The Animatrix

You've probably seen at least the first Matrix movie, and quite possibly also the sequels that everyone hates but me (hyperbole). The Animatrix is a collection of animated shorts by different directors (Japanese, American or otherwise) that expand on the universe of The Matrix. Contributors include Shinichiro Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop), Yoshiaki Kawajiri (Ninja Scroll, X TV) and Peter Chung (Aeon Flux), and each short has its own distinct visual style.
Some shorts, like the two-part The Second Renaissance, provide worthwhile backstory that can't be found in the movies themselves. Others are sidestories that don't tie in directly. All of them are visual delights in their own way. While nothing here is likely to change your world, the collection as a whole is fairly short and definitely worth watching at least once, for fans of The Matrix and fans of innovative animation. And as an anime fan you're relatively likely to be both, right?

by Phil

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Black Lagoon

I don't know whether this series and/or the manga are old news to everyone else, but I've just started watching the anime, and it's seriously ace. (I would have preferred to rant about D.Gray Man but people tend to laugh when I do that.)
So. To sum up: a young Tokyo businessman goes on a business trip. It all GOES HORRIBLY WRONG (tm) and he ends up joining a band of modern day pirates. You're gonna love it.
Um, more? You might not have noticed, but I'm rubbish at reviewing stuff.
So, the star of this show is ostensibly Young Tokyo Businessman, who gets given the name Rock by another character early on in the first episode - actually it's blatantly about quite sexy Levy, the show's girl with gun (tm). She's a fucked up psychopathic killer in shorts, basically. You know, this is so not the sort of show I usually like... Anyway. Then there's Dutch, big black ex army guy (tm) and Benny, small pasty computery guy in hawaiian shirt (tm), damn this show is full of stereotypes.. And together they fight crime! And by fight crime, I mean do crime.
This is still airing in Japan, and it's up to 16 I believe. I haven't watched far enough to really be past the "they do various things and we get to know the characters slightly better" episodes, but honestly, this is just a really good anime. Nice animation, actiony, I think it's probably obvious by now it's violent but it's totally not gory or unnecessarily disturbing (if I like it, it's easy to watch) actually quite moving in places already. It's definitely thoughtful, and by thoughtful I mean hard to follow in some places (mainly referring to the first episode.) It's chock-full of offensive characters, but don't worry, they always die; the main characters are really awesome, if indeed rather stereotypical, and I promise you'll like at least one of them (I like all of them.) It's got an awesome funky opening and nice music, although it suffers from the most bizarre ending, well, basically ever. If I had to describe it in one word it would have to be 'cool', in the truest sense of the word.

By Charlie

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Burst Angel

The plot in itself is pretty simple (seemingly at the start anyway), it's set in Tokyo in the relatively near future and follows the story of a mercenary group working for Bai-Lan, one of the leading gangs in Tokyo. A hugely strict law enforcement group known as RAPT has been put in charge and is quite prepared to put an end to crime no matter the means.
The main characters/s are Jo and Meg, Jo supplies the force of the group (with twin .50 desert eagles Cool ) and meg......well...she gets kidnapped...a lot.
With a nice spaghetti western theme behind it and an excellent soundtrack with uber lots of giant robots included, I'd say this is well worth a watch.

By Dominic

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Death Note

This is about the first part of the Death Note movie, which was released on June 17th in Japan. The second half will be released in October. It's thought that, in total, the two movies will cover roughly the first seven volumes of the manga (but given that the first movie ended... pretty much at the equivalent of the beginning of vol 3, it seems there will be a lot to get through in the second.)
Plot: the plot of the movie is relatively straightforward, and follows the same basic premise as the manga: Yagami Light finds a "Death Note" dropped by Ryuk, a shinigami (god of death) and decides to use it to purge the world of criminals. Subsequently, the police and mysterious detective L begin to track him down. However, it doesn't really get very far despite its length (over two hours) because it bulks itself out with an original plot thread - in fact, the movie only gets as far as Light and L meeting for the first time.
Plot Changes: Chronologically, it's much the same as the manga - but a massive plot alteration comes in the form of original character Shiori. I'm still not entirely sure why they chose to give Light a girlfriend - but she has a major role (along with Naomi, who now has a much bigger role than in the manga) - and an event involving her, Naomi and Light is the climax of the movie. Misa has a very minor role, although given how little of the manga timeline was covered, it's not really surprising. She only has a couple of scenes, but it's nice to see her. Rem makes no appearance. I was a little disappointed that they changed one of my favourite scenes - I won't say how in case you haven't read the manga, but Light and L meet in a completely different way. :( There were also a number of weird, irrelevant-seeming changes, as you always get with movie adaptations. :p Such as changing Raye Pember's surname to 'Iwatari', and altering the NPA Kira team to include a woman. Unimportant, but odd to note. :p
Acting: On the whole, I think the acting was excellent, and the movie was (mostly) cast brilliantly. Although I still don't think that, visually, Fujiwara makes a very good Light, he was certainly convincing, and does a good evil smirk. :p I think most of the problems I had with Light were down to direction, rather than Fujiwara's acting. (Also, I think it has to be said he does a great job with Ryuk - you can't tell he was acting with a stick at all :p) Personally, I think that Matsuyama really stood out as being plain awesome. :D His L was nigh-on-perfect, and I don't even mean in appearance; the gestures, posture, the way he holds things and his mannerisms in general. Slightly more sullen than I'd expected, but brilliant. (and his love for sweets is still there, and even more emphasised than in the manga. I think he's eating in every scene. xD) Also notable was Seto Asaka - I just think she played Naomi really well, especially within the new role given to the character.
CG: (ie, Ryuk!) :D Ryuk was certainly... interesting. But he's one of my favourite characters in the manga, and I loved what they did with him. His voice is perfect, and appearance-wise, pretty much got him just right. Only problem is, sometimes the CG just doesn't look that good. It varies of course - sometimes it looks amazing, but other times... really not. But on the whole he was done well, considering how surreal his appearance is.
Pacing: The movie has a really interesting opening - you see a hand writing in a book, and then various criminals dying of heart attacks, while their name is 'written' across the screen. Unfortunately, after than I found it a little slow until L showed up (which wasn't until after halfway through) - although perhaps that's due to him being my favourite character. But regardless, since a lot of the movie is just setting things up and exposition for later, it was probably to be expected. That's not to say it isn't interesting, as it is, but... one of the best aspects of Death Note is the interaction between Light and L, and you don't get that until later.
Overall/General: I think it's a great movie, and works with the premise of the manga well, without being slavishly faithful (which is never a good thing :p) However, it does have its problems. Personally, I wasn't that happy with Shiori's addition to the story. Taken by itself, her plot-thread was actually rather interesting, and a nice idea. However, I felt it altered Light's character too much - his motivations for doing what he does; what he's like as a person. They already changed him by leaving out that part of why he does what he does is because he's bored (Ryuk, too) - and, add Shiori, and you're left with a cold, evil teenager who hates criminals, and apparently seems like he can get close to people. In the movie, I almost think he comes across as too cold-blooded, too soon. This is all fine if you haven't read the manga, I think, and it's probably brilliant if you can take it for what it is. But... I missed Light's boredom and utter god-complex which was so obvious in the manga. :p And his aloofness - the implication that he wouldn't have a girlfriend because no-one was good enough for him. Er, but my slight issues with Light's character aside, it's a great movie. xD dark and full of suspense (but with moments of humour... L offering a kebab of sweets and cakes to Chief Yagami in total seriousness comes to mind :D), and very enjoyable. I can't wait for the second half, and I'm really interested to know how they're going to try and resolve it (as, clearly, Death Note actually goes on for five more volumes after where they're intending to stop.)

