Anime Boston 2008 AMV Review
This is my Anime Boston 2008 video-by-video AMV review; I'm still debating whether or not to write a review of the convention as a whole, since I didn't get to see much of it after spending all of Friday in the registration line from hell and having to leave at 7PM on Saturday. Anyway, on to the videos:
DRAMA
1) The End
"The End" by Groove Coverage
Rurouni Kenshin OVA's and Reflection
Shi Yuan Kuang
This one was very pretty, and quite well edited, though I'm fairly certain the aspect ratio on the Reflection footage was wrong. The white flashes were a bit much at times, but on the whole, a very nice video.
2) When Pigs Fly
Zelda Orchestral Piece #2 by Koji Kondo
Porco Rosso
ngsilver (Chaotic Bad Raptor)
I saw this video when it came out of the Iron Chef match, and was impressed then. The minor cleanups it's undergone only make it better. The sync is gorgeous, and this is a beautiful whole video. My vote for Best Drama.
3) Let Them Eat Rei
"Still Alive" by Jonathan Coulton
Neon Genesis Evangelion
thefinalact.net
If you've played Portal, this is obviously a comedy. Just look at the lyric sync of SEELE for "Maybe Black Mesa" and the line at "delicious and moist" was just horribly evil. There were a few too many dead points, though. Still a fun video, but not a drama.
4) Escaping, But Not Far
"The Bird and The Worm" by The Used
Death Note
SharinganBlue
This one seemed a little disjointed, but that may be because I haven't seen the series. Especially toward the end, it really didn't seem to be making much sense. The timing, though, was impeccable.
5) Fate's Demons
"Mama" by Genesis
Nanoha, Nanoha A's, Nanoha StrikerS
Will Sabin
I only saw the first half of this one, because the editors were being evicted from the balcony, but my biggest question would be what is up with that shot of Fate's circles and Precia's eye? It kept showing up, like every other shot. And slow videos are sometimes good, but this one was just uninteresting.
6) Winter Dance
"Once Upon a December" by Loz Callaway
Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal
Greg S.
I didn't see almost any of this video, because I was still making my way to a seat after leaving the balcony.
ROMANCE
7) The Final Goodbye
"My Immortal" by Evanescence
Gundam Seed Destiny
Nate Margeson
This was a fairly interesting video, but I didn't really like it. The black-and-white parts seemed overdone and the FF7 ripoff "burial at sea" thing amused me, which shouldn't be the case for a romance video. Still, not a bad video, but not to my tastes.
8) Ash & Misty - Could It Be
"Could It Be" by Christy Carlson Romano
Pokemon
Kh-gal (Nicole Martino)
I had a lot of technical quibbles with this one (obviously used fansubs, since I saw some letter tips in at least two shots, lots of lip flap, all straight cuts except for one fade to white), but it was still a decent complete video. I hate the series, but this was interesting.
9) My Only Love
"Imagine Me Without You" by Jaci Velasquez
Chobits
Melissa Paradis
One of my big pet peeves is botched aspect ratios, so it's always refreshing to see someone correctly use widescreen footage. The video itself was cute, but could have used some more sync, and it felt like it was running on a bit too long. Cutting the song down would have made it a much tighter video, though the ending shot was especially pretty.
10) Nobody Rearry Understands Me
"Alternative Plans" by Ellegarden
World of Narue
BasharOfTheAges
I was a beta for this one, so I got to see it evolve from the early versions. I really liked the low-color section at the start, and the opening segment that runs up to the "stars" line with the ships in the sky was absolutely gorgeous. It's much better than the last beta I saw, and though it still seems a little disjointed, it's much more a whole video, and the last segment with the cosplay contest was just gorgeous.
11) Ouran Day
"Ordinary Day" by Vanessa Carlton
Ouran High School Host Club
Kiarrens
I really don't like this show because it's such fangirl-pandering, but this video was just incredibly well edited. I especially loved the segment leading up to the scene with the piano. If I wasn't competing in this category, this one would have had my vote.
12) Right Here
"Somebody's Out There" by Triumph
Shakugan no Shana
Honou Productions
My video, no comments.
ACTION
13) Never Sleep Alone
"The Widow" by The Mars Volta
Cowboy Bebop
Kevmaster
I liked the Cowboy Bebop TV series, but still haven't seen the movie. This video reminded me, yet again, that I probably should someday. It felt a little slow for an action video, and probably would have done very well in Drama, IMO, but was very well edited.
