Movie Weekend - Children Who Chase Lost Voices From Deep Below

 

Children Who Chase Lost Voices or Hoshi o ou kodomo, known also as Journey to Agartha, is an anime movie written and produced by Makoto Shinkai, released in 2011. After watching this movie, my emotions were both good and bad.
The movie is mostly about accepting death and moving on.

I was fascinated by the idea of creating a secret world below the one we know, habited by humans who still believe in the old Gods, and being so close to "Hades", or else the Land of the Dead. It is only consiquent that this world should be guarded from normal humans, who are disrespectful and unkind to nature and it's laws. In the movie though, we see one of Agartha's, the World Below, habitants coming up to the surface. A sensitive and kind nature, called Shun, who felt the urge to see something and meet someone on the surface so that he could accomplish everything he wanted. He gets to fulfill his wish when he meets Asuna, a girl who practically lives alone since her father is dead and her mother is working too many hours in the hospital. He saves her from one of the "Guards of Agartha", an extinct creature pretecting Agartha which came up to the surface. Shun and Asuna spend some time together and Shun dies after giving her his blessing -"have a good life, that's all I want".

Asuna couldn't deal with his death and with the help of her new teacher, Morisaki, who had also lost his wife, she starts searching about Agartha. That's when she meets Shin. Shin is also a habitant of Agartha, who came to the surface to fix Shun's mess. Asuna thinks he is Shun, because of their big resemblance. But, Shin is being chased by "Arch Angel", an organisation trying to abtain the knowledge of the ancients lying in Agartha. Actually, their leader is Morisaki, who accomplished to get in Agartha with Asuna and Shin. Shin, turns out to be Shun younger brother, who doesn't have Shun's natural gifts, but inherited his responsibilities. Both Morisaki, driven by his wife's loss, and Asuna start a journey to reach the "Gate of Life and Death".

The end of the movie was quite right but sad at the same time. Morisaki, succeeds in getting to the Gate of Life and Death, after climbing down a cliff for hours. But for the "sakuna vimana", the Arc of God, to grand his wish he has to sacrifice his eye and Asuna's body, which would be the vessel for his wife soul. Shin manages to stop it and bring Asuna back.
It is sad because no one gets their loved ones back. The things that these people did for love, the risks and the sacrifices, were so admirable. Shun had the kindest of feelings for Asuna and Morisaki loved his wife so deeply, that living without her seemed impossible. In my opinion these feelings can't be lost or forgotten and it is unfair when they don't have the time to blossom. And that made me really sad.
But it is also right because this is life.This ending shows us that death is a natural and inevitable stage in the circle of life. Despite that, people who are alive are more important that the dead. We should carry on with our lives for their sake and our own. That doesn't mean we have to forget the ones we've lost, they will always remain in our hearts. However, they shouldn't keep us from moving on. Crying and mourning are sometimes neccessary. We should never keep the pain inside, we should never cave in. But we can't bring no one back, not physically. As Asuna says
"this might not be a curse, but a blessing".

Having the fun of your life with 11eyes OVA

From what I've seen so far 11eyes OVA could be the most hilarious OVA ever produced. It starts with Kukuri Tachibana, the girl who looked exactly like Kakeru's sister and couldn't speak, informing us that the following OVA has nothing to do with the series, but it is another version of the “Red Night”. What could you possibly expect by seeing that? I thought that they might have different enemies or relationships with each other. But the real OVA went far beyond my expectations. Although I don't like watching too much nudity in an anime series, in this one I didn't mind at all. However, I believe that when nudity prevails, the series loses all the beautiful and innocent messages it's trying to send. For me (you can of course disagree!), anime series are something magical and pure, they help you see how true love should be, how we should treat others and nature and they -most of the times- lead you to another world, a world that you would want to live in but do not have this capability.
Why am I mentioning that???

11eyes OVA, is actually a distorted version of the “Red Night”. Although the basic concept is still the same (all of the school students are getting transferred to the “Red Night” and they have to fight against the Knights using their special powers), in this OVA their powers are sex related. Kakeru's Aeon's Eye cannot predict the future anymore, but it can see through others' clothes. Takahisha cannot control fire, but water, which is pouring out of his fingers. Yukiko keeps her double personality but instead of turning into a cold killer she turns into a pervert. And last but not least, when Misuzu tries to pull out her sword she pulls out a dildo! It was so much fun. But their reactions were even more funny. Kakeru was embarrassed, so was Yuka. Yukiko was cooler than them and Takahisha was actually enjoying it. But Misuzu couldn't accept this, she was furious. Kukuri comes to put an end in their awkwardness by painting positions and writing down sexual stuff without being shy, which made everyone laugh and Misuzu even more angry. Also the once known as “Black Knights” appear now as “Pink Warriors-Erotic Five”.Yuka's power isn't revealed until the very end, when they are all gathered in some hot springs and Yuka turned Kakeru's and Takahisha's bodies into female ones. And then Kukuri appears again asking if we are mad about the OVA. 

Her answer is: I hope you get some calcium!  EPIC!!! 

Anime Review: 11eyes -Sin, Damnation and the Atonement Girl-

11eyes: Sin, Damnation and the Atonement Girl is a TV adaptation of the manga series 11eyes: Tsumi to Batsu to Aganai no Shōjo written by Lass and produced by Studio Dogakobo (also involved in the production of Ergo Proxy, Blood+, Hell Girl, Kemonozume).

Storyline

Satsuki Kakeru grew up in an orphanage with his griend Minase Yuka and his sister, who he lost in the age of 5. After that Kakeru and Yuka attented the same school when suddenly the sky turned red and the moon black. They were somehow transferred to another world where they had to fight monsters in order to survive. Yuka called it the "Red Night". After the "Red Night" was over, they returned to the real world where not a single second had gone by. But the "Red Night" appeared again and Kakeru with Yuka met other students of the school that were also involved. They all tried to survive together and win the fight against the "Black Knights", who were the creators of this world. In the middle of this world, there was a girl, named Lisette, trapped inside a crystal by the "Black Knights". She is supposed to be an evil witch and those children were called "fragments", as for Kakeru he was called "the carrier of Aeon's Eye", by the Knights.

 But Lisette asked for their help. Would it be wise to save her? 

This anime series is a compilation of reality and magic, pain and salvation, love and hatred. It combines all of these elements beautifully and is very pleasant to watch. It ends in the same way it started, with the love that has grown between Kakeru and Yuka. But love generally is the basic idea of this series, since most of the characters' acts are motivated by their will to save their loved ones. (Yuka and Kakeru, Misuzu and Kakeru, Yukiko and Takahisha, Superbia and Avaritia, Liselotte and Verard). Not only their being in the "Red Night" but also their troubled lifes connect these children. They have all lost someone they loved and were forced to grow up alone and faster than they should normally have. But despite their pain and agony, they are all kind-hearted. In the beginning they fight for themselves in the "Red Night" but as time goes by they care more and more for each other and they fight "for friends and for tomorrow". No one of them is afraid or hesitant if they ever need to sacrifice themselves for saving others. THE MENTAL STRENGHT OF THOSE KIDS IS UNBELIEVABLE! They also have some physical powers in the "Red Night".But they don't find out the truth about this world up until the very end. So that leads them to making a horrible mistake and unleasing a dark and furious force. Will they be able to stop it?
...
Watch and find out! Definetely worth it!