By Jess

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Divergence Eve

The characters in Divergence Eve have massive breasts. Ridiculous massive breasts that draw your eyes away from everything else as they bounce so prominently.
Don't let this put you off too much though. While it begins on a bit of a vague "action and boobs" note, Divergence Eve quickly develops into an intelligent sci-fi mystery series with strong character development. It centres on Misaki, a cheerful yet slightly incompetent girl who is training as an elite pilot candidate on a space station distant from earth. Misaki finds herself fighting strange monsters called "ghouls", unaware of their origin or why she alone has the ability to do so. Meanwhile, Misaki and her fellow cadets train and struggle to become pilots.
The ending leads into a sequel series (Misaki Chronicles) that I haven't watched yet, and some mysteries are left unanswered up to this point. Nonetheless, the show's conspiracy story will intrigue you if you can get past the over-the-top fanservice.

by Phil

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Eden of the East

In the near future of 2010 Japan is hit by a terrorist attack of 10 missiles which caused no deaths. Three months after this 'Careless Monday' we see a man who finds himself outside of the White House completely naked except for a gun in one hand and a mysterious phone in the other with his memories wiped. In a story reminiscent of The Bourne Identity he tries to uncover his past and discover the truth behind the phone which has 8.2 billion yen on it.

A very good and thought provoking series created by the same minds as Ghost in the Shell, Eden of the East is a short series that doesn't disappoint. It's filled with mystery, suspense and even a bit of romance as you follow this mans journey into uncovering his past.

The art and music are all very top notch with the opening being provided by Oasis and the animation by Production I.G. Each episode will leave you wanting to know more as the curtain is slowly lifted right through until the end. This however isn't the end of the story as there are a couple of movies yet to come!

Star Rating: AWESOME

 

by Kevin

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Fruits Basket

When Tohru's mother dies, she decides to try and go on without disturbing anyone, so she sets up camp and lives alone in a tent. Fortunately her tent is on the grounds of the friendly Sohma family, who soon discover her and invite her to live with them instead. However, the Sohma family has a secret that she finds out quite by accident - if any of them are hugged by a member of the opposite sex, they turn into an animal. Wacky hijinks ensue.
Those aren't the only secrets. Feelings that characters have for each other (both love and animosity) are a focus of the series, as are everyone's troubled pasts. Tohru helps them all see the bright side and improves the lives of the extended Sohma family.
I would argue that the series gets a bit repetitive as it goes along. Everyone has a depressing past and everyone has their problems solved by Tohru. In fact, I'm really not much of a fan of Tohru; I can't stand her insufferable positivity. Nonetheless, the show has a lot to offer in terms of cute comedy and drama, and there is a wide variety of memorable characters. This should appeal to all shoujo fans.

by Phil

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Full Moon wo Sagashite - Searching for the Full Moon

Just to get it out of the way, this is a Shoujo anime through and through.
Kouyama Mitsuki is a 12 year old girl with throat cancer. She wants to be a singer because of a promise she made with the guy she likes, who moved to America two years ago. However, two shinigami (Normally ranslated as death gods, but I prefer grim reaper) appear and tell her she has only one year to live.
They agree to help her become a star, and give her the ability to transform into a healthy 16 year old so that her songs will reach Eichi in America.
An excellent anime for the most part, although it doesn't really pick up until around a quarter of the way through. The plot isn't too predictable, and I was unsure exactly how it would end.
Generally happy and uplifting, although they never let you forget that Mitsuki has terminal throat cancer.
However, not one for those who don't like relationships between 12 year old girls and boys quite a bit older than them.

By Ben

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Gankutsuou

Right, so. Gankutsuou is the fairly recent 24-episode anime version of The Count of Monte Cristo (a classic novel by Alexandre Dumas), made by Studio GONZO. (Gantz, Last Exile, Kiddy Grade, Full Metal Panic!, Hellsing etc)
My opinion? Amazing. Film makers should take note: here is an almost perfect example of how you can significantly alter the plot when basing something on a book, but in a way which does not detract from the story, and instead creates a worthwhile new experience.
So what's so special about Gankutsuou? Well, for a start the animation is utterly unique. At times it verges on trippy, but for the most part it's just seriously beautiful. It can take some getting used to, though. (The characters' clothes and hair are not coloured in a conventional sense; instead, it seems as though a "sheet" of pattern or design has been placed underneath. As such, when they move, the colouring on their clothes does not. Kind of. ;P
In Gankutsuou, the main character is Albert de Morcerf, and it's seen from his point of view (unlike in the novel, where the Count himself is the main character - and the noevl moves in chronological order, from when the Count was a young man onwards)
As such, the series starts at the point when Albert and Franz are introduced in the novel - in the anime, they are on Luna, a colony on the moon, (the equivalent of Rome in the novel) for the festival. Strange? Yes, but it works. Here, Albert and Franz see the Count for the first time at the opera, and he soon befriends them. Albert quickly becomes infatuated, but Franz is wary. At this point it takes events from the book and puts a slightly different spin on them.
The way the anime is set up, if you haven't read the book then it definitely has a "mystery" element. Since you see everything from Albert's point of view, at first the Count appears to be mysterious, yet possibly a benevolent figure. The truth about his past and how he's connected to Danglars, Fernand and Villefort et al is only gradually revealed.
It's very different from the book, but it's done in such a wonderful way that this doesn't matter.
Now, the plot. Gankutsuou is most definitely not the book. It's almost an "alternate universe" Count of Monte Cristo; it's set in the future, yet is only quasi-technological - there are spaceships and cars, and yet people still use horse-drawn carriages and the old French aristocratic "feel" is still definitely preserved.
So, brief, non-spoilery plot summary: Albert de Morcerf, a 16 year old French aristocrat meets the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo while travelling on Luna. The Count befriends him, and so Albert invites the Count to visit him in Paris a while later. Albert soon becomes infatuated with the Count, despite the fact that his intentions are unclear, and Franz, Albert' best friend is very wary of him.
How is the Count connected to the various aristocrats of Paris? What are his plans? And is he quite as benevolent as Albert believes?
The plot is an intricate masterpiece - which we mainly have Dumas to thank for, but GONZO certainly put their own unique spin on it and significantly change the ending and certain crucial events. The pacing is absolutely perfect, and so not a single episode is filler - most end on some kind of cliffhanger, too, so you might want to have all the episodes handy before you start watching. ;P
The characters are wonderful and have depth (and if you're a fan of the novel, most of the characters in it are present in this version, though the focus on some is shifted. For example Beppo (or Peppo as the anime calls him) has a much bigger role)
As said before, the animation is amazing. If anything, check it out just for that! Also of note is the fact that all of the writing used in Gank (ie, newspapers, letters etc) is all written in french, which really adds something. :) It's pretty much correct french too, and the effort shows.
Music: The music is lovely, especially the classical stuff they brought in. OP sounds a bit weird the first time you hear it, but it grew on me, and is definitely fitting.
It's quite a dark anime, with murders, rape, incest etc - but the emotion is managed wonderfully, and one particular episode managed to have me in tears.
In my opinion, this anime is a masterpiece, and I can't understand how it's managed to be so overlooked. I know the animation puts some people off, but it's definitely worth perservering with!
It's definitely a wonderful anime, and I can't recommend it enough! =D It's now been licensed by Geneon (I believe) and the first volume is out in October. :)

