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Synopsis
The two Kamuis finally awaken! Kamui has chosen to be a Dragon of Heaven, forcing Fuma, Kamui’s twin star, to become a Dragon of Earth. Battle between the two is inevitable, but not while Kamui is still unconscious from the shock of Kotori’s death. Subaru dives into Kamui’s dream to save him, as Fuma contacts other members of the Dragons of Earth - Kakyo and Nataku.

Review
In this volume of X, Kamui (Shirou) realizes the importance of trust in his comrades. The future seen in the dreams cannot be changed, but Kamui does not believe in destiny. He will be defying destiny in the volumes yet to come. While Kamui is still in the state of shock in the hospital as a result of seeing Kotori’s death, the other Kamui (Fuma), retrieves a dreamseer for the Dragons of Earth, Kakyo.

The Dragons of Earth start to gather as Kamui (Shirou) awakens from his slumber after Subaru uses his powers to get into Kamui’s mind and talks the chibi Kamui out of his bad dream. When the divine sword of Kamui was being sealed away, a light was unleashed and allowed all the other Dragons of Earth to know their next step.

It is said in this volume by Kakyo to Princess Hinoto, that the Kamui of the Dragons of Heaven cannot beat the Kamui of the Dragons of Earth. For the time being, it sure does seem that way. Kamui always allow his emotions to get in his way, while Fuma does not care about anything except his goal, which is to destroy all that gets in his way and start a new revolution as the Kamui of the Dragons of Earth. Now that everybody has gathered together… is the best action finally about to come? I certainly hope so!

The Breakdown
Please no more names! I do not want to hear anymore ‘I am Kamui Shirou’ or anybody who has been in the story from the start and introduced themselves already once. There is no need for more than one introduction and there certainly is no need to etch the names into our minds.

Synopsis
Mahoro joins Suguru on a nighttime ’school assignment’ to investigate the school’s ghosts, but they quickly find more than they bargained for! Later, Mahoro is asked to perform the Dance of the Dead in the town festival, and while Suguru enjoys the festival for the first time since his father’s death, his innocent evening with Mahoro may be cut short by a certain teacher… Then, Mahoro’s past has been concealed, but a new teacher arrives with a mission from the malicious Saint organization: terminate Mahoro!

Review
Scary school ghost stories and Obon (Lantern Festival) dancing. In this volume of Mahoromatic the past starts to pull in together as Mahoro meets Ryuuga of Saints again. It is the battle of the strongest warrior of each organization. Who will come out as the victor? In the earlier section of this volume, Suguru goes visit his father’s grave and during this we get a hint of why Mahoro is Suguru’s maid. The more Suguru and Mahoro connect, the more Mahoro feels bad, as she struggles between if her maid work is atonement for what had happen to Suguru’s father in her own hands or just to take a break from the battling. Well, which guess would you take? Of course it is the first choice as she is the mystery person who brings flowers to Commander Misato’s grave every year, except for this year, because she is with Suguru.

In this volume we are introduced to Flash, Mahoro’s mechanical sidekick panther (to me it looks like a dog). Flash has some neat tricks, but he was used as a guard dog to guard Guri-chan and the house. At the end of the volume, Mahoro and Ryuuga sets up a dueling date and after Suguru falls asleep, she goes and meets her destiny.

The Breakdown
Moving onto volume three. :-)

Synopsis
Unable to accept the truth behind his mother’s death, Kamui visits Hinoto, the dreamseer for the Dragons of Heaven. He refuses to believe her prophecy - that he is the key to the Earth’s fate! She pleads with him to try and change the future she foresees. As Kamui ponders his options, the Dragons of Earth start attacking Tokyo!

Review
After viewing this volume of X, I am really starting to like this series a lot. Although we have to put up with the three episodes per DVD thing. But oh wells, the set kind of looks good with eight DVDs in my opinion.

