Hell Girl wallpapers

Just started watching Jigoku Shoujo Mitsuganae (Hell Girl).
Here are some wallpapers I like:)

The amazing work of Huke

Huke is an Japanese illustrator who is best known for the concept of Black★Rock Shooter. He also works with the doujin group Supercell. Inspired by this mans artwork, the lead member of Supercell, Ryo, created a song and a music video.

I was not too fond of the ova based on BRS, but I certainly love the characters and art beside it. Ever since I watched the animation, I have been following Huke's spectacular artwork and tributers around the web.

You should certainly give Huke a visit on Deviantart or at his homepage.

Black★Rock Shooter: 2012 anime

According to the B★RS homepage there will be a new anime based on the Black Rock Shooter subject. I don't know anything about the plot yet, as I can't read Japanese.

To me, the OVA animation of Black Rock Shooter was quite disappointing: The artwork was not as amazing as expected, and the flow of the story was way too slow and it also seemed quite uncompleted. The soundtrack was indeed great, but could be a little more varied of style.

Still, I will wait in exitement for the new anime. The OVA of 2010 acted much more like a movie of art than a regular commercial thing and I would therefor love to see how things will turn out this time.

You can watch the trailer here.

10 exiting Guilty Crown wallpapers

Guilty Crown is my favourite anime at the moment. The animation has extremely detailed and well done graphics and cityscapes. That goes for the characters as well.

Madoka Magica: 3 new movies

Puella Magi Madoka Magica is one of my favourite animes of all time. The series has exellent graphics and character designs and emotional soundtracks. Not to mention the groundbreaking story.

According to The Akiba (8th november), there will soon be made three movies containing the Madoka Magika plot. Two will be based on the TV series, while the last will be a brand new story.

I was really happy hearing this because the end of the TV-series really gave a nostalgic feeling afterwards. My expectations are of course extremely high and I hope some of the soundtracks from the series will be re-used.

Recommended anime: Mirai Nikki

Mirai Nikki, also known as Future Diary, is an ongoing anime directed by Naoto Hosoda and written by Katsuhiko Takayama. The first episode was released the 10th October.

Genre: Thriller, supernatural, horror

Yukiteru Amano is an outsider who never interacts with other people and spends most of his day writing a diary on his cell phone with his only companion being an imaginary friend named Deus Ex Machina, the God of Time and Space. Soon Yukiteru finds out that Deus is not a just his imagination but real when Deus makes him a participant in a survival battle among eleven others. Within this game, the contestants are given special diaries that can predict the future. Within the next 90 days, the contestants must try to kill each other and survive until there is only one alive who becomes the new God of Time and Space.

Finally this is not another highschool-drama and I am happy about that. This anime seems like a real deal with a thoughtful plot and theme. The art is also fantastic and can not be complained on.

I am not sure if I'm too fond of the protagonist. Yukiteru seems like a powerless, scared and dumb child. I would rather prefer the more intelligent and tough bad-guy-hero type like Light from Death Note (Not that he's the good-guy). As a contrast, Yuno Gasai is an interesting, mysterious and tough girl who really freaks me out!

Anyway, this is an anime I strongly recommend and is definitely on my watching-list.

Official homepage

10 violent animes

If you are bloodthirsty and looking for violent and controversial animes, or if you are simply just tired of boring highschool dramas, you should check out this list. I have listed 10 of the most violent animes I've watched until now. It's not that I'm deeply in love with the horror genre, but most of these actually have a great story to tell.

Highschool of the Dead

Absolutely horrifying zombie-adventure, but very entertaining fight-scenes. This is also one one of the most ecchi animes I've seen and it's quite nasty.

Blood-C

Very interesting setting and mindtwisting plot, but way too much blood: I would rather call it "blood-sea".

Ga-Rei Zero

This anime has a great fighting-scenes but is still quite emotional and touching.

Chrono Crusade

Exorcism-action-drama.

Kore wa Zombie desu ka?

