Gunslinger Girls

Samurai 7

Kiki's Delivery Service

Howl's Moving Castle

Princess Mononoke

Spirited Away

.Hack//Legend of the Twilight

.Hack//Roots

Type: Anime
Status: Complete (26 episodes)

Premise: Haseo is a new player to "The World R:2" which is a reboot to the original world after it had a catastrophic error and was permanently lost. Playing as an "Adept Rogue" (a rogue capable of using multiple varieties of weapons) he is attacked by a Player Killer (PK) almost immediately. A strange man named Ovan revives him inviting him to join his guild in their search for "The Key of the Twilight", a legendary item which used to exist on the old version of "The World".

Thoughts: This anime has a vary interesting plot that gets rather dark after a certain point in the story, once this tipping point is reached the plot truly starts to come alive with Haseo finally becoming interesting (and twisted). While this shift is a long time in coming it is quite satisfying once it arrives. Sadly this series is actually the lead up the the .hack//G.U. video games and fails to present a completed plot making it somewhat pointless unless you play the game or watch it online (warning that game is LONG).

Prose: Nice animation and plot development, character interaction and sweet twist to the characters. Watch this in order to understand the progression of the G.U. games or in preparation to watch them online as it explains what has lead up to the game.

Cons: The anime itself is almost completely useless as a stand alone show. While it does present some interesting points it fails to bring the story to a conclusion and is rely intended to be viewed with the game.

-Notes: Fully dubbed. I actually watched this series out of order by mistake, this is actually the 3rd installment into the .hack// franchise and YOU SHOULD WATCH "Legend of the Twilight" before this if you are concerned with continuity. While it is not rely noticeable and never affects the viewing it is meant to be viewed after.

7.5/10          (Names to run away from: The Terror of Death)

.Hack//Sign

Type: Anime

Status: Complete (28 episodes)

Premise: In fictional 2005 "The World" is a MMORPG were through virtual reality you dive into the game playing a character through the various stages and interacting with others. Tsukasa is a player that is now unable to log out of "The World" and is slowly losing his identity to the game, but a few players take note of him and decide to unravel the mystery in order to help Tsukasa.

Thoughts: This show is rather bland when you consider that it is based on an MMORPG. There is little action and most of the story is developed through diologue and "Floating Heads". There is an interesting mystery inherent to the plot which does help in the second half of the series, but it is a slog in the beggining.

Prose: Good animation with great dialogue and character development rely makes the series. Also the plot once it engages is rather good.

Cons: Slow plot near the begging. Also the fact that this story is based on characters playing a video game results in some awkward dialogue at times were you just wish they would choose a way of thinking and speaking and stick to it.

-Notes: Fully dubbed. This anime as well as all the subsequent .hack// series are meant to be supplements to video games, in this case it is not noticeable as this series is meant to be a base for all the rest but the game follows directly after.

7.5/10          (Can you be any more antisocial?)

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Type: Anime & Movie Version

Status:     Anime - Complete (26 episodes and a movie)     Movie - Ongoing

Premise: After a cataclysmic event known as 2nd impact melted Antarctica and shifted the worlds axis, flooding kills half of the earths population. Humanity has taken 15 years to reorganized and now have restored itself to the dominant species on the planet once more. But the truth is that 2nd impact was not a natural occurrence, it was in reality humanities first contact with another form of life; they were named Angels. Angels are titanic beings of unimaginable destructive power and threaten the remaining population with total extinction, the only way humanity has to fight back is the organisation known as N.E.R.V. and their weapons known as the E.V.A. which are gigantic fighting robots developed after 2nd impact. Shinji Ikari a 14 year old student is selected to pilot the first fully functional E.V.A. in the defense of Tokyo-3 one of the last strongholds of humanity and the headquarters of N.E.R.V.

Thoughts: Now my opinion varies dramatically depending on which version you ask me about; the anime was decent but suffered from enormous plot holes and completely ridiculous mentality to the writing. The movies were short and to the point, retelling the majority of what you received in the anime but removing many of the things that made little sense; they stressed different points in the movies which shifts the overall tone between the two versions and to me resulted in a better piece of storytelling.

Prose: Nice old school anime with the hand drawn animation and good voice acting. The movie contains more CG than the anime but in vary well chosen moments so as not to distract from the story. 

Cons: The anime had enormous plot holes and a truly crap-tastic ending originally which was somewhat fixed by "The End of Evangelion" which is an hour and a half movie made to replace the last 2 episodes. 

-Notes: Fully dubbed. 2 of the 4 movies planned have been released but the final 2 which were scheduled for a 2008 release were "slightly delayed" to a 2012 release instead. I watched the anime than the movie so it may be that I am filling in some blank areas of the movie with the good parts of the anime but in my opinion the movies are BY FAR better than the anime. While the movies are shorter than the anime they managed to cut most of the confusing/useless bits off of the anime and stream line it into a more functional version with the movies; they also stress some different plot devices in the movie which changes the tone and makes for a clearer series of events between the characters which also helps understanding. If given the option I would suggest watching the movies first before the anime, also when watching the anime I would recommend the alternate ending instead of the original episodes 25 and 26.

Anime - 7.5/10   Movies - 8.5/10   (Plot holes large enough to drive gigantic fighting robots through)

Durara!!

Type: Anime 

Status: Complete (25 episodes)

Premise: After Mikado moved to Ikebukuro for school he meets back up with his best friend that he had been keeping in contact with through the internet, during his first day he is told of the people to avoid like the violent Shizuo Heiwajima, the information broker Izaya or the mysterious Dollars gang. There is also a legend around town of "The Black Rider" who has a motorcycle that beys like a horse and has no head which Mikado sees late that night. There are many strange and unusual things unseen in Ikebukuro.

Thoughts: This was a great anime that had a steady building of the plot, and allowed inteligent viewers to piece things together slightly before the reveal which allows for a vary satisfying series. This series rewards careful viewers and is an amazing world.

Prose: Great animation and plot, characters that evolve and are interesting, "real world" slowly getting darker and supernatural. A great anime that will definitely be worth your time.

Cons: None in particular save the standard over the top action which is a staple of anime. The various characters have a tenancy to be overpowered when you consider this is mostly a real world setting.

-Notes: Fully dubbed. When they say "color" gang they are not talking racial color they are saying Orange or Blue, took me a while to figure this out near the beginning.

9/10          (The Doddlers)

Tears of Tiara

Type: Anime

Status: Complete (26 episodes)

Premise: The age of mythological creatures has come and gone leaving only man to inherit the earth, but the echoes of the past civilizations have yet to fully fade. The Imperium of man has conquered the faltering kingdoms and united them; but there still remains small villages who practice the old ways despite the empires best efforts. The Gales have protected the tomb of the Demon King Aron from the past age but now the Empire has re-awakened him and woe to all who have forgotten the terrors of the last age.

Thoughts: A good anime that was solid the entire way through, the characters are rich and you learn to like them. One thing is that they all speak with Scottish accents which is odd but still kind of interesting.

Prose: Beautiful animation and a solid story with nothing that stands out as substandard, the entire series screams of dedication to story and polished storytelling.

Cons: Nothing in particular but the plot is pretty standard fare as far as fantasy settings are concerned with some interesting twists and turns along the way. All in all a completely watchable medieval high fantasy setting.

-Notes: Fully dubbed. All the characters save a few speak in Scottish accents, and the plot leads me to believe that the main inspiration of the anime was the rebellion of William Wallace during the wars of scottish independence so watching Braveheart after/before starting might be worth it simply to laugh at the similarities ;P.

8/10          (FREEEEEDOOOOOMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!)

Jyuki Ningen Jumbor / Jumbor

Type: Manga

Status: Complete (well canceled)

Premise: It is 3002 and the world has developed were the words "construction company" is synonymous with "independent military faction". Human civilization has crumbled been rebuild countless times, and now the construction teams have become the driving force of civilization. Jumbor is a national hero in his country and personal servant to the cute 8 year old princess; along with his team of workers he strives to rebuild this world. Not everyone is of like mind to this however and during a project Jumbor and his company are ambushed by one of their rivals from the neighboring country and he is killed. He awakens 5 years later to discover that his memories have been placed into a clone (chronological age 5 years) and he has been partially mechanized in order to preserve his life. Now he must reclaim his homeland from those who have concurred it and find the princess who he left behind.

Thoughts: This manga was ODD. Not bad actually, but it was so far from the run of the mill mech anime that I have trouble describing it. While I did enjoy the completely over the top mechs cult to and ridiculous construction references it is difficult to figure out if this was a good idea cut short in its infancy or a mongrel child put out of its misery.

Prose: Completely over the top and hilarious. Also completely original in its setting and use of giant fighting robots composed and intended for construction. This one is quite the acquired taste.

Cons: The amount of serious consideration to realism in this anime could barely fill a thimble, they went for the RULE OF COOL and never relented.

-Notes: The manga is cut ridiculously short at the end and was almost setting up for a sequel than it wasn't. Basically it feels as though the writer had a grand overarching story line in mind and than was informed one day that his next issue would be his last so wrap it up. I don't know the reasoning behind this way of concluding things and am not entirely sure whether it was a bad thing.

