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Synopsis
At the dawn of the new millenium, mankind has awakened a threat unlike any faced before: the Angels. Conventional weapons are useless against them. They can only be stopped by means of the Evangelions - bio-engineered vessels born from the Angel’s own technology mixed with human science. But the knowledge brought by the Angels is also the key to bringing about a startling new genesis for the human race. Placed in the hands of three young pilots, the final fate of humanity resting upon their shoulders, the Eva’s are the world’s last hope…

Review
The one that ends the epic. This is the true ending to the Neon Genesis Evangelion TV series. But before you go all crazy, I want to say that episodes 25 and 26 go with this ending movie, as Ganiax and Director Hideaki Anno confirmed long ago. (Episodes 25 and 26 of the TV series are what goes on in Shinji’s head, this movie is what goes on outside of him, also confirmed by Gainax). I can’t really say much about the actual movie, because it would give away too much even talking about its beginning. (It is the end, after all.)

I’ll give a brief synopsis: Kaworu, the last angel, is dead. All the events of episode 24 have taken place and the movie begins where that episode left off. It’s the next day, the night before Shinji having been forced to kill Kaworu, and he looks on into one of the great Tokyo-3 craters as the sun heats the Earth. He then heads to Asuka’s hospital bed to ask her for help, but she doesn’t respond. (Being comatose and all, that happens from being mind raped by an angel.) He is very frustrated geting no response from her, and starts shaking her wildly. She flips over, and her shirt opens, revealing you know what. Shinji sees this, and reacts like you would expect an extremely messed up, frustrated, abandoned child to act. And thus the movie begins to end all movies.

The Breakdown
Simply has one of the most breathtaking stories of the modern era. While pointlessly ambiguous in some cases, in the end it is all worth it. Has some excellent action to, so for those action nuts out there there is something for you guys to. Simply put, buy this disc.

Synopsis
The latest Patlabor installment is the third theatrical feature in the extremely popular animated movie series. The movie was directed by Fumihiko Takayama (Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket). Screenplay by Tori-Miki, the cult Manga artist, and the animation part was produced by studio Madhouse, with Yu Debuchi overseeing the whole production. Set in Tokyo in the year 2000, the sci-fi show centers on a human drama against the backdrop of the worst Labor-related crime in history. -CDJapan

Review
Patlabor, Patlabor, Patlabor, it certainly has been a while, has it not? Ever since 1993, when the theatrical release of Patlabor 2: The Movie. Now you come back with WX III: Patlabor The Movie 3. Anyways, the story behind this movie is, a new terror is in town, and it was the work of a human. This monster (WX III - Wasted thirteen) is made up of cancer cells and a substance called ‘Nishiwakitrophin.’ The creator used cancer cells, because they grow rapidly, why the NishiwakitrophinEno idea, did not catch it when they mentioned it or something.

Now that the monster has run loose (as always). It is destroying property, eating people and sea creatures. Who does everyone turn to? Not to the labors. The labors played a small roll, but still they looked amazing. The Ingram was there!!! I love the Ingram. Moving right along, we have a lot of dialogues, enough to put you to sleep (Putting me to sleep is pretty difficult, I got what they call ‘Animensomia.’ The animation was very impressive; at one scene of the movie there was a landscape that looked photo realistic! There were some 3D CGs used, and it made the movie more interesting, but still WX III lacked action, which in my opinion ‘killed’ it. The story was definitely there, after all, there was dialogues after another, which helped the viewers, understand the movie.

WX III is not something that you would want to watch out of the blue. It certainly will be a must for Patlabor fans. There are few action scenes in between dialogues, but the main focused action scene was the last one where, the labors were brought into the show for the first time in the movie! Now, why name it Patlabor The Movie 3 if the labors are going to star for the final 10 minutes? ^_^;;

The Breakdown
Whoa! A R2 DVD from Japan has English subtitles? That is a first for me. The price is pretty high. 7800 Yen (US$ 63.49) for the Regular edition and 12800 Yen (US$ 104.19) for the Special edition.
WX III is licensed by Pioneer Animation in the U.S. and will be hitting streets in R1 format on April 8, 2003 in both Regular and Special editions.

Synopsis
Princess Mononoke…what a touchy subject. With all the hype it’s been given, this is a chance for me to test my honesty. Some say this is one of the best animated feature films of all time. With the production value near or equal to that of a Disney feature and Anime legend, Hayao Miyazaki behind it, I see how it would garner such attention. After such anticipation… I come back hardly impressed. I don’t see why this film would appeal to so many. I think it’s because the hype told us to. A term I call ‘Media Made Me’ (MMM).

Review
Sure it looks nice, but aren’t these shows supposed to be entertaining? This is far from Miyazaki’s best. In regards to the main character, I think there should have been better development. I could care less what happened to him. I’ve seen this six times (only because I could never stay awake though the whole show) and I still don’t know his name. The story is about the conflict between nature (animal forest gods) and Humans. The people are destroying the forest for industrial purposes, not much different than the threat we pose on nature today. It’s a nice message, don’t destroy nature, live in harmony with it, but it just didn’t pull me in. As much as you may be led to believe this, there is nothing special about Princess Mononoke. If you haven’t seen it, you haven’t missed much.

