- Tenjho Tenge -

Featured song: “Bomb A Head! V” by m.c.A·T

Based on the manga by a guy who thought that Oh! Great was a great idea for a pen name, Tenjho Tenge tells the story of some young asshole and his token black friend who go from school to school starting fights and forcibly taking control of the local student body. But when these meat heads arrive at Toudou Academy they quickly discover that this is where impossibly powerful human beings happen to flock to in order to practice and preserve martial arts. After getting rape stomped by a woman who can assume the form of a 5 year-old girl they decide to get more involved and end up making some friends. But the series’ main villain, the dreaded flashback, ain’t having none of that bullshit!

Why The Intro Is Great

This is one of the earliest intros my memory can serve up that offers an experience that is almost completely unrelated to the actual content of the show it was made for. Dominated by a catchy, up-beat hip-hop kind of song, the opening sequence only gives you a loose idea of what to expect from the show, vastly prefering to show the main characters dancing and having a really fucking good time over revealing anything about the show itself. And you can’t tell me that after hearing this you didn’t briefly take up hip-hop dancing only to “get served” shortly thereafter and return to your hole-in-the-ground bedroom to watch anime again and wallow in defeat.

Also note that the intro features the main characters literally leaping out from their source material.  A bold move by Studio Madhouse, especially since they watered the series down so much that it only vaguely resembled the manga it was based on. At least it looks pretty damn cool.

- Cowboy Bebop -

Featured Song: “Tank!” by The Seatbelts

Bebop is one of those anime you only have to mention before your peers nod their heads in knowing acknowledgment. Everything about the 1998 series was fantastic, from the character-driven plot to the astonishly good soundtrack. Basically, if I have to explain anything about this series to you then you need to shut off this computer right now and cause yourself bodily harm to make up for your damaging ignorance. Seriously, close the toilet seat on your dick no less than 5 times before you come back.

Why The Intro Is Great

This 1 minute and 30 seconds did more to introduce young people to jazz and big band than anything else in the universe since they went out of style days after they were invented. Featuring a song written and compose by Yoko Kanno, the same genius who handled the Macross Plus soundtrack, the intro to Bebop made retards dance and overly serious folk tap their feet. The animation that accompanied it could have depicted a man clubbing adorable baby bald eagles for all the viewership cared, all they wanted was to hear that goddamn song over and over again!

- xxxHolic -

Featured song: “19sai” by Shikao Suga

Everyone believes in some supernatural crap for no good reason. I, for one, am convinced that there’s a tiny horse with man-arms in my closet writing down everything I say and presenting the log of my private ramblings to the writers for Saturday Night Live via his telepathic iPod. xxxHolic takes common supernatural rumor and myth and presents them matter-of-factly, providing a setting and context for things like creepy internet addictions and the power of words (you can’t unread the words “midget sex”, for example). Yuuko, her cleavage, and her man servant Watanuki explore hidden realms beyond our understanding, often leaving Watanuki flabbergasted and up to his elbows in his own urine from fright.

Why The Intro Is Great

The theme song for the show is what otaku would fuck to had they ever the opportunity to make pornography. The tune is this leathery smooth R&B number, guaranteeing that you’ll think of sex at least once during the opening sequence. You sick loli assholes probably held out until around 1:14 when the loli action is not-so-subtlely implied when two youngin’s start inspecting each other’s mouths with their mouths, probably looking for cold sores.

The intro, or the series for that matter, isn’t a hallmark of animation. But the intro does communicate the theme of the show well enough while offering brief glimpses of the many characters you meet, including those little crazy assholes on the flying surf boards who attack Watanuki for no good reason to fill the slap-stick quota every other episode.

- Berserk -

Featured Song: “Tell Me Why” by PENPALS

Like Bebop, I shouldn’t have to say a word about this classic. But in case you’re a young upstart who can’t see passed the dated animation you need only know this: Berserk is anime’s answer to the cry for more blood, more gore, and to somehow wrap it up in a compelling plot with subtle philosophical undertones, specifically cause and effect. Yes, this is violence with a brain. You just have to split open the skull first to get at it.

Seriously, watch it if you haven’t already. Right fucking now!

Why The Intro Is Great

This opening is great because it’s so astonishingly bad. The song grates on your nerves thanks to some awful guitar playing and a singer who sounds like he’s hanging upside down and trying to keep from throwing up. The animation doesn’t offer anything substantial either. There are several instances where the animation studio just throws in random portraits for the pure fuck of it since they apparently can’t be bothered to animate anything. Berserk is an old son of a bitch of an anime, I’ll grant, and it’s based on quite possibly the greatest manga ever drawn. But the intro has that B-horror movie appeal, being so very bad that it’s actually pretty awesome.

19sai - xxxHoLiC opening traducido por mí. Sí, por mí. Si alguien me la quiere discutir, que la traduzca y me enseñe la traducción! >3

19 años

Pusiste veneno en tus labios y viniste a mi habitación, o no?
Con tu beso, mi cuerpo y mi mente se sintieron como si fueran a desaparecer
Mis odiados 19 años
Mis odiados 19 años

Tu corazón es tan puro que me hace sentir mal
Porqué me besas a mí, a alguien que no puede hacer nada?
El odiado día a día de mis 19 años
El odiado rostro de mis 19 años

Quiero volar con unas grandes alas como la mariposa negra
No digas que es inútil, quiero esa forma de vida…

Si es imposible sacar el alma estropeada de allí donde esté,
Qué camino debería seguir para llamar a eso como al futuro?
Sueños no concluyentes, los de mis 19 años
Mentiras indecisas, las de mis 19 años

Quiero convertirme en la mariposa negra, y ser amado por todos
Aunque el 99% no sea posible, quiero igualarlo por un momento

Mis odiados 19 años
Mis odiados 19 años

Quiero volar con unas grandes alas como la mariposa negra
No digas que es inútil, quiero ese tipo de vida

Quiero convertirme en una mariposa negra, y ser amado por todos
Aunque el 99% no sea posible, quiero igualarlo por un momento…

Ja nee~!

19sai o Juukyuu sai, diecinueve años, es la canción de entrada de xxxHolic anime basado en el manga de las Clamp, autoras prolíficas y que suelen jugar en el doble sentido por lo menos para Occidente. El tema me llamó mucho la atención por el ritmo y las letras. Animada decidí buscar la canción completa y en mis navegadas me topé con unas capturas del vídeo promocional (PV) y terminé descargándolo.

Mi sorpresa fue mayúscula cuando lo vi por completo, el tema del vídeo trata de dos jóvenes que viven solos, el hombre un joven fotógrafo que se dedica a capturar la vida de las mariposas desde que son larvas hasta su transformación total en los seres alados que conocemos, la mujer aparentemente es una persona tímida y retraída por lo que se ve en el ascensor. El vídeo nos lleva a su vida en privado tras las puertas cerradas de sus apartamentos, él tomando fotos de sus insectos imagina tomárselas a ella, y mientras ella está recostada en el piso alfombrado se dedica a dar masajes en sus zonas más íntimas imaginando que él se encuentra observándola y capturando aquellos momentos, cuando de pronto pareciera que ambas fantasías confluyeran en una sola él observándola de pie con su cámara en las manos y ella sorprendida mirándolo asustada desde el suelo, él se monta sobre ella y comienza a tomarle fotos como si violara su intimidad, ella luchando y al final rindiéndose.

En este punto quiero hacer un alto, puede que se trate de la fantasía de ella, al hacerla víctima de una violación, muchos dicen que esa es una fantasía femenina muy difundida al poner a la mujer en una situación de sumisión y rendición frente a alguien mucho más fuerte que ella (ojo con esto, es la mujer quien decide rendirse, nadie la obliga). Puedo estar de acuerdo en cuanto a la fantasía, pero en la vida real una violación sea esta física o mental es traumante y por demás humillante. Sencillamente una violación es una violación y nadie tiene derecho a obligarte a hacer algo en contra de tu voluntad.

Volviendo al vídeo, terminan haciendo el amor o teniendo sexo, dependiendo del punto de vista de cada uno según sus creencias o sensaciones físicas. Seguimos con la escena del ascensor él entrando y ella protegiéndose apenas se miran y ni se saludan, cada uno recordando una fantasía vivida a su modo. No hay más

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ry6zf3QcPzI