Every so often, a show comes along that captivates and attracts and “Mushi-Shi” was that for me. From the very first episode, I was involved. Yes, it had the potential of turning into the “Monster of the Week”, but it was handled with such a deft hand that it never felt like that and, more importantly, you really connected with the characters who were in need.

The overall story is about Ginko, who is a Mushi Master. Mushi are beings with supernatural powers. Some are symbiotic, some are parasitic, but all are troublesome to some degree. His job, as he wanders the Japanof the late 19^th century, is to help people who are afflicted with these Mushi. What makes things worse is that regular people cannot see them. Ginko is ‘gifted’ (and whether it is a gift or a curse is for you to decide), but he cannot stay too long in any area, as he becomes a magnet for them and things really get out of control as a dangerous amount of them throw things out of balance.

He carries on his back a wooden box which has all that he needs and jars to capture a few Mushi or remnants of them. He knows Adashino, a caliber of medicine man and scholar who wants these items. Oh, don’t let his constant smoking bother you; it is done to keep the Mushi at bay. (more…)

Welcome to JurassicPark….I mean, Macademi Wasshoi! One of the finest magician’s academies anywhere, even though it does exist in an alternate dimension and it is a bit of a workout to get to it, but if you want to better who you are as a magician, this is the place to be.

Takuto Hasegawa (far right) lives in two worlds, spending a lot of his time at the Academy. Think of it like Hogwarts, but not as dark or imposing. One day, while preparing for a summoning spell exam, he happens to create a girl (look, I know it hard to get a date as a teen, but really!) whom he calls Tanarotte (the one in the Daisy Dukes soaring through the air). But this creates a problem. Tanarotte can either be a God or a Demon and this throws off the balance between all three worlds (Earth being in the middle).

When emissaries come out from the other two worlds to try and dispatch Tanarotte, they are pummeled into submission by her. She has not made the decision what she wants to be, but since she is hopelessly devoted to Takuto, it is felt that as long as he keeps her happy, things will be OK. To that end, the bulk of the show revolves around how Tanarotte tries to understand her surroundings. However, when she does not understand her full power, which is often, things get out of hand. (more…)

This certainly started out interestingly enough. We are in an Alternate Universe, where Man is the subservient creature, bending to the will of the Beasts. They are in a second-class citizenship status, not much more than how we treat animals. There are all grades of beasts, from those with human features, but the ears and tail, all the way up to full beasts. Into this mix, we find Kyrie Illunis (he’s in the number one slot), just your normal wolf-beast, slaving away at a local eatery. There are whispers afoot about a mysterious woman, Morte Asherah (number two slot), a member of the World Destruction Committee, who is in possession of the Destruct Code, a weapon of unbelievable power and fury, which has the might to destroy an entire planet, reducing it, and everyone and everything on it, to sand.

It is a busy lunch hour and Kyrie is bussing tables and slapping down food, when a hooded figure comes in, asking for a meal. As he serves her, the local constabulatory comes in and confronts his woman, who is no other than the aforementioned Morte. Angry that she spent the last of her money on a meal she cannot have, she takes Kyrie hostage, brandishing a huge sword blade. If she cannot go free, many will die, starting with Kyrie. At that point, Kyrie’s ears fall off. He was wearing a costume? He’s a human? Well, he needs a job. They fight their way free from the café, enlisting the help of Toppy Toplan (number six slot), who is a dwarf bear of incredible strength and power. In rescuing them, he also becomes part of the World Destruction Committee. (more…)

Hmmm so we continue off from episode 3, Louise is kidnapped and the Gallia army is heading towards Aqulieia with quite a bit of ships. Now I must admit, this episode was way too fast paced and regardless of the fact that there was quite a bit of action it left me feeling unfulfilled.

Heres everything in a nutshell, Saito rushes to save Louise with Tabitha,  meanwhile on the Gallia’s army ship Joseph (Mister King of ignorance) uses the Founders Mirror to copy Louise’s power to himself, enabling him to use the explosion spell. Upon having the spell he begins using amplification ball-like objects to exponentially augment the explosive power. After setting off two, and destroying quite bit of his and the Aqulieia’s army in the process, he begins planning to send the final down to the heart of the city (i presume) to destroy it.

Why is he suddenly doing this? Here is where it got a bit ridiculous;

“I want to know how much damage I must inflict before i feel regret……
No matter how much land i gained or people i exceuted, I was never appeased…..
This heart might finally be moved after seeing a city demolished” (more…)

Now, I know that this particular series veered over into a sub-genre I am tired of…vampires. It’s not that there aren’t good or interesting vampire animes out there, like “Black Blood Brothers” or “Hellsing”, but it is the sheer amount of them that gets overwhelming to the point where I run away. The other genre I am tired of is Giant Fighting Robots, so if they have a Giant Vampire Fighting Robot show, I can avoid it. (And if it is voiced by Chris Ayres, it’s everything I hate in one spot!)

The one under the microscope is “Rosario + Vampire”, which got a lot of positive spin in things I saw. Many girls liked it, as it was sooooooooooo romantic. Well, I was between shows and it came up, so I gave it a test run. I didn’t crash and burn, but it got really old really fast.

This is a shame, as it started out so good. Our hero, Tsukune Aono, is a ronin. This is a term used for a student who has left one school, but is not attached to another one. (It is a samurai term for a swordsman who has no master, but roams the countryside). He is a bit of a brick and is having a most difficult time getting accepted anywhere. His father magically finds an errant admission packet (dropped in an alley, after dark, by a strange hooded figure. Man, things have got to be rather weird and desperate if you are willing to grab an admission packet, dropped in an alley, after dark, by a strange hooded figure) and gloms it, scampering away. Hooray! Their son is not a total dweeb dork dingleberry dognice! Now, get to school! (more…)

Clocking in at a mere four episodes and an OVA, “Magical Play” is another in a long line of Magic Girl shows (like “Sasami” and “The Familiar of Zero”), but we have dual stories going on (actually, we have several story lines, but they are all kept nicely apart), although, as with much in life, they cross and intersect.

The main story involves Padudu (that’s the one wearing the fish. It is not a fish costume, it is a fish, Uokichi, kind of like her familiar). She wants to become a real Magical Girl on Earth (she comes from the land Sea Heaven) and to this end, she needs to gather 20 Flower Stars. These are earned by doing tournament battles with other magical girls. When you get the 20 stars (and have filled up your card), you may then proceed to the next level.

Sadly, when you wear a fish, you are subject to all kind of problems, such as being grabbed by a large hungry eagle who wishes to dine on you, which is how the show opens. Padudu manages to break free, but then plummets to the town below.

In the town, a tournament is being held and Pipin (that is the one on the far left) has just defeated another magical girl. However, before she can claim her prize, Padudu crashes upon her, knocks her out and Padudu gets awarded the Flower Star. Pipin spends the rest of her time trying to wrest the star back from Padudu. (more…)

Okay so to be honest nothing much happened in this episode, i mean if it was skipped i don’t think anyone would even notice that a chunk of the series is missing. Lets see what were the highlights of this episode, ah yes, we got to see the priestess getup (image above) and we found out Saito has.. some very weird perversions. I mean comeon… lemon-chan?

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So one of the anime i decided to cover this season is Zero no Tsukamia F, from the start of episode one (ref. image above)..  I would see this was going to be interesting to say the least (no comment on the fact Louise doesn’t seem to mind she isn’t the only one on that bed with Saito).

Now they pretty much went straight to the point here,  Louise and Tiffania are summoned by the Pope who tells them that they are the Three Void Users and that the fate of Romalia is up to them, cool. Just like the previous seasons we have quite a bit of fighting for Saito with Louise being excessively headstrong, Tiffany insecure and Siesta well… being Siesta (clearly the better match here but she keeps helping out the Saito x Louise pair).

Well, if you loved the last 3 seasons you’ll like this one, pretty much the same feel just different adventure. But hey, its supposed to be the final season so lets hope we have some sort of a progression and a definite choice from Saito about whom he chooses (I so deteste open ended anime). Well, i suppose its worth a watch, njoy! (more…)

Yeah, OK. I usually try to lull you in to reading my review, kind of disguising until the end as to whether I liked it or not. For this one, I’ll save you the time: I no longer like “Fairy Tail”. I have abandoned the show.

Now, I gave it a good damn run: 60 shows (“Case Closed” has taken me for longer at 130 and I still watch that. I would have watched “Inuyasha” and “Ranma ½” more, but foul circumstances took them away from me. And I am still working through “Full Metal Alchemist – Brotherhood” but that ends at 51). But I felt it treated me badly, like other long-format shows.

So, what got to me? It’s just that it took me that long to see the repetitive nature of the overall show. I had read the first five manga and really liked what I read (since I check them out of the library, someone borrowed Books Six through Eleven forever, so I had to give up. And I don’t read manga on the internet). When I heard they had done the show, I watched it with eager anticipation, but I started to notice a trend.

The Evil Folks show up. The Good Guys arrive on the scene, but are soon put to flight. The Good Guys regroup and through some personal effort, defeat the Bad Guys and send them packing. Then, we have beers all around for a Job Well Done. The next day, (more…)