Death Note Literary Essay!

I'm sorry I didn't publish a review in March, and the one I gave you was...kind of bad. So, to make it up, here's something I wrote for my English class. FUN STORY: We had a student teacher for a term, and HE IS A FANDOM PERSON \(*^*)/. So, wen he told us to write a literary essay on anything, I chose one of my favorite animes. So, here it is!

Selena H. C(Not giving away my last name)

Mr. Lucas Jordan

Pre-IB Literature and Composition I

Wed. 12 March 2014

Death Note Literary Analysis

The manga/anime series Death Note has many themes among its intense, complex story. Some of these themes may be controversial, but one looms taller than the rest. And that is absolute power corrupts even those with the most noble of ambitions. In the story, Light’s main goal and primary focus of the story shifted from killing criminals and “cleaning up this rotten world”, to finishing off those who got in his way. He manipulated women and their feelings to his advantage, only to dispose of them like broken dolls in the end. Eventually, power corrupted Light so much he was willing to sacrifice his family for his own ends. The (almost) absolute power of the Death Note crafted Light into the anti-hero we all know and (love or hate, you pick).

Part of how Light became corrupted is how much he focused on killing criminals. At the start of the rising action, Light realizes his goal of killing criminals and becoming “God.” But once his foe, L was introduced, Light vows to eliminate him. As more and more of Light’s adversaries are introduced to the story, Light decides to kill anyone who gets in his way, seeing them as no better than the criminals he targets. From then on, the story is less focused on killing criminals and more focused on the cat-and-mouse chase between the two ideals of justice. The whole “cleansing the world” idea sort of got tossed out of the window and was only used as a means so Light wouldn’t get caught. His “duty” went on the back burner, so to say. First, Light had to use Raye Penber to kill the FBI agents in Japan, and then finish off Raye himself. Then Light killed Naomi, Raye’s fiancé, because she was too close to the truth. Light was even considering killing Misa, because he thought of her as a nuisance. Slowly, Light’s standards for killing people with the Death Note changed as the stakes got higher and higher. The absolute power of the Death Note corrupted his morals. That includes manipulating women in particular, and their hearts.

Another way Light became corrupted was how he manipulated many women and their hearts, only to use them or finish them off. First, a whole episode was spent seeing how Light manipulated Naomi Misora, the woman looking for her fiancé’s killer. He built her trust, only so he could find out her name to write in the Death Note, because she was too close to the truth. Then we have Misa Amane, driven by love/infatuation for Kira, because he brought justice to her parents’ killer. Light realized he could use her, so he took advantage of her pure, undying love for Kira. But as useful as Misa was to Light, he still found her annoying, and treated her badly. In fact, Misa was so in love with Light, when she found out about his death, she committed suicide the same day. And lastly, we have Kiyomi Takada, a former girlfriend of Light's. He promised her to be his goddess, once he conquered the world as Kira. She was willing to do almost anything for him, like Misa was. But in the end, after she killed Mello, Light used the Death Note to have her commit suicide. She was no longer useful to him, and he needed to destroy the evidence pointing to him. And if manipulating women’s trust and romantic feelings weren’t enough, he was willing to sacrifice his family to not get caught.

Lastly, power corrupted Light so much, his goal was more important than his family. When his younger sister Sayu was kidnapped by Mello and his gang, Mello demanded the Death Note that was in the possession of the task force. Light’s father, Soichiro, agreed to make the deal, but Light wasn’t as eager. He briefly considered using the Death Note to kill his younger sister so the deal couldn’t be made. But, whatever left of his morals kicked in, and Light let Mello have his victory. It was because of the deal that the operation to catch Mello and retrieve the Death Note happened. And it was because of this operation that Soichiro died. Light only wanted his father to write Mello’s real name in the Death Note while he still had the Shinigami eyes. It is clear that Light was willing to do anything if it meant his success in the end.

