CB Anime Review: Soul Eater

I'm sorry, this is the best picture I could find

This is a review that I've been debating about for a long time.

You see, I created this blog to share ideas, shows, etc with ANYONE who stumbles upon it, and for that reason, I feel like the content should be stuff I would recommend to anyone.  Yes, some of the animes I've reviewed on this blog may have elements people might not like, but overall, they're great animes that anyone could sit down and enjoy if they felt inclined.

However, while Soul Eater is a great anime, there are elements people might not like about it.  I'll do my best to explain these elements, and after reading this you feel like this anime might not be the right one for you, I completely understand.  So, with the introduction out of the way, lets talk about Soul Eater!

Our story takes place at Death Weapon Meister Academy (DWMA), a school created by Death.

See, does he reeeaaaalllllyyyy look all that evil?

BOOM OK, here we go.  First problem.  While thinking about what could be seen as an evil presence in this anime, Death the big one.  When thinking about the personification of death, Satan or the Devil might be the first things to pop into one's mind, but that isn't Death in Soul Eater.  His other name is the Grim Reaper, and he isn't the lord of the underworld.  He's kind of like Thanatos from Greek mythology, whose job is to guard the boundary between life and death, and make sure dead people stay dead.  And that is pretty much what Death does in Soul Eater; he trains humans who can transform into weapons and meisters (humans trained to wield these weapons in battle) to stop evil from creating chaos on earth.

OK, with that out of the way, lets meet our main characters.  Since I don't want to give long character descriptions for every one, because there are quite a few, I'll give you the highlights.

Maka: Meister. Kind, sweet and a great fighter.  If I were to make a "Top 10 Most Badass Female Anime Characters" list she would be pretty high up.

Soul: Maka's partner.  Can transform into a scythe.  Laid back and likes to chill, but loyal to Maka and his friends.

Black Star: Meister.  Loudmouth ninja, but probably the most powerful character in terms of raw strength.  While he may seem arrogant and annoying the first time you meet him in episode 2, don't let that stop you from watching the series, because I promise he gets better over time.

Tsubaki: Black Star's partner.  Can transform into several ninja weapons, including a ninja sword and throwing star.  She's the yin to Black Star's yang, as she has a very calming presence and sweet personality.

Death the Kid: Death's son and Grim Reaper like his father.  He's obsessed with symmetry, which causes problems for him in battle.  While he's not big on showing affection, Kid is a good friend and teammate.

Liz and Patty Thompson: Kid's partners who can transform into semi-auto pistols.  Liz is cynical and Patty is childish, but they work well together with Kid and with the group.

There are also a number of great side characters, including Death, Maka's father, teachers, witches and other DWMA students.

Oh ya and there's also this guy, I mean weapon..........

Ya, isn't he great!  Seriously, even if you don't like this series, watch the first Excalibur episode, because it is hilarious!  If you don't watch it, then you're a FOOL!

Something nice that the creators did was give each main character and their partner their own episode at the beginning of the series, so that we can properly meet them and see what they can do.  Like I said before, if you don't like Black Star after watching episode 2 JUST KEEP WATCHING.  I promise he gets better.

While the main story of Soul Eater takes a little time to get going, when it gets going, it really gets going.  There's lots of great fights, some heartfelt moments, and enough suspense to make you want to watch more.  Of course not every episode can have a huge Dragonball Z battle.  Some episodes are a little tamer, focusing more on comedy than action.  Like there' s an entire episode about the gang preparing and taking a final exam.  Who does that in an anime?  Soul Eater does apparently.  Still, the plot always manages to be interesting, right up to the beginning of the finale, when it really gets going and you can't wait for the end!


Now, while the animation on Soul Eater isn't as crisp as other shonen animes, I think it suits the feel of this show perfectly.  While this anime does deal with serious ideas and problems, its also a show where Death acts like your wacky uncle.  It's a little cartoony, but it still looks great and doesn't diminish the quality of the show.  One feature that I feel like the animators put a lot of extra work into was the sun and moon, who actually have faces and appear in more episodes then some of the side characters.

