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Negima! Vol 19 (Ch 174) SPOILERS

2007-07-17T05:30:00.000-07:00

Thanks to AQS for the scans.

Chapter 174: Now that summer vacation has started, Yuuna is staying with her dad again and sleeping in. She gets up and putting on a bra, notes that she's going to have to get a bigger one. Her dad is reading papers on Fate Averruncus (last seen in volume 6 after deciding not to fight Eva) when Yuuna busts into his study. He quickly hides the papers, but Yuuna sees this and is suspicious about what he's hiding. When she goes for it, she extracts ero magazines, which she throws at her father.

As Yuuna prepares breakfast, she decides she doesn't mind her father having such magazines around since he's an adult. She's stunned to learn her father has only been eating instant food stuffs and not preparing real meals. He compliments her on her cooking, stating she'll make a good wife. She replies (jokingly) that she'd like to marry him, which causes him to respond that maybe she shouldn't say things like that. She gets embarrassed because she was joking and trying to be cute.

Yuuna is a bit frustrated at her dad's slobby appearance and feels he's no good without her to look after him. She sends him off to shave and notices a photo fall from him. It is a picture of a blond woman and has a telephone number. As her father asks about Negi, she tells him a few things while pondering who this woman is. The phone rings and the number on the caller-ID is the same as on the photo. She gives the phone to her dad, who after talking a bit, hangs up and tells Yuuna he'll be late.

Later, Yuuna tells Makie, Ako, and Akira that her father is cheating, even though he's not currently married. They tail her father to his meeting with the blond woman. She's not happy with this woman and despite her protests, the other girls see nothing wrong, commenting that Yuuna's "Papa love" might be going a bit too far.

Professor Akashi and the blond woman talk while sitting in the outdoor section of a restaurant. She notes Yuuna and her friends spying on them, which he states is his daughter and her friends. Keeping up the appearance of normal talk, the two discuss Fate and the lack of a connection with Chao as well as his connections with the Graf.

Makie and Ako decide to check things out better while Yuuna and Akira are left behind. They learn the woman's name is Donnet McGuinness from England. Returning to Yuuna and Akira, Ako and Makie think Donnet is good, but Yuuna is not convinced. That night, she has trouble sleeping because of this and when she does sleep, she has a memory-dream of herself as a kid, holding a practice wand, walking home with her mother.

The next morning, Yuuna tells her dad they are going on a father-daughter date, no matter what. They spend the day together, spending lots of his money, and when the date ends, Yuuna tells her father that she's OK with him marrying the blond. He's puzzled by this but when Donnet shows up, Yuuna learns that Donnet was an old friend of her mother. Yuuna is embarrassed by this and when they walk home, Yuuna asks if he still like Mom. He says he still loves her. Yuuna tells him she won't get mad if he gets remarried and he reminds her he has no partner.

Thoughts: While we've seen cameos of Yuuna's dad from the festival, it was neat seeing how he is studying about Fate. That he and Yuuna's mother were mages seems obvious. Too bad we didn't learn what became of Yuuna's mother. For Akamatsu-sensei to do a whole chapter solely about Yuuna (with hints of Fate and the Graf also thrown in), I can't help but wonder if somehow she'll now be a factor in the upcoming Wales arc.

"Futari Ecchi" Coming to America?

It what I find to be a truly shocking event, TokyoPop has licensed Futari Ecchi, calling it Manga Sutra - Futari H. So why is this so shocking? Well, officially, Futari Ecchi is a manga published in the seinen (young adult) magazine "Young Animal." It is the story of Makoto and Yuura, who are still virgins when they are arranged to be married. The manga then covers their journey of learning about sex and also explores the sexual lives of people around them, thus the mangaka can cover all sorts of sexual topics. While each chapter has some amount of sexual congress, the title avoids the "hentai" label by keeping the amount of hentai material below a certain percentage of the chapter. The mangaka also adds sex-ed charts, drawings, and information, though it is all very dated today (the manga started in 1997).

I became aware of the title when a fansub group did the OVA's. Later I read a thread on a message board where folks argued over whether the manga was a hentai title or not. So, I borrowed the first few volumes and read them. My conclusion? It's a hentai title.

In Japan, it is illegal to show reproductive organs, whether in drawings or in actuality. To comply with this law, Katsu-sensei uses a less obstructive form of censorship. He either has the genitals strategically blocked or makes them invisible. But the reader still gets a very clear picture of what's going on -- major sexual activities. Katsu-sensei also uses sex-ed diagrams at times to show a penis entering a vagina legally. Ha!ha! Isn't he ever so clever?

In addition to Yuura and Makoto's sex life being looked at, we see Yuura's sister younger sister Rika (early 20's). She has not one boyfriend, but four. She has her main squeeze, who's her age. She has the rich guy (I think in his early 30's) whom she bangs in exchange for a taste of the rich life (gifts, fancy places, etc.). She has her sex-friend, whom she hooks up with from time-to-time when she needs a no strings attached shagging. Her forth boyfriend is her pity-sex friend. He's younger than her (he calls her "senpai"), he is not much around girls, and so comes to Rika for advice. Rika feels sorry for him and allows him to bang her.

But no, this isn't a hentai title at all.

I could keep going on, but why bother. You get the point.

Well, lets hear what the man has to say.

"This is not a hentai manga, rather an erotic manga for the thinking mind. It is a compass of love and sex, a reference dedicated to all readers who seeks the ultimate pleasure in life. This is for real. I am not lying..." --KATSU Aki, introduction to volume 1 of Futari Ecchi.

Oh, that is such a laugh. While hiding behind the educational, comedy, and even story elements, Katsu-sensei knows full well that his goal is to produce a manga that just barely fits into the seinen label, but provides "meditation" materials for those horny guys dreaming of marrying a girl like Yuura-san (or banging one of the other girls in the series).

I did end up reading five volumes (I think) before I was totally sick of it. I don't care for hentai. I don't care that TokyoPop has licensed the title. So why the rant? I sense that TP will also try to deny this is a hentai title, and that started with the title change ("Manga Sutra" -- please.). Plus, I suspect that TP will want to modernize and domesticate the title a fair amount to attempt to grow sales beyond horny American otaku who wish to scream out, "Yuuna-san! IKU!" while meditating. Even if this isn't a title I'd buy, those are things I strongly object to. I also object to attempts to label this as non-hentai. It is a hentai title, so if you are going to license it, admit it and go on about it.

Gah! I'll admit that this may be one of the stupidest rants I've done since the title's not out officially in English yet. I already hear some people wondering if America can handle this non-hentai hentai title and ranting about the evil religious right (or some other such nonsense). I guess that's what really annoys me when it comes down to it, with the possible TP domestication coming in 2nd.

Chobits Vol. 1 !!!

2007-07-09T14:19:00.000-07:00

As far as I can figure, Chobits is a show for young men who want their girlfriends to watch an anime program with them even though it's got sex on the brain (or maybe because it has sex on the brain). The show's entire soundtrack from start to finish is sweet and bouncy with a feminine sensibility, and all the characters are insanely cute. It has many of the touches my wife appreciates in anime, and she's not a big fan. At the same time, though, it's clearly ecchi. For a show with virtually no nudity, it is filled with innuendo and storylines that make most harem anime look tame. Although it's based on a manga by CLAMP, a group of female writers, it's way outside their standard fare. The episodes I saw were light and easy to watch, but the glaring plotholes combined with the ever-present lecherousness hurt it.

Hideki is a farmboy from the outskirts of Hokkaido. He is, in many ways, a Japanese hick. When he fails to get into college, he decides to go to Tokyo and attend a prep school in hopes that he might get in after some dedicated hard work. As he arrives in the big city, he notices the latest craze everywhere: persocoms. Some are dolls the size of a pencil eraser; still others resemble grown women. Persocoms have taken the place of PCs and Macs, apparently because everyone has realized that beautiful girls are cooler than boxy workstations. Cook, calendar, and computer in one, each has its own particular design, though all of them can connect to the Internet. (Hideki's all excited about that one, since he's never seen online porn before. It's a plot point, I kid you not.) However, Hideki can barely pay the rent, let alone consider buying a persocom that starts at around $6,000.

But if you can't buy one, you can get one out of the trash, right? On his way home one night, Hideki finds an absolutely beautiful persocom out in somebody's garbage. Legally, he can take it, so he does, not noticing that her programming disc is left on the street. It turns out, however, that this persocom is different. Its activation switch is hidden (yep, I can bet you can guess where). It can move and speak the simple nonsense phrase "chi," even though it has no operating system. In fact, its system is so powerful that other persocoms fry their circuits just trying to tell what software is in this thing. Hideki decides to keep it anyway, naming her after her favorite word. Now Hideki has to get a job, go to class, and figure out what to do with Chi, who may be a legendary Chobits -- a home-made machine that doesn't need an OS that can move (and perhaps think) on its own. Of course, the existence of Chobits are an urban legend, but when you pick up your persocom out of the trash, who knows?

Chobits is virtually the definition of a girls' anime. Bright and bubbly, it's a far cry from typical shonen fare, which makes its content all the more unusual. However, it's got precedent, especially in the form of Buttobi CPU, a strongly ecchi show that it resembles on the surface. Certainly Video Girl Ai is of the same "unexpected magical lovers" genre as well, and that show continues to be a favorite of mine, so there's potential. Whether or not Chobits actually fits in that genre is questionable. The intro makes us to believe that Chi and Hideki are meant for each other, but there's no real sense of that from the opening episodes. All that said, Chobits is well-made, and whenever the music kicked in, it planted a smile on my face...but I can't say it will do the same for you. I'm not sure that the genre confusion might be too much for some viewers. Do most guys appreciate girliness in their ecchi comedies? Maybe, maybe not.

There are points at which I think Chobits might really work. For example, the third episode sets out with Hideki trying to find a job, searching the city only to get splashed by a waitress who feels terrible and (by accident) gets him hired. It's a good outing, and when Hideki isn't a ball of lust but a real person, he's interesting. There are minor character moments interspersed here and there, which are good. And, admittedly, Chobits can be darn funny at times; there are a few great belly laughs to be had.

But then comes something like the fourth episode, which epitomizes the show's problems. While in episodes one and two we deal with (unseen) persocom nudity and inappropriately dressed persocoms that give Hideki a nosebleed, the fourth episode is about Chi purchasing panties since Hideki is too embarrassed to go into a lingerie shop and buy them. That's the whole of it in a nutshell. While it too has its cute moments, the idea that everytime Chi sees panties anywhere she's going to get distracted isn't terribly funny.

It also points out a real issue in this first disc: Chi has no personality. Of course, that's part of the storyline, but everything points to some relationship eventually developing between Chi and Hideki. And this means what, exactly? The other women in the show -- the apartment manager, the waitress, the schoolmarm -- are surprisingly engaging characters, any one of which might make a good match for Hideki. Thankfully, the appearance of these capable, intelligent, working women saves the show from being a haremfest. But if he winds up with the brainless Chi rather than one of our smart, real women, I'll still be disappointed.

But the kicker is that the plot, while engaging enough during a viewing, is full of problems. Would anybody really expect that an extremely valuable persocom would be left in the garbage? Doesn't the fact that Chi's OS can destroy other persocoms make anyone nervous? Wouldn't it make more sense to turn off Chi until somebody could speak to what she actually is? And since persocoms are supposed to be of great use to their owners, why is Hideki so interested in one that he has to personally train that has no apparent use whatsoever? Much of this we have to write off to Hideki's naivety, but if so, he's about the most naive guy on the planet. Come to think of it, though, that's not far from the truth.

While I've been going back and forth on what to rate Chobits Vol. 1, I'm going to give it my lowest recommendation, and that's because it is fun to watch. Despite the problems, despite the subject matter, the show's got spirit. I'd give it one more disc to see which direction it takes. While I wouldn't recommend it to the sensitive or a young teenager, its spark suggests that it might get less crass and more thoughtful as it goes. But my frustrations with the show are real, and I'd bail if it gets worse.

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

2007-06-25T09:52:00.000-07:00

Like virtually every other gamer on the face of planet, I own a copy of Final Fantasy VII. I tried to get into it several years ago when all the popular gaming sites hailed it as the best role-playing game ever. The gameplay never drew me in, and so while I have a passing familiarity with its characters, it was never something I thought much about after trying it for several hours. I saw Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within back when it hit theaters. Like many, I didn't think it had much of a plot but thought it looked spectacular. Several years later, I'm back taking a look at Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. It acts as a direct sequel to the story found in the game while sharing the brilliant computer-generated animation of its film predecessor (with whom it shares no plot). And make no mistake, fans of the game will love this movie. No, in fact, they will probably adore this movie, seeing just how lovingly made it is. But as someone who was just vaguely familiar with the whole thing coming into it, I found it almost completely incomprehensible.

To sum up the game: crap happened to Cloud and his friends. Cloud, the one with the inconceivably huge sword, saved his planet from absolute destruction at the hands of madman Sephiroth. Along the way, however, friends were lost, prices were paid, and identities came shattering down. Now there's a pathogen that's caustically affecting the skin of the planet's people, especially the children, and no one's sure how to cure it. In the midst of this epidemic, a cruel gang of ruffians hatches a plan to revive Sephiroth and his aborted plans for carnage and chaos. Cloud's once again called upon to save the world, but he's quite sure he no longer wants to be the hero. As Cloud's old friends rally around to try and engage him in the cause, he must decide whether he's going to mope through the rest of life or engage his destiny.

Now, before getting into the reasons why you should probably skip this film, there's something I should say: find a friend who owns a copy, borrow it, and start it about the 55 minute mark. That way, you can see the absolutely amazing animation during one of the best scenes in the film. Frankly, CGI animation has never been done better. Even the technically impressive Spirits Within doesn't look half as good as this. The detail on various surfaces is so good that the DVD looks like Blu-Ray or HD-DVD. With the sound turned up on a 5.1 system, you can get immersed in one of the most visually astounding pieces of animation you've ever seen. And for perhaps 15 minutes, you will be awestruck. Any animation fan should see the highlights of Advent Children just to revel in the possibilities.

But before you get too excited, realize that I still thought this film was a major disappointment. I could handle some of the absurdities that naturally had to be transferred over from the game (like Cloud's aforementioned behemoth of a weapon). But what I couldn't handle is the plotting department, which seems to figure that everyone who watches this film will be thoroughly aware of what has come before. That's understandable in the third part of a filmic trilogy, I suppose; for example, if you don't know who Han Solo and Luke Skywalker are by the time you see Return of the Jedi, you're not going to get much backstory. But we're talking about completely different mediums here. The only way to have experienced the full plot of Final Fantasy VII was to have spent well over 40 hours playing the game. Most casual gamers don't put in that kind of time. What's more, the plot that is here really isn't very worthwhile. I mean, all it really consists of is a plan to resurrect the game's villain, which isn't a scripting masterpiece. The movie is a long coda that gives a final warm and fuzzy sendoff to Cloud, who didn't get his own happy ending at the conclusion of the game. The action is a veneer to hide the fact that there's little story here. To top that off is the use of terminology that's never explained. If you've played the game and know what the lightstream/lifestream is and can figure out all the vocabulary, I'm happy for you. But for the novice, the dialogue was indecipherable. The only clues to understanding much of the language came from the simplicity of the overall storyline.

I could forgive most of that, but the thing that sent Advent Children into the realm of the "not recommended" was the fact that I just didn't care about these characters. Every last character arc of merit took place in the game already. The movie just assumes that you are already in love with these folks and know what has happened to them...but the average person isn't and doesn't. It's one thing to have a plot that's lacking, but to have characters that are ciphers is unforgivable. Quite honestly, I've never been so bored by a movie with this much action going on, and it was because it didn't matter what happened to the players involved. Even in the most basic of action films, say The Transporter, the lead character has charisma enough to make you interested in seeing if he's going to succeed or not. Cloud has so little stage presence, so to speak, that if he lives or dies matters little.

That doesn't mean this experience has to be a total failure, of course. The easiest thing to do would be for the creators of this movie to go back and tell the right story, the one that drew in millions around the globe, in feature film form. Yes, I would recommend them make a true Final Fantasy VII movie that gets us up to speed on this tale. Sure, the DVD of Advent Children includes a 30+ minute "reminiscence" on the story of the game, but it's nearly as incomprehensible as the film itself. It's nothing more than some of the cutscenes from the game, which now looks pretty threadbare in terms of graphics. They should do it right and make the big story a full feature; then perhaps Advent Children would be worth recommending to a larger audience who wants more substance than eye candy.

Until that point, however, this film is a wonderful-looking curiosity that will bore all but the faithful who waded through the whole game. And if you are one of those folks who did and are angry with this review, don't send me any nasty letters. You know you already bought this film the first weekend it came out anyway in the special edition with all the character statues and trinkets and doodads anyway. This review's for the rest of us who might find the movie visually stunning but too boring otherwise to merit anything more than a passing glance

Hayate no Gotoku 12

2007-06-22T17:01:00.000-07:00

SPOILER Summary: In a flashback, we see young Hayate reading his report in school, which relays a sad tale of how bad things are at his home. He doesn't seem sad as he reads his report, but the report has his class shocked. Before he reveals what his dream is, he awakens and remembers his visit with Nagi's grandfather.

Later as Hayate and Maria are cleaning, he asks her what her dream is. Maria states her dream is for Nagi (name unsaid) to become a good adult. She wonders about the question, and Hayate states that dreams are motivation for people to live, which shocks Maria and makes her own dream seem rather worthless. Hayate presses the point, citing people in history such as Mozart.

Meanwhile Nagi hasn't been able to sleep because she remembers what Hayate told her -- that he'd protect her from those who'd make her cry. She comes out of her bedroom and sees the excellent cleaning job Hayate has done and she and Maria talk about Hayate. Maria tells Nagi about how hard Hayate is working and how he has a purpose behind it. Nagi imagines this to mean a future for herself and Hayate (complete with him in a wedding dress). Maria asks Nagi about her dreams and Nagi replies how she wants to become a mangaka and sell 100-billion copies of her works. This shocks Maria (and depresses her a bit), but when Nagi asks further about Hayate's dream and Maria says it must be big, Nagi gets that love-love feeling, which Maria understands may be misplaced.

Outside while cleaning, Maria asks Hayate about his dream and learns his dream is to live in a 3LDK -- meaning his dream is to live in a house (own it?) where there are separate rooms for the living room, dining room, and kitchen. We see a flashback to Hayate at school revealing this dream, which has his classmates and sensei in tears. Maria is stunned by this and Hayate wonders if such a dream is too big. Maria assures him that big dreams are best. She tells him to purchase a new cell phone and to take the rest of the day off since he needs a break.

Purchasing his new cell phone, Hayate wonders about his old high school -- Shiomi Municipal High School. Figuring that since he's paid the tuition, he can return and so does so. However, he gets cold feet at the school's gate until his female classmate, Nishizawa-san, sees him. She wonders where he's been and he tells her in brief, everything including how he's working as a butler. She figures he has to be joking. As they talk, other classmates come by including Souya-kun. He figured Hayate had dropped out and begins teasing Nishizawa-san regarding Hayate's return since she has a crush on him. This results in Nishizawa's wrath coming down on Souya-kun.

A sensei comes up and wonders why Hayate is there since he dropped out of school. This brings Nishizawa's wrath upon the sensei, but it turns out that Hayate's parents filled out the dropout paperwork and took the remaining tuition money, which was money that Hayate paid with his own money. The sensei continues to talk trying to defend what happened which results in more wrath from Nishizawa.

Hayate decides to leave, so Nishizawa decides to confess her love for him. He's surprised by this, but he thinks of Nagi and so turns her down. Initially, he states his reason is that he's only interested in 2-D girls (including a censored image of what appears to be Suzumiya Haruhi). He tells them that's a joke and says he has someone he can't leave alone. This brings the wrath of Nishizawa on Hayate. Hayate returns home and Nagi takes his cell phone and puts herself into his #1 slot.

At Waturu-kun's video store, Nishizawa returns some videos and is wanting to understand men. When the discussion turns to anime, Nishizawa ends up making a retreat. Hayate comes to the same video store and returns some videos. He liked them but Nagi didn't like them much. As Nagi and Waturu talk, Nishizawa remembers she was supposed to pick up a video for Kazuki and returns to see Hayate leaving the store and figures she has a 2nd chance to make things right with him. She tries to catch him but continues to fail to do so. She ends up at Nagi's mansion where she sees Hayate enter. She's stunned by this and realizes that Hayate's story must have been real, only he's got to be held captive by yakuza. Before she can do anything, she's captured by Nagi's security forces. They consult with Maria, who thinks it could be a friend of Hayate's and asks them to let go of her hands. They completely release her and Nishizawa is off in a flash.

Having lost the security on Nagi's vast estate, Nishizawa is spotted by Tama. Nishizawa is stunned by a tiger being on the grounds, and takes off running. Tama finds he has no choice but to chase her. He wonders if this is his natural instinct kicking in and when he catches up to Nishizawa, his instinct is to lick her all over. She screams for Hayate and he comes to her rescue, kicking Tama away.

Before they can talk much, Nagi comes and immediately, Nagi and Nishizawa see each other as rivals. Nagi's fighting force shows in the form of a Chinese dragon and Nishizawa's form is that of a hamster, which is immediately eaten by the dragon. Nishizawa retreats, vowing to come up with a stronger hamster and Nagi wants to make sure that Hayate doesn't leave her.

Nagi reflects on everything Nagi has done for her and decides she must do something for him.

Thoughts: This was a very funny episode once the story got to Nishizawa. It was even funnier how powerful she is with everyone else, but when it came to Nagi, her power was that of a hamster. I now know why Nishizawa kept being shown in cameos though seeing as how she will apparently have a greater role to play in the story. Love-triangles in romantic comedies are often funny.

2007-06-20T14:25:00.000-07:00

"Futari Ecchi" Coming to America?

2007-06-20T14:24:00.001-07:00

Negima! Vol 19 (Ch 174) SPOILERS

Tsubasa: RESEVoir CHRoNiCLE Vol 14 (Ch 103-105) SPOILERS

2007-06-13T01:07:00.001-07:00

Tsubasa: RESEVoir CHRoNiCLE Vol 14 (Ch 103-105) SPOILERS

Thanks to BWYS for the scans.

Chapter 103

Syaoran and company flee from the massive attack from creatures since as Fai acknowledges this is faster than fighting. They race to the goal of Sakura's feather and suddenly they find themselves in Clow Country, where Syaoran and Sakura are from. Fai realizes that they are in a memory from the Book of Memories based on his magical experience. Kurogane grills Fai a bit on using his "magic" which Fai says is focus on unnecessary things. The group comes to the ruins and Sakura tells the story of Syaoran's father and her trips to the ruins which irritated her brother. However, she cannot remember why she kept going to the ruins (Syaoran).

As they walk, Fai finds what appears to be a type of pocket watch at a bench which triggers a memory within Syaoran. He recalls Sakura bringing him food to the ruins and sitting at that bench. The watch is there and turned such a way that Sakura can claim not to know the time and stay a little longer.

Back in the present, Fai figures that the watch is there from Sakura's memory since it made such a strong impression on her. They walk down some stairs to a large room where a wing (tsubasa) emblem is on the floor and Mokona can feel the feather's power. It is then that the floor begins to give way.

Chapter 104

With the floor gone revealing a large, black hole, Fai asks Sakura-chan if she remembers what's down there. She doesn't but Mokona can feel the feather's power from the hole. Syaoran volunteers to go down the hold and Sakura-chan wonders why he feels the need to go to such an extent to get the feather back. Even though the person that slew his mother isn't on this world, Kurogane agrees to help Syaoran under the guise of getting them to the next world. As the two leap into the hole, Mokona encourages Sakura to be there waiting for them when they return.

Syaoran finds himself standing on ground even though he never hit the ground. He finds the Book of Memories but finds the library's guardians waiting for him. A battle ensues and Syaoran tries to get the feather without harming the guardian. Kurogane chastises him for this since he can't defeat the guardian with defensive moves, but it is too late as the guardian knocks Syaoran out. However, Syaoran gets up as a man possessed leading Kurogane to wonder.

Chapter 105

The seemingly possessed Syaoran attacks the guardian with no seeming regard to himself. His attacks are vicious and the giant guardian beast is utterly defeated. As Kurogane observes, Syaoran breaks the book and takes the feather. It is then that Kurogane asks who the boy really is. The illusion is broken and as it is, Syaoran returns to normal and puts the feather within Sakura-chan. Since people from the library are on their way, Mokona plans to evacuate them to the next world, but cannot activate the magic. Fai reasons that this is a defense of the library to prevent the book from being stolen.

The group takes off to attempt to get to a place where Mokona can transport them off world but another guardian is waiting for them in the library.

Thoughts:

The possessed Syaoran is certainly very vicious and cold. Its kinda creepy and makes you wonder where CLAMP will take this. The return to the ruins via Sakura-chan's memories is interesting since I believe that a hidden power under the ruins has been mentioned before. Other than that, there's not a lot to mention since 104 and 105 are filled with a lot of shounen action.

Inuyasha Vol 47 (Ch 466-468) SPOILERS

Thanks to Freelance for the scans.

Chapter 466

Ginta and Hakkaku join the group and talk with Miroku and Sango about recent events. Kouga asks Kagome if she's going to be OK and remarks on how heavy his legs are without the shards. He walks over to Inuyasha and puts a foot on his head, but instead of Inuyasha's normal reaction, he remains calm. Kouga is leaving because he doesn't want to be a burden on them. Since Inuyasha isn't doing his normal bickering back at Kouga, Kouga yells at him for thinking he's the only broken hearted one. While this causes a reaction among the group, Inuyasha remains calm and depressed. Kouga tries to provoke Inuyasha but only gets a weak response.

Kouga turns to Kagome and tells her Inuyasha will need a lot of work to return to normal. He leaves the matter to her and after embracing her, he and the rest of his pack take off. Before Kouga can leave, Inuyasha tells him that his desire to fight Naraku wasn't in vain. Saying his final goodbye to Kagome, he takes off in a run and is still much faster than Ginta and Hakkaku.

Meanwhile, Sesshoumaru-sama is apparently looking for something, which causes some speculation between Rin, Kohaku, and Jaken. Kohaku appears to know that Kikyou has passed away and wishes he were stronger. As Sesshoumaru observes the sky, a giant dog youkai appears there. He transforms himself into his giant dog youkai form and joins the other youkai. The two return to the ground and transform into human form, the other youkai into a woman. The woman addresses Sesshoumaru without an honorific, much to Jaken's irritation. However, the woman has a good reason to not use an honorific since she's Sesshoumaru's mother.

Chapter 467

Kagome suggests the group go look for Kohaku-kun because of Kikyou's last words to her. The group discusses this while Inuyasha notes the scent of Sesshoumaru and another youkai.

At a large Japanese estate (palace?), Sesshoumaru's mother asks him if he intends to eat the two human children with him. He doesn't and changes the subject to the Meidou attack of Tenseiga. She produces a Meidou-seki (a stone) and tells Sesshoumaru that she had been instructed by his father to use it if Sesshoumaru came by and that Sesshoumaru would be in danger. She decides to test Sesshoumaru and summons a hell hound. Sesshoumaru uses the Meidou attack, but it is only a crescent and not a full circle.

The hell hound goes toward Rin and Kohaku and takes them into the crescent and into hell. Sesshoumaru goes to follow and is stopped by his mother. She wonders if he's become soft to save human lives, but he states he's just going to kill the hound. He enters the Meidou and it closes behind him, leaving his mother to say he'll not be able to return to the land of the living.

Sesshoumaru finds the hound on a path and attacks. Within the body of the hound, he sees Rin and Kohaku. Back on the estate, Sesshoumaru's mother sits on her throne and remarks that to improve the sword, sacrifices will have to be made.

Chapter 478

Sesshoumaru uses Tenseiga to defeat the hell hound, using the same power that kills the "pallbearers" from hell. Rin is still alive, something Sesshoumaru's mother observes via the Meidou-seki. She then asks Jaken what Rin means to Sesshoumaru. He can't really answer beyond saying that Sesshoumaru treats her better than he. Sesshoumaru's mother states that Rin will die. Kohaku has the power of the shards which keeps him alive. Various hell creatures attack and Sesshoumaru orders Kohaku to take Rin and run. He fights the creatures but ends up having to save Rin and Kohaku. He chastises Kohaku for making him waste time as his remaining arm was meant to hold a sword.

As they journey, the cliff-path they are on begins to break up behind them. Sesshoumaru's mother continues to observe their progress, noting that only hell is before them and they cannot return the way they came. She notes to Jaken that once they enter the true darkness of hell, not even Sesshoumaru can return. As they proceed, Kohaku notices that Rin has stopped breathing and is apparently dead. Before them lies the darkness of hell.

Thoughts

With Kouga gone and shardless, I keep wondering if this is a further sign that Takahashi-sensei will end things sooner rather than later. However, the big item of interest is Sesshoumaru's mother. It's nice to get some information on Sesshoumaru's family and maybe we'll learn something more about their father.

Tsubasa: RESEVoir CHRoNiCLE Vol 14 (Ch 103-105) SPOILERS

2007-06-13T01:06:00.003-07:00

Tsubasa: RESEVoir CHRoNiCLE Vol 14 (Ch 103-105) SPOILERS

What I'm Watching 11

2007-06-13T01:06:00.001-07:00

What I'm Watching 11

As an aside, I had planned to keep the "What I'm Watching" entries to a paragraph summary and some thoughts. However, sometimes that's easier said than done, so it will be a 2-3 paragraph summary with thoughts. Having said that...

Genshiken OAV 1 (Ep. 13) -- Its the time of year for new kids to join college clubs and Sasahara and Madarame discuss whether Saki-san will allow new folks to join. Kuchiki arrives (having been rejected by Saki-san last year) and looks for a game rematch. When Saki arrives with Kohsaka, she calls him "Ku-chii," something no one in the anime club will do but something he wants very much. After initially appearing to reject him becoming a member of Genshiken, she allows it much to Sasahara's and Madarame's great surprise. Things are interrupted when a commotion across the courtyard at the manga club where the group sees a girl leap backward from the club window and injure herself.

The next day, manga club member Takayanagi-kun comes with the girl. While Genshiken knows the manga club is pawning her off, they decide to giver her a look. The girl, Ogiue, introduces herself, states she hates otaku (especially female otaku), and asks why female otaku like homos so much (yes, she says "homos" in the Japanese). She attempts to pick a fight with Saki-san and then Kuchiki. Kuchiki hits her, provoking the wrath of Saki-san. The following day, Ohno sets a trap for Ogiue by leaving a vast amount of yaoi doujinshi on the table. While she and others spy on Ogiue, hoping to catch her enjoying said doujinshi, Saki-san comes into the club room and foils the plan. Ohno returns to the Genshiken room after a call from Saki-san and she and Ogiue get into an argument over yaoi doujinshi and getting off to it. The confrontation ends when Kuchiki comes and outs Ogiue, having taken pictures of her at a yaoi otaku event. This leads to another punch out of Kuchiki by Saki-san, after which she attempt so keep Ogiue from jumping out the window.

