Rurouni Kenshin - Part II: Kyoto Inferno (2014/2016) and Rurouni Kenshin - Part III: The Legend Ends (2014/2016)

Director: Keishi Otomo

Notable Cast: Takeru Satoh, Emi Takei, Munetaka Aoki, Kaito Oyagi, Tatsuya Fujiwara, Ryunosuke Kamiki, Yu Aoi, Maryjun Takahashi, Ryosuke Miura, Yusuke Iseya, Tao Tsuchiya, Yosuke Eguchi, Min Tanaka, Masaharu Fukuyama

After kicking off the franchise with such a great entry like Rurouni Kenshin – Part I: Origins, there was only one place to go with the series: more epic. The following two sequels, Part II: Kyoto Inferno and Part III: The Legend Ends, are essentially one four-and-a-half-hour sequel split into two parts. They were not going to fuck around when they decided to go epic, I suppose, and this was the manner in which they chose to embrace it. The two films are essentially one film, so for my review I decided it was fitting to review them together.  Both are strong entries into the franchise, although neither quite hits the heights of the original in blending fun, entertainment, heart, and action in such an effective manner. In fact, it’s the epic nature of these films that is both a blessing and a curse. Yes, both films take the series to the next level of complexity, but it lacks a bit of that efficient storytelling that made the first one so good. Both are still highly entertaining blends of classic samurai storytelling with modern scale, so keep that in mind as you dig into Kyoto Inferno and The Legend Ends and enjoy them for the massive scale sequels they are.

Rurouni Kenshin - Part I: Origins (2012/2016)

Director: Keishi Otomo

Notable Cast: Takeru Satoh, Emi Takei, Munetaka Aoki, Teruyuki Kagawa, Yu Aoi, Koji Kikkawa, Gou Ayano, Genki Sudo, Taketo Tanaka, Yosuke Eguchi, Eiji Okuda

Also known as: Rurouni Kenshin

With another entry into “why the hell didn’t this get a full US release earlier,” Rurouni Kenshin (or as the new US release is called Rurouni Kenshin - Part I: Origins) finally drops on home video via Funimation and after watching it I have to ask that question again. Truthfully, there are a lot of things about the film that would make a company feel hesitant to release the film including that it’s a live action adaption of a well-known anime and it’s a samurai action film which can be hard to sell to the general US public. However, the film is phenomenal. The first part of a trilogy, all of which have already gotten a release in Japan, Rurouni Kenshin takes a lot of classic Japanese samurai themes and imagery and powers it with a quirky sense of timing and then wraps it all in ridiculously high energy sword fighting action sequences. Sure, the film with its strong sense of Japanese history and culture can be a tough sell for American audiences, but the film is so impressively executed that it comes with some of the highest recommendations we can offer here.

Attack on Titan (2013) ep. 1-25

Oh I got this!

Welcome to another review from yours truly. This time around I embark on an impossible journey to the not so distant future where humanity has been all but destroyed. In a world where giant naked Titans run about devouring people like snacks for no apparent reason other than it's fun! So tighten up those boot laces and march along with me as I try to sum up this series in just a million words or less.

Synopsis:
 Centuries ago our world was destroyed by Titans so we the people decided what better way to protect ourselves then to build some very large walls to surround ourselves with and keep the Titans out. All well and good until a giant Titan suddenly appears one day to knock a hole through one of the walls. This of course was problematic for civilization as the Titans began to enter the city for a feeding frenzy. Enter our hero Eren Yeager. Eren always dreamed of going outside the walls, to explore the other world and maybe one day join the Recon Corp., which is a military type group that explores the outside world and studies Titans. Along with Eren is his "sister" Mikasa. Like Eren's parents she is not receptive to his adventurous ideas, but all this changed on that fateful day when the wall was opened up.  After watching his mother being devoured by a Titan, Eren vowes to destroy all Titans.  It is his anger fueled passion that drives his decision to join the military in hopes of one day joining The Survey Corp.  An elite military group hell bent on destroying these Titans. This is no easy task as one can imagine. The Survey Corp. is pretty much the front line for this war on Titans and joining such a team is all but certain death.

