Reviews

208 reviews & 70 illustrations as of 01 oct 08 / greg goebel

* Recent reviews:

• ESCAFLOWNE: Meandering (2*)
• ORIGIN: Pretty But Pure Mumbo-Jumbo (2*)
• CHOBITS: Soapish But Fun (3*)
• MARVEL 1602: Clever Stuff For Marvel Fans (4*)

• EVOLUTION: Good But Overwrought (3*)
• THE HOGFATHER: Slow Moving But Rewarding (4*)
• THE MELANCHOLY OF HARUHI SUZUMIYA: Very Original (4*)
• FUTURAMA DIRECT TO VIDEO: Very Welcome Back (3*)

[1] INTRO / ABOUT THIS PAGE

* I used to write reviews for Amazon.com, but as is often the case when big companies offer a service that doesn't directly bring in revenue, they let the system go to seed and it became impossible to use.

I have retained the "five star (5*)" grading system used by Amazon.com, with the grades assigned roughly as follows:

• 1*: Totally not recommended.
• 2*: Redeeming features, has its moments, etc.
• 3*: Worthwhile if not extraordinary.
• 4*: Better than the average and with outstanding features.
• 5*: Outstanding and highly recommended.

I rarely hand out either 1 or 5 stars; it takes something special to deserve either.

One completely obvious caveat: Any good reviewer tries to provide as much factual information as possible, such as describing the subject matter of the work, its length, and so on, but in the end whether I like it or not is strictly my own opinion and is not represented as anything but my opinion. Tastes are highly subjective: your mileage may vary, if your tastes are completely different from mine, my reviews will be of little use to you.

Since I almost always watch Japanese DVDs in Japanese with subtitles, I may not have any comment on the English dubbing for these items. Although most of the DVDs I watch have some degree of "extras", I don't usually have much time for or interest in them, and so I make little comment about extras in my reviews. Please also note that the "released" date given for each review is the date the review was originally released, not the date the item being reviewed was released. I will often update reviews and so I include a "last mod(ified)" date as well.

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[2] ANIME REVIEWS

* Anime reviews include:

• ANGELIC LAYER: Imaginative & Pretty But Fluffy (3*)
• THE ANIMATRIX: Experiments In The Matrix Universe (3*)
• APPLESEED (The Movie): Trips Itself Up (2*)
• BLACK MAGIC M-66: A Rough Cut (2*)
• THE CASTLE OF CAGLIOSTRO: Not Great But Good Fun (3*)

• CASTLE IN THE SKY: Engaging! (4*)
• CAT GIRL NUKU NUKU: Fun Silliness (3*)
• CHOBITS: Soapish But Fun (3*)
• COWBOY BEBOP BEST SESSIONS: Nice Starter Kit (3*)
• COWBOY BEBOP THE MOVIE: Well-Produced Action Flic (4*)

• CREST OF THE STARS: Fun But Nothing Special (3*)
• EL HAZARD THE MAGNIFICENT WORLD: Fun Stuff (3*)
• ESCAFLOWNE: Meandering (2*)
• ESCAFLOWNE THE MOVIE: Insubstantial But Pretty (3*)
• EUREKA 7 VOL 1: Nothing New (3*)

• EXCEL SAGA V1: For Otakus Only (2*)
• EX-DRIVER PERFECT COLLECTION: For Junior Car Freaks (2*)
• FULL METAL ALCHEMIST: Surprisingly Good (3*)
• FULL METAL PANIC V1: Ain't Nothin' New (2*)
• GENERATOR GAWL: Strictly TOONAMI (2*)

• GHOST IN THE SHELL 2: INNOCENCE: Pretty But Hollow (3*)
• GHOST IN THE SHELL TV: STAND-ALONE COMPLEX: Mixed (3*)
• HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE: A Bit Too Imaginative? (4*)
• IRIA / ZEIRAM THE ANIMATION: Fun If Kitschy (3*)
• JIN-ROH THE WOLF BRIGADE: Striking But Dark (4*)

• KIDDY GRADE: Snappy But Stumbles (2*)
• KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE: Fun For Kids & Adults (4*)
• KINO'S JOURNEY V1: Atmospheric But That's It (2*)
• LAST EXILE: Good Production Indifferent Script (2*)
• MARTIAN SUCCESSOR NADESICO V1: Mild Fun At Best (2*)

