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Kishin Hoko Demonbane
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Animation - 7.4 |
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Sound - 5.4 |
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Story - 4.4 |
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Character - 5.8 |
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Value - 4.4 |
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Enjoyment - 4.6 |
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Average - 5.3 |
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| Average |
5.2 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
6 |
| Story |
4 |
| Character |
5 |
| Value |
4 |
| Enjoyment |
5 |
| For me, watching the OVA of Demonbane after the series somewhat felt like an snapshot overview of the series, which, for all intents and purposes, it pretty much did as it was created for. Yet, I think what most fail to realize is that this was bundled with the Demonbane game and you wouldn't otherwise see it other than the context it was made within. No outside references mentioned at all in that. But somehow I didn't outright loathe it.
Precursor, but overall not very good on a standalone value. You follow the eyes of a girl, Lily, trying to break into journalism with a big scoop: and the attention of the town seems to be focused on none other than the mysterious Demonbane.
The regular cast makes an appearance here, from Kuro to Al, Dr. West to the Princess, everyone who seems to have a major role in the circle of characters regarding the workings of Demonbane. However, it's an episodic, one shot OVA that doesn't really tell you that much more about the characters, just presents a friendly alternative to them. It's within the limitation of many OVAs in general, it's meant as an introduction or abbreviated story, but it falls short of development, expansion or otherwise foretold story.
One will be lost watching it alone, maybe as a precursor but not as a main, full fledged series, no doubt, so I would say it's best that outside audiences avoid it, unless you've seen or are planning to see the TV series or play the games. This is not the best introduction to the series, yet it does serve as an episodic overview of the main characters who come to play roles in the TV series, even a few who weren't featured in the TV series at all (which somewhat baffles me).
Kuro's role is more or less from the outside looking into him, same for the other characters. And he's still the same lovable oaf who has a strong sense of justice and might. Lily, the journalist, inquires everyone she meets about Demonbane and wanting to get her big "scoop" in the city. Al makes a brief appearance, probably too brief to show any dynamic between her and Kuro other than the fight scenes, which feels, almost to the degree of what Freddy C said, like a Power Rangers flick. Dr. West has no more than a villains role here: still crazy though. I found it worth a few little laughs, but as far as rewatch value, probably not so much.
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| Average |
5.8 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
6 |
| Story |
4 |
| Character |
6 |
| Value |
5 |
| Enjoyment |
6 |
| I am clueless what this anime is, and I have not played the game. This 25min OVA is an action showcase at best. Not sure what it is actually meant. Though you do understand the plot, it is simple, and there are lots of things which are not explained in the anime (maybe you need to play the game to understand that)
Animation is actually quite good until you reach the part where the weird anime's like excel saga/flcl. The 3d animation is quite cool though that cannot be said about the normal anime drawings.
Sound is ok, though the choice of BGM is very childish.
No matter how good this seem, it actually seems like some power rangers. And because of that power rangers, this thing actually sucks. At first this is quite a promising anime, until you understand the plot.
I am not sure if I can recommend this anime. There is the Demonbane tv to be released this year.
Characters are meant to pleas male audiences with a variety types of characters.
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Freddy C |
(2005-09-22 09:19:24) 2005-09-21 16:07:49 |
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| Average |
4.7 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
5 |
| Story |
4 |
| Character |
5 |
| Value |
3 |
| Enjoyment |
3 |
| Envision an animated version of power rangers, with a bit of foolish comedy, sprinkle in some hot looking girls, some of which are dressed as maids (for unknown reasons). What you have a Demonbane OVA in a nutshell.
The animation was pretty good, I liked the directing of this anime – good and intriguing angles is something I noted. The display picture you see on the AnimeNfo page is NOT what the animation quality is like, given that there’s a short instance of CG near the end, the CG is not of extremely high quality. Storywise, there’s not much I can say. Knowing that this came form a game, you can capture a whole game in a mere 20 minutes or so. This is what let the anime down, not that I never expected something disappointing.
Acting as an extra bonus object, this might please those who loved the game. I would suggest that you don’t watch this alone on its own at all, there won’t be much to be enjoyed.
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cain |
(2006-11-08 18:20:14) 2005-09-16 21:41:24 |
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| Average |
7.5 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
6 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
| I haven't played the Demonbane PS2 game, but this OVA first caught my attention when I saw the character art on its website.
Animation:
There are good animations here and there, with nice battle scenes and a number of areas with 3D effects. Not bad, actually. I thought that the 3D effects were useful for creating a futuristic impression for the OVA.
Sound:
Can't remember many of the songs, though Demonbane (I think) is mostly silent, but you don't even notice that because it's got lots of dialogue to fill the silence.
Story:
It's a potentially good storyline, if only they mixed in more elements of the game to allow non-players to understand more. They jumped straight into the action! But regardless, I liked all that secret faction and Demonbane's mystery and stuff. It successfully kept me interested in the OVA. Moreover, it was just a one-episode thing and was short. That's why I could bear with it.
Character:
I love the characters of Demonbane, as the opening paragraph suggests, especially Kuro. He's funny to a certain extent, but completely serious about justice beyond that. The cast probably had sophisticated pasts and relationships in the game that were not thoroughly explored in the OVA. It could've been better, but I have no complaints thus far.
Overall:
I enjoyed Demonbane, and though it was short, it gave me a preview of what the game would be like - bigger and better. I want to try and get my hands on the game now!
I think this OVA could be better, but as a one-episode thing it achieved its promotional aim.
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bluechees |
(2004-11-04 19:32:56) 2004-11-04 19:28:39 |
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| Average |
3.5 |
| Animation |
6 |
| Sound |
4 |
| Story |
3 |
| Character |
4 |
| Value |
2 |
| Enjoyment |
2 |
| Demonbane is a popular game in Japan. As we all know, anime based on games are generally crap (Remeber Fatal Fury?) Demon bane is not very different. I suppose this anime was made for the fans of the game. Even though I haven't played the game, I can still tell that anyone that watches it will be disappointed in this 30 min short OAV.
If you haven't played the game, you'd only have a vague idea of what the story is. This is no suprise. How much of a plot do you think can fit into 30 minutes (minus credits)? The dialogue however is heavy. There's lots of listening to do (or reading if you have subtitles). Whatever the story is, it seems pretty cliche. You have the usual mech and your usual secret organization of some sort.
The art work is not bad. It is obvious the producers had a limited budget. Many short cut techniques were used to stretch their budget. It doesn't look THAT bad. I do like the art style pretty well.
It's been a month or so since I watched Demon Bane. I don't remember the sounds in this OAV very well, which proves that it was fairly forgetable.
The characters are slightly interesting but they lack depth due to the shortness of this OAV of course.
Demonbane certainly would have benefited from being longer. I guess thats not economicly feasible. It would have made a decent or perhaps above avergae harem/mech anime if it was made into a 12-13 episode series and had a bigger budget.
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