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Synopsis
Shin Kazama is a gifted pilot with a bright future, a beautiful fiancƩ and a job with a prestigious airline until a treacherous act of betrayal rips his world apart and sends him into the barren desert of the war-torn Kingdom of Aslan. With escape only meaning death, he must now use his superior skills to become a cold-blooded aerial killer; and with every kill, he paints a trail of blood in the sky back to the life that was stolen from him.

Review
You know, the first time I saw the flaming unicorn symbol of Shin Kazama’s fighter plane, I knew it was familiar. And to my surprise it was from the Super Nintendo video game, U.N. Squadron. Man was that game fun; it makes me want to go play it right now hehe. Anyways, Area 88 is U.N. Squadron, before its name was changed during the importing process to the United States. Maybe it was too close to sound like Area 51? Oh wells. The last fighter plane anime that I have watched was Yukikaze and Area 88 just blows that anime away. The dog fights and all the breathtaking action in this show has gotten me excited about the plane genre again.

When the story begins, you are put through the eyes and lens of battlefield photographer, Makoto Shinjo. As he narrates you through the nooks and crannies of his job, he also tries to expose Shin Kazama’s as well. Why is he in Area 88 fighting a civil war? That is the ultimate question that will be answered as the show goes on. So far, very little is revealed about Shin’s past, other than a girl named Ryoko. And just thinking about it, I believe this anime would be best that it was told in a third person’s point of view rather than straight from Shin Kazama himself. His character is no fun, so that will contribute to putting people to sleep, I guess. It was a great idea in getting Makoto Shinjo to narrate the plot, because he is a flexible character, it works out perfectly as he incorporates various features about him that separates himself from all the others.

Just wondering how this anime will play out has got me salivating, because whatever happens, I know there will be crazy aerial fights and at times even a bit of comedy to lighten up the mood. This is a great series with an intriguing plot and the animation quality amazing enough to make you beg for more and more, and more. You will be pleased.

The Breakdown
Area 88 has got to be one of the finest anime dealing with airplanes. Just when I thought it cannot get any better, it surprises me and exceeds my expectations with every missile launched or every bullet fired. It is a must have for you action deprived fans out there!

Synopsis
A hostage has been taken in Pakistan; the chances of his survival are slim to none. Enter Yugo Beppu, the world’s greatest private negotiator. With keen intellect, quick wits and indomitable willpower, he’s got a reputation for getting hostages released unharmed. So, when the negotiations in Pakistan break down, Yugo is called onto the scene to deal with a fierce anti-government faction. Now, all of Yugo’s psychological strategies will be put to the test as he faces off with a fearsome killer who left the last negotiator dead at his feet. Walking a dangerous line between the powerful military and ruthless guerillas, it will take more than words for Yugo to survive in the blazing desert.

Review
A few years ago, I remember I have watched a Hong Kong drama series that dealt with police negotiators. The job could either be joyous or distressing. Either way it was a good show that displayed how through negotiating, violence or even death could be spared. In comes Yugo the Negotiator, an anime about negotiating as a means to not resort to any violence or the death of the hostage… well there are some violence that you just cannot negotiate your way out of.

The way this anime was brought up to me was not all that impressive. Probably due to the fact that we do not have a superman here; we are not presented with an infallible character. Yugo has failed before in his field, and he is haunted by it. It is that, which drives him to negotiate and save the hostage without any casualties at all costs. In this volume, we are not shown how he does his work. Throughout, he was gathering his information for a job that he has taken that needed him to save someone in Pakistan. By doing that it kind of gives off a feeling like it is taking me for a walk around the park. Even by episode three, I still do not know what is so extraordinary about Yugo. His smarts to get out of various situations? His feelings towards injustice? Or just his morals? Maybe all my questions would be answered in the next volume, but at least, I should be provided with something that would make me want to watch the next volume. At the current state, it ends with nothing intriguing enough to make you say, “I must see what comes next.” It ends with more like a, “Maybe.”

The potential is there for Yugo the Negotiator. The only thing that was lacking was that actual “negotiating” part. The whole complexion of this review would probably have been changed if it was not for that missing link, which would have bound everything together. At least it would get you all juiced up so that you will want to watch how the negotiation will transpire.

