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AERIE & SEDALIA'S ANIME REVIEWS

In this section of the page I, my sister, and a few esteemed guest reviewers divulge our opinions of all the anime we have seen.

Aerie: My opinions will be in purple.

Sedalia: And mine shall be in grey.

AKIRA

This is a classic sci-fi anime movie about Tokyo getting blown up.

This is a must-see if you like science fiction. It has what is quite possibly the coolest bike-chase scene ever. This movie kicks @$$!!!

This movie got me hooked on anime. It has really cool music. I think the bike-chase scenes were my favorite parts.

ANGEL SANCTUARY

~ This is a guest review by Krelian Necros ~

Every now and then you come across an anime that slaps Christianity (or religion in general) in the face. Fortunately for you zealots out there, Angel Sanctuary isn’t one of those animes. Unfortunately for you zealots, instead of slapping Christianity in the face it whacks Christianity upside the head with a baseball bat.

Setsuna makes the unfortunate discovery that he is actually the reincarnation of Organic Angel Alexiel (don’t ask about the name, I have no clue), an angel smitten by God for rebelling against Heaven. Setsuna was a pretty messed up guy to begin with, but now he has angels and demons hounding him in an attempt to convince him to join their side in the eternal conflict between Heaven and Hell, and the whole situation pushes him over the edge.

A bit of a warning: very devout Christians should NEVER watch this anime, it’s extremely discrediting to Heaven (angels are portrayed as homosexuals, rapists, drug dealers, genocidal, or any combination of the above). Anyone who has anything against homosexuality or incest probably shouldn’t see this either. I personally thought the plot of Angel Sanctuary was an interesting twist of events and the whole thing was put together in a very beautiful and dramatic manner (it was almost enough to make me forget the fact that the romance element of the story was incest based). The artwork was amongst the best I have ever seen in an anime and the characters were very well done for a three episode series (Kurai reminds me of Phibrizzo; needless to say she’s my favorite character).

APPLESEED

A movie about ummm...... a butch chick and big robots?

A post apocalyptic crap-fest. One hour of my life completely wasted. If you like big robots with bunny ears, then you might consider watching this.

The most entertaining part of this movie was seeing the word 'gas' misspelled as 'gus' on a can of tear-gas. How sad is that? This movie wishes it had 1/50th of the coolness that Akira has. I deem Appleseed to be complete and utter crap. AND WHAT THE @#$% DOES THE TITLE HAVE TO DO WITH THE ACTUAL MOVIE????

ARMITAGE III

~ This is a guest review by Amethyst Angel ~

Armitage III--(That's "Armitage the Third", NOT Armitage 3, the sequel to Armitage 2 and Armitage 1 There are two versions of this story, --a 4-part OAV and a 2 -hour movie starring "Showgirls" star Elizabeth Berkeley as the titular (no pun intended) heroine.

Bishy cyborg detective Ross Sylibus travels to Mars where he almost immediately finds himself investigating a series of brutal murders where the victims all have one thing in common: They're all mysterious human/android females called "Thirds". Helping Ross with his investigation is his new partner, Naomi Armitage, --a spunky, pint-sized chick with a big gun, a bad attitude and even worse fashion sense, (and who just happens to be a "Third" herself...)

I'm not much of a fan of cyberpunk. --I've always found the genre too depressing for my tastes--but I actually enjoyed this. It's your typical Blade Runnerish, "how human IS human" digi-philosophical fare, but the characters were interesting and the action entertaining. As far as both versions go, I preferred the OAV, simply because I found the ending (and the acting) to be much less depressing than that of the movie version...

BASTARD!!

The world is threatened by the four lords of havoc, and Dark Schneider grudgingly plays the role of hero.

Dark Schneider is a BADASS.

OH MY GOD, a sword-and-sorcery anime with a NON-GENERIC hero!

BLUE SEED

~ This is a guest review by Amethyst Angel ~

I'm told this was THE show to watch before Evangelion mecha-ed it's way into Otaku Clubs across the country.

Poor Japan. You can't help but feel sorry for a country whose gravest enemy is an army of houseplants. But still, they put up a heroic and an entertaining struggle. Unlike Evangelion, the series NEVER takes itself or its situation too seriously, and what it lacks in f*#@ed up religious symbolism, it makes up for with funny and seriously f*#@ed up omakes. By far, the best thing going for this series is Kusanagi, who may be the sexiest half-man/half-plant to ever walk/jump/fly the earth.

Bubblegum Crisis 2040

~ This is a guest review by Amethyst Angel ~

Tokyo is in trouble and it's up to four babes in high-heeled hardsuits to save it.

A decent enough cyber-thriller, but what the heck is the cast of "El-Hazard" doing in it?

CHRONICLES OF THE HEROIC KNIGHT

The sequal to 'Record of Lodoss War'

Aerie's favorite character: Leaf

Sedalia's favorite character: ASHRAM-SAMA!!!!!

I love the chibis at the end of every episode! SD Ashram is so KAWAII!!!! But, unfortunately, as cool as the ends of the episodes are, the actual story sucks major @$$. The new characters introduced in this series are lame, except for Leaf (who is only slightly less lame than everyone else).

It is not nearly as good as 'Record of Lodoss War', but it still kicks 'Legend of Crystania's' ass. The later half of 'Record of Lodoss War' is rewritten in this series - and not nearly as good as the original. The only reason I got this series is because of my obsession with Ashram. On the plus side, the opening sequence is one of the best I've ever seen.

CLAMP Campus Detectives

~ This is a guest review by Amethyst Angel ~

Three little rich boys in disturbingly short pants decide to form a detective agency at their exclusive Japanese grade school. During the course of their subsequent adventures, the trio engages in all kinds of CLAMP-sian pursuits, like helping damsels in distress, dressing in drag, and batting their big, beautiful eyes (which in true CLAMP fashion, take up half of their face...)

It's sort of a yawner until the very end when the leader of the detective agency and class president Nokoru ---(called "Kaichou" by his short-pantsed comrades-in-arms)-- finds himself in a titanic struggle with the demons of his 10-year old past. With the exception of "Fake", this could possibly be the gayest anime I have ever seen.

DARKSIDE BLUES

The story of a group of misfits and an enigmatic goth fighting an evil corporation bent on world domination.

There are some things that I can only see the point of at 4 o' clock in the morning - and this movie is one of them. Singing the blues with a Japanese/southern accent is not a good thing, boys and girls. It's pretty a cool movie, though. Very interesting.

This movie is very stylish and elegant. It had a lot of cool and creepy visuals, such as a grandfather clock covered in red cobwebs. Darkside is the most gothic anime character I've ever seen. I absolutely hated the music. And the ending of the movie left me with no sense of closure whatsoever. But it grew on me after I watched it a few times.

