Reviews and Summaries G-I As stated, this is the section that contains the titles we have reviewed and or summarized starting with G all the way down to I. (Amazing isn't it? Even I wonder at the genius of such a system!) Please note that all descriptions that are in yellow come from the box or other materials that come with the movie/OVA/series, green comes from me, and purple comes from Karmie-chan. G H I G-On Riders (Action/Comedy) : Yuki is a new transfer student. Having just arrived in town where her new school is at, she decides to wander around the school premises before she gets in class. Sneaking into the school ground that night, she falls into a pond and soaks herself completely. She takes off all of her clothes to dry them out and falls asleep. The next day, the town is attacked by a giant mechanized octopus called a Fancy Beast which lands nearly on top of Yuki and scatters most of her clothes. While the creatures is wreaking havok, the force field around her new school is about to break when the Riders, defenders of the school and an anti alien force attacks the giant octopus, Yuki climbs it trying to retrieve her strawberry laced panties. The Riders defeats the octopus and Yuki lands on top of Ichiro, who finds her panties when he wakes up. Later he also finds Yuki is in his class and in trying to return her panties to her, is disrupted by Sela and Yayoi, the two Riders. Suddenly, the giant octopus attacks again and Yuki's panties somehow end up in its antena again. The Riders get captured because of Yuki, but she manages to save the day by inadvertently destroying the fancy beas. What are the Glasses: Ichiro is wondering of a way that he can return Yuki's panties without looking like a pervert when he discovers that Yuki is his new next door neighbor. At the same time, the principal who is also in charge of the Riders, and the nurse is starting to have an interest in making Yuki a Rider. That day, when Yuki gets to her class, she discovers that her entire class has a physical exam in the gym. What she doesn't realize is that the principal and the nurse are getting the results of her check up. At the same time, the cute and lovable aliens are getting berated by their client for not having all of the earth under their control yet. Back in the locker room, Ichiro sneaks in to Yuki's locker to return her panties to her when the door opens up. In the exam, Yuki also falls into a trap door where she finds Ichiro ties up and a lot of wood robots attacking her. Having beaten them all, the principal and the nurse gets the favorable result from her and confirms that she is qualified to be a Rider. The principal and the nurse then explains to her what a Rider is and the threat that they face when a new Fancy Beast in the form of a giant sunflower arrives and beats up Sela and Yayoi leaving it up to Yuki to use her newfound powers to save the day. Get Angry Sela: Yuki is told that she must keep her identity as a Rider a secret from everyone else when Ichiro asks her out so that he can show her around town (and hopefully, return her panties back to her). On their date, they run into Yayoi who promptly disrupts things just by being herself when they run into Ai, one of the three aliens trying to invade the earth. She lost a game and is sent to earth to try and defeat Sela, but has managed to get herself lost. Without Sela around, she just enjoys herself with Ichiro, Yuki and Yayoi and even helps out. When Sela shows up to challenge Yuki for the spot of the top Rider, Ai gets scared of her and gets on her whale shaped Fancy Beast. Sela promptly beats her up. When she is about to land the finshing blow on Ai who got thrown out of the Fancy Beast, Yuki saves her and Sela realizes that she has become a scary person like the ones that she hates. Hard Training and the Middle: In order for the team to move together as one, Professor Sanada, the nurse, has decided to take them to a hotsprings resort where they will practice teamwork so that they can be much more effective. They are so bad at it that they managed to screw up every excercise during their first day. At the same time, Ichiro arrives there to have a vacation and also search for himself so that he may become a stronger person and manage to give Yuki her panties back without fail. Somewhere in the same inn, the trio of aliens and Zero, their helper are also relaxing there. When Yuki goes off to figure out her secret technique, Ichiro goes out ot look for her so that he may give her back her panties when he is kidnapped by the training robot. While in the hotsprings together, the training robot attacks them using Ichiro as a shield. Professor Sanada claims that it has gone berserk when in fact, she is the one controlling it. When the aliens sees what is going on, they decide to take advantage of the situation by overriding the robot and using it try and destroy the riders once and for all. Dominated at first, when the three of them finally work as a team, they manage to defeat it and Yuki is able to save Ichiro. Yayoi Goes Straight: On her 16th birthday, Yayoi runs away from home and finds Ai in the carriage that she takes to run away in. After going to the public bath, Yuki and Ichiro are out stargazing when Yayoi runs over Ichiro. Yayoi, who is allergic to men, runs away from her home when her grandfather attempts to force her to choose a future husband from a room full of boys. With Ichiro as a decoy, Yuki takes her to her place where they spend the rest of Yayoi's birthday. Ai, it turns out, was sent there to give them a cake bomb, but cannot get herself to do it. The next day, Yayoi heads to the bathroom to find out that Yuki and Ichiro lives in a boys dorm! With chaos ensuing, professor Sanada makes it worse by putting her in a enhancement suit. Ai, finding similarities between herself and Yayoi in the fact that people around them force them to do things they don't want to do, decides to destroy the cake bomb. When Pao finds out, she heads out in a Fancy Beast to finish the job, but is stopped when the cake bomb explodes on her owl Fancy Beast. When Yayoi's grandfather arrives, Ichiro defends her and from then on, she is attracted to him. Yayoi also quits the company and begins to stay with Yayoi. Time to Train: With Yayoi and Ai moving next door to the spot that was destroyed by Yayoi's rampage her following him around, Ichiro is a bit confused about his situation. He likes Yuki but what about Yayoi? In order to solve his dilema, he resolves to become more manly with Professor Sanada test of manliness. On the first tier of the pagoda, Sela beats the crap out of him. On the second tier, he must choose the manlier choice, a girl in a nurse's outfit or one in a school swimsuit. Finally, the last tier has Yayoi and her grandfather where Yayoi's grandfather pretty much tells him to have sex with her and make a great grandchild! When Pao finally discovers where Ai is, she attacks with a pig Fancy Beast that overwhelms Sela and Yayoi. With all that manliness built up, Professor Sanada reveals a secret that Ichiro has - whenever he becomes real manly, he transform into a superhero known as Cosmic Banchou. As Cosmic Banchou, he saves the day with overwhelming force and as soon as he is done, vanishes like a real manly superhero. The Tale of Seven Men and Women: Yayoi, after realizing that Ichiro is also Cosmic Banchou and is probably the hero that saved her a long time ago, is now gunning for him as well. When Yuki wins a trip to the beach, she invites everyone. There, Ichiro still can't control his transformation into Cosmic Banchou and keeps running away which gave Yayoi the idea that he doesn't like her. When Professor Sanada tells them the legend of the flower and couples that become united with its power, Yayoi decides she wants to get it. Sela also helps her but wants it for herself as well. The principal wants it so that he can get close to Professor Sanada and Ichiro to get close to Yuki. Yuki helps out Ai by trying to get it for her so that she can get close friend here on earth. When Sela gets to the top, she transforms and destroys the mount to keep the others from getting it, but as she is about to grab the flower, it flies out of her hand and into Ai's hands. At the end of the day, they go back home as Pau and Mako recieve Ai's letter with the flower. Mako gets mad at the letter and tells Pao that it is time to do that mission. Being Called a Long Time Loser: Pao requests a ceasefire with the G-On riders so that she may see Ai again. They agree to let Ai see her again although they are wary that they might try to kidnap Ai. What they didn't know is that Mako is forcing Pao to go along with this so that she can get Ai to drink from a container with a capsule bomb in it. Meeting at the school's gate, the two of them begins to have fun while Yuki and Yayoi shadows them to make sure that nothing happen. During the several times that Mako tries to get Pao to give Ai the drink, Pao keeps on hesitating. While they are roaming the city, they come across Sela and Ichiro on a date and Ichiro decides to accompany them to keep them safe as an excuse with his intention to keep away from Sela and prevent himself from transforming into Cosmic Banchou. Who Will Wear the Maid Costume: Pao is now living with Sela who abuses her as a maid. Complaining about it to Ai since she was the one to convince her to move to earth, she is hopeful that the people in school will be nicer. There, she gets creeped out by all the male students who are attracted to her since she is a cat girl and she is wearing a maid outfit. In space, with both Ai and Pao in the other side now, Mako decides to send Zero to finish them all. When she attacks, the Riders just seems inadequate to stop her onslaught. With Ai and Pao worried about her, Ichiro transforms into Cosmo Banchou with Professor Sanada's help and goes out to the melee. There, he manages to convince Zero to stop fighting as a program within her activates. Fearing that she is about to switch sides, Mako activates the bomb within her. Sensing the bomb, Zero flies off to protect Ai and Pao. Cosmo Banchou, who followed her into space, manages to save her by ripping the bomb away from her and sharing some of his energy with her to preserve her life. Get You Days: The UFO has vanished from the earth and everyone is partying because of it. The G-On Rider teams decides the best way to celebrate is to go hiking. While they are hiking, Ichiro plans on launching his love-love attack on Yuki and make her his girlfriend. Unfortunately, his scenarious are by Yayoi and Sela who are running their own love-love scenario on him and by Zero whose maiden function keeps on activating whenever she is near him. Of course, this also triggers his change into Cosmic Banchou. Finally having able to run away from everyone and getting some alone time with Yuki. he confesses his love for her to which she which she replies that she like him too - as a friend and didn't even realize what he was trying to say to her. As the day comes to a close, their celebration is interrupted by the return of Mako and the UFO. What Happened to Mako?: Mako launches an all out attack on the school and the fortress doesn't stand a chance. Nothing they hit her UFO with causes any damage at all. With a fight as hopeless as this, the girls go out to try and defend the school as Riders. Ai, Pao and Zero goes out to try and convince Mio to stop attacking. Mako, however, seems to be under a spell as she cannot even recognize her friends anymore. Managing to get onto the UFO, Yuki forces her way into the cockpit where Mako is. At the same time, Professor Sanada bids the principial and Yayoi's grandfather goodbye and thanks them for taking care of her up until that moment and leaves in a spaceship. In that spaceship, she confronts Mako and reveals herself to be the alien known as Mio. When Mako returns to normal, their victory becomes short lived when a single shot blows up Mako's UFO and a beam takes her away. The Alien controlling the massive space battle ship appears and says out loud, "So Mio-chan, this is where you have been hiding." Professor Sanada doesn't Turn Back: Professor Sanada reveals herself to be Mio, Mako's little sister who through a