By Jess

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Gintama

This is just so awesome. I don't know how many episodes are available subbed, I can only watch what I can download direct at the moment, which has so far been three episodes, so if anyone does actually get it please upload it somewhere for me (haha ;_; ) but I just can't recommend this highly enough for random amusement.
The name, Gintama is made up from kanji to mean silver soul, but apparently the point of it is it's a pun on a Japanese slang word for testicles. This is appropriate because it's complete bollocks.
So, we're in Japan, during the time when there still were samurai, but they were forbidden to carry swords and finding themselves in a strange new world...kind of.
Aliens that are basically human animals (that's right...FURRIES) have taken over Japan. Also, presumably, the world. (I don't know whether this speaks to the Japanese about a time in their history when foreigners came in for the first time, there was resentment and the world changed - for us it's just funny.) Gintoki, the main character, is a half arsed samurai with a motorbike and a wooden sword he bought as a souvenir when he went on a school trip. He likes to read Shonen Jump, especially Bleach (haha XD) and lives with his rather pathetic and much put-upon apprentice, Shinpachi, a small but violent and loud mouthed girl, Kagura, and a REALLY BIG KITTEN. They're so poor that they do basically anything for money. This is the story of them being poor and doing basically anything for money.
(For those interested in Jmusic the opening is by Tommy Heavenly6; I don't know who does the ending theme but it's very cheerful and reminds me somewhat of Pornograffiti - listen all the way through, I promise you'll be grooving by the end of the song.)

By Charlie

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GunXSword (pronounced Gun Sword)

In a nutshell:
I don't know about you, but if I find a woman that manages to accept every quirk in my personality, find me work and shape me up, and then even choose to marry me, I think my life would be complete. This happened to Van. Then some bastard with a claw decides to murder her on the wedding day. Just as I imagine myself to be, you can imagine Van would be extremely pissed. In fact, Van is so pissed he makes it his goal in life to make this claw guy's life a misery. And that's the plotline. Van doesn't angst about it, he doesn't live in some tiny village in the middle of no-where till the plot sicks some macguffin in his face and tells him to save the world. He goes on a long search to find and kill this claw man.

What I liked:
Oh my, where to start.

Awesome characters, though I'll avoid any spoilers in explaining - The main character, Van, is so obsessed with avenging his wife that it seems to be the only thing that kept him alive until the point where the anime starts. Throughout the entire series he shows no signs of compassion or interest in anyone. Everything is an obstacle unless they can provide information as to where the claw man is. Or food.

GunxSword also sports a massive tribute to classic mecha shows through the El Dora 5 crew, a group of old men who love to drink and reminisce about the days when they would save the world from alien threats with their massive robot, a fusion of 5 various vehicles. They're also extremely Mexican.
There's also a one-off bad guy with a mustache that he can control at will, and has supernatural strength, which is just awesome. And then there's the villain who I'm inclined to say is one-of-a-kind, but I doubt it's quite like that. He's certianly not your typical villain anyway.
Then there's Joshua, the Clueless geek of a kid who seems to be shunned by almost everyone, including his brother, Ray, who's in an eerily similar position to Van. Speaking of Ray, he's so obsessed with avenging his wife that he'll kill Van just so he'll be the one to kill the Claw man.

The Theme. I'll try to keep this one short, after that wall of text. There's a strong theme regarding peoples' dreams, both great and small. Should petty dreams like vengeance really be granted? After all, fiction is always looking down on vengeance. It's one of those awesome themes that shows more characters as you meet them. This does mean that the others are slightly spoilerish though. ):

Robot design. How many giant robots have you seen with toes?! There's quite a variety of mechs in this show, ranging from the traditional super robot El Dora V to the nimble, technological Dann, to ROBOT LEVIATHANS to "Love Deluxe".

Facial expressions - these really bring the life and the emotion into the series.

Costumes. There are so many awesome outfits.

What I didn't like:
It didn't bother me (probably because episodes 2 and 3 were epic win), but the story moves pretty slow until about halfway in (ep12), and a few people I know commented on that. I don't think they really cared either, but there might be people that this bothers. >_>

That the one guy that gets laid is that undeserving wretch.

Who do I recommend it to?

If you're a fan of mecha, there is absolutely no reason not to watch this, I swear. Call me a fantard, but this is the opinion of everyone I know who has actually watched the show, and I've yet to see a single negative comment about it. It's vibrant, lively, entertaining and involving, and contains all the nonsensical awesomeness you could want.

If you aren't big on mecha, give it a shot. It's not a mecha-centric show and dare I say much better than Gurren Lagann, which attracted a lot of non-mecha people (not to say I didn't enjoy Gurren Lagann). The characters drive the heart of the anime.

If you hate mecha, then it's your loss. Wierdo. *Pokes with a stick*[/bias]

 

By Alex

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Hellsing OVA

Hello folks! It's been a while since I've writen a review put no time like the present, eh? Anyway, courtesy of my friend's housemate I got to watch this on Tueasday night so here are my impressions.
The OVA is 50 minutes long and covers material equal to the first 3 episodes of the TV series. The style of the characters and such is much closer to the original manga and I must say that if I was Kouta Hirano I'd be very happy with how the whole look of the OVAs. Here's hoping that they keep the quality at this high level with future releases.
In addition, as opposed to my memories of the TV series the background and artwork of the OVA is of high quality and justifies itself as OVA (just like it should.)
The music is a bit hit and miss. Where in some scenes I feel that they took a bold step and added new music to familiar scenes, in other scenes the music seemd to be out of place. However, ultimately it'd be best to check the OVA out yourselves to make up your own mind.
Hellsing fans will be happy to note that the tone of the shows remains faithful to the manga/TV series with gushings of blood, slicing, shooting and body bursting in ample measures throughout the OVA. Given that it was an OVA meant that the creators could go all out, as this does show.
All in all I'd give Hellsing OVA 1 a firm thumbs up. Any Hellsing fans owe it to themselves to watch this and general anime fans will probably enjoy it as well.

