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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
In Miss Yukari’s English class, every day is an adventure. First off, there’s the teacher herself. A bit of an air-head, she may have graduated from high school, but she sure hasn’t left.

And with the arrival of not one, but two transfer students, one ten-year-old prodigy and one space cadet, along with a super energetic girl who almost defines ADHD, a quiet girl in love with cute things, and… a normal girl? (yeah right), and two highly interesting teachers, it’s going to be an interesting year!

Review
Azumanga Daioh is a show about seven girls and three teachers. Seems simple enough, right? Well, you’re right there, since there is basically no plot except for going through high school. However, this small formula made what I and many others believe is the best comedy anime series ever made.

First off, Azumanga Daioh has some excellent characters. To start off, we have Tomo Takino, the girl who makes ADHD look like child’s play. She’s extremely energetic, but she has zero talent in whatever she does. Next we have a girl who grew up with her; Koyomi Mizuhara. She loves food, but you’ll always see her try to lose weight. Now, every series needs a character that everyone else looks up to, right? Sakaki (last name unknown) enters the scene. Sakaki isn’t your natural “cool” person though; even though she’s very athletic, she’s in love with cute things and will stop to stare whenever she sees it. Kaorin’s a girl who totally idolizes Sakaki, and will stop wherever she is to take a quick peek at Sakaki sitting in the shade doing nothing in particular. Finally of the regular students there’s Kagura
(last name unknown). She’s Sakaki’s self-proclaimed rival, and tries her best to out-do Sakaki in whatever comes by; from track, to swimming, even to eating food.

Now, we get to the special ones; the two transfer students! First off, we have the super cute Chiyo Mihama. She seems to be the excellent little high schooler. She is extremely smart and extremely cute. She also can take care of herself and is very responsible, unlike a regular 10 year old. She takes care of her own dog, Mr. Tadakichi,
studies on her own, can go to her beach house on her own, wakes up her parents in the morning and even makesher own lunch! Wouldn’t you want a kid like this?

Finally, there’s one character left of the students. She is by far my favorite anime girl ever. That’s right, I’m talking about Ayumu Kasuga, but no one calls her that. She transfered in from Osaka, so everyone forgets her name and just calls her Osaka. She has her own special brand of “intelligence”, and she’s not afraid to spread it to the world. From questioning kanji to spreading puns everywhere, to being a space cadet (joking) and even her ability to fly like a bird, Osaka is a character in which you’ll never see one like her again.

Now that the students are done, we have the teachers. Yukari Tanizaki is one of those teachers who never left high school. She sleeps late, and is extremely lazy. Her friend and PE teacher, Minamo “Nyamo” Kurosawa is one of the two normal characters in the school. The only interesting thing about her is that she went to school with Ms. Yukari and has trouble in her love life often. Finally we have Mr. Kimura. Ah, what would school be like if we didn’t have a roaming out-of-the-closet pervert running around? He blatently states why he became a teacher; because of high school girls. He never fails to entertain, either. You try becoming a teacher and then asking the PE teacher for some pool water that the female students just finished swimming in.

The Japanese VAs are great, especially Osaka. The english VAs are okay, except for Osaka’s VA. Osaka’s VA is the reason I didn’t watch more than 5 minutes of the dub.

The Breakdown
Azumanga Daioh is one of the greatest series you’ll ever see. Great characters, great music, and most importantly, great laughs.

Synopsis
Everyone knows the feeling. Returning to find your home broken into. Your possessions thrown around. Dresser drawers ransacked. Everything you own having the unmistakable feel of a stranger’s fingers on them. The only thing worse than that is what isn’t there: The thing that once belonged to you that has been taken by creeps.
But now is not the time to despair. There is no time for anger. There is only time to call Ban and Ginji. They’re the GetBackers, and they live by a simple motto: “If it was taken, we’ll get it back.” No one will be refused. (At least not until that huge tab they’ve run up gets paid off!)
Prepare to meet your new heroes. The guys who will restore order where there is only chaos and justice where crime has run free.
They’re the Getbackers. They’re one phone call away, and they’re ready to take your case!

Review
“If it was stolen from you… don’t get mad… get it back!” is the slogan of GetBackers, and it manages to summarize the plot of the series perfectly. Of course, GetBackers is more a series of thrills, action, fanservice, and of course, the incomparable Ban Midou than it is of story, so who cares?

