One Piece

For my last blog entry, I wanted to write about my favorite anime ever "One Piece". I haven't been watching this recently to be honest (after watching so many episodes for months straight I decided to go watch different animes) but this will probably be my all time favorite. Most people probably know what One Piece is. Its even on the Japanese trolley busses that go around Waikiki! But for those of you who don't know about One Piece.. Its pretty much started with one boy's dream to rule the seas and to become the pirate king.. Luffy D. Monkey. As he goes along his journey to become the strongest pirate, he stumbles across many people that soon becomes his allies, friends, and of course crewmates. The anime consists of many adventures and battles that him and his friends are involved in and the amazing part is that you become attached to the characters because you can see how all of their friendships gets stronger and you can also see the character develop and improve upon fight after fight. It is a really great plot and group of characters that you can easily fall in love with. However, there is over 700 episodes to watch which seems ridiculous and hard to start watching because of the intimidating number of episodes... but once you start watching you come to realize (after 10 or so episodes) that you really can't seem to stop clicking the "next episode" button! 

Tokyo Ghoul (Season 1)

Tokyo Ghoul is originally a manga series written and created by Sui Ishida that became a television anime series in 2014. The season consists of only 12 episodes but worry not, it is action packed all the way to the end. This is also definitely on the bloodier/gorier side.. there is really not much comedy or romance. The plot is interesting with full of human/flesh eating ghouls (instead of the usual vampire or werewolf stories) with a good vs evil type of theme. The main character's name is Kaneki and he is a half-breed of human and ghoul which brings a lot of attention to him throughout the anime. 

I thought that I wouldn't like this anime due to the gore and blood (and how short it is) but it actually has a really interesting and twisted plot to the show. I haven't seen anything similar to this yet and I was hooked after the first episode. I recommend it for sure, but if you're not into flesh eating monsters then I advise you to stay away.

Parasyte PART 1 (Kiseijyuu)

Parasyte part 1 the movie was actually not that bad (compared to the live action of Attack on Titan) however they could have done better with the acting. The CG was really realistic (the body mutations and transforming) and the action scenes were pretty good. But I was incredibly disappointed that Migi's (his mutated hand) voice actor was not the same as the anime. Migi is my favorite character in the show and that was a huge letdown for me. Part 2 just recently came out so hopefully the second one would be a bit more exciting than this one. At least compared to Atack on Titan this live-action movie stuck to the script. 

Soul Eater

Soul Eater was originally a manga written by Atsushi Ōkubo and the anime aired on April 2008 all the way to 2009. This anime is pretty much about these young kids who are attending a school to master being a "weapon meister" and a weapon. The main characters are Maka (weapon meister) and Soul (weapon) and they have to learn to "connect souls" to become stronger. The other two teams are the same, but they all have different techniques and use (or transform into) different weapons. They all have one goal in mind: To master and become a "Death Sythe" which is pretty much the highest rank they can achieve and do much more important missions instead of small, insignificant ones. 

This anime has 51 episodes and I am a bit sad that I'm almost at the end. I recently started this because a friend kept recommending it to me and I finally had the time to watch it. It is actually surprisingly good, has all the things I love in an anime. I also feel like there's an important message on friendship and teamwork in this anime that it reminds me of One Piece in a way and I really like that. Can't believe that I'm 10 episodes away from the finale ☹

One-Punch Man (Wanpann man)

One-Punch Man is an anime that just started airing recently on Hulu so I have decided to give it a shot. It has more of a Comedy type of vibe to it in the beginning and if you keep watching it you will notice that there is actually a lot of action involved. It has a hero and villain thing going on where, Saitama (main character of the story) saves people and defeat monsters just for "fun" and pretty much as a hobby. His name became, "One-Punch Man" because he ends up defeating every villain/monster with just one single punch. When you first look at him, he looks completely normal. With his cartoon-like features and his bored expression, you would not think that he defeats villains easily and single-handedly on a everyday basis. This is why I love this anime because I love the other villains AND heroes reactions when they see his strength. Especially since he is incredibly modest and hilarious at the same time. Since this anime just started, it is quite hard to wait for a new episode to come out but the wait is worth it. I believe a new episode airs every sunday on Hulu and the newest episode at the moment is episode 6!