The Breakdown
Yugo The Negotiator is most likely a title that will turn it up as it goes on. I wonder how things will be in the future episodes.

Synopsis
During the 20th Century, the world experienced a large-scale war. A war between humans and monsters. Words could never describe the violent bloodshed of the war the monsters had won. Time has passed and a new century has begun. And the people have forgotten that Melody…

Life continued on as normal except for a mysterious sacrifice here and there. However, Bocca felt that this was wrong and when he heard of the Warriors of Melos, people who still rallied to defeat the monsters, he decided to become one as well. But this wasn’t an easy path and there was still much to be learned about the Melody of Oblivion.

Review
Before entering the world of The Melody of Oblivion, you first need to know a little bit about the people that made it. As a joint effort between Gainax and J.C. Staff, you instantly have the makings for an incredible, intriguing, and to a point, bewildering title. Gainax is famous for it’s seminal works, “FLCL” and “Neon Genesis Evangelion”. JC Staff created such outstanding series as “Revolutionary Girl Utena” and “Azumanga Daioh”. After watching The Melody of Oblivion, it’s safe to say that it belongs amongst the elite of both Gainax and JC Staff.

The Melody of Oblivion is a story of Bocca Serenade. Bocca has recently become increasingly disinterested with his classwork. His school teaches the art of shooting the “arrows of the soul”, which appears to be no more than pulling back and releasing the string of a bow. When Bocca uses a real arrow, his teacher chides him and uses the oppurtunity to trivialize the power of a real arrow. Because of Bocca’s failure to conform, he fails an important test and must be retested within the next week. Bocca remains unempathetic about the test, much to his girlfriend’s chagrin. She tries to persuade Bocca to retake the test, but he refuses. What is the point of the bow if not to fight the monsters, he wonders? During his conversation with his girlfriend, he notices his parents walking towards the school. After examining the situation further, Bocca finds that his parents are paying the teacher to make sure Bocca passes.

Agitated by the matter, Bocca runs away. While walking through a mall, he meets the energetic Sayoko. Through Sayoko, Bocca learns that a man he has seen before is actually a Warrior of Melos. Before Sayoko can discuss the man any further, a pair of police show up and chase Sayoko away.

Bocca, now alone and curious about the Warrior of Melos, goes to the place where he saw the warrior last. There he finds the warrior, Kurofune, having his special motorcycle, called an Aibar Machine, repaired by the venerable Tsunagi. Tsunagi, a friend of Bocca’s, welcomes Bocca in and introduces Bocca to Kurofune. Through Kurofune, Bocca learns of the Melody of Oblivion. She is a vision that only the Warriors of Melos can see. It is rumored that should a Warrior of Melos go to where the Melody of Oblivion is, the war will end.

The Melody of Oblivion visually and audibly seems to be almost as much fine art as it is traditional anime. The music in the series is absolutely breathtaking, and is executed perfectly. The Opening, ‘Will’ is both elegant and exciting, and is a great listen with or without the series. The background music in the series is amongst the best I have ever heard. It serves to set up every scene and creates a power that highlights the drama, action, and intrigue of the series.

The character designs are plain and simple, but are also quite unique. The Animation has a tendency to reuse footage, but otherwise is solid. The background artwork seems to be mellow and nondescript at first, being made up mostly of pastels and having a watercolor look to them. Throughout the first episode, the artwork changes steadilly, becoming much darker. By the end of the first episode, the settings and atmosphere have completely changed, and the the world seems much more grim. This is an interesting technique that I enjoyed during the episode, as it happened in step with the viewer learning that Bocca’s world has much stewing under the surface.

My only problem with the first volume is the English dub. While Carrie Savage does a decent enough job with Sayoko, many of the other major characters left me wanting. The most major of these was Bocca’s dub, as done by Ted Sroka, whose most prominent role prior to the Melody of Oblivion was in Ikki Tousen as Kokin Shuyu. Through the first four episodes, Sroka never really seemed to capture the character of Bocca. This really disapointed me.

The Breakdown
Run, don’t walk, and go buy this series today.

Synopsis
Mahoro still lives with Suguru, accompanying him by doing the everyday house work as his loyal maid. They adopt a strange girl that shows up and named her Minawa. However, things slowly became hectic as a new threat, The Management, makes it’s appearance. What is this new threat that lurks in the shadows? What lies ahead for Mahoro as her life shortens by each passing day?