The first disc starts out with a few random cases for the GetBackers. The duo of Ban and Ginji, our heroes, work as professional GetBackers; people that (for a price) retrieve items that have been stolen from you. Due to some rather bad luck though, it seems that every case they take on results in both an abundance of trouble and a scarcity of cash.

This doesn’t phase our heroes though, as they aren’t your everyday muscle for hire. Ginji is a human battery, capable of dishing out heaping amounts of electricity upon his enemies. Ban Midou has the Snake Bite, his vise like grip which is capable of 200 kilograms of force. Alongside the Snake Bite, Ban also possesses the mysterious power of the Jagan, an eye technique he uses with devastating results.

Needless to say, returning a stolen Cat Trinket from a dirty cop and allowing an old man to see his daughter one last time prove to be easy, although somewhat complicated, work for people as talented as Ban and Ginji.

However, the third case is the first in which Ban and Ginji get to compete against fighters at their own level; and this is where the real meat of GetBackers kicks in. GetBackers is at it’s heart all about the fights. And With colorful villains like Kurodo “Dr Jackal” Akabane gracing it, there is no wonder why. Each fight scene is loaded with cool techniques, dramatic dialogues, and even a heaping dose of comedy.

The pacing of the show is another key element which makes GetBackers an entertaining watch. The series never takes itself too seriously, which keeps it from ever getting bogged down. Instead, it knows what it is and knows what it wants to do: make us laugh with some first rate comedy, and make us sit at the edge of our seat during each and every fight. This all comes together to make GetBackers a top notch ride.

The Breakdown
Overall story or not, GetBackers is a hell of a ride. From comedy to action, and even snippets of drama from time to time, GetBackers is a series that I would recommend to any action series fan looking to burn a few hours lost in a fun show.

Synopsis
Meet Tomokazu Mikuri: Typical high-school freshman. Certifiable loser. Self-admitted pervert. Just an ordinary, unmotivated slacker. In a word… BORING! But when he falls asleep on the eve of his 16th birthday, things start to change – BIG TIME! He enters a fantastical dream world, where he’s surrounded by a gaggle of gorgeous girls, oodles of otherworldly predators, and an ever-increasing influx of all-out weirdness! [Did we already mention all the gorgeous girls?] It’s a test of good versus evil, real world versus dream world, and lots of action-packed, scantily clad battles for the very survival of mankind! Will Tomokazu save the world? Will he finally get lucky? Or will he just die trying? The answer is right here in the funny, freaky first volume of Yumeria!

Review
Here we are, another ecchi humor, where the main character Tomokazu Mikuri is a self admitting hentai. I find it rare so I guess it was worth to mention it heh. Anyways, the dude is surrounded by females… although two of them are kind of underage for him. But that does not stop Tomokazu, now does it? Not when every one of the females around him has a special attachment towards him. This is revealed in the later episodes. So let us start off with how the whole show commences. As the synopsis pretty much summed up the situation… during his first visit to the dream world, Tomokazu sees a girl fighting some alien form mecha and as soon as he realizes, he comes back to reality… only to find out that that girl is now laying right beside him… on his bed; half naked.

A few comical scenes later, the girl is named Mone; as that is the only thing she can say. In a totally unfamiliar world, she picks up some of the living habits quickly, but there are still a lot of things to learn, such as, common sense. I mean, she does get in a bit of trouble because of it. After Tomokazu’s sixteenth birthday occurs, he is again brought back into the dream world as he was sleeping. But this time, Mizuki, his childhood friend gets dragged in as well. Not knowing what the heck is going on, they start running as soon as the alien form mecha comes back for some revenge. That is when Mone comes to the rescue! By the time they wake up, Tomokazu and Mizuki questions the dream, until they found out from each other that they had the same dream. Weird? Well I guess that is just what Yumeria is all about: ecchi humor and how it can get ecchi-er.

What I really like about Yumeria is the amusing atmosphere. Sure there are tense moments, but after the storm is over, everything reverts back to normal. The episodes roll by quickly, but you will surely like the stuff that was shown in it. What you can really expect is this shounen title to deliver ecchi humor like cake. :).

The Breakdown
Crap, if I dream, will I get the same results? Hehe, just kidding. Yumeria is a great show that will slowly creep into your head. By the time you know it, you will catch the Yumeria fever.