Debutante Detective Corps

~ This is a guest review by Amethyst Angel ~

Same premise as CLAMP Campus Detectives, although instead of starring three rich little boys in disturbingly short pants, it stars five rich young women in disturbingly tight tops.

It's pretty wretched. Even for a type of fare which you KNOW right off the bat isn't meant to be taken very seriously, it's bad. The most interesting part of this story comes at the very beginning when each of the girls is having their stats flashed across the screen. (This happens as each of them are arriving at their school, each in their own, respectively flashy, James Bondsian fashion.) When you see each girl's info screen pop up, pause your VCR (or DVD player) and read the Engrish paragraphs beside each girl's picture. You'll laugh your ass off. And it's the only laughing you'll be doing in this vapid jigglefest...

DEMON CITY SHINJUKU

A movie about a generic young hero's quest to rid Tokyo of pesky demons and avenge his father's murder.

Our favorite character: Mephisto

<((-.-))> Zzzzzzz. Wake me up when Mephisto's on. He's bishy.

Lots of gore and violence in this, so it's not the thing to watch if you're squeamish. The movie itself was alright, but what saved it for me was Mephisto. Yet another enigmatic goth bishounen. =) This guy was just too cool. Very mysterious and philosophical.

DIGIMON

Eight kids use their lil' monsters to battle other monsters.
The Digimon Emperor is kawaii!! This show used to suck, but now it doesn't. The music's better and the dialog's funnier. I look forward to it every Saturday morning.

I used to hate this show and now I never miss it. What happened? The new season is great. The music is much more tolerable and the kids are cooler. And you gotta luv the evil digimon emperor. Not since Hellmaster Phibrizzo has the face of evil been so gosh-darn cute. No split personality, either. Even in normal everyday life he's an evil sadistic psycho with control issues. KAWAII!!

DRAGONBALL

Goku searches for the seven legendary dragonballs. *snicker*

This is one of the shows that every anime fan should watch at least once.

A very cute show.

DRAGOON

Boy meets girl. Boy and girl attacked by soldiers of generic evil empire. Boy and girl go on a quest, picking up several insipid characters along the way.

This is the suckiest show to have ever sucked. Except maybe Legend of Crystania. May needs to duct-tape her shirt on.

This sucks. It really, really sucks. The plot was predictable. The characters are quite an uninteresting lot. First there's generic-hero-boy Sedon. Nothing original about him at all. Then there's May, your run-of-the-mill sweet and innocent yet mysterious girl with amnesia, who apparently gets her hair done at the same place as Yurika from Nadesico. If I were her I would invest in a shirt made of sturdier material. And a bra. The only thing about this that hinted at originality was the opening, where it showed Sedon and May fighting. So how does May go from Miss Oopsmyshirtfelloff to the Borg queen? We never find out. Doesn't happen. God forbid that the plot might actually get interesting.

DUAL

~ This is a guest review by Amethyst Angel ~

An Eva/Tenchi parody that lifts jokes whole from both series and somehow manages to be as funny as neither...

There's a fine line between satire and rip-off. Dual not only crosses that line, it grinds its mechanized foot into it, topples several famous Tokyo landmarks onto it, then runs it through with a progressive knife. I'm surprised GAINAX hasn't sued Pioneer's ass for plagerizing all of its characters and mecha designs , though given Japan's notoriously low lawyer-to-anime-studio ratio, it shouldn't come as too much of a shock, I guess. There's so much more anime out there to see and so little time to see it. Skip this.

EAT-MAN '98

~ This is a guest review by Amethyst Angel ~

This series details the exploits of bishy blonde Bolt Crank who, besides being a bad-ass mercenary, also has what may be the most bizarre super power ever recorded in anime, or for that matter any OTHER recordable medium...

Not since the game "Kirby's Dreamland" has the theme of a hero with the ability to eat things, then regurgitate them through his body for future use against his enemies been so thoroughly explored as it's been in this series. It IS worth watching, but only if you want to get a feel for how whacked out an anime series can really get. AND if you like a hero who says only three words per episode. I'm serious. Bolt almost never talks. If the people who made this series were paying his voice actor a dime a word, then by the time they were finished recording the whole series, they'd find the bill for his services would total no more than $1.40. It makes for a nice change from series (like Excel Saga) where you wish the main character would shut the f&#$ up for a while.

EL HAZARD

~ This is a guest review by Amethyst Angel ~

A group of Japanese classmates and their teacher are transported, (with the aid of some mysterious ruins unearthed at their high school,) to a land of sweeping vistas, beautiful architecture, weird machinery, 8-foot tall bugs, and , (since this is a fantasy series,) the obligatory scads of gorgeous, scantily clad women who all seem to fall in love with our heroes for no apparent reason.....

El Hazard. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. Is it for your wonderful cast of characters which include the boozing teacher/ersatz superhero, Fujisawa and his fantastic fists and feet of fury? (FUJISAWA KIIIIICK!!) Or Jinnai, the pale and paranoid student president with delusions of grandeur and what is undoubtedly the greatest diabolical laugh ever recorded? Is it for the great story which manages to be consistently entertaining AND have a romantic subplot which doesn't scare the boys away? Or is it for the dub version, which many have said surpasses the original Japanese? I don't know, but this has always been one of my favorites, (although I tend to avoid the many inferior sequels and series which have been spawned from it much as I would avoid plague-ridden politicians).

EXCEL SAGA

~ This is a guest review by Amethyst Angel ~

A story about....um....unh... I'm still not sure.

This anime series starts out at a riotously funny pace and manages to become progressively even MORE manic and gut-wrenchingly hilarious with each subsequent episode. How does it manage to accomplish this? By vampiric-ly sucking the life force from its viewers as they watch it. If, at the end of this series, indeed, if at the end of each episode, you've managed to retain enough strength after all the laughing you've done, to lift up your finger and flaccidly whack it against the stop button on your VCR remote control, then count yourself fortunate. You have survived . To live and laugh and love another day. Now slump over unconscious. You've earned it.

FAKE

~ This is a guest review by Amethyst Angel ~

A gay cop drama/adventure series. I think that pretty much says it all.

Our Otaku Club president popped this into our VCR during one of our showings as an attempt, I believe, to broaden our social horizons. Although the story's a little ludicrous, and the subject matter may be a little off-putting to some, I think it's a good series. It's pretty to look at, (although I found the character designs with their huge eyes and frowny mouths to be a little on the creepy side,) and I had a good time, although I'm not sure which was more fun, watching the anime, or watching 30 of my fellow otaku, all of whom were male, screaming and squirming in their seats at the sight of two men kissing onscreen. *Sigh*. So much for broadening our social horizons...