Soul Eater also had a great soundtrack  to accompany its many fight scenes. My personal favorite track was the series' first opening song, Resonance by TM Revolution.  This theme really got me ready to watch an episode.  No matter how slow an episode might be, listening to the minute and a half theme was enough to keep me satisfied until the next episode, which is probably the reason why it is probably one of my favorite anime theme songs of all time!

Now remember those ideas I was talking about earlier that might lead some to believe that this anime was not something religious people should watch?  Well, here's a few more for you.

One character in particular makes a lot of references to God, saying that his goal is to surpass Him.  My answer to this is that he doesn't, even though he might believe he did.  Just watch the very end and you'll get it.

There are also two characters who are not the kind of adults you want your kids to hang out with.  One is Maka's dad, Spirit, who has no chance of winning Father of the Year, and Blair, a cat that can turn into a human, who appears without clothes on a few times throughout the series.  Don't worry, Blair doesn't show up too much (and she's usually clothed), and Spirit is one of the best side characters in the show, and is voiced by one of my favorite voice actions of all time, Vic Mignogna.

So, besides that, there isn't really anything bad about Soul Eater, except for the reasonable amount of blood you would expect from a show like this.  Like I said, if anything here turned you off to Soul Eater, don't watch it.  I understand, but hope that you would at least watch 3-4 episodes.  They're all on Netflix, so give them a try!  There are a lot great themes in this show, like love, forgiveness and acceptance, that give Soul Eater a heart and soul.

So, by releasing this review, I will be ending my internal debate on whether reviewing Soul Eater would be a good idea.  I still want to share quality shows and ideas with you, so don't worry, this won't be a slippery slope which ends with my recommending less appropriate show.  So go and enjoy this show, and don't forget a sound soul dwells within a sound mind and a sound body.

Peace and Love

Hallelujah

For some reason, I had the biggest urge to listen to one of my favorite songs today, Hallelujah.  Honestly, I hadn't listened to it in a while, but I felt called to just listen to as many versions of this song as possible.  It was probably the best decision I made all day, because after a morning of feeling anxious and antsy, this song put me into a place of peace.  It's a beautiful song that has been covered by hundreds of artists, but still maintains its beauty after all this time.

Now, when I say hundreds of artist, I mean hundreds, including quite a few well known names.  You have the cover that everyone knows by Jeff Buckley, the wonderful rendition by KD Lang and a fun surprise for me, a cover by Bon Jovi!

Then, there is the classic.  The original.  Hallelujah sung by Leonard Cohen.  With his gravelly voice and simple sound, to me, this Hallelujah is the best Hallelujah.

Though it is not one of the Top 10 Covered Songs (for that, you'll have to look here: http://mentalfloss.com/article/20811/quick-10-10-most-covered-songs-ever).  Hallelujah has been covered by a pretty impressive number of people, as mentioned before.  To add a couple more names to that list; Bobo, Justin Timberlake and Cee Lo Green (as a Voice judge) all have Hallelujah covers.  So many people have done this song, and everyone who does it brings something special to Hallelujah.  Everyone is saying the same words (mostly) and the music follows the same progression for each version; the minor fall and the major lift as described in the song, but there is something special in each version, as if the singer is bearing their soul to the world through Hallelujah.

In a way, this song is just like our connection with God.  No two people's relationship with God is exactly the same, but in the end, we are all here in the presence of God, loving Him and calling His name (whoa, that rhymed).  So, everyone may follow the same lyrics and tempo of this song, but what God hears in our hearts is our own unique beautiful sound..

For some, their relationship with God might be like Bob Dylan's Hallelujah.  They may not be fully connected with God, but the feeling and relationship are still there.

Or yours could be Jeff Buckley's Hallelujah.  The relationship can be nerve racking in the beginning, but eventually, you find the right chord and fall into a state of bliss.

You could have a Willie Nelson relationship.  Sure, it can be a little rough at times, but overall, it is beautiful and uplifting.

Finally, you could be the person who has a Rejina Spektor relationship.  It's something that starts out sweet and innocent, but as time goes on, transforms into something mature and beautiful.

Of course, there are plenty of other great Hallelujah covers out there and all beautiful just like our relationship with God.  In fact, here is an article of the "15 Greatest 'Hallelujah' Covers" so that you can continue to search for and dive deeper into your own Hallelujah.  That's what I'm going to be, because this song speaks of something that is sad but hopeful.  We all go through hard times, but this song reminds us that things will get better, as long as we have God and continue to love Him.  

CB Anime Review: Clannad + Clannad After Story

I'm not a huge fan of romance animes.  Sure, I like it when a show has a romance element to it, like Edward and Winry in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, but I find most romance animes to be realllllyyyy cheesy and sometimes unbearably awkward.  However, during my long and uneventful summer break, I decided to go ahead and try an anime that I've heard great things about and was a total romantic anime.  I should clarify; I decided to finish an anime that I'd heard great things about (I'll explain more later).  I didn't know what to expect from this show, except that pretty much everyone who watched it, loved it, and guess what, I loved it too!  Not Clannad specifically, but the combination of Clannad and Clannad: After Story.  Here's why.....

Our protagonist is Tomoya, a high school delinquent whose life consists of skipping class and hating his hometown.  This changes however when he meets Nagisa, a girl in his class who is repeating his senior year and Tomoya ends up helping Nagisa  find the courage to go to school.  Eventually the two become friends and they attempt to restart the school's Drama Club.  Along the way, Tomoya meets and helps several other girls at school with their problems while dealing with his own struggles.

I began this anime at some point before the summer began, but after the first story arc ended, I got bored and decided to stop.  I picked it up again a few weeks ago and began to tear through episodes.  For you see, my goal was not to finish Clannad, my goal was to watch Clannad: After Story.  Before I get into that, lets talk about why people seem to enjoy the Clannad series.

First, the characters.  While some characters lack proper development, all of the main and side characters in Clannad get ample amounts of screen time, so that we can properly meet and enjoy them.  Clannad starts off as a one girl per story arc show, where Nagisa and Tomoya try to get a girl to join the Drama Club and end up helping her in some way.  It could be overcoming a personal issue or doing something nice for them.  The formula gets picked up and dropped several times in the series, which wasn't bad, because it allows us to focus on other aspects of the show, like Tomoya's and Nagisa's relationship.

There isn't that much I need to say about each individual character, since they're pretty bland in the beginning.  Tomoya is a delinquent, Nagisa is sweet and clumsy and..... well, you'll learn about the rest.  Like I said, there isn't too much development initially, but each character becomes endearing in their own way.

The art  of Clannad is very stylized, with everything very bright and tall.  The being said, there isn't anything super spectacular about Clannad's design.  Most characters, especially the girls have similar body types and can only be told apart by their different colored hair.  Still, it did the job that was needed, so I didn't have any problems with Clannad's art.

Overall, Clannad is a good anime.  It's funny, has a good cast of characters and gives you the warm fuzzies.  It's also predictable, like most romance anime.  You know who is going to end up with whom at the end, pretty much from the beginning, and so you're just watching the show to see how they eventually say the "L" word to each other.


HOWEVER, Clannad decided to go beyond your normal romance anime and show us what life is like after finding the one you love in Clannad: After Story.  Like I said in the beginning, After Story is where the beauty of Clannad really shines.  It follows Tomoya and Nagisa as the finish high school and eventually start their life together.  This leads to a whole slew of problems that you don't see in your typical romance anime, and it totally works.  It shows that romance can leave high school, and lead to a life you would have never imagined.  Though there are a few sad moments in Clannad, After Story will make the manliest man break down into tears.  It really shows that life won't always turn out the way you expect, but its how you deal with these challenges that makes you into a better person. Tomoya learns that in After Story, but you'll have to watch to see if he gets the happy ending he deserves.

Besides the normal Clannad story, there's a side story about The Last Girl on Earth and the mechanical doll she builds and comes to life.  I promise you that it will be explained at some point.  There are also 2 "What if" episodes, meaning, "what if Tomoya decided to date one of the other girls he eventually makes friends with?"  You can ignore them if you so choose, but I enjoyed them a lot and kind of wish that they would have expanded those two episodes into their own mini series.


Not everyone is going to be interested in Clannad, and that's OK.  I didn't think I would like romance animes either, and though I've found some really great ones recently, I've also found some pretty boring ones.  My general rule of anime is to watch at least 3 episodes, and if I still don't like it after that, I don't feel bad about stopping.  Again, After Story is the real draw to the show, so enjoy the 1st season as fast as you can, so you can see why everyone loves this anime!