Thoughts: I was reminded of how much I love the manga Genshiken as I watched this. The anime writers didn't try to do anything fancy and as such did a good job of adapting the manga chapters into this OAV episode. It was interesting to see that the Japanese used the terms "homo" and "homos" which Del Rey made more politically correct by changing to "queer" and "queers." The politically correct version is less funny IMO.

Genshiken OAV 2 (Ep. 14) -- Saki gets Ogiue to come with her and with Saki's "normal" friends, they discuss fashion in the cafeteria. Madarame happens to be in the area and even though Saki waves at him, he ignores her. This leads to an argument in the Genshiken club room where Madarame tells her she's from another planet and that dating Kohasaka (whom he also says is from another world) doesn't change anything. Its then that Saki notices Madarame's new rectangle glasses and finds them amusing. She then goes to lecture on fashion, which leads Madarame to a trip to buy some new clothes. He goes into a trendy shop but is quickly intimidated and flees to an arcade. After recovering a bit, he returns and notices the high prices for everything. Normally he only spends about ¥2000 on clothes, but here, that won't buy him a sock. Eventually, he decides to approach this as he would purchasing otaku things -- don't worry about price, just buy what you want.

Returning home, he runs into Saki with more of her normal friends. Learning from his previous error, he goes out of his way to speak to her. She seems offended at first, but introduces him as her boyfriend's friend. They recognize him as otaku and since they were parting company anyway, Saki decides to return home with Madarame. Before going to the train station, they stop as a sushi bar and have a lengthy talk about things including the fact that Saki has been playing more games at Kohsaka's place. On the train ride home, Madarame offers an empty seat to Saki, but she turns it down, telling him to offer her the seat is just like an otaku. He takes the seat. When the get to the train station, Kohsaka is waiting for them and wishes he could have partaken in the sushi feast. At school the next day, Madarame wears his new digs and gets approval from Saki over his choices. Ogiue also arrives with new clothes, which do not meet Saki's approval.

Thoughts: This was a bit boring since the anime writers put in a lot of filler into this episode. They changed things up to give Saki's "normal" friends some airtime, something they haven't had in the manga that I've read thus far. And the anime writers changed the sushi bar scene a bit so that Madarame isn't shown to be worrying about getting the cheap sushi. We see him just pick stuff from the conveyor belt and Saki order expensive stuff, but the conversation and Madarame's thoughts never broach the subject of sushi. Still, I enjoyed the episode just the same.

Pumpkin Scissors 13 -- In the country of Loderia, young Princess Septième is made aware of a smuggler (from Loderia) that the Imperial Army S.S. III captured and that this is "Alice-chan's" unit. So she and her elderly butler decide to pop into the Imperial capital to pay a visit. Section III is notified of this and Alice tells what she knows of the princess. At the train station, Princess Septième looks for a hot dog stand she remembered from her last visit but sadly it is no longer there. At the same time, Ored and Machs (having a day off) have been looking for the same hot dog stand with no success. Ored has other plans and takes off with a girl "Rosana-chan" on the motorbike with sidecar leaving Machs' to fend for himself.

Machs is in the restroom when Septième comes in through the window. She is haughty and arrogant as she talks about Machs being a commoner. She introduces herself but Machs doesn't believe her to be a real princess. As her butler looks for her, Septième gets hungry and Machs suggests a hot dog. Septième really wants the hot dog from the same vendor as Machs, so off to the tax records office they go to find out what happened. Machs doesn't try to pull rank but Septième does. They get the information because the head of the office knows Machs and approves. The search leads them to a bad part of town where Septième tells of the hardships of the competition between her siblings and herself over who will rule Loderia next, which includes attempted assassinations. They find the vendor and because of the costs, Septième tries to use the vendors lack of paying taxes to get a free meal. She's chastised by Machs and flees to an even worse part of town.

Meanwhile, Septième's butler is at the Section III office and with the threat of a diplomatic incident, Alice, Stekkin, and the butler get into the Section III armored car and take off, having learned where Septième is. Septième is assaulted by residents of this bad part of town and Machs comes to the rescue. He uses his military training to get her free just as Alice and company arrive. Back at HQ, Machs is stunned that Septième is really a princess and as her butler attempts to get the smuggler free, Septième decides to leave him in Section III's hands. She then kisses Machs passionately on the lips and demands that Machs be made available to her every time she visits the city in exchange for Section III being allowed to keep the smuggler. On the train ride back to their home, Septième and her butler have a talk where he comes to realize that Septième has come a long way beyond the petty using of others.

Thoughts: I rather enjoyed this episode for some reason. Yeah, it is somewhat clichéd, but I liked Machs using his military training and how Septième fell for this commoner. It was just a fun episode.

Inuyasha Vol 48 (Ch 469-472) SPOILERS

2007-06-13T01:05:00.001-07:00

Inuyasha Vol 48 (Ch 469-472) SPOILERS

Thanks to Freelance for the scans.

Chapter 469

Since Rin appears to be dead, Sesshoumaru tells Kohaku to put her down. Sesshoumaru drawn Tenseiga to bring her back to life, but he cannot see the imps known as "the pallbearers of the afterlife." Outside of hell, Sesshoumaru's mother, who's observing everything, tells Jaken that Rin is in fact dead. Back in hell, Sesshoumaru is bothered by Rin's death and quietly asks Tenseiga why. Kohaku tries to apologize but is cut off by Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru quietly reflects that he didn't have to bring her with him when he raised her from the dead after they first met.

In hell, the darkness grows and washes over them. Rin's body is removed, leading Sesshoumaru and Kohaku to go deeper into hell. Sesshoumaru's mother observes this and Jaken gets very concerned about Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru's mother tells the little youkai that she would regret losing her son while he studies his sword, and so opens a path to him. She tells Sesshoumaru to come out of hell since he won't be able to leave if he continues on his path. Sesshoumaru tells Kohaku to take the path while he follows Rin scent. Kohaku decides to follow Sesshoumaru and these events annoy Sesshoumaru's mother.

Kohaku notices the stench of rotting flesh which Sesshoumaru identifies as the scent of death. A giant, slimy, humanoid shape is carrying Rin and drops her on a mountain of corpses. It is then that Sesshoumaru becomes firm in his desire to bring Rin back.

Chapter 470

In an attempt to save Rin, Sesshoumaru uses Tenseiga to cut off the arm of the "Master of Hell" -- the giant, slimy humanoid shape. With the arm gone, Rin falls to the mountain of corpses but is caught by Sesshoumaru. On "the surface," Sesshoumaru's mother continues to observe the events in hell and reminds Jaken that Sesshoumaru has already resurrected Rin once before. As such, he cannot do so again with Tenseiga. In hell, Sesshoumaru is realizing that Rin cannot be saved and drops Tenseiga, which pierces the ground. Sesshoumaru's mother observes this as Sesshoumaru grieves over the loss of Rin, deciding that Rin's life was more important that mastering Tenseiga.

Tenseiga begins to react and the mountain of corpses tries to move toward Tenseiga. Sesshoumaru grabs Tenseiga and the dead in hell begin to be purified by the sword. A meidou is opened from inside hell and from it, Sesshoumaru emerges with the body of Rin as Kohaku follows.

Chapter 471

As Jaken and Kohaku observe the body of Rin, Sesshoumaru's mother observes her son's upset countenance and reminds him that he did what he came to do. Sesshoumaru notes that she knew this would happen to Rin, leading his mother to explain the limitations of the resurrection powers of Tenseiga. He cannot save life as many time as he wants and she reminds him he is not a god. He had to learn the lesson that he must feel sadness or fear of losing someone close to him. He must understand life and have a compassionate heart when dispatching his enemies.

Jaken tears up at the knowledge that Rin had to die in order for Sesshoumaru to have a compassionate heart. Sesshoumaru's mother notices him crying, and he states that because Sesshoumaru-sama cannot show tears due to his disposition, Jaken will in his stead. Asking if Sesshoumaru is sad, his mother takes the meidou stone necklace off and places it on Rin. With it, she brings Rin back to life.

Rin opens her eyes and Sesshoumaru gently touches her face, telling her she's OK now. Jaken expresses Sesshoumaru's thanks and states that Sesshoumaru is extremely happy. Sesshoumaru's mother notes how like his father Sesshoumaru has become. Sesshoumaru then leaves with Rin and Kohaku follows. Sesshoumaru's mother stops him, asking how he was able to survive hell. He explains it is the Shikon shard. Understanding this, Sesshoumaru's mother tells him that his life cannot be saved by Tenseiga either.

Elsewhere, Inuyasha's group comes on a village surrounded by sweet smelling flowers. The flowers are making Shippou-chan and Inuyasha feel ill, but the villagers encourage the group to spend the night. In the house set up for travelers, the group takes residence with Inuyasha mildly complaining. Sango is surprised that Kagome hasn't grown weary of this, but Kagome knows that Inuyasha is still grieving for Kikyou. Meanwhile, the villagers report to "Kaou-sama" that the travelers are in the lodge, which he notes the scent of a wounded soul.

Chapter 472

As the group sleeps, Inuyasha becomes a bit irritated with the stronger scent of the flowers. Kagome awakens and tries to encourage him to lie down since he hasn't had a good sleep in a long time. Shippou-chan awakens with hay fever symptoms and Kagome has him blow his nose. Meanwhile, as some villagers make their way through the flowers, Kagome and Inuyasha observe the villagers acting strangely as they begin to cry tears of blood while vines attach themselves to the villagers. Miroku awakens and decides to end this by flinging fuda strips into the flowers. This causes ground to be revealed, which is shaped like various human bodies.

Kaou appears and states this is a flower nursery. Kaou asks the villagers that Miroku saved if they were OK since they were forced to experience something horrible (Miroku's fuda). The villagers say they are OK but express concern for those who became soil. Inuyasha demands to know if Kaou is a youkai, but Miroku doesn't sense any youki and Kaou asks Inuyasha if he senses youki. Kaou goes on to say that they must be sensing contentment. With that, the smell of the flowers gets strong and Inuyasha warns them not to smell the scent. Sango passes out and Kaou notes her unhappiness over Kohaku.

As Miroku holds Sango, vines approach them and he dispatches them with a fuda. Kaou notes that the Houshi-dono (a title for Miroku) is worried about his body and may be afraid of death. Kaou tells Miroku to entrust his body to the flowers and become happy. This causes Inuyasha to unleash Tessaiga and a Kaze no Kizu attack. This wipes out the flowers and Kaou disappears, leaving only a small amount of blood behind. Inuyasha decides to follow the blood scent and Kagome decides to go with him. He objects, but Miroku informs him that Kaou is using peoples suffering as food. Inuyasha takes off anyway, so Miroku gives Kagome a warding talisman so she can follow Inuyasha.

Inuyasha and Kagome come to the Japanese castle, where the grounds are covered in flowers. Kaou is waiting for them, having left blood on purpose for them to come to him. Beneath Inuyasha, the flowers become red like blood and Inuyasha finds he can't move.

Thoughts

The Sesshoumaru story was really enjoyable. He really does love Rin like a daughter and it was nice to let us see this. It was a shame that we never learned his mother's name though. I did fear that Takahashi-sensei was going to kill Rin since it feels like she's getting ready to wrap up this manga this year. I was glad to see that she didn't do this though.

As to the new story-arc for Inuyasha to follow, I guess this will resolve Inuyasha's depression. It feels like another so-so story though at this point.

Negima! Vol 18 (Ch 165) SPOILERS

2007-06-13T01:04:00.003-07:00

Negima! Vol 18 (Ch 165) SPOILERS

Thanks to AQS for the scans.

Chapter 165

Nodoka comes to the confessional where Misora and Cocone are. She confesses that she knows Yue likes the same person she does (Negi). Nodoka goes on to state how she's afraid of her own heart. She had told Yue that they should remain friends and try their best. Nodoka had decided that she's be OK with Yue going out with Negi. Misora asks if this is how Nodoka truly feels. However, in the aftermath of the battle with Chao-san, Nodoka seeing Yue talking with Negi caused her to feel something negative in her heart, something she refers to as jealousy. Nodoka continues by stating that Yue is her best friend, yet the dark feeling within her won't go away even if she wishes it. This is what scares her -- having something dark within her.

This causes Misora to lose it briefly, calling Nodoka by her nickname "Honya-chan" (honya is Japanese for bookstore) and asks if she's still in elementary school. Nodoka asks if the priest just said "Honya-chan" but Misora recovers and says no. She goes on to tell Nodoka that it would be unnatrual not to feel the way Nodoka feels. She advises Nodoka not to be afraid of her dark feelings, but be aware of the fear itself. She continues, telling Nodoka not to lose herself in those dark feelings, but not to surpress them. As long as she continues thinking considerate thoughts toward Yue, she'll be OK.

Leaving the church, Nodoka consults her book artifact and sees a proposed solution to her situation -- saishoudoukin. Since saishoudoukin is a Japanese term for living with one's wife and mistress at the same time, this solution has Nodoka in shock. Unfortunately for her, Ku Fei and Haruna have been looking over her shoulder. Haruna wants to know if Nodoka will be the wife or mistress.

At school the next day, Nodoka reports that going to see the priest helped her. This causes quite the stir with others considering going to see the priest while Misora is amused at the thought of the things she'll learn today. At the church, Misora gets into her nun outfit and justifies her actions to Cocone by saying she wants to help. In addition to using voice-changing magic, Misora decides to use an illusion spell to make her look like the priest.

Her first customer of the day is Setsuna. She asks if it is OK for two girls to kiss each other (the only way she can make a pactio with Konoka). This is shocking news for Misora and with Cocone there as well, Misora tells Setsuna that it is not only OK, but she should do it all the time. She further chastises Setsuna for being behind the times. Setsuna leaves, feeling inexperienced and old fashioned.

Ayaka arrives and her confession is her love for a certain person that won't stop flowing out (Negi). Yuuna arrives and talks about how much of a slob her father is and how her chest has gotten larger. Other girls come asking things from pets to how interested in sex a 10-year old boy would be to nothing at all. As Fuka and Fumika leave the church, Sister Shakti overhears their remarks about God, referring to Him as "that fat big-stomached god."

Negi is depressed and doesn't want comforting from Chamo. He thinks about what Asuna said to him, comparing him to Chao-san. Realizing that Asuna was right, he goes to the church where Misora is still in the confessional, remarking to Cocone how dumb her classmates are. Negi confesses that he doesn't know how to keep on living and wants to know what life is. Negi confesses his inability to figure out what to do which leads to Misora going off on Negi, telling him he's an idiot. She tells him he should be more relaxed and that its OK for him to go out and play if he wants because he's still a kid. He doesn't feel this is right since he's a teacher and has to train. If he took time to play, he wouldn't get his work done.

Misora decides to force Negi to tell her if there's a girl he likes. Negi thinks of the girls in his life, rejecting Asuna, Anya, and the rest as girls he really likes in a more than friendship way. However, he thinks of Nodoka and her love confession for him and he blushes. Misora sees this and asks if he likes that girl. Negi protests it isn't, stating that a relationship between a student and teacher isn't good. Misora informs him she's not telling him to date the girl. But she encourages him to do things like think about the girl he really likes or doing things with friends for fun.

As Negi leaves, Misora knows she couldn't solve Negi's problem but knows that he has lots of friends there for him. Misora leaves the confessional with Cocone and are met by Sister Shakti. Even though Misora is still in disguise, Sister Shakti knows who it is and is about to inflict massive amounts of punishment on her and Cocone.

Thoughts: This was kind of a fun chapter. Misora is certainly more interesting in the manga than she ever was in either anime adaptation thus far. It was interesting that Chamo was able to know who it was Negi was talking to and more interesting that Cocone knew that Chamo knew. As to who Negi likes, is Akamatsu-sensei steering him to Nodoka with that one moment? I guess they would be a sweet couple (Negi being a 10-year old aside).

Tsubasa: RESEVoir CHRoNiCLE Vol 14 (Ch 106-108) SPOILERS

2007-06-13T01:04:00.001-07:00

Tsubasa: RESEVoir CHRoNiCLE Vol 14 (Ch 106-108) SPOILERS

Thanks to BWYS for the scans.

Chapter 106

The second guardian is waiting for the group and breathes fire on them. The flames spread to the books, but the books are not consumed by the flames and are unharmed. Syaoran is relieved the books are fine while Kurogane carries Sakura-chan to safety while he remembers the possessed Syaoran. He then asks Mokona to bring out his sword, but Mokona is unable to do so. Fai whistles and wonders if they could win even with weapons. Kurogane instructs Syaoran to attack the leg of the guardian, which Syaoran does with flying feet attack.

The group flees the scene while a group of mages (dressed like witches) come in on winged wands. The group continues to run while the mages attack. They make it to the door but find themselves surrounded by an ocean. Kurogane states they'll just jump in, but Fai stops him. He tosses his hat into the water and it dissolves. Fai whistles again as the injured guardian arrives to attack them from above. Fai continues his whistling which creates a kind of barrier around them. Kurogane and Syaoran are stunned by this and Fai instructs Mokona to evacuate them to the next world. Mokona protests because of the restrictions on magic, but Fai assures the critter that it will work. Sure enough, Mokona is able to send them to the next world as Syaoran and Kurogane look in amazement at Fai.

Chapter 107

The group escapes to the next world where Kurogane places the sleeping Sakura-chan on the ground. Mokona asks about Fai's use of magic since he stated he wasn't going to do so. Fai attempts to justify it by saying he's using magic by sound (the whistle) rather than how he'd normally perform magic. Kurogane points out that magic is magic which Fai sorta agrees with. Syaoran apologizes for not putting more thought into their escape from the library once they'd stolen the book, but Fai reminds him that he got Sakura's feather.

Syaoran is troubled that when the first guardian swiped him, he has no memories after that until much later. At that time, he could tell that he'd fought and defeated something even if he didn't know what. Mokona comes over to make sure Syaoran is OK. Fai wonders what kind of world they are currently on and climbing up some ruble, he finds the ruins of a vast, modern city where skyscrapers have fallen over.

Meanwhile at Fei Wong Reed's place, the boy in the liquid-filled chamber opens his eyes. Both Yuuko-san and Fei Wong detect this and Fei Wong wonders who will benefit the most from this as he observes the Tsubasa group. That group heads into the ruins of the city with Kurogane carrying Sakura-chan. Kurogane wonders what kind of place this is while Fai states it would be nice to find a place to treat Syaoran's wounds. Syaoran notices the rubble have been rounded by a weather event. As he mentions this, it starts to rain and the rain is painful when it hits their skin.

Chapter 108

The rain falls, which Mokona doesn't think is made of water. The group runs to the only building in the city that has suffered no damage -- a large twin-towered skyscraper. They make it safely to the building, but find dead bodies of people who'd been slain. Fai remarks that he's glad Sakura-chan is still sleeping to miss the gory scene. Syaoran gets Mokona to sense for the feather. Mokona does so, but senses a great power, which Mokona can't identify. The power is coming from below them, and as they explore, Syaoran wonders what could have caused so much destruction.

He finds himself under attack as arrows land all around him, while he somersaults to safety. Kurogane and Fai hear Mokona exclaim while Syaoran tries to defend himself and Mokona from the arrows. One hits his leg where he finds a group of people up on the rubble with crossbows. That group comments on Syaoran's not giving up and his actions during their attack. The group then asks their leader, Kamui, what he's going to do.

Thoughts

Fai using magic to get them out of the tight spot in the library was most interesting. It had long been implied that he had great powers and the tattoos he handed over to Yuuko-san as payment to travel between universes had nothing to do with giving him power. Now we know that indeed, Fai is most powerful, and scarily so considering the ease with which he erected a barrier in a place were even Mokona couldn't use it's magic. The introduction of Kamui brings another character from another CLAMP manga, this time from the series X/1999.

What I'm Watching 12

2007-06-13T01:03:00.001-07:00

What I'm Watching 12

Negima!? 15 -- Now that everyone in the class (sans Eva because she's a vampire and Chachamaru because she's a robot) has partnered with Negi, the first order of business for this alternate magic world replica of the real Earth (only without people apparently) is to figure out how to get out. With Takahata-sensei observing, the class debates on what to do. Takahata-sensei, Eva, and Chachamaru go off where Chachamaru prepares ramen while the class divides itself into three groups. The first group is the Exploration Group lead by Asuna. The second is the Research Group lead by Ayaka. The third group is the Caretaker Group lead by Satsuki (basically, they feed the troops). Negi is depressed by the situation, but is encouraged by Asuna, Setsuna, and Konoka. Each group sets out to do its thing and the Research Group studies a Star Crystal. During this research, Ayaka accidentally sends it into a pillar, causing Negi to use Sayo's powers to retrieve it (leading Asuna to wonder if Sayo's really a ghost).

Thoughts: A case study on how to waste time in an episode. Boring, not funny, and no plot advancement of any kind to say nothing of any character development.

Pumpkin Scissors 14 -- An injured soldier and his companion are in the sewers. The non-injured soldier promises his injured companion that he'll get him to the doctor. Unfortunately, a person dressed in something looking like an old diving costume arrives with a flamethrower. The non-injured soldier empties a gun at the armored flamethrower person, but to no avail. The flamethrower person speaks of being cold before incinerating the two soldiers from Section I.

Meanwhile, Pumpkin Scissors have come to the sewers where a large refugee population now resides. With the government having opened up some farms for people to work, Pumpkin Scissors now has to evacuate the refugees to a new home. When they arrive, they find some employees of Waterworks (who owns the sewer system) attempting to extort sexual favors from an attractive woman as "rent." Ored puts a stop to it as Alice informs the people of the new farms. Strangely, some don't want to leave and when the dog Mer-kun leaps on the employee Metz, some packets of drugs (like cocaine) drop out of his pocket. Alice immediately has him arrested and performs the interrogation.

The president of the company, Albert Mione, soon arrives and has Metz released. The head of Section I comes and protests to Captain Hunks because Waterworks provides a lot of funding to the army. Hunks gives Alice a way to keep arresting Metz and his goons legally since Section III cannot investigate normal crimes. As such, Albert continues to have to pay to get his thugs out of prison and with sales of the drugs going down, he's not happy. He provides his men with the latest rifles so that they can kill the members of Pumpkin Scissors. In addition, he dispatches Hans, the flamethrower person. The thugs ambush the Section III members but their inexperience prevents them from hitting anything. Oland briefly activates his lamp and nearly succumbs to the German voice that says to kill. The group flees the scene of the ambush and Alice gets a bad feeling. She has Machs stop the vehicle for a bit, before continuing into the sewer, only to find Hans waiting for them with his flamethrower.

Thoughts: The episode was interesting enough, though there's not a lot to say about it. More corruption in the Empire, more forbidden weapons projects (the 908HTT flamethrower dude), and more downtrodden people. Oland suddenly having an issue with using his lamp seemed out of the blue, especially since he hasn't had a problem with it lately.

Ah! My Goddess Chapter 222 SPOILERS

2007-06-13T01:02:00.000-07:00

Ah! My Goddess Chapter 222 SPOILERS

Thanks to GMT for the scans.

Chapter 222

As Bell and K1 look at the picture of the young woman, Belldandy thinks she's seen her before. K1 speculates the picture is pretty old, and the camera confirms it is from June 25, 1964. Keiichi gets frustrated with the camera since it remembers the date but not the name of the woman nor the person who originally owned it. When Skuld wonders why the camera works only part of the time, the camera responds that it was instructed to only take pictures of beautiful things. Of course this pleases Urd and Skuld since it took their picture.

Welsper shows up and states that the camera is cursed. Urd isn't convinced, figuring the cat is lying since it wouldn't take his picture. As such, she unleashes a bunch of abuse on Welsper, which causes Belldandy to be stunned and Urd to backtrack for Belldandy's sake.

Bell suggests to K1 that they go to the shop where the camera was picked up. It is an antique shop who seems to know "Morisato-kun." The proprietor of the store, a man named Susuki, is eccentric and gives a lengthy speech on antiques. Of course Belldandy is taken in by his enthusiasm even if Keiichi isn't. When they finally get around to the camera that Tamiya and Ootaki purchased, Susuki doesn't recognize the woman in the developed photo. His records don't show the previous owner. Since it likely belonged to a previous president of the Photo Club, they decide to do a search of all previous club presidents. Before they can leave, Belldandy gets a dreamy look and asks to be allowed to tidy up the place. This has K1 leading her out of the store in a hurry while Susuki wishes she would have stayed and cleaned.

Somehow, K1 gets a list of presidents going back to the club's founder. However, he doesn't recognize any names, and neither does the camera. Belldandy wonders why Keiichi is trying so hard to find the previous owner of the camera. He explains he wants to get the camera working and give the photos to the proper owner. K1 realizes that the photographer should be reflected in the eyes of the girl in the photo and Belldandy agrees to bring him forth from those eyes.

Thoughts: This story arc isn't doing anything for me because it is boring filler. The speech by Susuki on antiques is a real eye-roller. And personally, I could care less who owned the smegging camera. The only thing of interest to me was Welsper insisting the camera was cursed. Welsper's demon origins would certainly make him qualified to know this.

Inuyasha Vol 48 (Ch 473-475) SPOILERS

2007-06-13T01:01:00.001-07:00

Inuyasha Vol 48 (Ch 473-475) SPOILERS

Thanks to Freelance for the scans.

Chapter 473

As Inuyasha stands unable to move in the flowers, Kaou notes the condition of his soul. He was able to sense Inuyasha's pain through the vines and pollen and notes that he's depressed and wishes to die after the woman he loved died. The vines grab Inuyasha and pull him down to Kagome's dismay. Kaou has disappeared as well and Kagome thinks on what he said. The vines reach up to grab her, but the ward Miroku gave her keeps them at bay. That's why she still feels sad.

Meanwhile, Inuyasha has a vision of a smiling Kikyou inviting him to come with her. In reality, Inuyasha is tied to a post by vines and bleeding from the eyes as Kaou watches, remarking on how peaceful he looks. Kagome goes to look for him and when she tries to enter the dwelling, a barrier keeps forces her back. She screams his name and fires an arrow at the barrier but to no avail. She continues to scream his name, which he hears and reacts to. Inuyasha breaks free and punches Kaou to his surprise. Kaou wonders why since he showed Inuyasha the dream he wanted, so Inuyasha attacks. Punching Kaou in the stomach, Kaou reveals that he's apparently made of the vines and sends a group of them at Inuyasha to kill him.

Outside the residence, Kagome uses the ward to attach to an arrow to break the barrier as vines rise up her leg.

Chapter 474

Kaou goes to remove Inuyasha's physical heart but is interrupted when Kagome's arrow breaks the barrier and he breaks off and disappears. However, as Inuyasha looks outside, Kagome is being overcome by the vines. Having sampled Kagome's soul, Kaou is even more pleased by her wounded heart. This seems to surprise Inuyasha but before Kaou can say what the cause of her pain is, he falls silent as she grips her bow. Realizing her thoughts are known to him, she fires an arrow into the flowers. She's angry at her thoughts being known to him and his plans to announce her pain. She fires another purifying arrow and clears the castle of the flowers.

Looking behind them, Inuyasha sees Kaou rising to attack Kagome. He slices the top-half of Kaou's head off, apparently killing him as the flowers begin to disappear everywhere. Inuyasha and Kagome inquire to each others wellbeing and he confesses what he saw in the dream state. Kagome wants to know if he wanted to go with Kikyou, but his answer of Kagome bringing him to his senses doesn't satisfy her. He continues, saying his inability to save Kikyou pained him but he was only thinking of himself and not Kagome's feelings. He didn't know her pain and so he apologizes to her. Kagome forgives him, knowing Kikyou causes the entire group pain and Inuyasha was the one hurt most. Inuyasha wonders how she can be so strong, but she angrily tells him it isn't being strong, but kind. With that, the group heads off to the next adventure.

Chapter 475

Naraku remembers Kikyou's final attack on him and notes that the now-corrupted Shikon no Tama still retains a point of purity he cannot remove. That purity point is a threat to his life, meaning that killing Kikyou hasn't made him any safer.

Kanna, Naraku's first detachment creation, sits in a tree with her mirror and the wind reminds her of Kagura. Byakuya gives her orders from Naraku to go to Inuyasha's group and open her mirror.

Inuyasha's group meet some old Japanese men who talk about a strange light. Shippou-chan is amazed that Inuyasha decided to help without complaining. The group sees the light and heads to it. It is coming from a lake, where Kanna's mirror sits. From it, a large (crystal-like?) creature emerges. Inuyasha sees Kanna and draws his sword. Silently, Kanna points to Inuyasha's group and it begins to glow more. Inuyasha attempts to use the Kaze no Kizu attack, but nothing happens. This stuns everyone, and the creature forms a Tessaiga-like sword in its right hand.

Thoughts

I know that flower-youkai story was supposed to bring closure to the pain of losing Kikyou, but for me, it just didn't work that well. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either. It felt like a forced resolution rather than a genuine one. As to the new story with Kanna, I liked how Kagura was mentioned in passing. Even though there's a tiny part of me that would like to see Kagura somehow come back and end up with Sesshoumaru, I doubt she comes back. We'll see what happens with this newest Kanna arc.

What I'm Watching 13

2007-06-13T01:00:00.000-07:00

What I'm Watching 13

Ah! My Goddess: Sorezore no Tsubasa 24 (OAV 02) -- Peorth, Skuld, Urd, and Belldandy are sitting playing a game of Mahjong when Belldandy wins on the first move. Peorth walks away knowing she can never beat someone so lucky. Hearing Belldandy say something to Keiichi, she remembers this part of her mission and confronts Keiichi. She asks if he's ever said he loved her (using the Japanese word "suki") and of course he hasn't. When Belldandy interrupts their conversation, he takes the opportunity to flee. The following day, Keiichi observes Belldandy at work and asks Chihiro-san about women wanting to hear "I love you." She tells him they do want to hear it, but when she tries to arrange it, K1 flees again.

That night at home, Peorth arranges for some special training getting Keiichi to tell her "suki," which Belldandy overhears as she brings tea, forcing her to make a hasty retreat. Urd has been observing and talks to K1, saying "I love you" in many languages. She attempts to give him special medicine, which Peorth intercepts and forces on Urd. Urd pretends to fall in love with Peorth causing her to make a hasty retreat. That night, K1 asks Peorth why she cares and its due to an aura around him. So she sends him up to the top of the bell house where Belldandy is sitting. Urd manages to get some of her medicine into K1 anyway and so whenever he says "suki," it causes the person he says the words to pass out in a pleasant way. So Belldandy is out and Skuld gets mad. Coming up to inflict punishment on K1, she too passes out when K1 explains and uses the word "suki." When Urd and Peorth come up and debate who's at fault, he accuses them of trying to kill him, the phrase "koroSUKI ka" coming out of his mouth and causing them to pass out and fall to the ground. And so it goes.

