'll turn her over to the head of the family and thats one person you never want to meet in a dark alley!  She eventually finds her way and a new family that can truly appreciate her.  With lots of laughs and tears, you can't call yourself a true shojo girl if you haven't seen this anime!  Once you finish this show and you still can't get enough, you should definitely check out the manga.  It has extra chapters and a different ending that will satisfy all your Fruits Basket hunger! 

7. Suzuka: This anime is about a boy chasing his dream and moving to the big city will help him accomplish that goal.  Unfortunately as with every great man, there is a woman who gets in the way and makes him fall in love with her!  On top of that, the girl of his dreams is living right next door!  To most, this would seem like a perk, not a problem but this guy can't seem to find his balance when he's with her, literally.  She is graceful and delicate while he trips over himself just trying to keep up.  In this romantic 'dramedy', you will find all sorts of hijinks that will continually draw you in.  From the pervy boy peeping on the ladies in the public bath to the shy girl who has a drop of alcohol and turns into every man's worst nightmare, this is an anime that every one can fall in love with.

8. Ah! My Godess...:  You ever have one of those days where nothing goes right and no matter how much effort you put into something it blows up in your face?  Wouldn't you love to pick up the phone and have it connect you with the one person in the world who could make all the crap disappear?  What if I told you its real?!  Well its real in this universe and its called the Goddess Hotline!  Never in his wildest dreams would the lead of this show thought that a gorgeous girl would literally fall into his lap and out of pure desperation (or the influence of other dirty thinking) he accidentally wishes that a girl like her would stay by his side forever!  His wish is miraculously granted and the goddess hotline gives him the girl who came down to grant his wish!.  The only down side is that if they ever part, the magic of the wish does whatever necessary to get them back together!  

9. Paradise Kiss: Peek behind the lace and get a glimpse at the Tokyo fashion industry.  When a girl has the choice to go to school or become a model, which path do you think she will take?  Being the center of attention, having hot guys want you, and becoming one of the most famous models in Japan, not too shabby if I do say so myself.  Behind all the glitz and the glam is a young girl just trying to find her passion in something, whether it's school, fashion, or the one boy she can't get out of her head.  This isn't so much a comedy as it is a love story and if you liked Beck this is a must see!

10. Kyo Kara Maoh!:  Get ready for lots of implied man love!  That's right, it's not quite yaoi but it definitely comes close!  It's about a boy getting flushed down a toliett and becoming the new demon king while simultaniously getting engaged to be married to another dude!  The boy isn't gay but that doesn't stop his uber jealous fiancee from trying to turn him!  I generally don't want to see to guys getting it on, especially the animated kind, but for some reason this show is very appealing and has that special IT factor that keeps you coming back.  You can ask any one, especially my boyfriend and our good friend Robert.  They are not gay at all, although they have been getting closer recently....maybe I should go check on them in the other room...anyway, it's all about boys and the boys who love them and the girls who desperately want to be them!

I had a lot of fun writing this piece and I hope you enjoy it!