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Synopsis
‘The color of battle, the creaking wing is the sound of the beginning.’ Amidst the battered pavement of what was once the capital, there is a sanctuary, unscathed, that becomes the nucleus for the grand awakening. Sing, RahXephon, your song, your forbidden song in order for everything to become one someday.

Review
Directed by Yutaka Izubuchi (Gasaraki) and produced by Bones, Mediafactory, Inc (Cowboy Bebop: Knocking on Heaven’s door) is the well-anticipated RahXephon. Its title is one letter short from Escaflowne and like it refers to a legendary mecha. Like Hitomi, Ayato travels to a world unlike from his own, not medieval in time but rather a parallel world outside of his own sphere known as Tokyo Jupiter. From here it deviates resembling Evangelion more. Ayato lends his services to the Earth Alliance’s counter-MU strategy research agency, known as TERRA, analogous to NERV. In order to protect the island of Nirai Kanai from enemy dolems, comparable to Eva’s Angels, Ayato pilots RahXephon. Characterwise, he himself is both older than his Eva counterpart Shinji and mature although he too shares in a mental quest for identity and overall place in life.

The Breakdown
Every fan of Evangelion and every dissatisfied fan that didn’t like Evangelion because of the ending should add RahXephon to their collection. Look forward to the movie, which will be in theaters, Japan this April.

Synopsis
Her special power kept Yuzuhriha apart and lonely - until she met the Dragons of Heaven. Now, she begins to fall for Kusanagi - one of the Dragons of Earth! As Kotori faces her tragic destiny, and the second divine Shinken sword appears from an unexpected quarter, Kamui is forced closer to deciding his path. And his decision will whet the gears of destiny for the entire world!

Review
To wish for the present or to wish for a revolution… Those are the choices in which Kamui has to choose from in X: Four. In this volume, he is no longer the emotionless guy we have seen from the earlier volumes. Kamui who hid his feelings throughout could no longer bear any more of the load; he then proceeds to tells Fuma about everything. Through the discussion he has with Fuma, we find out more of Kamui’s childhood. The way he was perceived by other children, because of his extraordinary powers and the way he uses those given powers to fight for justice.

That is just the exciting part though. In the earlier episodes before this, we get a run down on Yuzuhriha’s background. We know she has a guardian spirit dog named Inuki, but what we do not really know is the pain she has suffered from her friends who thought of her as a liar when she tells them about Inuki (invisible to normal people). After an incident, she no longer cares if anybody sees Inuki, she does not even talk about him anymore. As you have read in the synopsis, Yuzuhriha begins to fall for Kusanagi a Dragon of Earth, and what I find amusing was that Kusanagi does not even seem as if he was a Dragon of Earth as he was chit chatting with Yuzuhriha as she tells him her story.

The story finally begins. Will Earth be destroyed or not will be determined by both of these clans. I am definitely looking into getting the next volumes of X.

The Breakdown
So here I am, anxiously waiting for X: [FIVE].

Synopsis
Takuto Kaneshiro is a gifted young man. A student in metallurgy, he’s something of a genius. He’s got a sweet, lovable girlfriend. And he’s got a lot of dreams for his future. But one day, all his dreams shatter in a freak accident involving a secret experiment. Everything he knows, including his beloved girlfriend, die. And from there, things really go downhill…

Review
Not knowing any of the people who worked on this one, I didn’t know what to expect. From people who imported the show from Japan, I was told the series didn’t hold their interest, or simply was not their type of thing. I won’t lie, this show isn’t for everybody. Then again, I don’t quite follow the norm.

I can’t really compare this show to anything else. It’s got awesome hints of things to come (that guy who repeatedly spouts Shakespeare on occasion who only Ryu Soma can see is very interesting.) The animation is good, as is everything else. It’s a very well rounded show, that has me to intrigued that now I have to see this show through to it’s end. And I’ve only seen the first five episodes.

The Breakdown
Buy the first volume, and give it a try. Very interesting to say the least, and has some very cool characters in it. Defintely good that it has the main character giving an evil-esque view of the story. The show is just a great breath of fresh air.

Synopsis
In this disc Spike, the suave jazz loving bounty hunter, meets up with an old friend, Vicious, who, if you couldn’t tell by the name, turns out not to be so friendly. Various adventures insue. Also a new (and much hated by me) character is added to the series.

Review
The main session on this disc is the two-part adventure ‘Jupiter Jazz,’ which offers hints about the mostly unknown past of hero Spike Spiegel. Spike returns to his old haunts on Callisto in search of a mysterious woman, and comes into conflict with his former underworld associates: the icy Vicious, apprentice mobster Lin, and transgender barroom musician Gren. It all makes for good stuff.