Thoughts: Well, this was pulled from much later manga volumes and out of the blue (chapter 193-195 to be exact). Its not a bad story and it is a good adaptation, but here Peorth is talking about her mission which is explained in the manga (Urd's test for becoming a 1st Class Goddess). Oh well. I suppose there won't be any more TV series, so why not have it end with K1's confession (of sorts). Oh, and there was a little bit of Belldandy fanservice with an every-so-slight peek up her skirt. You don't see anything really, but it stands out just the same.

Pumpkin Scissors 15 -- As the 908 trooper attacks, Alice tries to drive the group away, only to find themselves trapped by a wall of fire. The Waterworks thugs arrive, only to have the 908 trooper attack and kill some of them. The rest flee, but find their escape blocked with bars that hadn't been there before. Complicating matters is the rising water. The 908 trooper sees the 901 emblem on Oland's lantern and relates to him. However, the waters rise fast and Oland is pulled under. He awakes in the hospital and Alice is curious to know what the flamethrower soldier said to him. Oland won't say, so Alice leaves. He's then visited by Kauplan's assistant, who calls herself Kauplan now. She gives him some injections and does other things to Oland to repair him. Oland asks her about the 908, and she states that officially, the flamethrower troops were supposedly isolated from the heat of their flames by a special liquid in their suit but in reality, they just cannot feel the pain of their burning flesh.

As Pumpkin Scissors continues their busts of Waterworks drug dealing employees, Major Connery pays Captain Hunks a visit. Hunks has some burned remains of emblems from Connery's Section I troops who've been killed on their secret mission. Meanwhile, Oreld and Machs come across the girl they rescued, Marielle. Oreld compliments her on her hair cut which she says makes her happy, but her tears and the money packet she holds tells Oreld that she sold her hair so that her father could by more of the drug Himmel. Staging an event in the sewer where he pretends to have purchased Marielle, her father gets angry. When Machs joins in, the two get a beating, but Marielle is happy her father defended her.

Mertz has been busted again by Pumpkin Scissors and again is released on bail. He returns to Waterworks president Albert Mione's mansion only to find him missing. He sees and open door and following it, he finds the 908 trooper in one of the rooms, meaning his boss had betrayed them. He then returns to Section III HQ and gives a confession to them. Alice gathers the troops for a mission to stop the next delivery of drugs, but Hunks has a special mission for Oreld instead. Elsewhere, Albert and the 908 trooper great a mysterious person, calling themselves members of the Silver Wheel.

Thoughts: Entertaining and messed up. The fact that the 908 trooper is basically slowly burning himself to death with every mission is very messed up. It was interesting to see how Oland gets his injuries healed. But despite this, we don't seem to be learning a great deal and certainly nothing about the war that spawned these troops nor its mysterious ending.

Hayate no Gotoku! 01 -- (aka: Hayate the Combat Butler) ANZENIN Nagi finds herself confronted by a mecha unit that wants her dead. After throwing five insults about the stupidity of the one attacking her, she screams for Hayate who saves the day. However, the shows opening theme is about to start and prevents him from making a proper introduction. So the announcer makes an introduction about this combat butler, which Hayate protests is too fast.

After recalling an incident with an insulting Santa-san that inspired him, Hayate gets to working, riding a bicycle that goes faster than cars. He makes a delivery on time to a happy customer group, only to have his bad luck cause him to crash down into the subway tunnel. After meeting his "ordinary" high school friends on the road, he heads back to his job where his boss fires him for being underaged. His parents reported him and they subsequently took ¥170,000 he'd earned. Because his parents are worthless bums, Hayate races home, hoping they haven't already blown his cash. He finds their poor apartment empty save for a note with a bill from the yakuza for ¥156,804,000. The yakuza come to take Hayate as payment, but he escapes.

Stopping far away, he notes a young, rich girl wanting to buy a warm beverage from the vending machine on this snowy evening. An angel and devil version of him debate what to do, with the angel deciding they should kidnap the girl and hold her for ransom of ¥150-million, which the devil finds a bit excessive. However, before he can enact his plan, two punks come up and try to have their way with the girl, but Hayate quickly sends them packing. He has no money to give her for the beverage she wants (and the vending machine doesn't take credit cards) so he gives her his jacket, which she quickly ID's as poor. She decides to reward him and so he decides to tell her he's going to kidnap her. However, his words come out poorly, as if he's asking her out and wants to date her. She's surprised by this, but blushingly agrees to it providing he never cheats on her. This puzzles Hayate, but he's off to call her guardian to demand a ransom. Unfortunately, he spoke his name and his plan got flushed. Feeling a failure, he collapses in the snow, only to be rescued by a young woman. Her kindness makes him believe in doing the right thing, so when the girl is being kidnapped, he rescues her by chasing down the car with the young woman's bike. The girl hurls insults at her kidnappers and calling Hayate's name, he arrives and rescues her. With that, the young woman and the girl take the injured Hayate away in a helicopter as he's to be her new butler as a reward (he having asked for a job).

Thoughts: Yeah, I'm going to like this one. Nagi's tough girl attitude and insults are pretty funny. Hayate's inhuman abilities and incredible bad luck are funny. The joke reference to Neon Genesis Evangelion character Gendo Ikari was funny. And the censorship jokes about what they can and can't show on TV Tokyo (complete with a little figure holding a sign saying "Can't Show!" and a comment on the anime writers fighting the broadcast code) was pretty funny. The anime doesn't take itself seriously at all, and I'm loving it! The narrator helps there.

Hayate no Gotoku! 02 -- Hayate finds himself in the clouds and Santa-san tells him he's dead and complains that Hayate hit him last episode. Awakening, Hayate figures he's either dreaming or in heaven since he's in such a rich place. Heading for the large indoor onsen, he starts bathing only to notice Maria-san, the young woman from earlier. He passes out and upon awakening, Maria-san convinces him he had been dreaming. She inquires about him wanting to take Nagi-ojousama away and he confesses to his kidnapping plot and apologizes, letting Maria know it was all a misunderstanding (Nagi thinking Hayate confessed to her). Nagi comes in to see how he's doing and asks him to be her butler. He agrees and swears to do whatever, which of course leads to more misunderstandings. The older man, Klaus-san, inquires about Hayate and ultimately decides that Maria should get rid of him. Maria instead gives him a butlers uniform and he does the best cleaning job she's ever seen.

After coming into Nagi's study, he finds an unlined notebook with what he assumes is a picture diary (its a manga). Nagi comes in and tells him to get out. He misunderstands this to mean he's fired and leaves. The yakuza are waiting for him and take him away, which Maria observes. Maria asks Nagi about this and Nagi states she was only throwing him out of the room, not the house. Seeing the bill, Nagi decides to take action. Wearing a silly mask and acting as a super hero with the name Mask the Money, she plants a card into the forehead of one of the yakuza. When they go to attack her, Hayate, knowing its Nagi, defends her. Nagi produces the bill and then a suitcase full of cash. The yakuza paid off leave Hayate tells Mask the Money that she should tell Nagi he'll work hard for her (since she'd told him his being fired was a misunderstanding) to pay back the money. Nagi had intended for it to be a gift, but when Hayate calls her manga a picture diary, she gets mad and tells him he will repay the debt. As they bicker, Klaus and Maria observe from a distance with Maria noting they are like brother and sister.

Thoughts: Good but not as funny as the first episode. The constant misunderstanding jokes could get old. Still, this is an enjoyable series and it will be interesting following the adventures of Hayate and Nagi-ojousama. ^_^

Negima! Volume 1 -- Del Rey and Peter David

2007-06-13T00:59:00.003-07:00

Negima! Volume 1 -- Del Rey and Peter David

*sigh* I knew Peter David had made some changes to the Negima! English adaptation, to include adding at least one sexual innuendo joke. However, even people whom I heard complain about Del Rey's early adaptation never mention the extent of the domestication in the early volume (I know some more recent volumes from Del Rey are pretty good from what I can tell). But just to give you a sample, here's the Del Rey page on the left and a pretty accurate translated page on the right.

You'll notice a few things Del Rey got right, but most of the conversation between Asuna and Konoka is made up by Peter David.

So, why is this important? Well, Konoka mentioning that Asuna is fast is the first clue given to say that there's more to Asuna than meets the eye (If you are reading the current chapters from Japan, boy is there ever more to her than meets the eye!). In another place (that I didn't scan), the Del Rey version has Negi imply that his grades weren't very good. However, you'll note that Del Rey has corrected this by actually mentioning that Negi had good grades in school.

Basically, it looks like Peter David took every opportunity he could to add sexual innuendo jokes that weren't in the original Japanese. Then, he decided to add other jokes not in the original Japanese. However, Konoka making a joke about something else Asuna could do is dropped in favor of a re-write. I hate re-writes.

I'm told Del Rey fixed the egregious "Southern Master" errors in volumes 2-4, changing that to the proper "Thousand Master." I don't believe they've ever done anything to fix volume 1, and I for one think they should.

Don't get me wrong, I think Del Rey is the best of the manga publishers out there. However, volume 1 of Negima! is just awful despite the good usage of Japanese honorifics.

Negima! Vol 18 (Ch 166) SPOILERS

2007-06-13T00:59:00.001-07:00

Negima! Vol 18 (Ch 166) SPOILERS

Thanks to AQS for the scans!

Chapter 166

Student #6, ŌKŌCHI Akira, heads to the large indoor onsen-styled bath and has a relaxing swim in the warm water. She runs into Negi, who's lost in thought looking at his mage-ring. She's surprised, but then teases him a bit about being ecchi. Other girls arrive and spot Negi, with Asuna wondering if he actually bathed and washed his hair. Some of the girls have coupons to give Negi a full wash, and this they do, causing Negi to lose his ring, which he cannot find.

At class the next day, Asuna again has trouble with the English translation and Eva gives Negi a look. She notices his ring missing and asks about it, but he plays it off. After leaving her, Negi is depressed about losing the ring and as he passes the school pool, Akira notices this. Later she catches up to Negi and buys him a cold, canned beverage. As they walk, Negi explains that he lost his ring. She wonders if it is a ring signifying he and Eva are a couple, which he denies, imagining Eva in punishment mode. Akira agrees to help him find the ring.

They search the bath area and the entire bath itself. Some of the girls arrive for their bath and Akira asks Yuuna about the ring. Yuuna has it, but rather than give it to Negi, she decides to play keep-away. Other girls get in on the act and when Misora gets the ring, she races across the surface of the bath, but Negi keeps up with her. She activates her artifact and easily gets away from Negi, ultimately leaping high into the air. She's met in the air by a non-to-happy Akira who forces her into the water below. She then inflicts water punishment on Yuuna and the other girls who played keep-away. After a moment of triumph, she calms down and gives Negi the ring. So in his class register, he notes Akira as a nice and very strong person, the later which gives Akira a shock.

Thoughts:

Almost no text was in this chapter and I absolutely loved it. Yeah, it was all filler, but it was good, fun filler. It was nice to get an Akira chapter though, with a nifty Chachazero cameo (Man, is she a scene stealer or what?).

Random Thoughts 01

2007-06-13T00:57:00.002-07:00

Random Thoughts 01

Been a lot of things going on, so I haven't had time to review the manga or anime titles as normal. Sorry about that. But I have a few minutes before I see the doctor so here goes some thoughts on recent anime events (or maybe not so recent).

Item 1: ADV has the 2nd Ah! My Goddess TV series as everyone has long known. What I was blissfully unaware of is that instead of using the name "Everyone Has Wings" (which is the translation of "Sorezore no Tsubasa"), ADV is going with "Flights of Fancy." I was peeking in on some A!MG boards and folks aren't too happy with this. While I won't be buying this series (I was sorely disappointed with the anime adaptation of the manga), I am wondering what thought process was going through the folks at ADV's head. The title of the DVD's aren't much better. Oh well.

Item 2: Most anime fans hate 4Kids and their treatment of anime titles they've licensed. Gone are the days of Pokemon where they could do what they wanted and who knew the difference. Every time the head of 4Kids would open his mouth about anime or manga (Khan), fans would scream. Every time they licensed an anime, fans would scream. When One Piece was licensed by them, the screams were the loudest I ever heard. Further, I've never heard such passion, even among casual anime fans, wanting 4Kids to lose the license.

A while back, 4Kids dropped all references to One Piece from their website, including the official site they'd created. Fans were all a buzz about this, wondering what had happened. Even when folks would say, "Yes, 4Kids has lost the license," fans were afraid to believe it. Then FUNimation comes out and says, "We have the license." Mato will be translating it and while there is uncertainty as to where in the series FUNimation will start releasing the unedited DVD's (for the Toonami TV release, FUNimation has to start dubbing with episode 144, picking up where 4Kids left off), fans are ecstatic. With the unedited DVD's, fans are happy with Mato saying how things will be in the subtitles, and mostly happy with how the dubs will be done.

I've never seen the series, but with Mato doing the subtitles, I may be checking it out now (assuming FUNimation releases the early episodes on DVD sooner rather than later). I believe 308 episodes have been released in Japan so FUNimation has another "unending" series in their library. I suspect this one will do better than Detective Conan though.

Item 3: Despite Viz's horrible treatment of the Maison Ikkoku manga (and my dissatisfaction with the subtitles for the anime), I still love the series from Takahashi-sensei and feel it is her best work. The Japanese have felt this as well, so I suppose it is only natural that a live-action version was next on the agenda. I don't know how many live-action adaptations of manga/anime you guys have seen, but I've seen a few. The Sailor Moon live-action series made me cringe. The You're Under Arrest! live-action series was just awful. The original Maison Ikkoku movie wasn't very good to me. BUT, the live-action Honey and Clover movie was pretty good. So, while I am uncertain as to how this series will be, when it airs on May 12th, I plan on catching the raw (maybe we'll see some subtitles for this). I'm not sure about the casting for Ichinose-san. She doesn't have the short, stocky look of the anime. Yotsuya-san looks way too old for the role, but again, we'll see how things play out.

Negima! Vol 18 (Ch 167) SPOILERS

2007-06-13T00:57:00.001-07:00

Negima! Vol 18 (Ch 167) SPOILERS

Thanks to AQS for the scans.

Chapter 167

Nekane listens to the latest letter from Negi. Anya comes up and sees the enclosed photos, which are all of girls. Informing them that he plans to return home during the summer break, Anya begins combing her hair, which leads to some teasing from Nekane.

Back in Japan, Konoka has prepared breakfast and informs Asuna that Negi has left for school early. Asuna had wanted to apologize for an event that had happened. Meanwhile, Negi is at school working hard on his class report. After a chat with Shizuna-sensei, Negi is in class where he gives the class a pop quiz. The class's grades have dropped, but they are excited about their 2nd place prize for the school festival attraction. After Negi gives a talk about studies, girls in the class remark on how far Negi has come as a teacher. After Negi asks the Baka Rangers to stay after class, the girls decide to study hard.

At Eva's resort, Negi is again in training as he battles Chachamaru, Chachazero, and Eva. While he loses, Eva compliments him on lasting a full 60-seconds. Negi is stunned by the rare praise and Eva states they'll add some practical applications to the training. However, she warns him not to get excited because things are about to get tougher. Kotaro, Kaede, and Kū Fei arrive on scene and Eva suggests Kotaro and Negi battle as practice, which they do.

A few days later, all of the Baka Rangers, sans Asuna, are doing well. Negi assures Asuna she is getting better though. As the two walk home after the extra session, Asuna apologizes for what she said to him days earlier. Negi states she didn't have to apologize, who thinks that she may have spoken the truth about him seeing only his father Nagi. Despite everything, he can't stop chasing his father and has decided that he will go to Wales during the summer break and may never return. As such, he asks Asuna to come with him as his partner.

Thoughts:

There's some texture stuff here (the class grades) and stuff, but Akamatsu-sensei is setting up the next big arc -- the Summer Vacation arc. Negi's training at Eva's resort shows his continued progress there. I wonder if Eva will somehow get to come to Wales, but there is the curse to consider. Negi certainly learned his lesson by coming to Asuna and asking her to come with him to Wales though.

What I'm Watching 14

2007-06-13T00:56:00.003-07:00

What I'm Watching 14

Sorry about being MIA. Lots of stuff going on including a trip to Starfest 2007 and job changes. I blog about both on my other blog.

Lupin III Part III 02 -- Zenigata comes up with a plan with his ICPO supervisor to use 6-tons of gold to lure Lupin into a trap to steal it. Lupin steals the gold, only to find they've stolen a 6-ton gold-colored cement ball. Realizing he and Zenigata have been set up, Lupin gets the inspector on the case, discovering that his supervisor, with the help of Fujiko, stole the gold. Unfortunately, Zenigata is unable to prove this, forcing Lupin, Jigen, and Goemon to find the real gold and allow Zenigata to take the credit.

Thoughts: This episode was pretty simplistic. The moment the gold Lupin stole was shown to be fake, I already knew the supervisor stole it and since Fujiko wasn't around, it was likely she was involved somehow. I can't say I was bored, but I can say that this is something I'd never watch again.

Hayate no Gotoku! 03 -- Hayate goes to wake Nagi only to find a giant white tiger with her on the bed. Nagi is unconcerned about it and Head Butler Klaus decides that "White Tiger Cat Tama" and Hayate should go outside to "play". Unfortunately, play leads to a defeat for Hayate and a destruction of Maria-san's flower bed. When Maria-san discovers this, even the fearsome Tama is afraid. Klaus still is unconvinced that Hayate is the man for the job of butler so he comes up with the robot "Eight" to compete with Hayate in being a butler. Unfortunately, the robot gets a bit angry and it turns into a real battle between robot and Hayate with Hayate winning. Upon keeping his job, Hayate and Nagi are seen together with the mecha unit from the beginning of episode 1, it complaining about having to wait three episodes to continue their fight.

Thoughts: Oh yeah, the wacky humor is good stuff. I love surprises. Tama wasn't so much of a surprise until the end and I won't even spoil that for you. Suffice to say, I found it amusing. The unexpected return of the mecha unit from the beginning of episode 1 was laugh-out-loud funny to me and completely unexpected (as was the complaining). In many ways, the humor here reminds me of classic Tex Avery stuff (his Daffy Duck was best) and I love it.

Hayate no Gotoku! 04 -- After a conversation with Tama, Hayate goes to take Nagi's forgotten bento to her school. He's met at the gate by KATSURA Yukiji-sensei, who after a brief battle is bested by Hayate who makes it onto the school grounds. This is seen by female students HANABISHI Miki, SEGAWA Izumi, and ASAKAZE Risa, who make some introductions and comments to the real-life viewing audience. Hayate attempts to get the bento to Nagi and ends up under a tree where KATSURA Hinagiku, younger sister of Yukiji-sensei, is. She rescued a baby bird, and Hayate has to save it from a crow. As a reward, Hina-chan takes him to the clock tower where Yukiji-sensei finds them. She's determined to make Hayate pay, but when Hina intervenes, a battle ensues and the bento gets ruined. Fortunately, Nagi was able to figure it all out, much to the relief of Hayate.

Thoughts: Tama telling Hayate he didn't want to be a Pikachu-type character was just a hoot, more so because part of the name was bleeped out. That happens a lot when the series talks about other anime titles or people. Unfortunately, I've only been able to identify about a third of these (like the Pocket Monster reference and an easy Gundam reference). There's a lot of parody in this anime which is also a lot of fun.

Inuyasha Vol 48 (Ch 476-478) SPOILERS

2007-06-13T00:56:00.001-07:00

Inuyasha Vol 48 (Ch 476-478) SPOILERS

Thanks to Freelance for the scans.

Chapter 476

As Inuyasha battles the creature from Kanna, his attacks are absorbed by the creature, which then returns the attack on Inuyasha. The group flees to a cave where Miroku erects a barrier. As they regroup, the creature uses Tessaiga's barrier-breaking ability and enters the cave. Sango and Kagome attack but with no apparent success.

Meanwhile, Byakuya is with Kanna and notices a wound on Kanna's neck that wasn't there moments earlier. It is the same spot where Kagome's arrow struck the creature. Kanna says nothing but continues directing the creature's attacks. As the creature goes to fire Kongousouha, Inuyasha moves to attack sword-to-sword to defend the group.

Chapter 477

As the creature attacks, the spears of the Kongousouha appear to have avoided all of Inuyasha's party. Inuyasha's youkai self emerges, which gives him more power but also causes him to go berserk. Despite his youkai transformation, Inuyasha remains in control with Tessaiga drawing from his youkai power. He attacks but appears to cause no damage to the creature.

Meanwhile, Byakuya notes Inuyasha's transformation and the new wound on Kanna. He figures that maybe Kanna is taking the wounds of the mirror creature. Naraku also notes Inuyasha's transformation and the creature turns its version to Tessaiga into the dragon-scaled form to go against Inuyasha's youketsu. Naraku is amused by the irony of Inuyasha getting slain by the very powers he'd worked so hard to obtain. Inuyasha protects himself by pressing the attack close and hits the creature with Tessaiga.

Chapter 478

Inuyasha's attack on the mirror creature seems to have succeeded until it immediately "heals" itself. Kagome and Inuyasha both notice that Kanna is taking the damage delivered to the creature. Kagome pleads with Kagome to stop as Kanna's life is in danger. Byakuya sarcastically remarks on Kagome's kindness and Inuyasha adds his voice to Kagome's. Kanna's response is to continue the fight by having the creature launch a new attack with the power of her mirror.

The attacks succeed and with Inuyasha unable to get a counter-attack on the creature, Byakuya remarks on how the group doesn't have to be time to be worried about Kanna. He tells Kanna that if it had been him, he would have attacked Kanna the moment he realized she was linked to the mirror creature. Kanna says nothing and continues to attack. Only Inuyasha's youkai form and the barrier ability of Tessaiga keep him alive. Using the sword as a shield, Inuyasha reflects some of the attack back which causes Kanna more damage. Kanna presses her attack causing a crack to appear in Tessaiga but the reflected attacks back cause Kanna to start to break apart as well. Naraku remotely tells Kanna to not let up as her attack as destroying Tessaiga was the reason she was created.

Thoughts: More shounen fare but Kanna is in bad shape. At this point, I wonder if she will end up dying next considering how it appears that Takahashi-sensei may be trying to wrap things up. As for Inuyasha and his youkai form, I'd forgotten about that but nice of it to show up now, eh?

What I'm Watching 15

2007-06-13T00:55:00.000-07:00

What I'm Watching 15

Hayate no Gotoku 05 -- Its a lovely day, so Nagi decides to skip school. Her rich friend AIZAWA Sakuya tries to call her, but Nagi hangs up on her. Sakuya literally drops in from a passing plane and states she's there to see Nagi's new butler. She's not impressed with Hayate and decides he needs to improve his comedy skills where he likes it or not. She also decides to call him Mucho the Soybean Lover, which provokes a fierce attack from Nagi. As the two friends wait for their third female friend Isumi to arrive for a visit, Isumi has become lost leading her large staff of bodyguards to become frantic.

Meanwhile, Maria dispatches Hayate on an errand and gives him a cashmere coat to wear, warning him he must not damage the coat. Naturally, he finds himself under assault from all quarters with falling paint, squid ink, and more threating to damage his new coat. He flees to the park where at the vending machines where he met Nagi, he meets a young girl Nagi's age in a kimono attempting to use a talisman paper as money. Hayate figures he should flee the lost girl (who can't even remember where she was going), but aides her just the same. At that time, Isumi's bodyguards arrive and figure Hayate for a kidnapper. He figures them for kidnappers and the chase is on. He gets the girl (Isumi) away but ruins the coat in the process. So he leaves her at the gates of Nagi's estate before fleeing.

Thoughts: More funny stuff. I couldn't get any of the "beep" jokes (where they reference some real anime/manga/other item) but that could be because I'm too tired to figure it out. Too bad the episode ends on a cliff hanger of sorts. I really hope FUNimation scores this somehow.

Pumpkin Scissors 16 -- A masked member of the Silver Wheel arrives to give Mione his next quota of drugs to sell. However, the old man wants more, only to find that this single masked man is more than he bargained for. Section I troops from the Claymore One division arrive to take out Mione's remaining forces. When they try to stop the masked man, those in his way are killed. Section III Pumpkin Scissors arrives on scene and Alice dispatches Oland to follow the 908 flamethrower trooper and take him out. Machs' is ordered to follow Oland while Alice deals with Claymore One, using a giant double-ended bladed weapon. Finally, "Kauplan" arrives at her office with samples she took off of Oland, knowing that in the upcoming battle between the 901 (Oland) and the 908 (the flamethrower trooper), only one would survive.

Thoughts: Interesting, though in hindsight not a whole lot happened. We still have no progress on Oland's story and yet we are being introduced to an apparent new villain character.

Keroro Gunsou 028 -- In the first story, Keroro's latest plan involves a massive amount of snow as this seems to brings humans to a halt. However, he soon discovers the reason that humans "get lazy" with the snow. However, Fuyuki decides to teach the platoon what snow is really good for, a snowball fight. This leads to two teams fighting with Natsumi and Momoka as hostages to be rescued. Paul and Giroro end up in a pitched battle while everyone else builds snowmen. In the second story, Kururu has some fun by pulling pranks and setting traps for everyone, leading to everyone getting very annoyed. This leads to everyone attempting to persuade Kururu to stop, with only one person having success.

Thoughts: For some reason, I was bored by these episodes. They weren't bad, just...boring. Its weird because at times I find the series funny and at times (like this one) I don't.

Well, more anime in a week.

What I'm Watching 16

2007-06-13T00:54:00.002-07:00

What I'm Watching 16

Pumpkin Scissors 17 -- As Alice battles the leader of the Section I Claymore squad, the 908 trooper, Hans, leads Mione through the sewers. We learn of what happened to the 908 after the armistice, where everyone but Hans removed their suits only to die within minutes of doing so (Hans' suit got stuck). Meanwhile, Captain Hunks confronts Major Connery, accusing him of wanting to sell the drug Himmel. The Major states that since the armistice, funding for the army is down and they need more money. He plans to remove Hunks as an obstacle, but Hunks counters by producing documents and an order for Connery to sign.

Alice defeats her opponent, but learns too late that the fight was a diversion. In the sewers, Oland and and Machs catch up to Hans and Mione and hatch a plan to defeat them. However, Oland is unable to resist the urge to reach out to Hans and nearly pays for it with his life. Using his "gift" of the blue lantern to stay alive, Oland manages to put Hans out of commission but other Section I troops are there and apparently kill Hans before killing Mione. Their mission completed, they leave and Hans' body is sent to the female Kauplan member.

Thoughts: Interesting and while we get revelations about the 908 and a tiny bit more on the 901, we still have no progress on that story, nor why the war ended suddenly three years ago.

Pumpkin Scissors 18 -- Sergeant Major Stekkin is worried about the mood of Section III since the conclusion of their last mission. So, she sets out to cheer up her team mates, especially Corporal Oland. Plan A involves her coming up with a song and dance, but as she's testing it out on Mer-kun the dog, she's seen by Oland and super embarrassed. Plan B has her ask Oreld for help, but his kind of help is of the adult nature and so that plan is gone. At the mess hall, Oreld and Oland get into a verbal fight over "saving lives" when Lahn , ex-Claymore One member, interpupts, giving the Pumpkin Scissors team grief and bragging about the new Double Shotel team. Stekkin decides to put Lahn in his place and attacks him with a move she's named "Pumpkin Scissors." This leads to a mess hall fight, which gets uglier when Lt. Webner goads Machs into the brawl just as security arrives.

Elsewhere, Major Connery queries his officers over the questioning of Lt. Webner and what she saw when the group of men came to steal a captured tank (early in the series). The officers reflect on the quality of the weapons given to the Waterworks staff and realize that while the Empire hasn't been able to mass-produce automatic rifles, someone else has and it would be a good weapon to use against the Republic. Meanwhile, Stekkin and Oland talk and she sings him a silly Republic song to cheer him up. He appreciates this and goes to make up with Oreld. As they watch the last of the sewer refugees leave, Marielle comes to tell Oreld goodbye, after which she leaves and Oreld and Oland pleasantly agree that they will disagree over saving lives.

Thoughts: Fillerish, fun, but with hints of something more. Its hard to get Stekkin into episodes since she's not much of a soldier, but this worked. And it was nice to see the aftermath of everything that was done over the last four episodes. I think that was what I enjoyed most.

Hayate no Gotoku! 06 -- With Isumi safely with Nagi, Isumi lets Nagi and Maria-san know that Hayate is in trouble. Maria wonders if their instructions for him to protect the cashmere coat was incorrect. Nagi wants to go protect Hayate, who finds himself between the group of yakuza on one side and Isumi's bodyguards on the other. Of course misunderstandings leads to both groups pursuing him rather than battling each other. Hayate manages to make it to the mansion, but when Nagi learns part of what Hayate told Isumi about her, she leaves Hayate on the door step until he gets ill. Isumi prepares him a delicious milkshake and Nagi decides to prepare him a meal. The standard bad food scene follows, but Nagi is touched when she overhears Hayate tell Maria that he ate it all because it was prepared by Nagi.

The following day, Hayate is better but runs into another maid. He informs Maria about this maid, who turns out to be Saki, the maid of another guest. She tells Hayate to bring her and the guest to the guest room. Nagi, upon hearing of this other guest, immediately has security dispatched to get rid of him. Hayate comes upon this guest, a rich boy Nagi's age. The boy, Wataru, kicks Hayate into the nearby lake and Hayate doesn't get mad. Saki comes but then the group are attacked by a security robot. More security droids arrive and Hayate rescues both Saki and Wataru, but as they approach the mansion, both are offended and cause him with them to fall through the mansion roof into the guest room where Maria and Nagi are waiting. Here, we learn that Wataru is Nagi's fiancé.

Thoughts: More funny stuff. The food joke is old as the hills, but it was still played out nicely. Initially, I thought Sakuya was forgotten because she disappeared, only to reappear when Nagi goes to make Hayate's meal. Tama also returns in this episode, but wasn't used that well in my opinion.

What I'm Watching 17

2007-06-13T00:54:00.001-07:00

What I'm Watching 17

Tsubasa Chronicle 28 -- Having recently arrived in Piffle World, Syaoran and company set out to quallify in the race to win Sakura-chan's feather. During the quallification, Syaoran crashes when his air-car gets sabotaged. He suspects it is one of the other racers, many of whom they have met counterparts to in other worlds. That night at a party for racers, Tomoyo, the rich girl who's company is sponsoring the race, summons Syaoran and company, letting them know her people are aware of the sabotage against them. Further, she befriends Sakura-chan and offers to make her a costume for the race. During the race, things seem well at first, but more sabotage "accidents" which nearly nail Sakura and Syaoran, one which does nail Fai, and a final one that appears to nail fellow racer Ryuuou.

Thoughts: This was my least favorite story-arc in the manga, and it is being stretched out big time in my opinion. But then, that was the trouble with the first season as well -- drag things out. Basically, this is CLAMP does pod racing from Star Wars Episode I.

Keroro Gunsou 029 -- The first story has Koyuki-chan convince Natsumi to participate in the school play "Peter Pan." While Natsumi may be good at sports and school, she stinks when it comes to acting. Thus, Keroro takes it upon himself to train her to be a better actor. Things go well until the day of the play. Natsumi, playing the part of Wendy, suddenly sees Mutsumi in the audience and freezes up. Keroro can stand no more of this and with his human suit, barges on stage to dress down Natsumi. The old Natsumi wakes up and takes it out on Keroro, much to the delight of the crowd.

