DVD Review: A Complicated Bundle of Love

If anyone is struggling to find a decent romance anime, there's one show that they absolutely have to watch.

Season one of "Honey and Clover" is a powerful love story that is guaranteed to keep everyone emotionally attached until the very end.

It starts off as a simple slice-of-life about a group of art college friends: three guys and two girls. The guys consist of a first-year student named Takemoto, a sixth-year slacker named Morita and a fourth-year senior named Mayama. The girls consist of a young prodigy named Hagumi and a beautiful third-year pottery student named Ayumi Yamada.

At first, the story becomes a simple snapshot of daily life for these college students. As they grow older, they become more and more romantically attached. Yet, they all have a tough time confessing their feelings for each other, because they don't want their group of friends to break apart.

Although the plot is as simple as a light romance could get, the dialogue is remarkably rich with pent-up emotion. Viewers will immediately get hooked into heartbreaking relationship between Yamada and Mayama. Yamada can't help falling in love with Mayama, even when he starts to live in the apartment of another close friend named Rika.

The dialogue may seem innocent in the first few episodes. By episode 18, though, Yamada's emotions get the best of her when she runs away in tears. The entire series is filled with many difficult situations of unrequited love. These characters must wallow through these flooding emotions, struggling to find a new meaning to their lives.

To tell the truth, I can't believe this group of buddies could ever manage to stay together for two seasons. Thankfully, they never don't really take these pressing relationships too seriously. The director, Kenichi Kasai, has an incredible knack for making every comedy sequence as epic as possible.


For example, episode eight includes an especially agonizing Twister game. It starts out as an easy game. Near the end, though, all the characters are goofily breaking their bones from playing the game. The animators execute everything in this sequence with quick slapstick timing. They manage to make everything as ridiculously painful as possible, without ever crossing the line of extreme violence.

It's a bizarre series of wacky humor with unbearable waves of moving emotion. "Honey and Clover" is probably one of the best and most realistic anime love stories ever made. The protagonists are charming. The warm visuals are soothing. The dialogue hits people where it hurts.

As painful as it is to watch, this show is more about the characters' journeys rather than their relationships. "Honey and Clover" proves that sometimes it takes a little tough love for people to grow into mature adults.

Watch the series at hulu.com.

Images courtesy of photobucket.com

DVD Review - Nana meets punk rock

The "Nana" anime charges up this coming-of-age manga with loud punk rock, and emotionally moving dialogue that everyone will fall in love with. This review covers the first box set of the series.

Ai Yazawa drew the manga which the anime is based on. Like her previous series, "Nana" features plenty of mature sexual situations and dramatic dialogue about lost love. However, the anime escalates the power of this manga with an edgy punk rock atmosphere.

The story involves two characters, who happened to meet each other on a train to Tokyo. Their first names are Nana. Though they are completely different types of people, they get along instantly. Although they separate, they meet once again by sheer happenstance when they are looking for an apartment to live in.

Sure, it's just a coincidental meeting, but the price is reasonable if they share the apartment. So by complete luck, the two Nanas become roommates and best friends.

Although this is a fictional anime about two strangers becoming close friends, the story involves more than just two girls. They each have bad luck in finding boyfriends who stay committed. Nana Komatsu is a polite-mannered girl whose boyfriend doesn't have enough time to see her very often. Nana Osaki is an orphan whose boyfriend left her to make a name for himself as a rock star in Tokyo.

The series is a masterpiece in its message of feminism and independence. Although there's plenty of emotional and sexual romance in the beginning, it's clear from the beginning that both Nanas really want more out of their love life. Economic freedom. Independence from the typical family lifestyle.

The series actually draws plenty of comparisons to "Kiki's Delivery Service," an anime by Hayao Miyazaki where a girl must face the nitty gritty difficulties of life, such as saving money to buy groceries instead of fancy clothes. The only big difference is that both of the Nanas' coming of age involves a punk rock band.

