Kite Uncut Special Edition Anime Review

Kite Uncut Special Editon
A Kite
Anime Works-Media Blasters
Movie - 1 disc
45 mins. Edited Version
60 mins. Uncut Version (w/hentai)
$24.99 (2012) Blu-ray
$29.99 (2009) w/Kite: Liberator
$19.99 (2009) Remastered
$29.99 (2008) w/Mezzo Forte Uncut
$24.99 (2008) w/Mezzo Forte
$29.95 (2006) w/t-shirt
$24.95 (2006)
$34.95 (2004) Uncut Speical Edition w/t-shirt
$29.95 (2004) Uncut Special Edition
$29.95 (2002) Director's Cut (Uncut)
$24.95 (1999)
ISBN 631595008227
Japanese/English Audio - English Subtitles
Director - Yasuomi Umetsu
Studio - Green Bunny/ARMS

Sawa looks like your average schoolgirl who never blinks

Synopsis: An innocent-looking teenage schoolgirl is really a deadly assassin.  Her name is Sawa and she uses a signature gun with exploding bullet shells.  She kills at the command of her guardian, Akai, a corrupt police detective who runs an assassin business on the side.  He often investigates the crime scenes of Sawa's assassinations and hides any evidence.  His partner is Kanie, an ugly man with bug-eyes and a nasty looking facial scar.

Akai is a corrupt cop and Sawa's "guardian"

Kanie uses an assassin named Oburi who is the same age as Sawa.  The two meet and quickly form a bond based on their similarly traumatic young lives.  Sawa's parents were murdered and Akai was the investigating detective.  He took her in and gave her a pair of earrings filled with blood from each of her parents.  He trained her to be a killer and turned her into his sex slave.  The two older men are truly evil.

Sawa uses a special gun with explosive bullets

Can Sawa and Oburi escape their damaged existence or are they beyond hope?  They are both frighteningly good assassins, but can they outsmart two sly old foxes to win their freedom?  Who killed Sawa's parents?  Is she too desensitized after years of emotional and physical trauma to resist her psychological captors?

Oburi is another young assassin who uses the same type of gun

Pros: Extreme action scenes, hardcore sex scenes (in the uncut versions), Sawa is very hot, her and Oburi make a great pair, neo-noir stylings complete with correspondingly jazzy soundtrack, haunting and mature

Sawa takes on some bodyguards in a botched assassination attempt

Cons: Thin plot, Akai and Kanie are truly disgusting, underage graphic sex scenes (in the uncut versions), bittersweet ending, the sex scenes could be offensive or the lack of sex scenes could be offensive (depending on what you're looking for)

Sawa falls for Oburi's pretty boy good looks

Mike Tells It Straight: Kite is an anime cult classic combining the two extremes of gory violence and explicit sex.  Sawa is a schoolgirl assassin with a traumatic past.  She is exploited mentally and sexually by her "guardian" Akai in this brief psychological thriller.  She meets fellow young assassin Oburi and the two start to fall in love as kindred spirits.  They are caged birds trying to gain their freedom with both their lives at stake.  It's a bittersweet love story filled with violent action.  This is what the edited version delivers to you.

Yep, they're in love

The real and uncut version of Kite is much darker and features incredibly graphic sex scenes between Akai and Sawa.  Quite a few versions have been released with various amounts of editing.  The remastered edition and anything not labeled uncut all have the various sex scenes removed.  These edited versions have a brief shot of Sawa topless and only hint at the sexual abuse she suffers at the hands of Akai.  The uncut versions have much more explicit scenes where Sawa has sex with both Akai and Kanie.  The original version has scenes of Akai molesting an extremely underage Sawa (also basketball girl briefly appears with Akai and Kanai).  Needless to say these scenes were very controversial and caused the various edited versions.  Not to mention Sawa is a 'college student' in the American version, but she's wearing a high school uniform so you do the math.

Only Superman can stop bullets with his hands

I originally watched Kite many years ago and it caught me completely off guard.  What is interesting about this feature is Green Bunny, the hentai animation studio, co-produced it.  First off, hentai is Japanese animated porn and Green Bunny has created a few noteworthy titles (Midnight Panther, G-Taste, Words Worth).  The animation quality of the sex scenes was surprisingly good - much better than your average hentai.  It was shockingly explicit with many scenes of visible penetration.  What starts out as a teenage assassin story suddenly segues into porn before a violent conclusion.   