In this volume the story continues to develop, and more of Kamui’s background is shown. His aunt comes and tells him about his mother’s background. After acknowledging the reason behind his mother’s death, he goes in the state of disbelief. A few scenes later, we observe something that can raise a few eyebrows. Kamui’s aunt dies in a car accident. She was also a member of the Magami clan, known for their ‘Shadow Sacrifices.’ Did she sacrificed herself for Kamui just like his mother did or was it just that she got killed…

Moving on. The Dragons of Heaven starts gathering. Hinoto shows Kamui her dream of the future, while suddenly being ruined by her sister Kanoe. The story thus far is very entertaining. There were quite a few fights in this volume and each had cool effects. Yoshiaki Kawajiri does a fine job in directing something that draws a difference between the Manga and the Animation. X: THREE comes out this month! Watch out for it!

The Breakdown
I wonder what is coming up in the next volume.

Synopsis
The Hellsing Organization makes its last stand against the unknown traitor, and Incognito, one of the original undead, at the Tower of London - with the Queen and Integra’s life at stake! Seras must finally make her choice about what she has become and the mysterious bond between Arucard and Integra is revealed…

Review
Questions are answered in volume four. I am really against Pioneer Animation’s translator for translating Alucard’s name to Arucard. It does not make any sense. Alucard is Dracula spelled backwards, what is Arucard spelled backwards Dracura? It is even shown in the last episode (Episode 13 - Hellfire) that Alucard really is…

Anyways, we are shown how Integra and Alucard first met. After Integra’s father past away, her uncle who wanted to become the leader of the Hellsing Organization decided to kill her so that she cannot become the leader. After running from her uncle she remembers something her father said and heads to the basement of the mansion. When she saw the door that leads to Alucard, her uncle catches up to her and she opens the door after some dialogue. Because of Integra’s blood, Alucard awakes and goes on a killing spree (quite cool if you ask me).

This volume is action packed! All four of these last episodes had fast paced action. Now I am no action freak and I do not like to watch everything that is action like my friends do, but this action had story as a back up so it was good overall. The battle between Incognito and Alucard is the best battle of the whole show. It displays Alucard’s power to the fullest. The ending certainly did not disappoint me, it could perhaps be considered as one of the better endings I have seen compared to the other titles.

The Breakdown
Pioneer Animation has done a good job in bringing Hellsing to the states. This title is something that fans of the vampire genre cannot get enough. With animation done by GONZO and an entertaining story. Hellsing is a definite good buy.

Synopsis
Mortally wounded by Nataku, Fuma’s father leaves a cryptic message for his son - ‘You are Kamui’s twin star.’ After the funeral, Kamui and Kotori are attacked by Seishiro, a Dragons of Earth assassin. A still mystified Fuma manages to save both of them. But Kamui senses there is something different about Fuma. Meanwhile, Sorata and Arashi search for Subaru, another member of the Dragons of Heaven. But Subaru also encounters Seishiro, who killed his sister years ago.

Review
In X: Three, the story continues to develop by displaying the character’s backgrounds. Getting to know the characters is definitely a plus, because it gives the viewers an understanding of the actions each character takes. After learning how Satsuki first started using her ability to communicate with computers and the things she had to go through, before becoming a Dragons of Earth, I now look at her in a different perspective.

At first to me she was some teenage girl that seems to be a computer freak who likes to attack people with electric wires from the city, now with her background information, I stopped thinking that way. That’s exactly why understanding a character is an important factor into understanding the whole story. Director Yoshiaki Kawajiri does an excellent job in this work, just as he has been for his other works through out the years.

After episode 7, episode 8 moves the story forward by the death of Fuma’s father and the line of dialogue he said to Fuma as he past away (’You are Kamui’s twin star’). What this meant was that he is the one that will be Kamui’s opponent. When Kanoe got a hold of Fuma in his dream, she altered it and changed Fuma in a way where he seemed evil. Temporarily that is. After this little advancement in story, we stop by to learn about Subaru Sumeragi’s (Dragon of Heaven) background. Not as interesting as Satsuki’s story, but still gets the point through.

The Breakdown
Looking forward to more development of characters in the next volume!

Synopsis
Troubles you can only dream of… Suguru’s horrible cleaning skills have his friends calling his home the ‘haunted house’, and being an orphan, he needs help! Enter Mahoro, a beautiful 19-year old that catches bullets in her fingers, claims to be an android, and who wants to be his maid! Now, his school friends are suspicious and his well-endowed teacher is going over the edge with jealousy. How will he react when he discovers that Mahoro only has 398 days to live and has chosen him for a reason?