Wanna know where the rest of my sword is?

Review:
 From the opening gut wrenching scenes all the way through out, this anime series will punch you in the face with non stop action. Its a revenge driven story for sure with a ton of story to tell. From our lead characters to lesser characters that still stand out among the masses, we get to see many views. There is more than adequate twists and turns to keep the viewers interested. This series came to me full of excitement. From  message boards across the internet to every anime and manga magazine hyping it up. The first time I saw the poster I was intrigued. After watching episode one I was hooked, I mean addicted.
Waiting for each new episode to hit Crunchyroll was painful. Often times I felt like a child a week before Christmas and a tree full of gifts just waiting to be opened. Could it be that "Attack on Titan" is the best anime of 2013?  Let me break it down for ya. You want action? Done and done. You want a hero that is slightly weaker than the rest with a tendacy to whine too much. Okay so Eren isn't your typical anime hero and that's just fine by me. How about stunning visual appeal? Yes! The action scenes are terrific. While the character design isn't glowing with greatness, it is certainly better than the source material. It has a unique feel to it, which really grew on me.

What would you say to a bit of drama and comedy mixed in with your action? Can I get a collective HECK YES PLEASE! It seemed like each episode ended with a punch to the gut cliffhanger that left me holding my breathe and begging for Saturday to arrive. Finally, how do you feel about strong story and great characters? All of these things are the reason I believe "Attack on Titan" is the top anime series of 2013. Here's to holding my breathe til season 2 arrives!

Sweet! Party at the wall. Bring a friend.

To wrap up this review I will say "Attack on Titan" is one of the finest series out there right now. It has such a great feel to it both in story and in animation. The music score is pretty great as well, it fits the show.  With that I say buy yourself a copy as soon as it streets or watch it on Funimation or Crunchyroll . I give "Attack on Titan":

Written By John Price

Dance in the Vampire Bund Ep. 1-12 (2010)

Ever watch a movie or series and you are left feeling well... indifferent about it?

This is how "Dance In The Vampire Bund" made me feel, nothing. I did not hate it or love it. I am not really sure what to think of it overall. The following sentences and paragraphs will explain.

Synopsis - Queen Mina Tepes leader of the vampire world is hell bent on forcing society to accept vampires into the human world. However she faces an uphill battle against many foes including some of her own kind.

Review - My thoughts on the series are this, the anime had no clear direction from the start. Is it horror, romance, or maybe we want to get the young male audience with some odd "Lolita" fan service? This is mainly where it became uncomfortable for me. The Queen is a child vampire maybe 10 yrs old in the human world, however that doesn't stop the creators from putting her in sexual situations. It was hard to watch at times. I get the fact that the series is ultimately based on Queen Mina, but it stays so focused on her that they miss out on developing any other characters. Which is too bad because there is some interesting characters to play with.

I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine!

About halfway through the series I was about to give up on it and  move on. I hate that feeling, so I fought on and wouldn't you know it, the series got better for roughly 2-3 episodes. For this small story arc it focused on Mina's relationship with her werewolf servant and part time lover Akira. I, for one, really liked this side story. It gave life to a character that was dragged through the series and finally gave us the viewers something to cling on to. Although short lived this little story arc is what makes my feelings twist about this series. In the end, I decided I needed more from this anime. Is there gonna be a second season to give me closure? I am not sure, would I even watch it? This series is so dark and lacking humor of any kind. "Dance In The Vampire Bund" is a lot of things but one thing it is not is complete. Visually it is well done, with all the standard visual effects and the voice acting is good enough.