FIRE EMBLEM

An OVA based on the video game of the same name.

Ummm... Was this supposed to be part of a series? It's incomplete at best. Plus, they tried to fit in so many characters that you can't keep them straight. But I've never played the game, so that might have something to do with it. It would be good if it was finished, but it isn't, so save your money.

I liked this series; I just wish there was more of it. It features a typical RPG cast of characters - a generic hero with a badass sword, a tomboyish princess, an altruistic priestess, a mysterious swordsman, etc. The music was very video-gamey. _____

FLINT THE TIME DETECTIVE

Traveling through time and space in search of pokemon-esque critters.

Merlock is KAWAII!!

Merlock is KAWAII!!!

FUSHIGI YUUGI aka THE MYSTERIOUS PLAY

(or according to the spellchecker: FISHING YOGI)

The story of a girl who finds herself caught up in the plot of a magical book.

Aerie's favorite character: Tasuki

Sedalia's favorite characters: Hotohori & Nakago

Aerie's least favorite character: Miaka, Chichiri, or Soi.... Decisions, decisions....

Sedalia's least favorite character: Miaka

It's sooo... bishful! Hotohori, Nakago, Suboshi, Amiboshi, and to a lesser extent, Tasuki and Tamahome... so much eye candy! The characters are well-developed, and except for the heroine, her love interest, Chichiri and the villains, likeable.

I like this series because of the beautiful art and (for the most part) excellent characters. The only thing that I truly dislike about this show is the heroine, Miaka. She doesn't have one original bone in her body. She IS Usagi (or Serena, if you prefer).

GESTALT

Father Olivier abandons his church to search for the truth.

Olivier is a sweetie. Ohri is tolerable before she gets her voice back. Then she won't shut up.

I liked this, despite Ohri. Olivier is a very likeable main character, not the typical sword-swinging adventurer hero common to fantasy epics. It's quite a refreshing change to see an altruistic priest as the leading guy. There are some very impressive CG effects. The storyline was good enough to leave me wanting to see more. I recommend seeing this one.

GHOST IN THE SHELL

Once upon a time there was a chick who was a robot and had a gun...

I really liked this interesting sci-fi anime. It was nifty. It has a highly intelligent storyline and really big guns.

Ummmm......I think I slept through it.....

GUNDAM WING

Don't dare call yourself an otaku if you haven't seen it.

This show's got a complex plot and giant robots galore. The pilots are kawaii and Zechs is bishy.

Relena is a royal spore. The only thing she and Heero have in common is that they both have the survival instincts of depressed lemmings.

GUNSMITH CATS

The story of two ladies with lots of ammo.

Guns and bombs. More guns. More bombs. Two chicks. Enough firepower to level a good-sized town. FUN!

Lots of action, guns, and explosives. Sassy heroines and a fearsome villainess. Overall - pretty cool.

HAUNTED JUNCTION

~ This is a guest review by Amethyst Angel ~

Oh My God! It's been a long time since I've seen anything THIS funny! This series has the kind of sick, perverted sense of humor that's always been right up my alley...(.Although, admittedly, Ashina's "Shouta Complex" set my teeth on edge...)

IRRESPONSIBLE CAPTAIN TYLOR

~ This is a guest review by Amethyst Angel ~

A story about a shiftless bum who rises meteroically to the highest ranks of the United Planets Space Force thanks in no small part to his incredible luck and to his almost savant-ish gift for flattery.

As a series, it's not too flashy. The artwork seemed kind of average, but the fun never seemed to stop. The crew of the Soyokaze makes for a lovable band of rag-tag misfits and Tylor has a way of stealing the heart of nearly everybody he meets, and the viewers as well. The only downside of this series is the incidental music, which made me want to jam my manga pens nib-first into my ears after hearing it for about two seconds.

LEGEND OF CRYSTANIA

Another sequel of 'Record of Lodoss War', which has absolutely nothing to do with it except containing characters named Ashram and Pirotess.

Our favorite character: the horse that committed suicide *Oh, if only the rest of the cast had sense enough to do the same....*_____

I am at a loss for words. There are no words to convey this sense of disappointment and loathing. This wretched abomination has no right to associate itself with a masterpiece such as 'Record of Lodoss War.' I want to burn every copy of every tape, spit on the ashes, and then blow them up and spit in the crater. Yes, I hate it that much.

HEAVEN MAY FORGIVE THEM FOR MAKING THIS PIECE OF SHIT, BUT I, SEDALIA, WILL NOT! *poses dramatically*

LEGEND OF THE GALACTIC HEROES

~ This is a guest review by Amethyst Angel ~

A zillion episode series about two young, bishy soldiers, Yang and Reinhart, who find themselves rising to high rank within their respective militaries and fighting on opposite sides of an epic 150-year old space war. Not as boring as it may at first appear.

An underrated classic of old school animation. It sweeps along like a soap opera, and you never know what or who will be waiting around the next plot point. I found myself frustrated, however, by the sheer number of characters, each with a different purpose and motivation. If you want to keep track of who's who and who wants what, I recommend keeping a scorecard. Oh, and good luck trying to find all the episodes, in translated format stateside. You'll need it.

LOST UNIVERSE

Slayers in space - if the Slayers had an annoying hologram and all the comedic talent of a cantaloupe.

After only seeing the first tape, I'm not particularly impressed, but I'm not going to write it off yet.

I've heard this series described as 'Slayers in space'. This is a lie. It's not nearly as funny as the series that it was spun-off from. The character designs bother me, namely the girls. Too much pink and too many frills, I guess. And then there's Canal's dubbed voice. I'd rather listen to a rake being dragged across a chalkboard for half an hour. I think the series has potential, but I need to see where the plot is going before I decide whether I like it or not.

~ This is a guest review by Amethyst Angel ~

Y'know.... What this series could really use is a Xelloss...^_^ And maybe a Phibby. But definitely a Xelloss....

MAGIC KNIGHT RAYEARTH

The story of three girls transported to another world, who are destined to become the legendary magic knights.

Aerie's favorite characters: Zagato, Inouva, and Ascot. Gotta love the villains.

Sedalia's favorite character: Zagato

It has the standard Schoolgirls-zapped-to-another-world-to-become-legendary-heroes plotline. And it has giant robots, too. But it's actually very good. The characters are likeable, at least the villains are, at any rate. Aerie's fashion tip: fukus don't go with armor. Ever.

I liked this show a lot, mainly due to the sad and rather twisted love story of Zagato and Emeraude. Other than that, it's just another cute shoujo series. I generally harbor an intense dislike of shoujo heroines, and Hikaru, Umi, and Fuu are no exceptions. Fuu reminded me of Anthy Himemaya, mainly due to the glasses and sleep-inducing voice. Umi was whiny. (But it was fun watching her try to kill Makona). Hikaru was obnoxiously peppy. But most of all I despise them because they killed my favorite character - Zagato. *sniff sniff* Poor guy. He had a supremely sexy voice (dubbed version), and the best evil villain laugh ever.