She kept her socks on

The sex scenes seem to mask the fact Kite's plot is not very good.  I watched the edited version and had more time to consider the story without the distraction of the full-penetration scenes with Sawa.  The action scenes aren't particularly imaginative and the characters are lackluster.  I think the uncut version with the sex scenes puts Kite on another violently creepy and erotic level.  A major plot point is omitted in the edited version when Oburi is forced to watch at gunpoint while Sawa has sex.  It definitely pushed the envelope and deserves cult classic status.   

You won't see this scene in the edited version (btw, that's basketball girl)

Don't watch Kite if the underage sexual exploitation is offensive (and it is just plain graphicly offensive).  Watch the edited version if you don't want to see the hardcore sex scenes, but like the girls-with-guns genre and violently gory action scenes.  Get the uncut or director's cut version if you want to see the hardcore sex the way the show was originally intended.  Since there are so many different releases be particularly aware of the length of what you are buying.  The edited version is 45 minutes and the unedited is 60 minutes.  Umetsu and Green Bunny/ARMS followed up Kite with a similar feature called Mezzo Forte and eventually a sequel called Kite Liberator.  I've also heard Kite will be an American major motion picture with Samuel L. Jackson attached as of this blog post.  We'll see if it gets released and how different the story will be.  I guarantee the sex scene will be left out ;)

TO BUY and Recommendations:

Queen's Blade 2: The Evil Eye Anime Review

Queen's Blade 2: The Evil Eye
Anime Works/Media Blasters
Complete Collection - 2 discs
300 mins. - 12 episodes
$49.98 (2012)
$53.98 (2011) Blu-Ray
$24.98 (2011) Parts 1-2/ea.
ISBN 631595111378
Japanese/English Audio - English Subtitles
Director - Kinji Yoshimoto
Studio - ARMS

Synopsis: Every four years on the Continent there is held a tournament to determine the next Queen.  The city of Gynos, the Queen's capital, is the venue for the deadly battle between formidable female warriors from across the land.  Following up on events in Queen's Blade: The Exiled Virgin the beautiful warriors have breached the city and are settling in for the final rounds of the tournament.  Each combatant wishes to vanquish the tyrannical Aldra, the Bewitched Queen, said to possess an evil nature and supernatural powers.

Tomoe, Leina and Suzuka share a meal on their first night in Gynos

Within the participants are several groups with close-knit ties:

• From the Vance family (former ruling family before the Queen's Blade was created) comes Leina, the Wandering Warrior, eldest daughter by blood and heir to the Vance fortune, Claudette, the Thundercloud General, eldest adopted daughter, and Elina, Captain of the Guard, the youngest Vance sister who has an unhealthy infatuation with Leina.  Leina wishes to prove herself as a warrior and honor her late mother who lost her life many years ago while participating in the tournament
• Two participants have ties to the Vance family - Risty, the Benevolent Bandit of the Wild, is a powerful warrior who steals from the rich to give to the poor.  She and Leina were traveling companions on the way to Gynos.  Nyx, the Goddess of the Night, a former servant for the Vance family who suffered from mistreatment by Elina and uses (or is used by) her sentient staff Funikura to gain revenge
• Several mercenaries have entered the tournament - Echidna, the Veteran Mercenary, was the former leader of the Assassins of the Fang, and Irma, former protege of Echidna's and current leader of the Assassins of the Fang.  Echidna and Irma are former lovers and Irma still feels betrayed from the time Echidna turned her back on the Assassins of the Fang
• Journeying from the ruined Hinimoto and Masakado Shrine comes Tomoe, the Warrior Priestess, possessing legendary sword skills and her aide Shizuka, the former leader of the Kouma ninja clan (responsible for destroying Hinimoto and slaughtering all of Tomoe's friends).  Tomoe wishes to restore Hinimoto and honor her fallen comrades
• Out of the sacred forests come the elves Alleyne, the Combat Master, with her student Nowa, the Forest Keeper.  Alleyne once fought Echidna (who is a wild jungle elf) to a standstill and Nowa doesn't wear underwear.  They wish to ensure protection of the forests by winning the tournament
• The Swamp Witch has sent her evil minions to participate in the tournament - Menace, the ancient princess from Amara who uses her talking sceptre Setora and a preternatural mind-control power, Melona, the Protean Assassin, with her malleable form and ability to shapeshift, and Airi, the Infernal Temptress, a ghost maid who must siphon off vitality from the living in order to stay corporeal.  The trio are not the sharpest tools in the shed, but always seem to cause trouble for the other participants
• Coming from the mountains are Cattleya, the Giant Slayer, with her son Lana and Ymir, the Steel Princess, the diminutive Dwarf maiden out to prove her steel is better crafted.  Cattleya is searching for her lost husband the monster hunter.  She has a massive sword and even more massive breasts
• Sent from heaven is the bungling angel Nanael, the Angel of Hope, to investigate the wicked Queen Aldra, and her new worshiper Melpha, holy priestess with enormous breasts and mastery over a divine power originating from sexual poses