In conclusion, The Death Note corrupted Light in many ways, and really drove the plot into interesting directions. It went in a cycle, see. Light initially decided to kill criminals, but soon focused on eliminating whoever was against Kira. Then, Light thought of ways to manipulate women to his advantage. Finally, he was willing to sacrifice his family, so no one would be safe from Kira’s justice. This anime, without a doubt, proves that absolute power can corrupt anybody, no matter how intelligent or what their goals are.

Source:

Death Note. Dir. Tetsuro Araki. Perf. Brad Swaile, Alessandro Juliani, Shannon Chan-Kent, Cathy Weseluck. VIZ media, 2006. DVD.

Comments correcting my grammar are welcome. Yes, I will eventually do a full Death Note anime review.

Also, I am planing to do "Fandom Tops", Top 5,10,25, you name it, lists relating to fandoms. So far, I have 2 lists planned out. Which would you like to see first: Top 10 books/book series that deserve a (bigger) fandom, or Top 10 ridiculously sweet and kind male characters in anime? PLEASE comment which one!

And that's all from me! You are also welcome to suggest Fandom Tops, but I will say I have limited firsthand knowledge.

Cheers,

~Selena

Squeaky Clean Anime Movie Review: Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva

Movies based off video games have certainly earned their lackluster reputation. But, in this case, I proudly present you with an exception to this trend. In honor of the release of the final game in the Layton series here in the US, I present to you, my first anime movie review, Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva.

Genres: Video Game, Adventure,
Synopsis:
The story is told as a long flashback, from between Curious Village and Diabolical Box, to between Last Specter and Miracle Mask (I live in the US, so the names may be different where you live). The professor receives a letter from a former student of his, inviting Layton and Luke to an opera she is starring in. But the opera soon turns into a deadly game for the quest of eternal life. Can the Professor, along with new and familiar faces alike, solve the mystery and expose whoever's behind this baffling case?


Story and Characters:
Okay, first of all, if you're not familiar with any of the Professor Layton games, they are known for having many rather large plot holes. But, to be honest, it's these plot holes that actually define a Layton game. With plot holes, come a lot of speculation. And eventually, your brain starts to fill in the gaps, especially after going through the story a second time. And the actual plot you are given is quite fantastic, in my opinion. Anyways, BACK TO THE MOVIE. Like most anime movies, you have to grasp at what's going on very early on, and it will all make sense towards the middle of the movie. As an actual entry in the Professor Layton chronology, it actually serves its purpose very well. And if it wan't initially planned, I'd say these guys did a darn good job planning the story. (I'm sorry if I don't say a whole lot about this movie in this review, it's really easy to give spoilers.)

The cast of characters isn't terribly large, and it probably feels that way because we've seen some of them in Last Specter. I think everyone gets enough screen time and development in the movie. Besides the main characters that we've all seen before, there's also Janice (or Jenis) who stars in the opera. Then there's Oswald Whistler, his dead daughter Melina, and the rest of the rich and famous members of the audience that get caught up in the game. Every character contributes to the story, and each one is memorable in their own way.


Art and Animation:
The art is exactly what you'd expect from the Professor Layton series. P.A Works did the animation, so it looks exactly like the full animation cutscenes from the game. The art is 2-D, simple, charming, and looks beautiful when it wants to.

Now, the animation isn't like, super high quality, but knowing the Professor Layton series, it does its job fine. There are a few fast, action scenes, but they're very enjoyable and not so "cut-up" like a lot of shonen anime likes to do.


Voice and Music:
The first thing you may notice about this dub (if you live in the US) is that not all the voice roles are consistent with the games. Yes, I know some of the roles are the ones used in the European English dub, but it was still a little strange to me. I just wish they weren't so lazy and decided to use the localized VA's.

The OST of this movie actually has a lot of repeated or slightly varied tracks And many of these are variations of themes we've heard before in previous Layton games. A lovely change to the OST is that we hear the original Japanese vocals by Nana Mizuki. And they are FANTASTIC. The ending theme was stuck in my head for days.