MAGIC KNIGHT RAYEARTH 2

The Magic Knights are once again summoned to Cephiro.

This show is more serious than the first series. Well, it would be if Primera didn't manage to ruin every single dramatic moment.

Lantis! Lantis! Lantis!

MARIS THE CHOJO

~ This is a guest review by Amethyst Angel ~

Maris is a Thanatosian. Which means she's six times stronger than the average earthling. Unfortunately, her great strength proves to be a bane rather than an asset, as she often finds herself inadvertently destroying everything she touches, (then working overtime and on her vacations in order to pay for it all) She works as an agent for the Special Space Police and she has a partner, a fox-man named Murphy who can turn his nine tails into nine clones of whatever he wishes, (a super-power which is rivaled only by Eat-Man's in terms of its sheer weirdness.. )

The old-school style of the art and animation does nothing to distract from the hilarity of the story. Maris is a typical early Takahashi progtagonist somewhat in the vein of Ataru from Urusei Yatsura--down on her luck, has the family from hell, gets so respect, gets hurt a lot, etc.. I found her attempts to scrape together a little security for herself highly amusing, and this movie has a savage, satirical, Simpson's style of humor which keeps one laughing throughout the whole story. At the end, it has an animated blooper reel--a funny idea which pre-dates Disney's "A Bug's Life" ending credits by about 15 years.

MARTIAN SUCCESSOR NADESICO

Love. War. Giant Robots. The box says it all.

Our favorite character: JUN!!!! He's so kawaii!!

This is REALLY good. It's funny. And it has giant robots. And JUN!! It is comparable to Neon Genesis Evangelion.

I normally don't go for giant robot shows, but this one won me over. It's pretty funny. And then there's Jun..... he sure looks cute in a nun's habit.

MAZE--TV SERIES

~ This is a guest review by Amethyst Angel ~

A girl named Maze wakes up one morning to find that her house (or part of it) has dropped Wizard-of-Oz style into the middle of a strange forest for no apparent reason. She's also lost her memory for no apparent reason. She also soon finds herself able to conjure up a magical mecha for no apparent reason. And when the sun goes down, she turns into a guy with a lecherous personality. Again. For no apparent reason. Anyway, Maze soon finds herself--ah--himself embroiled in a fight to save a cute little princess named Mill from the monstrous minions of a fanatical religious cult. She/he also finds himself/herself trying to fend off a barrage of romantic advances which are coming from everyone she meets in this mysterious new world because, for no apparent reason, everyone in this world wants to jump her/his bones. Oh, and the male part of her also wants to jump the female part of her's bones. Somebody call Sigmund Freid. This series needs help.

Maze gave me a headache. And I don't think it was on account of the thin, Impact-style font which was used to write the subtitles in the crappy fansub I was watching. There are just SO many things you have to remember and keep track of, so many things happening all at once (and everything that does happen only seems designed to happen in order to create situations where Maze has to show off her panties or get fondled by her fellow adventurers, etc.) The only good thing about this show is the ending theme music, Junky Boy, which I DARE you to try not to dance to.

MAZE OAV

~ This is a guest review by Krelian Necros ~

Oh, Lord. . .it's been a long time since I've seen an anime that made me laugh so much and made me feel so dirty at the same time. The Maze OAVs accomplish this task splendidly. I'm not an expert on the subject, since I try to avoid anime porn, but I honestly think that parts of the Maze OAVs could be categorized as mild hentai.

For those of you who have seen the Maze TV series, the OAVs are a continuation of the series. Only. . .all the villains are there again. . .and for some reason Maze's party hasn’t met Randy yet (yes, Randy is her real name. Those freaks that made this anime need help). Meeting Randy at a later date doesn't make since considering that she joins the party pretty early in the series, but. . oh well. . .why am I complaining? Also, Ran Chiki, Saber, and the "modest playboy" are nowhere to be found in the OAVs. In their place are two new characters: Mix and Nuts (again, the people who made this need help).

As far as violence is concerned, the opening scene of the OAVs in an incredibly bloody battle which alone equals about all of the gore in the TV series. For example, in the beginning scene Rapier cleaves a person vertically in half with her sword (or, at least I THINK that's what happened. There was so much blood flying everywhere it was kinda hard to tell).

As far as sex, nudity, and perversion go, take the TV series times. . oh, I dunno. . .ten at least and there you go. There are multiple scenes that seem like they could lead up to one of the characters being raped, and in one occasion, a character actually is raped. The fact that apparently the creators didn’t see any problem with displaying realistic nipples (which they hid in the TV series) adds to the feeling of being incredibly unclean that you get when you watch this. The incredible perversion did lead to a few amusing situations though, such as when Mill-chan (one of the most innocent of anime characters I've seen) says things like "he’s a horny guy" and "he forced her to have sex with him."

So what makes this anime worth seeing? Well, if you like sex, I've already explained why it's worth seeing. For those of you who aren't satisfied with that, there is the fact that this anime contains some of the most hilarious things I've ever seen, such as the great "three beasts that guard the Grand Duchy" and the in-anime "Maze trivia quiz show." The very beginning of the anime with the rom-armor puppet show was humorous along with all the chibis. This is getting back towards the sex subject, but I couldn't help but to chuckle when Mill-chan puts two human skeletons she finds in a crypt into a sexual pose. But anyway, if you don't mind a lot of nudity, a lot of perversion, and a moderate amount of gore; by all means, watch the Maze OAVs; they're great. If you do have a problem with any of the previously mentioned topics, you probably should find another anime.

MERMAID'S SCAR OAV

~ This is a guest review by Amethyst Angel ~

There's a legend that says if you eat of the flesh of a mermaid, and survive the experience, you'll live forever. Yuta and Mana have done just this and are now wandering Japan together, trying to find a purpose behind their existence. One day, they come across a little boy named Masato, who seems to have a very unusual relationship with his mother, Misa...Could these two be hiding a dark and terrifying secret. A secret which could threaten the very lives of our immortal heroes? ( Of COURSE they are, you sillybutt! This is a Takahashi story which has the word "Mermaid" in the title. Prepare to be grossed out and to have your ass scared off...)

You'll probably understand what's going on better if you read Takahashi's manga works related to this subject, but it's not a necessity. It's a little gross, but it has a darkly cool story and great animation. Without revealing too much, let me just say that the kid in THIS story could give Phibby a good run for his money should the two ever decide to rumble with each other....

