Anime Review Roundup

I had two anime reviews to impart last week, kicking off with a trip into the back catalogue with Kurau Phantom Memory: Volume 1. This is a show from that period when ADV were rapidly sinking, and in the UK, it only got as far as the fourth volume before the company shut up shop. Those volumes are still floating around, but since I wanted to see how the series played out, I went and imported from the US instead. Kurau is a sci-fi action story from Studio Bones, with high quality animation and an intriguing concept at its heart. Kurau as a girl was the victim of an energy experiment gone wrong. She fused with an alien binary being known as a Rynax, which gifted her with amazing abilities, which she uses as a mercenary agent for hire, taking the missions that others deem impossible. But for ten years, she's been waiting for her other half, the second part of the binary being, to appear. When a young girl named Christmas shows up, everything changes.

Next up was a big, hefty chunk of Bamboo Blade. It's the modern trend of releasing anime in half season sets, so thirteen episodes worth of Bamboo Blade all in one go turns out to be a very satisfying experience, especially with one of the few sports anime to make it UK shores. But kendo has enough sword swinging and combat to live up to Manga's reputation, even though the emphasis is on slice of life and comedy. A hard up kendo instructor at a high school has the chance to solve his nutrition woes, when he makes a bet with a rival teacher for a year's worth of free food. All he needs is for his girl's kendo team to beat his friend's team. Well, first he needs to recruit a girl's team. The ideal recruit would be Tamaki Kawazoe, a girl who grew up in a kendo dojo, and can outclass most adults. But she's a girl who would much rather watch anime instead. Featuring some very quirky and likeable characters, and some rich humour, click on my review for Bamboo Blade - Part 1 to see why this series is worthy of attention.