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Supernatural: The Animation
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This is an OVA series that was released in 2011 (it came out somewhere around the time of the sixth season of the American live-action series on which it's based). Of the anime's 22 episodes, twelve are remakes of episodes from the first two seasons of the original show, though there are changes to the stories. Of course, my memory sucks and it's been several years since I saw the first two seasons, so the episodes wouldn't be familiar to me even without the changes... but if you've watched those seasons more recently than I have, or just have a better memory than me, I guess it's not a waste of time to watch the anime episodes. Because they are a bit different (and not just because they're only half the length of the live-action episodes). Also I should say the order of the remakes jump around... that is, they're not in the same order as the episodes they're based on. The series also includes nine episodes that are original to the anime, and one that is based on the comic book miniseries "Rising Son." In the English dub of the anime, Jared Padalecki voices Sam, the character he plays in the original show. Jensen Ackles voices Dean in the final two episodes, but for most of the series the character is voiced by a different actor. (As for the Japanese voice actors, Sam and Dean are both voiced in the anime by the same guys who dub them in the live-action series, for Japanese audiences.) Anyway, I watched some anime episodes in Japanese and some in English. I really like the animation on the show, and I like the fact that the closing theme is "Carry On Wayward Son" (a song that's often used during "previously on" intros in the original series). Um... I read that in Japan, a cover of the song was used, but on the American DVDs the original song is used. Oh, and after the closing credits of each episode, there's a bonus scene, so be sure to stick around for that.

Well, in case you haven't seen the original series, I should tell you what it's about. There are these two brothers, Sam and Dean Winchester, who hunt supernatural creatures. This all started because when Sam was a baby and Dean was a young boy, their mother was killed by a yellow-eyed demon. After that, their father, John, became a hunter, and eventually his sons got into it, themselves. In the live-action series, Sam had been away at college for awhile, leaving John and Dean to hunt on their own. While at school, Sam fell in love with a girl named Jessica, but she ended up being killed by the same demon who had killed his mother, years ago. So Sam goes back to hunting with Dean. Their dad had disappeared sometime before the series starts. All this is pretty much the same in the anime, so in addition to hunting creatures (especially the Yellow-Eyed Demon), they're also looking for their dad. However, there are a number of flashbacks, so we can see more about Jessica, and about Sam and Dean's childhood, and about their time hunting with John not so long before the series, and stuff.... We see more of that than I recall seeing in the first two seasons of the live-action series. But there are other similar elements to the series, including the fact that the demon has plans to raise an army. And years ago, he'd given supernatural powers to several people, including baby Sam. (Mainly this means Sam sometimes gets premonitions, and he may have other powers, but he can't control any of them.) And there's a search for a gun called the Colt, which is probably the only thing that could kill the Yellow-Eyed Demon. And they get occasional help from a fellow hunter named Bobby. And... well, the first season of the anime ends pretty much the way the second season of the live-action series ended, with a battle royal between Sam and the Yellow-Eyed Demon's other "special" children, to determine who would get to lead his army. Anyway, that story arc is resolved, but a new story arc is set up. And I'd love for there to be a second season of the anime, but it doesn't look like that's gonna happen. Which is okay, because it's not as good as the live-action series. Still, it was decent, and I'm glad to have seen it.


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