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Synopsis
Section 9, Japan’s high-mobility anti-crime unit, is back in action! The Major’s got her work cut out for her as she leads her team on a series of new cases now that the Laughing Man case has been closed.

Uprisings over the treatment of a wave of Asian immigrants threaten the political landscape, and the new Prime Minister brings in Section 9 to offer their services - but on a much tighter leash than they’re used to. After being reinstated, they must stop an assassin who is killing high-ranking officials, outmaneuver an incredibly talented thief, and unravel the reason a high-tech helicopter malfunctioned. And all under the supervision of the mysterious and disturbing man known as Gohda.

Review
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex is back, now making its ‘2nd GIG debut.’ I have not seen enough of the first season, so I would not be able to compare the two. So let us start off fresh…

Major, Batou and the rest of the gang again has to do their usual work; kicking ass while taking names. This sequel to the much liked season one is a bit on the disappointing side. The episodes move by slowly and seem to drag on at moments with the boring conversations. I actually caught myself dosing off… until these critters made their return to Section 9. Man did that make a big difference in the show. All of a sudden it became more enjoyable and I began to focus more after that… yes, a little stimulation comes a long way, I guess; that and tack on Major wearing some sexy formal attire, is just like putting the icing on the cake.

Production I.G’s role in Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex is a huge one. The animation quality is superb, as expected from any Production I.G work. While the visual qualities of this show are high, the episodes do not seem to connect to each other or I just do not sense any. I believe that it is probably one of the negatives of this show. It is like starting brand new continuously, which certainly gets tiring. Maybe this feeling I obtained from watching the show was due to the fact that it is volume one and the show is just trying to get all the viewers acclimated to the environments of 2nd GIG. The sounds of this series are astonishing. From the opening theme to the closing theme I felt the music really jumped started the engine alright, it was just the execution that bogged the flow down.

This volume was not impressive at all, and I cannot lie about that. There were only two episodes that got my interests going. The other episodes were unbelievably, whack. Yes, you read that right. Whack. Hopefully in my next review for volume two, things will improve, until then, unless you are a diehard Ghost in the Shell fanatic, I would not recommend this series, yet.

The Breakdown
Time to move onto volume two and see if Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex: 2nd GIG can bounce back! (Man I am getting cramps from typing out that long title name ^_^).

Synopsis
A band of terrorists claims to have possession of a girl who was kidnapped some years ago, but when the Major and company are called in to resolve the situation, they realize that something is very wrong-the girl appears to be the same age she was when she was kidnapped! Things get even tougher as the team is assigned to guard a very wealthy and reclusive businessman who is a target for assassination by an international crime syndicate. As machines learn to evolve and human emotions cloud judgment, Section 9 will come face to face with a brave new digital world.

Review
Keep in note that I am beginning this series on volume four, so please bear with me if I am missing or if I am mistaking anything in the prior volumes. From the standpoint of the volume itself, Production I.G. is one amazing bunch. It brings a whole new ideal with futuristic themed anime. The animation speaks for itself, so I do not even need to describe it. What I will get into is the interest factor that Stand Alone Complex has. I have to admit, I am not a big fan of the original Ghost in the Shell, but this series right here sheds a different ray of light. I really enjoyed a lot of the things that happened on screen. The Tachikoma-kuns was a good fun touch added. Maybe it was just the less serious factor that makes Stand Alone Complex so much better than the original movie.

Let us move onto the music score. Although I do not understand the language the opening song was sung in (maybe Russian), I did like the beat a lot, it blends very well with the show. It puts you right into the flow of things. It pumps you up and by the time you know it, you are dumped directly into the show; primed, set and ready for action. The character designs and details are some of the finest that I have ever seen. The fact that it is DVD quality also helps a lot in bringing out the clarity. Major is still the top ass kicking female in anime today, and probably forever heh :).

In this volume of Stand Alone Complex, you should expect to see a test sample going bad, Batou going undercover, and the Tachikoma-kuns’ rally for survival. The entertainment value is superb and from what I have seen so far, I derive that the Second season can only get better whenever that should be released here in the States.

