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Synopsis
Daisuke Aurora and Android ‘J’ are partners who work together as part of a special division ‘pre-crime’ police force. Together, they are a great team, taking down crime anywhere in the oceanic-cityscape of Judoh. But with a mob family vying for power against all others, with the head only known as ‘VAMPIRE’; and another man, with a hidden past, with the head of a werewolf, Daisuke and J have a lot to handle.

Review
I’d heard good things about Heat Guy J for a year or so now. I anticipated its release stateside, hoping it would live up to the hype. I was not let down in any way. As of late, I had been getting into many shoujo anime series, this show brought me back into the shounen fold, where I belong. This is male drama and action at its core. I enjoyed this volume a great deal, and cannot wait for the next. There’s almost nothing I did not like with this show.

The show oozes cool much like famed series Cowboy Bebop and has action to spare much like Trigun or Hellsing. It’s most definitely the sum of it’s parts with beautiful animation, excellent music, and a top-notch enjoyable detective story.

The Breakdown
It has great action. Beautiful animation. Awesome music. A great story. There’s really not much not to like in this. Buy the first volume, and give it a try.

Synopsis
Show Zama, an up and coming motocross racer in Japan, is warped through a ‘trans-dimensional aura highway’ one night while driving away from a bunch of motocross thugs. From there, things begin to become extremely odd. Show Zama, along with a few others (a Russian and an American) have been transported to a world known only as Byston Well. Apparently, all the people of Byston Well know of our world (Earth), which they refer to as Up World, and they have now, along with the help of an American from California, created mechs known as Aura Battlers. Unfortunately, this technology has been obtained by only one nation of Byston Well so far, the House of Drake Luft. They have started to conquer the rest of Byston Well, and now Show has been forced to pilot an Aura Battler for the wrong side…

Review
I’ve only heard great things of Aura Battler. Having been created through the excellent mind of Yoshiyuki Tomino (creator of Gundam) there were high expectations from me. All my expectations were filled and then some. Being an early 1980’s TV series, the animation is very poor, which could put some people off entirely. Once I got past that though, the story was all that mattered. Being the predecessor of such great and similar shows like Escaflowne, which borrows heavily from this, there are only great things to say about Aura Battler. The story is very inspired, with themes such as love, trust, betrayal, and whatnot. Tomino knows that all great war stories are told on the human level, and this one exemplifies those ideas ten-fold.

The Breakdown
Tomino did it again here, and you can see he’s  at the top of his game with Aura Battler Dunbine. Do not miss this chance to pick up an old classic onto DVD. This is a great release.

Synopsis
A thousand years have passed since the battle with the Demon Lord Shabranigdo. At his final moments, Shabranigdo, using the powers of darkness, erected a magical barrier to curse the inhabitants, entrapping them. Thus, it was made impossible for anyone to get into and out of the country. That was until a very beautiful, powerful sorcerer genius otherwise known as Lina Inverse defeated both the Dragon King Gaav and Hellmaster Phibrizzo, retainers to Shabranigdo. A pillar of light shines from a distant land beckoning them…

Review
The final installment of the Slayers series, this three-letter word Try is the third season of quite possibly the greatest of all fantasy anime. There are three races: the gods, demons, and human beings that serve as a catalyst combining the powers of the other two. The final line of Season 1’s opening Get along, Try again! represents Lina’s determination never to give up against the forces of evil, even one as great as the prince of darkness Dark Star - a creature as powerful as Shabranigdo. Try extends the storyline from Slayers Next setting months after Amelia, Lina and Gouury, and Zelgadis have separated. Zelgadis still hopes to find a spell to reverse the chimera process by journeying to the unknown lands beyond the barrier. Xellos and Amelia are there for official business. Two new characters are introduced. In place of Sylphiel is Filia, the strong yet easily tempered shrine maiden from the Golden Dragon clan who solicits the help of Lina. The second is Valgaav, belonging to the black Ancient Dragons reborn as a demon through the powers of Gaav. He seeks to avenge Gaav’s death by disposing of Lina permanently.

The Breakdown
Slightly behind Season 1 and Next, but the Slayers series is one of the best!

Synopsis
Ryu Soma continues to work for the people of FUNERAL. But he has not exacted his revenge yet on Frank, though he has already had two chances to do so. He begins to doubt himself and his reality, and soon enough he is taking blind action against Frank, going into rage and madness.