7.5/10          (RULE OF COOL)

Strain

Type: Anime

Status: Complete (13 episodes)

Premise: Mankind is fighting a civil war against a group of rebels in the far reaches of space, among the weapons of the colonials is the Strain a mech using the harvested from the unborn fetus resulting in a kind of neural computer. Sara Weric is the younger sister to the legendary pilot Ralph Weric and is in training to become a strain pilot, but when the enemy attacks her school she begins to learn the truth about the beginning of this war.

Thoughts: This anime was relatively uninspired as far as plot goes, but the animation was beautiful and the characters are actually quite interesting if unbelievable. All in all I would not recommend it, but it was relatively well crafted considering it is only 13 episodes to build a world.

Prose: Lovely animation and decently interesting characters are the motivation for this anime, but not much else.

Cons: Not inspiring, and feels more than a little forced. I do give them credit for what they accomplished in 13 episodes but there is a limit at the same time.

-Notes: Fully dubbed.

6/10          (The doll Freaks me out....)

Spice And Wolf

Type: Anime

Status: Ongoing? (2 seasons (24 episodes) complete)

Premise: Among the farmers of the south there is a legend of a spirit of the harvest; a great wolf known as Holo. In exchange for their annual festivals and offerings she would insure bountiful harvests year after year, but as time passed and old religions were replaced by new these old promises became mere traditions and eventually were forgotten. Kraft Lawrence is a travailing merchant who makes his living trading wheres from town to town with the hope of one day having his own shop to call home; on his way through the small village of Pastol an odd girl stows away on his cart and asks to travel with him back to her home Yoitsu in the north. Her name is Holo and Lawrence's life was forever changed.

Thoughts: This is not the kind of anime that I normally watch, but you know what? I LIKED IT. The characters and story were all excellent along with clean animations and lovely musical score. A lovely surprise to go with a great anime.

Prose: All around a well polished anime, it does what an anime should do (tell  story) and does it extremely well without missing in any particular aspects. Well rounded and  treat to watch.

Cons: Be prepared for the exciting life of  a traveling merchant, wheeling and dealing, barter and trade. While it is far from boring there is vary little action in the typical sense; in the entire 24 episode series there is only 2 full fledged fight scenes and those are rather one sided. This anime is a battle of whits not of strength.

-Notes: Fully dubbed. What I mean by "Complete?" is that the end of season 2 is a SEASON finale not a SERIES finale. While nothing has been announced as far as a 3rd season as of yet the 2nd season only finished its dub this year so it is still a strong possibility that it will continue soon.

8.5/10          (Holo the wise/drunk wolf.)

Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom

Type: Anime

Status: Complete (26 episodes)

Premise: Inferno is a criminal syndicate intent on absolute control of the underworld, through assassination, extortion  racketeering and blackmail. Among inferno there is a position known as The Phantom; the premier assassin tasked with the elimination of obstacles and advancement of Inferno's interests. Now after a hit there has been a witness, he will either become the next Phantom or disappear forever. Ein the original Phantom will train him how to kill dispassionately and he will be known as Svi the second Phantom of Inferno.

Thoughts: This anime is TWISTED. It makes no apologies for the dark underbelly that it is meant to represent and there are some really creepy parts throughout the series. This is a dark and suspenseful thriller that is both gripping and repulsive as it unfolds. It begs the question of how far a human being will go to survive and just how much the human spirit can bend without breaking.

Prose: Dark and thrilling. Watch it for characters that are steeped in death and destruction but desperately try to hold onto anything they can to hold onto that last shred of humanity.

Cons: Twisted. It gets rather creepy and disturbing on just how far the characters fall. Beware.

-Notes: Fully dubbed. This anime has a distinct beginning, middle and end each contained within a time skip which makes an interesting series. The ending is also rather random, while it did have a point it was completely unwarranted and if the show hadn't ended 3 minutes later I would have stopped watching.

8/10          (Kill or be killed: Doing either well will make you a legend.)

Casshern Sins

Type: Anime

Status: Complete (24 episodes)

Premise: The world has gone to ruin. After the murder of Luna and the last great hope of human and robot alike, there is no way to introduce life into the world and the slow decline to death is all but inevitable. Casshern is the man who doomed this world; he killed Luna and now is the only person immune to the wasting. He is no longer the person he once was however; his actions have changed him and now he finally sees the crimes he has committed.

Thoughts: This anime is intriguing due to the fact that we start into it after the final blow has already been struck. We start off in the world were evil has already won and the world is unavoidably doomed to die an agonizing death. We watch as the ultimate villain comes to grips with what he has done and feels remorse. It's vary easy to hate our main character and it always hangs over our head that no mater how much he tries he may never atone for what he has done.

Prose: A dark and gritty story in a post apocalyptic world. The art style is odd for an anime, and is more like a watercolor portrait than actual animation but it conveys the washed out and dreary feeling beautifully and makes this story truly distinctive at a glance.