For being a romance anime, Clannad is pretty tame, so just watch it!  The entire series is on Hulu, so don't wait watch Clannad and join the hundreds of fans who have had their hearts broken! Yay!

Peace and Love

Get On My Level

So, I am currently sitting my official parish office, typing on my official computer with the official parish dish washer is doing its thing on the other side of the official wall.  So, this is ministry life.  I like it.

I haven't had that much to do since it is my first week and my pastor was out of town until Thursday.  I have been taking the time to do research and find materials for projects and endeavors I hope to do this year.  I've checked the USCCB website, done Google searches, looked at Reddit.....for a couple hours, and while it's all good stuff, I'm still a little lost in terms of what to do for now. That's OK, because these things will take time.

One of the roles I'll have in the parish is evangelization.  Basically, I'm going to be the one trying to get people interested in the Church.

We're doomed.

No, I have enough faith in myself that I will be able to do this, but I'm going to have to really work hard.  My goal won't be to make people immediately join the Church, but if they did that would be wonderful.  My goal is to teach others about the Church and why it is great to be a part of a Catholic community.  If people were rushing into the Church like it was the end of the world, they would be entering the Church uninformed, and one thing that the Catholic Church does not need is uninformed Catholics.  You don't have to have a Masters in Theology, but it would be nice if people knew the basics; 10 Commandments, Jesus' death and resurrection, all that fun stuff.

But back to the main issue; I'M going to have to convince people that the Catholic Church is a great place to be.  ME!  Maybe if Mark Walberg was standing next to me, I would be able to generate some interest, but I'm not the best spokesperson for the Catholic faith.  How am I going to convince people that being a Catholic is something special?

Well, I could do what Jesus did.  No, I don't mean making the blind see and turning water into wine (though that would lower my bar tab quite a bit).  No, should follow Jesus' example of being with the people; getting on their level.  I mean, when you think about it, Jesus literally did get on our level.  He came down from heaven so that He could be with us and bring us salvation.  He literally got as low as you could get in Jewish society, a carpenter, so that he could preach to everyone, rich or poor, and connect to their lives and their struggles.

See, everyone in Jewish society knew that a Messiah was coming, but everyone had different ideas as to what the he would look like.  Some groups, like the Pharisees and the Sadducees thought He would be a great scholar and keeper of the law, while the Zealots thought He would be a great warrior who would come help liberate the Jewish people from Roman rule.  You can imagine everyone surprise when a lowly carpenter went around claiming to be their long awaited savior and how mad they were about this turn of events.

This makes sense, because God does not give us what we want, He gives us what we need, and what we needed was a carpenter for a Messiah.  He could talk with pretty much anyone He wanted.  He would go to anyone who needed Him.  He could have followers who were just like Him; normal working class people.    And He accepted everyone.  That is the kind of Messiah that we have and that is how I can attempt to reach others.

I've always considered myself a pretty good listener, and I hope that by listening to others, I can help understand them and the role God has for them.  I guess that it would also be important to let the people come to me.  I'm not going to Mormonize my ministry and go door to door.  Instead, I just want be available and inviting to others.  I haven't talked about my plans for Evan with my pastor/boss yet, but hopefully he will be able to give me some ideas.  I also don't know what type of evangelization I will be doing, so I'll have to adjust based on the situation.  Any advice/tips would be appreciated!

My Discipleship is only beginning, but I see so many possibilities for the future.  Some are grand and won't probably be achieved during my time here, but there are others that I could start and make sure that they continue after I'm gone.  All I really hope to do this year is love and serve like Jesus, because that is His call for us.

Peace and Love

Follow me on Twitter at CatholicBA_Blog

CB Top 10: Superhero Cartoons

I'm on a role!  While thinking about my favorite Marvel movies, I began to think about my favorite Marvel cartoons.  Truthfully, while Marvel is able to create really great movies, their animated series could use some work.  So tttthhheeeennnnn I began to think about my favorite animated TV series and compiled this Top 10 List.  I usually do a top 5, but I had a hard time narrowing it down and decided to include 10 this time!  Fun right?  Let's get started!