MIYUKI-CHAN IN WONDERLAND

~ This is a guest review by Amethyst Angel ~

Anime the way it would've been if Lewis Carroll had written for it. And if Lewis Carroll had been into bondage, sado-masochism and watchin' lesbians gettin' it on. (Of course, the kind of stuff he was REALLY into was no less sick, but we'll leave that as a subject for another day)....

Not my cup o' Joe, really. And the background music sounds a lot like the "Lina and Gourry chasing after the villain through the village" music from Slayers played on a continuous loop. One of my fellow Otaku Club members told me that when she worked at Blockbuster, she found this video sitting in the Childrens' Section. Bet that made for an interesting discussion when Mommy brought it home and popped it into the VCR for little Junior. ("Mommy, what are those two ladies doing to each other?" "Umm... They're...telling secrets to each other...." "But that one lady's ear isn't anywhere NEAR there. Hey! What happened to that one lady's clothes?" "OH MY GOD!!!! CLOSE YOUR EYES!!!!")

NEON GENESIS EVANGELION

The Angels have come to put the smack down.....

< We've seen the first half of this series. >

I like what I've seen. It's cool, interesting, and the intro kicks @$$. And it has giant robots. With extension cords.

The lyrics to the opening theme song are the coolest I've ever seen. I definitely plan on acquiring the rest of this series eventually.

OUTLAW STAR

~ This is a guest review by Amethyst Angel ~

Gene Starwind and his band of bounty hunters wisecrack and battle their way through space in search of an Ultimate power-thingy called the Galactic Leyline, which, once they find it, will give them the power to...well... they're not sure. But they are certain it will be something Really Good, (or in the very least, make them Filthy Stinking Rich).

Lighter, fluffier fare than Cowboy Bebop, the series it's most been compared to. It's not as good a series as CB, but it's still loads of fun. And Harry MacDougal, while he's no Dilandau, makes for a delightfully psycho (and considerably more hetero-minded) pretty-boy villain. This series was on Cartoon Network a couple of times, but if you can, watch the uncut version. Gene's a lot more fun when you can see him in all of his potty-mouthed, smart-assed glory. Plus, the obligatory Hot Springs episode for this series, (which CN cut when they broadcast it) is one of the funniest obligatory hot springs episodes ever animated. (I nearly injured myself laughing at the Freddy-Krueger/Joker/Wolverine assassin guy.)

PETSHOP OF HORRORS

It's the Outer Limits with all of the episodes having the exact same plot.

It's predictable, but good.

I liked the creepy, gender-ambiguous shopkeeper. If shows like the Twilight Zone and Outer Limits are your bag, then check this out.

PLASTIC LITTLE

~ This is a guest review by Amethyst Angel ~

The story of Captain Tits, er, I mean, Captain Tita, and her rag-tag crew of pet-hunters as they rescue a scientist's daughter and battle an evil shadowy military organization bent on getting their hands on a terrible new weapon.

Despite the massive holes in the plot, (how does a ship designed for hunting whales have the ability to take on an armed-to-the-gills military armada and kick its ass anyway?) I found it entertaining enough, I guess, but what I'd really like to know is WHAT THE HELL DOES THE TITLE HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING?!!

POKEMON

Gotta catch 'em all, gotta catch 'em all...

Aerie's favorite character: Jigglypuff

Aerie's favorite Pokemon: Eevee

Sedalia's favorite characters: Team Rocket

Sedalia's favorite Pokemon: Oddish

Kawaii!!!

I might have liked this show when I was seven. I do find Team Rocket's antics quite amusing, however.

POKEMON: THE FIRST MOVIE

Gotta catch em' all... on the big screen.

There's just something wrong about a movie that gets really boring right in the middle of the climactic battle. All the teeny-bopper music(?) made me want to rip my ears off. But Mew was adorable. Mew made the movie tolerable. Barely. I would have loved this movie if I were 10.

I didn't find this movie very entertaining. Not enough Team Rocket.

POKEMON 2000

Gotta catch 'em all again.

Some shows are better suited for TV. Thirty minutes of Pokemon is fine, but this exceeds my cute-furry-animals-accompanied-by-teeny-bopper-music tolerance level. Kids will get a kick out of it, but I lost brain cells.

I'm all for mainstream anime, but enough is enough.

RAYEARTH

This is the OVA for Magic Knight Rayearth.
I liked this a lot better than Rayearth 2. The male characters are bishier, especially Eagle and Clef. This is WAY different than the series. It's darker, but I liked it better.

This is a must-see if you liked Magic Knight Rayearth but couldn't stand Nova or Primera. The quality of the animation is a notch above that of the series, and the general tone is a bit darker. The scenes of Clef standing on Tokyo Tower gave me 'X' flashbacks. Prior familiarity with the characters could cause confusion. Eagle, not Ferio, is Emeraude's brother. Ferio is evil. Ascot is psycho. Clef is bishy.

RECORD OF LODOSS WAR

The story of a young hero's quest to save Lodoss.

Aerie's favorite characters: Ashram and Shiris

Sedalia's favorite characters: Ashram and Pirotess

This is the series that got me obsessed with anime. This is a classic sword-and-sorcery storyline. It has one of the bishiest villains of all time. So buy it, rent it, or borrow it, but you MUST see this or you are doing yourself a great injustice.

This is my second favorite anime of all time. Great story. Great characters. Okay, so the music isn't that great... but oh well. The heroes (though generic) were tolerable, and the villains were awesome. Karla is one of the best anime villainesses ever. And then there's Ashram and Pirotess. Their death scene together was very sad and very touching. I cried a little.

REVOLUTIONARY GIRL UTENA

(or according to the spellchecker: REVOLUTIONARY GIRL TUNA)

Once upon a time there was a little princess who decided to become a prince herself one day. She grew up, went to school, and now she's caught up in a bizarre storyline and engaged to a mindless doormat.

Aerie's favorite character: Miki!

Sedalia's favorite character: Touga *swoon*

Our least favorite character: Chu-chu, the abominable Pokemon reject.

Ummm.... This gets the 'What the @#$% Were the People Who Made This Smoking?' award. I don't know how to describe this series, but the words 'gay' and 'hallucinogenic' come to mind. This is... unique.... I've never seen anything like this, and perhaps that is a good thing, but it is worth a look. Really.

My feelings towards this series are ambivalent at best. I like the 'fairy tale' aspect of the story, but the rest is just plain peculiar. The artwork is very pretty. The theme song is addictive. The fight scene between Juri and Utena was really spectacular. But...... then there's the shadow puppets. Sheesh. And the plot of the series makes absolutely no sense to me whatsoever. And I found the characters hard to like because they all seemed to be really @#$%ed up in one way or another.