The second story has the school's newspaper club (KSG, based on the Romji for the name) notice Keroro and track him. Despite being forbidden by Natsumi from wearing his "Earth suits," he does anyway and is spotted. The KSG confronts Fuyuki and Natsumi takes it out on Keroro. When KSG makes an attempt to get the scoop at the Hinata home, Keroro's platoon does everything they can to prevent them from learning the truth. Fuyuki feels sorry for the KSG and has them set free. KSG tries to tell people about the aliens, but all the evidence was destroyed making KSG look like fools.

Thoughts: The "Peter Pan" play story was new to me and somewhat fun. Interesting that in the second story, the Japanese used Romaji for the KSG (the school newspaper club) rather than Kanji/Kana. The second story was from the manga, but appeared modified because there were elements I didn't remember (certainly, it was modified to fit in with the first story). I still love the "Afro Gunsou" ED music.

Pumpkin Scissors 19 -- The members of Pumpkin Scissors overhear the shocking news of Alice's wedding. She leaves, telling them she'll be back in a few days, but Oland seems to take this news hard. So, Section III helps with a food distribution place in an area near to where Alice and her sisters are to attend a ball. Schultz, who is in love with Alice, is there but makes no impression and longs to know what will make her smile. During the course of the party, Paul, the Director of the Empire's Economic Development Branch, shows up and offers to shake Alice's hand, his covered in food goo. She's saved from this by Leonir, who's officially engaged to Alice. Alice and Leonir go off to talk where Alice states that she will no longer be head of the family as they have a 5-year old brother who will take that role. As such, she wishes to break of the engagement, something Leonir doesn't want to happen. As they talk, Paul makes a scene when he discovers the caterer is serving hors d'oeuvres made from acorns. Alice rescues the man and shames the rich crowd by not only eating an hors d'oeuvres, but stating she'd hire the man.

Meanwhile at the food distribution point, Section III has just finished feeding the masses when Oland sees a child and his mother, the child's hands freezing from the cold. So he gives the child his gloves. Immediately, several other children are there wanting gloves and Oland has to get Stekkin to help him out and make some mittens. Oland notes a group of men sneaking through the forest. He follows and sees they are just eating, but then sees their weapons. Too late, he notices two men sneaking up behind him, the group apparently preparing to revolt because of the corruption of Paul and the lavish party being held.

Thoughts: I know that ADV won't bother with honorifics in the subtitles, but they sure say a lot as the writers use them as tools. So even though Schultz and Leonir are both members of importance in society (but not members of the Thirteen Appointed Families), Leonir addresses Schultz as "Schultz-kun," showing he feels himself superior. Alice addresses both men with the "dono" honorific (showing proper respect, but not submitting to either). Leonir addresses Alice as "himegimi" (princess) and Schultz addresses Alice as "Alice-sama." As to the story itself, these story-arcs are fine in and of themselves, but we never really seem to get to the big picture.

Negima! Vol 18 (Ch 168) SPOILERS

2007-06-13T00:53:00.001-07:00

Negima! Vol 18 (Ch 168) SPOILERS

Thanks to AQS for the scans.

Chapter 168

Negi pops the question to Asuna which has her all flustered. This is heard by Nodoka, Yue, and Paru, Nodoka and Yue misunderstand and try to run away. Paru prevents them from escaping and teases Asuna and Negi about this "love confession" they've just witnessed. Negi protests there wasn't a love confession which surprises Asuna. Negi explains that he was asking Asuna to be his partner when he goes to Wales and he was asking her first. This is a relief to Yue and Nodoka, though Chamo and Paru are all frustrated. Asuna is irritated and using her kanka ability, sends him flying for the confusing way he asked her to go with him. She continues to attack him for toying with a maiden's heart.

As the group walks down the street, Paru decides to tease Asuna for her reaction which has Asuna bring out the harisen to which Paru brings out her artifact and produces a giant warrior. When Negi interrupts, Asuna uses the opportunity to question Negi about going to Wales and possibly not returning. Negi wants to find the reason why his dad went missing and knows there will be great dangers, but he's not going to give up his quest to find his father. After his speech, Asuna tells him it is fine to continue as he is and that She and Setsuna had decided to protect him while he looked for his dad. Nodoka decides to offer her support to Negi followed by Yue and Paru.

Since Negi isn't going immediately to Wales, Paru decides they should enjoy summer vacation which is soon to arrive. After all, summer is time to play. And so, plans are laid on how to spend the summer vacation season.

Back at school, finals are taken and class 3-A scores 2nd place overall, which is exciting to the class. Report cards are handed out classes are over until the fall. The class is planning to party and Asuna convinces Negi to join in exchange for her not stopping Negi in his search for his father. With that, they are off to have fun.

Thoughts: This starts the summer vacation arc, which looks like it will be a bunch of fun filler before launching into the next big arc that will take place in Wales.

Tsubasa: RESEVoir CHRoNiCLE Vol 15 (Ch 109-111) SPOILERS

2007-06-13T00:52:00.003-07:00

Tsubasa: RESEVoir CHRoNiCLE Vol 15 (Ch 109-111) SPOILERS

Thanks to BWYS for the scans.

Chapter 109

Syaoran reflects on how strong Kamui is while Kamui asks if Syaoran is an "E." Syaoran doesn't understand so Kamui fires his crossbow which is deflected by Kurogane. Mokona produces Kurogane's sword, which upon being weilded, impresses their attackers. Kurogane challenges Kamui and a fight ensues. As the fight progresses, Kurogane thinks on how he's never seen the technique used by Kamui. Kamui launches an attack and Syaoran shouts a warning, but Kurogane seems un-fazed. In the end, both fighters are at each others throat with Kurogane's sword being at Kamui's throat. Kurogane uses his special attack and hammers Kamui. However, Kamui doesn't appear to have felt anything as he gets up as if nothing happened.

Chapter 110

After surviving Kurogane's attack, Kamui puts his cloak back on and walks away. Kurogane is offended, but another group's arrival explains things. Apparently they want whatever is under the building Kamui's group holds. The new group reveal themselves and many old faces from other world's Syaoran and company have visited are there. Kamui and the leader of the other group (Fuuma) battle and Fuuma notices Kamui is wounded. However, Kamui manages to throw Fuuma just the same.

Fuuma and Kamui square off but one of Fuuma's members reports that their own base is under attack from another district. Fuuma isn't happy to end the battle but has no choice and his group leaves. As they leave, Kamui walks past Kurogane and Syaoran which annoys Kurogane. However, they are surprised when Kamui instructs his group to take care of them and the two that are hiding. Fai brings out the sleeping Sakura where they learn that battles are going on for control over underground sources of water.

Chapter 111

Kamui's group still suspects that Syaoran's group are robbers looking to steal water. Kamui's group is surprised by Mokona and they wonder what to do with Syaoran's group. Kamui's instructions were to "take care of them" but since he did not kill them, then Syaoran's group can live. Kamui's sole thought is to protect the water and after some additional debate, the group decides Syaoran's group is free to go.

Mokona senses power coming from below them which is where the water is. Since Sakura is still sleeping, Fai decides to introduce themselves to Kamui's group and request medical assistance for Syaoran's injuries. Some of the group aren't interested in helping but are overridden by Kakyou. This gives Syaoran's group some time to explore but as the enter the structure, they see a lot refugees. It is here that we learn of the acid rain that has fallen for the last 15 years making the surface water undrinkable and unusable. The structure they are in has a natural underground water source which allows them to survive.

Syaoran remarks on how the building they are in has suffered no damage like the other structures. However, no one seems to know why this is. Apparently, the only good water exists under their building, protected by the building. Meanwhile Kamui sits where the water is stored and asks how long they can exist like this.

Thoughts: Acid rain. I didn't comment on this last time, but that's a term I'd not heard in many, many years. Before everyone was going to die from global warming, in the 80's we were going to die from acid rain. It works for the story told here though. It appears that CLAMP is using this story arc to do another version of "X/1999" since so many of those characters are here. I've never read "X/1999" but I really need to.

Hayate no Gotoku! 07

2007-06-13T00:52:00.001-07:00

Hayate no Gotoku! 07

It was suggested that maybe it would be better that I do the anime episode reviews more in line with how I do manga ones for reasons that I agreed with. So, here goes.

Summary: After a review of episode 6 where we are reminded of Wataru-kun and his maid Saki, Sakuya harasses Klaus (I think it was Klaus). Upon learning that Nagi and Wataru are engaged, Nagi imagines that Hayate is furious. A fight breaks out between Nagi and Wataru since it is an arranged engagement, which brings Isumi out. Turns out Wataru is in love with Isumi. Nagi is pleased when Hayate states he'd help bring Isumi and Wataru together, but when he offers to prepare Isumi a Japanese breakfast, Wataru sees him as a rival.

Challenging Hayate, the group heads outside where Wataru has a sword. Nagi brags about Hayate's strengths and when asked if he can handle a sword, he swings it a bit at a large boulder which causes it to crumble. Nagi wants Hayate to quickly defeat Wataru so that Isumi will go to him, but Hayate imagines a scene where he is Sesshoumaru and Wataru is Inuyasha from the anime Inuyasha and is defeated by Inuyasha. So instead he decides to let Wataru win after disarming him with two fingers, then pretending to be defeated. Hayate's plan backfires because now Isumi is addressing him as Hayate-sama and Wataru leaves in tears.

Having failed, Hayate decides to apologize to Wataru. He learns that Wataru lives at the Tachibana Group Shinjuku HQ building, and he wonders the best way to get there. This leads to a discussion of trains and subways, which outside of bullet trains are a complete mystery to Nagi, Isumi, and Maria-san. And so it is decided that the three of them will go on a subway ride to see Wataru, but Isumi disappears leading Nagi and Hayate on a desperate search for her, complete with a trip to an unfinished subway tunnel.

Having failed in taking the subway, Nagi gives Hayate a purse to take to Wataru, at which time he can apologize. He runs into Saki and after she does what she can to avoid being touched by Hayate, they arrive at the HQ, which turns out to be a video rental store. Hayate learns of the troubles Wataru's family are in financially and of Wataru's desire to not have to marry Nagi just for her money. Hayate decides to become a member of the video store only to learn that his father has registered using Hayate's ID and racked up a ¥1,580,000 bill in late fees which now Hayate owes.

Thoughts: I love this anime! Having enjoyed (most of the time) the anime Inuyasha, the parody of that anime here was a hoot to me, complete with a censored "Kaze no Kizu." Indeed, at Wataru-kun's video store, there's a scene where Hayate is standing in front of Inuyasha videos. There was another parody moment for some mecha series, but I'm not well versed in much mecha. I'd guess Gundam since that's the mecha franchise in Japan. Still, I found myself laughing and enjoying myself a lot as I watched this episode.

Even though I railed against predicting these kinds of things, I'd love for FUNimation to score this title, but I'd guess it will go to Viz seeing who produced this anime (which explains the Inuyasha jokes).

Tsubasa: RESEVoir CHRoNiCLE Vol 15 (Ch 112-114) SPOILERS

2007-06-13T00:50:00.004-07:00

Tsubasa: RESEVoir CHRoNiCLE Vol 15 (Ch 112-114) SPOILERS

Thanks to BWYS for the scans.

Chapter 112

Sakura-chan is still asleep and Fai decides it might be best to let her sleep. Syaoran is also sleeping with a fever and Fai offers to keep watch to Kurogane. However, Kurogane says nothing at first until Fai continues to talk. Kurogane states he'll answer Fai if Fai answers a question about the whistle he used to help them escape the previous world. Kurogane notes how many tight spots they'd been in and Fai had not used his magic. Kurogane recalls how Fai talked of a person sleeping under water that he needed to run from.

Fai is impressed by his memories but Kurogane presses on, stating his belief that Fai, while always grinning and being friendly is really keeping his distance from everyone. Despite this, Kurogane sees that Fai is worried about Syaoran's fever and the thought that Sakura would see this destroyed world. Kurogane continues, recalling that had Fai not used his magic in the last world, they could have been killed and in so doing, involved himself with both Syaoran and Sakura. Fai replies that he doesn't want anyone to get hurt because of him.

They are interrupted when some of Kamui's people come in. Kurogane grabs Fai and tells him he's not going to avoid their conversation. Kurogane repeats that he it means nothing to him, leading Fai to grin and ask him not to worry about him. However, Kurogane continues, telling Fai he doesn't care about Fai's past but that Fai needs to make a decision on what he's doing with where he is now. Kurogane leaves with Kamui's people and Fail collapses, remarking to himself how difficult that is.

Meanwhile at Fei Wong Reed's palace, the figure in the containment chamber breaks through the glass and is revealed to be Syaoran.

Chapter 113

Syaoran hears a voice in his dream and comes face-to-face with his doppelgänger. As his doppelgänger moves his hand, Syaoran's hand also moves. Breaking through, the doppelgänger states he's been waiting and grabs Syaoran, while out of the dream, Syaoran grabs Kurogane. Kurogane sees that Syaoran is different again, the same as he was in the previous world. Syaoran mutters he's always been waiting when Fai comes in and sees Syaoran's cold eyes. Both Fai and Kurogane are very concerned by what they see as Syaoran comes out of it, and Fai quickly recovers to his normal cheery self.

Fai has clothing and suggests rest for Syaoran, but Syaoran wants to participate in the hunt for the feather. As Syaoran goes to change, Kurogane remarks on how the person they'd witnessed earlier wasn't Syaoran. Fai asks if this is the first time this has happened, which Kurogane states has happened before and that Syaoran doesn't seem to realize the change. Fai then comments on how cold the eyes that looked at them were before asking Kurogane for a favor.

Fai and Syaoran are on a speeder bike with some of Kamui's people looking for food and supplies. Turns out the favor Fai asked of Kurogane was for him to babysit Sakura-chan, who was still asleep and finds herself opening her eyes as she's under water.

Chapter 114

Sakura-chan finds herself under water, but its not cold and she's not suffocating. She sees something in the water and approaches it. It tells her she shouldn't be there. Sakura-chan asks it what its doing there and it says its sleeping and that she should wake up. This surprised Sakura-chan and it tells her again to wake up before she's captured by the dream. However, she finds she's unable to open her eyes. Despite hearing the warnings to wake up, she's unable to do so and the thing swallows her. In her bed, Kurogane notices that Sakura-chan has stopped breathing.

Meanwhile, Syaoran, Fai, and Kamui's folks come to the edge of the ruins to a desert. There had been a slum years ago but nothing remains now. As they observe, they are attacked by a giant earth worm (or that's how it appears). The group slays the beast, informing Syaoran and Fai that it mutated from the acid rain, is poisonous, but has edible portions. An even bigger worm attacks and Kusanagi is in its path. Syaoran has Mokona "cough up" his sword Hien and he slays the beast. Kuganagi is impressed, as his twin in the Outo Country had been.

The young Nataku inquires about Syaoran's condition, especially in light of having suffered a bolt through the leg. As talk continues, Mokona senses Sakura-chan's feather very strongly.

Thoughts: I've had dreams I've been in a pool under water and think I'm going to drown, only to be amazed that I can breathe. So I could relate to that bit, though not what happened afterward. ^_^;

The whole bit with the duplicate Syaoran is interesting and I really wonder where this will go. Clearly, the two Syaoran's are linked and I guess maybe this is part of Fei Wong Reed's plan.

Pumpkin Scissors 20

2007-06-13T00:50:00.003-07:00

Pumpkin Scissors 20

Summary: Major Connery learns of Paul's embezzlement and deploys Section I 4th Axe. At the ball, Leonir decides to teach Alice how to dance. As they dance, Leonir notices how Alice looks past and above him, figuring she's thinking of a giant man (Oland). She ponders this for a moment, then confesses this man is a giant, but he's a gentle giant and not a strong one.

Meanwhile, back near the food distribution point, Oland is not quite down for the count and attempts to flee the two civilians attacking him when one puts an ax in his back. He's rescued by Oreld and falls unconscious. He has a nightmare, seeing the corpses of those he's killed in war and waking up, he finds himself being cared for by Stekkin. Oreld is looking over the papers from the two civilians now his prisoner and learns of the embezzlement scandal. It is soon after that Oland remembers the attack on the ball that the other civilians planned.

Leaving Stekkin behind along with the two prisoners, Oreld, Oland, and Machs race their military vehicle to the ball while troops from Section I mobilize. At the ball, Alice and Leonir continue to talk when Alice gets that feeling and orders everyone away from the windows. Very shortly afterward, a large group of peasant civilians come crashing through, their plan to kill Paul first, then some other nobles.

Back in the military vehicle, Oreld has stitched up Oland's head wound and when Oland confesses to being confused and scared when the two peasant civilians attacked, Oreld states this is normal and tells a story of a younger Alice and the tough time she's had trying to bring war relief to the population.

At the ball, Alice confronts one of the peasants who plans to kill Paul, attempting to get him to change his mind. Alice's sisters attempt to get Alice to flee, but Alice will have none of it, which causes a measure of respect in the eyes of Leonir. The guys from Section III come crashing through and Oland takes a bullet meant for Alice. Oreld also has proof of Paul's crimes but Paul's bodyguards call Oreld's bluff since Section III has no power to arrest anyone. Things are getting out of hand as the peasants are ready to take it out on the rich people when Alice steps in and challenges Paul to a duel.

Thoughts: The story is still interesting to me, but I'm starting to think that there will be a lot of unresolved things in this anime. Since it is based on a manga that I believe is still ongoing (I'll have to double check that), I won't complain if that happens since the anime writers will be leaving things open for a sequel. As for the feelings between Alice and Oland, that was pretty sweet, even if small. I don't think there's enough time to develop a romance story, but Del Rey is releasing the manga this year so maybe in a few years, I'll get to see if the manga-ka did anything with that (somehow, I'm not sure there will be a sequel anime).

Negima! Vol 18 (Ch 169) SPOILERS

2007-06-13T00:50:00.001-07:00

Negima! Vol 18 (Ch 169) SPOILERS

Note: I'm not 100% sure if this is in volume 18 or not. Thanks to AQS for the scans.

Chapter 169

There is an assault on a mage city as Nagi, Eishun, and Al rush to the scene when all of the magic attacks on said city are nullified. This means that the Imperial Princess of the Dusk is inside the city. Nagi is angry about this and the fact this city is using the princess who's a little girl. Al cautions against judging someone's age by their appearance as is the case with him. Some giant magical creatures are used to attack a tower where some mages and a little girl bleeding from the mouth are. One comes close to reaching the tower when Nagi attacks and kills it. The mage inside recognizes Nagi as "The Aralbra -- The One With a Thousand Spells." Nagi confirms this, calling himself the "Thousand Master."

As the giants and their winged support approach, Nagi breaks out a small spell book and launches a devastating attack on them. He tells the mage with the little girl that his group will take care of everything, but the mage is unsure because of the large number of enemy forces. Nagi is somewhat offended by this, reminding the mage that Nagi's the most powerful mage ever. Al jabs Nagi because its not as impressive since he has to consult a spell book (Nagi, having not completed magic school) and that Nagi won't be able to change the world no matter how powerful he is. This too annoys Nagi.

Coming to the little girl, he asks her names as the chains holding her to the floor break. She says her name is Asuna Vesperina Theotanasia Entheofushia as Nagi wipes the blood from the corner of her mouth. Nagi comments that the name "Asuna" is a nice one and tells her to wait there as he, Al, and Eishun leave to wipe out the enemy forces, Nagi from the back suddenly looking like 10-year old Negi.

Asuna wakes up in her dorm room and remembers her full name. She races out of been looking for Setsuna-san on this first day of summer vacation to tell her the news, only to find her and Konoka in a magic circle being encouraged by Chamo to kiss for a pactio. Setsuna happens to notice Asuna and gets embarrassed, protesting to Asuna that this isn't what it seems. Chamo is bummed that things stopped and Konoka wonders what Asuna wanted to tell them. Unfortunately Asuna can't remember.

Later, Asuna ponders on the dream, wondering why she thought her real name was that long and why she would dream of Negi's dad and Konoka's dad. Her thoughts are interupted by Ayaka, who's got good news for Asuna. A little later, Asuna presents a club formation application form to Negi as the other girls in his group observe. Negi is confused by this and Asuna reminds him of his comments about going to the Magic Country and possibly not returning. Chamo informs Asuna about the difficulties, which would be like sneaking into Japan during its isolation period or sneaking into a communist country. Asuna wants Negi to promise to return, but tells him that since he's not going to stop until he finds his father, she's going to help him. As such, this new club will be for those students who want to help Negi find his father, with Negi, as the sensei, the club adviser.

Thoughts: Wow! The early pages showing Nagi's adventures and Asuna's involvement made this chapter pretty incredible. As Nagi commented, her name was pretty long and based on her title, I guess she is royalty of some kind. It was kind of tough trying to figure out everything that was going on at first (who was attacking who and what) but a 2nd-time through made things clear. The comments on the possibility of Asuna being older than she appears is intriguing. Nagi's use of the spellbook goes along with Eva's dream-memory of Nagi. That was certainly interesting.

The groundwork is clearly being laid for the future Wales arc, but first we have the summer vacation arc to complete.

Hayate no Gotoku 08

2007-06-13T00:49:00.001-07:00

Hayate no Gotoku 08

Summary: Sakuya scarfs some breakfast with Nagi while giving her grief over not attending school. After she leaves, we learn that Nagi's real reason for not going to school is to be able to spend more time with Hayate.

As Maria and Hayate sweep outside, Maria decides to probe Hayate on if he likes younger girls (Nagi) or older ones. Hayate, who likes Maria, definitely wants older girls. Their conversation is interrupted when Nagi summons Hayate to her room. There, she forces Hayate to try on a female sailor sefuku (uniform). He's not happy about this, especially after being instructed by Klaus on being a butler and that if Hayate didn't act like a man, he'd be fired. Nagi doesn't care and takes pictures of the embarrassed Hayate. He's worried about Maria-san seeing him and of course she shows up.

Things start getting worse as Maria and Nagi plot what to make Hayate wear next. He attempts to sneak out, but stepping on a game controller gives him away. The two then make him dress up as a cat girl, complete with ears, paws, a tail, and a bell. The cuteness of Hayate is almost more that Nagi and Maria can stand. However, when Tama awakens and sees Hayate this way, he goes nuts, grabbing Hayate and crashing out the window with him into the yard to apparently have his way with Hayate.

Hayate has had enough and with one move, puts Tama down. However, he then spots Klaus walking through the yard. Hayate attempts to sneak away but when he steps on a game controller, the jig is up and Klaus is in hot pursuit to catch a trespasser. Hayate is afraid to lose his job and tries to cover his face with a large bow, only to discover his mistake in that he can't see. Ah, but there's second sight, right? Not for Hayate as Klaus lands a special attack-kick on Hayate. Klaus goes in for the finish, but gets his first good look at the catgirl-Hayate and goes nuts and starts to do what Tama did until Nagi rescues Hayate.

Inside, Hayate changes and to his shock, sees that Isumi is still there. She apparently got lost in the mansion and will spend the night again. Hayate is worried that Isumi may have seen him in the catgirl outfit and as he goes down the hall, he hears noise coming from the billiard room. Inside, Maria is playing by herself, and so she and Hayate play. Maria decides to learn more about Hayate's feelings and raises the stakes. If she wins, Hayate will owe ¥200-million and will have to marry Nagi. If she loses, she'll do whatever Hayate wants.

Both are excellent players and during the match, Hayate learns of how Nagi and Isumi became best friends as children. Maria learns why Hayate doesn't want to marry Nagi (doesn't want to be seen as doing it for money, won't touch a young girl, and other nice guy reasons) which impresses Maria. She purposefully loses the match, but before Hayate can get a request, a very jealous Nagi is there with Isumi behind her. Nagi soon puts Hayate in his place and after she leaves, Maria asks him his request of her. In his befuddled state, he asks that she forgive him the debt he owes on the cashmere coat that was destroyed in a previous episode.

Thoughts: Another pretty funny episode. Having Hayate step on the game controller in Nagi's room as he's trying to sneak away was expected. Having Hayate step on a game controller on the mansion grounds as he tries to sneak away from Klaus was not. There was clichéd stuff with Tama and Klaus but not in a negative way. I love how this anime doesn't take itself seriously and will at times surprise you with the unexpected laugh.

Negima!? 16

2007-06-13T00:47:00.002-07:00

Negima!? 16

Summary: Ayaka has a memory-dream of herself as a child with Asuna. She then wakes up in her Negi-decorated room to remember that she and the rest of her classmates as well as Negi-sensei and Takahata-sensei. Meanwhile, Negi is working on remembering which student has what artifact so that in a pinch, he can activate an appropriate girl's artifact without having to look up who has what. This meets with Chamo's approval.

Back in the classroom, a "where's Asuna" discussion happens. Turns out she's slept in and now there's only one onigiri left, otherwise she has to wait until lunch. Unfortunately, Motsu eats it, leaving her famished.

Outside, the research group is researching and Negi pops in to see how they are doing. Ayaka invites him to stay for tea, but when Asuna arrives, Ayaka and Asuna get into a fight over whom Negi should stay with -- the research group or the exploration group. Negi makes the mistake of getting between the girls and pays for it with an injury. Not to worry, a shot at the infirmiry from a giant syringe should do the trick. Chamo gets the shot instead and turns into a super ermine complete with red cape.

Elsewhere, Chachamaru, Eva, and Takahata are doing serious investigation, until Chachamaru decides to save a little critter from being injured while the remaining research staff are having no luck analyzing the crystals.

Back to the Ayaka-Asuna fight, the two engage in a number of contest, all of which end up a tie. Negi hates their fighting, but Konoka assures him they get along fine and have battled since they were kids. Before they can carry on with a 4th competition, the dark matter arrives again and Negi uses Asuna for the fight. He pulls a cosplay card from her which isn't enough. Ayaka comes to help Asuna and Negi pulls an armor card from her, allowing her to save Asuna. Ayaka and Asuna remember their time together as children with dandilions and as Konoka said, are indeed good friends.

Thoughts: I was pretty bored by this episode, which wasn't funny to me nor did it advance the story any. Yeah, there was some character development of Asuna and Ayaka, but considering the wacky nature of the series at times, are we really looking for meaningful character development on a serious level? I think not.

Well, I do think I understand why this series didn't fare well in Japan either.

Hayate no Gotoku 09

2007-06-13T00:47:00.001-07:00

Hayate no Gotoku 09

Summary: Seeing safely in the hands of her bodyguards to take her home, Nagi longs for Isumi to stay one more night because who knows if they'll get to see each other again. This prompts Isumi to remind Nagi that they can see each other at school, something Nagi avoids. So, Hayate makes it his mission to get Nagi to school. She's not pleased by this, but remembers that Hayate is a high school-aged student who can no longer attend school. So she goes, even if she doesn't like it.

Back home, Hayate is working and Tama remarks on how quite things are when Nagi isn't around. Hayate observes that things would be quieter still if the tiger didn't talk.

Towards the end of the day, Nagi is complaining about school and not paying attention to where she's walking. She's stopped by Isumi from walking into the old, abandoned school building.

That evening, Nagi has forgotten her notebook at school, so Hayate rushes to get it. At the school gates, he's again attacked by Yukiji-sensei who didn't know who he was at first. Letting him into the school, we learn that Yukiji-sensei is actually living there to save on rent. Not only that, but members of the student council (Chairman SEGAWA Izumi, Vice-chairman HANABISHI Miki, & disciplinary committe member ASAKAZE Risa) are at the very least spending the night with Yukiji-sensei for a study session. As they talk, they continue to address him as "Hayate-kun," even though he repeatedly asks them to just address him as "Hayate."

Yukiji-sensei gives him the key to access Nagi's class and comments on his courage to enter the west wind at this late hour. As he takes off, they ask him to be sure and defeat some Japanese and American horror icons should they appear. Hayate figures they are playing with him, but finds himself in the old building rather than Nagi's building. A cell phone call from Nagi scares him, but he's relieved to hear Nagi's voice (who was genuinely worried about him) until she tells him she can hear voices in the background and the phone connection is lost and he falls through the floor.

Back and Yukiji-sensei's room, the girls figure that since its taking so long for Hayate to return, maybe he's doing something perverted to Hina-chan's things (Yukiji's little sister and president of the Student Council). Hina comes in and she's not happy with the topic of conversation. As Nagi learns from Maria-san about the haunted nature of the old building at the mansion, Hina learns from her friends about Hayate possibly getting lost in the old building and goes to find him as she's not scared of ghosts.

She says that, but finds herself scared just the same, more so when she sees ghostly shapes and as she runs, a voice asking her questions. Hayate hears her scream and Hina discovers who's been talking to her -- a science mannequin. Hayate rescues her, and Hina warns Hayate not to tell anyone she was scared. Further, she's determined to get to the bottom of this ghost business and as Hayate keeps addressing her as "Katsura-san," she insists he address her as Hinagiku (her full given name).

As they go through the old building, the mannequin returns and ends up addressing Hayate as "Hayate-sama." Remembering Isumi and her miko powers, he realizes that Isumi must have a reason to want them to leave and attempts to get Katsura-san to leave. She is stuborn and wants to battle the mannequin. Even when the mannequin transforms into something more (looking a bit like a form of Naraku from Inuyasha), Hina isn't afraid, but the mannequin explodes and Hayate convinces her that her ki (chi) did it. As they leave, Isumi and her guards go to work to exorcise the building while Hina finally gets Hayate to stop calling her "Katsura-san" and call her "Hinagiku-san."

With that, Hayate returns home to a relieved Nagi complete with her notebook.

Thoughts: More Hayate goodness. I'm not up on Japanese horror, so I didn't catch the Japanese names that were beeped out, but Jason and Freddy's names came through. Yes, even the Japanese know who Freddy and Jason are. Ayumu keeps getting cameos (I only know her name by looking it up) so I guess she'll have some kind of importance at a later date. It was a fun episode that I enjoyed a lot.

Negima! Vol 19 (Ch 170) SPOILERS

2007-06-13T00:46:00.000-07:00

Negima! Vol 19 (Ch 170) SPOILERS

Summary: When Eva learns the name of the club to search for Negi's farther is "The Negima Club," she is unimpressed. She sees the reason of the club -- getting some funds on the sly so that they can go to Wales, but she finds it pointless. Asuna counters by reminding Eva of her own desire to find Nagi. Since the curse prevents her from doing so, they'll go in her stead. As such, she agrees to take the job of Honorary Adviser providing that the club give her all information they find on Nagi.

The first thing the new club does is establish its club room at Eva's resort. Things have changed since Asuna was last there as in addition to the resort globe in Eva's home, there are other globes with different settings which Eva has used for Negi's training. As such, the group goes to Lebenschilt Castle (rather than Eva's resort) which resides in a jungle setting. They are greeted by Chachamaru and immediately decide to explore the other regions such as the desert and icy wasteland. Back at the jungle, Ku Fei and Paru rush to take a jungle batch to the annoyance of Eva. When Asuna laughs, Eva looks the other way.