The Breakdown
HOLY COW! I need to catch up in this series :P.

Synopsis
In a world caught in the grip of information overload, where artificial intelligence is more than the real thing and cyborg cops spend their lives surfing on an electronic sea of living data, only the Ghost - the indefinable element of human consciousness - exists to determine who is alive and who is purely a creation of the net.

Major Motoko Kusanagi is an elite officer in the Section 9 security force: a cybernetic agent so heavily modified that little more than her Ghost remains. Along with fellow cyborg Batou and the mostly human Togusa, Kusanagi is set on the trail of a computer-criminal known as the Puppet Master, a data thief skilled enough to hack into the very minds of his victims. His human marionettes live out existences that are nothing more than computer generated fantasy, unwittingly committing their master’s crimes while the Ghost-hacker hides in the darkness.

But as Kusanagi digs deeper into the walls of secrecy surrounding the case, it appears that the Puppet Master has a special interest in her alone. And when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the shadowy Section 6, enter the scene, Kusanagi becomes tangled in a web of plot and counterplot, and realizes that the true identity of her invisible assailant lies at the center of a vast and lethal political conspiracy…

Review
Ah, Ghost in the Shell. It brings back good memories. For me anyway. I think by now anyone who knows anything about anime has at least heard of this movie. Considered the ’90’s Akira’ because of its similar style and the fact that it further brought anime into the American mainstream consciousness (much like Akira before it), Ghost in the Shell has gotten a reputation as being either the most deep, philosophically profound anime film of its time, or as those who hate it say, a very superficial, plodding, dull and boring film with little substance and a lot of ego. I’m of the first group who believes this film rocks on many levels.

It’s hard to actually decribe Ghost in the Shell on paper. It was originally a manga done by Shirow Masamune (Appleseed, Black Magic, Dominion Tank Police) which was then taken and adapted into this anime film by Mamoru Oshii, who should ring a bell with everyone. He was the mastermind behind films such as Jin-Roh, Angel’s Egg, and the first two Patlabor films, as well as series such as the Patlabor OVA and Urusei Yatsura. I’m a big fan of Jin-Roh, and I absolutely love his directing style, even if it tends to be a bit obtuse, verbose, and over-done in the psychological-philosophical department. While he’s very talented technically, Oshii has yet to learn how to show more than tell. But, unlike it’s sequel, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, where Oshii goes overboard on the quoting and philosophizing, this film doesn’t do too much talking, and is instead all about the visuals.

And what visuals they are. Even though it was made all the way back in 1995, the film still looks astounding, even today. And now with the special edition DVD out, it couldn’t look much better. The mesh between 2D cel animation and up-and-coming CG is very convincing, and the beautiful panning shots Oshii does of the city and skyline are breathtaking. It has aged a bit, but not nearly as much as a movie from 1995 should have.

What also bears mentioning is the great, if sparsely used, music. Kenji Kawai (Patlabor, Ranma 1/2, Gunparade March) uses a lot of Noh and choral chanting and ethereal instrumentals as ambiance (a lot like Akira, actually, except not as loud and bombastic). It works along with the somber, indifferent tone and mood the film establishes, rather than calling attention to itself. It’s extremely well-done and very solid, but, like I said, it’s used sparingly, unfortunately.

As for the actual story and plot? My synopsis (long in and of itself) at the top of the page will have to do. Beyond not wanting to ruin anything, it’s just very hard to explain the politics-heavy, thematically deep story that Ghost in the Shell is. I’d only confuse you more by trying to explain it to you. So trust me when I say it’ll probably take you more than one viewing to understand everything that’s going on.

The Breakdown
For those who are fans of this genre, this is a must buy. There are reasons why The Matrix films borrowed so much from this movie. There are reasons why it’s quality and underlying story are so hotly debated. There’s a reason people simply love it or hate it. I recommend everyone watch this film, if not outright buy it. Everyone should have this film in their collection.

