Notable Anime by Studio GONZO

The anime that made me aware of the name "Studio Gonzo". Notable for the beautiful animation and the fact that the designing crew spent their time research planes only to throw everything out of the window at the end in the name of coolness. But the planes certainly look wonderful, and the sound used in the show is the real thing i.e. sound recorded from an air base. The character design is somewhat off-putting but that does not influence my enjoyment of the show much.

Adapted from a novel (which definitely deserves checking out), this anime has an intriguing though very depressing atmosphere (don't be fooled by the "fairy" in the title, Yukikaze is very dark). The story is also remarkable in that it reverses the usual "alien invasion" scenario and the role humans play in a space conflict. It is not clear who is right and who is wrong as well as the purpose of the war, and one can almost touch the jadedness pervasive in the characters.

A somewhat generic story about a little hero in a big war in a setting reminiscing World War I (with the flying machine called "vanship" very similar to early airplanes). Nevertheless, it has good story-telling and enough mystery to keep the audience engaged. And the animation as well as the soundtrack are pretty, very pretty with spectacular air combat scenes. Plus, this series has one of the coolest opening sequence.

Exactly what its title says ("Gankutsuou" lit. "King of the Cave" is the title of "The Count of Monte Christo" in Japan), this is the anime adaptation of the Dumas classics, with emphasis on the anime part. It is known that some fans of the book do not like this show because of the liberal change in setting and some details (there is a party on the Moon, and a blue-skin alien servant, just to give an example). But credits where credits is due, when stripped off all the fantastical elements, Gankutsuou is arguably the most faithful adaptation of the novel with most of the characters' alignments, relationships, motivations and actions preserved (so no, Albert is not the Count's son).

The most substantial and remarkable change is the point of view: Albert de Morcerf is the center character. Therefore, if you do not know the story of the novel beforehand, the Count will come off as being a charismatic, mysterious, and dangerous man from an exotic place. In other word, an intriguing figure, especially in the eye of a 16-year-old boy like Albert. Thus, the story is put under a new light.

This anime is also infamous for its CG "experiment" to the point of eye-bleeding style. On one hand, that contributes to building the somewhat surreal atmosphere of the show. On the other hand, watching it can be literally painful for the eyes.

Contrary to the title, this is not a straight forward adaptation of the famous Shakespeare tragedy. Rather it is a fantasy series inspired by the Bard's works. Yes, a fantasy, the type with flying island and horses with wings (like Pegasus). The story has its share of swashbuckling elements and a political struggle is prominent in the setting. Still, there is "Romeo" and "Juliet" in the title so there will be of course romance of star-crossed lovers, and you can foretell that a happy ending is out of question. The issue is how it will play out.

It is also amusing that Romeo and Juliet switch their place in this series, with Juliet being the outlaw and Romeo the sheltered ingenue.

There is a nod to Shakespeare in a minor character who is an unsuccessful playwright name Will and it's interesting to hear him discussion plot devices. Plays and theatre also play an important role in the plot.