10.  Static Shock

For anyone who doesn't know about this superhero or TV show, that's OK.  It was a staple in my Saturday morning cartoon line-up while growing up, and while it was a fun show when I was a kid, the novelty of it has worn off.  Still, the material was great and it was a great show to eat cereal over!

9. Legion of Superheroes

I wasn't very familiar with this team of teen heroes from the future until the cartoon came out in 2006.  Still, they featured a young Superman and had a fun cast of characters and villains.  Thought it only ran 2 seasons, this show helped me get interested in the Legion comics. Check them out because their some of the best DC comics I've ever read!

8. Spectacular Spider-man

If there is one thing that drives me nuts about Spider-man movies, it is that they never get Spider-man right.  He's not some silent, web-slinging hero, he's a mouthy goofball who throws off his enemies by making fun of them.  The Amazing Spider-man tried to emulate the true Spider-man, but it wasn't enough.  So, enter Spectacular Spider-man!  With great writing, classic villains and joke after joke, this was a great cartoon that I actually got the chance to binge watch while I was in college!

7. Batman Beyond

I hear how people love the original Batman series, with its dark mood and complex style.  I unfortunately was only able to catch the tail end of this series when I was young, so it isn't my favorite incarnation of the Bat.  Instead, I got to enjoy Batman Beyond, a show about a young man named Terry who takes over the mantle of Batman from Bruce Wayne.  This was also a more serious and darker version of Batman, but it was still a great series that proves that crime does not stop with age.

6. X-men: Evolution

Someday I will binge watch the original X-men series, because I've only seen random episodes and clips online.  When I was growing up, it was X-men: Evolution that got me interested in this mutant team.  It had your favorite characters trying to balance their lives as high school students and superheroes (except for Wolverine, don't worry).  The art was great, the stories were clever, and it brought in all your favorite mutants, and even some other Marvel Universe staples!  It also had a good complete story, and while I would have like to have seen a great follow-up series, Wolverine and the X-men hasn't lived up to my expectations.

5. Justice League/Justice League Unlimited

While you get a taste of the Justice League in Static Shock, JL lets you enjoy Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and the rest in all their glory.  Each member of the team stays true to their comic source materials, and we get to watch them do battle with a range of well known as well as less well known supervillains.  When JLU came along, we got to watch some less recognizable heroes kick butt and enjoy learning about everyone in the DC Universe.  Also, the writers created interesting plots involving the ideas of freedom, public safety and patriotism, to expand the DC world and make it more than just a half hour of mindless violence.

4. Avengers: Earths Mightiest Heroes

Before the movie and spin-off cartoon, there was this gem.  EMH followed the adventures of the original Avengers, Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Thor, Ant Man and Wasp as they try to capture 75 escaped supervillains and protect the planet.  During its two seasons, there is a rotating cast of Avengers, where several members leave but later rejoin the team, and new members like Hawkeye become Avengers.  Also, the stories involve some of the biggest villains in Marvel, including Loki and the Skrulls.  While Earth's Mightiest Heroes could have been something more, it was still a fun series and one of the few modern Marvel TV shows that they got right.

3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003)

I know, I know, everyone loves the 1987 versions, but you need to know this; it started 4 years before I was born and ended when I was five.  How was I supposed to understand what heroes in a half-shell means when I'm five?  No, it was the 2003 version for me.  Though it was darker and more serious than its previous incarnations, there was no lack of action, fun and intrigue in this series.  We got to see classic villains like the Shredder along with new villains and allies like Casey Jones, who a major supporting character in this series!  It was a party, and dare I say a......pizza party!!!!!!

2. Young Justice/ Young Justice: Invasion

This is the newest show on this list, but that doesn't mean Young Justice isn't as good as any of the older classic series.  Young Justice follows the teenage sidekicks of the Justice League, who do covert missions for the League.  We get to see Robin, Aqualad, Speedy, Artemis (Green Arrow's  sidekick), Miss Martian and Superboy fight the bad guys and still have time to do their homework.  The episodes, though serious, were fun and the overarching plots and villains made you want to keep watching.  The second season, Young Justice: Invasion, takes place 5 years after the original series, with an expanded roster that includes heroes like Blue Beetle and Arsenal.  Again, we are introduced to an intriguing plot with lots of twists and turns, and huge cast of DC characters and villains to enjoy.  Honestly, Young Justice being cancelled is probably one of the greatest cartoon tragedies ever.