14) Enlightenment
"Axel Off" by Apartment 26
Death Note
Niki Sodt
This video really heavily used effects that seemed out of place or completely superfluous. While pretty, there didn't seem to be much tying it together. Oh, and lipsyncers: either sync parts and kill the flap in the rest, or sync the whole thing. It really stands out if you sync one line and a few seconds later, the next line is just flapping. Sorry, another pet peeve. Anyway, not a bad video, but not my cup of tea at all.
15) Breadline
"Breadline" by Megadeth
Cowboy Bebop
Breeman
This was very nicely edited, though the repeated white flashes at the beginning were annoying. Either cut on them or use them more sparingly. Using them again less than a minute later is just overkill. The red effect about two-thirds through also really lost something when there hadn't been any kind of effects in the video leading up to it. The scenes from the climax episodes, though, were done very, very well, and the integration with the stuff from episode 5 was superb. The ending, though, was pure cliche.
16) Drops: Tears and Blood
"Feel The Heat & Head Game" by Griffths & Lemax
Death Note
Shana
This video was so busy, I had in incredibly hard time following it. That might just be me not knowing the series, but my eyes were hurting trying to see what was going on. And the end sequence with the repeating head bob was just silly.
17) The Deth of Anime
"Metalocalpyse Theme & other songs" by Dethklok
Various Anime
Dave Warner
This video was also very, very busy, and after following the previous video, my eyes felt like they were bleeding. The seizure warning at the beginning of the contest really was necessary for these two (and the final video, too, but I'll talk about that when I get there). Still, a very well edited video; it's obvious a lot of work went into it.
18) Falling Dreams
"See Who I Am" by Within Temptation
Kingdom Hearts
Mysterious Rider
I was very, very impressed with this video. Start to finish, it just flowed. Easily my vote for best Action, and it was certainly deserving of its Best In Show win.
COMEDY
19) Like Youtube, but With Anime!
"Kitty Cat Dance"
Various Anime
Marisa Panaccio
This video is just pure silliness, but ran on for far too long to stay funny. It worked very well as an AMV Hell segment, but as a full video, just dragged. Well edited, though.
20) Serenade
Various Songs
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Dokool (Third Lens Open Productions)
Evil. Pure Evil. I have no words for this. My Best Comedy and Best In Show votes.
21) Eva Heaven
"Polka Your Eyes Out" by Weird Al Yankovic
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Alberto Gonzalez
I've heard that Weird Al is cruise control for comedy, but Alberto really pulled off a very nice video. I would almost call this a Hell-style video, but because of the medley format of the song, the segments flow together, rather than having the jarring jump between segments that Hell videos do. This is how "multi-audio" videos should be done. In particular the "DRUM SOLO!!!" on Shinji's head was pure win. I think this video was hurt by being an Eva video right after the pure evil before it, but it got a huge reaction at the showing.
22) The Anime Network
Various Songs
Various Anime
Dave Warner
I hate Hell-style videos. They take so little effort to make, and it's just throwing stuff at the audience and seeing what sticks. No style, no substance. Still, some segments were funny, so I'll go through them all.
Gunsmith Cats to Chip&Dale: Rescue Rangers - This was very funny. Nice.
Pokemon & Princess Mononoke to the Captain Planet theme - Also very funny. I laughed.
Vampire Hunter D to Darkwing Duck theme - Another amusing one. Not quite as funny as Captain Planet, but still funny.
Inuyasha to Lassie theme. This was just classic. Probably the best of the batch.
BGC 2040 to Power Rangers theme - This one fell pretty flat, not very funny.
Death Note to Beetlejuice theme - I don't think most people got this one, it's a little obscure.
Rozen Maiden to Simpsons sound clips - Semi-amusing, really "meh."
Midori no Hibi to Fight Club trailer - Just kinda weird, sort of amusing, but not incredibly funny.
Sailor Moon to Apocalypse Ponies Robot Chicken sketch - Wasn't bad, but not especially great, either.
Steel Angel Kurumi to Married W/ Children clip - Not that great. Too long a setup for to short a joke.
Vampire Princess Miyu to Ghostbusters theme - Not bad, but really meh considering the next video.
Azumanga to King of the Hill - I didn't get this one at first, since I don't watch the show. The most technical one, but fell kinda flat to me.
AMG to Fairly Odd parents theme - I didn't get at all; I had to ask what the source song was.
So four funny clips out of thirteen. Not a great ratio, but enough people laughed at enough segments to give it a win.
23) 'Bustin
"Ghostbusters" by Ray Parker Jr.
FFVII: Advent Children
Lauren Chicoine
I saw this one about a week before the convention, and was very amused. I'd have placed this in Fun/Upbeat/Other more than pure comedy, but that's just my opinion. It felt like it ran a little too long, but the editing and effects, especially the magazine and newspaper covers were just excellent. Certainly deserved its Best Concept award.