Review
Mahoromatic: Something more Beautiful brings you back the lovable maid, Mahoro, along with all the panties shoots and humour viewers saw in the first season of Mahoromatic….yes… even Shikijou-sensei is back and she is crazier than ever for Suguru love.

Minawa, a runaway android, finds her way to Suguru’s house in search of shelter from an unknown danger. Things start to go crazy as they are attacked by other robots sent from a place called the Management. What is their purpose? Why are they going after Minawa? Why did Minawa run to Suguru?..Well…for the most part of this series… who cares?

First off, I would like to say I was kept entertained by the comedy in each episode rather than trying to follow some linear plot line. Yes… I know Mahoro is always saying Ecchi nano wa ikenai to omoimas, but this has got to be one of the funniest perverted series that kept me entertained through to the end. What do we have here: A stoic girl who is a maid-to-be, a crazy school teacher who’s hormone levels peak out when she sees Suguru, New Years brawl, Christmas brawl, and in general, Mahoro vs. Shikijou-sensei. What more can one want to be entertained?

A plot does develop later on in the LAST FEW EPISODES. Generally knowing that it’s Gainax, I expected something to happen like this, but when you have a season two that is so closely tied with season one, three or four episodes are just not enough to try and resolve all the questions that build up. The Management, Vespers, Saints. What do they have to do with each other? And who exactly is Matthew?

In addition, the ending was not all..well… pleasing. When you have an episode end with ‘THE END’, you expect it to be the end. Instead, we get an additional episode which tries to explain everything; who Mahoro really was and what the plan Saint Matthews was regarding humans. In other words, the ending seemed a little awkward to me.

Nevertheless, Mahoromatic: Something more Beautiful has all the right ingredients for a day of laughter. Just make sure to tape your mouth shut watching this at night when everyone is sleeping.

The Breakdown
14 episodes that are directly linked with the 12 episodes of the first season of Mahoromatic.

Synopsis
A mysterious pillar of darkness appears in Japan, opening a dimensional gate where two monsters were released fighting each other in an epic battle. Two kids, Yu Hayakawa and Ai Hayakawa embark on a journey in search for their parents who vanished during the fight. Hitching a ride on a phantom train, they arrive in a mysterious world accompanied by Lisa, a girl who they met on the train. Soon, they begin jumping from one world to another gathering clues about their parents with the help of Lisa and another mysterious person named Kaze who has the ability to summon creatures with his gun. Will the kids ever find their parents? Who is Kaze and what is this man’s past that seems so dark and enigmatic?

Review
A person may either be a hardcore Final Fantasy fan or a person may not even know what Final Fantasy is. If one happen to luck out being a fan, then this can be an anime that that person has been waiting for all his life. If not, all I can say is… Welcome.. To …Hell. Lucky for me for the most part, it doesn’t matter if I’m a fan or not right now.

Final Fantasy: Unlimited attempts to bring you back all the lovable characters you saw in many Final Fantasy games. There are Moogles Cactuars, summons, battles, multi dimensional transportations, and yes, even cid is in this anime. Unfortunately, that’s all I can say about this anime.

The impression I got watching the first episode was ‘oh look… kids looking for their parents. Sounds interesting.’. It turns out that these kids were nothing more than plot driving devices. If anything, the story was based more on Kaze and how long it would take for him to summon using his gun.

Also, the characters were flat and bland. We have Ai and Yu who we don’t really see much of them other than possessing some third person characteristics. We also have Makenshi who the viewers also don’t know much about. Lisa who tags along with these kids and tries to show her caring side up to the point where it seems also artificial. Also, we have Kaze who we don’t really know anything about either. It didn’t seem like the anime really care much to introduce Kaze other than some awesome guy who swings his mighty gun around like a toy every kid wants. Seriously, there are many other characters that don’t get introduced other than the name they have and the evil laugh they possess. In other words, most of the characters fail to show depth ness in them. Maybe Lisa and Kaze develop a little of that, but hell, I’ve seen episodes some anime that are 20 minutes long with more character development than the two can develop holding hands with each together.

