The live-action adaptation of this classic known to many as “Samurai X” has been doing the rounds online. From mere cast and script description to actual photos and even a teases trailer to go with it all, but how is it coming up?

Well, the cast seems fine

This is due to the fact that they picked what seems to be the right guy for Kenshin, a man named Takeru Sato. Sure, he’s 22 and looks like a regular pretty boy, but then you have to consider the fact that he has done a good job of playing the part of a samurai in NHK’s historic film “Ryoma den.” Plus we have to take into account that he is a fan of the original manga, at least going by his original account, so can we rest at ease and give this thing a pass?

No, not yet

Kenshin looks as good as any human being will look playing the role in a serious fashion, but the other characters leave A LOOOOT to wish for, particularly Aoki who will be playing Sanosuke Sagara. We’ll give the guy credit for his acting chops (The Last Message Umizaru, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time) but the fact is that when he shows up in the trailer he looks less like Sanosuke, and more like a guy who threw on a robe before the big Halloween party and decided to call it a “Kung fu costume.”

Megumi is being played by Aoi who has shown her worth in Hana & Alice, Honey and Clover and she happens to pull off a very decent looking Megumi if truth be told, which makes it all the more depressing to see that Kaoru is being played by a not-so-similar Emi Takei. But enough of all this, there is one question that needs answering.

How does the teaser look?

Not bad, really. At first it seems like a really crappy cash-in on a beloved franchise that compromises on the violence more than the anime ever did (seriously, the sword play looks bad and Kenshi’s look doesn’t hold up too well) but then we see Kenshin jumping off a wall and everything is okay in the world!

Honestly, I see no real reason not to be excited about this even if it might turn to be a crappy movie.

Go check out the trailer on our FB wall if you wanna see for yourself.

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This is the one show that people always bring up when someone speaks about Pokemon, so why don’t we make a piece on it for nostalgia’s sake? Today won’t be much different from the article we had yesterday. The only major difference is perhaps the show we speak of and the way we do it.

This show was great

Sure, at first glance it appears to be a simple Pokemon rip off with the whole monsters part of the title and the fact that the premise sounded the same. But the fact is that this show was better than Pokemon in several ways (not to mention that it came out at about the same time, so not a rip off, I guess). The biggest one of them being the fact that it was bit more mature and included several topics on Pokemon’s “No no” list such as death and the frailty of life. Not to mention enough angst to fuel all of its future incarnations.

Other things that made it different were pretty apparent from the get go, such as the character design, the way the story played out (so the premise sounding the same is actually bull) and one big thing….

It actually grew with us!

Or it at least tried to. See the first two incarnations of Digimon were probably the best due to the fact that it dealt with the same groups of kids and the way their adventures within the digital world affected them. It had an overarching plot that was better and way more clever than what a “kid’s show” had any right to be.

The overall plot of the first season was that a group of kids in Japan found themselves dragged into a new weird world, a world that seems to have a certain degree of connection to their own and yet is completely alien and populated with creatures known as Digimons. And here is where it became awesome. At first it was “Yay, adventure with cool new pets that we found!” and then their anxiety starts to prey on them. Things like being away from home and their parents’ support, care and love. These were kids and as much as they tried to keep calm at times they found themselves scared and alone in a weird new world where they had to face new challenges and come out as unlikely heroes.

All the main leads were well rounded characters and behaved accordingly, even their Digimon were great. See, they worked differently than Pokemon as they pretty much were sentient beings being raised and cared for by their “tamers” and they each had different set of traits that made them stand out, even though most of the time they were mere projections of the human character they followed.

So, we had a smart show that dared to be different and present a more adult world filled with fantastic creatures and it even had a Matrix-like twist, granted it could be seen from the first episode, but the characters still had to figure it out and it was awesome. So what went wrong?

They tried to go Pokemon on us

The show added so many Digivolving forms to the characters that even the big baddies started to seem substantially more insignificant. The last good season was the third one, where they took the idea of Digimons and humans coming together into a single being and turned it into an interesting premise. One that got subsequently shot to hell by Season 4, the one which counts a butterfly-based Digimon in lingerie as its only highlight (a fact made kinda disturbing by the thought of it being a 14 year old girl).

The show simply started to die after this, as they focused more about sending the new characters on a somewhat generic journey to meet new Digimons, fight them, maybe even acquire new powers and undermine the mythology of the older show rather than expanding it.

Digimon was always about exploring a new world and the way it linked to our own, but then it sold out and changed. The show distorted its formula so badly that it simply became little less than a brand name with new iterations, one more disjointed from the original as the last.

Should I watch it?

Yes, watch up to the third season and enjoy what could very well have been one of the best titles of its time simply due to the fact that it could handle tone, phasing and atmosphere well. Plus, there are some interesting characters and a plot that’s equal parts cheesy and fun.

Just remember NOTHING and I MEAN NOTHING ever happens after the third season. It simply didn’t continue afterwards and all those other seasons are parallel universes, or bad acid trips.

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Do you really REMEMBER Pokemon? I certainly do, and not just because it’s still going strong. No, I remember it because it captivated me as a young teen and gave me some of the best games of my youth. But above all else, I remember the anime.

When I was your age…

There were only 151 Pokemon and I caught ‘em all! It was also the time when the show begun to run its course and became an immediate media phenomenon. It was a great anime with a likable cast of characters, a nice and creative setting, and an art style that was easy enough to draw for its fans (we all at one point or another drew custom Pokemon!)

And that’s what really makes me sad. See, even as a kid I could tell there was something odd with the show. I watched it daily, played Red and Blue, eventually moving to Yellow, Green, Silver and Gold (yes, all my characters were named Ash and my rival was Gary). Yet, being such a sucker for its merchandise and the games that bore its logos I still knew the show was going nowhere.

I woke up to a series of facts, the most annoying one being that Ash could defeat the Elite 8, and their equivalents in other regions, and get no more acknowledgement for his feats that a very rare and occasional “Hey, it’s that guy!” The second one was also a realization that nagged me, he would never grow up nor have kids with Misty.

Yes, this is corny as hell but my friends and I loved the theory of Ash and Misty getting together and then have the following seasons deal with their child growing as a Pokemon master. We all hoped for something that never quite happened.

The show wouldn’t grow with us

We were slowly drifting away from the Pokemania phase, either because of Digimon or other shows. The local channels still showed the new episodes and we watched them, but the games felt old hat and repetitive, not to mention that pretty much everyone I knew had realized the hardest truth about the show.

Ash was a mere vehicle to justify the introduction of new Pokemon, and we would never get to be him. All the games introduced us to areas that were presented to us at roughly the same time as the show, plus all the Pokemon found within. But we were never Ash, and he now had this annoying habit of letting go of old Pokemon and companions in order to trade them off for new ones.

He never caught them all, and our suspension of disbelief was strained by the fact that Professor Oak would constantly forget about the existence of the Pokemon presented in other seasons. Not to mention that everyone would act as if the new regions that they seemingly pulled out the show’s continuity’s ass were known to them.

So where are you going with this?

I guess it’s nothing but a simple retrospective of an old fan. I followed the show until the Jotto Journey and realized that the games and other media would always be there. A part of me felt as if they weren’t meant for me now, though.

A new generation of Pokemon masters would take the torch and find their own Legendary Pokemon but Missign0, Mew, Mewtwo and Lugia would always be the best for me… Well, maybe not Missign0, he was a massive game breaking douche.

I know that the games are still fun and numerous, but I feel that the sense of wonder I got from them is gone and that the new characters Pokemon now had their turn to shine and I hope that a game with such a deceptively simple formula is still around for years to come.

And to close let me say this: the original episodes are some of the best care free and fun moments to be found in anime, even if they haven’t aged all that well.

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The major differences become clear from the get-go on both works, since the protagonists have different traits and personalities:

The manga’s Kaneda is more of a selfish jerk, who’s driven by lust and vengeance rather than an honest desire to save his friend. He’s shown to be rather corrupt and amoral and only becomes a “better” person as the events in the story unfold. He starts off as a simple teen minding his own business, delving in drugs, having sex with his girlfriend and hitting the streets with his gang is what life is all about. The manga’s Kaneda is crude and spiteful but he grows into a more mature person with the death of his friends and the destruction of Tokyo, not to mention his growing concern for Kei.

Kaneda is a more stalwart and somewhat stable character in the anime. He still goofs around and loses his temper but he’s bit more centered. Whereas in the manga he still has a big mouth in spite of showing great character growth, but which one is the better Kaneda?

The manga one goes deeper into the character’s motifs, but it feels rather vague at points since the plot jumps back and forth with his goals and then takes him out completely out of the picture for a bit. The anime is a bit more focused on a single facet of his personality (due to its short length) but it still tries to jam in his quirky personality and heroic demeanor towards the end. The film’s Kaneda is a bland lifeless board next to his manga counterpart, and he’s an amazing character on his own right, which is to say the Manga takes it up to eleven.

As for Tetsuo, he shares similar traits in both works. And by that we mean that he’s a sociopath with an inferiority complex that lets loose once he gains an advantage. In the manga it’s clear that Tetsuo has always seen himself as weak and was willing to put others in his position to empower himself. He was a rotten person who was corrupted further by the power and drugs, the last of which becoming a basic form of sustenance for him once the pain from his power began to take a toll.

He’s more of a victim of circumstance in the manga than he is in the anime. Even after bringing about the full potential of his powers, he was corrupted beyond redemption. He ruled over an empire born of his lust for power and had every vice available to him, only after freeing his mind of the drugs he gains a bit of control but it’s too little too late. He turned down what little a chance for redemption he had and ended up messing himself up.

However, the Anime counterpart is a bit more simple and straight forward. He craves power and is more than ready to abuse it once he gets it. He plays the first stages of his awakening similarly but rather than taking out entire gangs he escapes to wreak havoc in the street and head towards Akira…for rather unclear reasons. His motivation to release Akira is never too clear, he simply feels called towards him and wishes to obtain some of his power. But we’ll have more on that later.