Now it's time for #1!!!!!! And the winner is..............

1. Teen Titans

Did you see that coming?  Maybe?  It's OK if you didn't, but I love Teen Titans!  It was a fun show that could be a laugh riot one episode and then completely serious the next.  Each of the Titans had great character development and storylines involving devious and completely undivious plots.  Moreover, the last season, which was basically a teenage venison of DC's The Brave and the Bold, was a great move by the creators and had one of the best finales to a show I've ever seen (not the "Things Change" episode, cause that was just heartbreaking).  I also enjoyed the anime style in which it was animated, because it really made the humorous episodes amazing!  I've you've never watch Teen Titans, check it out because it it totally worth it!  Plus it gave us one of the greatest written lines in TV history.....

Side note:  Though I'm glad they got the gang back together for Teen Titans Go, it's just.......not the same. I'm sorry if you enjoy that show, but I'm not a fan.

So that's my Top Ten List!  As of now, I'm planning on seeing Guardians of the Galaxy this weekend and am really excited!  If I missed your favorite cartoon or you think one should be in a different spot, comment below.  Also follow me on Twitter at CatholicBA_Blog!

Peace and Love

CB Top 5: Marvel Universe Films

At some point this week, I plan on seeing Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel's newest superhero film, and thought it would be fun to share my favorite Marvel films!  This list includes any Marvel movies despite the different studios that own the franchise.  One note though, I have not seen Captain America: The Winter Soldier or The Amazing Spider-man 2, so this list may change once I get the chance to see them (most likely just for The Winter Soldier).  With that in mind, lets start the countdown!

5. Fantastic Four

I grew up reading Fantastic Four comics probably more than any other comic book series.  Though their big screen debut was a bit different than their lives on the pages, Fantastic Four was a fun movie that captured the essence of the Fantastic Four spirit.  It followed pretty closely to the team's origins and had all of the catchphrases.

4. Captain America: The First Avenger 

Switching over to Chris Evan's other Marvel incarnation, Captain America, we find a good story and lead-in for the long awaited Avengers movie.  The writers did a great job developing the character of Steve Rogers as a man who just wants to help other and fight for freedom.  I think that watching it makes us all feel a little more patriotic.  The movie also has great visuals and special effects, along with a lot of recognizable actors and actresses from other projects.  Doctor Who and Game of Thrones fans will know what I'm talking about.

3. X-Men

Honestly, this was a tough pick for me, because it was a toss up between the original X-men movie and Days of Future Past.  I decided to go with the original, because it really shows us the essence of the X-men comics.  We see how they try to live in a world that hates them, and yet they continue to try and save humanity despite their status.  It's a fun, action packed movie, that really helped start up the modern age of Marvel movies.  We also get introduced to Hugh Jackman's Wolverine, who is probably the most recognizable Marvel movie character, next to Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark/Iron Man.  Speaking of which.....

2. Iron Man

This is the movie that started the Avengers Initiative.  Honestly I didn't know what to expect when I saw Iron Man in the theater 6 years ago, but thanks to RDJ's amazing portrayal as the Genius Billionare Playboy Philanthropist, I was hooked.  It's a fun movie that makes you laugh, but shows us the struggles of someone who wants to change their life for the better.  He is Iron Man.  So while this movie did look and sound great (I really enjoyed the soundtrack), it's Downey's Tony Stark that shows us that heroes aren't born, but made.

And #1 is...... ya you probably guessed it

1. Avengers

I was already excited for this movie before I heard that Joss Whedon would be directing.  Though it is a major action blockbuster, I also love this movie for it's quieter scenes, like when all the characters are together on the SHIELD helicarrier.  There was great chemistry between actors and every scene was impeccable written.  It was funny, sweet, sad and made you stand in your seat and cheer!  Literally, during the midnight premiere, there were two instances when people in the theater stood up and cheered.  Plus, Mark Ruffalo is probably the best incarnation of Bruce Banner ever (Don't worry Lou, you're still the best Hulk).  Everyone from the actors to the director brought their A game, and now, we just have to wait for Age of Ultron!