In addition, the animation of almost everything was horrible. The character designs were extremely plain and simple. This includes humans, monsters… etc etc. I mean come on… most of the monster we see are mushrooms with the ability of a jump attack and releasing spores. However, I was a little amused when Kaze summons using his gun, though it seemed like more time was dedicated by the animators on that one event than the whole anime combined.

Furthermore, the fighting was uneventful for the most part. Lisa has the ability to use magic and Kaze has the ability to spend five minutes flipping bullets into his demon gun. Most of the time, I wonder what the monsters are doing while Kaze is spending all his time doing that. Common sense says they actually… attack him? Sounds like a plan right?

Lastly, each episode felt extremely unbalanced with the preceding episode and vice-versa. I got the feeling of watching Kino’s Journey gone horribly wrong. For example, the first half of this anime shows our ‘protagonists’ moving from world to world riding on the phantom train ending with a resolution most of the time. For the last half however, we get many episodes which is a result of a single cause. Thus, we move from being episodic to where each episode heavily depend on each other in order to make sense.

Final Fantasy: Unlimited can be an anime for Final Fantasy fans to appreciate. Otherwise, stay out of its path. You might get killed by some jumping mushroom attack.

The Breakdown
25 episodes of the planned 52 episodes of this anime. The second reason seemed to have been gone with the wind.

Synopsis
An old Mauser prophecy claims that a certain person known as the scrapped princess is to be killed at birth for on the dreaded day that she turns 16, a plague upon man was to be released…

…and so the story begins.

Years later after the birth of Pacifica, the new alleged scrapped princess, along with her brother Shannon and her sister Raquel, continue an endless journey avoiding people who possess a threat to their lives. Faithfully accompanying their little sister, they vow to protect Pacifica until the fateful day when she turns 16. What danger does Pacifica possess as being the Scrapped Princess according to the ancient prophecy? What is the fate of Pacifica as she begins to doubt her existence more and more?

Review
Honestly.. I wasn’t really interested when I heard the name ‘Scrapped Princess’. My first impression was somewhat like an ‘ oh great… another ecchi sounding anime’. However, I soon realized how wrong I was to assume this anime to be anything else but greatness…

Scrapped Princess offers you an innovative story with eye dazzling magic and intense fighting scenes with all of its originality attached. It attempts to join a fantasy world with a science fiction world together, ultimately giving the viewers a dose in what human imaginations can create.

In the first few episodes of Scrapped Princess, viewers receive a glimpse of who the Scrapped Princess is. Nothing is told other than the fact that Pacifica carries some sort of curse like a Pandora’s Box waiting to be opened . Despite the fact that nothing is revealed until much later, the story picks up consistently as more questions are brought up than answered with the appearance of the Peacemakers, BUGs, and Dragoons. Scrapped Princess carries its plot extremely well using the mystery of Pacifica as a primary driving force.

Furthermore, the animation and music is nothing short of greatness. The animation, from the tiniest mechanical robot such as BUGs to the grand size of a Peacemaker to all the characters of Scrapped Princess, were beautifully drawn, overlapping with a rich layer of colors. Similarly, the music was also well executed from the opening to the ending and in between.

In addition, many of the characters in Scrapped Princess show depth. We have the protagonist Pacifica who tries to be cheerful most of the time despite the fact that she is unwanted by the world as she carries the heavy burden of death at 16. There is Raquel and Shannon as they fight and stake their lives for the sister they love. The characters are charming and well characterrized but not overly exaggerated.The relationship Pacifica, Shannon, and Raquel share with each other is nothing short or artificial as they deal with the pains and struggles together in a bond that seems to be unbreakable.

As the anime comes near to its conclusion, we learn about the surprising truth behind Pacifica and what her role is as being the Scrapped Princess as the anime attempts to explain human destiny and ignorance/freewill of individuals.

Scrapped Princess proves to be on a scale of greatness as it tries to tackle on a simple yet complex question by incorporating itself with the themes of fantasy and adventure: is ignorance bliss?

The Breakdown
24 episodes of greatness that dares to rival Record of Lodoss War OVA.

Synopsis
In Yugi’s hands are all the keys necessary to retrieving the Pharaoh’s lost memory - the seven millennium items and the three Egyptian God cards. However, little does Yugi know that also sealed away is an ancient evil bent on destroying the world. Yugi and his friends must do battle once again in the ultimate shadow game.

