Karasu Tengu Kabuto: Ougon no Me no Kemono

Karasu Tengu Kabuto is a short 40 minute OVA taking place in an alternate feudal Japan. Let's kick things off with the plot; Kabuto is a wandering tengu who travels to a run down village, only to find out that the king is dead, his sorceress wife is oppressing the populace, and the princess has been locked away in the dungeons. In order to help return the villagers to their familiar quality of life, Kabuto takes on the sorceress and her mechanical samurai minions. That about sums up the plot of this OVA.

Having watched a number of short OVAs in my time, there have been some which can concisely tell a story in a compressed time, while others flop big time. Karasu Tengu Kabuto fits more into the flop category for me. Even after 3 cups of coffee, this OVA still managed to put me to sleep (literally). You could imagine my disappointment when I had to re-watch part of it in order to honestly say that I watched the whole thing.

While this anime didn't really keep me overly entertained, it wasn't all negative. I am a huge fan of retro anime with that 80s/90s feel. What drew me initially was the box art. Looking at the art work, I knew I was going to get a cheesy soundtrack and some nice rough artwork (both of which were delivered without fail). I did enjoy the art in this OVA and that did help to justify the 40 minutes.

Overall, I would still recommend checking this OVA out if you are a huge anime nerd like me. For the casual anime fan, you may want to put this one further down the list of what to watch.

Attack on Titan

The story is that years ago mankind was forced to live behind huge towering walls in a fortified city, all to escape man-eating titans that now roamed the Earth. The only people who leave the city are the scout regiment and even when they venture outside of the walls many do not return. The regiment is a military force that protects the citizens. The people in the city live in relative peace until the day a huge titan appears and destroys the wall. Eren Yeager a young man witnesses it all including watching a titan eat his mother. His rage leads to him entering the academy in hopes of one day joining the scout regiment so he can kill titans. 

Attack on Titan is one of the top animes of year and for good reason. The animation is amazing, the soundtrack fits perfectly and the story is very entertaining. The animation is so well done, the soldiers flying through the air to attack the titans, the bloody massacres when the titans attack and the day to day life in the city are all exquisite. The design for the titans is very interesting, the huge beings seem to smile while they devour any human they can catch. The music adds to the enjoyment of the show and never detracts from it. The story is interesting and I enjoy the backgrounds of the characters, I can’t wait to learn more about the history of this world and see if and how humanity will win the war. 

I highly recommend this series for any anime fan, unless that fan is a child. This show is not for children, far too much gore and violence. It’s a very enjoyable show though and if you enjoy action or sci-fi you’ll love this show. So if you haven’t watched this series yet you should stop whatever you are doing and watch it!