Cons: You will either enjoy the nuances of this story or truly despise the dark and dreary atmosphere. It is a rather depressing series but then again it is the end of the world.

-Notes: Fully dubbed. Apparently this is a side story to the main series using the same characters in a drastically revised setting and plot, I haven't looked into it myself but it might be worth a look at if you enjoyed it.

8.5/10          (There is no life without fear of death.)

Kanaan

Type: Anime

Status: Complete (13 episodes)

Premise: She was trained as a mercenary, learning about firearms and weapons in place of any kind of childhood. Kanaan whose family was killed during a pointless war was taken in by Siam a soldier who found her in the remains of her house, she is one of the rare people in this world who posses a unique ability called synesthesia which blends the senses allowing to see sounds and taste smells but Kanaan is unique among the rare; she posses synesthesia of all 5 senses and has been trained in their use as a weapon for as long as she can remember.

Thoughts: The entire anime comes across as well thought out and well balanced. There is emotional depth to this series as well as a plot that rewards those who pay attention to all aspects of the anime. While not award winning I do congratulate it as a solid production.

Prose: Great action, plot, animation and music. Truly no fault to this series.

Cons: There are no faults as it were with this anime, but at the same time there remains vary little to make it pop. I have no complaint here other than the fact that it is a SAFE anime that refrained from pushing any portion of the envelope.

-Notes: Fully dubbed. I would like to reiterate that there is absolutely nothing wrong with this story and I do believe that some people would quite enjoy it; but it lacks some creativity that would draw your eye to begin with.

7.5/10          (Real world super powers)

Black Cat

Type: Anime
Status: Complete (24 episodes)

Premise: Train Heartnet is an eraser, an assassin without peer in the clandestine organization of Chronose, but his life is given meaning after meeting a sweeper (bounty hunter) named Saya. Unable to continue his cold blooded composure any longer he attempts to separate from Chronose but ends up on the run instead.

Thoughts: This anime has moments of brilliance intermixed in a somewhat lack luster series. While the major plot developments do show what this anime could have been if only they had directed it in the direction of a dark drama they are to diluted by slapstick comedy and cliche plot devices to truly make this work come alive.

Prose: Moments of brilliant drama and a clean and polished animation make this anime what it is.

Cons: The plot actually starts off better in the first episode than slowly declines from there, as I said they could of had something here had he writer decided to go for a maturer audience.

-Notes: Fully dubbed. 

6.5/10          (Trains costume: Beginning >End>>>Middle) 

Princess Resurection

Type: Manga

Status: Ongoing

Premise: The royal family of demons is in a state of civil war among itself, each of the heirs are wagging a bloody war to determine the next successor to their realm. Hiro Hiyorimi is killed in a freak car accident but is resurrected as Hime's blood worrier, an undead bodyguard with amazing regenerative abilities that can continue living as long as it periodically receives blood from its master from the royal family. Now Hiro, Hime and her personal ndroid attendant Flandra must survive the the attacks of Hime's siblings with the help of several retainers they recruit along the way.

Notes: Vary much influenced by the classic monster movie genre we follow along with the main charters as they investigate things like fish men and ghost stories. The plot slowly advanced independently of the episodic style of the manga giving this entire story an old fashioned feel.

Prose: Several interesting characters a re born into this setting giving us a reason to root for them.

Cons: This manga starts off well enough but begins to drag as the issues wear on, and after a while there is virtually no plot development to speak of. Basically a decent concept ruined by a writer that doesn't want to let go.

-Notes: I have read up to chapter 63 before giving up on this one.

6.5/10          (I like the support staff better than the main character....)

Unbreakable Machine Doll

Type: Manga

Status: Ongoing

Premise:  Magic and science have advanced in parallel resulting in sentient machines with magical abilities. Now employed by the military Akabane Raishin and his partner Yaya are attending The Royal Academy to sharpen their skills as soldiers but due to his abysmal test scores he has all but discounted as a serious competitor, now Akbane must prove himself by sheer combat ability against the deadliest of his classmates.

Thoughts: Interesting setting with a good plot so far, will be watching this one closely.

Proes: A nice art style complements this interesting story line so far.

Cons: Vary young as manga go so I will need to hold my judgement for now.

-Notes: Keeping an eye on this one.

8/10          (What is it with those Japanese and making robots hot?)

A Fairy Tail for the Demon Lord

Type: Manga

Status: Ongoing

Premise: There once was a princess who fell victim to a curse. She was imprisoned by a demon who slew all who would approach her and never allowed her to speak to another living soul save for him. Countless knights challenged the demon in order to save the princess; nobles looking for her hand in marriage, paladins on holly crusades, fighters of unimaginable skill looking for a worthy opponent to test their abilities and gods angered by the demons arrogance, but all were slain by the demon. Finally an knight without a name arrived on the battlefield, this man without a soul who was created by the king to die for his master was offered freedom and a name should he be able to save the princess. This unknown man who was devoid of everything slew the demon and saved the princess and now our story begins anew.

