John's Viewing Journal

[John]

As usual, last night was a busy night, so I didn't get around to nearly as much as I'd like to have watched.

The amatuer Japanese produced OAV Hoshi no Koe: Voices of a Distant Star (http://www2.odn.ne.jp/~ccs50140/) was thoroughly impressive, really illustrating what a good blend of CG, digital animation and traditional style anime are capable of. Since it's pretty clear that the artist's forte is in storytelling and CG work rather than character design, the anime wisely uses interesting mis-en-scene to avoid focusing on character faces whenever possible. The chara design style is cute, but does sort of resemble the work of an amatuer artist. The story of this short sci-fi/action tale is a bit sentimental and melodramatic, but wonderfully touching- really establishing a sense of loss and melancholy over two lovers separated by massive distances in time and space. I was really reminded of Gunbuster while watching this- the best parts of Gunbuster. My impression is that this short OAV is really what anime is all about. It's story is well thought out, and clearly the product of fans that really cared about their creation and spent a great deal of time thinking through the story. The virtually photorealistic CG was also quite impressive. This is one DVD that I'll be looking for in second hand shops next time I go to Tokyo. (It's too short for me to want to spend full price on it to buy it new.)

Ai Yori Aoshi (http://www.pldc.co.jp/plag/anime/aiyoriaoshi/) episode 2 continued the nice, placid tone of the first episode. Aoi's face when urging Kaoru to eat the smoked fish was cute, and hinted at the sort of Love Hina-ish comedy that the "episode zero" promo and the trailer for episode 3 suggest is coming. Entertaining, and solid continuing character development for a longer series, but not terribly interesting in and of itself.

Chobits (http://www.tbs.co.jp/chobits/) episode 4 was as entertaining as the rest of the show, perhaps a bit more than the previous ones because it began to really show Chii acting like Chii. She really seemed to have more to do even very early in the manga series than her appearance as essentially a paperweight early in the animation. Sumomo is really cute, but is she really a computer when she seems so lifelike and spontaneous? Not that I'm complaining.

[John]

The weekend was good to me, allowing me enough time to watch relatively a lot of new stuff.

The Gensomaden Saiyuki movie seemed to me as though it wanted to be more than a pure superficial action film, but didn't try hard enough to do so. The entire film, in fact, seemed like a schizophrenic attempt to be a final movie, a dramatic epic and simultaneously a fast paced, fun action film. In most cases, whenever a movie tries to merge so many disparate elements, it usually fails. The Saiyuki movie seems to have partially succeeded. The music and drama seemed to me as though they wanted to create dramatic emotional impact, but there's simply not enough characterization or motivation given to the new focal characters for a viewer to really care about them. The inclusion of the opening action scene and the nemesis team seemed included merely for the sake of appeasing fans rather than actually helping the movie's story. The digital animation and CG looks pretty bad, but is helped by the fact that so much of the movie occurs in darkness or night time. Overall enjoyable, but seemingly a film that could and should have been much more than it was.

Hunter x Hunter OAV 1 - I don't dig the idea of making more TV episodes and selling them straight to video at $50 each.

RSI's first DVD of the Vanilla Series, Bondage Mansion, was all in all what I think of as "average quality" hentai. Slightly sub-par animation quality and only the barest minimum of intelligent story. It does the job, but only marginally. I'm now looking forward to the second Vanilla Series release, Mei-King. I've already seen the entire series raw, so I know already that its better than the first release.

I absolutely love the Azumanga Daioh anime (http://www.imagica.co.jp/shop/azumanga/)! It's just so laugh-out-loud hilarious! Chiyo's detachable pony-tails just take the cake!

Chobits episode 5 finally had Chii in full-on "mime" mode, finally.

Panyo Panyo Di-Gi-Charat 12 was more of the same. So how exactly does this simple minded, innocent Dijiko turn into the selfish and conniving Dijiko of the normal TV series only 3 years later?

One Piece (http://www.toei-anim.co.jp/tv/onep/) episodes 101-107 are starting to introduce a dramatic element that I haven't seen since the Arlong saga. In fact, this is a much larger scale drama that I've never seen in One Piece before. Clearly Bibi is at the center of it because episode 107 introduced a new ending animation centered on her.

Tenshi na Konamaiki (http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anime/tenshi/) episode 1 started off like the sort of bosozoku anime they don't really make anymore, then threw me for a loop when it added in some magic. Considering that it's got Megumi starring as the "Cheeky Angel," this seems like it's the modern day updating of Ranma.

RahXephon (http://www.rahxephon.com/) episode 9 continues to impress me with its exceptional character design, direction and sheer visual style. It also continues to seem like an amalgamation of influences ranging from Utena to Angelic Layer to Evangelion to Macross.

Rizelmine episdoes 3 & 4 were more typical MOE fluff revealing just why this show is broadcast after midnight.

Tenchi Muyo GXP (http://www.tenchi-web.com/) episode 1 isn't really Tenchi. What always characterized Tenchi Muyo for me was its subtle emphasis on Japanese tradition and nature and tranquility. GXP seems to rely on purely background art for this, which is a poor crutch. In fact, the animation quality and background art is much better than GXP deserves. Photon proved that Masaki Kajishima is capable of doing good comedy. GXP is not good comedy. The show may get better, but the first episode definitely lived up (or more accurately, down) to my expectations.

[John]

Full Metal Panic episodes 15-17 moved along quite briskly, although they're still using that annoying loophole of not making it unequivocably clear when a major character is actually dead or not. It looks like episode 18 will be reverting back to the silly comedy style of episodes 13 & 14.

Tokyo Mew Mew (http://www.tokyo-mewmew.com/) episode 1 was essentially every other magical girl show I've ever watched. But cat girls are rarely ever a bad thing.

[John]

Spent most of the night wrestling with Windows XP, so only got around to two episodes last night.

The first episode of Gakkou no Kaiden (Haunted School/School Ghost Story) was far more interesting and entertaining than the live action movies it's based on. I'm also somewhat surprised by how dark and sinister it was. The one or two live action Gakkou no Kaiden movies I've seen in raw Japanese seemed to be quite childish and non-threatening to me.

Happy Lesson (http://www.kss-inc.co.jp/anime/happy/) episode 4 continues to seem like a series that would go over pretty well in America. Take one teen boy and give him 5 attractive "mamas" two cute sisters and a cute female class president who's got the hots for him, and you've got Love Hina toned down to Tenchi Muyo's style of domestic comedy. The series also has one of the cutest ending animations I've ever seen. Dancing anime girls are cute. Take any anime girl, no matter what she looks like, and make her dance. Instantly cute. Make it an SD girl dancing and you've got the pinnacle of "kawaii."

[John]

I was beginning to think that Galaxy Angel Second Series (http://www2.tv-osaka.co.jp/galaxyangel/) was nothing more than an unoriginal rehash of the first series after watching episodes 9 & 10, but episodes 11 & 12 changed my mind slightly. Episode 11 was wonderfully fun, and the conceit of having all the characters switch bodies was a fun way to let all of the cast deliver their roles in odd accents and mannerisms they normally wouldn't do. Episode 12 was the first dramatic episode I've seen, and caught me somewhat off-guard. I loved the way Forte was drawn with a rounder, more full and more "realistic" face toward the end of the episode to subtly emphasize a more dangerous and realistic atmosphere instead of the typically more stylized character design more appropriate to a comedy.

[John]

Guren OAV 2 held up the quality standard set by the first OAV. Although not quite as fun, nor as original, this series is still one of the best hentai anime OAV series I've seen since the original La Blue Girl. It seems to actually have decent characterizations and action exclusive of all the sex.

Chobits episode 6 finally began to show a bit of emotional drama. Perhaps the show is finally beginning to really develop its characterizations now that they're all introduced.

Tenshi na Konamaiki episode 2 is still pretty fun to watch, and Megumi Hayashibara's voice is always a treat to hear.

Now that I've seen 3 epsiodes of it, I think Juuni Kokki rivals RahXephon as the most interesting show on air. I was excited about this show when I first saw stills in Newtype, and my anticipation has not been disappointed. Fans of Fushigi Yuugi will be familiar with the concept- a Japanese girl pulled into an ancient Chinese land- however 12 Kokki includes magic and monsters and a fair amount of bloody violence reminiscent of Escaflowne. This is so much the series that I had hoped Himiko-den would be. After 3 episodes I still don't know what's going on, but I love not knowing. (And I love shows that feature girls with swords!)

PitaTen (http://www2.tv-osaka.co.jp/pitaten/) episodes 3 & 4 remain cute as anything. The best way to describe this show based on the Koge Donbo manga is as a combination of the sweet innocence of Sugar with a bit of the spiteful comedy of Di-Gi-Charat.

Tokyo Mew Mew episode 2 introduced the fuzzy mascot. I know people that would gag on this, and would euthanize me if they knew I was watching a show that's this effiminate. However, I have no hesitation to say that I'll watch just about anything anime.

Tokyo Underground (http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anime/underground/) episodes 4 & 5 give me the impression that this will be a short series, however TV Tokyo doesn't typically make 13 episode shows. Although the past few episodes have been relatively repetetive, the fast pace has helped the series stay fresh. There's also the Arai Akino ending theme, and no anime that's ever used Arai Akino music has been bad so far.

With episode 3 Azumanga Daioh continues to be one of the funniest anime on TV right now.

I managed to sneak in all 4 epsidoes of TOKYOPOP's DVD release of Real Bout High School (I did say I love girls with swords) and for the most part I'm quite pleased. I'm happy to see the eyecatch and episode titles left in the original Japanese, which adds an essential immersive quality to the anime, but disappointed to see an American title screen edited in. At least it's relatively inconspicuous, so I'm thankful for that. I'm also pleased to see the kanji left intact throughout, especially on the computer screens in the first two episodes when the computer automatically condenses kana into kanji. This is the exact same type of footage that was digitally edited out of ADV's American release of Gasaraki. I have a suspicion that there was a bit of digital overlay editing on the laptop computer screens in episode 3, but I'm too lazy to dig out my untranslated Japanese copy of the episode to compare. There's also a typo in the subs for episode 3 when Azami refers to Ryoko as "-san" but the subs say "sempai." It doesn't really make sense after the first two episodes have made a point of Ryoko acknowleding her younger status. I'm also slightly bothered by Azami's address of "Tatsuya-sama" being translated as "Lord Tatsuya." Even in Azami is unusually formal, it simply doesn't sound natural to my ears to hear her calling a fellow classmate "Lord." Otherwise, I'm pleased to see as much "Japanese" left in the subs as was included- as this really gives the viewer a sense of watching Japanese anime. Finally, for a shameless plug, although the production quality dakes a steep dive in upcoming episodes (I think it's either ep. 5 or 6 that has simply atrociously bad character art) I think that this is a show that deserves a bit more attention from fans and viewers. It's quite fun.

And finally, a 2 AM last night I managed to squeeze in the first OAV of Mazinkaiser. Goofy character designs aside, it's hard to argue with a solid 25 minutes of non-stop carnage, action, giant robots and rocket punches.

[John]

For the first time in probably 10 years I re-watched Yuen Woo Ping's Madam City Hunter last night. Apart from a bad 80s haircut, Cynthia Kahn is still as beautiful as I remember her being. And Tony Leung's performance is simply wonderfully funny and light-hearted as the obvious Ryo Saeba character. However, I'd forgot exactly how bad the film is. Logic holes, unexplained plot, poor direction, and simple absurdities including a magic one-way table (a wooden table that will shield the hero from bullets but still allow her to shoot through from the opposite side) and a gun fight with accuracy that makes the A-Team look like sharpshooters make the film utterly rediculous. However, Yuen Woo Ping's skill as a fight coreographer is still very evident as the fights have a great rhythm and sense of movement and speed, making them worth the watching of the rest of the film. And although the names have been changed, the character of "Blackie" is a spot-on double for Kaori, substituting only the magic hammer with kung fu punches. As a very loose psuedo sequel to Jackie Chan's City Hunter movie, I find that I still like this movie much better than Chan's silly effort. It's unfortunate that the World Video DVD transfer is simply a ratty, worn-out, scratched and dirty VHS copy transfered to disc.

And I managed to also squeeze in Happy Lesson TV episode 5. Is it me or is Chitose's personality changing somewhat? In this episode especially the main character seemed a bit more sarcastic and critical than usual.

[John]

After buying it two weeks ago, I finally took in Media Blaster's DVD release of De:vadasy (http://store.yahoo.com/animenation/awdvd-0216.html). Going in with low expectations due to Anime on DVD's review (http://www.animeondvd.com/reviews/viewreview.php?review=1317), I found it quite entertaining, although I doubt that it's quite suitable for everyone. Apart from more modern looking character design, everything about Devadasy is pure "Golden Age" 80s anime, made in 2000. All of the trademarks of 80s anime including nudity & sex, gore, bloody violence, strange looking giant robots, numerous unexplained plot points, a virtually nonsensical story, and a tone that takes itself deadly serious are in full effect. If you've never seen any anime like Armored Legend Legaicam, Good Morning Althea, Hagane no Oni or even Dragon's Heaven and Megazone 23, this is a good primer of what you've missed. That being said, I loved Devadasy for its nostalgia factor, but fans weaned on more slick and accomplished contemporary anime that usually actually makes sense may be disappointed by this title.

And I also squeezed in Rizelmine episode 5, which continues to be pure mindless fluff, even lighter and more insubstantial than previous M.O.E. productions like Kotetsu Tenshi Kurumi and Hanaukyo Maid Tai.

[John]

25 years of waiting paid off last night with a Star Wars movie that comfortably nestles into the "holy trilogy" and even manages to vindicate The Phantom Menace. Some of the acting and line delivery seemed a bit forced and hammy toward the early part of the film, although Ewan McGregor simply "is" Obi-Wan right from the onset. But by the middle of the film, such smaller matters are easily overlooked or forgotten in relation to the sheer scope and epic scale of AOTC. Episode II doesn't have the pure innocence and sense of wonderful fantasy found in the original trilogy, but to compare it directly is to do it a dis-service. ATOC is a different film and a different type of film. It does what it intends to do brilliantly. Like a revelation, everything now makes sense, and the scale of the revelation revealed in ATOC is simply mind-boggling in its expanse of time and distance.

I saw Star Wars twice in theaters back in 1977 and instantly fell in love with the Star Wars saga. 25 years later I find that there's still no reason at all for me to betray or disregard or disrespect that loyalty.

[John]

Happy Lesson OAV 3 seemed to come out of nowhere. It's a brand new production, so I assume it was created to correspond with the new TV series. It's definitely in the OAV series story continuity, but otherwise isn't much different from any other Happy Lesson anime.

Kisaku OAV 1 maintains the art and animation quality typical of other releated hentai anime OAV series Isaku and Shusaku, but largely replaces much of the fetishistic sex of those series with some strange humor. That's not to say that Kisaku didn't have its fair share of B&D sex, though. It probably won't be long before this series makes it to America.

Full Metal Panic episode 18 seems to me to be the beginning of the end. The hints in the show, and the new opening and ending animation, seem to signify that the remainder of the show will be a single storyline.

Now that I've watched .Hack//SIGN up to episode 6, I'm still not impressed. Unlike Juuni Kokki, which still doesn't make sense up to episode 4 but at least drops hints that suggest forthcoming revelations, .Hack simply seems like its either underwritten or somewhat aimless. I'm left with too many questions in .Hack to be able to consider it a great show. There's too little deliniation and too little character development. Everyone seems to be after the mysterious sorcerer, yet it's never clear what it was that he did originally to cause everyone to want to either help him or capture him. Furthermore, the knights that wish to capture him seem to wish to do so purely out of blind responsibility instead of any sort of personal motivation; and likewise the heroes seem to want to protect and help him just because the script writes them that way.

Fruits Basket episodes 22-26 seemed to conclude almost too quickly for my taste, but that doesn't negate the fact that the show is one of the best I've ever seen. Especially in episode 25, Fruits Basket is everything we watch anime for. It's almost more real than real. Friends are more devoted and loyal than real friends, emotions are more raw and immediate and affecting, tragedy is more tense, sorrow is more painful than in real life, and everything is melodramatic without being sappy or patronizing. I'm really looking forward to a hopefully good translation of this great show from FUNimation.

I'm developing more respect for TOKYOPOP with their translation notes and subtitles after watching GTO volume 2. It's a wonderful show that can go through 5 episodes while making it seem like you've only been watching long enough to have seen 3.

Having seen Hare Nochi Guu episodes 14 & 15 in raw Japanese several months ago, it's nice to now see them fansubbed. I'd love to see someone license this great comedy for US release, but it may be a bit too "different" for America.

[John]

For a while it looked as though Galaxy Angel II was going to get back into logical, sensical stories, but that didn't happen. The final couple episodes were quite strange, as seems to be the case with most of the second series.

Mahoujin Guru Guru episode 6 may be relying a bit too much on the visual gag about RPG game text boxes, but otherwise remains one of the very best parodies of the fantasy genre. I'd love to see this old series make it to America, because in some ways it's very easy for American fans to relate to, but because it's an obvious children's show, like Akazukin Cha-Cha it's probably destined to remain a Japanese exclusive.

Tenshi na Konamaiki episode 3 is still unusually fun for some reason. I guess it's all in the great characterizations. The same goes for Chobits episode 7. For some reason I find myself addicted to this show- even though it's not the best thing out there. Chobits episode 7 also had the mother of all cliff-hangers. If it weren't for the "coming next episode teaser" to provide some small comfort, I'd be chomping at the bit waiting for the next episode.

Like most sports anime, the first episode of Whistle (http://www.mmv.co.jp/whistle/) relies much more on strong characterizations than actual sports. As such, it's relatively insignificant and typical, but still engaging and entertaining. I really appreciate the lack of stereotypes and exaggerated characterizations presented in the first episode. Making all of the characters "real people" helps make the series more believable.

Kaze no Yojimbo (http://www.ntv.co.jp/yojinbo/) is quite interesting from a critical perspective because even more so than Perfect Blue, it's an anime that could have been made in live action. In fact, it's an anime retelling of live action to begin with. It's an updated anime version of Akira Kurosawa's classic film Yojimbo. It's nice to see that episode 4 largely dismissed the odd camera tricks used in the first three episodes. While interesting to look at, they somewhat undercut the seriousness and effectiveness of a simple story told well. I'm hoping that Soldats fansubs more of this interesting story because I'm very curious to see where it's going.

Azumanga Daioh episode 4 was again absolutely priceless. The entire comparission of breast sizes without ever directly making clear what was being discussed struck me as wonderful storytelling as it really requires a viewer to pay attention, and it's so much more rewarding as a result. Kimura-sensei is an odd character especially to an American viewer because there's no way that such a hentai teacher would last even a few hours in an American school, much less get away with what he does in Azumanga. I really can't decide which girl I like best. All of their characterizations are so wonderful!

[John]

I was expecting to be partially disappointed with Tsui Hark's effects heavy recent film Legend of Zu (http://www.kfccinema.com/reviews/swordplay/legendofzu/legendofzu.html). Thankfully, I wasn't disappointed at all! I suppose that if a mainstream filmgoer were to watch the movie expecting a logical plot, he/she may be confused and disappointed. Being used to Asian films, I didn't mind at all the unexplained back-story, sudden character introductions, leaps in logic and so on. The film made much more sense than the original Zu: Warriors From Magic Mountain did, and the visual effects were simply stunning. Legend of Zu did a perfect job of really transporting the viewer to a different world above the mortal world where immortal superhumans wage a war of good and evil.

I was expecting Ai Yori Aoshi to be another Love Hina clone, but episode 3 especially has started to prove that there's a bit more to this show than I thought. Episode 3 revealed a degree of melancholy and background depth that I wasn't expecting. This is still no deep, emotional drama, and doesn't look like it's going to turn into one, but it does seem to want to be just a little bit more than pure slapstick comedy.

Usagi-chan de Cue OAV 3 packed more fan service into a single 30 minute OAV than I thought was possible! Aika probably still retains the crown for most panty shots, but Usagi-chan 3 had more nudity than most outright hentai OAVs do. Watching it in untranslated Japanese, as I did the first 2 OAVs months ago, I still don't understand the story, but this episode was fun and had a great cat-girl vs bunny-girl chick fight in it.

[John]

After seeing only the first episode, King of Bandit Jing (http://www.sonymusic.co.jp/Animation/jing/) is already near the top of my must watch list of current anime. Ever since I saw the first stills of the anime a few weeks ago I've wanted to see this new show. I expected it to be a typical Shonen Jump style family adventure like One Piece or Rave or Yu Yu Hakusho, and I guess it really is. The show had much more comedy in it than I expected. I was simply thinking that it would be all adventure. The visual style is very stylistic, and shows some influence from Tenchi ni Narumon and The Munsters, in a weird way, as well as the stylized look of SoulTaker. I'm definitely hoping to have a chance to see more of this one.

I don't know how many episodes the Kogepan anime had, but I wonder how many they could possibly make. I knew what to expect from this short little show about a piece of scortched bread in humanoid form, but I was still surprised that they managed to create about 5 minutes of anime revolving solely around Kogepan rolling around, sleeping, fuming angrily, and existentially ranting at the cruelty of the universe.

[John]

I caught the second episode of Abeno Bashi Mahou Shoutengai (http://www.gainax.co.jp/anime/abesho/) at Fanimecon untranslated, and finally had a chance to see it translated last night. The subs didn't really make much of a difference, but the episode itself is still a riot. You can always depend on Gainax to make entertaining anime.

I'd also seen the first two episodes of Cosmo Warrior Zero a long time ago, but watched them, along with episodes 3 & 4, again last night, in untranslated Japanese. The first two episodes are relatively slow, but decent. In a way it's nice to see Harlock attacking metaloid spaceships because it really affirms why he's known as a space pirate. Unfortunately, episode 3 was far and away the worst studio produced anime I've ever seen! Part of it relied on ugly cel-shading; the ships were suddenly all CG instead of cel animation; the animation quality was on par with South Park (which is intentionally bad), and the art design looked like work from a high school art class project. I simply can't understand how the studio even let this make it to public view. The only thing that I can possibly compare this to is something like Sailor & the 7 Balls! It was really that bad! Thankfully the fourth episode partially redeemed the show by at least attempting to get back to the production standards of the first two episodes. I'll try to watch more of it this weekend, and I'm praying that it doesn't torture me again the way the 3rd episode did.

[John]

Whistle episode 2 was decent but unspectacular.

Tokyo Mew Mew episode 3: "Lettuce Ribbon Rush!" What else needs said?

Full Metal Panic episode 19 almost seemed like "the fanservice episode" but did actually get a story told as well.
Happy Lesson TV episode 6 was quite cute. The idea of Kisaragi-mama deciding not to take over the world is pretty cute.

After watching .Hack//SIGN episodes 7 and 8 I'm still waiting for it to get good. I can't understand why everyone in the show seems to be so interested in Tsukasa because the series has yet to make clear what exactly he's done wrong or what's so unusual about him. I can't understand why Mimiru wants to befriend and protect someone so utterly annoying, helpless and unworthy. The little newbie player in episode 7 that resembled Mill from Maze Bakunetsu Jiku was cute, though. Oddly enough, although I don't really like .Hack, like a car race or baseball game I keep watching it, waiting for something to happen.

Chobits episode 8 was quite nice, beginning to really hint at Chii's hidden nature.

Kai Doh Maru (http://www.sonymusic.co.jp/Animation/kaidohmaru/english/index.html) seemed, even more so that Blood: The Last Vampire, to aim for an atmosphere of no resolution, reason or explanation. I was actually hoping for more than a mere revenge story, but I wasn't totally disappointed. I was curious of the washed out monochrome color pallate at first, but later understood why it was done. To say more would be to mention spoilers. I can say that Kai Doh Maru is perhaps the best anime depiction of "real" samurai action- almost totally non-supernatural or superhuman, and very quick and dirty. I can only guess that the wafer thin writing is intended to represent the samurai life-style of never knowing what's around the next corner and living only to serve one's lord.

Mazinkaiser OAV 2 yet again indulged in an excess of nostalgic giant robot chaos.

Many moons ago I stopped the fansubbed tape of Hana Yori Dango volume 7 half way through and never came back to it. Finally I put the tape back in the VCR and went through 8 straight episodes, 27- 36. When you don't watch the good stuff for a while, you forget exactly how good it really is. And Hana Yori Dango is good! It would take up too much of my time and too much space here to report all of my thoughts. The people that have seen this show will know what I mean. Put simply, Hana Yori Dango is one of the best anime series I've ever watched. Now if I can only find the time to get through the last 3 or 4 tapes.

I regret to say that the second half of Tenchi Muyo GXP episode 2 actually got semi-watchable, because it stopped focusing primarily on the main character. It's not good news when an anime is better without the main character. Although it's called Tenchi Muyo, GXP is not Tenchi Muyo. It has no wit, no charm, no emotion, and no depth. If I come across more of it I'll watch it out of curiosity, but at this point I'm ready to write it off for good.

Gatekeepers 21 OAV 1 lived up to my expectations and then some. Since it's new Gonzo OAV I knew that it would be good, but I'm happy to report that it's more than just the TV series in present day. Not much more, but more none the less. I enjoyed Gatekeepers, but admit that it's nothing more than disposeable fluff. Gatekeepers 21 not only presents the beautiful character design we expect from Keichi Goto, and the action choreography we expect from Gonzo animation, it actually evolves the Gatekeepers mythology and serves as a genuine sequel, not just an update. Excuse me for not pointing out specific examples, but I don't want to give away spoilers.

[John]

Shiawase no Okojo-san (http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anime/okojo/) episode 1 was pretty fun, and pretty funny. For those not familiar with it, it's a show about a quiet and typical college student who adopts an abandoned okojo, an animal similar to a weasel or ferret. The okojo has the beligerant personality of a Japanese bosozoku biker thug and instantly begins making demands and asserting his ownership over everything in site, but in animal language that only the neighbor's pet mouse can understand. The comdey comes from the humans thinking Okojo-san is doing cute pet tricks while Okojo-san thinks he's running the whole show.

Misha and Shia of PitaTen episode 7 are just too cute! From the next episode preview I can't wait to see Misha in a rabbit suit.

Tokyo Underground episode 7 seemed to excel in employing utterly ridiculous logic. I won't go into excessive details, but how does it make sense for the heroes to simply walk in to the enemy base, even fight monsters, and not realize that the enemy knows they're there. Furthermore it doesn't make sense for the villains to not want the heroes in, yet take virtually no steps to keep them out, then continue to do virtually nothing to hinder them.

[John]

I spent a few hours too many playing Dynasty Warriors 2 last night, so as a result didn't watch too much anime and went to bed much too late.

King of Bandit Jing episode 2 was just as much fun to watch as the first episode and continued to reveal a little more info about Jing himself. After only two episodes I already really like this series a lot.

I thought that the first two episodes of Abeno Bashi Mahou Shoutengai (which I'm henceforth going to refer to as "AbeSho") were wonderful and a bit strange. Episode 3 simply went off the deep end and was one of the most bizarre single anime episodes I've ever seen. I can't really mention any specifics because absolutly anything specific about this episode is a spoiler, but suffice it to say that the Gainax tradition of fan service was in full force, and this episode actually topped even FLCL OAV 5 in sheer number of parodies and in-jokes. Episode 3 was, in a word, great.

[John]

A brief trip up to JACON this weekend took up a lot of my anime watching time, but I did pick up some nice old 80s anime books out of a bargain bin at the con.

Bible Black Gaiden OAV 1 is the debut of the second Bible Black anime series. This one is a prequel to the 5 (?) episode first series. The production quality is just as good as the first series, but there's less sex in this new episode, and what is included is much less kinky than the first series.

I also took in the NuTech DVD version of Karen. I find that I actually prefer the anime character design over the original manga chara design in this H anime. Beside the entire term paper on sexism and sex roles that this OAV could spawn, it's a little better than most H anime, but nothing outstanding either.

Juuni Kokki episode 5 continues to impress me. The plot turn that occured in this episode was predictable, but handled well enough to still be interesting.

Chobits episode 9 was the re-cap episode. I don't think I've ever come across an anime series that inculded a summarization episode as early as this show did.

Between Galaxy Angel first series episodes 13 & 14, episode 14 was quite nice- focusing on Forte. I wonder why Forte is the only one of the girls that consistently gets back-story episodes devoted to her alone.

Happy Lesson 7 was a bit more silly than usual.

Ai Yori Aoshi episodes 4-6 are quite strange. In one way the series seems to want to be another Love Hina, complete with a little Liddo-kun seen in flashback, yet at the same time there are hints of very dark and serious undertones appropriate to a serious romantic drama. Somehow, virtually in spite of itself, it all seems to work, possibly because it seems to take itself seriously and seemingly has confidence in its story and characters.

Abesho episode 4 continued to prove that this series is, moreso than even anime like FLCL and Project A-ko, an anime made for anime fans. Again, I can't say anything specific about it without giving away spoilers, but I can say that Abesho has more in-jokes and anime parodies than possibly any anime I've ever seen before, and second consistenly causes me to wonder, "Can they really show that on Japanese television?" This is definitely turning into this year's Excel Saga.

PitaTen episode 8 was again honto kawaii! Misha and Shia in panda and rabbit pajamas are the cutest thing since Lain's bear suit.

Siawase no Okojo-san episode 2 was again, very fun and fast paced.

[John]

Again, I spent a couple hours playing Dynasty Warriors 2, so didn't squeeze in much anime. (I know that I'm a little out of date because I'm playing Dynasty Warriors 2 instead of 3, but used copies of 2 are a whole lot cheaper than 3.)

One Piece episodes 101-104 were great as usual. As I watch, I can't help but think of Episode II. Crocodile seems to be the Darth Sidious of One Piece, orchestrating a war between neighboring cities with only Lufy's crew (similar to a small band of Jedi) stuck in the middle trying to sort everything out and prevent disaster. And without giving away too big a spoiler, I have to say that I've never seen Lufy loose a fight before, but when it finally happened, it happened in spades.

La Blue Girl Returns (sorry, don't know the actual Japanese title) OAV 3 was quite nice, as far as hentai goes, because it spent a great deal of time just concentrating on Miko, Fubuki and Yaku acting like normal teenage girls. And I must say that Yaku is so much prettier with long hair. This episode was a bit different from typical La Blue Girl because it had much less sex and weirdness than usual for the series, and also because when the nastiness did occur, it was treated with a serious tone much darker and more dramatic than usual for La Blue Girl. I'll need to watch episode 4 tonight to see what happens to Miko and Fubuki, as episode 3 ended on a cliffhanger.

And rounding out my night of hentai, NuTech's DVD version of Rancou Choukyo had its good and bad points. I'm beginning to conclude that at some point in the past couple years the hentai anime industry raised itself up a level. In the late 1990s, when I was watching a lot of hentai anime, most of it was garbage with occasional decent productions. Releases within the past 2-3 years seem to be mainly shows with decent production values and only occasional stinkers. Rancou Choukyo had decent animation and character design, and was quite graphic and hardcore- all a plus. On the downside the story is a painfully simply male wish fulfilment fantasy with so little plot or depth that it's barely worth watching the first time, much less repeat viewings. I'm not disappointed that I watched it, but I can't shake thinking that I could have done something more productive with my 30 minutes. The subs on this DVD also had a disturbing number of grammatical errors in them, which is a bit unusual for NuTech's hentai DVDs and disappointing from a commercial release.

[John]

I finished Dynasty Warriors with a second character, and as a result didn't get through too much anime.

I'm still not completely happy with the Urban Vision DVD release of Strange Dawn. I watched disc 2 last night. I may have been tired, but it seemed as though the subs were incomplete or still in a rough, literal translation stage prior to revision to standard English. And I'm still very annoyed by the subs using the girls' first names when they clearly only refer to each other by last name. Their use of family names is an intentional decision, and the subs using their given names is neither a "translation" of what's actually said nor an interpretation of what the dialogue means. As far as I'm concerned it's simply a poor translation decision prioritizing marketing instead of faithful translation of the meaning of the dialogue. If the girls meant to call each other by first name, they'd use first names. They intentionally don't call each other by given name, but the subs totally disregard this fact. And I also can't stand the original ending theme music that disc 2 used to replace the original Japanese ending theme. I'm also once again confused over Urban Vision's decision to try to market this series as a children's show. It simply makes me wonder if they've actually watched it. Political class struggles, sexual innuendo, bloody murders and civil wars don't seem like the stuff of children's animation to me. So far I like Strange Dawn, but I still can't get over my reservations about the American DVD release.

Rizelmine episode 7 introduced a new character, so perhaps the series will finally develop some semblance of a plot.

[John]

Again, I didn't get around to as much last night as I'd hoped to.

I remain unimpressed with .hack//SIGN episode 9. I'm not sure why I keep watching it, and I really can't figure out why it seems to be so popular. It just seems so pointless and underwritten. I can only guess that I keep watching it because its so simple and intellectually non-taxing that it's easy to simply veg-out and watch. Even light comedy, drama and action series like Chobits and Full Metal Panic have at least some decent characterizations and personality that require the viewer to care about the characters and at least pay attention to what's going on. .hack continues to suggest that there is some massive conspiracy going on under the surface, but it seems to have so little impact on the characters and so little visable consequence that it's difficult to care about. The entire show simply seems to revolve around characters standing around and complaining that "something" is going on, but this "something" doesn't seem to affect anything and the characters don't seem to do anything about it. It's just episode after episode of characters (albeit fairly nice looking ones) standing around doing nothing but complaining that something somewhere is not right, with nice background music. This could be interesting if it was existential musing about the meaning of life and the universe, but all of this occurs inside a PC game, so even that possibility is rendered moot.

Tokyo Underground was a typical action oriented episode with little particularly memorable about it and little to say.

In fact, the same could be said of Full Metal Panic episode 20. I did notice, though, that for a couple seconds the art quality took a massive nose-dive during the sequence when Gauln's mecha is running after Sousuke's when Sagara is leading Gauln back toward the building. I'm also somewhat disappointed by Sagara suddenly suffering combat trauma when the prior 19 episodes have never hinted at him having this kind of emotional problem during battle. It's an over-used cliche employed as a shortcut for better characterization or writing.

[John]

I had some friends come to visit yesterday, so I had little time for viewing.

King of Bandits Jing episode 3, especially early on, was absolutely beautiful to look at, showing equal parts influence from Trigun and Cabinet of Caligari. This was the first part of a multi-part story, so I'm looking forward to seeing where this story goes.

My special order copy of the R2 DVD of Versus arrived today! So tonight I'll be watching the movie again for the dozenth time.

[John]

This weekend was my rest and recover weekend, so I spent more time than usual napping and sleeping in.

My R2 Special order copy of Versus (http://www.kss-movie.com/versus/) arrived Friday in AnimeNation's latest shipment of import books, DVDs and CDs, so I watched it again as soon as I got home. You know you love a movie when it's just as appealing the 8th time you watch it as the second time. (Nothing compares to the first time you watch Versus. It's like watching The Matrix for the first time.) I can't wait till Media Blasters releases this. I'd love to see it in a theater with an fresh audience.

AbeSho episode 5 wasn't as rife with in-jokes as previous episodes, but its setting didn't allow it. This episode was a bit more subtle with its humor, but no less wacky and bizarre.

Through the first half of the new Nakoruru OAV I thought that its only reason to exist was to show off some fan service, but eventually it did begin to show some depth. I've never understood the point of turning a fighting game into dramatic anime. It's great in concept, but rarely works in reality. Fighting game fans want to see fighting! I also don't understand why Nakoruru is so different in her anime incarnations than she is in the Samurai Spirits games. In the games she is a devoted earth maiden. In all of the animation she seems to be unwilling to accept her role as earth maiden and always struggles against fighting. This new OAV turned out to be reasonably interesting after all, but still nothing spectacular.

I'd watched Galaxy Angel episode 15 untranslated a long time ago and didn't quite get it. It made much more sense fansubbed.

PitaTen episode 9 is again more of the (cute) same.

After sitting on the tape for weeks, I finally watched untranslated Inuyasha episodes 61-64. I continue to watch the series because it's nice to look at, but it just seems so pointless to me. I admit that I may be missing a lot due to not understanding the dialogue. Inuyasha simply seems to be surrounded by ineffectual and useless characters who exist only to add personality. Unlike other long series like Rurouni Kenshin and Dragonball and One Piece, which move in story arcs, Inuyasha simply seems to keep going on and on and on, never really getting anywhere. The Inuyasha and Kagome golems a'la Slayers Great that appeared in episode 63, though, were just ultra kawaii! The best part of these epsiodes, though, was actually the "new" Shonen Sunday TV commercial that had characters from Arms, Inuyasha, Detective Conan, Tenshi na Konamaiki and several other Shonen Sunday manga series all having a cook-out at what was probably the World Cup.

After months of sitting on them, I finally watched Hakaima Sadamitsu (http://www.sonymusic.co.jp/Animation/sadamitsu/) episodes 7-10 to finish off the series. This is a really interesting show for adding a lot of characterization and story to what is ostensibly a bosozoku genre show. It's interesting that for an action series there's more emphasis placed on story and characterization than action. Solid entertainment.

I was worried that 5-Card would be an awful hentai series because NuTech didn't include any screenshots on any of the DVD packaging. I watched the first 2 episodes and determined that it's what I consider average quality hentai. This is better than I expected, so I'm pleased, but not really anything to be proud of. Again, the concept of a schoolteacher obviously lusting after several of his students yet hypocritically condemning the school principal for doing the exact same thing in a more aggressive way would send shivers down the spine of Gloria Steinem. This one is hard to defend, so I won't. I wasn't disappointed, but that doesn't mean that this is anything special.

RahXephon is simply one of the most fascinating series I've ever watched. Sunday night I sat through episodes 9-12. Evangelion, it's not, but neither is it trying to be (although there are noticeable Eva influences, perhaps homages). The concept of giant robots being instruments to be performed rather than machines to be piloted is interesting and original. The visual design of the show is consistently striking and arresting. The multitude of character relationships and secrets and conspiracies and plots is overwhelming, but never off-putting. There's still no telling where this show is going, but it's an immensely interesting journey.

Azumanga Daioh episode 5 is again simply wonderfully comedic in a subdued, pleasant way. I just love this show!

Tokyo Underground episode 9 was easy enough to watch- meaning fast paced and not particularly challenging. I still have to wonder why, if Company rules Underground with an iron fist, Company continues to let the heros run around free.

Kanon (http://www.toei-anim.co.jp/tv/kanon/) episode 7 and the first half of episode 8 made me almost hate the series' writing, but a single revelation in the second half of episode 8 regarding Mai turned everything around and suddenly made everything make sense. I usually don't like life-sims. I've never been thrilled with Graduation or Sisprin or Memories Off or One or With You, but I can see why Kanon is so popular, because it focuses on character development moreso than odd, slightly supernatual settings and circumstances.

[John]

Full Metal Panic episode 21 turned out to be a bit more violent and tension filled that I'd anticipated. It was quite a solid episode due to good characterization from even minor characters.

I finally finished off Aquarian Age by watching episodes 11-13. As I was first impressed with the first episode, I'm still surprised that the staff managed to make such a good show out of an adaptation of a CCG. I would have liked to have seen a bit more magic than what we got, and I'd have liked to have gotten a bit more clarification of exactly who some of the bit players were and what their relation to the rest of the characters were, but the bulk of the story was quite well written. I don't really like indecisive, weak willed characters like Kyouta, but his strong supporting cast in Aquarian Age, and Yoko's exceptional characterization helped immensely in making Kyouta a worthwhile protagonist.

[John]

I started off the night by experiencing ("experience" is a more appropriate word than "watch") Shogo Ishii's live action film Electric Dragon 80,000 Volts. I'll let Midnight Eye's review (http://www.midnighteye.com/reviews/electrdr.shtml) speak on my behalf.

Bandit King Jing episode 4 was again wonderful. I've heard the show called unoriginal, and I won't deny that. What I find so entertaining about the show is its exuberance and simple sense of fun. It's also wonderful each episode to try to guess what trick Jing will pull or what he will do to defeat his latest foe.

Juuni Kokki episode 6 was a bit conventional, but still quite interesting. Sugimoto received poetic justice, but I still want to root for her because her honest, heartfelt delusion seems undeserving of punishment. It's also a sign of good storytelling that Yoko's personality has changed due to her experiences, yet now I want the old Yoko back. This is really a very solid, very high quality anime.

Chobits episode 10 was once again very cute, and very simple and mundane.

[John]

I'm almost ashamed to admit that as a hardcore fan of horror movies I finally just got around to watching Dario Argento's Opera last night. It reminded me in a lot of ways to his more recent Stendhal Syndrome- exceptional beginning and middle with a very weak ending. In the "making of" documentary Dario refered to Opera as his most "ferocious" film. I can definitely agree with that, as the shocks are cruel and sadistic. However I don't think that this is the maestro's strongest work. The cinematography was perfect, vintage Dario the like of which only horror directors like Dario and Sam Raimi and get away with. I happen to like Tenebre, Phenomena and Sleepless a bit more than this film, though. Opera seemed to me on par with Deep Red and Stendhal. (I think I really need to re-watch Susperia as it's been a while and I don't think I got as much out of it the first time as I could or should have.)

On a completely different tack, Azumanga Daioh episode 6 finally introduced Kagura, although she didn't do much. Since I don't know much about the manga I don't know if she's actually a major character or not. Again, all I can say is, I love this show!

And I rounded out the night with a new hentai OAV called "Taxi" (because I couldn't translate the full name.) I usually don't mind the Shusaku style blackmail into sex genre, but this example was excessive enough to even somewhat offend me. At least Shusaku and its clones involve a little bit of fantasy and a little bit of story. They are definitely mysoginistic, but they are still clearly intended to be fantasy and are produced in such a way as to dismissed as pure fiction. Taxi established a plot so utterly superficial and unbelievable that even the suspension of disbelief usually relied upon by hentai anime can't salvage it from being anything more than a vicious depiction of sexual violence against women without any sort of artistic merit or fantasy titilation value. I'm not positive that the text warning at the end of the episode said something to the effect of "Rape is bad. Don't do this in real life," but with my very limited ability to read kana, I have a suspicion that this is the case. If this hentai OAV really had such a label, you have to wonder why such a thing got made and released in the first place.

