Aoi Bungaku (Evergreen Literature)

Aoi Bungaku is the anime I was waiting all last season for and had somehow overlooked. I picked it up after the season ended, and was taken by surprise. At first I met a fellow who appeared to be hanging out afterhours in a library, and he began to speak of famous japanese authors and their works, a bit of their personal history, and some observations to spark intrigue and curiosity before the animated part of the episode began. I can't say I've read any of these stories or their translations, but hearing this guy's intro really put my mind in a hungry mood. I wanted to think about the story and what the author's life had brought to it.

Don't think this anime will bore you. There is plenty of good animation to keep you satisfied and a few unanswered questions to keep your brain hungry for the next episode. The series covers a few stories, written by different authors. A single story may take two to four episodes. The first story spans four and gives you a taste of what the anime can provide that most of the other anime this season cannot. For the mind, there are deaths, twisted happenings, and inner turmoils. For the eyes, the stories seem to use different anime styles that bend and flex to accent the story or access it from a different perspective. By the second story, you'll see that this anime has quite a few tricks up its sleeve. Though each story stands alone, we have the host to guide us through an animated tour of some of Japan's famous works.

I'm currently nine episodes in, but after the first, I realized I had almost missed out on a great series. If the first four episodes, you are still unsure, try that 5th episode which begins the second story and it might get you hooked. Leave the high school dramas and slapstick actions behind and delve into a series that has anime chops to draw you in, and literary classics that will entice you to have more.

Recommendations:

• Himitsu: The Revelation...peering inside criminal minds and the minds of victims, the team called Section 9 suffers more than just sleepless nights >>
  
• Genji Monogatari Sennenki >>...this take on the Tale of Genji brings to light the sadness and tragedy of a character that was dazzling and loved by many women
  
• Bokurano...it's easy to be dazzled by the giant robot, but what really shines is the character struggles that lead up to the deaths of each controller as each chair is emptied >>
• Jigoku Shoujo: Futakomori...the outcome is being ferried to hell, how the characters' grudges came to grow and grow until the cursed red string is pulled is worth the watch >>

Video Sample:



Do you plan to watch Aoi Bungaku?


See the description for Aoi Bungaku on AnimeDB.net >>

Hetalia: Axis Powers

Hetalia: Axis Powers is a web anime, and each episode is a brief 5 minutes. It's like a parody of a world history book with each country represented as a character that turns chibi whenever comedy is at its extreme. These countries bicker, interact and are at each others' necks as often as the countries seem to be. Stereotypes run rampant, and I fear these characters will come to mind whenever I meet an Italian.

The episodes are quick-paced and loosely follow history's events in the order they occured, sometimes interrupted for fun cuts of silliness that have nothing to do or say about history or the countries.

All about white flags and pasta, the Italy character is infused in most of the episodes, and keeps the mood light and dazy. The anime as a whole stays away from anything truly serious and is a fun way of recounting what was grasped from history books, and is a fun escape from a lot of the more serious action anime I'm watching.

The ending theme is infectious.

This anime as inspired me to create a new tag: unusual. Maybe I should have called it bizarre or strange, instead.

Recommendations:

• Astro Fighter Sunred...with 10-minute episodes, this is for those who can laugh at the intracies of japanese society and ranger-shows parodies >>
  
• Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei >>...overflowing with parodies, referring to other anime, contemporary Japanese culture, high school life in japan, anime characters types

I'm having trouble thinking of a third recommendation. This anime is really out there. Leave a comment to suggest recommendations.

Video Sample:



Do you plan on watching Hetalia: Axis Powers?


See the description for Hetalia: Axis Powers on AnimeDB.net >>

Tentai Senshi Sunred (Astro Fighter Sunred)

Description on AnimeDB.net

Tentai Senshi Sunred - I think this is definitely an acquired taste. Before you dismiss this show from your playlist, give it 2 or 3 episodes (as in, watch them), to get a good idea of the what the show is about and its humor. Each episode is bite-sized, like 10-15 minutes, so I think you can spare that much time between your other anime.

You know shows like, the power rangers, any good old fashioned kids show where there are 1) heroes and 2) monsters, and the show is about heroes fighting the monsters? Good. Now you need to take those characters and plop them into real-life Japan and its cultural norms and polite society. When you realize that Astro Fighter Sunred may not be the upstanding model citizen and that monsters, too, have feelings and social rules to follow, you have fallen into the world of Astro Fighter Sunred.

Fun things to do: sing along with the ending theme (which is about cooking a dish), catch a superhero smoking through his helmet, notice how Vamp's head just sort of bobs up and down, notice all those fun little things that happen on those hero shows (calling out all the "special moves" a monster does)

Recommendations:

• Detroit Metal City...unique situation, stomach the language, see the hilarity (See Anime Spotlight)
  
• Hetalia: Axis Powers...fast paced parody of world history embodied by characters that celebrate, fight and bicker amongst allies and enemies alike (See Anime Spotlight)
  

I had a really hard time thinking of some recommendations. This anime is really far from other anime in terms of content.

Video Sample: