AMV of the Day: See Who I Am

Posted on November 19, 2013 by Arleigh

Just going to be brief with the description of the latest “AMV of the Day”. The latest pick was the winner of Anime Weekend Atlanta (AWA) 2012.

“See Who I Am” is the title of the video and also the title of the song used by the video’s creator (Speedy180). This particular song is a favorite of mine from symphonic metal band Within Temptation and also used in one of the very first AMV’s I watched (Alchanum) and one which got me into the scene to begin with. The video itself is an anime mix of so many anime titles that I could only recognize some of the one’s that I’ve actually seen. I’m sure there are many more I missed.

It’s a well-done video that uses Sheryl Nome of Macross Frontier singing to sub in for Within Temptation’s Sharon den Adel. It’s a very dramatic song and the anime visuals picked and they’re put together more than matches the emotional content of the song.

Anime: Guilty Crown, Macross Frontier, Fairy Tail, Fate/Stay Night, Fafner in the Azure, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Bleach and many others…

Song: “See Who I Am” by Within Temptation

Creator: Speedy180

Past AMVs of the Day

AMV of the Day: Demons of the Past (Black Lagoon: Roberta’s Blood Trail)

Posted on November 14, 2013 by Arleigh

Some turmoil of the personal kind of late, but that won’t stop me from sharing a new AMV that has caught my eye. The latest “AMV of the Day” comes courtesy of one TheLastSamurai2011 who seems to realy enjoy making a particular type of video.

This particular AMV creator loves the anime series Black Lagoon and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s an anime series that’s pretty much great not just because of all the crazy gunplay and hand-to-hand combat action, but for the fact that it’s most badass characters are pretty much all women. These ladies are not your typical cutesy “magical girl” types that’s popular with many anime fans. No, Black Lagoon has ladies that range from psychotic, sociopathic, unstoppable killing machines to just plain old badass.

This AMV focuses on the tragic backstory of one of the series’ most intriguing characters. Roberta could only be described as a lone wolf killer. Her violent past and the tragic loss of her original family was only tempered by being taken in by a soldier who molds her to become the protector of his son. Things happen as they’re wont to happen in violent tales. Roberta’s psychotic side soon becomes unleashed on those who has destroyed her adopted second family and she’ll carve of blood trail to find those responsible.

This video does a great job in telling part of her story.

Anime: Black Lagoon: Roberta’s Blood Trail

Song: “Releasing the Demons” by Godsmack

Creator: TheLastSumaria2011

Past AMVs of the Day

AMV of the Day: Ride or Die (Redline)

Posted on November 1, 2013 by Arleigh

“I look better on your girl than her outfit.”

So, another month of all things horror and dark has passed. Time to detox from that month by putting up a new AMV that’s all about fun and extreme action.

The latest “AMV of the Day” is simply called “Ride or Die” and I must say that it’s probably one of the best anime music video’s I’ve ever seen. I have to say that it’s on par with another AMV profiled earlier this summer with “RadioAkshun” in terms of editing and syncing up the lyrics of the chosen music with scenes from the anime.

The anime itself is breathtaking to watch and I’ll be profiling it soon. Redline works almost perfectly with the theme song from this past summer’s Fast & Furious 6. One rarely finds AMVs that uses hip-hop songs to great effect but this video’s producer and creator, Kyssifur, choosing 2 Chainz and Wiz Khalifa’s “We Own It” was quite a genius move.

Ok, less talking and back to watching this video on loop. It’s just that much fun and awesome.

Anime: Redline

Song: “We Own It (Fast & Furious)” by 2 Chainz and Wiz Khalifa

Creator: Kyssifur

Past AMVs of the Day

Horror AMV of the Day: Yurei

Posted on October 9, 2013 by Arleigh

We have another new AMV of the Day for the current horror month and this time around it’s a sort of mixtape of some of the more recent horror anime.

“Yurei” pretty much takes two of the most recent horror anime in Another and Mirai Nikki and combines it with one that’s more supernatural romance than horror in Dusk Maiden of Amnesia, but still shares the previous two titles’ dark fantasy roots. The song itself is one of the musical compositions created for another horror anime, Jigoku Shoujo aka Hell Girl, by Japanese composer Takanashi Yasuharu. So, this video is pretty much horror on horror and while it’s not the full on bloodbath (though one must watch both Another and Mirai Nikki to see just how off that statement truly is) one would associate with horror nowadays it’s still quite an appropriate video for this month’s theme.

Anime: Another, Dusk Maiden of Amnesia, Mirai Nikki

Song: “Jigoku Nagashi” by Takanashi Yasuharu

Creator: ThePooh

Past AMVs of the Day

Horror AMV of the Day: Bloody Ayase (Oreimo)

Posted on October 1, 2013 by Arleigh

Here we are once again with the wonderful month of October. This means the place gets an extra dosage of horror in everything we can think of. For my first horror-themed post I shall go with the latest “AMV of the Day” and this time it’s an aptly titled video: “Bloody Ayase”.

This particular AMV takes the cute, romantic comedy series, Oreimo, and subverts it by way of clever editing, song choice and some additions like blood splatters to turn it into an obsessed crush. This video actually does a great job in showing the anime personality type called yandere. It’s the obsessed and mentally unhinged lover or ex-lover who doesn’t want to let go and will kill anyone, even the target of their affection, if it means keeping them away from others.

The only thing this video doesn’t have is a pot of boiling water with a rabbit inside.

Anime: Oreimo

Song: “E.T.” by Katy Perry

Creator: Cheeseharry

Past AMVs of the Day

AMV of the Day: The End of My World (Clannad/Clannad After Story)

Posted on September 20, 2013 by Arleigh

The latest “AMV of the Day” comes from the creative mind of one xDieguitoAMV.