In the film, Tetsuo comes off as a petty ass. He simply wishes to be at the top and do better than the rest (especially Kaneda) so when he gets power he cherishes it and immediately abuses it. It becomes less of a clever and formulaic plot device and goes to be the essence of Tetsuo’s true personality. He comes off as a bit more evil in the manga due to the length and extension of his actions, but you can’t shake off the feeling that he’s just a victim. The film’s version is a bit better, he’s not as complex and his motivations are rather clear; he’s a petty man-child and an asshole.

The Plot

The Plot is vastly different. The manga version goes beyond the destruction brought by Akira’s release and includes him amongst the cast of characters. He becomes the Emperor of “The Great Tokyo Empire,” a group of survivors from the disaster that flocked towards Tetsuo and crew under promises of undeterred freedom and of course, power. Akira’s little more than a symbol for Tetsuo’s new kingdom, but the differences go beyond that simple fact.

The film tries to conclude in a similar note, but the last half hour is comprised by a series of messy sequences put together to close out the storyline while trying to keep some elements of the manga. In the end the anime leaves the viewer with a jumbled group comprised of symbolism and hastily finished plot. It’s still enjoyable but it suffers once you see all what the manga had in store.

Two entirely different beasts

The manga showcases many characters, some of which appear in the film under a different light, so the differences are not merely on the surface. Characters such as Chiyoko and Miyako who play a pivotal role in the events of the Manga are left out, or in the case of the later given a mere cameo appearance.

The list of missing characters could go on through a different article, as well as the different details between the plots. Hell, we could make an entire site out of it! But we won’t, so we have to wrap it up and leave you, our dear reader (our one and only), with the following:

Akira is such a rich and powerful work of fiction that you would miss out by not checking it out. It may have a rather messy plot from time to time, it may get a bit over its head with some ideas and plot lines but man, does it deliver or what? It’s a classic most deserving of being referred to as having epic proportions. Do yourself a favor and check it out in any of its forms.

I don’t have the time or motivation for both things!

Fine, then ask yourself “Do I like reading or watching stuff?” and pick one. If you don’t care about any in particular then I suggest the manga since its better when it comes to plot and characters.

It’s up to you, but whatever you do try and check it out.

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Akira started the same way many of the great ones do, with a manga. It was a title that had everything going for it. Great art (it has actual backgrounds!), an engaging plot and a very solid cast of characters being pretty much its greatest selling point. The characters actually feel real and relatable at parts where the story has gone insane.
And you better believe this manga needs something to hold you onto it, since reading it goes beyond a single lazy afternoon. The manga will take a chunk of your time away and you’ll love it, whether it is because you read slowly or you like to look at each frame.

You have good art, characters, pacing and a nice plot that’s pretty original even for today’s standards. That’s quite a feat seeing how it was Akira that set the bar for many a title to come after it.

I decided to read it, what should I expect?

If you were smart enough to pick it up then you can feel free to sit back and enjoy, I won’t spoil much of its greatness. The plot may seem clichéd but this was amongst the first of its kind, and even though many tried to emulate it over the years it still feels fresh. It’s so good in fact, that if you watched the anime and then wanted to pick it up you’ll still find plenty of surprises here.

Entire characters, plots and some amazing moments were cut out from the animated film, so you can come back to its roots and fill in the blanks. This, dear reader, is a completely different beast.

You’ll find pages that seem to go nowhere but then get built upon in a sudden twist, rewarding those attentive enough to catch on details. Sure, it occasionally likes to have a few characters pop in and out or a few plot lines to simply vanish halfway through, but it’s still really good.

There’s also something you should know, the manga is graphic to the point of making the anime pale in comparison. If it’s true that most audiences are jaded and stone-cold by the 80’s definition of graphic, but Akira was so far ahead of its time that it might still affect some readers.

This is kinda vague…

In a way it is, we simply want you to get a general feel of the manga and dive right in with what you can. Keep in mind that we are saving the plot-comparisons and such for the final piece. There’s one thing we will reveal, though, a small detail we mentioned right before this paragraph.

The manga has several sequences that were omitted from the anime and some of them were even based off a character trait or an important plot device. This was the case of the drugs and gangs.

What many would use as a simple means to glorify violence, Akira uses as a character development tool. The decaying state of society is far more obvious in the original manga as well as the main character’s motivations. This is due to the fact that the manga didn’t bother to shy away from the way of life for low class criminals, drugs and violent crimes are frequent and serve to paint the dismal reality lived by the Japan of Akira’s world.

Let’s get a bit deeper in detail

The plot of the manga includes several characters and events that were completely overlooked by the anime, and ergo it also has several underlying plot lines. It goes deeper into the relationship between the characters and shows the full consequences of Tetsuo’s awakening. Not to mention the fact that he doesn’t go from 0 to 11 in mere minutes like in the anime, but you actually experience his painful transition into the next step of evolution.

It could be argued that the plot is better in the manga; sure it can become a bit ham-fisted at times and go way over its head with symbolism but it still delivers. The manga will take you through Tetsuo’s rise to power and the growing conflict between the rebels and the Tokyo government, as well as show the devastation brought upon Tokyo by the forces at play during the story.

Hitting close to home

The manga’s packed with imagery that could be easily associated with the recent disaster, so keep in mind the fact that this was made in the 80’s and it was simply meant to be a representation of Japan’s vulnerability to disasters. Since at the end of the day, this is a pressing concern for many of its citizens and a theme that many an anime delves in to impact their audience and get a message across about civilization’s feeble nature, and that is something Akira excels at.

Stay tuned for the closing article on the cycle where we will go more in depth about the characters and some major differences pertaining the plot of both works!

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Let’s set something straight: Hollywood will do some damage to this title and there’s no way around that. People will associate the name Akira with what’s out to be a bland and spiritless cash-in. We are not here to discuss that, though. Other sites have already taken up arms to explain why it’ll suck to see it made into a live-action adaptation, but we won’t do that.

We simply want to tell you that you can’t go wrong with Akira as far as anime goes, and that’s basically it. Sure there are several opportunities to make a long winded article on how a live action adaptation of the film wouldn’t work, but you need to be familiar with the original in order to understand why.

Akira is a classic. It has aged very well and it boasts some amazing animation, character design and a trippy soundtrack. It has aged so well that you could dare say that it looks smoother than some recent titles. The styling and themes may seem clichéd and out of place to young Otaku, but there’s a reason for that….this was made in the 80’s baby!

The film was released mid-way through 1988 and it can still put some modern day films to shame. The plot is a bit messy (more on that later) but it’s still good enough to keep your ass on its seat. It also helps that the action is pretty sweet too; having an entire city vanish into oblivion is pretty rad, man.

TETSUUUUOOOO

The storyline followed by the film differs from the manga greatly and yet it manages to reach a similar conclusion. The setting is the same though, so let’s get that set in stone:

The world of Akira is set in alternate universe where a devastating explosion wipes out most of Tokyo on December 6, 1992 (July 16, 1988 for the film). The devastation is chalked up to a nuclear weapon and this in turn serves to kick-start World War III. The story itself takes place nearly 40 years later in Neo-Tokyo, an artificial island built away from the epicenter of destruction, where gang violence and terrorism wreak havoc upon the populace. The bustling metropolis is a crime ridden hell-hole ran by an oppressive and heavy militarized government that faces off against groups of insurgents fighting not only for freedom, but to reveal the truth behind Tokyo’s destruction.

It is here that a gang of teens led by Shotaro Kaneda live their lives, fighting rival gangs on their motorcycles and committing petty crimes for the hell of it. One fateful night, Tetsuo Shima, one of Kaneda’s gang members, and a close friend of his, run into a strange kid while riding the bridge that connects Neo-Tokyo to the old city. This kid displays the features of an old man and makes use of a strange power, causing Tetsuo to crash.
The incident awakens a latent power within him that sets forward the events of the story, as a simple teenager finds himself trusted beyond humanity and into a state of transcendence akin to Godhood.

KANEEEDAAAA

The protagonist of the animated film is Kaneda, who sets out on a quest to find Tetsuo after he’s taken away by the military. He meets up with Kei, a girl siding with the insurgents and one of the key players in the story. It’s through her contacts that Kaneda comes to learn that Tetsuo’s captors have a shady agenda that’s in his best interest to stop. Not only because of his friend, but because he might get a shot with Kei if he succeeds.

So in one hand you have Kaneda, who’s trapped within a conflict that he chose to make his own in order to save his friend, while in the other you find Tetsuo, who has let his newfound powers corrupt him and is using them to his own gain and pleasure. Going as far as to turn on his former friends and putting the whole world on the brink of disaster. For you see, the destruction of Tokyo was no mere accident, but the work of a very powerful child with psychic abilities, just like the one Tetsuo met.

It’s up to Kaneda and Kei to put an end to Tetsuo’s madness before he causes a new tragedy by awakening the dormant Akira, the most powerful of those with the gift and the one behind the incident that started it all.

Sounds nice!

The film gets a tad jumpy as it tries to fit the massive manga (Six volumes with an average of 300 pages each) into two hours, so it has to skip over some plot lines and even characters in its entirety. This is painfully obvious when it comes to the eponymous Akira, who only gets a passing glance in the film as plot device rather than becoming a central character of the story, as he did in the manga.

The story itself is really compressed to the point where after the first hour or so you are still wondering how it’ll end, then the insanity takes over. And you know what? It’s awesome, the climax of the film is a simplified version of the manga’s and yet it feels like it had a fair share of action and enough unique elements going for it as to make it a pleasant surprise for those who read the manga.

This film gets a good recommendation due to its animation, music (and general sound) as well as the character design; the only down-side is that it feels like an overly simplified version of the manga. Some scenes feel as if they had to be shoehorned in to satisfy readers, while others twist the characters around in a such a way that the manga’s followers might be turned off from it.

So, where’s the overall comparison?