RUIN EXPLORERS

Ihrie and her partner's search for ancient relics leads them to an epic mission.

I really liked this. It's really funny. This is well worth getting. The second tape, however, blows goats.

Anybody who likes 'The Slayers' will probably like this too.

RUROUNI KENSHIN

~ This is a guest review by Eriko ~

This anime is about a samurai named Kenshin who has vowed to protect innocent people. It has a romantic background story as well. Each character has their own distinct personality. My favorite character is Yahiko, who is a kid samurai. He's really cute. The series is HUGE. It has 95 episodes! It keeps you entertained forever!

SAILOR MOON

Fighting evil by moonlight, winning love by daylight...You know the rest.

Too many sailor suits... can't think coherently... brain cells deteriorating rapidly... too many fukus.... ARRRRRRGGGHHHHHHHH! No, not ODANGOS!!!! Corny dialog and severe (and obvious) editing are the trademarks of the DiC version of this otherwise potentially tolerable show.

I liked this show for two reasons: Zoisite and Kunzite.

SAILOR MOON R - movie

An old acquaintance of Mamoru/Darien's returns, and he's not to thrilled to meet Usagi/Serena.

This is my favorite of the movies. Chibi Usa has a minimal part. And there was much rejoicing.

Of the three SM movies, I liked this one the best. Don't you just love cute obsessive alien boys? It's amazing how much the dialogue was dumbed down in the dub. Get the subbed version, it's worth it.

SAILOR MOON S - movie

Yet another baddy sets her heart on taking over the Earth.

This was kinda messed up. I mean, a talking cat falling in love with a human...? Ewwww. But, it's Sailor Moon, so if you like it - by all means get it; but if not - no big loss.

My second favorite Sailor Moon movie. It was okay. But there were no cute bad guys to ogle... =(

SAILOR MOON SS - movie

Chibi Usa is abducted by a pied piper...

This is the second recipient of the 'What the @#$% Were the People That Made This Smoking?' award. This stars the most repugnant of all sailor scouts, Chibi Usa. And the villainess looks like Little-Bo-Peep-From-Heck. That alone is worth a look, but beware the Bon-bon Babies.

I did not like this movie at all. It was just far too strange. And again, no villains for me to drool over.

Samurai X (Rurouni Kenshin OAV)

~ This is a guest review by Witch ~

Frankly, when I had seen the Kenshin TV series, I wasn't terribly impressed. It wasn't bad, but I'd rather watch Trigun, it looks better, it's funner, and Vash is so kawaii....

But damn did this OAV impress me.

First off, it looks GREAT. Okay, the artwork doesn't look anything like the TV series but I don't care. It's fluid (finally, Kenshin actually "FIGHTS", not just have a couple of stills suggesting it) full of color, and the backgrounds and characters looks nice. Music is nice too, although I kinda have a tin ear.

The meat of it though, the story and characterization, is mind-blowing. For those who don't know, this series takes place back in Kenshin's "Battousai days" AKA when he was a vicious killer. Yes, the series is as bloody as hell, but that doesn't overshadow the plot.

Acting is very subdued, but still sounds nice (I haven't had the courage to look at it dubbed) but the way ADV releases it kinda annoys me. First off, you have to buy two tapes or DVDs for 4 frickening episodes. The translation is okay, I didn't see anything wrong with it, but for some reason all the references to "Battousai" and "hitokiri" were not translated. Extras are scanty, and I wish they gave more historical background (There was a little thing on the 1st DVD, but it didn't really answer my questions) I wish the company that released the TV series released the OAV. I would have liked some linear notes.

Well, to make a long point short... GET IT NOW.

THE SLAYERS

Being the story of the infamous bandit-killer, Lina Inverse

My favorite series of all time!! It's clever, well-written, well dubbed, and just plain kewl. I cannot praise this series enough.

This series is one to obsess over.

SLAYERS: DRAGON SLAVE

A cloning experiment goes horribly wrong; and Lina & Nahga get to babysit a knight-in-training

This is the better of the OVA tapes. It facilitates an hour of Nahga-mocking fun!! I also like the fact that Lina got rid of that stupid yellow bra thingie.

The sound of ten Nahga's laughing in unison gave me quite a headache. Other than that it was enjoyable. I though Jeffrey was absolutely freakin' hilarious. I like Lina's outfit better in the OVA, not because she got rid of that stupid yellow bra thingy - but because her outfit isn't that annoying hot pink color.

SLAYERS: EXPLOSION ARRAY

Lina and Nahga set out to find a legendary magic mirror.

This tape only has one so-so episode, so it is only for the true fans. It is worth a look. I also like the fact that Lina got rid of that stupid yellow bra thingie.

If you're a Slayers fan, then get it. If not, then don't worry about it. It's funny, but it isn't that great.

SLAYERS: THE MOTION PICTURE

Lina & Nahga go on a voyage to Mipross Island - the land of magical hot springs and home to a troublemaking demon named Michigan J. Joyrock

This was pretty good. I LOVE the ending song. I also like the fact that Lina got rid of that stupid yellow bra thingie.

It was okay. I didn't especially care for Nahga's expositional speech about hot springs.

SLAYERS NEXT

The second Slayers series.

This is even better than the first series! It introduces Martina, the coolest neurotic princess ever, and Xelloss, the annoying priest with the most horrid dubbed voice ever. This is the series with Phibby! Yay! Buy it! Phibby-sama commands it.

I also liked NEXT better than the original series. More Mazoku! Yay!

SLAYERS TRY

The third Slayers series.

Any Slayers fan should see this. I liked NEXT better, but Valgaav, Filia, and Jillas are wuvable new characters. Jillas is sooo KAWAII!

I don't like it as well as NEXT. But it's got Valgarv so that more than makes up for it. Holy shit! The Slayers actually has a hottie villain!

SOL BIANCA: THE LEGACY

~ This is a guest review by Amethyst Angel ~

A beautiful crew of space pirates finds themselves at odds with an evil military splinter group (led by a guy who's a dead ringer for Bela Lugosi) which wants to steal their spiff-tacular newly acquired transdimensional spaceship, the Sol Bianca.

This is one gorgeous anime, and the design of the Sol Bianca in all its forms is nothing less than amazing. The big problem I have with this series is that the main characters were made SO beautiful, that I honestly found it really hard to care about them. (So your ship is under attack and being destroyed! So what?! Even if you are in a crappy situation where you're staring ultimate oblivion in it's hoary, skeletal maw, I'd still give my right arm to be you just so I could LOOK like you!! Enough of your whining already!)

SORCERER HUNTERS

The story of a group of warriors fighting against the tyrannical sorcerers. Also the story of Carrot trying to get some.

Aerie's favorite character: After careful deliberation, I've decided they all suck.

