anime collection

Hakushaku To Yousei

2010-11-15T04:08:00.000-08:00

Hakushaku to Yōsei (伯爵と妖精^?, "Earl and Fairy") is a series of light novels written by Mizue Tani and published in Japan by Shueisha. The story is serialized in Cobalt magazine and illustrated by Asako Takaboshi.

Shueisha has commercially released two drama CDs, and a manga adaptation has begun serialization in The Margaret since the September issue in 2008.^[1]

An anime adaptation was broadcasted from September to December 2008. A visual novel for the PlayStation 2 was released on April 30, 2009.^[2]

Story

The story, set in Victorian England, follows the adventures of 17-year old Lydia Carlton, nicknamed the "Fairy Doctor" due to her interest and understanding of fairies. Her life takes a 180-degree turn when she meets Edgar J.C Ashenbert, the "Legendary Blue Knight Count" and his crew on a sea voyage to London. Edgar hires her as an advisor during his quest to obtain a treasured sword that was supposed to be handed down to him by his family.

Kurokami The Animation

2010-11-05T01:10:00.000-07:00

Black God (黒神 Kuro Kami^?) is a Japanese-Korean manga series written by Dall-Young Lim and illustrated by Sung-Woo Park. Square Enix publishes the manga in Japan's bi-monthly seinen magazine Young Gangan. The story is initially set in modern day Tokyo, then changes to the island of Okinawa in the middle of the story. The word "Black" in the title refers to the character Kuro as it means black in Japanese. "God" in the title refers to the fact that Kuro is a superhuman or a Tera Guardian. In France and other French-speaking countries and territories, the manga goes under the name Kurokami: Black God.

The manga is created entirely by a Korean manhwa team led by both Lim and Park. They would occasionally make fun of the fact that none of them were fluent in Japanese in omake segments drawn at the end of each manga volume.^[1]

Black God was among four manga titles licensed by Yen Press along with Zombie-Loan, Alice on Deadlines and Spiral: Suiri no Kizuna^[2] when it was announced by their panel at the 2007 New York Comic Convention.^[3] Ten volumes are already released with a 11th volume scheduled for a November 2010 release.

It has been adapted into an anime animated by Sunrise, and first aired in Japan and in the United States on January 8, 2009, while South Korea aired it on January 9, 2009

Nabari No Ou

2010-10-27T01:17:00.000-07:00

Nabari no Ou (隠の王 Nabari no Ō^?, lit. Ruler of Nabari) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yuhki Kamatani. The series premiered in Japan in Monthly GFantasy in 2004 and is currently still in serialization. Square Enix is also publishing the individual chapters in collected volumes with eleven volumes released as of June 2009. The series has been licensed for an English language release in North America by Yen Press. The first volume was released in May 2009.^[1]

J.C.Staff created a twenty-six episode anime adaptation of the Nabari no Ou manga series. Directed by Kunihisa Sugishima, the series premiered in Japan on TV Tokyo on April 6, 2008. The episodes subsequently air on other TXN networks, including TV Aichi and TV Osaka. The series has been licensed by FUNimation. Part one of the complete series was released in the US on DVD September 22, 2009.

Plot

Miharu Rokujo is a modern-day Japanese student who is apathetic to the world around him. Miharu learns of a secret art, after which he cannot return to his normal life. Although he wants nothing to do with ninja, Tobari vows to Miharu one day, Miharu is protected from ninja by Koichi Aizawa and Tobari Kumohira, who are ninja affiliated with the Banten Village. He learns that his body carries the Shinra Banshou, the most powerful secret art in the ninja world of Nabari. The Grey Wolves, a faction associated with Iga village, wanting to use the Shinra Banshou for their personal gain, will protect Miharu until he becomes Nabari's ruler. Miharu instead asks that the Shinra Banshou be removed, which has never been successfully done. Soon after, Raimei Shimizu, a samurai from the neighboring Fuuma ninja village, arrives to test Miharu's abilities. Eventually, Raimei invites the Banten ninja to see Kotarou Fuuma, the leader of Fuuma village. Because he has written every text on ninjutsu, he may find a way to remove the Shinra Banshou. At Fuuma village, they discover that the Grey Wolves are searching for Fuuma village's forbidden art. The Grey Wolves recognize Miharu as the one who possess the Shinra Banshou, and Yoite, a user of Iga's forbidden art of Kira, attacks. The Grey Wolves escape soon after. With this, the Fuuma and Banten ninja realize that the Grey Wolves are collecting the forbidden arts in the hope of finding a way to remove the Shinra Banshou from Miharu. The Fuuma and Banten follow suit...........

Bokura Ga Ita

2010-10-25T23:17:00.000-07:00

We Were There (僕等がいた Bokura ga Ita^?) is a Japanese romance manga by Yuki Obata, centering around the high school life of freshman girl, Nanami Takahashi. It was serialized in Betsucomi, with the first tankōbon volume released on October 26, 2002. The series, which had been on hiatus since early 2008, resumed publication in June 2009.

The series is licensed for an English language release in North America by Viz Media. It was adapted into a 26-episode television anime series which aired from July 3 to December 25, 2006.

In 2005, the manga won the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōjo.^[1]

Characters

Nanami "Nana" Takahashi (高橋七美, Takahashi Nanami^?), the series protagonist, is a high school girl who falls in love with the popular Yano Motoharu. They struggle with issues of trusting one another as the shadow of Yano's dead girlfriend, who was with another guy at the time she died, looms over them. In the manga, eventually Yano's inability to let go and her inability to focus on the future rather than the past lead to their breaking up. She eventually begins dating Take, but is unable to forget Yano completely. When Take proposes, she rejects him, then begins searching for Yano after meeting one of his coworkers and learning where he is. In the anime adaptation, she is voiced by Nozomi Sasaki.

Motoharu Yano (矢野元晴, Yano Motoharu^?) is a popular high school boy whose girlfriend, Nana, was killed in a car crash while out with another guy. He has a hard time trusting Nanami, and displays jealousy and possessiveness, to the point of physically abusing her. As the series progresses, he wrestles with his feelings for his dead girlfriend versus those for the living Nanami, whom he even calls "Nana-chan" at times. Yano moves to Tokyo with his mom, but after half a year he stops contacting Nanami, effectively breaking up with her. Eventually it is revealed that his mother killed herself, after which he disappeared. He reappears four years later, living with Yamamoto but still remembering Nanami. In the anime adaptation, he is voiced by Hiroshi Yazaki.

Masafumi "Take" Takeuchi (竹内匡史, Takeuchi Masafumi^?) is Yano's close friend and becomes a friend and confidant for Nanami after she begins dating Yano. As the series progresses, he finds himself falling in love with her, leaving him unsure how to proceed. When Yano breaks up with Nanami, they begin dating. He eventually proposes, but she turns him down. In the anime adaptation, he is voiced by Takuji Kawakubo.

Yuri Yamamoto (山本有里, Yamamoto Yuri^?) is the younger sister of Nana, Yano's late girlfriend. She had a crush on Yano even while he was dating her sister. A week after Nana's death, Yano had sex with her. She originally believed he was simply using her, but later suspects he was pitying her. After Yano begins dating Nanami, she becomes an obstacle for their relationship as Yano continues displaying some closeness with her. In the anime adaptation, she is voiced by Erina Nakayama.

Tactics

2010-10-15T05:26:00.000-07:00

Tactics (タクティクス Takutikusu^?) is a Japanese manga series collaborated between Sakura Kinoshita and Kazuko Higashiyama. It was serialized in Comic Blade Masamune. Kinoshita supplied the character "Kantarou," and Higashiyama supplied the character "Haruka." The manga was first released in North America by ADV Manga in 2004. Afterwards, the US license was transferred to Tokyopop, who have released 8 volumes so far.

The animation studio Studio Deen adapted the Tactics manga into a 25-episode anime series, which ran on Japanese television from October 5, 2004 to March 29, 2005. The English dub of the anime is distributed by Manga Entertainment in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

The Sci Fi Channel (United States) began airing Tactics as part of its Ani-Monday programming block on January 7, 2008 at 23:00 Eastern Standard Time, the final episode aired on April 21, 2008.

Crystal Blaze

2010-10-13T04:54:00.000-07:00

This article is about the band. For the anime series, see Glass Maiden.

Crystal Blaze was a Finnish metal band that was formed in 1995 and started first playing power metal under the name Guardian Force. Over the years, the group has gone through changes and the band started to take its current form in 2001 when Lari Sorvo (keyboards) and Lauri Koskenniemi (guitar) joined the founding members Mikael Grönroos (guitar), Max Obstbaum (vocals) and Gustaf Standertskjöld (drums) with the basist Eerik Purdon. Now that the band performs and records under the name Crystal Blaze, the musical genre has also changed. The group is not afraid of combining different styles and genres with metal. Crystal Blaze's first demo "Dreams" was published in 2004 and was recorded at the MusaMuusa studios^{[citation needed]}. The second demo "The Punishment" was released in 2006. In 2007 Crystal Blaze parted ways with one of the founding members of the band, drummer Gustaf Standertskjöld. Crystal Blaze was the winner^{[citation needed]} of 2007 Wacken Metal Battle Finland and also performed at Wacken Open Air 2007 festival in Germany. In March 2008 the band released its third release named "Beneath the Sands". At the same time the band also announced Juhana Karlsson as a new drummer. The band was split up in 2010.

Band members

Max Obstbaum - vocals
Mikael Grönroos - guitar
Lauri Koskenniemi - guitar
Eerik Purdon - bass
Lari Sorvo - keyboards
Juhana Karlsson - drums

Publications

Dreams 2004
The Punishment 2006
Beneath the Sands 200

Slam Dunk

2010-09-22T19:33:00.000-07:00

Slam Dunk (スラムダンク Suramu Danku) is a sports-themed manga series written by Takehiko Inoue about a basketball team from Shōhoku High School. It was first serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump in Japan from 1990 to 1996 and had also been adapted into an anime series by Toei Animation which had been broadcast worldwide, enjoying much popularity particularly in Japan, several other Asian countries and Europe.^[ Inoue later used basketball as a central theme in two subsequent manga titles: Buzzer Beater and Real. In 2010, Inoue received special commendations from the Japan Basketball Association for helping popularize basketball in Japan.

Mojacko

2010-09-20T03:46:00.000-07:00

Mojacko (モジャ公 Mojako^?) is a 74-episode anime series based on an original Manga series created by Fujiko F. Fujio. Directed by Tetsuya Endo and produced by Oriental Light and Magic, the anime was broadcasted on TV Tokyo between October 3, 1995 and March 31, 1997

DOREMON

2010-09-16T03:01:00.000-07:00

Doraemon (ドラえもん^?)^[3] is a Japanese manga series created by Fujiko F. Fujio (the pen name of Hiroshi Fujimoto) and Fujiko A. Fujio (the pen name of Motō Abiko) which later became an anime series and an Asian franchise. The series is about a robotic cat named Doraemon, who travels back in time from the 22nd century to aid a schoolboy, Nobita Nobi (野比のび太 Nobi Nobita^?).