Synopsis
Loki is a powerful Norse god banished by the Allfather, Odin, from Asgard, the land of the gods. For some unknown reason, Loki is forced to live in the world of mortal men as a child! With limited powers of a god, he tries to uncover the truth about his banishment and how he can return home by running a detective agency with his trusted assistant, Yamino and a teenage school-girl with an addiction for anything mysterious, Mayura. Meanwhile, Odin sends god after god to destroy him. Whether these gods come as other children, beautiful maidens or vicious giant creatures, the cunning Loki will have to summon all of his powers to be victorious.

Review
Mythical Detective Loki: Ragnarok is one of those anime that builds itself. The first impression might not be strong, but by episode two, you will find yourself liking the show more and more. The story commences with almost no character introductions, it gives off the feeling that they expected you to know who everyone was. And I have to agree with them, because unless you are really slow, you would have picked up the characters’ names and a sense of themselves without any introductions.

Now I did say almost no introductions, not none at all. What I have acknowledged is that Mayura is a mystery freak. Her curiousity carries the show as she runs into trouble every time. She is a very likable character as she is way too jolly for her own good. Loki on the other hand is a banished Norse god (although not looking like one). He runs a detective agency, much like Ginji and Ban of Get Backers (Yeah, I know, they run a retrieving business) in that they rarely got any business at all. Then on one faithful day, Mayura’s curiousity for mysteries leads her into an abandoned clock tower, where she finds one of those freaky scary dolls with the beady eyes giggling. With fame on her mind, she takes the doll home only to be dragged away by a black cat. As Mayura tries to find the whereabouts of the doll, she stumbles in front of a detective agency, and from here is where the story commences.

Mythical Detective Loki: Ragnarok is a highly entertaining piece. The interactions between the characters are delightful. The plot thus far is as amazing as an anime can get. The dub was adequate and there was nothing much I could say other than I prefer the Japanese audio any day. As for the show as a whole, I have no better way to put it other than I had a big smile on my face and an urge to crave for more after the volume came to an end. Man, it was fun.

The Breakdown
Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok is astonishing. This show just leaves a great impression on the viewer.

Synopsis
The country of Gazth-Sonika has been engaged in a civil war for more than a decade, struggling to stay afloat amidst attacks from the anti-government faction known as Garza. With lies and corruption seeping into the political food chain, a mysterious book in one young girl’s possession may be the only key to uncovering the truth and bringing an end to the war. This book, however, is sought by many. And when the invincible agent Madlax is hired to protect those in search of its truth, Gazth-Sonika dispatches a ruthless soldier to make sure that truth stays in the darkness!

Review
What are all these things I am hearing pertaining to Madlax? From the title I imagined that it was another one of those macho gory anime series, but after viewing the screener, there is nothing gory or bloody with this anime. As a matter of fact, it is actually quite entertaining with as much as I have seen. So Madlax, a female mercenary or an “invincible agent” according to the synopsis is another hot anime babe ready to pull the trigger at any give moment. First Noir, then Najica and now Madlax. ADV Films seem to dig these gun toting ladies.

My first impression of this new series is how it all flows so nicely. The action blends with the animation and the music blends just as well as with the action. Because of this astonishing achievement by Bee Train, Madlax never tends to bored out the viewer with lame scenes. As a matter of fact, in these two episodes that I have watched, I was so addicted to it that it became apparent that this will be on my “to-get” list in the near future.

The story so far is quite mysterious; not much is exposed for both main characters. The first two episodes just bring you into their world and let you have a feel for it before they go into story development in the upcoming volumes. The potential lies within this show. It is quicker paced than Noir and I will have to say, I prefer Madlax over Noir. The reason behind that? Right from the beginning, it grasps you with Lady Madlax (^_^), her stunning looks and her lethal abilities as a secret agent. The story is also starting out great, I cannot wait to see the finished version of volume one, so that I can add more to this review!

The Breakdown
Madlax has enough fire power to blow the roof off the house. Its’ action, pace and plot is really an art form to be reckoned with. Be on the look out.