This is the first article in a series three (a Trilogy if you will). We will review the manga next and then compare the differences between the two, which is not to say that you skip on one and favor the other. The Akira story is filled with enough elements to create a thought inducing action packed title. We plan to honor that before it’s obliterated in the realm of popular culture by the upcoming Hollywood adaptation.

Details as say, the differences in the plot (specially the ending) will be saved for the third article so hey, hope we write them in quick succession.

Stay tuned for more!

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Bokurano tells the story of a group of kids (too old to be called children for the most part) who go on a field trip to the beach for the summer. There they find a strange man by the name of Kokopelli who tells the group of kids that he’s a videogame designer and needs new volunteers to try out his game. Kokopelli enthralls them with promises of trying out a unique game in which they will become heroes, and all they have to do is enter a mysterious contract by touching a metallic plate and they’ll be allowed to pilot a gigantic mech to fight against Earth’s enemies.
They later wake up in the beach thinking it was all a weird collective dream…which is not a good thing after being approached in a secluded cave by a creepy man. Their doubts are cleared after two giant robots appear motionless by the coast later that evening, giving the children a glimpse of their future.

After a lot of hype and amazement, they find themselves inside their own robot which they promptly nickname “Zearth.” The battle begins as Kokopelli takes the reins and teaches children how to pilot the robot only to disappear moments later and leave them in the care of Dung Beetle (the Japanese character is Koyemshi), who then proceeds to teleport the kids away and explain to them what will happen next. They are required to board the robot and fight against the “invaders” in order to save the Earth.

This of course paints the title as little nothing than a classic shonen; ‘bunch of kids meet mysterious stranger, get super powers, and save the world! That is until you learn the truth of Zearth’s nature, the one that Kokopelli kept from the children…It’s a robot that runs on life force. And as the first eager pilot finds out, each battle means one of them dies at the end whether they win or lose.

It’s not what it seems

The story is amazingly dark as it delves into the issues faced by these kids, each one knowing full well that one of them will die in order to preserve their planet until none of them are left. One of the best elements of this plot device shows itself greatly in the manga. Once a pilot dies, the next one hears a little ring and is given a few days to live the rest of his/her life on Earth. They can choose to keep it a secret or to let everyone know, but it comes to an end as soon as
Zearth shows up and the 24 hour counter for the battle begins.

The anime version is different. The pilots get a tattoo which represents their next enemy and the episodes are a bit rushed, so you never get the building tension between the cast of characters and the rest of their world. It’s an amazing story in the manga as they all know they will die no matter what, since not entering Zearth means their planet will be destroyed.

See, another catch of the game is that the pilots must win in order to save their planet as losing means that it will be destroyed, alongside every single living thing on it. The details behind the game are quickly explained in the anime, but the manga does a great work of delving deep into it and provides a series of twists as the true nature behind Zearth’s origin comes to light, which is something we don’t plan on spoiling for you. So go read or watch it, and for your sake avoid reading anything else on it as other reviews tend to jump straight into spoilers.

Anime or Manga?

The anime version is very fast paced when it comes down to the story, having a rather brief 24 episodes that do their best to convey the action, drama, and general plot. This comes with a problem for people who are making the jump from the manga into the anime, as some things just don’t fit quite as well as the characters’ reasons and past are very briefly glimpsed over in their respective episodes, creating a somewhat convulsed chain of events that seems to push everything in order to fit the most of the manga’s material into the anime. And you know what? It works. It really manages to make the best of the manga’s long story and misses out on the minor details, though these details become important when put together and that’s where the manga does it best.

When you go to read the manga you’ll find a rather bulky story that moves rather slow at points, but manages to convey all the dread that comes for the group of kids who know find themselves with the weight of their world resting on their shoulders. All of them being fully aware that they will fight to the dead not for themselves but for others, so you then indulge in their last moments with more depth and truly get to understand what they were all about, as their personalities were fleshed out better in the original incarnation.

Remember when we said there was something lost in translation? There certainly is, and it’s as simple as saying that the story is more of a parallel to the manga than a direct adaptation. Some elements that added grit and darkness to the general tone of the title were watered down; so many fans complain that the anime dropped some of the strongest parts of its predecessor. On top of that is the fact that the manga’s creator pretty much told his fans to avoid the Anime entirely.

It isn’t bad, just different to the point that at the end of its run it felt as if the characters were different people at parts, but you could still find much to enjoy and have some motivation to read the manga and fill in the blanks. It’s a good story that you’ll love in all of its presentations, but whether one is superior to the other is up to you.

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[wordbay]Bokurano[/wordbay]

Not doing a retrospective of this classic would be a bad mistake! Even if these days it seems pointless due to the show’s most recent “reboot” in the form of the films. Neon Genesis Evangelion is as influential as it is popular and some would even go and call it over rated; others would call it a masterwork….there’s no middle ground here, folks. Hate it or love it.

The Second Impact:

Neon Genesis Evangelion (otherwise known as Evangelion) came during a time when many saw anime as an obscure form of entertainment clawing its way out of clichés and bad dubbing. It was the year 1995 when a giant purple monstrosity took the anime viewing world by storm. A year when the SNES wasn’t retro, and the internet was not the never ending fountain of fan dubbing it is now a days.

Evangelion was regarded as ground breaking and imaginative due to its presentation of philosophy and how it managed to give us scenes of bloody carnage that could be analyzed as food for thought as they were presented in the same frame of interpersonal conflict and emotional issues that the main cast was.

The concept of the anime can be discussed long enough to dedicate several websites to it, but keeping it simple was an idea born from its creator, Hideaki Anno’s, struggle to deal with depression that turned into solid gold at the hands of Gainax (a studio many anime fans probably wouldn’t know much about if it wasn’t for Evangelion.)

Evangelion was different and wild, mixing in Judeo-Christian imagery along with action and a cast plagued by a series of mental diseases and issues. It was simply unexpected to see something like this at the time; it catered to teenagers that liked action, young adults who loved either drama or deep thoughtful analysis, but most of all it had the key elements to become memorable.

Welcome To The World Of Tomorrow! (As Seen From The 90′s)

The back setting for the story takes us to a post apocalyptic earth in the future and the ‘far away’ year 2000 (that’s right kids, there was once a time when you could call that the future, now get off my lawn) where the appearance of beings identified as “Angels” triggered a cataclysmic event known as the “Second Impact” which caused the northern polar ice cap to be obliterated. That led to major flooding as well as changing the global climate and nearly causing the extinction of the human race.

The world has changed and so has Japan (being a part of the world and all) which is now a land that is almost completely underwater and home to the location where the bulk of the show takes place; Tokyo 3, a fortress city built as a defense against the Angels and NERVs headquarters, but what good is a defense without the ability to strike back? That is where the EVAS jump in the mechas of the show that were created to stop the Angels that (as per an ancient prophesy) will come individually with the objective of starting off the third impact and finally whipping out humanity…or so it seems.

More Than Meets The Eye

Evangelion is a hate it or love it show for various reasons. Chiefly amongst them is the fact that the dysfunctional cast seems to be strongly developed and filled with colorful characters and yet we get stuck with a whiny uncomfortable and somewhat weak lead, Shinji Ikari, who in retrospect serves as a nice contrast to the strong willed Azuka Langley Soryu (we are well aware of the name change, but this wasn’t the case in the show) and the deadpan Rei Ayanami.

The one problem with Shinji is that when compared to many a male lead or even the rest of the cast he seems to get in the way too much. Perhaps it’s as simple as saying that he was designed to be hated (a point he is sure you get by the end of the show) but in spite of this, the rest of the characters, EVAS, and Angels included are nothing less than excellent.

Evangelion can get confusing sometimes, as the episodes went from being a simple mecha show to move deeper into the philosophical issues that linger in the back of the main character’s mind. This is not necessarily bad, seeing how there was never a straight mecha show to begin with; the EVAS are an element of the plot that fall into the “gets increasingly confusing” bunch, but they are detailed and they were exceptionally great for their time. Bio-mechanical mechas that…well, let’s not spoil it too much for those three people that haven’t seen it yet, shall we?

Evangelion is a good show. Some may say the anime is over rated but in reality it is just because it hit the mainstream culture really hard and jumped into the spotlight and allowed us clear view of its flaws. Yes, flaws. The show was flawed because of many budget cuts and production hiccups and these flaws become increasingly painfully clear as the show reaches its ending. This may seem a bit nit-picky nowadays because of how there’s a “true” ending, about three different editions of the show and even a reboot, but back when Evangelion was brand-spanking new there were no such thing, and so this was really infuriating to some viewers.

Evangelion is an anime that may have gone a bit over its head. The many editions and the reboot show how it’s creator could never convey the story he saw in his head properly. But nothing that has been said so far points out to it being “bad”…it’s just that once you take off your nostalgia glasses you can really appreciate its flaws. The anime may seem overly elaborate and sometimes drawn out, but the story hits some key notes and many of its characters have gone to become anime legends. Simply put, Neon Genesis Evangelion is an anime that you will either hate or love with a passion.

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As it turns out, there is a widely available and relatively good DVD version of this show doing the rounds on the net. So if you can’t wait for the Blu-ray to be released (which at the moment seems unlikely) or you want the cheap easy way, you can always grab the DVD. Look at this article as a sort of retro-review as well as a regular one just in case you feel like picking it up.

As I said before, this anime came out in the mid 90’s (around 1996, to be more specific) so its style might be off putting to some, but it’ll quickly grow on you like mold on an unattended sink. The plot paints itself as a futuristic space adventure with elements of romance and comedy and not to mention self-referential humor at the expense of Otakus. The show introduces us to a future in which Earth has been at war with an alien enemy, a war which we are seemingly losing until the introduction of the advanced battleship “Nadesico” and its crew, a colorful ensemble of characters.

But that’s not all

Amongst the crew is our protagonist Akito Tenkawa, an average, mildly cowardly teen who finds himself wrapped up with the crew when he accidentally bumps into an old childhood friend, and the Nadesico’s captain, Yurika Misumaru who he decides to chase after by becoming the ship’s cook. But things go a bit out of control for him when the ship actively engages in combat with Earth’s alien enemies the “Jovian Lizards”.