Later, Negi and Kotaro arrive from a training session. Negi is pleased to see Asuna and the other girls of Negi's group are working on completing their summer homework. Taking a break for tea, the girls decide that maybe they should do some training as well. Asuna is amazed by this large castle, which brings a response from Eva. She states that the castle was built in the "dark lands" in the 19th century and later moved to its present location. However, Eva ends her story and then again turns from Asuna.

As Asuna and Setsuna-san train, Asuna remarks on Eva's behavior toward her. Setsuna feels there's nothing wrong and compliments Asuna who has the ability to nullify magic, the ability to use kankahou, well above average eyesight, the ability to run at bicycle speeds, power in her fists, and of course, the artifact harisen which can send summoned demons back to where they came. Setsuna feels that Asuna could become more powerful than all of them as they continue to train.

Yue, Nodoka, Paru, and Konoka arrive all dressed in maid outfits from Chachamaru's older sister. Paru is impressed by everything she's seen and understands a bit why people once feared Eva as a powerful, evil mage. She's glad for Asuna's idea, as are the others who are able to get their homework done within the magic confines of the globe, thereby freeing up their summer in the real world.

Konoka feels they should pick a club president and and everyone else agrees. She's embarrassed a bit, but agrees to take the job until Eva steps in (wearing glasses) and votes against Asuna. She challenges Asuna, calling her all talk with her idea of protecting Negi. Asuna accepts Eva's challenge, which is that she has to land a punch on Negi in fifteen minutes. Asuna feels this is very easy and Negi isn't so sure about this test. Eva silences him, and warns him to be serious about it.

Asuna activates her kanka ability and summons her harisen, feeling confident that she'll be able to score a hit. For her to protect Negi, she mustn't lose. However, Negi is on her in a flash and disarms her. He stops, bringing Eva's anger out, who reminds him that Chachamaru didn't go easy on him and he can't go easy on Asuna (plus, with Konoka there, she can heal any injuries Asuna may suffer). As such, Negi throws Asuna quite a distance with Eva telling him not to stop until Asuna says she gives up. Asuna gets up, but Negi is too powerful, even without using magic. As such, at the end of fifteen minutes, Asuna is beaten. Eva belittles her, stating that Asuna really is just all talk.

Thoughts: Eva, the Doll Master, dressed up like a doll is just funny to me. There's something about a powerful, evil vampire in child form dressed up like a fancy doll which cracked me up. I suspect Akamatsu-sensei must feel the same (or else, he finds her so cute this way, he couldn't help himself). As to Asuna, she has been able to score hits on Eva in the past (though to be fair, Eva wasn't really expecting them) but Negi's training has him able to fight quite well, as he moves to become a combat mage. It will be interesting to see what Eva ultimately has in store for Asuna.

Pumpkin Scissors 21

2007-06-13T00:45:00.006-07:00

Pumpkin Scissors 21

Summary: Captain Hunks meets with Major Connery about the situation at the ball. Connery figures there has already been many casualties and he plans to just arrest civilians that approach the place whether they took part or not. Further, he plans to use the event to gain more power for the military. Hunks states that the night is still young and that maybe there weren't any casualties yet, something Connery feels would be a trick of the Devil.

At the ball, Alice has challenged Koushaku (Marquis) Paul to a duel, which he doesn't take seriously at first. However, Alice is very serious and her sisters immediately know what she's about to do. Grabbing a table cloth, the get Oland to help them hold it up as Alice lifts her skirts and produces her short sword, which is also the Emperor's Seal. Realizing she's serious, he declares his weapon to be his two bodyguards, making it a two against one fight. However, she was hoping for a three against one fight with Paul included.

Oland decides to stand between Alice and the bodyguards to shield her, but she orders him away, stating she's not going to let him fight anymore. However, one of the bodyguards produces a flail which nearly takes out Oland if it weren't for Alice's warning. Machs recognizes the bodyguards as from a guild formed to quell farmer riots in Loderia (from which Alice's family decends from the royal family there). Oland is afraid, not wanting to harm people and so as the bodyguard with the flail attacks, Oland retreats until he falls out of a window (followed by the bodyguard), where he then runs away and hides around the corner of the building.

The remaining bodyguard pulls a matchete (spelled correctly apparently) covered in a liquid substance. Alice's actions have been what he expects from the household of the former king of Loderia, also known as "Nobel Flamme." This was a name only her grandfather was known as. The bodyguard wants to know if he can kill her even if she is a noble of the Thirteen Families. Alice confirms this.

Outside, the flail bodyguard has caught up with Oland and attacked him around the corner of the building with the flail, catching Oland in the gut. Oland pulls out his gun, but the bodyguard isn't impressed by the gun's size nor Oland's size since all he sees is a scared, giant soldier.

Back inside, the peasants are not happy with Alice claiming to be fighting for the pride of the nobles which leads Leonir to step in. The leader of the revolt recognizes him as the man that passed them the evidence about Paul. Leonir states that should Alice win, Paul will be tried, the peasants will be part of that, and they will not be prosecuted for their attack on the ball. If Alice wins, the peasants get to slay the nobles inside. The peasants agree to this, though the leader of the revolt feels this isn't enough. Further, Oreld tells Machs to keep the engine going because things could get ugly seeing as how this solution of Leonir's really isn't one in the long run.

Both outside and inside, the bodyguards go to attack their prey.

Thoughts: Man, this episode didn't do much more than waste a lot of time with posturing and speeches. That said, I wasn't bored by the episode, just felt it didn't do much. Sadly, I get the feeling that this story-arc will consume the rest of the series.

Pumpkin Scissors 22

2007-06-13T00:45:00.005-07:00

Pumpkin Scissors 22

Summary: Alice moves in to attack despite the stuff on the bodyguard's machete (or matchete...which I suppose is a foreign way of spelling it). The stuff gets on her and does her no harm.

Outside, the 4th Axe with the assistance of local police have the area cordoned off, but do allow a limo to pass through, the masked man from Silver Wheel is inside with another, and they talk of the incomplete infiltrating Section I. The masked man speaks of someone who didn't learn the ethics of life as a lion cub would, but did have fangs and claws.

Back at the ball, the machete bodyguard talks of the substance on his blade -- mud from his country where he will then be in his element. He smears some on his face knowing that the mud from the marshes will make him treat those around him (the peasants) as marsh weeds to be cut down.

Outside, Oland is still on the run and taking a beating from the flail bodyguard. He sees horses in a nearby stable and wonders what to do.

Inside, Alice presses the attack and discovers her opponent doesn't fear her blade. She soon learns the purpose of the mud as she begins to hallucinate. She reminds herself that she's not really in a swamp but in the ballroom on solid ground. However, the bodyguard catches the bottom of her skirt with an attack, preventing her from being able to dodge a slash from his blade. So, she takes her sword and slashes her own skirt to escape the death strike of her opponent.

The crowd is getting restless and moves in to attack Paul. Alice sees this and rushes to defend Paul from the peasants. Oland, running past the windows, sees Alice fighting and stops to watch. The flail bodyguard is amazed that she's still alive and wonders if she seriously believes her actions will stop a riot. As Oland takes another blow from the flail and falls to the ground, he ponders things, realizing he'd been using her small body to lean on. Because she is who she is, Oland comes to a decision to protect her no matter what.

Inside, Alice gives a speech about not being on the side of the nobles or the side of the peasants. Her older blond sister comes in to shield Alice while the dark-haired sister prevents Oreld from doing anything rash. She is married to a soldier and as such is not afraid of death, even when peasants move in to threaten her and Oreld. Alice asks her blond sister to step aside since she's still in the middle of a duel. The leader of the rebels isn't convinced, but Alice speaks of standing against evil in whatever form it takes, even if it is the Emperor, which causes quite a stir.

Deciding to protect Alice with his large body, even if it means killing, Oland opens his lantern to expose the blue flame that turns him into a tank killer. His opponent is surprised by Oland's sudden recovery and being shot in the arm makes him start to fear. Oland shoots again, missing his opponent but striking the stable. The flail bodyguard begins to panic as he sees that Oland is no longer a scared giant, but something big and fearless, realizing that his life is in danger. As the horses inside scream in fear and bust out of their enclosures, Oland holds his opponent until the horses, still attached to carriages, run them over.

As tensions are still high in the ballroom, Oland tosses the body of his opponent through the window to the amazement of the machete bodyguard. The machete bodyguard is not amused by this, but the flail bodyguard is deathly afraid as Oland enters through the busted window. Alice tries to get him to stop coming to her as she's in the middle of a duel. He ignores it and she breaks down and tears up. He assures her that while he and she might remain in solitude forever, however, he wants to protect the lieutenant of Pumpkin Scissors as a member of that group. Alice is touched by this, but quickly gains her military bearing, asking Oland to give her his shirt. She order Machs to turn off the vehicle's engine and get out to show that they will not run. She orders Oreld away from her other sister to protect Paul. Then she orders Oland to guard her back and make sure no one interferes with the duel.

Smelling Oland's shirt, she now has her own territory and is ready to resume the fight with the machete bodyguard.

Thoughts: OK, I liked this one a lot better, mainly because you got that little hint of something between Alice and Oland again. I'm glad Oland's brief period of indecision came to an end with him apparently having a bit more control over his lantern ability in that he didn't kill the flail-wielding bodyguard. I guess that mud only makes one hallucinate just briefly since that's all we saw onscreen. I suppose it was to be used to disorient the enemy long enough to make the kill, which didn't happen here. Well, only two more episodes to drag this duel out over.

Pumpkin Scissors 23

2007-06-13T00:45:00.001-07:00

Pumpkin Scissors 23

Summary: Sergeant Major Stekkin is still at the food distribution point and manage to find a bit of potato left from what they served the commoners. She places it in a bowl intending to serve it to Mer-kun, their military dog courier, when she gets back to the base. The sudden arrival of Mer-kun startles her, he being accompanied by Captain Hunks. Hunks teases her a bit about stealing food and wonders where the others in her company are.

Back at the ball, the machete bodyguard again uses the mud to make Alice hallucinate, but she smells Oland's jacket, which she's wearing, and is able to dispel the illusion. The bodyguard is having no trouble reading Alice's attacks and the natives get restless again until Oland steps in to prevent them from doing anything rash. The sight of the other bodyguard still quivering in terror helps enforce Oland's will.

As Alice and the bodyguard continue to fight, Paul asks Oreld about what was so bad about embezzling a little money, assuming he did it at all, leading to a long speech from Oreld about how the money wouldn't have amounted to much for the peasants, but every little bit helps.

Machs, posted near a window, sees street lights in the distance leading up to their location are going out, meaning the 4th Axe is likely on the move to surround the building. They won't care about any deals most likely and so Machs knows they need to get the peasants to lay down their weapons.

At the base of the hill where the road leads up to the ball location, Section I 4th Axe troops are there and prevent Captain Hunks from proceeding any further. As they talk to him, a blur dashes up a retaining wall at the side of the road, which Hunks tells the troops must have been a cat. He returns to where Stekkin is waiting with the two prisoners. She figured he has some great plan that he gave to Mer-kun to deliver. He doesn't really answer her, but tells her that Alice may not always be the right answer.

Alice is wearing out in her fight and is in danger of losing the match. Leonir takes a butter knife and hides it, prepared to use it as a weapon if required. The bodyguard has Alice down and trying to catch her breath. He feels the fight is over, but Alice shifts her short sword to her left hand and stands up again. This time, as he attempts to attack, Alice is able to not only defend against the attacks, she's able to turn the attacks away. She does this repeatedly, causing the bodyguard concern. She informs him that her grandfather received three gifts from the former King -- the nickname "Noble Flamme," the great sword "Noble Flamme," and the defense technique "Main Gauche."

The fight continues with Alice's sisters, Leonir, and others amazed at her grace and beauty as she elegantly turns away all of the bodyguard's attacks. She uses the time to catch her breath and put her attacker to wasting energy. He realizes his mistake and when she shifts back her sword to her right arm, she uses it to knock him down rather than slay or seriously injure him. They bodyguard concedes defeat.

However, the leader of the commoners is not impressed and still wants to kill nobles. He realizes that Alice has messed things up for him and he decides to attack her. Oland jumps in to defend her, but Mer-kun suddenly arrives on scene and disarms the attacker's knife. Oreld and Machs check the documents Mer-kun is carrying and Machs discovers that the orders aren't for Alice, but for them. Oreld knows the commoners need to be disarmed and Alice decides to challenge them.

Thoughts: Alice's short sword has gotten shorter over the series I think. It just seemed really small to me this time. Mer-kun got a little action, which was amusing to me, considering he's normally just some passive dog. To see him in his "military hound" mode was also amusing. The duel at least came to an end with Alice using this new technique. While I didn't expect the left-hand sword usage, this being a shounen title meant that she'd be doing something unexpected to win.

Note: Machs' official name may be Martis and Oreld's may be Oreldo based on the documents which were typed up in good English.

Negima! Vol 19 (Ch 171) SPOILERS

2007-06-13T00:44:00.001-07:00

Negima! Vol 19 (Ch 171) SPOILERS

Thanks to AQS for the scans.

Chapter 171: Konoka sees several of the girls from her class who are heading off to Shibuya to do some shopping, including swimsuit shopping. Konoka is a little jealous, since she has to prepare for the Wales trip. Yuuna asks if Asuna is preparing for summer and not just shut up in her room in front of a cooler. Konoka thinks of where Asuna is and states that its not just a cooler for Asuna.

Asuna is in one of Eva's training globes, this time the frozen lands in a blizzard. Negi and Kotaro are there as well and Kotaro suggests she use the kanka to keep warm. She does and immediately no longer feels the cold. Unfortunately, Kotaro figures she can only keep it up for thirty minutes. Still, he's impressed by Asuna's ability since he and Negi had to come up with their own techniques to stay warm. She's upset about the thought of dying in thirty minutes which leads the guys to tell her to try to focus on the "ki" part of the kanka. She complains, but is told to stop complaining and just do it.

A flashback shows how Asuna got here. Eva has challenged Asuna, telling her she's all talk and has nothing to back up her words in typical middle school girl fashion. Since Asuna couldn't be Negi, she shouldn't be president of the new club. Asuna is angry about this, telling Eva that Negi had an unfair advantage in training and that with the same training Negi had, she could catch up. Eva finds this amusing, giving Asuna another opportunity to back down. She doesn't take Eva's out.

Back in the snowy mountains, Asuna has to survive for seven days. Negi and Kotaro tell her that efficient use of magic and ki is the key to survive. Negi and Kotaro plan to stay and support her all the way, which makes her feel a bit better. She sees Negi making a snow cave with his abilities and she asks Kotaro about their training since they went through the same thing. She marvels at their abilities, but Kotaro reminds her that she's pretty good. After all, Negi was trying to knock her out quickly and Asuna survived the whole fifteen minutes, even though she couldn't land a blow on Negi. Thinking on these things, Asuna becomes more determined to catch up to Negi power-wise. As such, her kanka power levels rise, even though it has been thirty minutes and Kotaro is very impressed and which Eva, observing in the distance, sees.

Unfortunately, her "gas runs out" and the kanka fades, leaving Asuna very cold. Negi and Kotaro seem unfased by the cold but Negi has the snow cave ready. Negi has a fire waiting for her and explains how he created it, telling her she'll need to learn how to do this as well. Negi has fish and water ready for her and Kotaro has used his abilities to melt some snow for a hot bath.

They leave her to bath and as she's enjoying her bath, an angry Eva emerges from the water and blasts her out of the cave. She's angry with Negi and Kotaro for helping her and despite their protests, she fails them as instructors. As such, Chachamaru and her sister android remove Negi and Kotaro. Asuna is naked (again using the kanka) and protests this to Eva. Eva doesn't really care about that, but decides to have "warriors compassion" on Asuna and gives her some clothing. As Eva has no obligations to Asuna, she's not going to go easy on her. Further, she gives Asuna another chance to bail out, but tells her she'll arrange Asuna's funeral if she dies since Asuna has no other kin.

Asuna puts on the costume Eva gives her, when Eva casts a spell that creates a giant snowball which Asuna must flee from. Asuna avoids the giant ball which kinda impresses Eva a bit. Asuna is angry by this, but again, Eva tells her to quit. After all, as a middle school student, she should be doing what middle school students do on summer break. Eva gives Asuna a bell, telling her to ring it and Eva will rescue her, but the training ends then. Eva tells her to ring it now, which again angers Asuna. However, Eva isn't interested in Asuna's anger, telling her she doesn't like Asuna's personallity -- being carefree, being cheerful, saying and doing things without thinking.

So, Eva hates Asuna, telling her she prefers people like Setsuna or Chao. Asuna is annoyed, but becomes worried when Eva takes her pactio card, meaning she'll be without an artifact and will have no way of drawing upon Negi's magic. Asuna protests, saying she can't use the kanka without the card, so Eva tells her to try remembering it. Eva floats off, figuring Asuna will soon be ringing the bell. Asuna screams in anger after Eva, but it is no use.

Eva and Chachazero fly off with Eva stating that Asuna has always repulsed her. Chachazero questions this since thoughtless and carefree people were "Master's" favorite type of people. Eva tells her to shut up, remembering a conversation she had with Al about Asuna. Chachazero ignores Eva, telling Eva that she's jealous, which annoys Eva somewhat.

Eva reflects on the irony of the situation in how Asuna is now trying to throw away something that took her ages to get -- peace from leaving her past behind her. A childhood comparison of Eva as a child and Asuna as a child shows them to be more alike than Eva would like to admit.

Meanwhile, an angry Asuna is still on the mountain screaming at Eva.

Thoughts: I really liked this chapter. Yeah, some fans weren't too impressed because this was the "get Asuna stronger" chapter, but I liked it because of the juxtaposition of Eva and Asuna's characters. Both had their childhood taken from them and both are very powerful (though Asuna is on a journey to discover this). Eva remembers everything about her past -- all the pain, sorrow, and suffering she had to go through as a hunted vampire. Asuna, on the other hand, from what limited amount we know, had a past where she was used as a weapon, which apparently caused her to bleed from the mouth (and she was chained to the floor). She traveled with the Crimson Wing for a while, but she was witness to the death of at least one of their members before Takahata was tasked with getting Asuna out of there. Then, Asuna's terrible memories (and good ones) were suppressed and she was allowed to continue life as an apparent normal middle school girl (though even in the first chapter, Konoka remarks on Asuna's unnatural speed in keeping up with her on skates, something Peter David's adaptation completely removed from the Del Rey publication).

So yeah, I liked this chapter because it was personal for Eva and Chachazero knows it! (Chachazero is the best...Akamatsu-sensei knocked one so far out of the park when he came up with her character!)

Pumpkin Scissors 24

2007-06-13T00:43:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin Scissors 24

SPOILER Summary: As an exhausted Alice squares off against the leader of the commoners, a frightened Marquis Paul steps in and tells Alice she hasn't finished the duel since he was a part of it. Since she's used up a lot of energy, he tells her she can have a substitute, so she chooses the leader of the revolt.

Their fight isn't long with the commoner punching Paul in the face and Paul basically begging for his life. He is crying and the other male nobles step in to apologize. The leader of the revolt isn't satisfied but once the tears are flowing all over, the revolt is officially over.

Alice begins to do what Alice does in these situations, but Martis (Machs) and Oreldo (Oreld) use their new authority from the orders given by Captain Hunks (and delivered by Mer-kun) to stop her. After all, she is at the ball in her role as a noble and not as the 2nd Lieutenant of Pumpkin Scissors. Section III will arrest the commoners for destruction of property, but they'll only be able to hold them for three days and thus protect them. Alice is not convinced, but Oland stops her, telling her she's lost and he smiles. Oreldo confirms that Section I will have them on the 4th day and the torture will begin.

Marquis Hoost, the host of the ball, steps in saying he has influence over important people in the military and three days will be enough to get things done so that the commoners won't be touched. Hoost then gets down on one knee to the commoners which shocks the nobles. The commoners celebrate and love and peace breaks out all over.

Leonir summons the leader of the revolt outside and ends up challenging him to a duel after remembering how Alice fought her duel. The leader is not happy with this, but Leonir tells him that Hoost won't be able to protect him even if he protects everyone else. So, before the leader can fire his pistol, Leonir slashes the man's wrist, then kills him. The masked man and companion from Silver Wheel arrive to take Leonir away. In the carriage, Hoost is there and Leonir thanks him for preserving the script they had set with his actions. Leonir sees in Alice an opponent worthy of his time and wonders how the country will change due to their actions.

Back at the ball, Oland tells Alice that she should rely on Martis, Oreldo, and himself. Alice acts offended since she states that Oland betrayed her when he was supposed to watch her back. Instead, he went along with Martis and Oreldo. She rushes to a nearby table with Oland close behind while Alice's sisters observe. She takes a sip of wine to her sister's chagrin and quickly afterward collapses back into Oland's arms, proving she still trusts him to guard her back.

The following day at Section III HQ, Alice acts unamused at what happened to Oland's uniform (he's having to wear a military jacket issued from his previous unit). Stekkin states that they haven't been able to get a new uniform for him and Oreldo reminds Alice there aren't many uniforms in Oland's size. Alice tells Oland (with a smile) that he must wear the Pumpkin Scissors uniform.

Thoughts: Awww, wasn't it so wonderful that all these nobles who were laughing at Alice moments before are now all weepy and the commoners are all forgiving. I wanted to sing some song about joining hands and stuff. Ugh! Of course, I have to remember this is a shounen title, so things like this ending were to be expected (and the end took way to long in getting there).

As to Leonir, I figured he was the one the masked guy from Silver Wheel was referring to in his "lion" speech.

As to the series as a whole, clearly things are in place for a sequel to pick up all the unresolved story threads.

Chapter 172 Summary

2007-06-13T00:42:00.001-07:00

Chapter 172 Summary: Asuna returns to what's left of the snow cave and discovers that the water that Kotaro had heated for a bath is frozen now. However, she refuses to ring the bell Eva left her and starts to fall asleep. Realizing the danger of that, she wakes herself up only to drift off despite knowing she'll die.

Back at the castle, Konoka shows that she has the ability to knock over a couple of pencils with her mind (it may be a spell...I'm not sure). Everyone is impressed, but Paru decides to prove she can do it too by blowing the pencils over. When Negi and Kotaro, arrive to the surprise of Setsuna and Konoka. Negi explains what happened and Kotaro recounts how even he thought he was going to die when they trained there. Chachamaru assures Negi that while Eva is strict, she has a good heart, something Negi believes to the surprise of Setsuna and Kotaro.

Paru and Ku Fei get into a friendly squabble with Paru challenging Ku Fei. Despite create-summoning a powerful "Genie" (for lack of a better term, that's what I'm going to call this creature of Paru's since that's what it reminds me of -- a giant genie), Ku makes short work of it, proving that skill trumps raw, untrained power. The two promise to "level-up" and laugh in an evil way.

Yue shows off how far she's come in training, sending the pencils farther than Konoka. Negi is impressed, wondering how she's managed to come so far. She explains her artifact allows her to train and learn in a more efficient way. Negi states that at her rate of learning, it will only take 78-hours (of study?) to get to magic arrow and disarmament magic. Getting closer to Yue, Negi fondly remembers his time learning magic with the very book Yue is learning from. Nodoka thinks about Negi giving Yue a personal lesson, and causes herself to "short out" for a moment. She decides to give it her best and says this aloud, which the other interpret to mean the training, which they agree to give it their all as well.

Asuna hears someone address her as "Asuna-chan," and it is a young, adult Takamichi (Takahata-sensei). He's embarrassed, but asks her to show him how to use kanka. She says it is easy, but you have to turn yourself into nothingness. Takamichi states that this is difficult, but Asuna-chan disagrees and easily produces the kanka with her fingers a 'V' for "Victory" stance. He's impressed by how easily she does it and wonder how. She's puzzled by this, saying that becoming nothing is easy since she never had anything in her to begin with. He's troubled by her remark and in his eyes, we see Asuna-chan's reflection as he reminds her that right now, she has Nagi-san, Takamichi's master, and of course Takamichi. She states she doesn't like his master's cigarettes, which amuses Takamichi.

Waking up, Asuna panics about having fallen asleep, then realizes she's not cold. She's using the kanka without Negi's magic and is so proud of herself. Nearby, Eva and Chachazero are observing and Eva remarks that Asuna will soon be ringing the bell. She wants Asuna to realize her own weakness because those with a broken spirit will not go to Wales.

Asuna is relieved she won't freeze to death, but seven days is a long time to survive, especially when you are hungry and have no food. Remembering that Negi and Kotaro were grilling fish, Asuna eventually finds a river but has no luck catching any fish. She thinks about maximizing the kanka, but reason sets in as she realizes it would run out and she'd freeze to death. Further, she doesn't even know if the kanka could hold out for an entire day. So, she must build a snow cave by the river for shelter and find firewood to ignite to keep warm because she'll need to recover from the use of the kanka.

It took many hours, but well after midnight, Asuna has her snow cave and a bundle of firewood. She has the large washcloth and giant towel from earlier and figures to dry out the firewood with the kanka. Unfortunately, she's "run out of steam" as it were and begins to feel the effects of the cold. Wrapping herself in the giant towel, Asuna promises not to ring the bell and figures to go to sleep for a bit to recover some strength to use the kanka again.

The next morning, Asuna is covered in ice and is freezing to death. Her body won't move and using the kana, she blows the ice and towel off herself. Observing Asuna now able to get up, a slightly disappointed Chachazero informs Eva that Asuna didn't die.

Asuna again attempts to catch some fish but is unsuccessful. She's growing weaker and decides she has to start a fire right away. By the third day, Asuna has her fire and so can sleep safely in the snow cave, but has yet to eat. She remembers the fish Negi and Kotaro had previously caught and finds them at the old camp fire site Negi had made. The fish are frozen, but Asuna eats some anyway. She thinks of Negi and starts to cry.

On the fourth day, the sun is shining brightly as a weak Asuna trudges through the snow. She collapses and Eva, from a distance, wonders where the obligation is for Asuna to go so far for Negi. Asuna is wondering the same thing and Eva is encouraging her to ring the bell from the distance. Asuna gets angry and her kanka fires up with a lot of power. She rises and angrily throws the bell a great distance. Then in anger, she screams about not giving up and insults Eva while taking off at great speed, to the stunned amazement of Eva and Chachazero.

Elsewhere, Chisame is in her sexy, cosplay, school seifuku with her loyal mice (who address her as Chiu-sama) and enjoying the air conditioning in her room. With her artifact, Chisame has the #1 blog on the web but now finds that this has left her feeling empty.

Thoughts: Again, we get another flashback to Asuna's past and a tease of her time before with Takahata-sensei as a young man. I've heard some fans complain about this "training" arc for Asuna, but I rather enjoy it. Akamatsu-sensei is using the time to advance the story of who Asuna really is and showing that she really is quite powerful.

The advancement of the other girls isn't as interesting, but I liked it just the same. After all, they all need to make some progress to be useful before going to Wales. Training arcs are common in shounen titles, but I find that as an "ojisan" in the anime-manga fandom, Akamatsu-sensei does them better than anyone else I've seen or read.

Also, just when you thought Chachazero couldn't be drawn any cuter, Akamatsu-sensei puts her in a darling overcoat with a cat-ear hood. As they often have girls screaming in manga and anime, "KYAAAA! KAWAII!" What a scene stealer.

Hayate no Gotoku 10

2007-06-13T00:41:00.000-07:00

Hayate no Gotoku 10

SPOILER Summary: Maria-san is singing on TV, apparently on some Japanese idol show and is being watched by a group of identical men when the TV explodes.

Sakuya is watching Nagi play a game on her PS3, only it isn't one of the new HD games but an old RPG game. Losing, the game insults those of Kansai origin by telling them to go eat tacoyaki (shown in the link with toppings) and rice. Sakuya loses it, and starts screaming at the TV in anger. When Nagi teases her about it, the game then insults Nagi, telling her she suck at game playing and calls her "chibiko" (little girl). Nagi loses it and the two of them attempt to destroy the game with Nagi vowing to use "AAA" as her name from now on while the viewers are showing a non-service fanservice shot of Hina-chan.

Maria-san walks in on them and wonders what they are doing. An angry Nagi informs Maria that they are ridding the world of an evil. Nagi wants to know what's for dinner, but since its stuffed peppers, she's not thrilled. Sakuya teases Nagi about her eating habits, implying it is the cause of her lack of growth in more than one way.

The next morning, Nagi doesn't want to get up and isn't happy about the sun rising. At breakfast, Sakuya takes off for school leaving an annoyed Nagi at the table. The scene is shown on a small TV and Nagi hits the pause on the remote. A cutout of Hayate is to her right and Maria is to her left as they appear to be in a studio. Nagi thinks she's having déjà vu, but Maria explains the scene is from episode 8 and that this episode took place during episode 8.

Off to the side, Sakuya is reading the script where it states her character gets the urge to watch some sort of DVD and so her character returns to find the game console is alive. Back into the episode, Sakuya finds just this and the game's evil female final boss begins threatening her. Unimpressed, Sakuya rings a bell and summons her two bodyguards Makita and Kunieda, who armed with fire extinguishers, spray the game console. The game console protests and Sakuya gets irritated when she realizes there wasn't a fire, but the game console was talking. Now the game console has to end all of it's sentences with "tima."

Sakuya reasons that because the game is such a bad one, the hate for it accumulated and so it became a youkai during the night. She again summons Makita and Kunieda and instructs them to put an end to this thing by making sure to hit the reset button and the plug. The game protests, and the "tima" ending for its sentences annoys Sakuya. With another "tima," another voice within the game calls for punishment and the room is flooded with takoyaki.

In the game, the final villain (a demon lord) is a cute female with giant breasts (think Naga from Slayers) and is unable to move or get out and has to say "tima" all the time. She reckons that in games, the Hero always shows up at the end. So if she defeats the Hero, she's free. The narrator says this won't happen as the game will return to the Title Screen, but The Great Stygian of Abe (Temp) won't listen. She decides that she has to capture the Hero (tima). And so, with a giant rod-and-reel, she slings game controllers all through the mansion and mansion grounds.

As the "Tima" (as I'll call the villain) eagerly awaits for a hero to be captured, we are shown the scene from episode 8 where Hayate is in a seifuku and trying to sneak out, when he steps on a game controller. Everywhere, her game controllers are stepped on and ignored, and she's depressed that everyone is ignoring her. The three girls of the student council (Izumi-chan, Miki-chan, and Risa-chan) are at Nagi's front gate, but since no one is answering, they attempt to leave, Miki-chan kicks one of the controllers, then stops to pick it up. She's being reeled in, but Izumi-chan catches her by the leg. Unfortunately, she notices Miki-chan's cute new panties along with Risa-chan, which results in the three of them being pulled into the game world.