By Patrick

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Jyu-Oh-Sei - Planet of the Beast King

Juuousei is a recently aired 11-episode series by studio Bones (FMA, Ouran, Rahxephon), based on a manga by Isuki Natsumi.
Genre
Sci-fi/adventure/drama/shoujo(!)
Description
AD 2436. Thor and Rai are twins who?ve been raised in the space colony Juno, 150 light-years away from Earth. Their parents are killed in a horrific manner, and they are sent to the ?Ju Oh Sei?, or the Planet of Beasts, by the Federation Army. Ju Oh Sei, whose actual name is Chimaera, is a prison planet for ferocious criminals where only the most ferocious 'beasts' can survive. It's a place where carniverous plants have the advantage, and days and nights last for over 100 normal days each.
There are 4 communities on the planet, Blanc Ring, Sun Ring, Night Ring, and Ocher Ring. They are divided by their skin colours.
Ju Oh, the King of Beasts, is the top ruler out of all the leaders of the Rings. In order to avenge the murder of their parents, and to discover the truth behind that event, Thor aims for the position of Ju Oh.
- slightly altered from animenfo
Review
I wasn't really sure what to expect from Juuousei, but it's a surprisingly gripping series, and once you start it you'll probably want to see it through to the end.
The animation - most markedly in the first episode - is amazing. It has beautiful artwork, and generally the lines and movement are clean and fluid. The noses are kind of Escaflowne-ish - but not quite as extreme :p The BG music's lovely and quite fitting, and the voice actors do a good job. Older!Thor was done surprisingly well, considering his voice actor was the same guy who sang the OP theme - one of the KinKi Kids (a Japanese pop duo). Speaking of the OP theme, it's really... weird. At least in the sense of it's totally not the kind of thing you'd have expected for a series like this. Once you get used to it though, it... kind of works. Maybe.
It has an intriguing plotline which at first progresses at a steady pace - the first half of the series covers Thor's actions as an 11-year old and how he progresses with the help of Tiz - a young girl who's determined he'll be her husband - and Third - one of the leaders of the Ocher ring, who seems to want to assist Thor in becoming the Beast King. The series skips about 5 years at episode 6, and Thor suddenly looks a lot older, despite only being 15. :p
Juuousei obviously has its share of bloody fights - but it also has an almost oddly weird emphasis on the social structure that's developed. Since women are so rare, they're precious and get to choose who they had children with; you can understand it, but it's still kind of strange to see these tough, independant women pleading, "let me have your children!" ...frequently. xD
The characters are really well developed, and Thor in particular is very human, as I veered between thinking he was amazing and thinking he needed a slap, depending on the episode. :p You can't help but get attached to most of the characters; Tiz, Third and Zagi, as well.
It's actually hard to say much about this series without giving a lot away - but towards the end it has a lot of plot twists, earns its sci-fi label, and it definitely ended up in a way I never expected.
Flaws? Well... I suspect it's another example of stuff being left out from the manga, but towards the ending it's a little rushed (what with it only being 11 episodes) and as as a result of the shortness, some things really don't work very well (such as a ridiculous 'romance' of Thor's, which seems to occur in about two minutes). On the other hand, it definitely means that the ending has an impact.
When it comes down to it, it doesn't really end up being as amazing as you feel it should be from the initial episodes - but it's still really, really good, and very enjoyable.
But one thing I will say... IT'S DEPRESSING. Just so you know. :p

By Jess

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Kyo Kara Maoh!

Frequently described as 'Fushigi Yuugi on crack', Kyo Kara Maoh! (lit: 'Demon King from today!') is the story of what happens when average, baseball-loving 15 year old Shibuya Yuuri gets flushed down a toilet... into an alternate world.
In general, Kyo Kara Maoh! is just an extremely odd (but very funny) comedy anime. Yuuri ends up in the land of the Mazoku (demon race) and promptly finds out, much to his disbelief, that he's their king. Kyo Kara Maoh! follows the newbie Maoh as he attempts to get used the crazy world he's found himself in, amidst tentative attempts at leadership, and wishes of going home.
Of course, that's not Yuuri's only problem. Despite technically being a shounen series, Kyo Kara Maoh! does have light BL hints, so be warned if that's not your thing. However, his (accidental) male fiancé and overly devoted aide frequently add to the comedy, so it doesn't take itself too seriously. That, and Yuuri himself is very wary of any advances!
It's a long series; KKM is just about to hit its 70th episode in Japan, but it does look like the end is now in sight (eta; it's been confirmed that ep 78 will be the last ;_; ). Reason for this is it's based on a series of novels (and a manga's just started being made for it too), and the novels aren't over.
The overarching plotline of the series doesn't really kick in until the late 20s (I think), but in general it's about Yuuri's attempts to unite humans and Mazoku, who've always hated each other. Despite being a (quite insane) comedy, it can actually get pretty serious, and at one point does get horribly angsty.
It has some great voice actors (Inoue Kazuhiko as Gunter is priceless XD), and Sakurai Takahiro is great as Yuuri.
The art's lovely; clean, simple and bright, and the animation is very smooth and consistent. Kyo Kara Maoh! is highly enjoyable, and very amusing.
Ah yes - and it is licensed, by Geneon, and there's been 4 volumes released so far. They do a pretty good job with it, but the dub is horrible, really. :(

By Jess

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Loveless

Loveless is turning out to be pretty amazing - it's still coming out at the moment (up to episode 10 has been aired and fansubbed, there will be 12 eps total). It's generally touted as a BL anime, but to be honest there's just as much het and shoujo-ai, so there's something for everyone. ;P
Vague summary: Main character is 12 year old Ritsuka, who has memory problems (and sees a psychiatrist) and hasn't been the same since his elder brother Seimei was murdered a couple of years before. One day he meets a mysterious young man called Soubi (who's in his 20s; at uni) who apparently was Seimei's friend.
The show revolves around the mystery surrounding Seimei's death, and also Ritsuka and Soubi's relationship. (which, thankfully, doesn't go very far...what with the ages of those involved.) But Loveless in unique in a few ways; it seems everyone is born with cat ears and tails, but lose them once they lose their virginity. Err.
As well as this, strange fights take place involving manipulating spells. Soubi reveals that he's a 'Fighter' - and a Fighter is always paired with their 'Sacrifice', the other member of the team. While the Fighter (unsurprisingly) does the actual fighting, it's the Sacrifice who ends up taking the damage. Soubi explains that he was Seimei's Fighter, and now he's come to fight for Ritsuka.
Ritsuka gets confused and things get complicated when Soubi starts declaring that he loves Ritsuka right after they meet, and they start getting attacked.
Weird to explain, but Loveless is actually really good. Very pretty animation, nice music, interesting characters. Plus, cat-people! Heh. It's quite dark and mysterious in general, but has its moments of spazzy humour.

By Jess

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Meine Liebe

Firstly, I think I have to say the main appeal of Meine Liebe is probably the art and the voice actors. =p The art and character designs are gorgeous - done by Yuki Kaori (Angel Sanctuary, Count Cain etc), and the VAs are some of my favourites (so I'm probably a little biased =p) - Sakurai Takahiro, Seki Tomokazu, Hoshi Souchirou, Seki Toshihiko and Akira Ishida. love
Er, but the anime. The name is German for 'My Love', which I think is because it's actually based on a girls' dating sim. Which is a little weird, because the series actually has NO romance in it, but hey.
The series takes place in the fictional, Germanic, European country of Kuchen, and follows a group of young men enrolled at the prestigious Rosenstoltz Academy. The aim of this place is to train up future political candidates (or just provide a classy education for aristocrats, whatever.), and these young men are 'Strahl Candidates' - ie, the best and most capable students, who are aiming to become part of the King's Cabinet.
These Strahl Candidates are Orpherus, Edouard, Camus, Ludwig and Naoji.
The strange thing about Meine Liebe is... it doesn't really have a plot as such. It has vague political overtones, but it's not the main aim of the series - and there's a shady looking teacher who you know is up to no good, but... they're never really the most important things. First and foremost, Meine Liebe is character-driven. There are various episodes focusing on the angsty, painful pasts of each of the Strahl Candidates, and it basically follows them at the Academy, deals with their issues and dabbles with having a bit more of a plot near the end.
There are a few sword duels etc, but it's not overly an action anime. Takes itself very seriously and is highly melodramatic (sometimes to the point of amusement XP) Definitely shoujo.
Music! That's another big plus for me - ML's soundtrack has actually become one of my favourites. Very classical, but beautifully composed.
I really enjoyed it, though - it's quite slow moving, but it looks lovely, and if you like the characters it's really interesting.
Thought about bringing it to animesoc - but somehow, I dont think it's the kind of thing you can describe and actually make sound interesting.
"yeah, it's about these angsty pretty boys who are at an academy trying to learn how to become political leaders. But it's not really about politics. In fact it doesn't really have a plot at all. But it's good, honest! And there's lots of blatant UST between the entire male cast!"