Of course, like it happens to be the case in this situation, one of the Nadesico’s pilots is injured and our protagonist is set to jump into the fray and take control of one of the ship’s “Aestevalis” units (one of the big mean machines that make this mecha anime great) because as much as he really doesn’t want to, he happens to have what it takes to ride it. This sets off the start of a great show and one that manages to make you laugh without being childish.

Get yourself a copy

Many mecha anime fans will notice similarities with other titles. Akito in particular will remind them of a certain pilot who wasn’t so keen on fighting, but thats simply because this show is a parody at its core. Unlike many parodies, however, it still manages to create an unique story that is so well done and pieced together that it manages to include themes like politics, war, death and romance without looking forced or having a ham-fisted one dimensional approach. The show will elicit a few laughs from those who decide to pick up (one way or another) as well as leave behind a feeling that can only be obtained from reaching the conclusion of an epic story.

In short, this is easily one the finest shows to ever grace my TV screen, and I’m quite sure that those whose interest I picked will go to it for the mecha, watch it for the laughs and stick to it for more than just that.

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In my personal opinion, it comes down to the fact that most anime, more often than not, have long drawn out plots that tend to be character centric; Whereas Hollywood movies tend to take the idea of a character and add it to a plot for an easy cash in. When it comes down to these adaptations, they don’t seem to care much for the source material. They probably write it off as “wacky Chinese cartoons” and that’s wrong.

It just doesn’t work

Hollywood can pull off some amazing adaptations from time to time because the people working on them seemed to care. Someone had a lot of love towards the original source of the adaptation, whether it was the general media or production staff. Whatever the case, none of this applies to anime adaptations. The art style and narrative of many an anime seem to be well fitted for a movie, at least in the fans’ minds. Then, everything seems to have been lost in translation once you come out of the theater.

Most OVA’s are either spin-offs, side stories, prequels, sequels or a re-telling of the original story. What they attempt to do is take a long plot where several things come together to string a strong story. This is nigh impossible in a period of two hours. Most anime tend to develop slowly and unravel themselves to us through colorful characters and delicate metaphors. The characters are the essence of the show and not a vehicle to drive a plot forward (in most cases that is).

There’s always a chance, though

As I mentioned earlier, Hollywood sees anime as a quick cash in. Most titles picked for an adaptation are well known and have a core set of followers that will serve to feed the grinder of publicity. A lot of the people that get a hold of the titles are in to grab as much cash as possible before word of mouth beats their movie’s earnings into the ground. Anime in itself is represented as a visual medium through which its creator tries to convey a message or just show us his vision, so it’s perfectly logical that most of the time the many adaptations that come out fail to impress. They are not inspired works that try to be a reinterpretation of the original; they are simply thrown out for the fans and the mass to indulge them with some mindless entertainment.

We can only hope that one day someone will care enough to sit down and work hard to make an anime adaptation into something more than a crappy movie that takes a similar trend to that of the original. Someone who will be inspired, and won’t only make an entirely different set of characters trapped inside a convulsed (and generally awful) plot onto which to plaster a brand name for the sake of money.

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The premise of the tale is that Detective Naru, after losing the girlfriend he loved, tries to drown his sorrows with alcohol and wakes up in his partner’s bed the next day, completely unaware of anything that may have happened between the two. It seemed like the sort of story that would have plenty of romance and drama and worth the thirteen dollars, but it really, really wasn’t.

There were so many loose ends, introduced characters that were completely unnecessary to the story, locations and situations that had no progress on the ‘drama’ that the way the story is told in an extremely broken and haphazard manner makes me almost want to bet money on the fact the manga was originally supposed to be several volumes and due to whatever reason, was cut to one. It’s that incomprehensible.

For example, since Naru and his partner, Kita, are detectives, the two obviously deal with bad guys and one who was introduced was a real creepy, sleazy murderer who was being interrogated by the two. Kita mutters absently about how deadly accurate Naru is with a weapon and how the killer had been bewildered by his ability when the detective pulled a gun on him while being arrested, but the reader never saw that scene. Even worse, this potential villain or at least, obstacle, for Naru and Kita to work through was completely discarded in a matter of a few pages and never mentioned again.

Why did I read that scene? Nothing useful came from it.

Even worse, there was an adorable flashback to Kita as a little boy and how he couldn’t figure out if his parents loved him. He had a butler growing up and was insecure even at a young age about his own inability to understand love and passion, but this again was never mentioned. Why? He works like a slave as a detective when he apparently had a rich childhood? Couldn’t there be some story to that? Shouldn’t the writer have expanded more on Kita’s inability to show affection towards Naru in a more normal manner?

Several times I was so at a loss as to what I was reading, I had to turn back just to make sure I didn’t accidently skip a page or something. The beginning had such potential, everything was lined up to be quirky, uncomfortable at moments, adorable, but then a whole heap of nothing happened. It was a very unfortunate conclusion for that manga and unless you have nothing better to do with your time, I’d recommend passing on this one.

Demon Detective

Maijin Tentei Nogami Neuro is exactly as the title suggests, a demon, named Neuro, comes to the human world and disguises himself as a detective. A on bit more explanative note, Neuro has come to Earth because he feeds on mysteries and puzzles and after sating himself in the demon realm, goes after the unanswerable that humans have to offer. He is portrayed as an extremely tall and slender man, acting as an assistant to a genius girl detective named, Yako. In reality, she’s his assistant, but Neuro does not like to make a scene and draw attention to himself when it is not necessary.

First Thoughts

Never judge a book by its cover. The saying should go for anime shows too. I watched the opening to this and laughed, thinking, oh this just looks a bit goofy, but the intriguing character design for Neuro kept me watching just a few minutes more and luckily, I didn’t let such a wicked story pass me by. Neuro is an amazing protagonist! He is essentially a cruel individual, seeing humans as lesser beings and often picks on Yako and Godai, another assistant. He calls them his slaves and when telling Godai where the food was for him while Neuro and Yako left for work, he points to a bag of dog kibble. Despite his treatment of the two humans, he is still a compelling and passionate character, being rewarded with the audience’s sympathy quite easily, I believe.

A Slow Start

The anime starts off a bit slow, where each episode portrays a typical mystery, which Yako and Neuro solve and then he eats the essence of, but frankly, I enjoyed it quite a bit. Sure, it was repetitive, but moments were absolutely hilarious, my favorite early episode being, Dog, which has a bathroom scene I laughed out loud at for an unreasonable amount of time. The mundane mysteries that the opening serves helps make the turning point in the story more intense and dramatic, so they are certainly with just cause.

Neuro Needs a Chance

The manga, written by Yusei Matsui, was released in 2005 and ended in 2009 with a total of twenty-three volumes. The anime is only twenty-five episodes, but I believe the changes they made were successful for a lesser amount of time in which to tell a compelling story and the essence of the original work is still there in volumes.

I certainly would recommend this show to anyone who has an interest in the supernatural detective stories that Japan has a unique talent for. Please, feel free to also share your opinion.

The animation in the film was absolutely gorgeous, featured interesting and beautiful mech designs and impressive battles taking place in the sky. The movie also had a battle soundtrack that fit quite well with the overall tone and speed. The English voice acting was also one of the better dubs I’ve heard throughout my anime fandom, as Tony Oliver is a very good director who understands the need to keep the characters as close to their original Japanese counterparts as possible to appease the audience, but also creates a bit of room for the actors to experiment and grow as professionals, a tricky road to walk which I think he did very well. The movie also featured veteran anime voice actor, Crispin Freeman (Slayers, Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Movie, Hellsing, and Cowboy Bebop: The Movie) who has a wide range of vocal abilities and takes the time to understand his characters and shows. I am usually very against watching anime in English, as the dubbing is often absolutely horrendous, but every show that has Freeman as a cast member, I find I don’t mind and actually enjoy, a testament to his talent and respect for anime. In comparison to the awful Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone dubbing, this movie was genius.

What director, Kyoda wanted with this film was a retelling of Eureka Seven, featuring the same characters but set in an alternate time, different situations arising and causing characters to have to react and grow in different ways from the series. Kyoda said in his interview he hoped fans would appreciate his choice to make a movie that you didn’t need prior knowledge of the show to watch and enjoy and that they would realize, walking into the screening, this wasn’t going to be Eureka the series packed into two hours. It was Kyoda’s ability to change the story, again, unlike Evangelion: 1.0, that made me enjoy the movie and respect it. The audience seemed simply unable to accept the differences and many walked out frustrated or indifferent.

The only real weak aspect was that some of the translations were a bit strange, so when lines in a serious moment were said, we laughed, not because it was poorly acted, but because it was such an odd thing to say. For example, a very emotional and heavy moment featured a doctor saying, “I’m not a real medical doctor, but it is in my opinion…” The actors in the special after the movie even made fun of the translation, because of the English-speaking gag, “I’m not a real medical doctor, but I play one on tv.”

Overall, I think this is a film you should watch. If you didn’t enjoy the series, I say give it a chance and if you are worried about the movie ruining the show for you, remember, it’s simply a different telling of Eureka Seven, not some sort of continuation.

The film is a revamp of the anime show, working with a much larger budget that does show, as the animation value is absolutely beautiful and the Eva mechs, Tokyo-3 and my favorite, the Third Angel, are all something to be desired by any mech fan and creator, but watching a movie that is pretty can’t make up for one that lacked any sort of sympathetic characters or deviation from the original work. The movie really offered no growth or new concepts in regards to the cast, it spent too much time following Shinji, who did nothing but complain and whine, exactly like in the show, which I was hoping from the bottom of my heart would change. What I suppose, from a character creating point of view, frustrated me the most was that Shinji kept crying that he was no good at being an Eva pilot, but took out three Angels in a row and did so without any severe bodily harm or devastating mechanical destruction, so he had no reason to keep singing that same tune, which came to be nearly unbearable by the end.