The Breakdown
Without the money and press hype behind Princess Mononoke, it would have been just another anime release…and that’s the truth.

Synopsis
Old Skool!!! That’s the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Project A-ko. I’d never believe I would say this but 1986 was a looong time ago. That’s when A-ko was released theatrically in Japan. Although I think it was around ‘93 when I watched the video release in America. The first Anime video I remember watching, along with Fist of the Northstar. That being said, I’m happy that it was.

Review
Originally a spoof of other popular Anime, Robotech, Fist of the Northstar, Captain Harlock, etc., it proved to gather a fan base of it’s own. The story begins as A-ko and her friend C-ko begin class together at the Graviton High School for girls. Fellow classmate, B-ko, takes an interest in C-ko and wants her for herself. A-ko is no different than any other 17 year old girl except for the fact that she has super human strength. C-ko is extremely ditzy and as clueless as Alicia Silverstone. B-ko is a genius, spoiled by her father. B-ko faces off with A-ko and uses everything from giant Mechs (robots) to exo-suits to win C-ko over. That’s not all! Outside of the school, a mysterious man known as ‘D’ spies on a certain someone for the captain of an oncoming alien mother ship. Who is this person? And what the heck does Superman have to do with this? I know, I know…it all sounds crazy doesn’t it? That’s because it is…crazy fun! If you you’ve got any background on Anime, Project A-ko is a timeless classic. It just proves that all anime doesn’t have to be thought provokingly deep to be entertaining.

The Breakdown
Sing it with me…A-ko, B-ko, C-ko, ‘D’…Enough Freakin Games. Here Is…………(Just Kidding) Lets Make New Opinions People, Quit Reacting Stupidly Tearing Up Very Wide Xeroxes You Zero. (What kinda crazy alphabet is this? Sure it doesn’t make sense but I had to try it.)

Synopsis
Nadesico - One of the best overall anime that I’ve seen, because it has Love, Mecha, Drama, Comedy and Action. This series is the series that started my anime craze. Enough with my anime life, here’s the review:

Review
The Story is based on Mars, Earth and Jupiter. Akito Tenkawa (main character) is one of those whack type characters. He has 6 girls liking him, but he shows no reaction to it. Akito is a cook but he has the ability to control mecha’s because when he was a kid his father gave him a nano injection. Anyways Nergal developed the civilian battleship Nadesico in secret to fight against the Jovians. And they got the best staff picked out which includes Yurika (captain), Megumi (communications), Minato (helmswoman), Ruri (computers), and the best pilot of all, greatest character ever Mr. Gai Daigohji (Jiro Yamada). That’s about it, I don’t want to go too deep into the series or I’ll spoil it. Oh one more thing! You’ll be surprised when you get near the end of the series. Be prepared :)

The Breakdown
This movie will hurt in the replay value due to the outdated animation and lack of character development. However, this does set the stage for some truly memorable action to happen, and it is absolutely essential viewing for mecha fans. Recommended for its though-provoking storyline, realistic characters, and decent mech action, but fans of strictly 1990s non-serious anime might be a little hesitant to purchase this title.

Synopsis
Initial D 1st Stage, 2nd Stage, and 3rd Stage: Lets start off by knowing what INITIAL D stands for shall we? Initial D - Initial Drive: Initial is the beginning of a word or something so when it all comes together, Initial D stands for the beginning to drive. Exactly what the series is about. This anime shows you how technology is used in anime and as newer technology is produced the better the quality is. OK…, You’re probably confused right now, but if you have seen the series you’ll know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t see the series then I’ll explain what I’m talking about in the review.

Review
1st Stage - First off, any Import cars fan will love this anime and if you’re not an import cars fan then you’ll not enjoy this anime as much as the people that are. The story starts off with this dude named Takumi Fujiwara. He’s a high school student and a part time worker at a gas station. At first Takumi, didn’t like to race or should I say he had no idea what was the point of racing. After his first race with his father’s customized Toyota AE86 Trueno (Thunder in Spanish) he was being hooked to racing little by little. As the story goes on its about his racing to find himself. Personally I loved the last race the RX-7 FC against the AE86, because its the last race for the 1st season (stage)

2nd Stage - A continuation of the 1st Stage, still Takumi has a 0 loss record, but now a new racing team has formed known as EMPEROR, of course they want to beat Takumi and … (can’t spoil the races). Any way that’s almost it for 2nd Stage.