However, "Nana" is even more based on slice-of-life experiences in Japan. In this anime, the city of Tokyo is alive with sexy rock stars and cross-dressing fashion styles. At the same time, there's trendy, cute girl-like decorations for the trendy Nana Komatsu. And there's also a slew of economic pressures involving Komatsu's shopping sprees.

Certainly "Nana" will probably be the most eclectic of all the anime series this year. However, it conveys a universal theme involving characters who are missing the love they had as a child, as well as characters who push forward to find that love.

My only grudge with this box set is that it doesn't hit its big emotional peak yet. Most of the intense angst and frustration was purposefully left until box set two. However, this first box will definitely satisfy fans of the manga, as well as anyone else who loves punk rock, sex comedies and intense drama. In other words, there's something for everyone. This is a must-have for everyone to watch.

Cool features:

• Interview with Nana director Morio Asaka
• Clean opening and closing sequences.

Minor setbacks to the series:

• The English dub is great, but the voice actor for Nana Osaki doesn't sound nearly as cool and mature as she should be. Then again, I have my biases. Call me un-American, but our United States female rockers don't act as mature as Japanese female rockers. If you think I'm wrong, just listen to this clip by Jinn and see for yourself.
• There is a point in the anime where the director decided to rehash some of the events in episode one. Although he touches it up with new revelatory scenes, it could have been touched up somewhat.
• The last episode in this box is one of the dreaded recap episodes, where the characters review everything that happened in the previous episodes. Feel free to skip it if you wish.

Image courtesy of photobucket.com

DVD Review - Class tensions and gender bending drama

The third season of "Maria Watches Over Us" strengthens the girls' romantic ties with warm dialogue and imagery.

The newest release for the Maria series is set in Lillian Girls Academy during the summer break after season two. As viewers may remember from the previous seasons, the student council is organized under a nobility system, in which each grande seour (big sister) appoints a first-year student as her petite seour, or little sister. It resembles an intern system in some ways, in which the upperclassmen assign certain tasks to their apprentices.

In this year, petite seour Yumi Fukuzawa spends her summer break with her grande seour, Sachiko Ogasawara. Although the vacation starts off as a boring moment of solitude, Sachiko has her own reasons for hiding out in a summer cottage. Rival families are looking forward to laying shame on the Ogasawara family name.

There's plenty of other interesting events, including a joint festival with the all boys high school next-door to the Lillian Girls Academy. The boys high school council features a completely improbable cast of characters, including two twins, a buff guy who works out, a geek, Yumi's little brother and a guy who wanted to grow up as a girl.

Yet, as fantastic as the third season turns out, the story still retains a warm, pleasant tone. Better yet, most of the story is now centered on the two main characters, Yumi and Sachiko. This new narrative focuses our attention on the two women whom anime fans fell in love with first. The ultimate affirmation of their love for each other takes place during an entertaining school festival story, complete with cosplaying guys and panda costumes.

The new OVA format, or original video animation, makes each episode more poignant than those in the previous two seasons. The one-hour episodes also make for richer stories, strung together in a continuous narrative without interruptions. The story tends to ramble during the long sports festival and the school trip. These last two episodes feature more still images than actual animation, but the show still maintains its steady momentum of conversational comedy.

Overall, "Maria Watches Over Us" will immerse you into a warm world of girls' romance, with beautiful character designs and charming stories. The episodes shows these touching relationships without any plot holes or cheaply drawn animation. Although the story tends to drift off in the last episodes of season three, yuri fans will definitely enjoy "Maria Watches Over Us."

Extras: The OVA continues the excellent "Maria Watches Over Us" comedy segments, "Don't Tell Maria," a series of out-takes for every episode. These short blurbs include some epic parodies of the opening narrative, including an epic one involving the all boys school. However, the best jokes involve the exaggerated height of Yumi's newest friend.

Image courtesy of photobucket.com

DVD rerelease - His or Her Circumstances

"His & Her Circumstances" eases anime watchers with touching teenager romance, even if the animation quality declines at the end.

Rightstuf secretly rereleased the box set in September of last year. This series has suffered from mixed reviews throughout its run. Director Hideaki Anno, known as the director of "Neon Genesis Evangelion," helmed the production of this series. However, the series literally degenerated as the director fought with Masami Tsuda, the original manga artist of this series.

