AMV of the Day: Troll of Hearts (The World God Only Knows)


I would say that the AMV producer who has shown up on this “AMV of the Day” feature the most has to be tehninjarox. His videos rarely turn out to be misses and even the ones I don’t gush over still end up being very well done. It’s no surprise that one of his latest videos was chosen to be the latest AMV profiled.

“Troll of Hearts” is one of his latest and it manages tomake use of Rick Astley’s now classic and over-memed song, “Never Gonna Give You Up”, with the harem anime series The World God Only Knows. This video manages to make the anime series’ main lead, Keima Katsuragi, come off much more committed and romantic than the series really lets on. For those saying I just spoiled the anime shouldn’t worry. The World God Only Knows is less about drama and emotional growth and more the comedic side of a young man so obsessed with dating sims game that he’s forced by Hell to use those same gaming skills to try and romance real “3D girls” instead of 2D virtual ones he seems to prefer.

I know that the Rick Astley song has become the butt of many a joke and parody video. This AMV doesn’t change yet the lyrics fit in well with how tehninjarox (aka Shin) edited the scenes from the series. If there was one thing which keeps me from making this latest AMV pick as one of my all-time favorites it would be the length of the video itself which is under 2 minutes and doesn’t make use of the song’s total running time. It’s a little nitpick really since the AMV was something done for an AMV contest that didn’t require he use the whole song. The fact that he was able to place 1st even with a truncated video just goes to show the impact the video had with those judging.

Anime: The World God Only Knows

Song: “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley

Creator: tehninjarox

 

Past AMVs of the Day

AMV of the Day: Written in the Spirals (Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann)


The next “AMV of the Day” comes courtesy of AMV-producer extraordinaire tehninjarox whose other works I’ve profiled here many times.

“Written in the Spirals” is the title of this latest AMV and is a play on the title of the song used for the video, “Written in the Stars”. The song is by Tinie Tempah with Eric Turner providing the chorus between Tinie Tempah’s rhymes. The video itself is pretty straightforward in that it rarely uses many of the video effects tricks other AMV creators have been using of late. This creator just does a great job of taking the scenes from the anime series Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann and lets each sequence match the tempo and feel of the song. This particular video from this series has the producer focusing on one of the leads in the show, Kamina.

Kamina is sort of like the Han Solo of the series and also ends up becoming the mentor to the main lead of the show in Simon. This video is only the second one I’ve picked which uses the Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann series as the backdrop. As much as I truly enjoy this video it’s still not the best I’ve seen using this series. That honor goes to Nighthawk’s “Spinning Infinity”.

Anime: Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

Song: “Written in the Stars” by Tinie Tempah feat. Eric Turner

Creator: tehninjarox

Past AMVs of the Day

AMV of the Day: The Way You Are


The latest AMV of the Day is actually one I just stumbled onto on youtube while looking for something that wasn’t even related to AMV’s. I know I would take a hit by admitting that I like the song this video ended up using but dagnabbit it’s a catchy and sweet song.

“The Way You Are” is the title of the AMV by editor xwiz89 who takes scenes from two anime series, Bakemonogatari and Nyan Koi!, and ends up with an anime music video that does a great job highlighting the two relationships which occur in both series. While the video makes the coupling sweeter than how they really appear in the series the way xwi89 edits the video makes that sweetness feel natural.

The title itself was taken from the title of the song by Bruno Mars, “Just The Way You Are”, and while it’s a song that has had it’s legion of detractors it’s still one that I ended up liking when first hearing and I’m going to assume that the AMV’s editor felt the same way. The song just fits the video and, if any, it helps sell both anime series to those who might not have heard about it and still not sure whether to give it a look see.

Anime: Bakemonogatari, Nyan Koi!

Song: “Just The Way You Are” by Bruno Mars

Creator: xwiz89

 

Past AMVs of the Day

AMV of the Day: Means to an Endgame (Code Geass)


I was going to pick something lighthearted for the next “AMV of the Day” but decided to save Mr. Satan for a later date when I return to posting more Anime Expo 2012 stuff. So, I chose an AMV that I would categorize as the opposite of lighthearted and could be considered as very dark, indeed.

