Reviews

I have been a fan of the Twilight Syndrome series of games for a while now and was pretty hyped when I first heard about this. After seeing the trailer I was pretty disappointed, its obviously been shot on a very low budget and fell pretty short of what I had been hoping for. For those that don't know, Twilight Syndrome are a bunch of games where some kids (usually girls) get in over their heads with some urban legends and have to solve the mysteries while avoiding getting killed by some ghost or another. Two movies were made to coincide with the release of a new DS game and so Dead Go Round and its twin Dead Cruise both use DS's as a plot gimmick.

With its rather short run time (just over an hour), Dead Go Round manages to keep a decent pace, have a memorable villain and be kind of charming in the way that low budget horror can only be. Yes the special effects are terrible and the acting is so-so but by the end I was entertained and will now buy Dead Cruise on DVD also (provided I find it in a bargain bin).

I can assume that this one won't be for everyone, in fact I have tried to get a few friends to watch this one but can't seem to tear them away from Bleach and Naruto. But if you get the opportunity, I highly recommend watching this as it is a really special series. The storyline follows a group of friends who are enrolled in and art college and the day to day complexity of adolescence and life in general. Every character is wonderfully thought out and are way more complex that they may initially seem. It really helps to give them a life of their own and although many characters follow the archetype of anime they really become memorable through their humanity. The main character is especially well realized, using voice over to share his thoughts and feelings with the viewer. It isn't an entirely serious show though as it is at turns hilariously witty and just plain silly fun. The show is riddled with pop culture references like the obligatory Star Wars jokes, digs at other anime series and even Bill Gates. It also joins the ranks of other shows like Azumanga Daioh that treat there setting of modern day Japan with love and respect, from summer festivals to little nuances that are often hard for westerners to understand but delightful all the same. This series made me laugh, cry, and really think about my own life in ways that previously only Haibane Renmei could, though it would be wrong to compare the two. Oh and the first seasons EP is wonderfully weird.