By Jess

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Meine Liebe Wieder

I've only seen the first seven episodes, but... it's pretty much like the first series: attractive melodramatic young aristocrats angsting around, duelling and pondering idealistic politics. ;D
Yeah. Except in this series, the headmaster of the academy has (shock horror!) disappeared. So there's this new, revolutionary headmaster. Or something. But he's clearly in league with Beruze (who's still hanging around, looking creepy and Muraki-like) so it can't be all good. Plus the new headmaster has hair like a guado, and the new guy Gerald-sensei has a blond mullet. And yet it somehow looks good?
As usual, the plot advances slowly and doesn't make all that much sense, Camus acts (and looks) like such a little girl (he still talks to flowers, and now the others are joining him, apparently), and Ed angsts about his mother.
Wieder is also quite a bit prettier, and much more gay than the first series.... though still very much stays within the confines of shoujo, so don't worry. xP
Also, the music isn't nearly so good at the first... i'm wondering if they replaced yoshimasa hirano in or something. :(
but, it's still really enjoyable, and i'm sure i'll be downloading the rest. ;D

By Jess

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Mushishi

(aka. Ginko the parasitologist Razz )
directed by Hiroshi Nagahama, 26 episodes. the manga is ongoing at over 40 chapters.
genre: spiritual fantasy.
The anime acts as a kind of anthology of Mushi: ethereal creatures only visible to some people (ginko being one of them, of course). The disjointed storyline (mushishi has no over-arching plot) allows watching in any order which is always a bonus if some episodes are more difficult to get hold of than others, although, despite the sudden changes in direction, the detail included in the storyline gives the impression of realism with very little in the way of plot-holes or character discrepancies. The last isnt really that difficult however: the only recurring character is the mushishi or "mushi-hunter" (mushi meaning 'insect'), Ginko. Only two other characters are seen more than once: Adashino, collector of mushi-related artifacts and a friend of ginko's, and Nui, a sort of temporary foster-mother to Ginko, only seen in episode 12 but who narates the opening and ending of many episodes (often in a rather creepy voice, suitable for beyond the grave Razz )
The ending music (different for every episode and always purely instrumental) always reflects the overall mood of the episode, ranging from sad to slightly creepy, to almost positive, although it never particularly becomes something you could dance about to. However it's one of my favourite aspects of the anime.
Throught out the seires, Ginko travels a world reminiscent of a feudal japan, aiding people suffering from mushi-caused illnesses and examining strange occurances; from deafness and memory-loss, to freezing fire, reincarnation, and bridges that appear only at night (the last being one a my favourites). Mushishi often gives a very peaceful, pacifist-style outlook, with mini-morals hidden in many of the episodes: unlike other mushishi glimpsed in the seires, Ginko rarely harms or kills the mushi if he can help it, despite several unfortunate run-ins with mushi which have caused him permenant harm.
Perhaps one of the most (personally) notable things in mushishi is the fact that ginko's white hair and single green eye are considered unusual (which they for mushishi, but not for anime in general), and even this genetic waver is carefully explained during the series (the only anime so-far known to ever explain freakish hair colours!!).

By Kate

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Ouran High School Host Club

**this review will give away a mild spoiler for the first episode... but it's relevant to the premise of the whole thing, so. /warning
"Ouran Private Academy is defined by...one, prestigious families, and two, wealth. And prosperous people have much time on their hands. Therefore, this Ouran Host Club is about... these handsome guys that have time...giving hospitality to these lovely ladies who also have time... and profit off them. It's an elegant game unique to this super-rich school."
Currently, Ouran is only up to the eighth episode, so this review is based on them.
General?
Ouran is a comedy, of the deliberately over-the-top shoujo variety. With gender confusion. :P Doesn't seem to have much of an overarching plot at the moment, but it's wonderful regardless. Very pretty, clean art - the style kind of reminds me of a cross between Fruits Basket and Tsubasa.
Plot?
The main character of the anime is Haruhi - somewhat of a rarity in the Ouran Academy, because she's not rich, and doesn't have a prestigious family - she managed to get in solely because she's clever. As such, when we first meet her, she seems to be a socially inept bookworm, who also looks like a boy. =p
One day she accidentally comes across the room where the Host Club (basically, a group of attractive guys who the female students pay to have tea with/talk to) goes on - and manages to break their 8,000,000 yen vase. Mistaking her for a boy, they make "him" come and work for them; first just doing errands, but then as an actual host once they discover "he's" actually pretty good-looking under the glasses and baggy clothes.
By the end of the first episode, they discover Haruhi's actually a girl (and Tamaki, "king" of the Host Club, gets hopelessly infatuated with her) - but by then she's already so popular among the female customers, they keep her gender a secret so she can carry on trying to work to pay off her debt.
So the series is full of them trying to stop people discovering Haruhi's a girl, random accidents suddenly managing to perodically raise Haruhi's debt, Tamaki hopeless trying to hit on her, and various odd occurances.
Because Ouran is very, very strange and surreal. But amazing with it :P
Characters?
Before Haruhi comes along, the Host Club is made up of five guys - Tamaki, the blond egotistical leader, 'Honey-sempai' the cute "loli-shota" and his 'big brother' Takashi, Kyouya who takes care of all the finances, and then the twins, Kaoru and Hikaru, who have a rather dubious relationship that the fangirl customers love. A variety of other characters come and go, depending on the plot of a particular episode.
So...
Ouran is definitely one of my favourite shows at the moment - it's very funny, unique, and the characters are great. Recommended! ;D
eta; Okay, a couple of additional comments:
A lot of people seem to be going in to watch Ouran thinking it's a total shoujo parody; and it is, to some extent (what with all the sparkles and rose petals etc) but, it's not completely. It can just be seen as high-quality shoujo that doesn't take itself too seriously. It makes fun of a lot of aspects of the genre (and fangirls :P), but it does have its serious moments & character development.