Overall I will give "Dance In The Vampire Bund":

Written By John Price

The Sacred Blacksmith (2009)

At first I was reluctant to watch this series. Having seen other reviews and knowing it is based on a light novel by Isao Miura I put this series aside for awhile. Well as fate would have it I decided to go ahead and give it a shot, mainly due a very cool pic of one of the characters from the series that I came across in Neo magazine. I am glad I did for I have been pleasantly surprised. While it may not have the strongest characters or story, it still has a lot going for it. It is entertaining to say the least. Chock full of action mixed with a smear of romance, "The Sacred Blacksmith" is a good series by my standards. So here is my review on this medieval romp.

"The Sacred Blacksmith" is centered around the knight guard Cecily Campbell of the Campbell house. While out in the city one day she is called  to action by a strangely behaving man seeking his "salvation". Right from the start we see the many flaws of Miss Campbell. She is not strong enough to stave off the would be attacker and thusly put in the position to be saved by the handsome stranger known as Luke.  Luke has a katana for a sword and after seeing Luke use it so impressively, Cecily insists that Luke makes her one, he of course refuses to do so setting up the romance side of things. While pursuing his craftsmanship Cecily gets involved with a war that has been going on behind the scenes for 40 plus years. From here the story takes us on many journeys. The story itself is a fantasy drama with a little bit of comedy spread throughout. This series is loaded with a predominantly female group of characters, which does have its appeal for a larger audience of viewers. The main male character being Luke does help to even things out as he is a large part of the story.

I really enjoyed the side stories throughout the series, my favorite being the Demon Swords mainly Aria. There are several different Demon Swords and all have a part to play in the war. Basically a few of the  Demon Swords can take human form and all belong to a warrior. Ultimately Aria ends up with Cecily and a friendship is formed.

The character development is pretty decent here. We get to see Luke go from the mysterious stranger with a katana to being a potential hero. Cecily is the damsel in distress type character, however she does possess a will like none other. By this statement I mean she puts herself in situations that require her to be saved due to her unwillingness to give up. Which is pretty admirable in a character. As far as the basic story here it is nothing we haven't seen before but then again that can be said for pretty much every kind of genre. From the love story aspect to the man in black side story. It can be fairly predictable but enjoyable none the less.
If you are a big fan of fan service and boob jokes with a couple nude scenes mixed in, then you were not forgotten here. While not over done there is  more than needed to drive home the point. If you are looking for a series that is fun, action packed, and a little sweet in the middle. I would recommend "The Sacred Blacksmith" for many reasons. So do yourself a favor and watch it. Until next keep watching anime!

Written By John Price

If you want to check out "The Sacred Blacksmith" or other recommended anime, click on the links below and support Blood Brothers with your purchases!

Murder Princess (2007/2009)

Finally I was actually able to sit down and review an actual Horror themed anime series. Yay! Sadly this series was not as horror themed as I had initially thought. However, I saddled up and rode through this little ghost town and watched the series to completion. Only 6 episodes long or ovas long if you prefer, it was rather short. Not sure why either. (back to this later on ) Well enough about that now on to the review.

Story - In this series you have a kingdom under siege , a dying king, and a princess not quite strong enough to be the leader of her people. Mix in a rebel bounty hunter and her gang of not so merry men (think son of Frankenstein and a strange Tiki looking dude) as well as a crazy mad scientist as the redundant villain and you got yourself a half-assed story that leaves you wondering what could have been.

While sitting around the castle one day Princess Alita has to watch her father die from his war injuries. Not sure if her brother is still alive or not due to lack of communication from the front lines, she is forced to leave the castle before it is over taken, since she is the last of the bloodline. Within a matter of moments she is lost and alone running for her life from some giant monster that wants to eat her. As she is running through the forest she some how manages to run over the bounty hunter Falis, sending them both over a cliff to their doom or so we thought. Apparently when two souls are put into a traumatic situation they can switch bodies which is exactly what happens next. The absurdities mount as this story continues. Somehow the Princess convinces the bounty hunter who is now in the body of the Princess to go back to the castle with all her ass kicking skills and save the kingdom. She of course agrees and the adventure starts.

