Bounen no Xam'd

 

Introduction:  I am going to be honest here, I 100% decided to watch this series because of the word Xam'd in the title.

Plot Overview: Takehara Akiyuki is a high-school student on the small island of Senten, which lies near the border of the Southern Continent and the Northern Continent which are at war with each other. One day while boarding the bus for school he helps sneak on a mysterious looking girl. Just as they arrive at the school the bus explodes, apparently a suicide attempt by the strange girl. After checking to make sure he and his friends are okay he rushes back onto the bus to find out what happened to the strange girl only to find her mortally wounded. Smiling when she see's Akiyuki she activates a strange device that was implanted into Akiyuki during the explosion transforming him into a strange creature called a Xam'd, a creature the girl holds as sacred.

Review: Bounen no Xam'd is probably the most infuriating anime I've ever watched for one reason and one reason alone, it doesn't explain what is going on at any time until a couple episodes later. You watch an episode and they start talking about things that they expect you to know before they are explained to you which just sort of wears you down after a while. And even then a lot of the stuff they do explain isn't explained that well or is explained in "I don't see it, but I'll take word for it" type way. Add to that it tries to cram in way too many major character, extremely awkward pacing, and some strange choices in character development and you get an anime that probably needs to be twice as long if they wanted it to come to the viewers at an understandable pace. Despite these faults though the concept is great, the art is vibrant and adds a lot of character, and the world building is very well done, so that's something.

Conclusion: It has it's flaws but if you are willing to rewatch some episodes after having some things explained to you Xam'd is a decent anime that has an interesting yet poorly executed concept.

Guardman's Grade: C+

Categories: Action, War, Drama, Tragedy, Fantasy

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

Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica

Introduction: If I had one word to describe Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica it would be dark. If I had more words then I would be writing a review... oh, wait I do. Woot!

Plot Overview: Madoka and her friend Sayaka are approached by a strange creature named Kyubey who offers to grant any wish they desire in exchange for becoming magical girls with tremendous power to fight creatures called witches which are responsible for unexplained murders and suicides. However before they can decide a magical girl, named Homura, who was hunting Kyubey approaches them and tries to dissuade them from taking Kyubey up on his offer as she tells them they will only experience suffering and despair because of it. It is now up to Madoka and Sayaka to decide if they have a wish powerful enough to risk becoming magical girls for it.

Review: Despite it's initial cute animation and happy school girl characters this is anything but a feel good anime. The story is dark and disturbing as it paints a picture where our dreams and desires are the source of all suffering and pain in this world as the cost we must pay to achieve them is often more than we can pay. Combine this with girls who only want to do what is right and you get a story that makes you question what you are giving up to have your dreams come true. The animators don't help any with the off and disturbing feeling as they give the witches and the places they reside in a different and thoroughly unique look that sharply contrasts with the anime style in which the regular world and main characters are drawn in. But saying all that this is truly a work of art where the story telling, voice acting, and animation come together perfectly to make a very enjoyable and unique anime.

Conclusion: This anime is not for everyone due to the darker and somewhat depressing plot. But for those of you who don't mind watching something that will make you disturbed then I strongly recommend watching Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica.

Guardman's Grade: A

Categories: Tragedy, Drama, Supernatural, Magical Girls

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