However, the other two sessions on this disc (’Toys in the Attic’ and ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’) are really disappointing.

‘Toys’ is a rather dismal attempt at a mystery, and it is the first clue that Ed should have never been added to the series.

In ‘Bohemian Rhapsody,’ the crew of the Bebop find themselves pitted against a programming genius who designed a high-tech transportation system-and hid a flaw in the software. But he also concealed clues in chess pieces, setting up a (semi-boring) battle of wits.

The Breakdown
I reccomend getting this DVD just for ‘Jupiter Jazz’
Contains nudity, violence, and adult situations

Synopsis
Minawa (aka Android 370), ‘The feeling of loving someone…’Android 369, ‘I wished for my heart to beat just once. To be able to laugh because I was so happy. I wanted to have a heart. That’s why you have to stay alive…One of these days please get a heart…promise me…’

Review
Pioneer continues Mahoromatic with another season, something more beautiful and indeed it is much so. Here we are introduced to another female fighting robot, Minawa, who becomes the adopted sister of Mahoro and once again accepted into Suguru’s inner circle of friends of which Hamaji-san takes a particular interest to. Although shy, quiet, and a bit clumsy, Minawa learns what it is to live life as a human.

The anime still centers about the relationship between Suguru and Mahoro. The anime answers more of the questions that arose in Season 1, what will happen to Mahoro as the days approach zero, how will Mahoro tell Suguru the truth about his father’s death, and we see at least some glimpse of Matthew. Of course there are the same gags such as Mahoro’s ‘Ecchi is wrong!’ line, Chizu bursting at the taste of Mahoro’s dishes, and Shikijou-sensei still fantasizing of having Suguru in bed with her.

The Breakdown
14 episodes plus a New Year’s Special (summary of the series similar to the Vandread OVAs).

Synopsis
This has got to be one of the most complete T.V. series I’ve seen so far. Up to action, drama, love and comedy. SMJ captures all the aspects that are needed in an Anime. Characters are lighten up by the voices of famous voice actors such as Megumi Hayashibara (Lime). No one can hate Lime, Megumi-san has did such a good job with the kawaii (cute) voice of Lime. Well let’s get to the story shall we?

Review
In the near future, human kind has settled out to outer space in search of livable land and which they stumbled upon Terra II. An accident occurred and the space ship has to make an emergency landing on the planet. Problem is the 6 survivors of the crash are all males. Which means reproduction is not possible. After all that, they found out about cloning themselves and making marionettes representing the females. After a few generations passed, a young teenaged boy name Otaru Mamiya (our main character) has some fight with Hanagata Mitsurugi (the clown in SMJ) and then Otaru falls down the river and floats to the run down Japoness Pioneer Museum. In there he finds his first marionette Lime and adventure starts from there. You will be introduced to new marionettes as you go on in SMJ.

The Breakdown
SMJ is just so complete, even the ending is. Not saying other anime have bad endings but by far SMJ is the best I’ve seen. You must go out and buy it. *Hey* What are you still waiting for!!!!!!!

Synopsis
It’s not over yet! Return to Japoness for a visit with everyone’s favorite marionettes! Everyone’s enjoying the peace and quiet - except for Lime. The winds of change are in the air, and the old ways are being swept aside.
With Lorelei back, TerraII is going to halt production on marionettes. Even the Sanja Festival, the high point of Japoness culture, is undergoing radical change. Will everyone forget about Lime and the others? Amidst all this turmoil is a visit from Hanagata’s father, a high-tech float race, a thief, a letter from Faust, and the rise of the Shiritaki Alliance!

Review
My all time favorite series is finally back for a third run! Terra II is still in the process of having females. In the meantime other countries want to steal the female clones, so that they can have control over all of Terra II. Also development of the Marionettes has been ceased, because of the revival of the females.

SMJ to X is pretty funny, and that’s what you can expect from all the SMJ series.

The Breakdown
It is sad to say SMJ to X is the last of the J series. If you want more Saber Marionette, you’ll have to watch Saber Marionette R, a retelling of J only…different ^_^

Synopsis
In the future, Tokyo is a desolate place. After a massive earthquake, the city struggles to survive. The old city is in ruins. Acid rain falls from the sky. And worst of all, evil beings called Lucifer Hawk have invaded Earth to destroy humanity. Earth’s last line of defense is a secret branch of the Police, the AMP. Its members include the psychic Yuki, the cyborg Kiddy, the Shinto priestess Nami, the visionaire Lebia, and their chief, the mysterious Rally Cheyenne. But they’re about to get a new and powerful member. Kasumi Liqueur, a woman with strange powers and a dark past, is about to join the fight. Can her presence tip the scales in Earth’s favor?

