vanillasquirelll Reviews

One Piece (1999– )

Instant Win

[9/10 · 15 August 2007]

Hmmm, now how do I put this? Should I point out the pros and cons, or should I simply be biased and say that the series has no flaws? I'm gonna go with biased. Sorry haters. First off I'll start with the basic plot line and characters, move on to other things then give my summary. Sound good? Maybe I'll convince one more person to watch the series. Plot Line: Childish Monkey D. Luffy only has one goal in mind... To be king of the pirates! But this kid is no joke, as he appears at first glance, he's dead serious, and he'll achieve his goal or die trying. He assembles his own crew the "Straw Hat" pirates, consisting of Sanji, The Martial Artist womanizer, Nami, the trickster thief with a deep desire for treasure, Zoro, the swordsman of the team, Usopp, the somewhat cowardly sniper, and Toni Toni Chopper, the half-deer-half-human that packs a large punch. Now, Luffy and his crew will stop at nothing to achieve their goals.

Now that I've got that out of the way, I can go on about my personal opinion and attributes of the series. First off, there are the characters who are deep to the core and realistic. For example, even though Nami is pretty serious, she could be laughing along with Luffy's antics just as everyone else. Another thing I need to point out is the action, despite what you've heard (Darn you 4Kids!) the action is amazing, and just as good as any other series. It never ceases to amaze me. As well as action there is a fair share of comedy, and funny to boot. This series can have you crying one minute, laughing the next. That's fine with me. One thing that might scare potential viewers away is the animation, but if you just start watching, you'll grow to love it and it's contribute to the unique-ness of the series.

In a personal summary, I'd recommend this to anyone, with characters that are deep, action that will awe, a plot line that never stops shining and comedy scenes that will make you laugh your head off, One Piece is sure to not disappoint.

NOTE: All the above points to the original version of One Piece, and not the 4Kids version, which is some kind of bad joke.

Fullmetal Alchemist (2003–2004)

Dear, Dear, anime fans who obsess over Naruto and Bleach-YOU HAVEN'T SEEN ANYTHING YET

[10/10 · 7 July 2007]

If I were to pick one word to describe FullMetal Alchemist, Hagane no renkinjutsushi, it would amazing, or ohmygod, or simply just a drop of the jaw and "wow." But that wouldn't do something this great justice. For those of you have heard this series can't compare with Naruto and Bleach, no, it can't, it's 100x better. This series will make you laugh, feel a very deep compassion for the characters, want to make you scream in rage, make you want to scream with happiness, and yes, even cry. Yeah. I cried a couple times. And the plot, oh yes, the plot. It's one of the best I've ever seen. Some might say it's too dark, I disagree, it's just honest. It explains that what's gone is gone, and we can't bring it back, people die for a reason, people die for no reason, life isn't fair, you only get what you give, all good things come to an end and we can only make the best of what we're given. Now the Characters, from Edward to Envy, Winry to Hughes, Scar to Rose, Riza to Roy, all characters have something special about them, and it will make you feel a deep compassion for them, weather it's Edward or Roy. Each character is developed and deep to it's full extent. The music is great, the Japanese voice actors are amazing, and the English Dub is one of the best I've seen. In short: If your an anime fan, or just dipping your toes, FullMetal Alchemist is a showcase of wonderful characters and plot, action, drama, tears and laughs.

Naruto (2002–2007)

Love it or Hate it: Depends on what you've seen anime wise

[6/10 · 7 July 2007]

Let's start with the simple pros and cons of this series: Pros: Good Animation quality; One of the best OST; appeals to millions, pretty good action Cons: way too much filler; plot is often lost; forgettable characters; appeals to millions; not much unless you just want to watch action; lots of flash backs and re-used cells. Naruto: The most popular anime to hit the U.S.A since Dragon Ball Z, millions of viewers a week rush to their T.Vs to watch the hit show, Naruto, a ninja saga about Naruto Uzumaki, an amateur ninja who wishes to be the greatest ninja in the land. And if the number of English-dub viewers weren't enough, even more watch the subtitle version on youtube or other viewing ways. Needless to say it should be the best anime ever, right? Right? Wrong. Why you ask? Keep reading. I agree with what hard-core Narutards (extreme Naruto fans) say, it's not some lame DBZ ripoff, and it is better than DBZ, it has action, and somewhat OK-ish characters, and ninjas, what more could the shonen-forward anime viewer want? What could go wrong? In Naruto's case: Nothing, but it managed to mess it up somewhere down the line. It starts off at a pretty nice speed, might lose some viewers, a pretty nice hook though, but somewhat cliché. Sad talentless boy gets back on track and joins a ninja squad with the stereotypical marry-sue, Sakura, who only has one thing on her mind: Sasuke. Sasuke, with his "I'm way to cool for you losers" type of thinking, who, from beginning to end, is a favorite for fans. Seems /ok/ but as it gets into the series, it gets way more interesting, or so I thought. Then the fillers hit. Fine. I didn't care, I was already used to fillers by that time, it was a presence in all long-running butt-kickers, i.e Kenshin and Inuyasha. I was still a die-hard fan. What made me loose interest you ask? The answer is simple: I found better things. I agree with many aspects of the Naruto-fan's opinion, but one I don't agree with is that it is the best anime ever. There are many others that would be better. First I found Death Note, then slowly and slowly I found even more things, FullMetal Alchemist, Grave of the Fireflies, and many more, and even Shoujo anime. Let's focus on FullMetal Alchemist and Grave of the Fireflies for a sec, starting with FullMetal Alchemist. I've heard it all before, "Boring. Bleach and Naruto are a million times better!." But that didn't stop me from watching the series. It had a hype around it, and usually that works against any story. Exceptions are built up etc, but not with FMA's case. Rock solid plot and deep, developed characters. From Edward to Envy, from Winry to Hughes, each one had something special. This is something I don't think Naruto possesses. "But look at Naruto, Sasuke and Gaara!", the Naruto fan would say. Well yes, I agree, but those are only three characters. The rest are well, bland. With the exceptions of those and a few others, the characters and one 1 to 2D, if you know what I mean. In FMA, every character was developed as well as the mentioned characters from Naruto, even more, in some cases. Now, Grave of the Fireflies, said to be the best anime in existence. I agree. It takes what Naruto has, plot characters, antagonists, protagonists, basic stuff, and then multiplies it by so much more. I could rant for hours and hours, but it wouldn't do it justice. OK, now that I've got that out of my system, what makes Naruto any different from such prodigies? Some people say it's the hype that ruins it, I disagree, some people say it's the plot, yes and no, some people say it's the characters, yes and no, some people say it's the fact that these Naruto fans, the die-hards and such, haven't come across other things that make the plot and Characters of the oh-so-popular anime seem rather meh, I agree. Don't get me wrong, I've met my share of Naruto/FMA fans, and I was for a long time, but after taking a good look at each, and I've decided Naruto really wasn't that special, and found better things. In short, yes, I do think Naruto has potential to be great, but do I think it's better than others? No. I don't. Weather you like it or not: It's up to you and what you believe makes an anime "stellar" and what your looking for in an anime. Oh and just a little note: Yes, I did like the characters in Naruto, and yes I did like the plot. No flaming please. I did feel connected to the characters, and the plot was good. Like I said, I found better. NO FLAMING. NARUTO IS AN OK SERIES. I LIKED IT, BUT NOT AS MUCH AS SOME.