Thoughts: This one is intriguing. Cyberpunk norse mythology in a high fantasy setting..... how many times have you heard that before? To go along with this unorthodox setting we are being introduced to characters who are evolving right in front of our eyes as we read, we start with a blank canvas in our main character and build him as the story unfolds.

Prose: Lovely artwork in a rough sketch like style as well as full color, you tend to forget how much color helps with the reading after so long without it in the manga world and this book makes great use of it to highlight and reinforce ideas.

Cons: This manga is just starting out and there are only a limited number of chapters out at the moment. Also the plot is slow to develop the ominous hints that are being dropped in the early sections of the story, so we will see how the story develops as more volumes are released.

-Notes: Early to start this one at the moment, give it a while. I can't stress enough how lovely the full color is in this one.

8/10          (Slaying the immortal, were gods and men have failed.)

Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn

Type: Anime

Status: Ongoing

Premise: 3 years after the terrorist attack that destroyed humanities first space based colony, Banagher Link a normal boy living in a space colony under construction with aspirations to do something with his life saves a young girl after she falls. Now on the run from both the military and terrorist groups he is forced to pilot a strange prototype mobile suit in hope that the mysterious information known as "Laplace's Box" hidden within it can stop the brewing conflict.

Thoughts: Filmed in the 50 minute mini movie format this is a treat to watch. As we have come to expect from the Gundam franchise this anime has stunning visual effects and music. The release schedule for this title is agonizingly slow and will only contain 6 episodes for the entire series, which makes me wonder as to how well this anime will be able to explore the world that they have created for the series.

Prose: Stunning visual effects and audio; we have come to expect a high level of quality from the Mobile Suit Gundam (Insert interesting tag word here) franchises and Unicorn does not disappoint.

Cons: The plot is rather uninspired and rushed at times making me wonder why they have decided to limit themselves to only 6 episodes. The Gundam franchise has been around for a long time so the plot lines are starting to become predictable.

-Notes: Dubbed. At the time of me writing this there are only 3 episodes released after starting in March 2010, with a new episode being released every 6 months. The release schedule is abhorrently slow so get comfy.

     
7.5/10          (Is it bad that the main machine is the one I like the least?)

Strike Witches

Type: Anime

Status: Complete (12 episodes)

Premise: Hitler is dead; killed in one of the first attacks by the Neuroi. These mysterious aliens have come to earth and begun systematically annihilating the human race and the combined military might of the planet is pushed to the breaking point, this is the second world war. But all is not lost, scientists have perfected the magic engine which allowed people that poses magical ability to combat the Neuroi threat; these young girls from across the globe have formed the 501st Joint Fighter Wing an elite air command charged with the annihilation of the invading Neuroi. Together they are the first and best line of defense that humanity has to offer, they are The Strike Witches.

Thoughts: This was an odd one. Between the anthropomorphous teenage girls fighter planes and the rampant flashing of animated undergarments you end up thinking that the main plot is of secondary importance most of the time. I give this story great praise for its originality and interesting use of timeline but the plot leaves something to be desired.

Proes: Interesting ideas in this story, between the Neuroi, magic, fighter planes and many different themes you will enjoy the setting for its nostalgic yet original ideas.

Cons: The plot is..... unimportant. The writers wanted to show off their idea of anthropomorphous girls and the undergarments that followed, but had a hard time coordinating it with any meaningful plot development.

-Notes: Fully dubbed. Each of the main witches is actually representing one of their countries ace fighter pilots from WW2 along with their striker units design reflecting the fighter that they became legends in.

7.5/10          (And not one of the main characters wares pants....)

Corpse Princess

Type: Anime

Status: Complete ( 26 Episodes)

Premise: When a human dies filled with regret and strong obsession they may not remain dead. Shikabane are near immortal monster born from these negative emotions and are driven to murder an destroy to fill the void that these desires leave them with, but some Shikabane whose desires can be controlled fight against these monsters along with their bonded monks. These young women will fight for a chance at eternal peace one enemy at a time, they are Shikabane Hime.

Thoughts: This anime was compelling as it slowly developed its dark and twisted story-line, the characters loved and lost with equal measure as the plot twisted and turned. The action sequences are completely over the top and laugh in the face of physics but are a spectacle to behold. A dark drama dealing with obsession and desire. 

Pros: Deep character development really brings you into the twisted world of the Shikabane and tells a story that will have you in the palm of your hand from beginning to end.