hiccup within the cosmic warp, gained an adult body. She takes away the G-On glasses and returns to the Riro, client, to trade them for her sister whom she has brainwashed. When Riro betrays her, she reveals a betrayal of her own, the G-On she gave her was a fake and the real ones are still with the girls, giving them a fighting chance. With their powers back, they attack the space battle ship along with Ai's Fancy Beasts that the client revived. In the space ship, Ai and Pao attempts to rescue Mako and Mio, but are captured by the principal who has been brainwashed. When Yuki and Ichiro gets to the chip, they face Riro in a final battle, but Riro appears to have the upper hand. As the battle wages Riro shoots Ichiro, but Zero tries to block the beam and fails. The beam goes through her and hits Ichiro as well, apparently killing both of them. Full Force Strawberries: Yuki has been captured and ehr G-On glasses taken away from her. Soon, Sela and Yayoi has been captured as well. When Riro takes away their glasses as well, the Tokimeki power that fuels the G-On rejects her and returns to the girls. Infuriated that the G-On has rejected her, Riro decides to destroy the earth once and for all with and attack that she once used to destroy seven planets all at once. Staring at their doom, all of the girls with glasses suddenly began staring at the energy build up of Riro's final attack and they begin building up energy. The moment that Riro fires her cannon, the energy of every girl with glasses on the planet becomes a barrier around the earth and deflects the shot. When Riro finds herself all alone, she becomes afraid again and finds Yuki there with her. When Yuki gives her the glasses she wears, Riro's personality changes and she becomes nicer. Back on Earth, Mio explains what has happened. Riro has come to earth several millenia ago and played with a cave boy. When she left, she gave him her glasses as a memento and the boy received all of her positive aspects, becoming the Tokimeki force that fuels the G-On. In short, Riro is the source of the G-On. When Yuki returned the glasses to her, she regained everything that she had lost thousands of years ago. Thus, the earth is saved. Andro White Paper: Apparently, there is a law that state andromaids can have a single day out of a year when they don't have to do anything that anyone orders them to do. Zero has chosen today out of all days. There is something that she wants to do. Of course, everyone is also curious as to what it is. When she heads to the rooftop, Ichiro is there daydreaming about buying a bucket of roses for Yuki and having her fall head over heels immediately. When Zero kisses him, Yayoi and Sela gets jealous and starts planning to find away to snag him. Of course, Yayoi's plan of seducing him in the bath tub is fated to fall apart before it began. As for Sela, her plan to wrap herself in nothing but ribbons and give herself as a present to Ichiro is fouled by Pao who sneaks in the principal to ruin the moment. Meanwhile, Zero is out there looking for a part time job for the day. When all others failed, she, with the help of Yuki, Riro, and Mako start charging kids for a chance to fly with Zero. At the end of the day, with Sela and Yayoi chasing after Ichiro, they meet up with Zero. Reading his mind from the kiss, Zero gives him a single rose since that is all she could afford. At the moment Ichiro accepts the gift, Professor Sanada pops out of nowhere and tells them that it is cosmic law when a cyborg accepts a rose from and andromaid, the two have to marry immediately! Of course, Yayoi and Sela won't allow that to happen. Gasaraki (Action/Mystery/Supernatural) This one I didn't really like too well. It promises extensive mecha action from the previews but what do you get? Not what is promised, that's for damned sure. I rented this one out and when I popped it in my VCR, my jaw dropped and the one thing sprung to mind was "what the effin' hell?" Okay, so you got about 5 minutes or less of mecha action, 5 minutes or less of plot development, and the rest is the main character dancing around like a frickin' moron. I swear that's what the first 11 or so episodes are like. The TA's (Tactical Armor-the mecha's of the series) are done real well and they do try to make it as realistic as possible, but we don't get to see them in action much early on that you really don't get hooked on it. The later episodes develop more of the plot (which makes them more confusing than they already are) and gets more complicated. The history of the main characters and of the TA's will lead well into 10 centuries in the past and you know what that means-it means that it gets even more confusing. Rent this if you're interested kiddies, but I’d recommend against even that. Gatchaman Gatchaman is back- BIG TIME! Gatchaman has been revamped for the nineties, stylish and more dynamic than ever. The new OVA’s manage to modernize the characters without compromising the design of the original series. The three volume mini-series continues the story from the 1970’s hit TV series- known as “Battle of the Planets” and “G-Force” on U. S. television- and ends with the ultimate confrontation between the Alien Gallacters and the Human Race. (Action) For those of you who grew up watching this like me, yeah go get it, it's worth it on just nostalgia points alone. Ah, how it takes me back to those days when I used to watch this along with Voltez V, Diamos, Astroboy, Captain Harlock, and others. Of course, if you've never heard of this, it is worth it to rent it and see what some of the series from the older days were like-before anime is as more acceptable and widespread as it is now. The Dragon King: An enormous dragon-shaped warship decimates a city with searing plasma beams and giant robotic arms. Its target: The Mantel Plan, a network unifying the World’s energy resources. As the sinister ship heads for its next target, a brave team of specialists come to the rescue… the Gatchaman! Piloting their prized ship, the Phoenix, the Gatchaman launch their counterattack. But once inside the enemy’s mammoth ship, they have come