The story suffered terribly from the telling and not showing, notion, where Misato and Ritsuko would just narrate large chunks of the film, filling in the viewer with information they don’t need, which I feel if they had cut back on and actually shown the characters doing, would have been much more interesting. Their monologues became white noise by the debut of the Sixth Angel.

Besides those weaknesses in the plot itself, the English dub was absolutely terrible. I’ve been told it was regarded highly by the audience at Anime Expo, but no matter how I tilt my head, I can’t see how the English cast ever deserved the praise it received. The dubbing sounded like it had no direction, more like some various people were just put in front of microphones and read lines with absolutely no feeling, emotion or interest in the project itself. From the moment Shinji spoke his first line, I knew it couldn’t go anywhere but down and boy did it. Misato was flat, boring, Ritsuko was worse, as was Gendo Ikari. Frankly, the only actress that got away with sounding empty was Brina Palencia as Rei, because Rei is an emotionless girl at her introduction.

My New York City audience was quite small but dedicated and as the credits rolled, we all seemed equally disappointed. As a side note, here’s a funny story about my personal viewing experience, which has no negativity directed at the film itself, but the actual theatre. They played the entire movie with the wrong color tint, so skin was blue, blood was purple, Rei’s hair was orange, Angel cores were blue, and classmates all had a green tone to them. If that couldn’t be more of a kick in the face to the audience who paid over twelve dollars per ticket, in the middle of one of battles, the projector shut off and remained off for several minutes. Finally, after one of the viewers had complained and got them to turn it back on, they didn’t even rewind so we could find out what was missed! Luckily, all of us were given free movie passes to make up for their huge fault.

Has anyone else seen the film? Consensus?

For those who have yet to see Akira, I suggest you should, even if post-apocalypse, sci-fi isn’t your cup of tea. It’s the same as watching Citizen Kane. You don’t have to like it, but you should understand what an achievement the movie was and still is considered to be. Akira is a landmark film, making anime a popular form of entertainment outside of Japan and it also broke the habit of static facial expressions while characters speak. The movie was created under the Akira Committee, several companies brought together to bring Katsuhiro Otomo’s story to life on screen and have it live up to the grandeur and epic feel that resonated in his manga. Akira had no corners cut in production for the sake of its budget, creating a very fluid and beautiful style and offered constant and expressive faces for the cast, detailed backgrounds and scenes and wonderfully lip-synched dialogue, something today we take for granted but in 1988, was groundbreaking in anime work.

The film is very graphic in violence and disturbing imagery, especially near the climax, but again, remembering this was made over twenty years ago, it steals your breath while watching. The movie’s soundtrack is also quite famous, very dynamic, chilling and effective for the themes in Akira, which include social unrest, nuclear holocaust and delinquency, all touched with a hint of cyberpunk.

Akira is the story of a bike gang in Neo-Tokyo, thirty years after World War III. Kaneda’s childhood friend, Tetsuo goes missing after a run-in with a rival gang and it turns out he now has something to do with the government and a secret project involving children with mental abilities akin to Akira, a god-like figure responsible for so much destruction in the past. Kaneda, an unlikely and very human protagonist, goes in search to rescue Tetsuo, with the help of a young revolutionary named, Kei and one of his gang members, Kai.

I personally find the movie to be a slow and strange buildup, other critics complaining it was unable to get all of the manga into its allotted two hours, but overall, the film has received very high ratings. Please feel free to share your opinions on Akira.

I must say, when I started the film, I was wary. I am not a huge fan of either Astro Boy or Akira, although the respect I have for each of these storytellers is what ultimately led to the choice of watching the movie. The artwork is very interesting, the style not overly anime, in fact, characters like, Duke Red and Shunsaku Ban made me briefly think of certain French cartoons. However, in characters like Rock and Kenichi, the main villain and protagonist, you can definitely see the touch of Tezuka’s Astro Boy style.

The movie revolves around a young boy, Kenichi, and his private detective uncle, Shunsaku Ban, coming to Metropolis from Japan, looking for a wanted man. Instead, the two get caught in the middle of a revolution, with the president trying to arrest Duke Red for treason and the Duke trying to use the city’s robots as weapons. When the nephew and uncle become separated, Kenichi stumbles upon a super robot named Tima, and the two are aided from danger by a cast of characters including my favorite, a worker robot in the sewers named, Fifi, while Shunsaku Ban tries to find his nephew with the help of a robot detective named, Pero.

Overall, the film is quite sad and frustrating, as the level of violence and hostility against robots by humans is sickening, especially when they brutally fight and kill robots who have only innocent and good intentions which would further better the lives of the humans, should they be given the chance to perform their duties. Katsuhiro Otomo is a good storyteller in this way, as I did not only dislike Rock for the evil he did, as well as Duke Red, but I utterly despised them. My one problem with the human characters is that, because of the atrocious things they did, the only one I ever felt a connection to was the detective, Shunsaku Ban. He didn’t treat the robots differently, in fact, he went out of his way to give one a name when he learned they were not allowed to be given one, then he continued to be brave in the presence of danger for the wellbeing of those like Tima. I leaned heavily on him as the character to right the wrongs Rock had done.

This film certainly won’t be a hit with everyone, but I think it should definitely be looked at. It’s an incredibly gorgeous movie with an impressive opening and quirky soundtrack.

Unfortunately, Angel Sanctuary was given the same poor deal that my beloved Fake was given, in terms of becoming an anime show.  This drama was only given OVA status, producing just three episodes and a teaser preview to the fourth episode, that was never made.  The show skips the side stories and build up, going right for the meat of the conflict, which even with three episodes, had just started to touch the depth of the story.

Angel Sanctuary follows the life of Setsuna Mudo, a teenage boy who is in love with his blood sister, Sara.  He tries to distance himself from her, but is unable and in the process, discovers Sara feels the same way about him.  While Setsuna is confronted with the decision of whether or not to pursue an incestuous relation with her, he is followed by two people claiming to be demons from hell, as well as Rosiel, an insane angel determined to awaken the angel, Alexiel, whom Rosiel claims Setsuna is.

The show has a powerful and beautiful climax with fantastic closing lines, but the ending is one that is opening a door to the rest of the story’s world, leaving the viewer almost unsettled, as there are so many unanswered questions and possibilities that are left behind without the continuation of episodes.  Like many shows, I’m sure Angel Sanctuary’s brief life on television had to do with licensing, money and a large array of other business reasons the show wasn’t developed completely, but I think, had the studios followed through with an adapted version of the manga, they would have had a real big seller.  The show is so risky with some of its content that I feel the older audience that its aimed for wouldn’t be able to help wanting to watch it all, just to see how wonderfully Kaori Yuki’s characters deal with concepts like incest and unrequited feelings towards best friends.  These are very powerful tools for an anime, should they be handled with class, which, from the direction the three episodes were going, I feel they would have.

I recommend this show to fans who are looking for something deep and dark.  The manga should be read if you enjoyed the anime and its popularity makes the books readily available in, Japanese, English, German, Italian, Spanish, French, and Polish.

Vash the Stampede is a mysterious man in a red coat that causes havoc and chaos to every town and city he visits.  He has an enormous sum of money on his head for whoever captures him, but most are too afraid to try and when they do meet this notorious outlaw, they are often puzzled by his innocent and naive nature.  Vash is followed throughout the show by two girls from an insurance agency, whose job is to evaluate claims of destruction by the Humanoid Typhoon, as Vash is also known by.  Meryl Strife and Milly Thompson, along with other characters such as Nicholas D. Wolfwood, soon come to realize that there is much more to Vash the Stampede, a heartbroken and vulnerable side, determined to live until his ‘goal’ is complete.

Trigun is an anime that deals with deep conflict that can be overlooked by the cover of the show, the main characters wielding different types of firearms.  The series delves into a world overrun with violence and how a pacifist goes about trying to right wrongs without turning to killing as an answer, even when it may seem like the only or easiest way to obtaining what is desired.  The show, by all means, is full of action and great fight sequences, but it all fuels the emotional core of the characters, especially Vash, and each battle in the show helps him grow more and more interesting to the viewer.

What I also applaud the show for is its use of subtleness and never letting out too many secrets regarding characters, too soon.  Right up until the last minute of the show, I was unsure how it would end.  Would someone die, would they live?  Do morals and beliefs have to be broken, will friends have perished in vain?  The only other immediate anime I can think of that had a similar concept, someone unwilling to shed blood while suffocating in a world of death and how they will manage to live through it, is Rurouni Kenshin.  My feelings towards Trigun’s climax paralleled moments from Kenshin and I think it is a brave and difficult concept for any show to approach.  Trigun pulled it off with flying colors.

Now I’ll be waiting in anxious excitement for Trigun the Movie, since I can’t get this dusty western out of my head!

Naruto begins its story when children are actually fulfilling the dream of becoming ninjas, in a world where they are current, required and have magic abilities to fall back on, no doubt something all of us incorporated into games when we were little.  Even as an adult, the notion of having the physical and mental strengths of a ninja, especially Kishimoto’s version of one, tickles my imagination and I wish Naruto had been around when I was a child, as I know it would have heavily impacted playground games.

Kishimoto balances the use of adults in his manga quite well, making the children still have limits, despite their occupation, which is simply just good storytelling and character development on his behalf.  Even with his use of adults, especially dangerous and elite ones like Kakashi and Ibiki, the story is still about children and more importantly, Naruto, which Kishimoto doesn’t forget.

I don’t usually watch or read shows involving such a young cast, actually the only show I can seriously think of that I loved and had a young character is Outlaw Star, for Jim Hawking.  I was so surprised upon first watching Naruto that these children were interesting, unique and for all of their grownup sensibilities, they still behaved like kids and in a way that was neither forced or annoying.