• MARTIAN SUCCESSOR NADESICO THE MOVIE: Sparkly Fluff (3*)
• THE MELANCHOLY OF HARUHI SUZUMIYA: Very Original (4*)
• MEMORIES: Light On Substance But Big On Style (3*)
• METROPOLIS: Work Smart Not Hard (2*)
• MIHOSHI SPECIAL / PRETTY SAMMY: Has Its Moments (2*)

• MILLENNIUM ACTRESS: Magnificent! (5*)
• MIYUKI-CHAN IN WONDERLAND: Bizarre, Fun, Kinky (3*)
• MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO: Lovely Bit Of Work (5*)
• NADIA: Muddled (2*)
• NUKU NUKU DASH! V1: What Fun Is This? (2*)

• NUKU NUKU TV V1: This Kitty's A Dog (2*)
• OH MY GODDESS V1: Missing Something Important (2*)
• ORIGIN: Pretty But Pure Mumbo-Jumbo (2*)
• PAPRIKA: A Riot Of Imagination & Color (4*)
• PARANOIA AGENT: Imaginative But Unfocused (4*)

• PARASITE DOLLS: Ready Aim Miss (2*)
• PATLABOR TV SERIES: Competent & Entertaining (3*)
• PATLABOR 1: Nice But Just A Jazzed-Up TV Episode (3*)
• PATLABOR 2: Excellent! (5*)
• PATLABOR WXIII: Watchable But Lacks Impact (3*)

• PERFECT BLUE: OK Suspense Flic (3*)
• THE PLACE PROMISED IN OUR EARLY DAYS: Big Potential (3*)
• PLANETES V1: OK Production But Dull (2*)
• PORCO ROSSO: Fluffy But Fun (3*)
• PRINCESS MONONOKE: Superb! (5*)

• RAHXEPHON TV SERIES: An Intriguing Anime Series (4*)
• RAHXEPHON THE MOTION PICTURE: Absolutely Pointless (1*)
• RECORD OF THE LODOSS WAR: By The Numbers (2*)
• SABRE MARIONETTE J: Mediocre Marionettes (2*)
• SABRE MARIONETTE R: Mixed Messages (2*)

• SAMURAI 7: Earnest But Flawed Effort (3*)
• SAMURAI CHAMPLOO V1: For Hip-Hop Lovers (3*)
• SERIAL EXPERIMENTS LAIN: Breaking Out Of The Box (4*)
• SLAYERS SERIES: Mediocre At Best (2*)
• SPIRITED AWAY: An Instant Classic (5*)

• SPRIGGAN: A Real Guilty Pleasure (4*)
• STEAM BOY: (Literally) Mechanical (3*)
• TENCHI MUYO OAV: A Classic Of Sorts (3*)
• TENCHI UNIVERSE: Watered-Down Tenchi (2*)
• TENCHI MUYO GXP: A Truly Mixed Experience (3*)

• TENCHI-MUYO RYOH-OKI: Incoherent (2*)
• TEXHNOLYZE: Takes Off Then Crashes (1*)
• TOKYO GODFATHERS: Balances It All Just Right (5*)
• TWELVE KINGDOMS V1: Lackluster (2*)
• YOU'RE UNDER ARREST: Too Nice For Words (3*)

• VOICES OF A DISTANT STAR: Nice But Not Filling (3*)
• THE WEATHERING CONTINENT: OK Casual Entertainment (3*)
• WITCH HUNTER ROBIN: Never Comes Together (2*)
• WOLF'S RAIN: Pleasant But Plodding (3*)
• YUKIKAZE: Fun For Armchair Fighter Jox (2*)

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[3] MANGA & GRAPHIC NOVEL REVIEWS

* Manga & graphic novel reviews include:

• ADAM WARREN'S DIRTY PAIR: Trashy Clever Fun (3*)
• AKIRA: The War & Peace Of Manga (4*)
• ALITA / LAST ORDER V1: Worthy Successor (3*)
• APPLESEED: Imaginative If Disorderly (3*)
• BATTLE ANGEL ALITA: Splashy Wild Gore (3*)