face to face with Gallacter’s entire army of assassins. It’s five against thousands in a fierce, fast-action battle to save the planet. The Red Spectre: While cruising near a strange island, a submarine is vaporized by a blast of unbelievable force. Summoned to avenge the attack, The Gatchaman group comes up on the secret undersea headquarters of the Alien Gallacter. In a fierce air and undersea battle, Gatchaman struggle against the Gallacter’s mighty Jupiter Death Brigade and the evil Black Bird Battalion. Battered by combat, Gatchaman seem on the brink of a disastrous defeat when out of the sky a new force appears led by a mysterious warrior in red. Who are these soldiers and are they the key to victory over the Gallacter, or executioners come to finish-off the Gatchaman? The Final Countdown: Hordes of spacecraft attack the planet. Giant alien machines descend from the sky. The final countdown begins as the Gallacter initiate their battle plan for the ultimate subjugation of the Human race. Their superior weapon will disrupt the weather patterns of the entire planet, unleashing the destructive force of nature upon the Earth and all of its inhabitants. In this final battle between the Human race and the alien Gallacter, Joe infiltrates the Gallacter Headquarters as the Gatchaman group embark on their most dangerous mission without their second in command. Ghost in the Shell In a world caught in the grip of information overload, where artificial intelligence is more than the real thing and cyborg cops spend their lives surfing on an electronic sea of living data, only the Ghost-the indefinable element of the human consciousness-exists to determine who is alive and who is purely a creation of the Net. Major Motoko Kusanagi is an elite officer in the Section 9 security force: a cybernetic agent so heavily modified that little more than her Ghost remains. Along with fellow cyborg Bateau and the mostly human Togusa, Kusanagi is set on the trail of a computer-criminal known as the Puppet Master, a data thief skilled enough to hack into the very minds of his victims. His human marionettes live out existences that are nothing more than computer-generated fantasy, unwittingly committing their master’s crimes while the Ghost-hacker hides in the darkness. But as Kusanagi digs deeper into the walls of secrecy surrounding the case, it appears that the Puppet Master has a special interest in her alone. And when the Ministry of Foreign affairs, shadowy Section 6, enters the scene, Kusanagi becomes tangled in a web of plot and counterplot and realizes the that true identity of her invisible assailant lies in the center of a vast and lethal political conspiracy. (Action/Sci-Fi) A lot of people (Like me!) who have read the manga hated the movie because they keep on comparing the manga to the movie and complaining that the movie doesn't follow the manga. For me, the two are different and that is why the movie works. The movie's tone is much darker and more philosophical than political conspiracy based. The main question in here is what constitutes as a life form? Is it the flesh that gives rise to the soul or can a soul be formed without a flesh to house it? My recommendation is to go ahead and buy it- it is worth it in my opinion. Psst! Get the manga too! It's hilarious!! Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence In 2032, the line between humans and machines has blurred almost beyond distinction. Humans have virtually forgotten what it means to be entirely human in both body and spirit, and the few humans that are left coexist with cyborgs (human spirits inhabiting entirely mechanized bodies) and dolls (robots with no human elements at all). Batou is a cyborg. His body is artificial: the only remnants left of his humanity are traces of his brain and the memories of a woman called The Major. A detective for the government's covert anti-terrorist unit, Public Security Section 9, Batou is investigating the case of a gynoid - a hyper-realistic female robot created specifically for sexual companionship - who malfunctions and slaughters her owner. As Batou delves deeper into the investigation, questions arise about humanity's need to immortalize its image in dolls. Together, Batou and his partner must take on violent Yakuza thugs, devious hackers, government bureaucrats and corporate criminals to uncover the shocking truth behind the crime. (Action/Sci-Fi) First time I saw this movie, I was really awestruck at how great it was. The animation is impresive and the plot is solid. In here, the Major may be gone from Section 9, but traces of her ghost still lingers as Batou tries to accept having a partner who is not the Major. In here, the main underlying question is what makes a human a human. Is merely having human form enough or does it require something much more than just that? If a human form is required, then what of those who have abandoned their human shells in favor of something other than human? Yes, go get this...NOW! Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Public Peace Section 9 is the shadowy arm of the government that deals with acts of terrorism. It's members are mostly heavily modified cyborgs. These are the stories of Major Kusanagi, Batou, Togusa, Bouma, Saito, Ishikawa and Pazu. Public Peace; SECTION 9 An incident concerning the Prime Minister being held hostage as well as several foreigners falls intot he lap of Section 9. After the incident, things doesn't seem to look right, especially the two casualties of the incident. When they took a closer look, they have found something disturbing. The man walking around as the Prime Minister is not the Prime Minister. He is actually the dead hostage! He switched his brain core with that of the minister in order to steal documents and is on his way out of the country disguised as the Prime Minister. Section 9 has already figure this out and is on its way to prevent him from leaving the country. Proof of Recklessness; TESTATION During a demonstration of a new multi legged tank, the tank goes berserk, demolishes the other tanks and runs off on it's own. Fear that it might be a