Gamescom 2012 cosplay and impressions

Wednesday, 5 September, 2012

Hello fans and folks. This year I was at Gamescom 2012 in Cologne and here are some impressions I want to share with you. This year they opened two additional halls to expand their fairgrounds by more than 15000 square meters. 6000 companies from gaming and entertainment industries have shown their new developments. Animeph was also there for you and took a special look at upcoming games from Japan and of course cosplay. This year Gamescom was a lot more interesting for cosplayers and anime fans, as there was an area especially dedicated to them. In hall 11 there was a vast playground for Japanese culture fans and it took a whole enjoyable day to visit all interesting places there. There you could sing karaoke, listen to Japanese pop-bands or talk to a lot of cosplayers and mangaka. You could also join a cosplay competition event and win prizes. It seems Gamescom wanted to expand their influence to the anime fandom and succeeded.
Here is a pic; enjoy.

gamescom2012

Dokomi 2012 Anime Convention

Wednesday, 6 June, 2012

Last weekend I visited the German anime convention Dokomi in Düsseldorf. It was a fun day and I’ve never seen that many cosplayers in one place. Too bad that many fans, who were not as fortunate as me to have a press card, were not allowed in as it was sold out very quickly. Yet, for some reason it didn’t seem to be very crowded inside. Anyways, here’s a beautiful cosplay of  Yuzuriha Inori from Guilty Crown I’d like to share:

dokomi anime convention

Angel Beats! – Anime Review

Monday, 14 May, 2012

angel-beats

Upon waking up, the first thing Otonashi sees aside of this beautiful night sky is Yuri, who is aiming at a girl they call Tenshi (Angel) with a big automatic gun. He has no recollection of who he is or how he got there. The world he finds himself in does not reach further than the school grounds and is inhabited by 3 kinds of people: First NPCs, who are soulless students and only appear to have normal behaviour; second the students, who teamed up to build the Afterlife Battlefront led by Yuri; and third Tenshi, who they are desperately fighting against. After Otonashi joins up with the Afterlife Battlefront he learns that in this world no one seems to age or die and that this world seems to be some kind of afterlife limbo. Everyone has deep regrets about their previous lives they don’t really want to talk about, projecting their hate and bitterness onto God and Thenshi. Yet, Otonashi is the only one who still doesn’t remember anything. Unlike the other members of the Afterlife Battlefront, he asks questions and does not simply drown his regrets in an everlasting battle against this mysterious Tenshi girl, dulling their pain and forgetting that the one they really hate are they themselves and their helplessness.

Angel Beats is an original story and arguably one of the best and most successful anime of 2010. What seems like a weird scenario at first, quickly turns into an emotional roller-coaster as you learn about the tragic pasts of the main characters. These authentic depictions of the problems and hardships of contemporary teenagers let the viewer relate to them on a level very few other anime can compete with. In between there is a lot of humor and mystery, which fits in just perfectly. Music, opening and ending are equally as beautiful rounding up an already perfect anime. Many complain that 13 episodes are not enough and wish for more episodes, while I think it is just fine the way it ended. It’s one of those shows able to move viewers to tears and will not disappoint.
Rating:
10/10

Rosario to Vampire Capu2 – Anime Review

Thursday, 10 May, 2012

rosario-vampire-capu2

Now that the summer is over, it’s time for Tsukune Aono and his friends to return to Yokai Academy. This season is set in the fall semester following the student’s freshman year. Upon returning to school, the Newspaper club member’s find much fan mail awaiting them, and one of Moka’s fans plans to kill her. These hilarious beginnings of a new school year set up the season with the introduction of a new character, and bring a much more relaxed feeling to season two. Many loyal fans might not be pleased with season two, when it breaks away from the manga after only the first episode. Viewer beware, this season is definitely rated Mature, featuring nudity throughout most of the season and much more strong language.

I admit, Rosario + Vampire Capu2 completely lived up to my expectations. Although it doesn’t follow the manga nearly as well as season one, it does offer up some of the best episodes of the series. The character development becomes much deeper, and the final few episodes are quite emotional, bringing out everyone’s true character.
Rating: 8/10

Inu x Boku SS – Anime Review

Wednesday, 15 February, 2012

inu-x-boku-ss

Ririchiyo is a daughter of the rich and influential Shirakiin house. The envy of other girls made her a victim of bullying in her childhood. Those experiences have created a wall around her and the strong urge to be independent from other people. Over time she started acting moody and unfriendly to others, when in fact she really wants to make friends. In her urge for independance she moves out and decides to start living on her own in a mansion named Ayakashi Kan. In the Ayakashi Kan it is a custom to have all residents be accompanied by a member of the Secret Service (S.S.), which Ririchiyo of course refuses. The man assigned to her however, insists on serving her and pledges unyielding loyalty to the extend of a faithful dog. This man, who turns out to be a powerful fox spirit, seems to have some kind of connection to Ririchiyo’s past.

The strong points of Inu x Boku SS are the beautiful animations and the hilarious moments. However, the main running gag of Ririchiyo acting “tsundere” while her servant acts like a faithful dog, might over time get boring and repetitive to some if not changed. What confuses me a little is that this anime is often attributed with the shounen genre, even though a female main character who is fancied by bishounens is a typical feature of shoujo anime. For those who are not bothered by such distinctions, Inu x Boku SS is an entertaining comedy anime with a touch of romance and fantasy-action.
Rating: 8,5/10

Sorry for the Downtime

Tuesday, 3 January, 2012

First of all I’d like to thank everyone who visits and enjoys Animeph and those who offer their help and support. We have grown and improved over time, so that thousands of people from all over the world check by every day. The “downside” to that growth however, is that our server provider blocked our site for several hours in the last few days due to using up too much traffic and performance. We will switch servers as soon as possible and I hope that this problem will be fixed within this week.
I apologize for the inconveniences.

Edit 05/01/2012: The problem is fixed now and in addition all pages should load faster now. Thanks for the patience.

thanks anime

Happy New Year!

Monday, 2 January, 2012

We at Animeph.com wish a happy new year to all otaku and fans of Japanese Culture out there.
Lets hope that this new year will be filled with promising new titles and sequels like the last one was. You can check out the new shows for this January in my Winter 2012 Anime List and I’ll update with news for the Spring season soon, so keep checking by.

Mirai Nikki – Anime Review

Wednesday, 30 November, 2011

mirai nikki anime

Yukiteru is a silent boy who doesn’t take part in any of his classmate’s activities and doesn’t have any friends at all. The only two things that bring him joy in life is writing banal notes about his surroundings into his cell phone diary and talking to his imaginary friend Deus Ex Machina. As it turns out Deus Ex Machina is in fact very real and Yukiteru is drawn into a secret survival game, where each contestant is given a cell phone diary that contains notes about the future, yet each according to different rules. Armed with his Future Diary Yukiteru has a hard time surviving the numerous attacks of the other contestants. To his Luck the contestant Yuno, who had a secret crush on him, uses her strength to protect him and defeat his enemies.

Mirai Nikki is based on a manga of the same name. The good animation quality and the absence of censored blood or violence make it into an adequate adaptation of an original story. Fans of thrilling mystery animes like Death Note, should also give this one a try.
Rating:
9/10