                                                Yuka and Kakeru:
Yuka and Kakeru grew up together. Yuka was by Kakeru's side constantly, supporting him emotionally when no one else would. That's why they are deeply connected and Kakeru feels the need to protect Yuka during the "Red Night". 
 Yuka's power: erasing everyone else's power 

     Kakeru's power: seeing the future with Aeon's Eye

Misuzu and Kakeru:
Misuzu is a potent swordwoman and an Onmyoji from the Kusakabe Family that has fought for and won all 5 demonic swords known as Kusakabe's Five Treasures with the use of both Eastern and Western magic (something forbidden). Her role model is Kusakabe Misao, the first woman of her family that gained this forbidden magic power. She is in love with Kakeru and doesn't hesitate to use herself as his shield.

                                                   Yukiko and Takahisha:  

Yukiko is a girl with two personalities and comes from Drasvania. While wearing glasses she has a sweet and kind personality but when she takes them off she becomes a quick and cold killer. She is immortal because of her fragment. She was saved once by Takahisha in the "Red Night" and she cares for him ever since. Takahisha was a street boy taken in by Raeko, the school's doctor. He also cares for Yukiko and after Raeko's murder by the "Black Knights" he goes berserk and asks her to kill him, which she does.
Yukiko's power: 2 knifes and high speed killing

                                                      Takahisha's power: pyrokineticist

                                                   Superbia and Avaritia:

The two most powerful "Black Knights". Avaritia is "George of the Rainbow", the leader of the Knights who used the forbidden techique "Contract of the Rainbow" to split Liselotte's soul and the piece of Emerald Tablet within her into seven fragments to weaken her. Liselotte with one of the fragments remaining in her body was sealed within the crystal. The other fragments, due to the technique, were scattered across six parallel worlds. But all of the Knights paid the prise of this act having to abandon their physical bodies and live in the "Red Night". They are normally dead and have no memories of their life. Superbia is Misuzu's ancestor and role model, something that crushed Misuzu. She admires and loves George so she fights for him.

Liselotte and Verard:
Verard was the king of Drasuvania, who also had Aeon's Eye. He was Liselotte's lover and wanted to end this world since it was fully of blood and hatred. Liselotte Werckmeister is a powerful witch, who lost her mind after Verard's death and wanted to fulfill his lover's last wish and destroy this world. In the end it is proved that she just wanted the power of Aeon's Eye for herself.
                                                                                           


Also this anime series and the PC and XBOX games that were produced based on it have the most epic OSTs. There are many albums of 11eyes original soundtracks and they are all BREATHTAKING!

Anime Review: Arpeggio of Blue Steel -Ars Nova-

 

Arpeggio of Blue Steel: Ars Nova is a TV adaptation of the Japanese manga series Aoki Hagane no Arpeggio written by Ark Performance. 

 

Storyline
Global warming and rising of sea levels were the factors that caused a big amount of land to submerge. In 2039, fleets of ships called “The Fleet of Fog” suddenly appeared and took over the sea, blocking all communication and preventing humans from traveling. But in 2056, Gunzō Chihaya a former student of the Japanese National Marine Academy, became the captain of I-401, a Fog's submarine that has been caught by the Navy. He and his crew are now called “Blue Steel” and are hired by the Japanese government to accomplish certain missions since they have a big success in surviving and destroying many of the Fog's ships. Their last mission is to deliver the blueprints of a powerful weapon to the USA and a lot of changes take place during this mission.

What an amazing concept this anime series has! Many of the ships that make up the “Fleet of Fog” have their own human models. This is due to the wish of the Fog to gain knowledge from humans. But even though the ships are only weapons as they claim and should only obey silently, we see most of them acquiring human emotions. Many even abandon the “Fleet of Fog” and join “Blue Steel”. This series passes many beautiful messages -such as the importance of free will, love, friendship, family, the need to accept each other and try to live peacefully together- through the main characters. 