If action is your thing then this series has you covered. Lots of action, with some pretty awesome battle scenes. Not a whole lot of substance but with a title like "Murder Princess" what can one really expect. I struggled to take the series seriously as I do not the think it can be. With the plot and characters it is pretty much a bash em type anime. What I mean is that it is like the old fighting video games where you just push a bunch of buttons and you might win.

These two twins are a shining example of the kind of villains the Princess must try to stop. She also faces off against werewolves and sorcery. On one side you have potential for a really good story and then the other side is 'lets keep it simple and goofy'. I feel like the writer was not sure what direction to take this series. With that in mind I feel like we, the viewer, got short changed. This is such a short series that we are left with a lot of plot holes and ultimately it does wrap up the story in its own way.

Artwork- Nothing flashy or new. It is pretty standard for anime these days. I liked the colors used during the action scenes. I think the forest was done well with the intent to add a horror feel to the project.

Music - Soundtrack was very good. With a hard rock intro it really set the mood for the series. Fast paced and out of control.

Voice acting - Admittedly I watched the dubbed version, as I have become more and more interested in dubs. I feel like Funimation made some great choices with the roles. Other than the whiny annoying voices of the little robot children. I have nothing but praise in this area.

Overall- Turn off your logic, grab your favorite snack and sit back and watch the blood bath commence. While I do not think this is for everyone I do think if you like lots of action and violence then this is for you. Lots of blood shed, very little fan service, and not much of a story. Until next time , keep watching anime amigos!!

Written By John Price 

You know you want to watch "Murder Princess" now...so you might as well take that mouse there and click below to purchase it. Or perhaps purchase one of John's other suggested titles.

Spice And Wolf Season 1 1-13 (2008)

The journey. The trip. The travel. It's all a part of getting somewhere. No matter if its for work, for family, fun or pleasure, we all must travel. Watching "Spice and Wolf" Season 1 was in fact a journey for myself as well. You see as an avid anime viewer I tend to stay in a comfort zone of sorts. I watch mainly what I think interests me. However after seeing countless articles about this series, I decided it was time to take a little trip of my own outside of my comfort zone. So off I go to a far away land and I hope you come along with me.

The story - This adventure centers around a merchant named  Kraft Lawerence who travels from town to town selling his various items to the locals. During one of his town visits he is startled to discover a young woman hidden in his cart of furs. This of course is no ordinary woman. The young lady is actually Holo, a pagan god. She appears in human form with a set of wolf ears and a tail, completely nude, and explains to Kraft that she is the goddess of harvest and has blessed the area with bountiful crop for years. Having heard this tale during his travels Kraft was interested to learn more about her claims. This series is very interesting to me for many different reasons. One being it is set during an era that is similar to medieval Europe. Two, it takes on Pagan gods and beliefs. Third, this anime series some how manages to tell a story about economics and kept me drawn in and completely interested. Last, but not least, there is a romance story to add without really focusing on it. It is the bond between the two that really sets it apart from other romance stories, well at least in my opinion.

The business duo of Kraft and Holo really have a great chemistry about them. Holo helps Kraft during several of his transactions with great monetary success. She is crafty after all. She is there for him when everything crashes as well.

With the Church running a lot of the towns economic systems it is important that no one discovers her true identity as it would lead to her demise. So with the understanding that the church is looking to do away with all Pagan gods, Holo hides her ears and tail in her cloak. However as with any adventurer she has more than one occassion of close calls.

Kraft is the guy every girl's parents would want her to bring home to dinner. He is a man of his word, handsome, and charming. His characteristics really were a large part of the story. They also cause him trouble with the towns folk on occasion. Overall I think this story has it all. Action, adventure, romance, and good writing.

The artwork- The art of this series is so pretty. The pastal coloring just sets the mood so well.