24) Twincest
"I Touch Myself" by The Divinyls
Ouran High School Host Club
Forever Zeroo (The Element)
My dislike for this series was completely vindicated by the fact that the fangirl shrieks started on the title card as soon as they realized the source. This was a fairly amusing video, but the subtitle blocks, while entertaining, really felt like fangirl pandering. I was entertained, but I'm kind of glad the fangirls didn't push this to a win.
FUN/UPBEAT/OTHER
25) Narutumo
"The Dolly Song" by Holly Dolly
Naruto
Hinano
This video was just pure stupidity, and I'm amazed it made the finals. Just short, endlessly repeated loops of animation, lightly synced to the music. The orphan frames made me wince every time I saw one, too.
26) How Far We've Come
"How Far We've Come by Matchbox 20
Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Dreamoflife
Pet peeve alert: Borked aspect ratio. Arg.
Not a badly edited video, though the middle seemed to drag a bit. I really should watch this series someday so I know what the heck is going on in all these videos I'm seeing.
27) Only a Dream
"Dream a Dream" by Captain Jack
Paprika
Wiz
ANOTHER borked aspect ratio. Seriously, what's so difficult about them? I just don't get it.
As to the video itself, it was just really weird. It seemed to be more synced randomness than anything coherent, but the sync was very well executed.
28) Rainbow Revolution
"Brave New World" by Flair
Various
Vellure
I liked this one. It was flashy without going overboard into eyes-bleeding seizure-inducing business. It was very well synced, though I was surprised by the number of series that I didn't recognize; I'm normally very good at identifying sources. A very pretty video.
29) Unbreakable
"Move Along" by All American Rejects
Various Anime
Songbird21
I thought this video belonged more in Action, since it fits better there, IMO. I really want to know how she did the flashing lights at the beginning; I'd like to use a similar effect in a future project. There might have been a couple of botched aspect ratios (Shana and AMG TV), but they were so quick, I'm not sure. A very nice video, incredibly well-synced, and my vote in this category. I'm glad it won.
30) Attack of the Otaku
"Game of Love" by Jenny Rom
Haruhi, Ouran High, Lucky Star
Chiikaboom
Another video that really felt way to busy to follow well. Its nickname of "Skittles II" is very, very accurate. The choruses were a little tamer, and were much more enjoyable than the verses, which gave me a headache with all the flashing. Still, very deserving of its Best Editing award.
DRAMA
1) The End
"The End" by Groove Coverage
Rurouni Kenshin OVA's and Reflection
Shi Yuan Kuang
This one was very pretty, and quite well edited, though I'm fairly certain the aspect ratio on the Reflection footage was wrong. The white flashes were a bit much at times, but on the whole, a very nice video.
2) When Pigs Fly
Zelda Orchestral Piece #2 by Koji Kondo
Porco Rosso
ngsilver (Chaotic Bad Raptor)
I saw this video when it came out of the Iron Chef match, and was impressed then. The minor cleanups it's undergone only make it better. The sync is gorgeous, and this is a beautiful whole video. My vote for Best Drama.
3) Let Them Eat Rei
"Still Alive" by Jonathan Coulton
Neon Genesis Evangelion
thefinalact.net
If you've played Portal, this is obviously a comedy. Just look at the lyric sync of SEELE for "Maybe Black Mesa" and the line at "delicious and moist" was just horribly evil. There were a few too many dead points, though. Still a fun video, but not a drama.
4) Escaping, But Not Far
"The Bird and The Worm" by The Used
Death Note
SharinganBlue
This one seemed a little disjointed, but that may be because I haven't seen the series. Especially toward the end, it really didn't seem to be making much sense. The timing, though, was impeccable.
5) Fate's Demons
"Mama" by Genesis
Nanoha, Nanoha A's, Nanoha StrikerS
Will Sabin
I only saw the first half of this one, because the editors were being evicted from the balcony, but my biggest question would be what is up with that shot of Fate's circles and Precia's eye? It kept showing up, like every other shot. And slow videos are sometimes good, but this one was just uninteresting.
6) Winter Dance
"Once Upon a December" by Loz Callaway
Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal
Greg S.
I didn't see almost any of this video, because I was still making my way to a seat after leaving the balcony.
ROMANCE
7) The Final Goodbye
"My Immortal" by Evanescence
Gundam Seed Destiny
Nate Margeson
This was a fairly interesting video, but I didn't really like it. The black-and-white parts seemed overdone and the FF7 ripoff "burial at sea" thing amused me, which shouldn't be the case for a romance video. Still, not a bad video, but not to my tastes.
