Movies
Psycho Diver: Soul Siren
A pretty fun OAV, held back by subpar animation and a somewhat messy plot. There's a little too much here to handle in a mere 45 minutes, which makes it feel like you're watching a best-of of anime cliches. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but if you're looking for a meatier or more elaborate anime, you won't find it here. Yuki is a well-liked pop idol, but she isn't feeling herself lately. A psycho diver is hired to fix her mind, but when he dives in he is instantly murdered. Yuki is harboring some dark powers and a malicious cult is trying to awaken her true potential. Busujima, one of the most skilled psycho divers around, is handed the job to save Yuki. The art style is pretty intricate and there are some cool sci-fi elements on display, the animation is pretty limited though. The plot really tries to do too much (detective, sci-fi, fantasy, action, and whatnot), but that also means it never gets dull. Psycho Diver is pretty decent anime filler, with some memorable moments, it's just not balanced enough.Read all
Ninja Ryu: The Dragon Sword Story
An anime adaptation loosely based on Ninja Gaiden, a popular side-scrolling action game that would grow into a respected stealth/ninja franchise later on. Not that it is all that important, this is a pretty generic action/horror OAV that could've existed under a different title and nobody would've guessed the connection between the two. Demons have the power to annihilate the human race with a flick of their wrists, but that power has been locked away. A mad scientist wants to create his own demon army and begins bioengineering his own mutants. They lack true power though, but then he gets hold of a special artifact that could unleash the demons' original powers. Ryu, a shop owner by day, a ninja by night, will have to try his hardest to prevent this from happening. The animation is a little basic, but the art style is nice enough and the film is well-paced, meaning you get quite a bit of gory action from start to finish, with short bouts of plot exposition in between. If you don't care for these types of action/horror anime Ninja Ryu won't do much to change your mind, I had good fun with it though.Read all