[John]

I wasn't disappointed with Windtalkers, but I didn't go into it with particularly high expectations. Having seen both Bullet in the Head and Heroes Shed no Tears, it was hard for me to watch Windtalkers without thinking about what John Woo could have done with the film if he'd had more creative control, even considering the fact that he intentionally wanted to make this film unlike the work he's most famous for. Every time the film looked like it was about to get dramatic or deal with tough questions, it cut away to another scene or offered an easy way out. The film simply lacked the raw emotional power it could and should have had, but I blame that on the script rather than the director.

The Time Stranger Kyoko OAV was very short and very cute. It's a 15 minute adaptation of manga by Tanemura Arina, creator of Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne. I wonder who ifluenced who, as its star is a little catgirl named Chocola that could have steped right out of Di-Gi-Charat, and Koge Donbo's illustration collections are titled Chocola 2000 and Chocola 2001.

I Wish You Were Here, the sci-fi/action anime series from Gonzo originally created for streaming broadcast on the internet, was one of those shows that's great as long as you don't think about it. At all. The series consists of 12 mini segments in 4 episodes and deals with soldiers that can create Bubblegum Crisis style body armor around themselves at will to battle an invading alien virus that infects and mutates humans. It's a love story, in case you couldn't tell. The biggest problem lies in the fact that although humanity seems to have the technology to create nanomachines, humans still haven't developed any weapons more advanced than machine guns and flame throwers and ballistic missles. The series also has a terribly dissapointing ending that isn't a cliffhanger or an unresolved ending. It just simply ends, as though the staff simply lost interest in it and decided suddenly to just end the series right where it was at.

I watched episode 5 of Synch Point's DVD release of Tenshi ni Narumon (http://www.animenation.com/sptn-dvd01.html) because that's the cute volleyball episode and because that's the episode when Sara... I've seen all of Sachi's great fansubs, so I didn't watch the whole disc. I have only two complaints. It's disappointing to get the American title screen when the episode titles and next episode preview screen are the original Japanese versions with subtitled kanji. I'm also not sure it's necessary to translate English words in the subs phonetically, as in translating "leisure" in the subs, "rejya." But I'm nitpicking because this is so close to what I consider perfection. I'm simply thrilled with the "alternate" subtitle track which is very, very "Japanese." My belief is that this is the way all anime should be subbed. If you don't like having to deal with Japanese in the translation you shouldn't be watching Japanese animation in the first place. And on DVD the show simply looks gorgeous. The show had beautiful animation (for a TV series) and lush coloring and great character design (especially Sara. Ah, Sara.) Please buy this DVD! Sales have been very poor. This release deserves more support than it's getting. I'm also thrilled with the multiple pages of translation notes that actually serve as footnotes and explanations for the subtitles and dub instead of being like AD Vision's translation notes for Steel Angel Kurumi which, for example, just let you know that Kurumi's trademark "-desu" has been intentionally edited out of the translation.

SoulTaker DVD 3 wasn't quite as groundbreaking as the first 6 episodes, but still a very enjoyable time. It's difficult going from the amazingly literal subs of Tenshi ni Narumon to the very mainstream, coloquialized sub translation from Pioneer.

Pata Pata Hikousen no Bokuen (http://www.telecom-anime.com/patapata/japanese/) episodes 2 & 3 still just don't seem like anime. (I've heard this series titled "Secret of Cerulean Sand," but I can't figure out where that name came.) This show seems like nothing so much as a combination of contemporary Warner Bros. and Disney styles. If it were dubbed I'd be hard pressed to be certain that it was originally anime. For being a "Ghibli-esque" show, it simply has no "heart" or warmpth or emotion. There was a big deal made about it late last year, but it's simply not very good.

AbeSho episode 6 was again not quite as gag-filled as episodes 3 & 4 but still quite interesting and very fun to watch.

Rizelmine episode 8 was again the same as episodes 1-7.

I'd seen Galaxy Angel episode 16 in raw Japanese last year, but watched it fansubbed yesterday. Strange, and fun.

Ajimu- Beach Story OAV 2 is exactly the type of romantic life-sim that I don't like, so I don't know why I bothered to watch it. I'm sure there are some people that like this kind of anime, and there's technically not much wrong with it, but it just doesn't interest me much. I have to admit that this episode was better than the first, in which the main character really was a stalker, but was forgiven for stalking and harassing Ajimu because he had innocent intentions.

I rounded out Sunday night with the second Zatoichi (1963) movie that I picked up at Best Buy on DVD. I've seen several Zatoichi movies before, but none as early as this one. (Best Buy didn't have any copies of movie 1 or I'd have picked it up too.) This early movie wasn't quite as action oriented, nor as superhuman as the later movies, but was beautiful to look at, and very fast paced. For fans of samurai movies, you can't go wrong with these DVDs at $15 each. The Razor movies were Katsu-Shin slumming. Zatoichi is the good stuff. Shintaro Katsu's swordplay is amazing. The speed of his draw is incredible. If you've only seen anime parodies of a superfast samurai draw his sword, slay three opponents and send the sword back to its saiya before the slain opponents fall to the ground, the Zatoichi movies will show you, in part, where this tradition came from. Now that I've seen this one, I have every intention of buying all 17 discs that Janus is going to release.

[John]

Hikaru no Go (http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anime/hikaru/) has been at the back of my mind lately, so I finally made myself get around to episodes 10-12. And like most shows, I forget how good they really are if I don't watch them for a while. It's easy to see why this series is one of the highest rated in Japan. The characterizations are varied but all interesting without being annoying. Hikaru himself is engaging because he is optomistic, persistent, and outgoing, yet still polite and humble. He represents a well-adjusted, happy Japanese teen that still conforms to and represents the ideals of mainstream Japanese culture. The episodes themselves are fast paced, and engaging because we want Hikaru to succeed in spite of knowing his inexperience, and we want Touya to overcome his fears and progress toward his goal, even though he is Hikaru's rival.

After watching these episodes I had to pull out my R2 DVD single of Dream's music video for Get Over, the Hikaru no Go theme song.

While I was playing R2 DVDs, I watched the Final Fantasy XI opening from the DVD that comes with the FF XI Limited Edition Soundtrack (http://www.animenation.com/sscx-10067-8.html), for the fourth time. All I can say is, "Wow!" I don't want to spoil it for everyone, so all that I'll say is that if you thought the game graphics rendered opening sequence of FFX, when the characters are all sitting around the fire, was impressive, the FFXI opening will leave your jaw hanging agape. It's difficult to be honestly impressed with CG anymore, especially after what we've seen in everything from Final Fantasy 9 to Attack of the Clones. Standards are just so high now. However, to see that quality come from on-the-fly rendered game graphics is simply incredible.

[John]

Cosmo Warrior Zero episodes 5-8 at least maintained decent production quality, however the occasional bits of humor introduced, and Harlock doing flips in the air seem distinctly out of character for Harlock animation. The love relationship that got introduced in episode 8 also seemed a bit contrived as it was revealed essentially out-of-the-blue with no prior hint or introduction.

I also finally managed to crack open FUNimation's Blue Gender DVD 2. I really hate characters that have a problem with recognizing and adapting to the circumstances they find themselves in. I always want someone to simply slap them and shout "Wake up! Take a look around yourself!" Thankfully this DVD finally shows Yuji recognizing that the world he's in doesn't adjust to him, so he finally adjusts to it. The production quality remains watchable, but less than impressive. I do have to say that I find the uncompromising brutality of the series refreshing. It adds a tremendous degree of authenticity and integrity to the series.

[John]

My anime watching has been reduced lately because a power surge a few days ago seems to have made my home PC a bit "buggy" and apparently partially burned out my TV's picture tube. Now that the weekend's here I have to spend this evening re-formatting my PC (again) and spending money I didn't want to spend on a new TV and surge protectors and a battery back-up.

Slayers Premium was quite enjoyable. For being the first new Slayers anime in years, it didn't miss a beat and does nothing out of character or outside of established form for Slayers anime. At the same time it shows a bit of clever wit to play with established Slayers conventions and even give fans a bit more of Lina's relationship with Gourry to chew on. The film is also a great example of the strength of anime to show viewers things that can't be done in live action. The film utilized a handful of simply wonderful camera angles and beautiful shots, in addition to an obligatory Matrix reference.

[John]

Bandit King Jing episode 5 was quite a change, as it's much more expressionistic and implied, unlike the prior episodes which are simple, straightforward linear adventure stories. This episode was very nice to watch, but it the kind of anime that leaves you wondering, "What did I just watch?"

I re-watched Hare Nochi Guu episodes 16-18, this time fansubbed. I just love this show. It's really criminally unknown. This has simply got to rank up among the very best anime comedies ever.

RahXephon episodes 13-15 were a bit slower paced than previous episodes, and still don't make much sense, but I mean that in a good way. I'm beginning to suspect that the show is never going to completely make sense, but as long as you're willing to just enjoy the ride, it's a very worthwhile trip.

I watched Chobits episodes 11 & 12. Episode 11 was great because its emotional impact really got hammered home, and because it introduced a significant advancement in the "mythology." The ghost story theme of episode 12 seemed more appropriate to a Halloween episode to me, and constantly thinking that while I was watching may have soured my viewing a bit.

After taking in the final 3 episodes of the 24 episode Full Metal Panic I can say that this is a better show than Gatekeepers, but not quite as consistently impressive and entertaining as Gonzo's other anime TV series, Hellsing. I consider it on par with Vandread (both seasons combined). The final episodes created a genuine sense of breathless excitement, and while the ending isn't exactly "resolved," it's satisfying enough for me. I would say more, but to do so I'd have to get into spoilers.

Shiawase no Okojo-san episode 3 was again fun, but not quite as thrilling as the first two episodes, possibly because the one-trick-pony is getting old and tired quickly.

The short Good Morning Call OAV was a cute diversion, but that's about all I can say about it simply because that's about all there is to it. It's a short shoujo romantic comedy obviously created as a gift for fans of the manga, as it does very little more than serve as an opportunity for fans of the manga to see the characters moving and talking in color.

Happy Lesson TV episode 8 was the obligatory supernatural life-sim episode that's shown up in Memories Off, One, Debut, Sentimental Journey and countless other life-sim shoujo series. This one did it no better or worse than average. I imagine the point of these episodes is to add some melancholy depth to characterizations, but I usually find them too short to develop enough empathy between viewer and characters to make any lasting impact. This is the kind of episode that creates a sad and melancholy feeling in the viewer that's forgotten virtually as soon as the end credits role. So what's intended to show a life-altering experience for the character usually ends up being just a filler episode.

I've never seen any Digimon TV episodes because I never bothered to get any raw and refuse to watch anime on American television. (It's great that it's on there, but I just can't bear to watch dubbed anime on TV or home video.) The only Digimon I've seen are the digital fansubs of movies 1, 2 and now 5. The first Digimon movie was a nice diversion with a lot of characterization and a final monster battle that really felt epic and destructive. The second movie created a genuine sense of tension and impending doom. The Digimon Tamers movie that I watched last night, however, felt like a by-the-numbers extended TV episode. The apocalyptic fear of the previous movies was missing from this film. I never felt engaged with the characters. The previous films made a viewer feel with and for the characters. In this film we simply watch the characters with no personal involvement in what happens to them. The big vistas and wide action scenes would probably look impressive on a theatrical screen, but the direction in this film simply seemed weak and uninspired, making for uninvolving viewing.

Azumang Daioh episode 7, on the other hand, did a wonderful job of involving the viewer. The subtle character nuances demand and reward a viewer's engagement and interpretation. It's a rare show that can make make such simple and mundane things and events so magical and humorous and entertaining. Just watching Sakaki petting a dog sounds dull and unappealing, but watching it happen is indescribably heartwarming.

[John]

I'm used to most anime that have even a hint of Chinese culture being dramatic and serious. Sazan Eyes, Juuni Kokki, Houshin Engi, Like A Cloud Like the Wind, and Fushigi Yuugi are all like this. However, Legend of Condor Hero (http://www.nipponanimation.com/selection/select_110/main.html) turned out to be quite different. It's a straightforward Chinese kung-fu drama told in anime instead of live action. It's quite interesting to see kung fu in anime, as most anime relies on easier to animate karate or judo or fictional martial arts. The character design of main character Yang Guo is occasionally flat and awkward but overall the show displays beautiful color and an attractive variety of character design, making for entertaining viewing. Typical of Chinese drama, there's a giant cast, and quite a lot of back story, but the emphasis seems to be squarely on action, judging from the first episode.

I'm very pleased with the degree of character development that's emerging through Tenshi na Konamaiki episodes 4 & 5. The characters are maturing and changing naturally in response to each other, and it's fun to watch their evolution. It's also nice to hear Megumi's voice again, as she's not very interesting in Shaman King (which I've been meaning to get back to) mainly because Anna is such a monotone character.

[John]

Perhaps I'm slow, but it wasn't until last night when I watched Tokyo Mew Mew episode 4 that I got the main character's name. Ichigo is "strawberry" in Japanese. So the three girls so far are Strawberry, Mint and (snicker) Lettuce. And perhaps it's just been too long since I've watched any magical girl anime, but I was simply struck by how typical a magical girl show Tokyo Mew Mew is- including the poses, the main character thinking to herself often, the facial expressions, the hesitation over romantic problems.

I've seen all 13 episodes of Chikyu Bouei Kazoku (Earth Defense Family) (http://emotion.bandai.co.jp/boei/index.html) in untranslated Japanese, but last night watched the first two episodes fansubbed. I was a bit surprised how straightforward and serious the dialogue was given how silly the show is. (The show gets a little more serious, but not darker or more dramatic.) It's unfortunate that the digital encodes I watched don't really show off how nicely animated and attractive the show actually is. For some reason, this show sticks in my mind, though, because it's not really like anything I've seen before, even though it's an intentional parody of tokusatsu shows. The emphasis really is on family throughout the series, and episodes dealing with the family trying to balance saving the world with getting daughter Nozomi to a concert that evening, and a number of episodes in which Mama contemplates having an affair with a younger co-worker stand out as having a real down-to-earth an real-life attitude that's rare in anime.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, I've also watched Galaxy Angel episode 17 in untranslated Japanese before, and watched it fansubbed last night as well. I'd forgotten about the Dijiko cameo in this episode, and seeing it again just makes me wish they'd done more with it.

[John]

Now that Kare Kano is out in America, I guess it's time that I actually finish watching it. (Say what you will. I'll be the first to admit that I'm very backlogged on a lot of titles.) Last night I pulled out my VHS fansub of episodes 17-20. I have to wonder if these episodes were actually even more heavily stylized than the earlier episodes. Kare Kano is a wonderful show because it balances such a tone of pure honesty and raw emotion and sincerity with a desire to entertain. It's a sweet, good natured show that really expresses the sense that its creators were working on something they really cared about. The creativity and spontaniety of the show are so pure and honest and energetic. Even though the show is highly theatrical and intentionally stylized, it never feels superficial or gimmicky or contrived.

Continuing with the Gainax anime, AbeSho episode 7 also added a nice depth to the show by having no comedy or absurdism. While not essentially necessary, the flashback episode 7 does a great job of creating a sense of nostalgia and adding an effective (albeit obviously manipulated) humanity to the show. This episode would have been impossible without the 6 that preceeded it, but the mere fact that it exists again validates to me the diversity and strength of anime. I simply can't even imagine a mainstream American animation being able to even attempt a simple, uneventful, nostalgic human story like this.

The ponytail fantasy reappeared in Azumanga Daioh episode 8. And finally the cat-like mascot character things made an appearance as well. This episode didn't reveal anything we didn't already know, but did a nice job of further fleshing out the characters and their personalities. And the distinctly Japanese cinematic technique of unusually long, uncut camera takes is used in this episode to great effect.

[John]

This was a frentic weekend for me, so not much time for viewing.

Azumanga Daioh episode 9 was again very cute. The emphasis on Sakaki was also nice to see. And Chiyo's "kaeshite!" attack on Sakaki was simply priceless!

AbeSho episode 8 was also very cute, although it didn't make nearly as many jokes with the life-sim genre as I expected. The in-joke about To Heart was just great because you really have to be paying attention, and know quite a bit about anime to catch it. Arumi was simply so adorable!

I'm beginning to dislike Rizelmine with episode 9, partially because it's the same episode over and over again, and partially because it's starting to turn Tomonori into the aggrevating character type that I just hate- the character that simply can't or won't accept the reality that's right in front of him and patently obvious. I just want to slap him and shout, "Wake up! Give it up!"

Flashback Game OAVs 1-3 tried very hard to disguise their mysogenistic attitude, and for that I give it credit, but the fact still remains that the show is nothing more than an extended male wish fulfillment fantasy. It simply seems like fantasy hentai like Guren and Ryouki no Ori that are in the style of La Blue Girl or F3 or something are getting increasingly rare. The bulk of contemporary hentai anime seems to revolve entirely around women not as characters but as toys or slaves or simply bodies to be used for male pleasure. I recognize that this sort of hentai has it's place and purpose, but I wonder about the state of the industry and the sociological conditions that are creating this stylistic flood that's overwhelming other types of hentai anime recently.

By coincidence I happened to realize that Sci-Fi was premiering Dog Soldiers, so I made sure to watch it. AICN savagely ripped the movie apart (no pun intended), but I didn't think it was nearly as bad as they did. It's far from original, but I found the film competent and briskly entertaining. A bit of tension and suspense would have been a welcome addition, but what the film did do, I think it did right. I was also pleased to see gore in the movie- just the right amount to be convincing, but not enough to ruin the film's atmosphere by turning it into camp.

On a multitude of different levels, Minority Report was a masterpiece. I don't want to give away any spoilers, so I'll just say that it's rare that a sci-fi movie, actually any Hollywood movie, assumes the intelligence of the viewer and even uses that to heighten the tension of the film by consistently subverting viewer expectations. This film did it in spades.

Don't ask why, but I ended up watching Versus again for the third time in about 3 weeks. If I keep it up at this pace, it won't be too long before the number of times I've watched Versus catches up to the number of times I've seen Highlander.

The first .Hack OAV was quite a disapointment. I've said before that I'm not a fan of the TV series, but the TV show is far better than this OAV. The most noticeable problem I had with the film is its art design. The character design is bland and forgettable, but even moreso, the character art including hair, faces and clothes, are virtually void of definition, detail or shading, which makes them jarringly incongruous with the textured and detailed backgrounds. the characters simply don't look like they're a part of the settings. They look like characters from a different anime laid on top of the backgrounds. This is simply a visual discontinuity that should never have made it past the art director and animation supervisor. Furthermore, the painfully dull story is obviously a supplement to a video game, as it's neither interesting enough or exciting enough to stand alone as an independant anime OAV release.

[John]

I don't have much to say about Cosmo Warrior Zero episodes 9-11. The production quality took a dive again in episode 10, but thankfull returned to normal the following episode. Watching this in untranslated Japanese I can only think to myself that Leiji Matsumoto probably wasn't directly involved in the creation of this series as it has virtually none of the charm and sense of expansive wonder that usually accompanies his work. I also have to say that I don't like the characacter design or characterization of Maetel, who finally appeared in these episodes. First of all, she looks much too round and childish in this incarnation, making her difficult to take seriously. And furthermore, even in this young incarnation, Maetal should carry with her a sense of lonliness and mystery, and also a svelte, demure sexiness. Ever since her first appearance over 20 years ago, these characteristics have always defined the eternal traveler. Unfortunately the Maetel of Cosmo Warrior Zero seems more like a disposable cameo character than a legendary anime icon.

Because a friend wanted to see it, I pulled out my 10+ year old VHS copy of the first Riki-Oh Violence Hero OAV, in raw Japanese and complete with audio dropouts and color flutter. Surprisingly, the OAV itself still holds up very well for its age, with good character design and gratituous violence that's still very extreme (although not as insanely over-the-top as the Hong Kong live action movie version).

[John]

Since I was away for a week at Expo and took a day off work to recover, this list covers several past days.

The new Spirit of Wonder OAVs were virtually the only "new" anime screened at Anime Expo. The two episodes screened in untranslated Japanese seemed a bit more faithful to the style of the manga to me- including a bit more sci-fi influence and a bit more fan service than the original OAV did. They're still a bit slow, though.

I happend to walk into the last 30 minutes of the Sakura Taisen movie during an Anime Expo screening that wasn't on the schedule (because there was no posted schedule). What I saw was simply incredible. The action was stunningly animated and very exciting. It's also nice to finally see action oriented Sakura Taisen anime set late in the story continuity. The first OAV series occurs before most of the action because it's a prequel to the game. The second OAV series focuses on character development, not action. The TV series deals with character development and the formation of the team, so again we rarely get to see the girls fight as a competent, experienced unit. Finally, that's what we do get to see in the movie.

I'm still undecided on Saishuuheiki Kanojo (http://www.saikano.net/) after episode 1. The manga style character designs look great in manga, but seem a little bland and under developed in animation. I'm very pleased with the digital animation's ability to make the anime look like traditional cel animation, though. And the story development was quite nice, using both dialogue and actions to characterize the characters and make their relationships believable very quickly. I know that there are high expectations for this show, and it looks like it may possibly be able to meet those expectations.

Samurai Deeper Kyo (http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anime/kyo/) looks to be everything I expected and hoped it would be. It's a samurai action story with a decidedly contemporary attitude- sort of a cross between Rurouni Kenshin and Jubei nin Pocho. The show looks good, although visual quality isn't its primary concern. This looks to be an exciting, fast paced, aggressive samurai action tale in the vein of Cowboy Bebop, Bastard and Monster City. I've already heard it compared to a combination of Zenki and Rurouni Kenshin, and the analogy seems fitting. Actually, to me it seems closest to Bastard, simply exchanging the fantasy universe for that of feudal Japan.

Azumanga Daioh 10 introduced a cute, jealous side of Chiyo and further made light of Sakaki's pitiful condition. Such a wonderfully entertaining show in its own subdued and understated way.

AbeSho episode 9 unfolded a whole lot of story, I think too quickly. The series is beginning to feel like a 12 or 13 episode series that didn't realize that it only had 12 or 13 episodes to tell it's story until half of the series was already over. It's still funny and entertaining, but the past two episodes seem to have lost the spontaniety and energetic humor and style of the early episodes.

Rizelmine episode 10 finally showed the first hint of some emotional development but unfortunately made much too little of it. This episode also introduced the first hint of bizarre, off-the-wall comedy in quite a few episodes. This show seems made for this Love Hina style outrageous comedy, and is much better for it when it uses this sort of humor, but unfortunately the show uses much too little of it, prefering instead to present itself as a conventional romantic sit-com when it works so much better being non-conventional.

Takeshi Miike's Ichi the Killer was quite an experience. The manga roots are evident in the outrageous, comic book style, CG rendered ultra violence- although most of the actual violence is depicted off-screen.The violence that is seen, though, and the extensive aftermath of Ichi's rampages do stand up to the buzz that surrounds the film as being way over-the-top ultra violent. The cinematography is interesting and skewed in the way only master film-makers like Miike and Sam Raimi can do. Tadano Asanobu is highly watchable and strangely sympathetic and likeable even though he's so disgustingly sadistic, ruthless and masochistic. His sheer honesty and forthright attitude make him a great leading character. Ichi himself is not a particularly likeable character and is wisely made almost a supporting character, although in theory his characterization leaves room for hours of post-film discussion. This film undeniably proves why Takeshi Miike is considered one of the most progressive, fascinating and challenging film directors working today.

And continuing the Miike film fest, I picked up the new domestic DVD version of Audition and watched it for the first time translated. Even knowing what was going to happen, the ending is still shocking, guaranteed to make you squirm, if not simply run screaming from the room. Much has been made of the innocence of the main character relative to the fate that befalls him, but especially watching it the second time, I think that there's enough evidence in the film to suggest that he does receive a form of just desserts and his friend, the seeming chauvinist, is actually the smart and more worldly and less vulnerable- therefore less deserving of punishment. If this is the case, it's interesting how the film establishes a cruel, unforgiving world in which the strong destroy the weak, without ever directly addressing a world view.

[John]

I wanted to watch more than I did last night, but I was a bit tired, so made it an early night.

RahXephon episodes 16 & 17 are fascinating because the show manages to create a totally familiar but at the same time completely foreign and unusual setting. Everyone has his or her own agenda and no one really talks to anyone else directly, but everyone still manages to somehow communicate. It's an interesting literary world in which everyone seems to live in parallel with everyone else rather than beside or along with everyone else. It's almost existential, but not quite. Romantic relationships exist and are acknowledged, but are never consumated- never complete, mutually acknowledged but never recipricated. Like the direction of the show itself, everything is disjointed and just slightly out of place, enough to be disorienting but not confusing. This is what makes the series so distinctive and compelling and unusual and fascinating.

With Evangelion, Gasaraki and now RhaXephon, it seems like AD Vision is creating a monopoly of "thinking" mecha shows.

Chobits episode 13. Big Sumomo. Cute.

[John]

Minor Spoilers Included

It's now 3 AM on Sunday morning. I just finished watching my freshly imported Vampire Hunter D: Original Japanese Version DVD (http://www.animenation.com/avba-14393.html) that I special ordered through AnimeNation. For those who don't know what I'm talking about, I just finished watching the Japanese language version of Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust. Now I want to talk about it with someone.

I can't say that I like this version better than the English language version because saying that makes it seem like the two versions are equivilent to each other. They're not. It may sound cliche to say this, but the Japanese language version really is a completely different film. The original English language version of Bloodlust is an action/horror film. The Japanese dub is a solemn, dark, humorless and elegaic drama. Without changing any of the video footage, not only the difference in language, but the massive difference in dialogue delivery between the Japanese and English versions create an entirely different atmosphere and tone between the two versions.

D's English voice is beautiful and fitting of his character design, but for my taste had no "bite" to it (no pun intended). D's Japanese voice is an evil whisper, the voice of a killer that whispers over your shoulder. His Japanese voice can only be described as "haunting."

Megumi Hayashibara is in Faye Valentine mode for her performance as Leila, but her experience is very evident. Because Japanese is spoken quickly, Leila has more time to hesitate and pause in her speech, which makes her dialogue sound more heartfelt and sincere. The American voice of Leila, especially during her monologue during the rain, simply sounds like an actor reading off cue cards. Megumi's slight pauses, sighs, and half laughs during this monologue suggest that she's simply speaking out loud what she thinks all the time. There's also no fear in her voice, unlike the American version. The Japanese Leila is cautious, but never afraid or nervous like the American one is. The use of honorables and pronouns also makes a trememdous difference. In the English language version, Leila seems to be a partner with the Marcus brothers. She's a partner, co-worker and associate but little more. In the Japanese version she normally calls Borgoff "Niisan" and calls Grove, "Grove-niisan," which goes a long way to establishing that she considers them family and feels attached to them.

The first time Charlotte speaks, she cries out "Meier Link-sama," which is much, much more convincing early on that she loves Meier Link than in the English version in which we rely on D to tell us that her shout was heartfelt.

Borgoff's voice is the only one that I had a slight problem with because his voice is actually almost too grizzled and experienced to match his character design. His voice is that of an experienced leader and bounty hunter, which seems almost out of place when seen coming from the almost comical character design. In effect, the voice is much more appropriate to the character background than the character design is.

Charlotte's father, in this version, genuinely sounds like an old, tired, wheelchair bound, sad and desparate father. The old man that sells D the horse actually includes little grunts that make it seem like he actually is having difficultly keeping his gun pointed. The sheriff is amicable but demanding. There's no trace of the winneness or fear or uncertainty that's in the English language voice.

In fact, none of the humor or indecision or sarcasm of the English version is in the Japanese version. All of the voices in the Japanese version are the voices of people far older than their years. The voices are all full of determination, regret, and saddness but never joy or humor like in the English version. Meier Link's voice is noble but doesn't seem to have any of the coloquialism or antagonism of the English version. Carmilla's voice is also appropriate as it was in the English version, but in the Japanese version she distinctly ennunciates, which clearly presents the impression of royalty taught to speak "properly."

The werewolf's voice sounds weary, as though he's ready to retire, which is much more fitting to his characterization than his English voice. He also refers to Meier Link as "Meier Link-dono," suggesting that he's far older than Meier is.

D's hand speaks like a spiteful old man and is very far from the comic relief that it is in the English version. When D falls ill, the hand doesn't have an "I told you so" tone. The hand is just as surprised at D's sudden weakness as D himself is. The hand seems to have no sarcasm. When he pushes D's buttons, he seems to do so like a spiteful old grandfather, doing so to avenge himself on D, not like the friendly chiding of the English version. There's a more cruel, serious and harsh tone to the hand's dialogue in the Japanese version than in the English version, which is perfectly suited to the overall tone of the Japanese version.

And now the differences. When Charlotte pulls the arrow out of Meier, Meier's reaction in the English version is pain. In the Japanese version he's surprised by Charlotte's action. He doesn't seem to feel any pain, though.

When Meier reads Carmilla's letter in the Japanese version there's no voice over the way there is in the English version. In the Japanese version we never hear Carmilla speak until she is physically introduced.

When the green monster woman dies in the American version, she lets out a long, agonized scream. In the Japanese version she dies without making a sound.

In the English version, the werewolf is surprised by D's final attack and howls in pain. In the Japanese version he says "Bakana!" This suggests that he's actually shocked and surprised that D was able to defeat him. This one word changes the entire characterization of the werewolf from a useless distraction in the English version intended only to slow down D, to an able, experienced warrior who fully expected to kill D in battle in the Japanese version.

In the English version, Carmilla berates D and tries to shame him with her words. In the Japanese version, she speaks as though D is barely worth her notice. When he kills her in the English version she is upset that he was able to kill her, as though she knew that he was capable of it. In the Japanese version, Carmilla is totally shocked when D kills her, as though she didn't even think he was capable of hurting her at all. The difference is only in the way the dialogue is recited, but the difference is like night and day.

When the dying Carmilla reaches for Charlotte's body in the English version, Meier Link silently kills her. In the Japanese version he swoops down shouting "Charlotte," making it clear that he's trying to protect his lover. The English version simply seems more like he's killing out of revenge.

I honestly never imagined that there would be such a major difference between the English and Japanese language versions, but there is. It's not just the language that's different, it's the entire style that's different. I like Meier Link's voice characterization in the English version, but that's about the only one that I really like. Too many of the English voices sound to me like actors trying to act. The Japanese voices don't sound like actors or acting. They sound like the real, natural voices of the characters we see on the screen, the way we imagine their backgrounds and experiences would make them sound.

[John]

This will be long since it covers the past several days.

UFO Princess Walkure (http://www.tokinoyu.net/) seems like really cute, really fan service heavy, fluff. Cute character designs, an army of cat girls, lot of nude breasts, and a bright, colorful art design should make this pretty fun. It's not particularly original, but anime isn't about originality; it's about entertainment. The opening theme is pretty good too.

Super GALS! Kotobuki Ran (http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/gals/) episode 10 more than anything surprises me that AD Vision licensed it. It also makes me so want to go back to Shibuya. This is a particularly very heavily Japanese anime, so I hope ADV will do a decent job of translating it in a couple years when they get around to it.

Samurai Deeper Kyo 2 was as solid as I'd hoped it would be. This definitely seems like it could be one of the next big "cross-over" hits among American fandom, as long as American fans don't criticize it too heavily. Again, it's not particularly original, but it has a sense of style and attitude that I haven't seen in anime in quite some time.

I took in Azumanga Daioh 11-13 because I simply love this show to death. "Bru Five is Jacky Chan!" Hilarious!

Juuni Kokki episode 7 is developing in a way that I really like a lot. Yoko's personality and resolution is solidifying as a competent, willful individual, which is somthing not seen nearly enough in anime. The story is still developing very, very slowly, but the heavy emphasis on character development makes this easy to forget about.

Happy Lesson episode 10 was unusually forgettable. (And I think I may have accidentally skipped over episode 9 without noticing.) The original OAV episodes 1 & 2 were funny because they were spontaneous and lively. I'm beginning to think that this series was better left in small doses, as with an extended story it becomes too familiar and routine, and as a result, dull. The gorgeous character design keeps the show nice to look at, but the writing seems to have fallen into a rut of soap opera superficial melodrama, loosing the unexpected and spontaneous absurd humor that characterized the early episodes and made it worth watching.

Dragon Drive episode 1 is the latest Digimon/Pokemon clone. And I have to admit that the first episode is kind of stupid. What is does right, it has in common with most other long running family shows. It stays active by using frequent camera cuts and always keeping the main characters moving or walking while they talk- which maintains a sense of action and makes the episode fly by quickly. I'm sure there will be a market for this, but I don't think I'm going to stick with it.

G-On Riders (http://www.g-on.jp/) just takes fan service to an entirely different level. Produced by the same staff that gave us Hand Maid May and I, My, Me Strawberry Egg, this show feels like a combination of them both. Although there's no nudity in this, it still feels much more fan service heavy that Walkure, which does include a lot of nudity, because while nudity is very matter-of-fact in Walkure, ecchi is emphasized in G-On Riders with a running panty joke and plenty of sexy cosplay. This show just screams out for an American license!

Based on only the first episode, Witch Hunter Robin (http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anime/robin/) may very well be the next big thing among fans. Ryvius, Scryed, and Argent Soma all failed to keep me interested (although eventually I'll get around to finishing up watching Argent Soma and Scryed). This Sunrise production is something different altogether. The distinctive character design of Robin herself is magnificent as it captures the atmosphere of gothic colonialism and looks totally unlike anything else in anime. The art design also, with its subtle earth tone color and gothic design in the architecture goes a long way to establishing a distinct tone without being overt or heavy handed. In fact, the entire subtelty of influence in this show combined with the beautifully choreographed action are a distinctive and beautiful combination. I'm really looking forward to watching episode 2 tonight.

As I said of Dragon Drive, Shaman King (http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/shaman/) episodes 13-18 move quickly because they are always in motion, and the camera never lingers on a single shot for more than a couple seconds. However, I can't help but think that something seems to be missing somewhere, as though the emphasis has been shifted onto action at the expense of story continuity. The shamans are supposed to be those that lead the world and are supposed to, I thought, be spiritual minded. I thought that Yo was the exception when in fact his selfish reason for joinging the Shaman Fight seems to be the most altruistic among the competitors. But perhaps I was just mistaken or was reading too deeply into the show from the first place.

.hack//SIGN episodes 11 & 12 are still not going anywhere, slowly, but I've realized are still watchable because of the great art design. There's simply nothing else out there that looks quite like this show. Even though the story and characters are uninteresting, the world itself is captivating and beautiful.

I've completely changed my opinion of Saishuuheiki Kanojo (henceforth to be referred to as "SaiKano") after watching episode 2. I've come to the conclusion that after only 2 episodes this may be the best show on the air right now. I originally didn't like the character designs, but I realize now that the show simply wouldn't work any other way. This show, like the best tragedy, induces both pity and fear in the viewer. By never seeing the action or the enemy, the focus is entirely on the effects of war on the characters. The military is brilliantly characterized because it is only spoken of, and the only "face" of the military is a frightened man that appears to be a civilian. Chise doesn't deserve her fate and doesn't know what is happening to her or what will happen to her, and because the viewer is placed in the same position, we feel the same fear and uncertainty. We pity her because we see her suffering. We fear because we don't want her to suffer, and because her universality make it easy for us to imagine ourselves in her situation. The passive, domestic tone of the show and the simple and warm character designs make the war and Chise's condition ever so more shocking and extraordinary. I credit this to both the original writing, and Gonzo's exceptional adaptation of the the original writing. Already I can imagine this being a very affecting and heart rending masterpiece, as long as it maintains its present quality.

And finally, Reign of Fire turned out to be much more of a drama than I'd anticipated. I wasn't stunned, but I also had no significant complaints about the film, which is rare with me and Hollywood movies nowadays. Perhaps the most interesting part of the film, though, was the advance trailer for Fear Dot Com, what is obviously to me the first American rip-off/clone of The Ring, hoping to cash in on the upcoming American Ring re-make.

[John]

Chobits episodes 14 & 15 did pile on the fan service, by CLAMP standards, but I still find this a very tame show, even by TV standards. For a late night program, Chobits doesn't come within 10 yards of the fan service quotient of Najica, or even approach the raw sexuality and erotica of the late night Devilman Lady TV series from 4 years ago. Chobits may be mildly H, but you know it can't go too far when Pioneer America licenses it. Pioneer USA seems to be okay with violence (SoulTaker, Hellsing) and sexy girls (Vandread), but when it comes to controversial subject matter (Imaboku, distributed in Japan by Pioneer and released in the US by CPM) and very risque ecchi (Iketeru Futari, a Pioneer Japan license not in America), Pioneer USA is quite prude and family friendly.

Witch Hunter Robin episode 2 was a little bit disappointing because it was so conventional and straightforward, but that probably has much more to do with unreasonably high expectations on my part rather than any flaws in the show itself. And I forgot to mention how good the opening theme is.

Watching AbeSho 10 last night I realized that I've been spelling the name wrong all this time by spelling it "Shogentai" instead of "Shotengai." John no baka! This episode was a little better than the previous two, but I still think the show has lost a good portion of the humor and "genki" spirit of the early episodes.

The Di-Gi-Charat movie, like all Di-Gi-Charat anime, is undoubtably better translated, but still quite enjoyable because its story is pretty straightforward and easy to follow, unlike some of the previous Dejiko anime that virtually requires understanding of the dialogue to be able to understand what's going on. It's cute to see the movie play with the conventions of movies and "wink at the audience" by acknowledging itself as a movie.

I also discovered the new j-pop group "I've" last night and have instantly fallen in love with it. I reminds me of nothing so much as Every Little Thing with less talent. All of their songs sound like they're made to be J-pop/dance/electronic anime theme songs. Now that Dream has broken up, this group may be my rebound lover.

[John]

Ippatsu Kikimusume (http://www.tbs.co.jp/w_anime/kiki/index-j.html) episodes 11 & 12. I have only two words. "Reverse CPR."

Happy Lesson episode 9 was yet again another domestic comedy episode that wasn't nearly as funny as it should have been.

Galaxy Angel episode 18 was again one of the weird ones. Monkeys. Monkeys make everything better!

Samurai Deeper Kyo episode 3 was fast paced, and very fun to watch. I think it's iteresting that by this point it should be clear that Kyo is essentially un-beatable, but the episodes still manage to create and maintain a lot of suspense.

Bandit King Jing episode 6 showed off an absolutely beautiful art design with great looking, unusual characters, backgrounds and an almost Tim Burton-ish otherworldly macabre charm.

My first thought upon watching Terrestial Defense Force Mao-chan (http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anime/denpa/mao/) is, "How did someone drum up financial support for this show?" It appeals to me, but I can't figure out how many viewers this show is going to draw considering that it airs at like 2 in the morning. Mao-chan is one of the most innocent and cute and sweet series I've ever seen- sachrine sweet without even the faintest trace of depth. Even Sailormoon had more "bite" than this show does. I'm almost tempted to think of it as a parody of shoujo anime by being such a dictionary perfect example of a magical girl show that it's almost absurd. This little show is literally so cute and light that it hurts.

Broadcast with it is a 12 minute long episode of Asagiri no Miko (http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anime/denpa/asagiri/), a show I was really looking forward to. It's difficult to form much of an opinion based on the first episode because the entire first episode was essentially a single extended stand off acton scene. It's interesting to note that Megumi Hayashibara seems to have evolved into a sort of older role now. With Love Hina, Shaman King and now this show, her characters are all the wise, experienced guide, older sister or mentor.

More descriptions on the way...

[John]

Continued from last weekend and Monday:

Arcade Gamer Fubuki OAV 2 was better than the first, but not by much. The early video game and especially Street Fighter parodies were great, but there's still too little of that for my taste. I'm also bothered by the reliance on the Fashion Panties which seem like they have the magical power to increase one's video gaming skill. While the second episode seemed to hint that they're nothing more than a superstitious good luck charm, there's still too much evidence that world class gamer Fubuki can't actually play video games on her own skill alone. That's the same thing that ruined God of Gamblers Returns. When Do-san is just supernaturally good, the movie is exciting and wonderful. When he (and Fubuki) have to resort to cheating or rely on a pair of magical panties to make them good, it just feels like cheating and ruins the "magic."

UFO Princess Walkure episode 2 was a flashback story episode, and as such was straightforward and workmanlike.

Stuart Gordon's Dagon lost a little steam towards the end, but was still a fine, fine horror movie and an exceptional Lovecraft film. This is absolutely a horror film. There is a little bit of gore, but it's not a splatter film. There's no sudden shocks. There are monsters throughout, but it's not a monster movie. It's pure atmosphere. The film doesn't hide anything. It drops the characters into a horrifying situation at the very outset, and simply gets worse and worse. I can see why the film was never released theatrically. It's simply not a mainstream horror film. It's a film for HPL fans, and a film for people that not only enjoy, but appreciate good horror movies. This is a film clearly for fans that are familiar with Lovecraft's "Shadow Over Innsmouth," but still I'd like to have seen, or more specifically heard, more about Dagon in the film itself, instead of the film assuming that most viewers would already know.

One Piece episodes 112-115, oddly moved quickly and slowly. The action was fast, by One Piece standards, but the action was spread over 3 of the episodes, so the story didn't progress essentially at all. And the violence in these episodes, in especially the Choppa & Usop fight against Mr. 4 & Mrs. Merry Christmas was so extreme that it was simply absurd and funny.

And now for last night's viewing:

I tired to watch our screener DVD of Arjuna 1-3 in my Apex DVD player. It looked a bit soft and fuzzy, even through S-Video, and occasionally showed some MPG flaws in the first episode, until I got to the second episode. The second episode was so pixelated that I had to give up and play the rest of the disc in the Pioneer DVD player with standard AV. Then I compared it to my R2 import disc 1 in the Apex player, and the image quality of the R2 was noticeably sharper and cleaner than the US disc in the same player. Then I put the US disc in my PS2, and it looked cleaner and brighter than it did in the Apex player. My conclusion is that if the US disc does actually have image quality as good as the Japanese DVD, which I'm not sure that it does, the American DVD has some serious encoding and compatibility issues. Regarding the episodes themselves, I'm very pleased to see everything left in original Japanese including the episode titles and ending credits. For the most part I had no complaints with the sub translation either. (I think the conversation just following the steam train flashback in episode 2 could have been a bit clearer.)

Asagiri no Miko episode 2 was again very fast paced and fun to watch, but was too short to allow for much criticism.

[John]

Tenchi Muyo! GXP episode 3 was a story episode, so not much thrilling really happened in it. It's a straightforward episode that just exists to show Seina resolving his commitment to join the Galaxy Police. Not thrilling, but not exactly bad. Unfortunately, not Tenchi Muyo either.