The series first appeared in December 1969, when it was published simultaneously in six different magazines. In total, 1,344 stories were created in the original series, which are published by Shogakukan under the Tentōmushi (てんとう虫^?) manga brand, extending to forty-five volumes. The volumes are collected in the Takaoka Central Library in Toyama, Japan, where both Fujiko Fujio were born. Viz Media bought the license to the Doraemon manga in the 1990s for an English-language release, but ultimately decided not to publish it due to the possible controversy surrounding its content.^{[citation needed]} However, Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur 2006 (The 26th film in the franchise) got a private screening in Washington D.C. in November 2008.

A majority of Doraemon episodes are comedies with moral lessons regarding values such as integrity, perseverance, courage, family and respect for elders. Several noteworthy environmental issues are often visited, including homeless animals, global warming, endangered species, deforestation, and pollution. Miscellaneous educational topics such as dinosaurs, the flat Earth theory, wormhole traveling, Gulliver's Travels, and the history of Japan are often covered.

Doraemon was awarded the Japan Cartoonists Association Award for excellence in 1973. Doraemon was awarded the first Shogakukan Manga Award for children's manga in 1982,^[4] and the first Osamu Tezuka Culture Award in 1997. In March 2008, Japan's Foreign Ministry appointed Doraemon as the nation's first "anime ambassador."^[5] Ministry spokesman explained the novel decision as an attempt to help people in other countries to understand Japanese anime better and to deepen their interest in Japanese culture."^[6] The Foreign Ministry action confirms that Doraemon has come to be considered a Japanese cultural icon. In 2002, the anime character was acclaimed as an Asian Hero in a special feature survey conducted by Time Asia magazine.^[7]

La Corda d'Oro: Primo Passo

2010-09-08T20:08:00.000-07:00

La Corda d'Oro (金色のコルダ Kin'iro no Koruda^?) is a role-playing game series targeted at a female audience under the Neoromance series from Koei. The title comes from the Italian for The Golden String.

The story is being adapted into a manga by the game’s character designer, Yuki Kure, which is currently serialized in LaLa magazine. An anime adaptation, titled La Corda d'Oro: Primo Passo, was first broadcast by TV Tokyo from October 2006 to March 2007. The anime also premiered on Animax. It was aired across its respective networks worldwide, including Hong Kong and Taiwan, also translating and dubbing the series into English for its English language networks in Southeast Asia and South Asia, and other regions. Sentai Filmworks acquired North American rights to the series, has released it in two half-season box sets, and is streaming it online.^[1] The first of a 2-episode anime special, entitled La Corda d'Oro: Secondo Passo, was aired by Kids Station on March 26, 2009.^[2]^[3]

^Plot

Kahoko Hino is a student in the General Education section of Seiso Academy. One day she runs into Lili, a musical fairy, who grants her a magical violin and a place in the school's annual musical competition. Kahoko refuses, only to be pressed on by Lili until she accepts the instrument and place in the competition. As she practices, Kahoko is amazed that she can play any musical piece as long as she knows the tune and plays it with her heart. As the competition goes on, she becomes more and more attached to the people she is trying to compete with.

Casshern sins

2010-09-03T05:01:00.000-07:00

Casshern Sins (キャシャーン SINS Kyashān Shinsu^?) is a reboot of the classic anime series Neo Human Casshern, produced by Tatsunoko and animated by Madhouse.^[1]^[2] It premiered in Japan on October 1, 2008, following a sneak preview of the first episode at Otakon 2008 in Baltimore, Maryland.

The series completely discards the continuity presented in the original Neo-Human Casshern anime series, in which Casshern was a cybernetic superhero battling the evil robotic forces of Braiking Boss in a post-apocalyptic Earth.^[2] In Casshern Sins, Casshern is presented as a cyborg subordinate of Braiking Boss who was ordered to assassinate the savior of mankind, and has thus doomed the Earth to ruin.^[3]

A manga adaptation had been announced recently and it was published in Jive's Monthly Comic Rush Magazine

Story

Created as a reboot of the Casshern franchise, Casshern Sins tells the story of a world where robots subjugated humanity after becoming self-aware. Their leader, Braiking Boss, ruled over the world with an iron fist. One day, a mysterious girl named Luna is summoned by the people, in order to bring the salvation of mankind. Fearing her as a potential threat, Braiking sent three of his most powerful cyborg warriors to dispose of Luna: Casshern, Dio and Leda. Casshern, the strongest warrior, manages to track down and kill Luna. However, this triggers a cataclysmic event which sets into motion the end of the world. Hundreds of years later, the world's atmosphere is filled with poison, and, due to the inability of most remaining humans to reproduce, as well as the constant threat posed by the robots, humanity is on the brink of extinction.^[4]
Robots fare little better, fearing death as much as humans do: the poisonous environment quickly causes their mechanical bodies to rust and corrode, forcing them to constantly replace their damaged parts, if spare parts in good condition can even be found. In this wretched time and place, Casshern, who had disappeared following the assassination of Luna, returns with no memory of who he is or what he had done. As he embarks on a journey to find out the truth about himself, Casshern will discover his true purpose and destiny.^[4]

Bus Gamer

2010-09-01T23:52:00.000-07:00

Bus Gamer (ビズゲーマー Bizu Gēmā^?) is a short-lived Japanese manga series created by Kazuya Minekura. It only exists as a single volume 'Pilot Edition' due to difficulties in serialization. The manga has been licensed for North American distribution by Tokyopop. The series follows the story of three young men hired by a mysterious company to participate in a business game, in which companies gamble against each other for corporate secrets. It has also produced a drama CD featuring the voices of Kenichi Suzumura, Junichi Suwabe, and Hiroki Takahashi. An anime adaptation of the manga premiered on the Japanese television network KBS Kyoto between March 14 and March 28, 2008, airing a total of three episodes. It is directed by Naoyuki Kuzuya, produced by Frontier Works, and animated by Studio Izena. The characters are voiced by the same voice actors in the drama CD.

Plot

An illegal dog-fight conducted in strict secrecy, the Bus Game is a battle simulation game where gamers are selected by various corporations to compete three-on-three on a battleground which is usually inside Tokyo. The teams are divided into "HOME" and "AWAY". The "HOME" team is given a disk containing their corporation's secret files to protect while the "AWAY" team attempts to steal the disk. The "AWAY" team wins if they are able to steal the disk within the given time limit where the "HOME" team wins if they are able to keep their disk safe. The game information and details are distributed to the gamers via mini-disk. The businesses participating in the Bus Game wager large amounts of money on each game, watching the action from a distance. In other words, the Bus Games is a gambling pastime in which the gamers are pawns for their amusement. In exchange for putting their lives at stake, the gamers stand to gain large amount of money, through their contracts and through winning each match of the Bus Game.
When three complete strangers, Toki Mishiba, Nobuto Nakajyo, and Kazuo Saitoh, are hired by a corporation to compete in the Bus Game, they are given the team code of "Team AAA" (Triple Anonymous or No Name). This group of three who differ entirely from their living environment and values to protect each other’s lives --- but without mutually wiping out their mistrust of each other or prying into each other's privacy, it would be the worst sort of teamwork, conflicting in every way. They only have one point in common, simply that each of them need a large amount of money for their individual circumstances. And to get the large monetary award, they must play in the game despite their very own lives being at stake.

Onmyō Taisenki

2010-08-31T22:22:00.000-07:00

Onmyō Taisenki (陰陽大戦記^?) is a Japanese manga series written by Hiroyuki Kaidō and illustrated by Yoshihiko Tomisawa. It was adapted into an anime series produced by Sunrise.

Story of Anime

Riku Tachibana (太刀花リク Tachibana Riku^?) is a 12-year old Japanese boy who lives near Tokyo. Never having met his parents, he lives an ordinary life with his adoptive grandfather. His grandfather had taught him a series of strange hand movements, which Riku did not know the purpose of until the day his grandfather is attacked near his shrine. But it is not an ordinary attacker. The attacker is a Shikigami (式神^?, lit. 'Ritual Gods'), strange monsters with human owners. Riku comes to the scene and that's where he first gets in contact with his Drive (神操機^?), the device he uses to call and make a 'contract' (契約 keiyaku^?) with Kogenta of the Byakko (白虎のコゲンタ^?), his Shikigami and, from that day on, best friend. The Shikigami needs, for special attacks, a special series of Seal (印^?, In), one of which happens to be the strange hand movements Riku's grandfather always taught him. As Riku's grandfather decides to leave the house for a journey, the 10-year old boy Souma Asuka (飛鳥ソーマ Asuka Sōma^?) and the 10-year old girl Nazuna (ナズナ^?) rent rooms in Riku's house. The 17-year old man, Masaomi, who teaches Riku the secrets of Onmyōdō (such as the use of Tōjinfu, for example), drops by eventually. The three of them have 'contracts' with Shikigami. The main events of Onmyō Taisenki anime are related to the menace of the Chi-ryū (地流^?), a powerful Japanese financial group related to the Onmyoudou; attempting to open the four Taiten (Yondaiten ( 四大天^?, lit. the 'Four Great Heavens'); and freeing Utsuho (ウツホ^?), a boy who was born with the power to control yōkai (妖怪^?), and had been imprisoned for thousands of years.

Busou Renkin

2010-08-31T19:41:00.000-07:00

Buso Renkin (武装錬金 Busō Renkin^?, lit. "Armor Alchemy") is a manga series written and drawn by Nobuhiro Watsuki, the creator of Rurouni Kenshin. Buso Renkin was serialized in Shueisha's shōnen magazine, Weekly Shōnen Jump from June 2003 to 2005, ending at 80 chapters. The individual chapters were collected by Shueisha into 10 tankōbon volumes which were released between January 5, 2004 and April 4, 2006. The series has been licensed by VIZ Media for US release and has been adapted into an anime by Xebec, which finished its run in Japan with a total of 26 episodes. There are also two drama CDs as well as a novel based on the series.

On April 27, 2009, the series made its North American television debut on the FUNimation Channel.^[1]

Boys Be....

2010-08-28T01:32:00.000-07:00

Boys Be... (ボーイズ・ビー Bōizu Bī^?) is a manga created and written by Masahiro Itabashi and illustrated by Hiroyuki Tamakoshi, which was in 2000 adapted into a 13 episode anime series by Hal Film Maker.