Cons: This is a high violence, bloodshed and twisted piece of work so be prepared for a mature viewing experience.

-Notes: Fully dubbed.

8.5/10          (I can count the number of times she reloads on my fingers...)

Toradora!

Type: Anime

Status: Complete (25 episodes)

Premise: Jyuji Takasu is a brilliant student who is into cleaning, cooking and his studies; unfortunately he has the eyes of a murderer and strikes fear into the hearts of all who look at him. Taiga Aisaka is a tinny little girl with the disposition of a wild animal, she flies into rages at the slightest provocation and packs one hell of a punch despite her small size; she has become infamous around the school and has received the nick name "The Palm Top Tiger". Ryuji likes Taiga's best friend Minori and Taiga likes Ryuji's friend Kitamura but both are hopeless when it comes to the opposite sex being unable to even speak to their crushes, so enlisting each others help they devise a devilish scheme...

Thoughts: I normally don't go for these types of anime, but I absolutely loved this one. It was great, I loved the characters and the entire plot rolled seamlessly from one arc to another without any kind of forced plot development. One of the most natural anime I have ever watched.

Prose: Characters, plot, interactions among each other and the comedy are all perfect with absolutely no bad moments. The entire anime slowly shifts into a more serious drama the longer you watch and never feels jarring.

Cons: The entire anime is character driven with allot of talking about each others feelings, so not everyone will enjoy this one.

-Notes: Subbed only. There is only one fight scene in the anime and it was amazing, not super powers just old fashioned schoolyard brawl.

8.5/10          (Just let the bird die already.)

Sengoku Armours

Dance on the Vampire Bund

Type: Anime & Manga

Status: Anime - Complete (12 episodes)     Manga - Ongoing

Premise: Vampires are reel and they walk among us. Mina Tepes queen of the vampires reveals to the world the existence of vampires and by purchasing a small land development just off the shore of Japan for the cost of paying off the debt of the national government she will form the first colony of vampires as its own independent state within Japan. This "Bund" will welcome all vampires from around the world to live in freedom in accordance to their nature, but not all welcome this grand new vista of change. The story follows Mina Tepes and her body guard Akira as forces on both sides threaten to undo the grand dream that the Bund represents.

Thoughts: WARNING: VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED! This anime/manga may contain: Graphic depictions of violence/nudity/mature themes/pedofilia/blood/gore/racism/coarse language/gender confusion/bestiality. Trust me I warned you. 

Having said all that I will move on, after the initial shock of nude preteen vampire princess I was able to enjoy this anime (and the subsequent manga) for its interesting characters and classic monsters in an urban setting. This anime is a nice recreation of an already well laid out genre of the vampire story. It keeps enough elements of classic litrature to satisfy the old guard but tweekd certain elements to give it its own rout to follow. 

Prose: A truthful recreation of the classic vampire story. I enjoyed the monster movie feel along with the well established rules governing both the politics and powers of the series.

Cons: ...... This is the first time I have ever needed to put a WARNING label into my reviews..... take that as you will.

-Notes: Anime is completely dubbed and followed the manga faithfully until the final act at which point it starts to deviate away and the manga continue on after the anime finishes. You require a certain mind set to watch this anime, at a certain point you are able to filter out the nudity and violence and simply view it as plot and not something deviant.

8/10          (So it's not child pornography if its animated..... not even censored.)

Summer Wars

Type: Movie

Status:

Premise: After accidentally breaking the encryption code for OZ (an online mass networking program that has defectively taken over all functions of the internet) Kenji Koiso a prodigal math student and part time data processor inadvertently had his account hacked and used to take over the internet (yes the entire thing). Now Kenji must scramble to fix his mistake before the police arrest him or his "girl friends" parents figure it out and kill him for deceiving them.

Thoughts: I personally enjoyed this movie tremendously, it had many interwoven plots that all held significance to the overall story when held separately but came together to form a well rounded story arc. 

Prose: Well animated and voiced with an interesting interplay between 2 different art styles (real world/ internet). The visual style of OZ along with all of the avatars were exquisitely well done with some truly memorable characters.

Cons: This movie was shockingly similar in both plot and execution to the Digimon movie. Whether intentional or not the plot has so many similarities that you can actually match individual scenes almost point for point, I still enjoyed the movie (possibly even more than the Digimon one) but it is rather odd that copy write has not been enforced.

-Notes: Dubbed. A wonderful program that I highly recommend.

8.5/10          (Always clear your browsing history.)

Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust

Type: Movie

Status: 2 completed (1985 & 2000)

Premise: In a post apocalyptic world were humans and mythological creatures wander the wastes of civilization praying on one another, the life of a bounty hunter has never been so good. Among these rough and tumble groups of mercenaries, hunters, cut throtes and murderers one man stands above all other as the strongest among them; known simply as D he is a half vampire who will work for anyone... provided with appropriate compensation of course.

