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Synopsis
Poisoned by toxic waste, a young woman begins to deform… or transform. Black Jack operates and discovers that she might be evolving fishlike properties. Is his patient transforming into a mermaid?

Review
Short and sweet, that is what Black Jack has been through out. The synopsis of the DVD just shows exactly what this title is; No essay long bullcrap, just watch and appreciate. And appreciate I will. In this volume, a city is infected with a disease due to the pollution of the water by greedy corporations that only care about the money and not of the safety of the public. Black Jack comes in to help a group of doctors after being asked to join in the discussions and become a member of the group with a focus of finding an end to the disease that has aroused due to the pollution of the water.

In this city, haunted by a love story between a mermaid and a human, comes a mysterious girl whom has no parents, relatives and worst of all, no recollection of her past. So how does Black Jack continue to help her? Her inability to obtain a medical card to treat her disease was because she cannot provide the people with the information required to get one. And so, out of kindness, Black Jack treats the girl even though he is not going to get paid for it.

In this volume of Black Jack, the ending seems kind of awkward in that it feels like the door is left wide open. There really is not a closing to the chapter and it just ended like there was nothing more to it. Strange, but still enjoyable as Black Jack continues to lure viewers into his mysterious medical world!

The Breakdown
I am running out of things to say about Black Jack in a hurry laugh out loud ahahaha.

Synopsis
Among the five star systems known as the Joker Systems, there are many kingdoms, each under the protection of valiant knights that control massive robots called Headliners. Bound to the knights are fatimas. Human in appearance and mind, the fatimas possess expanded physical capabilities and make it possible to control a Headliner. The  Five Star Stories follows the ascension of two such fatimas - Clotho and Lachesis, the latest and greatest creations of famous fatima designer, Dr. Ballache - each on the verge of their ceremonial unveiling to the world of the God of Light, Amaterasu, and his Mirage Knights.

Review
Well, this is an interesting little nugget of a film. An anime adaptation of a very very long running manga series by Mamoru Nagano (currently unavailable in the US), The Five Star Stories is a 70 minute long adaption of the first volume (or volumes, I’m not sure how much has been covered in these 70 minutes, though I’m told it adapts the manga to a tee, so I imagine they didn’t animate too much of the manga). What’s presented here is a small tidbit of what one could expect from a much larger story. It’s a very cohesive tale, but doesn’t go anywhere. When it wraps up, the board has been set for, say, a long TV series or something similar. But instead, it just ends, and there’s no animated sequel of any kind. Think of this as a pilot to a television series, or a long commercial to goad us into buying the manga (it worked, I want it). Unfortunately, this was made back in 1989, so I think it’s doubtful to expect some sort of continuation of the story.

Which is a real shame, since what’s presented here is really interesting. It introduces us into this whole new world (the Joker Galaxy), which has it’s own rules, solar systems, machines, politics, etc etc. They properly and slowly introduce all of this, and I liked what I saw. The only problem is, it ends too quickly, as I said earlier. This could have been really great, and it’s no wonder the manga is so popular.

There’s not much more I can elaborate on. The story (even in this short OVA), is very detailed, and to try and explain it would only confuse you. I do recommend people check it out, only if to see a nice, old-school anime done right, at the peak of the 80’s anime industry before the anime bubble burst.

The Breakdown
I’m really glad I was able to see this after all the controversy of it having been lost from existence. I had heard the premise of the manga story and ever since couldn’t wait to see the short anime adaptation (since the manga isn’t available here). I was lucky enough that ADV did license and release it, and I’m pleased to say I wasn’t dissapointed. I only wish someone would license the manga and bring that over to the US as well, because I want to know where this story heads. I hope people give this a shot, more of this needs to come over here and be licensed, but that’ll only happen if releases such as this sell well.

Synopsis
Seiji ‘Mad Dog’ Sawamura is the ultimate high-school punk. With his upper-strong, invincible right hand, he can punch through cement walls and lay waste to entire street gangs. But street cred comes with a high price - every girl in school is absolutely terrified of him! Just when he thinks he is doomed to forever date imaginary girlfriends, Seiji’s right hand becomes an actual girl! Midori Kasugano wished she could be by Seiji’s side… but ended up somehow attached to his wrist. Seiji’s fighting days may be over, but his girl-trouble days are about to begin!!