Synopsis
Idle Hands are the Devil’s Plaything. Nyu is a babe in the woods. Washed up on the shore, unable to communicate, she’s discovered by a pair of college students-Kohta and Yuka-and counts on them for everything. Lucy is a vicious killer. Equipped with a battery of deadly psychic arms, she dismembers her enemies before they have time to scream. The two personalities couldn’t be more different-if only they didn’t have to share the same body! In Elfen Lied, Volume one, innocence and evil collide in some very dark places. As the rooms in Kohta’s rented house fill with runaways and killer mutants-danger mounts outside. Whether it’s from a renegade solder or a mutant assassin-one wrong move could mean the difference between life and death!

Review
If you are worried that ADV Films might be shy with the blood and gore of this series, rest assured, because it is all here. With a rating of mature, Elfen Lied will please any fan who is interested in a drama with a very nice plot and action that will not only give you goose bumps, but also an adrenaline rush that commands you to just beg for more and more. In the three episodes that I have viewed, I just cannot get enough of this series. I did not want it to stop! Elfen Lied’s addictive meter is off the barometer. I do not know what to do with this itch that I am getting as a result of watching such an awesome anime.

The first thing you may hear about Elfen Lied is that Lucy/Nyu is naked quite often. Hey I do not mind, and it does add to the entertainment factor… so umm yeah, let us get off that subject. The second thing you probably will hear is the blood and gore that surrounds this piece. The last anime that I can remember watching that could be compared to the violence level of Elfen Lied is none other than Gantz. And Gantz is Gantz, so let us not compare apples with oranges.

Elfen Lied commences with Lucy breaking loose from her captivity. This, this and this happens (hehe, spoilers skipped, because you sure as hell will be amazed by all the things that go on) and she is suddenly discovered by Kohta and Yuka on a shore as Nyu. Okay, are there any cat girl lovers over here? Because that is who Nyu is; a cat girl, at least to me, she portrays one. Everything is fun until episode two rolls on, which is just hardcore violence taken to the extreme. I somehow wonder if it can get any worse. How many more ways are there to decapitate people? Torturing? How about just killing in general? Whatever happens happens, but I want to be impressed when any characters’ life gets taken, even if he or she played no particular role in the show. That way, Elfen Lied has to keep topping itself over and over, which I believe it can and will happily accept the challenge.

The Breakdown
Elfen Lied is incredible, the action along with the story is astounding. It grips you with so much force that you just have no other choice, but to love it and love it with everything you have got baby!

Synopsis
The first game is over, but will the horrors committed be forever burned into the souls of those who remain? As new shocking developments rip the survivors’ ‘real’ worlds to shreds, the sins of the flesh grow and spread like cancer, festering until the line between good and evil ceases to exist. In a world where the laws of life and death have been overturned, what other forbidden passions remain?

Review
And the award for the most perverted anime character of the year goes to… Kei Kurono. With the quick paced plot brewing we pause to learn something rather interesting. In the world of Gantz, that is, when you ‘die,’ you are sent to the apartment. Yeah, we all know that already, right? But what happens when you are not quite dead? What happens when your original just happens to be saved from the light, while a copy of you continues on living within the Gantz? That is the case in volume three. Kei Kishimoto discovers that her original is alive and kicking, which then brings us to the unlucky and lucky day of Kei Kurono.

His day commenced with some drama; bullies demanding ‘protection’ money from him. During the process, you can see just how much of a coward he really is, not to mention, pervert as well. In the process of getting his ass kicked, all his mind focused on what how stacked Kei Kishimoto is. As he was in his day dream his tight suit harden and gave him the power to take care of the bully. Now, the lucky part starts. Who do you think he finds sitting in front of his apartment door? That is right, the adorable, Kei Kishimoto. (Man, I am just going to address her as Ms. Melons from now on :P). The confused Ms. Melons asked to be Kurono’s ‘pet,’ and heheh, dig your mond out of the gutter. Although a bunch of interesting sequences occur, us Ms. Melon fans get what we want! (No, nothing hentai rated, so do not get your hopes up).

Okay let us keep off the ecchi for a moment, and focus on the story development of this volume, which is not much really. This volume is more like everything you would expect before Gantz. The characters went on with their regular lifestyles, except Ms. Melons, who has a little twist, as mentioned before. The next volume will be where the action is. I cannot wait for it. Although volume three was good, it is a step back from volume one and two. Hopefully, volume four will pick it back up to where Gantz should be.

The Breakdown
In volume three, we learn a bit more about the three main characters. All three of them have their own problems to deal with and by bringing the issue to the viewer’s attention, allows us to connect to them a little more than we usually would. Overall, volume three is quite good. You will enjoy it, I can guarantee it.

