https://www.tendocity.net/ Fri, 15 May 2026 02:43:12 +0000 MyBB https://www.tendocity.net/showthread.php?tid=5704 Wed, 28 Apr 2010 19:52:50 +0000 Great Rumbler]]> https://www.tendocity.net/showthread.php?tid=5704 Ghost Hound is a 22 episode anime series directed by Ryutaro Nakamura [Kino's Journey, Serial Experiments Lain] and written by Konaka Chiaki [Hellsing TV, Armitage III, Big O, Serial Experiments Lain] with some support from Ghost in Shell creator Masamune Shirow. Produced by Production IG. The series tells a layered story about a boy named Taro who is struggling to cope with the loss of his sister during a botched kidnapping more than a decade ago. With the help of a noted psychiatrist, Taro tried to figure out what really happened to him and his sister and uncover the mystery behind a series of strange dreams that he’s been having. As the story unfolds, it’s clear that there’s much more going on in the small, mountain town where he lives with his parents, things that threaten not just his life but the entire country.

Story

Thanks to Nakamura’s talent as a director, the series has an air of intelligence and importance that many series from the past few years sorely lack. The show often walks a fine line between surreal, bizarre, and frightening, often dealing with very strange images, particularly in the dream world that Taro finds himself in. The story unfolds slowly and builds towards and end that, unfortunately, feels a bit rushed and too simple for what came before. This is the series main fault: the finale. Everything leading up to the point was very good, although the second half couldn’t quite match the quality of the first. In particular, the final two episode feel very inconsistent in tone with much of the rest of the series. It’s definitely a series worth watching, but the finale should have been better than it was.

Animation

The soft, rounded faces and wide eyes of the characters is often at odds with the bizarre imagery and unique editing that appears in the series, but that tends more towards serving the purposes of the series rather than hurting it. It’s well animated throughout, except for the last few episodes where the budget seems to drop a bit. I’m not sure if there was meant to be more than 22 episode and it get cut short towards the end or not, but it does kind of feel that way in how the last episode has a few animation errors and an overall rushed feel to the technical quality. Overall though, it’s not an action-packed series with lots of movement, but it looks good for the most part at what it sets out to do.

Sound/Music

This is one area where the series really excels. It’s a bit hard to describe how good the sound work is for the series, but it’s done much better than a lot of other shows I’ve seen. Much of it is tailored to give a haunting and surreal feel to the action on screen, which is definitely appreciated during the first half of the series when it has a much darker tone. The voice actors all fit their parts pretty well, although Taro’s voice can be bit annoying at times. The music is equally well-done, although it often takes a back seat to the sound work, but that’s not a problem because not all series need to have music constantly pounding away.

Final Verdict

A good, sometimes great, series that’s brought down a few notches by a rushed, inconsistent ending. It’s disappointing considering the talent involved, and the quality of the first half to two-thirds of the series. Nevetheless, it’s still a worthwhile series and one for fans of dark, surreal anime series that have a bit more intelligence than most. 8/10

Specs: Ran from October 18, 2007 to April 3, 2008 in Japan. Currently available on DVD in the US from Sentai Filmworks.

http://greatrumbler.wordpress.com/2010/0...ost-hound/]]> Ghost Hound is a 22 episode anime series directed by Ryutaro Nakamura [Kino's Journey, Serial Experiments Lain] and written by Konaka Chiaki [Hellsing TV, Armitage III, Big O, Serial Experiments Lain] with some support from Ghost in Shell creator Masamune Shirow. Produced by Production IG. The series tells a layered story about a boy named Taro who is struggling to cope with the loss of his sister during a botched kidnapping more than a decade ago. With the help of a noted psychiatrist, Taro tried to figure out what really happened to him and his sister and uncover the mystery behind a series of strange dreams that he’s been having. As the story unfolds, it’s clear that there’s much more going on in the small, mountain town where he lives with his parents, things that threaten not just his life but the entire country.

Story

Thanks to Nakamura’s talent as a director, the series has an air of intelligence and importance that many series from the past few years sorely lack. The show often walks a fine line between surreal, bizarre, and frightening, often dealing with very strange images, particularly in the dream world that Taro finds himself in. The story unfolds slowly and builds towards and end that, unfortunately, feels a bit rushed and too simple for what came before. This is the series main fault: the finale. Everything leading up to the point was very good, although the second half couldn’t quite match the quality of the first. In particular, the final two episode feel very inconsistent in tone with much of the rest of the series. It’s definitely a series worth watching, but the finale should have been better than it was.

Animation

The soft, rounded faces and wide eyes of the characters is often at odds with the bizarre imagery and unique editing that appears in the series, but that tends more towards serving the purposes of the series rather than hurting it. It’s well animated throughout, except for the last few episodes where the budget seems to drop a bit. I’m not sure if there was meant to be more than 22 episode and it get cut short towards the end or not, but it does kind of feel that way in how the last episode has a few animation errors and an overall rushed feel to the technical quality. Overall though, it’s not an action-packed series with lots of movement, but it looks good for the most part at what it sets out to do.

