Book Review: The Ranger's Apprentice: Book Six: The Siege of Macindaw by John Flanagan
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Manga Review: "Hellsing" Vol. 1 by KohtaHirano
Quick Info
Author: Kohta Hirano
Publisher: Darkhorse Manga
Published: December 15, 2009
Availability: In print, buy the deluxe omnibus edition on Amazon, Crunchyroll shop, eBay, and Dark Horse Digital for the IOS and Android app
Story Summary
Hellsing Manga Vol. 1 by Kohta Hirano is about a police officer named Seras Victoria, who lives in the village of Cheddar. She is attacked by vampires but is rescued by a powerful vampire named Alucard, who is part of the Hellsing Organization, a group that hunts vampires to protect England from them.
The Dialogue Is Well Written, but Accents Make It Difficult to Read
The dialogue is definitely interesting and well-written. The story is definitely entertaining, and it’s a strong point of the manga. A quirky thing about the manga is that they try to give Father Alexander Anderson a Scottish accent, and Hirano does this by spelling words how they are accented, making it difficult to understand what you're reading, and you have to really concentrate on what the character is saying because the accent makes reading it out loud or in your head harder than it should be.
The Characters
There’s Integra Hellsing, the no-nonsense leader. The butler Walter Dornez and the zealous Father AlexanderAnderson. His antagonistic rivalry with Alucard is a recurring theme throughout Hellsing. I also like the action and the characters.
The Artwork is Good
The action scenes are very well done and exciting to look at. It’s definitely an interesting manga and has very good artwork and character designs.
The art style is unique and memorable. If you read the manga or watch the anime Hellsing Ultimate, you'll be able to recognize these characters anywhere, and that makes the manga stand out.
The Manga Has Solid Storytelling
This manga is very interesting with well-written characters and a solid story. The story is definitely well doneand the characters are people we can rally behind, not to mention that the character designs and artwork look really good too.
It has gotten off to a good start with an interesting setup, good characters, and solid artwork to keep you reading and wanting to know what will happen next.
It can be very over the top, but it's a lot of adult fun that an older audience will enjoy.
No Sparkling Vampires Here
If you want a good manga to read and you like vampires, are sick of silly romances (stupid Twilight), and you want an action-packed mature title, pick up Hellsing Volume 1, you won’t be disappointed. Action vampires abound in this manga; it's especially nice since this series is complete now and you can buy the entire thing to own.
This goes back to a lot of the traditional vampire lore, with some modern twists of course, but Hellsing reminds us that vampires are supposed to be scary monsters.
Parental Advisory
As a note to parents, this manga is a very violent, bloody manga. There is a lot of violence and gore, and strong language too. This manga does contain the F-Bomb and is definitely not for readers under the age of 16.
Also, if you're a religious person, you'll probably be offended at the portrayal of Catholic and Protestant characters, as Father Anderson comes off as a crazy zealot, who will happily kill heathens in the name of God; the Protestant Knights don't act very religious at all.
If you're a religious person, you'll probably be offended by Hellsing.
This is an adult manga and should be treated like adult literature. Keep the kids away from this one; this isn't intended for them.
This Manga is Ridiculously Over-The-Top
This manga runs on Rule of Cool; it's not realistic at all, with vampires being ridiculously powerful and Catholic Priests who want to kill heathens and heretics. It also beats the romanticization of vampires to death with a stake; they're actually dangerous in this story.
The violence is over-the-top, having a ridiculous amount of gore that gave it the 17+ rating from Dark Horse Manga. It's definitely aimed at the adult crowd with its hyperviolent art and strong profanity.
It's not meant to be deep or profound; it's just Kohta Hirano having vampires do cool and ridiculous things in his story.
Overall Grade: A (With Warnings to the Religious)
I highly recommend this manga to anyone who likes vampires, and if you want something that has action, is well written, and very well done with excellent characters and artwork.
It does have the potential to offend Christians, mainly with the portrayals of characters affiliated with the Catholic and Protestant churches.
I haven't bought the series yet because I can get it from my local library for free, but I feel it was worth my time to read it. It was a very exciting manga, and I enjoyed it even though I don't read a lot of vampire books or novels.
If you’re old enough to read it, you should definitely see if your local library has it to read. Still, I recommend buying it because it’s well worth your time to read it, and it’s an action-packed manga that I enjoyed reading.
You can read my review of Hellsing Volume 2 if you want to.
© 2011 ReViewMeMedia
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Revolutionary Girl Utena DVD Release Date, June 7, 2011
A brand new release of the remastered version of Revolutionary Girl Utena! A nice release of the DVD from RightStuf, pre-order here
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
Anime Review: Strait Jacket OVA
Quick Info
Director: Shinji Ushiro
Distributor: Anchor Bay
Released: October 7, 2008
Runtime: 76 minutes
Rating: Not Rated, MA
Availability: On DVD, out of print
Distributor: Anchor Bay
Released: October 7, 2008
Runtime: 76 minutes
Rating: Not Rated, MA
Availability: On DVD, out of print
Plot Summary
Strait-Jacket is an anime Original Video Animation or OVA; it is not based on a manga.
