Thursday, May 10, 2012

Samurai-X


Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story (るろうに剣心 -明治剣客浪漫譚- Rurōni Kenshin Meiji Kenkaku Rōmantan), also known as Rurouni Kenshinand Samurai X, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki. The fictional setting takes place during the early Meiji period in Japan. The story is about a fictional assassin named Himura Kenshin, from the Bakumatsu who becomes a wanderer to protect the people of Japan. Watsuki wrote this series upon his desire of making a shōnen manga different from the other ones that were published in that time, with Kenshin being a former assassin and the story taking a more serious tone as it continued. Although the tragic tone was highly expanded as the manga advanced, Watsuki became determined to give it a happy ending as it was aimed at teenagers.



Rurouni Kenshin takes place during the early Meiji era in Japan, telling the story of a peaceful wanderer named Himura Kenshin, formerly known as the assassin "Hitokiri Battōsai". After participating in the Bakumatsu war, Kenshin wanders the countryside of Japan offering protection and aid to those in need as atonement for the murders he once committed as an assassin. When arriving in Tokyo in the 11th year of Meiji (1878), he meets a young woman named Kamiya Kaoru, who is in the middle of a fight with a murderer who claims to be the Hitokiri Battōsai from the swordsmanship school that she teaches. Kenshin decides to help her and defeats the fake Battōsai. After discovering that Kenshin is the real Battōsai, Kaoru offers him a place to stay at her dojo noting that he is peace-loving and not cold-hearted, as his reputation implies. Kenshin accepts and begins to establish lifelong relationships with many people such as Sagara Sanosuke, a former Sekihō Army member; Myōjin Yahiko, an orphan from a samurai family; and a doctor named Takani Megumi. However, he also deals with his fair share of enemies, new and old, including the former leader from the Oniwabanshū, Shinomori Aoshi and his rival from the Bakumatsu Saitō Hajime.

After several months of living in the dojo, Kenshin discovers that his successor as assassin of the shadows, Shishio Makoto, plans to conquer Japan by destroying the Meiji Government, starting with Kyoto. Feeling that his friends may be attacked by Shishio's faction, Kenshin goes to meet Shishio alone in order to defeat him. However, many of his friends, including a young Oniwabanshū named Makimachi Misao, decide to help him in his fight. He decides to accept their help and defeats Shishio in a fight, who dies in the process due to the rise in body temperature caused by his burns. The anime adapts the manga until this part, later featuring new story arcs which were not featured in the manga.

When Kenshin and his friends return to Tokyo, Kenshin finds Yukishiro Enishi, who plans to take revenge by killing his friends. At this point it is revealed that, during the Bakumatsu, Kenshin used to be married to a woman called Yukishiro Tomoe, who initially wanted to avenge the death of her fiancé, whom Kenshin had killed, but instead both fell in love and got married. It is then discovered that Tomoe was part of a group of assassins that wanted to kill Kenshin, and Tomoe is betrayed by them and captured to use as bait. Kenshin rushes in to rescue her, killing both his assailant and accidentally Tomoe, who jumps in at the last minute to save Kenshin from a fatal attack. Wanting to take revenge for the death of his sister, Enishi kidnaps Kaoru and leaves behind a tortured figure bearing a stunning resemblance of Kaoru for Kenshin to find and momentarily grieve over. Once discovering that Kaoru is alive, Kenshin and his friends set out to rescue her. A battle between Kenshin and Enishi follows and when Kenshin wins, he and Kaoru return home. Five years later, Kenshin has married Kaoru and has a son named Himura Kenji.

The OVA Rurouni Kenshin: Reflection is a non-canon sequel set years after the end of the manga. It follows Kenshin after he leaves Kaoru and their son Kenji. As theFirst Sino-Japanese War ends, Kenshin is suffering from an unknown disease which is weakens his body and destroys his mind. Sanosuke finds Kenshin and sends him to Kaoru, where he dies in her arms. Although Nobuhiro Watsuki had checked the script from the OVA, he gave it disapproval due to its sad ending.



The anime, directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi, began airing on Japan's Fuji TV on January 10, 1996 and ended on September 8, 1998. It was produced by Aniplex and Fuji TV, and was animated from episode 1 to 66 by Studio Gallop, whereas the episodes from 67 onwards were animated by Studio Deen. The final episode, episode 95, did not air in Japan, but was a bonus episode for the VHS and DVD releases. Since its premier in Japan, episodes from the series have been collected in DVDs various times: two DVDs series with both of them featuring four episodes per volume and three DVD boxes.

In 1999 Sony tried and failed to market the series in the United States as Samurai X via an existing company. The TV series was later licensed in North America and released on DVD by Media Blasters. It started airing in the US on the Cartoon Network as a part of the Toonami Block on March 17, 2003, but ended at the completion of the second season. Episodes 63-95 did not air, but were included in the DVD release. The twenty-two English DVDs from the series were released from July 18, 2000 to September 24, 2002. Each of them contain four episodes except for volume 22, which contains five episodes.The seasons were later released in three premium "Bento box" DVD boxes on November 18, 2003, March 30, 2004 and July 27, 2004.They were released again, but in new packaging as "economy box" sets on November 15, 2005, January 17, 2006 and February 14, 2006.Sony Pictures Television International created an English-language version of the series, titled Samurai X, that airs outside of the United States.