“Means to an Endgame” is the latest from AMV producer extraordinaire tehninjarox. He picks one of my favorite Florence + The Machine songs in “Seven Devils” and uses it to musically score and highlight just how much of a devil the main protagonist of the anime series really turns out to be. This is not to say that Lelouch is a bad guy. He’s just very focused on taking down his enemies to make the world a better place for his crippled sister. How he goes about this includes committing what he calls evil actions for the greater good.

The video itself does a great job in matching up with the song that one would almost think that Lelouch (the man in the black armor and cape) was the villain of this piece. While I’m not like fellow anime contributor pantsukudasai in that mecha doesn’t do it for him, I myself don’t mind mecha anime and it was mecha that first brought me back to the artform during the mid-80’s. This video just shows just how far mecha anime has gone from just being about pilots in giant fighting robots fighting it out. Code Geass has it’s share of mech fighting but it also has a strong, dramatic narrative that blurs the distinction of who the good guys and bad guys are.

Just like another great AMV producer in Chiikaboom, one tehninjarox has become a favorite of mine with each new video he releases. This one definitely make’s my favorite list.

Anime: Code Geass

Song: “Seven Devils” by Florence + The Machine

Creator: tehninjarox

 

Past AMVs of the Day

AMV of the Day: Safety Dance (Nichijou)


In what will be one of several posts about my experience during this year’s Anime Expo 201, I have chosen to begin this series by choosing the latest “AMV of the Day”. While I wasn’t present when this video was shown to attendees (the schedule for the AMV contest panel conflicted with several other panels pantsukidasai56 and I were already committed to attending) I still sought it afterwards.

“Safety Dance” by Shin (listed under the Youtube account of tehninjarox) was well-received by those who attended the AMV Contest panel. While it didn’t win Best Comedy category it was picked as the winner of the Random/Fun category which is like the place where the hard to categorize and label videos end up. It’s a hodgepodge group of videos which tend to range from the weird, funky right up to just plain psychedelic.

The video is another feather in the cap of Shin who is considered one of the top AMV producers. Using the song “Safety Dance” by Men Without Hats (plus some dialogue from Futurama) and the quirky anime series Nichijou, Shin has created a really hilarious and unique AMV which really shows his editing skill in keeping the song in-sync with the anime characters in the video. The anime itself works well with the song with all the scenes of dancing (funny dancing but dancing nonetheless).

I think if I was present during the AMV Contest when this video played at Anime Expo 2012 I probably would’ve voted for this to win. I’m just glad that many others thought the same and made sure it won.

Anime: Nichijou

Song: “Safety Dance” by Men Without Hats feat. dialogue from Futurama

Creator: Shin (tehninjarox)

Past AMVs of the Day

AMV of the Day: Cherry – Chronicles of PHOTOpanic


It’s early in the morning and insomnia has hit me quite hard so might as well pick the latest “AMV of the Day”.

The latest pick is a fan-service lover’s wet dream as it highlights the more pervy side of anime. This is all in fun and another reason why anime has continued to rise in popularity. All the anime chosen by the multiple editors in this video are not what you call hentai, but all of them typical teen-focused series that just happens to have an over-abundance of panty shots and over-reliance on boobs.

There’s no other way to describe this video other than it will either sell the entertainment that is anime or swear people off of them for good. In my past experiences I’d bet on the former than the latter.

Anime: Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari, Sora no Otoshimono, Bakemonogatari, Kamen no Maid Guy,  Working!!, Hyakko,  Futurama, Rosario + Vampire,  Needless, Maria+Holic, B Gata H Kei, Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu

Song: “Cherry Pie” by Warrant

Creators: ManoD, Zevs1993, Rebellion, S.A Robert, LukW, J.Fry, Deidara94, Screenshot

Past AMVs of the Day

AMV of the Day: Remember My Name


I’ve been looking for a new AMV that was very recently made (usually means in the last 3-4 months). Finding a good AMV is looking looking for anything creative. One must go through the dreck and dross before finding that diamond in the rough. One of the more recent ones that definitely qualifies as a gem makes it as my latest “AMV of the Day”.