For anyone unfamiliar with the manga, "Kare Kano" is about a girl named Yukino Miyazawa. She is a talented, beautiful overachiever who strives for perfection. She's frustrated with having to compete with Soichiro Arima, a boy who is also one of the top students.

Unlike Arima, Miyazawa is a spoiled slob at home who studies endlessly to maintain her grades. Arima discovers her alter-ego when he arrives at Miyazawa's house to return a Brahms CD he borrowed from her. At first, he threatens to reveal her secret facade by forcing her to do his work for the student council for a few days. However, their feelings gradually deepen for each other. After a small argument, they begin to care for each other.

"His or Her Circumstances" takes a closer look at the complications of high school romance. It also looks into the deeper problems of Arima's own family conflicts. His own parents were blackmailers, who deserted him because of a huge debt they couldn't pay off. Although this series tends to ramble during some episodes, it never loses its charm until the director of the series quit working on the series.

Certainly this series has its flaws. The ending sequence is a boring motion sequences with a live camera in a Japanese high school. Parts of the series were taken out of the DVD because of arguments between animation studio Gainax and the manga artist. The last story arc of the series remains unfinished.

Yet the series never loses the charm it retains in the opening sequence. "His & Her Circumstances" easily has the best opening animation of a shoujo series ever. The theme song, "Tenshi no Yubikiri" (translated as "The Angel's promise"), is a lovely ballad as charming as an American Motown song. Viewers will be even more impressed by Anno's ability to mix the psychological elements of "Evangelion" seamlessly into a romantic atmosphere.

Overall, "His & Her Circumstances" is a must-buy. The warm relationship of Miyazawa and Arima is worth every penny, no matter how you may argue about the unfinished ending. Everything, from the beautiful character designs to the touching anime shading, is too wonderful to pass up.

Image courtesy of photobucket.com

DVD Review: Road trippin' with a wolf goddess

"Spice and Wolf" presents a merchant and a wolf god's hardships and struggles on a road trip to the north in 13 extraordinary episodes.

For an entire show about financial hardships and near bankruptcy, "Spice and Wolf" makes economic supply and demand exciting. The great appeal of this series lies with an unusual duo of protagonists surviving over poverty in a world resembling Medieval Europe.

The main character, Kraft Lawrence, is a wandering peddler who hopes to start his own business. However, he puts his plans on the backburner when he discovers a naked girl hiding in his carriage, with the ears and tail of a wolf.

This young woman, Holo, was the harvest goddess of the town of Pasroe. However, nowadays the villagers grow a bountiful harvest. They have converted to Christianity and they no longer need her help. She asks Lawrence to take her to Yoitsu, her homeland in the north. Although Lawrence was down on his luck, his luck may have changed upon meeting his new friend.

This series at first presents a romance for secularism. By the fourth episode, however, it becomes a plot of desperation against all odds. Lawrence discovers that someone named Zeelen cheated him out of his money with a deal to trade old silver coins for new ones.

Lawrence joins the Milone Company to safeguard his collection of old silver, but when Zeelen's associates capture Holo, the story turns into an undercover rescue operation to save Holo from the confinement of the Catholic church.

The show covers plenty of ground in just six hours. For a nearly convoluted story of mercantilism and avoiding bankruptcy, "Spice and Wolf" holds an extraordinary amount of spiritualism. Holo may bare all for her fanboys for much of the series, with explicit parts conveniently blanked out. However, she can transform into a humongous wolf in a matter of seconds. In spite of her immense power, she tries her best not to scare people away, by remaining in her human form.

The artwork brings back wonderful memories of "Princess Mononoke," with its huge wolf gods and remorseless violence during some important moments. Yet, this is a romance story at its heart. Holo and Lawrence hit it off with dialogue as compassionate and playful as the Woody Allen film "Annie Hall."

There is a humorous story arc at the end where their partnership turns into a love triangle, making for some subtle wars with words. The relationship remains as strong as ever, with two characters who grow ever closer as the show progresses.

"Spice and Wolf" is a rich story of creative conversations, love and financial retribution against corrupt companies. Certainly the plot can get convoluted at times, but "Spice and Wolf" remains the best and most consistent show for winter of 2009.

(English dub review)

Of course, a series about Medieval Europe doesn't sound as authentic without solid voice actors. Funimation's dub delivers on all levels. Not an ounce of playfulness or urgency is wasted from the characters. Holo sounds every bit as boastful and vivacious as her Japanese counterpart and Lawrence's English voice retains his cleverness and laid-back mannerisms.

It sounds every bit as good as you'd want a English dub to sound. This is voice acting at its best.

Image courtesy of photobucket.com

DVD Review - Art students learn about love and life

The first part of "Honey and Clover" is a touching slice-of-life series contemplating on the changing relationships of art students in Japan.

The story of this anime centers around the relationships between five college artists--three young men and two young women. The main men of the series include the gray-haired sophomore Yuta Takemoto, the vivacious money-maker Shinobu Morita and the philosophical senior Takumi Mayama. They often hang out with the tall, pony-tailed girl Ayumi Yamada and their professor's little niece, Hagumi Hanamoto.

Although the series literally holds back the main story until the sixth episode, the true heart of the series is focused on the changing lives of the protagonists as they graduate or move away. Two story arcs develop with more than enough lovesick passion to make anyone cry.

The first spotlight of the show is the conflicting relationship between Ayumi Yamada and Takumi Mayama. Ayumi Yamada always loves talking to Mayama, who is already in love with the person he works for, Rika Harada.

Of course, you could easily write this off as a love that will never last, but this series persistently pulls on your heartstrings. The two friends somehow pull off a balancing act of emotional confessions, without ever breaking off their relationship. Somehow, Yamada can't stop loving Mayama.

The second story arc takes place near the halfway point of the series. At a certain point, Morita and Takemoto struggle with their strong feelings for Hagumi Hanamoto. All the pent-up emotion builds up to a heartbreaking end as Hagumi suffers an emotional breakdown and Morita looks for other jobs to make more money.

Despite the melancholy tone in the third disc of this box set, the soundtrack of acoustic guitars and pianos fills the anime with an unforgettable pop culture vibe, with music from Suga Shikao and the rock group SPITZ. The best song is the ending theme by Suneohair, "Waltz," which fills the gaps between episodes with soothing vocals and a folk rock edge.

Plenty of riotous comedy sequences also lighten the tone of the story. Morita often dresses up little Hagu so he can photograph her like a paparazzi.

The fan-favorite joke, however, involves two of the students twisting themselves almost to death while playing Twister. The spectacle is littered with comical, bone-crunching sounds and grimacing faces.

"Honey and Clover" is one of the few pieces of animation that captures life as an experience of joy and sadness. This is one of the few shows that reaches above and beyond all expectations to portray the warm nostalgia of youth and the complications involved in long-distance relationships.

Dubs and special features

"Honey and Clover" features one of the best English voice-overs I've ever heard. The American dub somehow retains all the gentle romance and the hyper, comedic energy of the series without sounding awkward.

The box set also features a fascinating documentary on the series' opening, by director Nagi Noto. In case you haven't seen it, the intro sequence is a playful montage of plates with food sculptures and cute stop-motion animation. This special features covers everything from camera positioning to tasty food choreography.

Image courtesy of photobucket.com

Anime Preview - Eye of the Taiga

"Toradora!" is a surprise hit for 2009, beginning as a harem romance and ending with immensely dramatic dialogue.

The story begins like a conventional love story. Episode one introduces us to Ryuuji Takasu, a typical high school guy who holds a secret crush on Minori Kushieda, a female baseball team captain. Kushieda's friend, Taiga Aisaka, is a bratty young girl who has a crush on Takasu's best friend, Yuusaku Kitamura.

Ryuuji and Taiga team up together to convince their own crushes to love them. However, they don't seem to listen. In fact, their classmates all think that Ryuuji and Taiga make a cute couple.


We clearly see how this series will end after episode 20 or so, but the journey there is really the real meat of the series. When you look at the series as a whole, the real conflict is focused around the main characters' family lives.

For starters, Ryuuji has no father. His mother lives alone, working as a barmaid at night. The short Taiga, on the other hand, was kicked out of her house by her wealthy parents. She lives alone in an apartment.

And by fate, these two characters just happen to live next to each other. Although they united to fulfill their own goal of winning the hearts of the people they love, their true happiness comes from their struggle for independence.

The series turns even more rowdy after Ami Kawashima, a popular teenage model with a split personality, transfers to their school. She has a crush on Ryuuji, leading to plenty of romantic entanglements. By episode eight, the anime plays out like a violent harem, with plenty of girls fighting over Ryuuji and Yuusaku.


However, these characters are not iconic, like the harem fantasy in "Love Hina" or the slapstick comedy couple in "Lovely Complex." Sure, Taiga and Ryuuji begin as a comedic duo, in which Taiga usually beats her friend up like mincemeat whenever she feels insulted.

However, the story dialogue is turns this love story into a sort of sports film, without all the sports references. Taiga and Ryuuji become the victorious couple overcoming the problems within their family. Even when their angst turns into public despair, they eventually reach triumphant moments of revelation by the end of the show's run.


The series is not available in the U.S., but the series has plenty of buzz following its 25-episode run.

DVD publishers will definitely want to license this series. If anyone wants to find a solid romance anime with characters who actually grow in maturity, give "Toradora!" a try if it comes out on DVD. You won't regret watching it.

Image courtesy of janaiblog.wordpress.com

Anime preview: The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya

 




The last episodes of the second season of "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" mix mischief, emotional angst and science fiction in a fascinating story.

Despite the general disgust of the "Endless Eight" story arc, the last part, "The Sigh of Haruhi Suzumiya," is well worth a second look. Although fans hated this series after "Endless Eight," they definitely have to stick around to watch Haruhi produce a student film with the S.O.S. Brigade.

The story is simple. Haruhi Suzumiya wants to do something with the club for the school's cultural fair. For whatever reason, she decides she will hold a film screening for a movie.

And of course, Kyon and the other group members have to participate in it. They don't have much of a choice, considering that the fate of the world depends on Haruhi's satisfaction.

This film, of course, is a direct reference to the student film spoof in episode 0 of the first season. This was a cheap, but laugh-out-loud funny movie with Asahina as a battle waitress.

Now, some people might think the film process might be boring. However, Haruhi makes things especially interesting, because anything she wishes has the possibility of coming true. She is a god, after all.

As we saw in the "Endless Eight" saga, Haruhi has the power to change all possible laws of time and space, rendering her as more powerful than even Lain Iwakura from Serial Experiments Lain.

Unlike Lain, Haruhi has no idea she has these powers, making the anime even more chaotic. Haruhi manages to talk store owners into giving her props and film equipment. She even manages to find a colored contact lens for Asahina to wear.

Regardless of what anyone thinks of this series after the "Endless Eight," no one can deny that "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" is the most unpredictable anime series ever made. It has the tendency to switch from a comedy to a dark drama instantly. The characters are constantly on the edge, especially in this story arc. Everyone is literally hoping that no one dies because of Haruhi's imagination.

At the same time, the story carries a deep, religious theme. In the 13th episode, Kyon and Haruhi go completely emotional, arguing over how they should film the movie. However, he knows that the film is much more productive than anything that the guys at school are doing. It's a touching love story with a god, even if it is very unconventional.

The second season is definitely a must-have series. Despite how much people hate "Endless Eight," this series is a serious reflection on the otaku culture of Japan as well as the fate of a post-war world. It is extremely volatile, because Haruhi is such an unpredictable character who has the potential to explode with anger and destroy the entire fabric of the the universe.

At the same time, it is a comedy. It will probably be one of the most infamous comedies ever created. With the grand implementation of special effects, science fiction and emotional angst, there's no telling where this anime will go.

Images courtesy of randomc.animeblogger.com

Re-release madness: Paradise Kiss

One of the series I really missed out on reviewing last year was "Paradise Kiss." The series was picked up and re-released by Funimation.

"Paradise Kiss" portrays the excitement and danger of the fashion industry in Japan with striking, and sometimes depressing, realism.

It begins with a spiky-haired rock band guy catching a glimpse of Yukari, a beautiful high school girl. Scared off by his "pick-up lines," the girl runs into a transvestite and faints. Next thing she knows, she wakes up to find herself in Paradise Kiss, the bar turned into a fashion studio. The employees include the transvestite, the punk rocker, a cute pink-haired girl and a tall, gray-haired man named George.

They are all interested in keeping Yukari around to model their new clothing brand, ParaKiss. However, Yukari is more interested in George, the elusive ladie's man who wants to keep Yukari around for more than just modeling. Her best friend in school, Hiroyuki Tokumori, soon worries about her absence from school. Only time will tell when Yukari truly finds her own sense of happiness.

This romance story is clearly intended for more mature audiences. Right from the bat in episode two, viewers will catch a glimpse of a hot make-out session between two employees at the fashion studio. This is just a foreshadowing of some of the steamier moments to come in the series.

"Paradise Kiss" isn't just about sex. It encompasses a tedious romantic entanglement in Yukari's life, in probably one of her most stressful moments in the school year. George is clearly using the schoolgirl, but at the same time, he opens up a new world of possibilities for Yukari. Although the manga tends to portray him more as a jerk, the anime is more even-handed in its portrayal of this handsome prince with an obsession for young romance.

The complexity of romance in "Paradise Kiss" is what makes it unforgettable. Sure, there are moments when the characters are obnoxious. However, all these unique voice actors give complicated performances, making "Paradise Kiss" one of the best anime I've ever seen. The two lead characters especially expose the unnerving possessiveness of rich men in Japan, while at the same time revealing the seductiveness of the Japanese fashion world.

Some critics are bound to disagree with me. Yet, the unsettling drama portrayed in "Paradise Kiss" is a powerful glimpse of all the problems and new possibilities of a post-modern Japan.

Image courtesy of funimation.com

Re-release madness - Rumbling Hearts

I noticed that I still didn't finish "Rumbling Hearts," so I figured I'd watch all the episodes.

"Rumbling Hearts" is a lousy, sexist romance anime, with women who are so dependent on their men and sex that it's just disgusting.

The plot revolves around Takayuki Narumi, some bumbling teenage guy who is a friend of Mitsuki Hayase, the top swimmer at the high school. One of Mitsuki's girl friends, Haruka Suzumiya, has a crush on Narumi, so Mitsuki hooks the two together. They become close friends, and they even have sex together. However, the love story ends tragically with a fatal car crash putting Haruka in a coma.

The second half of the story takes place three years later. Within this time period, Narumi has a romance with Mitsuki, who is now part of an insurance company. However, everything seems to change when Haruka finally wakes up from her coma.

Overall, the storyline is passable. However, "Rumbling Hearts" suffers from overplaying the drama. Mitsuki is a jerk, who really doesn't care much for her former friend who almost died in a car accident. In fact, Mitsuki spends half of the series worrying that Narumi will not love her anymore. She's so obsessed that she tries her best to keep Narumi's attention off of Haruka.

This story boils down to the voice actors and the story, which is extremely overrated on the Anime News Network and animenfo.com Web sites. Eventually, this anime revolves completely around Narumi's love relationships will all three girls in the story: even Haruka's sister. With so many girlfriends around, people will wonder why on Earth Narumi would want to focus on the selfish Mitsuki, who obsesses all the time about whether Narumi loves her.

Narumi claims that he doesn't want anyone to get hurt, but what he's really saying is that he wants to make sure Mitsuki doesn't kill herself looking for someone else to love her. The screenwriter is so self-centered in restraining Mitsuki to an overdependent relationship with Narumi. Honestly, women in Japan will never want to be this constrained to the servitude of other men.

In fact, the only likable character in this series is Haruka. Yet, even she keeps longing for a sexual relationship with Narumi after she awakens from her coma. Haruka is supposed to be the strong, independent girl who learns to fight to recover, but even she is restricted to relying on Narumi for all her support. Narumi is not trustable either: he always seems to be lying about his own relationship status constantly.

There's very little to appreciate about "Rumbling Hearts," which is based on an equally disgusting dating game. In fact, there should be no reason for it to gain so much popularity in America. However, the male audience of anime fans undoubtedly love this infantile orgy of adolescent sex and romantic overdependence. Honestly, they should know better than to watch this series, which is filled with a bunch of jerks fighting for selfish romance.

Image courtesy of funimation.com

DVD Review: Geass and the apocalypse

"Code Geass: Part Three" is a brutally violent masterpiece, examining the brutality of Lelouch's demonic powers.

In episodes 18-21, the series turns into a strange beast in a league of its own--a harem romance anime.

That's right. Just when "Code Geass" couldn't get even more zany, director Goro Taniguchi decided to add in situations in which all of the Brittanians and (Japanese) Eleven soldiers came together for the student festival.

Admittedly, the series almost gets too carried away with all the relationships between characters. For starters, Lelouch had a deeply romantic relationship with his sister Princess Euphemia of the Brittanians in episode 19. One of the Black Knights, Ohgi, has a relationship with a Brittanian soldier, Villeta Nu. Suzaku also has some feelings for the female hotshot of the Black Knights, Kallen Kouzaki. Lastly, Shirley's regaining her memory of her previous crush on LeLouch.

Without revealing too much about the ending, Euphemia first declares that Brittanians shall treat the Japanese as equals. LeLouch in his Zero costume meets with Euphemia and gets very close to using his Geass power, until Milly reveals that she is resigning from her position as princess. She wants to live with LeLouch and his little sister, Nunnally, again. But LeLouch's Geass power is much stronger than even he realizes, and the massacre after he takes control is the final straw, leading to a murderous scene.

It's fitting that C.C. is the angel of death, to say the least. C.C.'s bond with LeLouch is a proper one, because of the pain she felt as a witch in the past. And the final battles in Code Geass are stunningly beautiful and epic. Even though the animators tend to repeat the same animation, the drama plays out marvelously. "Code Geass" is a guilty pleasure anime, fulfilling every anime fans' desire for the destruction of a country symbolizing Western European culture.

"Code Geass" is probably one of the most emotional breathtaking series, throwing violent and romance together in some hodgepodge mix that is surprisingly incredible. It shouldn't work this well, but the voice actors pull off stunning performances and the visuals are amazing. Any anime fan should look into watching this series as an alternative to Fullmetal Alchemist.

This is only season one. Be sure to catch Code Geass: R2 (season two) on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block at 2 a.m., starting on November 8.

Image courtesy of bandai-ent.com

DVD Review: Geass faces inevitable tragedy

I never thought "Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion" could beat out other mech series in drama. Up until the end of part one, we had no doubt that Lelouche Lamperouge was an ambitious genius hell-bent on annihilating the Brittanican army.

But with part two of season one, "Code Geass" turns into an epic of heartbreaking tragedy.

In fact, I can't even mention what happens in the first disc, because it's that shocking and devastating. Let's just say that something horrible happens to Milly Ashford and Lelouch is left with a huge amount of guilt.

Despite all the tearjerking drama in the series, Lelouch is very compassionate. Although he still cannot fight in a Nightmare robot for the life of him, he has quite a few caring lady friends who help him out in this volume. The green-haired C.C. is the most loyal of them all, helping him in numerous ways.

For example, in episode 10, C.C. uses her body to shock a robot with the pilot's old heartbreaking memories, so that Lelouch can escape. Lelouch refuses to let her stand in one place, especially when Brittania Nightmares are headed their way. But when Lelouch puts his hand on her shoulders, he sees visions of C.C.'s own forlorn life, in which she was tortured in numerous ways. And for the first time, we witness romantic feelings between C.C. and Lelouch.

Anime fans will love this section of the series, revealing more emotional parts of the lives of Lelouch, C.C. and Milly. Somebody was bound to get their feelings hurt in this anime. We're also left wondering who C.C. really is.

Probably the real kicker in part two, however, is Lelouch's new rival, Mao. He has a Geass power that enables him to read the minds of other people. As one may imagine, the mind games between the two lead to some insane battles, and even a ridiculous episode where Mao returns in bandages.

Sure, it's hard to take "Code Geass" too seriously. After watching three episodes with Mao wielding extremely dangerous weapons, I couldn't help but laugh at all the crazy nonsensical violence. However, the drama in the series is very smartly played. And although most of the real emotional intensity comes from the shocking revelations in the series, the Japanese voice actors never overdo their parts.

So far, "Code Geass" is one of the best anime series this year. It's no surprise that "Anime Insider" named it the best of 2008. The emotional voice acting and complex plotline make it unforgettable.

Image courtesy of bandai-ent.com

DVD Classic: Gekigangar-3! I mean, Nadesico!

"Martian Successor Nadesico" could be called the Japanese version of "Star Trek," only with more laughs, more energy and cheesy jokes about retro robot anime.

Nadesico is partly a parody of Space Battleship Yamato, which involved the characters fighting in outer space against aliens known as the Gamila. In Nadesico, we have the same theme of people fighting against aliens, known as the Jovian Lizards. However, it's also more about a fictional anime show within this series as well.

Nadesico's plot centers around Akito Tenkawa, a boy who lived on Mars until the Jovian lizards attacked their colonies on Mars. His parents died, and he also lost a friend of his, named Ai.

But somehow, Tenkawa managed to escape. He lives on the Earth as a former robot Aestivalis pilot, but he doesn't want to fight anymore. He wants to be a cook! However, he's such a loser that he cries about his past even when he's cooking. Things change when he runs into Yurika Misumaru, his childhood friend. Apparently Yurika is the new temporary Nadesico captain, and Akito rushes over to help her fight the Jovian lizards.

Sometimes the plot just borders on ridiculous. After the liftoff of the Nadesico, Yurika's father tries to capture the Nadesico back, so that it can fight in the Earth's army. As nonsensical as it sounds, though, Yurika decides to head to Mars anyway, for the sake of her friend, Akito.

Yurika hardly even remembers Akito anyway--her only memory is her picture frame of him in a bulky suitcase. But anime fans can't help but love how bubbly Yurika is, even when she's totally clueless.

But Yurika is one of the most lovable anime heroines. Even though Akito doesn't want to be around her, he falls in love. Inevitably, it turns into a big romantic comedy. Yurika gets into some heated competition over Akito with Megumi Reinard, a former voice actress and communications officer. Yurika and Megumi has some laugh-out-loud momentts arguing in front of Akito in his robot, while Akito just watches their breasts in front of him.

There's so many different genres in this anime that it almost fails to conclude itself. Thankfully, director Dai Sato holds the series together with a cheesy retro robot series called "Gekigangar-3." Akito watched every episode with his buddy on the Nadesico, Gai Daigoji, before he was killed. Eventually, this silly anime-within-an-anime turns into a universal phenomenon, an anime which all the nations, including the Jovian lizards, love with all of their heart. Even the ship Nadesico holds an entire series screeening of "Gekigangar-3."

It's a very good thing that this series never takes itself too seriously. Even when the scientific time-travel and space travel concepts shot over my head, there were always funny "Gekigangar-3" jokes, as well as plenty of hectic jokes in which multiple characters argue over the love of Akito.

And yes, the ending might not tie together the entire series. Still, this anime is about growing up and respecting everyone's own views of an anime. After all, the Jovian lizards saw "Gekigangar-3" as a tale in which the evil empire always conquers the minorities. However, Akito and Yurika know that what really matters in anime is the passion of the characters, not just simplistic anime endings.

But "Martian Successor Nadesico" is truly a romantic comedy at heart. In fact, the humorous ending in which Akito is chasing after Yurika is probably the funniest use of teleportation ever. There's plenty of random jokes, but this is exactly what makes Nadesico a classic anime.

Image courtesy of wikipedia.org