Thoughts: This is a rich setting that blends old west/classic horror/Lovecraftien horror/monster movies and fantasy settings together to create this dark and twisted view of the future that is not quite like anything I have ever seen before. 

Prose: Rich setting with great animation and voice acting. It is a great movie that is well paced and stresses the points that are impotent.

Cons: We are not told allot about the setting beyond what we can glean from the actions of the characters and what happens around them, this results in a discrepancy at times were you feel like you have missed a key plot nuance or the characters are rushing the plot. This may be due to a lack of experience on my part in this setting so take it as you will.

-Notes: Fully dubbed. There are 2 movies in the Vampire Hunter D franchise, one produced in 1985 was so poorly animated I was forced to abandon it and never completed more than half the movie. Bloodlust is the second movie produced in 2000 and benefited from the TREMENDOUS improvement to graphics.

7.5/10     (Talk to the hand. No really do it.)

Demon King Daimao

Type: Anime

Status: Complete (12 episodes)

Premise: Upon entrance into magic academy all students must perform an aptitude test to determine their future careers, this test just so happens to be magical by nature allowing it to accurately predict the job you will eventually receive. Akuto Sai is baffled when his future career is predicted to be the Demon King, the leader of darkness who attempted to destroy the world in a catastrophic war several years previous. Now Akuto must learn magic faster than his classmates in order to fight them off as they try to stop him from fulfilling his destiny. Along with him are a group of ridiculous girls all interested in him for different reasons and his pet dragon who belonged to the old Demon King.

Thoughts: This anime was rather hilarious, between the great characters and utterly ridiculous situations the main story worked slowly behind the scenes culminating in a huge 3 episode plot fest to wrap up the anime.

Prose: It was hilarious, plain and simple you will watch this show for the humor and vary little else. The interactions between main characters are hilarious to watch as distinct personalities clash together to disastrous (and funny) effect.

Cons: This series has the feeling of being a giant collection of filler episodes, but in the end it all comes together to make the final push to the finale. Allot of the plot development is so outlandish that you might initially discount it as filler but in the end it all comes back to make the final episodes one were the magic power is flying free and the plot which appears to have lagged up until this point is flying by faster than we can process it.

-Notes: Fully dubbed. There are scenes of animated nudity and ALLOT of sexual innuendo in this one; take that how you will.

7.5/10     (AAAAANNNNDD the naked girl is flying again...)

Vinland Saga

Type: Manga

Status: Ongoing

Premise: The vikings were a fearsome worrier people pillaging and conquering all who stood against them. Thornfin son of Thors has been seeking revenge against the man who killed his father since he was 6 years old, his skills are tremendous but he is not a true warrior without the heart that beats in every vikings chest. This is his story.

Thoughts: This story is interesting but lacked a compelling reason to continue reading it. Every time a new plot device is introduced seemingly screaming to be developed it is simply placed aside with only a passing glance. In shot this story lacks many of the story line aspects that make the Anime/Manga genre so compelling to most of us, we have a uni-dimensional main character and a linear plot without any interesting twists or turns.

Prose: Great action and a clean and uncomplicated plot that almost writes itself.

Cons: The entire series is one dimensional, it never really evolves from its first chapter and a canny reader will always be able to guess the next series of events making the plot bland and uninspiring.

-Notes: A lot of slavery and death in this one, we are dealing with vikings here so rapping and pillaging is the name of the game. Be mindful of the duality the writer uses when working with the idea of slavery, he demonstrates a remarkable skill here by showing us that not only the body can be a slave but also the mind and heart. I will no longer be following this manga due to lack of interest.

6.5/10          (THOOOOOOORRRRRRR!)

Blue Dragon Ral Grado

Type: Manga

Status: Complete (29 chapters)

Premise: Humanity is under attack from the realm of shadows. To survive in the world of light these two dimensional beings must inhabit living things from our world to use as vessels becoming one of three types of host; 1) a parasite who will use its masters shadow as a medium to manifest itself. 2) a mutagen who will confer some of the power of shadow onto its owner, corrupting them with evil intentions. 3) a cannibal who will devour the host body and soul. In all cases the evil shadows are solely interested in the slaughter of all humanity. Ral is a child who was inhabited by a shadow from the time of his birth and imprisoned within a sealed cage were no light could enter in order to seal the shadows power having only his tutor to talk with and a shadow whispering in his ear. After 15 years of captivity he is released  in the final stages of the war between the two realms, humanity is on the brink of annihilation and their sole hope is this child raised in the dark.