In an alternate universe in the year 1899 in the city of Tristan, magic is the science of the day, and it is used for everyday tasks. But using magic is addictive, and if you use it too often, you’ll contract a disease called the Malediction and become a demon. This can happen at any time, and demons will go on rampages and kill people.
To stop them, Tactical Sorcerists are called in, people who use magic to fight demons while running the risk of becoming demons themselves. People call them Strait Jackets.
Nerin Simmons works for the Sorcery Management Bureau and is called to the scene of a demon attack. There she meets the mysterious Leiot Steinberg, an unlicensed Sorcerist who is renowned for killing demons and leaving a chaotic mess in his wake. Isaac Hammond is another Sorcerist who sees him as a rival and dislikes him while feeling a strange connection to him.
The Story Is Very Average by Anime Standards
This OVA is an all right piece. It’s not outstanding or particularly innovative. It has its share of cliché storytelling, but it’s still entertaining, it has decent characters and a decent storyline, it’s just not new or innovative, and we’ve seen plenty of things that are in the OVA in other anime.
It also tries to be an action anime OVA, but there isn’t a whole lot of action. It’s mainly Leiot showing up and using magic to blast away the demon with his big gun using a magic spell, but there aren’t even a lot of fight scenes in this anime OVA.
It also has the problem of having some cliches that show up in a lot of anime, with the hothead, the veteran, the mysterious girl, and the audience POV character dealing with supernatural creatures.
The Animation is Decent
The animation for the Strait Jacket OVA looks decent, the art style is good, but it's not an amazing anime. The fight scenes are decent, but not the most memorable fights I've ever seen.
The animation is decent, but it's not the best I've ever seen. It's nothing that really stands out. It's just an average anime that you'll only watch once.
The Music Isn't Memorable
The music composed by Takeshi Yanagawa is good, but not very memorable. I can't recall a single thing about the score that stood out to me. The opening song was "The Last Hope" by Takeshi Yanagawa, and the ending song is "Le Chemin" by Kyo.
Parental Advisory
As a note to parents, this is a very violent and gory film. There is a lot of blood and gore in this OVA. People tend to die in gory deaths that involve exploding, and it is not suitable for young viewers. This is definitely for ages 17 and up.
There is nudity, but it's not sexual; it's mainly characters showering.
It was Decent
While the story and the music are okay, what makes up for the lack of deep plot and character development is the English dub voice acting. Steve Blum gives a good performance to Leiot Steinberg.
Crispin Freeman is also good as Isaac Hammond; he’s a good actor, and his performance is something his fans should expect from him.
Bridget Hoffman is a great actress, and she does a really good job in her role as Nerin Simmons. I like her acting, even though I haven’t seen her in a lot of anime roles, even though she’s in quite a few anime.
Kari Wahlgren’s work as Rachel Hammond is good too, but her role is very short. She still did a good job, though.
My Rating: C-
Overall, I would recommend renting this if you’re unsure. It’s not bad, but it’s not the best anime OVA I've ever watched. It's interesting but not very memorable. It’s worth watching, but you’ll have to decide for yourself if you want to buy it. If the story weren't so average, I would recommend buying it, but now that it's out of print, it's not going to be worth the inflated price online sellers have listed.
If it could have been something that wasn't a one-off project, the story might have been better. It just didn't quite turn out to be an outstanding OVA.
The only reason I watched this OVA is that it aired on the Sci-Fi Channel's AniMonday block, and I watched it on TV. I managed to borrow it from my local library system to watch it again. Unfortunately, it's out of print, and the library no longer has it available for me to borrow.
Overall, It is going out of print and will probably end up being very expensive for collectors to get a hold of.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Manga Review: Hellsing Volume One by Kohta Hirano
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Read my review of Hellsing Volume 1 by Kohta Hirano here
Buy Hellsing OVA anime adaptation here:
 Hellsing Ultimate OVA Set 1 Blu-ray/DVD - $44.99 Hellsing: Ultimate Set 1 contains episodes 1-4. The rogue vampire Alucard is the Hellsing Organization's deadliest instrument in its mission to protect the British Empire from satanic ghouls and Nazi freaks. He is not alone in his assault on the occult; the master has a servant. Policewoman Seras Victoria accepted Alucard's gift of dark salvation after falling in the line of duty, and now the remnants of her human soul struggle against her growing vampire urges. Together, they haunt the shadows as a sinister force of good - and tonight the foggy streets of England shall flow with the blood of their evil prey. Special Features: Episode Commentary, Interviews with English Voice Director and Cast, Anime Expo 2007 English Cast Panel, Geneon Booth: Featuring Hellsing Mansion, Promotional Videos, Japanese TV Commercials, Karaoke of Major's Speech, Trailers. Spoken Languages: English, Japanese, English subtitles. |
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Hellsing Ultimate Volume 1 OVA Review
Parental Discretion is advised. A review of Hellsing Ultimate Volume 1, Limited Edition Steelbox. Buy here
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