Finished watching Record of Lodoss War

Finished watching Record of Lodoss War (1993, Madhouse, 13 epi) on 1/11/2018.

Parn is a young man traveling the land of Lodoss with a diverse group of allies such as Deedlit the elf, and Ghim the dwarf. Together they plan to oppose the forces of a witch bent on political chaos between the kingdoms of Lodoss so as to preserve the land by keeping any one faction from taking central control. 

This was a beautiful show based on a series of novels about a land of magic and mystical beings. I'd love to own an HD copy of this show because I'd watch it again in a heartbeat. Seriously, it's got that beauty that good anime shows in the 90's used to have and the animation is pretty awesome too. The story though is a little bit slow at times, despite the small number of episodes, and sometimes it gets a little jumpy. There's only so much character development going on too, but not to say that the character's themselves weren't interesting, because they were fun to follow. And the soundtrack isn't too shabby. It's got some memorable tracks here and there, specially the opening and ending themes. Speaking of which, the opening for this show is a beautiful piece of art all on it's own, the song only makes it an even more memorable experience.

Also, apparently there's a top-view MMORPG by the same name. Here's a Portuguese video by a friend showcasing the gameplay:

8/10 - If you're into Lord of the Rings then there's a good chance you'll enjoy this baby.

Finished watching Legend of the Galactic Heroes: My Conquest is the Sea of Stars

Finished watching Legend of the Galactic Heroes: My Conquest is the Sea of Stars (1988, Artland, Madhouse, 59mins) on 11/8/2017.

Set in a fictitious future where mankind has expanded into deep space, even having colonized other habitable planets, two factions have been waging war for years in the sea of stars - the Free Planets Alliance, and the Galactic Empire. Working under the flag of the empire, Reinhard von Lohengramm arrives at the Iserlohn Fortress, but not before he has to deal with an attack by a small Alliance force in which Yang Wen-li serves as a Staff Officer.

After having watched a handful of space-opera series, namely Captain Harlock, Yamato and Macross, I came across recommendations for the Legend of the Galactic Heroes as THE space-opera to watch. Well, why the heck not, I thought. Having looked through a few screenshots and artwork I began to fear that the series might be too serious and technical for my taste. Well... I came to find that it was, but! It did a very good job at it, thus surprising me. Well, this movie at least. The artwork is beautiful and the classical music that goes with it only emphasizes its beauty. Specially when it plays during space combat and you see the tactical plans being made on the fly. It's... oddly exciting. And for a later 80's movie, I can only imagine the animation quality must've been pretty amazing! Another thing that caught me off guard was maybe how Reinhard and Siegfried acted around each other. From the movie alone I was able to gather that they seem to be close friends but... I guess I wasn't expecting how, uhm, well, comfortable they are with each other. As if the movie is trying hard to appeal to a specific audience... perhaps. Not that it's something that bothered me, in fact I was amused by it. There's just something, graceful about them. And to further accentuate that grace there's this visual theme that the Empire seems to have adopted with the inside of their ships. The decks all seem to share this early Roman aesthetic with marble pillars and architecture. And the uniforms they wear are also beautifully detailed as opposed to the more basic, army-like look of the Alliance.

8/10 - It's definitely quite different from what I've watched so far. Then again, I don't have that much space-opera under my belt. But it was a great movie for sure and I definitely recommend it. It's not very long either, which is great in case you feel like it's not really your cup of tea. But if you're into the genre, I'm sure you'll appreciate this movie for sure. And you don't have to pay much attention to the more complicated war mumbo-jumbo to appreciate the movie. As long as you get the basic gist of it, it becomes very enjoyable.

Finished watching Kobato

Finished watching Kobato (2009, Madhouse, 24 epi.) on 5/26/2016.

Kobato is an innocent, kind-hearted young girl on a mission to fill up her glass bottle with kompeito hard-candies. But these candies aren't just regular ones, they appear inside her bottle everytime she heals a broken heart, a not-so-easy task. But with her she carries Ioryogi-san, a fire-breathing, quick-tempered, stuff animal doll who guides Kobato through her ordeal.

7/10 - Very nice. This show has a lot of heart and Kobato is sure to tug at your emotions when her personality is challenged by the harsh realities that life presents. But the show doesn't let you stay down for too long as Kobato picks herself right up with her silly ideas which are often literally burned down by Ioryogi's fire breath. Ioryogi is my favorite character, his temper amuses me and for a stuffed doll his facial expressions are epic! The story is based on the CLAMP manga by the same name, but I haven't read it yet so I can't say how it compares. Even so, I enjoyed this show nonetheless. The art quality was good and so was the animation. The production doesn't feel rushed or anything. Nothing that you wouldn't expect from Madhouse.