Review
This review is for the final season of the Duel Monsters saga starring Yugi, episodes 199-224. The anime premiered in Japan on April 7, 2004 and we are only just now getting around to it in America. The dueling is a bit different in ancient Egypt in comparison to the official card game rulings. A person’s spiritual energy is called one’s ‘Ba’. A person with a strong enough Ba can create a ‘Ka’, which is a duel monster that can act according to the user’s will. Some people have good Ka while others have bad Ka. Summoning a Ka is tied to the user’s life force. Thus, if a Ka is destroyed, the user takes damage and is weakened. Ka can be instantly summoned without the need of sacrificing monsters, similar to Duelist Kingdom’s no sacrifice prerequisite. In the manga, I don’t remember the Egyptians having duel disks attached to the sides of their left arm. This must have been an addition to the anime.

The Breakdown
Fingers crossed that 4Kids still calls Bakura’s monster Diabound.

Synopsis
Sana Kurata may be a famous TV star, but her life is anything but perfect! Her classroom at school is controlled by the boy bullies, all of whom are led by the nasty Akito and his gang of hooligans, who are at it again, wreaking havoc in the classroom. But has Sana discovered Akito’s weakness? Will she be able to exploit it to her advantage or will she just make a fool of herself in front of everyone? Sana had better be cautious because when she acts on her plan the consequences aren’t exactly what she had expected! What adventures await our heroine? Find out on Kodocha!

Review
Kodocha is an average tale about an average child. Except that the child in question is incredibly hyperactive, lives in a mansion with her famous mother, stars in her own TV show, and has a crush on her agent. Other than that, she’s completely normal.

Meet Sana Kurata, the spunky star of Kodocha. Sana’s exuberant and energetic nature is the engine that keeps Kodocha going at 100 miles per hour. One moment she will be wearing an elaborate costume she retained from one of the many movies and series she had starred in, and the next she will be singing a lively bedtime song to her beloved Agent, Rei. This all comes together to make Sana a treat to watch.

The story starts out simply enough, with Sana being late for school. After a quick breakfast and a quicker car ride, Sana finally arrives at her classroom, only to find it being wrecked and ransacked by the boys of the class. Sana soon finds out that the boys are all stooges working under their leader, the somber Akito. Even the teacher’s are powerless to stop him, as Akito seems to have something in his possession that the teachers don’t want to get out. Sana becomes furious that she is unable to learn anything in class, and she makes it her duty to bring down the stoic schoolboy.

Kodocha is a series that is more than the sum of it’s parts. The animation is average. The music is enthusiastic, but largely forgettable. The story is entertaining, but not particularly deep throughout the first four episodes. The real joy of Kodocha is in it’s characters. Sana is the kind of child anyone would wish they were at that age. Her mother, Misako, logical and calm, also happens to constantly wear varied bizzare hats which she allows her pet squirrel in. Akito, despite having every boy in his class at his beck and call, remains aloof despite Sana’s attempts to thwart him. Each character brings their share to the table, and it glues Kodocha together to make it a vastly entertaining series.

One of my favorite parts of the DVD was the excellent dub. Laura Bailey makes a perfect Sana, capturing the hyperfrenetic quality of Sana without going overboard and making the character too outlandish. Jerry Jewell also does a magnificent job at Akito. Although the voice at first comes off as too deep for a child, the excellent acting ability and voice talent helps to give Akito a darker overall edge. The voice acting is superb throughout the rest of the cast as well, making even the minor characters fun and entertaining.

The Breakdown
A mile a minute series with barrels of laughs and one of the cutest characters you’ll see this side of Fruit’s Basket.

Synopsis
In the year 2167, Mankind suffered from a cataclysmic disaster as a massive wave of electromagnetic radiation from a nearby supernova washed over the Earth. Yet, Mankind was able to survive by pulling together to support each other in this time of crisis.

The year is now 2326 and the new generation of people are preparing for the second wave to hit. A young girl named Shima Katase is going off to the Space Station Stellvia, a space pilot academy, where she will meet new friends, fulfill her dream of seeing space up close and fighting for what the people of the past tried so bravely to survive through.