Happy Lesson episode 11 clawed its way partially out of the hole its fallen into by focusing on Kisagari-mama, the mad scientist. Throughout the show, she is always the most entertaining character. Although this show really isn't that great, it's like .hack. It's nice to look at and easy to watch because it's so mindless and unintellectual. It's anime that you can easily just couch potato in front of.

Angel Blade OAV 2 was very definitely a middle episode of a series. This has got to be the best looking hentai anime ever made, and I'm really looking forward to RSI translating it eventually. Of course, I can't help watching it and thinking to myself how cool it could be if Masami Obari were to make a new Vampire OAV series based on the Capcom fighting game. He's already directed Toshinden and Fatal Fury. And the main evil succubus in Angel Blade could be Morrigan's long lost twin sister.

On the other hand, Mija: Beautiful Demon was shockingly pointless. Mija herself isn't even in that much of the OAV, and when she is in it, doesn't really do anything. The show looks a little better than I expected it to, and it's not really bad, per se, but I can't honestly call it good either. It's just a little below average, and I mean that in the best possible way.

The room-mate rented Momento, so I took the opportunity to sit in for it. It's not a film that I'd personally buy, but I'm very happy to have seen it. Most movies are designed to keep you guessing what's going to happen next. This amazing film keeps you guessing what's going to happen next and why. There are plot points left unanswered by design, but I think that there may be just a few too many unanswered questions to fully satisfy me with the film, but I can't deny the movie's originality, style, quality and ability to engage the viewer.

Finally, The Rock may be many things, but Spy Hunter?

[John]

Witch Hunter Robin episode 3 introduces even more of the Ryvius/Scryed influence than I'd guessed was in this show. Everyone in the show is exceptionally selfish and self-absorbed. I'd guessed that the characters would open up their closed circle as the series progressed, but that doesn't look like it's going to happen, at least not initially and not the way I thought would happen. Thankfully, this show emphasizes mood and minimizes dialogue in the opposite way that Ryvius and Scryed emphasized dialogue. That makes this more watchable. It's difficult to stay interested in watching a show when all the characters are annoying, self-conscious a**holes. It's great in theory, and offers a lot to analyze, but just isn't fun to watch. This show seems to be avoiding that pitfall, not by using different types of characters, but just by having them not talk as much and letting atmosphere and action express more than spoken dialogue.

I finished off untranslated TV source Cosmo Warrior Zero episodes 12 & 13 last night. Based mainly on nostalgia, I really want to like this show, but rationally I have to admit that it's really awful. The final two episodes especially seemed to be written by someone that's never watched a Star Trek movie or any sci-fi war movie before, and furthermore had so many continuity flaws that the final episode seemed more like patched together left over footage from other episodes than a cohesive story. The Analyzer robot gets blown up no less than three times, but each time appears magically repaired and in working order in the following scene. Characters seeminly leave their posts on the ship bridge without notice, for seemingly no reason, only to re-appear in the next scene with no explanation. Damage to the ship seems to fluctuate wildly from scene to scene. I hate to say this, but the final two episodes of Cosmo Warrior Zero make Lost Universe look good. Knowing that Media Blasters has just begun releasing the series, I can only hope that perhaps massive improvements were made to the home video version, or perhaps translated dialogue makes a massive difference. If not, this one ranks up (or down) there with the Gundress movie.

Queen & Slave, the latest hentai release from NuTech. Are male appendages that look like that healthy?

[John]

Please excuse today's brief summaries.

Samurai Deeper Kyo episode 4 provided some interesting hints of character and story development, and hinted at some interesting plot developments to come.

Witch Hunter Robin episode 4 was a nice subtle change of pace because it introduced a bit of character development and background information on the characters, and ended with a simple but still revealing little philosophical concept that, if nothing else, at least suggests that the animation staff is thinking about the show a bit.

SaiKano episode 4 set up a love triangle. While it's cliche, it's still effective because the characters are so well defined and characterized, and the timing of the event is both logical and effective. With Chise changing now, I'm very curious to see what will happen next.

Rockman.exe episode 5 introduced the first hint of a serious continuing sub-plot but was otherwise another very well produced by forgettable fluff episode.

Galaxy Angel episode 20 was fun because it ended with a brief but unexpected humorous twist.

Kogepan episode 7 was a strange as ever, this time revealing Kogepan's weakness as seen through the eyes of Cream pan.

Shicinin no Nana (http://www.starchild.co.jp/special/nana/) episode 3 introduced the super hero outfits, and took the overzealous school principal running gag a bit too far for my taste, but the show is still very sweet natured and fun to watch. Although my support of Media Blasters has been mixed in the past, I'm looking forward to their American release of this show.

Aura Bancho Psychic Academy (http://aura.lycos.co.jp/) episodes 2-6 seemed to me very uneven and unfocused. Since it was created for streaming internet broadcast, I won't criticize the production quality, which is actually quite good for what it is. However, the show's writing just doesn't seem to be sure what it wants to be- a romance, a fan service comedy, a supernatural light drama. It seems to employ elements of everything, but focus on developing no one aspect, which leaves the entire series feeling limp and uninspired.

Hand Maid May was a cute, but somewhat uneven show as well, and Strawberry Egg just wasn't interesting enough to hold my interest for very long, but the production staff seems to have finally hit its stride with G-On Riders. With episode 2 all of the character personalities are interesting, the show is nice to look at, and it's simply pure fun without the aggrevating annoyances of Hand Maid May. I'm surprised that AD Vision or Pioneer or Media Blasters hasn't already picked up this show.

And I rounded out the weekend with 3 untranslated recent underground Japanese horror/shock/exploitation movies.

Strongest Woman Legend Kyoko vs Yuki barely qualified as a "good" bad movie. Considering its visual style, I wouldn't be surprised to know that it's an adaptation of manga. Unfortunately it was terribly acted and terribly written. The inclusion of borderline pornographic lesbian sex scenes may sink or swim the film for some viewers, but for me only made the movie more of an oddity. The film is, in few word, the story of a professional sailor suit wearing teen girl assassin pitted against a sailor suit wearing lesbian kogal over a briefcase full of money.

Red Room ("Akai Meshitsu no Heya - Kindan no Oosama Game" if my translation is correct) was the most stylish of the three movies I watched. It was also one of the most outrageous, explotive and blatantly offensive movies I've ever seen. When it comes to gruesome sex and horror films, America can't even dream of the sort of stuff that comes out of Japan.

And speaking of sex and splatter, the less said about Senketsu no Kizuna probably the better. In summation, for those that know what I'm talking about, this was a very graphic and explicit Japanese re-make of I Spit on Your Grave.

[John]

Ground Defense Force Mao-chan episode 2 again just makes me wonder how somebody got budget approval for this show. I really love it, but I didn't think the anime industry still supported and produced such utterly inconsequential and cute shows. I don't think I've seen anything this cutesy since 80s anime like Creamy Mami and Magical Emi.

I can tell already that Cosplay Complex (http://www.wonderfarm.co.jp/cosplex/cosplay/) will be the next candidate for AD Vision's pop up vid notes gimmick. I was afraid that there wouldn't be many anime in-jokes in the show because the promotional art for this new OAV series is conspicuously absent of any. But my fears were allayed when the first five minutes of this first OAV had as many anime references as an entire slow episode of Excel Saga. Some of the obvious costumes like You're Under Arrest, KoF's Yuri Sakazaki and Dead of Alive girls will be easily identifiable to most viewers, but some of the sight gags, including references to Di-Gi-Charat, Cyber Formula GPX, and Zone of the Enders, and the extended running gag on Aim for the Ace are either too obscure or too subtle for, I suspect, mainstream fans to catch. This is clearly going to be a show for fanatic otaku to test their geekish trivia knowledge on. And thankfully it's a really good OAV too. The show begins with solid characterizations and a fun attitude then uses fan service as an enhancement to an already good show instead of something like Nanako Kaitei Shinsyo which uses fan service as a crutch to help salvage poor writing and ineffective directing.

[John]

Ippatsu Kikimusume episode 3 was surprisingly tame and non-risque, although still quite funny. Episodes 14 & 15 got back to basics by making fun of not only pain but also nudity.

I'd said that I wasn't planning on watching more Dragon Drive, but I'm a sucker for anything new because I'm always curious about the state of the industry in Japan. Episode 2 wasn't quite as silly as episode 1, and still kept up the very active, fast pace. And I'm almost tempted to argue that the show's opening theme song is too good for it.

The 5 minute long Azumanga Daioh movie was clearly intended for fans of the manga that were already familiar with the characters and running gags in the show. It's also noticeable how good the animation quality is in this short, because it's made for theatrical release. The motion in the character's bodies and especially their hair shows a priority on detailed animation that I'm not used to seeing very often. Most anime don't have animation quality this good because it's time consuming and expensive to produce. It's nice to see such good animation lavished on such a relatively simple show because most viewers won't even notice it at all. But after watching 13 TV episodes so far, it's hard to get used to the slightly different movie character designs, which premiered a little before the TV series.

The You're Under Arrest: No Mercy OAV (http://www.bandaivisual.co.jp/webuser/shop_product_info.asp?item_no=BCBA-1165) was unbelievably silly. This most recent YUA anime, in this episode Miyuki and Natsumi temporarily transfer to the LAPD, and every possible American steroetype gets played up in full force. LA is a bright and sunny land of loud, obnoxious, violent Americans who are all prone to violence and crime. And everyone in America carries at least one gun at all times. Much more in the style of YUA Special than the TV series, this OAV was fun to watch because it was fast paced and reasonably exciting, but also fun to watch because it was just so entertaining to point out and laugh at all the excessively played up American stereotypes and myths.

[John]

I have mixed feelings on the Sakura Wars movie. Early in the film it obviously tries very hard to show off its animation, which is somewhat distracting, but not exactly terrible. I'm also very pleased to see the film really take advantage of the widescreen format in a way that anime movies all too often do not. The film is full of wide rooms, tall ceilings, and panoramic vistas that really take advantage of the theatrical setting to show what can't be shown effectively on a television. The movie intentionally holds back its action for the spectacular climactic battle (which is simply stunning) but as a result fails to develop enough empathy with the viewer. As though the film is more concerned with being an cannonical addition to the Sakura Taisen continuity instead of concentrating on being an exciting film, it spends too much time introducing Rachette, and as a result, spreads itself too thin. We meet all of the girls, but the movie never makes us really care about the girls. Therefore the film is engaging on a technical level, but not an emotional one. I've always been hoping for a Sakura Taisen anime with the raw emotional intensity of Bubblegum Crisis OAVs 5 & 6. The ending of this movie came close, but it's too little, too late for me. An excellent movie, just not what I would have made it.

I really love the original Geobreeders OAV series because it's so much the epitome of what we think of as anime: cute girls with guns, supernatural battles, real-world technology and settings, and lots of fast paced, awe inspiring action. Perhaps because the second series wasn't directed by Yuji Moriyama himself, I was a bit disappointed with Geobreeders 2. First and foremost, the Kagura team itself really doesn't do anything this time around. While in the original series, which was presumably based on the manga, the girls were competent, albeit ideocentric, in this original second series, the girls are mostly incompetents and hangers-on, merely window dressing to the real story instead of being the central characters that the story moved around. The John Woo homage in the fourth episode was especially nice, but overall this second series simply seemed to be missing something. It left me thinking not that I'd watched something special, but merely something okay.

Playing with the color settings on your TV does fix the Spirited Away DVD. There's such a wealth of things I could say about this film. It's not as immediately sentimental as the classics like Nausicaa and Laputa, but it's got a little more weight than Totoro or Porco Rosso. The magic of this film is that it's a film that you can watch over and over again. It's not as didactic as Mononoke or Nausicaa or Laputa, and while in one sense it therefore seems like less, on the other hand that makes the film stronger as it doesn't rely on emotional manupulation or tugging at heartstrings to make its point. There are a lot of unanswered questions in the film, but none of them are important. And hopefully Americans will appreciate that. I still think that Mononoke is Miyazaki's greatest film, and I still like Kiki the best personally, but Spirited Away may be his most refined and effective film.

[John]

Lupin the 3rd: Alcatraz Connection was one of the better mid range TV movies. It's not up to the level of Walther P-38, but not as bad/silly as Harimaoh's Treasure or Napeleon's Dictionary or Tokyo Crisis. It's about on par with Twilight Gemini and Burn Zantetsuken. It's nice to see Zenigata portrayed as somewhat competent, as it's done too rarely in Lupin movies. But when it is done provides a more compelling foil to Lupin. And Fujiko looked the best in this movie she's looked since Lupin Assassination Directive.

The first story in the Kitty Pleasure Pack 2 hentai DVD turned out to be one of those tragic romance/sex OAVs that are usually decent, but not particularly exciting. This one was no different. The second episode on the disc turned out to be the most fun "little girls" sex comedy since Nagekino Kenko Yuroji (AKA: SoftCel's F^3).

[John]

Kung Pow: Enter the Fist wasn't nearly as funny as it should have been. Somebody should have mentioned to Steve Odekirk that something is funny once or maybe twice, but dull and boring when repeated dozens of times.

Witch Hunter Robin episode 5 was solid, but not unusual except for the fact that it may be either the series' first multi-part episode or the beginning of a larger storyline. I won't be sure at least until after I see episode 6.

Samurai Deeper Kyo included some interesting revelations including a surprise character revelation and the introduction of a second "demon" samurai.

G-On Riders episode 4 was quite cute, and very high on the fan service meter. Now did I ever watch episode 3?

[John]

I've been so busy lately that I haven't had nearly as much time to watch anime as I've wanted.

I did indeed skip G-On Riders episode 3, so I went back and filled in that hole last night. Episode 4 now makes a little more sense. This is a really cute show, and I'm surprised that since every episode is essentially the same, it hasn't gotten boring yet.

Asagiri no Miko episode 3 was a bit more placid than the prior two, and perhaps because of that, quite charming and fun. The little nasty tempered gal is really a great character.

[John]

After napping from about 8pm to 9:30pm, most of my evening was taken up watching the copy of Donnie Darko my room-mate rented. An interesting supernatural/suspense film because it's smart enough not to spoon-feed the audience answers, and not heavy handed enough to beat its message into the viewer's skull.

Galaxy Angel series 1 episode 21 was short and cute. A throw-away fluff episode revolving around Ranpha, Mint and Vanilla trying to save an indebted pizza resturant.

Samurai Deeper Kyo episode 6 began the martial arts tournament. The next episode with the Kyo versus Hidetada fight we knew was coming eventually should be something to look forward to.

Since I'm falling so far behind on viewing, hopefully this weekend will give me a lot of time to catch up.

[John]

After watching the second TOKYOPOP Real Bout High School DVD I was reminded of the horrifyingly bad character art in the second half of episode 6. And having watched these episodes before in untranslated Japanese, I was hoping for some dramatic revelations in the dialogue which, alas, were not to come. But the show is still pretty entertaining.

Cosplay Complex OAV 2 focused on further developing some story, so as a result didn't have as many sight gags and in-jokes. It's still pretty funny, though, even in untranslated Japanese.

I watched Volcano High School (http://www.kfccinema.com/reviews/kungfu/volcanohigh/volcanohigh.html) twice on Sunday. Once alone and once later with my room-mates. This is a recent Korean action film just released on R3 special edition DVD (which is what I just got from Aznfilms.com (http://www.aznfilms.com/).) The movie wasn't quite as action packed as I'd been led to believe from reviews I've read, but it's full of really wonderful cinematography, impressive set design, and very accomplished CG. I can easily see this movie being the next cult hit Shaolin Soccer. And this also continues to convince me that a live action Dragonball Z movie actually is possible.

Hare Nochi Guu episode 19 continued the wackiness with changing personalities.

G-On Riders episode 5 threw me with two unexpected plot twists. Neither of them is particularly dramatic, but both of them were slightly unexpected.

Sentou Yousei Yukikaze OAV 1 was essentially exactly what I expected it to be. All of those fans that like to argue over sexual orientation in Gundam W and Yu Yu Hakusho really ought to look at this OAV for something that clearly, intentionally builds a lot of homoerotic suggestion into the story. The technical/metaphysical aspects of the Yukikaze aircraft itself and its relationship to Lt. Fukai are interesting, but the rest of the show left me a bit underwhelmed considering the show's running time. Considering this is only the first of several episodes, though, I don't want to be too harsh on it yet.

Like Cosplay Complex, Gatekeepers 21 OAV 2 wasn't as exciting as the first episode because it develops more story. It is really neat to see the Gatekeepers mythology expanding in this episode, though, with someone using both dark and light gates at the same time.

With Witch Hunter Robin episode 6 the show is beginning to leave more loose ends, which actually makes the show much more interesting. And we may be starting to see the first glimmer of respect and partnership between Robin and Amon.

[John]

I didn't even realize that the Nurse Witch Komugi-chan TV series had started until the first episode turned up digi-subbed last night. I still don't know if I'm supposed to take this seriously or not. I can only think to say that it seems to be a spin-off from SoulTaker in the same way the Pretty Samy TV series is to Tenchi Muyo. It's a bit silly and parody filled, but it still seems to be a genuine, honest mahou shoujo show. I enjoyed the first episode immensely, but I'm going to withhold judgement until I see more of it and get a better idea of what type of show its going to be.

I'd thought that the Futari H OAV series would be a fan-service romantic comedy considering that it's from Yuji Moriyama. In fact, it's softcore porn. Apparently the manga is very popular with 15 volumes, but maybe it's because I was watching it in untranslated Japanese that I didn't really see the fascination. It's not bad, and I'd watch more of it, but it wasn't anything I've not seen before a dozen times.

[John]

Juuni Kokki episode 9 contained some major revelations and was a really thrilling, interesting episode. Now if I can only get my hands on episode 8.

The final DVD of SoulTaker very nearly made the series logical. I'm surprised at how well the final episodes managed to tie up the show and make most of it make sense in a satisfying way. My only complaint was having to watch the show with Pioneer's subtitles which constantly annoy me when I hear the characters say "Date Kyosuke" and read on screen "Kyosuke Date," or hear Kyosuke say "Nakahara-san" and read the subtitles that say "Komugi," or hear Runa say "Oniichan" and read the subtitles that say "That's not true!" The mainstream Pioneer subs may express the intention of the dialogue adequately, but I can't help but shouting in my mind "That's not what they said!" over and over again.

[John]

It's almost embarassing to admit that being as big a fan of anime and Asian genre film as I am, I never saw Takeshi Miike's Dead or Alive until last night. Partially knowing what to expect, I wasn't disappointed. Much of the middle of the film may seem slow or dull, so it's easy to forget that even when they're slow, most Takeshi Miike movies are simply not quite like anything else you've ever seen. Dead or Alive is an unflinching, brutal movie. The nearest American comparison I can think of is Reservoir Dogs, or possibly a less action oriented Wild Bunch. The film, although essentially grounded in reality, is a fantasy about what happens when two men, an irrestible force and an unmoving object, agree to a dual that neither is willing to back down from. It's also spectacularly interesting that the film never lays out what's going on, but rather gradually lays out enough hints and small bits of exposition to allow the viewer to figure out everything on his own. It's a very intelligent, offensive and extreme exploitation gangster film.

It seems that I totally skipped over watching Asagiri no Miko 3, so I filled in that hole last night. There was more humor in this episode than in any of the others I've watched, which was both entertaining, and seemingly slightly out of place.

[John]

Overman King Gainer (http://www.king-gainer.net/) is definitely a Yoshiyuki Tomino show because its full of obscure technobabble and esoteric, fusion art design. The first episode was all action, which was nice but difficult to critique since it doesn't allow for any character or story development. Based on only one episode, though, this show seems to be better than Turn A Gundam or Brain Powerd.

Azumanga Daioh 14 seemed to be a quick re-hash, as the girls are already going on another trip to Chiyo's beach house. But the episode was still quite entertaining.

I'm secure enough in my masculinity to admit that SaiKano episodes 4 & 5 brought tears to my eyes. This show is simply so beautifully sad and tragic. Like Imaboku, this is another little masterpiece.

I watched Chobits episodes 16-20, but it was episodes 19 & 20 that are really intriguing. Episode 19 especially reminds me a lot of DNA^2. Suddenly dealing with 5 different parties all interested in Chii is quite exciting, so now I'm really left guessing what will happen next.

Atashinchi (http://www.tv-asahi.co.jp/atashi/) clearly wants to be Tonari no Yamada-kun, or even Crayon Shin-chan, but unfortunately it's not. Somewhat surprisingly, none of director Akitaro Daichi's trademarks are in the first episode of Atashinchi, including the humor. For a domestic comedy, there's nothing wrong with this show, but it simply doesn't do anything out of the ordinary either. It doesn't have the fanciful sense of wonder of Yamada or Nono-chan, and doesn't have the spirit of chaos and the unexpected that's in Crayon Shin-chan. If Yamada or Cray Shin-chan are the Simpsons, Atashinchi is King of the Hill.

Asagiri no Miko episode 5 was a simple, straightforward episode that didn't really advance either character or plot beside briefly introducing a disposable new character. I could say roughly the same about G-On Riders episode 6.

Tenchi Muyo GXP episode 4 is simply "anti-funny." It's painfully obvious lowbrow attempt at humor simply drains all the fun out of the show. Allow me to re-create the comedy of GXP with this joke: "Why did the chicken cross the road? Because it wanted to get to the other side."

I managed to catch up with RahXephon by watching episodes 18-22. I still have virtually no clue what's going on, but I still love the show to death. And it's startling how much sexier Quon became all of a sudden!

UFO Princess Walkure episode 3 had to have what should now be considered the ultimate example of "fanboy" anime- a catgirl wearing a French maid outfit wildly destroying everything in sight with a pair of giant laser rifles. Anime just doesn't get much more "anime-like" than that! And the concept of a laser gun that transforms innocent young women into subserviant, utterly devoted cat-girl maids has got to be every (particularly male) anime fan's ultimate fantasy brought to light.

Having seen only the Ultraman Zearth movie in recent years, the first two episodes of Kamen Rider Ryuki really surprised me. I did expect this to be better than the cheesy traditional sentai we're used to, but I was really surprised to find this very close to genuine anime in live action. This is definitely not Power Rangers!
The use of CG really hightened the excitement and thrill dramatically. While kids may love it, I found the shameless marketing angle of "cards" to summon weapons and power a bit unimaginitive and excessively commercial, though.

[John]

This list covers the past two days.

.hack//SIGN still doesn't make much sense, and still has virtually no character depth or development, but is finally getting interesting based solely on attachments formed with characters through extensive proximity and interaction. There's now a sense that events are becoming more important, and we're approaching a climax, but there's still nothing exact that suggests this urgency.

Ground Defense Force Mao-chan is apparently getting very popular in Japan based on the coverage it's getting in Japanese magazines. And I have to admit that with episode 3 there is an undeniable charm to the simplicty and innocence of the show. It's a non-patronizing cute and sweet show that includes just enough sly humor to let the viewer know that it's all a parody.

Azumanga Daioh 15 was very entertaining, but episode16 had me laughly out loud hysterically. Osaka promising "no cat corpses" is both unnerving and wildly funny all at once!

Witch Hunter Robin episode 7 was very satisfying. I personally take great pleasure in seeing characters that think too highly of themselves, put in their place. The humanity of the witch hunting team was made subtly apparent in this episode, and it's satisfying to see the witch that thought to take advantage of that kindness getting what he really deserved, all because he thought he was smarter than everyone but in fact was only fooling himself by not being smart enough to recognize his true circumstances.

After watching the first episode of Gear Fighter Dendoh (http://www.nifty.ne.jp/rstation/sunrise/dendoh/dendoh.htm) I can easily see why it was so popular in Japan for a short while. The characterizations are varied from each other, but none of them too annoying. And the action is fast, extensive and exciting. For being a retro children's giant robot show, it also doesn't allow itself to descend into the silliness of Gaogaiger. This is a solid children's giant robot show that adults can watch without too much embarassment. And Vega has got to have one of the cutest, sexiest female character designs I've seen in a while.

Happy Lesson episode 12 was again entertaining, but not distinctive enough from all of the other episodes to make it memorable or anything more than mediocre.

[John]

Seemingly a lot did and didn't happen in Samurai Deeper Kyo episode 7. Mysteries were explained and new ones revealed, and there were certainly a lot of fights. However, the emphasis on story development rather than action made the episode solid, but not really exciting.

The "evil" Mint in Galaxy Angel episode 22 was enjoyable. I'd argue that the last minute plot twist was totally un-necessary and highly unbelievable, but considering that this is Galaxy Angel I'm talking about, it would actually be unusual if the episode didn't pull out some bizarre coincidence or totally left-field ninth-ining surprise.

I finally finished another series by watching Happy Lesson episode 13 last night. I seem to start watching far more shows that I ever finish. The ending was not particularly impressive or emotive, but did manage to end essentially the way you'd expect it to, even if the ultimate ending was a little bit silly and cheesy.

[John]

I forgot to bring my post-it on which I'd written down what I watched this weekend, so I'll have to do this from memory.

One Piece episodes 116-119 were some of the most exciting in a while, but I'm sorely disappointed with the new opening. The new opening theme simply isn't as good, and the new opening animation itself got introduced way too early. It was quite a shock to see the new cast in the opening, at least 4 (probably more) episodes before the cast change actually occurs. The character that leaves the crew was not really a surprise, but who joined the crew was totally unexpected, and I'd have been happier if the opening animation hadn't ruined the surprise for me. Regarding the episodes themselves, some fans can say that Ellie of Rave has the best breasts in anime, but I'll put my money on Nami any day! Seeing Nami fight for the first time in probably a hundred episodes was a real treat. Sanji's fight had some really neat animation (obviously digital, though). And of course Zorro had the best fight of the episodes. It really says something about the strength of the cast when the show can go 4 episodes without the main character appearing at all.

I finished up watching Kanon with episodes 9-13. The show started off well, but now that I've seen all of it I can say that I didn't like it very much. I find it disturbing and aggrevating that the entire Kanon universe consists of Yuuichi and various cute girls who exist only to interact with him. The world has no past beside what he remembers, and girls have no purpose for existance beside keeping him company. In fact, when he's done interacting with any given girl, she virtually (and sometimes literally) vanishes from existance as though she had never even existed in the first place. This sort of chauvanistic male fantasy may work okay for a PC simulation game, but simply comes across as sexist and unbelievable in more traditional cinematic storytelling.

Samurai Deeper Kyo episode 8 was another story heavy episode, and firmly planted the show in the vein of Onimusha and Yotoden.

Kogepan episode 8 was cute because it was a single continuing story. It was nice to see the female strawberry bread stand up for herself and refuse to accept Kogepan's insults.

Saikano episode 6 was surprisingly honest. More so than I'd expected it to be. There's simply so much pure, raw emotion in this show that I'm easily tempted to call it the best show on air right now, but it's not an easy , "fun" show to watch. If anything, I might call this the next Fushigi Yuugi.

Azumanga Daioh 17 was nice in the regard that it wasn't a rehash of a previous episode. The Christmas theme was a little difficult to get used to, though.

Kamen Rider Ryuki episode 3 wasn't as action oriented as the prior two episodes, but did introduce an interesting bit of mystery.

Bible Black Gaiden 2 brought monster tentacles into the story, which was a bit unexpected, and, I think, a bit out of place. However I was surprised at how well this episode managed to directly tie itself into the original series and serve as a logical, consistent prequel.

Rockman.exe episode 6 was yet another fun but forgettable piece of children's fluff. Difficult to criticize, but also difficult to remember for more than 10 minutes.

[John]

Asagiri no Miko episode 6 finally proved that there's a little bit more to the show than just a monster of the week. Of course, nothing actually happened in episode 6, but at least it's a change of pace.

Thankfully AbeSho episode 11 got back to the parody comedy style of the earlier episodes. And just when you think the show has shown you everything it's got, the end of the episode just gets better and better. This episode still doesn't compare to episodes 2-4, which remain the high point of the show, but this one was a bit more fun than the previous two essentially but not really very interesting episodes.

Azumanga Daioh episode 18 was a bit more predictable than most episodes, but that didn't make it any less sweet and fun to watch. The brief scene of Chiyo grabbig the cup from Yomi and running away was a very quick, very cute little scene.

RahXephon episode 23 was the most straightforward episode of perhaps the entire series so far and seems quite possibly to be a major turning point in the series for Ayato, Haruka and Quon.

[John]

AbeSho did an excellent job of restoring my faith in the series by being probably the best episode of the series so far. The parodies and in-jokes come fast and plentiful and really challenge the viewer to identify them all, which is always fun to do.

Gakkou no Kaiden episodes 2 & 3 confirm that the anime is quite different than the live action movies. I like the anime more because while the live action movies relied on atmosphere and story largely to make up for small budgets, the anime is free to include plenty of supernatural sensationalism. I was also hoping for something exceptionally cool out of green-eyed Momoko, but episode 3 suggests that it's not actually anything quite as sinister or cool as I was guessing it may be.

I love these half-length shows because they're just right to squeeze in before bed. It's easy to say, "Just one more short one."

Galaxy Angel episode 23 ended the way it had to end, but the trip was still pretty fun.

Ground Defense Mao-chan 4 really gave me the impression that the show should stick to what it does best. However, I do understand that it's got to have a little variety to be able to last more than 3 episodes. When the show focuses on the cute and innocent girls it's sweet and charming and entertaining. When the episodes forefront the selfish, self-absorbed grandfathers I don't get the joke. The entire series is a one line gag, but at least the girls are entertaining enough to watch repeatedly. The bickering, single minded grandfathers, to me, are simply aggrevating and annoying and detract from the playful and light atmosphere the rest of the show tries so hard to create. I understand the purpose of including these scenes, but I just don't like them.

[John]

Based only on the creeping jelly thing in the opening of Wagamama Yousei Mirumo de Pon (http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anime/mirumo/) I was hoping that the show would have some of the wacky and bizarre elements of Di-Gi-Charat. Unfortunately for me, after watching episodes 1-3 last night it's clear that it's simply another little girl's shoujo show. It's certainly not bad, but it's not my thing, so I probably won't go out of my way to keep up with it.

Gainax is plagued by a problem of not being able to create endings that sustain the shows they're capping. Gunbuster had one of the greatest endings in all of anime, but Eva, Nadia, Kare Kano and Mahoromatic had endings that were either disappointing or less stellar than what we could have hoped for. AbeSho ends the same way. After episode 12 being possibly the best episode of the series, episode 13 was a solid, definitive conclusion, but not particularly inspiring or memorable. Like the endings of Mahoro and FLCL, the ending of Abeshobashi Mahou Shotengai was not bad, just nothing special either.

For being a merely okay show, Onegai Teacher really has some of the best character design ever. The extended trailer for episode 13 looks to be the most inspired and fun romantic/sci-fi comedy episode since the original Tenchi Muyo first OAV series from 10 years ago.

[John]

I watched Atashinchi episode 2 because I had it handy and wanted to give the show a fair try. My opinion hasn't changed. It's not bad, but not interesting enough of a domestic comedy to keep me watching.

Condor Hero episode 2 continues to develop a strong story. However I still don't like the character design of especially the main character.

[John]

After an unsuccessful attempt to get a working 32" TV into my room, and two days of having my room upside down and all over the apratment, my life is beginning to settle down again. (I seem to have phenomenally bad "TV karma" as virtually every TV set I come into contact with seems to break down almost instantly.)

Last weekend I finally got around to untranslated Inuyasha TV episodes 65-71. The Kouga vs Kagura fight was quite impressive because it was much more brutal than I'd expected it to be. It's nice to see the show not hold anything back. And I also find that I like Kagura better now as a character, after she's been humbled a bit by Naraku. Her new open-ness toward Inuyasha's gang, and her schemes of betrayal seem to make her less one dimensional.

Hare Nochi Guu episode 20 was another of the funny, but not real funny episodes. But even a less than crazy episode of Hare Nochi Guu is still better than a lot of other anime. The introduction of the polar bear was a stroke of genius, and the brief sight gag that followed it was great, but I wish they'd have done more with it.

The Keraku no Ou OAV definitely proved that low rent, pointless and poor quality hentai is still out there and going strong. The first two Hiro no Koku OAVs were a little better, but they were such an identical adaptation of the original manga that I don't quite understand the point of animating them in the first place. Why not just color the manga? Dragonball was a virtually exact duplicate of the manga, but at least the animation provided a sense of speed and motion. With hentai anime, it seems kind of pointless to simply directly transfer manga panels to animation. But maybe that's just me.

[John]

I didn't get in as much anime this past weekend as I'd have liked to because all of Saturday was spent on Onimusha 2. Unfortunately I may have to start over because I know I missed a lot, and I'm finally fighting Nobunaga, but with no magic or health potions left.

It was nice to finally see Bandit King Jing episode 7 and finish up the two part episode, but unfortunately a somewhat poor fansub translation made the dialogue more difficult to follow than necessary. For example, when the dialogue is obviously using the English word "Reviver" it doesn't make sense to intentionally obscure the translation as "Rebieba."

Mao-chan episodes 5 & 6 have reinforced my impression that I'm not really thrilled with the direction the show is taking. The early episodes were cute and simple, but these more recent episodes are more and more highlighting a theme of old men literally taking advantage of innocent young girls. I suppose this is supposed to be funny, as there's not enough evidence for me to believe that it's done as intentional satire of military/political protocol and policy. I simply don't find it funny. I really enjoy the cute magical girl aspects of the show, but it's hard to digest the selfish, egotistical old generals that use their grand daughters only to heighten their own fame and status.

Watching Ippatsu Kikimusume episodes 5,7,9,10,13 & 16 wrapped up the series for me. The only thing I can wonder is how a show this ecchi actually make it onto Japanese television?

Galaxy Angel episode 24 pretty much summed itself up when, at the end of the episode, Muifele refered to the episode as a "stupid story." But I mean that in a warm and positive way.

The absolute best part of Hare Nochi Guu episode 21 was a scene so brief that you'd miss it by blinking. Guu in the airplane window was simply priceless. Episode 22 was a bit unusual, but still not as laugh-out-loud funny as some of the best episodes of the series.

Witch Hunter Robin episode 8 ended well, which was nice to see.

Azumanga Daioh episode 19 was also a nice but typical episode. I noticed thinking to myself while Chiyo mentioned to Kagura wanting to grow up faster, I don't want Chiyo to grow up. I want her to stay the innocent and good natured little comic girl that she is. I just can't imagine a teen age or young adult Chiyo at all.

[John]

You know that the game isn't looking good for Pittsburg when Cordell Stewart's first two passes are both picked off.

I missed most of the middle of last night's Monday Night Football because the room-mate rented Jeepers Creepers. I'm enough of a horror movie fan to avoid watching the copy of Queen of the Damned he rented two weeks ago, but also enough of a fan to watch this movie. Ultimately, my opinion is, "okay, but sort of pointless."

[John]

I'm tearing through Onimusha 2 much more effectively the second time. During a break for dinner last night I watched Witch Hunter Robin 9 while eating. I must say that this show has the best costume design I've seen since the original Tenchi Muyo OAV series. I also really like the very subtle moral dilemmas presented, although this aspect could stand to be emphasized a little bit more than it is.

[John]

I'm jonesing for more Onimusha 2 as I didn't have a chance to play any last night. While I was eating dinner I did watch the first episode of Those Who Hunt Elves Second. (That's how I recall hearing years ago that it's supposed to be pronounced.) the episode wasn't quite as original or fun as the first episode of the first series. Rather, it feels like simply another middle episode of the show. After not having watched any Elf O Karu Monotachi in several years, seeing it again last night reminded me of just how exceptionally good the voice acting in the show is. The famous voices are all very expressive and contrast with each other well. And all of them seem completely natural and utterly convincing. The voices simply don't sound like actors performing. They sound like real characters actually speaking, which is what voice acting is supposed to sound like.

[John]

I'm beginning to go into anime withdrawl having not watched anything more than the first NuTech Kowarimono DVD recently (which, it turns out, is actually Kowarimono II, which I've already seen.) But tomorrow I'll be in heaven (AKA: Tokyo) again, so all will be right with the world.

[John]

For all the people that claim Samurai Deeper Kyo is too similar to Rurouni Kenshin (which I honestly don't see), watch episode 9. You won't be comparing it to Ruroken, but to Jubei Nin Pocho.

And for those who are bashing the show by calling it unoriginal, I'll take unoriginal but fun over highly original but boring any day.

[John]

Lufy finally returned in One Piece episodes 120-123. And the show is getting a whole lot more violent in these climactic episodes of the Alabaster saga, or what seem like the concluding episodes. I thought I was going to see the final Lufy vs Crocodile fight, and what we did see looked like it hurt quite a lot, but I guess I'll have to wait just a little bit longer to see the final battle.

The tape I was watching also included a new trailer for Returner that makes me want to see the movie even more. This new trailer included futuristic sci-fi shots reminiscent of The Terminator that were not included in the trailer on the official site. Now I'm even more disappointed that I didn't have time to catch the film when I was in Japan.

[John]

After being unusually busy and pressed for time lately, I finally managed to sneak in some viewing last night.

Gatekeepers 21 OAV 3 still seemed very much like a middle episode as it seemed like little more than a way to get from point A to point B. I do really like the inventive and innovative use of gate powers that's on display throughout this series so far, though.

Colorful episode 1 was just a simple seen-it-before joke, but in 6 minutes of animation it does the job just fine. The unusual animation and bizarre style of the show are really avant garde and pomo (post modern) and very interesting. Really a fun little title.

I absolutely hate dubbed DVD menus. A dubbed DVD menu caused to me sell off my Ninja Cadets DVD. I had to put my TV on mute to navigate the menu on the screener DVD of Excel Saga volume 3 that ADV sent us. I'm aware that lots of fans prefer dubbing, but to me the English voices just don't sound natural. When I watch anime in Japanese the voices seem as natural and normal as voices in live action film. When I watch dubbed anime the voices just sound out of place and un-natural. Anyway, I took in episodes 11-13 that I hadn't seen before (skipped episode 10 as I have seen it before.) I noticed a few typos, but am not sure if they were intentional or not. On the whole I was surprised that the sub translation seemed to be reasonably good. And the show, for all the hype surrounding it, really is actually very highly entertaining.

Juuni Kokki episode 10 introduced still more revelations. And now more than ever I really like the way Yoko's characterization has matured and developed throughout the series.

It was a bit shocking to see Robin out of her gothic attire in Witch Hunter Robin episode 10. She and Doujima are undeniably sexy in those stylish waitress tops! This episode solidified a plot aspect that had been hinted throughout, and did it nicely, without being sensationalistic or too melodramatic.

And I just want to mention that I watched Versus again (for the millionth- actually somewhere around 20th time- at AWA).

[John]

The trailer for Heatguy J was very impressive. I'm not sure that I like the extensive amount of CG and digital effects present, but in conjunction with the entire unusual and very "busy" look of the whole show, it may turn out to be easy to get used to or overlook.

The first episode of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (http://www.production-ig.com/Ghost_TV.html) didn't have quite as much action in it as I hoped for. And I really dislike the cel shaded automobiles. On the positive side it does look stunning, altough the digital animation gives it a softer look than many other similar anime including especially the GiTS movie. It's nice to see that the TV series has a bit of the sense of humor from the manga. There's really not much for me to say. Stand Alone Complex is exactly what we hoped it would be, and exactly what we expected it to be. The first episode lived up to my expectations easily, but only exceed them in very brief, occasional instances.

After watching so much really good anime lately, and for so long, it's painful to go to something as obviously mediocre as Weiss Kreuz Gluhen (http://www.marine-e.co.jp/weib/weib-anime01.htm). The first two episodes were marginally better than the first series, but not impressive enough to keep me watching it. Fans of the original TV series will find more to like here, and detractors of the original series won't find very much by way of improvement. The animation quality no longer sucks, and Gluhen isn't quite as ham-fisted un-subtle as the original series, but an attractive and sweet smelling piece of crap is still...

For all the people that think hentai is just hardcore pornography, let me tell you that Colorful is hentai, and Colorful includes no sex or nudity. Colorful episode 2 was a simply hilarious collection of sex jokes for guys. I'll admit that there's even one brief sequence set on a Japanese subway train that I'm actually guilty of doing myself in real life when I was in Japan 2 years ago. But I'm not telling what!

I'd seen Pure Mail before, but watched the uncensored NuTech DVDs last night. Although it has a decent story, the story is fairly dull. It's helped out by some nice character designs and good production values, and some really nasty sex in especially the first episode.

[John]

The Galaxy Angel series 2 "special" was another serious Forte episode. (I still don't know why Forte is the only character that ever gets serious, dramatic episodes.) Very nicely done, juxtaposing the noirish Forte scenes with the comical Muilefelle and Ranpha scenes. It's also nice to see Forte out of uniform for once. This particular episode may have been a little cliche, but I don't think there's anything wrong with that if it's made seriously and entertaining.

I've never been among the fanatic Inuyasha fans, so I think the first movie was as good as it probably could have been. The editing and cutting, especially in the second half of the film, is well done in the regard that it keeps the audience guessing and paying attention. Unfortunately it also serves to mute the excitement of non-stop action. Like most anime movies based on TV series, it's nothing more than an extended TV episode, but the animation quality and excitement level are noticeably higher than in the TV series. The only thing I really didn't like are the character designs, which look younger and more angular than what I'm used to from the TV series.

It's difficult to get a feel for Naruto (http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anime/naruto/) from the first episode alone. Much like other long running anime TV series like Yu Yu Hakusho and Shaman King and Rave and Inuyasha and Dragonball and One Piece, the characters in Naruto all have personality, but not excesively. The show is exciting, and funny, but always restrained in order to have appeal to the broadest possible audience. I'll have to see more before I decide if it really like it or not.

[John]

Probably under 30 people turned out for the local theatrical screening of the Utena movie last night, which was a bit unfortunate. It's nice to see the film on the big screen again, and the dub was tollerable enough that I was able to sit through the entire film, but I have to say that the English dub simply drains all the style and atmosphere out of the movie. An anime should transport the viewer to another world by making the viewer forget reality. The dub simply can't successfully do that for me. Even if the voices may be good, I don't hear characters speaking. I hear actors acting. The audio in good anime simply surrounds you and sounds natural and has its own rhythm and style. English dubs just can't accomplish that for me. For me, anime is about much more than just seeing pretty pictures move on screen. With the dub, I can take in the visuals and understand the dialogue, but I never feel like part of the film.