Watch episodes at:www.hulu.com/samurai-x

Watch trailer:

Afro Samurai




Afro Samurai (アフロサムライ Afuro Samurai), also written AFRO SAMURAI, is a Japanese seinen dōjinshi manga series written and illustrated by manga artistTakashi Okazaki. It was originally serialized irregularly in the avant-garde dōjinshi manga magazine Nou Nou Hau from September 1999 to May 2000. Inspired by Takashi Okazaki's love of soul and hip hop music and American media, Afro Samurai follows the life of Afro Samurai who witnessed his father (owner of the No. 1 headband) being killed by the hands of a gunslinger named Justice (owner of the No. 2 headband) while he was a child. As an adult, Afro sets off to avenge his father's death and kill Justice.

The Afro Samurai dōjinshi was adapted into a 5-episode anime TV series by studio Gonzo in 2007. The same studio also went on to produce a made-for-TV movie sequel entitled Afro Samurai: Resurrection in 2009, which gained two Emmy nominations, for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation, which it won, and Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming One Hour or More). After the release of the anime series, Takashi Okazaki remade the original Afro Samurai dōjinshiinto a two-volume manga. To be only released in North America, Tor Books and Seven Seas Entertainment licensed the title and published it under their new Tor/Seven Seas imprint.

The voice of the main character is given by the vetran hollywood star Samuel.L.Jackson.

Watch trailer:

Watch Afro samurai at: animeseed.com/index.php/site-content/anime.../afro-samurai/?p=216



Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Akira







Akira (アキラ, ) is a 1988 Japanese animated science fiction film directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, written by Otomo and Izo Hashimoto, and starring the voices ofMitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama and Taro Ishida. The screenplay is based on Otomo's manga Akira.

The film, with cyberpunk tones as the background, depicts a dystopian version of the city of Tokyo, called Neo-Tokyo placed in the year 2019. The plot focuses on biker Tetsuo Shima (Nozomu Sasaki) and his psychic powers and the biker gang member Shotaro Kaneda (Mitsuo Iwata), who tries to prevent Tetsuo from releasing the dangerous psychic Akira. While most of the character designs and basic settings were adapted from the original 2182-page manga epic, the restructured plot of the movie differs considerably from the print version, pruning much of the last half of the manga. The film became a hugely popular cult film and is widely considered to be a landmark in Japanese animation.

Akira is distractingly bloody and violent, but its phenomenal animation and sheer kinetic energy helped set the standard for modern anime.

Watch trailer:

Watch Akira at: anilinkz.com/akira

Mononoke


           


Princess Mononoke (もののけ姫 Mononoke-hime) is a 1997 epic Japanese animated historical fantasy feature film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli. "Mononoke" (物の怪?) is not a name, but a general term in the Japanese language for a spirit or monster. The film was first released in Japan on July 12, 1997, and in the United States on October 29, 1999.

Princess Mononoke is a period drama set specifically in the late Muromachi period of Japan but with numerous fantastical elements. The story concentrates on involvement of the outsider Ashitaka in the struggle between the supernatural guardians of a forest and the humans of the Iron Town who consume its resources. There can be no clear victory, and the hope is that relationship between humans and nature can be cyclical.

A giant boar-demon attacks an Emishi village and the protagonist, Ashitaka, is forced to fight and kill him. In the struggle, Ashitaka receives a curse on his right arm,which grants him superhuman strength but will eventually kill him. Under the advice of the village wisewoman, he leaves to travel to the west in search of a cure. After some traveling, he meets Jigo, a wandering monk who tells Ashitaka that he might find help from the forest spirit of a mountain range populated by giant animal-gods. Iron Town, located in that range, continually clears the nearby forests to make charcoal to smelt ironsand and produces advanced firearms, leading to battles with the giant forest beasts. Among these animals are giant wolves accompanied by San, who the villagers of Iron Town call "Princess Mononoke." She is a young human woman who was adopted by the giant wolf goddess Moro.

Ashitaka finds two villagers injured by the wolves near a river. He returns to Iron Town, passing through the forest, where he catches a glimpse of the forest spirit, akirin-like creature by day and a towering "night-walker" by night.

In Iron Town, Ashitaka learns from Lady Eboshi, the manager of the settlement, that she created the boar-demon by shooting it. Though upset, Ashitaka also finds out that Iron Town is a refuge for ancient Japan's social outcasts, including prostitutes and lepers, and thus finds himself unable to condemn Eboshi. That night, San infiltrates Iron Town to kill Eboshi. Ashitaka intervenes, using his curse's power to stop the fighting between Eboshi and San. While leaving the town with San, he is shot through the chest and very nearly dies. San takes Ashitaka to the Forest Spirit, who heals his gunshot wound but does not remove the curse. San starts to develop feelings for Ashitaka. Boars, led by the boar god Okkoto, arrive to attack Iron Town, and San joins them. Eboshi prepares for the assault and sets out to destroy the Forest Spirit. Jigo, now revealed to be a mercenary-hunter, intends to give the head to the emperor, who in turn promises to give Iron Town legal protection from localdaimyos.

