Wakaranai

AMV.org Link Akross.ru Link
Creator(s):Nicotine
Title: Reddish
Premiered: 09.11.2009

The Russian anime music video community has proven its vitality and its worth once again with this years’ Akross competition, with a whole slew of high-quality videos being shared. This is my favourite from what I’ve seen of the Akross 09′ lineup so far, a fittingly fast-paced and adrenaline-fueled action video to the recent series I was very fond of, CANAAN. CANAAN’s outstanding animation and the awesome choreography of its many action scenes make it the perfect target for an action video like this. The video runs at a furious pace, with fast editing and most or all of the clips sped up. Combined with the good choice of music - a meaty techno/dance track (Blue Stahli - Leadfoot Getaway), and the skill with which it has been put together, this is an action video with kick!

AMV.org Link
Creator(s):Chakralegacy Studios
Title: Red Reflections
Premiered: 2009-02-14

Ergo Proxy is one of those anime for which everybody seems to want to make the magnum opus of their AMV career with. Despite the fact that I didn’t really take to the series, I have to concede that there are some really inspired visuals in there - lots of symbology and cyberpunk grunge. I think the ultimate Ergo Proxy AMV has already been made (Psychosomasis by Kristyrat), but that doesn’t change the fact that this is an excellent action AMV. The song is a really good choice, a slightly gritty but also evocative alternative rock track. When combined with the dark, strange and action-packed Ergo proxy footage, a very absorbing AMV is born!

Definitely worth a look if you’re in the mood for an action AMV with some good music.

AMV.org Link
Creator(s):Hagaren Studios
Title: This Is Halloween
Premiered: 2009-10-31

This one’s coming in a bit late from me, losing its relevance every day past Halloween. But even it’s past the use-by-date of festive spirit, this AMV is still a great watch! As is usually the case with Soul Eater AMVs, I was skeptical at first. Could an appropriately wacky and horror-themed video really be mustered up from the shounen escapades of Soul Eater? Thanks to some fantastic scene selection, clever editing, and weeks worth of blood sweat and tears from its creator, the answer to that question is a resounding yes! I actually had no idea Soul Eater had this amount of freakish and gory sights, but this AMV managed to paint the show as a twisted horror and I now struggle to think of any anime that could make a better fun Halloween video like this. The song is a rocked-up version of that song from The Nightmare Before Christmas, which I still find cringe-worthy in its cheesiness. But this AMV is so good there’s just no room for complaint!

AMV.org Link
Creator(s):Copycat_Revolver
Title: Joy Division Ate My Baby
Premiered: 2009-10-17

Here’s an AMV I’ve been meaning to post for a while now. I was hesitant to post it because I could not find it on youtube and hoped that it would be uploaded sometime soon. It just doesn’t feel right posting about an AMV without the AMV itself! Fortunately, amvnews.ru uploaded a video of it on their site.

The AMV itself is a rare treat for the semi-successful anime series Eureka 7. It’s funny how much that show grows on you the longer it is since you’ve seen it. Despite its flaws it was one of the most memorable anime series of the last 5 years, with its unique post-modern punk attitude, and its unrivalled trance/techno soundtrack. This AMV taps into that punk-esque bent of the show with a really fun song from brit-indie/pop group The Wombats. From that band’s general mediocrity this one single shines out, an infectious and strangely moving song. The interesting lyrics portray a kind of nihilistic catharsis that Copycat_Revolver has very effectively fit Eureka 7 into. The anime really suits the song as it often has a similar clash of emotions - despair and elation.

It’s actually an entry in a Master’s competition (AWA) which makes it all the more impressive (it’s the first Master’s entry I’ve found that I’ve considered worth posting). Copycat revolver is one of my favourite editors, and here he shows an adeptness to edit with limited resources. There are a few problems with the AMV (or rather, areas where it could be improved), but that’s what I’d expect from a Master’s entry. Mainly, the climax of the AMV is kind of lacking - it would have been great to have it really speed up and go out with a bang like the song itself. It’s a shame that this AMV didn’t get more time, because the great song/anime combo deserves something epic! I think it’s really interesting to note that there isn’t even a glimpse of a mecha in the entire video! It just shows there was a lot more to Eureka 7 than sky-surfing mechs!

AMV.org Link
Creator(s):Doki-Doki Productions
Title: IDespair
Premiered: 2009-08-22

Doki Doki production’s dynasty of comedy AMVs lives on! Who could of guessed one mere Canadian could produce so many lolz XD. This is just a short , but very clever and (unusually polished for DDP) AMV combining parody song ‘I got no iPhone’ by Parry Grip and the fittingly suicidal Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei. If, like me, you’re a cynic who is immune to the iPhone bug, you should get a laugh out of this, and if you’re a SZS viewer you should find it even more enjoyable! There are some clever in-jokes for SZS fans, such as the apple logo printed on the staple Kaede panty-shot and Maeda listed as the receiver in the last shot of the coveted iPhone. Great stuff!

AMV.org Link
Creator(s):Ileia
Title: Continuous Play
Premiered: 2009-07-19

I usually stay clear of AMVs based on anime movies for the simple reason that, after you’ve seen a few they all start seeming samey and redundant. There’s only so many ways you can interpret an hour or two worth of footage. A good example of a film that has been done and redone to death in AMV form is the Cowboy Bebop movie. But this one caught my eye solely because I really love the creator, Ileia. She’s definitely one of my favourite active editors at the moment, and this AMV is another fine addition to her collection. It’s a simple concept, portray the time-loop nature of the film with a lyrically fitting song (Stuck On Repeat by Little Boots), but it’s fun despite its simplicity. It’s certainly something fresh, with the visual repetition and the way that each repeated scene from the film is spliced together (those shots are really cool, especially where she rolls across the bed). The song is also really catchy - electro-pop with an edge of emotionality. Also, I love the credits at the start.

AMV.org Link
Creator(s):Niwatori
Title: AraRagi 2:50 ~sumimasen kamimasita ~
Premiered: 2009-09-14

I usually don’t approve of people making AMVs for shows that aren’t yet finished (especially when people act on some crazy impulse and think they can get away with making an AMV with only a couple of episodes worth of footage!). In this case though, I’ll make a special exception, partly because Bakemonogatari is mostly finished anyway, but mostly because it’s just great! Here we have an original and fun AMV, with some fast and clever editing. The camera-phone frame effect might not have been terribly hard to do on a technical level but it looks damn snappy, and it’s something new at the very least! I also like the rewind fade-out at the end - an interesting touch! The scene selection is great. SHAFT may no be able to animated every scene in their series, but when they decide to make something move they generally do it rather well. All the best of Bakemonogatari is included. It’s like a highlight real with all the action, humour and delicious fanservice the show has to offer thrown together. I have to say, this makes me remember the show more fondly than I felt when I was actually watching it. From the epic opening panty-shot of episode 1 to the super-cute loli-expressions of Mayoi, this AMV makes the series look far more fund than it generally is.