Synopsis
‘Pandy and Retro, two unlikely renegades, awaken naked on Earth with no recollection of their past. After embarking on a devastating crime spree for food, clothing and transportation in downtown Tokyo, they are captured by authorities and sent to the infamous lunar prison called Dead Leaves.

After a brief incarceration, they discover that the prison is really a top-secret cloning facility, occupied by villainous prison guards and deformed genetic experiments. High-speed frantic action combined with hyper-violent and semi-humorous chase scenes follow as the two decide to break out of the prison with the aid of their fellow mutant inmates.’

Review
Everywhere I’ve read, I’ve been hearing rave reviews about this title. Well this review here isn’t one of them. Anime in general has always had a certain formula that each title never really strays too far from. They usually fall into a certain genre. Dead Leaves was obviously done to be different. Different in this case means insanely incoherent.

The story is about a girl with a mutated eye gene and a guy who has a monitor for a head. (Reminds me of the old Gamefan Magazine’s mascot). They wake up naked with no memory. From there they go through the rest of the show fighting and blasting everything in sight, all while desperately trying to be cool. The thing the writers need to know is that in order to have cool characters, you need to care about them and in order to care about characters you need a good story. This show just doesn’t have that.

The creators must have had Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) because the scenes flash by in such rapid succession that you just stop trying to make sense of it all. Don’t let me get started on the bewildering barrage of a bazillion bullets bombarding the screen (That’s a lot of B’s, don’t get stung). I can’t imagine the test screening where they proclaimed this a form of entertainment.

I agree with what one of the voice actors said in the extras. ‘If you watch Dead Leaves drunk you’ll throw up.?What he didn’t mention is that the whole creative team was drunk when they were making this and most of the time it looks like they threw up on the animation cels.

The Breakdown
If you love toilet humor then this is for you. You gotta love the guy with the drill pecker…Is this anime? I hope this type of anime never catches on and becomes the norm.

Synopsis
A sinister plot is afoot and only one schoolteacher - a special agent with an affinity for rare books - can stop it. She is Ms. Yomiko Readman - better known to her colleagues in Section A of Library Special Operations as ‘Agent Paper.’ Someone is bent upon procuring a lost Beethoven manuscript and has enlisted a few of history’s most extraordinary personalities, cloned from stolen DNA, to aid in the endeavor. Readman and her fellow super-powered operatives must tangle with the likes of Tokugawa-era scientist Gennai Hiraga, aviation pioneer Otto Lilienthal and 19th century entomologist Jean-Henri Fabre in a desperate race to find the books and save the World!

Review
Read Or Die is simply short and sweet. Three episodes make up this OAV, approximately thirty minutes each. Although R.O.D. is short, it is still very enjoyable. The story kicks off with the destruction of the Library of Congress, and one thing I noticed was people urinating on themselves. That is the first time I have ever seen an anime going that detailed in showing fear.

Yomiko Readman is a book enthusiast. Her living quarters is filled with books all over. Her love for books is really amazing as she ignores everything that is happening around her once she starts reading (I wish I can have that much fun reading books). In any case, Yomiko finds a book in a bookstore which later on turns out to be a book by Beethoven. Beethoven will play a significant role later on as the story progresses. The thing that comes into my mind while watching R.O.D. is ‘How can such an innocent looking girl be the main character of the show?’ To my surprise, her ability to manipulate paper comes in quite handy at times when she is in the heat of battles, hence earning the moniker ‘The Paper.’

Overall R.O.D. starts off slow, but the pace picks up and soon you will be noticing that you are zooming through the whole OAV. That is the fun part though; it keeps you in your seat anticipating for the next scene to happen.

The Breakdown
Read Or Die huh? Who would have thought paper could be so cool?