By Jess

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Pet Shop of Horrors

4 episode OVA (jap: madhouse/ US: urban vision) and 41 chpt manga, by Akino Matsuri. (A recent manga sequel is Shin Petshop of horrors. This review concerns the anime ova only.) all episodes begin with D taken from different volumes of the manga - Daughter, Delicious, Despair and Dual.
At only 4 episodes, PSoH is one of the shortest animes currently released in american dub. It focuses on the petshop owned by Count D in San fransisco's Chinatown, and the mystical (and often mythical) pets purchased from the shop, although each episode can stand pretty well on its own.
The Count sells each one along with three contract-rules that are always (conveniently for the plot) broken by the new owners later in the episode, allowing the pet to run wild & often kill their neglectful owners. It should probably be noted that the owners have a suspicious tendency to be a bit 'dodgy' anyway: everything from drug dealing and adultery to just being a bit a smarmy git, so they all get their just-desserts: I'm happy Razz.
Count D and his selling of "love, dreams and hope" in the form of pets is suspected of being a front for drug-trafficking system by the only other consistent main character: detective Leon Orcot - favourite quote: "it's all about DRUUUGGSS!!!" (this is taken from a slightly incorrect subtitle on my copy of the fansub, it's not present in the dub ;P sorry guys). Annoyingly, one of the few plot-holes in the series is Leon's strange tendency to violently barge into the count's backroom at the shop & accuse him of malicious criminal actiivity... and then calmly sit down to drink tea when Count D offers it O_o.
Overall: a nice way to spend 2 hours. (Avoid the dub, it loses alot of the mysteriousness to have them speaking with bad american accents).

By Kate

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The Place Promised in our Early Days (aka Beyond the Clouds)

This is a film I saw a couple of weeks ago that a friend lent me. It's by a fellow called Makoto Shinkai who did the 30-minute OVA called Voices of a Distant Star and is renouned for creating it almost entirely on his own. Anyway, how did his next effort fair under the critical scope?
To begin with, the story centres around 2 schoolboys called Hiroki and Takuya who are quite adept with building machinery and are trying to make a flying machine in order to get to a huge tower that can be seen from where they live. Japan has been divided into 2 with the tower on the northern side of the border and the boys living on the other side. Nobody really knows why the tower is there or its purpose and this is the reason why the boys want to go there. A female classmate of their's called Sayuri becomes interested in their situation and as a result learns of the machine they are intending to make.
After the introduction the story then flashes to 3 years later with the 2 boys in high school and Sayuri having been in a coma for the last 3 years. Nobody knows the reasons why but it could be that Sayuri's coma and the tower are linked.
If I say anymore this review will becomke too spoiler-ish so I'll prevent myself. anyway, as a film TPPIOED does a good job of acheiving what it sets out to do. The story is an interesting one and like Voices of a Distant Star the director deals with the feelings of his characters and this helps to flesh them out and seem more human the more you watch. There were occasions whenthe story became a bit slow but they were brief and at around 100 minutes I think it's fair to say that I have seen examples were slow pacing has been much worse.
The characters wont stand out in the way that, say, Gankutsuou's did but they're likeable (which I think always helps when watching anime) and as stated before they have suficient growth by the film's end. The animation is amazing to say it is all digital and though more staffed than Voices of a Distant Star is still produced by a small group of people. The music is mostly piano pieces that help to accentuate the differnet moods through the film and where as it wont win any prizes for originality they certainly to their job well.
One aspect I liked about the film is like Satoshi Kon's work (Perfect Blue, Paranoia Agent) there is a sufficient feeling closure whilst there also being a satisfactory feeling of 'Life Goes On' too. If anybody likes their anime with endings that are as good as an anime's introduction then you will be pleased with this film.
The DVD is only out on Region 1 at the moment and can be found on various online DVD retailers and at City Cyber Anime (link at bottom of main forum page.) There are some cool extras such as interviews with the main voice actors and the director himself, plus some production sketches and storyboard/finished version comparisons (I think.) The DVD format certainly helps this film to look amazing as not in a long time digital animation looked so perfect and right!
Anyway, overall I gave The Place Promised In Our Early Days
8/10

By Patrick

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Princess Princess

Quite obviously, Princess Princess is a comedy. Its main character is blue-haired Tooru, who due to family circumstances transfers to a new, all-boys highschool.
But... it's not a very normal school, as somewhere along the line, someone decided that because it was only boys, they needed something interesting in their lives (such a solid plot setup, huh :P) hence - the princesses. Basically, the prettiest male students are chosen and given the job of being 'princesses' - that is, dressing up as girls and cheering on the sports teams ect.
Unsurprisingly, Tooru is quickly chosen for this role, which he actually accepts without minding too much - but only because the princesses get lots of benefits, like free books, uniform, food etc. And, "it's just a job, right?"
So he joins the two current princesses - Mikoto (who despite being pink-haired and girly, absolutely hates it because he has a girlfriend and doesn't want her to find out) and the more pragmatic Yuujirou (who doesn't really care, and does it quite happily).
The series has a vague plot (though only 7 eps are out & fansubbed so far) - mostly revolving around Tooru's past angst, I'm guessing, but it mostly focuses on the characters and the random embarassing jobs the princesses are made to do. :P
Despite assumptions most people make, I don't think it's a BL series. (...though I was more certain of that before ep 7. :/) Either way, Mikoto has a girlfriend, and Tooru and Yuujirou are ostensibly straight - although their attempt at picking up girls went pitifully. :P
But anyway, Princess Princess is a really fun series, doesn't take itself seriously and is very amusing. ^^

By Jess

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Rozen Maiden

The Rozen Maidens are seven "living" dolls (only 5 of whom appear in the first series) made by the expert doll-maker, Rozen, whose ultimate goal in life is the Alice Game: a battle system in which the dolls fight each other, using other toys as "minions" or with their own unique powers, such as (rather oddly) magical wateringcans that cause giant vines to leap from the ground and trap their opponent. To help boost their powers, each maiden can take a "Medium": a human who's life is, from then on, linked to the powers of the Maiden. If the powers are overused, the medium will die.
If a Maiden is defeated, she (yes they're all female) becomes "junk" (the word is the ultimate insult to a Maiden), unable to move ever again, while her powers (called the "rosa mystica") are absorbed by the victor. Any Maiden who absorbs all seven powers becomes "Alice": the symbol of ultimate perfection.
The heroine is the 5th Rozen Maiden: Shinku. She's pretty proud and cold most of the time, though she's obsessed with a cartoon puppet-detective called Kun-kun, who seems to hold most of her affection.
Her medium is Jun: a depressed teenage truant from school, who spends most of his time getting slapped, hit, ordered about or screamed at by one or other of the Maidens.