Meanwhile, the largest alien ever to approach Earth has come to head towards Pilgrimage Point, but right in it’s path lays FUNERAL’s home base of operations. It starts thrashing FUNERAL, and  when their last resort to defeat the alien, a particle cannon known as Fefnir, fails, all hope is lost…

Review
Halfway through the series now, I’m still enjoying it immensely, and love everything about Argentosoma. We have another 4 great episodes here. Especially interesting is Ryu doubting his path of revenge, and his very odd hallucinations of seeing Hattie as his lost love. The last episode gives us a lot of clues as to what has been going on, though it’s done in the tried but true ‘organization meeting.’ FUNERAL deals with some very interesting aliens on this disc, one that is extremely large for one, and the way FUNERAL defeats each still strikes me as ingenuitive and all out cool. Things are just getting better.

The Breakdown
Nothing not to like. Buy it now. Were you expecting me to say anything else?

Synopsis
A party of three, Merrill, Genie, and Melissa can defeat anything and everything on their adventures across the world. With Merill’s powers of thievery, Genie’s warrior abilities, and Melissa’s power of prayer, they are a triad of unstoppable force. Unfortunately enough, none of them know magic, and on their latest adventure, they happen to get stuck raiding an old ruin because of a magic seal. So they go to the local town and try to hire a woman magician. Even more unfortunately, all the women in the town who are aspiring magicians are more interested in studying than going out on adventures. So they decide  to hire a maverick magician, a male known as Louie, to help them out. Little did they know the stupidity that came with him…

Review
Funny is all I can say about this show. From the director of the serious-minded fantastical series known as Record of Lodoss War, I was expecting something just as serious and epic. In the first 5 minutes I was proven entirely wrong. Rune Soldier is all about stupidity and the reactions of said stupidity. If Louie isn’t doing one dumb thing, it’s another entirely. He’s so poor at magic that instead of actually using magic he’s more intent on using his fists to pummel his enemies into submission. Dumb enough is he that he uses his wand as a baseball bat, breaking it in the process, which causes a proverbial outcry from the women of his team. This of course causes another adventure to occur in which Louie has to go find some special wood in a deadly forest to restore his magic wand which he barely knows how to use. And of course, there’s always that part with him swinging the boar. Extremely funny stuff.

The Breakdown
It’s funny, it sounds great, it’s animated well, and the stories are great episodic pieces. There’s not much to not like. But, if your like some of my friends, you may not like this by default if your one for action-only anime and do not like Japanese-centric humor. If your not like that, buy now!

Synopsis
Makoto and Yura are both 25-years old and married as a couple. Pity for them because their marriage was arranged. However, they decided to repeat the platonic stage all over again, from going on an ordinary date to the ‘first night’ experience. But the problem remains, Yura is a ‘virgin’, and Makoto is a ‘cherry boy’ for twenty five years.. they both have no experience at all at ‘you know what’, so both Makoto and Yura decided to solve their problem at all costs

Review
Futari Ecchi (or as it is sometimes called, Step Up Love Story) means something close to ‘lewdness of a couple’. And pretty much…that is what it is about. Although it is ‘hentai-esque’ (is that a word?), it is very funny as well. The cluelessness of both Yura and Makoto is the perfect setup for this sex comedy. From Yura’s ‘discovery’ of Makoto’s rather large hentai collection to Yura’s younger ’sexpert’ sister giving her sage advice to the couple on a regular basis, this series is one laugh after another, with a few dirty scenes thrown in (it is a hentai after all). But they aren’t really offensive. Futari Ecchi is surprisingly story-centered, and is all the better for it.

The Breakdown
Fun, silly, creative…but not for kids. It can be found for relatively cheap online, and it’s well worth the buy.

Synopsis
In Feudal Japan, the Edo period brought a time of delicate peace bought with blood. Ninja Scroll: The Series chronicles the life of Jubei Kibagami as he wanders the countryside as a ninja for hire. At this time, ninja clans are everywhere. Once clan, known as the Hiruko Clan, doomed to live and die in darkness, protects a sacred treasure called the Dragon Stone. The Kimon Clan, however, bent on reviving the power of the Toyotomi, wants the Dragon Stone and the treasure it hides. Jubei is the best man for the job of protecting both the Dragon Stone and the only one who can use it – The Light Maiden.