Naruto gets a bad rap, I think, especially after what the English dubs did to him.  He’s a perfect example of this fascinating child character who is aware of the evil and hate in the world, has felt pain and understands his own mortality, yet can still cry over not getting lunch.  The world in which these characters live is dangerous and to be going to a school that teaches you to become a ninja, they must be more adult than the average twelve-year-old, but I adore how Kishimoto can still relate their innocence to kids the characters’ age, reading the manga as well as adults, who remember what it was like to be that age.

The anime is good, very dark and gruesome, something made especially for adult viewers, but when I had first seen it, I had not read the manga and thought it was based off an entire series.  I thought this because the concept of the show was so massive, with so many possible side stories and further insight to the characters introduced that I was actually shocked the manga was just one volume as well.  It seems a bit of a shame that such a large scale plot was put into motion and all the deep, dark crevices that would have had plenty amounts of drama and story were not used to its greatest extent.

Tsunami Shijo is a very cool main character, powerful and regal, mysterious and beautiful.  Although again, I do chalk up a bit of his mystery in the anime to the fact that I was under the impression there would be more content if I read the manga.  There are obvious holes in his character development, but Tsunami still remains fascinating throughout the show when his ancient powers begin to be tapped into and he raises havoc across the skies.  Angelic-like creatures setting supernatural fire to things can amuse anyone, I think.

The show features the famous voice acting talents of Toshihiko Seki as Tsunami Shijo (Yami no Matsuei, Naruto, Trigun, and Paranoia Agent) and Emi Shinohara as Shizuka Tachibana (Sailor Moon, Tokyo Babylon, Cardcaptor Sakura, and Magic Knight Rayearth.)  The show came out in 1997 and while the animation is nice, it can easily be dated.

I feel, if you know someone with a copy of this anime, sit down and watch it, but you certainly won’t be missing anything if you haven’t seen it.

Paranoia Agent is an absolutely fascinating show, for its characters, art and its mind-blowing story.  The concept is, a shy design artist named, Tsukiko is under pressure to create a new cartoon character that is as famous as her pink dog, Maromi.  While walking home from work one night, Tsukiko is attacked by Lil Slugger, or Shonen Bat (literally, Bat Boy in Japanese) and the only details recalled from the incident are his golden, inline skates, baseball cap and bent bat.  Tsukiko is thought to be lying by the detectives on her case until other attacks begin to be reported all over Tokyo.

This idea I find so compelling because it does not stick on Tsukiko as these terrible events occur, instead each episode becomes centered around the victim, revealing tragic events and secrets in their lives.  Each member of this considerably large cast can be linked to one another through several ties, some sharing the same grief and pain, and it is this oppressing weight of negativity that seems to tie Lil Slugger to the attacks when no other physical evidence can be found.

The show uses characters of all ages, classes and gender, a risky choice when anime is usually aimed at a particular demographic.  Paranoia Agent touches the lives of schoolboys, a homeless woman, secretary, an old detective, struggling father, and of course, the socially awkward Tsukiko.  Regardless, each of the people in this series are incredibly flawed and human, allowing any viewer to feel sympathy for them, even if they cannot consciously relate to their particular problem being presented.

The artwork of this show is absolutely breathtaking, vivid and on par with Miyazaki animation, in my opinion.  Paranoia Agent is only thirteen episodes, not delving into the horror that is the filler episode, and staying on track and on story minute after minute, creating a bigger than life climax that I never saw coming.

Integra belongs to a long family line of people in England that have fought the evils of vampires, actually using Alucard, a very ancient and mighty vampire, as a weapon against the creatures that insult his age and power.  Upon the death of Integra’s father, she was left the Hellsing Organization over her uncle, who was so upset by the inheritance he planned to murder her.  At the time, Integra was just a young girl with no allies and had been on the run from her homicidal uncle, ending up in the dungeon that housed Alucard.  Even though Alucard killed and protected Integra from the group that had followed her Uncle Richard on the hunt, it was Integra herself that lifted her uncle’s gun and fired, killing him in self defense.  Through her bravery of losing her father and standing up against Richard, Alucard noted her power and bowed before Integra as his master.

Integra runs the Hellsing Organization with an iron fist, commanding esteem from all the forces that protect the Crown, including Alucard himself and is one of the few to have earned his respect.  Integra does not function merely as an administrator, she familiarizes herself with all knowledge necessary for such a dangerous lifestyle, including being skilled in marksmanship, fencing and occult lore.

Despite many masculine attributes she takes on, such as the use of ‘sir’ as an honorific title, her suits as well as her cigar smoking habit, I feel these do not take away her femininity.  Integra is a very beautiful woman, wears her hair long and in the manga can be seen in some more female orientated clothing at times.  The point to her character is, she is not a woman who needs to flaunt her chest or legs to see results, nor does she have to give up what it is to be female.  She earns respect and progress because her officers believe in her decision making abilities, her plans and her mental strength.

Though there are obvious changes from Integra in the manga to Integra in the anime, I am still pleased with the results.  Sir Hellsing is a strong and fearless go-getter, a character any writer would be proud of owning.

At the time, the nonstop arguments my friend and I had over Fushigi Yugi was, who was the best, Chichiri or Nakago?  I backed our blue haired sorcerer and she stood beside the blond.  Slayers had caused us to cross blades yet again, this time I insisted Zelgadis Greywords was clearly the best character in the show and my friend swore it was Xellos.  If I were to bring these long lost fights back to her attention, I’m sure we would once again revert to twelve-year-old girls pointing fingers and citing moments in the shows to back up each of our beliefs with far too much enthusiasm.

Slayers harbors a soft spot in my heart, as it was shows like this that opened the door for my fascination with all aspects of anime and the different genres that were possible, besides just the fantasy shows I knew at the time.  Slayers follows a very typical formula of magic and swords with a bad guy threatening existence and only this particular group of people can stop him!  The story, while basic, is assisted by its less than sane cast of characters, including the main protagonist, Lina Inverse, her dimwitted sidekick, Gourry, their zealous Amelia, the serious chimera sorcerer, Zelgadis and the very dangerous and mysterious Xellos.

Now analyzing what it was that made my friend and I choose Zel and Xellos out of all of the goofy cast members, it seems to be the same thing that made us choose Chichiri and Nakago.  Each of the Slayers men are different, outsiders and have an air of mystery that follows them.  Like Chichiri, who has a hideous scar on his face, Zelgadis’ face is also scarred by the chimera spell placed on him, his face and body actually covered in bits of rock.  It seems to be a reoccurring curiosity in my favorite anime characters, with them being scarred in some manner, somber and on a quest to find relief from these pains.

Zelgadis, for all of his seriousness, is still prone to the hit-over-your-head comedy of the show, which was a bit too much swallow at times.  I vividly remember my other problem with Slayers was that there was so much talking at the final episodes that even as a kid I groaned and sank lower into the couch, bored and waiting for the finale of the battle to commence.  I am interested to hear if any Slayers fans have watched the new seasons and what they thought about them, so leave a comment below and share!

Hellsing
The opening to this fantastic show is very laidback with its choice of music, while very dark in its imagery.  It has a well balanced use of character introduction, especially with Alucard, Sir Integra and Seras and shows off each of their personalities.  Alucard is cool and calm, much like the tone of the music, while Integra is beautiful and domineering, Alucard’s opposite, creating tension for the show, and Seras completes the opening with the constant struggle she has with the gore of the vampire world.  I could watch this opening over and over.

Samurai Champloo
Woodblock inspired art mixed with hip hop music has never felt so right.  This show, already on a genius level, has such a fun and exciting opening.  The artwork is absolutely beautiful and simplistic, the counter to the quick beat of the freestyle music.  The opening uses no stock footage and creates an introduction to the three characters, Mugen, Jin and Fuu, each that represents who these people are.  The no-rules lifestyle of Mugen is portrayed through his fighting style, while the strict code of the warrior is implemented in Jin’s, and Fuu’s introduction is sweet and innocent, much like who she is.  The opening also implies a journey with hard times ahead, giving interest to the viewer before the show has even begun.

Bleach
The first opening to this show I enjoy very much.  It follows the same artistic approach of Samurai Champloo, combining something beautiful and its extreme opposite.  Bleach uses a trip-y rap song and imagery of underground street art, while it is shown in relation to the character introductions, which are very quick and hint almost nothing as to who these people are, leaving the mystery of their personalities to the show.  The music and style does balance nicely with Ichigo and Rukia wielding swords and wearing kimonos and fighting, hinting at the conflict in this anime.

Paprika
While this is a movie, the opening is still beautiful.  The music, to describe it, makes one feel free, which fits perfectly with the film’s use of dreams.  Anything is possible in a dream and Paprika shows this through her adventure on rockets, moving in and out of televisions and computers, all while the music seems to unconsciously open us, the viewer, up to the possibility of anything, which when handling such subject matter that Satoshi Kon does, is quite imperative to enjoying the movie.

Paranoia Agent
Without a doubt, the most haunting anime opening I’ve ever seen.  Another of Satoshi Kon’s work and I didn’t really intend to have his anime on the list twice, but there was no way I could avoid Paranoia Agent.  Every character in this show is a main character in their own sense, but none of them are introduced in the opening, they are all simply seen laughing in various locations, many of which actually pertain to the drastic problem in their life.  The laughing gives off the impression that they have been hiding what has been torturing them, faking a laugh is easier than confronting what pains you.  In a sense, that is what each of these people do until they face off with Lil Slugger, who is seen at the end of the opening.  A brilliant anime opening, probably my number one favorite.

There are obviously many more openings which deserve praise but due to space, could not be written about.  Feel free to share your favorite anime opening and why you think it is a great accomplishment.

The 2001 masterpiece was the second animated film to ever be given an Academy Award in America and the first anime and non-English speaking movie to be given the Oscar.  After opening in Japan on July of 2001, the film became the highest grossing movie in Japanese history and the first to make 200 million dollars in the worldwide box office before even opening in the United States.  Since 2008, Spirited Away has been reported to have grossed over 364 million dollars.

This beautiful story features Chihiro as the main character, a girl who is separated from her parents and whisked away to a world where she learns to become an adult while still maintaining childlike wonder.  She is assisted by a cast of magical beasts and gods that she interacts with at a bathhouse, including the mysterious No Face.