8) Ash & Misty - Could It Be
"Could It Be" by Christy Carlson Romano
Pokemon
Kh-gal (Nicole Martino)
I had a lot of technical quibbles with this one (obviously used fansubs, since I saw some letter tips in at least two shots, lots of lip flap, all straight cuts except for one fade to white), but it was still a decent complete video. I hate the series, but this was interesting.
9) My Only Love
"Imagine Me Without You" by Jaci Velasquez
Chobits
Melissa Paradis
One of my big pet peeves is botched aspect ratios, so it's always refreshing to see someone correctly use widescreen footage. The video itself was cute, but could have used some more sync, and it felt like it was running on a bit too long. Cutting the song down would have made it a much tighter video, though the ending shot was especially pretty.
10) Nobody Rearry Understands Me
"Alternative Plans" by Ellegarden
World of Narue
BasharOfTheAges
I was a beta for this one, so I got to see it evolve from the early versions. I really liked the low-color section at the start, and the opening segment that runs up to the "stars" line with the ships in the sky was absolutely gorgeous. It's much better than the last beta I saw, and though it still seems a little disjointed, it's much more a whole video, and the last segment with the cosplay contest was just gorgeous.
11) Ouran Day
"Ordinary Day" by Vanessa Carlton
Ouran High School Host Club
Kiarrens
I really don't like this show because it's such fangirl-pandering, but this video was just incredibly well edited. I especially loved the segment leading up to the scene with the piano. If I wasn't competing in this category, this one would have had my vote.
12) Right Here
"Somebody's Out There" by Triumph
Shakugan no Shana
Honou Productions
My video, no comments.
ACTION
13) Never Sleep Alone
"The Widow" by The Mars Volta
Cowboy Bebop
Kevmaster
I liked the Cowboy Bebop TV series, but still haven't seen the movie. This video reminded me, yet again, that I probably should someday. It felt a little slow for an action video, and probably would have done very well in Drama, IMO, but was very well edited.
14) Enlightenment
"Axel Off" by Apartment 26
Death Note
Niki Sodt
This video really heavily used effects that seemed out of place or completely superfluous. While pretty, there didn't seem to be much tying it together. Oh, and lipsyncers: either sync parts and kill the flap in the rest, or sync the whole thing. It really stands out if you sync one line and a few seconds later, the next line is just flapping. Sorry, another pet peeve. Anyway, not a bad video, but not my cup of tea at all.
15) Breadline
"Breadline" by Megadeth
Cowboy Bebop
Breeman
This was very nicely edited, though the repeated white flashes at the beginning were annoying. Either cut on them or use them more sparingly. Using them again less than a minute later is just overkill. The red effect about two-thirds through also really lost something when there hadn't been any kind of effects in the video leading up to it. The scenes from the climax episodes, though, were done very, very well, and the integration with the stuff from episode 5 was superb. The ending, though, was pure cliche.
16) Drops: Tears and Blood
"Feel The Heat & Head Game" by Griffths & Lemax
Death Note
Shana
This video was so busy, I had in incredibly hard time following it. That might just be me not knowing the series, but my eyes were hurting trying to see what was going on. And the end sequence with the repeating head bob was just silly.
17) The Deth of Anime
"Metalocalpyse Theme & other songs" by Dethklok
Various Anime
Dave Warner
This video was also very, very busy, and after following the previous video, my eyes felt like they were bleeding. The seizure warning at the beginning of the contest really was necessary for these two (and the final video, too, but I'll talk about that when I get there). Still, a very well edited video; it's obvious a lot of work went into it.
18) Falling Dreams
"See Who I Am" by Within Temptation
Kingdom Hearts
Mysterious Rider
I was very, very impressed with this video. Start to finish, it just flowed. Easily my vote for best Action, and it was certainly deserving of its Best In Show win.
COMEDY
19) Like Youtube, but With Anime!
"Kitty Cat Dance"
Various Anime
Marisa Panaccio
This video is just pure silliness, but ran on for far too long to stay funny. It worked very well as an AMV Hell segment, but as a full video, just dragged. Well edited, though.
20) Serenade
Various Songs
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Dokool (Third Lens Open Productions)
Evil. Pure Evil. I have no words for this. My Best Comedy and Best In Show votes.
21) Eva Heaven
"Polka Your Eyes Out" by Weird Al Yankovic
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Alberto Gonzalez
I've heard that Weird Al is cruise control for comedy, but Alberto really pulled off a very nice video. I would almost call this a Hell-style video, but because of the medley format of the song, the segments flow together, rather than having the jarring jump between segments that Hell videos do. This is how "multi-audio" videos should be done. In particular the "DRUM SOLO!!!" on Shinji's head was pure win. I think this video was hurt by being an Eva video right after the pure evil before it, but it got a huge reaction at the showing.