There's an awful lot of CG in the first episode of Heatguy J (http://www.heat-guy.com/). Most of it isn't terribly distracting, but I do wish there was a bit less of it. The first episode didn't reveal much for character development, so I can't make a final judgement on the show yet. It definitely looks nice and has a sense of the visual style it wants to use, but honestly didn't strike me as any more or less entertaining to watch than other current anime shows like Witch Hunter Robin and Samurai Deeper Kyo.

I finally finished up the first Galaxy Angel series with episodes 25 & 26. Hopefully this weekend I'll have time to finish up other shows like .hack//SIGN, RahXephon & Chobits.

I watched the first episode of Spiral: Suiri no Kizuna (http://www.sonymusic.co.jp/Animation/spiral/) because it was one of the new shows that I knew essentially nothing at all about. It's a detective show with one mystery every week, and a larger continuing mystery about a missing older brother that left a single vague clue (a plot angle very, very reminiscent of the just ended live-action Kamen Rider Ryuki). The production is all digital and almost looks cel shaded. It's sort of what Saber J to X wanted to be but failed at. It may be too early to critique it, but as a mystery show it doesn't seem nearly as clever as Detective Conan or Ayatsuri Sakon, and the characterizations aren't nearly as fun or interesting either. I'll probably give this show another shot, but the first episode didn't really pique my interest.

[John]

In a rare occasion of me watching TV, I sat through the first episode of Birds of Prey last night. It's a little too trendy and "Gen-X" for my taste in super heroes, but I'll probably give it another try next week if I remember. It sort of seemed like Angel meets Batman.

The first episode of Get Backers (http://www.tbs.co.jp/getbackers/) was fairly entertaining, but not all that exceptional. Ban seems like a pretty interesting character, but Ginji seems a bit too childlike to be interesting to me. The Atsuko Nakajima character design is really, really obvious in Natsumi Mizuki. In fact, she even shares a name with Natsumi of YUA. I was actually hoping for something a bit more dramatic and similar to Aquarian Age out of Get Backers. Instead it has a lot of sight gags and comedy, but it does look like it has some potential to be entertaining, and potential to draw a lot of female fans.

Kogepan episode 10 was cute and strange as usual.

I watched a fansub of Stand Alone Complex episode 1 and followed it up with my first viewing of episode 2. The translated dialogue in episode 1 really didn't make that much difference. My biggest impression of episode 2 is that the tachikoma are just so adorable!

Kitty Grade tonight. I can't wait!

[John]

Maybe I could have waited for Kiddy Grade. My expectations may have been too high, as well. The first episode of Kiddy Grade (http://www.kiddygrade.com/) was well produced, directed, animated and acted. It's solid, just not awe inspiring. Some shows immediately stand out as instant classics. Kiddy Grade may be very fun, but based on the first episode, it's not an instant classic. I was a bit surprised by the characterizations. Eclair seems to be clearly modeled after Ruri Hoshino, but she seems to have much more personality and character than I expected. And Lumiere seems to be much more childish than I expected. For a girls with guns show, Kiddy Grade is fun, but the characterizations and chemistry between the characters are simply not as witty nor as warm nor as edgy as classic Dirty Pair or the more recent Noir.

At first, I just wasn't feeling Gundam Seed (http://www.gundam-seed.net/), but as the episode sped up, it got a bit more dramatic and appealing. Especially after Turn A Gundam, and all the UC stuff we've seen in America lately, it seems almost shocking to see such an up-beat, youth oriented and trendy style in this new show, but even Double Zeta from back in 1986 wasn't too far different from this. The animation quality is certainly the best I've seen from a Gundam TV series, well, ever. It's also a neat twist to see that this time it's the child of the mecha creator that escapes, and the other kid that becomes the mecha pilot. Contrary to what Mr. & Mrs. Answerman of Anime News Network (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature.php?id=98) thought, I think that Gundam Seed fits quite well into the Gundam canon and has a fair bit of potential. I'm afraid that with all the reverence that surrounds Gundam, there may be people that have forgotten that the Gundam animation itself has almost never been flawless nor at the peak of contemporary quality. Like other classic sci-fi such as Star Trek and Dr. Who, the success of Gundam lies not in its perfection or lack thereof, but rather in its potential and its effort.

Colorful episode 4 was again very sexy and very funny.

[John]

I watched the first episode of Haibane Renmei (http://www.pldc.co.jp/rondorobe/anime/haibane/) in untranslated Japanese before the fansub version was available. Even without understanding the dialogue, I can say that this is possibly the most interesting new show of the season. The way that good anime can, this show transports the viewer into an entirely different world. It's too early for me to make broad statements, and too little happened in the first episode to judge where the show is going, but this could be something special.

There's sort of a melancholy about Azumanga Daioh episodes 22-24. They're just as funny as the rest of the episodes, but school is coming to an end, and like good friends at graduation, I know I'll have to say good-bye to all of them soon. I must say that I love Yukari-sensei's attitude about sports. If you can't beat 'um, literally beat 'um with a cross body block!

Detective Conan episodes 48 & 49 were apparently the introduction of Hattori Heiji. I'm used to him from more recent episodes, so his arrogant and confrontational attitude from these early episodes was quite a surprise. I guess, at some point in the show, he mellowed out a lot.

I got around to my R3 DVD copy of Korean action film 2009 Lost Memories (http://www.lostmemories.co.kr/), and I'm so glad that I did. I've seen a lot of action movies including all of the major John Woo films multiple times (except Bullet in the Head, which was too depressing to watch more than once) and out of all of that I can easily place 2009 very near the top of my list of best action films ever. The film is a police/special teams film along the lines of Beast Cops, 2002, First Option and Black Sheep Affair, just done right. The directing is solid and skilled, occasionally showing signs of effective style and interesting editing. The writing is exceptional, providing convincing motivations for everyone and explaining every detail and nuance. The film is a very good action film featuring very long, intense and bloody shoot-outs until exactly an hour and a half in when it drops a bombshell of a plot twist that simply blew me away. From that point on the film turned into an absolutely outstanding movie. Especially if you like John Woo's Hardboiled, which this film shows some very subtle homage to, watch this movie! And don't read full plot synopsis or spoilers!

I was also very pleasantly surprised by the American version of The Ring. I have to say that I can't choose a favorite between the original version and the American re-make. They're different enough to be almost two different, equal films. The over-obvious atmosphere in the American version seemed heavy handed at first, but as the film progressed became very effective and admirable. The writing in the American version is very competent, tying everything together and rewarding thoughtful consideration. And I love the cameo Japanese homages spread throughout the film. I'm presonally very pleased with the American version.

On the other hand, The Avenging Fist (http://www.stareastnet.com/tc/movie/theavengingfist/home.html) was quite a disapointment. I went into it loosley expecting a Tekken movie. What I got was not even a martial arts film, but a sci-fi fantasy movie. The quality of the film largely depends on what you're looking for. It focuses heavily on the Gen-X Cops/Stormriders school of cute young actors to draw in audiences instead of quality action or martial arts (Not that Stormriders was all that bad). Excesive use of CG enhancement simply took all the sense of actual fighting out of the film. Perhaps I would have enjoyed it more if I'd known better what to expect, and possibly hadn't already seen other films like Stormriders and Man Called Hero and Shaolin Soccer and Legend of Zu which do the same thing as this movie, but do it much better.

Jungle Wa Itsumo Hare Nochi Guu sort of betrayed its namesake in episodes 23-26 by not ending the way I'd hoped it would. (I guess that's what the OAVs are for) but it did have a surprisingly nice and heartwarming conclusion. The "serious" Weda of episode 22 was very fun, although brief. And on the whole, I guess Guu summarized the whole show in episode 23 by announcing the moral of the story, "No Pants."

I made it through .hack//SIGN episodes 19-26 because the show is easy to watch. It requires no intellect, and generates no emotional attachment. It's the epitome of "pretty pictures." For as much as Bandai promotes this franchise, I simply can't call the TV series anything better than average. Which is slightly more than I can say for the second OAV. Better than the first, at least, the second Hack OAV establishes an interesting an convincing atmosphere of suspense and terror, then simply resolves it without creating any sense of closure- no terror, no relief, no uncertainty. I'm not suggesting that I wanted to see blood, but placing an entire city in jeapordy then just turning the lights back on without revealing whether everyone lived or died doesn't create suspense or create a lingering tension. It just seems incomplete and unfinished, as though the writer simply forgot to include an essential part of the story.

Rizelmine second season episode 1 (episode 13) started off very promising, then quickly fell apart as the first season did. The intorduction of a smart Ultraman parody seems like a running joke that could feul a short season of comedy anime. However, just like the first season did, this very first episode simply ran the joke 6 feet into the ground past the point at which it's not funny any longer, to the point when it's virtually painful to see again. Especially disappointing from a Madhouse production, this looks to be another short season of mis-used, wasted potential.

Judging from an untranslated episode 1, Chojushin Gravion (http://www.gravion.com) may turn out to be this new season's sleeper surprise. It's been a couple years since the last high profile transforming robot show. I think Gaogaiger may have been the most recent one, or was it G-Dangaioh? I'm usually not a mecha fan, but Masami Obari giant robot shows are okay because they're always so straightforward and action oriented and full of brainless destruction. They're like anime Godzilla films. this latest production shows great potential because it's produced by Gonzo. It has the classic sexy Masami Obari chara designs, thankfully restrained a bit by the folks at Gonzo, combined the humor typical of many Gonzo productons. With any luck, Masami Obari's designs will provide Gonzo with something exceptional to work with, and Gonzo will keep reign over Obari's typical excesses and the result will be a solidly entertaining bit of escapist mecha mayhem.

[John]

I watched the first two episodes of the late 2000 TV series Gambler Legend Tetsuya because it's a show that I'd only heard about and seen stills from. I like to watch shows that I've never seen before. It's a good way of learning more about anime. To get to the point, Gambler Densetsu Tetsuya is no God of Gamblers. I guess Tetsuya may become a masterful mahjong player later in the series, but there's not enough early in the series to make me want to stick around that long. These sort of sporting shows are effective either when the characters pull out masterful techniques or when the hero attains a surprise victory against stacked odds. The early episodes of Tetsuya display neither. We simply get an arrogant young man that keeps loosing against cheaters. There's no one to root for, and no reason to feel any sympathy for any character.

Platonic Chain (http://content.dcaj.or.jp/mmca/works/06/06_001.html) in untranslated Japanese is mildly interesting because it shows off advances in cel shading and digital CG animation, but nice technology demos don't necessarily make for the most interesting anime. I've heard that this show lies in its dialogue, so I may give it a chance if a sub turns up.

I'm now realizing that every episode of Colorful is the same. Episode 5 brought nothing new to the table, but that's just fine when what is here is still very entertaining.

Hare Nochi Guu Deluxe OAV 1 was a direct continuation of the TV series on a much higher budget. The animation looks digital now because the colors just seem too solid and everything looks a little too crisp and sharp to be hand painted. However, that's not really a bad thing in this case, as the strength of the show is in what happens, not how it looks. Since the TV series actually ended a little while ago, it's nice to see that the break may have done some good as the first OAV seems a bit more lively than the final TV episodes. And based on the next episode preview, I can't wait to see Guu parody Ojamajo Doremi.

[John]

I skimmed through the supplemental disc from the 2 disc UK tin special edition of Battle Royale last night. The hour long making of feature had some very interesting footage in it, including Beat Takeshi sketching out the painting from the end of the film, the kids doing most of their own stunts, and Kinji Fukasaku a surprisingly spy 69 years old during the filming.

My first impression of Princess Tutu (http://www.imagica.co.jp/shop/tutu/) is that it was very reminiscent of Ojamajo Doremi. After three episodes I'd sort of forgotten about that similarity. It's there, but there's enough to Princess Tutu to definitely set it apart as its own show. In fact, I'm leaning toward saying that there's almost too much to Princess Tutu for its own good. There are so many layers of depth and complexity to this little girls' show that it's almost too complicated and heavy. There's a story conceit of a fairy tale that's spilled over into real life. That alone is enough to build the story on. But then there's also a running Swan Princess/Ugly Duckling adaptation going on, and then a Hansel & Grettel theme in episode 3. Add on top of that anthropormophics. Add on top of that the dramatic tone of classical music and ballet. Then add on top of that some very mature and complex characterizations and charater relationships- noteabley Ruu & Furika- and we have something that could turn into "Utena-lite" for 8 year olds if it gets any deeper. This is a very strange beast indeed. I'm generally not heavily into shoujo anime, so I'm not actually sure if I like this show or not. I definitely enjoyed watching the first 3 episodes, but I don't think I've seen enough of it to decide yet whether or not I'll continue watching it.

It's only now after re-reading this that I realize the irony of which two titles I chose to view consecutively last night.

[John]

It's odd that I have so much to say about a show that's so simple. Piano (http://www.kids-station.com/2002/piano/) is the kind of show that anime needs. The first episode is a simple, straightforward life-sim. Nothing extraordinary happens, nor does the production try to make something out of nothing. Generally I'm not a fan of these type of shows, but I understand their purpose, and I'm glad that they exist. The point of life-sim shows like this is to allow a viewer to simply relax and enjoy some peaceful company with a friend, albeit a fantasy 2 dimensional friend. Shows like this are simple and quiet and soothing. And an added effect of shows like this is that they expand the definition of what anime is. For fans to be able to say that anime is not all giant robots and girls with guns and sex and violence, there have to be simple, slice of life shows like Piano. In regard to the show itself, I've never been a fan of life-sim anime including Ajimu and Kanon, which are blatently chauvenistic and sexist but try to disguise this sexism as admirable persistance and generosity. I'm also not really a fan of shows like Memories Off which use supernatural overtones as a crutch for poorly written characterizations. I'm not really a fan of Sentimental Journey or Seraphim Call simply because there's not really enough depth in either of them to be interesting. What I do like are straightforward, sweet life-sim shows like To Heart and Boys Be and Piano that don't try to be something they're not through un-natural writing or direction, and simply remain satisfied to be the simple, straightforward everyday dramas that they're intended to be. As backlogged as I am, I probably won't find the time to keep up with Piano, but based on the first episode it seems to be a nice way to spend 25 minutes a week relaxing.

[John]

My viewing habits are strange and are usually based on what I happen to be in the mood for at the time. By now many of you will also be aware that I have a bad habit of starting more series than I finish. Hopefully this weekend I'll get around to concluding either Chobits or RahXephon or both.

Bandit King Jing episodes 8 & 9 were again both pretty fun. I've heard some fans deride this show, but I think it's very entertaining, and one of the most original and unusual shows I've ever seen.

By now most of you should know what I'm going to say about Colorful episode 6.

Witch Hunter Robin episode 11 was interesting because this is the first time we've really seen an opponent stronger than Robin. I don't know yet if this is going to lead anywhere or not.

I watched Sakura Wars II OAVs 5 & 6 from an AD Vision screener DVD because these were the two episodes of the 6 that I didn't watch a year ago. The American title logo looks very tacky to me, but I'm pleased to see that the sub translation seemed to be pretty good, including even refering to Sakura in third person when she herself refers to herself in third person at the end of the fifth episode. The sixth episode was also nice because it focused on Sakura's mother and grandmother, actually bringing a new layer of depth to the Sakura Taisen mythology. The show itself looks very nice in still images, but unfortunately, with DVD resolution, the early digital animation stands out like a bruised and bloody sore thumb.

Mahoromatic second series (http://www.mahoro-matic.com/) episode 1 (or Mahoromatic II as I'll refer to it henceforth) did a good job of seeming like a sequel, and an entirely new series rather than an episode 13. The first half of the episode was really nothing more than the conclusion of the first season, though, with the true second season beginning after the eyecatch. It's also funny that this first episode alone had as much fan service in it as the entire first season. The first Mahoro series was quite a treat. This one looks like it will be at least as good, if not better.

[John]

I honestly don't know how digital fansubbers find the time to do what they do. I don't even really do much with my life, and I still don't have nearly enough time to watch everything I want to watch.

Perhaps I'm just missing the point or something, but I just haven't been thrilled by Naruto episodes 2 & 3. For me, it's a show like Inuyasha, which is good but so average and middle-of-the-road in an attempt to reach the widest possible audience, that it just seems bland and plain to me. The opening song is pretty good. I like Sakura's character design and elements of her personality. Ino has a very sexy chara design. So far I have no complaints with the show; there's just nothing about it that's really jumped out an captured my interest yet, either.

Based on its first episode, Hanada Shonen Shi (http://www.vap.co.jp/hanada/) seems to be what Crayon Shin-chan would be like if it was directed by Isao Takahata. This is the most "Japanese" anime I've seen in some time. It's clearly a family show as children can laugh at the wild antics and toilet humor of Hanada, and parents can wax nostalgic about the 1960s era setting and the joys and pains of parenting. Then add in a ghost story and the result is a nice looking, interesting family show that's very different from the "otaku oriented" typical anime that most Western fans are used to.

Condor Hero episode 3 showed some clear signs of lapsing animation quality, but still moved the story along pretty quickly. I know that the story is an adaptation of an old, classic Chinese novel, however I still find it difficult to understand why no one seems to recognize that the ancient kung-fu monestary has declined into selfish evil until it's too late, even when the monks themselves go out of their way to make their spitefulness more than obvious.

I took in the first episode of Sister Princess Re Pure (http://www.mediaworks.co.jp/gamers_s/sispri/index2.html) just to satisfy my curiosity. The new series, it seems, is actually even more sappy and sickeningly sweet than the first season. I don't mind warm, good natured anime in the least. I'm a great fan of "nice" shows like CCS, Hime-chan's Ribbon, Tenshi ni Narumon and To Heart. But these shows either have some element of serious or dark drama or suspense to them, or at least have some semblance of realism. Sisprin Re Pure is pure romantic fantasy in the the most superficial and obvious sense. Clearly, as this show already has more animation than titles including Trigun, Berserk, Outlaw Star, and Cowboy Bebop do, Sisprin is massively popular (for some reason) among Japanese viewers, but I'm not planning on watching any more of it myself.

During my monthly anime club meeting this Saturday night (attended by a massive 4 people beside myself) I re-watched Volcano High School, Stand Alone Complex eps. 1-2, Kiddy Grade ep. 1, and Heatguy J ep. 1.

A sucker for gruesome horror movies, I picked up Anchor Bay's release of Umberto Lenzi's Nightmare City at Best Buy. The DVD itself is quite good. The movie, on the other hand, is a steaming pile. It was almost worth the $15, though, to laugh at Lenzi's interview discussion of the film. His absolute most superficial statements are true, but when he mentions deep social commentary issues and acting quality in the film, I think he's referring to the movie in his mind, not the movie that's actually on film. First, it's disappointing to see a film with such a massive bodycount and so many rampaging zombies there's a disturbing lack of actual blood in the film. Furthermore, utterly illogical actions, unexplained events and such witty film dialogue as "We're f*cked" and "What are you doing with that gun?" make this a bad movie that epitomizes Itallian bad horror movies. Lenzi can film a hell of a cannibal movie, but apparently can't work the same magic with zombies.

Thankfully Synch Point's DVD version of FLCL was all I could have hoped for featuring a better than average (for mainstream) subtitle translation, nice packaging, no digital alteration at all (again unusual for a mainstream release) and an exceptional insert booklet. For those who complain about the expensive price for an hour of animation on this DVD, let me assure you that you get what you pay for.

[John]

last night I found the time to watch Kaze no Yojimbo episodes 6 & 7, mainly so that I could delete them off my computer's hard drive to make some space. Just when it seemed like episode 6 was starting to reveal exactly what was going on, episode 7 threw out a whole slew of new questions and mysteries. I really like the convoluted plot of this mystery/drama. The somewhat annoying camera tricks came back with a vengance in these two episodes, though, which I could have done without.

[John]

For my spoiler filled take on episodes 24-26 of RahXephon, check out today's Ask John article (http://www.animenation.net/news/askjohn.php?id=579). If you disagree or think I'm wrong or totally missed something, let me know. I'm fully prepared to admit that I may be mistaken on some points, or even totally off base entirely.

I've now got to say regarding Heatguy J episode 2 that a whole lot of the CG in this show looks really nasty. The show itself still seems solidly entertaining, although not revolutionary.

It's too early for me to criticize Puchi Puri Yushi (http://www.gainax.co.jp/anime/puchipuri/) after only one episode. The first episode established characterization and set up the Princess Maker theme that the coming episodes will take. It's difficult to say much about the episode when its entire purpose is to lead into the next episode.

Kiddy Grade episode 2 bothered me a bit. As far back as Dirty Pair, different class detective teams working for the same company have been rivals, but Kiddy Grade seems to almost take professional jealousy to the point of cut-throat antagonism. This sort of characterization and story development may be great for single episodes, but it doesn't contribute well to the overall series story. It becomes difficult to root for or have confidence in a government organization when its employees are so unwilling to work together for the common good that they'd virtually rather kill each other.

[John]

I finally finished up Chobits by watching episodes 21-26. For a short while I actually thought that it wasn't going to wrap up the way I thought it would, but after a while, it did conclude essentially as expected. I very much like the fact that the final episode defies conventional expectations for a while. I also really appreciate the subtle way that Chii seems to change from being a character that always needs guidance to being the character that actully provides guidance and emotional support for the other characters. The fact that the Chobits world is so small, and absolutely everybody seems to know and be somehow related to everyone else is a bit difficult to believe, but it's quite nice that all of the relationships and all of the little details are explained and dropped into place, leaving no loose ends. It's simply a sign of good, careful writing- writers that care enough to make sure that everything makes sense and works. All in all, not a masterpiece, but a very solid, dependable, consistent and entertaining show.

Futari H OAV 2 in raw Japanese again brought up the question in my mind how two people can be married yet have so little experience with sex. It just doesn't seem natural. Not very much actually happened in this second episode, but the OLs teaching the wife how to perform fellatio with a banana was a bit funny.

Going from ecchi to hard H, the first Midara OAV had decent character design and production values. As pure fantasy I can see that it has some value, but in terms of social and artistic value, it's hard to defend as anything more than pure mysogenistic domination.

Watching the untranslated two Panyo Panyo Di-Gi-Charat episodes on the DVD that comes with the November issue of Newtype (episodes 44 & 45) I'm almost stunned that the show is still going when it seemingly hasn't evolved or changed one bit since about the third or fourth episode. And I still can't really accept this as Di-Gi-Charat. It's very cute and sweet and easy to watch, but I can't bring myself to believe that this is supposed to be the same Dijiko that turns into the spiteful and selfish Dijiko of the normal anime only 2 years after the events in Panyo Panyo Di-Gi-Charat.

[John]

My viewing may be minimal for the next couple days because I finally got around to starting up Final Fantasy X. Usually when I begin an RPG, I don't do anything else until I finish with it. I got 5:15 hours loged, just past the point at which Yuna gets Ifrit.

Azumanga Daioh episode 25 was another sweet and subdued episode. Chiyo's effots with a bag full of chopsticks was certainly the most humorous and touchingly subtle moment of the episode. It certainly didn't end the way I thought it would, though. I'd never have guessed who would and who wouldn't pass their college enterance exams.

Rizelmine episode 11 was almost good because it focused entirely on story. Episode 12 unfortunately shot itself in the foot by going back to the same tired one line gags and removing all the sweetness and nostalgia from what was obviously supposed to be a sentimental swan song. Making summer memories during the last summer vacation can be a touching setting, but this episode simply turned the romantic into a jealous, greedy sporting event and didn't make any effort to dispel the shift through parody or satire. Just another example of this series' virtual absence of wit, and its continued wasted potential. Some of you may wonder why I continue watching it. All I can say is, I don't know.

[John]

I'm now around 22 hours into FFX. I've reached Macalania Temple. I'm enjoying the game, but it still hasn't really hooked me. My favorite of the series is 9, because Nine had such an immediately appealing sense of fun and fantasy, and had so much personality and vibrancy. Ten so far looks stunning, and is fun enough to play, but hasn't really created any sense of mood or atmosphere in me. Maybe it's because it's dubbed. The voices are good, but they just don't really express much emotion to me.

After a Chinese resturant lunch with my parents on Saturday I watched Tampa somehow pull out a miraculous victory over the Carolina Panthers that we really didn't deserve. And like many locals, I still wonder why Shawn King isn't our first string QB, especially after the solid single play he turned in.

I watched the Macross 7 movie because I wanted to see if the late animation was better than the early. Previously I'd only seen the first 4 or so TV episodes. For people that say Macross 7 gets better after a while, it doesn't. This really has to rival Dragonball GT and G-Gundam as one of the worst ideas in anime history. This simply isn't Macross. Creating Dragonball Z style spirit power auras and holding landscape demolishing singing competitions is simply not the dramatic war drama that Macross so should be.

Azumanga Daioh episode 26 ended very well. Like the whole series, the ending created a very nice, warm and comforting mood. Like a lot of fans, I'm going to miss these girls.

Kiddy Grade episode 3 continues to be severly underwhelming. Just because it's a girls with guns show I can't resist it, but this really seems to be the weakest production from Gonzo Studios since Melty Lancer.

[John]

The most interesting thing I've seen since yesterday was actually the Final Fantasy X-2 trailer I watched this morning. As I've said many times before, I love women with guns and especially swords. Last night I squeezed in 2 hours of FFX before Monday Night Football. I'm now at the oasis after leaving Macalania Temple.

Last night's game sucked. I'm not a fan of college football that's nothing but offense, but I'm also not a believer in defenses winning games. Defense prevents your team from losing. Defense doesn't score points and win games (excepting exceptional instances).

Get Backers episode 2 seemed somewhat pointless as it was nothing more than a rehash of episode 1. But I guess it was necessary to create some establishing character and style before moving into episode 3. The car chase in episode 3 didn't quite live up to Castle Cagliostro, but it wasn't too bad either. Unfortunately episode 3 ended on an awful cliffhanger, so now I'll have to anticipate getting episode 4 soon.

[John]

I'm hankerin' for a Final Fantasy X fix as I didn't get any playtime in last night. Several of us here at AnimeNation went to a sneak preview of Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine last night. The film did a great job of confirming what we all already know- the country's going to hell, quickly.

I finally got around to watching the first episode of Haibane Renmei fansubbed. I followed that up with episode 2. Already I simply love this show. In two episodes it's set up some mystery, and some very engaging characters, and a wonderful sense of European pace and style and atmosphere. There's a wonderfully appealing warmth and humanity to the show so far. It's definitely not like the traditional idea of anime, and that may be what I find so appealing about it.

[John]

I'm up to 28 hours on Final Fantasy X. I'm now at the beginning of the temple of Fayth just after the wedding scene.

After roughly 5 hours of FFX last night I watched the Onegai Teacher OAV/episode 13. I really think this may be the best episode of the series, but it's clearly an episode that could only be made late in the series, after all the characterizations and character relationships have been established. I liked the TV show a lot, but my biggest complaint with it is that it never decided if it wanted to be a comedy or a romantic drama, and as a result always felt incomplete and half-hearted. The OAV dives headlong into ecchi comedy and comes up much more satisfying and engrossing than any of the TV episodes. The subtle change in Ichigo's characterization seemingly heavily influenced by Hare Nochi Guu's Guu was a bit startling, but possibly the nicest surprise of the episode.

[John]

A few more hours of FFX before Mahoro series 2 episode 2. I still don't know if I really dig the sphere grid concept instead of traditional leveling up, but I still find that I can spend a lot of time running in small circles, fighting the same monsters over and over to "level up," so everything's okay. I don't know if the fight is supposed to be easy or if my characters are just strong, but I was able to take out Seymour without even breaking a sweat. I'm now in the Calm Plains.

There really wasn't much to Mahoro episode 2, but it was pretty cute. The change in Ryuga's character still seems a bit too drastic, but I like him much better now than I did in the first series. I really wanted to watch episode 3 as well, but by 1am, I was just too tired to stay up for another episode.

[John]

I'm leaving for Tokyo again tomorrow morning, so this will be my last post for the next week.

I know that I skipped episode 2, but after watching Spiral episode 3, I don't really care. I can see how this show may attract some fans because it has plenty of bishonen and some very heavy-handed, poorly handled cryptic mystery, but it's simply not very nice to look at, and has no believable characterization or depth.

Kodomo no Omocha episodes 37-40 were just as wild and fun as expected. It's a mark of a good show when a half episode can speak in nothing but gibberish dialogue and still be totally entertaining and interesting without being stupid. The Hayagar is just too cute too!

Chance Triangle Session. I just can't bring myself to call it Chance Pop Session, as AD Vision has re-named it for Americans that are presumably to stupid to comprehend the relationship between triangle and three characters. I watched a screener DVD of AD Vision's DVD 1. It's a mixed bag, but I don't think there's enough good in it to make me reach in again. The early episodes seem a bit week because very little happens, and they rely heavily on incongruous, unbelievable gags from the buttler. Thankfully, the buttler gets less and less screen time as the episodes progress, until he gets edited out of the program. It's really around this time, the fifth episode, in which the series actually seems to find its stride and become a solid series about the trials of three girls attempting to become pop stars. The show does a lot of things right- especially making the harsh and cruel looking headmaster actually a very considerate person, and giving the pop diva a very un-diva-esqe personality. But at the same time it seems to undercut itself by constantly stressing that the J-pop industry is founded on talent yet making one of its main characters a seeminly talent-less princess who initially has no drive or intention to become a professional singer. And finally, I think there's a major translation error in the subs. The rich girl refers to her buttler as "Jeeves" in the subs although that's not his name. I'm pretty sure that she's actually saying "Jii" short for "ojiisan," which makes perfect sense in context, while "Jeeves" simply doesn't make sense as it's a Western name that would be out of place in a Japanese setting.

Colorful episode 7 may have been the strangest episode yet.

Yarima Queen, which Media Blasters re-named "Sex Demon Queen" was really an unexpected treat. Anime on DVD compared it to Excel Saga. I don't think I'd go that far, but it did have quite a bit of solid wacky humor that really hit its mark. The very mainstream loose translation subtitles bothered me quite a bit at times, though when I could hear the Japanese dialogue and plainly tell that the sub translation was not exactly what the characters were saying.

Continuing the hentai comedy, Hooligan OAV 2 had a lot more sex in it than the first episode, and even more makes me think that it's either directed by Akitaro Daichi or someone who'se worked with him. All of the trademark humor and visual gags from Jubei-chan and Kuromi-chan were present in force in Hooligan.

Patlabor movie 3 may be the best in the series. As with all Patlabor movies, it's stunning to look at. It's also very slow, but more exciting and faster moving than the Mamoru Oshii directed films. As has been said before, the SV2 characters have virtually only a cameo appearance, and don't really appear until 1:15 into the film. But the film, even without the traditional Patlabor characters, is unmistakably a Patlabor film- from its look to its sense of mechanial design to its whole feel. This film lies inbetween the goofy comedy and action of the TV series and OAVs, and the somber, heavy drama of the movies, giving it the best of both worlds and making it quite exceptional.

Platonic Chanin web episodes 1-5(?) and TV episodes 2-4 do a good job of expressing the attitude and "genki" spirit of Shibuya. The expressive dialogue helps the watchability of the show tremendously. For those of you who have never been to Tokyo and want to know what Shibuya is like, watch Platonic Chain, then multiply the number of people you see by 100 times. The real Shibuya is far, far, far more crowded than anime ever shows just because it's too difficult to animate that many people.

And the Buccaneers finally looked like the team we've been promised by the media down here. Their win on Sunday was as convincingly competent a game as I've seen them play in a long, long time.

[John]

Very briefly, while I was in Japan last week, just flipping through channels I caught parts of episodes or full episodes of Hikaru no Go, Digimon Frontier, Mirumo de Pon, Tokyo Mew Mew, Galaxy Angel third season, Tsuri Baka Nishi, Ojarumaru, and a really nice Ojamajo Doremi Dokkan episode. And the new Gamers commerical that has Piyoko in it.

Last night I watched Kiddy Grade episode 4. This episode really almost reminded me of 80s anime because of its sudden slightly illogical leaps in time and location. Still not really a bad show, but also certainly not the masterpiece most of us had hoped it would be.

It seems too often that the potentially interesting under the radar movies I'm interested in turn out to be "under the radar" for good reason. I spent $60 to import the limited edition Japanese Gundress DVD only to find it one of the worst anime films ever made (or mostly made). I spent roughly $45 on a used DVD copy of 6 Angels when I was in Japan and watched it last night. While not nearly as terrible as Gundress, I can't honestly call this movie good. Perhaps translation would have helped a little bit, because watching it in raw Japanese, it just didn't seem to make much sense to me. The film re-uses a bit too much animation, but I can forgive that considering it was originally intended for internet broadcast before it went theatrical. The digital animation is also not stellar, but I've seen worse. On the positive side, when the film chooses to be graphic, it doesn't pull any punches. But on the whole, the best I can call the movie is watchable. I'm not too terribly disapointed that I spent 5000 yen on it, but I would have been disappointed if I'd bought it new at 7800 yen.

Stand Alone Complex episode 3 was pretty interesting because it showed a bit more personality to the characters than we've seen so far in the show. And the tachikoma cameo was a great little bonus. I just wonder if Kusanagi ever changes clothes.

[John]

My CD drives on my home PC are getting buggy, so it looks like I'm left with no other option but to reformat this weekend. My electronics curse strikes again. As a result, I spent most of last night wrestling with my machine, trying to successfully burn as much off my hard drive as I could.

I did manage to watch Haibane Renmei episode 3. Not much happened, but the show creates such a wonderful atmosphere that you really feel like a part of the show.

[John]

After staying awake from 10pm until noon the following day backing up data and trying to reformat my PC Friday night, I was in the mood for something utterly brainless to take my mind off my computer anxiety. I got re-addicted to the Grappler Baki TV series by watching all 24 episodes of the second season. I thought that parts of the first season were pretty brutal, but that didn't prepare me for how vicious some of the fights in this season were. It's also interesting to see how much Baki has changed and evolved through the course of the show. I think it's also a nice touch to show his appearance getting closer to both that of his mother, and his father when his father was a teenager. And I've finally got to say that beside being a bit more talkative, Yujiro Hanma might be a more accurate Gouki than even Capcom's own Gouki. He'e really just a ruthless, merciless fighting god.

I followed up the fighting anime with, what else, more fighting anime. There's not really much to the first new St. Seiya OAV, but I'm sure it will appeal to the fans. There's a great sense of nostalgia about it as it retains the original opening and ending. It's a little odd to see CG in St. Seiya, but most of it is done well, and kept relatively unobtrusive. The one major problem with the fansub version I watched, though, is the problem that comes from translations produced too quickly, or by fans that aren't actually familiar with the show they're translating. I can't say I've ever before heard of the cloths being mistranslated as "cross."

The somewhat silly (in a good way) Mahoromatic second series episode 3 certainly made up for the lack of sex jokes in the second episode.

Stand Alone Complex episode 4 was the first "complex episode." It started off quite well, but now I'll have to wait until episode 5 is broadcast on December 1st to see the second part of the story. I still wonder if Kusanagi ever changes clothes.

[John]

Heatguy J episode 3 was the best one so far because it was the first episode to lighten up and show a sense of fun that wasn't forced or scripted. The characters really showed some personality in this episode. Episode 4 started out very promising, but couldn't manage to live up to that promise. The episode was certainly good, but it started out as though it could be one of the best anime episodes since Cowboy Bebop, but unfortunately didn't end up being much different than either of the first two episodes. After 4 episodes, this is definitely a good show, but it's not developing into anything more than the sum of its parts.

Somewhere I'd seen a couple promotional stills of Kikou Sennyo Rouran (http://www.starchild.co.jp/special/rouran/) that made me really excited about this show. Finally watching it last night, I was a bit disappointed. I'm not sure what I expected at all, but the show turned out to be an 80s-esque kid pilots dad's giant robot to fight giant monster show. The style and chara design is vaguely reminiscent of 80s giant robot shows like Dangaio and Dancougar and Hagane no Oni, but this isn't nearly graphic enough to be truly similar to 80s anime. I'm usually satisfied with the short 12-15 minute long shows, but partially because I wasn't aware before hand that this was a 12 minute long show, the first episode left me unfulfilled. I can't say that this was a great show, but when it ended I did want to see more.

Feeling unfulfilled, I proceeded to watch King of Bandit Jing episode 10 before bed. This was a strange mish-mash of Jing, Pokemon and Dola from Laputa. Certainly not the best episode of the series, but I'll still take even a bad episode of Jing over the best episodes of a lot of other series.

[John]

I finished up Bandit King Jing by watching the final 3 epsiode long story last night. I usually don't regret series ending as I'm more grateful for have seen what I did than angered that I don't get more. That's why I often don't complain about there not being more episodes of this or a second season of that. But this is a series that I really wish was longer. Odorobo Jing really did what anime is supposed to do. It put a smile on my face, and really entertained me by showing me something that I've never seen before. There's really no other anime I can name that looks quite like this show does.

[John]

Since Bandai of Japan refers to the third season of Galaxy Angel as "Galaxy Angel A," that's what I'm going to refer to it as. I watched the first two weekly episodes last night, which consist of the first 4 short segments. In fansub terms this was episodes 1&2 and 3&4. I watched what was probably 7&8 while I was in Tokyo. I'm now seriously beginning to think that the best Galaxy Angel was the first season and it's all been slowly going downhill since then. I like the fact that Vanilla talks slightly more in the current season and seems to have much more personality. Rei clones are only funny for so long before they get old. I don't really like the continuing story aspect of the new season, though. I think the show was a lot more fun when it had a Simpsons style episodic nature when events in one episode didn't necessairly influence events in the following episode. That allowed for really bizarre and wacky episodes. The new continuing story format seems too constricting. However, this is still a very entertaining show and a lot more fun than a lot of anime that's out there.

Just when I thought that Ebichu was a nasty as it could get, I watch two new episodes and find my beliefs shattered again. Ebichu episodes 11 & 12 are by far the most risque yet. They're also still laugh out loud funny.

[John]

Since I worked late yesterday, I got home late and didn't have much time to watch anything. Heatguy J episode 5 was fairly routine. Like the first two episodes it was a forgettable episode. Not bad, but not outstanding either.

[John]

As always, even mediorce Lupin III is better than the best episodes of many other anime. The Lupin III: Episode 0 First Contact TV movie had really nice production values, and it's always nice to see Zennigata somewhat competent. The story development and action wasn't quite on par with some of the best Lupin, but the film was consistently enjoyable and certainly not the worst Lupin film.

Watching Colorful episode 8, again I'm so reminded of myself and people I know well.

Haibane Renmei episode 4 wasn't quite as interesting as the prior episodes, but it's still a very nice show. I have to say that what bothered me most about this episode wasn't the show itself but the fansub version I watched. Digital editing in fansubs. Something is very wrong here. I'm willing to forgive grammer and spelling and timing errors in fansubs because they're done quickly by amateurs. But fansubs are theoretically made by fans who care enough about anime and Japanese culture to want other people to see and appreciate that culture. Digital overlays are considered absolutely unforgivable in legitimate domestic releases. There's was so much controversy over digital editing in Evangelion that AD Vision was forced to remaster the first DVD. So why is the same sort of digital editing acceptable in fansubs? If anything, fansubs ought to be even more strictly anti-editing than domestic releases. I simply can't fathom why fans that theoretically love anime enough to translate it for free would care so little about the artistic integrity of the anime that they would digitally alter the actual animation. Having the capability to do something doesn't automatically make it a good idea!

Get Backers episodes 4-7 were quite a rollercoaster. The series seems to be so schizophrenic, ranging from comedy to dark drama- with its character art quality equally all over the scale. The show is entertaining, but not exactly consistent.

Chojushin Gravion episode 2 disappointed me. The series seems to have good production values, good characters, and an interesting mecha- all the elements necessary to make a fun little robot show. However the show still seemed to turn out flat, uninspired and simply sort of dull. I'll stick with it, hoping to see some life and energy spark in it.

Witch Hunter Robin episode 12 seemed to be a major relevatory episode, but either because I was tired or because I wasn't completely paying attention or because it simply wasn't very clear- I didn't really get it.

I'm loosing faith in Mahoromatic after watching episodes 4 & 5. The early episodes of the second series were great partially because they were a direct continuation of the great first season. As this new series more and more moves into its own, it seems to be loosing focus. And the production quality in these two episodes really took a nosedive. The comedy in the original series was fun in part because it was in contrast to the serious and tragic undercurrent of the series. The second series seems to be turning into simple brainless sitcom- which I've seen done better in other series.

[John]

My fears about Mahoromatic were somewhat confirmed by episode 6, which really was just poor brainless comedy. The more I watch of the second season, the more I miss the first season. This isn't a bad show, but it's not living up to what it could or should be.

The same applies to Arcade Gamer Fubuki. It was nice to see some real-life arcade games in OAV 3. And there was also a brief cool cameo that may have been an intentional in-joke reference to SNK's Kim Kaphwan. However, I'm still highly disappointed by the reliance on the passion panties. It's just difficult for me to take Fubuki seriously as a real championship gamer when her skill doesn't come from herself, but instead from her magic panties. There's very little reason to root for her when her effort isn't actually coming from her own talent or skill. It's like she's cheating by using magic panties, it that really hurts her credibility as a leading character. Honey was really nice, for various reasons, but used too little.

And I watched the Eagles/49ers game last night, which was pretty entertaining. I still can't believe that our hometown Buccaneers are leading the NFL. After so many years of having a terrible team, and so much of this year's output a result of defense and turnovers rather than a significant offensive line, their record still seems almost fanciful rather than reality.

[John]

Kiddy Grade 5 & 6 were both very, very average. Nearly forgettable, in fact. Because they're such brainless episodes, they're easy to watch, so I continue watching, but this isn't turning into a series I can really recommend.

With Haibane Renmei episode 5 the series seems to have lost a little bit of the sense of wonder of the first episodes because it's now settled into a domestic story, having largely finished introducing us to the world. I can't complain about the direction the story is taking, but I think I would have liked it better if the show had continued to delve more deeply into the mystery of the show. However, there are clear hints that the story will get deeper and more complex, so I'm very much looking forward to that. The current episodes seem to have lost a little bit of the spirit of wonder and adventure and mystery that characterized the first 2 or 3 episodes, but the series is still at the top of my list as the most unusual and interesting show on the air right now.

As much as I love girls with swords, and really want to like Samurai Girl: Real Bout High School, I have to concede that the episodes on the third DVD sucked. The animation quality starts out bad, then improves while the character art quality inversely starts out okay and steadily gets worse. In the second episode of the disk, I get the joke, and I like parody, but this particular episode was simply stupid. Anime on DVD kindly called the show "uneven." I'd like to be that favorable, but I may be a bit to critical to be that generous. I may actually try to get around to the last DVD tonight to see if the show redeems itself or ever manages to return to the quality of the first 2 episodes.