Review
Ever wonder what it would be like if your right hand suddenly became a cute living doll sized girl? That is the problem our friend Seiji is having here. The man who everyone fears because of his ‘delinquent’ ways, and the man who has been rejected by twenty girls in his life, now has his own girl problems to deal with; a girl who loves him… but the problem is, she is his right hand. Before you go thinking some ecchi things, Midori is really a girl :P.

Midori Days volume one is very entertaining. But at times it makes you think, is it supposed to be this smooth? It is like there is nothing stopping Midori from doing what she is. Usually in anime like these, a character with the characteristics of Midori usually misses her family after a while and whatnot, but what we have here, is a one time thing. Midori’s family was only shown in one episode and that was it. Nothing was touched on them any further, although I would be surprised if it continued that way onto volume two or three.

I like Midori Days, it caught my attention from the start with Seiji’s fighting capabilities and then his personality, which is similar to a lot of other anime that features a main character who knows how to fight, but at the same time is not a punk about it. I guess it all comes back down to Midori, whom is the engine that makes everything run. Her carefree attitude is so adorable. I wonder why she could not do the same thing to Seiji when she was human. Man I want to see more of it already! And the only bad thing is that I cannot complain, because there are five episodes with a run time of one hundred twenty five minutes in this volume! Sigh…

The things that this show possesses are great. The comedy here is well done, and it is just about what you can expect from any other shounen title. The plot currently is all happy-go-lucky, but I am pretty confident that it will take on a more serious route later on. Media Blasters deserve a lot of props for bringing fans a series that will most certainly be on my top tens’ list. High five Anime Works!

The Breakdown
This anime piece we have here has about everything you would expect from a title of its genre. Its unique approach is amusing and just lovely.

Synopsis
Twelve powerful corporations run the entire planet. And the most powerful company – Ashurum – will do anything they can to maintain control. To subject the renegade city of Gald, they will infiltrate a cadre of enemy guerillas. When one of their prized psychic agents goes missing, no cost is too high to return him to their dark fold – whether that means sending in a cyborg assassin, reprogramming one of his friends, or enlisting two newer, even more powerful psychics into company. Enter a world where every though wields terrifying energy – and where any life can be viciously wasted in the pursuit of power.

Review
In this volume of E’s Otherwise I sense that the story has really gone down in pace. Volume two contained mostly of side episodes and took its focus away from the main theme. While it was alright that E’s Otherwise did that, but it should somehow give a little bit of the main stuff to the viewers to keep them up to date. I would rather it give me a small dose of information towards the true story rather than tossing me a load to learn later on in an episode or two.

Okay, let us take our vision away from what I have stated above and look at this volume by itself and not collectively. Volume two does not show E’s Otherwise’s best, but it manages to stay entertaining; Kind of like just grinding it out for the viewers. If you have not seen volume one, you probably would not have even known that it was a more serious anime than it displays. What we have here is like a regular drama anime. It is up until the last episode of this volume that the outlook begins to change.

The anticipation built up for the next volume is crazy high as Shin Lu has finally awoken from her little coma in this volume. I hope she meets Kai again and beat some sense into him. His optimistic ways of looking at situations regarding to Ashurum annoys me like crazy. Argh.

The Breakdown
I have this special fondness towards E’s Otherwise, so no matter what I will be looking forward to volume three!

Synopsis
As Kato struggles to maintain control, Kishimoto realizes that with her new body comes a new hope. Unfortunately, before she can act on those options, the second game begins! As a new group of players is initiated into the world of the sphere, the survivors of the first game are confronted with an entirely different breed of opponent… one that’s smarter, more aggressive and more organized… and that’s before the real game even starts! The series that shocked Japan continues in the fourth electrifying volume of GANTZ.

Review
Man, like Magic Johnson’s promo for TNT, I miss the dead bodies, and in these two episodes (seven and eight)… they do not help to satisfy that desire. We continue off discovering what Kishimoto will do now that she cannot go home, not to mention, we also find out her reason behind her attempt at suicide. Kato’s life is revealed a bit more and he sure does have it tough. An abusive aunt heh, that just makes you want to punch her in the face! Kato, of course, cannot do much about it as he is living dependently under his aunt’s roof. But what he could do is heheh, take the anger out on somebody else…

This volume is similar to volume three, where it is mostly story development, which is cool, because it is still early in the series. But I will not forgive this series if I have to go cold turkey any further! :). As this volume builds up for volume five, the players for the next game are beginning to gather, and, that means finally dead bodies will fly! Yeah baby!

