Busou Renkin

Introduction: Um... so... yeah... I got nothing. Enjoy.

Plot Overview: Kazuki Muto is your average Highschool student who happens to die while trying to save a girl from a monster. Well that is what he think happens anyways as he finds himself waking up in his school's dorm. Later the girl he saved, Tokiko Tsumura comes in to tell him that he actually did die, but she brought him back to life by using a strange medallion, the Kakugane, and placing it inside him as a replacement for his heart. The Kakugane is an alchemic device and when activated by the Kakugane's user is the only device capable of defeating Homunculi. And so begins Kazuki's adventure of fighting Homunculi and those that create them.

Review: Busou Renkin isn't deep, isn't thought provoking, and for the most part is entirely power driven where you are more interested in seeing what cool power X has more than the story itself. Now that that is out of the way I'll be the first to say that while my first sentence might seem damning of the series, it really isn't. Busou Renkin has it's moments and actually has some very entertaining and original characters like Papillon, who is the one wearing the tights and butterfly mask in the picture above (and before you think otherwise that is pretty much all he wears throughout the entire series). But this series after a while begins to rely more and more on showing cool powers and fights in the place for good story telling.

Conclusion: If you like Bleach you will most likely like Busou Renkin. Both have the same feel and same sort of story telling, along with the emphasis on powers over plot.

Guardman's Grade: C

Categories: Shounen, Action, Comedy, Supernatural

Peace Maker Kurogane

Introduction: I actually found this series completely by accident. I was walking through the mall by my house when I noticed that the Suncoast in it was going out of business and they had a big bin full of movies and series that were drastically reduced in price. So I was like what the hell and started going through the bin until I spotted this series, drawn by the protagonist's bright red hair and the sky blue of the Shinsengumi uniform. Getting it for only a few dollars I wasn't expecting much, but I ended up getting a great and underrated series.

Plot Overview: Peace Maker Kurogane revolves around Ichimura Testunosuke (Testu), a 15 year old boy who wishes to join the Shinsengumi to get revenge on the people who murdered his parents. But due to his small, child like appearance and energetic personality almost nobody at the Shinsengumi takes him seriously and he is relegated to being the page of the demonic sub-commander Hijikata. And so begins the story of Testu's attempts to gain the strength he desires in the backdrop of the coming revolution between Shogunate and anti-Shogunate forces.

Review: Despite being a Japanese historical anime, it's not really that. The historical aspects of it are quite toned down and was obviously made in such a way where prior knowledge of the history and events surrounding the anime are not prerequisites to enjoy it. Instead the historical setting is used as back drop for an intriguing tale that focuses on what one is willing to give up to achieve their goals and whether it is really worth it. In line with that the character development is top notch as you see both characters like Testu who are struggling with the choices they've yet to make and characters like Hijikata who instead struggle with the choices he has already made and the consequences of those choices. But despite the great character development the show suffers from a plot that was intended to facilitate more the character development then make a great story. So because of this the plot can slow down at some points and take twists that don't really make sense other then from a character development standpoint.

Conclusion: Peace Maker Kurogane is an enjoyable historical and character driven anime that has a nice balance of drama, action, and comedy whose only real flaw is a weak plot.

Guardman's Grade: B

Categories: Tragedy, Action, Comedy, Drama, Historical, Samurai

Eyeshield 21

Introduction: I decided to read Eyeshield 21 just out of my pure love of football (not soccer) and my unending curiosity about how it could be translated to manga form.

Plot Overview: Eyeshield 21 is about a small, perpetual gopher named Sena who through his years of running errands for bullies has developed near super-human speed and cutting ability. Seeing this the twisted and ingenious quarterback, Hiruma, of the Deimon High School American Football team, the Devil Bats, blackmails Sena (and eventually anyone else he finds useful) into joining as the mysterious and anonymous Eyeshield 21. And so begins the unlikely journey of Eyeshield 21 and the high octane Devil Bats as they follow their dream towards playing in the Christmas Bowl.