Review
Stellvia of the Universe starts off with a scenario showing Shima Katase’s family. Almost instantly, you can tell that Shima and her mother don’t exactly agree on things. The focus isn’t put on this much, seeing as how Shima has little contact with her family in the first episode. On her way to the Space Station Stellvia, she sees a brilliant light show made by the current student base in an attempt to encourage the students to do their best. I wish all schools were like this. Shima’s best friend and roommate is then revealed. The ever hyper Arisa Gennorth and her wild hair meets Shima on the shuttle to Stellvia and out of the blue asks Shima to become her best friend. This is my favorite scene in episode 1; Shima and Arisa shake hands while the brilliant light show outside of the shuttle is taking place. Later on, Arisa introduces Shima to two new friends, Akira Kayama, a tall, quiet girl and Yayoi Fujisawa, a girl who seems to have a past that’s more than meets the eye.

I noticed the plot doesn’t really grace the first DVD much other than the Great Mission, mankind’s plan to save the earth from the second wave. Shima is the main focus here, and she displays the ever familiar start of school. Starting off with school, there’s the fuss of getting new classes, meeting new friends, and occasionally and inevitably walking into trouble. I’m sure we all had our share of trouble on the first week or so of school, but Shima takes this to a new extent. Her best friend Arisa even mocks her and gives her the nickname ‘Shipon’ during pilot training, because her ship was bouncing around with a ‘pon pon’ sound. I can’t help but cheer Shima on to do her best, though.

What volume one does show of the plot hints at future events. At the end of the volume, Shima does make a hint that Stellvia is a coming-of-age story when she has a revelation during a crisis in class. The Big Four, the four highest ranking students in Stellvia, are also introduced. Obviously they will make a bigger role, especially the leader, Machida Ayaka. Ayaka meets up with Shipon and friends. Yayoi greets her with a simple hello, unlike the high respect that Arisa and Shipon show her. Also, a boy from Shima’s and Arisa’s class, Otoyama Kouta, joins Shima and the gang along with three other boys in a study session Shima is holding. From that scene, you can tell Kouta is more interested in something else other than in his studies, but I will leave that for you to figure out.

One thing that kept me hooked to watching this show was the music. Stellvia’s OST is my favorite OST by far, even if it’s not the best. An opening and ending sung by Angela also proves to be good. The opening is especially good, since it is one of if not the best anime opening song I’ve ever heard.

The Breakdown
Stellvia of the Universe is an excellent show. With good animation, excellent music, colorful and fun characters and a dramatic story to boot, I can say Stellvia is one of my favorite series.

Synopsis
Shiratori Ryushi, age 18. Currently, he takes vocational school classes in hopes of becoming a children’s book author and illustrator. However, it’s inconvenient for him to ride the train to Tokyo for three hours back and forth everyday. His mother urged him to move closer to Tokyo. It just so happens that their cousin owns an apartment complex called Narutakisou. Upon arrival, Shiratori is greeted by the beautiful landlady, Kozue-chan. But he has yet to realize that she possesses a mysterious secret…

Review
Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) or better known as Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) in psychology is described as the presence of two or more separate and distinct personalities that exist in the same individual at different times. Kozue-chan would be considered among the rising documented cases of MPD (since 2000, American Psychiatric Association). As seen in the anime, the transition from one personality to another occurs suddenly and is associated with mental stress. The original personality (Kozue) has no knowledge of the alternate personalities, but all of them including Kozue are aware of lost periods of time, dissociative amnesia. As demonstrated in the anime, Saki-chan, Nanako, Chiyuri, and Natsume are incredibly different from Kozue. Studies have shown that the personalities may even be of another sex, race, age, or species such as a dog. The disorder seems to be more prevalent in women than men, and women tend to have more identities averaging 15 or more! (Huffman, Psychology in Action.  ©2004)

The Japanese site can be found at http://www.mahoraba.info/. It has a flash intro page showing all the characters and their corresponding apartment numbers. In the main page you’ll find subsections for characters bios, episode summaries with screencaps, a nice gallery with group images, soundtrack information, an interview with Jony, and a staff and cast list.

The Breakdown
Anime food analogies! Kanon: Taiyaki. Onegai Sensei: Pocky. Da Capo: Bananas. Mahoraba: Umeboshi (pickled plum). Oo, sour!