Deadman Wonderland

Deadman wonderland was originally a manga series published in 2011 and also aired the anime during the same time. However, the anime was not as popular compared to the manga so they only have 12 episodes in the season and 13 volumes for the manga. I really liked how crazy this anime was, from the start to the end. The plot and ideas are interesting and different, I was hooked after the first episode. It left you wanting more! Its about a prison that is also a carnival for people wanting some entertainment and it is called, "Deadman Wonderland". For the main event, inmates fight eachother to the death using everything they can in their power. The main character was framed in killing all of his classmates at once by a mysterious man that showed up all of a sudden and he ended up at this prison. He was the only one who was spared to live. There is a reason why that he was spared... 

It is super mysterious with lots of twists and turns. I watched all 12 episodes in a few hours, but was deeply disappointed that they didn't finish the anime. The season ends with no conclusion. I recommend it but if you don't like cliffhangers don't watch it. Unless you're willing to read the translated version of the manga to know what happens next.

Attack on Titan (LIVE-ACTION MOVIE)

I finally decided to watch the live action movie of Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin) Part 1 because I am almost done with the actual show. They did really good with the CG and effects but I was really disappointed that they didn't follow through with the story line. They changed some of the minor characters names and the progression is different. There was absolutely no romance in the actual anime itself but this movie was filled with romance and relationships, it was actually way too much. They focused on their relationships, rather than the action of the show which was incredibly horrible. I do not recommend watching this movie. I would just stick to the manga or the anime itself.

Parasyte (Kiseijyu)

"Parasyte" (or Kiseijyu) was published in a magazine from 1988 to 1995 and started to air the episodes in Japan between October 2014 and March 2015. This is more of a science fiction horror (which I don't usually like) but it has some comedy and romance in it so it balances out. This anime revolves around a 17 year old high schooler named Shinichi Izumi who got attacked by a parasite in his sleep. But since he had earphones in, the parasyte couldn't invade his brain and instead burrowed into his hand and this is why his hand can change forms and talk like a human. Shinichi starts to learn that the world is filled with parasites disguised as humans and starts to develop a relationship with his parasyte friend. I watched a few episodes so far and there has been a lot of action and suspense which I enjoy in animes. It is a bit on the bloodier side (bodies splitting into two, etc) so make sure you're okay will gory images before you start watching it. But I definitely recommend 👍

Danganronpa

Danganronpa is an anime that was made based on a Japanese video game franchise that was created and developed for a variety of game systems. The story revolves around 16 characters that were randomly selected and put into a school called "Hope’s Peak Academy" which is an exclusive private school that only accepts the best of the best. However, the person who creates the rules and makes sure everything is in order is a bear called "Monokuma". He claims that the only way to actually get out of the school (i.e. graduate) is to kill off one another but make sure no one knows you are guilty of the crime...

This anime only has one season (13 episodes) so I actually ended up watching the whole thing in 2 days. It is definitely more of a suspense, serious type of anime where you have to pay attention and concentrate. It reminds of another anime called "Detective Conan" but this has a gorier side to it. I love detective/guessing shows so I really enjoyed watching this anime! It kept me on my toes and there was never a dull moment every episode. I kind of wish it was longer with more seasons!

Attack on Titan

Attack on Titan (Shingeki no kyojin) has been a very popular topic among my friends recently because of the new live action movie that came out. And since I haven't even watched the anime series yet (until recently) I have decided to watch it because I thought a little bit of background would be better before I watch the movie. 

So the anime is pretty much based on a manga that started in 2009 and the anime series started in 2013 and I think the animation and the plot is on the scarier (bloodier) side. Which is great but not a great anime to watch when you want to just hang out with your friends. The first few episodes were definitely on the darker side; This anime is not shy from death and blood. They don't really explain much in the beginning so I think it could be one of those animes that you get hooked on because you need to know what happens next. So overall, after watching 7 episodes and getting into the action scenes, I think that this anime is worth watching because of the unique plot that this story has. You'll easily come to love the characters and the character development as well. 

Gurren Lagann

Gurren Lagann is a Japanese anime series (Known as Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann in Japan) that ran for 27 episodes between April 2007 to September 2007. This anime is considered a mecha anime which means that its an anime that consists of robots in battle. I think the beginning was quite slow because I wasn't sure what was going on but as newer characters came into the show and the battles began to commence it all started to make sense. I feel like the whole show is based on Simon's growth and knowledge on how to battle and protect his friends using the Mecha robots. There is romance, action, and comedy all packed into 27 episodes and I think the directors and staff did really well creating this mecha anime and I definitely recommend this.