Execution and My Enjoyment:
Like I said before, this movie does its job almost perfectly. It fits right into the story, and is even referenced in Miracle Mask and Azran Legacy. It doesn't try to do anything crazy to throw off the whole scheme of the games, and that's great. Watching this movie is essential if you want the full Professor Layton story.

As for enjoyment, well... I've seen this move many times, actually. but that's because I am a BIG fan of the Layton series. How much you enjoy this movie really depends on how much you like the games, because the movie follows a very similar pattern. There are a few plot twists, and you can even solve puzzles during the movie. Yes, there are PUZZLES IN the movie. but there's only about 4 or 5.


The Score:
Averaging the 8 values for the catergories listed above, I give Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva an 8.1/10 and would HIGHLY recommend this movie to anyone who has played the first four Layton games. Seriously, you should. But if you haven't, then sadly, this movie is not really for you.

Story: 8.8 Characters: 7.2
Art: 7.5 Animation: 7.2
Voice: 6.8 (Why you no localize?!?!) Music: 8.8
Execution: 9.0 My Enjoyment: 9.5

For similar wait... Actually, I can't really think of anything similar to recommend. However, there is a live action movie based off the first Ace Attorney game, a series very similar to Professor Layton. If you've played the game (they do skip over some of the events from the game) I suggest you check out the live action movie.

SORRY I didn't publish a review for March! This was supposed to be it, but I'll try and get out my next review and something else out for April.

NEXT REVIEW: The Earl and The Fairy (Hakushaku to Yosei)

Last Updated: 8 April 2014
Originally Published: 1 April 2014

My TOP 5 Anime Reviewers/Vloggers

All right, time for me to do a Top 5 list! And for this list, these YouTubers need to be an anime vlogger that publishes reviews. So sorry, LeeandLie isn't on this list (but you should still subscribe to her channel). This list is based on how often they publish videos, how entertaining they are, and the quality of their videos in general. 

Before I start this list, I have 2 honorable mentions, YokuramaGameTalk and HappiLeeErin. These guys are great, but it's just the quality of their videos that puts them on the honorable mentions list. With that in mind, let's get started!

5: BlackCriticGuy

To be honest, this guy was a tie with Yokurama on this list. And I've been subscribed to him shorter than any other user on this list. But what puts him on this list is how often he publishes reviews and Top 10 lists. That, and he brings up more good points in his reviews. Plus, he publishes reviews for non-anime movies and TV shows too.

4: DarknessDragoonRose

Subscribing to him for reviews is only half of the story. Sure, he has the take-no-crap-from-anyone approach to his reviews, but he's also got about as many entertaining Top 10 lists as he does reviews. And those lists are GREAT, I will not lie.

3: Gigguk

Yes, yes, he's #3 on this list. And many of you may be asking, "WHYYYYYYYYY???". And here's my answer. Look at how often he publishes videos. Just look, okay. Yes, his videos are entertaining, heck, he's the most entertaining vlogger on this list! But it's just the lack of videos and the long wait between them that puts him at #3. 

2: BobSamurai

It seems being a big fan of shōnen anime classifies you as a "noob" or even a weeaboo in some people's minds. This is not the case with this guy. He publishes AT LEAST one video a week, does a weekly "otaku news" video every Tuesday, and he publishes some GREAT rants and discussion points that I haven't seen from any other user. He doesn't publish that many reviews, but he maintains his channel like a real blog regularly. 

And, of course, 1: GRArkada. This should be no surprise to anyone who is subscribed to him. He publishes reviews every week or every other week. His reviews bring up a lot of good points and are VERY accurate (almost scary accurate) and the quality of his work is AMAZING. Witty writing, interesting dialogue, and great organization easily puts him in the top spot on this list.

I suggest you subscribe to everyone mentioned on this list (Sorry to sound like a butt kisser), and comment who you think is the best reviewer on YouTube!

Cheers!

~Selena

Last Updated: 20 February 2014

Originally Published: 20 February 2014

Squeaky Clean Anime Review: School Rumble (Seasons 1&2+Extra Class OVA)

I've noticed there aren't that many reviews out there for high school slice-of-life comedies out there, and I can certainly see why. The genre itself is known for primarily attracting pandering male otakus with absolutely no life and a fetish for moe high school girls in short pleated skirts, rather than people looking for a laugh. Yep, that pretty much sums it up. But, as an anime reviewer, I feel that I must review every anime I have seen. It will give me practice, and if I ever say I don't like a particular anime, I have a structured review to back up my claim. Onward we go!

Genres: Romantic Comedy, School life, Slice-of-life

Synopsis:
School Rumble follows 16 year old Tenma Tsukamoto, a sweet but ditzy girl who's determined to share her feelings to the guy she has a crush on. Meanwhile, a delinquent with great drawing skills named Kenji Harima comes back to school for one purpose: to win the heart of Tenma. Thrown in a large cast of memorable friends and foes alike, some laughs, and every high school situation there is, and you've got one heck of a rumble! A School Rumble!
(Dang, I'm getting good at this!)


Story and Characters:

A noticeable aspect of this genre is, well, its lack of a solid plot. School Rumble is a SLICE OF LIFE anime. Yes, there are a few consecutive episodes where there's an obvious plot, such as when some of the girls are on the basketball team. But overall, the love triangle aspect is the main focus of the plot. With that in mind, however, most of the show is spent seeing everyone's antics to get the person they like to notice them. That and regular episodes you see in school life shows, such as beach episodes, ski trip episodes, school festival episodes, you get the idea. Sure, the plot can be entertaining, but it really has no substance. Overall, because there basically was no selling point for this anime, the only thing that kept me engaged was the hope/possibility of another moment of hilarity. The plot does develop some characters, such as Harima, Yakumo, and Eri, but overall, you don't need to pay too much attention to what's going on, unless it's a "mini-arc". However, you are going to need to keep track of the characters and relationships. Which brings me to my next point...

I was actually quite surprised to see that School Rumble's characters are actually likable. Heck, I think the characters are the best part of this anime! Yes, this anime does have a very large cast of characters, but it's the characters and their relationships that drive the story forward. I mean, there's a character (or a few) for every single high school student stereotype there is. You've got the pervy guys, the musicians, the jocks (both guys and girls) the rich kids, the nerds, the quiet ones, the sweet girls, the delinquents, THE LIST GOES ON. Chances are, you'll find one you like, one you can relate to, and one you'll dislike. And this anime did very well BALANCING the characters.

Art and Animation:

As I had mentioned before, the high school slice-of-life genre in anime is known for having a very generic, moe/bishōjo style of art. While I can clearly see this in School Rumble, this is a 2004 anime, so the art is is a bit, well, flat. It's not sloppy, though. I mean, some of the character's faces looked like they were just taken from a paper drawing to the anime. It looked really flat. The coloring looks sub-par as well. It's not terrible, but it's just not great. 

I think the animation is almost as unremarkable as the art is. But it does have its moments. The animations shines best in purely comedic scenes. The fast motions, exaggerated expressions, and the "lovey-dovey" backgrounds in some scenes make those moments much more enjoyable and comedic. Overall, the animation did set the mood for the scenes very well.

Voice and Music:
The first thing I will say about this dub is that it's another SFF (Standard Funimation Fare) dub. You've got the all-star cast as the main characters, with a few lesser known voices scattered around. Again, this does not mean the dub is bad, it's just got recycled voice actors in it. Heck, if you want to watch this anime, I suggest the dub over the sub. The script writing is great, the casting is great, and dubs feel much more natural for comedies, in my opinion. But the fact that this is average in Funimation standards, I'm going to have to lower the score for this dub.