The Breakdown
Gantz progress is slow, due to the fact that it is being release two episodes per volume. This discussion would not have been brought up if it was released differently. At any rate, Gantz is still entertaining and I will always pick to buy it, before buying food for myself :P.

Synopsis
Not available yet.

Review
Salaryman Kintaro is so damn good, I just love the show. Okay, I usually do not start off a review with a splash, but even with me not watching volume two, I know, absolutely, positively that it will be amazing. The show boasts this story that is very fun to watch and it gets addicting as you are viewing it. I did not want it to end at all! In this volume, Kintaro finds a girlfriend and his life as a salaryman really takes off when he is sent to a construction site as the representative from Yamato Construction.

If it is a job for Kintaro, you know it would not be an easy one. Right off the van, he sees something that ticked him off real bad hehe and as expected from Kintaro, he takes care of business. But, because of what he had done, the workers become even more obnoxious. How will Kintaro finish this job that has caused the previous representative to ’suicide’? You cannot miss this volume of Salaryman Kintaro!

Every episode that I have watched so far, gave me the chills. Quite weird considering that I rarely get chills or goose bumps from watching anime. But this anime is really that amazing. I find myself viewing the show intently, examining every detail and if I missed a subtitle, I will rewind it back to see what I had missed. Talk about ‘getting hooked’ :). Treat yourself to this great piece of animation filled with comedy, story and a bit of everything. You will not be disappointed, I can guarantee that.

The Breakdown
I have officially joined the Salaryman Kintaro fan club. Anybody else interested? :)

Synopsis
Sorata is an art instructor at Yamanoue School. At the young age of 20 he is already a full-fledged teacher with a meek and nerd-like disposition. Yet Sorata has a secret… he’s Mouse, the internationally infamous thief and a shameless flirt to boot. This mischievous rogue is assisted by three scandalously endowed attendants. With Mei Momozono the genius math teacher, Hazuki Kakio the rough and ready phys-ed coach, and the lovely school nurse Yayoi Kuribayashi, Mouse can steal ANYTHING.

Review
Mouse mouse mouse. This title seems like a fun series, but the originality is just nonexistent. It is like DN Angel mixed up with Steel Angel Kurumi. All you have to do is just take the phantom thief from DN Angel and three female servants from Steel Angel Kurumi and you will get Mouse. This series to me just does not make a big statement from the get go. It felt like any other ordinary shounen title that strives for fan service rather than attempting to give the viewers another look, a better look, such as, a story that is intriguing with a less emphasis on the ecchi-ness.

Not everything should be based on the big boobies and hot babes, but Mouse does not give me any other perspective to view it other than a fan service filled anime. It feels nice and fresh during the first episode… then it begins to deteriorate by episode. And at the midpoint of the DVD, I was just rushing for it to end already, because I had other things to put my time and energy in; mainly, other anime of course.

Probably the only reason that will allow me to make an effort to continue Mouse is because this is only the first volume. Sure, I will give it a chance to repent for volume one, if volume two still does not satisfy me then… that is that.

The Breakdown
Mouse is an average ecchi humor anime. While there are cosplay, servant-type ecchi things going on, it tastes like stale milk overall.

Synopsis
Welcome to the Wild Wild East. Ichimatsu hates his day job. He’s in love with a prostitute. He’s a trained killing machine. His life is a bloody mess. He is… Samurai Gun! It’s the beginning of the industrial revolution and feudal Japan is in turmoil. The ruling Shogun are wielding their abusive powers to instill fear and dominance over their oppressed subjects. A group of Samurai have banded together and with the development of new weapons and new technology, they have both the will and the hardware to stand up and fight.

Review
The heart of a samurai, the soul of a cowboy; that is what Samurai Gun is all about. It is violent, yet entertaining while achieving all the quick paced gun unloading action. Some of the violence in this anime disgusts me, but you can guarantee Ichimatsu will set the injustice straight. His knack for justice is the only reason why he does his side job, no matter how many times he says that he does not want to kill anymore, his past haunts him and the only way to relieve of the nightmare is to eliminate what is unjust.

The show is not rated mature for no reason. There are adult situations and people getting blasted away. Some funny, some not so funny, you will know what I am talking about when this series gets released on the streets. The story is attractive; I love when the villains get what they deserve. It is also amazing how the pace seems so fast, yet you feel like you have been sitting in your seat for a while after the volume finishes playing.