Sedalia's favorite character: Lord Tartlet

This is... ummm... not quite as hentai as it wants to be. The first tape is good. It's funny. But it degenerates from there. And the food names bother me.

Mmmmmm.....Marron Glace....... Uh, anyway, Sorcerer Hunters is a pretty funny and slightly ecchi series. But it's not nearly as bad as it could be. Some of the episodes are really good, and some are just about Carrot hounding girls.

SORCEROUS STABBER ORPHEN

~ This is a guest review by Amethyst Angel ~

No, I haven't seen this anime, and I have no idea what it's about, but I 'd just like to point out that I think this is the WORST title for an anime I've ever come across. And in a medium like anime where names like Steam Detectives and Combustible Campus Guardress are often coin of the realm, that's really saying something...

TEKKEN

A movie trying to be a fifth as cool as the game it's based on.

Ummm...I'd rather play the game.

There's nothing about this movie that makes it a must-see. But there are several things that make it suck-ee. I'll leave this to the hard-core Tekken fans.

THOSE WHO HUNT ELVES

Three people from Earth are trapped in a strange world, and the spell that can send them home just happens to be tattooed on 5 elves...

< We've seen the first tape only. >

Our favorite character: Celcia/the psycho puppy

This show is more fun than it has any right to be. I saw the tank driving across the logo in a preview, and I knew that I had to see this.

I was skeptical about this show, mainly due to its premise. The problem with this show is that it's cute and funny and likeable. I just couldn't bring myself to dislike it. Celcia is a riot. And Ristuko is probably the least annoying fuku-wearing anime character I've ever seen. My one gripe is that there don't seem to be any male elves in that world....

TRIGUN

A show about Vash the Stampede. And what a dork he is.

< we've seen the first tape only >

This is funny as hell, but not worth seeing the entire series. One tape is enough. Vash is a dork, but he's a damn cool dork.

Can one character carry an entire series? Heck yeah. IT'S ALL ABOUT VASH, BABY!

~ This is a guest review by Amethyst Angel ~

A great series. Vash makes for a lovably genki hero, and the secondary characters are, for the most part, loads of fun. You feel you not only like to watch them, you'd also like to know them as well. Despite it's great cast and interesting scenario, this series had way too many filler episodes for my taste. Also, its' tendency to violently swerve from fluffy slapstick to unthinkable brutality, then back again on a dime kind of had me unnerved after a while...
~ This is a guest review by Fojna ~
Trigun. First get the soundtracks: The First Donut and the Second Donut Happy Pack. You'll love them.

It's very rare when a character as deep as Vash appears in anime. To impart a sense of dimension to a character is a hard thing to do. As much as I love my Sailor Scouts or my Slayers, they're still fairly simple people (with the exception of Zelgadiss and maybe Xelloss). Lots of anime try to do the "immortal hundreds of years old" thing, but really- if *you* lived for a hundred years, don't you think you'd be a lot deeper than a bunch of froo-froo bad guys trying to take over the world? Vash is a complete dork- most of the time (think Xelloss). Through the filler episodes and the introduction, he's a silly contradiction in terms- I mean, an expert gunman who refuses to kill? Give me a break. Many times through the series, we see him fighting a deperate battle and refusing to make the killing blow- instead shooting to wound or disarm, but never killing (you gasp the first time he takes his coat off- his hide is a *mess* of scars).
About the halfway point when Meryl (one of the "Insurance Girls") is typing her report to her home office about what she's learned about Vash so far. She talks of the goofing off, of course, and the silly pacifism, but what she notices is that everyone Vash comes in contact with seems to find a part of themselves that has been missing for a long time.
I don't want to spoil the anime for those of you who haven't seen it, but
<begin spoilericious section; highlight to view>
I have to say it is worth all the time spent to watch it. The whole show is building for the final tape- where Vash's ideology of pacifism is put to the test. The debate he's had off and on throughout the series with Nick Wolfwood (A traveling preacher) finally came to a head when Nick chose to defect to Vash's side and duel his master, Chapel the Evergreen. In the previous episode, A child (one of the villains) had a gun pointed at Vash's head; Vash tried his "Love and Peace" routine, but it wasn't working. Before anyone could react, Nicolas shot the kid in the head, saving Vash. Nick always killed without any regrets, putting it up to the necessity of survival. Until then. Anyway, he fought Chapel and when he won, he spared his master's life. Chapel repayed him by shooting him in the back. (By the way, Nick got the best death scene I've ever seen- in our outside of anime). This put Vash in a pretty bad way... and then, shortly thereafter, Legato (his arch nemesis), put Vash in an impossible situation... Legato had Meryl and Millie hostage and threatened to kill them- told Vash that they would die if he did not fight- that Vash was out of options. Right as M&M were about to die, Vash made his descision and shot Legato. In the face. It was an excecution, Legato was kneeling on the ground, Vash standing over him with a gun at his head(Legato's interior monologue before his showdown was extremely well-done- he went into it willingly; his whole purpose in life was to prove Vash wrong- to make him suffer. Even in killing as truly an evil man as Legato, Vash was destroyed).

This is what I'm trying to get at- this character depth. Vash goes from being a silly hippy skippy male Amelia in the first part to actually *screaming* and crying during his breakdown after Legato's death. Vash was over a hundred years old- an imortal- and had *never* killed a single person in all that time.

The very last episode explained why Vash was a gunman (you'll have to see it), and had a fantastic gunfight between Vash and his brother Knives. In the end, he threw he and Knives's guns away (they were very special guns) and carried his brother back to the town he was living in (having wounded him but not killed him... Presumably to nurse him back to health and talk some "Love 'n Peace" into him).
</end spoilericious section>
Watch the series if you can stand the filler (I mean, Trigun at it's worst is better than your typical anime-chaotic-robo-big-breasted-magical-girls show at its best). If you *still* can't stand the filler, then watch tape 8- the four episodes on the finale. Real great stuff.

VAMPIRE HUNTER D

The story of D and what a big badass he is.

This is the goriest anime I have ever seen. I mean DAMN it's bloody. I'm talking SHEEP-DISSOLVING bloody. If that's you're thing, go for it, sicko. But DANG. . . .

Another one that's not for the squeamish. The background and storyline is pretty interesting, though. And it's got vampires.

VAMPIRE PRINCESS MIYU

Miyu and her servant, Larva, have been entrusted with the job of returning all the stray demons to the darkness.

This is a great show. There is only two tapes in the OVA, but it is great. Larva is kewl.

This is another favorite of mine. It's very dark. And Larva is very kewl.

THE VISION OF ESCAFLOWNE

The story of a girl who is transported into another world where the Earth and moon can be seen in the sky.