Three different Boys Be... manga series were serialized by Kodansha in Shukan Shōnen Magazine. In 2009 Kodansha announced a fourth series, Boys Be... Next Season, starting in the November 2009 issue of Magazine Special. The second manga series is licensed in North America by Tokyopop and the anime is licensed by The Right Stuf International. The anime, first aired on WOWOW (with a matching fanline email address courtesy of Lycos Japan), is licensed in Singapore by Odex. The first DVD volume of the series was released in North America on February 28, 2006. Comcast and several other cable providers are currently showing 'Boys Be' On Demand in the United States through the Anime Network. This series was aired on AXN-Asia before it handed all anime broadcasting duties to ANIMAX Asia, and, unlike other AXN anime making it to ANIMAX, was never retained.

Plot

The anime focuses upon the ups and downs, joys and sorrows of first love and teenage romance. Six students struggle to find the perfect partner and their adolescent limitations.
Each episode begins and ends with a philosophical quote which sums up the episode's content. Boys Be…, while centered on Kyoichi and Chiharu, revolves around seven or eight main characters and their love lives.

Kyou kara Ma no Tsuku Jiyuugyou!

2010-08-26T04:32:00.000-07:00

Synopsis

Yuuri Shibuya is an average high school student whose passion in life is baseball. That is until he intervenes in the bullying of a classmate, Ken Murata, and gets his head dunked in a toilet. Surprisingly he is sucked into the toilet, and ends up in another world. When he reaches dry land, he sees some people dressed in medieval costume and speaking in some weird vernacular. He assumes that it is a theme park of some sort. However, the people are afraid to see him and begin to pelt him with stones. There he meets Adalbert von Grantz who uses some form of magic so Yuuri understands the local language. Conrad Weller and G�nter von Christ then rescue Yuuri and take him to Blood Pledge Castle, the residence of the Maoh, where he soon finds out he is the new Maoh or Demon King will rule over 'Shin Makoku' ("True Demonic Kingdom") (眞魔国).

He also meets up with Wolfram, to whom he accidentally becomes engaged through a mishap.

Throughout the series, Yuuri is constantly confronted with the results of even the smallest choices he makes. With a strange power dwelling inside of him, Yuuri becomes a deliverer of justice in the world of Shin Makoku.

(Source: Wikipedia)

Related Manga

Adaptation: Kyou kara Maou!, Kyou kara Maou! R, Kyou kara Maou! 3rd Series
Alternative version: Kyou Kara Ma no Tsuku Jiyuugyou

More characters
Characters

Shibuya, Yuuri

Main

von Bielefeld, Wolfram

Main

Weller, Conrad

Main

Saralegui

Supporting

Greta

Supporting

Gurrier, Josak

Supporting

Shounen Onmyouji

2010-08-23T01:54:00.000-07:00

Shōnen Onmyōji (少年陰陽師^?) is a light novel authored by Mitsuru Yūki and its illustrations done by Sakura Asagi. The novel is currently serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's The Beans. The light novel currently has 25 volumes, including 3 short stories and a side story. A manga acting as a gaiden is being serialized in Beans Ace.

There’s also a series of drama CDs, a PlayStation 2 game and a manga adaptation that was announced in 2005 and a musical as well. Moreover, it was announced in August 2006 in Newtype that the anime adaptation is going to be animated by Studio Deen and the character design was to be done by Shinobu Tagashira. Later, it began its broadcast on October 3, 2006.

The anime also premiered on Animax under the title, Shōnen Onmyoji: The Young Spirit Master. It was aired across its respective networks worldwide, including Hong Kong and Taiwan, also translating and dubbing the series into English for its English language networks in Southeast Asia and South Asia, and other regions.

The anime was licensed for North American distribution by Geneon Entertainment. However, only two volumes of the series have been released, and have yet to receive a full release due to Geneon's departure from the American market. On July 3, 2008, FUNimation announced that it had struck a deal with Geneon to release several of their licenses, including Shōnen Onmyōji.^[1].

Story

The series, set in the Heian era, Abe no Masahiro is the grandson of the great onmyōji, Abe no Seimei. Seimei, who passed his teachings on to his grandson, Masahiro who has lost his sixth sense and the ability to see spirits. Masahiro constantly feels resentful for being in his grandfather's shadow.

Even so, one day, Masahiro meets a fox-like creature which he names Mokkun (もっくん^?) who shows him his true potential powers after fighting a demon. Mokkun is actually Tōda (騰蛇^?), see Teng (mythology), who prefers to be called Guren. He is one of the twelve shikigami called the Shinshō (神将^?), who has pledged his loyalty to Seimei and is helping Masahiro to surpass his grandfather.

Masahiro's dream to surpass his grandfather may not be realised easily as not only does he have to convince the other Shinshō that he is Seimei's true successor, he must also increase his power in order to stop demons coming from China, the other parts of Japan and the Underworld as well as rival onmyōji's who want to destroy Japan. He also has to keep his promise to protect Princess Akiko of the Fujiwara clan.

Sohryuden - Legend of the Dragon Kings

2010-08-19T22:11:00.000-07:00

Sohryuden: Legend of the Dragon Kings (創竜伝 Sōryūden^?) is a set of novels based loosely on Chinese mythology.

It was written by Yoshiki Tanaka in collaboration with Japanese illustrator Yoshitaka Amano (Kodansha Novels edition) and mangaka group Clamp (Kodansha bunkobon). It is written with a humorous and satirical tone. It is published to the 13th volume as of 2005.

On July 24, 2008, at San Diego Comic-Con, North American publisher Del Rey announced that they have secured the license to the Sohryuden novel series.^[1] This will be the first work by Yoshiki Tanaka to be released in English. This was projected to be released in 2009, but has since been seen on online bookstores as having a 2011 release date.

Story

The story features four divine Dragon Kings, each with their own kingdoms: one to the north, one to the east, one to the south, and one to the west. The brothers are reborn in the modern world, complete with supernatural powers and the ability to become the Dragons they descended from. They are content to live ordinary lives until evil creatures come to attack them.

It becomes the mission of the four brothers to defeat the "Four Sisters", four girls from America and the descendants of the "Bulls", before they use their control over technology and the economy to take over the world. However, as this battle begins, the four brothers must also find their place in the world as they flee from the destructive will of the "Bulls".

Witch Hunter Robin

2010-08-19T01:51:00.000-07:00

Witch Hunter Robin (ウィッチハンターロビン^?) is a Japanese anime series created by Sunrise. It follows the STN-J, the Japanese branch of a secret global organization called "SOLOMON" or the "Solomon Toukatsu Nin'idantai" (roughly "Solomon Executive Organization"), abbreviated as "STN".

Solomon fights the harmful use of witchcraft using a database of witches, those who have obtained the power of witchcraft through genetics, and those who carry the gene called "seeds" in order to arrest or eliminate them should their powers "awaken". The series focuses on one of the STN-J's members, Robin Sena.

Bleach: Memories of Nobody

2010-08-17T22:27:00.000-07:00

Bleach: Memories of Nobody is a 2006 animated film adaptation of the anime and manga series Bleach. Directed by Noriyuki Abe and written by Masashi Sogo, the film was first released in Japanese theaters on December 16, 2006. The DVD was released in Japan on September 5, 2007. To promote the film, the opening and closing credits for episodes 106 through 109 of the Bleach anime use footage from the film. The film's theme music is "Sen no Yoru o Koete" (千の夜をこえて Overcome the Thousands of Nights^?) by Aqua Timez. The film had a limited theatrical release in America from June 11 to June 12, 2008, and in Canada on October 20, 2008^[2] and was followed by the DVD release on October 14, 2008.^[3] The film aired on September 5, 2009 on Adult Swim.

Bleach: Fade to Black Kimi no Na o Yobu

2010-08-16T01:43:00.000-07:00

Related anime:
Bleach: Jigoku-hen (movie 4) (sequel)

Alternative title:

BLEACH Fade to Black 君の名を呼ぶ (Japanese)

Bleach: Fade to Black - I Call Your Name

Блич: Растворяясь Во Тьме (Russian)

Genres: action, comedy, drama, fantasy

find similar anime based on genres

Objectionable content: Significant (bloody violence and/or swearing and/or nudity)

Plot Summary: A mysterious reiatsu (spiritual particle) explosion occurs in the center of Seireitei in Soul Society, causing it to be destroyed. At the exact same time, a major change overwhelms Kuchiki Rukia, which leaves her losing something important inside. Urahara Kisuke sends Kurosaki Ichigo to Soul Society to investigate the disturbance. Upon reaching Seireitei, Ichigo is set upon and attacked by shinigamis, once allies, who have no memory of him and Rukia. Now alone and on the run, Ichigo must find the missing Rukia and uncover the cause of the mysterious incident before it's too late.

User Ratings: 388 ratings have been given [details]

Running time: 94 minutes

Vintage: 2008-12-13

Premiere date:

2008-12-13 (Japan)

Releases: We have 1

Ending Theme:

"Koyoi, Tsuki wa Miesu tomo" by Porno Graffitti

Official website:

劇場版『BLEACH ブリーチ』 Fade to Black 君の名を呼ぶ -公式サイト (Japanese)

劇場版BLEACH -ブリーチ- Ⅲ（仮） (Japanese)

In the news 18 times:

2009-12-16 4th Bleach Film, 4th Naruto Shippūden Film Green-Lit

2009-10-27 Japanese Animation DVD Ranking, October 19-25

2009-10-20 Japanese Animation DVD Ranking, October 12-18

2009-10-14 Japanese Animation DVD Ranking, October 5-11

2009-10-07 Japanese Animation DVD Ranking, September 28-October 4 (Updated)

2009-08-24 Adult Swim to Run 1st Bleach Film on September 5

2009-02-01 White Album, Shugo Chara Singles Debut at #2, #4

2009-01-25 Bleach's, Major's Opening Singles Debut at #2, #10

2009-01-18 Japanese Box Office, January 10-11

2009-01-11 Japanese Box Office, January 3-4

[MORE]

Bleach

2010-08-14T22:39:00.000-07:00

Bleach (ブリーチ Burīchi^?, Romanized as BLEACH in Japan) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tite Kubo. Bleach follows the adventures of Ichigo Kurosaki after he obtains the powers of a Soul Reaper - a death personification similar to the Grim Reaper - from Rukia Kuchiki. His newfound powers force him to take on the duties of defending humans from evil spirits and guiding departed souls to the afterlife.

Bleach has been serialized in the Japanese manga anthology Weekly Shōnen Jump since August 2001, and has been collected into 46 tankōbon volumes as of August 2010. Since its publication, Bleach has spawned a substantial media franchise, including an ongoing animated television series that is produced by Studio Pierrot in Japan, two original video animations, three animated feature films, seven rock musicals, and numerous video games, as well as many types of Bleach-related merchandise.