ADV Films co-produced this piece, and I have to say that this is an amazing series, a very interesting series in that it hits you head on like a bulldozer doing fifty miles per hour with messed up brakes. Yeah, just imagine that, a series that grabs your attention by the throat and shakes it up quite well. I am definitely looking forward to Samurai Gun. It is wicked nice!

The Breakdown
Samurai Gun hits streets on August 16th, 2005. Look forward to it!

Synopsis
Follow the story of Nam-woo, a boy whose fear of abandonment and life’s changes take him on a journey to a land of fantasy. There, in a spectacular place of magical creatures and tall luscious green plants he meets Mari, a delicate girl who will come to support him and give him the stability he needs through his hardest of times.

Review
In My Beautiful Girl Mari, we are put into the shoes of Nam-woo who reminisces about the days that he went through as a kid. The experiences of a child growing up and losing friends due to various circumstances, such as, moving onto schools and changing atmospheres are tough; we have all experienced something like this to an extent. But Nam-woo’s life as an adolescent is about to change as he finds a special marble, and that marble turns out to be Mari.

Before we even start, you must have the patience for a title like My Beautiful Girl Mari. You must also possess the ability to process deep dialogues and the knack of discovering and figuring out even the smallest of details… well I know that Adobe has something to do with this show as a building is branded by Adobe’s logo :). Anyways that is not important. What is important is how things just happen, like it was meant to happen. I still cannot figure out how in the world Nam-woo knew the name of Mari, when they have not even converse with each other. The other point I must point out is, what is the big idea? What is the big deal? I loved the animation details; it was mesmerizing. The snow effects even made me wish that New York City was snowing right now. But the show just does not seem to attract me like the other shows of this genre, such as, Bandai Entertainment’s Junkers Come Here or Central Park Media’s Doggy Poo.

What does Mari have to do with the show? She is almost nonexistent other than a few appearances in Nam-woo’s dream or in his life. Nothing much is detailed about Mari. Heck I cannot even figure out why the plot even needed her character. The story can most definitely survive without Mari; Jun-ho and Sogg-y could have easily replaced her role. Am I not getting something? Am I missing something? I really want to know more, but I am not presented with the opportunity to do that as the story races on about how Nam-woo’s life is changing slowly and his doubts began to worry him.

The thing that I was really surprised about My Beautiful Girl Mari is that as the animation was running towards its end, I began to feel this emotion, an emotion of satisfaction, it is like every bad thing I felt about the show was erased. It was replaced with a warm feeling as the ending makes me think of my own childhood. The way my life changed as time passed… it was lovely.

The Breakdown
A show that could be applied to almost everyone is great, but if only the presentation of this show had some sort of major attraction, which in my opinion, it lacked.

Synopsis
Beauty is only skin deep, but when you can’t see beneath the skin, how can you know what you’re really dealing with?

In a world where perfect androids called Boomers have infiltrated every aspect of society, it’s the job of Branch to maintain peace between the people and the plastic. Unfortunately, not all boomers are created perfect, and when boomers go bad, people die…

The thin blue line that separates man from machine is about to meet its most horrifying test in Parasite Dolls.

Review
Set in the Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 world comes Parasite Dolls, an OAV about boomers gone wild. This show had the potential to be good right from the start, but never really achieves it from the get go. In this ninety five minutes, three chapters, action flick, we are shown a team of cops called “Branch.” They were a team derived from the A.D. Police specializing in boomer activities. Our main character Buzz who is of course the leader of the team is put into work as cases of boomers going crazy erupts within Genom City.

Parasite Dolls did not float my boat. The pacing was good, but the interest factor was just nonexistent. I mean, as the show starts to appeal to you, they slam the door shut in your face with the end of a chapter. How can it expect viewers to follow the show if they keep on ending it where it gets interesting? One year later? Five years later? Whatever years later? What the hell? Just give me a show that is stable. I do not care whether it is this or that amount of years later, because honestly, who cares how many years later it is in an anime? I certainly do not unless it makes a tremendous difference in how the show will play out.

Maybe Parasite Dolls was a wrong name for this title. There were little surrounding these prostitute boomers. It was only a small part of the show. I will say that this has been a disappointment considering that the Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 team was behind it.

The Breakdown
Another title with robotic prostitutes in it? Wow.