Cattleya with her son Lana hanging on tight battles Airi

Aldra has a deadly secret which allows her to ensnare her unwitting opponents and makes her a near-invincible adversary.  Her goal is to find her long lost sister.  The participants in the tournament must face each other in final matches arranged by the Queen.  Not everyone will survive and most of their clothing will be lost, but a winner will emerge!  What nail-biting and breast-exposing match-ups will we see?  Will new friends be forced to harm each other and old rivals finally have the chance to get even?  Can anyone hope to defeat the all-powerful and frighteningly evil Aldra?

Melona makes her move to assassinate Aldra, but little does she suspect...?

Pros: Even more fan-service than the first series (and there was a lot), tons of nudity - it seems like every battle had one or more girls losing articles of clothing, good continuation of the story from the first series, excellent animation and backgrounds, opening/ending sequences are great (the ending is particularly amusing), collection includes final six OVA episodes from Queen's Blade Beautiful Fighters side series

Elina and Claudette recover from their battles and discuss strategy

Cons: It ends :), so much fan-service and nudity it distracts from the story, Melpha's voice, Risty in the service of Aldra, Nyx's personality and creepy tentacle staff/creature (borderline hentai here), Ymir's constant sales pitch for Dwarf weapons gets old, Nanael as comedy relief gets tiresome, never explain the Swamp Witch

Leina battles her former friend Risty

Mike Tells It Straight: The second half of the first Queen's Blade anime story arc gives viewers even more fan-service and nudity (The Exiled Virgin was the first half).  It's practically all fan-service with ridiculously tiny outfits and every excuse used to show more skin.  The animation and music is top notch.  I loved the funny ending sequences featuring the Swamp Witch's ditzy trio (Menace, Melona, and Airi).  Queen's Blade is practically in a class of its own for fan-service anime and remains just short of hentai (anime porn).

Melpha gets an earful of Nanael's complaining.  Can you get drunk off of milk?

It will appeal to every horny otaku and they should immediately buy this to devour in their man-cave.  Keep the kiddies (and probably your wife) away due to the excessive nudity and sexual themes.  I thought the story progressed to a decent conclusion.  The characterization was pretty good with each fighter getting closer to their respective goals.  Airi had a particularly meaningful personality evolution which came as a surprise.  The match-ups were decent and we get a few plot twists along the way.  It was all very simple and straightforward to keep from distracting us away from all the jiggling.

The Queen sets up a pairs match with Alleyne and
Nowa vs. Irma and Echidna

By now you should know what Queen's Blade is all about.  Don't expect an overly deep or meaningful storyline (although it may surprise you).  Get ready for a heaping portion of fan-service with some nudity.  The DVD and BD sets are great, especially with the bonus OVA episodes you won't see on Netflix or Crackle.  Great follow up to the first half of the series and it delivers what you would expect (fan-service) along with a suitably dramatic finale.

The evil Queen Aldra hides a dark secret

TO BUY and Recommendations:

Elfen Lied Anime Review

Elfen Lied
ADV Films
Complete Collection - 3 discs
325 mins. - 13 episodes
$34.98 (2011)
$39.98 (2009)
$49.98 (2006)
ISBN 814131018212
Japanese/English Audio - English Subtitles
Director - Mamoru Kanbe
Studio - ARMS

Synopsis: A secret government facility studying a rare genetic mutation suffers a catastrophic breakout by one of its most powerful subjects.  Lucy is a Diclonius - a mutant with incredibly powerful psychic abilities and complete disregard for human life after years of intense torture as a test subject.  She literally rips the facility's security forces to shreds before finally being wounded by a high-powered rifle shot ricocheting off her head.

Lucy faces down a squad of guards during her breakout.  This
doesn't look like a fair fight.

Lucy falls into the ocean and washes up on a beach in Kamakura, completely naked.  She is found by Kouta, a college student, and his cousin Yuka who attends the same college.  The head trauma Lucy suffered from the ricochet has altered her personality into a child-like, innocent state.  Kouta and Yuka bring Lucy home and attempt to help her.  Little do they know a vicious killer resides within the body of the girl they rescued - who they dub "Nyu" because it is the only thing she says.

Nope, not a fair fight at all.

Diclonius is a mutant born from a special virus which infected a regular human male.  The Diclonii possess bone protrusions on their heads (kind of like horns) and strong psychic powers, called vectors, which make them tremendously dangerous.  The body count keeps rising as the government throws more soldiers at Lucy in an attempt to kill her.

Kouta and Yuka find Lucy on the beach - she's assumed the
innocent "Nyu" personality (obviously or else their heads
would be ripped off already)

Kouta suffered a massive childhood trauma which left him hospitalized for an entire year.  Yuka is secretly very happy that Kouta is going to the same college as her - she has strong feelings for him.  How can Kouta and Yuka stay safe with a ticking time bomb in their midst?  Especially when the government unleashes even more unstable and deadly Diclonii to take down Lucy?

Nyu (Lucy), Yuka, and Kouta share a moment in class

Pros: Nudity (mostly in the intro), terribly violent and gory, mature themes which make for compelling motivations, an interesting plot, suspenseful (you never know when Lucy will become the dominant personality and rip off all their heads), show still has a sense of humor while depicting ultraviolence, opening sequence pays homage to Gustav Klimt's artwork (famous for The Kiss), good ending

The girls of Elfen Lied - Mayu (w/puppy), Yuka (top), Nyu (Lucy),
and Nana

Cons: Blending of genres (harem, psychological, graphic violence) is jarring (but after the first episode you have been conditioned), brutally violent and unforgiving, two cousins having feelings for each other (i.e. incest) may be offensive, prosthetic arms/legs seem a little too easy to use

One of the fun tests the Diclonii endure at the research
facility - "Can you stop all of the bullets?  Let's find out!"

Mike Tells It Straight: I have rarely seen an anime this gory and violent yet simultaneously captivating and suspenseful.  Make no mistake - Elfen Lied is incredibly bloody and graphic.  It has mature themes and I must warn off young, squeamish or sensitive viewers - this show is not for you.

The innocent and child-like Nyu

Watch the first episode - you'll know within the first minute if this show is something you'll like (because the breakout is easily one of the most violent sequences I have seen).  Disclaimers in full effect because you can't let the cute looks fool you - it's brutal.

Lucy's personality resurfaces - this face is the last one you'll
see before your head is ripped off

Many people like this show for its mash-up of genres, but some also dislike it for the same reason - too many incompatible genres together.  Graphic violence and gore one minute and lighthearted cuteness the next.  I found the mature themes contrasted against the innocence of some of the characters to be masterful. Definitely not something you'll find successfully accomplished in many anime.

School life was especially difficult for a young Diclonius
...and the janitor

I give Elfen Lied a hearty, head-ripped-off-with-an-erupting-geyser-of-blood recommendation.  It took me awhile to finally watch this show and I was caught off guard (in a good way).  Not at all what I expected, not for kids, and highly suspenseful.  I might like the anime better since Kouta, in the manga, is much harsher to Lucy and completely unforgiving (well, you can't really blame him).