Viz Media obtained foreign television and home video distribution rights to the Bleach anime on March 15, 2006.^[1] Cartoon Network began airing Bleach in the United States as part of its Adult Swim block on September 9, 2006. Viz Media has licensed the manga for English-language publication in the United States and Canada, and has released 31 bound volumes as of June 2010. Viz has also published chapters of Bleach in their Shonen Jump magazine since November 2007. Viz Media released the first Bleach DVD film Bleach: Memories of Nobody in North America on October 14, 2008. Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion is the second and was released on September 15, 2009.

Volumes of the manga have sold over 61 million copies in Japan, and have reached the top of manga sales in the United States.^{[citation needed]} The anime adaptation has been similarly received; it was rated as the fourth most popular anime television series in Japan in 2006, and held a position amongst the top ten anime in the United States from 2006 to 2008. The series received the Shogakukan Manga Award for the shōnen demographic in 2005, and is among the best-selling manga properties in both Japan and the United States.

Baka to test to Shoukanjuu

2010-08-14T03:31:00.000-07:00

Baka to Test to Shōkanjū (バカとテストと召喚獣 lit. Idiots, Tests, and Summoned Beasts^?) is a Japanese light novel series by Kenji Inoue with illustrations by Yui Haga. The first novel in the series was released on January 29, 2007, and as of February 27, 2010, a total of ten volumes, including volume 3.5, volume 6.5, and volume 7.5 have been published by Enterbrain under their Famitsu Bunko publishing imprint. A manga adaptation by Mosuke Mattaku started serialization in the manga magazine Shōnen Ace on April 25, 2009. Another manga adaptation by namo started serialization in the male oriented web comic magazine Famitsu Comic Clear on October 30, 2009. An anime adaptation by Media Factory was announced the same month.^[1] A promotional trailer was released for streaming in August 2009.^[2] The anime began airing on January 7, 2010. Funimation has licensed the anime for release in the United States under the title "Baka and Test - Summon the Beasts""Baka and Test - Summon the Beasts".

Plot

The story centers around a boy named Akihisa Yoshii, also known as the idiot or "Baka" of the titled anime. He attends Fumizuki Academy, a school where the staff rigidly divides the students based on the results of their academic scores. At the start of the school, students are academically sorted by entrance exam test grades. In this case, Class A is filled with the highest-scoring students; therefore, their classroom was filled with many prestigious items (air conditioners, fancy seats, huge spaces, etc.), while the state of Class F is the complete opposite of that, leaving much to be desired.

This academy has something special, where all the students manage to call forth Summoned Beings (Shōkanjū, or "Avatars" in the official English translation^[3]). These Beings are used for battles between the classes to capture the facilities of the classroom. Since Class A is filled with prodigies, they all have strong Summoned Beings, while Class F has drastically weak ones in comparison. These beings are supplied in health by the matter of knowledge in a certain subject. Points vary and could even be supplied greatly in a F student if when calling a battle.

On the day of the placement test, an intelligent girl named Mizuki Himeji suffers from a fever and is unable to complete her test, hence her reigning in a score of zero. As a result, she is pigeonholed into Class F together with Akihisa Yoshii. Akihisa, who worries for her health, pitches an idea to his class to rule over the higher-level classes by doing a Summoned Being War for both Mizuki's sake and to get more and more privileges. Aside from Mizuki (who happens to be the second-ranked student in the year), there is also the class representative Yūji Sakamoto, the bishōnen Kinoshita Hideyoshi, the perverted Tsuchiya Kouta, and the tomboyish Shimada Minami (who, as Akihisa claims, is his worst enemy).

Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage

2010-08-13T03:43:00.000-07:00

Plot Summary: Okajima Rokuro - now known almost exclusively as 'Rock' - was once a typical, put-upon Japanese businessman. Then, on a routine business trip, he was kidnapped and ransomed by the Lagoon Company: a band of mercenary pirates operating out of the crime-riddled city of Roanapur. Abandoned by his bosses, he joined the Lagoon Company. Now he must try and stay afloat amongst the ever-shifting politics of the criminal underworld, while simultaneously avoiding death at the hands of his quick-tempered, gun-toting co-worker, 'Two Hand' Revy.

Related anime:
Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail (OAV) (sequel)

Alternative title:

ブラックラグーン The Second Barrage (Japanese)

Genres: action, drama, psychological

Themes: girls with guns, pirates

Objectionable content: Intense (graphic depictions of sex, drug use, or bloodshed)

Running time: 24 minutes per episode

Number of episodes: 12

Episode titles: We have 12

Vintage:

2006-10-03 to 2006-12-19

2008-01-18 to 2008-04-11 (G4TechTV Canada - Anime Current)

2008-04-08 to 2008-05-13 (USA - Starz Edge)

Releases: We have 9

Opening Theme:

"Red Fraction" by MELL

Ending Theme:

#1: "Don't Look Behind" by EDISON (eps 13-14,16-23)

#2: "The World of Midnight" by Minako Obata (ep 15)

#3: "Peach Headz Addiction" by Breath Frequency (ep 24)

Official website:

Animax South Africa's Official Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage Website

Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage Official Website (Japanese)

BlackLagoonCompany.com (Geneon USA's official website)

Funimation's Official Black Lagoon Website

Trivia: We have 6

In the news 13 times:

2010-06-26 Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail 001 Promo Streamed

2010-05-18 Anime Expo to Host Black Lagoon Creator, 3rd Anime's Debut

2010-04-12 Japan's Animation Blu-ray Disc Ranking, March 22-28

2010-03-06 Japan's Animation Blu-ray Disc Ranking, February 22-28

2009-07-16 Black Lagoon's 3rd Anime to be Video Project in 2010 (Update 2)

2008-08-01 1st Funimation Releases of Former ADV Titles Scheduled

2008-07-16 Third Black Lagoon Anime Project Confirmed

2008-07-08 Funimation's First Releases from Geneon Deal Scheduled

2008-07-03 Funimation Agrees to Distribute Select Geneon Titles

2008-01-19 Black Lagoon 2nd Barrage Premieres on G4TechTV Canada

[MORE]

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Reviews:
Black Lagoon: Second Barrage DVDs 2 and 3
Black Lagoon: Second Barrage DVD 1

DVD

Black Lagoon - Complete Set (DVD) 2009-09-29 (from $32.99)

Black Lagoon: Second Barrage (DVD 1) 2008-08-19 (from $17.99)

Black Lagoon: Second Barrage - Limited Edition (DVD 1) 2008-08-19 (from $23.99)

Black Lagoon: Second Barrage (DVD 2) 2008-09-16 (from $17.99)

Black Lagoon: Second Barrage (DVD 3) 2008-10-28 (from $17.99)

Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage - Box Set (DVD) 2009-04-14 (from $29.49)

Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage (DVD 1) 2007-11-20

Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage (DVD 2) 2008-01-22

Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage + Artbox (DVD 1) 2007-11-20

Black Lagoon

2010-08-11T23:46:00.000-07:00

Black Lagoon (ブラック・ラグーン Burakku Ragūn^?) is a manga series written and illustrated by Rei Hiroe, and published in Shogakukan's Sunday GX since 2002. An animated television series based on the manga aired in Japan from April 8, 2006, to June 24, 2006, totaling twelve episodes. A second season, subtitled "The Second Barrage", ran for twelve weeks starting on October 2, 2006. A third season was announced on the cover of the first volume of the novel adaptation.^[2]

The English language version of the manga is distributed by Viz Media, and the first volume was released on August 12, 2008. On July 3, 2008, Geneon Entertainment and Funimation Entertainment announced an agreement to distribute select titles in North America. While Geneon Entertainment will still retain the license, Funimation Entertainment will assume exclusive rights to the manufacturing, marketing, sales and distribution of select titles. Black Lagoon was one of several titles involved in the deal.^[3] At Anime Expo 2010, Funimation announced that they have licensed Roberta's Blood Trail and will be released in 2011.

Plot

The story follows a team of pirates/mercenaries known as Lagoon Company, that smuggles goods in and around the seas of Southeast Asia in the early 1990s.^[5] Their base of operations is located in the fictional city of Roanapur in Thailand, and they transport goods in the 80-foot (24 m) Elco-type PT boat Black Lagoon. When on land, they move around and conduct business using Benny's 1968 Plymouth Road Runner, although in episode 24 he's seen driving a 1965 Pontiac GTO after his Roadrunner is blown up in episode 17. Lagoon Company does business with various clients, but has a particularly friendly relationship with the Russian crime syndicate Hotel Moscow. The team takes on a variety of missions—which may involve violent firefights, hand-to-hand combat, and nautical battles—in various Southeast Asian locations and when not doing much, the members of the Lagoon Company spend much of their down time at The Yellow Flag, a bar in Roanapur which is often destroyed in firefights.

Battle Programmer Shirase

2010-08-11T03:29:00.000-07:00

Battle Programmer Shirase (BPS バトルプログラマーシラセ Bīpīesu Batoru Puroguramā Shirase^?) is an anime TV series aired in 2003 and produced by AIC.The original series spans 5 story arcs across 15 episodes of 12 minutes each.

Plot summary

The story of BPS revolves around a "freelance programmer" named Akira Shirase. He's a very talented, yet mysterious computer programmer. Because of his incredible abilities, he's contacted by several individuals (curiously, all of them are very similar persons named Akizuki Kaoru) to do all sorts of strange computer-related hacking/security jobs. He's a very quiet guy who lives alone in a small apartment near his niece's house. At first, the episodes revolved around some freelance jobs that highlighted his abilities - however, later on in the series, characters came back and offered help or plot twists. The school that Shirase had gone to had been hinted throughout the series, and it finally made an appearance in the last episode, when some of the characters began to show their hidden relationships to the others. However, the series was not continued.

Bamboo Blade

2010-08-08T23:55:00.000-07:00

Bamboo Blade (バンブーブレード Banbū Burēdo^?) is a Japanese manga series written by Masahiro Totsuka, and illustrated by Aguri Igarashi. The manga was first serialized in the Japanese seinen manga magazine Young Gangan starting December 3, 2004. The manga has been licensed for distribution in North America by Yen Press.^[1] An anime adaptation by AIC A.S.T.A was broadcast in Japan between October 2, 2007 and April 2, 2008 on TV Tokyo. The anime has been licensed for distribution in North America by Funimation. The series tells the story of Toraji Ishida, a luckless high school Kendo instructor, who is challenged by his former upperclassman, also a kendo instructor, to a competition between their female students. The bet inspires Toraji to gather and train a team of five girls. Fortuitously, at this time he meets Tamaki Kawazoe, a gifted young female kendo practitioner.