“The End of My World” takes select scenes from the anime series Clannad and Clannad: After Story and combines it with the ambient stylings of the band The American Dollar. It chronicles the life of the Tomoya Okazaki through his experiences in both series. It’s told through his point of view as he meets Nagisa Furukawa who would have such a huge impact on his life. The video actually reverse the order by which he sees his life since meeting Nagisa. How she’s changed his outlook on life even if it meant that the happiness he has with her gets balanced out by heartache.

Anyone who has seen this anime knows how the two seasons were polar opposites from each other when it came to their tone and characters. All I can say that I’ve heard anecdotes that even badass, hardened, cynical men who club baby seals for sport have broken down crying like little babies once they’ve seen the series’ After Story. This video will probably relapse them back to that bawling state.

Anime: Clannad, Clannad: After Story

Song: “Twelve Days Awake” by The American Dollar

Creator: xDieguitoAMV

Past AMVs of the Day

AMV of the Day: Life Is Fantastic (Nichijou)

Posted on September 13, 2013 by Arleigh

Here we have another “AMV of the Day” installment starring those cast of characters from the anime series Nichijou.

The previous AMV showed that the series Nichijou can pretty much fit any type of music. Want to make a video of the series using a heavy metal song? Not a problem. Classical music? Doable and perfect, really. Now we have a classic of Hollywood film score being used to make a Nichijou video and despite the video not really making any sense whatsoever it does fall in line with the series’ and it’s irreverent and over-the-top nature.

The moment I watched “Life Is Fantastic” by Iren S.S. I couldn’t stop whistling to the video and it took me a shake of a lamb’s tail before I figured out that the song used was from The Sting. The video itself is a prime example of how one can sync up the images in the video with specific musical cues to make it come off spectacular. Special effects are not the only tools that makes an AMV great to watch. Sometimes an editor with a keen eye for visuals and an ear for music can combine the two skills to make a near-perfect AMV.

Now, I must return to whistling this tune that I can’t get out of my head.

Anime: Nichijou

Song: “Easy Winners” by Scott Joplin and Marvin Hamlisch

Creator: Iren S.S.

Past AMVs of the Day

AMV of the Day: Event (Nichijou)

Posted on September 1, 2013 by Arleigh

The past year or so I’ve been enamored and addicted to an anime series which came out in 2011. This anime is Nichijou and it’s one of the funniest, most confusing and irrelevant piece of entertainment I’ve ever seen. So, it’s only natural that the latest “AMV of the Day” comes from Nichijou.

The AMV is simply called “Event” and it goes a different route when it comes to the song used. It’s creator, JustRukia, doesn’t use techno, rock or pop songs as the foundation for the video, but instead goes for a more classical base. One wouldn’t think that Jacques Offenbach’s “Orpheus in the Underworld” aka the Can-Can song would fit in well with this irreverent anime, but it so does.

This is the third AMV I’ve posted that uses Nichijou and I don’t think it will be the last. The previous two were just as funny with “Safety Dance” being the first and “Affective Schoolgirls” the one before this one. This latest just continues the tradition of well-done and hilarious Nichijou AMV’s.

Anime: Nichijou

Song: “Orpheus in the Underworld (Can-Can)” by Jacques Offenback

Creator: JustRukia

Past AMVs of the Day

AMV of the Day: Star x Crossed (Romeo x Juliet)

Posted on August 21, 2013 by Arleigh

The latest “AMV of the Day” is from an anime adaptation of one of the Bard’s most beloved work: Romeo and Juliet. There was an earlier chosen AMV from awhile back that also used this anime adaptation and one I consider a big favorite. Well, I found another well-made AMV using this same series and this time instead of taking the symphonic metal route for choice in music the video goes old-school 80’s rock ballad.

“Star x Crossed” combines both Romeo x Juliet and the classic Roxette rock ballad from the 80’s, “Listen To Your Heart”, to great effect. The song itself actually fits in perfectly with the anime which takes the star-crossed couple of the title in a fantasy setting. The series combines romance, drama and action in equal amounts. In fact, I would guess that the anime version of Juliet is less damsel-in-distress and lover-in-waiting and more an equal or surpasses Romeo in both character development and skill.

The video itself shows scenes of Juliet not just as the object of Romeo’s affection, but also someone who can hold her own in a fight. Plus, she’s a redhead which should make Lisa Marie happy as long as she doesn’t start trying to do sword-fighting like the character in the video.

The video’s creator is sinycatarina and it’s been an eye-opener finding her work in the AMV scene. This creator is very good and I’ve already marked another of her video’s for a future installment.

Anime: Romeo x Juliet

Song: “Listen To Your Heart” by Roxette

Creator: sinycatarina

Past AMVs of the Day

AMV of the Day: Protectors of the Earth (Shingeki no Kyojin)

Posted on August 15, 2013 by Arleigh

The latest AMV of the Day has taken Japan and the rest of the anime-watching world by storm. I’m talking about the horror-action series Shingeki no Kyojin (“Attack On Titan”) that’s based on the manga of the same title by Hajime Isayama. This particular AMV uses the tried-and-true song “Protectors of the Earth” by Two Steps from Hell.

What is Shingeki no Kyojin?

It’s horror combined with dark fantasy, action and drama. It’s pretty much about whats left of humanity hiding behind massive walls that’s suppose to protect them from the giant humanoid-looking Titans who have no other goal but to devour every human they come across. It’s what would happen if you crossed the zombie apocalypse with giants instead of shambling corpses.

This video by LTTuall AMV does a great job of using the track from by Two Steps from Hell to create an action-packed anime trailer that shows some of the reasons why this anime series has become so popular so quickly.