• BITE CLUB VOL 1: Trashy Vampire Gangster Tale (2*)
• BONE: Pogo Meets Tolkien (4*)
• BUBBLEGUM CRISIS / GRAND MAL: Taut Thriller (4*)
• THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS: Batman Classic (4*)
• DOMINION: Screwball Fun (3*)

• DOMU: OK But Read AKIRA Instead (3*)
• EMPOWERED VOL 1: Fun But Way Too Sleazy (2*)
• THE FORTY-NINERS: OK Prequel (3*)
• GHOST IN THE SHELL: Clever But ... (4*)
• GITS II / MAN-MACHINE INTERFACE: Brilliant Junk (3*)

• GYO: Imaginative & Disgusting (3*)
• IRON MAN / HYPERVELOCITY: Not News But Exciting (3*)
• LIVEWIRES / CLOCKWORK THUGS, YO!: Exciting Fun (4*)
• LOVE HINA: 14 Volumes Of Hardcore Silliness (4*)
• MARVEL 1602: Clever Stuff For Marvel Fans (4*)

• MINISTRY OF SPACE: Clever & Imaginative (4*)
• NAUSICAA: World-Class Science Fiction (5*)
• NEGIMA!: Harry Potter Meets LOVE HINA (2*)
• OCEAN: Readable But Mechanical (2*)
• ORBITER: OK But Disposable (3*)

• PLANETARY & BATMAN / NIGHT ON EARTH (4*): Very Good
• THE PLOT: Entertaining Debunkery (3*)
• RUNAWAYS VOL 1: Silly, Just Not On Purpose (2*)
• SASAMI STORIES: Nice But Mostly Recycled Material (3*)
• SMAX: Fractured Fairy Tales (3*)

• TITANS / SCISSORS, PAPER, STONE: Clever Fun (4*)
• TOP 10: Snappy, Sparkly Fun (4*)
• TRANSMETROPOLITAN: Fun But Muddled (3*)
• UZUMAKI: Spiral Nightmare (4*)
• WATCHMEN: An Attention-Getter (4*)

• YOTSUBA AND!: Mild Fun (3*)

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[4] ASIAN LIVE-ACTION VIDEO REVIEWS

* Asian live-action video reviews include:

• AVALON: Rated "C" For "Cult" (3*)
• CASSHERN: Utterly Witless (1*)
• DARK WATER: Tidy Ghost Story (4*)
• THE HAPPINESS OF THE KATAKURIS: Quirky Fun (3*)
• HIGH & LOW: Mostly For Kurosawa Fans (3*)

• JU-ON: Effective But Disjointed Ghost Story (3*)
• OLDBOY: Well-Crafted Lurid Pulp Fiction (3*)
• RETURNER: Watchable But Cheesy (2*)
• RINGU: Definitely Grade B (2*)

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[5] WESTERN VIDEO REVIEWS

* Western video reviews include:

• THE 4400: Good If Not Outstanding (3*)
• ANIMAL FARM: Nice, But I Prefer The Book (3*)
• ATLANTIS, THE LOST EMPIRE: A Fun Thrill Ride (3*)
• BATMAN BEGINS: Entertaining But Predictable (2*)
• BATTLESTAR GALACTICA 1: Starts Well But Falters (2*)

• BILL & TED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE: SpaceTime Fun (3*)
• CARS: Corny But Does Its Very Best (4*)
• CHICKEN LITTLE: Mildly Amusing (3*)
• CHICKEN RUN: Great Family Fun (5*)
• CONSTANTINE: Watchable If Uninspired (3*)

• CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL: Surprising Fun (4*)
• CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT: Good But Not News (3*)
• DARK FURY: An Amusing Appetizer (3*)
• DISNEY'S TARZAN: Good Though Not Outstanding (3*)
• DOCTOR WHO / THE 9TH DOCTOR: Welcome Back (3*)

• DOCTOR WHO / THE 10TH DOCTOR: OK But Sappy (3*)
• FARSCAPE / PEACEKEEPER WARS: Farscape Rocks! (4*)
• FINDING NEMO: A CG Aquarium Adventure (4*)
• FUTURAMA DIRECT TO VIDEO: Very Welcome Back (3*)
• GULLIVER'S TRAVELS: Charming! (4*)