terrorist incident places the case under Section 9. Using 6 Tachikoma tanks, they have to figure out if it is a terrorist incident, what has caused the tank to go berserk and how to stop the tank without the specs being given to them. As Togusa and Ishikawa delve deeper into the case, they discover that the tank is being controlled by the man who has designed. He has died a week ago, bu his brain was cyberized after his death and placed in the tank. Now he is off searching for his parents house. Major Kusanagi and Batou in 2 Tachikomas believe that he might be searching for revenge and desperately attempt to slow them down in the Tachikoma's to no avail. When Ishikawa is flown in with a speciual anti multi-legged tank weapon, they get access to his brain. Unfortunately, his parents show up and the tank starts moving again, forcing Major Kusanagi to fry the cyber brain. That was when she realize that it wasn't for revenge, but for pride and the desire to show his new metal body to his parents that drove him to search for them. A Small Rebellion; ANDROID AND I When several androids commit suicide and they are all of the same model from the same factory, Section 9 has to deal with the case. The android in question is no longer produced, but it would seem that someone has planted a virus into one of them when it was sent in for maintainance and it infected all the others that commited suicide. Section 9 races against the clock to identify and apprehend the culprit of this crime. The Visual Devise Laughs; INTERCEPTOR One of Togusa's buddies from the time when he was a detective was on his way to meet him for some help with irregularities with his investigations when he mysteriously dies in a strange car accident. Because of the nature of his death and the case he is investigating, Section 9 begins to investigate his death. Togusa begins to find strange things as well. He receives pictures from the dead man and begins to wonder where the camera is in all the photos. He soon learns of a cover up where recorders are placed in detectives to spy on their activities and those photos came from special investigators for the case involving the Laughing Man, the biggest case of corporate terrorism in recent history. When Aramaki sets a trap and the police brass falls for it by setting up a conference, the Laughing Man comes out of hiding once more! The Inviting Bird will Chant; DECOY As Section 9 investigates the Laughing Man further, they are lead to a man who might be the Laughing Man. When they investigate him though, Nanao, the suspect seems to be too perfect a match and Ishikkawa thinks that records have been changed and memories altered so that he matches the Laughing Man. With time running out, the Major orders Batou and Togusa to go ahead and arrest him. When they get to his appartment though, they find that he's not there and is using it as a decoy. He also seems to be accessing the interceptors that were planted within the investigators of the e-police who are also monitoring him at the same time that Batou and Togusa are. The Copycat Dances; MEME As Major Kusanagi, Saito and Pazu defends Chief Daito from the attack of the Laughing Man, they are perplexed when he is attacked all at once by several people all claiming to be the Laughing Man. To top thing of, the suspect they believed to be the Laughing Man is murdered as each of the suspects they apprehended are either convinced that they are the Laughing Man or that the real one commanded them to do it. Motoko then heads to a friend's house to sort out all the data collected about the Laughing Man so far. It began six years ago when Serano, the head of Serano Micromachineries was kidnapped by the Laughing Man and they both showed up in front of a live news broadcast where Laughing Man hacked every camera and person with a cyber brain to project his logo over his own face. Since then, he has waged corporate terrorism against several other micromachinery companies and then just simply vanished without a trace until the incident with Chief Daito. Section 9 also learns of the connection of bribes between Chief Daito and Serano. Idolatry; IDOLATOR Section 9 is charged with keeping tabs on Jharti, a South American revolutionary hero who seems to be suspiciously showing up every few months on a regular interval in Japan. Jharti has been targeted by assassintation by several other countries' goverment but managaes to survive each time. While trailing him, they learn a connection between him and Kourin Kai, a criminal organization that has it's influence all over Asia, but is based in Japan. Following them, Major Kusanagi, Togusa, and Batou each aapprehends Jharti and reallzes that there are more than just one Jharti. It seems that the real Jharti died a few years ago and that he keeps coming back because he is just a ghost dubbed copy and needs the maintenance and dubbing to be synchronized with all the other copies. In the end, Section 9 lets Jharti go without disclosing the truth about him to anyone. The Fortunate Ones; MISSING HEARTS When a heart from a boy who has gone full cyborg due to an accident ends up in another girl when no permision has been given for the heart's use, Section 9 investigates since it is a request from one of Major Kusanagi's friends. Going through the trail that was being followed by the previous investigators, Motoko, Togusa, and Batou discovers that med-students are stealing discarded organs and selling them for some pocket change. The Man that Lurks in the Darkness of the Net; CHAT! CHAT! CHAT! People who zealously worhip the Laughing Man are having a chat and the Major, disguised as one of them decides to join in on the conversation. As the various people try to determine things about the Laughing Man case-from who the Laughing Man is, to why he has decided to come back out after six years, to the most recent incident surrounding the Laughing Man. The Major listens carefully trying to see if one of them has a useful information that she can use to get on the trail of the Laughing Man. From one of them, she manages to retrieve the pieces of the attack barrier that she set up and