Review: The first thing that comes to mind when reading Eyeshield 21 is that it does a great job of capturing the fun and excitement of football. The author, Riichiro Inagaki, and the illustrator, Yusuke Murata, show the amount of effort and research they put into Eyeshield 21 by the way the equipment and body movement reflects how actual football players look and move (you know minus the special effects). The games themselves are also very good as where one could get bogged down in play after play, they instead streamline them, focusing on the big plays and interactions while subtly hiding the fact that they are skipping a lot of plays. As for the characters, they are all very well done, with each one having an unique style, personality, and way they hold themselves which makes it easy to tell who is who even with all the football equipment on. Even the football teams have their own personality, plays, and easily distinguishable uniforms, from the tricky high octane Deimon Devil Bats to the stoic defense of the Ojo White Knights to the overpowering gunslinger offense of the Seibu Wild Gunmen. The only real problem with Eyeshield 21 is that it was obviously made for an audience that has limited exposure to football as there is never a penalty called and there are a lot of little things that a person with knowledge of football would spot and say that's not right.

Conclusion: Eyeshield 21 is a fun, energetic, and funny sports manga full of great characters that is easy to enjoy and get addicted to if you can get pass some of the inaccuracies and idiosyncrasies in the way they portray the game.

Guardman's Grade: B

Categories: Shounen, Sports, School Life, Comedy

Gin no Saji

Introduction: Sometimes you stumble onto little gems not because you are looking for them, but by pure happenstance. I began reading Gin no Saji aka "Silver Spoon" not because I was interested in reading a farming manga, but because Arakawa Hiromu is one of my favorite mangaka, and after Fullmetal Alchemist I am willing to give anything she creates a chance no matter how uninteresting the initial concept might sound to me. And personally I am glad I did.

Plot Overview: Hachiken Yugo is a student from Sapporo who enrolls in an agricultural high school after failing to get into his high schools of choice on the mistaken belief that the easier course load will give him more time to prepare for college. Unfortunately for him he is woefully unprepared for not only the hard labor that comes from being in an agricultural high school but from the moral and ethical problems that one must face in the ever challenging world of farming where you literally hold the fate of other living creatures in your hands. This combined with his ever helpful nature leads to him having to confront not only himself, but his beliefs and what he wants for the future.

Review: Despite my initial assumption that this would be another school, coming to age, shounen manga only set in an agricultural background instead of the usual setting, I was quickly proven wrong when the coming to age part proved to have little to do with maturity, but instead was about shaping one's ethics and morals. Combined with the fact that instead of fanciful elements providing the moral choice, we are given the very real life examples of killing animals you are attached to for food or ethical debates on engineering produce and livestock. But despite the sheer weight of the coming to age elements, this manga is anything but depressing. It is full of hope, life, and even quite a bit of comedy that only Arakawa Hiromu can pull off.

Conclusion: Due to the subject matter and the fact that the problems faced are very much ground in real life this manga isn't for everybody, but for those that are either looking for a good coming of age manga to follow or are fans of Fullmetal Alchemist I strongly recommend reading Gin no Saji.

Guardman's Grade: A-

Categories:  Shounen, Slice of Life, School Life, Coming of Age, Comedy, Drama

The Irresponsible Captain Tylor

Introduction: There are just some anime that you just love. It's the anime that makes you love all that is anime. For me it's this 1993 anime which is an adaption of The Most Irresponsible Man In Space light novels.

Plot Overview: In this Sci-Fi comedic space opera we follow the trials and tribulations of Justy Ueki Tylor. He is a lazy bum who dreams of the easy life and so decides to join the United Planet Space Forces so he can have a cushy desk job. While on a routine pension delivery he accidentally saves the life of a very well respected retired general and his daughters who were being held captive. The UPSF confronted with the fact that Tylor is now a national hero, but clearly incompetent, decide to promote him to captain of a decrepit ship full of other cast-offs, the Soyokaze. And so begins the infamous career of the most irresponsible man to ever captain a ship.

Review: While on it's surface The Irresponsible Captain Tylor appears to be a straight comedy, full of laughs and unconcerned with proving a point, the more you get into it the more you start to realize that nothing is exactly as it appears. The cast of characters are surprisingly deep even though only a couple are ever fully developed and everybody has a twitch of mystery that not only makes you question their motives, but also their state of mind. The plot overall isn't the strongest, but it doesn't need to be. In fact as the entire show is so character driven I think a strong plot would've probably made it worse as it would've detracted away from the characters.

Conclusion: This is a great anime for those who want a deeper, more intriguing comedy rather than the thin and superficial gag comedies that seem to populate the anime universe right now.

Guardman's Grade: A

Categories:  Space Opera, Sci-Fi, War, Comedy