• GUNNER PALACE: Incoming Sucks (3*)
• THE HOGFATHER: Slow Moving But Rewarding (4*)
• HOT FUZZ: Half Stupid, Half Hilarious (3*)
• THE INCREDIBLES: Clever Clever Clever! (5*)
• I, ROBOT: Asimov-Based Standard Actioner (3*)

• THE IRON GIANT: Good If Not Memorable (3*)
• LILO & STITCH: Very Good Fun (4*)
• LOST: Entertaining If Not Brilliant (3*)
• MEET THE ROBINSONS: Too Pat & Predictable (3*)
• MONSTERS INC: Fun & Clever (4*)

• MYSTERY OF THE BATWOMAN: Workmanlike (3*)
• THE PUNISHER: So Violent, So Boring (2*)
• RATATOUILLE: Big Fun With Clever Rats (5*)
• REIGN OF FIRE: Not Red Hot (2*)
• RETURN OF THE JOKER: Not Great But Fun (3*)

• SHAUN OF THE DEAD: Only Watchable (2*)
• SHREK: Worthwhile Though Not Memorable (3*)
• SIN CITY: Wildy Imaginative Trash (3*)
• SPIDER MAN: Meets But Doesn't Exceed Spec (3*)
• SPY KIDS: Are Gonna Save The World (3*)

• STALINGRAD: Watchable But Uninspired (3*)
• STITCH THE MOVIE: A Mildly Amusing Rehash (2*)
• SUPERNATURAL VOL 1: Slick But Unexciting (3*)
• SVANKMAYER'S ALICE: Totally Outside Of Box (4*)
• TAKEN: Too Much, Not Enough (3*)

• TEAM AMERICA WORLD POLICE: Total Drek (1*)
• TERMINATOR 3: Not Bad For What It Is (3*)
• TITAN AE: Shiny Production But For Kids Only (2*)
• TRANSFORMERS: Does What It Can With It (3*)
• TREASURE PLANET: Kid Stuff But A Super Production (3*)

• 28 DAYS LATER: Tidy B-Flic Action Movie (3*)
• ULTRAVIOLET: Cool Techno Vamp Thriller (3*)
• V FOR VENDETTA: Overblown But Still Fun (3*)
• WAR OF THE WORLDS: Competent Suspense (3*)

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[6] BOOK REVIEWS

* Book reviews include:

• THE 2:00 WAR: Good Story Weak Writing (3*)
• AFTER MAN: Great Good Fun (4*)
• AL-QAEDA: Good Read With Loose Ends (3*)
• AMERICA'S SPLENDID LITTLE WARS: Worthwhile (3*)
• ATLAS SHRUGGED: The Puzzle Of Ayn Rand (1*)

• BENJAMIN FRANKLIN: OK But Not Fish Nor Fowl (3*)
• BROTHERHOOD OF THE BOMB: OK But Unsatisfying (3*)
• THE CIVIL WAR: Essential Civil War Reading (5*)
• THE COMPANY: Stimulating If Not Meaty (4*)
• DNA / THE SECRET OF LIFE: Superb Science Writing (5*)

• EDWARD TELLER: OK But Too Much Air (3*)
• EMPIRE: Stimulating Reading (4*)
• EVOLUTION: Good But Overwrought (3*)
• THE FALL OF BERLIN 1945: Worthwhile (3*)
• FIVE-FOLD HAPPINESS: Hard To Categorize But Fun (4*)

• FLESH & MACHINES: Not Profound But Fun (3*)
• FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT: Nice Compact Biography (4*)
• INFRASTRUCTURE: Amaze Your Friends! (5*)
• INVENTING MODERN AMERICA: Only Meets Spec (3*)
• KOBA THE DREAD: Readable But Puzzling (3*)

• MOSQUE: Yet Another Nice David Macaualay Book (4*)
• MOSTLY HARMLESS: Fun Roller-Coaster Ride (4*)
• NIKITA KRUSCHEV: Detailed But A Bit Of A Chew (3*)
• RED TAILS BLACK WINGS: Nice Story Poor Writing (3*)
• THE SEVENTY WONDERS OF THE MODERN WORLD: A Letdown (3*)

• THE SHACKLED CONTINENT: Africa Advocacy (4*)
• SIX DAYS OF WAR: A Comprehensive History (5*)
• THE SPAM KINGS: Fun But Haphazard (3*)
• WINNING MODERN WARS: It's An Election Year (2*)

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