was destroyed. As the chat room dies down, she sees a glimpse of what might be the real Laughing Man just watching them from the shadows just before she is forced back into reality where she is actually driving a car with Batou in the passenger seat. A Perfect Day for a Jungle Cruise; JUNGLE CRUISE The city is plagued by a series of gruesome murders in which all the victims are females and the skin on their upper torso is peeled of in the form of a shirt while they are still alive. As Section 9 attempts to close in on the perpetrator with help from American intelligence agents, Batou remembers the methods that are used. He remembers of the time during the war when he was with a special unit when they employed such horrible tactics to demoralize the enemy. One of them is unable to return to the world and still living and fighting in the jungle they once fought in. As Batou focuses on the murderer, Ishikawa and the major discovers a plot by the American intelligence to use Batou. Inside the Forest of the Sub-Images; PORTRAITZ When a government facility gets hacked and the fail to report it, Section 9 gets suspicious as to what exactly is so important that they try to hide it that badly. The facility is a place where people who have a form of addiction are kept. Their form of addiction makes them liable to just keep on diving into the net and most times, would allow their bodies to die because the refuse to return to reality. The people in charge of the facilities have been using these people in order to create programs for their own benefit. The most surprising thing is that Togusa seems to also have noticed traces of the Laughing Man around. Snooping around he gets caught and subsequently, had to be rescued. By that time though, traces of the "leader" that everyone refers to has all but vanished and the only thing that comes up in Togusa's memories is the Laughing Man's logo. Tachikoma Runaway, A Movie Director's Dream; ESCAPE FROM One day, out of curiosity, the Tachikoma that Batou uses runs away to collect some experience in the real world. Wandering around town, it meets a little girl looking for her dog and helps her out. They search through out the town from the shop rows to the graveyard where the girl revealed that she had already subconsciously knew that her dog was gone but just didn't want to admit it. When the Tachikoma returns, it and Batou gets into trouble for always giving it natural oil. The black box it stole is analyzed and is found to be the box that has caused many people to abandon their bodies to watch a never ending film that exists only within the directors mind. Unequal Terrorist; NOT EQUAL The 10 year old girl who was the first to be fitted with a cyber brain had been kidnapped 16 years ago with no word as to her condition and whereabouts. When they received images from another agency whose members have gone missing of that same girl, their curiosity is piqued, especially when she still looks that same as she did 16 years ago. As Batou, Saitou, Major Kusanagi, Togusa and 2 Tachikoma tanks wander around the Human Liberation Front hideout, they discover the horrible truth to the mystery when the rescue both the surviving member and the girl. The kidnapped girl isn't actually the 10 year old girl that they were looking at in the picture, she is actually the old looking woman standing next to her. Batou, Togusa, and the Major looks on as she is taken away by emergency crews and wonders what horrors she must have experienced to turn a 10 year old girl so horrible old in just 16 years. Automated Terrorist; YES When a small time gang bust reveals a money trail that indicates a hired assassin, members of Section 9 must protect a wealthy, recluse. With barely any information available on the man. They have to somehow contact him and look out for the assassin as well. The major, with a Tachikoma infiltrates the house and gets there just in time to stop the assassin from carrying out her mission. After subduing the assassin, they realize that the man is already dead and has been dead for several months now. His reclusive lifestyle has prevented anyone from realizing that he has died quite a while ago. Time of the Machines; MACHINES DESIRANTES The Tachikomas gather around and wonder about their individualities and what it means when their information is synchronized everyday. They wonder what it means to be alive and have ghost and what death would be like since it is something that they, as ghostless AIs, can never experience. They also fear what fate might await them since they suspect that the major is loosing patience with them and the antics they do out of curiosity. Listening in on the major and Batou's meeting, they are assured that the major was just really mad at Batou and not them, although in reality, what they discussed was stopping all use of the Tachikomas. As the Tachikomas celebrate and plan to cheer up their beloved Batou, Batou looks on and feels sorry for the Tachikomas. Chink in the Armor of the Heart; AG20 After the Tachikomas are sent back to the lab, Batou seems somewhat depressed. it doesn't help that his next mission is to capture a former idol of his who has turned to spying. Infiltrating the base as a marine, the former champion boxer, now martial arts instructor and suspected spy quickly takes a liking to Batou. Batou does his job and manages to capture bits of evidence against him and after a night in town drinking, he tails him to where the deal for the info goes down. Wanting to understand just why he would do such a thing, Batou gives him a choice, be arrested now or fight him and escape should he win. Batou, of course, knocks him out. After the mission, Batou is still angry at such a reason that would turn this former idol of his. The True Reason for the Unfinished Love Affair; ANGEL'S SHARE Chief Aramaki and Major Kusanagi are in England on a international meet. While there, Aramaki visits an old friend of his who now works on a wine bank. Believing that there is something dirty going on, she asks for Aramaki's help who declines saying that it is not within the limits of his power. At that same