Main Characters

1. Gunzō Chihaya, Iona's captain. He touched Iona and activated her. After that he disobeyed the rules of the Academy and “took” Iona. He formed a small crew, the “Blue Steel” and ever since they have been trying to help the Japanese government, which didn't accept them much. The Fog believed that Chihaya was the cause of all the ships leaving the Fleet because they were affected by him, which is actually true.
2. I-401, or Iona, left the Fog willingly to serve Gunzō Chihaya. She considers herself “his ship” and obey his orders. She seems to love him and in the last episodes she even gives up her ship's body to prevents Chihaya's death. 
    
3.  
   Takao, the human model of one of the Fog's heavy cruisers, who lost a fight by Iona but Ghihaya didn't sink her so she fell in love with him after that. Then they formed an alliance and she also sacrificed her body to save both Iona and Ghihaya.
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. 
   Hyuga, the human model of one of the Fog's battleships, who also lost a fight against “Blue Steel” and has become a port operator and supplier for them since then. She likes Iona very much and does pretty much everything for her.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
5.  
   
   
   Haruna, or haruharu as Makie calls her, is the human model of one of the Fog's battleships, that after losing against Gihaya is found on a beach by a little girl named Makie. She makes a promise to Makie's creator that she will guard her and Haruna softens by the girl's kindness and becomes her friend and protector. She wears a big and heavy coat and feels weak without it. The moment she wears it she says "shazam" -THE TWO MOST HILARIOUS SCENES IN THE WHOLE SERIES-
   
   
    
6. Kirishima, is another human model of a Fog's ship that usually fought by the side of Haruna. She lost her human model during the fight with the Blue Steel and her core was put into a Makie's teddy bear by Haruna.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
7. Makie, a design child. Design children was a programm of the Japanese government that intended to create artificial children with more capabilities than humans. Makie is the only design child who managed to survive so she was isolated after making the blueprints for the weapon that is supposed to destroy the “Fleet of Fog”. Makie finds Haruna and Kirishima's core on the beach and gives them shelter. She calls Haruna haruharu and considers her as a friend.
    
8. Kongou, the human model of the flagship of the Second Fleet-second in command, who is obsessed with sinking Iona, but in the end Iona reveals to her that all of her anger and hatred come from her loneliness, so Kongou stops fighting “Blue Steel”.
     
9. 
   Maya, a programm that was created to obey Kongou. Kongou doesn't know that and her finding it out caused an outburst of rage against Iona.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
10. 
    I-400 and I-402, Iona's sisters who were both killed by Iona. They actually died trying to save each other.

First Entry: The ideal kind of love

Baccano's Isaac and Miria

After watching Baccano!, a TV adaptation of Ryohgo Narita's light novel series (also know for Durarara!! and Vamp!), I stubbled upon this picture on the internet. Baccano! is an anime series that doesn't seem very different or special. But after giving it some thought, this series couldn't be more stunning. First of all the plot starts with multiple and non synchronized stories. It travels through the past and the present of most of its characters and it isn't until the last episodes that you can completely grasp their correlation. It generally involves mafia, alchemy, guns, immortality and several love affairs. The way they are all introduced to us is not always smooth but it only helps your getting more interested in the plot. Last but not least the last anime episode (13th, 3 OVA following after that) ends with the conclusion that in this story there is no protagonist. What an amazing way to close up! And two of those characters who don't get to be called protagonists are Isaac and Miria. A couple that amazed me from the first scene of their appearance. We see them through all of the episodes just having fun and doing what their hearts desire. They don't care about time, rules, consequences! Being together is all they need, they are totally made for each other. They seem to have no clue about the way this world functions. They can't understand evil when they see it. They show love to everyone they meet, so they all love these two. There are living in a world of their own, they don't have worries and they don't even have any fights. Miria worships Isaac so much that she finds everything he says fascinating and completes his every phrase. Isaac cares only for her in a innocent and not lusty way. In the end of the series they are given the gift of immortality, without understanding it, since there are not the sharpest people one could meet. So we see them in 2001, almost 70 years later, realising not having aged at all, going mad and deciding to throw a party everyday, celebrating life and spreading love. WHAT A COUPLE! <3