Quite a violent harem, but extremely funny.

Itsuka Tenma no Kuro Usagi

Vampire-fantasy.

Death Note

Death Note is a true mindtwister which really can makes your brain going. There is violence, but you should certainly not watch it for that reason alone or else you will get disappointed.

Steins;Gate

Just as Death Note, there is lots of dialogue and details to hold on to. The plot is very exiting and the anime is one you sooner or later should have on your watched-animes list.

Nurarihyon no Mago

Exiting clan-action. It's a anime more isolated from the west and bases much more on the Japanese cultures, religions and myths.

Vampire Knight

Typical vampire-rommance-lovestory.

Recommended: Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai, also known as "I Don't Have Many Friends", is a recently begun series directed by Hisashi Saitō and written by Tatsuhiko Urahata.

Hasegawa Kodaka is a recent transfer student to St. Chronica's Academy which is a Catholic high school. Just as earlier, he finds it difficult to make friends because of his blond hair and fierce-looking eyes which make him look like a dangerous "yankee" to his prejudiced schoolmates. One day, he accidentally comes across the equally solitary and very abrasive Yozora Mikazuki while she converses with her imaginary friend Tomo. Together, to improve their situation, they form a club in order to make friends and and gather social skills.

I don't really have any specific comments about the plot. If you are looking for something different than a cliche' highschool-social-problem-ideal-drama-series, this anime is probably not the one. The plot seems okay, but it's not very innovative.

The only real potensial I see in this anime is rather the style of art. The character designs are great and vivid, though I would prefer the manga. Sena Kashiwazaki with her butterfly hair-clip is super cute :)

Official homepage

Recommended anime: C³

C³ is a fresh ongoing anime which was aired the first day of October. The series is directed by Shin Ōnuma and written by Michiko Yokote.

Genre: Comedy, action, supernatural

The story centers around Yachi Haruaki who is a high school boy who is immune to curses. His father sends him instruments which are supposed to get rid of his condition. One day Yachi receives a dark cube which is a instrument of "torture". At night he gets to meet the cube in it's human form. The person is a silver haired girl who love rice crackers.

I don't really know much about the plot after the first episode, but it looks okay and to me it doesn't look too important in the anime. You get to meet three characters in the anime. Those are Yachi, who are a cheerful, kind and responsible boy who teaches Fear about life, Fear who is a short and arrogant commander-girl who always denies her mistakes and Konoha who is Yachi's jealous childhood friend. All of them seems interesting and I'm glad there are just three characters (for now) in the series.

The art is very satisfying and the characters are very cute and chibi-ish. C³ can be compared to the anime, Shinryaka Ika Musume. Both are pretty stylized, the setting is much the same and Fear's personality is almost identical to Ika. They even have the same hair color!

Just to mention, the ED song is great!

Upcomming anime: UN-GO

 A couple of days earlier I heard about an upcomming anime series called UN-GO. It will be aired the 13th October according to plan.

"Un-Go is an original anime set in the near future, revolving around the detective named Yuki and a boy named Inga, who continually encounter mysterious cases. Based from Sakaguchi Ango’s novel Meiji Kaika Ango Torimonocho. Meiji-era story about a detective named Yuki Shinjuro, who solves various incidents that happen in his circle of friends. The adaptation will utilize an original story set in the near future, revolving around the detective and a boy named Inga, who continually encounter mysterious cases." - The Akiba

I didn't hear anything about UN-GO before I randomly came over an illustration for the anime which looked exiting. I therefore thought of giving the series a try as I am a childish boy who judges the book by it's cover. The plot and setting might be a bit equal Guilty Crown since they both seem to enter the genres of science fiction and action. I can not remember having watched a "proper" sci-fi anime in the past, so I am really looking forward to try something new.

Official homepage

Recommended anime: Blood-C

Blood-C is an ongoing vampire-action series directed by Tsutomu Mizushima. It started 8th July this summer and is related to Blood+ and Blood: The Last Vampire.