22) The Anime Network
Various Songs
Various Anime
Dave Warner
I hate Hell-style videos. They take so little effort to make, and it's just throwing stuff at the audience and seeing what sticks. No style, no substance. Still, some segments were funny, so I'll go through them all.
Gunsmith Cats to Chip&Dale: Rescue Rangers - This was very funny. Nice.
Pokemon & Princess Mononoke to the Captain Planet theme - Also very funny. I laughed.
Vampire Hunter D to Darkwing Duck theme - Another amusing one. Not quite as funny as Captain Planet, but still funny.
Inuyasha to Lassie theme. This was just classic. Probably the best of the batch.
BGC 2040 to Power Rangers theme - This one fell pretty flat, not very funny.
Death Note to Beetlejuice theme - I don't think most people got this one, it's a little obscure.
Rozen Maiden to Simpsons sound clips - Semi-amusing, really "meh."
Midori no Hibi to Fight Club trailer - Just kinda weird, sort of amusing, but not incredibly funny.
Sailor Moon to Apocalypse Ponies Robot Chicken sketch - Wasn't bad, but not especially great, either.
Steel Angel Kurumi to Married W/ Children clip - Not that great. Too long a setup for to short a joke.
Vampire Princess Miyu to Ghostbusters theme - Not bad, but really meh considering the next video.
Azumanga to King of the Hill - I didn't get this one at first, since I don't watch the show. The most technical one, but fell kinda flat to me.
AMG to Fairly Odd parents theme - I didn't get at all; I had to ask what the source song was.
So four funny clips out of thirteen. Not a great ratio, but enough people laughed at enough segments to give it a win.
23) 'Bustin
"Ghostbusters" by Ray Parker Jr.
FFVII: Advent Children
Lauren Chicoine
I saw this one about a week before the convention, and was very amused. I'd have placed this in Fun/Upbeat/Other more than pure comedy, but that's just my opinion. It felt like it ran a little too long, but the editing and effects, especially the magazine and newspaper covers were just excellent. Certainly deserved its Best Concept award.
24) Twincest
"I Touch Myself" by The Divinyls
Ouran High School Host Club
Forever Zeroo (The Element)
My dislike for this series was completely vindicated by the fact that the fangirl shrieks started on the title card as soon as they realized the source. This was a fairly amusing video, but the subtitle blocks, while entertaining, really felt like fangirl pandering. I was entertained, but I'm kind of glad the fangirls didn't push this to a win.
FUN/UPBEAT/OTHER
25) Narutumo
"The Dolly Song" by Holly Dolly
Naruto
Hinano
This video was just pure stupidity, and I'm amazed it made the finals. Just short, endlessly repeated loops of animation, lightly synced to the music. The orphan frames made me wince every time I saw one, too.
26) How Far We've Come
"How Far We've Come by Matchbox 20
Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Dreamoflife
Pet peeve alert: Borked aspect ratio. Arg.
Not a badly edited video, though the middle seemed to drag a bit. I really should watch this series someday so I know what the heck is going on in all these videos I'm seeing.
27) Only a Dream
"Dream a Dream" by Captain Jack
Paprika
Wiz
ANOTHER borked aspect ratio. Seriously, what's so difficult about them? I just don't get it.
As to the video itself, it was just really weird. It seemed to be more synced randomness than anything coherent, but the sync was very well executed.
28) Rainbow Revolution
"Brave New World" by Flair
Various
Vellure
I liked this one. It was flashy without going overboard into eyes-bleeding seizure-inducing business. It was very well synced, though I was surprised by the number of series that I didn't recognize; I'm normally very good at identifying sources. A very pretty video.
29) Unbreakable
"Move Along" by All American Rejects
Various Anime
Songbird21
I thought this video belonged more in Action, since it fits better there, IMO. I really want to know how she did the flashing lights at the beginning; I'd like to use a similar effect in a future project. There might have been a couple of botched aspect ratios (Shana and AMG TV), but they were so quick, I'm not sure. A very nice video, incredibly well-synced, and my vote in this category. I'm glad it won.
30) Attack of the Otaku
"Game of Love" by Jenny Rom
Haruhi, Ouran High, Lucky Star
Chiikaboom
Another video that really felt way to busy to follow well. Its nickname of "Skittles II" is very, very accurate. The choruses were a little tamer, and were much more enjoyable than the verses, which gave me a headache with all the flashing. Still, very deserving of its Best Editing award.