WOW. This is a kick-@$$ series. The villains are, for the most part, cool and bishy. This has something for everyone. A Japanese schoolgirl, giant robots, Isaac Newton, a loveable psychotic albino pyromaniac, a cool goth dude, an annoying, hero-glomping cat-girl (who is thankfully easily ignored except when she shrieks VAAAAAAN-SAAAAAAAMMMAAAAAAAAA) and generic hero-boy (the aforementioned Van-sama).

Also one of my all-time favorites. 'Vision of Escaflowne' has a little bit of everything - a fuku-wearing heroine, a noble hero, giant robots, catwomen, a foppish swordsman, Atlantis, jawas.... and somehow it all blends together quite well. The series had great music. My favorite thing about VoE was Dilandau. That guy was just an awesome villain. And he had such cute henchman, too. I also liked Folken's character. The ending of the series was a bit abhorrent to me, though. Poor Dilandau....oh cruel fate worse than death.....DAMN THAT JAJUKA!!!!

* and now, THE RANT regarding the Escaflowne dub *

When I first tried to imagine an english-dubbed version of Vision of Escaflowne, the first thing that came to mind was an image of Dilandau and Folken acting like Beavis and Butthead, respectively.

Folken: Huh huh huh. Shut up and go burn something, buttmunch.

Dilandau: Heh heh heh. Cool. Heh heh heh.

Anyway. I just couldn't picture Dilandau speaking english in a voice that would actually suit him. And now, having seen the first few episodes, I still can't. Just by listening to Dil's japanese voice, you could really get the sense that he has a few screws lose. Not so with his english one. Weep, Dilandau fans. He sounds more like Dennis the Menace than the sadistic, gender-ambiguous psychopath that I know and love. I worried when I read that Allen's voice actor would be the same person that does Zechs from Gundam Wing. But thankfully he doesn't sound as Zechsy as I thought he might. Now don't get me wrong. I like Zechs's voice, but I tried to imagine Allen talking like him and it just wasn't right, the way he enunciates certain words as if he hates them yet doesn't want to let them go. Then I imagined Gaddes talking like Noin. That was funny. Most of the dubbed voices are tolerable, and in Merle's case, MUCH more tolerable. The dragonslayers all sound like little kids. Gatty sounds more girly than Hitomi. Folken's voice is good, but not for Folken. He sounds more evil than Dilandau, and that's just not right. Heck, even Merle sounds more evil than Dilandau. There was a sadness in Folken's original voice that just isn't there in his english one. And I do miss the somber music that seemed to follow him around wherever he went.

VOLTAGE FIGHTER GOWKAIZER

We're not exactly sure what it's supposed to be about.

This isn't one for the immature and easily grossed-out. I've never been so frightened by an anime since I wandered into a viewing of Onisama at Anime Central 2000.

There's more bounce-and-jiggle in this series than a bathtub full of Jell-O. It's got the raunchiest gratuitous shower scene I've ever seen. And call me old-fashioned, but I like my cartoons incest-free. Yuck. Yuck. Yuck.

WEISS KREUZ

Florists by day, assassins by night, angst-puppies 24/7.

I really like this series. I'm not really sure why. Oh wait. Bishounen. Yeah, that was it. Omi is the baby, Aya's the scary one, Ken is the sporty one, and Yoji is the posh one. Spice Kreuz!!

Some anime just stretches that 'suspension of disbelief' a little too far. Assassins posing as florists? Sure. Said assassins randomly becoming personally involved with whatever person that happens to be incidentally connected with their mission-of-the-moment? Why not? Happens all the time in Sailor Moon. Four psycho hose beasts in love with the same mad scientist living together in perfect harmony? No f-'n way.

The characterization is decent, and I was rather astounded at the myriad ways they found to utterly traumatize Omi. The protagonists are all cutie-pies, and the villains aren't half bad either. I have to say my favorite episode was the one in which Farfie's background is explored, if for no other reason than it ends with Schwartz driving off into the sunset, which due to an odd quirk of background seems to be over the ocean.

Overall I enjoyed this series, despite the sometimes corny formulaic episodes, and Schrient. I also learned some very important truths of existence such as: Assassins always come in groups of four, mad scientists get all the chicks, and no one looks good in a bright pink hat.

WINGS OF HONNEAMISE

~ This is a guest review by Amethyst Angel ~

On a far away world, Shirotsugh Lhadatt dreams of becoming the first man from his planet to make it into the indigo oceans of space...To slip the surly bonds of earth (or whatever his planet is named) and touch the face of God). This is the story of how that dream becomes a reality.

This movie moves slowly at times, but the quality of the story and the amount of salient detail crammed onto the screen are jaw-dropping. It's too bad the animators and writers thought it necessary halfway through the movie to throw a scene into it which made me lose all my respect for the main character...

It's the end of the world as we know it....

Fun for the whole family. NOT! Buckets o' blood, crucifixions, decapitations, minor characters kicking off every five minutes, and a toilet paper-wielding villain.

Wow. I mean WOW. X is a masterpiece of modern dark fantasy. I never thought I'd see something that I would describe as a cross between Akira and Fushigi Yuugi, but here it is. This is undoubtedly the most awesome anime movie that I have ever seen. The artwork is absolutely breathtaking. Don't get too attached to any of the minor characters, though.

Sedalia: Aha! *jabs Aerie in the ribs* Look! Somebody has stumbled across our secret inane dialogue!

Aerie: Good for them. You entertain them. I'm sleepy.

Sedalia: What? But this is YOUR page!

Aerie: Your own fault for making me stay up late writing all of these reviews.

Sedalia: Hmmm. How 'bout a joke?

Aerie: Bring it on.

Sedalia: Okay, how many Legend of Crystania fans does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

Aerie: Trick question. They don't exist.

Sedalia: Damn your clever wit. Okay...ummm...How do you castrate a student council president?

Aerie: NANI?

Sedalia: Kick his sister in the teeth! *falls over giggling*

Aerie: *stifles laughter* Man, that's completely disgusting! You were referring to Touga and Nanami, right?

Sedalia: Yeah, and those twins from Gowkaizer.

Aerie: Uhg. Don't remind me.

Sedalia: That's the kind of thing that makes me think 'What the hell is wrong with Japanese people?'.

Aerie: No kidding. Hey, we should wrap up this insanity. There's going to be an awfully big black gap at the bottom of this page.

Sedalia: Oh, fine. Let's go play Chocobo Racing.

Aerie: Cool.

If you would like to submit your own opinion about anything, or want to kick our asses because we poured scorn on your favorite series, you can email us at either of these addresses.

Aerie: chaos_elf@hotmail.com

Sedalia: somnambulist@mail.com

We'll gladly post whatever you have to say. Oh, and tell us what color you would like your words to be.