So that's my list!  What do you think?  Leave a comment below if I missed your favorite Marvel movie or you think one deserved to be higher up!  Until then, Excelsior!

Peace and Love

Follow me on Twitter at CatholicBA_Blog

CB Sort-of Anime Review: RWBY

About a year ago, I began to follow an internet company based in Austin, Texas called Rooster Teeth.  This group is most well known for their Halo based web series Red vs Blue.  You can check out the first episode here:

They also do a weekly podcast, a video game version of Mythbusters and other great internet content.  More recently, Rooster Teeth created a new web series called RWBY.  While it is not technically an anime, I still think that it is a great piece of work and wanted to share it with you!

RWBY takes place in the world of Remnant, where an element called Dust is used to power incredible weapons.  These weapons are used by Huntsmen or Huntresses to fight against the evil monsters, or Creatures of Grimm, as well as shadowy human organizations who want to steal Dust.  Our hero is a young girl named Ruby, who dreams of being a Huntress, and enters Beacon Academy along with 3 other girls, Weiss, Blake and Yang.  These girls form Team RWBY and begin their epic adventure together.

The director of this series is Monty Oum, who also works on Red vs Blue and is known for producing awesome animated fighting videos.  One of my favorites is this one Haloid, where Samus from the Metroid games fights against Halo's Master Chief.  It's super legit, so take a break and watch it:


I'd seen the first episode of RWBY when it was first released, thanks to a friend of mine who is also a Rooster Teeth fan.  I wasn't too interesting until I started discovering a lot more of RT's content a couple months later.  Then I found the entire series online and thought Why not?  I ended up being very surprised and became a fan after watching every episode in a day.  While it is not a masterpiece, RWBY has a lot of great action, voice work and music, which together makes it a totally awesome web series!

What originally turned me off to RWBY was the animation.  At first viewing, I thought it was a little bit stiff, and the quality wasn't too impressive.  While Rooster Teeth did put a lot of work into this series, they don't have an unlimited amount of resources like other major animation companies.  That's ok though, because every slow animation sequence in RWBY is made up for during the fighting sequences.  If you watched the Haloid video I just posted, you can see that Monty is very good a making a great looking fight.  I wasn't really into this series until the first major fight scene in episode 8, and then I was hooked.  It's the combination of well choreographed movements, awesome video physics and the fact that each character's weapon acts as a hand-to-hand and a ballistic weapon that make battles AMAZING!  Honestly, RWBY fights look a lot better than some anime fights I've seen, so don't give up on the series til you've seen one.

The cool thing about the voice acting in RWBY is that it is done by the people working at Rooster Teeth, so if watch their videos, you can recognize who is doing each voices.  While these aren't professional voice actors, the sound mixing is in RWBY is very well done.  The do reuse some sounds effects, but not too often.  Also, since Rooster Teeth puts out an array of content, the series has little in-jokes and Easter eggs that you can pick up on if you watch the podcast or Achievement Hunter videos.

While there is some character development that helps to drive RWBY's plot, I don't feel like it is the main focus of the series.  That being said, you do get to meet an interesting cast of characters who you will love.  Whether it is the ready for adventure Ruby, the the quiet and cool Blake, the upbeat and energetic Pyrrha or wannabe cool guy Juane, there is no lack of fun in RWBY's cast.

Another major draw for this series is the music.  I don't always care about a show's music, but RWBY's soundtrack really helps draw you into the the story.  The soundtrack was composed by Jeff Williams, who has done the music for Red vs Blue and the vocals were mostly done by his daughter Casey.  The combination of Jeff music with Casey's singing makes RWBY's soundtrack a home run!  Each song and score fits perfectly with the scene, especially a fight, and really gets you into the action!  Personally, my favorite tracks are RWBY's theme song "This Will Be The Day" and "Red Like Roses II" which was features in episode 8.  If you want a taste of this epicness: just listen to the theme song:

So, if you want to check out this laugh-filled, action packed series, you can find it all on Youtube, and with most episodes only being about 8-15 minutes long, you can get through it in a day!  And if you don't want to wait for more RWBY, well your in luck, because Season 2 just started last week!  So, come join the story!  And because I'm nice, here's the first episode just waiting to be watched!

Peace and Love