Asura Cryin'

2010-08-08T04:00:00.000-07:00

Asura Cryin' (アスラクライン Asura Kurain^?) is a Japanese light novel series by Gakuto Mikumo, with illustrations by Nao Watanuki. The novel series begin on July 10, 2005, and ended on November 10, 2009, with thirteen volumes in total published by ASCII Media Works under their Dengeki Bunko imprint. A manga adaptation by Ryō Akizuki started serialization in ASCII Media Works' shōnen manga magazine Dengeki Daioh on September 27, 2008. An anime adaptation began airing in Japan in April 2009.^[1]^[2]

A semi-serious school action story revolving around the main protagonist, Tomoharu Natsume. He is haunted by his childhood friend, Misao Minakami, who became a ghost ever since he barely survived an airplane accident three years earlier. Tomoharu Natsume takes the opportunity to live on his own when he enters high school in his new place of residence, Meiou-tei, and starts enjoying a carefree high school life. His life changed when a beautiful girl named Kurosaki Shuri appears with a trunk which she claimed Tomoharu's brother, Naotaka Natsume, asked her to deliver to him. The presence of the trunk causes the appearance of Takatsuki Kanade, a girl dressed like a shrine maiden who is after the trunk. Tomoharu is in possession of the trunk, which reveals secrets about the world they live in.

Asu no Yoichi

2010-08-06T03:38:00.000-07:00

Samurai Harem: Asu no Yoichi (明日のよいち! Asu no Yoichi!^?, lit. Tomorrow's Yoichi) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yū Minamoto. It has been serialized in Monthly Shōnen Champion since October 2006. The manga is licensed and released in Chinese by Sharp Point Press. The manga is licensed in North America by Tokyopop as Samurai Harem: Asu no Yoichi!.

It has been adapted into an anime series by AIC and was broadcast in Japan on TBS between January 8, 2009 and March 26, 2009.

After learning martial arts in the mountains for 17 years under his father's teachings, Yoichi Karasuma's father orders Yoichi to learn martial arts with the Ikaruga family in the city, as he has nothing left to teach him. The current head of the Ukiha Divine Wind Style Swordplay school of martial arts, Ibuki Ikaruga, and her siblings gradually accept Yoichi as a freeloader at their dojo. In addition to domestic problems, Yoichi deals with Washizu's jealousy of Ibuki and Yoichi's supposed relationship and his school life.

Asatte no Houkou

2010-08-05T20:46:00.000-07:00

Asatte no Hōkō (あさっての方向.^?, lit. A Direction of the Day After Tomorrow) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by J-ta Yamada. The manga was serialized in Mag Garden's magazine Comic Blade Masamune between March 3, 2005 and June 15, 2007; five bound volumes were released in Japan. The manga was adapted into an anime series produced by J.C.Staff, which aired in Japan between October and December 2006. The story is about a young girl who grows older into an adult, and an adult woman who becomes younger, turning into a child. The anime is licensed by Sentai Filmworks, and a complete series boxset will be distributed by Section23 Films on DVD on April 13, 2010.

Asatte no Hōkō follows the lives of Karada Iokawa, a young girl who is set to join junior high school after summer is over, and Shōko Nogami, a young woman who has just returned from studying abroad, who also happens to be the former girlfriend of Karada's older brother. The day Shōko returns, she is dragged by Karada to the beach with her brother and a couple of their friends since she used to know Karada's brother Hiro several years before.

After becoming irritated with Hiro for leaving her alone in the United States, she purposefully tells Karada that her ribbons are childish. This upsets her greatly because she doesn't like to be treated as a child. Later that same day, Karada is found by Shōko praying at a shrine, wishing to become older. Amazingly, Karada's wish becomes true and she instantly transforms into a young woman. Incidentally, Shōko then has her adulthood taken away from her and she reverts back to about eleven years old.

Aria The OVA: Arietta (OVA)

2010-08-03T23:11:00.000-07:00

Synopsis: Akari has a dream one night where she became a Prima after Alicia leaves the company. Waking up feeling extremely melancholy, she questions why Alicia chose her as her disciple. Alicia takes Akari down memory lane, and tells Akari a heartwarming story of teenage angst, friendship and courage.

The Highlights
Animation: Neo-Venezia has never looked so good.
Storytelling: Executed beautifully.
Teen Alicia: More please!
Yuri undertones: Nice.

Vintage: 2007-09-21

Releases: We have 1

Opening Theme:

"Nanairo no Sora o (七色の空を)" by SONOROUS

Ending Theme:

"Ashita, Yuugure Made (明日、夕暮れまで)" by Erino Hazuki

Official website:

ARIA The OVA ~ARIETTA~ Special Page (Japanese)

Right Stuf/Nozomi's Official Aria Website

In the news 2 times:

2009-07-02 Right Stuf Adds Aria the Origination & Arietta, Antique Bakery, Junjou Romantica (Updated)

2008-05-01 Right Stuf Licenses Aria TV Anime

Aria The Origination

2010-08-02T23:37:00.000-07:00

Plot Summary: It is the year 2301. Man has terraformed Mars into a beautiful water planet, and has renamed it "Aqua". Built upon it is Neo-Venezia, an exact replica of old Venice, with beautiful waterways, palaces and plazas. Akari Mizunashi, a 15 year old girl arrives from Man-Home (formerly known as Earth) to become a gondolier trainee at a company called Aria Company. The company is lead by Alicia Florence, one of the three best gondoliers, also known as the three Water Fairies. Trough hard training, Akari aims to become a Prima herself. Many encounters and mysterious events are sure to follow on this planet of miracles.

Aria The Natural

2010-08-01T23:32:00.000-07:00

Development

According to her original afterword to Aqua volume 2, Kozue Amano's goal in writing the series was to have readers find happiness in small things and so not focus on their failures.^[57] In another afterword, she stated that writing Aria has forced her to pay attention to the four seasons and that she hopes the series shows her appreciation for them.^[58] Amano developed a 24 month calendar system for Aqua,^[59] based on Mars's real orbital period of 668.6 local days (see Timekeeping on Mars), making every season 6 months long; Amano marked the passage of time and the seasons throughout the series through such means as Akari explicitly telling her correspondent the time of year^[60] and depicting seasonal observances such as fireworks at the end of summer (Aqua volume 2, Navigation 9 and Aria volume 4, Navigation 20), New Year's Eve (Aria volume 2, Navigation 9), or birthdays of characters (Aria volume 10, Navigation 46).

In the universe of Aqua and Aria, Neo-Venezia's builders modeled it after the city of Venice before its demise in the 21st century,^[61] including counterparts to such public landmarks as the Piazza San Marco and the Bridge of Sighs. In creating Neo-Venezia, Amano also based some of the fictional locations of the series on real Ventian locations.^[62] Examples include:

The Aria Company headquarters corresponds to the location of a vaporetto stop.^[63]
The Himeya Company headquarters is based on the Danieli Hotel, located on the southern promonade, near Piazza San Marco.^[64]

Other locations on Aqua that Amano based on real places include the Japanese shrine visited in Aria volume 1, based on Fushimi Inari-taisha near Kyoto.^[65]

Adaptation as an anime

As part of the preparations for first season of the anime adaptation, the production crew led by director Jun'ichi Satō made a trip to Venice for location research. As a result of filming the movements of gondoliers sculling, they had to redraw the animation of undines rowing in the first episodes to make it realistic.^[66] Satō reported that seeing a gondolier use his paddle to toss a bottle out of the water inspired the scene in episode 11 of Aria the Animation where Alicia does the same with a ball, which was not in the manga.^[67] As part of the production company's commitment to adapting the manga faithfully and gesture of consideration toward the seiyū (voice actors), they provided the collected volumes of Aqua and Aria to date, rather than requiring them to purchase their own or giving stacks of photocopies.^[68]^[69]

According to Jun'ichi Satō, it was a struggle to fit the available material into the 13 episodes of the first season, which focused closely on Akari.^[70] The title of the second season, Aria the Natural, came about because he had 26 episodes to work with, letting him treat the story in a more "natural" manner,^[71] allowing the series to develop other characters more.^[72]

Choro Club and Takeshi Senoo composed 30 works of music for the first season of the anime and 15 for the second.^[73] Jun'ichi Satō and sound designer Yasuno Satō assigned Choro Club and Takeshi Senoo abstract themes instead of plot points,^[74]^[75] which was an unfamiliar method for the composers, who did not have much experience working for anime shows. Takeshi Senoo and the three members of Choro Club make a cameo appearance as musicians in episode 23 of Aria the Natural.^[76] Jun'ichi Satō has commented that the lyrics for the songs "Barracole" and "Coccolo", sung by Eri Kawai as the voice of Athena Glory, were gibberish. The lyrics for the first two seasons' theme songs were also initially meant to be gibberish,^[77] but after reading the manga Eri Kawai decided to write Japanese lyrics: "I read the original manga and wrote the lyrics, using my image of Neo-Venezia as a starting point. Then did my best to match words that flowed with the melody."^[78] Kawai made demo recordings for Yui Makino as a guide for her performance of the theme songs.^[79] Takeshi Senoo has described "Smile Again," the second ending theme song of Aria the Natural, as a song about the end of summer, and envisioned it being sung by Erino Hazuki as Akari.^[80]

Hell Girl season 1

2010-08-01T03:54:00.000-07:00

Hell Girl (地獄少女 Jigoku Shōjo^?), also known as Jigoku Shōjo: Girl from Hell is an anime series, produced by Aniplex and Studio Deen. It premiered across Japan on numerous television stations, including Animax, Tokyo MX, MBS and others, between October 4, 2005 and April 4, 2006. Following the success of the first season, the series was followed soon after into a second, Jigoku Shōjo Futakomori (地獄少女二籠^?), which premiered October 7, 2006 across Japan on Animax.^{[citation needed]} A live-action television series adaptation started airing in Japan on Nippon Television from November 4, 2006.^{[citation needed]} A third season of the anime, further continuing the series, was first announced on the mobile version of the series' official website Jigoku Tsūshin.^[1] The official title of the third season was announced to be Jigoku Shōjo Mitsuganae (地獄少女三鼎^?).^[2] and began airing on Japanese TV October 4, 2008.^[3]

^Plot

Most episodes are self-contained short stories in which the series narrates the suffering of a different individual caused by one or more antagonists. In general during each arc, the protagonists' dramas are explained in detail from the start of their grudges, through the escalation of their torment until it becomes unbearable and they resort to accessing the Hell Correspondence website. Although in general, the client gives the antagonist a chance, he or she usually ends up pulling the string on his or her doll and sending the antagonist to hell. Once they have pulled the string, before taking the antagonist to hell, Ai Enma punishes the person for his or her sins with the help of her companions.

In the first season, the story soon follows a journalist named Shibata Hajime, a former blackmailer, and his daughter Tsugumi who shares a strange connection with the Hell Girl as they investigate the truth behind the Hell Girl. In the second season, a mysterious young girl from Hell, named Kikuri who is able to travel freely between Earth and the Twilight realm where Ai resides, is introduced. Later, the plot centers around Takuma Kurebayashi, a boy who is blamed by his townsfolk for causing disappearances around the town that are in reality caused by the townsfolk using the Hell Correspondence. In the third season, some time after Ai's death, Kikuri returns to recruit Ai's assistants along with a yōkai named Yamawaro, who accepts an old offer from Ai to become her fourth assistant. The story follows Ai's mysterious revival from death and subsequent inhabitation of the body of a young schoolgirl, Yuzuki Mikage.

Aria The Animation

2010-07-30T02:24:00.000-07:00

Aria (アリア^?) is a utopian science fantasy manga by Kozue Amano (天野こずえ Amano Kozue^?). The series was originally titled Aqua (アクア^?) when it was published by Enix in the magazine Monthly Stencil, being retitled when it moved to Mag Garden's magazine Comic Blade.^[2] Aqua was serialized in Stencil from 2001 to 2002 and collected in two tankōbon volumes. Aria was serialized in Comic Blade from November 2002 to April 2008 and collected in twelve volumes. The series has been adapted as an anime television series, with a first season broadcast in 2005, a second season in 2006, an OVA released September 2007, and a third season in 2008 that ended around the same time as the manga serialization.^[3]

ADV Manga released English translations of the first three volumes of Aria in 2004, before dropping the license. Tokyopop then acquired the rights to publish the English translation of Aqua as well as Aria. The Tokyopop editions of Aqua were released in October 2007 and February 2008, and the Tokyopop version of Aria volume one was released in January 2008, with publication on-going. The anime is licensed in North America by The Right Stuf International, which released all three seasons a box sets under its Nozomi Entertainment imprint between 30 September 2008 and 2 March 2010.

The series is set in the 24th century on a terraformed Mars, and follows a young woman named Akari as she trains as an apprentice gondolier. The series has been praised for its calm pacing, optimistic worldview, beautiful art, and, for the anime, the quality of the soundtrack.

Aqua and Aria take place in the early 24th century, starting in 2301 AD, in the city of Neo-Venezia on the planet Aqua—formerly Mars, which was renamed after being terraformed into a habitable planet covered in oceans around 150 years ago.^[4] Neo-Venezia, based on Venice in both architecture and atmosphere,^[5] is a harbor city of narrow canals instead of streets, traveled by unmotorized gondolas.^[6]

At the start of Aqua, a young woman named Akari arrives from Manhome (formerly Earth) to become a trainee gondolier with Aria Company, one of the three most prestigious water-guide companies in the city. Her dream is to become an undine, a gondolier who acts as tour guide (see Terms below). As she trains, Akari befriends her mentor Alicia, trainees and seniors from rival companies - Aika, Alice, Akira and Athena and others characters in the Neo-Venezia city. Aqua covers Akari's arrival on Aqua and her early training as a Pair, or apprentice, while Aria continues her training as a Single, or journeyman, culminating in the graduation of her, Aika, and Alice as full Prima undines.

Each chapter is a slice of life episode of Akari's exploration of the worlds of gondoliering, Neo-Venezia, and Aqua itself.^[5] Amano frequently uses several pages of lush art to depict an environment, showing the wonder of both everyday activities as well as one-of-a-kind events. It has been described by reviewers as very similar in tone and effect to Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō

Beck

2010-07-29T01:58:00.000-07:00

Beck is a manga by Harold Sakuishi published by Kodansha in Monthly Shōnen Magazine. It was adapted as an anime television series with the title BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad (the subtitle being the name by which the band is known in the United States, in the story, possibly to avoid confusion with Beck Hansen despite being named after). It tells the story of a group of Japanese teenagers who form a rock band. The manga was licensed in North America by Tokyopop, but after the release of the 12th volume in June 2008, the manga went on a hiatus.The series has also spawned three guidebooks. The manga won the 2002 Kodansha Manga Award for shōnen^[1].

The 26-episode anime television series was aired on Japan's TV Tokyo from October 2004 to March 2005. It was directed by Osamu Kobayashi, animated by Madhouse and produced by Takeshi Shukuri and Yoshimi Nakajima.

A live-action film adaptation will be released in 2010. The film stars Hiro Mizushima as Ryusuke and Takeru Satoh as Koyuki.^[2]

Main article: List of BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad episodes

Yukio, known by his friends as "Koyuki", is a regular 14-year-old Japanese boy who enters junior high school with two childhood acquaintances. One is a pervert, and ironically the other is a highly sought after female student. Koyuki's boring life is changed when he saves an odd-looking dog, named Beck, from some kids. Beck's owner turns out to be an emerging rock musician, Ryûsuke Minami, who soon influences Koyuki to start playing the guitar, and even gives one to him. The story focuses on the trials and tribulations of their rock band named BECK, and Koyuki's relationships with the members of the band, in particular Ryûsuke Minami and his sister, Maho Minami.

Allison & Lillia

2010-07-28T01:12:00.000-07:00

Allison & Lillia (アリソンとリリア Arison to Riria^?) is a Japanese television anime series adapted from the light novel series Allison and Lillia and Treize by Keiichi Sigsawa. The anime, produced by Madhouse and directed by Masayoshi Nishida, aired in Japan on the NHK television network between April 3 and October 2, 2008, and ran for 26 episodes. The first half of the anime covered the Allison novels, while the second half covered the Lillia and Treize novels.

Allison & Lillia's story covers the story from the Allison light novels for the first half of the series, and switches to the story from the Lillia and Treize light novels for the second half. Allison & Lillia is set in a world with one continent split down the middle from north-south by the towering Central Mountains, and the vast Lutoni River. Due to the geography, two cultures developed on either side of the divide. The eastern region is formally known as the Roxcheanuk Confederation, though more commonly known as Roxche (ロクシェ Rokushe^?). The entire region comprises sixteen countries which all speak a common language. The western region is formally known as the United Kingdom of Bezel Iltoa, though better known as Sou Beil (スー･ベー･イル Sū Bē Iru^?). This region comprises the two kingdoms of Bezel and Iltoa which both serve to bring together a small number of countries under the same common language as with that of the eastern region. There are very few blond-haired people in Sou Beil. At the time the story begins, it is year 3287 on the fictional universe's World Calendar during summer. By this time, the two regions have been at war on and off for most of history, with the most recent hostilities breaking out some thirty-five years prior to the start of the series. An armistice has been in effect for the past thirty years, with only one major conflict during this time, creating a buffer zone thirty kilometers on either side of the river. The industry and technology of the world are roughly equivalent to the 1930s.

The first half of the story centers around Allison Whittington, a young blonde pilot in the Roxche Air Force who has experience with biplanes. She comes to visit her good friend Wil Schultz (short for Wilhelm, so pronounced Vill) during his summer vacation at Rowe Sneyum Senior School's dormitory after being away for six months. Wil, who resides in Roxche, enjoys reading books, has a photographic memory, and is a good marksman. The two get involved in three different adventures over a period of a year where they meet new people and form important bonds.

The second half of the story starts about fifteen years after the conclusion of the first half. The story centers around Lilliane Schultz, or Lillia for short, the daughter of Allison and Wil. Wil has in this time assumed a new identity, Travas, under the Sou Beil military, though still dates Allison. Lillia's companion is her childhood friend Treize, son of Carr Benedict and Fiona; Treize has a twin sister named Merielle. Lillia's and Treize's adventure together begins during her summer vacation from school.

Avenger

2010-07-27T01:38:00.000-07:00

Avenger (アヴェンジャー^?) is an anime series, produced by Bandai Visual, Bee Train and Xebec, and directed by Koichi Mashimo. It is set on post-apocalyptic colonized Mars. The series premiered across Japan between 1 October 2003 and 24 December 2003 on the TV Tokyo network. It was later licensed for North American distribution by Bandai's distributive unit across the region, Bandai Entertainment.

Synopsis

The story is set on a colonized Mars at some unspecified point in the future. The majority of the human population is divided up into a number of small domed city-states. Those who live outside the domes in the harsh wildernesses of the planet are known as Barbaroi. Resources are scarce, and supplies are divided out between cities based on the outcome of gladiatorial battles between representative fighters from each. Adding to the problems of the colonists, no children have been born on Mars for a decade. The cause of the inferitily is unknown, but people have turned to robots called dolls as a substitute for the presence of children in their lives. And a red moon, Earth's moon, hangs over Mars, drawn towards the red planet after the destruction of Earth and ravaging it with lunar storms caused by gravitational fluctuations between Mars and its unwelcome satellite.

The protagonist of the story is Layla, a barbaroi gladiator with a mysterious past and follows her quest to defeat Volk, the ruler of Mars. She is accompanied on her journey by Nei, a strange "doll", and Speedy, a doll breeder (or repairman).

Angel Heart

2010-07-25T22:21:00.000-07:00

Plot

A young girl stands on top of a building in Shinjuku as she receives a call from her handler. The handler congratulates the girl, known as "Glass Heart" with a job well done regarding her latest kill, which her handler refers to as her 50th. Glass Heart recounts the day's events. She had just killed a man sitting on a park bench with a silenced gun. As she was leaving the park, a small girl runs in with some ice cream and Glass Heart realizes that she has just killed the father of a young girl. With that she jumps off the building, impaling her chest on the iron spiked fence below.

At the same time, Kaori Makimura is running late for an appointment to take wedding photos with her husband, the "City Hunter" Ryo Saeba. When she sees a girl about to be run over by a truck, she jumps and pushes the girl out of the way before the truck hits her. A short while later, she is declared brain dead and her heart is harvested for organ donation, as she had a donor card on her when she died. However, the Organization, needing a heart for their assassin, steal Kaori's heart while it is in transit and implants it into Glass Heart's body.

Glass Heart is transported to Taiwan, where she remains in a coma for a year. During that time, she is haunted by the images of the people she has killed, along with the images of the donor Kaori as well as Ryo Saeba of whom she does not know. She wakes up after one year to find out who these people are. She travels back to Shinjuku, and after several close events, manages to track down the "City Hunter". He has retired from his role since his wife's death. Upon finding that Glass Heart is the recipient of Kaori's heart, Ryo decides to adopt her as his daughter, and is also given a name provided by her real father: Xiang Ying. The former mercenary now tries to help the former assassin move on with a normal life in the outside world.

Ah My Goddess (OVA)

2010-07-19T23:21:00.000-07:00

Oh My Goddess! (ああっ女神さまっ Ā Megami-sama^?), also known as Ah! My Goddess!, is a Japanese seinen manga series written and illustrated by Kōsuke Fujishima. It premiered in the September 1988 issue of Afternoon where it is still being serialized. As of December 2009, the individual chapters have been collected and published in 40 tankōbon volumes by Kodansha.The series centers on the relationship between college sophomore Keiichi Morisato and the goddess Belldandy.

As the manga's popularity increased, a five-episode original video animation (OVA) was made based on it. With the OVA's success, the stage was set for two TV series and a film to follow.

DearS

2010-07-19T03:45:00.000-07:00

DearS (ディアーズ Diāzu^?) is a manga series co-written and illustrated by Banri Sendo and Shibuko Ebara, credited under their pen name Peach-Pit. It was serialized monthly by MediaWorks in their magazine Dengeki Comic Gao! from March 2002 to December 17, 2005 and was later published into a ten volume set by the company. The manga was licensed and translated into English Tokyopop. A 13-episode anime was adapted by MSJ and a PlayStation 2 video game was produced by MediaWorks.

Plot

Exactly one year prior to the beginning of DearS, humanity made unprecedented contact with extraterrestrial life. Forced to crash land into Tokyo Bay when, en route to their home planet of Thanatos, their spacecraft breaks down, 150 anthropoids become cordially naturalized into Japanese society, affectionately being nicknamed "DearS"; a portmanteau of the words "Dear" and "Friends".

Takeya Ikuhara is a temperamental, seventeen-year-old Japanese student attending fictional Koharu High School with a sharp bias and discrimination against the DearS. Based on a childhood scare, he believes the aliens are fake, worthless beings that have generated nationwide overhype.

On his way home from school he discovers a homeless DearS who, following syncope and much to his annoyance, he feeds and shelters in his apartment. The girl, who he nicknames Ren, infantile and friendly, grows obsequious and dependent upon Takeya; a responsibility he tries to disassociate himself from. Her oblivious tenacity keeps her around however, and over time, noticing Ren's genuine care and empathy for him, Takeya has a more accepting change of heart. Unfortunately, because she is deemed defective, DearS headquarters warrants her arrested.

Neo Genesis Evangelion

2010-07-16T02:55:00.000-07:00

The Neon Genesis Evangelion (新世紀エヴァンゲリオン Shin Seiki Evangerion^?) franchise is an umbrella of Japanese media properties generally owned by the anime studio Gainax. It has grossed over 150 billion yen since 1995. The central (and original) works of the franchise feature an apocalyptic mecha action story which revolves around the efforts by the paramilitary organization Nerv to fight monstrous beings called Angels. Nerv's primary weapon against the Angels are giant mecha called Evangelions which are piloted by select teenagers, one of whom, Shinji Ikari, is the primary protagonist. Other works deviate from this theme to varying degrees, focusing more on romantic interactions between the characters, side stories which did not appear in the original works, and/or reimaginings of the conflicts from the original works.

2010-07-14T23:35:00.000-07:00

Code-E is a Japanese anime television series animated by Studio DEEN. It is based on an original concept by Ichiro Sakaki and directed by Toshiyuki Kato. The first season consists of twelve episodes and first aired in Japan on July 3, 2007 to September 23, 2007. A second season titled Mission-E began airing in July 2008 A new lead character named Maori Kimizuka will be joining Chinami in the sequel.

Plot

Chinami Ebihara is a high school student who emits electromagnetic waves when her emotions run wild. The waves affects electronics such as cell phones, televisions, and computers. Her ability forces her family to move from one location to another. In the year 2017, the Ebihara family moves yet again. At school, a boy named Kotaro Kannagi notices her ability and asks if he can study her. Kotaro's interest in Chinami is met with jealousy and misunderstanding by Kotaro's childhood friend, Kujo Sonomi.

Akagi

2010-07-13T02:00:00.000-07:00

Akagi (アカギ^?) is a mahjong centric Japanese manga, written by Nobuyuki Fukumoto and first published in 1992. It's featured in the weekly magazine Modern Mahjong, and is a prequel to the author's previous work Ten, in which Akagi's titular character also appears. Due to its popularity, the manga has been adopted into two live action movies, and a 26 episode anime series which aired in Japan in the fall of 2005.

Story

The story revolves around the Mahjong gambling exploits of Shigeru Akagi. After a death-defying game of chicken, Akagi nonchalantly enters a Yakuza Mahjong parlor to shake the cops' trail. Even unfamiliar with the rules of Mahjong, his gambling intuition is enough to save a small time gambler, Nangou, and grant him a seat at the gambling table. As the night progresses, the stakes are raised both within the game and for Akagi, who is under the suspicion of local police. However, Akagi overcomes the situation with his tactics, defiant of both life and chance. When he leaves the gambling house, no one present is in doubt of his genius.

During the story arc, Akagi faces and defeats several opponents in Mahjong, each with their own, distinct style of play. Akagi's genius allows him victory, ultimately defeating the "behind the stage king" of Japan and becoming a legend.

Bartender

2010-07-11T23:57:00.000-07:00

Bartender follows the nightlife of Ryū Sasakura, a bartending prodigy who is said to mix the best cocktails anyone has ever tasted. Sasakura bides his time in a bar named Eden Hall, hidden in a nook of the Ginza district in downtown Tokyo. It is said that normal people cannot simply find and enter Eden Hall, but they must be invited in by the host. Over the course of the anime, various figures of high and low stature, all of who share unusual troubles and heavy burdens, are "invited" into Eden Hall and are treated to Sasakura's fine drinks, which, with guidance from the young bartender, lead the customers to reflect on their lives and decide on a course of action to tackle with their problems.

Prince of Tennis

2010-07-11T02:29:00.000-07:00

The series is primarily set in Tokyo, and centers around Ryoma Echizen, a tennis prodigy who attends Seishun Academy (青春学園 Seishun Gakuen^?), or Seigaku (青学^?) for short, a private school famous for its strong tennis club and talented players. Ryoma quickly defeats numerous upperclassmen shortly after entrance to secure himself a spot as one of the team's regulars. In pursuit of their ultimate goal of winning the National Middle School Tennis Championship, members of the team make new friends while learning and mastering increasingly complex techniques. Ryoma also begins to develop his own style of tennis, and eventually realizes what the sport really means to him.

Full Moon Wo Sagashite

2010-07-07T05:03:00.000-07:00

12-year-old Mitsuki Koyama is a talented singer who dreams of becoming a pop idol, but she is afflicted with sarcoma, which is curable only through a surgery that could cost her vocal cords and her ability to sing. The tumor in her throat also affects her ability to breathe well and sing loudly. On top of that, her grandmother hates music, and is completely opposed to Mitsuki's wish to audition. Her dreams seem impossible to achieve, until one day she is visited by two shinigami whom only she can see. Without knowing Mitsuki can see and hear them, they discuss how she only has one year left to live.

Realizing she cannot wait any longer to fulfill her dream, she runs away from her house and the shinigami to try to audition for a singing competition. However, the shinigami catch her before she is able to audition. Mitsuki moves one of the shinigami, Takuto, to make a deal with her—if she goes quietly when her one year is up, he will help her become a singer so that she may leave the world without any regrets. He gives her the ability to transform into a healthy 16-year-old self who is not encumbered by a throat tumor. Though there is much competition, she is able to win over the judges with her enthusiasm for singing and her excellent voice. To conceal her true identity, she chooses the stage name Fullmoon.

Mitsuki decided to become a singer two years before the shinigami's arrival, when she was 10 years old. She made a promise with Eichi Sakurai, then a 16-year-old boy she met in her orphanage, that the next time they met, they would both be closer to their dreams. Eichi wanted to become an astronomer and Mitsuki wanted to become a singer. Shortly after, Eichi was adopted and emigrated to America before Mitsuki could express her feelings for him. Mitsuki hopes that by becoming a famous idol, Eichi will be able to hear her sing and realize her feelings for him.

Shortly after her first audition to become a singer, the plot of the manga and anime of this series separate. The two stories share common themes, but events develop differently as the series advances. In addition, several of the characters in the anime have different histories and personalities from their manga counterparts.

hack// tasogare no udewa densetsu

2010-07-01T03:50:00.000-07:00

.hack//Legend of the Twilight Bracelet (.hack//黄昏の腕輪伝説 Tasogare no Udewa Densetsu^?) is a science fiction manga series written by Tatsuya Hamazaki and drawn by Rei Izumi. The twenty-two chapters of .hack//Legend of the Twilight Bracelet were serialized in the Japanese magazine Comptiq, and published in three tankōbon by Kadokawa Shoten from July 2002 to April 2004. Set in a fictional MMORPG, The World, the series focuses on a pair of twins, Rena and Shugo, who receive chibi avatars in the design of the legendary .hackers known as Kite and BlackRose. After Shugo is given the Twilight Bracelet by a mysterious girl, the two embark on a quest to find Aura and unravel the mystery of the Twilight Bracelet.

The series was adapted into a twelve episode anime of the same name directed by Koichi Mashimo and Koji Sawai, and produced by Bee Train.

Tokyopop licensed the manga series for an English-language release in North America. It published the three volumes from September 2003 to April 2004. Bandai Entertainment licensed the anime series for North American broadcast. The word "Bracelet" in the title was removed in North America, shortening the title to .hack//Legend of the Twilight.

Plot

Set in a fictional MMORPG called The World, the series follows twins Shugo and Rena. After winning a contest, Rena is given a pair of chibi avatars in the design of the legendary .hackers, Kite and BlackRose. After an odd occurrence, a mysterious AI named Aura gives Shugo the Twilight Bracelet, an item that both aids and hinders him. Rena and Shugo embark on an adventure to find Aura and unravel the mystery of the Twilight Bracelet.

Along the way, Shugo and Rena befriend Mireille, a rare item hunter; the fierce Ouka,^{[notes 1]}; and Hotaru, a peaceful girl. While waiting for an event to start, they encounter a strange girl named Zefie, who is lured to Shugo because she believes the bracelet smells like her mother, Aura. It is later realized that Zefie is a vagrant AI - an AI that acts independently outside of the parameters of the game. Zefie's presence upsets many, including the Cobalt Knights, a group of administrators that follow the rule "If you can't control it, delete it" to an extreme.

Meanwhile, Balmung, another administrator in The World, encounters problems of his own. The suits, CC Corp's upper tier executives, are displeased with what little action Balmung has taken against Shugo and his illegal item, the Twilight Bracelet. Balmung's administrative duties are revoked and he is fired.

Kamui, the leader of the Cobalt Knights, begins her pursuit of Shugo and company. She captures Shugo and his friends, but allows Mireille, Ouka, and Hotaru to leave after they promise they will not interfere with the workings of The World. Shugo, Rena, and Zefie are left in a cell together. Rena and Shugo disagree over whether to stay until the end. After they come to an agreement to stay and fight, Zefie opens the door to the cell, freeing them.

In the outside world, Ouka, Hotaru, and Mireille decide to return to The World and help Shugo. Kazu, a friend of Balmung, meets up with Shugo and party, carrying "Helba's Key," the key to an area called the Net Slums. Kamui shows up, demanding the key to the Net Slums with her knights in tow. Shugo and Kamui face off, which results in Kamui breaking her axe. Zefie tells her that everyone in The World is blessed. Shugo activates Helba's key and transports himself, Rena, Mireille, Hotaru, and Zefie to the Net Slums. Once at the Net Slums, the party is confronted by Balmung, refuses to allow the party to proceed to Aura unless Shugo can damage him. Shugo struggles, but manages to strike Balmung. Pleased, Balmung hands Shugo the virus cores he'll need to see Aura; he also explains that only three people can go see Aura. Hotaru and Mireille say their goodbyes to Zefie, Shugo, and Rena as they activate the virus cores and meet Aura. The manga ends with Zefie being reunited with her mother, and Shugo telling Aura of his adventures in The World'.'

Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne

2010-06-30T03:29:00.000-07:00

16-year-old high-school gymnast Maron Kusakabe is visited by the angel Finn Fish, who gives her a task. God's power is scattered across the Earth, and if He does not gather enough by the turn of the millennium, He will die. To block Him, the Devil has sent out agents to gather His power, which is the beauty in human hearts, in the form of chess pieces. With Fin's assistance, Maron transforms into the reincarnation of Jeanne D'Arc in order to hunt Demons hidden within works of art. When Maron defeats a Demon, the artwork disappears, and to the outside world it is as if she has stolen it, and she becomes known as a kaitō ("phantom-thief"). Maron's best friend is Miyako, the daughter of a police detective in charge of Jeanne's case.

As the series progresses, Maron and Miyako fall in love with new classmate Chiaki, who is also secretly a demon hunter, Kaitō Sinbad. Chiaki at first "fakes" falling in love to get closer to Maron, knowing Maron is Jeanne. Later he falls in love truthfully after realizing that Maron's worth the effort, even if she does "hate" him. Maron, on the other hand, is confused and does not know what "love" means because her parents abandoned her when she was around ten years old because they were having problems getting along, so no one taught her. As a result, she does not know how to respond to Chiaki's advances. Eventually, she realizes that Chiaki is not a bad guy after all. She is deeply hurt, however, when she learns that Chiaki is her rival, Sinbad, and that he only went after her because he knew she was Jeanne.

Ah! My Goddess: The Movie

2010-06-17T04:58:00.000-07:00

Ah! My Goddess: The Movie (劇場版「ああっ女神さまっ」 Gekijōban "Aa! Megami-sama!"^?) is a 2000 Japanese animated film directed by Hiroaki Gōda, written by Michiko Yokote and Yoshihiko Tomizawa, animated by Anime International Company and co-produced by Kodansha, Dentsu, Sega Enterprises, Pony Canyon, Nippon Shupan Hanbai, AIC, MOVIC and Shochiku, based on the manga of the same name by Kosuke Fujishima. The film's theatrical release took place on October 21, 2000. It was also distributed by Shochiku in Japan. In the English speaking world, the film is licensed by Geneon Entertainment in the United States and Canada, MVM Films in the United Kingdom, and Madman Entertainment in Australia and New Zealand.

The story takes place years after the events of the manga and anime. Celestin, a former mentor of Belldandy, is released by Morgan Le Fay, and erases all memories of Keiichi from Belldandy to use her as a virus to hack the Yggdrasil computer in the heavens. Though the film's main plot is an own canon, many of the plot elements and side-events are based heavily on elements from a wide variety of chapters from Fujishima's original manga.

Oh My Goddess!

2010-06-16T21:20:00.000-07:00

Keiichi Morisato is a good-natured, yet hapless and girlfriend-less college freshman who is often imposed upon by his elder dorm-mates and brow-beaten into taking phone messages and doing miscellaneous chores for them. One day, while alone in his dorm, he accidentally calls the Goddess Technical Help Line and a beautiful goddess named Belldandy materializes in his room. She tells him that her agency has received a system request from him, so she has been sent to grant him a single wish. Skeptical and thinking someone is playing a practical joke on him, he wishes that she stay with him forever. To his surprise, his wish is granted. Belldandy must stay with him, but as his dormitory is strictly male-only, they are both forced onto the street.

They set off on his motorcycle to find alternative shelter, eventually seeking cover in an old Buddhist temple. In the morning, they are greeted by the temple's sole inhabitant, a young monk, who welcomes them and gives them permission to stay until they can find permanent lodging. He immediately puts them to work maintaining the temple grounds, but when he sees Belldandy use her powers to save Keiichi from injury, he begins to fear that she may be a demon or sorceress. He is eventually convinced of Belldandy's intrinsic goodness when he witnesses her solicitous care of the temple premises and her perfect meditation ritual. When he decides to go on a pilgrimage to India, the priest gives the couple permission to remain in the temple so long as they continue to maintain it.

List of Oh My Goddess! characters

Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru

2010-06-16T03:50:00.000-07:00

Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru revolves around the main protagonist Mizuho Miyanokouji, a male high school student. After Mizuho's grandfather dies, his will is reviewed, which explains his desire to have his grandson transfer to Seio Girl's School, the same one his own mother attended and his ancestors founded. Abiding by the will, Mizuho cross-dresses to attend the school. The headmistress, the deputy head teacher (visual novel only), Mizuho's homeroom teacher Hisako Kajiura and Mariya Mikado initially know his secret; Sion Jujo and Ichiko Takashima also eventually find this out. Mizuho is very popular among the other students, who often talk about how pretty, nice, and athletic Mizuho is. This rampant popularity escalates to him even being nominated against his will to join in on the Elder election. By these terms, the current student council president, Takako Itsukushima, runs against Mizuho.

The Elder election is an old tradition at Seio Girl's School where every June one of the students is elected by her peers to be the "Elder", who is seen as the number one "Elder Sister" in the school. Until her graduation, she is referred to by her peers as Onee-sama (お姉さま^?). To become an Elder, a candidate must gain at least 75% of the votes. If none of the candidates get at least 75% in the first round of voting, one of the candidates hands over her votes to another candidate, and the candidate who finally obtains at least 75% of the votes becomes the Elder. If there is no one else in the election, the current year's student council president becomes the Elder. In Otoboku, Mizuho gains 82% of the votes in the first round, effectively becoming the 72nd Elder in the school's history. After becoming Elder, Mizuho progressively gets more popular among the student body since he is now a symbol of the school's excellence. In the following months, Mizuho starts to get to know some of the girls better and helps them with their problems.

.hack//liminality

2010-06-15T02:16:00.000-07:00

The story follows three girls, Mai Minase (水無瀬舞 Minase Mai^?), Yuki Aihara (相原有紀 Aihara Yuki^?), and Kyoko Tohno (遠野京子 Tōno Kyōko^?, Kyo for short), and a former CC Corp. director of the Japanese version of The World, Junichiro Tokuoka (徳岡純一郎 Tokuoka Jun'ichirō^?). They investigate as to why several people have fallen into a coma while playing the game.

Character List

07-Ghost

2010-06-14T00:47:00.000-07:00

Teito Klein is a former slave who now attends the Barsburg Empire's military academy due to his ability to use Zaiphon, a type of supernatural power. The ability is rare and thus highly prized. Teito is an amnesiac and doesn't remember anything of his past, but he has recurring and often traumatizing dreams in which he sees a grand church or castle and a familiar but unknown man.

After a year at the academy, Teito prepares to take the notoriously difficult graduation exam. The night before the exam, Teito and his best (and only) friend, Mikage, swear they will never abandon each other if either needs help. Both of them pass the exam. The next day, Teito hears people talking about him; stopping to listen, he suddenly realizes that the speaker, Chief of Staff Ayanami, is the person who killed the familiar man in his dreams, who is his father and the king of the destroyed Raggs Kingdom. Teito is found eavesdropping and tries to attack his father's murderer but is quickly brought down by one of Ayanami's subordinates and sent to prison. Mikage comes to help him escape, only to find that Teito has managed to fight past the guards by himself. The two flee the building but are cornered on a balcony. Teito pretends to hold Mikage hostage, threatening to kill him if the guards pursue him, and thus makes his escape, though he is wounded by a Zaiphon blast that Ayanami directs at him. Three bishops in the nearby 7th District discover the injured Teito and take him to the 7th District church to recuperate. Because of the 7th District's law of sanctuary, as long as Teito stays in the church, the army cannot arrest him.

In due time, it is discovered that Teito carries the Eye of Mikhail, a powerful talisman for which his home country, the Raggs Kingdom, was destroyed. This fact, as well as his fateful reunion with Mikage, catapults Teito into a quest for revenge against the Barsburg Empire and for knowledge about his past. At the same time, his status as the bearer of the Eye of Mikhail throws him into the long-standing conflict between the evil Verloren and his enemies, the 07 Ghosts.

. Hack//Gift (OVA)

2010-06-12T23:59:00.000-07:00

hack//GIFT is a self-deprecating look at the .hack series full of inside jokes and sight gags with an equally mocking animation style. While the animation is grating on the nerves, the levity and irreverence of this gift to fans make this a must-see for those who have invested the time in the series and games.

The most noticeable feature of this OVA is the geometry-based animation. Reduced to triangles and circles, you'll barely recognize the characters. It's not pleasing to the eyes at all, but it immediately lets the viewer know that this is not your normal OVA. Matching the unorthodox animation with the great music from .hack//SIGN and the seiyuu from the series and game emphasizes the over-the-top spoofs of the story and characters. These scenes show just how aware the creators of the series and games are of their creation, and they're just as ready to cut loose as the characters are.

.hack//GIFT knows the weaknesses of the anime series and attacks them head on. Those long, drawn out conversations that deterred many a viewer are back, but this time with a tongue-in-cheek delivery. These scenes still manage to drag on, overplaying the joke, but are still sure to draw at least a smile from even the seasoned .hack veteran. Other jokes are spot-on as characters break out of their shells, especially Subaru's treatment of Ginkan and Balmung's rendition of Yasashii Yoake.

This OVA lives up to its name as a true reward for those who stuck it out through the series and the game. Any .hack fan will find .hack//GIFT a funny and very strange way to spend thirty minutes of their time.

Hack//G.U. Trilogy (Movie)

2010-04-27T00:21:00.000-07:00

In his quest for revenge against Tri-Edge and to wake Shino from her coma Haseo searches accross The World as a killer of Player Killers. He comes accross a girl named Atolli who despite his callous and dismissive attitude twards her takes an interest in him and decides to help him. She brings up old wounds for him because of her characters' design and class. He forms new aliances and attempts to discover the mystery behind the comas that are plauging members and the entities known as AIDA.

Ayako Kawasumi as Atoli

Takahiro Sakurai as Haseo

Sanae Kobayashi as Pi

Shinichiro Miki as Kuhn

Takumi Yamazaki as Yata

Akiko Hiramatsu as Bordeaux

Atsuko Enomoto as Aina

Hiroki Touchi as Ovan

Kaori Nazuka as Shino

Katsuyuki Konishi as Sakaki

Maaya Sakamoto as Aura

Masumi Asano as Alkaid

Sayaka Aida as Azure Kite

Toshihiko Seki as unnamed role (voice at the end)

anime collection

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Hack//G.U. Trilogy (Movie)

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