Review
Meet Suguru Misato, a normal child with a not so normal maid and family history. His father past away when he was young, and then his mother also past away. Going through life was not easy for Suguru, although he had the left over money from his parents to use and a big house to live in. There was something missing in his life or I should say someone. Ever since his parents past away, he took care of himself. His house is in a total mess. Yes, you guessed it, the person he needs is a maid.

Now meet Mahoro, an android created by Vesper to battle the aliens who try to disturb Earth’s peace. She was relieved from her duties due to her system being shut down soon. Vesper told her of what will happen. If she is still going to battle, she will not last for more than thirty seven days, but if she retires, she will operate for another three hundred ninety eight days. Mahoro decides she will go into the Vesper Human Resources division and will live the rest of her life as someone’s maid.

What stunned me about this series is the introduction. You would not have thought it would be an anime series about maids, because we are put into a scene of Mahoro battling an alien. The fan service is pretty up there. The character that stands out is Shikijo-sensei with her large breasts. She just flaunts them and laughs at Mahoro’s. The funniest thing about her is that she is cheap. Her cheapness can take her from eating dinner at her student’s (Suguru) home to using his bathtub to bathe. The word for this is ‘freeloader’ I believe. Well the thing about Shikijo-sensei is that she makes you laugh at her actions and that is just about what Mahoromatic does. It is a very good combination of fan service and comedy, otherwise known as ecchi humor.

A question that pops into my mind is; Is Mahoro taking care of Suguru as a maid for atonement of what had happened? With all the clues given it sure seems that way. Suguru’s father was the commander of Vesper and she killed him as he commanded her to, because he was held hostage by an alien who was about to do some big damage. She was at the funeral of Commander Misato and she visits his grave every year. From all these clues, I really believe that Mahoro is Suguru’s maid to atone for the past. But whatever, this is just my prediction; let us see what happens as the series advances.

The Breakdown
Mahoromatic is a 12 episodes series, 3 DVDs at $29.98 each. There is a second season currently being aired in Japan in which we are introduced to Mahoro’s little sister Mizawa.

Synopsis
Kaoru Hanabishi just wanted to help. Aoi Sakuraba just wanted to find her first love. They never realized they were looking for each other. Ever since their arranged marriage 18 years ago, Aoi had been in love with Kaoru, but she traveled to Tokyo to meet him when she learned the marriage had been called off. While Kaoru’s impressed by Aoi’s loyalty, innocence and beauty, to accept her affection, he might have to return to the Hanabishi Clan and the emotional and physical pain he suffered during his childhood… Their self-control and their love will be put to the test when she moves in and he tries to stay a gentleman!

Review
Here in Ai Yori Aoshi (Bluer than Indigo), we are put into what seems to be a modern anime version of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. There are two families, Hanabishi and Sakuraba. Hanabishi Kaoru, who ran away from the Hanabishi family, is a college student who has supported himself ever since he left the Hanabishi. Sakuraba Aoi, is a childhood friend of Kaoru and she was arranged a marriage with Kaoru at a very young age. The arranged marriage was later cancelled, because of what had happened. Aoi, a very well mannered young lady cannot possibly forget someone who she have spent her childhood years so happily with. She even promised to herself that Kaoru will be the only person that she will love. With this state of mind, Aoi runs away from her home, the Sakuraba in hopes to find her childhood sweet heart Kaoru.

Having only a little memo with Kaoru’s address on it, Aoi arrives and she immediately notices the difference of lifestyles. As she looks for help, she gets bumped by someone and falls to the floor. Kaoru helps her up, but Aoi does not know who this person is. Being a kind person that Kaoru is, he continues to help Aoi to find the person she is looking for and he does exactly just that.

I stated above that Ai Yori Aoshi seems to be a modern anime version of Romeo and Juliet, because we have two families whose statuses are similar, and two lovers who are separated, because of their status difference in the present time of the show. I said, ‘Seems,’ because Aoi and Kaoru get to see each other, and be with each other, but they have to keep their relationship hidden or else it will cause uproar within the Sakuraba.