Finished watching Cardcaptor Sakura

Finished rewatching Cardcaptor Sakura for the second time (1998 – 2000, Madhouse, 70 epi., 2 movies) on 12/18/2015.

Elementary-school student, Kinomoto Sakura comes across a magical book in her basement. After opening it she accidentally releases the magical Clow Cards inside and Keroberos, their guardian from slumber. With Kero-chan's help and a magical staff he bestows upon her, it is now her task to retrieve all the cards back into the book. But it's not an easy task as the cards take their sprite form and use their powers to keep Sakura from overcoming them.

8/10 – I had already watched this wonderful series a few years ago but had forgotten how great it is and why I was always so psyched for Sakura and Syaoran #otp. The movies were great as well with incredible quality and animation. All the characters are wonderfull, even the bad guys. Also, gotta love Tomoyo-chan. I believe she could be a Batgirl if she wanted to. The soundtrack is quite memorable as well.

Finished watching Dennou Coil

Finished watching Dennou Coil (2007, Madhouse, 26 epi.) on 11/1/2014.

Dennou Coil revolves around a group of kids solving a mystery based on a rumor about a girl who's spirit was trapped in the cybernetic world of the high-tech, augmented reality glasses almost everyone wears. These glasses are the new smart phones with a lot more capabilities and more importantly, augmented reality.

8/10 – The story develops a bit slow and it almost feels like a video game tutorial as they indirectly introduce the various concepts and terms of these smart glasses to the viewer. But soon enough a plot is revealed and the story picks up. Funny things happen. Things get heated. The plot thickens. And it darkens. Without spoiling anything I'll just end by saying that I loved this show. The animation is good and the soundtrack is great too. The characters are very likable as well. It will certainly always have a place in my heart.

Finished watching Space Pirate Captain Harlock: Outside Legend - The Endless Odyssey

Finished watching Space Pirate Captain Harlock: Outside Legend - The Endless Odyssey (2002, Madhouse, 13 ep.) on 9/7/2014.

In this alternate reality sequel of the original series, Prof. Daiba unleashes the Noo, an ancient alien threat from its confines during an archeological mission to the end of the universe. Five years later, this threat reaches earth throwing into motion a reunion of Arcadia's Captain Harlockand his old crew.

7.5/10 - This sequel to the original series, if I can call it that, was actually pretty decent. At least comparing to that piece of garbage prequel known as Gun Frontier. So I guess that means I'll be comparing them both. Why? Because I know there are other shows and movies in the franchise and from what I heard none of them are very consistent with each other so I'm not even going to bother with them. That's why I'm sticking with only these two. Even Outside Legend was a little wonky in terms of continuity, but that's as far as my patience can go. Don't get me wrong, I think the whole Captain Harlock idea is pretty epic, but Leiji Matsumoto keeps annoying me with his inconsistency in this franchise. However, I'm willing to bet this series is the best Captain Harlock spinoff. Now, the reason why I'm not sure whether to call this show a sequel or not is because it behaves like both a sequel and a reboot. The reason why I say this is because the show is supposed to take place after the Mazone arc. Even Yattaran mentions fighting the Mazone in the past, but at the same time the show starts with Pr. Daiba still alive and his son, Daiba yet to meet Harlock for the first time. So basically Harlock defeated the Mazone without Daiba as part of the crew and Pr. Daiba was never killed by the Mazone, but instead... by the new threat known as the Noo. In 13 good looking episodes Harlock pursues this new enemy and I have to say, as a fan I was pretty pleased with the quality of the show. I never got bored, there was always something new happening each episode and the art was clean and crisp. The animation was also well done, specially with the Arcadia turning in some scenes to dodge laser canons. I do think that some other scenes didn't have to be so static though. It would've been nice to see Harlock exchanging a few blows with one of the bad guys as they exchanged a conversation between eachother. Other than what I've mention I really don't have much to complain about with this show. It was very awesome to see the old characters reunite in an updated art quality that would match that of today's anime shows. And as my last visit in my Harlock voyage as a true man, I shall move onto to watching the CG movie that was released recently. Til, then, may the hearts of passionate souls guide you through the stars of the universe.