The series looks like the era it is set in. Nothing flashy or hemorrhage inducing. It's so calm and I think that is part of what kept me so into it. The landscapes are beautiful and full of life. I loved the overall look of this series.

The music- The intro song is a solid piece of work. It sounds like a love song and it wasn't overbearing or distracting. The end song was kind of unique, but it was fun and a bit silly. I know most of the words to that song though. The rest of the music was really unnoticable to me. It was subtle and didn't command and attention from my viewing. Which is pretty much how I think it should be. Overall, I give the music a thumbs up!

The voice acting- The actor that voiced Kraft was J. Michael Tatum, and he was excellent. It's hard sometimes with voice acting for me to enjoy a voice over an entire series, but I am totally okay with this one.  Brina Palencia voiced Holo and she too was great for the part. Being that these two characters take up most of the screen time I won't dive into any other voices. So overall I think the talent shows up in this series. Thumbs up again.

Overall- "Spice and Wolf" delivers were others have failed. I started out blind to this series and finished it with hearts in my eyes. The pacing of the story is great, the art is so beautiful, and the characters are brilliant. I honestly don't know why anyone wouldn't fall in love with it. I say to all you folks out there that only watch comedy or fighting animes do yourself a giant favor and watch "Spice and Wolf," you will not be disappointed. My highest recommendation!!!! To end on another positive note, I can not wait to see the second season. Til next time gang, watch more anime!

Written By John Price

If "Spice And Wolf" sounds like an anime you just have to see from John's recommendation, then feel free to purchase it from Amazon at the links below. There is also another recommendation from Blood Brothers' resident anime expert!

Origin: Spirits of the Past (2006)

From the opening theme song I kind of got a good feeling about this movie. The song is Giniro No Kami No Agito and from my experience it is one of the few opening songs that really caught my attention. Not because of how it sounded, but more for the content of the song. You learn through the lyrics of this song that the Forest will play a large role in this film.

Set in a post-apocalyptic future where the moon has been destroyed, the story centers around the young boy Agito whose father helped build Neutral City which is the main setting. While out on an adventure Agito discovers a girl in a pod so to speak. This girl Toola is from a time before the moon was destroyed. Agito accidently wakes the girl and sets out to help her adjust to this new world. Toola has trouble accepting the new world and is convinced by a Colonel Shanuck of Ranga who, like Toola, is from a different time to find a device that will fix all that is damaged. Toola of course is the key to finding this item.  The item known as Istok could just as easily destroy the world as save it, and this is something the forest can not allow.

The story isn't a new one by any means, but its pretty decent. The writing isn't what this movie is about, it is very much an action film. I really enjoyed the art work at the beginning of the film, however when all the action scenes started the director went with two different art styles and I really didn't enjoy it. Actually I found it quite distracting which is a shame because it took away from some really nice fight scenes.
As far as the story goes it was certainly missing depth, they could have gone more into Ranga and the world before the moon was destroyed. However they did not and thusly I felt a little short changed in the story area. All was not lost, I would be doing the film a disservice if I said so. You get just enough story to keep you interested, but a lot of questions go unanswered and character development is pretty nonexistent especially with Toola who kinda feels like a dry piece of toast with no jam or peanut butter. Agito is pretty much a typical young boy anime character who likes adventure and maybe is a bit mischievous. Otherwise non of the other characters were even really touched on. Like i said before this film is mainly for the looks. Which is fine if you just want to watch stuff blow up. For me this is a film I am not likely to watch again.

On the positive side the soundtrack was pretty sweet. I actually really enjoyed it. Keep in mind that I watched the English dubbed version which isn't what I would normally do and I must say the voice acting is pretty solid. We have Chris Patton as Agito and Carrie Savage as Toola and they are very prominent in other Funimation titles. All in all if you are in a mood to watch a film with cool action  scenes and not a loof story then by all means check it out. Thanks for reading, any feedback please share.

Written By John Price