TO BUY and Recommendations:

Master of Martial Hearts Anime Review

Master of Martial Hearts
Funimation
Complete Collection - 1 disc
150 mins. - 5 episodes
$34.98 (2010)
$24.98 (2011)
ISBN 704400088469
Japanese/English Audio - English Subtitles
Director - Yoshitaka Fujimoto
Studio - ARMS

Synopsis: Aya Iseshima is just a regular high school girl until she and a friend stumble into a brutal match between two girls in the Martial Heart tournament.  She ends up helping one of the combatants named Miko fight off the crazed attacks of her sadistic oppenent who is dressed as a flight attendant.  Aya is secretly a highly trained martial artist (she takes after her mother who is also a skilled fighter, but retired) and manages to stop the match.  Aya and her friend Natsume befriend Miko and learn about the tournament - a magical jewel exists called the Platonic Heart which grants a wish to the winner of the tournament.  Only women can participate and each girl has a special wish they fight dearly to see fulfilled. 

Miko mysteriously disappears and Aya joins the deadly tournament in order to find her missing friend.  The losers of each match are not only beaten physically, but are never heard from again.  Can Aya survive each successive match against progressively stronger opponents, will she ever see Miko again, and what horrible secret related to her family's past is buried at the heart of the tournament?

The lovely ladies of the Martial Heart tournament
Aya in the center framed by Miko and Natsume

Pros: Lots of fan-service and nudity - literally every battle has the beautiful combatants getting their clothing blown off by body hits, good opening and ending (episode 5) theme songs by Little Non, unexpected shock twist ending was a surprise

Cons: Ending theme song for episodes 1-4 was lame, character designs were generic and/or ridiculous (fighting outfit for teacher was particularly horrible), story was rushed (too short) with no character development

"You punched my shirt off - prepare to die!"

Mike Tells It Straight: You will believe a girl can be undressed by an uppercut!  This show is a generic knockoff of Ikki Tousen with a schoolgirl participating in a battle tournament, but it fails in several key areas.  The character designs and fighter gimmicks were weak (science teacher using molecule elements as fighting move combos was the worst).  Fight scenes were completely unrealistic and bland.  Aya gets her butt kicked across the floor and then manages to pull out a finishing move for the win?  Not bloody likely.


"What!?  Not again!"

The only redeeming qualities were a consistent level of fan-service, naked boobs during every fight, extendedly naked shower scene, and the sadistically evil shock ending.  It came out of nowhere and was highly amusing, especially the final scene. 
Overall a stunningly mediocre series with a few high points and many, many flaws.  It's a brief watch and the ending might be the redeeming factor, but I wouldn't recommend this show very much (especially at the MSRP).  Watch it if you're hard up for fan-service and brief nudity, but many other current shows deliver far better.

TO BUY and Recommendations:
   

Queen's Blade: The Exiled Virgin Anime Review

Queen's Blade: The Exiled Virgin
Anime Works/Media Blasters
Complete Collection - 3 discs
300 mins. - 12 episodes
$49.99 (2011)
$59.99 (2010) Blu-Ray
$29.99 (2010) Vol. 1-3/ea.
ISBN 631595104974
Japanese/English Audio - English Subtitles
Director - Kinji Yoshimoto
Studio - ARMS

Synopsis: Every four years a tournament is held to determine the next Queen.  Beautiful, female warriors from across the Continent migrate to Gynos, the Queen's capital and participate in brutal, one-on-one battles.  Our tale begins in the fourth year as the tournament is just beginning and follows the events leading up to the participants arrival at the capital city.  The combatants include:

• Leina - known as the Wandering Warrior, she's the daughter and heir of Count Vance, renouncing her heritage she enters the tournament as an inexperienced fighter, but through training and perseverance gains formidable fighting skills, Echidna has a crush on her
• Risty - known as the Benevolent Bandit of the Wild earning the title by robbing from the rich and helping the poor, she possesses an Amazonian physique and is a tenacious fighter