The Imperial hunters kill the boars, and Okkoto is corrupted by a gunshot wound. The Forest Spirit comes and kills Okkoto, but Eboshi appears and shoots off the Forest Spirit's head. Jigo collects the head as the Forest Spirit's body transforms into a "mindless god of death" that begins destroying everything in its vicinity in search of its head. Ashitaka and San chase down and take back the head from Jigo, returning it to the Forest Spirit. It collapses into the lake, turning the land green and healing all the lepers and accursed, including Ashitaka and San. Ashitaka and San part to resume the lives they are used to, but promise to meet again; Ashitaka decides to stay and help rebuild Iron Town, which a reformed Eboshi vows to remake as "a better" village. The film ends with a Kodama appearing in the rejuvenated forest.

The visual and aural qualities of this movie make it a true feast for the senses. The artwork is simply some of the most beautiful work I've seen in an animated movie, and the animation quality is excellent. Everything is rendered in painstaking detail, the highlights being the teeming forests in which the movie takes place. Everything is so vivid and detailed that I often sat in silent wonder simply absorbing the stunning visual imagery. Studio Ghibli has truly created a wondrous work in Princess Mononoke. Multiple conflicts abound with humans against humans, humans against nature, and even nature against itself. The conflicts are such that they are woven into an incredibly deep and satisfying plot. It's very refreshing to see a movie that is capable of such story-telling without resulting to simple cliches and tired rehashings of the same old story lines.

Watch Princess Mononoke at: anilinkz.com/princess-mononoke

Trailer of Princess Mononoke:

Wicked City


                   
                       




Wicked City (妖獣都市 Yōjū Toshi) is an animated horror neo-noir directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, based on Hideyuki Kikuchi's novel of the same name.

The story takes place towards the end of the 20th century and explores the idea that the human world secretly coexists with the demon world with a secret police force known as the Black Guard protecting the boundary.

The plot of the story is there coexists two worlds:Human and Demon world.Taki Renzaburo,a human black guard agent and Makie,a demon world agent are assigned a mission to protect Giuseppi Mayart, a two hundred year-old man possessed of fantastic spiritual power, whose presence at the peace treaty signing is critical.Several demons attack them to sabotage the peace treaty and they defend them off.Mayart being a respected spiritual figure, is a pervert that causes difficult situations to escape from,due to his sexual needs.


Wicked City is a treat for those who like dark storylines and animations.The film is a sexual thriller in which sex is portrayed mainly as a weapon (sex with monsters, rape and torture), and only briefly used as a form of romantic expression, though in such a way as to not consider the film hentai. The film portrays demons as beings that can walk in human form and seduce their prey much like a Siren, instilling castration anxiety in the viewer through use of demons with vagina dentata.

Watch trailer:


Watch Wicked City: animetoplist.org/watch/wicked-city

Ninja scroll




                     


Ninja Scroll (獣兵衛忍風帖 Jūbē Ninpūchō) is a 1993 action thriller anime film set in feudal Japan, written and directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri. The character designs were done by Yutaka Minowa. The movie is in homage to the Ninpōchō series of ninja novels by Futaro Yamada. The main character, Kibagami Jubei, is an homage to the famed Japanese folk hero Yagyū Jūbei Mitsuyoshi.

There is a secret goldmine discovered by the Yamashiro clan,but they are too weak to have all the gold to themselves.So they hire a group of ninjas to assist the clan take and transport the gold against the government.Where the group is led by Gemma Himuro,who are ordered to assasinate the chief retainer.After the assasination, the group leader orders the group to kill Jubei(One of the their members,main character) hoping they would kill each other.But Jubei survives and kills Gemma.Sometime later Gemma is able to Reincarnate himself and becomes the leader of a group of ninja called demons of Kimon.Then Jubei meets a government spy and Kagero,who together try to stop Gemma and his group to possess the gold again.

If you like intense action with brutal voilence with ninjas who possess supernatural powers, then this is the movie you must watch.There's a little of bit of nudity and sexual content to spice things up.The animation is pretty good according to its time and the presentaion of characters are well shown as Jubei and the others defeat the Demons of Kimon sequentially.


Watch ninja scoll in:anilinkz.com/ninja-scroll-movie

Ninja scroll trailer:


Yoshiaki Kawajiri

           

Yoshiaki Kawajiri (川尻 善昭 Kawajiri Yoshiaki, born November 18, 1950) is a critically acclaimed writer and director of Japanese animation. He is the creator of titles such as Wicked City, Ninja Scroll, and Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust. After he graduated from Yokohama High School in 1968 he began working for a few years as an animator at Mushi Production Animation until it closed in 1972. He then joined Madhouse Studio and in the 1970s was promoted to animation director and finally debuted as a film director with 1984's Lensman, directing jointly with the more experienced Kazuyuki Hirokawa (Kawajiri also did the character design along with Kazuo Tomizawa).