Tima's grateful voice is heard thanking the trio for noticing her, along with the "boing" sounds. Rika-chan ID's this sound and as Tima keeps talking and instructing them to come to the castle, they are attacked by a slime, RPG style. Rika-chan also figures out everything that is going on and as Tima is waiting for them, Rika-chan rushes behind the taller Risa-chan, stating she's the hero. The slime attacks and Risa-chan is hit for 42837 points of damage and is "killed." Now in a coffin, Risa-chan tells them the rest is up to them. Tima realizes her mistake and has the slime monster killed, but Izumi-chan is reduced to 1 HP. For her actions, the skull helm Tima wears punishes her.

As the three girls argue, Isumi-san senses the youkai but instead of coming to Nagi's game room, she ends up at the indoor onsen. As she bathes, Izumi-chan uses her cell phone to summon a mecha, then call Hina-chan who immediately arrives. She doesn't believe they are really in the game.

While the foursome head to the castle, Nagi is back in the studio and decides to read some fan mail of the anime series and answer it. One viewer thinks that Maria-san is in her twenties, but read that she was really 17. Maria-san is a bit depressed by the fact that she appears older than 17, swearing she's still young and fresh.

Now that the foursome has had time to reach the final castle (complete with RPG costume change), Tima sets off the final attack which ends up dropping a large washing pan on her head. Tima, defeated, states she's ready to go but not ready to go. So the skull helm dispatches punishment which hits everyone. Izumi-chan, Risa-chan, and Mika-chan now find themselves on Nagi's property but with no memory of their adventure while Hana-chan is sent back to school. Isumi-san opens the door on the game room where Sakuya is upset with how the game ended and how she's been mistreated.

Thoughts: From what the anime stated, this is an original episode by Hata-sensei, the mangaka of the manga this anime is based on. If so, that's pretty cool.

We got an explanation of why there was a game controller in the yard in episode 8, which was funny, even if not required. We also got an explanation of how the three student council girls wound up on the estate grounds. I don't know who voiced Tima, but her "Urusai! Urusai! Urusai!" (~"Shut up!" times 3) usage were the same thing that Nagi's seiyuu KUGIMIYA Rie used as Shana in the anime Shakugan no Shana.

No Hayate in this episode save for a cutout of him and a couple of flashbacks.

I've seen RPG parodies before, but this one was pretty funny I have to say.

Mai-Otome Zwei 03

2007-06-13T00:39:00.000-07:00

Mai-Otome Zwei 03

SPOILER Summary: Young Queen Mashiro is concerned that the Nekokami (cat deity) Mikoto still hasn't awoken from her mysterious sleep and she states this to the Meister Mai, who's preparing a meal. They are trapped on a small chain of tropical islands. Mashiro is worried about her Meister Otome and friend Arika, though she won't admit it.

Elsewhere, the SOLT (Strategic Otome Limitation Talk) summit is underway, however it is decided that they must discuss the recent attacks upong the Windbloom and Aries nations by the unknown entity. As they talk, the "4th Column" Nao is on a mission with Nina to some ancient ruins in an icy, snowy land.

Meanwhile, several Otome including Arika are waiting on the conclusion of the SOLT summit in an indoor pool facility. Arika is not happy that Otome Maya-oneesama keeps a close eye on her, even when she goes to the toilet. Maya has her reasons and is there to prevent Arika from doing something rash in going to find Mashiro. Otome Chie steps in to stop Maya's teasing and she and another Otome explain that for right now, the best course of action is to do nothing. After Maya stops young King Kazu from making out with his love and Meister Akane, they are teased by Otome Shiho until Otome Rosalie-oneesama begins teasing Shiho. Arika tries to take advantage of the situation and sneak away, but is caught by Maya and prevented from escape since her bikini top was removed by Maya. A drunk Otome Ein brings chaos to the situation be removing several of the girl's tops.

Inside the ruins, Nao is marking her territory and talking with Nina, who's holding a diary with instructions on entering the ruins and avoiding traps. Upon entering the first room, Nina informs Nao that the first trap is a pit trap. Nao has a negative remark on this kind of trap when Nina accidentally sets it off, causing them to fall.

Meanwhile, Headmaster Natsuki talks with Youko about the petrified Otome. The Otome are alive but other than that, they've made no progress in freeing them, nor have they heard from Midori, who's also out on a mission with the cyborg Rad. However, there is concern over the plant-like thing that took over the mausoleum and while its growth on the surface seems to have stopped, it is growing underground still.

We then see Nina in a sleeping Sergay's room where she opens up his luggage and removes his diary. She goes to her room where she looks at a picture of herself, Arika, and Erstin, her roommates from her days at school to become an Otome. She then opens the diary, but wakes up in the ruins, remembering that they had fallen. They are in another room where Nao has the diary and is reading it. Nao teases Nina about it and reads from a passage where Sergay apparently "noticed" his adopted daughter. Nao stops short though and tosses the diary back to Nina, who promptly embraces it. They continue through the frozen building, working past many traps and talking where we learn that Nina is still an Otome.

Still waiting for the SOLT session to conclude, Arika and the maid Aoi talk with Arika looking at Mashiro's luggage. Arika remembers the fight she and Mashiro had and when Mashiro's fat cat Mikoto leaps down onto the luggage, one of the cases opens, revealing a picture that Arika drew for Mashiro when Arika was still in school. Arika learns from Aoi that Mashiro considers the picture to be her treasure and takes it with her everywhere.

Back at the ruins, Nina and Nao continue to talk. Because of what had happened to Sergay in the Mai-Otome series, he no longer has any memory of raising Nina, so the diary is all Nina has left of her adopted father. The diary talks of something that Nina feels is a treasure of some sort, which is why they are there (in part I gather).

At the island, Mashiro and a young native girl child (with a hidden face under a hood like Jawa's from Star Wars) have fishing poles to go fishing. The two talk about the Schwartz and how things have changed so that as they approach a gazebo shrine. Stating that the Windbloom and Schwartz should get along better, the girl has Mashiro stand in the shrine, then exits and kneels to pray. Mashiro is embarrassed by this, but the girl states that she made a wish for everyone to be able to return to their mountain to be with the rest of their people.

Returning to the ruins, Nao has a key which opens a door to a huge room. They discover a large cocoon and their presence is noticed by the strange entity. There are stacks of books everywhere and Nina finds a book with the Greek title "The Book of Neptune." The entity attacks Nao, who recognizes it as the one who petrified the other Otome. Being the 4th Column, Nao activates her Otome abilities to fight the entity. However, a guardian of the room has also been activated, meaning Nao has two enemies to fight. The entity stands on the cocoon and it glows. Around the world, giant, metallic, plant-like things begin to emerge from the ground, apparently triggered by the entity.

Nao under attack from two sides, decides to take out the guardian first. She does and after dispatching it, a giant sword falls and is "caught" by the entity. As the sword stays suspended in front of the entity, three apparent eyes open within the cocoon and Nina races to prevent the entity from taking the sword. The entity easily doges Nina and Nao battles it. The entity sends a petrifying beam through Nao, pinning her to the wall of the room. Before she is petrified, Nao manages to use her energy webs to catch the entities weapon and attach the webs to the wall.

The entity takes notice of Nina, but it cannot attack because its weapon is being held by the threads. It pulls the weapon until the wall the threads are attached to come down. The entity has to move to avoid being hit by the falling wall while Nina finds herself glowing green and the sword glows as well. Both are pulled to places with Nina being pulled to a doorway that has just opened and is filled with a red energy. Nina is pulled into the energy field and the doors close, just before the doors and the wall around it collapse.

The people at the SOLT talks are looking at the plant thing that emerged nearby with Natsuki fearing the worst for the world should these things hatch.

At the island, Mashiro is dozing and the young girl notices that she's got a bite on her line. The little girl wakes Mashiro and encourages her to bring in the catch. Unfortunately the line breaks and instead of a fish, a building emerges from the water. Mashiro and the little girl enter the building and discover an unconscious Nina there along with the Book of Neptune.

Thoughts: Maybe sales of the previous to episodes weren't so great. I really didn't need all the ecchi fanservice complete with naked breasts. Then again, the writers may not have had enough story for this episode and needed to kill some time. Either way, I didn't care for it.

As to the story, it was interesting enough even though we didn't learn squat about the entity. Obviously with only one more episodes, the explanations are going to have to come fast and furious to save time for the battle which likely will have to be shown as well.

Negima! Vol 19 (Ch 173) SPOILERS

2007-06-13T00:38:00.000-07:00

Negima! Vol 19 (Ch 173) SPOILERS

Thanks to AQS for the scans.

Chapter 173: Konoka and Setsuna are in a greenhouse of Eva's when Konoka sees a wounded bird and heals it. During the past seven days, Setsuna notes that Konoka has gotten better at her healing abilities. Konoka sees Setsuna is injured and despite Setsuna's protests, Konoka activates her artifact and her clothing changes from a maid costume to one of her artifact costumes. Because Setsuna got the wound roughly 30-minutes earlier, Konoka's artifact can't heal it (it can only heal woulds up to three minutes old) so Konoka decides to suck on Setsuna's injured finger. Setsuna backs away and Konoka laughs as she was teasing Setsuna, but states that her normal magic can heal the wound. She hasn't gotten strong enough to heal Setsuna's large injuries yet.

Konoka vows to continue to get stronger so that she can heal any kind of injury because if Asuna can get stronger, so can she. Setsuna is proud of Konoka and likes the influence Asuna is having. She asks about Konoka's new costume and learns that a feature of the pactio card is that in addition to the costume on the card, one can register other costumes as well. Konoka states she's going to see if there's anyone else in need in healing while Setsuna isn't sure about Konoka's new costume (and somehow has changed from her school uniform to a maid costume in the blink of an eye without using her pactio card).

The two come upon a training session by Kotaro, Ku Fei, and Kaede. Ku has just split a huge boulder with her fist and Konoka is impressed. Setsuna and Kaede talk about Ku's training while Ku talked with Kotaro and Konoka. Setsuna notices that Kotaro is stronger too, while Konoka notices his injuries. She wants to heal him, but he runs away and she can't catch him. So, Konoka and Setsuna go to where Paru is. Paru has used her artifact to make four of herself to finish her manga, which she's behind on.

Elsewhere, Yue and Nodoka report to Negi that they have completed 78-hours of magical studies, though Nodoka still has to finish the practical training part. Negi is impressed as are Setsuna and Konoka who have also arrived on the scene. As Setsuna wonders how Asuna is doing in her training, Asakura arrives with Sayo in tow while Chachamaru is bringing a protesting Chisame. Asakura has brought the meat for the barbecue.

As the party starts and people are eating (including Chisame's mice, who praise her for her kindness), Chisame wonders if it is OK to start the party without Asuna. Setsuna agrees that it is worrying that she hasn't shown up yet and so she, Negi, and Kotaro decide to go see if she's OK. Asakura, Sayo, and Chisame are stunned when they hear about Asuna's training in the icy region. Asakura figures that she is doing this because she loves Asuna, which causes Yue and Nodoka to spew. Nodoka isn't sure but Asakura is having fun and continues to say this is love. She expands it by stating that all the girls are in the same boat -- in love with Negi because otherwise why spend all this time at Eva's castle.

As the girls protest, Chamo gets into the act, stating he has proof to back Asakura's statement. He produces a love chart from a scroll, showing various girls with scores in different categories and a total score, which a shocked Yue snatches from Chamo. He produces more, stating the ability to measure affection is a gift of his. Yue and Ku grab those scrolls and piling them up, Chachamaru lasers them and causes them to burn. Konoka is bummed out about this, as is Paru and Asakura. Asakura decides to tease those who wanted the scrolls burned. It is after this teasing that they remember Asuna.

Setsuna, Negi, and Kotaro are making their way through a fog attempting to reach the summit, which is the only thing they haven't explored yet. Coming out of the fog, they see Asuna near the tip of the summit with Eva and Chachazero behind. Eva tosses Asuna her pactio card, and in Asuna's hand, it immediate becomes the giant sword, which she spins before planting in the ground. Having survived and proved Eva wrong, she demands to know if Eva has a problem. Eva doesn't answer at first, which results in Asuna getting frustrated.

Eva asks why Asuna didn't give up since there was no reason for her to go that far. Asuna states she doesn't know about that, but concedes that Negi was part of the reason. She thinks about her conversations with Setsuna, Negi, and even Eva about their troubled past. She then pats Eva's head and states that she did it to stay friends with everyone, so she couldn't give up. She even confesses she doesn't really dislike Eva that much. Eva isn't amused and flips Asuna. Eva had given Asuna an out and she hadn't taken it. She also didn't remember (her past?) and so Eva reflect that the fool made it through as a fool.

With an evil grin, Eva throws off her coat and with an outfit that says "Master," she states that she'll personally train Negi and Asuna as her apprentices and make them worthy to serve her as "evil sub-bosses." Asuna protests, but Eva isn't done. Asuna must now wear black, goth-loli clothing. Asuna continues to protest with Eva hearing none of it while Negi, Setsuna, and Kotaro congratulate her.

In the real world at Shibuya, Ako, Makie, Yuuna are shopping for swimsuits and Yuuna is showing off her figure in a bikini. Ako and Makie are impressed with her chest size and hearing that she's been drinking milk, the two rush off to order some mild from a nearby vendor.

Summary: So, just how did Setsuna instantly change from her school uniform to a maid costume?

As to the chapter itself, this merely sets the table to show that the girls are making progress in their training and that Asuna is now going to train with Negi and Eva. The final page is a filler omake and I suppose in addition to providing fanservice, is Akamatsu-sensei's version of a comic strip.

Recommended CLASA +A

2007-06-11T14:13:00.000-07:00

	Dirty Pair

Have a problem? Don't mind your planet being blown up as part of the solution? Then perhaps you should call the Lovely Angels - otherwise known as the Dirty Pair - to solve it. This show revolves around Kei and Yuri, two lovely teenagers who work for WWWA, an organization that will look into anything for the right price. Episodes vary, but most are extremely funny, especially if you like the "girls with big guns" genre of anime. It's actually more popular in the States among fans than it is in Japan.

	Fullmetal Alchemist

There are just a handful of times when an animated television series lives up to what the medium can do. Cowboy Bebop did it. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex did it. Macross did it. And though there are more, suffice it to say that another title should be added to these ranks: Fullmetal Alchemist. In its 51 episodes, we get humor, drama, horror, and pathos packaged together in a lovely combination that, while not for children despite its look, is among the best anime series ever created.

Edward and Alphonse Elric aren't exactly your typical brothers. The older Ed, a short fellow who's constantly picked on for his height, is missing an arm and a leg; the younger Al appears for all the world to be a suit of armor. On top of their odd appearance, they are alchemists par excellence. In their world, the law of equivalent exchange rules, and alchemists can use the materials around them to manipulate their environment. There's only one rule to alchemy: the dead cannot be brought back to life.

In a desperate attempt to break that rule, the brothers lost body and limbs to the void, and they are determined to get them back. How? They seek the Philosopher's Stone, a legendary gem that can supposedly get around the truth of equivalent exchange and could restore their original forms. But to find the stone, they will have to become a part of the military establishment...something that Edward takes as a necessary evil. As they take on strange homunculi and other alchemists determined to have the stone for themselves, they will discover the dark secrets of alchemy that will forever alter their lives and the lives of those they love.

Fullmetal Alchemist is a tasty package from start to finish. Though it is not as gorgeous, perhaps, as the very cream of the televised crop of anime, it always looks perfect for what it is supposed to be. Because the character designs are not hyper-realistic and the humor often exaggerates those designs, expecting it to look like Ghost in the Shell misses the point. The opening songs are loud and boisterous rock tunes that set the show's tone; I can't say the closing songs ever impressed me, but I'm not a fan of girly J-Pop. Though the score is not a standout, it effectively underscores the proceedings.

But what makes Fullmetal Alchemist a dramatic powerhouse is its ability to run the gambit of emotions in a single episode. There are often a few goofy moments in each segment, but they never feel out of place. When the time is right, though, the story can turn serious in an instant. The fact that Fullmetal Alchemist can pull off hysterical comedy and tragic pathos in a half-hour is astounding. Although it's often funny, this is not a program for children. Despite the cheerful tone, this sucker has dark, dark themes throughout, and it has some graphic violence that, when used for effect, hits like a prizefighter. Though the kids will have to wait for it, the concepts discussed are deeply moral and ethical, which makes the show even more powerful. Not only does Fullmetal Alchemist raise personal questions - for example, what lengths you would go to in order that a loved one might return from the dead - but it covers topics ranging from familial loyalty and military principles to religion, racism, and genocide. The humorous bits actually work to make the philosophical underpinnings palatable: I came in for a good story, laughed often, and got a lot more besides.

Fullmetal Alchemist starts out deceptively simple. At first, it appears that the audience is in for a simple journeyman show. However, over the course of the two seasons, the complexity of the whole becomes apparent. There are few chance meetings in this world; indeed, characters who show up in early episodes as part of episodic adventures often reappear in the concluding third of the series. At first, this seems confusing as characters the audience met twenty episodes back suddenly return; however, it adds a huge dimension of rewatchability as the pieces fit into place upon review. The layered nuances of Fullmetal Alchemist make it a joy to watch.

But you know what I like best about the show? The interplay between Edward and Al. The dub is absolutely superb, even better than the Japanese track, and through it I genuinely felt for these two throughout the show. In casting 12-year-old Aaron Dismuke for the role of Al, the crew made a brilliant choice. He brings the perfect feel of someone on the cusp of adolescence to the role, and he's utterly believable as a boy trapped in a suit of armor wanting just to be a happy youngster again. Meanwhile, veteran Vic Mignogna as Ed captures the fire of the determined yet hardened young man who has seen too much for his years. Although the original animation goes a long way to establishing the relationship between the two brothers, the English voice actors take it up a notch. And when things slow down a little after episode 26, which is the start of the second season of episodes, it's these two that kept me interested.

I also have to admit that the ending of the show is amazing. Over the course of three busy days, I watched the last 14 episodes, it was just that good. Although there is that little blip I mentioned that wasn't quite as engaging, the last section is rock solid. The only problem I would mention, and it's minor, is that the show does not end with episode 51. Although some plot threads are complete, the show finishes on what I can only call an interlude cliffhanger - no one is in real danger, but there are HUGE things to be resolved. The Fullmetal Alchemist movie, due out in the fall of 2006 in the U.S., will hopefully conclude things well. (Although it's available now illegally via Bit Torrent sources, I am showing restraint and willpower and waiting for FUNimation to get this film out...NOW.)

There's little else I can say about Fullmetal Alchemist other than wow. Though it is a cliché to say, it is an instant classic you will not regret adding to your collection if you appreciate great storytelling, compelling characters, and rich ethical discussion put together in an entertaining package.

	Haibane Renmei

Even when a show is championed by critics, there's no guarantee that it will be a hit. Though I've been hearing about Haibane Renmei for a couple of years now, the chatter's only been coming from folks I know and respect in the anime reviewing community. With a script from the creator of Serial Experiments Lain, Yoshitoshi Abe, I knew it would likely be intriguing. So why was the buzz so low? Perhaps it's because Haibane Renmei is everything that more brutish anime fans won't touch...it's quiet, contemplative, slow, with nary a robot in sight. Like its predecessor, there are more mysteries than answers throughout the whole of the program. And yet, despite how much I enjoyed Lain, there's more sense to this show, more wonder and awe. If Lain was a melancholy dive into the recesses of the Internet, Haibane Renmei is a gently compelling piece of sunlight that has touches of both sadness and joy.

A young girl is falling...falling...ever falling, with a raven as her only companion. Where is she? Why is she in this cloudy descent? Suddenly, she finds herself scraping at a wall of goo that, when broken, leads into the real world -- at least, that is, the real world of the Haibane. Like humans only with halos and small wings on their backs, the Haibane hatch from cocoons. Our heroine, whom the other Haibane name Rakka, is now one of them. She can remember how to talk and how to ride a bike, but any memories of the past before hatching from the cocoon are gone.

As Rakka starts to get used to this strange new world, she learns that the Haibane live in the outskirts of a city. No one leaves the walls of their town; only a group of traders are ever allowed in. The Haibane live a simple existence, working for those in the town willing to take on their services. One works at the bakery; another minds the "young feathers" who sometimes hatch at an early age. Though their appearance is different from the humans, no one seems to mind them. There are lots of little rules to their world, but all seems well enough...no crime, no problems, just a day to day satisfaction. Rakka starts going to work with each of the other Haibane, and she grows fond of them. Still, she wonders what her life used to be, and what lies beyond the walls...

From my perspective, Haibane Renmei is a unique show not because we haven't seen its components before, but because they've never been put together quite like this. The simplicity and realism of life is not that far from shows like Piano or Boys Be..., yet the angelic figures are striking, having a relatively mundane existence despite being creatures with no history and a lot of questions. The show moves with such grace and elegance that I didn't mind that it took a long time to introduce the characters and their roles. It's deliberate in its measured approach, which continues throughout the series.

Part of the reason for this has to do with the musical score, which is absolutely beautiful. The music for Lain was a key ingredient; the opening and endings set the tone. All the more here! I couldn't help but listen each time to Haibane Renmei's closing theme, both haunting and beautiful, and the instrumental piece that opens the program is also impressive. Though I didn't notice the music within the show itself very much, it works to establish a sweet and melancholy feel. Animation freaks will not be quite as impressed. The artwork is consistent and the models stay on target, but it's not particularly detailed. There's a slight fuzziness from time to time which I believe to be the intent of the creators, but it might annoy some folks.

But is a show with no answers worth watching? In the case of Haibane Renmei, it is. Ultimately, without spoiling some of the key moments, the show is a voyage, one of redemption and one of acceptance, one of conquering fears and past sins and realizing forgiveness. Many of the questions that rose in the first volume are never answered in any clear way, but it winds up being OK. For part of the story of Haibane Renmei is about dealing with a world we didn't create. The angels never really learn why they are in their town, and they do not learn why they eventually go off into the woods to disappear forever in what is known as their "day of flight." They do not learn what is beyond the walls. But in a very real way, this is a metaphor for our own human existence. As a Christian studying to be a pastor, I do have a specific set of beliefs that inform me as to who I am and where I am going, and they give me at very least a spiritualized history of salvation and human destiny. But in a very real sense, we do not understand much of why we are who we are, born into the stations in life we have, and we have only the slightest notions of what waits beyond the walls of our own mortal existence. Haibane Renmei does not answer the questions of its characters' existence, but it describes that existence in such a way that both they as characters and we as an audience can appreciate it. Ultimately, Haibane Renmei may look like a story about angels, but it's really a story about us.

And even if all this sounds too theological or philosophical or heady, you should watch this show because it is so very well told. It's in the small touches that the show succeeds. It's in the static electricity that keeps Rakka's hair permanently attracted to her halo. It's in the gal who uses a halo maker to help her bakery make donuts. And it's in the yearning gaze of Rakka who wants to know the answers to all her questions. It is simple enough to be appreciated by a child but complex enough to send the mind spinning. It is beautifully subtle. And subtle, frankly, is just not seen enough in anime.

There are very few shows as special as Haibane Renmei in the world. This is a work that I wish would break beyond the barriers of the animation world because it is touching and personal, far beyond the average. It may not work for those who want anime to fulfill their every stereotype, but for me, this was a blessing...one that can make you believe that angels with tiny wings might just fly.

	The Irresponsible Captain Tylor Vol. 1

Finally! Even the most cynical reviewer gets tired of giving out low ratings and my recent findings were only good at best--and often, much worse. I am most happy to report that the streak is over. If the whole series is like the first two episodes of The Irresponsible Captain Tylor, I have a new boxed set to buy.

The first episode introduces the title character, Justy Ueki Tyler, who decides to join the United Planets Space Force. He does so because he believes that military service will be an incredibly easy life--free food, free uniforms, lots of women, and prestige to boot--and he's determined to maintain his lifestyle of being a complete sloth. The plot for the series is set in short order--the UPSF is at war with the Raalgon Empire and both sides are trying to line up their forces to see if they have what it takes to defeat the other. We know that this conflict will eventually absorb the series, but getting there is all the fun. In the first episode, Tyler blows out the central UPSF computer system while attempting to seduce the AI system that's trying to get his psychological profile! In the second episode, Tyler is assigned to the pension division and there's an old general whose address has changed. Tyler goes to deliver his check to him in person only to find that he's been kidnapped by terrorists. Tyler does everything wrong and nearly gets everyone killed, but in a twist of fate ends up becoming a hero.

This show is so funny that I can't even describe it fully. If you enjoy comedy and don't mind a vaguely science fiction setup, this is a must have. I doubt you'll want to rent it as you'll be wasting a few bucks that you could use to buy your own copy.

	Lupin III: Plot of the Fuma Clan

Amongst anime fans in the know, The Castle Of Cagliostro is considered to be the one must-see Lupin III film. Although there are tons of other movies and OVAs in the canon, Miyazaki's take on the gentleman thief and his friends is a perennial favorite. However, if I were to take on the argument that there is a better Lupin film out there than Cagliostro, it would be in favor of Plot of the Fuma Clan. At 75 minutes (and in actuality an OVA release), it's one of the shorter entries, and it is not the most action-packed, funniest, or cunningly plotted film. It is, however, the only one in my mind that combines those three elements in equal combination, giving the audience the "perfect" Lupin experience.

Goemon, Lupin's legendary swordsman friend, is about to get married. Murasaki, his bride, is a sweet girl far removed from the stoic seriousness of her husband-to-be. But as their wedding commences, a clan of ninjas breaks in and plays keep-away with a priceless ancient pot that's been in Murasaki's family for generations. Unable to wrest the jar away, the ninjas instead steal Murasaki, demanding the container as ransom. But the vessel is more than an heirloom; it contains the key to a vast treasure. As Lupin and company find out, there's plenty of danger on the road to a hidden fortune, especially when Inspector Zenigata comes out of retirement as a Buddhist monk to pursue the nemesis he thought was dead!

Although Fuma is not quite as skillfully animated as Cagliostro, having neither its budget nor its adroit director, it still looks wonderfully sharp, and the character designs are great. They still fall under the category of the more cartoonish look for Lupin adventures, rather than the angular hard lines some of the programs use for a more manga-esque look. Frankly, it's this style of Lupin I love looking at.

But so many more elements shine in Fuma. Many Lupin III features suffer from bloat, even (in my opinion) Cagliostro. Often, they wind up about 20 minutes longer than they need to be. Fuma cuts out all the fat, making for the trimmest, leanest Lupin I've seen. And though others have more outright humor or action, they tend to overdo it. Fuma is perfectly paced and told.

It's nice, for once, to see another character really take the spotlight, as Goemon does here. Although the other friends are around for the whole tale, Goemon takes center stage, a brilliant change from his woeful underutilization in other entries. The relationship he has with Murasaki is light and innocent, a far cry from the ribald exchanges between Lupin and Fujiko in the other movies. It's not quite romance, but it has more of that element than virtually any of the other Lupin material I've seen. It's also wonderful to see Zenigata having a reason to act like a madman in pursuit of his prey; after believing his life had lost its meaning in Lupin's apparent demise, Zenigata is re-energized and thankfully so.

And the car chases! Did I mention those? In this entry, there are several, all of them fun and all of them important, yet not overly long. Those brisk pursuits give the film plenty of energy. And yet, unlike most Lupin adventures, this feels less like a James Bond flick and more like Indiana Jones. The excitement and change of style is palpable and welcome. Although some might pick on the silliness of the police, here shown as nothing more than a gigantic herd of Keystone Cops, they are incredibly funny. And that's about the hardest criticism I can find against this one.

Lupin III: Plot of the Fuma Clan is great. Any Lupin fan should pick it up, and those curious to get in on the action of the mischievous scoundrel and his pals must see it.

	Macross '84: Do You Remember Love?

There are very few things that I know of on this earth that I consider to be true treasures, but I consider Macross '84 to be one of them. You're not likely to find many other reviewers who think this--in fact, I've seen several sites that have completely panned this picture--but it's likely they've never seen the movie the way it was intended. In its original, untouched form, Macross '84: Do You Remember Love? is truly a beautiful, magnificent film. Those who only know Macross from its butchered inclusion in Robotech will be in for a great surprise, for this is truly one of the misunderstood classics of anime.

Macross '84 is a cinematic retelling of the 36 episode series of the same name. Although it essentially covers the same ground as the television show, it does so with superb animation and an incredible score. For those not in the know, Macross is the name of a spaceship that crashlands on the earth in 1999. Ten years later, the actual owners of the craft, the Zentraedi, come to reclaim it, and they are willing to destroy all of humanity to get it back. What they don't expect, however, is the power of protoculture--that is, human culture--and music in particular stops them in their tracks. Mankind's only hope is to wage war not only with its armaments, but also with the very things that make us human. Although this conflict is central to the plot of the show, it would be nothing without the love triangle that defines the core of Macross. Lynn Minmei, a young girl destined to become an idol singer, falls for the handsome young pilot Hikaru Ichijo. However, there's also the dutybound lieutenant Misa Hayase, whose harsh exterior masks a deep longing for Hikaru's love. The three lives intertwine against the backdrop of intergalactic war that may require their ultimate sacrifice.

The first thing to know is that this film really isn't for the uninitiated, though anyone can appreciate it. The television series gives us plenty of time to learn who the characters are and what motivates them, and relationships develop at a reasonable pace. However, there's only two hours to get the movie done, and so the timeframe is incredibly compressed. For example, in the series, Hikaru and Minmei meet before she's ever really picked up a microphone; in the film, Minmei is an accomplished singing star well before Hikaru comes on the scene. Viewers will also find that certain characters aren't developed at all but show up anyway, and the plot goes by very quickly--again, another reason to watch the series first. Finally, if you're not familiar with the show, you'll also find the scads of music a bit surprising...for an action-oriented film, there's a ton of Japanese pop. (It's very good Japanese pop, too, but this will throw off some viewers.)

Nevertheless, what the movie does is nothing short of amazing. The relationships in the film are not only more adult, but more compelling and realistic than those in the original. In the TV series, Minmei is played as a bit spoiled (and this is very true in the incarnation most are familiar with through Robotech). In the film, Minmei is free-spirited, but she isn't nearly as coy or annoying--she's simply more grown up. This makes the triangle more poignant in that you can't help but feel sorry for whoever gets left behind. The film captures the essence of the series very well. The animation itself looks clean and refined, and though it comes from the 80s school of realistic (if muted) colors, it is perfect for the setting and tone of the storyline. The characters look absolutely beautiful, and the designs from this film remain my favorite character designs to date. What's more, the score is absolutely superb. It's fully orchestrated, and the sweeping grandeur of the music is an unexpected compliment to Minmei's songs through the show. There is a combination of drama, action, and music that is simply perfect. As a personal aside...I became a fan of anime through Robotech, but Macross '84 was the first real anime title I ever saw. When I first saw it, I was absolutely stunned. Not only did it meet my wildest expectations, it shattered my perceptions of what animation could be. This film was and still is a big part of the inspiration that has led me to collect anime seriously for over twelve years, and indirectly gave me reason to create an anime review in the first place.