[John]

This Thanksgiving was my day to experiment with classics I've never seen before.

The first episode of Flower Magician Mary Bell from 1992 was about as typical of mahou shoujo children's anime as you can get. It's cute, and otherwise not really worth more discussion than that.

The Kingyo Chuuihou movie also from 1992 seemed a whole lot like a slightly less funny, slightly more strange version of Akazukin Cha-Cha. It was pretty fun, but I still like Cha-Cha better.

After watching the first episode of Panzer World Galient from 1984, it's easy to see a lot of the roots of Escaflowne. It's odd to think that this is a Ryosuke Takahashi show, though, as it seems much more loose with the tech/science aspect than what I normally expect out of his shows. In some ways, it's nice to see another confirmation of what I've always thought about 80s anime. It's violent. Galient really took every opportunity to be graphically violent, albeit in an 80s, bloodless way.

After watching the third Media Blasters DVD of Gokudo-kun Manyuki, the show definitely gets sillier. In fact, while the early episodes seemed like a good next step for fans that had seen all of Slayers and wanted something similar, the show seems like it discards more and more of its story depth and small amount of drama as it goes, turning into a genuinely brainless comedy. With this much sheer fluff going on, the show isn't really bad, but I can definitely see why it's not more highly regarded or respected.

Platonic Chain episodes 6 & 7 were like all of them. The concept of a world so networked that nothing is private is sort of disturbing. The fact that the Japanese girls in the show never give it a second thought may be an interesting topic of theoretical debate.

Heatguy J episode 6 didn't really make sense to me. It's based on the idea that controversy and potential imminent disaster makes stock prices rise. I can understand that the possibility of a bomb wiping out the tomato crop may make people speculate that tomatos will become scarce and therefore drive up prices, but usually, in the real world, controversy causes stock prices to plumit. In real life, people jump off a sinking ship. They don't invest more heavily in it suddenly. However, I have to say that even though I don't like Claire Leonelli as a character, this episode did a good job of adding some depth to his character. The episode hinted that, although crazy, he's still quite brilliant, and still does have some human attachments and needs for familiar faces and company.

Galaxy Angel A episode 3 ("fansub episodes 5 & 6") restored some of my faith in Galaxy Angel. The first segment, with Milfielle getting her face stuck, was pretty classic Galaxy Angel strange comedy. The second segment with the grateful ghosts was absolutely classic off-the-wall bizarre Galaxy Angel and highly entertaining.

And then I spent most of Thanksgiving Day slaughtering people in Gungrave. I can understand the frequent criticisms of the game, but I think that it does what it intends to do very well, and the result is a really fun to play game. Based on the story cut scenes (My copy is Japanese, so I can't understand the dialogue) and the sheer style, epecially if this gets turned into a movie or OAV series or 13 episode TV series, I can see it being a stellar all-out action masterpiece.

[John]

I went on a marathon Friday night and Saturday watching episodes 13-20 of Witch Hunter Robin. Wow! This is really an amazing show. I hope that the remaining episodes provide some additional explanation about some of the unexplained events in the show up to now. But one thing I consider the mark of a good show is the ability to look from the end to the beginning and see how far it's come. And Witch Hunter Robin really has progressed a tremendous distance from its first episode to its 20th.

I spent Saturday morning playing the Playstation Gundam W fighting game. It's not quite as good as the old Super Famicom game, but it's pretty similar. Not having played a fighting game in quite some time, I created quite a blister on my thumb in the process of unlocking all the hidden mechs in the game.

I caught up to date on the Godzilla franchise by watching Godzilla Mothra King Ghidorah Giant Monster All-Out Attack. I was a bit disappointed in the poor quality special effects, but otherwise I thought the film was quite good. This is really the Gamera 95 of the Godzilla franchise- a perfect way to restart the franchise. This is the most intelligent, and meanest Godzilla ever. I also like the way this new film really emphases the destructive, deadly nature of Godzilla as a true monster. It was also nice to see Baragon get some love, even though he is basically a worthless kaiju. This film wasn't quite as fun to watch as Gojira vs Megaguiras, but was definitely the strongest written film of the series in years.

Continuing the live-action kick, I absorbed Hideo Nakata's Dark Water. I've heard mediocre reviews of this film, but I have to agree with other films that call it a masterpiece. This was the first horror film to really frighten me in years. With no gore and no shock tactics, this film is genuinely creepy and very scary. I you like fright films, watch this movie.

On the other hand, Otogiriso (St. John's Wort) had an interesting concept and even more interesting execution, but had a real let-down ending. The first half of the film features the most frightening house I've ever seen in a movie- a home directly lifted out of the first Biohazard game, and more faithful to the Biohazard mansion than the actual Resident Evil movie mansion. When the film shifts gears near the end it's sudden, but still holds up well until the film shoots itself in the foot by having a solid ending, then pulling viewers back for more film, and yet another not nearly as interesting ending.

Cyborg 009 episode 4 was nice to see because it wrapped up the Cyborg 010 story that began in episode 3, which I watched quite some time ago. There's not much to this show, but it moves so quickly and with such excitement and energy that it's lack of depth doesn't matter at all. This show does a good job of proving why the classics are classic.

Samurai Deeper Kyo episode 10 was little different from its predecessors. Not at all a bad episode, but it didn't really add anything to the show either.

In the NFL, the Vikings/Falcons game started slow but turned into a really solid, tight game. The Bucs/Saints game was a disappointing loss, but not altogether undeserved. It's okay to be proud of the best defense in the NFL, but relying on it too much is to forget that especially against a team that's playing well, defense doesn't score points or win games. Defense is just supposed to help you not lose. A good defense doesn't make up for the lack of a decent offense.

[John]

Watched the Monday Night Football game off and on.

Samurai Deeper Kyo episode 11 seemed to me like it had the potential to be an unusually good character development episode. It turned out to be a decent, but average episode. Nothing at all to complain about, but not as good as I suspect that it could have been. I'm getting the impression so far that Samurai Deeper Kyo is a series that could have been outstanding but in the end will be just another good, but ultimately forgetable show.

I was hoping for a bit more comedy out of Puchi Puri Yushi episodes 2 & 3 than what was there. Like the first episode, these were nice episodes, and very fun to watch, but again nothing really outstanding.

I'm really starting to suspect that I'm being too critical of this season's shows. However, with recent programs like Mahoromatic, Chobits, RahXephon, SaiKano and Azumanga, this season's shows, with exceptions like Witch Hunter Robin and Haibane Renmei, just don't seem to stand up as tall.

[John]

I watched an episode of Shin Hakkenden back in 1999 when the show was new and thought that it sucked. Last night I watched a fansub of the first episode, and reconfirmed that the show kind of sucks. Beside being painful to look at, the story in the first episode wasn't exactly terrible, but it certainly wasn't a masterpiece either. I just don't see why you'd get Atsuko Ishida to do character designs then so horribly mangle them in the actual animation.

After watching Ojamajo Doremi episode 3, I'm now up to having seen around a half dozen total Doremi episodes, and I've still never seen a bad one. I know Doremi is a show for 8 year old girls, but I really, really like it. Doremi has such a wonderful "genki" energy and exuberance. It's easy to see why it's such a hit in Japan. This is a show that I'd love to see come to America someday.

Haibane Renmei episode 6 restored any lagging faith I had in the series by bringing the mystery back in full. This was a really outstanding episode, but saying anything more would ruin it for some readers.

Overman King Gainer episodes 2 & 3 still don't quite make sense, but they move so quickly, and are so action oriented that it doesn't really matter. I really like the sense of humor present in this series, which is really out of character for a Tomino show. But it works very well. King Gainer is not a perfect show by any means, but based on its lineage, it's better than it probably has any right to be considering that it's following on the heels of Turn A Gundam and Brain Powerd.

[John]

(Un)fashionably behind the times as usual, I finally got around to watching UFO Princess Walkure episodes 4-6 last night. It's clear that this is fluff, and something of a girls show, but I don't understand why it's not more popular than it is. It's got fan service, cute character designs, cat girls with guns, space ships, robots, aliens, magic. It's like the perfect fanboy show. What else could you want? I really enjoy this show immensely.

I also re-watched Bible Black OAVs 3 & 4 from the uncensored Kitty DVD. I really don't understand why more hentai anime isn't like this. If you put some decent talent into hentai, you get really strong results like this. However, hentai shows of this calibur are still quite a rarity. For those who may be curious, OAV 5 is scheduled for Japanese release on the 25th.

[John]

Continuing my preference for lots of diversity in my viewing...

Chojushin Gravion episode 3 continues to look really nice but have really vapid story. I'm not too terribly disappointed because this is a Masami Obari show, and I haven't expected much depth out of anything Masami Obari has been involved with in years. Great looking characters, yes. Lots of action, yes. Well developed and written story, no.

Figure 17 episode 5 was another one of the episodes that people like to slam for being dull and pointless. It the exact kind of anime episode that I really enjoy once in a while. I was also once again impressed by the artistry of this show in the fact that even though they're twins, it's always possible to tell the difference between Tsubasa and Hikaru because of their facial expressions. Hikaru is always seemingly thrilled just to be alive while Tsubasa always has the more pursed, contemplative expression. I really like the fact that Figure 17 spends so much of its running time on simple domestic details. This emphasis on realistic, rustic daily life makes the superheroic action scenes much more dramatic and less like the almost comical cliche of Tetsuwan Birdy, for example.

I made it through about half of Juuni Kokki episode 8 before discovering that my AVI file was corrupt and missing the second half of the episode. [Hopefully some kind soul will repost this episode to Usenet in the not to distant future. Hint hint, nudge nudge, wink wink. Say no more.] Episode 11 was interesting, but episode 12 was simply brilliant. After watching episode 12, there was nothing that could have prevented me from watching episode 13, which turned out to conclude the first story arc. Perhaps because this series has an already established classic story to adapt, it's exceptionally compelling and absolutely mesmerizing. I really think that Juuni Kokki is one of the current shows that's way too unknown and underappreciated by American fans.

[John]

My special order R2 DVD copy of Ryuhei Kitamura's Down to Hell arrived with AnimeNation's latest import CD shipment on Friday, so I made sure to pick that up. The film is very low budget, but really shows a skilled director working within his means. The roots of Versus are very evident, from the forest of resurrection to the graphic gore to the obvious cinematic influence of Sam Raimi's first two Evil Dead films, to the techno soundtrack. This isn't a film I can simply recommend to everyone because it's not much better than a student film, but for die-hard fans of Versus, this is a really interesting artifact.

I went on another marathon and watched Samurai Deeper Kyo episodes 12-21. The series definitely gets better as it gets more complex, but something still just feels missing. There's so much emphasis on action and wild, epic plot twists that there's simply not much room left for character development. The script is centered around character depth and development, but we never actually get to really see it in the animation itself. As a result, this is still a very good show that's simply not able to rise to the next level of greatness.

On the other hand, Witch Hunter Robin episode 21 continues to be very entertaining and wonderfully evocative. As it gets more mysterious still, I wonder even more how it will wrap up.

Get Backers episode 8 wrapped up the three episode storyline adequately. There's not much for me to say about it. It was a fairly average episode. Good, but average.

[John]

After watching the first half of the Dolphins/Bears game I popped in the latest tape of One Piece episodes to arrive. Arrgh the misfortune! Episode 124 (http://tvs.toei-anim.co.jp/story/onep/select/view2.idc?story_No=124) started the final battle between Lufy and Mr. Crocodile. As I was watching it, I wondered to myself how this epsiode would ever play on American television if One Piece was to make it to US TV. Not to give away spoilers, blood plays a very important role in this episode, and editing out the blood would leave the episode simply not making any sense at all. Unfortunately, my tape then jumped up 4 episodes to episode 129 (http://tvs.toei-anim.co.jp/story/onep/select/view2.idc?story_No=129), depriving me of finally getting to see the conclusion of the Alabaster story arc after so many months. This was a pretty good epilogue episode with a really nice ending, but I'm still terribly disappointed about not getting to see the end of the Lufy v. Crocodile fight. Episode 130 (http://tvs.toei-anim.co.jp/story/onep/select/view2.idc?story_No=130) seemed positively slow after the exciting and dramatic Alabaster episodes. Episode 131 (http://tvs.toei-anim.co.jp/story/onep/select/view2.idc?story_No=131) was a cute Chopper episode. His stark fear of Nico Robin was really funny, but the extended flashback was a bit excessive.

[John]

I continued my recent One Piece binge with movie 3 last night. This is the happiest and silliest of the three movies. It's better than the extended TV episode known as movie 1, but I still like the second movie the most. Considering where I'm at in the TV series, it was really strange for me to watch this movie and see how much different Chopper's personality is. This film is an introduction of sorts, set very soon after Chopper has joined Lufy's crew. I'm now so used to the responsible and courageous Chopper of the Alabaser saga that this timid and unconfident early Chopper seems foreign and strange to me.

Episodes 7 & 8 of Haibane Renmei have continued to resolve my opinion that this series is an absolute masterpiece. There's nothing else I can name that's quite like it. And I find myself deeply affected by the characters, and wholeheartedly concerned about them. This sort of appeal only comes from time spent on honest, emotional character development. The series has given us time to get to know and emphatize with the characters to a degree rarely seen in anime. I absolutely love the care put into the crafting of this elegaic fairy tale. The fact that the 8th episode did not use the standard ending credits scroll in order to not break the mood of the episode was an exceptional touch. I really think that this is the most compelling and unique and original series I've seen since Arjuna, nearly two years ago.

[John]

It's been two weeks and still no one has fansubbed Ghost in the Shell TV episodes 5 & 6. I wonder if something has happened in the fansubbing community that I'm not aware of. Anyway, I could wait no longer and watched both episodes in untranslated Japanese. Episode 5 finally confirmed that there's no way this series will be aired on broadcast national American TV uncut, as it included brief sexuality that you can't even get away with in live action American TV. But it's interesting to note that this was essentially the same thing that nearly got Evangelion pulled off the air in Japan 7 years ago. Times have apparently changed. It would have been nice to understand what was going on, but even untranslated these two episodes easily kept me in thrall. And it was nice to finally see Motoko change clothes.

[John]

Yesterday was a late night at work for me, followed up by an advance midnight screening of Star Trek Nemesis. Well, the film's not really quite as bad as all (and I mean all) the reviews of it I've read, but it's certainly no masterpiece. I've never been a really big Trek fan, but I am a big sci-fi fan. This film left me with a profound sense of ho-hum mediocrity.

[John]

The short One Piece Dream Soccer Kingdom film that was included with the third movie was the best One Piece feature so far! Without giving away any spoilers, this short movie brought back a bunch of old faces and introduced a great new cameo character. The CG and obvious digital animation were a bit distracting, but they didn't ruin the overall fun of the short clip.

The Ojamajo Doremi # movie, like many Toei movies, was really just a theatrical TV episode, but like all Doremi anime, it was very nice to watch.

The first episode of Bakuto Sengen Daigander from earlier this year was a really average kids' mecha show. The mecha design reminded me of Digimon. The show's style reminded me of Rockman.exe. Not really bad, just nothing really worth getting excited over either.

I watched the first I"s OAV in untranslated Japanese ironically the day before a fansub got released. I'm sorry to say that for such a highly anticipated release, this series seems to have been short changed. I'm not generally really into manga, but I am familiar with at least the original manga chara designs, and the anime simply doesn't do justice to the incredibly detailed manga versions. The whole project simply seems like Studio Arms did the best it could, which is admirable, but I don't understand why a project like this was produced by the same studio that created Kite and Mezzo Forte and Wordsworth instead of being created by Studio Peirrot or KSS for example- a studio with experience producing high quality shoujo and romantic drama anime.

I again find it ironic that DVDs like Zombi 3 get an anamorphic widescreen presentation when so many anime don't. As a gorehound, I wanted to like this movie, cheese and all. But unfortunately this was only better than Nightmare City in the respect that it contains marginally more graphic gore. After seeing all of Fulci's Gothic Period films, nothing else really compares. This film is simply so bad that even two directors working on it doesn't seem to explain its existence. This is a film that's simply so stupid and illogical that every minute or so something happens that makes you wonder in amazement, "what the..?" This is a film that includes such classic Z-movie dialogue as "I'm thirsty. Thirst for your blood! Aarrghh!" spoken right before a newly turned zombie attacks his former girlfriend.

Shatter Dead fared marginally better. In all of horror movie history, if any film deserved a re-make, it's Shatter Dead. This film has got to have one of the absolute best stories in all of horror movie history. Unfortunately, as a lower than low budget independant film it's acting is beyond bad, the lighting aspires to soap opera quality, the sound is so bad that dialogue is occasionally drowned out, and the special effects are about as good as what creative mothers come up with around Halloween every year. This movie, with a good budget and better dialogue and actors, has more potential than just about any other horror film I can think of.

Haibane Renmei episode 9 seemed to move very quickly although it had no more action than any other episode. The cinematic style on display here is simply marvelous, and the subtle characterization and evolution of the story is masterful. The effect of the wall on Rekka now brings even more mystery into the show. And I can't wait to see the reason for the change in Rekka's wings and what it means.

On Sunday the Bucs barely defeated the Detroit Lions. No offense, but the epitome of an embarassing victory. Then the highly anticipated Packers vs 49s game turned out to be a dull, plodding game.

The Simpsons brought back Sideshow Bob. The ending left me wondering if we're looking at a new continuity point or just another self-contained episode.

Just for the fun of it, I counted 14 cosplay anime parodies in Cosplay Complex OAV 3, not including the opening and ending. There wasn't much difference between this episode and the first episode, but it was still pretty fun to watch. And 14 anime references in roughly 20 minnutes of animation (exclusing op/end) is actually quite a bit!

I don't have much to say about the second episode of Kikou Sennyo Rouran because there's not much that can be said about a show when the entire episode is a single battle sequence. Rouran sure reminds me of Iczer-One.

The third OAV in the Kamyla (pronounced "Kamira") hentai OAV series still had the awful character design and animation quality of the first two episodes, but at least it pretty much gave up trying to express any story and concentrated on lots and lots of sex.

[John]

The first hour of so of the eX-D movie was not really any better than any of the OAVs. The final half hour raised the excitement level a little bit, but still didn't really convince me that the movie was anything more than just a long OAV episode. Thankfully the film never lingers too long on the cel shaded cars, so you never really see them long enough in any one scene to think that they look out of place. Unfortunately, as much as eX-Driver wants to be a female Initial D, it just isn't. Initial D simply got everything so close to perfect the first time that anything following is inevitably going to seem like unoriginal imitation or poor substitute. On the other hand, the Nina & Rei Danger Zone movie is what eX-Driver always should have been. The production quality on this short movie rather sucked, but there was more humor and personality in this 30 minute movie than in all 6 OAVs combined. The Danger Zone movie was essentially an action oriented version of You're Under Arrest (that wasn't painfully stupid like the You're Under Arrest: No Mercy OAV), which is what I've always thought eX-Driver should have been. Nina and Rei simply have so much more charm and vivacity and chemistry than Lorna and Lisa.

Naruto episodes 4 & 5 were much more entertaining than the first 3. Perhaps because the show put the viewer in the same trial that the characters were engaged in, it became a more challenging and interesting show. If the series continues in this direction, then I think I can see why it's so popular.

[John]

As much out of curiosity as interest, I started watching more Naruto last night and almost instantly found myself drawn into it. I watched episodes 6-10 before bed. It's exciting, and dramatic, and a whole lot of fun to watch. I almost find myself wanting to refer to Naruto as Rurouni Kenshin with ninja, in a spiritual sense. The character dynamic between the four leads is interesting as it grows and develops, and the action keeps me wondering what will happen next. On a side note, though, although people frequently call Naruto useless, I haven't yet figured out Sakura does beside stand around looking cute and provide occasional edgy comic relief.

[John]

Lord of the F*cking Rings!

[John]

I've decided that I really like Princess Tutu. After watching episodes 4-6 last night, I see the story settling a bit and becoming more tightly focused. It's sort of difficult for me to really believe that this is a show for little girls. Although you wouldn't guess it from appearances, Princess Tutu is the darkest, most complex shoujo series since Utena. In fact, it's almost morbid that as Ahiru tries to help Mute, all of the feelings that return to him are negative ones- lonliness, sadness, fear. And it's an ironic cruelty that Ahiru's attempts to help Mute only drive her farther away from him and closer to Ruu. But we believe that what Ahiru is doing is the right thing. We believe that having a heart and having feelings is a good thing, but this show makes a deliberate effort to force us to question that belief. This show really just seems too dark and abstract to be a children's mahou shoujo series, but it unquestionably is one.

Hana Dorei OAV 1 was yet another pointless B&D hentai. Its production values were decent, but there's no characterization, and only the minimum amount of story necessary to allow for lots of gratuitous sex. I'm not complaining. These type of hentai anime OAVs serve their purpose effectively. It's just that they're so simplistic and mundane that there's not much to say about them. It's like critiquing a cheeseburger. You can comment on taste and ingredients, but in the end it's still just a cheap, simple cheeseburger.

[John]

Now that my local Best Buy got in a stack of the PS2 Half Life for $20, I picked that up and spent most of Sunday playing it. Half Life and CS used to be a staple around the AnimeNation office, but I've never picked up the handle for PS shooters. I know console versions are a poor substitute for a mouse and keyboard, but I just don't seem to be coordinated enough to play Half Life on a PC.

The first episode of the You're Under Arrest dorama (http://www.zakzak.co.jp/geino/n-2002_08/g2002082305.html) was and wasn't what I expected. In some ways it's closer to the anime and manga than I thought it would be, although Yoriko's personality has dramatically changed. The live action version is also a bit more energetic and lively that the anime. The closest comparison I can draw is between the live action version and You're Under Arrest Special.

After so many years it was nice to watch the first episode of Ninku. A whole lot of years ago I watched a handful of untranslated TV episodes, so this was sort of nostalgic for me. The Ninku movie has never been successful in America, but I've always thought that this is a decent show. Certainly no masterpiece, but a good way to pass some time.

I haven't watched much Digimon anime, just a few fansubs and one or two raw episodes. Never seen any of the American dub. Fans like me that too often dismiss Digimon as just a kid's show would probably be surprised to know that in its original Japanese form, it's a lot better than we probably expect. Movie 6 was short and had little of the intense drama of some of the earlier movies, but it did have good production values, and a bit more maturity than we normally attribute to the monster collecting genre.

As is often the case, I watched the AJ fansub of Stand Alone Complex episode 5 anticipating major dramatic revelations in the dialogue that weren't there.

Galaxy Angel A episode 4 (segments 7 & 8) was a mixed bag. The first story was fairly forgetable. The second segment was classic Galaxy Angel strangeness with a neat little concluding reference to Japanese ghost stories.

[John]

The Pittsburg Steelers dealt the Bucs a humiliating, embarassing defeat last night. Simply pitiful.

[John]

The first Princess Army OAV was a nice bit of nostalgia. This shoujo OAV has been floating around the fansub community for years, but I only now got around to watching it when it went online. Made in 1992, it looks like late 80s/early 90s anime, and like most stuff from that time, telegraphs its plot miles in advance (not much for subelty). It's probably not a show that a lot of newer fans used to contemporary anime would like, but with variable expectations based on age, style and format, I enjoyed it enough.

Only Ebichu could turn ohanami into an orgy of blood and vomit. I laughed through episodes 13 & 14.

And I rounded out my day off with Samurai Deeper Kyo episodes 22 & 23. In yet another of Kyo's shortcomings, I don't understand why a relatively uninvolved and late introduced character seems to know far more about everything that's going on than any of the main characters know. But despite minor quibbles over illogical plot developments, the show is still pretty entertaining.

[John]

Since my room-mate rented The Piano I sat down to watch it again. It's been years since I last saw the film, but it remains as much a masterpiece as I remember it being. It's odd that I consider this one of my ultimate favorite movies of all time when my viewing habits range from anime to splatter horror to HK action. The Piano is simply a marvelously emotional film, able to speak volumes despite its sparse dialogue. It's a gorgeous looking film, and wonderfully engaging as a symbolic analysis of feminist theory. And it's soundtrack is unforgettable. This movie is simply a cinematic masterpiece in every sense. I'm still upset that it lost the Best Film Oscar to Schindler's List.

Gensomaden Saiyuki episode 2 was a little bit of a disappointment. Its animation quality was very average for a TV series. For some reason I was expecting a little better. The writing also seemed to jump around a little bit, but that may just be because it's still early in the show. I was always hesitent to get into Saiyuki because I'm generally not a bishonen fan, but since the opportunity is becomming available to watch it now, I'll give it a shot.

Ojamajo Doremi episode 4 was more cute Doremi goodness.

Watching Macross Zero seemed as much like watching a technology demo as watching mecha anime. I have to admit, though, that this OAV should be essential viewing for any die-hard anime fan, Macross fan or not, just to see what state of the art digital animation technology is capable of in current anime. The mysticism and bird worship and sea and wind legend in the story seem a bit out of place for Macross, but not out of character for Shouji Kawamori, but the action scenes are simply a Macross fan's dream come true, surpassing all of my expectations.

[John]

Defying all expectations, the Bucs actually shut out the Bears last night. The game certainly wasn't pretty, and Tampa didn't have a stellar offense, but our team at least didn't make too many massive mistakes.

Gensomaden Saiyuki episode 3 was remarkably similar to episode 2, but at least developed a little bit more characterization.

Panyo Panyo Di-Gi-Charat episode 13 reminded me a lot of an episode of Galaxy Angel. Regardless, this is a short, cute and stupid show that's too simple to really find fault with or really critique very much.

Get Backers episode 9 was perhaps the most interesting episode yet. I've been frequently surprised by this show, and this episode was yet another great example of the show having a bit more meat to it than I'd anticipated.

Naruto episode 11 was a bit of a disappointment as it seemed to slow down the pace of the story and almost move off onto a tangent. It can be said this this episode was necessary, but I don't really like these type of flashback episodes. Episode 12 redeemed itself by getting back to the excitement level I've come to expect from the show.

St. Seiya Hades Chapter OAV 2 left me feeling a bit confused. This episode made much more clear the fact that the series sort of requires a fairly extensive amount of knowledge about the TV series that I don't have. I've seen only the first dozen or so TV episodes, and that was 10 years ago. However, at least the second OAV was a bit more exciting than the first.

[John]

The 49ers vs Rams battle was quite a fun, highly offense dominated game to watch.

Mahoromatic Second Season episode 7 was also a fun, highly offense dominated game to watch.

[John]

Mahoromatic II episode 8 wasn't quite what I was expecting based on the preview in episode 7. It was, though, a very nice and fun episode that helped restore some of my faith in the second season. Perhaps the bad epsiodes in this second season are just an exception rather than indicitive of the entire second season.

I must be the anti-Ruri, since Ruri is the electronics fairy. Electronics seem to break down just by being near me. After reformatting my home PC three times and spending hours struggling with it, I was in the mood for something mindless and stupid to take my mind off my anxiety. Ground Defense Force Mao-chan episodes 7-18 did the job. Episode 7, which got the focus back on the girls themselves, was a stand out episode. The episode with the school athletics festival was also outstanding because it had a sweet and moving climax that was much more affecting than what I'd ever expected from this show. After getting past a handful of distasteful episodes early on, the show settled into a consistent hum-drum similar to the first two episodes. Definitely not exceptional, but not a total waste of time or attention span either.

The brand new Bible Black OAV 5 dispensed with much of the story evident in the prior 4 episodes but retained the quality. If you've seen the first 4 episodes, expect essentially more of the same in OAV 5, and presumably episode 6 since OAV 5 didn't conclude the story.

I finally finished off Samurai Girl: Real Bout High School epsiodes 11-13 by watching the fourth TOKYOPOP DVD. I really wanted to like this series. But after the fantastic first two episodes it was all downhill. I never got a sense of what the show wanted to be- whether it was a comedy or a fantasy or a romantic drama or a mystery or an action show, and that seems to have hindered the show's ability to tell a cohesive story. The severly underwritten story didn't help either, with massive revelations and events occuring that simply don't make any sense because they're never explained or given any context. The show simply ends up being a dissapointing waste of potential ruined by what seems to be bad planning and confused production.

[John]

Especially considering its cliffhanger ending, I really wanted to watch more than just Witch Hunter Robin episode 22 last night, but I had a ton of CDs to burn and a few other errands to take care of, so in effect fate conspired against me.

[John]

Digimon movie 3 was quite a surprise. It's visual style was striking, and more mature than most adult oriented anime. In fact, the pure look of the film was almost experimental, featuring striking camera angles and very unusual use of color. Unfortunately, the story wasn't really quite as good as most of the other films mainly because this one confused being mysterious with simply not providing enough information. Keeping secrets can be effective, but not providing necessary motivations or explanations simply alienates viewers.

Urda (http://www.romanov.x0.com/URDA/index.htm) episodes 2 & 3 continue to prove that some of the best anime coming out of Japan is actually produced by fans. This short episode show is entirely cel shaded, so I'm not 100% certain that I'll call it anime, but it does have the visual flair and spectacular action associated with anime. I happened to watch fansubbed episodes, but if those aren't available to you, untranslated versions are available directly from the creator's homepage (linked above).

I've seen several SD Gundam movies, including the SD Gundam Mk 1 movie that was released fansubbed just recently, which I watched on Saturday. Of the 2 or 3 SD Gundam movies I've seen, this is the best one, but it's most entertaining if you're familiar with one year war Gundam.

The Sakura Taisen Sumire OAV was nice looking, but quite dull. The whole episode focuses on Sumire's retirement and final performance. This was clearly supposed to be emotional, but the Sakura Taisen animation has never been as affecting as Madhouse Studio seems to believe it is. I suppose this may have been appealing to Sumire fans, but she's probably the one Sakura Taisen character I like least.

Ghost in the Shell TV episodes 7 & 8 were both stand alone episodes. Episode 7 initially fooled me into believing that it was actually as simple as it first appeared to be. Episode 7 was certainly the most violent episode of the series so far. Episode 8 seemed a bit simple and mundane, but watching it in raw Japanese made it a bit difficult for me to understand. Getting to see a lot of tachikoma action made it worth it, though. And we're now up to 8 episodes and only 3 sets of clothes of Ltn. Kusanagi.

Gensomaden Saiyuki episodes 4 & 5 finally revealed a little bit more of the story, but otherwise were just more of the same.

Naruto episode 13 was quite fun and thrilling.

Since the roommate rented Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever, I watched it too. I'm usually not one to pass up an action film. I have to admit that the music video look wasn't too bad, and the film definitely had decent production values, but I fail to see how a film can borrow so heavily from so many other action films yet still fail to borrow the sense of logic or plausibility or even progressive, linear storytelling from one of those other movies. Just because it had so much action and gunplay and massive collateral damage, it's hard to call it a complete loss, but I just can't call it a good movie with a clean conscience.

This Saturday and Sunday's three football games turned out to be a reasonably worthy waste of time.

Japan clearly still understands the conceptual purpose of horror movies. Japan still makes films that are genuinely frightening. Even in untranslated Japanese Juon movie 1 created a very unsettling atmosphere. The films brings back the fear that every child has of something hiding under the bed at night- something unknown lurking behind the door. The film even goes so far as to actually show the bloody, broken and no longer quite human thing slowly creeping up on us! I was quite pleased with this disturbing little piece of video.

[John]

Takeshi Miike's City of Lost Souls was released on American DVD just recently. I picked it up at Best Buy on Sunday and watched it last night. Contrary to what's often said about it, it's not an action film. It has occasional action sequences, but it's much too slow and dramatic to really be an action film. I honestly didn't see as much "manga" influence in it as is often claimed. It is quite a movie, though. I'm now coming to the conclusion that Takeshi Miike movies are something of an acquired taste. What I can say about them fairly consistently, and in the case of this film especially, is that if you think you've seen it all, a good Takeshi Miike movie will change your mind. As a director, Miike certainly deserves the respect he gets for having the cinematic vision to frame things we would never have expected to see. His films really do push the envelope far, far beyond the norm.

[John]

Gensomaden Saiyuki episode 6 was the first episode that caught me up enough to urge me to watch the next episode immediately, although it was mainly just the cliffhanger ending that got me to watch episode 7.

I watched the old Dr. Slump TV episode subbed for Hawaiian television that got posted to Usenet just a few days ago. This episode was pretty much exactly like all the other Dr. Slump anime I've seen. It's cute and funny, but doesn't really seem to me like it's quite as good as its fame would have you believe.

The fourth Digimon movie seemed to try to fit too much story into its 30 minute running time. The film seemed like it would have been much better if it had more time to explain itself a bit more and develop a bit more. It was surprising that for a children's film, this movie had better directed and animated action sequences than most action anime for older, more mature audiences.

[John]

Since the local RoadRunner Usenet service has been crap for about the last week, I'm a little bit farther behind on the new crop of shows than some viewers.

Mouse (http://www.younganimal.com/mouse/) episode 1 has gotten some rather bland reviews. I'm willing to say that I really enjoyed it immensely, even though very little actually happened in it. First of all, I'm encouraged every time I see a new anime series premier that still relies totally on traditional hand painted cel animation. Second, several people has said that this show has a lot of fan service. This isn't just fanservice; this is ecchi. Fan service is non-graphic nudity in Evangelion or panty shots in Aika or teasing glimpese in Idol Project. Mouse delves far more into sexual innuendo and suggestion along the lines of Hanaukyo Maid Tai and really ought to be thought of as an ecchi anime instead of merely a mainstream anime that includes some fan service.

Episodes 10 and 11 of Haibane Renmei were again simply wonderous. The fact that these episodes respectively passed on the standard ending animation and opening animation suggests a conscious effort to create atmosphere and art- to create a mood and express story rather than convention. This series continues to impress me because it's so wonderfully written and so original. There's literally no other anime that can be accurately compared to Haibane. The revelation of the depth to which the girls rely on each other, and their connection to each other was a really magnificent bit of characterization and a beautiful, subtle analysis of human nature.

[John]

Despite the hype and massive fan anticipation, the first episode of Wolf's Rain (http://www.wolfs-rain.com/) didn't impress me as much as the first episode of RahXephon did. But that's not to say that this isn't a promising show. The idea of wolves that look like humans in the eyes of humans is quite interesting, and after watching a lot of anime over a period of years, anything unusual is a godsend.

Lime Iro Senkitan (http://www.kss-inc.co.jp/anime/raimuiro/) has been romanized as "Raimiro," but that's simply not an accurate translation. Obviously the title is supposed to be "Lime" because that's why there's a lime in the actual title graphic. Anyway, the show was essentially exactly what I'd hoped for. unlike Mouse, which I think is really an ecchi title, this is actully pure fan service, with little hint of sex, just innocent tittilation. The show is looking to be a more fun and involving version of Sakura Taisen. I've seen all of the existing Sakura Taisen anime, and I've always thought that it could be more exciting or more dramatic or more involving. Lime Iro clearly isn't going to be dramatic, and probably not exciting, but it does look like it will be completely entertaining.

Sometimes I just want to watch something different. Although I've got better stuff to watch, I finshed up the night with the third .hack//Liminatlity OAV. It wasn't particularly attractive to look at, wasn't particularly well written, and was painfully dull. There's not really anything overtly bad about it, but neither was there anything at all to recommend about it.

[John]

A friend hooked me up with a copy of Eternal Fighter Zero Blue Sky Edition (http://homepage2.nifty.com/taso/product.html), so I spent much of my weekend playing around with it. I also watched fansub copies of Stand Alone Complex episodes 6 & 7 that I'd previously only watched untranslated, and watched the final few minutes of Juuni Kokki episode 8 that I'd missed.

I finished up Witch Hunter Robin by watching episodes 23-26. The ending didn't have the climactic battle I'd been hoping for, but it was a solid, satisfying ending to a wonderful show.

The second little SD Gundam movie was quite cute, but not quite as fun being a single story as the first part, which was essentially just a collection of punch-lines.

Just based on the first episode of .hack//Tasogare no Udewa Densetsu (http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anime/hack_udeden/), I already like it far more than the first series. Beside the ultra cute look of the characters, this new series is more humorous, exciting, and thrilling than the first series. There's a sense of tension, and a real sense that what we're seeing is a game that has implications and effects in the real world. The purpose of anime is to entertain. While the first .hack TV series bored me, this new series seems to be very fun to watch and highly entertaining.

Leave it up to the Japanese to make a comedy out of a mental illness. Although it didn't have any of the ecchi, the first episode of Nanaka 6/17 (http://www.starchild.co.jp/special/nanaka/) reminded me a lot of Iketeru Futari. For a 25 minute long show, this episode seemed to go on forever! The intro suggests that there will be a lot of gag humor in this series, which it looks like it could use. The painfully mundane first episode just seemed like little more than something with which to pass the time.

The first episode of the Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto - Someday's Dreamers (http://www.yume-mahou.com/) TV series was quite a pleasant surprise. First of all, I always find it neat to see places in anime that I've actually been to. And anyone that's never been to Shinjuku who wants to see anime that really shows Japan like it really is should watch the first couple minutes of this show. In fact, the amount of detail in the authenticity of the background art simply amazed me, right down to even the oddly named Doutor coffee shop chain resturant. The characterizations were all very nice, the music is wonderful, the art design is impressive, and the hint at the end that there will be some social commentary worked in all suggest that this is a show heading in a positive direction. It may be a bit slow and thematically unappealing to viewers looking for something a bit more exciting, but as a fan of Japanese animation itself, I was really quite enthralled with this simple show.

Kojin Taxi 3 was as spiteful and mysogenistic as its predecessors, but featured less sex and more story. I can think of plenty of hentai anime shows that have much worse production values, but not too many that have a story quite as rudely offensive as this show.

[John]

I keep waiting for Minawa to turn evil. Minawa from Mahoromatic season 2 just reminds me so much of Nuku-Nuku's evil little "sister." Episode 9 was a cute little Valentine's Day episode focusing on Minawa. I sort of wish the AnimeJunkies fansub translation was a bit more clear and accurate on the concept of "giri choco," but at least I knew what it meant when I watched the episode.

Haibane Renmei ended quietly and beautifully, leaving the viewer with a mood that lasts beyond the animation itself. The questions raised in the show aren't answered, but episodes 12 & 13 make clear that the obvious questions aren't important. In fact, they are symbolic of especially Rekki's personality and the character flaw she must overcome. In fact, the show revealed itself to be about something I hadn't really seen coming, but which made perfect sense. The highly personal and deeply honest soul-searching on display was quite moving, and a bit more personal than typical for anime. I really expect that this is a show that will gain more resonance with time- a show that I will appreciate more and more as time allows me to disect it and consider it more thoroughly.

After Haibane, there wasn't much I could possibly follow up with. So I watched Princess Tutu episode 7. I'm still incredulous that this is supposed to be a children's show. It really seems so mature and abstract and conceptual and beyond what I'd normally consider a kid's show. Episode 7 clearly came right out and admitted it's streak of cruelty and harsh fate, challenging Ahiru to herself challenge sadness and fear and hopelessness. Even the brief sight gags involving Neko-sensei seemed a bit too subtle for a children's show. I usually try to refrain from giving recommendations because I think fans should discover anime for themselves; however, to anyone reading this- if you're a fan of the pure art of anime: visual storytelling, thematic development, mis-en-scene, cinematic style- if you're a fan of the technical art of Japanese animation- watch this show!

[John]

I don't have much to say about Platonic Chain episodes 8-10 besides, I watched them.

Gensomaden Saiyuki episode 9 was pretty interesting because it introduced a new level to the relationship between Sanzo's party and Kou Gaiji's party. I also really like Lilin now.

I was a bit disappointed with the Ichi the Killer Episode 0 OAV. Sadly, I've only seen the edited HK DVD (official) version of the live action movie, and the anime certainly retains the visual style of the live action movie. Unfortunately, while the anime is fairly offensive, it's just not really that interesting.

[John]

I'm still disturbed by Platonic Chain. The concept of an all-seeing, all-knowing internet database vaguely frightens me. Last night I watched episodes 11-13.

The Wind- A Breath of Heart OAV was really very enjoyable. Since I'm not familiar with the PC game it's based on, I didn't quite understand much of what was going on, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the really attractive character design and wonderfully entertaining characterizations. This really reminded me a lot of a more energetic and playful version of Comic Party. Yes, it was a bit silly and a bit dumb, but it put a smile on my face, which is good enough for me.

Naruto episode 14 turned out to be 3/4 recap.

I managed to catch South Park last night. Man that was harsh.

Which leads me to L/R Licensed by Royal (http://www.pldc.co.jp/rondorobe/anime/l-r/). Someone really should have told the staff of this show that mysteries are supposed to be mysterious. In a good mystery, the criminal is never who the viewer expects, and the killer's methods are always ingenious or shocking or unexpected. The first episode of L/R started off with a worthless stolen item, introduced a bland and forgetable detective, had the most painfully obvious character commit the crime in the most unoriginal and mundane way possible, then solved the entire crime with the simple logic of "you were the only person not in the room when it happen; therefore it must be you." Compounding the show's numerous faults was its reliance on background music to try to compensate for the weaknesses in the writing. Unfortunately, the music overcompensated and eliminated any glimpses of atmosphere or tension or suspense or mystery from this mystery show. The music itself may not be bad, but it's simply so out-of-place that it seems like the music was added in to the show by someone that never actually watched the show as it was being edited together. I may give this series another chance, but if I don't see a massive improvement, I won't be sticking around.

[John]

I don't have much to say about Overman King Gainer episodes 4-7. It's a silly show because the characters rarely do anything that you'd imagine normal, rational people would do. But it's a fun show to watch because it moves along very quickly and features almost non-stop action- in fact, largely action at the expense of story development. It's an entertaining diversion when I'm in the mood to watch something that doesn't require much thinking.

[John]

Gensomaden Saiyuki episodes 10-12 were quite fast paced and pretty fun. Having seen the movie already, it was interesting to see some of Cho Hakkai's past revealed in the TV series.

Samurai Deeper Kyo episodes 24-26 really pulled out all the stops on the silliness with elements requiring a near superhuman willingness to disregard logic or common sense.The ending, which seems to have confused some viewers, will probably end up the subject of an "Ask John" article similar to the one about the ending of R.O.D. My overall summation- a decent, forgetable show that had some potential that went unused. My biggest complaints with the show are its near total lack of character development, and its twisted story that frequently seemed to be made up as it went along.