Kaonashi, which literally means, without face, is a spirit whom Chihiro encounters on a rainy night and takes pity on, offering the lonely creature to come into the warmth of the bathhouse and out of the storm, while everyone else shuns and calls him a monster.  No Face in turn, attempts to help Chihiro by offering her gold, which she does not accept and instead, simply thanks him for his help during her scene with the River God.

No Face is a very interesting character and my absolute favorite in the film, if not top five anime characters ever.  He reacts to the negative emotions that the other employees of the bathhouse create, by turning into a huge, grotesque monster because of their insatiable greed.  No Face, in reaction to the greed, had actually swallowed employees, the gluttony he shows for food a literal comparison to their gluttony for money.

What simply fascinates me about No Face is his ability to articulate his feelings, needs and desires without speaking and with basically no facial expressions, as hindered by his mask.  I feel that when he swallows a Toad and is given vocal ability, that is when No Face is at his weakest.  This creature is able to show how desperate he is for friendship, acceptance, a traveling companion to keep him from being lonely, and all while barely letting out a whisper.  Another great aspect of his character is that, even though he is a spirit, clearly magical and unable to speak, he still learns.  Chihiro helps him with patience and to not partake in overindulgence, offering No Face a character arc, just like everyone else in the film.

The happy endings Miyazaki makes me crave do not, thankfully, overlook my dear No Face, granting him a home, a cause in his wandering existence and most importantly, a friend.  My fascination with No Face, from a storyteller point of view, is Miyazaki’s ability to convey so much without speaking, as that is the ultimate test of anyone who tells stories, be it films, cartoons, comics or novels.  I feel every Miyazaki film has at least one character that touches fans like No Face does me.

I believe this manga, in terms of storytelling, is probably one of the best I’ve ever read.  The suspense has never let up and I care greatly for the well being of all the cast, even Light, though I certainly feel conflicted in my affections for him, which I feel is what Tsugumi Ohba strived for.  After all, what good is a main character, whether it be a hero or villain, if you cannot understand and accept why they make particular choices and take certain actions.  As a reader, I understand why Light uses the Death Note, he is so consumed by what is righteous that he is willing to kill those that cause pain and suffering to others, in order to make the world safe for the innocent souls that reside there.  However, I also understand why L is so single-mindedly tracking ‘Kira.’  Not only is it a case that tests his intelligence and willpower, but the simple fact of the matter is, Kira, aka Light, is killing people and who is he to decide who lives and dies?

Particular events in the manga made me truly despise Light, and I had thought, finally!  I’ve written him off, now I don’t care about him, just L and the detectives, but that emotion was short lived.  I couldn’t stop thinking about Light, even if he had proved himself to be a scheming, dangerous man who uses others.  He did those things because in his own bizarre way, he is trying to save the world and that in itself is such a glorious goal that you can’t help but want him to succeed.

This give and take of conflicting thoughts I feel is imperative to a suspense/mystery novel or manga.  The reader should always feel as uncomfortable as the characters and reading Death Note has certainly made me squirm while turning the pages.  I enjoy reading manga in large volumes at a time, easily busting through ten or fifteen Naruto chapters in a sitting but Death Note is so deep and interwoven that I can maybe handle five chapters before I need to do something else because the story has put me so on edge.

To Tsugumi Ohba, I applaud him for creating a character that no matter what he may do, I still read it as both good and evil.  This duality of Light Yagami was successful from beginning to end and that is a rarity in any form of storytelling.

Several years later and more merchandise than I ever thought possible, I am still thanking my sister for introducing me to Naruto.  What I enjoy the most about the show is the exceptionally large and diverse cast of characters.  I adore main characters like Kakashi, Naruto, Gaara, I even love Sakura, but I also am addicted to the charm of minor characters, especially Kotetsu and Izumo.

The introduction of this duo was at the beginning of the chunin exams, way back in episode twenty-one!  They are portrayed with a sense of awe and power, which is appropriate since Team Seven are still quite literally, children, and even a low-level chunin should still be considered dangerous.  As the show continues however, and characters grow older, the air of threat that they held, especially Kotetsu, is slowly stripped away to reveal two men who have many different layers.

Even though Izumo and Kotetsu are very obviously minor roles in the massive universe of these ninja warriors and used more often than not for comic relief, they are still portrayed as strong, fierce, lazy, hopeful, and curious, giving them a sense of humanity just like the main hero, Naruto.  Their personalities are not wrapped up and condensed to a single sentence that would describe how they would act in a given situation, for example, is afraid of thunder, where afterwards that phrase would incorporate how that character acted when on screen forevermore.

I don’t expect entire story arcs to depend on them, but when they are in a scene, it’s refreshing and pleasant and I always leave knowing a bit more about them.  I’m always a happy fan when every minor ninja is given a moment to shine in battle, such as Kotetsu and Izumo’s fight alongside Asuma and Shikamaru.  Kishimoto doesn’t forget about these sorts of characters once he creates them, even with those like Iruka, who’s importance gradually waned as Naruto grew older and more independent of him and the academy, still showing up in Naruto: Shippuden.

I do like Gravitation, sometimes I wonder why, then remind myself it’s all because of the existence of Bad Luck’s manager, K, not Shuichi.  Shuichi is like a five year old trying to come off a caffeine and sugar riddled diet, he’s simply impossible to deal with.  Every time I watch Gravitation, I mentally prepare myself to deal with the hurricane that is the main character and this headache stems from the fact that Shuichi’s character depends so much on comical chibi to carry him through serious moments when in fact, as a viewer, that’s the only time I want to see Shuichi act like a normal person!  Let him be goofy, sure, just give him the chance to not depend on wearing a battery or banana suit to make it through a scene or turn into a little chibi mess, clinging to Yuki like a baby.

Gravitation tries so hard to make me always laugh and, of course who doesn’t laugh at K drawing a weapon whenever someone tries to disobey him or Shuichi on a game show, but there are moments in the story where it is vital to leave comedy behind, to explore the other sides of Shuichi and Yuki and their assisting cast.  It feels like the one time where the characters were given the chance to act like young adults was when the media was trying to invade the private lives of Shuichi and Yuki.  That small fiasco was brilliant in terms of a shonen ai anime.  It was sweet, endearing and did not require Shuichi to be wearing a dog costume.  I am aware there are more scenes in the show where Hiro and Yuki are epic, but the chibi far outweighs those tiny moments.

Chibi in fact, makes that show nearly impossible to watch unless I’m so brain dead the day I plug it in, I’m able to filter it out like white noise.  Chibi is funny the first time, still funny even the second, third, fourth time, but Gravitation has no off switch and they cling to that humor like a lifeline.  When the chibi count has passed fifty, stop!

I know some people will disagree and that is perfectly fine.  I know some fans who if you only mention a particular anime has a chibi moment they won’t watch it, while others think it’s the greatest tool to ever be created.  I just feel, given some of the angst filled scenarios that exist within Gravitation, they could have tried to appeal to why their demographic, teenage and young adult girls, are even watching it.  They want to see the humor, sure, but they also want to see the emotional anguish and the romance and Shuichi in a dog suit is not romantic.  It’s creepy.

The movie, no doubt, will be huge with children, as it is very much like an innocent and sweet fairytale, but the adults there, those of us who have grown up on Miyazaki’s older films like, Castle in the Sky, Princess Mononoke and my personal favorite, Spirited Away, were honestly surprised by the ending of the film, and not in a good way.

The story is about Ponyo, a goldfish, who is rescued by a little boy named, Sosuke and then wishes to become a human.  Her father, Fujimoto, absolutely forbids Ponyo to go up to the surface and mingle with humans, as he hates them for destroying the ocean, but Ponyo uses magic and turns herself into a girl.  After a tsunami, Ponyo continues to cast spells of wonder as she and Sosuke must go in search of the boy’s missing mother, Lisa.

The movie, like all of Miyazaki’s films I’ve come to notice, had a very talented and well directed cast for the English dub, Liam Neeson as Fujimoto and Tina Fey as Lisa stood out the most for me.  I’m even giving props to Frankie Jonas as Sosuke- he was wonderful.

The problem with the film was the last half hour or so.  The story up until this point was coherent, steady and due to the protagonists being so young, the film was exceptionally cute.  However, after the buildup with Fujimoto’s character, the desire to rid the world of humans, the need to get Ponyo away from Sosuke and back into the ocean, all of this really heavy, emotional turmoil suddenly just dissolved for almost no reason and the story just ended.

Fujimoto initially had gone to find Ponyo’s mother to get help with his human problem, but upon her introduction, his decision changed like the drop of a hat, for reasons not really explained.  I felt she was a completely unnecessary character to the film and only frustrated the ending by having me leave the screening without one of Miyazaki’s messages rolling around in my head.

I did like being able to leave feeling cheerful and happy and so did the few children at the movie, but after watching such intense pieces of work from Miyazaki in the past, I felt sort of empty, even if the film was beautiful and as sweet as honey.

I’m a graduate of film school and for four years, had it drilled into me to be able to pick up on story inconsistencies and weak points and while I hate to admit it, Ponyo definitely isn’t Miyazaki’s strongest film.  However, it is great for children and families and honestly, if you just want to enjoy breathtaking art and feel good about life, it’s a movie you’ll want to watch.  I was able to completely ignore the weak ending until after I seriously sat down to write about it because I was just so taken the rest of the film.

The anime is suitable for all ages and definitely one of those shows that needs to be watched in small doses, due to the overwhelming amount of energy and mayhem and cuteness.  I am unsure if I could, given the chance, watch the entire show in one sitting, due to these inherent dangers, but that doesn’t change the fond memories I still harbor for it.