time though, the place is robbed by mafia men trying to get out of the organization. This opportunity is seized by the local police chief who is a part of the dirty scheme concocted by the mafia along with some people behind the bank. They plan to storm the bank, kill all the witnesses and destroy all the data that could leave a trail to them. They didn't count on Aramaki's strategic planning though. As Aramaki outmaneuvers them, they manage to escape with the help of Motoko who has picked up the ques left behind by Aramaki. This leads to some arrests of course and Aramaki bids a fond farewell to his old friend as he and Motoko returns back to Japan. Assassinations Duet; LOST HERITAGE When the Prime Minister of China visits Japan, an Assassination note is left naming the Prime Minister as the target. It falls on Section 9 to protect him from all harm and ensure that there won't be a political fiasco. Aramaki, at the same time visits the grave of his former mentor who has died years ago of cyber brain schlerosis. There he meets his daughter who reveals her fear of her brother's recent changes in behavior and mannerisms. He is starting to act out more and more like their dead father. Aramaki begins to suspect that he might be the one that sent the letter warning of the assassination attempt on the Prime Minister. They also learn that his father has merged his memories with his own son and that is why his personality and will is now manifesting itself. They attempt to tail him, but fails when he shakes them of his trail.. Now they have to keep and eye out for the Prime Minister while trying to figure out how he plans to assassinate him. They manage to stop him in time however. As he is being treated in the hospital for damages, they give him false memories of success and hopes that they can unbind the tangle of memories left behind. Being Held in the Camouflage Net; CAPTIVATED Councilman Kanzaki's daughter has been kidnapped and Section 9 has to determine where she is and rescue her. It fits the mafia pattern of abducting healthy girls from good family and harvesting them for organs. Something that the councilman has vehemetly denied over the past year. In order to rescue his daughter, Chief Aramaki forces him to decide between his political career and his daughter so that pressure will be placed on the the kidnappers. The kidnapper turned out to be a Russian spy from the last century who was let loose by her government. When she had realized what was going on, she rushes to the Russian embassy with her captive in hopes of eluding capture and walks into the trap set up by Aramaki. The Medicine which is Turned Off; RE-VIEW Togusa gets a flash of inspiration about the Laughing Man case and gets to work on it. He deduced that the Laughing Man who is so good at hacking, isn't interested in digital data, but in paper ones. Going to the library that was attaked, he discovers which one is missing and goes to the group that has been desperately trying to get their hands on it. There, he learns that they have received a copy of the Murai vaccine recepient list that was supposedly mailed from Dr. Imakurusu's office, the man who was head of drug evaluations who had the vaccine rejected for personal reasons. As Togusa is trying to find out more, a DEA hit squad arrives and proceeds to eliminate everyone in the building, including Togusa. Locus of Desertion; ERASER Having found Togusa, they copy his nenories for analysis and discover the attack on the Sunflower society by the DEA and the existance of the Murai vaccine recepient list. Hurrying to Dr. Imakurusu's house, they discover that the DEA hit squad has already been there. Elsewhere, Dr. Imakurusu is in a hotel with the Luaghing Man. AS the Laughing Man leaves, he quickly contacts Chief Niimi, the DEA chief who sends the hit squad to where he is. Section 9 also discovers his whereabouts from this call and sends Batou, the Major, Pazu and Saito to rescue him before the hit squad kills him. They arrive just in the nick of time. The Major squares off against an armored exoskeleton suit as Batou attempts to lead the good doctor to safety. With Saitou and Pazu's help and a large caliber rifle, the Major manages to put down the Exoskeleton, but not before receiving substantial damage. Imakurusu, sees the Laughing Man and is shot by a waiting assassin as Batou stands watch. Watching him die, the Laughing Man gives Batou the files and walks off. Bribery Case; Scandal Chief Aramaki has had the DEA chief arrested in his connection to the assassination of Dr. Imakurusu with aid from the testimony of Niimi, the man in charge of the assault team. Leaving the scene, the former prime minister whose daughter he and Section 9 helped rescue gives Aramaki a name and a warning. Yakushiro is the man pulling the strings in the whole Murai vaccine incident and he has some deep connections, including the military. As Aramaki arrives back at Section 9, he learns that his long lost brother has been arrested and rushes to see him. Unable to meet him face to face, he heads to the place where he was arrested and supposedly been living all this time. At the same time, Major Kusanagi is being refitted for her new body since her old has been badly damaged in her battle against the exoskeleton. Aramiki, falls into a trap set up by two of the three remaining members of the DEA attack squad and Motoko has found herself helpless against the third. As Batou rescues Aramaki, Motoko encounters the Laughing Man who helps her and gives her his memories to help shed light on the truth. Equinotical Week of Good and Evil; EQUINOX In order to find the connection between Secretary General Yakushima, the Murai vaccine and all the dirty little pilitical dealings behind the scene, Section 9 must get a hold of Serano, president of Serano Genomics. He has been under house arrest for the past six years under the pretense of protection from the laughing man. Before they manage to arrive though, the Laughing Man appears and kidnaps him again. As Batou, Saitou and Ishikawa attempts to track down his location, Serano and the Laughing Man returns to the scene