Thoughts: This is an amusing anime with an interesting set of rules regarding the shadows. The plot is both dark and twisted and completely hilarious at the same time mostly due to Ral and his "discovery" of the outside world. You will be able to enjoy this story from two different perspectives, the dark and vicious action packed horror that it slips into or the funny action adventure that it pulls of most of the time.

Prose: Action, comedy and world building is all top notch with good characters that you enjoy.

Cons: There are some rather bad characters as well, they just seam to lack the polish that the main group seams to have which detracts from the second half of the story line.

-Notes: Do not mistake this for the cartoon by the same name, this is a completely original work that appears only in the manga format. Nudity and suggestive scenes are common and even used as plot devices at times.... take that as you will.

7/10          (Not saving the world, just the part of it with the boobs.)

My-HiME

Type: Anime & Manga

Status: Complete (26 episodes)

Premise: 12 girls have been selected as inheritors of amazing powers to control a personal beast to fight for them, these "children" battle all who oppose their masters the HiME. Now 300 years after the last HiME was chosen this new generation must decide the fate of the world.

Thoughts: This anime has a good premise with excellent character interaction and well balanced action, romance and heartbreak. The thing is this show was hamstrung by the writers, it fails in several places throughout the plot were the logical thing is completely ignored and the entire series of events seems forced and contrived. We have a good outline here but it lacks a cohesive plot to string it all together.

Prose: Excellent characters; this story runs on human emotion and the writers managed to convey this exceptionable well, this is taken to scary highs at certain points with some VARY messed up characters near the end but sometimes its just plain fun to watch someone self destruct isn't it?

Cons: Contrived plot; plain and simple this anime makes a few to many leaps of logic during its plot developments along with the "god complex" of the HiME powers it becomes difficult to take this story seriously even though it was meant to be a serious drama.

-Notes: This one was difficult to find, it is on neither of the sites I usually use and required some searching in order to find. The anime is completely dubbed with good picture quality. There is a spin off series to this named My-Otome, it uses all of the same characters in a radically redesigned setting in a distant future. It is rather interesting to watch the old characters interact in a completely new environmental and it is worth a watch due to it being at least as good as My-Hime.

6.5/10          (Aww... A happy ending... HOW THE HELL DID THAT HAPPEN!)

Mother Keeper

Type: Manga

Status: Ongoing

Premise: After a worldwide Apocalypse humanity has encased themselves in an entirely self sufficient dome in order to ride out the disaster, but not everyone can live in this EDEN. Ricalna Forde is a resistance fighter trying to destroy the central CPU of Eden in order to cripple the city and force a compromise between those who live inside and those who don't, after a disastrous attack where he encountered a guardian of the CPU he was killed and the attack failed. 10 years later he wakes up not having aged a day, he has been enlisted as a Mother Keeper, a guardian of the CPU and now is forced to fight the same people he once fought alongside.

Thoughts: This manga has an interesting feel to it were our main character has absolutely no control over what happens to him, and the only way he can survive is to continue being useful while desperately looking for a way to escape. Along with a stark contrast of plot lines between inside of eden and outside (inside is political intrigue and shady dealings / outside is lawless and survival of the fittest) makes for an interesting reed.

Prose: Original plot (manga wise) that uses interesting character interactions as a way to propel the conflict without it becoming repetitive or forced. 

Cons: Atrocious translation really hurts the manga with words out of order/misspelled or even entirely missing and costs the entire story its fluidity, its hard to appreciate the characters when they sound like English as a second language students.

-Notes: It only has 23 chapters as I write this so enough to start reading and be introduced to the main plot devices but then you must settle in for the long haul as the new chapters are released.

7.5/10          (It's Brink! Who had the idea first I don't know...)

Beelzebub

Type: Anime & Manga

Status: Ongoing

Premise: Oga, king among delinquents and thugs gets himself in over his head after picking up an abandoned baby at the side of the river, who is afraid of a baby right? His child rearing skills as well as his fighting talents are put to the ultimate test once he is told that this is the lord of hell's sun Beelzebub, prince of hell and the one destined to destroy the world of man. Now he must fight off assassins, demons, hoodlums and rivals all without letting go of baby Beel.

Thoughts: I  found this one to be a good laugh that never took itself seriously, lots of fist fights and magic power enhanced melee's all geared to be over the top and hilarious.

Prose: Decent action, great sense of humor and a simple enough plot of steadily leveling enemies. This one is not overly complicated.

Cons: Complete lack of serious interaction and a predictable plot progression makes this one ill suited for serious readers interested only in plot.

-Notes: Subbed only. I read the manga for this one but the anime is coming along.

7/10     (Doomsday in diapers)

Murder Princess

Type: Anime

Status: Ongoing

Premise: A fearsome female mercenary switches bodies with the princess and together they must retake