The soundtrack is also what you'd expect from an anime like this. It's lighthearted, sweet, fun, and does set the mood pretty well. The first opening is really catchy, and made me want to dance in a circle. (I actually did, a few times.) But both the second opening, as well as the 2 ending themes just couldn't live up to that first opening, in my opinion.

Execution and My Enjoyment:
First of all, I would like to say a slice-of-life comedy SHOULD NOT BE 54 EPISODES unless it's REALLY good. (And we all know how often THAT happens.) Heck, SOUL EATER, a SHONEN anime is shorter than this anime! As a slice-of-life comedy, this anime delivers fine. But a big problem I have with this anime is that it HAS NO SELLING POINT. Many other slice-of-life comedies have this one thing that sets them apart from the crowd, such as Baka and Test, Negima, Azumanga Daioh, and WataMote. I understand that this anime tried to put everything slice-of-life related in it's run, but it should not take THAT long to tell a story that barely exists. 

And it's because if this long run that this anime was kind of tedious to watch. I started this anime in May 2012 and JUST finished it last month. Sure, there are worse shows in the slice-of-life genre (*cough cough Lucky Star*), but seriously, I thought this anime was a massive time sponge, and I really didn't take anything away from the show. Overall, this show was entertaining at some points, but was mostly boring.

The Score:

Averaging all the values for the categories listed above, I give School Rumble a 5.575/10 and wouldn't really recommend this to anyone, unless you have a LOT of time to kill. Seriously, there's GOT to be something more worthwhile to watch instead of this.

Story: 5.3           Characters: 7.8

Art: 4.1               Animation: 4.9

Voice: 7.8           Music: 6.0

Execution: 4.2    My Enjoyment: 4.5

For similar anime, I suggest Baka and Test, another school life anime that's much more creative, and still has great characters. The other suggestion is the much higher rated school life anime, Toradora.

NEXT REVIEW: In honor of the US release of Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy, I will review the movie Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva.

Cheers!
~Selena

Last Updated: 16 April 2014
Originally Published: 17 February 2014

Convention Photos!!!

On Saturday, I went to Anime Milwaukee 2014!!! It was AMAZING. I tried Pocky for the first time, and to be honest, it wasn't as good as everyone said it would be. But it was still good. But back to my main point, I have a few photos I would like to share! (These photos might not be visible on a PC, I took them and posted them with my iPhone) 

Justin Rojas from Funimation at an industry panel.

(Left to right) Patrick Seitz, Bryce Papenbrook, and Kyle Hebert in a panel called "Sword Art Offline". 

Just a Soul Eater cosplay meetup.

All this stuff I got for FREE. And I got the con book autographed by Justin Rojas! If you can't see the picture, I got a Wolf Children poster (FANTASTIC movie, BTW), postcard of A Certain Magical Index (This will do nicely as a small poster), Kamisama Kiss valentine card (I'm a sucker for shōjo manga/anime), and FOUR FREE BUTTONS. I am ADDICTED to buttons. One is a Funimation button from Rojas' panel, two are promo buttons for Otakon, and one is a promo button for a con called RamenCon.

 This is all the stuff I bought. A keychain of Ed Elric from FMA(B), a Super Mario Bros. wallet, and four buttons. One says "Team Edward" and has Ed Elric's face on it (I love FMA), a Hetalia button that says "I'm the Hero!" with an American flag in the background, one says "Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey" on it (Doctor Who) and one has the Deathly Hallows symbol on it from the Harry Potter series. 

My full button collection. The safety pin ones at the top were swaps from Girl Scout camp. Sorry if you can't read what some of the buttons say. 

And lastly, here's something I found on iFunny for you guys. 

Sorry! No photo of me in cosplay! But I was Emmy Altava from the Professor Layton series. And I'm sorry I didn't take more pictures from the con.

I'm hoping for my Eternal Diva review to come out around the 28th, but it might come out a little later than that.

Cheers!

~Selena