“Remember My Name” is a Sheryl Nome-centric anime music video. Sheryl Nome is one of the main characters in the Macross Frontier series of anime (both tv series and OVA) and who also happens to be one of the most popular female characters in anime of the last couple years. At first I wasn’t too keen on the music used when I heard the first few moments then I realized the song used by the video’s creator (VivifxAMV) wasn’t just titled fame, but was actually a cover of the classic theme song from the film and tv series of the same name. This time around the song was covered by Naturi Naughton (have no idea, but she definitely killed it) and as I watched the video more to its conclusion the more I ended up really loving it.

The song really fits the character of Sheryl Nome very well. Sheryl is what one would call an idol in Japanese pop culture. Meaning she sings, dances, models and does everything else entertainment-wise while being managed by a powerful figure behind-the-scenes. Idols are huge is Japan and the only Western comparison I can make will be someone like Britney Spears and her ilk but ten times bigger in popularity in their home region.

“Remember My Name” is a great AMV of 2012 and my choosing of it for this on-going feature means I’ve also discovered a new AMV artist who I plan to follow closely with each new video made.

Song: “Fame” by Naturi Naughton

Creator: VivifxAMV

Past AMVs of the Day

AMV of the Day: Futuristic Lover (Bakemonogatari)


It’s been almost a week since my last “AMV of the Day” entry and it’s time for a new one. My latest pick is short but it’s a really good one. To better tie it with pantsukudasai56 and his last post about how everyone should be watching the anime series Bakemonogatari this video is all about that anime.

It’s interesting how songs from singers and bands I usually wouldn’t be listening to would end up being ideal for making anime music videos (AMV). One such singer is Katy Perry whose songs remain quite popular with AMV creators. I’ve already profiled two AMV’s that uses Katy Perry songs with I Heart Tsundere and Fairy Tail Teenage Dream. This time around it’s a less pop sugary Katy Perry song with “E.T.” being used by creator OkamiRvS for the video “Futuristic Lover”.

The video is barely over an minute in a half and only uses part of the song used, but the overall effect of the video doesn’t suffer from it’s short length. In fact, I have a feeling extending the video to the length of the song’s full playtime would’ve made the AMV not as awesome. I like how even in the video’s short runtime OkamiRvS was still able to convey the supernatural theme of Bakemonogatari not to mention the weird harem-like relationship the series’ protagonist, Araragi, have with the different girls he encounters under some weird circumstances.

Definitely one of my favorite videos of 2011 (even though I only discovered it recently).

Anime: Bakemonogatari

Song: “E.T.” by Katy Perry

Creator: OkamiRvS

Past AMVs of the Day

AMV of the Day: Sexy and I Know It (NSFW)


To say that 2010’s Highschool of the Dead was the hit anime series for that season would be an understatement. It’s a series that about a bunch of Japanese highschool students trying to survive the sudden onset of the zombie apocalypse. You’d think that would be enough to pull in the audience, but no the Japanese anime studios needed to really hook the audience and they did so by turning it into an ecchi-fest that’s just a couple steps lower from turning into hentai.

What better way to mark the latest “AMV of the Day” that makes perfect use of LMFAO’s “Sexy and I Know It” song than using an anime that’s got an overabundance of sexy in your face. There’s nothing else to say other than just sit back and enjoy the finished work of Mystic Shaek.

Anime: Highschool of the Dead

Song: “Sexy and I Know It” by LMFAO

Creator: Mystic Shaek

Past AMVs of the Day

AMV of the Day: Everytime We Touch (Toradora!)


The latest “AMV of the Day” is another in a long line of videos using one of the more popular anime series of the past couple years. Toradora! is one of those romantic/comedy slice-of-life anime that always tugs at the heart strings. It’s no different with this anime as we see with the series’ two main characters in the tiny Aisaka Taiga and Takasu Ryuuji.

This time around it’s a straight up ballad of a video from the point of view of Taiga as she contemplates her true feelings for Ryuuji during the holidays. AMV creator HiddenFlowerDesi picked a very appropriate song to convey Taiga’s feelings with the song “Everytime We Touch” by the German Eurodance group Cascada. Instead of using the more upbeat version of the song the Yanou’s Candlelight mix of the song was used to better use the slower tempo to fit the video and also to put the focus on group singer Natalie Horler’s evocative singing.

Anime: Toradora!

Song: “Everytime We Touch” by Cascada

Creator: HiddenFlowerDesi

Past AMVs of the Day