Chojushin Gravion episode 4 was another disappointment. I was initially enthused with this series because it's always nice to see classic formulas revived with contemporary animation. Unfortunately, Gravion doesn't seem to even attempt to do anything with the old formula. It's difficult to get behind a show when the extent of its writing is try the attack we used in episode 1; that didn't work so try the attack we used in episode 2; that didn't work so try the attack we used in episode 3; that didn't work so pull out a fourth surprise new attack that is guaranteed to work.

Those Who Hunt Elves Second episodes 2 & 3 were much better than the first episode. The second episode was simply twisted, so the less I say the better for people yet to see it. Episode 3 did a surprisingly competent job of getting Celcia back into an animal body without seeming like a straight rehash of the first series or seeming arbitrary and stupid.

Hare Nochi Guu Deluxe 2 had some great little in-jokes from Mari and Guu and a really sexy looking Weda. This was really the sort of humor and quality that I've come to expect out of this series.

Maybe I'm an exception, but I'm still not feeling Wolf's Rain. After episode 2 I was left still not really caring at all about the characters, and left with an annoying sense that the show is playing loose with its own established rules. There just seems to be so much about the show that requires viewers to just accept without question or explanation, which comes awfully close to an emphasis on style over substance when this show doesn't really have much unusual style. There's certainly an interesting concept, but I haven't been won over by how the concept has been implemented. Hopefully Wolf's Rain will get better because so far, while I don't mind watching it, I haven't been impressed.

.Hack//Dusk (as the second series seems to have been deemed by fans) episode 2 was all good just because it introduced Ouga the wolf girl. A great looking character design like that will make me overlook just about any flaws. Again, I find myself enjoying this second series far, far more than I liked the first series.

Mouse episode 2 was another show that required massive and frequent suspension of critical thinking. That sort of thing usually really bothers me because there's no real reason why any anime should have to resort to that, but knowing what kind of show this is, I'm willing to excuse it and just enjoy what's there instead of decry what isn't.

[John]

My father came by to visit, as did a friend I have seen in a week, so I didn't have much viewing time.

Gensomaden Saiyuki episode 13 prominently featured Lilin, and any episode with her in it is a good episode for me.

I watched the first OAV of the hentai series Girl Next Door from an RSI screener DVD. The whole look of the show is very bright and happy, quite contradictory to the DVD cover art. While a bit subdued, this OAV definitely shows signs of the sort of hentai humor that's abundant in the Hooligan OAV series, which shows a great deal of influence from Akitaro Daichi. This is probably best described as a light, comical romantic drama with occasional scenes of slightly graphic sex.

[John]

I squeezed in what anime I could last night between other tasks around the house.

Gatekeepers 21 OAV 5 was the Gatekeepers anime I've always been waiting for. In fact, it was such a massive dramatic shift in tone from everything that's come before that it's almost a different show. This OAV was far darker, more violent, apocalyptic and mature than any other Gatekeepers anime, and I think really is what the show should have always attempted to be. I was very impressed with this episode.

SD Gundam Mk 1 part 3 was really cute. It's strange that I'm certain I've seen the first part of this OAV before, but I hadn't seen the second and third segments before.

[John]

Last night was another busy night for me, so I only had time to watch Naruto episode 15. I now formally declare anyone that claims to hate Dragonball but love Naruto. A lot of people complain that Dragonball fights take forever. It's now looking like the present Naruto fight is going to last at least 4 episodes (a month on Japanese TV). I'm personally not complaining. I really like both Dragonball Z and Naruto a whole lot. Of course, I just can't figure out why Naruto and Sasuke don't just try something to obscure Haku's mirrors. If the mirror reflections are the key to the jutsu, wouldn't blocking the mirrors from reflecting each other's images limit Haku's ability to move around? Mirrors don't work in zero visibility.

[John]

Heatguy J episodes 8 & 9 were both fairy routine, forgetable episodes. It was kind of thrilling to see Daisuke fight at the end of episode 9, but that few seconds is a bit of a poor stand-out if that's the best these two episodes can support. Not terrible by a long shot- simply very average.

Naruto episode 16 had me nearly pulling out my hair in frustrated anticipation. Since I'm not familiar with the manga I have to say that it's been ages since a cliffhanger ending has gotten me as anxious to see the next episode as this ending did. This seems to be the most significant episode of the show thus far, and it really has one hell of a cliffhanger ending!

Stratos 4 episode 2 did nothing to change my initial opinion of the show from episode 1. I like the character designs, and I find myself strangely compelled to watch this show just to see when and if anything is ever going to happen, but by the look of it, if I was more rational I would stop watching this slow and dull show and catch up on something better.

I'm still not enthused wih Wolf's Rain after episode 3 either. How do wolves open doors? They don't have hands! Based on all the hype and anticipation that's built up around this show, I just can't overlook all its small logic holes and elements that just don't make any sense.

Mahoromatic II episodes 10-12 changed style with 90 degree suddenness. The action and drama in these major, eventful episodes was on par with the best of the first season, giving me reason to now think of the less impressive earlier episodes of second season as just a temporary lapse within the confines of an excellent larger show.

The Sailormoon parody and humor in Asagiri no Miko episode 7 was really fun.

The local boys managed to not only win the Superbowl; they did it convincingly! The new Matrix trailer was simply awesome. Around here at AnimeNation the jury is still out on Daredevil, and there are mixed impressions of the Hulk trailer.

I always said that I'd buy an Xbox when Dead or Alive Volleyball is released. I'm pleased to say that the game is actually a lot of fun to play- balancing just the right amount of timing and skill with simple mechanics. Tonight I have to run out and pick up a copy of DoA 3.

[John]

The majority of my evening last night was spent with Dead or Alive Volleyball (and playing through DoA 3 with Jan Lee).

I worked in episode 2 of L/R. To my disappointment, the second episode was even worse than the first. I simply don't understand the reasoning behind infiltrating the enemy's base just to trick him into getting arrested by a military raid. If you're already committed to using military force, and you already know where his hideout it, and his guards are obviously inept, why not just raid the base in the first place instead of playing all the time consuming and ultimately pointless double-cross games? The entire dilemma in this episode could have been resolved quickly in 5 minutes, but instead it was padded out to 25 minutes by a script that hoped viewers would just accept idiotic, unnatural behavior without question. Since I've got episode 3, I'll watch it too, but if I don't see an improvement on an epic scale, I won't be watching any of this series beyond episode 3.

[John]

Last night was another busy night for me, so I only had time to watch Beat Angel Escalayer OAV 2 before bed. The first OAV of this hentai series just seemed very bland and average to me. The second episode left me with mixed feelings. What's there is excellent, but there's not enough there. This seems to be a show that's being victimized by too little money and time. The best way I can describe Beat Angel Escalayer is as a pornographic, magical girl Steel Angel Kurumi. The character design is excellent, and the animation quality is actually better than most of the mainstream anime I've seen lately. What's there is top-notch. Unfortunately the story development seems rushed, as though there's simply not enough time to show everything the staff would have like to animate. I believe this is going to be a 3 episode series. It seems like a show that would work better as a 4 or more episode show.

[John]

Probably to be overshadowed by our major announcement today, but...

Happy World OAV 1 (http://www.kss-inc.co.jp/anime/happyworld/) was really nice and fun, with a little bit of H. Beside the catchy opening theme song, though, it had about the worst BGM I've ever heard in an anime. I really like the adult Tomoyo-lookalike mom dragging her daughter down the hall by the hair.

Wolf's Rain episode 4 was actually a little bit better than the previous episodes because it was a subtle character development episode. Now considering that Toboe seemed to leave a single line of footprints when running after Tsume, I have to wonder if the wolves actually do physically transform.

[John]

I'm probably forgetting some shows I watched this past weekend, but...

After L/R episode 3 I've decided that I'm giving up on this show. Since I don't want to indulge it, just let me say this, the show sucks.

Nanaka 6/17 episode 2 was marginally more appealing than the first episode, perhaps because I was watching it translated while I watched the first one raw, but there's still not even enough hint of good things to come to keep me interested. This will probably be the last episode of this show I watch as well.

After paying for it and bringing it home a week ago, I finally opened up my R2 Tree of Palme (http://www.palmenoki.com/) DVD and watched it last night. It seems as though once every year or so there's a new anime like this one released that reminds us that the stylistic and experimental style of golden era anime is still around. Especially the early part of this film reminded me of Angel's Egg a whole lot. The film has some minor flaws, like especially Palme's dramatic character change in the middle of the film with no cause or explanation, but the film is gorgeous to look at, and creates a wonderful sense of fantasy that we haven't seen in anime in a long, long time.

[John]

Ghost in the Shell episode 9 was especially difficult to watch in untranslated Japanese because the entire episode was talking heads. It seems to be discussion of the "Laughing Man." It's nice to look at, but when I can't understand the dialogue, it's also hard to stay awake, through. Episode 10 was certainly more action oriented and provided the first glimpe into Batou's background. Episode 10 also showed a lot of influence from Karen Biggalow's movie Strange Days. This episode again made me think that there's virtually no way this show is ever going to air on the American Catoon Network, even for Adult Swim, this is just far too graphic and adult oriented for broadcast on an American children's channel.

[John]

Must have been girls night for me.

Platonic Chain episode 14 finally dealt with the creepy aspect of PlaChe in a surprisingly strange epsiode. Episode 15 was back to the light and happy fluff with a seemingly pointless episode that seemed to be an exerpt from a longer story.

It's sort of difficult for me to critique the first episode of Ashita no Nadja (http://www.toei-anim.co.jp/tv/nadja/) because so little really happened in it. There's plenty of action, but nothing to suggest the direction of the story or what kind of show this is going to be. It has a nice "World Masterpiece Theater" atmsophere to it, but I can't tell if it's supposed to be a drama or adventure or romance.

The Ultra Maniacs OAV was another manga adaptation like Time Stranger Kyoko, which was mainly made for fans of the manga. This shoujo OAV wasn't anything spectacular or surprising; likewise is wasn't bad. It's simply a decent half hour of typical shoujo school/magic using student anime similar in atmosphere to Hime-chan's Ribbon or A+ for Fashion Boy or Princess Army.

[John]

Once again, the first fansub version of Gunparade March (http://www.kuroitsuki.com/) turns up the day after I watch it untranslated. I've been interested in GPM for a couple years now as it seems to be one of the most popular PSone games ever released, even though most people in America have never heard of it. My first impression of the anime is that it's a spiritual successor to Gasaraki. I expect this to be a character show, but the first episode had a whole lot of pretty impressive mecha action in it. I'll need to watch this one translated, and see more of it before I draw a final conclusion, though.

Fansubs of the first episode of Granzort sort of caught me by surprise. It's been so many years since I've even heard the name that I'd nearly forgotten it (even though I actually have a vintage Granzort import artbook in my collection.) I'm a bit more familiar with Wataru, which is from the same creator and infinitely more wacky and bizarre. A bit of the humor and sight gags were in Granzort, though. This is a pretty cute 80s anime. A nice bit of nostalgia, but nothing outstanding.

I watched Ghost in the Shell TV ep. 9 again, fansubbed this time. It still didn't make a whole lot of sense.

With Wolf's Rain episode 5 either the show is getting marginally better or I've lowered my expectations. Now that the show is concentrating on a group dynamic between the four characters instead of concentrating on them individually it seems more interesting. So far it's still not the masterpiece I think fans were expecting it to be, but at least now it doesn't seem quite as disappointing as it did at first.

[John]

.hack//DUSK episode 3 did a nice job of going over some of the same territory covered in .hack//SIGN but making it more appealing and entertaining. I'm glad real RPGs don't have "level down" traps.

The first half of Hare Nochi Guu Deluxe OAV 3 was simply bizarre. I won't ruin it for those who haven't seen it, but those who have seen it know what I'm talking about. This was prime Guu humor as good as anything in the show.

The fight continues in Naruto episode 18. The drama is also quite thick, and the show showed an uncharacteristic emotional depth in this episode as well. With each episode that I watch, I find myself enjoying this show more and more.

On the other hand, the Green Green OAV was the worst anime I've seen in quite some time. Hideous 2 frame a minute animation quality and terrible story made this a pain to watch. At least it's enlightened me that Japan does still occasionally turn out terrible OAVs.

Heatguy J episodes 10 & 11 were both stand alone episodes. Episode 10 seemed very disjointed and confused until the end when everything made sense. Episode 11 was overtly more linear, but had some physics problems when thought about. But this isn't the kind of show that you really should think about.

Mahoromatic series 2 epsiodes 13 & 14 were quite a surprise. Episode 13 was a really solid and powerful ending. Episode 14 was a left-field surprise I couldn't have even guessed was coming. Although I don't really like episode 14 because it so dramatically alters the established conventions of the show, I have to admit that it was a pretty good ending.

I watched Gunparade March episode 1 again, subtitled this time. The dialogue definitely raised the tension level a bit, but didn't really reveal any character depth that I didn't get from the untranslated version.

After being treated by Mahoromatic's good ending, I got an even better ending with Gatekeepers 21 OAV 6. This really was what Gatekeepers has always been building up toward, but needed everything prior to make possible. Beside the relatively useless episode 3, I think Gonzo really hit this one out of the park. I liked the Gatekeepers TV series, but the OAV series was fantastic. I'm really looking forward to picking up the R1 DVDs when they're released.

After watching Raimuiro Senkitan episodes 2 & 3, the show's roots in a hentai game are much more apparant. (The show's title is obviously supposed to be "Like Iro Senkitan," but I've decided that that spelling just looks weird.) After 3 episodes I still haven't formed a final opinion on this show. It's certainly disposable fluff, but so is virtually all of the Sakura Taisen anime. I can't say that I like this show yet, but I also don't dislike it. If I have the time, I'll probably watch a little bit more of it and see where it's going before I decide to either stick with it or move on.

Shanghai Nights was definitely Jackie Chan's best American film. That said, I guess it's about as good as his aging body can still do. The humor was thankfully not too moronic, and the film thankfully didn't descend too far into cultural or ethnic stereotyping humor. What was seen of Donnie Yen was pretty good. I just wish we would have gotten to see more of him in action.

[John]

I bought a copy of the Dragonball: Red Ribbon Army Saga DVD (http://www.animenation.com/fp1401.html) yesterday, as soon as they came in stock. I waited too long on the Tournament Saga DVD and we sold out of our initial shipment of copies. So now I have to wait a few days until we get a re-stock. Anyway, last night I spent a few hours watching the 8 episodes on disc 1. Original Dragonball still moves pretty slowly, but it's really nice to just sink into some classic hand drawn 80s anime with its flaws and scratches and hand made charm intact.

[John]

Made it through 5 of the 9 episodes on the second disc of the Dragonball Red Ribbon Army DVD collection.

[John]

Finally Nurse Witch Komugi-chan OAV 2 turned up! The first episode was really cute, but this episode was so much better! When the cosplay parody kicked in with the extended Tekkaman and Gatchaman parodies, not even Cosplay Complex matches it.

UFO Princess Walkure episode 7 upped its fan service quotient considerably from the previous episode but otherwise wasn't much different from the prior episodes.

Condor Hero episode 4 still has a somewhat annoying main character, but balanced it out with his respect for his new master. The relative fast pace of this episode kept it interesting to watch throughout.

I don't care if the Japanese romanize it as "Herlock," Captain Harlock is still Captain Harlock, with an "A." The first OAV episode of Space Pirate Captain Harlock: Endless Odyssey (http://www.vap.co.jp/herlock/) was everything I could have hoped for. Beside one jarring scene of re-used animation, the character design and whole look of the show is gorgeous (if you like Matsumoto's distinct style of art design), and the whole show is designed around giving everything the proper gravity and drama. The Harlock of this series is every ounce the honorable but imposing and frightening man of legend known throughout the galaxy. After the terrible Cosmo Warrior Zero and somewhat disappointing Harlock Saga, Endless Odyssey seems to be the Harlock animation that fans have been waiting for since the Arcadia of My Youth movie from the mid 1980s.

[John]

I honestly thought that the end of the Clay Man story in GetBackers episode 10 didn't live up to the promise of episode 9. That's not to say that it wasn't a good episode. It was simply a bit more conventional than I expected. Episode 11 seemed like it may be the beginning of an interesting adventure, but didn't reveal too much more than that.

[John]

Both of my room-mates thought that Daredevil was decent, but not spectacular. Perhaps its because I've got a penchant for dark heroes, I really enjoyed most of Daredevil. The film certainly has its flaws- mostly its comic book uneven pacing and sudden full-blown romance, and its utter lack of subtelty and annoying use of music to provide characterization with the finesse of a brick to the head, but I still liked it enough to overlook these flaws.

I do and don't like .hack//DUSK episodes 4 & 5. To be more specific, the episodes continued to be very enjoyable, but I don't think I like the revelation of the cause of the disturbances in The World. I won't give away spoilers, but unless this is fleshed out to be more than it appears, it appears to be rather disappointing.

It turns out that Galaxy Angel Z episode 7 (parts 13 & 14) was the episode I saw broadcast on television when I was in Tokyo last November. It's nice to see that, after watching it fansubbed, I actually did interpret it almost exactly when I originally watched it in untranslated Japanese.

Maho Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto episode 2 especially brought back great memories for me because it featured a Yoshinoya resturant. Oh how I wish Yoshinoya would franchise here in Florida. You people in California that have Yoshinoya resturants don't know how lucky you are. Anyway, episodes 2 & 3 made me think of this show as a sweet and personable magical girl show for adults. I won't compare it to CCS because of the reliance on Clow Cards. It's more like Hime-chan's Ribbon for older viewers.

I finally got to see the Lunar Magic School movie. I don't know where this copy came from because it was never released to home video in Japan, but I'm not going to question it too much. The short movie reminded me a whole lot of Dragon Half, in a very good way. Too cute!

Get Backers episode 12 was a lot of fighting and action, and some nice character interaction between Ginji and... that guy (Forgot his name). [Dr. Jackel, remembered it.]

Ganbare Game Paradise 2 was a strange one. Its elements remind me of something from the late 80s, but its animation quality and contemporary humor seem to date it in the mid 90s, but something tells me that it might also be a very recent short OAV with a retro style. I was also distinctly reminded by similarities between this odd, cute comedy OAV and the equally cool, but almost unheard of Struggle Bunnies anime music video. The little raccoon girl (raccoon, not tanuki) in this OAV was "chou kawaii!"

Naruto episode 19 finally wrapped up the Tazuna storyline brilliantly. The episode was filled with an uncommon courage and heart and strength that was obvious, but not excessive or melodramatic. This is the sort of depth and resonance that can only come from a great deal of time spent on developing strong characterizations. A stunning ending to a surprisingly solid and effective show compared to what I'm used to from typical Shonen Jump anime adaptations. Not knowing anything about the manga, and based on the next episode trailer, I just hope the upcoming episodes can sustain the high expectations these just concluded episodes established.

After watching the first two episodes, I like Kamen Rider 555 (pronounced "Kamen Rider Fives") more than the Kamen Rider Ryuki it's replacing. The new show was a faster, more energetic pace. It also has some very nice special effects, and really inventive and impressive costume designs for a rubber suit sentai show.

[John]

AD Vision sent us a screener DVD copy of Colorful, so I watched episodes 9-16. The show itself is still very funny, but unless I'm mistaken, the AD Vision DVD seems to have either edited out the Japanese credits, or it uses a clean opening foe every episode. I seem to recall the fansub episodes having credits during the opening animation. The ADV DVD openings have no credits. Strange.

Gunparade March (henceforth "GPM") episode 2 was entirely a character driven episode. I can already see why the game is so popular. There's enough diversity in the characterizations that everyone can find someone to like and dislike. I thought it was especially interesting that Mai is initially introduced as a no-nonsense soldier type, but then begins to show signs of actually having some insecurities about herself and personal conflicts. Nonomi is also very cute.

I did some catching up with Juuni Kokki episodes 14-17. I'm almost shocked to say this, but I'm sort of glad that it was Media Blasters that picked up this title because they've already stated that they expect to treat it as a marquee title. This show deserves it. This show is definitely a suitable follow-up for Rurouni Kenshin and Berserk. I love the way Juuni Kokki creates a complete world full of minute details. Unlike shows including Rayearth and Fushigi Yuugi and Escaflowne that created an alternate world around their characters, Juuni Kokki creates a thriving and believable world, then puts characters in it. The show is totally absorbing because it feels real and solid and believable; it feels like a world with thousands of years of history and culture that we are being introduced to, the same way Yoko is discovering the world. In the way I made predictions that Arjuna would someday receive the recogniztion and acclaim it deserves, I'm saying now that one day Juuni Kokki will be widely recognized as the exceptional, outstanding show that it is.

[John]

Last night was another one of those nights when I didn't get around to as much as I wanted to.

The first half of Galaxy Angel Z episode 5 seemed like it would be cute and sweet with Ranpha fixing up the waitress robot and making friends with it. Of course, it turned in something completely different. The second half, with the girls finding jobs in the private sector, was so typical Galaxy Angel that it was relatively forgetable.

Mao-chan episode 19 actually had a small new plot twist. Nothing major, but at least it was something interesting.

[John]

Mao-chan episode 20 has got to be the best episode of the series. I won't give away spoilers, except to say that this episode has a connection to the creator's other famous title. After watching episodes 20-23, I have to wonder why the early epsiodes weren't this good. It's still not a great show, but these later epsiodes seem to be a lot better than the early ones.

I watched Mouse episodes 3-5. Beside the heavy H content, there's really nothing unusual or memorable about the show. At least these episodes weren't quite as painfully stupid as episode 2 was.

[John]

I finished off the last three episodes on the Dragonball: Red Ribbon Army DVD.

I also watched the first episode of the live action Ring TV series. It doesn't seem to be a creepy horror the way the movie was. The TV series seems more like a mystery. It's obviously heavily patterned after the movie, but also throws in a second sub-plot. the big twist came at the end when Sadako's video turned out to be not Sadako's video. I guess the TV series had to do something differently. I'm not sure where this is going, nor whether I like it or not yet.

[John]

Heatguy J episode 7 was an unusually disposable episode.

So was Chojushin Gravion epsiode 5.

Overman King Gainer episodes 8 & 9 were sillier than previous episodes in some respects, but in other ways a bit more "straight" than previous episodes.

I finally got around to watching more Gundam Seed by watching episodes 2 & 3. Based on these two episodes, this may be the best Gundam series in years if only because it's not as absurd or bad or excessive as most of the recent Gundam TV series. For me, Zeta Gundam is the series by which all others are compared. How good or bad I think a Gundam series is usually relates to how much it varies from Zeta Gundam, which is what I consider the epitome of what Gundam is supposed to be.

After watching Kamen Rider Ryuki episode 4, I appreciate even more how much better Kamen Rider 555 is.

The description "live action anime" gets used a lot, but I don't think I've ever seen a better example of it than the first episode of Bakuryu Sentai Aburanger. This live action superhero show was essentially what you'd get if you combined Power Rangers with Digimon and Zoids: giant, evolving robotic dinosaurs stomping through downtown Tokyo, overturning cars, destroying buildings and fighting each other. Then add in super powered heroes and villains, and villains getting hurled through buildings and you've got Aburanger. Even in untranslated Japanese this first episode was immensely goofy and highly fun to watch.

I had a suspicion of what to expect from Hand Maid Mai (http://www.wonderfarm.co.jp/handmaid/) when I saw "Five Ways" in the credits. The first OAV was better than most of the awful adult anime Five Ways produces, but not by much. Besides a cute, brief sight gag reference to Hand Maid May, the first Hand Maid Mai OAV was a bland and relatively lifeless domestic comedy. There's more H humor in Mouse! Unlike the Hand Maid May TV series, which had its negatives but also a fair amount of charm and engaging personality, this new OAV series is simply a limp, bland and forgettable mediocre OAV with a tired, seen-it-before style. Hopefully future episodes will be better.

Black Mask 2 was simply a train wreck of a movie. It was too big and expensive to be a total washout, but too terribly bad to be good. A giant talking brain, Rob Van Dam turning into a human octopus-type thing, plot points and characters introduced then forgotten about until an hour later; the film was like Daredevil, Highlander 2, Japanese sentai shows, professional wrestling, a romantic comedy, and a half-dozen Full Moon Pictures movies all rolled into one. I'm glad that I watched the film, just for the experience, but I can't wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone unless you're just interested in seeing just how absurd a film can get when a director with lots of creativity but no self-discipline is given a blank check and full creative control.

On the other hand, the Thai action/drama Bangkok Dangerous was amazing. I've heard the film compared to John Woo, but beside one obvious homage, I didn't see any real similarities. The comparison between this film and the work of Wong Kar Wai, though, is very appropriate. The film does a simply amazing job of creating an atmosphere of spiritual and emotional hopelessness and desolation with its visuals and acting. Life is cheap, and the film only goes downhill from there. Stylistically the only things I can really compare it to are Wong Kar Wai's Ashes of Time and Tsui Hark's The Blade. The use of music and smart editing create an amazing sense of tension in a film that's not a suspense movie. The violence isn't gratituitous, but is very shocking and immediate. The film is also very bloody, almost fetishizing not the violence, but the blood itself. This absolutely isn't a film for everyone, but it's definitely a must see for fans of Asian crime/gunplay/action films. I watched the domestic First Look Pictures DVD, which sadly seems to be pan & scan only. Also, don't watch the trailer first. It gives away far too much, and really does a horrible job of expressing the raw and dirty elegance of the film.

[John]

It's getting difficult for me to talk about .hack//DUSK without giving away spoilers. After watching episode 7 I'm beginning to have doubts about the show. I really like it when it's just a light fantasy adventure, but now it's getting harder for me to accept. Since we never really get a clear impression of CC Company, I find it difficult to believe that if people are actually getting hospitalized on a regular basis because of the game, CC wouldn't just shut down the game servers, at least temporarily. I also find it hard to accept that CC employees have to log in to the game like regular players to deal with bugs in the game instead of just making a few keystrokes on a keyboard in their office. I also don't like the origin of the "Twilight." The cause of it doesn't even seem old enough to have been capable of interacting with the game during the time of .hack//SIGN and .hack//INFECTION. I enjoyed .hack//DUSK when it was just a simple adventure, but now that it's getting more complex, some of the logic flaws and poor writing that plagued .hack//SIGN are becomming apparent in this series as well.

I also watched Condor Hero episode 5, which is neat if for no other reason than because it tries to actually animate choreographed kung-fu, which usually isn't animated because it's so complex and time consuming to animate.

And I played a bit more Xbox Bloodrayne, which I started on Saturday. It's no masterpiece, but it's decent brainless, bloody fun for the $20 I spent on it.

[John]

After watching Gunparade March episode 3 I've decided that my favorite character is little Nonomi. She's not Chiyo-chan, but she's close.

Naruto episode 20 was better than I expected it to be. Now that the dramatic and tension filled story is over, I expected the show to go back to a light and forgetable tone, but the episode actually had a bit more bite to it than I expected. Definitely a pleasing surprise.

Maybe it's me, but I just don't get Hunter x Hunter. The show has got to be very popular, and I admit that I've only seen a random smattering of about a half dozen or so TV episodes and only the first 2 or so first series OAVs. Last night I watched Greed Island OAVs 1 & 2. Just like all of the show I've ever seen, it seems to be very slow and obsessed with either something that happened previously or something that's going to happen in the future, leaving very little interesting for the present. I'm assuming that it's because I haven't seen enough Hunter x Hunter, but my opinion of the show is that it's simply very mediocre. After watching Hunter x Hunter anime I always seem to shrug and think to myself, "It's okay, but nothing more."

[John]

Since Media Blasters released Idol Project, I've been in a mood to watch it again, so I ran the first DVD last night. First of all, I'm very pleased to report that all of the Japanese text and titles was left untouched. On to the show. I still find it as enjoyable as ever. Idol Project is the virtual epitome of anime. It's virtually everything that anime is supposed to be. In the wake of titles like Lain and Cowboy Bebop and Evangelion, I think it's too often forgotten that the #1 purpose of anime is to be entertaining. Idol Project certainly isn't going to reassure your masculinity, nor is it going to impress you with cutting-edge pomo style. However, if you go with it, it's everything you associate with anime: fast pace, catchy music, big eyes, multitudes of cute girls, bizarre story, sexy and mature themes... The vocal cast is excellent because it performs so seemlessly that you don't notice it unless you actually listen for it. The voices seem completely natural and real, and if you listen for it, there's so much emotion in the voices- the screams and shouts all sound so natural and spontaneous. The show is simply cute without being condescending or sappy. It's also not quite like anything else. If you try to name another anime that's quite like it, you'll probably find that you can't. And finally it has a fantastic vocal soundtrack.

I also watched the first episode of Romeo's Blue Skies. I'd forgotten just how exceptional the opening theme song for this show was since I haven't heard it in so many years.

[John]

Megacon was simply unbelievable. This is the first time I've encountered bootlegs of bootlegs! Apparently HK anime DVDs with a wholesale cost of under $4 each still don't offer enough profit for some people, so some people are now charging $20-$25 each for home-made DVD-R copies of unlicensed Chinese knock-off anime DVDs. Then there was Anime Hurricane doing brisk business in $15 "fansub DVDs" as they called them. And even after AD Vision representatives personally scoured the room personally asking dealers to remove bootleg DVDs of ADV licensed titles, almost immediately afterward the bootlegs of RahXephon, Full Metal Panic, Princess Nine, Evangelion and so forth made it back out onto tables. I was able to generally steer clear of bootleg DVDs by picking up official, licensed DVD copies of The Eye and Internal Affairs, along with the Taiwanese DVD version of Jet Li's Fist of Legend, which, it turns out, disappointingly is dubbed in Thai. Better than the poorly English dubbed American DVD that also changed the music, but still not as good as having the original Cantonese and Japanese audio. I was also very thrilled to pick up a nice original Kodomo no Omocha cel with matching pencil sketch of Sana for only $45. The only thing worth mentioning that I watched was the trailer for Lady Death. Here's my thoughts on it- and I'm being very thoughtful to give the most reflective and informative comparisson I can think of: Lady Death looks like an all digital version of Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K.2.

[John]

Ghost in the Shell TV episode 11 was another "Laughing Man" episode that had a very interesting running reference to classic American literature in it. I was watching the episode in untranslated Japanese, so it was a bit difficult for me to follow, but I like the fact that the show seems to be willing to broaden its view. The one major element I didn't like was the tight close up of Togusa's face which was obviously just an enlarged cel instead of a new cel, which resulted in really ugly resolution for a second. I can't reveal anything about the first half of episode 12 without giving away spoilers except to say that it was highly enjoyable. In raw Japanese I simply had trouble following the story for the second half of the episode.

Ai Shimai II OAV 1 maintains the style and production quality of the first series. It also manages to continue the story better than I thought it would. Just to clarify, Ai Shimai is the hentai series released in America as "Immoral Sisters."

[John]

I finally had a chance to watch The Eye. I was careful not to go into the film with impossibly high expectations the way I did when watching the Japanese version of Ring. As a result, I was very pleased. This film seems very indebted to Ring in both composition and style. Throughout its running time, it also has a handful of very effective creepy shocks. I can see how the film would be much more effective in a theater. I'm not sure if I would call this the best Asian horror film since Ring, but I think I can say that it's comperable to Ring.

Last night I also watched Shintaisou Kari OAV 2. I've seen a lot of rape fetish anime, but this is probably the most extreme, brutal, painful and just plain cruel one I've seen so far. It's not quite as indescribably disgusting as Aile Maniax, but it's close. Titles like Shusaku and Isaku and Kujintoh Monogatari and Kojin Taxi don't even come close. This episode was sort of like a more mean-spirited version of uncut Yakin Byouto, with more blood and physical, painful torture. Rough stuff.

[John]

Perhaps because I'm so far out of the know in Digimon, I didn't understand most of Digimon movie 7. I do have to say, though, that Digimon certainly knows how to animate wonderful action scenes.

GPM episode 4 showed a bit of life. I'm now beginning to get the feeling that this is a show that's going to spend its entire running time building up to a climatic battle in which the characters all face incredible odds and actually smoothly work together and utilize all of the training that they undergo throughout the bulk of the series.

I watched Stand Alone Complex episode 11, fansubbed this time. the dialogue made the episode certainly easier to understand, but as often happens, the dialogue wasn't nearly as dramatic or weighty as I'd imagined it would be.

And finally I watched Millennum Actress. I'm aware that a DVD rip went online about a week ago, but I refused to watch it, knowing that my R2 DVD was on the way. Last night I broke the shrinkwrap on my new import DVD version (disc only, couldn't really afford the Japanese limited edition). I have one word for the film: amazing. The movie is simply brilliant, starting with its wonderful editing during the opening credits and ending with its relevatory final words. Midnight Eye's review of the film argued that the movie stops short of really being a feminist piece. I can agree with that in the regard that it's a man that keeps Chiyoko going, but I don't see the empowerment of its female character the point of the film. The movie is a grand romance about love with life itself. This movie, even more than Perfect Blue, is a stunning example of the power and expressive capability of animation.

[John]

Condor Hero episode 6 had a lot of neat adventure elements, making it fun to watch in spite of the almost painfully bad background art, animation quality and overall art design.

The room-mate went on a weekend long anime watching marathon, so I watched some of his selections as well: Hellsing episodes 1-3, FLCL OAVs 3 & 4, and Jin-Roh.

I watched Wolf's Rain episodes 6 & 7. Episode 6 again established a nice atmosphere of anime for older viewers, but otherwise offered very little for story or character development. Episode 7 finally began to reveal a bit more story, which will hopefully lead somewhere fruitful. I have to say that I enjoy the mature tone of the show, but right now that style of targeting older viewers is all Wolf's Rain has got going for it. The music is not memorable, the characters don't stand out, and the story doesn't seem to develop quickly enough to hold much viewer interest.

.hack//DUSK episode 8 was actually a bit more interesting than the immediately prior episodes because it created a stronger connection to the .hack//SIGN series, and added a significant, tangible new layer of tension and suspense.

Captain Harlock: Endless Odyssey OAV 2 continued to impress me with its pitch perfect representation of an ideal Harlock. This is simply Harlock anime the way it was always meant to be.

Takeshi Miike's Full Metal Gokudoh was pretty fun, disposable fluff. I was a bit surprised to also find it had such a traditionalist attitude and plot structure. The film is definitely violent and gory, but it's not quite as over the top as Fudoh. The roots of Takeshi Miike's outrageous style are evident in this film, but it's also not hard to see why this early movie isn't very well known of often discussed in association with the director's better known films.

Suicide Circle started out with tremendous promise but sadly turned into a jumbled mess at almost exactly 1 hour in. Also at almost exactly an hour in, the film has one of the most gruesome and disturbing scenes of extreme gore I've ever witnessed, and I've seen some pretty gruesome splatter movies before. Unfortunately, Suicide Circle can't seem to decide if it wants to be a shock horror film, a gross-out splatter film, or a social criticism piece. And if it is a social critique, it doesn't seem certain of what exactly it's trying to draw attention to. The first half of the film is solid supernatural horror, but then the film suddenly seems to collapse under the realization that it doesn't know how to conclude- so it haphazardly throws up several different consecutive endings, none of which are satisfactory or even completely explained. The movie was definitely worth my time, but really could and should have been something special when it was, in fact, an interesting failure.

[John]

The day before yesterday was fantasy day. I watched episodes 3 & 4 from AD Vision's screener DVD of "Rune Soldier" because I hadn't seen those episodes before. Seeing a high quality DVD copy almost hurt the show a bit because it made the shortcomings in the digital animation much more obvious. I also noticed one major typo in the subs- a word left out. Otherwise, an entertaining show and a respectable DVD release.

I also watched the first two episodes of Sorcerer Stabber Orphen Revenge, expecting, at least somewhat, more of the first series. Sadly, the character design, art quality and animation have all sharply plumitted. The animation quality in the first series was never outstanding, but the art was impressive. The second series unfortunately borders on painful to look at. It's also very slapstick- essentially Slayers without as much personality. If the original Orphen series was Slayers Next, Orphen Revenge is Lost Universe.

Last night I took in Princess Tutu episodes 8 & 9, which continue to impress me with their depth and surprising degree of maturity. The series is now introducing a theme of "staying the same" versus evolving or growing or changing. I'm very curious to see what becomes of that.

I'd heard good things about the Japanese suspense/horror film Another Heaven. After watching it last night, I'm very confused. I thought the film sucked. With a running time of over 2 hours, it's about a hour longer than necessary given it's story. There is no character development. The interesting revelation at the end is far too little too late and isn't discussed or pondered upon at all. Even the macabre humor of the beginning of the film falls by the wayside early on. The film seemed to me like a very uninteresting Japanese soap opera that threw in some supernatural horror to try to liven itself up, unsuccessfully.

[John]

So last night I watched Mission Kashmir, my first Indian film. I guess, technically, it's a good movie; however the critics that call it an action film are apparently the sort of people that don't actually watch real action films. Mission Kashmir is a war drama, actually a police vs. revolutionary terrorists drama. Four action scenes in a nearly 3 hour long movie don't exactly qualify the film as an "action movie" for me. There's quite a bit of singing in the film. I was aware that "Bollywood" movies are frequently musicals. It was nice to see that the musical numbers were largely well integrated into the story in this film. The scripting, acting, cinematography, direction, and production values were all quite good, resulting in a very competent movie. It's just not a film, or style of film that personally appeals to me.

[John]

I actually watched some TV last night! I watched MTV's "True Life" episode about video game fanatics. You FedEx guys, if you're reading this, you're my heroes! My apartment is quite as "Lain-ed out" but we're not that far off.

I watched the first episode of Mamoru Nogano's Heavy Metal L-Gaim. This is the first L-Gaim anime I've seen in probably 10 years. And back then I watched a few high numer episodes in untranslated Japanese that I couldn't follow. Seeing this first episode fansubbed, I see why this is a classic. Setting aside its age, it's really very good.

I also watched the preview episode of Kino no Tabi (http://www.kinonotabi.com/). the music reminds me a lot of Angel's Egg, and the idea of people toiling for a purpose they've forgotten reminds me of Gall Force. The entire show almost, but not quite has the artistic sentiment of 80s anime. I like the attempt to make the show look like an expressionist nature painting in motion, but I don't think the animation quite successfully pulls it off. The color design is nice, but the flat detail in the animation doesn't look stylistic. To me it just looks partially undone and cheap, like the .hack OAVs. I don't want to make a definitive conclusion yet based on one episode. I know that there's been some controversy over this show in Japan. Fans of the original novels have argued that they shouldn't be animated because the animation won't be able to convey the true beauty of the original works. I don't know if that's true or not, but I can sympathize considering that the this preview episode didn't seem to me to live up to its full potential.

[John]

I ended up watching Wild Zero again for about the 10th time. Every time I watch it, though, it's as enjoyable as the first time. Trash and chaos!!!

I also finally had a chance to see Rot, a semi-famous locally produced underground splatter/horror film. Setting aside the no-budget home movie production values, the main problem with the movie is that it seems to have no sense of editing. Some scenes just go on far too long because they must have seemed cool when they were being filmed, and repetetive dialogue gets stated over and over and over again because it allows the actors to show off their emotional and dramatic range. The problem is that showing off actors isn't good cinema. It's just boring viewing. I have to give some credit to a local crew for actually putting together a feature length film, but this is student film at its best and worst.

GPM episode 5 was also a bit of a disappointment. The first half of the episode was fairly cute. The second half of the episode was clearly supposed to be a major, dramatic turning point in the series, but it totally failed to have any impact on me because the show has utterly failed to make me care about any of its characters so far. the viewer is supposed to be shocked over seeing a main character die, but after four and a half episodes of seeing the characters do nothing but argue and refuse to work like a team and consistently fail their training missions, the only thing I'm shocked about is the fact that only one, instead of all of them, died. For a show that's supposed to stress realism, it's simply not believable because any normal human adult would never have let these kids out of training as they're clearly unprepared and incompetent. To create dramatic impact, there must be empathy with the characters. So far GPM has failed to create much empathy between the viewer and the characters because the characters are stereotypical characterizations, not believable, fully developed individuals.

Wolf's Rain episode 8 was a bit better. It still doesn't make much sense, but this episode had a very nice atmosphere of discovery and longing and melancholy. I still don't consider this a great show, but this episode was marginally better than some of the prior ones have been.

.hack//DUSK episode 9 was just outstanding. This particular episode was completely enthralling- paced just perfectly, balancing humor with drama, and ending with a very satisfying climax that leaves the viewer wanting to see more. This was a really great episode!

And I played through complete vacations in Dead or Alive Beach Volleyball with Leifang and Lisa.

[John]

My two new DVD orders arrived, so last night was the most enjoyable night of movie watching I've had in quite some time.

First up was the official Chinese (Korean?) DVD import of Hero (http://www.herothemovie.com/). The film is simply a masterpiece. It's an absolutely perfect film. I couldn't think of or notice anything about it that could have been better. Each action scene is so incredible that it could the the high point of any other film. The cinematography is just breathtaking. The fights occur with such incredible speed and grace. If you thought that Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was too slow, or too romantic, or too convoluted, or not convincing enough, Hero is the movie you've been waiting for. This film is China's Lord of the Rings. It's simply a perfect martial arts fantasy period piece. the movie just takes your breath away in astonishment and leaves you speechless and awestruck. It really is that good.

Completely different, but no less enjoyable was the Korean Region 3 DVD version of Corey Yeun's So Close (http://www.so-close.com/). As several reviews have said, the film is Hong Kong's answer to Charlie's Angels. Imagine Charlie's Angels directed by Mission: Impossible 2 period John Woo and you'll have an idea of what this movie is like. It has its slow parts, but they're never long enough to drag down the film. The movie is also very unrealistic in the way the best HK films are. Just as the influence of anime was clear in brief bits in Blade 2, this film gives quick little nods to anime conventions. Thankfully the film keeps the John Woo double fisted gunplay to a minimum. I love that when it's done well, but it's so infrequently done well. There's a whole lot of gunplay in So Close, and the film has a surprisingly high body count. But the emphasis is where it should be, the rhythm and motion and flow of the gunfights, not the instant visual gratification of two guns blazing with no sense of cinematic style. It's clear throughout that the whole film was directed by a fight choreographer because the whole film has a pleasing sense of progression and constant motion, even when the camera is still and nothing's happening. The film is wonderful popcorn entertainment in the best sense. This will sound strange, but combine the beautiful stars of Charlie's Angels with that film's martial arts and the serious but light tone and dramatic violence of Blade 2, and you get So Close.