The story centers around Saya Kisaragi who is an overly clumsy but kind girl. She lives with her father who is the head of a shrine where she learns to master the art of the sword. When she is faced with various forms of trials that test her kindness, it brings misfortune for being "overly-kind". Against misfortune and for the sake of her friends, she maintains her kind heart and becomes stronger.

I began to follow this anime quite recently and I thought is seemed interesting after watching the first episode. After just one episode, I don't really know the plot. The scene where Saya fights a demon-like statue in the pond next to the shrine is very catching and tells me that there is something really interesting that will bloom later in the story. The landscapes of the art in the anime is very detailed and impressive and the style of the characters is also more than satisfying. The series is therefore highly recommendable and is one of my favourites of this period.

Official homepage

Recommended anime: Dantalian no Shoka

Dantalian no Shoka is an ongoing anime which started 16th. july. The animation is directed by Yutaka Uemura and music by Yo Tsuji. The genre is fantasy.

"After the death of his grandfather, Hugh Anthony Disward, also known as Huey, receives a mysterious key and according to his will, must take custody of the Bibliotheca Mystica de Dantalian in order to inherit his estate and all his possessions. Upon meeting Dalian, a child living at the estate, he learns that she is the guardian of the Archives which contain forbidden knowledge stored in thousands of magic books called "Phantom Books". Upon agreeing to become Dalian's new Keykeeper, Huey joins her into investigating incidents regarding people misusing the power of the Phantom Books, most of them with tragic consequences, and using his power as Keykeeper to seal the power of the Phantom Books and restore order to the area."

Dantalian no Shoka was on my top list of the summer releases. The art is good, but I am no to fond of the characters. Still, I fell in love with the second main character, Dalian. She is a really cute and clever girl though she is extremely arrogant. The plot in the series is okay, but the time period really makes me think about Gosick and does no quite fit my taste since I rather prefer the more modern surface. The flow of the story is great so it doesn't really matter in the end.

Recommended anime: Usagi Drop

Usagi Drop is an 11-episode ongoing anime which started the 8th July. It is directed by Kanta Kamei and written by Suguru Kishimoto. The genre is drama and comedy.

Daikichi is a 30 year old man who returns home for his grandfather's funeral. Then he get to know about Rin who is his grandfather's illegitimate six year old daughter. Rin is being treated as outcast by her relatives, but then Daikichi desides to take care of Rin himself though he is single and has no experience with raising a child.

The story of this anime is quite touching and identifiable. It focuses on the human life and the ways of raising a child. The art style of the anime is pretty stylized, but still very satisfying.

Official homepage

Angel Beats! - Review

Before I started watching this anime, I really had no expectations to it. I didn't check up the plot or watch the trailer or anything. The reason I ended up wathing the series was simply because I found an image of «Angel» on the web and I thouht the character looked cute an interesting.

Angel Beats is a 13 episode slice-of-life/comedy/romance anime with it's run from April 3, 2010 to June 26, 2010. The anime is directed by Seiji Kishi and written by Jun Maeda. Music by Jun Maeda and Anant-Garde Eyes.

Plot

Angel Beats takes place in a high school in the after-life. The protagonist, Otonashi, wakes up after a train accident without any memories from his life. He allies up with Yuri and the other members of the SSS battle front which fights against God as a protest to their unfair lives. Kanade, who is been reffered to as Angel, is their main target.

Main characters

Otonashi - A confused young man who has lost his memories and tries to find thruths, reasons and revelations about the afterlife and their presence. He makes friends with the SSS and helps them out on their missions.

Yuri - The stubborn and dissatisfied leader and founder of the SSS battle front who struggles against God because of her tragic life. She brings Otonashi over to her side in to fight Angel.

Kanade (Angel) - A mysterious innocent pokerfaced girl who is defined as an enemy by the SSS. She has swords out of her sleeves and other powers out of the ordinary which she uses to defend herself against the SSS.