By Kate

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Shuffle

I'm on fire atm! Anyway, here's an anime that's originally based on a hentai anime taht actually turned out to be as good as some have said it actually. And no, not because it mimics the game in the series (which it doesn't (much!)) but because it was a genuinely good seris to wtch. So, here goes my attempt to review the series SHUFFLE!
The setting of SHUFFLE is typical of many harem-style romance shows. We start of with main character, a male called who Rin, who wakes up in the house he is staying in with his children friend Kaede. Kaede behaves almost like a servant it seems, doing all the house chores daily and generally taking care of Rin (this does get explained later in the show though.) One day they go to school together only to discover that the daughters of the King of Heaven (Lisianthus, Sia for short) and the King of Demons (Nerine) respectively have enrolled in Rin's school and homeroom with the intention of becoming his suitor. Add to this tumultuous situation the senpai character of Asa and a wandering young demon who just happend to find Rin (know as Primula) and literally shuffle for some interesting results.
Now, for the first bunch the series follows the patterns of other humurous harem romance shows but from the 10-11 epsiode things start to take a more serious turn and the past of each of the main female characters is fleshed out in a legitimate manner, making it more enjoyable to watch thean feeling forced. This carries on through to the end of the series and makes for riveting watching as it feels like the creators got the pacing down pretty well when the mood of the series changes. Form there it's just a journey of emotions and events until they reach their conclusion in the end (of course!)
And to this that the artwork is not only great but the animation is too with hardly any lengthy pans or still images (unless they are necessary) and you have something that is pleaseing for the eyes as well as the mind. The music I thought was a bit hit and miss but managaed to highlight the emotional scenes well which is a good thing. An important note is that those who like a bit of dirty ecchi-ness will be pleased as there occasions in the show where it is included, although it is never to graphic tbh (it is based on a hentai game after all.)
In conclusion, it was nice to watch a harem romance show that had some cliches but also had some really good original ideas too, looked very damn pretty (up there withy the best animated shows I know) and managaed to break out of its hentai game origins by being a show with quality content, good pacing and riveting scenes. Even if you haven't watched an anime series of this genre before I would heartily recommend SHUFFLE! as the place to start as I think many others after watching this will seem weak in comparison. Of course, the best thing to do is to find some episodes yourselves and check it out to see what you think. Chances are you'll to 'shuffle' around a bit to get them first though!
And yes, somebody please hang me now for the worst pun of the year, I'm sure!

By Patrick

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Sukisho

Sukisho, or its full name, "Suki na Mono wa Suki Dakara Shouganai!!" is based on a BL game. And it shows. ;D
So? Well... it's odd. Good, but odd. XP
Up until the last ep, storyline-wise I was pretty much just WTF all the way through. But then it mostly came together in the end, and it turned out the plot was actually pretty good - despite not seeming like it at first. And so, plot-wise, it is very strange. The main character, Sora, seems to have lost his memories after falling out of a window, and suddenly he has a new roommate called Sunao who is apparently an old friend of his and Matsuri's. They form a 'jack-of-all-trades' service thing at their school, and people pay them to do jobs, basically. but then there's the plot which focuses on the fact that Sora and Nao seem to have alternate personalities (Yoru and Ran respectively) who come out at random points...and seem to rather like each other. But, as it always must be, it's not that simple.
Utterly and unashamedly BL, though - I'm pretty sure there wasn't a single female to be seen the entire series. (though I thought Nanami was a woman for a while >.>) Haha. And, yeah... it kind of reminded me of the 3rd volume of Legal Drug, where they go that all-boys school and EVERYBODY'S GAY. Because that certainly seems true of this; yes, even the teachers. And yet Sora still acted all shocked when he found out anyone he knew liked a guy. o_O There's even cross-dressing, too. :P
Atmosphere-wise, it was a little weird. From the start, though there's hints of something else, more than half the series is random lighthearted comedy and chibis galore. But then at the end it just suddenly got all dark and serious. Was just... a strange change. The characters confused me for a while too. You have no idea how long it took me to realise that Minato and that-guy-Nanami-seems-to-live-with were the SAME PERSON. God. At school he has straight hair, glasses and a suit, at home he loses the glasses, has spiky hair and wears tight sleevless tops (oh yeah, Shinichirou, that's his name...). Yeesh. And Aizawa. I spent most of the series wondering if I'd missed something and if I should know who he is.
But, pretty art, cute characters, intriguing plot, loads of random comedy... I liked it. ^^

By Jess

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Addicted to Curry

Plot outline: Ever wonder what exactly is curry or how to make curry? This comic is about a young woman who is having trouble keeping her curry diner open until a mysterious man came and became her curry chef. Even for people who have not eaten curry will appreciate curry by reading this comic and you might even wanna try eating this type of food after reading a few chapters. Full of odd and funny situations, it even has recipes on how to make different curries and the history of curry. This has actually a good set of character with their own motives and reasons behind why they love curry so much.

By Shabs

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Benkei in New York

A noir series about a japanese man named Benkei, who lives (not surprisingly) in New York. Benkei is a painter who also provides his services as an assassin dealing primarily in revenge. Each chapter deals with the various people he encounters and why he is sent to kill them.
Quite a thoughtful series, it would probably appeal to people who enjoyed Leon.
Artwise, very good, with a similar style to Katsuhiro Otomo, although less detailed.

By Ben

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Death Note

Official Synopsis: 'Yagami Light is an ace student with great prospects - and he's bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue shinigami death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and now Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But when criminals begin dropping dead, the authorities send the legendary detective L to track down the killer. With L hot on his heels, will Light lose sight of his noble goal... or his life?'
I have to confess, what first drew me to Death Note is the artwork - the actual black and white manga artwork is really lovely - hands, hair and facial expressions are especially well done. I've only read the first volume so far (though I've ordered the next two!) so this review is based on that.
Death Note is very different to the usual series you get running in Shonen Jump - as it's not exactly an action manga, and there's no fighting either. The battles are of more of an intellectual kind, as Light and L try and outwit each other.
One of the things that struck me most about Death Note (and one of the reasons I like it so much) is that the main character, Light, is clearly an antagonist, not a protagonist as is usual.
It soon becomes apparent that Light... is disturbed. He's an obvious sociopath with delusions of godhood - he honestly believes that it's his place to cast judgement on those people he doesn't deem worthy to live. This is more blatant when Light explains how he doesn't just want to punish criminals - he also wants to kill those "immoral" people. And, he believes that he's the one to do that.
Clearly, Light has a major superiority complex, which is something that seems to amuse the shinigami who follows him around (who goes by the name of Ryuk, and who dropped the Death Note because he was bored, and wanted to see what would happen =p)
The other main character seems to be 'L' - the mysterious detective no one ever sees or really knows how to contact. He starts tracking down Light, and (I believe) most of the manga is about the two trying to outsmart each other.
It's a very dark manga, and in some ways quite disturbing (in fact, it's been banned in many places in China) - mostly because, yes, it is essentially about a mass-murdering schoolboy who believes he's doing the world a favour. But despite that, it is... very good. ;D I really love the artwork, and the plot seems very intriguing and well constructed at the moment. Light's a fascinating character, but at times you're not entirely sure how to react to him;
"...they'll realise they'll die if they don't change their ways... I'll make this a world inhabited only by people I decide are good! [...] I'm a serious, straight-A student...a model teenager. And I... will reign over a new world!"
He believes he's passing "righteous judgement" on people - Light's clearly not quite right in the head, but that's what makes him so interesting; he simply doesn't see why what he's doing is wrong.
I can really see Light getting twisted further by the Death Note, and entirely forgetting his noble ideals and why he tried to use the DN in the first place... but I guess we'll have to wait and see in later volumes.
Death Note isn't (yet?) an anime, but apparently there are plans for a live-action movie. The first 3 volumes of manga are out by Viz.
ETA: Okay, having now read the first 3 volumes, just got a couple of things to add.
1) You do indeed get to meet L as a proper character, and he is awesome ;D
2) The plot thickens! Lots of twists and turns... and lots of suspense.
3) ...Light is crazy. XD
... and I'm now going to go and search out the scanlations, because a month is a long time to wait to find out what happens next. =p

By Jess

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Domu

A short series from the creator of Akira, published a few years prior. A short series about mysterious goings on in a city apartment building. This series could almost be considered a prequel to Akira, featuring psychic powers set in a near future crumbling society (with crumbling buildings).
The art, as with his other works, is incredibly detailed, although not quite as polished as Akira's.
A quite entertaining read, very action based and with great visuals. If that sounds good to you, give it a read.