Review
Silent Mobius is a Kia Asamiya work. Most people know him by the series Martian Successor Nadesico, which was the Anime that got me into the Anime world.

My first impression upon hearing that Silent Mobius is Kia Asamiya’s work, I immediately said, I must get it! Then of course, I got it and here I write about Silent Mobius V.1: Earth Under Attack.

Kasumi Liqueur, who was a secretary in Hawaii, came back to Tokyo as a request made by Rally Cheyenne, only telling her that she had information about the death of Kasumi’s mother. When the plane was landing Kasumi was attacked and the plane was brought down to the ground. When she regains consciousness, a Category 2 Lucifer Hawk addresses Kasumi by the Key and tried to take her with him. Then comes a story period and Kasumi is “awakened” to destroy the Lucifer Hawk…

Through out volume one, character’s backgrounds are revealed, and there was light stuff. Such as, running from the Ghouls (a gang in Heaven’s Hall) and parties. There were only three to four episodes that AMP was fighting a Lucifer Hawk. Of course I’d expect a total twist in the story later on, because I’ve watched Nadesico before.

The Breakdown
Silent Mobius is an anime in its class, I haven’t seen any magic mixed with sci-fi before, maybe except X, but Silent Mobius came first. One more thing, Kia Asamiya is the man!

Synopsis
The fight against the Lucifer Hawk rages on, and the women of AMP seem no closer to victory. Meanwhile, Roy and Katsumi begin to get closer. The arrival of Rally’s sister Rosa, however, brings startling secrets about Rally, and deals a crippling blow to one of the members of AMP. Meanwhile, as the team copes with the Lucifer Hawk menace as best they can, a new player enters the game and begins manipulating them. But a new member joins the AMP just when they need her most, the fiery, youthful, obnoxious Lum Cheng. But is she worse than the Lucifer Hawk?

Review
Right off the bat in Silent Mobius volume 2, the show goes over two more character’s stories, and then as expected from Kia Asamiya in the following episodes. A BIG twist over the story (related to title name?) happens. The truth is finally revealed not only to Katsumi, but to all of AMP too. Katsumi struggles between who she can trust and who she can’t, after some thinking. She decides to return to AMP and help fight the Lucifer Hawks despite knowing the truth that she is *ahem*. As for the character Lum Cheng, from Neo Hong Kong. She is an elementor, who of course uses elemental magic to fight. Lum is very skilled in combat as she has beaten Katsumi in shooting practice. Lum also uses a staff type weapon to fight. She definitely has helped AMP in their increase in power to fight the Lucifer Hawks.

As the story progresses, you’ll be able to finally know the purpose of why Gigelf Liqueur opened the gate to Nemesis. I’m just itching to see what happens in volume three. Which will be released on October 22, 2002.

The Breakdown
Silent Mobius is an anime in its class, I haven’t seen any magic mixed with sci-fi before, maybe except X, but Silent Mobius came first. One more thing, Kia Asamiya is the man! ^_^;;

Synopsis
Quoting from title, ‘Sister Princess: If you’ve suddenly begun to have twelve sisters, what do you think? More over, they are so, sweet, charming… and loving you so much!’ To me, I’ll love it! Why? Because it’ll be so cool! My favorite sister out of the twelve will be Rin Rin, the sister that can build robots and other cool devices.

Review
The story is about Wataru, a high school student that doesn’t make it to that particular high school he was applying for, but his friends did. After a moment of depression, he goes home to find out that a school in ‘Promised Island’ is looking forward for Wataru to be a part of the student body there. Story continues from there as he meets up with his twelve or thirteen sisters in episode two (you’ll see why the title quote says twelve later on). In Sister Princess, every sister if given a star moment episode where she hangs out with her brother, either from swimming to shopping. This series all seem like a party. The climax of the story is pretty dull, but then again Sister Princess is a new twist. I’m sure a lot of brothers out there dislike their sisters in some way if they have. I personally don’t like my sisters much, but if they were any of the sisters in this series hehe, I’d love that life!

The Breakdown
Please don’t buy the R0 version of Sister Princess, even if you don’t understand Japanese, don’t waste your money like I did. Although I wouldn’t say that I totally wasted it. The only errors were in timing, names (used Chinese translation for names), and at some points I think the people who did the subs used some online translator to translate some words. In the end, I had a good time watching this series, will you?