I’m Gonna Be An Angel is about a young girl named Noelle, who, as the title puts it, is working to become an angel.  After being found in the forest by a student named, Yuusuke, Noelle and her insane family move in with Yuusuke, much to his disapproval.  I remember loving Noelle’s older brother the most.  He was a vampire named Gabriel, had purple hair and was allergic to cats.  The rest of Noelle’s family is just as peculiar, including her older sister Sara that wanders around invisible, her younger sister Lucca, the mad scientist, and Miruru, a catgirl.  Noelle promises to marry Yuusuke after she completes her training and while Yuusuke is not too fond of this statement, he gradually falls in love with Noelle, despite his crush on a classmate before meeting the angel-in-training.

The show’s antagonists are Dispel and Silky, who’s motivations are unclear other than to interfere with Noelle’s training and keep her from becoming an angel.  Meanwhile, Noelle is encouraged by Mikael, a student angel, to continue her good deeds while each are overlooked by a professor from the Angel School, Raphael.

It sounds ridiculous, I know, but what fun is anime if you don’t take a break from the serious dramas and enjoy laughing at a show you can barely understand?  I’m Gonna Be An Angel is sure to brighten any gloomy day for those who have not seen it and for those of us who have, let’s use our collective hope that the rest of this show will be released.

I have always had trouble enjoying all the female characters presented in a particular anime, often because I feel they either are too weak, not physically but mentally, or they seem to be trying so hard to either impress their male counterparts or the actual audience that they are written off.  Outlaw Star has a serious number of female leads, both protagonists, antagonists and even those that walk the fine, gray line of good and evil and all of them are fully formed and unique.

Outlaw Star isn’t afraid to have women fill roles that traditionally, are portrayed by men in anime.  Perhaps the greatest female in the show is an outlaw, and one of the most dangerous and notorious in the galaxy.  Hilda’s a character that embraces her career to its fullest.  An outlaw willing to do anything for the greater good of herself but Hilda is also capable of sticking to a moral code that makes her enjoyable and sympathetic.  She a fierce fighter, passionate and does not let her gender hold her back, gaining the upper hand over chauvinist outlaws and even the show’s main character, Gene Starwind.

Hilda is able to manipulate Gene for her own needs as well as inspire him to face his greatest fear, space, and follow his own heart and dreams.  She’s able to admit when she needs help but also remain stoic and strong in the face of a threat.  While able to motivate Gene, she protects Melfina and is able to get Jim Hawking’s courage to flourish in situations that would otherwise terrify an eleven year old.  Hilda is an incredible balance of fiery power and carefulness, which I think every female character should be given the chance to express but often is not.

Hilda is not the only woman in Outlaw Star worth mentioning, though she is, by far, my favorite.  When Hilda is no longer a recurring cast member, the other women together create an impressive triangle of emotion and talent, critical to the humanity in the show, while all each retain just enough mystery about themselves to make it interesting.  Melfina, the bio-android, functions as the heart and love, Aisha Clanclan is the courage and zeal and Twilight Suzuka is the danger that keeps all of the characters at attention.

Each woman brings humor, sadness and adventure, keeping this show action-packed from beginning to end.  I know amongst many fans there is a divide between either liking Cowboy Bebop or liking Outlaw Star and very rarely enjoying both.  However, I can only say these well written and sculpted female leads are enough reason to at least give Outlaw Star a chance, even if you swore against it!

What I found most interesting after watching the first of the three films was that I preferred the movie’s approach to how Light joined the investigation verses the manga’s.  While the manga was full of, “oh my god, he did not just say that/do that” moments for me, especially at the college speech when L first offers the position to Light, the movie’s dramatics intrigued me more.

I was confused at first about why the film was focusing on a girl who wasn’t important enough in the manga to be mentioned by her name in detail, but in the film she was, Shiori Akino, Light’s girlfriend.  I wasn’t comfortable with this rather large change, even up till her and Naomi’s meeting in the live-action, but once I realized where the finale of the movie was going, I began to change my mind.

What had always bothered me about Naomi’s character in the manga was how she was written out.  It was simple and I bought it, but for all the hype and the danger she created for Light, it had felt very anti-climatic that she ‘hid herself away where no one would find her.’  The movie’s rendition of her death, while incredibly overly dramatic, did, I feel, write out her threat much better, as well as create a much more sympathetic situation for Light to join the team with L.  What the movie did do because of this scene, was make Light even more evil than I had originally felt about him and by the time credits were rolling, I had a few choice words to say about him.

Of course, a film has a much more limited window to tell a story than an entire comic, so I can see, for the sake of a gun-fighting, heartbreaking conclusion to move an audience to see the second film, their reasons for taking artistic liberties worked.  If the climax of the film had simply been L introducing himself at the college and merely taking Light off guard, it would have stuck truer to the source, but wouldn’t have been nearly as interesting on screen.

Sure, the movie is a little campy and doesn’t have an enormous budget, but I still enjoyed it.  I didn’t really like the introduction of Misa Misa, I felt that should have waited until the second film, but overall I can’t complain, minus the fact that her hair isn’t blond!

On a side note, is it worth mentioning that I was terribly confused by the presence of a female officer on the investigative team, when in the manga there was none?  That was a change that made no sense and had no point.  I mean, why go to the effort of putting her there, to say two lines, other than to make it less of a man’s night out, I suppose.

I love this manga, absolutely adore it.  The many cases that the detectives take, often personal in nature, give the reader insight to both of the men’s pasts, creating a lot of tense, emotional moments, something I crave when reading manga.  It’s also rather hilarious in its more upbeat chapters, scenes between Dee and Ryo’s adopted son Bikky are always worth it.  Fake is not the most popular shonen ai comic, but it does have a very dedicated following, especially since the recent release of Fake: Second Season in Japan and the undying hopes of fans from the US and UK that is may be translated and sold in English.

What astonishes and saddens me is that Fake was granted a single OVA, one hour in length and roughly is the story of the second volume, featuring Dee and Ryo on vacation in England.  Their relaxing time is interrupted by the disturbance of Japanese tourists dying in the remote area of the country.  The show had famous voice actors as the starring roles, Tomokazu Seki as Dee (Weiss Kreuz, Fushigi Yugi, Fruits Basket, One Piece) and Nobuo Tobita as Ryo (Fushigi Yugi, GetBackers, Mobile Suit Z Gundam, Naruto.)  The animation was smooth, excellent voice acting and for a single hour, the crux of the story was there.  I’d say my single problem with the OVA as a whole, and this isn’t a problem in itself, more like an aesthetic choice, is that the romance music irrefutably sounds like 90′s soft-core porn tunes.  Even so, I still giggle like a schoolgirl and get into the show from the moment I turn it on, till the final credits role.

It’s such a shame that, having done so well with such a limited running time, that the other six volumes didn’t get turned into one hour specials, focusing on just the juicy centers of each book to tell the story.  It boils down to money and producers and copyrights, yes, but am I honestly the only one who is heartbroken that so many bad anime shows gets hundreds of episodes, some entire recaps and fillers, while such a rich and delightful story as Fake was given one OVA and nothing more?  I mean, I love Naruto as much as the next person, but while they fill time with the young ninjas wondering what Kakashi looks like under that mask, Fake suffers in the corner, crying over its single hour of fame.

My constant hope is that with Fake: Second Season, perhaps we’ll get at least one more OVA, featured from those storylines and we can enjoy one more hour of Ryo and Dee and their assisting cast of detectives, criminals and their poor chief that desperately needs a vacation.

Fushigi Yugi, to freshen the minds of those who have forgotten or have never been introduced, is a shojo comic by Yu Watase, and is the story of a fifteen year old girl named, Miaka, who is accidently transported to another world through a book called, The Universe of the Four Gods. There, she finds out she is the Priestess of Suzaku and in order to save the land of Konan and get back to her world, she must gather the seven warriors of Suzaku.

Interesting idea, especially to a twelve year old girl, such as I was, and Watase’s art is rather captivating, so I was sucked in without warning. I believe it was because I was so in love with the show that I never could admit to all of its flaws, but now, after having watched it again just a week ago, I have come away with one thing: Miaka is not and never will be, interesting.

In fact, I’d go so far as to say, the story would be incredible and doable without her ever having been in it. The number one contributing factor that led to the anime having gotten so many horrid reviews was that Miaka, I say again she is only fifteen, falls in love with the warrior, Tamahome, who is an astonishing seventeen years of age. After about, eight minutes, they fall madly in love and quite literally, every other word they speak is each other’s name.

Fushigi Yugi has an amazing cast of interesting, mysterious characters and instead, it focuses on a high school girl who eats too much and is really klutzy. The story has characters like, Chichiri, a traveling monk with dangerous sorcerer powers and an unspeakable past and Tasuki, a bandit leader who can create phantom wolves. Even the villains of the show are far more fascinating and loveable, yet every single one is thrown from the limelight in exchange for Miaka and her inability to say anything other than, I love Tamahome.

It’s frustrating to watch, even when Miaka suddenly gets mature and decides to make all these choices that will put her warriors out of harm’s way, only to consciously put herself at risk and threaten their lives. By the middle of the show, I’m weeping, begging for someone to stab her and carry on with the other characters and their stories. What’s even more depressing is that the show took too long to get off its feet, constantly reusing old footage and recapping, and so the last half dozen warriors to be introduced, Miboshi, Chiriko, Tomo, they’re almost completely two dimensional because there was no time to expand on them.

The poor reviews, horrible dialogue and rather shoddy production somehow managed to convince someone in the animation realm to give the show three OVAs and I actually am thankful for that. The OVA chapters have much better character design and are clean, fresh and beautiful. What is most important, to me at least, being the unofficial number one fan of Chichiri, is that this amazing character, who was basically ignored for the entire span of the first anime, was given his own episode that dealt with all his loose ends.

I would never say that Fushigi Yugi is horrible. I believe I am incapable of hating the show that for so long brought such pleasure to my life and horror to my wallet. However, that doesn’t mean that I won’t criticize it for thinking a glutton is more enthralling than an emperor, twins who communicate by writing on their bodies, a healer who couldn’t save his girlfriend from disease, or a bandit who shoots flames from an iron fan.