Genre: Slice of life, comedy, romance

The plot of the series is quite brilliant in my opinion because it puts the characters in so many different situations that fires up the characteristics of each one. Angel Beats has a clear and interesting turning point where you will reject all of your earlier thoughts about it. Something that disappoints me by the anime is that it has a bad and unfinished end. The last seconds of the very last episode expresses that there will undoubtly be a second season. The only problem is that there is no continuation.

The characters in this anime are all extremely interesting both in personality and appearance. There may be a bit too many characters in the anime, but they have so many varied personalities that remembering them all won't be a problem. The series is also very interesting because it even has it's own band called Girls Dead Monster.

Beautiful, sad and emotional is the best way of descriing the soundtrack of the anime. There are all kinds of music that brings life to the scenes and the characters. From mystic electronic pieces to heartbreaking balads and hearing killing rock by Girls Dead Monster.

The style of this anime is very detailed and precisely done and it proides a rich expression. The sceneries such as sunsets and underground bases are absolutely gorgeous There's no doubt that this has been an expensive production and it thefore gives you an anime with a sky-high quality.

I have to admit that this is one of my favourite series of all time even though the ending is kind of frustrating and unfinished. Angel Beats both made me drop some tears as well as making me laugh to death. Angel Beats is absolutely an anime I highly recommend you seeing. You can download it from Animtake, but I recommend you to buy a Blu Ray or DVD copy because those behind the anime are passionate and hard working people who deserves their livelihood. I am considering myself to buy it though I have allready seen it.

Recommended anime: Kamisama no Memochou

Kamisama no Memochou (God’s Memo Pad) is an ongoing anime written by Katsushi Sakurabi and with illustrations by Mel Kishida who is also behind Hana-Saku Iroha. The anime started July 2. this year.

The Story circles around Narumi Fujishima who is an ordinary high school boy who remains isolated from his fellow classmates. His classmate, Ayaka Shinozaki, one day invites Narumi to join the gardening club and introduces him to a mysterious detective named Alice. Alice hires Narumi as an assistant and puts him to work and help her and her team solving strange mysteries. Little does he know it could put him and Ayaka in serious trouble.

The genres of this series is probably inside thriller and mysteries. I myself don't like this kind of theme or setting to much but the graphics and the character designs are really amazing in my opinion. It therefore reminds me a bit of Angel Beats! which is also an anime with great art quality.

I am following the series but as I only have seen three episodes, I must say that there is not yet much speed in the story. The story is still quite interesting.

You can download the anime from Animetake which is out on the day with new episode releases.

Shinryaka! Ika Musume - Review

Shinryaka! Ika Musume, aka Squid Girl is a 12 episode anime series directed by Tsutomu Mizushima. The anime goes under the genres supernatural, comedy and slice of life. Shinryaka! Ika Musume is a completed anime with it's run from October 4, 2010, to December 20, 2010.

The story circles around Ika Musume who is a girl with abilities like a squid and has come from the sea in order to conquer the surface world. Instead she ends up as a waitress to work and pay for the damage she causes when she destroys a wall in a beach restaurant. While working for the restaurant, she makes new experiences on the surface and makes herself lots of friends who supports her.

The series has no specific conflict or solution and it's therefore very comparable to for example Nichijou which also is a series "without meaning". Like Nichijou, Shinryaka! Ika Musume is a really funny series build up alone by the the characters and their situations in the daily life. The series still have some quite emotional scenes which really sprites up the overall impression.

What I certainly like about Shinryaka! Ika Musume is the artwork and the characters. The styles of the characters are pretty chibi-like so the series seems rather childish but I enjoy it that way. The personalities of the characters are very varied and funny and are perhaps the strongest side of the anime. When it comes to music, I am not to fond of either the OP or the ED song of the anime, but it works okay (Though the opening is really enjoying).

In the end, Shinryaka! Ika Musume is a very funny and entertaining anime "without" conflict that I recommend though it's not one of my favourites.