Sound/Music

This is one area where the series really excels. It’s a bit hard to describe how good the sound work is for the series, but it’s done much better than a lot of other shows I’ve seen. Much of it is tailored to give a haunting and surreal feel to the action on screen, which is definitely appreciated during the first half of the series when it has a much darker tone. The voice actors all fit their parts pretty well, although Taro’s voice can be bit annoying at times. The music is equally well-done, although it often takes a back seat to the sound work, but that’s not a problem because not all series need to have music constantly pounding away.

Final Verdict

A good, sometimes great, series that’s brought down a few notches by a rushed, inconsistent ending. It’s disappointing considering the talent involved, and the quality of the first half to two-thirds of the series. Nevetheless, it’s still a worthwhile series and one for fans of dark, surreal anime series that have a bit more intelligence than most. 8/10

Specs: Ran from October 18, 2007 to April 3, 2008 in Japan. Currently available on DVD in the US from Sentai Filmworks.

http://greatrumbler.wordpress.com/2010/0...ost-hound/]]> https://www.tendocity.net/showthread.php?tid=4668 Sat, 26 Jan 2008 02:57:23 +0000 Great Rumbler]]> https://www.tendocity.net/showthread.php?tid=4668 Synopsis: The series follows the exploits of experts mushishi named Ginko who travels across a medieval world and helps people whose lives are disrupted by primordial creatures called mushi. Only a select few can actually see mushi and fewer still know anything about them, which makes them all the more dangerous given their inherent ability to interact with the human and animal world.

First Glance: What's going on here?! A series with no action, no real storyline, episodes with almost zero connection to one another, and everything's all weird and SMART! Okay, just relax, I've seen worse before so there's no reason to panic just yet. I'll give it some time and see what happens.

Impression: This can be a very difficult series to get into by its very nature. Episodes are set all over the place and Ginko is rarely in the same place twice, which also means a new set of supporting characters in each episodes. The mushi themselves are also very bizarre, running the gammot from ones that appear as rainbows and others that get inside your head and feed off of sound and that's just getting started. The episode format can also be a bit off-putting, in that it follows the same format everytime. Ginko comes to a village, someone is having a weird problem, Ginko figures out what's going on and solves the problem. It probably would be a mediocre series if it weren't for the fact that Mushishi does what it does incredibly well and in every way.

The characters and well-designed and unique, the music is suitable surreal and calming, the animation is muted but pleasant to look at, and Ginko is a likable main character, but the area where the show really shines is in it's art design. From misty mountains to lonely, seaside villages, every locale is breathtakingly crafted and all those weird little mushi are given their own unique designs that could have been ripped straight from Hayao Miyazaki's sketchbooks.

Conclusion: Mushishi is a series that requires some amount of patience to really get into, but one you're there the rewards are more than sufficient.

Score: 5/5

Specs: 26 episodes across six DVDs, the last of which is still a month or so away.]]> Synopsis: The series follows the exploits of experts mushishi named Ginko who travels across a medieval world and helps people whose lives are disrupted by primordial creatures called mushi. Only a select few can actually see mushi and fewer still know anything about them, which makes them all the more dangerous given their inherent ability to interact with the human and animal world.

First Glance: What's going on here?! A series with no action, no real storyline, episodes with almost zero connection to one another, and everything's all weird and SMART! Okay, just relax, I've seen worse before so there's no reason to panic just yet. I'll give it some time and see what happens.

Impression: This can be a very difficult series to get into by its very nature. Episodes are set all over the place and Ginko is rarely in the same place twice, which also means a new set of supporting characters in each episodes. The mushi themselves are also very bizarre, running the gammot from ones that appear as rainbows and others that get inside your head and feed off of sound and that's just getting started. The episode format can also be a bit off-putting, in that it follows the same format everytime. Ginko comes to a village, someone is having a weird problem, Ginko figures out what's going on and solves the problem. It probably would be a mediocre series if it weren't for the fact that Mushishi does what it does incredibly well and in every way.

The characters and well-designed and unique, the music is suitable surreal and calming, the animation is muted but pleasant to look at, and Ginko is a likable main character, but the area where the show really shines is in it's art design. From misty mountains to lonely, seaside villages, every locale is breathtakingly crafted and all those weird little mushi are given their own unique designs that could have been ripped straight from Hayao Miyazaki's sketchbooks.

Conclusion: Mushishi is a series that requires some amount of patience to really get into, but one you're there the rewards are more than sufficient.

Score: 5/5

Specs: 26 episodes across six DVDs, the last of which is still a month or so away.]]>