There is a prime reason why this film has not received the acclaim it deserves, however, and that is because it is impossible at this point in time to find a licensed version of the film with English subtitles. There are English-language versions available, but the only known dub was done in Australia as an instructional tool to help Japanese viewers learn English. It is by and large considered the worst anime dub ever created. The most well-known distribution of this film in the English-speaking world is a recut version called Clash of the Bionoids. Not only does this travesty use the Australian dub, but it removes over a half hour of footage from the film. There is a ten second shower scene that could have been removed without trimming the plot. However, this version removes every single section of action from the movie as well as some longer dramatic portions, leaving it almost completely unintelligible--and perhaps even more boring than Odin. Meanwhile, the Japanese laserdisc includes the full film with the Aussie dub as a second language track. I've seen the entire film this way, and although it is certain better in that the film itself is intact, the delivery of the dialogue is so stilted that one can't help to concentrate on it. It tends to ruin what is a magnificent show...and from what I can tell, most web reviewers have only seen one of these two dubbed versions.

Here's the bottom line: if you saw and liked the Macross television show, or even its counterpart in Robotech, you should see this film, hopefully with good fansubs. Even if you haven't seen Macross before, it's well worth the effort if you can find a subbed copy. I've shown this movie to science-fiction fans with no knowledge of anime or the TV show whatsoever, and they've enjoyed it a great deal. No matter your background with the Macross universe, it is a piece of anime history that you should see in its unadulterated form.

	Marmalade Boy

Every now and then, a show seems just right from the very start. It's rare, but these things do happen in anime. I can't claim to have seen all of Marmalade Boy--getting through several of the opening episodes, I'm just getting started, since there are 76 episodes to the TV series, as well as a movie. However, there are series that pull you in far enough that you can't wait to watch the next tape. For me, Macross was one, and Orange Road was another. I am very certain Marmalade Boy will be one of these, as well. Although it's not available in the States yet, it's getting a larger following, and this show deserves the trip across the Pacific.

What is Marmalade Boy, exactly? Well, it's a romantic comedy...but it's got plenty of drama, and a little bit of goofiness, and lots of fun any way you look at it. The title itself isn't much to draw you in, but rest assured it has little to do with what is going on. As the show starts, Miki is a rather ordinary high school junior who is just beginning to sort through her feelings about Ginta. They had a relationship a while back, and though certain events conspired to bring it down, they are becoming good friends again. Lightning strikes, however, when her parents come back from their vacation with some...hmm...disturbing news. (I won't spoil what exactly happens, since what happens is hysterically funny, IMHO.) With this news comes a new boy into town, Yuu, and Miki's not sure what to make of him. He is attractive, smart, fun, but also arrogant and oh-so-difficult to truly understand. Why is she so uncertain of who she really loves? Add a few wrinkles in the mix, some ex-girlfriends, a dash of melodrama, and away we go!!

If you've ever watched Orange Road, you've got a clear picture of the road down which Marmalade Boy is to travel. It's plenty of fun--and the first episode had me howling--but there's also a real understanding of what it is to be a teenager in love for the first time. In comparison to Orange Road, though (and I say this as a big KOR fan), Marmalade Boy gets off the ground running and doesn't let up for air. KOR meandered through some episodes, and I'm sure that eventually this show will too, but Marmalade Boy knows how to start off right. I've liked several shows I've watched recently--enough to give them A ratings--but this is one of the few that just cries out to be watched. You can't help yourself! On any sort of down side, the animation is typical of TV series in the early 90s. It's certainly not bad, but it isn't spectacular. That isn't distracting, though...as I said recently when I reviewed Arcadia Of My Youth, a great story and smart characters can make up for just acceptable animation.

Bottom line? From watching the first few hours of this show, it's solidly entertaining. I would write more, but I need to track down a fansubber to get the rest of this one. I have the great feeling it will be worth the effort.

	Memories

The brilliance of art is simplicity. The best art tells us something about ourselves, makes us think, and focuses our attention on the unconscious which nevertheless invades our daily lives. One could argue if Memories is really art, I suppose, though all of its artistic parts are equally excellent. However, Memories is the kind of anime that I wanted to watch when I first became fascinated with Japanese animation back 17 years ago. Katsuhiro Otomo, director/creator of Akira, takes us through three separate worlds of his creation. He only directs one of the three segments, and each has its own unique style, form, and concept, but his seasonings are evident throughout. It is not conventional in story form, in artistic style, or musical leanings, but it strikes a unique, emotional chord that convention cannot attain. Animated films like Memories give reviewers the resolve to slog through countless hours of lesser shows; it's movies like Memories that remind us that these pictures of paint and celluloid can become so much more in our mind's eye.

To say much about the three individual stories spoils a bit of the mystery, so I will keep my descriptions to a minimum. The first short, "Magnetic Rose", runs the longest, and is my personal favorite; it chronicles how the Corona, a scavenger vessel in the middle of space, runs into trouble as the crew investigates a distress signal sent by a huge, rotting starship. The second feature, "Stink Bomb", follows a hapless fellow trying to cure his cold, oblivious to the fact that the medicine he's taken is causing a disaster of epic proportions. Finally, the film closes with "Cannon Fodder", Otomo's segment, which creates a new world where the entire populace is dedicated from birth onward to firing gigantic cannons against an unseen foe. Only problem is, when does the firing stop?

Although Memories was released in 1995, it has not aged in any way, just as Akira could have been released yesterday and would still appear fresh. The artistic direction is just stunning, with an incredible level of detail displayed in every segment. How this plays out depends on what the mood of the piece is, but the artwork is noteworthy throughout. Whereas "Stink Bomb" is the closest to Otomo's typical look, "Magnetic Rose" and its sci-fi trappings are particularly impressive in their detail and trappings. By far, though, the most unique segment artistically is "Cannon Fodder". The character design is a mix of Heavy Metal, Ralph Bakshi, and Gerald Scarfe; the world itself takes these artists, combines them with the dirty grandeur of Moebius' cityscapes and filters it all through a brown haze of war. It is unlike virtually anything else in the world of anime. Meanwhile, although the music is also uniformly impressive, Yoko Kanno's work in adapting "Madame Butterfly" for "Magnetic Rose" is exemplary, enough that I scouted out the music online for some time after watching the film. Everything here is magnificent, though each segment is so very different.

Despite all the craftsmanship involved, if it weren't for the significant power of its stories, Memories would be just another movie of the week. "Magnetic Rose", for one, is hauntingly beautiful, the rare piece that makes you think how you would react in similar circumstances while enjoying the superb pacing, the surprising action, and the sweeping score. Meanwhile, "Stink Bomb", despite being the most conventional of the three stories and thus often dismissed unfairly as trivial, has a deep sense of black humor almost completely unseen in anime outside of Otomo's work (see Robot Carnival for some more of it in action). The homage to Dr. Strangelove is readily apparent, and it succeeds at poking fun at a variety of targets--the military, the government, and even to some extent the viewer. Finally, "Cannon Fodder" is easily the most difficult piece, made no easier by its bizarre look. Seeing past that, Otomo makes some veiled statements about the potentials of war and our human nature that prefers to blend with the crowd rather than to put ourselves at risk and to chase after truth. If there is a prevailing theme here, it is not really the concept of memories at all--it is the concept of truth and the ways that we are hurt when we consciously or unconsciously ignore the truth to pursue our own devices. Take a deep look at the film, and you'll understand what I mean.

The sad fact is that, because Katsuhiro Otomo's name is splattered all over this film, its production company wants a ludicrous amount of money to license it in North America, believing the name recognition will be worth the cost. What they do not seem to realize, though, is that the audience that Otomo built on Akira is not the audience who would most appreciate Memories. It would be like expecting the same audiences to appreciate ET and Saving Private Ryan merely because they were both directed by Steven Spielberg. This film can be purchased in the Region 2 DVD format, which includes English subtitles; however, not that many of us have region-free players or the money to spend on importing discs.

All that being said, if you like art films and are willing to examine a movie that doesn't provide you every answer, Memories is simply fantastic. Find a local anime club, borrow a friend's copy, import it--but serious anime connoisseurs need to see this movie. Thought-provoking anime are too hard to find as it is, and this is a must.

	Metropolis

Akira defined science fiction anime for the last ten years. Love it or hate it, the film served as the benchmark anime for film critics and others who would never otherwise see anything within the genre. Although other anime have hit American theaters in limited runs, such as Princess Mononoke, X, and Perfect Blue, very little true sci-fi anime made it to the big screen in the West. But Metropolis has arrived, and though I am still enamored with Akira, we now have the 21st century's first truly epic science fiction anime. It is breathtaking enough in its grandeur to awe us and yet intimate enough in its softer moments to make us care for its characters. It is anime at its finest.

As it opens, we meet Kenichi, a young man on an adventure with his uncle, Shunsaku Ban. They arrive in Metropolis as a grand festival is about to start, heralding the completion of the Ziggurat, an immense building reaching to the heavens. A detective, Shunsaku's on a mission to arrest Dr. Laughton, a dangerous criminal known for bizarre experiments on humans and robots alike. They do find Dr. Laughton, but his laboratory is burned to the ground as they narrowly escape. In the encounter, they meet a mysterious girl without a name. With the robot-chasing Marduk Party right behind them, she and Kenichi escape through the labyrinthine city. Kenichi is eventually able to help her recover a few memories, as well as her name...Tima.

Tima and Kenichi discover all is not well in Metropolis--robots supply all the menial labor, but have little to no rights and aren't even allowed in parts of the city without facing destruction. Meanwhile, an entire class of people waits underground, upset that robots have taken their jobs and planning to stage a coup in order to take over the government. But those in power have other plans--Duke Red, the man truly in charge of Metropolis, intends an even bigger takeover himself, and his plans include harnessing a secret that Tima holds unknowingly. The wild card in all of this is Rock, Duke Red's young orphaned ward who desperately wants his affection and lashes out at all things mechanical in order to gain his attention. As secrets are revealed and alliances forged, the city of Metropolis lies in the balance.

Metropolis is based on an original story by Osamu Tezuka, commonly known as the father of anime and creator of the much-beloved Astro Boy. It's scripted by Katsuhiro Otomo, the writer/director of Akira, and directed by Rin Taro, the hand behind admired (and maligned) films as diverse as X, The Dagger of Kamui, and Galaxy Express 999. There's an incredible amount of talent here, and this is a happy case where it all comes together in a brilliant, moving package. Tezuka's work has never been more accessible to a new generation with only the vaguest knowledge of his legacy. Otomo creates a script that is both smart and touching, similar in themes to his own masterpiece but with a heart Akira lacks. Rin Taro takes his characteristically bold and inventive style and puts it to work, remaining extremely faithful to the look of Tezuka's characters (which are extremely retro in comparison to today's anime) while creating a world that is fascinating yet thoroughly modern. Rin Taro's work is often criticized for being beautiful but utterly hollow. Here, with a great script and inventive visuals, he creates his own tour de force unmatched by anything else in his previous films.

There is brilliance in the details here, and detail is evident everywhere. The mechanics of the city itself are on full display, and the amount of work and time put into crafting the nuances must have been staggering. There is plenty of CGI here, but it too is inspiring and seamless. But visuals aren't the only catchy thing here. A jazz-infused soundtrack keeps things moving, and the finale set against the backdrop of Ray Charles singing "I Can't Stop Loving You" is nothing short of stunning.

What makes Metropolis such a pleasure to watch, however, are characters that actually have character. The tiniest of roles is infused with life. Even the antagonists of the piece have motivations anyone can easily understand. The viewer cannot help but feel for Rock, the vicious youth that kills without a thought, because of his longing for love and acceptance from someone who cannot fulfill that wish. We intensely dislike him for what he does, but against better judgment we understand. We feel loss with these characters, and at the end, hope. Some will fault Metropolis' ending, which I will not spoil, because it is too predictable in comparison with other anime. Perhaps it is. However, the way it is handled is so impressive that those thoughts are undone.

I can't rave enough about Metropolis, so I'm going to stop. I'm running out of adjectives. Go see it in the theater and buy it on DVD. 'Nuff said.

	Millennium Actress

Satoshi Kon made a spectacular directorial debut with Perfect Blue, the 1999 psychological thriller that disturbed audiences worldwide. With Perfect Blue, Kon delved into the head of a young idol singer who starts to lose her grip on reality as she falls headlong deeper and deeper into the fame game. Pushing the boundaries of anime storytelling (as well as the boundaries of the R rating), Kon served up an exciting, intriguing spectacle that was nevertheless too brutal for casual viewing.

Kon returns to the themes of filmmaking, actresses, and distorted realities in Millennium Actress, and despite the recurring motif, he has turned in a film even better than his last. Though certain concepts remain constant, Millennium Actress is a love story at its core, and one told in a manner that will draw in a very different audience from Perfect Blue. In remolding these ideas, Kon has created a new masterpiece...arguably the first classic anime of the 21st century.

As Millennium Actress begins, we meet documentary filmmaker Genya and his cameraman Kyoji as they brave an earthquake on their way to meet Chiyoko Fujiwara, a legendary actress during the 1950s. Genya wants to document the story of the fascinating, isolated performer who's now a recluse in her 70s. Though frail in her old age, Chiyoko has vivid memories of her youth and what made her into a film idol so many years ago. She tells the story of a young man on the run who left her with an important key back in her youth...a young man she would cross oceans to find. As she discusses this obsession, she weaves back and forth between reality and the films she made, taking Genya and Kyoji on a journey through a tangled life that must be experienced to be understood.

Millennium Actress is a hard movie to describe accurately because, like its predecessor, its technique is part of the form of the movie. The narrative comes at us in unique ways, as the documentarians wind up a part of Chiyoko's flashbacks. We can't always tell the reality from the fiction, and yet we're not supposed to. Millennium Actress is less concerned with telling a true-life story and more in blending together a love story for the ages that incorporates all of Chiyoko's life experiences together in a ninety-minute microcosm. Chiyoko's story isn't limited to the experiences she's had but expands to the world of films she's starred in.

In some ways, it helps us realize that the vicarious experiences we have through reading books, watching shows, and experiencing dramas become a part of our own lives. If someone were to recount our lives stating only what we did, not what we thought and felt about situations and how we were affected by our experiences, so much of our lives would be left out. Millennium Actress weaves together those experiences of Chiyoko's--her thoughts, her experiences, and her career--into a whole that more fully gives us the reality of her life.

At the same time, Millennium Actress is not that complex at all. The layers are there to analyze, but they won't impede your enjoyment of the picture, either. Although some violent passages would frighten young children, it's simple enough at a basic level that middle school and high school students would enjoy it. It's also one of the first anime films to come out that would potentially appeal to a whole family, including women in particular. My wife is not an anime fan, and yet she was excited about seeing it and thoroughly enjoyed the movie.

Normally, I speak critically about animation details for those who appreciate that sort of thing. I won't do so for Millennium Actress other than to say the graphics are flawless for what they were trying to accomplish. Even skeptics should be impressed by the animation here. There is amazing use of color, giving the film a visual motif virtually unlike other anime I've seen. It would be worth seeing for that alone.

However, Millennium Actress gives you so much more than appealing artwork and characters. It has the creative juice to make this a landmark and the touching appeal to stir the hearts and imaginations of its audience. It's a love story with a unique charm that has as much to do with our desire to find love as it does real love itself. And on top of it all, it's exciting and fresh. I rented this one because of dwindling funds, but that was a mistake...it's a keeper.

	My Neighbor Totoro

For countless reasons, My Neighbor Totoro is the perfect anime for all ages. Though there are plenty of fantastic anime programs aimed at teenagers and adults, and equally as many for children (though seen a bit more rarely in the West), there are few that are appropriate for young tykes that are still completely and thoroughly entertaining for adults. With memorable characters and a gentle spirit, Totoro is Hayao Miyazaki's most simple film, but it is also arguably his best.

The film takes us into the lives of Satsuki and Mei, two young girls who have moved out into the country with their father. Their mother is ill and is staying at a hospital--though the move is not completely explained, it would seem it's to bring them closer together and save the family money. Satsuki and Mei start exploring their new home and neighborhood, especially the forest that's essentially their backyard. We follow them through a series of adventures as they eventually meet the king of the forest, a huge, furry creature called Totoro, and his friend, a Cheshire-like catbus.

Although this sounds very simple, it is, which contributes to the beauty of it. This film is about discovery and finding the magical in the ordinary, which is why I don't say more about the plot--it's not for me to spoil. Miyazaki, possibly Japan's greatest animator, is showing us the beauty he sees in the world around us. Many of his films have environmental themes, but Totoro is content to merely let us enjoy the wonder of the forest with its characters and creatures. As Roger Ebert notes in his Great Films commentary, Totoro has no villains, no battle of good and evil, no children vs. adults subplots. The most dramatic the film becomes is when Mei, homesick for her mother, gets lost on the way to the hospital to give her a gift, and Satsuki and her friends try to find her. It is this simplicity that makes the film so good.

Children will love the film--especially children young enough not to have been completely absorbed into the maelstrom of GameBoy, cable TV, and Pokemon clones--because of their natural instinct to discover something new, which the film leisurely indulges. Adults, meanwhile, will like it because it reminds us of our own innocence, when we too could believe that our own Totoro might be waiting to play out back in the field or among the trees on the way to school. It's slowly captivating.

This film could never be made in America today. In a market that demands an ever-increasing number of images on the screen, cut quickly from one to the next, a film this deliberately paced seems anachronistic. And what modern American film would go nearly half its running time without introducing its title character? What Western picture would let the audience decide if its mythological characters were in fact real or just part of the girls' imaginations? What Hollywood extravaganza would picture a loving, caring (and essentially single!) father nurturing his children, listening to their stories, and believing them rather than criticizing them for their fantastical visions? But these are the very things that endear us to Totoro. For all its strange, wonderful creatures, Totoro really pictures people just as they are--a rare thing indeed in cinema.

Disney now owns the rights to this picture, along with most of Miyazaki's other works. The original video release through Fox Family can still be found occasionally, but hopefully Disney will release it soon on DVD. In a way, it's interesting that Disney has the film, because Totoro brings to mind the best things about early Disney animation and easily trounces their recent entries. Disney does not own any rights other than distribution, thankfully, so unless Miyazaki loses his mind we shouldn't be seeing any cut-rate direct-to-video sequels.

At any rate, reading The Anime Review means that you are fan enough to want to see the best anime available...if you haven't seen My Neighbor Totoro, stop reading, go find a copy, and watch it. It's that good. We'll still be here when you get back.

	On Your Mark

When is a music video not a music video? On Your Mark shows that in the capable hands of Hayao Miyazaki, Japan's premier director of animation, a music video can truly become a short film that takes on a life of its own. Though ostensibly a video for the song "On Your Mark" by the incredibly popular Asian group Chage and Aska, On Your Mark is nothing less than a featurette that happens to have their music in the background. On Your Mark completely transcends the genre of music videos and delivers more in just under seven minutes than most films do in two hours.

On Your Mark has a complete story compacted into its short timeframe, and it revolves around a world poisoned by nuclear catastrophe and pollution. The populace apparently lives underground in a megacity that oozes Blade Runner. In the opening moments, police overrun the headquarters of a religious cult, and in the aftermath, two policemen find a young winged girl. Soon after they discover her, they realize they have traded her from one prison to another, and they take on a desperate quest to release her to the outside world. Over the course of six minutes and forty seconds, we become enamored with the young girl and her rescuers as they plan their daring escape.

On Your Mark is remarkable for several reasons, not the least of which is its stunning animation, a trademark for Miyazaki. For one, On Your Mark is a non-linear film; it plays with the audience in much the same way that Pulp Fiction, Memento, and Amores Perros do. Miyazaki toys with this, even putting in a "false" sequence that is later replaced with one that ends differently. Although Miyazaki also still wears his environmentalist hat, it's very interesting to see him deal (albeit briefly) with a dark cyberpunk world, something he's never touched in his feature films despite the popularity of that genre in anime. He also tells his story without any spoken dialogue, which makes him rely on visuals alone, and the result is stunning.

Interestingly enough, Miyazaki also has no interest in dealing with the song's lyrics except when it suits him, and so only occasionally do they actually reflect anything on screen. The music acts as a nice soundtrack, but in no way is it the focus of the work. Credit does need to be given to Chage and Aska, the Asian superstars to whom the tune belongs, for allowing Miyazaki the freedom to do what he did. Although virtually unknown to the West, Chage and Aska are extraordinarily well-liked in the Eastern world, with over thirty albums to their credit as a group and many more as solo artists; that they let Miyazaki use their song as a backdrop in their own video rather than a focal point shows grace virtually unknown among major rock stars in America. Of course, the fact that the two cops in the film bear a striking resemblance to the duo may be part of it.

There is actually a great deal more that could be said about On Your Mark from a theoretical perspective. Many viewers thought that the winged girl could be a representation of Nausicaa, Miyazaki's best-known heroine whose story was told in manga form over a fifteen year period. Miyazaki himself has made allusions to this possibility, and a recent college class at the University of Texas at Dallas had an in-depth discussion about the short's symbolic release of the Nausicaa character after Miyazaki's release of the final volume of the manga series. The short also contains nods to the disaster at Chernobyl, an event that in many ways helped shape Miyazaki's eco-view, and many other snippets worth studying.

All this would be meaningless, however, if the video wasn't enjoyable. Thankfully, it is incredibly fun to watch, and I don't doubt many a copy of this has been worn to shreds by multiple viewings. If you can find it, by all means pick it up. It is well worth having, especially if you are a Miyazaki fan; since there is no dialogue, even an NTSC videotape original from Japan would suffice. Although I'd seen most of his films and wasn't too worried about finding this short before seeing it, I really have to say that On Your Mark shines as one of Miyazaki's best and should be a part of every anime fan's collection.

	Only Yesterday

There are plenty of films out there that are intended to be tear-jerkers. They willfully bend your emotions so that you're personally dragged to the point of sadness. A few work; most do not. They usually fail because you see the proverbial writing on the wall long before the movie ends--and likely being advertised right on the one-sheet poster hanging in the lobby. In sharp contrast, director Isao Takahata makes films that appear to be simple dramas. Yet, of the four films he has made to date, two of them, Grave of the Fireflies and Only Yesterday, make me cry every time I see them.

It's not a macho thing to admit, certainly, but it's the truth. The reason they are so affecting has nothing to do with leading the audience into sap or throwing us metaphysical platitudes. If anything, Takahata takes an impartial route through his films, simply creating utterly realistic characters in real situations who touch us because they we empathize with them. There's nothing staged about them; they just exist. By the time we've spent two hours with them, we desperately feel for these animated natives. If Grave of the Fireflies is Takahata's story of hope lost, Only Yesterday is his tale of hope found. It has resided in my top ten anime list of all time for a great long while. After watching it again, I realize that at #9, it is probably ranked too low.

Only Yesterday introduces us to Taeko, a 27-year-old salarywoman working in a high-rise office in Tokyo in 1982. Unsure of herself and where her life is going, she decides to take a ten-day leave to go out to the countryside to help her sister-in-law's family harvest safflowers, which are used in making certain cosmetics. As she travels, she starts to remember her life as a fifth-grader in 1966. The narrative brings both stories together as Taeko's past explains the missteps of her present life. But as Taeko finds herself falling in love with a simpler existence, as well as the idealistic young farmer Toshio, she will have to decide whether her history will hold sway over her decisions, or if she can finally move beyond her complicated childhood.

I give Takahata a lot of credit for Only Yesterday, since it's his plot device that really makes this film fantastic. The original manga was written as a memoir of Taeko's young self in 1966. Since it was written as a series of vignettes, it apparently proved difficult to translate into film until Takahata introduced the concept of the older Taeko as a device to plot the film's course. The juxtaposition of the two eras works amazingly well, and each one is detailed with certain looks and styles that even those with no knowledge of Japanese culture can spot. The animation is beautiful, as is no surprise from any Studio Ghibli effort. The soundtrack is also perfectly set; my wife wandered through the room a few times while I was watching it and was struck by the beauty of it. From a technical standpoint, aside from a couple of shots I think could have been done differently to better effect, it is perfect.

But what makes Only Yesterday a wonderful movie is its complete understanding of human nature. Taeko as an 11-year-old girl is willful, selfish, and stubborn. At the same time, she is free-spirited and longing, a deeply emotional dreamer. Unlike most movie heroines, she is all of them, usually at the same time. She is a mess of contradictions, just like the rest of us. But it's this combination that makes us soar with her when a young boy she likes talks to her for the first time, that makes us grieve with her when her real self is crushed time and again by a family that can't understand their one daughter who happens to be a bit different from the conformist norm. We also understand why the Taeko of 1982 is torn by her longings and her discomfort with the traditional roles everyone wants her to take. By the show's ending, which rolls as the credits play, we know Taeko. You want to invite her over for supper and an entertaining discussion over cards. All of the characters are this way--neither saints nor demons, just real people. It's what makes Only Yesterday a classic anime film.

Although Disney has the rights to this film, along with several others in the Studio Ghibli canon, it's doubtful that it will ever appear in the US because of its decidedly Japanese flavor. It goes beyond the myriad of cultural pop references that can be missed by a foreign audience without losing much. Certain sequences require a bit of knowledge of Japanese culture for them to even make sense. For example, there is a disturbing sequence where Taeko's father becomes enraged and slaps her for coming out of the house barefoot. To American audiences, this sudden change in the father's disposition seems unwarranted and leads us to think of him as abusive. However, in traditional Japanese custom, leaving barefoot was almost like stepping out of the house naked. The father still overreacts, but the cultural footnote is a necessity to understanding what really happens.

Beyond this problem, the film is meant for adults, and though there is no material particularly unsuitable for children, it likely would be of no interest to them. It is much more like the fare one would see at an art-house cinema than at the metroplex. As Disney targets all of the animation it sells in the US to children, this one simply won't be coming out of their coffers. For those who are willing to spend the extra money and have a region 2 DVD player, the Japanese DVD set does include English subtitles for the film.

Only Yesterday is a wonderful film that works on multiple levels. It goes beyond being a great anime and is really one of the best motion pictures I've seen. It includes none of the trademarks of anime--no mecha, no violence, no melodramatic comedy romances, no fan service, and no science fiction formulas--and it grows the genre because of it. If you consider yourself a fan of anime or the cinema, you must see Only Yesterday.

	Paranoia Agent

"And in the absence of a vision there are nightmares
And in the absence of compassion there is cancer..."
Bruce Cockburn, "Night Train"

I don't follow many directors and creative types in the anime world, but there are a few that always catch my attention. There are names both famous (Hayao Miyazaki, Leiji Matsumoto) and infamous (Rin Taro, Go Nagai), but many of them have been at work for over twenty years. This generation's anime wunderkind, however, is without a doubt Satoshi Kon. By age 42, he had directed three major motion pictures, all of them stunning, and had completed his first television series: Paranoia Agent. At turns fascinating and strange, intimate and global, Paranoia Agent shows a creativity and freshness that is rarely seen in any medium. In this format, Kon has expanded the horizons of what anime on television can be.

The story starts simply with an attack on Tsukiko, a beleaguered artist who is under pressure to develop a new character like her beloved Maromi, by a young kid with a baseball bat and roller skates. The two police officers assigned to her case don't quite believe her story, especially since she's already frazzled. But when reports start coming in of other attacks by the boy nicknamed Lil' Slugger, the investigation goes into high gear. Surprisingly enough, it seems that every victim is under huge stress right before their encounter with the bat boy. Is it simply a spreading delusion? Or is there a person...or even a force...stalking the streets of Tokyo waiting to find the next person who really needs a whap upside the head?

Paranoia Agent excels because it combines complex characters in a unique mix of storylines that all fit together in bizarre but compelling fashion. The animation mirrors this complexity, presenting a wide variety of individuals whose physical appearance, ranging from beautiful to painfully unattractive, reveals quite a bit about their characters. In the artistic department, Paranoia Agent looks spectacular, and it would look noteworthy even on a film screen. The visuals are unique, and at times they evolve into the surreal, but only to capture the full impact of what the characters experience. Paranoia Agent has a realistic quality to it that makes the moments of fancy all that more engaging. Kudos to Madhouse on that side of the job...and also kudos to the dub by New Generation Pictures, which is outstanding.

But Paranoia Agent resonated with me because it's got something far more important on its mind. The individual stories play out beautifully, but they all wind up discussing the central theme of alienation. All of Kon's films have had this theme to some extent, but Paranoia Agent explores it from unexpected angles. By the time we reach the cataclysmic ending, we can hardly believe the ground we've covered, the characters we've gotten to know, and the thematic material Kon has mined. I've seen far too many shows where I could predict what would happen from point A to point B. If anybody tells you they knew how Paranoia Agent would end from watching the first episode or two, they are lying. But what's most gladdening to me is that Satoshi Kon is making a statement about modern society that applies both to Japan and America. Ultimately, Kon's show is a warning to us...if we take the time to understand it.

I'm not sure exactly how accessible Paranoia Agent is to a typical American audience. That isn't meant to be insulting, but this was an unusual choice for Adult Swim to pick up. Yes, it's visually arresting at times, but the plot is far from linear and not rewarding in the typical fashion. Some episodes are side stories that further along the concepts without any of the central players participating. There is a mystery to be solved but no hero in the typical sense. All of this is fantastic for the patient viewer, but the kid just tuning in from InuYasha or Cowboy Bebop might be in for a rude awakening. If you like your anime to be lean and mean eye candy that doesn't require you to think, no matter how good this looks, you'll likely wind up disappointed. You really can't watch Paranoia Agent casually to understand the whole story. And be aware...this show is disturbing at times.

With that caveat in mind, I can't recommend Paranoia Agent highly enough. It is a suspenseful drama that rewards the viewer who is intelligent enough to follow its complexities and mature enough to not expect a lot of action. Satoshi Kon's next film, Paprika, is supposed to hit America in early 2007, and I can't wait. So far, the man has batted a thousand, and Paranoia Agent is no exception.

	The Place Promised in Our Early Days

In terms of US anime releases, 2005 has been a year of big names and mediocre accomplishments. We've seen the return of Katsuhiro Otomo and Hayao Miyazaki, and both delivered enjoyable films...but in comparison to their earlier works, their recent movies are disappointing. Who can't say that the new version of Appleseed is better than its miserable OVA predecessor? And yet, it still has problems, especially for fans of the manga. Entertaining? Sure, but far from perfect. However, I'm glad to say that the streak is broken. Friends, forget Steamboy. Forget Howl's Moving Castle. Forget Appleseed. The best US anime release of 2005 is The Place Promised In Our Early Days. It's not just the best anime I've seen this year, it's the best film I've seen this year. And it just may be one of the best anime I've seen, period.

The story is set in an alternate timeline where Japan has split into two factions, apparently divided after WWII. Far in the distance of the Union, planted in what used to be called Hokkaido, can be seen a gigantic tower streaming leagues into the sky. Its enormity can even been seen in Tokyo on a clear day. But what is the tower for? No one seems to know.