[John]

My double disc R2 special edition of Returner (http://www.returner.net/) arrived yesterday. The film can easily be described as a the child of The Terminator and Independance Day, plus some obvious anime influence, especially during Milly and Miyamoto's climactic escape scene that reminded me a lot of a particular sequence in Project A-ko. Knowing that the previous film from the director was a children's fantasy, I was expecting Returner to be like Terminator 2- stylish and action filled, but bloodless. In certain respects, I'm glad to see that I was wrong. The film is long, and methodically paced, but it never feels slow or dull. It's also much more graphically violent and bloody than I'd expected. Miyamoto is a professional assassin and looks it. He never shows any hesitation to pull the trigger, and he shoots to kill. The movie isn't so awesome that I'd call it a mandatory import, especially since it's already been licensed for American release, but I wouldn't hesitate a moment to buy it again if I had to do it again.

[John]

I've been hearing good things about Kiddy Grade, so I've been meaning to get back to it. I watched episode 7 last night, then got side-tracked and didn't watch anything else. Episode 7 wasn't as sappy and cliche as I'd fear it would be. It was a decent, if unspectacular episode.

[John]

Kiddy Grade episode 8 had the mini-Lumieres, the cutest thing since the cyber mini-Ruri in Nadesico. Episode 9 featured the first major hints of a deeper story, which hopefully will pan out with something interesting.

[John]

This covers the past couple days.

In some respects like liked GPM episode 6, but in other ways I still didn't. I like the fact that the episode focus on showing different, subtle ways the cast deals with their grief without being melodramatic or stereotypical. Unfortunately, the series still just hasn't been as compelling or interesting as I'd hoped it would be.

Wolf's Rain episode 9 was fairly exciting, which made it fun to watch. The fact that it had essentially three different concurrent stories going on at once, following three different characters, was a welcome bit of depth and diversity.

The first Sakura Taisen Ecole de Paris OAV was a little bit disappointing, although I should have seen it coming. It really suffered from pretty poor animation quality. I keep expecting good things out of Sakura Taisen anime, and I'm consistently let down. For better or worse, this new OAV series really looks like it's just going to be an exact re-hash of the original OAV series, just with the Sakura Wars 3 cast.

UFO Princess Walkure episodes 8 & 9 were both disposable, fun episodes. Episode 8 bumped up the cat girl quotient, but otherwise had even less substance than normal. Episode 9 had a fun, but totally illogical reversal of roles that was entertaining for 25 minutes.

Mao-chan episode 24 was pretty fun. The Love Hina cameo was also entertaining.

Galaxy Angel Z episode 8 (chapters 15 & 16) were Galaxy Angel at its best. Absolutely bizarre.

Onmyouji (http://www.onmyoji-movie.com/onmyoji1/main/index.html) turned out to be a pretty good fantasy movie. I went into it expecting a period piece, but in fact the film makes use of quite a lot of magic. It's just not the screen-filling, CG laden magic I'm used to out of contemporary fantasy movies. Ultimately the film wasn't terribly epic or stunning, but its focus on character did an admirable job of drawing the viewer into the film, and into the world of the film. At first I was a bit shocked by the younger, more arrogant Abe no Seimi, having been introduced to only the older version from Gainax's Abenobashi Mahou Shotengai anime, but by the end of the film I really liked this younger version quite a bit.

The second I"s OAV was significantly better than the first, not because it was really written or animated better, but simply because something actually seemed to happen in this episode. I suppose this may be more meaningful to fans of the I"s manga, but for me it was simply a mediocre, somewhat sensationalized romantic drama.

[John]

Let's see, recently...

Kamen Rider 555 is really, really good! Episode 5 developed some interesting character personality aspects for the two confused "villains" and ended with a very neat death scene.

Galaxy Angel Z episode 9 (chapters 17 & 18) was priceless Galaxy Angel stupidity. Combatter V and Mazinger rise again! I'm also starting to believe that Vanilla is becomming one of my favorite female anime characters.

I picked up and started Zelda: Wind Waker, but unfortunately I haven't had much time to play it, so I'm only just past the first meeting with my talking boat.

[John]

Made it to Dragon's Roost Island.

Maho Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto episode 4 didn't have any significant revelations or really move the plot forward, but it was a nice, soothing, tranquil episode.

[John]

My tiny anime club had its meeting this past Saturday. All 3 of us. Ended up watching Hero and Returner for the second time each.

It took 3 years, but I finally got my hands on the first episode of Miami Guns. It was worth the wait. Even in untranslated Japanese the episode was just outrageously funny.

GPM episode 7 finally lived up to the expectations for the show I'd had all along. In this episode, for the first time, we see the cast acting like a team, with a unified mind and purpose. And there's also an awareness of circumstances that's been missing before. I can see now that the earlier episodes were necessary, but I think the show could have gotten to this point faster than it did. And the revelation about the nature of the phantom beast's aggression is also quite interesting. I don't know yet if the show's going to make anything out of it, but it definitely has some interesting potential, particularly in showing why Hayami is an important character after all.

Sentou Yousei Yukikaze OAV 2 was also quite pleasing. Expanding on the themes from the finale of the first OAV, the show looks like it could develop into a very interesting GitS style philosophical story. This episode sets up a division between the forces that want to remove the human factor from the war, and Rei Fukai, who trusts a machine more than he trusts his own eyes. The interesting part comes from the idea of the intelligent machines that choose to sacrifice themselves to protect the human who shares his soul and fate and self with them. I really hope that I'm not reading too much into this, and I hope it continues to go where I think it's going.

[John]

Catching up on my gore/horror quota, last night I watched the new Media Blasters DVD release of Ruggero Deodato's House by the Edge of the Park. I'd heard mixed reviews of the film before, and I can see why. As an exploitive and nudity filled case study of class distinction and character type, it's not too bad. As a suspense film it's just not really compelling because there's never a strong sense of threat or fear even though there should be. As a gore or repulsive splatter film, it just never goes far enough to really get under the skin. When it comes to Itallian shock cinema, I've definitely seen worse, and I've also seen better.

The first episode of the E's Otherwise (http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anime/es/) TV series in raw Japanese was a bit of a mixed bag. The action filled opening reminded me of Studio Peirrot's previous show, Tokyo Underground. The concept of psychic kids in a police organization reminded me of Scryed. The co-workers at odds with each other reminded me of Ordian. But the show doesn't seem to directly rip-off anything I've seen before, so I have hopes that it will develop into something interesting. It's often difficult to judge a show based on one episode in untranslated Japanese, so I won't even try with this show. But nothing about it really struck me as terribly bad, nor did anything about it really blow me away.

[John]

.hack//DUSK episode 10 was again very entertaining, although I don't understand exactly the point of Ouka training kata by herself in a PC game, beside it simply looking cool.

Maho Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto episode 5 was also a peaceful and nice episode with not much exceptional about it to discuss.

I stayed up later than I wanted to in order to have time to watch the first episode of Uchu no Stellvia (http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anime/stellvia/). I'm glad that I did. The show seems to be a school in space series similar to Battle Athletes without the sports or Ryvius without the heavy drama. Judging by the first episode, it doesn't really look like I should expect a lot of story development, but that may be fine. The show looks simply fantastic. The CG is intergrated well, and I'm pretty sure that the traditional art is actual traditional cel animation because it doesn't have the crispness and color definition that usually give away digital animation. And the animation quality is simply outstanding. Small details like the bouncing of a backpack, hair that expands then bounces back into place after taking off a hat, and the flow of tears and the subtle changes in facial expression when a character is sobbing during a tearful farewell are the small details that usually don't get animated becuase they're non-essential. It's really gratifing to notice them in a new TV animation production.

[John]

I managed to finish another series by watching .hack//DUSK episodes 11 & 12 last night. I enjoyed this series much more than the first series, and I think this series did what it did much more effectively than .hack//SIGN did.

[John]

The legendary Chrono Trigger anime does exist after all! As a rabid Chrono Trigger fan, "Time & Space Adventures Nuumamonjaa" was like a dream come true. From the opening that matched the game opening, to the parodies like the pendulum and "A button barrage" to all the monster appearances to the great ending credits scroll... And the music! I was simply in bliss while watching it.

.hack//SIGN epiosde 27 seemed to be heavily influenced by the recent .hack//DUSK series because, for the first time in this episode, .hack//SIGN finally actually felt like it was an MMORPG. I can appreciate the fact that the whole series wasn't like this one episode, but I would have like the first series much, much more if it had included a handful of episodes like this one, or at least some of the characteristics of this action oriented episode.

DigiGirl Pop (http://galsoops.com/digigirl/) episode 1 (parts 1-5) turned out to actually look just like its website. In other words, it's got the quality of very good internet Flash animation. It certainly has style, and seeing the "robot maid" genre mixed with kogals was a bit fun, but I don't think I'll be keeping up with this one on a regular basis.

I also don't know if I'll keep up with D.N.Angel (http://www.dnangel.tv/) after giving it a bit more of a chance. Judging by episode 1, it has nice animation and chara design. The occasional 3D backgrounds are rendered very well, but still sometimes look strange or out of place. This seems to be a "Kaitou" (mysterious thief) series, which I don't mind, but this one seems to be a bishonen version. I actually really like both St. Tail and Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne, which were both intended for girls. This show is also intended for girls, but not in the same way. While Jeanne and St. Tail are shoujo, D.N.Angel seems to be a show intended to give female viewers delicious looking young boys to idolize and fall in love with. Nothing wrong with that, but it's not really my thing.

Narue no Sekai (http://mbs.jp/narue/index2.html) episode 1 seemed to have a little bit of everything, from FLCL to Mahoromatic to Tetsuwan Birdy to even Invader Zim (a classmate determined to prove that Narue is an alien). So far, the series style reminds me a lot of Mahoromatic, which may be a good thing. It seems like a very sweet and fun show, but it may be too early to really draw conclusions.

It's been a while since I watched any H. Shuryousha OAV 1 turned out to be another "big brother takes advantage of younger sister" story exactly identical to dozens of others. A very average and forgettable OAV.

And in Zelda I'm now up to the beginning of the mysterious castle underneath the Tower of the Gods. Man, it took me forever to figure out how to beat that boss with the floating head and two floating hands.

[John]

Had a friend visit, so I didn't have much viewing time. I caught up on Galaxy Angel Z episode 7 (story 13 (http://www.tv-osaka.co.jp/galaxyangel/story13.html) and story 14 (http://www.tv-osaka.co.jp/galaxyangel/story14.html)) and episode 10 (story 19 (http://www.tv-osaka.co.jp/galaxyangel/story19.html) and story 20 (http://www.tv-osaka.co.jp/galaxyangel/story20.html)). It seems that by its third season Galaxy Angel really understands what makes humor- babies and monkeys.

[John]

After too many hours of Zelda last night I finally got around to watching the untranslated first episode of Last Exile (http://www.jvcmusic.co.jp/m-serve/last-exile/) last night at 1:30 in the morning. My first impression is, "Wow!" A simple description probably won't do justice to this show, as nothing will prepare you for seeing it yourself because there's nothing else that looks quite like it. I'm struck by relatively how little this anime actually looks like anime. It seems to have a bit of a European animation feel to it, especially by its theme of smooth shapes and round contours throughout. This could almost pass as exceptional animation originating from anywhere in the world. I also notice that as CG quality improves, I find myself less annoyed by it. This is a show that simply could not have been produced in full cel animation and still have the same impact that it does. The sheer amount of effort and attention to detail that looks like went into this production is very impressive. Last Exile certainly looks very promising so far.

[John]

There's already been a few negative comments about Air Master (http://www.vap.co.jp/airmaster/) in the Coming Anime Forum. I have to say that I absolutely loved the first episode. It's been years since there's been a true fantasy fighting anime. The last one was probably Flame of Recca. (Grappler Baki doesn't count because it was really closer to being a sports anime than a fantasy fighting anime.) For me, this was the kind of show that reminded me of anime's abilty to simply take your breath away and make you rewind and watch scenes again. This is true fun anime that really makes use of anime's ability to do and show what we can only imagine. I guess some people that have gotten too used to dramatic or serious anime like Cowboy Bebop and Chobits and even Full Metal Panic may not like this show, but to them I'd say that they may be forgetting what anime is really about. Anime is about seeing something wonderful and fun and entertaining stories. It's fine to take anime very seriously, but when you forget to lighten up and remember that anime is fundimentally just supposed to be entertaining, you're missing the point of anime. Especially as a Street Fighter fan, Air Master might be my favorite show of the new batch. I love the characterizations, the subtle facial expressions, and the great "only in anime" action.

I've only been looking forward to Air Master for a few weeks now. I've been looking forward to Scrapped Princess (http://www.sutepri.com/) for a few months now, but the first episode wasn't really what I was expecting. The original character designs are stunning, but they don't come through as clearly in the animation. I'd also heard that Scrapped Princess was a bit light hearted, so I was expecting something fun. The first episode certainly wasn't dark or heavy, but I found it very restrained and maudlin. I was hoping for a fun take on swords and sorcery not as slap-stick oriented as Slayers, but still playful. The first episode turned out to be quite mundane and straightforward. What you see is what you get. Certainly not bad, but it's not what I was hoping for.

After the second episode of E's Otherwise, the stylistic similarities to Scryed seem even more apparant to me. I really wasn't a fan of Scryed, so I don't know if I'm going to stick with this show either.

If Kaleidostar (http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anime/kaleidostar/) had been another life-sim style drama like Chance! Triangle Session I don't think I'd have liked it very much. I was really pleased to see a very evident Akitaro Daichi influence in this show. I don't know if Daichi is involved or not, but his trademark humor is definitely there. Sora herself also looks a lot like Daichi's Kuromi-chan. Sora's cheerful personality especially helped elevate what could clearly have been a mediocre, mundane drama to a slightly higher level of entertainment value. I still see a few too many cliche character types to really consider this show anything special after only one episode, but at least this does look like a show that I'll try to keep up to date on (and probably fail, as many of you will notice that I'm pretty far behind on most of the shows I've begun watching.)

[John]

There are some perks to working at AnimeNation. Yesterday half the company took a long lunch break to catch Spirited Away, and the company even paid for it! The dub is actually not too bad at all. At times the changes to the American dialogue actually help the film's clarity, making it easier to follow. At other times the dub is unnecessarily over-obvious. In either case, the theatrical presentation really makes a vast difference in expressing the scope of the film. After seeing it on a big screen I realize how little the DVD version does the film justice.

Last night I watched Asagiri no Miko episodes 8-12. Most of the time I'm satisfied with short episode shows. This is one of the few instances, though, in which I really wish the episodes were a full 25 minutes long instead of 12 minutes long.

[John]

This covers the past couple days.

Hare Nochi Guu OAV 5 wasn't as laugh-out-loud funny as some of the episodes, but it did actually have a bit of character development to it. Still a great show.

The first epsiode of the Jubei Ninpucho TV series (http://www.jubee.tv/) wasn't quite what I'd expected. It's simply sort of light and happy and bright, with none of the suspense and tension and sense of danger that was so ominous in the original movie. In fact, even Samurai Deeper Kyo had a harder edge to it than this new Jubei Ninpucho anime does. The first episode was enjoyable enough to watch, and I'll reserve final judgement until I see more of it.

After watching the Hajime no Ippo: Champion Road TV movie I can see why the show was as popular as it was. The boxing animation was simply incredible, doing a fantastic job of expressing the motion and fluidity and power of the movements and punches. Even in untranslated Japanese it's also easy to tell that the characters are well rounded and human and easy to get along with and enjoy watching.

I had to jump up to Air Master episode 4. Hopefully I'll go backward to episodes 2 & 3 tonight. I simply love this show! It's not really special to look at, but it has a livliness and energy and kineticism that's missing out of most anime nowadays. It's simply so fun to watch.

I've been interested in Konjiki no Gash Bell (http://www.toei-anim.co.jp/tv/GB/) since seeing a brief animated TV commercial for the manga. A naked little puppet boy flying through a window hanging onto a fish is pretty memorable. It's nice to see that the second episode seems to be entirely traditional cel animation. And there's definitely some humor in the show, but in raw Japanese, episode 2 was a bit slow, and I'm guessing that I missed some of the jokes in the dialogue.

Technolyze (http://www.pldc.co.jp/rondorobe/anime/TEXHNOLYZE/) was pretty amazing. My first inpression is that I'm stunned that the entire series actually seems to be in the animation style that it is. This sort of animation seems acceptable for an opening animation, but seems too obtuse and challenging to actually be feasible for an entire show. If nothing else, the series gets my respect for being revolutionary. And even though the big names in the staff aren't traditional Madhouse artists, this series looks more like a Madhouse production than anything I've seen in quite some time, which I also quite enjoyed. With only a few minutes of spoken dialogue that doesn't even begin until nearly 10 minutes into the episode, I don't know where this show is going and I don't know if it'll be able to last, but I've very interested in it just because it's totally different from everything I've ever seen before.

Gunparade March episode 8 was surprisingly fun and genuine. If this is the direction the show is going in, it's a shame that it took half the series before it started getting good.

[John]

Last night I watched an untranslated copy of Air Master episode 2. It was really neat to see some character development, and a darker side to Maki. Again, I have to say that I really enjoy this show immensely.

[John]

My local anime club had it's meeting this Saturday night- the biggest one in a while with 7 people in attendance including myself. Anyway, I watched Air Master 1, Technolyze 1, and the Chrono Trigger OAV again. Beside that:

I've been eagerly anticipating the Early Reigns OAV for months now, ever since the first preliminary design sketches got printed in Newtype Magazine (Japanese version). The 45 minute OAV was really a throw-back to early 90s style anime- decent production quality and slim story. Nothing really outstanding, but entertaining enough.

I watched a sub of Air Master episode 2, and episode 3 untranslated. Still loving it.

Maybe I'm just slow, but Ghost in the Shell TV episode 13 just didn't make much sense to me. Nice action, though. In episode 14 Motoko changed clothes again! Episode 14 was fairly disposeable, but entertaining enough.

I took in a subbed version of Last Exile episode 1, then subs of episodes 2 & 3. Wow, this show is incredible. The animation quality and excitment of the race in episode 3 is the best I've seen since the pod race in Star Wars Episode 1. With the end of episode 3, it looks like the main storyline is just beginning, so I'm eager to see where it will go.

E's Otherwise episode 3 wasn't very affecting, but it was dramatic. I'm still not sold on this show, but episode 3 was good enough to make me stick around a little longer.

Gunparade March episode 9 had the sort of strong, subtle characterization I'd been hoping for in the show all along. Although there was no action in the episode, this was a really well designed and directed episode. The subtelties expressed through Nonomi are the sort that the show could use more of. I'm becomming much more happy with GPM. I just wish it had started out this strong.

Gonzo's new show Gad Guard (http://www.gadguard.com/) had in spades the groovy, funky style Pioneer's L/R so dearly wishes it had. This new shows just shouts out to me as being Gonzo's "classic style" show in the vein of Tezuka and Shotaro Ishinomori. I went into it with few expectations. And it took me a while to get over the distinctive and unsual character designs and whole visual look of the show. By the end of the episode I was totally hooked. I really can't wait to see more of this show!

The first episode of Di-Gi-Charat Nyo (http://www.tv-osaka.co.jp/ip/digicharat/) in untranslated Japanese was just like the first TV series, just longer.

The first episode of Tantei Gakuen Q (http://www.tbs.co.jp/tantei-q/) in untranslated Japanese seemed to have just a few too many coincidences to seem plausible for me. It's a teen-age detective show, not much different from ones I've seen before, except that it's difficult to believe in an ordinary kid with seemingly no more training or experience than watching detective shows on TV being able to not only deduce that an apparant accident/suicide is actually a murder, but figure out exactly who the murderer is and how he did it with only the slimmest clues. On the whole, this seemed like a really average show which I probably won't go to great lengths to stay current on.

[John]

Human Scramble (http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anime/humanscramble/) episode 1 wasn't, in and of itself, particularly thrilling, but it's the kind of anime that I'm very glad exists. The first episode was the story of a professional boxer who mentally fights through his life-long resentment of his mother. It wasn't animated all that well, and wasn't really very nice to look at, and wasn't really exceptionally affecting. But it's the fact that mainstream anime like this exist that make anime what it is. We can say that shows like Cowboy Bebop and Gundam have greater maturity than typical cartoons, but they're still escapist fantasies, easily dismissed as anti-intellectual commercialism. The fact that mainstream anime focusing on mature, real-life emotional drama without any fantasy elements like outer space or giant robots or interstellar bounty hunters exist allows fans to legitimately argue that anime is more than just disposable fantasy entertainment. The fact that shows like Human Scramble exist, even though this show itself isn't outstanding, elevates the calibur of the anime medium itself to a higher artistic plane.

With a title like Dear Boys (http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anime/dearboys/) and a cast of bishonen, I thought this show would be a romance for girls. I'm very happy to report that this is another example of me being glad that I don't pre-judge anime. Based on the first episode, this show could be to basketball what Initial D was to car racing. The character design is gorgeous, the Initial D style hip-hop and Eurobeat music is back, and the characterizations are surprising and interesting. Of all the new April anime, this is the show that has caught me off guard (no pun intended) and pleasantly surprised me the most so far. I really wanted to watch the second episode, but after hours of playing Zelda: Wind Waker, it was nearly 3 AM when I finished episode 1. Episode 2 tonight, hopefully.

[John]

After a couple more hours of Zelda I watched fansubbed copies of Scrapped Princess episodes 1 & 2. The series moves faster with the dialogue translated. I also find it still a bit more straight, hard fantasy than I expected. It's still too early for me to have much of an opinion on the show, but it looks like it may be promising.

I also watched an untranslated copy of the hentai Daraku OAV 2 and the first bit of OAV 3 before falling asleep. NuTech has released the first episode in America as "Depravity." The first OAV didn't seem very interesting to me. The second, and what I've watched of the third episode, take the mysogeny to an even farther extreme. The end of the second episode and beginning of the third also up the violence level significantly. Since this is an all-ages forum, I won't go into detailed descriptions except to say that the anime includes a sharp, pointed object in the eye, lots of blood, and every man's worst fear about oral sex. Nasty stuff!

[John]

The second episode of Juubei Ninpucho isn't looking promising for the series. Not one, but 4 odd looking, seemingly non human villains dispatched in a single episode. It seems to me as though this production staff has missed many of the elements that made the original movie what it was, among them, the character design. The original movie was not full of outlandish, clearly non-human monsters. The enemies of the Jubei Ninpucho movie could all pass for being hideous or deformed humans. So far, many of the beings in the TV show couldn't pass for being human in even the loosest sense, which largely destroys any sort of believability or tension the series could have had. Following so closely on the heels of Samurai Deeper Kyo, which was no masterpiece but was apparently still far better than this show, it's disappointing to see that a masterpiece like Jubei Ninpucho has fallen to the state it's in now- a poorly animated and unskillfully written sum of averages that doesn't add up to anything more than its individual parts. I'll continue watching, because it's still a violent samurai action show, but I'll seemingly also always think to myself what this show could be relative to what it is.

The second episode of Di-Gi-Charat Nyo introduced Rabi~en~Rose in a very cute magical girl parody. It also brought in the fanboy pair, who now seem to be washed up homosexual Calvin Klein fashion models instead of the unwashed and uncouth otaku they started out as. It's a very strange alteration that I don't think I like.

And since I had some free time early this morning, and it was convienent, I threw on L/R episode 7. Still crap.

[John]

In Zelda last night I made it to Ganon, but just couldn't get the hang of inflicting any damage on him. After two attempts I gave up in frustration. I'll try it again this weekend.

So I watched Last Exile episode 4. Each episode is better than the previous ones. I have to say that Al's character design is the best I've seen in an anime since Onegai Teacher. She's wonderful and distinctive and expressive, and really cute. The mystery of the show also really deepens, really drawing me in.

Then I watched Air Master episode 5 in untranslated Japanese. I was totally unprepared for how much more mature this episode suddenly got in terms of adult content. This episode was also much more brutal than the past 3 have been. However, it's a testament that amid the very adult content in this episode, and how serious this episode was, it was also really funny. Mixing serious adult topics with humor isn't usually a good idea, but in this show it really works quite well.

Then today at work we received a single screener copy of the AniMatrix DVD on the condition that we don't publish any reviews of it until May 23rd. With that restriction, all I'll say is that "Beyond" alone is worth the $24.98 for the DVD to any serious anime fan. I won't say anything more, because literally anything more will spoil it.

[John]

I didn't get anywhere near finding all the hidden stuff or completing all the side quests, but I finished Zelda: Wind Waker, and that's good enough for me.

I was guessing that the Harukanaru Toki No Naka de (http://www.gamecity.ne.jp/media/ova/haruka01/haruka01_index.htm) OAV was based on a long manga. I should have realized that since it's from Koei it seems to be based on a series of video games. I got the impression because the first 30 minute OAV is like watching 26 episodes of Fushigi Yuugi condensed into one episode. It doesn't really make much sense and feels very disjointed. I'm sure this appeals to fans, but I didn't get much out of it.

The first episode of Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch (http://www.tv-aichi.co.jp/tv/pichi/) seemed very much like a typical Nakayoshi adaptation. It's certainly not bad shoujo, but it seemed very much like Comet-san without as much warmth. I'm sure maho shoujo fans will enjoy this, but I'm just not a big enough fan of magical girls to really find much interesting in what seems to be a very average, run-of-the-mill magical girl show.

The fourth .Hack//LIMINALITY OAV finally explained a little bit of what .Hack is all about, but considering that this was the fourth 30 minute episode, an hour and 45 minutes of dull story and poor animation aren't redeemed by 15 minutes of marginally exciting but brainless action.

I've wanted to see some Kasumin (http://www.nhk.or.jp/anime/kasumin/) for a couple years now as it seems to be popular enough in Japan to get 3 TV series. The first episode of the third series seemed very slow to me. I guess this may appeal to Japanese children, but it just wasn't nearly as interesting as I'd hoped it would be.

The debut episode of Kino no Tabi (http://www.kinonotabi.com/) was pretty much exactly what I expected. And it wasn't really all that thrilling. The first episode is certainly not bad. It just didn't seem exceptional either.

The second episode of Gad Guard unfortunately became much more conventional than the first episode. I'm still pleased because the show was very fun to watch, but while the first episode wasn't really quite like anything I'd ever seen before, the second episode seemed a lot like a pint sized Big O. I'm glad to see Katana get put in his place. He's much to obnoxiously full of himself. He's a great character because he's just so aggrevating.

Ghost in the Shell TV episode 16 was another Batou episode, and quite an interesting one. One brief scene made the whole episode, if not my whole weekend. I can't give it away, so all I'll say is "singing."

Finally we come to Blister (http://www.hakuhodo.co.jp/movies/blister/index2.html). Unfortunately, although this film is distributed by Buena Vista in Japan, it'll probably never be released in America. This has got to be one of the world's all time classic geek films. It's a movie that die-hards will adore and mundanes just won't understand. Going into debt to buy a Delorean to remodel as a Back the the Future time machine. Selling your furniture for money to buy a rare action figure. Gatchapon machines; Evangelion and Steam Detectives posters; Volks stores; mecha design contests; names like "Katoki" and "Anno" and "Tezuka" thrown around under the assumption that viewers will recognize them; homes so full of toys that you trip over them. This film ought to be forever remembered for its speech that sums up the difference between humans and animals is, humans have science fiction.

[John]

In Meitantei Loki Ragnarok episodes 2 & 3 I really like Mayura a lot, but unlike the first episode, the focus has shifted off her and onto Loki, who just isn't nearly as fun or as interesting. With the backlog I've got to work through including Kiddy Grade, SaiKano, Hana Yori Dango, Ai Yori Aoshi, Blue Gender, Gokudo-kun and much more, I don't think I'll have much time to keep up with this show, which is fine, but unremarkable.

Scrapped Princess episode 3 was more standard fantasy drama. This episode was a bit slow and dull, but I really like the characters.

With episode 3, Gad Guard really does seem to be turning into Gonzo's version of The Big O, which is not a bad thing, but I still miss the outre style of the first episode.

It's difficult to say that episode 1 of Technolyze was better than episode 2 considering exactly what episode 1 was, but episode 2 focusing on a recently crippled man who kept falling over just wasn't really interesting or entertaining. But it looks like the show will get better with episode 3, based on the next episode preview.

[John]

7 episodes last night. Wow!

Kiddy Grade episodes 10-15 certainly do get better than the disposable early episodes, but I'm a bit disappointed by their lack of subtly. As though the show doesn't believe the viewers have any intelligence at all, it's annoying to hear the exact same character revelation worked into every conversation so that it's repeated a half dozen times in the same episode. I got it the first time, okay? The show is definitely getting better, but I'm still waiting for it to live up to the advance promo trailer. Episode 15 got close, but...

Dear Boys episode 2 gave us a peek at some of the other characters, and strengthened the Initial D similarities with a secondary character who can analyze strengths and weakness from just a glance at a distance.

[John]

Dear Boys episode 3 was a lot more slow character and story development. It may have also introduced a new major character. I'm not sure yet. Either way, I think this is definitely a show that I'm going to try to keep watching, even though I'm not a fan of basketball or sports anime in general.

With Jubei Ninpucho episode 3 the show gets even farther removed from its movie of the same name. Jubei now doesn't recognize the priest, and he actually runs away from a fight! By this point I can sort of appreciate this show by not comparing it to the original movie, but unfortunately, even after doing that, this show is still coming up short. I'll stick with it because pure action anime shows are much too rare nowadays, but this is certainly not one of the best examples of the genre.

On the other hand, Air Master episode 6 continues to be a joy to watch. Renge, although she had only a small appearance, was really fun in this episode. And the new information revealed about Maki's past and her family was interesting as well. And of course the fight choreography was just so breathtaking and exciting. Deep and contentration demanding shows like SaiKano and Witch Hunter Robin are great in doses, but totally brainless fun entertainment like Air Master can be just as much fun to watch.

[John]

I finally got around to watching Air Master episode 3 fansubbed last night. going back only this far, it's still actually a little bit shocking to judge how much the series has matured and how far the story has gone in just the next 3 episodes.

Last Exile episode 5 continues, likewise, to just continually impress with its great production values and quality.

[John]

I didn't really think I actually watched that much this weekend, but it seems like I did.

Ground Defense Force Mao-chan episodes 25 & 26 wrapped up the show nicely. The epilogue was a bit too short, but it's also brief enough that it's easily overlooked. I also have to say that episode 25 featured possibly the most disturbing toy I've ever seen.

Happy Lesson episode 11.5 really was just another TV episode. Not bad, as applies to the whole Happy Lesson TV series, but nothing spectacular either.

Di-Gi-Charat Nyo episode 3 seemed significant to me because it became clear that Dijiko and Puchiko don't live together in this series. The fact that Puchiko lives in a bakery also made me hungry for cookies, so I finished off my bag of Chunky Chips-A-Hoy, which probably didn't help out my waistline.

Gakuen Senki Muryo episode 3 was like the first 2 that I watched long ago. Reasonably exciting and interesting, but not really that memorable. I'm still undecided if I'll pick up Media Blasters' DVD release when it comes out.

One of the room-mates and I went to the new Tampa area theatrical screening of the Cowboy Bebop movie. All I have to say is that everyone is entitled to his/her own opinion, but the people that say Cowboy Bebop in English is better than its original Japanese languge are crazy. The dubbing on this was really difficult for me to sit through as it totally drained all the style and atmosphere out of the film. Spike, a dead man walking, is turned into a happy go lucky playboy in the dub. Vincent's dialogue suggests that he's mentally unbalanced and psychotic, but none of that comes through in his voice or expression. Jet doesn't sound like an elder advisor; he sounds like a whining crybaby. The film, dubbed, simply has no continuity. There's no increasing sense of tension and hopelessness that there is in the Japanese version. There's no subtelty or nuance in the English voices. I honestly really couldn't stand the English dubbing.

After coming off Corey Yeun's So Close, his next film, The Transporter, just seemed so reserved and restrained. I guess it's not really a bad action film, but it's clearly not what it could have been.

I watched fansubbed versions of Narue no Sekai 1-3. This seems like a very nice show. It reminds me a lot of the more peaceful domestic comedy elements of Mahoromatic, which is probably exactly what it was supposed to do.

Uchuu no Stellvia episodes 1-6 few by in no time at all. I couldn't help but think that this show has the characterizations that Gunparade March should have had.

Gunparade March episodes 10-12 wrapped up the show adequately, but didn't deal with any of the most interesting concepts brought up in episodes 6 & 7. The ending was all right, but obviously for fans of the game, as it seemed a little bit lame to me to end a sci-fi war drama and possible philosophical parable as a simple romance story.

Beside a pair of neat gun tricks an hour in and the final battle, the HK movie Pom Pom & Hot Hot was quite bad. The final extended gun fight, though, generally does live up to its reputation as being one of the best gunfights ever filmed. I just can't follow, though, how people can get shot as many times as these cops and still survive.

Beat Angel Escalayer OAV 3 reinforced the idea that the show is Steel Angel Kurumi with hardcore sex. It's a bit surprising to see that it's got better action animation than many actual mainstream action anime. It ended pretty well, but I wish we'd gotten to see a bit more of what happened to the evil android girl in the end.

Scrapped Princess episode 4 was undeniably the best episode of the series thus far, but it relies heavily on what's come before to make it so. After this episode, I think the show has definitely developed into something worth watching for its own sake, and not in comparisson to other fantasy anime. The more evident magic action in the episode was nice, but most of all, seeing Pacifica really express herself is certainly the high point of the show so far.

[John]

My PC is finally dying. Windows refuses to load, so tonight it's either fix it or reformat (and lose everything saved on my hard drive). As a result, I had time to watch anime last night and go to bed early.

I finally got around to opening the Princess Arete (http://www.arete.jp/arete/) DVD that I brought back with me from Japan. The film is a bit slow. Easy enough to follow, but in untranslated Japanese a bit difficult to figure out the "whys." The movie is absolutely stunning to look at, though. The background art is just breathtaking. The short "making of" clips on the DVD really make you appreciate how much effort was put into the film. Scenes in the film have an incredible 3D depth that you'd expect from digital animation and computer composition, but virtually all of these scenes in the film were actually hand produced with as many as 7 separate layers of hand painted animation.

The Munto (http://www.munto.com/index.html) turned out to be much more drama than I expected. The magic battles were really stellar, but there just weren't enough of them. As a smaller, independant studio produced feature, it's clear that Kyoto Animation tried their best to show off their animating talent, which they definitely succeeded in, especially in the reflective rain soaked roads. But the story just wasn't very compelling. It did have its moments, but those few moments seemed, more than anything, so emphasize how much involvement with the characters and events is lacking throughout so much of the rest of the show. Munto is simply too demanding and unwavering to be accessible. The main girl is just too whiney and selfish through too much of the film, without ever showing enough thought or consideration, to be sympathetic. Gass just isn't developed enough to be anything more than a superficial attraction. This was a good OAV, but with better writing it could have been really outstanding.

[John]

Computer is dead as a doornail, so I got into a long conversation about anime with one of my room-mates which got me really nostalgic. So I pulled out and re-watched the Struggle Bunny music video on my DVD player and some of the Dancing Blade 1 & 2 footage on my Dreamcast.

I finished up the night with Kino no Tabi episode 2. The darker theme of this episode was a little more gripping than the preview or first episode, but at the same time not as attractive to look at. This episode was slightly more interesting to watch than the previous episodes, but still not really spectacular.

Matrix Reloaded tonight, then AnimeCentral tomorrow.

[John]

AnimeCentral was a really wonderful, very fan-centric convention. I really enjoyed myself there quite a bit. For those who care, or will indulge me a bit, I didn't buy much, but some of what I did buy was expensive. I was thrilled to pick up a vintage Maison Ikkoku illustration portfolio for a very reasonable price. The latest Hellabuna Giant Soul Calibur doujinshi and latest Onegai Teacher doujinshi from Nonoya were a bit more pricey. I found the only copy of the Chocola 2002 illustration book and portfolio collection I've ever seen. It was really expensive at 3 times yen price, which was already expensive, but I really wanted it since I love Di-Gi-Charat and I've got the Chocola 1999, 2000 & 2001 volumes. I picked up a bunch of t-shirts, and finally spent $63 on the 30 minute (actually closer to 24 minute) long R2 Lingerie Soldier Papillon Rose (http://www5b.biglobe.ne.jp/~novy/) OAV 1 DVD. I'm glad to say that it was definitely worth it. The animation quality in the show isn't great. Not the worst I've ever seen, but far from the best. The character art, though, is outstanding. There's no graphic sex, but the OAV is very, very hentai. It's also a wonderfully inventive and inspired Sailormoon parody.

In the hotel I also watched John Carpenter's Vampires: Los Muertos. That's all I'm going to say.

[John]

I got my PC back last night, so spent most of the night reinstalling programs.

Jubei Ninpucho TV episode 4 introduced yet more disposable villains and yet more non-story development. I'm so torn between liking this show for it's brainless (in every sense) violence and hating it for the exact same reason.

Shintaisou Kari OAV 3 wasn't quite as disturbing as episode 2, or perhaps I've just gotten used to it. This is an amazing hentai series because its animation does an exceptional job of capturing the way human bodies move and shift weight. The animation also shows off some incredible detail by giving bodies a real sense of weight and substance that's very, very rarely seen in anime. With every episode these technical elements of the animation amaze me. This episode also included the impressive detail of showing bruising on the skin that animators virtually never think to include when animating bondage. But setting aside the simply amazing technical quality of this animation, the story remains one of the most brutal and offensive hentai I've ever seen. Because it's so realistic it has much more impact than hentai full of monsters and tentacles. This series is really one of the very best drawn hentai I've ever seen. It's also one of the most sexist, mysogenistic and offensive I've ever seen.

[John]

I bought the Equilibrium DVD yesterday and really wanted to get to watching it, but unfortunately got sidetracked. If anybody's curious, the trailer on the Japanese official site (http://www.amuse-pictures.com/rebellion/) (where it was released under the name "Rebellion") is a whole lot more exciting than the American trailer.

I watched Air Master episode 7. The family gets bigger, and if the fights get any more brutal this show is going to turn into a female version of the Grappler Baki TV series.

I also watched half of the Gibomai 2 hentai OAV before going to bed. Typical B&D incest. Not the best I've seen, nor the worst.

[John]

My special order R2 DVD copy of Ryuhei Kitamura's Heat After Dark arrived yesterday, so I watched it immediately. Sadly, the film seems to be very mediocre. Its a violent crime drama written and directed by Kitamura but it shows very little of the humor of Versus, and virtually none of the visual style of Down to Hell or Versus. It's a very pedestrian, workman-like directorial effort. Not bad, just not distinctive or memorable either.

On the other hand, Equlilibrium surpassed my reasonably high expectations. For the first half hour or so I was continually impressed by how thorough and complete the film seemed to be- how well thought out and realized it was. After that I just got caught up in the story and action and went with it. It's a little bit disappointing that the Japanese trailer actually gave away too much of the action, but regardless I'm still very pleased with the film.

I finished watching Gibomai 2. An inventive ending helped elevate this hentai show a little bit (no pun intended for those who've seen it, or will watch it eventually).

[John]

Here we go!

I'm becoming less enthused with Technolyze. The odd episode 3/4 certainly clarified a bit more of the story, but at the same time I find myself beginning to lose interest in the show because it has no compelling characters and not enough story development to keep my brian occupied.

Scrapped Princess episode 5 was another typical episode that had a bit more story progress and a bit of action, but didn't really stand out.

Kiddy Grade episodes 16-18 got a bit strange. I don't quite understand why no one seems to think it odd that there seem to be lots of clones all over the place all of a sudden. I also wonder why no one seems to notice or care that Eclair's personality and even her voice have suddenly changed dramatically.

Narue no Sekai episodes 4-6 were really cute. This is really a very fun little show that does an exceptional job of developing character and viewer empathy in only a very short amount of time.

Air Master episode 8 once again combined humor with, well, some really odd elements. Especially Mina's stunt to win the Queen of the Beach crown was particularly disturbing. I'm not sure if I should laugh or be shocked.

I started watching Super Submarine 99 (http://www.leiji-matsumoto.ne.jp/ss99/ss99.html) because I mistakenly thought it was Submarine 707. Where did this show come from? This new Leiji Matsumoto anime sort of snuck up on me from out of nowhere. Anyway, based on the first two episodes, it has at least better production quality than Cosmo Warrior Zero, but otherwise suffers from many of the massive logic holes that plague much of Matsumoto's recent anime works. And also, like several of Matsumoto's recent anime works, this one just seems lifeless and uninspired compared to his better works.

Konjiki no Gash Bell episode 1 was definitely a bit more fun to watch than the first episode. Seeing this one fansubbed may have helped also. But on the whole the show doesn't seem to be anything revolutionary, so I don't know if I'll stick with it.

Hare Nochi Guu Deluxe 6 was an odd ending to the series, but a very fun episode in its own right.

A BBC documentary about Japanese businessmen that commit suicide got posted to the Multimedia Japanese usenet group. It was pretty interesting. An average of 33,000+ suicides in Japan annually is staggering! That's the population of a decent sized American city.

I finally got to see the Guilty Gear X anime trailer. It's definitely wonderful, definitely dubbed in Japan (no American dubbing studio would release a dub quite that bad), and very clearly just an original trailer. The direction and clips and whole lay-out of the short anime, just like the Double X trailer and Struggle Bunnies video and most PC game anime openings just shouts out that the clips were made for maximum instant impact, and not exerpted from a longer work. It would be great to see a full length anime production of this quality, but it's never happened before, and I somehow doubt that Guilty Gear will be the first to do it.

The first Hitsuji no Uta (http://www.groove.or.jp/anime/hitsuji/) OAV reminded me of why I love Megumi Hayashibara so much. No one else sounds like her, and her high pitched, slightly raspy, and slightly aloof voice just fits perfectly with rough, violent, or short tempered girls. The animation itself had an interesting country version of urban gothic visual design with I enjoyed. But I was really disappointed with the extensive re-use of footage. With a release of this magnitude, I'd think that they really could and should have done better. The story was mildly interesting as an alternate take on vampirism, but it's not overly interesting untranslated.

The Harukanaru Toki no Naka de OAV 2 wrapped up the story in the most unimpressive and lame ending I've seen in quite a while. This ending was just so dull that it rendered the entire hour long story utterly pointless! I can appreciate an understated ending, but this virtual anti-ending simply made me say to myself, "Huh? That's it? It's over already?"