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
Hoo boy, a review of Evangelion. Not the easiest of  anime’s to review. This ‘movie’ is really two things. There is the ‘Death’ part of this disc, which is a recap of the first 24 episodes with new footage strewn about made especially for this recap. Then there is the ‘Rebirth’ part, and this is where Manga Entertainment  once again falls flat on it’s face. In Japan, Rebirth was the first 30 minutes of End of Evangelion, but there were parts missing since technically, the End of Eva wasn’t finished yet. On this release, Manga just saw fit to shove the first 30 minutes of actual footage from the End of Eva on the disc. I really wanted to see the differences between Rebirth and End of Eva, but I guess I don’t get to (at least with the US DVD release).

Aside from that, how’s the actual content? Good…and bad. I will say right now that unless you’re a hardcore fan, do not buy this disc. There is nothing really new in it aside from some special footage for Death, which doesn’t make it that worthwhile to the normal fan. However, to the hardcore (like me), you will eat this stuff up. Rebirth is most defintely pointless, because if your buying this at all you already have or are planning to buy End of Evangelion anyway…which Rebirth is the first 30 minutes of. Buy this disc for its extras and for the cool new footage  in Death. Also, do not plan to watch this recap if you haven’t seen the show. The recap cannot help you understand anything. It was originally made in Japan to remind everyone what is going on in Evangelion, since the movie was coming out soon but it had been quite awhile since the series came. Death is good though if you’ve seen the series (as a recap).

The Breakdown
Has some very good extras (who knew Manga was smart enough to pretty much translate and put the Red Cross book on the DVD?) And I must reiterate, I thoroughly enjoyed Death and it’s new footage (while there isn’t to much, it’s still good.) Rebirth is End of Eva’s first 30 minutes, making it useless, because once you buy End of Eva, you have Rebirth anyway. Also, for some, the Mokuji special featureon the DVD  won’t work for them, and it’s a really great feature to. I, however, did not run into any problems with it on my DVD player.

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
Street Fighter is a name I hold dear to my heart. It single handedly started the one on one fighting frenzy that revitalized the arcade industry in the early 90’s. It also revolutionized the way video games were made. A game with such commercial success it spawned toys, a Hollywood movie (that stared Jean Claude Van Damme and sucked big time.), two animated movies, an anime TV series, and an American cartoon (I think it went by the name of ‘G. I. Joe’… oh wait, that was something else). They’ve all had a sort of hit or miss success rate which brings me to the animated OAV, Street Fighter Alpha.

Review
The character design stays true to the video game series it’s based on. Complete with big hands, feet and all. The story is about everyone’s favorite lone wanderer, Ryu and his long time friend Ken Masters. Their reunion is interrupted by the arrival of Shun, a boy who says he is Ryu’s long lost brother whom he’s never met. As of late, Ryu has been battling himself from within to overcome the power of the Dark Hadou threatening to take him over. (Dark Hadou is the dark side of the dangerous technique he and Ken learned) Shun has this power also. Before Ryu even has the chance to consider that the boy may actually be his brother. Shun is kidnapped by the evil organization of Shadowlaw. So not only does Ryu have to overcome the power of the Dark Hadou, he must rescue Shun. That’s not all! Will Ryu still have what it takes to confront the Master of the Dark Hadou himself, Akuma? Well I can’t tell you. Find out yourself.

The Breakdown
Not my favorite Street Fighter show but what can I say, if you like
Dragonball Z then this is for you.

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.

Synopsis
The Ultimate Vampire Slayer meets the Ultimate Vampire!
Meet Mikami - the gorgeous leader of one of Japan’s most successful independent ghost-busting agencies. Together with her eclectic team of exorcists, she’s prepared to do battle with any supernatural adversary - for the right price. But when an ancient spirit enlists her aid to deal with a re-incarnated foe, Mikami gets more than she bargained for. As the wicked Nosferatu - a vampire lord able to absorb the very life essence of his victims, begins to turn the city’s inhabitants into mindless zombies, Mikami’s team must race against time to save the world from a second Dark Age. Watch the ultimate Vampire slayer in this supernatural action-adventure based on the long-running manga series by Takashi Shiina!

Review

The Breakdown
Truly a classic, now Manga, how about bringing on the series!