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ANIME REVIEWS

3x3 Eyes
The story revolves around Pai, a mysterious girl with a secret--she is a Triclops, possibly the only one of her race left. Sometime in the past, a legion of evil demonic creatures fought with her race, and Pai is the only known survivor. Having lost most of her memory, she's found in the mountains of Tibet by an explorer, Oyaji Fujii. She eventually goes to Japan to deliver Oyaji's final words to his son, Yakumo. In a letter sent to explain everything, Yakumo finds out Pai's history and her determination to become human.

Ai Yori Aoshi
The series is set in Japan, and we are introduced to one of the main characters, Kaoru Hanabishi, a second year university student. We meet Kaoru at a train station, while there he notices a young lady in a kimono get pushed over and thus he initially helps her out. The young lady goes by the name of Aoi Sakuraba. And upon what seems to be their first encounter, Kaoru finds out that her strap on her shoe is broken and thus fixes it so she can be on her way. Despite Kaoru’s help it appears that Aoi is lost. Aoi is looking for a particular residence and Kaoru helps her out again to find the place she is looking for and catches the train with her. Upon arrival at the residence, they find out that the house that Aoi was looking for is no longer there...

Akira
On the surface, AKIRA is about a few young punks who get into a situation out of their control. Kaneda is the ringleader of the Capsule gang who keeps an eye out on the volatile, younger Tetsuo. Tetsuo desperately wants to be accepted, and in a motorcycle street clash with another gang, he nearly runs over a mysterious figure in the road. The bike explodes, Tetsuo is hauled off, and the kid disappears. Kaneda attempts to find out exactly what's happened to Tetsuo...and that's where the madness starts. For Tetsuo's latent psychic ability has been awakened, and everyone from government factions to religious groups want a piece of him, as they believe he is the key to the mysterious power known only as Akira. But Tetsuo is not about to let his newfound powers go to waste.

Angelic Layer
"The world is progressing day by day. Within it, the thing that continues to progress the most is electronic technology. And within that, the thing that continues to progress the most is its connection to toys. Now, the number one thing that this is advancing to is creating a 'World of Toys.' "...

Ayashi no Ceres
Ayashi no Ceres is about a girl named Aya Mikage who leads the life of a normal high school student until she turns 16. On her 16th birthday, her own family tries to kill her and imprisons her twin brother Aki. Aya later finds out that she possesses the blood of the "tennyo" (heavenly maiden), and when severely shaken she will transform into Ceres. If left to live, she is destined to bring ruin upon the Mikage family.

Blood: The Last Vampire
Based on a concept by Mamoru Oshii from which his previous works include Ghost In The Shell. Production company, Production I.G along with the direction of Hiroyuki Kitabubo presents the anime movie, Blood: The Last Vampire. The setting for Blood, takes place during the fall of 1966. The Vietnam War currently plagues the world nations and the U.S Military has occupied an area of U.S land within Japan...

Cardcaptor Sakura
The anime series starts out to be a very innocent story about a young girl named Sakura until her life is changed one day when she finds a magical book entitled The Clow. The day begins normally enough as Sakura attends grade school with her best friend, Daidouji Tomoyo, who has a penchant for Sakura and everything she does. Sakura stumbles upon The Clow as if by fate and breaks the seal of the book. Within the hollowed out book, Sakura finds a deck of magical cards called the Clow Cards. Each of the Clow Cards contain a special magic and a conscience all their own. She accidentally scatters all, but one Clow Card to the winds when she utters the word "Windy" from the first card she picks off the top of the deck.

Chobits
Chobits is all about in Japan, there are robots known as Persocons, walking computers in the shape of humans which preform many mundane tasks. They seem to be incredibly expensive, if a student saved up enough money he might be able to buy a little one. A boy named Motosuwa Hideki who works at a bar and is also a prep student for college decides he's going to buy a one of these expensive robotic companions. Of course, being broke he can't afford one, but he finds a Persocon in the garbage outside of the store. Being an oppurtunistic guy, he takes her! The rest of the manga describes his trials and joys with the little Persocon he names Chii...

Comic Party
Comic Party is about Kazuki Sendo, a senior in his last year of high school. His final year is progressing normal as expected. However his extremely eccentric and somewhat weird friend, Kuhonbutsu Taishi, encourage Kazuki to start drawing doujin manga. From here we are introducing to an uplifting journey as Kazuki becomes rather obsessed with his knew found hobby.

Excel Saga
An anime about the spreadsheet software from Microsoft? Stranger things have been known to happen, and there's a good chance that some of these strange occurrences happen in EXCEL SAGA. No, EXCEL SAGA is not about spreadsheets. It is, as a friend describes it, a half-hour each week where they let Mitsuishi Kotono go crazy and leave it to the animators to create whatever visuals their demented minds could think of to match her antics.

Fushigi Yuugi
Fushigi Yuugi is an eighteen volume manga series by Watase Yuu that has been running in Shogakukan's Flower Comics since 1988. The story is about junior high students and best friends Yuuki Miaka and Hongo Yui encounter a mysterious book, The Four Gods of Earth and Sky, while at the library. The opening lines of the book explain that it is the legendary story of a young girl transported to a faraway land, and that it is also an incantation to make the story real. Once they read past this introduction, they are instantly transported into the world of the book, ancient China...

Garasu no Kamen
Garasu No Kamen (The Glass Mask) is Garasu no Kamen is a very lovely story about the life of a simple girl named Maya Kitajima. She loves drama very much, and she wants to become a great actress. This story told us about DRAMA a lot, as example technics in drama, and it's very interesting because it's mixed with conflicts between people, friendship and love...

Hana Yori Dango
Hana Yori Dango is a shoujo anime, based on the shoujo manga series by Kamio Youko. It is about Makino Tsukushi, the daughter of a typical middle-class Japanese family. In an attempt to raise the social stature of their family, Tsukushi's parents send her to a high-class private school. The other students, full of stereotypical snobbishness toward those who live at a standard beneath themselves, treat Tsukushi with contempt; they often work at luring her into situations of embarrassment—or worse. Against this adversarial background, Tsukushi grows to have a crush on student Hanazawa Rui, a musically talented and soft-spoken boy—but of course things are not that simple. Rui already has a girl, and the "boss" of the school's students, Tsukasa Domiyouji, takes an interest in Tsukushi. Tsukasa's treatment of her (at least in the early going) is worst of all, but as time goes on Tsukushi begins to feel an attraction toward him as well...

Love Hina
Love Hina is definitely on the love comedy side of the scale, with just enough drama and character development to layer the story on top of. As far as love comedies go, the setup for this manga has a number of formulaic elements. The good parts are in the details and the characters. This series is nothing if not whimsical. As the story progresses, very unusual things appear (a flying turtle?) that apparently make no sense and very little effort is spent to explain them rationally. They are just a part of this universe. One of the good things about Love Hina that differs from most love comedies is that the characters do actually undergo development (although, at times, one has to wonder)...

Meitantei Conan
Meitantei Conan (Detective Conan) is a japanese cartoon comic, written by Gosho Aoyama. The story is really kewl! It is about an elementary school boy named Conan Edogawa. He solves mysteries and crimes through reasoning and logic and with the help of friends and nifty gadgets. Conan is really a 17-year-old famous high school detective, Shinichi Kudo. While investigating some suspicious activity, Shinichi was knocked over the head by a man dressed in black. During his semi-conscious state, an experimental drug was forced down his throat that was meant to kill him. Instead, Shinichi was shrunk into a little kid. In order to prevent the men who did this to him from hurting his friends and family, Shinichi changed his name to Conan Edogawa and now lives with his girlfriend, Ran and her dad...

Noir
Take two female assassins, put them up against an international secret society, sprinkle the background liberally with exotic European locales and unique music, then set timer for 26 episodes. What do you get? An anime series that makes viewers sit up and take notice. Noir is an ancient title bestowed upon two maidens that reign over death, their blackened hands protecting the peace of the newborns. It's a cryptic passage, and its meaning is one of the underlying mysteries of the series...

One Piece
One Piece is about a boy whose life was saved by a pirate vows to become the king of pirates, sets sail looking for comrades, and the story follows his adventures. If one takes the concept of a manga about a pirate's adventure by itself, one can be easily reminded of a generation ago when the main focus of many a manga was adventure into the unknown where the character grows up as a result of the adventure. However, one simple difference in one character can change the old stereotypical adventure manga (as this reviewer sees many but not all of old-school shounen manga) into something new and interesting. The concept of a "stretchable" protagonist also puts something new into the combat-oriented mangas that have infested the industry in the past few years. Here, you are presented with a character that relies only on his ability to stretch and not on weapons or energy shots—something that is different from the other characters that predominate combat-oriented manga...

Onegai Teacher
Onegai Teacher presents a significantly interesting romantic story. The overall series is well balanced in terms of its presentation. It is both dramatic and comedic and at its core it is still a light-hearted anime series. The characters are uniquely presented and we see points of true dramatic expression and emotion. What is Onegai Teacher about? Although ecchi themed, that genre in this series is fairly light in comparison to a number of animated series already out there that present the same type of material. The storyline has two main characters, Kei Kusanagi and Mizuho Kazami...

Tokyo Underground
"Not used anymore, there is a railroad that stretches through the darkness. At the end of this long, long railroad… Deep under the ground in Tokyo, the capital of this country, there exists a forgotten, sealed world. With no sun, the name of this world is… Tokyo Underground."...

Rurouni Kenshin
Rurouni Kenshin (Samurai X) is the story of ronin warrior with a legendary reputation as an invincible swordsman and a strong sense of justice. As a supporter of the Meiji reforms, Kenshin has sworn off killing for good. Nonetheless he still carries a special sword whose cutting and blunt edges are reversed, allowing him to put attackers out of action without killing them...

S.CRY.ed
"The setting of Scryed is placed in future Japan more specifically, in Yokohama city, Nippon. The storyline centers on the area of the Kanagawa Prefecture. Twenty-two years ago from the present date of Scryed's setting, a natural phenomenon erupted with an unbelievable amount of energy in Kanagawa..."

FAQs

What are Manga?
Manga are the Japanese equivalent of comic books. However, they are far different from their western brethren. The typical manga is actually a collection of stories by a variety of writers and artists, and they cover a wide variety of genres. Manga are usually published in large volumes (often jokingly referred to as telephone books), printed on cheap paper, have perhaps 300-400 pages, sell for a few dollars, and are considered diversionary entertainment that most people throw away after reading. Particularly successful manga stories are usually republished in smaller, higher-quality collections that are much more suitable to collect. Although manga are extremely popular, judging by the number of copies sold and seen on the streets of Tokyo, they are still not completely socially acceptable. Since Japanese society has become incredibly individualistic, most readers aren't very concerned about this, but it's not considered the same as reading great literature, either. An extremely large amount of anime has its basis in manga stories, which has its pros and cons--although it's often great to see favorite characters on the screen, many anime simply don't have the opportunity to tell the detailed, intricate stories manga often feature.
The Western reader may be surprised by how a manga looks and is read. Japanese books are ordered in a way that is reversed from Western literature, from back to front as we think of it. Manga panels are ordered for the same flow, as well, and so can be confusing. (Incidentally, manga released in the West have been intentionally flipped to make life easier for the reader.) Manga are also very visually oriented in comparison to standard Marvel and DC comics; whereas our standard comics tend to have lots of dialogue and static pictures, manga often feature small amounts of dialogue per panel and lots of action shots. This makes them much easier to translate into the animated medium, as well, since they read much like a filmbook would.

What is Anime?
Anime is a Japanese term derived from the English word animation. In Japan, anime technically refers to anything animated, included imported products such as Disney films. However, in the English speaking world, anime refers exclusively to animated works that are primarily created and produced in Japan. Currently, animated projects such as FINAL FANTASY that are produced in Japan but not primarily created by traditional animation methods are generally not considered anime (though some would disagree.) Anime covers a wide range of subjects, and it encompasses a variety of different artistic styles. However, anime is set apart from its western animated counterparts by its willingness to explore adult themes and topics in sometimes graphic detail, its sophistication in dialogue and artwork (even in shows meant only for children), and its depiction of all genres of entertainment, from horror and sci-fi to romantic comedies and melodramas. At times, almost half of Japan's movie product has been animated, and a substantial amount of Japanese television programming is also anime.

The History of Anime

1958
Taiji Yabushita's animated feature Legend of the White Serpent impresses many Asian youngsters, including 17 year old Hayao Miyazaki

1963-1967
TV series Astro Boy, Gigantor and Speed Racer become popular in Japan and the U.S.

1979
Miyazaki releases his first theaterical feature, Castle of Cagliostro, about a hero-scoundrel.

1982
The series Macross premieres, leading to the Americanized version Robotech.

1983
Dallos, first made-for-video anime (OAV), appears in Japan.

1983
First manga, Barefoot Gen, translated into English; later it is anime-ted.

1987
The Wings of Honneamise is released, making anime officially an art form.

1988
Akira, Katsuhiro Otomo's tale of postapocalyptic teens in Tokyo, cues first stirrings of animania in the West.

1989
Kiki's Delivery Service by Miyazaki, is a hit in Japan; later becomes the first Miyazaki video released by Disney.

1991
MTV begins showing segments of Aero Flux, an anime-derived U.S. toon, on its animation show Liquid Television.

1995
Ghost in the Shell, integrates cel animation and computer graphics; a solid U.S. theaterical release.

1997
Pokémon debuts in Japan. Princess Mononoke grosses $160 million in Japan, a figure exceeded only by Titanic.

1999
Pokémania sweeps U.S.; Princess Mononoke gets big push into theaters. Anime is poided to grip U.S. culture - or to be tossed aside when the next fad arrives.

Articles

Amazing Anime

More FAQs

I keep hearing these weird terms about particular kinds of Japanese stories. What are shonen and shoujo? And how are bishonen and yaoi related?
In the Japanese language, these simply refer to "boy" and "girl". The reference is essentially the same when it applies to manga. Manga collections for boys are often referred to as 'shonen', and manga collections directed at girls are called "shoujo." This extends to anime created from these works as well.
Until recently, most of the anime licensed in the US was "shonen", and that's no real surprise--what appeals to Japanese men is not all that different than what appeals to American men, and men used to make up the vast majority of the western fan base. However, things are changing quite rapidly. "Shoujo" comics and anime are starting to come to the States in larger numbers now that women are finding themselves interested in the hobby. As anime starts to grow in influence throughout American culture, it is certain that the types of material brought over will even each other out.
What can be confusing is that many "shoujo" stories fall into well-known subsets. "Bishonen" is a term that refers to anime and manga that offer "pretty boys" that are visually appealing to women; the characters in "bishonen" stories often find themselves in homoerotic situations. Although these relationships are occasionally taken to their logical conclusions (ahem), most often they are not, and the tension between the characters is the actual factor of interest. Meanwhile, "yaoi" refers to anime and manga that deals with male homosexuality in detail. In Japan, "yaoi" stories are considerably graphic in nature. The term "yaoi" literally means "nothing" and refers to a sexual relationship that is meaningless. Most "yaoi" stories are fan creations that put favorite characters in homosexual positions never dreamed of by their creators. There’s also a third term, "shonen-ai", which really means "boy love" and fits somewhere between the two, where characters are intimately involved, but depictions of such are highly romanticized. The term "yaoi" has been co-opted somewhat incorrectly by American fans as referring to anything with homosexual content when the terms "bishonen" and "shonen-ai" would be more appropriate, since "yaoi" stories are pretty explicit.

Who is Hayao Miyazaki?
Hayao Miyazaki is the foremost creator of Japanese animation today. His films command gigantic audiences in Japan, and many of his films are in the top-ten grossing films of all time in that country. His current film, SPIRITED AWAY, is almost certain to dethrone TITANIC as Japan's highest grossing film of all time. His stories tend to appeal to younger people while still attracting adults, much like the best Disney animation used to do. He is also well-known for tackling environmental issues in many of his anime. His films are gorgeously animated and appeal to virtually all animation fans, even those that don't like anime. His best known film in the US is probably PRINCESS MONONOKE, which received a limited theatrical release. However, MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO, KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE, and NAUSICAA (in hacked-up form) have also been released in the States. Most every film of his is a good starting point into anime. Miyazaki is also known as the primary founder of Studio Ghibli, which produces all of his features, as well as those of his friend Isao Takahata.

Who is Katsuhiro Otomo?
Katsuhiro Otomo started off primarily as a manga artist, but his most well-known creation, AKIRA, sent his name recognition into the stratosphere. AKIRA, with its incredible animation and insane plotting, is possibly the best-known anime ever. Although Otomo has worked on and directed several other works, such as MEMORIES, a section of NEO-TOKYO (AKA MANIE MANIE), and ROUJIN-Z, none has the status of his masterwork. Although rumors persist of a sequel to AKIRA, there is no substantiation to them. (Considering the ending of the film, a follow-up would be most difficult indeed.)

Who is Mamoru Oshii?
Mamoru Oshii is the Stanley Kubrick of anime. Oshii tends to direct films that move slowly and deliberately; they also touch on philosophical concepts most live-action films would never dream of taking on. Oshii's brilliance came to the forefront with his art film ANGEL'S EGG, which contained less than 25 lines of dialogue yet stunned audiences with its visual conceptualizations of a world of shadows based primarily on Christian symbolism. Most of the rest of his work is vastly more commercial, such as the PATLABOR movies. His best-known work to date is GHOST IN THE SHELL, which has done extremely well despite mixed reviews. His newest effort, JIN-ROH, is considered to be another must-see.

Why do 99% of all anime characters look Caucasian? And what's up with the big eyes?
There are several reasons why anime characters typically look Caucasian rather than Asian. To get into all the details would take a long time, but I'll go over the primary ones. The anime industry got its start in the post-war 50s. One of the pioneers of that era, Osamu Tezuka, was significantly influenced by the work of Walt Disney; though his character designs don't look like those in Disney's features, they do contain some noticeable characteristics, including the Caucasian "look" and skin color. This carried into other animators' work until it became standard in almost all anime.
Secondly, the Japanese culturally have a love/hate relationship with the West. Although they hold the West as inferior in many aspects, Caucasian features are considered quite beautiful within the culture, and as such anime reflects this. Third, although animators never considered this a huge issue, using Caucasian character types made anime a much easier sell across international lines. In this same vein, many anime are set in science-fiction and fantasy settings where specific racial characteristics are unnecessary. Surprisingly, the Japanese seem to think much less of the whole subject than western fans do.
Meanwhile, the most unique feature to many about anime is the look of characters' eyes. Although some of this goes back to the designs stemming from Osamu Tezuka, a primary root of it stems from the ancient Japanese belief that the eyes are the window to the soul. As such, the "good guys" generally have the largest eyes (and particularly pupils) of anyone. This has actually come to the rescue of many a fan watching a show without translation in sorting out who's fighting who. In reverse, the "bad guys" often have tiny eyes--or, sometimes, large eyes with extremely small pupils. The concept at play here is that antagonists are not inherently evil; they simply have not had enough light reach their souls. This also explains why the definitions of heroes and villains are often less clear-cut in anime, where bad guys can also make heroic sacrifices and good guys can wind up doing incredible evil often by accident. The other excuse for big eyes is that they look cool.

What's up with all the nudity in anime?
The Japanese have never had a cultural problem with nudity in a non-sexual connotation, which is reflected in their animation. In fact, since going to the bathhouse for a dip with a bunch of other people is common practice, there's not much surprise to see the natural appreciation of the human form in anime. Japan is becoming a little bit more sensitive to this issue, which is why you see less nudity now than you did 20 years ago. However, this whole discussion is primarily a Western one that most other countries don't share, as anyone who watches much in the way of European film can tell you right away. In fact, the reverse question--"What's up with all the violence in Hollywood pictures?"--is probably the more significant one.
Now this doesn't get into the issue of sexuality in anime, which can be explained from the fact that a lot of anime is intended for adults and teenagers. When you think about the fact that anime makes up a good chunk of Japan's total film output, it's not surprising that anime gets into more delicate matters such as this. Again, the cultural sensitivity to this is ours, not theirs.

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