3rd Stage - Is known as ‘The Movie’. This is the best out of all the Initial D’s. It’s the final chapter to Takumi’s quest to find himself through racing. The main race in 3rd Stage is the MR2 and the AE86. After that race Takumi finally showed his love for Natsuki Mogi (the main female character in Initial D). The quality of the 3D CGs are the best (after all its the last chapter for Takumi) Also Ryousuke Takahashi (driver of the RX-7 FC) has made a new racing team formed by the best of the best racers and he asked Takumi if he wanted to join…(hehe, getting annoyed?). OK, 3rd Stage is the best out of the 3 Stages, I know you’ll say, ‘What happened to Extra Stage?’ Well I didn’t see it because its about the girls that drove the Sil 80. I’ll see it once I have a chance to get it and write a review for it too. Until then here are the scores for all the Initial D’s.

The Breakdown
I can’t make you watch any thing, but it’s good to try out new things once in a while.

Synopsis
Going into Kite I had know idea of what to expect. I didn’t hear anything about it. After viewing it, I can’t understand how this title managed to stay so low-key. A young girl by the name of Sawa, is witness to the brutal murder of her parents. She was taken in by the detective assigned to her case. She was then trained to become a lethal assassin, taking justice into her own hands. There, that’s simple to follow right? Yes! But that’s not all! There’s soooo much more I just can’t talk about without fear of ruining this action packed roller coaster ride.

Review
Kite features some of the most entertaining gun fights this side of a John Woo film. It’s simply amazing! If you’ve seen the colorful No Doubt video, ‘Ex-Girlfriend’ and you remember that bathroom fight, then know that that scene came from this movie. OK, we know the action is top-notch, but what about the rest? The characters were pretty drab and depressing (sorta like anti-social walking dead) I guess crazy assassins may have a valid reason for there anti-sociality so I’ll let that one slide this time. (plus we only have to wade through about 15 minutes of boring conversation before another superb action scene hits) You’ve got to see this if not only for the shocking conclusion. (No really…you will be shocked)

The Breakdown
It’s official! The term go fly a kite can mean something cool now.

Synopsis
Years after the battle against the Tokugawa, there are those who still carry the stains of bloodshed. Shigure Takimi beheld the final moments of Gentatsu’s death by the hand of Hitokiri Battousai. Now, Shigure leads the second generation of Shougi Tai rebels to put an end to the corruptive forces of the Meiji government. One man is destined to confront him, Himura Kenshin. Will Kenshin be able to bring peace to their overlapping pasts, or will Shigure invoke another civil war?

Review
Rurouni Kenshin The Movie sets after the Kyoto Arc and the fight with Shishio, but centralizes around the death of Gentatsu. Graphics and music are drawn straight from the anime series providing a familiar feeling of watching an episode, only three times as long. Kaoru, Yahiko, Sanosuke, and even Saitou make their appearance. The fighting scenes are action packed as expected with Sanosuke’s Futae No Kiwami and street punk attitude, Saitou’s gatotsu and his Aku Soku Zan philosophy, climaxing in a dramatic finish between Kenshin’s Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu and Shigure’s Saiki Kanuma Ryu styles. Definitely a must see for all Rurouni Kenshin fans.

The Breakdown
The fighting scenes are action packed as expected with Sanosuke’s Futae No Kiwami and street punk attitude, Saitou’s gatotsu and his Aku Soku Zan philosophy, climaxing in a dramatic finish between Kenshin’s Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu and Shigure’s Saiki Kanuma Ryu styles. Definitely a must see for all Rurouni Kenshin fans.

Synopsis
Winner of the Golden Bear Award at the 52nd Berlin International Film Festival, Spirited Away makes its first appearance on the North American shoreline. Directed by Hayao Miyazaki (Princess Mononoke), the film itself has broken box office records in Japan. Originally aimed for the 10-year-old female audience, it is a movie suitable for the young and the old alike.

Review
It could not have been described better than in the words of Hayao Miyazaki himself: ‘This film is an adventure story, although the characters neither swing weapons around, nor use supernatural powers in battle. It is an adventure story, but its theme is not a confrontation between good and evil. It is a story of a girl who was thrown into a world where both good and evil exist. She gets trained, learns about friendship and devotion, and survives by using her wisdom. She finds her way out, dodges, and comes back to her old daily life for the time being. However, it is not because evil was destroyed, evil does not simply disappear from the world. It is because she gained the power to live. Today, the world has become ambiguous; but even though it is ambiguous, the world is encroaching and trying to consume everything. It is the main theme of this film to describe such a world clearly in the form of a fantasy.’

The Breakdown
Excellent film. A must see for all anime fans and a perfect starter for anyone who might be skeptical having sincere doubts of watching anime.

Synopsis
At the Yokota Base in Japan, a nervous American military is on the brink of the Vietnam War. But a greater threat exists within the walls of the heavily-guarded compound: Vampires.
A team of top-secret undercover agents learn of these blood-sucking fiends, and dispatch the mysterious Saya to hunt down and destroy them. This beautiful yet dangerous girl must use her extraordinary abilities and lethal Japanese sword to save the humans from these sinister creatures of the night..

Review
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The Breakdown
Saya, pretty but deadly hehe. What’s with this!? A female vampire slayer in a school uniform? Blood is a good watch, and its not confusing at all, just straight forward throughout the show.