Enter Hiroki and Tayuka, a couple of 9th grade boys with a dream. They plan to build an aircraft of their own to fly into Union airspace and check out the tower for themselves. All is going well when the friendly Sayuri joins their group. She's a sweet girl, and the three of them become fast friends. But one day, Sayuri disappears. Despite their best efforts, the two cannot find her, and their dream fades. Building on the plane stops. But three years later, Hiroki learns a secret about Sayuri that may link them all together in a bond with the mysterious tower that none of them could have imagined.

The Place Promised In Our Early Days is one of those rare works that is an art film with an engaging plot. Writer and director Matoko Shinkai, who brought us the astounding Voices of a Distant Star, has proven that his first effort was not a fluke. Unlike virtually every anime I've seen, Shinkai frames his shots so that we are not constantly on top of the characters. Instead, he enjoys medium and long-range shots where we can see the characters but not observe their faces. At times, he wants to point out the lyrical sound of his subjects' voices. Though the film is dialogue driven, we are not stuck watching a bunch of talking heads. Shinkai is interested in each picture setting a mood, and it works.

The Place... is not a strongly animated feature in the sense of movement. Shinkai's characters move perfectly well, but the film is rarely concerned with action, and so the movement we see is all naturally a part of each shot. But this is not frustrating in the least, for Shinkai provides backdrops that seem to have dropped right from paradise into the show. The beauty of it is occasionally overwhelming. Not every moment is there to make you go "ah," but many do.

It's clear to me that The Place... owes at least some credit to Wings of Honneamise, which is an incredible film to be in debt to, in my opinion. There are several links between the two, from the detailed artwork that shows obvious care to the pacing to certain plot points that, though subtle, are unique to both films. I would be surprised if WINGS did not in some way inspire Shinkai. There are also real-world parallels: both Shinkai and Studio Gainax made their original reputations from short films, then stunned the world with amazing feature-length debuts. Whereas in my opinion Gainax has never quite lived up to the promise of Wings of Honneamise, I think Matoko Shinkai has the potential to claim a spot among the great anime directors like Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, and Satoshi Kon.

You might have noticed that I haven't really addressed the plot yet. Though the film has one, and a captivating one at that, it is not about the story per se. It is in large part a reminiscence, a haunted longing for things that seem barely out of reach but are still beyond the grasp. It is a moody, melancholy film, and yet it is not depressing. It is hopeful yet sad. It is emotional without being manipulative. All those superlatives being said, if you come into it wanting a great science fiction movie, you may leave disappointed. Science fiction is certainly a part of the film and central to its plot, but it's not about that. The film leaves many of the science fiction aspects mysterious and unexplained; this is not a film about technobabble. Shinkai realizes that the best sci-fi is not about the gadgets or the mechanical workings but about us, about how we relate with one another. In their best moments, sci-fi classics like 2001, the Star Trek films and TV shows, and Solaris knew it too. Just enjoy the ride.

One other point: this movie is deliberate. (I could call it slow, but that would imply that it somehow drags, which it doesn't.) It's engaging, but it is the opposite of hyper. Fans weaned on spastic action may get bored. However, that's not my problem; I'm just here to let you know. It's not one I would rent for the kids, though there's nothing offensive about it. Much of its appeal is in discussing subjects that will have much greater meaning for late teens and adults. Also, sadly, the dub doesn't quite have the emotional resonance of the original...and because the voices and inflections are so important, I would stick with the sub if at all possible.

I could go on and on about The Place Promised In Our Early Days, but you've read enough laudation from me. This film did what seldom anime does: it moved me. And I hope you'll trust me enough to pick it up and risk being moved yourself.

	Robot Carnival

One of the most enjoyable pieces of work within the entire anime canon, Robot Carnival is a joyous celebration of the power of animation. A modern take on Disney's Fantasia, this film is filled with beautiful images that rarely need words to convey their meanings. Even in its most basic moments, Robot Carnival is thoroughly entertaining, and is an easy way to explain to the cynic how anime transcends a variety of genres so easily.

Robot Carnival is a collection of several short films with only one connecting theme--each, in some way, involves an automaton of some kind. The directors were allowed to flow from there, and what they turned out is nothing short of astounding. All but two of the segments have no dialogue, letting the soundtrack and the visuals handle the storytelling. Going through an amazing range of styles, we get black comedy in the opening and closing segments from Akira's Katsuhiro Otomo. We get an action spectacular in "Deprive" and a romantic diversion in "Starlight Angel." We have an art piece in Mao Lamdo's "Clouds". We have a hysterical take on US/Japanese relations in a funny mecha story, "Tale of Two Robots". Finally, in its best moments, we get a wonderful chase through a mechanized Sleepy Hollow in "Nightmare" and a hauntingly beautiful love story in "Presence."

Despite a huge variety of artistic styles and techniques, Robot Carnival looks gorgeous throughout, even if it isn't quite at the level of some of the best new anime films. The soundtrack varies widely as well, but it's one of the few anime soundtracks I own due to its quality. The whole film benefits from having excellent direction throughout. Although it might be hard to call it innovative, seeing that Fantasia also told its tales without words, Robot Carnival is far more entertaining than that ultimately dull film, and I believe far more creative.

Does that mean you'll like every section of the film? Probably not. I love the whole thing, and I still sometimes skip over "Clouds", which is beautiful yet plotless. Others dislike "Deprive" and "Starlight Angel" for their simplistic views and similarities to each other. However, on the whole, it fits together wonderfully well, especially in its original order. (Streamline, in its infinite wisdom, changed the order of the segments when they released it stateside.) There is something for everybody in this film, and some segments are so good that it's even worth skipping around if you have to in order to get to them. Personally, even the lesser parts work for me.

In particular, "Presence" is excellent. The story of an inventor who creates a robot who turns out a little too real and the regrets that come to haunt him, "Presence" is easily Yasuomi Umetsu's finest work to date. If it were just brilliantly animated, which it is, it would be merely good. However, the whole story is sadly haunting, and it stayed with me for weeks the first time I saw it. "Nightmare" and "Tale of Two Robots" are also both fantastic and worth the price of admission.

I am excited to hear the whisperings that a DVD of this title is on the way. Along with Robotech and Macross '84, this was one of my first entry titles into Japanese animation, so perhaps I'm biased. Even then, though, Robot Carnival is a must-see film.

	Spirited Away

Mention Hayao Miyazaki in anime circles, and you'll usually see a response of utter respect and quiet awe. Mention Hayao Miyazaki to the average American, and you'll get a quizzical look. There is no doubt throughout virtually all of the modern world (save the US) that Hayao Miyazaki is the true heir to the Disney legacy, creating stories of wonder and mystery that far outshine anything the studio has done since the days that Walt himself added the finishing touches. That the Disney corporation purchased the rights to all of Hayao Miyazaki's films made under the Studio Ghibli moniker, then failed to release all but one in theaters and tanked that one (Princess Mononoke) through shoddy marketing at Miramax, shows how low that company has gone since Walt's passing. They have since released Spirited Away, Miyazaki's latest, but again only into art theaters where most children, the target audience, will never see it. This is the ultimate insult, for Spirited Away is truly a gem of a picture, one that for all its Eastern trappings is more universal in its ethics and concept than anything Miyazaki has done in the last decade.

We meet a young girl, Chihiro, as she rides in the backseat of her parents' car on the way to their new home. Chihiro is a disinterested little thing, not pleased about the move, upset about changing schools, and overall pretty much scared (or at least unwilling) to try new things. When her dad takes what he thinks will be a detour to their new home, they wind up finding an abandoned amusement park. Reluctantly, Chihiro follows her parents inside, only to find that the park is not abandoned--it's actually a bathhouse for the spirit world! Her parents indulge in some food from the other side without realizing it, and they are turned into pigs for their treat. It's up to Chihiro to brave a new and sometimes scary life in order to eventually rescue her parents and return to the normal world.

Normally, I would say more in my description about a film that is two hours long, but I'm refraining from that here. Spirited Away shows off more creativity in any given fifteen minutes than any other animated feature I've seen. That creativity is something to be experienced, and so I'm not going to spoil it for you ahead of time. Let me just say that this film is full of visual spectacles and surprises that will turn even the most jaded moviegoer's head. Now the plot is not of utmost importance here. Some critics compare it to an Eastern take on Alice In Wonderland, but that's really just used to try and find something for comparison. Things aren't as nonsensical in Spirited Away by any means, but the film is episodic in nature at times, and like Alice, the journey is the important thing.

And what a journey it is! I have not seen a film that was better animated perhaps ever. Though I might still have favorites beyond this, Spirited Away is simply beautiful in every single frame. The music has been slightly redone for the dub, which I saw, but I have to say that I'll probably take it over the original Japanese score, knowing that I often find Miyazaki's films a little underscored in their original versions. The dub itself is merely OK--Disney did not go to great lengths to make it as good as Princess Mononoke or Kiki's Delivery Service. This was disappointing, but the voiceover work is still far better than the average anime dub.

	Voices of a Distant Star

Every once in a great while, you walk out to the sea, and there's a perfect pearl just sitting there waiting for you. That, in essence, is Voices of a Distant Star.

Although I may be overstating the case, the recently released Voices of a Distant Star is as close to flawless as I can imagine a product in today's anime marketplace. What's even more amazing is that it's the product of a single man and a Power Mac. Shinkai Makoto, the film's director/animator/creator, literally did every last thing on the show save for the voices, the music, and the sound effects. Not since Robot Carnival's "Presence" segment has a short anime film been as deeply moving, as beautifully illustrated, and as utterly thought provoking.

Not quite 50 years in the future, Mikako and Noburu are best friends who have fallen in love. Their romance is sweet and gentle; even though they are just in high school, there's a true affection there. However, the rest of the universe isn't in nearly such good shape. A strange alien race known as the Tarsians have attacked outposts nearing Earth. In somewhat of a role reversal, Mikako joins the advance forces to repel the invaders while Noburu stays behind. They communicate as often as possible by messaging each other on their cell phones. As the distance between them increases, the time between messages grows...and as Mikako is forced to participate in a light-speed jump to avoid destruction by the Tarsians, she doesn't age while Noburu grows older. The bittersweet flavor of being apart is amplified until they realize a few simple truths.

Although there's not a lot of actual movement in the animation, that's about the only nitpick anybody could make with this extraordinary OVA. In the span of 24 minutes, Voices takes us through a huge realm of emotions while also serving up stunningly gorgeous backgrounds, some impressive battle sequences, and characters so realistic that you could know them personally. Although some might dislike that there's some 3D animation in the piece, this is the most faultless union of traditional and computer techniques I've seen, blowing the blends in similar pieces like Titan A.E. and Blue Submarine No. 6 out of the water. In terms of the science fiction end of things, it combines and pays homage to the best parts of the original Macross, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Gundam while creating something wholly original.

What makes Voices an A+ pick for me is the way that it stays with you. It's like a desperately haunting dream that you want to revisit often for fear of forgetting it. Perhaps it's because I lived for a year overseas at one point, an immense length away from my family and my fiancé (who's now my wife). I've felt the emotions this show invokes personally. But that isn't to say that anyone couldn't relate. The root of the show is unshakeable love, expressed in the deep melancholy that only the deepest feelings can provide. This show is the stroll in the park with the soul mate you had in high school that you haven't seen in ten years but still think about every day...the kiss that almost happened but couldn't...the lonely walk through the blowing snow when you realize your life will never be quite the same.

In his first major outing, Shinkai Makoto has raised the bar to an almost impossible level. If he can ever outdo this piece, I'll be utterly stunned. The major studios need to take heed, because this is why I love anime. The DVD of Voices of a Distant Star should be out soon from ADV Films. Pick it up, watch it, contemplate it, and let it burn into your core.

	Whisper of the Heart

I want to complain about being an anime critic every now and then. The pay is non-existent, people yell at you when you don't give their favorite shows high rankings, and you tend to watch a lot of garbage you wouldn't even contemplate seeing if you weren't trying to review the widest amount of material possible. I was in a mood to complain about such things recently, but then I saw Whisper of the Heart. If anything, Whisper of the Heart is an otaku's redemption. It's a gentle, kind film that not only restores faith in the medium of anime, but also serves to show that the form can do far more than give us robotic battles and girls with guns...it can touch the very core of who we are. This is a simple film filled with ordinary people doing ordinary things; it finds magic in small pleasures and stolen glances. Although the very last note is slightly off, it's a testament to the movie's strength that it doesn't even really matter...Whisper of the Heart is superb in every sense. Produced by Miyazaki's famous Studio Ghilbi, this is a charming masterpiece.

Whisper of the Heart is about Shizuku, a girl finishing up junior high who's just not sure exactly what her place will be in life. She's an avid reader, and she's determined to finish at least 20 books over the summer. However, she's stunned to find that virtually every book she's checked out of the library has been read first by Amasawa Seiji. She daydreams what this person must be like who could share her interests so very well...and yet she knows there's little time for fairy-tale romance when exams to test into high school are just around the corner. Still, Shizuku expresses herself through attempting to translate the old John Denver song "Country Roads" into Japanese. If it weren't for that annoying boy she keeps running into on the street, life would be OK. But then again, that boy might just be right for her after all...and so we see the facets of Shizuku coming together as she starts to mature into a young woman.

Whisper was directed by Yoshifumi Kondo, an extremely gifted animator who worked with Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata (the two principle directors at Studio Ghibli) for years. Sadly, Whisper of the Heart was to be his directorial debut and finale, as he passed away suddenly in 1998. This is a certain tragedy, for Kondo is able to create a world just as captivating as anything in his friends' films. What's more stunning is that he is able to create emotion and bond in a realistic world relatively free from Miyazaki's enjoyable but distracting fantasy elements and Takahata's typical reliance on sentimentalism. Don't misunderstand, because both are masters, but they have some weaknesses that don't hold true for Kondo. At any rate, it's clear that this film has a fine pedigree.

What's simply stunning is that nothing gets in the way of telling the wonderful, understated story here. The animation is superb, not overly catchy but muted when appropriate and gorgeous when it needs to be. The soundtrack, color palette, etc. all work together to provide us with a small corner of Japanese life. On one hand, the film certainly succeeds at providing a look at how modern-day Japan (outside of the big cities) has melded the islands' natural beauty with the needs of society. If I could prove that the vistas shown in the film indeed existed, I'd likely find myself on the next plane over, they are so impressive! On the other hand, the beauty of the artwork only enhances the story. Though my summary of the film leaves out many details, it's intentional...Whisper of the Heart is a film to be discovered and enjoyed. It's great on many layers. I will say that there is a dramatic misstep at the very, very end of the film, but everything else plays so well that it's not nearly as important as it could be. See the movie, and you'll understand what I talking about. In plain English, most films cannot overcome any strains in their closings; this one certainly can and does.

On the grading scale I use, an A simply doesn't cut it...this film earns extra credit. It's easily one of the best anime ever made, ranking up with Wings of Honneamise and My Neighbor Totoro, and a film that can stand with the best cinema, live-action or not. Although rumors persist that Disney is working to release this film, it would be a surprising choice, particular since language translation in and of itself is a plot point. Nevertheless, if you can find a fansub (or, more likely, a raw print with a copy of the script), you must see this film. It's enough to rock even the most jaded anime fan.

	Wings of Honneamise

I recently re-watched Wings of Honneamise, possibly the grandest, most spectacular anime which can be called an unequivocal commercial failure. Adored by critics but slammed at the box office, this film only found a limited audience when it was released in 1987. Unlike most films though, Wings of Honneamise carries even more weight now, fifteen years later, than it did upon its original release. With craftsmanship unseen in any release before or after, Honneamise is one of the few films that every anime fan should see.

Set in an alternate world both similar and strange in comparison to our own, our protagonist Shiro once had dreams of joining the Air Force. Due to poor grades and a lack of motivation, however, he scuttled out and instead became a member of the fledgling Royal Space Force. A collection of misfits and outcasts, the group is seen as a joke. However, as part of an ongoing rivalry with a neighboring country, the Space Force starts putting together a program by which they plan to send the first man into space. Seeing that they haven't been able to launch a single rocket without catastrophe, it's considered suicide. Surprising even himself, Shiro volunteers for the mission and starts rigorous training amid the amusement of his peers.

Meanwhile, Shiro meets a young woman, Riuquinni, preaching on the streets in the hopes of saving humanity. He finds himself drawn to her and to her religion, and as the launch grows closer, he spends more and more time with her. Eventually, though, disillusionment follows as even the most steadfast wander from righteousness and man's best plans go astray. Shiro's decision between following that disenchantment to justify a downward spiral or pushing it aside and becoming a man of integrity will determine his destiny.

Wings of Honneamise is uncommon in virtually every way. It cost over $8 million to produce, which at the time was a staggering budget for any anime production. The creators of the film were several rabid anime fans who, after creating two short music video parodies called Daicon III-IV for conventions of the same name, wanted to tell their own stories. In the process, they formed Gainax, now known throughout anime fandom for the infamous Neon Genesis Evangelion, FLCL, Gunbuster, and many other top-tier titles. For a fledgling company to produce a work this staggering is simply amazing.

The uncommon bit doesn't stop with the film's studio, however. The world of Honneamise is very like ours while being completely different. The details are what are stunning, particularly when at first glance everything appears so normal. However, on multiple viewing you notice little things, such as spoons holding a triangular rather than round shape. The airships and architecture are completely foreign yet altogether familiar. Each item within the program is retro designed as if the artists were told to casually defy convention. A lesser film would make the designs the movie. Instead, Honneamise takes them for granted, just as the people in that world would, and subtly, deftly weaves them in.

The plot of Honneamise is introspective and thoughtful, slow-moving yet graceful. For all the technology and sci-fi trappings, the film is really about a man slowly finding his soul. The film takes on the two always taboo subjects--religion and politics--and presents them in a slightly different context in order to comment on them. This movie leaves the audience questioning its own existence and purpose--and few films animated or otherwise can do that.

For audiences weaned on countless barrages of violence and motion, Honneamise will likely be too slow to keep an attention span. When I watched the film with my webmaster, who doesn't mind artistic films, he found it interesting but lethargically paced. The average anime crowd won't necessarily "get" this film because it shuns the typical conventions to its benefit.

I also must make a note to parents that there is a disturbing sequence in the film of an attempted rape. The scene itself is extremely pivotal in the film and is not exploitative in the usual sense, and the film could still muster a PG-13 rating. However, it does make the film unsuitable for younger children; teenagers, though, should be able to understand the scene in its context with guidance.

All that being said, Wings of Honneamise is extraordinary, an achievement not just as an animated picture but as a film. The last 10 minutes have been burned into my memory. Anime in itself is an artistic endeavor, but Wings of Honneamise is actually art. If you like thought-provoking material dished out slowly and with great flavor, you will truly enjoy it. Highly recommended.

P.S. Please beware of the current DVD out on the market. Despite having some of the best extras of any anime DVD, including an almost unheard-of director's commentary, the picture quality on most DVD players is horrid. The picture is interlaced, and without getting into a technical rant, proof exists on the web that this DVD was incorrectly mastered. Word has it that a new version will be coming, so hold tight and rent a copy until it's released.

Chobits Vol. 1

2007-06-11T13:49:00.001-07:00

	Chobits Vol. 1

My First Post

2007-06-09T16:02:00.000-07:00

Hello world

Cat Soup

2007-06-09T15:57:00.000-07:00

Cat Soup

Experimental animation is always a hard subject to broach, not because there aren't plenty of features to see, but virtually no way to see them. Has anybody actually been able to see all five short animated features nominated for Oscars each year? Even when they're cute and flippant, they're darn hard to find; when they're experimental, they often wind up in the eternal black hole reserved for unreleased independent films. And that's the supposed cream of the crop!

Thankfully, Software Sculptors (a section of Central Park Media) has braved the market and released Cat Soup, one of the most bizarre shows you're likely to see. Ever. It may have been made in Japan, but it's thoroughly experimental animation that can make you crack a smile and scratch your head at the same time. While being woefully short on plot and devoid of deeper meaning besides what the viewer wants to assign it, the visual display surprised and enthralled this oft-jaded anime fan. Cat Soup is full of spectacularly vivid fever dreams--fever dreams worth waking up for.

The idea behind the program (which is best described that way instead of as a plot) is that Nyaako, Nyatta's sister, is very sick. One day, her soul is taken away, but Nyatta catches Death in the act and steals half of it back. With only half a soul, Nyaako is virtually a rag doll experiencing but not reacting to life, and their journey to retrieve the lost part of Nyaako's personhood (or cathood, if you like) consumes the rest of the film.

There's a half-hour worth of animation in this piece, so you'd think I'd describe more of it to you. To do so, however, would ruin this quirky piece of psychedelia. The show exists as a mystical journey, not as a coherent logic-driven film, and describing the journey would spoil the effect without possibly giving you even a taste of what you'll see.

At times, it's majestic and sumptuous. At other times, it's crass and grotesque and disturbing, like the darkest segments of Miyazaki's Spirited Away cranked up to 11. Its characters have stepped out of a children's storybook, but their adventures take place hovering around a 105-degree temperature. The events fall together most illogically at times, but Cat Soup has dream logic about it--everything works since we reach a resolution at the end, even though we travel from one place to the next with virtually no transitions or understanding why we've arrived where we are now. Framed with virtually no dialogue, instead guided by wonderful music and a spectacular 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack, it's truly an adventure into uncharted territory.

There is one disappointment I have with Cat Soup, and it's simple. Cat Soup has no point. With so much creativity on display, does it need one? I'm not certain. Many movies are made without any purpose other than to entertain the audience so much that they leave the theatre in blissful ignorance that they gained nothing from the last two hours. And Cat Soup will definitely challenge and edify those brave enough to give it a fair shake, so it has value regardless. But on an emotional level, Cat Soup leaves me cold. The shows in the anime canon I return to again and again are the ones that draw out my deepest emotions. Cat Soup presents us with a fantastic world to discover, but it is oddly unaffecting.

Cat Soup is not a film that I would casually recommend to anime fans for the simple reason that many will despise it. The masses that think of anime fitting certain stereotypes will be completely taken aback by a show that looks and tastes like something completely different. Others will be off put by its disquieting combination of childlike characters and cruel, often graphic violence. The lack of a consistent narrative will push still more out the window. But those who come in prepared will experience a novel feast of artistry.

Cat Soup is the rare art film released in the United States, rarer still as that it's anime. It looks in the faces of its spiritual predecessors like Night on the Galactic Railroad, the "Clouds" segment of Robot Carnival, and Serial Experiments Lain and goes where they dared not trod, boldly pouncing into the land of the surreal. You've not seen this before--trust me. Expect to be disturbed instead of moved, and you'll find a reverie that Lewis Carroll would have found fascinating.

Cat Soup -- disturbing imagery, graphic violence, all involving children's characters -- A-

P.S. Although I was initially insulted by Software Sculptors' listing of the commentary track as part of the total program run time, since it makes it appear that Cat Soup is double the length it really is, the commentary is really invaluable. Director Tatsuo Sato adds a world of understanding to the program, not so much by explaining the plotline but by discussing how several artists created Cat Soup, each one given almost completely free reign to explore his own ideas. The commentary doesn't make us feel warm and fuzzy about Cat Soup, but it makes the work even more fascinating.

Lupin III: First Contact

2007-06-09T15:56:00.000-07:00

Lupin III: First Contact

After thirty years of a franchise, things can often get stale. It looks like Star Trek is on its last legs when we see the failure of the movie Nemesis and the diving ratings for Enterprise. Does this mean that the concept has no good stories left? Of course not. It just requires a new and fresh take that audiences will embrace. After years of substandard TV films, the Lupin franchise is poised to become relevant again with the film First Contact. An origin story that finally reveals how our heroes came together, I can honestly say that this film equals and even exceeds its exceptional brethren Castle Of Cagliostro and Plot of the Fuma Clan. It pays homage to the history of the program while adding in spice and flavorings that we've not yet seen in the animated adventures of Lupin. It is an absolute joy to watch for any Lupin fan.

As the film opens, a coin is tossed, a bet is won, and Jigen has to tell a knockout reporter how he first met Lupin. Reluctantly, he starts into the crazy tale...he was once working for a Mafioso as a bodyguard, and he caught Lupin attempting to steal a priceless tube that contains the secret behind a metal that's virtually indestructible. But Lupin is the first man ever too fast for Jigen's pistol, and Jigen makes it his goal to track down Lupin and have a duel with the one man that's bested him. Of course, Fujiko and Goemon are on the trail of the treasure too, but each for their own purposes. We are also introduced to Inspector Zenigata, who's on loan to the NYPD from the Tokyo police force to try and catch not Lupin but Fujiko! As the plot weaves through the streets of Manhattan, we are taken on a wild ride that will bring our intrepid gang of thieves together, despite their best efforts to stay lone wolves.

Every inch of Lupin III: First Contact looks gorgeous. Although it looks modern, using computerized cel shading and such to best advantage, I don't know when I've seen the gang look better. Although the actual action in Cagliostro is probably better animated, never have I seen the Lupin crew look so blessedly awesome. It fits right beside recent films like Cowboy Bebop: The Movie in terms of its skillful appearance.

Although it's a beautiful film, plenty of recent Lupin shows have looked great but lacked a real passion. First Contact gets it all just right. With enthusiasm we've missed for years, this film makes us fall in love with these characters all over again. Part of the reason for it is that we are not hidebound to a formula. Sure, it's still got the villain holding a valuable artifact our anti-heroes want to steal. But beyond that, the routine is surprisingly different.

There's a henchman who's even more dangerous than his boss, a Bond tradition that Lupin has heretofore rarely if ever picked up. There are actually two treasures involved. And more exciting, Jigen and Lupin and Goemon are as likely to be shooting (and slicing) into one another as they are into the lead heavy. Fujiko has always been an unpredictable factor, but here she's craftier, more scheming...and, for once, the movie finally gives Lupin an (off-screen) tryst with her, something that had been a part of the manga but never before seen within the animated version. It's also a blast to see Zenigata woefully out of his element trying to fit into NYC. It's darker and more violent than some of the most popular Lupin films, but it feels far more real--and far more fun.

And the music! If you've been a fan of the show for a while, you'll be awestruck by the soundtrack. Rather than creating a lackluster set of themes like the last few films, it resurrects the old TV themes and updates them. Just when a chase scene is getting good, the familiar music bursts in and plants a grin on your face. Ever so slightly corny, yes, but amazingly effective.

One final thought in its favor: it never lets up. It is consistently entertaining for its entire 91 minutes; in this one, even the credits count, since a final heist takes place while the names are running. Lupin films occasionally run too long. This one is almost too short simply because we're having too much fun.

As far as I know, Lupin III: First Contact has not yet been picked up for American distribution. The only reason I can imagine for this is that there is a brief scene where Zenigata gets himself lost in Harlem and makes a bunch of African-Americans irate by calling the area a "safari park". Although it just goes back to the previously established fact that Zenigata is an idiot when dealing with American culture, it's still a racial insult that means little in Japan but a good deal more here. I imagine the dialogue here will either be changed or snipped (depending on the distributor) when it arrives, but who knows?

But I am certain that this film will be brought to the U.S.; it's too good not to pick up. Although it's an excellent movie that would introduce anyone to the Lupin clan in a fabulous way, I'd almost recommend seeing some of the other Lupin shows first. There's a lot of material here that a first-time viewer will appreciate but that a seasoned devotee will absolutely adore. This is a Lupin groupie's delight, a love letter to the fans that captures the Lupin spirit perfectly. Most highly recommended.

Child's Toy (AKA Kodomo No Omocha)

2007-06-09T15:54:00.002-07:00

Child's Toy (AKA Kodomo No Omocha)

If a generation of Japanese children has ADD, this show may just be the culprit.

Child's Toy is possibly the most frenetic, most utterly spastic anime ever created. Although other shows rival it at times, it makes popular manic favorites like Ranma 1/2 look anemic by comparison. Despite creating a swirling maelstrom of comic lunacy, when the show slows down for a moment, it becomes genuinely warm and compelling, sometimes even as moving as the best dramas out there. If you've been watching anime for a while, you may have seen some of the stories told in Child's Toy, but it's no matter--Child's Toy is indescribably fun, and certainly the most fun I've had watching anime in a great long while.

Sana, an 11-year-old girl who stars on a popular television program called "Child's Toy", is a hyperactive spaz in a hyperactive, spastic world. She lives with her mother, an eccentric award-winning writer who drives a miniature car around the house and wears hats in which the family squirrel resides; somewhere in the same apartment, there's Rei, Sana's manager, whom she affectionately calls her lover, friend, and pimp. (Oh, folks, we're just getting started...) She's constantly late for school, but the teacher doesn't notice--she's too busy trying desperately to handle the tsunami that is her classroom. A group of boys led by the mysteriously quiet Hayama have mastered chaos theory and put it into practice; between blackmailing the teaching staff, bungie jumping from the rafters of the gym, and battling with ink-filled squirt guns, they tear the place apart. Sana is determined to put an end to this madness (though blindly oblivious to her own frantic posturings). In-between rap creations where she figures out her next move, she goes against Hayama in a series of challenges to get the class back in order. But Hayama has a secret that could explain his reasons for being a devil child...a secret that Sana must uncover if she is to actually restore order to her little universe. And that's just the first story arc in the opening six episodes, friends...once that section wraps, we start getting the backstory on Rei, the manager haunted by a jilted lover from years past. It just gets crazier and crazier...

Child's Toy is a well-crafted mixture of insanity, good humor, and heartstrings. Though the budget is slight for this TV series, it overcomes those boundaries by its very nature. This is not a show designed to look beautiful or illustrate massive explosions. It has to be extremely funny, and at that it succeeds. I never once thought about the art, though it bears a similarity to Marmalade Boy; I didn't have time to analyze its shortcomings. It's simply too exuberant for that, and in particular the music captures that exuberance and makes it addictive.

For all that, this show would not be such a rousing success if that were the whole of it. However, it transcends the "manic comedy" genre by slowing down long enough to give us real characters in real situations that can actually touch the audience. Everyone here, even the antagonistic Hayama, is likable in a way, which is rare in a genre where normally everybody is at each other's throats. Although Sana's extreme blabbering and non-stop motion might be a little over-the-top to some, I found it impossible to look away.

The show also draws you irresistibly into the next episode, creating the "just one more" feeling that will sell DVDs by the dozens. The fact that it has a continuing storyline is great, particularly when comedy anime tends to be very episodic--it's just one more way that this show takes it to the next level. If anything, it's surprising that this show is marketed to middle schoolers in Japan, as it's just a little too smart for its age. Or maybe we're just used to what's pandered to kids here; at any rate, I think anybody the age of 12 or over could easily fall for this show. (Younger kids might not be ready for some of the language and themes, which are a little stronger than one would expect.)

Despite all my words, I don't think I can do Child's Toy justice. You can't be prepared for it; you simply must experience it. At its wacky core, Child's Toy is a celebration of life at its fullest. TOKYOPOP has picked up the show for distribution in the US, and there's no doubt that it can be a top seller if they market it right. Even if you don't like shoujo, even if you aren't a comedy buff, you might just try this one--if you see one new comedy series this year, Child's Toy should be it. It's too fun not to try.

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