Synopsis
Kaname and Sousuke are back in action! And this time, the battleground is the school ground! High-yield explosives and hilarity come together with a bang as the somber soldier and his unwitting target brave everything from lovesick “terrorists” to an unforgiving teacher who is bent on revenge. But as good as he is with guns, Sousuke is one clueless commando when it comes to girls – especially Kaname! Don’t miss the hilarious antics of everyone’s favorite military manic – and Jin High’s most fiery female – as the full-throttle action begins!

Review
Roll out the Dave Chappelle’s “Wrap-it-up” box because it is over. This has to be the best comedy of the year, hands down, no doubts about it. Just watching this show got me on the floor dying from laughter (if that can really happen). Man, this series is fun and very amusing. There is just no better way to put it. For those who do not know, Fumoffu is a different approach to what you would expect from Full Metal Panic. It emphasizes on pure laughs and fun filled scenes from beginning to end, episode to episode. And that is where I have to give out props. It is a flawless transition from all that fighting to the normal days of life for a high school student. You would not even stop to question yourself if you are really watching “Full Metal Panic,” because it does not matter. What matters are the pains you will be developing in your stomach from all that laughing you will be doing upon coming into close contact with Fumoffu.

Now where do we start? I mean, we all have been longing for a sequel to Full Metal Panic and although it is not quite like the original, I will still take it. Oh and by the way, the second season of Full Metal Panic should be airing on Japanese television soon. It will be a while before it gets to the United States, but I can wait, there are so much more anime that I need to watch and review. ARGH! Okay, back to Fumoffu. I just cannot stop boasting about the joy that I get from this series. It is wonderful, fantastic, awesome, amazing, and etc. You get the idea.

The show maintains a consistency through out the first volume. The episodes are well planned. And depending on what kind of anime fan you are. This is probably the best anime money can buy now, because you are guaranteed to get what you paid for; a bunch of laughs, and a thrill of a life time to experience something so damn good. Come release date, I can just see copies of this show flying off the shelves. :)

The Breakdown
Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu leaves me speechless. The humor was one of the best that I have seen lately. I definitely suggest you look out for the release of this title. If you miss it… do not worry, Bonta-kun will get you. Fo’ sho’.

Synopsis
Enter the world of Gilgamesh. Where the sky has been turned into a psychedelic mirror and civilization is only a shadow of its former self. Where beautiful assassins transform into terrifying winged creatures. Where children are born with amazing powers. And where a brother and sister are hunted by organizations with dark agendas. Gorgeous animation, breakthrough character designs, and stunning visuals make this suspenseful, addictive tale of mystery, magic, and espionage the first gothic anime masterpiece of the new millennium.

Review
Gilgamesh. This title here resembles both X and Hellsing. The character designs are definitely like Hellsing, whereas the story is more like X. The show for the first two episodes moves extremely slow. I could not stand it heh. What I got out of the episodes that I have view is that after a terrorist attack, the Earth no longer has a sky; it is replaced by a constant mirror like barrier. Also as a result of the attack, computers died like what was anticipated to happen with “Y2K.” With the various issues that were developed by the attack the world took a significant change towards to exactly what the subtitle of this volume suggests; Apocalypse.

Gilgamesh did not impress me, there was not a scene or a string of scenes that make me say, “Wow,” or “This is going to be something special.” As I was watching it, I was more towards saying, “Hurry up,” or “When is it going to be over?” :). The synopsis suggests that Gilgamesh is a gothic anime and that is as advertised people. This dark theme anime with Gackt wannabe characters has some potential, but I would not recommend it, unless you are a fan of titles that feature vampire like monsters, a constant night background. That is right; I do not think I saw one scene with any sunlight… maybe at the beginning before the terrorist attack.

The plot revolves around a pair of siblings. Whose purpose has yet to be revealed. Although I can assume that they will somehow give this show many twists. After I finished watching Gilgamesh, I began to read the introduction to the series included with the screener and after that, I understood the anime much more. But still, with only two episodes seen so far, I cannot make a full assessment of this show. As it lies now, I believe it is a disappointment.

The Breakdown
Gilgamesh is an anime that makes you choose sides as you go. You might side with one group now, but another group later. That sounds like X, but X started out better. Gilgamesh did not make an impact on me, and that is just too bad :(.