Review
Finally the highly anticipated sequel to the original Ninja Scroll has arrived and it is taking the industry by storm. Urban Vision has done a real fine job in giving us a treat so sweet that I am now worrying about cavity. The story starts off with Rouga, a character that has the ability to change into wolf form. He holds what they called the “Dragon Stone.” His goal is to get the stone, to the Light Maiden. Of course, nothing in the Ninja Scroll world is easy. Rouga finds himself trapped by two Kimon clan members and guess who comes out of the blue. That is right, Jubei. He took out one person with just one move! The action of Ninja Scroll: The Series is really amazing. There is speed, blood and finely arranged battles, a lot of them as a matter of fact.

A few scenes later we are taken to the village that the Light Maiden resides in. She is clueless about the real world and clueless about the village that she lives in. When the Kimon clan attacked the village, all the villagers defended and protected the Light Maiden to their death. As a result, the whole village was wiped out and Jubei is there to help out. Rouga was also there to fight, but he was severely injured and said his last words to Jubei. Keeping his words to a dying man, he goes a find the ran away Light Maiden.

If I go any further I will just spoil more so I will stop with the summarization of the DVD. Everything was top notch in the four episodes that I have viewed. And with the release date not so far away, please remember to save your pennies for this!

The Breakdown
This long awaited series has certainly not disappointed me. Believe me this will really be a treat for all Ninja Scroll fans and non-Ninja Scroll fans too.

Synopsis
Youko Nakajima is a normal Japanese high-school girl. She tries to act perfect and please everyone, being the popular friend, the smart student, the teachers pet, and a good girl at home. But, for some reason, she just doesn’t seem to fit in with  the world. With red hair, which neither of her parents have, and a distant longing to be somewhere else, Youko can only make the best of what she has. But, when a mysterious long blonde haired man appears right in the middle of class, tells her that he is her protector, and she is whisked away to a far off place with two of her classmates, she is not sure what to do. And that’s just the beginning…

Review
Wow! This anime blew my mind away. I had been told to check this out by a couple of friends of mine, and me, being the skeptic, was very wary of this anime once I bought it. Then I watched the entire disc in one sitting, and realized that this is one of the best animes I’d ever seen, and I’m only five episodes in. A lot of comparisons will be made to Aura Battler Dunbine and Escaflowne, and for good reason. It does borrow elements from those, but much like Tolkien’s classic Lord of the Rings novels, what makes Twelve Kingdoms so good is the entire scope of this new world that’s been created. Every facet is new and different, much taken from Chinese mythology and Japanese mysticism, and it just completely sucks you in that you feel you have been spirited away to some far off land yourself. What really amazed me was the animation as well.

Done by the up and coming Studio Pierrot, the animation features very nice and dark colors that gives the show an ominous feeling but with a hint of light to everything, and it’s all very nice to look at. I have to admit I was confused by all the terminology used in the show for all the beasts and such, and the politics and underpinnings that are going on in TheTwelve Kingdoms still confuse me, but that’s to be expected when your trying to set up an entirely new world whilst introducing characters and getting to know them. All I can say is that I’m enchanted and very interested in what is happening in The Twelve Kingdoms.

The Breakdown
While the show is currently at 45 episodes,  it has stopped being made at this point, so for now I’m simply loving every bit and piece of this show. I’ve said enough as it is and I think everyone needs to see this at least once.

Synopsis
Anata wa Takogo, sung by Ruma (Shiratori Yuri), explains it all: ‘Teach me about your love. I don’t understand tete chichi kaka popo. As you eat the octopus, you’ll lose it. Your words can’t reach me.’ It is spoken of in legend that a demon cursed the humans that ate the octopi. What’s more, the demon bestowed upon the octopi a strong guardian. To prevent its release, heroes sealed the guardian in a shrine deep beneath the ocean. Now an evil sorcerer has broken the seal and all hell breaks lose.

Review
The final Slayers release to date, Slayers Premium, movie number five for those of you counting, hit the theaters of Japan in July 2001. What makes Premium exceptional is that it features the characters from the TV series - Gouury, Zelgadis, Amelia, and Xellos. The timeline of the movie is a side quest set in between Slayers Next and Slayers Try; Gouury is still equipped with the sword of light and Lina wears Xellos’s blood talismans. Nahga, the white serpent, finally catches up with Lina but only gets a few seconds of fame in the movie. No appearances by Sylphiel, Filia, or Prince Phil though. Following the trend in all the movies is a new female lead character named Ruma, a white mage.

The Breakdown
Not the usual Lina and Nahga combination. The top characters of the TV series make their return with same humor, excitement, and fun as Slayers Next.

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?