Ghost in the Shell episode 12 made much more sense translated. It was a much stronger episode for me when I could understand the dialogue. Episode 15 was a bit of a shocking clash of sentimentality with reality and it's brief continuation into episode 16 really makes me want to know what's to become of the tachikoma. Translation really helped out episode 6 for me as well. In raw Japanese I thought that episode 16 was merely okay. Now that I understand the dialogue, I like it a bit more.

And I spent most of Sunday playing the new Evil Dead: Fistfull of Boomstick game. I'm now virtually at the end of the game. I'm well through the post-apocalyptic "to do" list. I'll probably finish it the next time I turn it on. The game is far from a masterpiece, but for its cheap price, I get you get a game worth your money.

[John]

After watching Last Exile episodes 6 & 7, I realized that the show is already 7 episodes in, still seems like it's just barely started, and I really have barely noticed. The show just moves so briskly and develops so well that you really don't pay attention to thinks you'd normally notice if this were any other show. That's a mark of this series being far more engrossing than usual anime series. This show is also far better than normal for Gonzo, and that's saying something considering that most Gonzo shows are ususally pretty decent. (Okay, usually not masterpieces, but usually pretty good.)

The first Guardian Hearts OAV (http://www.kss-inc.co.jp/jp/anime/gartsu/) was really cute, very risque, and very pointless. The cat was really cute, and severly underused.

Macross Zero OAV 2 was simply astounding, and I'm not even a Macross fan. The first half action scenes blow away the first OAV, and that's a very tall order. The climax, I'm sure, will have Macross faithful up in arms and chattering away.

[John]

With Kiddy Grade episodes 19-22 the story is getting simultaneously clearer and more complicated. I really get the impression that the writers and staff had lots of ideas for Kiddy Grade, and couldn't decide which to use and not use, so simply tossed them all in there.

[John]

I finished up Kiddy Grade with episodes 23 & 24. Ultimately, the show was okay. It really seemed like it didn't develop its story or know what direction it wanted to take until about 10 episodes in. And even then, it never really lived up to its full potential. It simply was a decent show that possibly could have been outstanding.

Since I'm still trying to finish the Evil Dead: Fistfull of Boomstick game I finally got around to watching by crappy copy of Within the Woods, the amateur first film by Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell. The origins of Evil Dead are very clear. In fact, it is sort of legitimate to call this a prequel to Evil Dead. As a first film, I was really surprised by how good it is. It was also a whole lot more gory than I'd anticipated it would be. I'm used to amateur films being a bit tentative, but this one really knows what it's doing and holds nothing back.

I watched a sub of Air Master ep. 5 and a raw version of ep. 9.

Lavi looked a bit strange in Last Exile episode 8. She looked much younger than normal. Otherwise the episode was fun, mostly fluff.

Ultra Maniac TV episode 1 surprised me because it seems to partly assume familiarity with the manga or OAV. I enjoyed the OAV, but the TV series first episode left me a bit unfulfilled. It seemed a little bit flat and lifeless, without enough character development to make me care about the characters.

With Scrapped Princess episodes 6 & 7 I've determined that the average episodes are just average, and the exceptional episodes like 4 and 6 are just fantastic.

Galaxy Angel Z episode 11 (third season parts 21 & 22) was still more silly goodness. Ranpha coming into good fortune and abusing it seems like a rather cliche story for Galaxy Angel by now, but it's still fun to watch.

Gad Guard episodes 4-6 strengthened my opinion that this is Gonzo's version of Big O. In some ways it was nice to see episode 5 get back to the funky style of episode 1. It was also neat to see some major character development in Katana. On the other hand, the story doesn't really seem to be going anywhere.

Naru no Sekai episode 7 was pretty cute. I really enjoyed the cameo by the gun toting rabbits.

[John]

The fifth and final episode of Urda was as exciting as I expected it to be. I'm not expecting the DVD version to have English subs. If it does, then I'll definitely import it. Even if it doesn't, I may still consider importing it. The ending sure created one hell of a time paradox, though.

I finally got around to opening my R2 SaiKano DVD volumes 3 & 4 to watch episodes 7-10. Since I take anime so seriously, I have trouble watching much really serious and depressing anime like this before it makes me choke up and I need to take a break. I also find that after watching anime like SaiKano, I can't change gears and watch anything else afterwards. I like the way episode 10 ended. I'd be perfectly happy to see the series end right there, but I know that's not going to happen. I may try to psyche myself up to endure the final 3 episodes tonight. I love the show, and it's exceptionally good; it's just that watching it makes me so moody and somber.

[John]

Did a bit of reading last night. Got half way through an extensive research journal article analysizing the characteristics and nature of adult manga available in America. I'll discuss the article more when I finish it. (It's very long, and I have done much grad school level reading in years.)

Since it was convenient, I watched Jubei Ninpucho TV episode 5. It nice that this episode expanded the world explanation just a little bit by seemingly explaining that humans with supernatural powers are a natural occurance in nature, but otherwise the epsiode was particularly pointless and unnecessary.

[John]

I forgot to update yesterday, so this covers 2 days.

I watched a fansub of Air Master episode 4 (finally) and then untranslated episode 10. Now I really, really can't wait until episode 11.

Wolf's Rain episodes 10-12 just seemed really pointless to me. Yes, they look nice. Yes they have good characterizations. But they don't do anything!

After thinking for a long time that I was screwed and simply unable to finish the Evil Dead: Fistfull of Boomstick game, I found a GameFAQs Forum that addressed my problem. After getting a slavelord to chase me all the way across the map, I succeeded in progressing, and was able to finish the game easily against the very, very easy to beat final boss.

[John]

It's 10:37 pm on Friday night and I just finished watching the final SaiKano DVD. Those who don't want to read spoilers may want to stop now or skip this paragraph. That said, the ending was exactly what was to be expected, and had to be, but at the same time was so much more brilliant than I'd anticipated. Contrary to the unhappy ending I was expecting, I think the show ends on a beautiful note. The relationship between Chise and Shuji is pure and tender and honest almost to an impossible degree. Even before they literally share their souls, they share their souls. Their love is utmost and ultimate and they trust each other more than they trust themselves. When Shuji is left, love has triumphed over chaos and death. The world has ended, but the pure and powerful love between Shuji and Chise is stronger and even outlasts the end of the world. In a way, it's very hopeful and empowering and encouraging. Physically it's the end of everything, and we know there's no hope, but the power of spirit and human strength and emotion and love perserveres and survives and thrives. If this is the way the world ends, it sacrificed itself for something pure and whole and good.

I would normally stop there, but before watching the final SaiKano DVD tonight, I read the final 3 volumes of Lone Wolf & Cub manga. The only word I have for the ending is, "outstanding." I know for certain that I'll never forget the way the Kozure Ookami manga ended.

[John]

In my effort to always try new shows, I watched Saint Beast (http://www.wonderfarm.co.jp/s-beast/) episode 1. I won't be watching episode 2. First, I can't even vaguely see how this came from Tenshi no Shippo. Second, this seems best described as a heavily bishonen cross between Gensomaden Saiyuki and Weiss Kreuz. Let me just say that Weiss seems to be the dominating gene factor in this wretched little orhpen.

The room-mate rented Die Another Day. Not a bad action movie, but it's so flashy and relatively soul-less that it doesn't really quite feel like a James Bond movie to me. It was reasonably enjoyable, but I think I would have liked it more if it wasn't a 007 movie.

I watched Wolf's Rain episodes 13-15. Episodes 13 & 14 were finally as good as I'd expected the show to be all along. Unfortuantely, episode 15 was a lame re-cap episode with an interesting concept killed by too much re-used footage.

I watched Farm Girl Katori episode 5 in untranslated Japanese just to see what it was. It turned out to be a mid-80s World Masterpiece Theater style show. It wasn't at all bad, but it wasn't really interesting enough to make me want to watch more of it either.

My goal for Sunday afternoon/evening was to catch up with Naruto. I didn't quite make it, but I got through episodes 21-33. Episode 30 especially made me long for a theatrical Natuto movie, as the episode opened with some fantastic action animation. Episode 33 likewise really impressed me with some really stellar, dramatic action. It's too bad we didn't get to see more of Anko-sensei. She's really sexy!

I finally got around to watching Makoto Shinkai's first animation work Tooi Sekai (Other Worlds) (http://www2.odn.ne.jp/%7Eccs50140/world/index.html). As brief as it is, it's absolutely stunning, showing off an astounding sense of composition. I also watched the Bittersweet Fools (http://www.mangazoo.jp/mztv/shinkai/body001.html) opening included on the old Animage Magazine CD-ROM. It's not all that impressive, but does show characteristic Makoto Shinkai elements.

Captain Harlock: Endless Odyssey OAV 3 continues to convince me that this may be the best Harlock anime ever. Never before has any Harlock anime so deftly encapsulated the essence of Harlock's nobility and character as well as this OAV series. This is just wonderful stuff!

I watched the AJ (said in a hushed whisper) fansub of Air Master episode 6. The episode was a lot more fun with translated dialogue than it was when I watched it in untranslated Japanese.

And finally, I watched Yakin Byouto karte 7. At this point, I can't see any point to these things beside making more money. The first couple OAVs at least had a continuing story. The past 3 or 4 episodes, though, including volume 5.5, are just the exact same episode told over and over again, each version having a minor amount of new footage or a different perspective. It's getting tired fast.

[John]

I just finished watching Narue no Sekai episode 8. A nice episode that definitely shows Kanaka softening and becoming a more open and considerate person.

Wandaba Style episode 2 was simply bizarre. I can't really think of a better term for the show. It's just a really strange series.

Scrapped Princess episode 8 was pretty good. I was hoping for another spectacular ending but was disappointed. On the other hand, the way the episode ended was probably a bit more appropriate contextually than what I'd been hoping for.

Naruto episode 34 was pretty neat. Gaara seems to be an interesting antagonist, but I also notice that by this point Naruto has moved beyond the realm of highly trained ninja into the realm of the supernatural.

The Lupin the 3rd: Return of Pycal OAV was a bit of a quandry. As I've said before, even the worst Lupin anime is still better than a lot of other shows. This Lupin was definitely the strangest one in the past couple years. The main flaw with it was that it was clearly created for the DVD format so instead of concentrating entirely on telling a good story, it split its efforts between making a good Lupin story and creating animation that would take advantage of the DVD format's audio and multi-angle capabilities. The result was definitely interesting, but also full of unexplained plot points, unresolved points, and other small flaws.

My only complaint with Last Exile episode 9 was that it ended too quickly.

Finally, Ai Shimai II OAV 2 wasn't much more than just a single protracted sex scene. I guess, all's well that ends well.

[John]

I'd like to remind dear readers, fansubs are not the problem. The problem is unethical viewers that use fansubs as a substitute for honestly supporting the anime industry by purchasing legitimate anime DVDs.

I caught up with Naruto episodes 35 & 36. The story gets more complicated still.

I just skimmed through Wolf's Rain episodes 16-18. This is a first. I've never encountered a show before that has 4 consecutive re-cap episodes (15-18). One is okay. Two is a bit excessive. Four just seems to shout "troubled production, create filler episodes!" It's going to be difficult to justify spending $30 to buy a DVD when the entire disc is animation from the previous couple discs.

Kino no Tabi episode 3 didn't really get interesting until the ending, and even then it seemed like a bit of a manipulated, pretentious, smart-alec ending. There was a great deal of buzz and anticipation and controversy over the production of this show. A lot of Japanese fans didn't want it made. I think I can now appreciate their concern. While the show isn't bad, it's just not really good either.

Since Bandai finally got around to officially announced Cyber Formula five years after they licensed it, I decided to finally watch some of it. I watched Future GPX Cyber Formula episodes 1-3. With the series now 12 years old, it hasn't aged well. The art design and animation quality are both very dated, but the story and characterizations are mildly interesting. I still don't see how or why this series became as wildly popular as it did in Japan, but it's certainly not the worst I've ever seen either.

[John]

The Detective Conan: Phantom of Baker Street movie (movie 6) was a bit more of an adventure movie than I'd expected it to be. It's also got a smaller body count than most Conan anime. Either way, though, it was still pretty entertaining.

Air Master episode 11 started out a bit slower than I'd expected it to, but the ending made up for it. I have to quote the Viewtiful Joe trailer to praise the climax of Maki's fight. "That move! Beautiful!"

While the room-mate watched the NBA Finals, I watched anime basketball. Dear Boys episode 4-6 finally got to some real action. It's a shame that the animation quality fouled out, but the character design is still nice and the story quite exciting.

[John]

Let's see if I remember everything.

I was in the mood for something violent, so I busted out my Troma DVD version of Lucio Fulci's New Gladiators. I should have stopped when Lloyd Kauffman said in the intro that Fulci died of some "diabetes related disease." I think, by this point, I've finally unquestionably determined that I've already seen all of Fulci's films that are worth seeing, so I should just stop before I lose any more IQ points by watching more of these horrendously bad movies.

My goal was to chrun through Princss Tutu. Helping one of my room-mates move out delayed that plan. I watched episodes 9-13 and a little bit of 14. Wow. This really is a fantastic show. I also love the way episode 13 ended, but just like real life, just because the fairy tale ends doesn't mean life itself stops moving forward.

Stellvia episodes 7 & 8 were again very fun. The ending of episode 7 was especially interesting as it hinted at new layers of depth between the characters, and started to expand the focus a bit beyond Shippon.

I finally got around to watching a borrowed DVD version of Snatch. Great film, but I still like Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels more. Lock Stock has a more personal feel and a smaller cast that's easier to empathize with. Snatch may be a more competent and technically impressive film, but it's also a bit more objective and cold.

Almost forgot. I also watched most of the first new hentai OAV Bondage Game. Just when I thought Aile Mainax was the most revolting and offensive hentai ever made, I saw Shintaisou Kari, which wasn't as foul, but was in a way more offensive because it was more realistic. Now the industry has topped it with Bondage Game, which combines B&D sex with bloody physical torture. This is just really, really nasty.

[John]

There wasn't much to Naruto episode 37. It was just a story progression episode without much action, but it moved quickly and still managed to be enjoyable.

Last Exile episode 10 likewise wasn't spectacular, but maintained the high quality of the series and moved the story along.

And I finished watching Bondage Game. I thought I'd seen its worst. I was wrong. It seems now as though hentai anime has finally begun to catch up with the ultra-revolting fetishistic content that's appeared in H manga for years now. It's an interesting evolution, but I can't say that I'm especially thrilled.

[John]

Narue no Sekai episode 9 was light and cute. More and more, though, I'm having difficulty believing that the aliens are actually constantly at war. They seem to be more forgiving than the humans they admire.

Stellvia episode 9 was really wonderful. I really wanted to move on to episode 10, but I got sidetracked and ended up going to bed early instead.

[John]

Wandaba Style episode 3 was pretty cute with the exception of the duck faces. Still very, very weird.

After watching Stellvia episodes 10 & 11, it looks like the series is going to run beyond the 12 episodes I was expecting it to be. Based on what happened in episode 11, I can't really tell yet if the series has hit its climactic peak and will net mellow, or if in fact it's only going to get better. The other thing I've noticed is that Xebec does a great job with creating supporting characters. The three fighter pilot girls in Nadesico were a high point of the series. Now I've decided that I really love the Shakespeare quoting blond member of the Big Four.

And I watched the AJ sub of the Onegai Twins trailer. Yes, it has the visual style of Onegai Teacher. Yes, Marie is in it. Yes, it looks a whole lot like a totally unrelated series that's just trying to cash in on the "Onegai" name and popularity. Remains to be seen.

[John]

Shin Hokuto no Ken is still Hokuto no Ken. Beside nicer looking animation quality, I still think Kenshiro's head is too small for his body. And the show is still about the heroic and noble warrior who wanders the desert punishing those who pick on the weak. What I don't like about the first new OAV is that it may actually be a bit too graphic. Part of what always made Fist of the North Star so fascinating is that Hokuto Shinken uses pressure points to condense the body's inner energy until it explodes like a volcano. The new OAV seems to present Hokuto Shinken as a simple martial art that makes heads explode. It just seems to go for over-the-top gore for the sake of shock value instead of accurately representing the horrific natural results of Kenshiro's ancient martial art. The animation just doesn't seem to show the effects of inner energy condensing in a single point then errupting. It shows heads just expanding haphazardly then exploding. It's just not as interesting that way.

Since I was in the mood for it, I watched G-On Riders episodes 7 & 8 last night. This isn't an outstanding show, but I do think it's really cute and fun.

And I only have one word for Last Exile episode 11: wow.

[John]

I was a bit confused by The Hulk. It's part psychological drama, part art film, part off-Broadway stage production, part comic book adaptation, part political propaganda, part Akira. There's so much thrown in that it's hard to get a grip on and get your mind around.

With Air Master episode 12 it looks like Sakayama Kaori is actually something. Go girl!

Wolf's Rain episode 20 wasn't bad because it at least had some story progress and a bit of character development, but the series sum total still just doesn't add up to anything significant.

I didn't think we'd get to see any action at all in Naruto episode 38, but I was wrong. Not much action, but nevertheless the episode was still pretty brisk and entertaining.

The first episode of Cinderella Boy (http://cinderellaboy.at-x.com/) was a bit of a disappointment. I don't know if it's very limited animation quality was intentional to make it look like an 80s anime or what, but even putting that aside, the unbelievable action was just too hard to take seriously. (I don't mean "unbelievable" in the "Oh Wow! Incredible!" sense. I mean "unbelievable" in illogical and stupid sense.) I'm afraid that this might get better, but the first episode was so idiotic and condescending that I may not stick around long enough to find out.

Narue no Sekai episode 10 was the cosplay contest episode. What else needs said?

Scrapped Princess episodes 9 & 10 weren't quite as exciting as I'd imagined they could be, but the story developed well and were pretty fun to watch.

Galaxy Angel series 3 episode 12 was the craziest episode in a while. Very fun stuff. I particularly loved Normad wasting time at the end of the first segment.

I watched the WPP fansub of Digimon Adventure 02 episode 1. I've seen Pokemon episodes in Japanese, and Digimon episodes in Japanese, and it's really amazing how much more relatively mature Digimon is compared to Pokemon. They're both good in their own ways, and Pokemon is far more popular in Japan than Digimon is, but I actually sort of like Digimon while I've never been a Pokemon fan.

I finished up Princess Tutu episode 14 and moved on to 15. Wow. The story is getting even darker and more macabre!

And at my tiny monthly anime club meeting, which this month had a high of 5 people for about 10 minutes down to a low of just me watching by myself for an hour, I re-watched Macross Zero OAV 2, Walkure episode 1, Galaxy Angel A episodes 1 & 2, Papillion Rose OAV 1, Kikou Sennyo Rouran 1-3, then 4-6 which were new to me. Especially with episode 6, the parallels to Iczer-One became even more obvious.

[John]

I was in the mood, so I finally opened and watched my Blue Gender DVD 3. Hmmm. Not a great show, but not terribly bad either.

Then I watched Maho Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto episode 6. I think Kera suddenly being a mage was a bit of a cop-out, but otherwise the epsiode was okay.

[John]

Actually watching Air Master episode 7 fansubbed seemed to lighten it up a bit. In my mind, the episode was a bit more serious and dramatic when I didn't know exactly what was being said.

A fansub of the first Idol Defense Force Hummingbird OAV appeared last night, so I watched that. This first OAV wasn't nearly as good as the later Hummingbird '97 OAV made 4 years later, but it's still not too bad for its age, beside the massive lapses in logic that you're just not supposed to question or think about.

And I also watched the preview DVD that comes with the current issue of Animage Magazine. There's not much action in the R.O.D. TV trailer. You only get to see each of the sister's powers once at the end of the trailer. Visually it looks similar to the OAV series, but the animation quality has been dramatically scaled back for TV. Otherwise looks like it's a direct sequel to the OAV series.

Seeing the Steamboy trailer in DVD quality was just awe inspiring!

Based on the trailer, J-Phoenix looks really fun. I wonder if it'll get a bigger release than just the OAV bundled with the PS2 game.

All but one of the members of the girl group that perform the Di-Gi-Charat Nyo opening theme are 12 years old. The fifth gal is only 11 years old!

[John]

Last night was horror night.

The home-video Juon 2 turned out to be partially an extended version of Juon 1. I like Juon 1 better. The first film seemed tighter and more focused. Juon 2 seemed confused and loose. And the most shockingly frightening part of Juon 2 was simply the carry-over footage from the first movie.

Bible Black 6 turned out to be the final OAV. I sort of think that the early first two episodes are the best ones, but this episode was at least as good as the bulk of the show.

[John]

I thought the previous fights in Air Master had included some nasty ones, but the fighting in episode 13 was just brutal! The trail of blood across the mat was something else! Based on the next episode trailer, I can't wait for episode 14. (Crap! I'll be at Expo when it's out.)

Last Exile episode 12 was the most thrilling episode in a while. It's really just amazing how this show manages to maintain such a consistently high level of quality every week.

Wolf's Rain episode 21 was a bit more exciting that most of the recent episodes, but it's still nothing spectacular. I'm beginning to believe that Wolf's Rain is a decent show after all, not because it's technically good, but just because it's easy to watch and not particularly taxing on the brain but still nice to look at. It's a show that's easy to just go couch potato with for a while. It's attractive, brainless entertainment.

[John]

Gadguard episode 7 seemed to be a disposable, self-contained episode, but it was a really strong and satisfying one.

I was in the mood for shoujo, so I watched Cosmic Baton Girl Comet-san episodes 4-6. It's been a while, so I'd forgotten how sweet and nice the show is. It's easy to see why this series was such a big hit in Japan. It's like the nice parts of CCS, without the darker, more dramatic parts of CCS.

I watched the AJ release of Chibits, apparently a mini bonus episode from the Japanese DVDs. It's sort of odd that this little 6 minute episode was better than any of the 26 regular episodes.

I also watched the Divergence Eve trailer. I've learned to be wary of any anime that has Yuji Ikeda character designs. He may be a good director, but generally shows that feature his character designs usually turn out to be not very good. I'm afraid that Divergence Eve may fit that mold. The very stylistic and unrealistic characters are just fine for some types of anime, but they seem out of place and unbelievable in a series, dramatic show like this. They're bright colors and design also clash with the stark CG backgrounds and mecha. I may be pleasantly surprised, but based on this trailer I'm not holding onto much hope for this show.

Two new fansub episodes of Ebichu got released. I really enjoyed the "Cleaning Ebichu" bit because it seemed to rely on genuine humor rather than shock value. Still, all of it's rolicking funny fun.

And I found the PS2 Dynasty Warriors 3 Xtreme Legends at Target for $20.98, so I bought it and played through it twice with the blond, boomerang throwing gal.

[John]

Played another 2+ hours of Dynasty Warriors 3 Xtreme and watched Stand Alone Complex episode 17. This particular episode isn't what you'd normally expect from GitS, but it was really a well written and directed, very entertaining episode.

[John]

To everyone that stopped by and said "Hi" at Expo, and the people that came to the panel, thanks again!

I think the only new thing I watched at Expo was (dubbed) Big O episodes 14 & 15. I have to say that it may not be a good sign when the dub causes roars of laughter when there's no comedy on screen. Regardless, I'm not convinced. The feel of these new episodes just seems different. Roger seems like much more of a passive pressence now than the commanding, rock solid figure he was in the first season. The emphasis on explaining things in the second season also seems to ruin much of the dramatic impact that the first season had. But maybe it's just me.

And what the hell is Afro Samurai? I missed the first Expo screening (did it actually happen?), and the second scheduled screening was canceled.

[John]

Stand Alone Complex episode 18 wasn't really particularly special. It's no worse than any other episode, but there wasn't anything unusually spectacular about it either.

The first half of Last Exile episode 13 was slow, but interesting as it characterized Tatiana a bit. The second half really got moving, but was too obscure to reveal anything.

The first episode of Happy Lesson Advance is just more Happy Lesson. I'm now really of the mind that the series started out great with the first two OAVs and has been steadily getting more generic and uninspired with every episode. I don't think I'll be sticking around for this season.

The first episode of Narutaru (http://www.narutaru.jp/) seemed a bit odd. It's certainly very similar to the original manga, but the tone and atmosphere seem different. Shiina in the animation just seems younger and more childish than she does in the manga. It's going to be odd to see if the animation does or can actually convincingly turn dark and violent the way the manga very quickly does.

The second Sakura Taisen: Ecole de Paris OAV was somewhat exciting because it was all action, but also rather jarring as it seemed to make a massive leap in continuity from the first OAV, and even within itself played pretty fast and loose with linear progression and time setting.

[John]

Okay, the first episode of Divergence Eve (http://www.d-eve.net/) doesn't make any sense because it occurs late in the story continuity. I realize that, and I still don't like the show. For one thing, the show is just plain ugly. The frequent CG is among the worst I've seen in anime in years, and it clashes jarringly with the 2D animation. The girls have enormous breasts, which is fine when they exist for fan service, but since this show is so series, the giant breasts seem like an unnecessary distraction that just get in the way. Furthermore, the show has zero character depth. If this episode is set next to last in the story continuity, the characters should already be established and have personalities. They don't. At all. Paper cut-out characters and lots of techno jargon don't create tension and serious drama. They just create pretentious, insubstantial garbage that tries to pass itself off as something stellar. I usually try not to judge series based on one episode, but this first episode was just unusually bad.

I had virtually no expectations for Parasite Dolls (http://www.parasite-dolls.com/), so I can't say whether or not the first OAV satisfied me. It's nice to see a brand new anime that's fully hand drawn and created in the traditional way. But beside that, too little actually happened in this first OAV for me to really form much of an opinion.

[John]

The first episode of Sumeba Miyako no Cosmos-sou - Suttoko Taisen Dokkoider (http://www.ufotable.com/cosmos/index.htm) wasn't as retro as I'd expected it to be. It also wasn't quite as hysterically funny as I'd hoped it would be. Ultimately, it just seemed really average and ordinary. It's certainly not bad, but the first episode didn't seem interesting enough to make me want to watch any more.

Naruto episode 39 was fun, but didn't do anything unexpected. It looks like we may be getting into some darker episodes again, which I'll be looking forward to.

I bought the UK PAL DVD version of Zipang (http://www.midnighteye.com/reviews/zipang.shtml) at Anime Expo because I've wanted to see the movie for more than 10 years now, since I first saw photos of it in Newtype Magazine back in 1992. I'm glad to say that I wasn't disappointed. The film is crazy and totally unpredictable, and immensely fun. Most of its violence is bloodless, but the bloody points are very memorable. And Hanzo the ninja in this film puts all other ninja, even anime ninja, totally to shame!

[John]

I actually liked the fighting in Air Master episode 13 a bit more than the conclusion of the fight in episode 14, but nevertheless it was still nice to see a virtually episode long fight with Maki going up against a very competent foe.

Narue no Sekai had a very simple and quiet ending with episodes 11 & 12, but that may be expected considering that the manga is still ongoing. Nice show, and as I've said before, I'll definitly buy the CPM DVD release.

The story revelation in Scrapped Princess episodes 11 & 12 struck a bit close to a certain movie we're all familiar with, but it was still really neat, and should do a lot to further develop the series.

The Angel's Wing OAV was really short at only 6 minutes, and didn't make much sense, but it was pretty cute, and pretty nice looking from a company that's never made any anime before.

It took me two attempts to make it through the first episode of D.C. ~Da Capo (http://www.hatsunejima.com/). Stylistically this show seems to be very similar to SisPrin, mixing dating sim with humor. However, I'm not really a fan of Sister Princess, and not really a fan of this show either. These life-sim type shows are just too mundane and boring for me to sit through.

I have good and bad to say about the first episode of Takahashi Rumiko Theater (http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anime/takahashi_r/). It's nice to see Rumiko Takahashi character designs in anime again. Inuyasha is also Takahashi, but it's a bit stylized and skewed more toward anime than this new series is. My complaint with the first episode is that it seems a little bit tentative. It seems a bit like it was trying to make some sort of point, but it never clarifies itself enough to make the "villain" anything more than a bully. It seems to try, but it's too little too late, and never anything more than a second character's abstract interpretation, which may be totally wrong. The show may get better (not to say that the first episode was bad, because it wasn't) but with as much stuff as what's out there, I don't know if I'll stick around for a simple, mundane show like this when there's so much more interesting stuff available.

The HK action film China Strike Force does an amazing job of showing us how much we've become spoiled by CG. The film's greatest accomplishment comes after it's over, when the out-takes run during the credits and you suddenly realize that everything you've seen was real. All the actors did their own stunts, including even Coolio, and everything you see, including jumping a motorcycle from the roof on one moving car onto the roof of another moving car, and fighing on a pane of glass balanced 40 stories above the street, was all real. The middle of the movie is a bit slow as it tries very hard to develop story that it doesn't really need and doesn't really successfully pull off, but the action scenes are quite thrilling, and the fighting occasionally brilliant. I also found it a bit funny that Marc Decascos plays a role in this film that's pretty much identical to his later role in Cradle 2 the Grave. It's too bad that this movie gave him such a weak, lame exit.

[John]

Last night I watched the uncut version of Double Vision (http://aznfilms.com/product_info.php/products_id/915?osCsid=9d8bb2a3bf4e29227ffe532f15bae ce4). With the exception of the infamous temple scene, the gore in the film is no worse than what you'd see in a Hollywood film like David Fincher's Seven. In fact, Double Vision is a whole lot like a supernatural version of Seven. I want to like the movie wholeheartedly, but I just can't get over the tremendous number of massive plot holes and unexplained events in the movie. The film looks great- easily as good as anything Hollywood produces, and it's very well acted and directed, and it's very compelling to watch. It's a great film that you simply have to watch without questioning. I think that its unexplained elements simply can't be explained. They seemed like ideas that were too good to use, but they don't work together. So as long as you just ignore the logic and enjoy the ride, the film is wonderful. The violent temple scene is certianly too extreme and too intense and too graphic to remain in the American cut of the film, but the gore doesn't really go as far as splatter movie gore goes. I guess, in simple summation, this is a great movie with a lot of flaws that you're willing to overlook because the rest of the movie is just that good.

[John]

I can imagine that Wes Craven's Last House on the Left would have been more shocking and affecting 20 years ago when it was new than now when we expect confrotational cinema to be shocking and challenging. Having now finally seen this, Rugerro Deodato's remake, House by the Edge of the Park, seems even more weak by comparisson. Doedato's movie is more sensationalistic, and suffers as a result. It doesn't go far enough over the top to have camp novelty value, and isn't restrained and believeable enough, like Last House on the Left, to be convincing. Last House remains a strong film, but now it seems very much like a product of its time.

Air Master episode 15 was a bit more fun than I'd expected it to be, because I wasn't expecting much from this episode.

Last Exile episode 14 likewise had more substance to it than I'd expected it to have.

[John]

The Salaryman Kintaro (http://www.bs-i.co.jp/main/entertainment/kintarou/kintarou.html) anime TV series is GTO for an older audience. There's not much else to say about it. The first episode turned up digitally fansubbed recently, so I watched it last night.

The first Eiken OAV (http://www.starchild.co.jp/special/eiken/) finally got released. The only graphic nudity in it is a bare butt in the ending credits, but nonwithstanding, this is an adult anime series. Besides the absurdly overobvious sex jokes, there doesn't seem to be much to the show. I really like the characters Kirika (with the long blue pony tail) and Kyoko (the mad scientist), but in untranslated Japanese, I didn't get too much more out of it. (My Japanese is good enough to do revisions and corrections when I've got dictionaries and written Japanese handy, but not good enough to fully translate from scratch.)

It looks like Air Master episode 16 is finally getting into the action included in the second opening animation. The tournament has started, and it looks like the show is now going to begin getting really exciting.

[John]

This morning I watched the trailer for Once Upon a Time in Mexico (http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/onceuponatimeinmexico/) (twice, actually). I'm so excited now! This trailer alone makes up for The Faculty and all those Spy Kids movies. God bless you, Robert Rodreiguez.

Last Exile episode 15 didn't have any particular singular outstanding sequences, but the wealth of story revelations made this one of the best episodes of the entire series so far.

The first episode of Popotan (http://www.popotan.com/) turned out to be exactly what I expected. It's got a fair bit of fan service and nudity, and great voice acting, and wonderful animation. It's clearly a show made for a very select audience of hardcore otaku, and being one of the, I really enjoyed it a lot.

The first episode of Onegai Twins (http://www.please-please.jp/one2/), for better or worse, was also what I expected. Especially its character design has taked quite a dive since the lush looking Onegai Teacher. Ichigo was far and away the best part of the episode, and she was only in it for one minute. The show, based on this first episode, isn't bad. But it's not the impressive technical feat that the first episode of Onegai Teacher was.

Naruto episodes 40 & 41 were pretty interesting. I'm still very curious by what exactly Kakashi meant when he spoke to himself after Orochimaru left. And I'm really looking forward to seeing what Sakura is capable of in episode 42.

At the Metrocon convention this weekend I popped into a movie room and re-watched Air Master 4 & 5 before I passed out (from exhaustion, not alcohol, as was the case with most of the convention.)

And I watched Olaf Ittenbach's latest film Beyond the Limits (http://www.beyondthelimits-movie.com/). Sadly, unlike Premutos, this new film isn't so much a splatter film as it is an extremely graphic fantasy film. As a movie, it's not bad at all. There's little stylistic flourish or directorial style, but at the same time it's a competently acted, written and directed film. The gore effects are frequent and extreme, but appear onscreen only briefly, or are used only to advance the story rather than being a spotlight character on their own as graphic gore is in Ittenbach's earlier films or in similar gore movies by directors like Argento and Fulci, Schnass and Peter Jackson. The film deserves at least an American home video release, and it's unquestionably not suitable for the squeemish, but it's not the sensational assault of stomach churning horrific splatter violence that the director's earlier films were.

[John]

Since I had a visit from a friend and made it an early night, I didn't watch much. I did watch the short Batman: Dead End (http://www.theforce.net/theater/shortfilms/batman_deadend/) movie three times between last night and this morning. The fact that I've watched it 3 times in about the past 12 hours should say something about how good it is.

[John]

AnimeNation got another import shipment yesterday that included my R2 DVD copy of The Cat Returns. I really intended to watch it last night but got side-tracked, so only watched The Ghiblies Episode 2. Especially the first segment was just wonderfully funny. The whole short film reminded me of the best parts of Tonari no Yamada. And the animation was just incredible. The digital animation kept a soft 2D look but gave everything an amazing sense of depth and weight and three dimensions that I've never seen done before in traditional animation.

[John]

The Cat Returns reminded me very much of Bannipal Witt (Catnapped). It's one of the weaker Ghibli films, but even the least impressive Ghibli film is still better than most anime. Ghibli films simply get criticized on a different, higher standard of expectations than most anime. This film is a simple, warm hearted and very generous film. It strives to present itself to the audience much moreso than Hayao Miyazaki's films, which are designed to allow the audience to come to them. The film also has a very contemporary attitude, like Pom Poko, rather than Miyazaki's archetypal fairy tale atmosphere. The film is fun and charming and animated well, but it's superficial and not likely to make an indelible, lasting impression the way the Ghibli classics do.

[John]

Neither Gad Guard episode 8 or 9 were outstanding, but both were solid, very good episodes. Neither knocked my socks off, but neither episode disappointed me either. My only thought is that, based on the conclusion of episode 9, Hajiki is too nice for his own good.

After watching Technolyze episode 6 I'm officially beginning to get tired of the show. It's ironic that this series ought to be exactly what anime fans want. It's industrial post-modern cyberpunk with rapid cut editing and sampled, dark techno music. It's exactly the progressive, cutting edge animation that fans often want anime to be. Unfortunately, it's just not cohesive or interesting or compelling. A few episodes were interesting to watch as a novelty or experiment, but the show simply isn't establishing any reason for me to want to keep watching it.

Air Master episode 17, yet again threw in a big surprise that challenged viewer expectations. Every couple episodes this show just goes one step beyond what we thought it would or could. I can't say that it's actually breaking taboos the way Berserk and Evangelion before it did, but it is one of the most subtely transgressive shows I've seen since those former two series. I guess it's not surprising since Berserk and Air Master are both very long running manga in Young Animal Magazine. I know that a lot of people don't like Air Master, but not only do I love it, I'm more and more beginning to respect the series as one that's brave enough and daring enough to occasionally show us things that most other shows wouldn't even consider animating.

[John]

I did a marathon of Stellvia episodes 13-17 over the weekend. One point that especially appealed to me was Machida's reunion with Yayoi near the end of episode 14. It's a touching sequence that's resonant without being melodramatic. It's a brief, but really marvelous sequence that carries a lot of weight without being heavy handed or over obvious. And with the events of episode 17 the show is really developing quite a mystery.

I watched Popotan episode 1 again, subbed this time, along with a sub of episode 2. Translated dialogue didn't really tell me anything in episode 1 I didn't get from watching it in Japanese. Episode 2 was very cliche, but still very well developed. This show really reminds me a lot of Kokoro Toshokan with fan service. So far I really like it, but that may be because I'm probably the primary target audience for this very niche market show.

Last Exile episode 16 had more nice character development, and some major story development.

I re-watched the Lupin the 3rd: First Contact movie, this time fansubbed.

Wolf's Rain episodes 22-24 still aren't really going anywhere, but at least now they're finally developing a sense of tension and urgency.

My feelings on Scrapped Princess episodes 13-15 are mixed. The show is now relying heavily on sci-fi cliches and standards, but it's using them naturally and effectively, so rather than be disappointed, I'm really thrilled with how the show is developing. Except for episode 15. Shanon's sudden reluctance, even after his course of action is clearly unmistakable and he even admits that he knows he has only one option, is annoying at least, and at most somewhat out of character. I don't mind when Scrapped Princess makes effective use of genre staples, but I don't like it when it does stuff like this, which seems designed only to advance the story instead of being true to the characters. Likewise, the fate of Pacifica seems like a contrived manipulated plot twist instead of a natural continuance of the story. It's doesn't feel true to itself; it feels like the writer making concessions to the audience. But I may be being too harsh, or it may be just my own perceptions.

Gad Guard episode 11 was the most disposable episode yet. There's not really any point to this episode, but beside that it's not really bad.

Naruto episode 42 threw me a conclusion that I hadn't expected, and I'm very pleased by it. Just the opposite of Scrapped Princess episode 15, it's nice to see an anime story do what comes naturally and logically instead of doing what the audience wants to see, regardless of whether or not it really makes sense.

After watching Narutaru episodes 2 & 3, I'm revising my initial unimpressed opinion to one of tentative uncertainty. Now that Akira has been established as a near impossibly dark and frightened character, the personification of Shiina as a bubbling and optomistic child seems more appropriate and logical as a balancing counterpoint. It's still too early for me to have a firm opinion on the show, but now it's clear to me that it may turn into something respectable in another couple episodes.

So I watched Terminator 3. Well, as many other critics have said, it's not a bad TV movie, as long as you don't think about it too much. It wasn't a disappointment, but I went into it with very low expectations. It wasn't bad, per se, but I don't really want to spend an hour pointing out all of its faults and flaws.

Since the new line of Hong Kong Legends DVDs just came out, I went to Best Buy and bought Magnificent Warriors and Magnificent Butcher. I watched Magnificent Warriors. It's really odd to see such a young looking Michelle Yeoh! The film isn't the greatest martial arts piece from the time, but the fighting is impressive in the way they don't do anymore, and the sheer scope of the film is absolutely worth at least 10 bucks to any fan of Asian action films.

[John]

I soon as I got an untranslated copy of Jam Films (http://www.jam-films.com/) I watched it to see the short Ryuhei Kitamura film, The Messenger. It's definitely stylish, but beyond that I couldn't make much sense of it. The second film was sort of cute. "Justice" was pretty fun too. But overall all of the films just felt like short, disposable films.

I still can't figure out exactly what it is about Wolf's Rain that keeps me watching it, even though it's really not that good. It seems like a baseball game or auto race or something. The anticipation that eventually something interesting will happen becomes compulsive. I watched episode 25 last night. Again, nothing really happened, but again I actually still watched the episode.

[John]

I try not to turn this into a generic journal or web log, and I try not to preach, but I can't hold this back. Pioneer has announced 3 different DVD versions of Last Exile. If you want the first DVD, it's $30. The special features cost an extra $20! Okay, it's $30 for the DVD; $40 for the DVD with box; and $50 for the DVD with bonus features disc and box. I thought the point of DVD was that each disc could hold more data, so you could put bonus features on the disc. And most DVDs I'm aware of don't charge you an extra $20 for the bonus features. What's next? Extra charges for an interactive menu? Extra charges for multiple subtitle tracks? Extra charges for chapter stops? I promise that as long as I'm involved with AN Entertainment, I'll fight to not charge fans extra for things that ought to be included in the regular price.

I'm sad to say that after months of anticipation, the first episode of Ikkitousen (http://www.ikkitousen.com/) was disappointingly mediocre. It clearly tries to compete with Najica for the world record for most T&A shots in a single TV episode, and it might even win, but for a fighting/adventure show there's no tension, no drama, and no fight choreography. The fight at the end of the episode gave me a little hope for better things out of the show, but the first episode just gave me a "second string AD Vision title" vibe. That's not exactly bad, as shows like Najica and Ikkitousen aren't bad by any means. They're just not the outstanding shows that they have the potential to be. I'm going to hope that Ikkitousen shows some improvement, but either way I'm sure I'll keep watching it. I've still got Air Master to fall back on when I want to see real anime street fighting.

The second Inuyasha movie was stunningly better than the first one. The first movie felt like a long, disposable TV episode. The second film actually has the feel of an event picture. The only thing I don't like about the second film is the character design, which is very angular and gaunt and not cute at all. And for all you Inuyasha devotees out there, that kiss doesn't count! A kiss made in desperation is not nearly the same thing as a romantic kiss made out of affection.

[John]

Air Master episode 18 wasn't quite the action extravaganza that I'd hoped it would be, although it looks like episode 19 certainly will be. But I've got to say that the first quarter of the episode was fantastic. Maki's method of getting downstairs was great, and Kai's attempt to follow suit was both thrilling and really funny. The increasing frequency of the homosexual gags is getting a bit perplexing, though.

Speaking of homosexuality, I also watched the first hour of Caligula. Nearly 3 hours of Roman debouchery is a bit much for me to take in a single sitting late at night. It's easy to see why the film is a classic. It's also difficult for me not to compare it to Gladiator, which was obviously influenced by this 20 year old film. And it's almost shocking how much better this movie is than Gladiator. I'll finish up the movie this weekend.