By Ben

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FAKE

Gripping New York cop action! Except the cops are gay. And the New York cop action isn't written nearly as well as their relationship. Also, they have some random kids that end up hanging around with them, seemingly for the main purpose of interrupting their romantic scenes and drawing out their relationship.
FAKE is one of those seminal boys' love series that all fans of the genre should read. It's consistently sweet and funny (and occasionally gripping), and has a rewarding conclusion. I'm not sure how much appeal it will have outside of that fanbase, but it's a good story and it never hurts to try something new.

By Phil

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Hajime no Ippo

Hajime no Ippo is a shonen boxing manga, with comedy thrown in liberally, except during most fights.
Nothing especially new or original here, but then again, it started in 1989.
What it is, however, is a very well written manga of its type, with gripping fights and great characters.
Art-wise, it has a fairly polished style, and the facial expressions of the characters add a lot to the humour.
The series is a light read, with nothing deep or meaningful, and is squarely aimed at 13-year old boys (although there is practically no fan service, which may or may not change its appeal).
So, if you want a solid Shonen sports manga, Hajime no Ippo is a very good choice. After reading 57 volumes, I'm still not bored of it, and that's no mean feat.

By Ben

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Loveless

Mangaka: Yun Kouga
Genre: Shoujo - fantasy/romance
1st vol blurb: When 12-year-old Ritsuka discovers a posthumous message from his brother Seimei indicating he was murdered, he becomes involved in a shadowy world of spell battles and secret names. Together with the mysterious Soubi, the search to find Seimei's killer and uncover the truth begins! But in a world where mere words have unbelievable power, how can you find true friendship and happiness when your very name is Loveless?
Unsurprisingly, even judging by the first two volumes alone, the manga of Loveless is far superior to its anime counterpart. If you've seen any of the anime (as quite a few of you may well have from last year :p) you'll know it's very melodramatic, and very Soubi-Ritsuka focused. Strangely, the manga doesn't really come across this way at all.
First, though, I think I have to comment on the art - because Loveless is beautiful. I was already a fan of Yun Kouga from Earthian, but her style is much more refined and consistent here. If anything, read it for the art. xD
The plot's definitely intriguing - mostly because, as Ritsuka's the main character, you learn about things as he does (which is very gradually :p) an awful lot of what's going on is somewhat confusing and a mystery - but it's quite compelling and makes you want to continue reading to find out more.
I found the characters a lot more endearing than in the anime - not only because we get more focus on each of them but also simply because they're portrayed slightly differently. In general, they're just... nicer. Yun Kouga does a wonderful job of making you empathise wih Ritsuka, and his constant sense of pain and confusion about who is is now, and what he's "supposed" to be is communicated well.
The manga certainly has a dark, twisted edge to it - certain things are much more obvious than in the anime, such as the way Ritsuka's mother abuses him, and the Zeros' initial intentions towards Shinonome-sensei. Ritsuka suffers from memory-loss (and in fact can only remember the last two years) and sees a psychologist because of this. Even the entire Fighter/Sacrifice system has a creepy edge to it; mostly brought about by Soubi and Seimei, I suppose (nb: the fighter attacks and deals out damage, but it's the sacrifice who takes any damage to the team). But the "spell battles" are actually pretty cool, though perhaps not if you like more 'traditional' fights. :p
The fighter/sacrifice system is also where the title of the manga comes in - each person has a "true" name, and a fighter and sacrifice will share that name. In Soubi's case, he was Ritsuka's brother's fighter, and so his true name is "Beloved", just like Seimei. Ritsuka's true name however, is "Loveless". It seems that Soubi "switching" partners to Ritsuka is basically looked upon as taboo by the other fighter/sacrifice duos, who seem to think it's the worst thing ever. Another mystery of Loveless, which hasn't actually been adressed in the slightest yet, is who 'Loveless'' real fighter is.
...it does have its utterly random moments of humour though, too. xD
And yes, actually somewhat unimportantly, the characters of Loveless have cat ears and tails. Said ears are lost when someone "becomes an adult" (ie, loses their virginity) - which has little plot relevance, except that it sometimes affects characters' reactions to each other. But it seems to be one of the things people associate with Loveless, so. :p
And naturally, since it's shoujo, and one of the genres is romance... there comes the inevitable matter of Ritsuka and Soubi's relationship. I know it's something that puts a lot of people off simply by it being mentioned, but-- it's probably not as bad as you think. Point is, it's supposed to be a little creepy and disturbing. Well, not in itself per se, but more the reasons behind Soubi's actions. It's really rather well-handled (much more so than in the anime) and not too full-on.
Not to mention it's barely even the main romantic focus - despite its name, Loveless is full of love-triangles and unrequited feelings. :p Yuiko for Ritsuka, Yayoi for Yuiko, Kio for Soubi (and others xD) you end up feeling a little sorry for most of them, really. Although apparently Yayoi in general only has a very small role in the manga, which I find disappointing as initially, he's one of my favourite characters. :/
Overall, though, I think Loveless is a brilliant manga, and definitely one that's unfortunately overlooked because of its BL content. The art and plot are wonderful; the characters are very likeable - and if you enjoy a twist of fantasy with dark and somewhat unsettling undertones, I think you should definitely give it a try. :D

By Jess

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Short Cuts

Not really a manga series, but a collection of short gag strips, ranging in size from one to a few pages. Mostly jokes about modern japanese culture, focusing on Kogals. For those who don't know the term, Kogals are the trendy high school girls who keep up with the latest fashions, and may even go on paid dates.
A very surreal series, featuring gags such as the ABCs of S&M, and the Little Lolita storage safe, this might not appeal to everyone. On the other hand, this may be a good series for people who aren't into manga, to show what sort of things can be written.
The art style is also quite nice, with many different styles and techniques being used throughout, giving it the feel of an alternative comic book rather than a normal manga.

By Ben

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Yu-Gi-Oh!

Yu-Gi-Oh is primarily about a card game that is of far more importance than it has any right to be. It's also about split personalities from Ancient Egypt. So, yeah, Yu-Gi-Oh isn't to be taken too seriously.
That said, it's hugely entertaining. Almost every chapter ends on a dramatic cliffhanger, leaving you wondering just how Yugi can possibly win when he's in such a terrible predicament. Then, in the next chapter, the writer invents some new card or rule that solves all his problems. Success!
It's perhaps slightly lesser-known that Yu-Gi-Oh wasn't originally about the card game. The first 7 volumes of the manga focus mainly on other games that Yugi and his friends play. This part of the story is hardcore and famously includes Dark Yugi burning someone to death because they lose at one of his games.
Note: In Japan the entire series (38 volumes) was released as one series. The English release by Viz (US) and Gollancz (UK) splits it into three series: Yu-Gi-Oh! (7 volumes), Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist (24 volumes) and Yu-Gi-Oh! Millennium World (the final 7 volumes).

By Phil

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