Risty captures a runaway Leina in the first episode

• Echidna - known as the Veteran Mercenary, she's the former leader of the Assassins of the Fang, is a wild jungle elf with no inhibitions and an eye for fine maidens, has lived for more than 500 years, wears her pet snake Keltan as a thong
• Menace - ancient princess from Amara (similar to Egyptians) resurrected by the Swamp Witch, wishes to restore her long-dead kingdom and specializes in mind-control, her talking sceptre Setora is a complete lecher
• Nanael - known as the Angel of Hope, she's an angel from heaven sent to earth in order to officiate the Queen's Blade tournament, a complete dumbass she gets exiled for being incompetent, one wing is smaller than the other and she feels inferior to the other angels - so she acts out, possesses formidable powers, but forced to carry a vial of "holy milk" which diminishes her powers if spilled
• Tomoe - Warrior Priestess from Hinomoto, pure of mind and spirit, many of her fellow priestesses were killed in a battle with the Kouma ninja clan, she must win the tournament and save her people, possesses incredible sword techniques

Tomoe finds it quite rude to disturb bathtime

• Airi - known as the Infernal Temptress, she's a ghost maid in service to the Swamp Witch, wields a scythe in battle, and feeds on vitality in order to stay corporeal
• Claudette - known as the Thundercloud General, she's the oldest daughter of the Vance Family, an illegitimate child she is not counted in the line of succession and charged with protecting Leina the true heir, wields a powerful sword called Thunderclap which controls lightning
• Shizuka - former leader of the Kouma ninja clan, battled Tomoe in the past and lost, aids Tomoe after the Kouma against her wishes clash with the Hinomoto priestesses, despite her ninja training she is easygoing and likes to try on hot bikinis
• Cattleya - known as the Giant Slayer, has a son named Lana, her missing husband is also a monster hunter, wields a massive greatsword which is only dwarfed in size by her massive breasts

Cattleya wields her giant...sword

• Elina - younger sister to Leina and Captain of the Vance Guard, a ruthless fighter with love only for her family, she uses spears and a tiger-claw gauntlet, has an unhealthy fascination with her older sister naked full-body rubdowns
• Nowa - half-elf/half-human and mistrusted by her elven brethren due to humans' prejudice against them, known as the Forest Keeper, has a pet monkey named Ruh, she doesn't wear underwear
• Melpha - holy priestess with incredible divine powers and enormous breasts 



Melona

• Melona - known as the Protean Assassin, she's a minion of the Swamp Witch with the ability to shapeshift into a pink liquid form, has a sadistic personality and shoots acid from her breasts
• Ymir - known as the Steel Princess, she's the daughter of the Dwarven King, despite her diminutive stature and childlike appearance she's actually quite older, hates snakes, wields an enormous axe and fights in the tournament to prove the strength of Dwarven steel
• Irma - leader of the Assassins of the Fang, former apprentice to Echidna, master of stealth and treachery, she wields twin daggers
• Alleyne - known as the Combat Master, she's Nowa's instructor and one thousand years old, sets out to help Nowa in the tournament
• Aldra - known as the Bewitched Queen, she's the reigning queen, a cursed half-demon who can encase foes in amber with her "evil eye", has won the Queen's Blade tournament two times in a row

Pros: More fan-service than you can shake a "stick" at, tons of nudity - every battle has the combatants losing their tops and bottoms, decent story, Nanael adds some humor to the show, excellent animation and backgrounds, decent opening/ending theme songs, collection includes first six OVA episodes comprising Queen's Blade: Beautiful Fighters side series, oil wrestling

Cons: It ends :), only the first half of the Queen's Gate saga - finishes in the second season (next 12 episodes), so much fan-service and nudity it distracts from the story

Echidna (standing) and Irma (seated)

Mike Tells It Straight: This show is all about fan-service - the story is entertaining and adequately explains the motivations of the characters, but it's all about showing off their sexy bodies at every opportunity.  A trend in recent anime with a heavy fan-service theme (like Sekirei and Girls Bravo) is to show a lot more nudity.  I certainly don't mind and find it a logical progression to the genre.  Some may call it excessive, but Queen's Blade has been focused on scantily-clad warrior women in half-naked poses since the beginning (originally based on a series of visual combat gamebooks). 

It's not for kids due to the nudity and sexual themes, but perfect for the otaku man-cub.  If you like excessive fan-service with a proliferation of nudity and a story barely held together by a g-string, then pick up this show.  The DVD and BD sets are great, especially with the bonus OVA episodes which you won't see on Netflix.

TO BUY and Recommendations: