1. Nightwalker (Ep. 7-12): I first caught a few episodes of Nightwalker at NDK. I was in it for the Cain/Shido “interaction”. It certainly isn’t the greatest series and, at times, it’s downright tacky, but it does have it’s strong moments. I happen to love episodes 9 and 10 and the Cain/Shido moments are certainly worth the money if you enjoy messed up relationships. So, yeah, the whipping? All for love, baby. All for love. That kiss at the end? Genius. What a way to mess with the mind of your innocent (more or less) ex-lover! Animation-wise, things aren’t too bad. You just have to get over the sudden makeovers. Some nice bishounen, tossed in with a cute girl and a sexy woman add up to some nice fan service. Appreciate the pretty, folks. I think the one thing I enjoy the most about Nightwalker is the opening theme song. Since I’m horrible at describing music (check out my other site), I’ll just say that I adore the opening song and it may also be a contributing factor as to why I bought it. If you’re looking for deep, don’t look here. If you want general amusement, cut and dry cases, the pretty, and a cool opening song, this is a good series to go and buy.
2. Yami no Matsuei (Vol. 1&2): I’ve always had an interest in Yami no Matsuei, which peaked a few years ago. I’m not quite sure when I bought volume one, but I know I won’t turn back. The animation is superb. I absolutely adore it. I think it’s a good representation of what the characters look like in the manga. The storylines are quick and easy to follow. The squick factor isn’t too, too high; but there sure was a lot of blood in volume one. I love seeing the characters come to life. Gushoushin amuses me greatly. I love their voices. Tsuzuki- adorable. Simply adorable. Hisoka- masterful. Totally ached for him at the end of volume one. All that emotion. This is really the type of series I prefer. It’s got great humor, nice action parts, great general messed up-ness (Muraki), wonderful angst, and a nice resolution for each part. I’m just drawn into the series. And I feel so many things for these characters. The situations bring out the best. From the perverse to the profound, it really is a great series. Not to mention that I also have a love for the opening song. Oh yes, mustn’t forget the pretty (have you seen these characters?! Hot!).
3. Weiss Kreuz (Ep. 1-20): Why did I buy this? Two words. The. Pretty. Seriously, this show is fodder for the snark and it breeds the pretty. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great show, but it goes along with Nightwalker for satisfying my “plot” needs. I really don’t know what to say. Sometimes I feel it’s just “let’s put four hot guys together and make them assassins.” Toss in some angst and four hot bad guys, and you’ve got a show. You’ve eight studs that work in close proximities and the majority of the women are either psycho, incapacitated, or stupid. What’s a gal to do? Slash, baby! Live long and prosper in the shounen-ai. I mean, I guess you could watch it for the plot. But, really, where’s the fun in that? Oh yeah, this is another show with an awesome opening theme song.
4. Please Save My Earth: I bought this because it was a complete series. Six episodes, one DVD. I’m happy. Now this was a series I also had an interest in, therefore I bought it. First and foremost, the ending did not satisfy me. I was kinda wha?!. It all just seemed so open and inconclusive. Secondly, I didn’t feel I got to know the characters all too well. But, for a six-episode series, I knew them well enough. I liked the animation. Crisp and clean and nothing too jarring. I’ll also say that this had one of the best ‘wincing moments’. The “kiss” just ripped my heart out. Poor Issei. That really had to suck. I almost couldn’t watch it the first time around because I felt bad for the guy. One thing I liked was that the ending song could be sung word for word using the English subtitles. The timing is practically perfect. And while I didn’t care for the ending, at least this series had a resolution. Unlike…
5. Angel Sanctuary: I so didn’t want to get this because it’d put me over my “budget” at NDK. I, obviously, caved. One DVD, three episodes. Yeah, that’s not gonna cover the entire manga. Unless it were full-length movie productions. Then it might happen. And I certainly wouldn’t object to that. Yuki Kaori does the pretty. And, my, it certainly runs rampant here. The animation is really something. Love the character design. Very nice, sleek, and almost gothic (save that for her other series). Don’t buy this if you can’t handle the shounen-ai or the incest. I’m not a big fan of incest myself in anime (or in real life for that matter), but this was done tastefully and the consummation scene was very tame. For three episodes, the series sure packed in a lot of emotional elements. I admit that I’m a sucker for Kira’s story. It broke my heart. Absolutely shattered me. I felt for him. Just poignant. Of course the ending leaves a lot to be desired because it leads into a whole different arc. Thanks for nothing!
6. Tokyo Babylon: Another series with a least a manga resolution. And you have to be living under a rock (or at least in the land of shounen) to not know what the ending is. Anyway, I don’t know what the people were trying to do when they animated this series because there’re only two episodes. So, unless you love CLAMP or Subaru and Seishirou, I’d say buy the manga instead. That gripe aside, I bought this because I love Subaru and Seishirou. They’re, like, my one true pairing. The animation is very nice and I love that they maintained the signature CLAMP eyes. I rather like the stories shown. I only wish we could see more Subaru and Seishirou (along with dear Hokuto-chan) interaction. I really liked the second episode because I love the “first meeting” scene. I swoon over that scene every time. Poor, sweet Subaru. Who knew the man you met was such a bastard? I love the romance for the minor characters. I love the makings of a new beginning. And that’s how things should’ve gone for Subaru and Seishirou in an alternate universe. Well, in an, admittedly, schmoopy one. Dude, the scene with the shiki landing on Seishirou’s outstretched arm right on cue with the music? *SQUEE!* I go into visible fangirly mode at that. Overall, not bad but it kinda sucks that it’s so brief. May as well console yourself by listening to “Kiss, Kiss”.
7. Petshop of Horrors: Here’s another series that has a resolution in the manga, but the anime has that “let’s pick out certain parts and then animate them.” Of course this is to be expected because (like nearly all my shows) there’s some detective or covert work going on. Damn! How did I not notice this?! I’ll chalk it up to my currently recovering from sickness. Anyway, this show has no resolution or continuous storyline. It’s like Tokyo Babylon. Focus on the case and on the relationships. That is fine by me because the relationship between Leon and D is why I bought it (notice a theme here?). I just love how D manages to rile Leon up with just a smile. He’s so cool, calm, and collected (cliché) –unless there’s candy involved. It’s a shame that their relationship also really couldn’t be developed because it’s, like, one of the main facets of the manga (and it’s frickin’ hilarious). But, one has to live with what they’re given. This is one of the more gruesome series that I own. There will be some squick early on, but things will be tamer. Also one episode just gets to me because I find it so sad and wistful. However, it also seems to have a relatively happy ending. So this is a good series, but you’ll really have no sense of a storyline if you just catch the anime. Oh, and, Q-chan? Freakin’ adorable.
8. X (TV) (Vol. 1-7): Compared to the movie (which I absolutely refuse to buy), this is how the manga should be represented. It follows the manga to an extent because it’s hard to create a series in eight volumes with an on-going manga. There’s gonna be some deviations. Well the animation is totally cool. A minor complaint is the change of eye colors for some characters (notably Kamui and Subaru). Opening theme song: Awesome. I love it along with the animation. Sure they’re no X Japan, but I think this suffices rather nicely. Much love for all the Subaru/Seishirou moments. I go into fangirl mode when Seishirou calls Subaru cute. Kills me every time. Love seeing everyone’s back-story. And nobody is outright annoying. Oh, yeah, gripe #2, where’s Nokoru, Suoh, and Akira? What’s up with that new chairman? Not feeling that. How dare you deprive me of the excess pretty? The nerve. Because, y’know, there aren’t enough good-looking characters created by CLAMP. And there certainly aren’t enough in X. Since X is violent, expect some rather bloody moments. Expect angst… lots of angst. I fear the eighth volume. Still, one has to admire the sheer cuteness of some scenes and the power of the ‘aww’ to counteract the angst. Bonus: Subaru and Seishirou get more than five minutes to live!
9. Fushigi Yuugi: I just can’t seem to finish this series! I have three more volumes to buy before it’s completed. Okay, this is the only epic series that I own and I’ve no clue as to where to begin. The animation is typically shoujo. Hence, pretty girls and pretty boys. Nice. The premise is rather simple, but it’s the interaction between the Suzaku Shichiseishi that makes it worth it. The show will totally pile on the angst after the halfway point. So brace yourself. Then again, there are golden moments of humor and good nature. I defy people to try and not find a character to love. Even the worst of anime shows has at least one redeeming character that made the suffering worth it. Some characters have wonderful little quirks. I tend to favor Kouji’s self talks and Chichiri’s “No da”. And no matter how annoying it can get, “Miaka! Tamahome!” is such a great thing to parody. I guess one needs a lot of patience to sit through all the episodes, but it’s a good series nonetheless. The fillers aren’t too bad and there’s still a nice balance of sadness and humor. A great series, for what it’s worth.
10. YYH movies: Another series I bought due to the screaming masses of fangirls (very few series I bought didn’t go this route). From that statement, one can gather that I got the movies on account of Kurama and Hiei. Excellent deduction! Alright, I’ve reviewed both movies a while back so I won’t spend much time on this. For what it’s worth, I like the TV series and only wish that the Cartoon Network would show the rest of the series. I don’t care if it’s on Toonami or Adult Swim. Just finish the show!
11. Sailor Moon R (movie): I like Sailor Moon. I heard this was the best movie. I gotta agree with that statement. Heck, it made Chibi-Usa and Usagi likeable! That’s almost unheard of. I loved the storyline for this movie. Having much love for Mamoru, I can’t help but love the movie. There are some lovely and, typically, cute humorous moments. My personal favorite being Chibi-Usa “suffocating” Usagi. Cracked me up. It’s always fun to see the gals kick some butt, especially since those plants tend to grate on one’s nerves. The main plot had me aching for Fiore. Just yanks at the lonely soul in me (which really isn’t hard because I am something of a loner). So I can totally buy into that friendship meaning everything to someone. And I won’t sully the story by saying that Fiore really just wanted to get into Mamoru’s pants (:P). No, I really love this movie and the song ‘Moon Revenge’ kicks all kinds of booty.
12. Cowboy Bebop (along with the movie): Also known as the greatest show ever to be created. Yeah, if you thought my gushing for Macross Plus was bad, this’ll be just as bad. My first exposure to Cowboy Bebop was at my very first NDK. People were talking about it, there were some music videos, and I caught the very, very, very, end (after the “Bang” but before the cue up of ‘Blue’ –yeah, that late) of the series. My first thoughts were that the song I was hearing was really good. From that point on, it never really left me. I had extremely high expectations for this series. I mean, they were higher than the ones I had for Macross Plus. The first thing that attracted me to Cowboy Bebop was the music. Two words. Yoko. Kanno. That, in itself, should explain everything. The first time I saw Cowboy Bebop was in 2001 with the premier of Adult Swim on the Cartoon Network. I was hooked from the beginning. The show has wonderful, absolutely wonderful animation. I point to the opening sequence and try to think of any other TV series that can top that (along with the greatness that is ‘Tank!’). Much like my review for Macross Plus, this series has it all. There genuinely likeable characters. There are brilliant episodes that delve a little deeper into the protagonists’ background. And a kickass villain to boot. There’s marvelous sidesplitting humor and wicked fight scenes. There’s sensuality that does not go overboard. Romance is little to non-existent. All of it is pretty much relegated to the past. And I really liked that. This is such a universal show that I think any romance might drag it down. There are enough elements outside of romance that appeals to both sexes. I love how this crew of four not really misfits got together (along with the greatest dog) and watching their relationships are fantastic. There’s the bickering, wicked banter, and genuine love, caring, and affection for the others. They really connected. And I love that progression. Just everything about this series strikes the right chord in me. Nothing is too obscene or over-blown and the underlying story is effin’ brilliant. I can’t give enough kudos for this series. Even the less-than-stellar episodes had an outstanding feature, which redeemed it. It’s the greatest series I’ve seen with a kickass movie to boot. See you, space cowboy!