Kaoru is no longer a member of Hanabishi; therefore he is a person without any status. Without the status of the successor of the Hanabishi family, the Sakuraba family will not hand over their daughter to a nobody. The husband of Aoi will become the president of the Sakuraba. This is where Ai Yori Aoshi separates from Romeo and Juliet. Both families do not dislike each other. This was shown, because of the childhood memories that Aoi and Kaoru possess. If that was the case, Aoi and Kaoru would not have played with each other when they were kids.

When Ai Yori Aoshi first appeared, it was often compared to Love Hina. The first thing I noticed that was different from Love Hina is what others have been saying as well. Ai Yori Aoshi is definitely a more matured version of Love Hina. The way I see mature is how the main character is not being kicked around and have things done to him that would have normally killed anyone. That is where the maturity is at, when people hear that (Ai Yori Aoshi is a more matured version of Love Hina) they start to think it has more fan service. To me the fan service of both series are quite on the same level if not equal.

The Breakdown
Break down? I will have a break down if volume two does not come soon enough!

Synopsis
Hideki, or Motosuwa-kun, is a 18 year old farmer who decides one day to become a Tokyo University student. He moves to Japan’s capital in order to attend a preparatory class for the entrance exam. Upon arrival almost like a tourist, he is awed by the fact that everyone has their own Persocon: a robot, no more like an android since they resemble the human anatomy, that acts as their personal servant helping out in daily chores form carrying groceries to home cleaning. They are more like computers since each persocon has it’s own built in hard drive, and they can instantly send and receive e-mail to one another. Hideki stumbles upon what appears to be a discarded persocon lying near a dumpster and decides to bring it home. After turning it on, the first word she says is ‘Chii.’

Review
Although it’s from a different anime series, I’d like to quote from Episode 11 of To Heart because I believe it captures the philosophical questions prevalent in Chobits perfectly: Man: ‘What’s the difference between a machine and a human? Machines are made by humans, but that’s not the case with humans. But, come to think of it, living creatures are in fact creations. Coincidence, environment, and nature…What’s your opinion? About the differences between humans and machines? For one thing a machine is incapable of thinking. It can only act out the program it has been given. No matter how successful a machine is, it can never become human.

‘Hiroyuki-san: ‘Whether we are talking about pigeons or robots, if it can laugh or cry or just enjoy being with you…If it’s something like that, that’s good enough for me.’

The Breakdown
Chi is adorable. When Hideki found her she was not pre-programmed with an OS. So raising Chi correlates to raising any human child. It is cute watching Chi’s reactions to Hideki explaining the meaning of certain phrases and places. When we first meet her, she mimics Hideki’s movements. But as she becomes proficient in her vocabulary and understanding, we see her steadily become more and more human.

Synopsis
One day at a restaurant with his two best friends, Suguru decides to hire a maid, which is no surprise since his home looks like a garbage heap. ‘Well, it’s not easy living alone as a junior high student.’ Suguru is only 14 after all. What he gets is more than anyone can bargain for: a cute maid who happens to be Vespar’s strongest battle type android.

Review
Pioneer’s latest breakthrough at a robot maid anime so far appears to be the greatest in this category. Unlike Hand Maid May, there is only a single maid, Mahoro, who is warmly received by the supporting characters, Suguru’s classmates, who always seem to find a reason to spend after school hours at his house. Chizu is especially delighted to sample her freshly made dishes. However, there is someone who we should say is not so enthused about Suguru’s maid. This person is Suguru’s perverted homeroom teacher, Shikijou-sensei, who develops a rivalry with Mahoro. So as not to be explicitly a school anime is the battle with a giant mecha crab at the beach in episode 4, various flashbacks to Mahoro’s soldier days, and midway through the series in episode 7, the antagonist Ryuuga, Saint’s strongest battle type android, presents himself as a quite formidable opponent. Overall, the cast is solid and entertaining.

The Breakdown
12 episodes plus a New Year’s Special (summary of the series similar to the Vandread OVAs). Both amusing and dramatic at the same time. On sale for $26.98 at RightStuf International, Inc.

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].