where it all began six years ago and remenisce about the events that lead to the footage recorded in the archive. As Serano confirms all the dirty dealings of Yakushima and his people, he hardens his resolve to right the wrong by helping Laughing Man as he had promised years ago. At that moment though, they are found but not before Laughing Man slips out quietly. The Laughing Man meets Batou and reveals himself to be Major Kusanagi in disguise so that they could confirm the connection to Yakushima. Orphan Castle Setting Sun; ANNIHALTION The existance of Section 9 has been revealed to the general public and they have been accussed of abuse of power. The cabinet goes into an emergency meeting to decide the fate of Section 9 and as they await the arrival of Chief Aramaki, the Prime Minister is called elsewhere. He sescretly meets with Aramaki and learns of the bribery and corruption case involving Yakushiro. The Prime Minister refuses to move before the election is over though and as a measure, enacts the Special Forces Bill which eliminates the need for Section 9. Aramaki then sends out an encrypted message to Major Kusanagi with the order to just simply survive through all of what is about to happen. As Togusa drives Aramaki away, they are pursued by and captured by operatives of the Prime Minister. At Section 9, Motoko prepares the rest of Section 9 to escape, disappear and disseminate the information on the scandal about Yakushiro to the media as a special forces unit armed with Exoskeletons prepares their assault on them. Faking their own deaths, the members scatter. Bouma is the first to be capture and Pazu is captured next after successfully handing the information to someone who can leak it to the media. Smoke Projectile Rain; BARRAGE Chief Aramaki secretly meets with the Minister of Justice in an effort to save the members of Section 9 who has fled and are now trying to hide. Ishikawa goes to the pachinko parlour to leak the information entrusted to him and is subsequently caught after taking out a few soldiers. The last three Tachikomas meet and plan to save Batou as the remenisce about fate of the other Tachikomas. Later, Batou heads on to the major's safehouse to get her watch and is ambushed by special forces unit. After taking out an Exo-skeleton, he is eventually overwhelmed by a second suit and is about to get killed when the Tachikomas jumped in and rescued him. The remaining Tachikomas then sacrifice themselves to save him as the major makes an appearance and takes Batou away. Leaving on a plane, a sniper unit spots them as they are about to board and the major is shot in the head as Batou is arrested by soldiers. Public Peace Section 9 Again; STAND ALONE COMPLEX Togusa, the only left of Section 9 is released after several weeks to find that no one knows what exactly happened to the rest of Section 9. The media storm and govenrment scandal that appears when he is released certainly seems to be the work of Section 9, or is at least the information that is being used something that they gathered. Afraid that nothing is going to change and infuriated but not knowing, he planned to do some drastic until Batou shows up and stops him. He and Batou goes to where the rest Section 9 is and Togusa learns that it was a plan that Chief Aramaki put together at the last minute to save them all. Section 9 is still active, but only within the shadows now, without any official support. Elsewhere, Major Kusanagi goes to a library and meets the Laughing Man face to face and the reason for his involvement is revealed. Originaly started a pursuit of curiosity, the Laughing Man himself is perhaps, the ultimate in cyberization and is afraid of being afflicted with cyber brain schlerosis, which is why he found the Murai vaccine so interesting. When Chief Aramaki offers him a job at Section 9 though, he politely refuses. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Season 2 Restart; REEMBODY Chief Aramaki is negotionating the re-establishement of Section 9 to the cabinet members as a terrorist group has taken an embassy over with several hostages. As police try to gatehr information, the members of Section 9 are in the background gathering information as well planning an asault on the building should they be given the greenlight. When accidental contact between the police and the terrorist occurs which results in the death of an officer and a terrorist, Aramaki gets the upper hand in the negotiations and Section 9 is given the green light. Section 9 will be re-established and new members added if they eliminate all the terrorists and no hostages are harmed. As they complete their mission, they are rewarded official status once more and new members. Batou and the rest soon realize that the new members are actually the Tachikomas that were either dismantled or destroyed. Newly rebuilt, they are still the same old Tachikoma that adores Batou. The Satiated Me; NIGHT CRUISE Saturday Night and Sunday Morning; CASH EYE When a highly secured building is infiltrated by a thief, the highly influential owner pulls some string to involve Section 9 in its protection for the upcomming party he intends to throw. Beneath the building is a vault that will be the target. With Section 9 members throughout the building and Tachikoma in stealth mode around surrounding building, the major springs into action as reports of thief breaking in appears. AS they proclaim the thief locked within the vault, all security is lowered and it is revealed that the major was the thief and it has all been a sting set up by Aramaki to get to the illegal good within the building's vault! Natural Enemy; NATURAL ENEMY Those that have the motive; INDUCTANCE Latent Heat Source; EXCAVATION Rhapsody - The Melody of a Bygone Nation; PU239 Vegetarian Feast; FAKE FOOD The Hope Named Despair; AMBIVALENCE The Man Who Goes Insane; TRIAL Grass Labyrinth; Affection To Those Without Even a Name...; SELECON Face; MAKE UP Beware of the Left Eye; POKER FACE Afternoon Machines; PAT The Fact of Being There; ANOTHER CHANCE Repaired Mother-Child Relationship; RED DATA Angel's Poem; TRANS PARENT CHAIN REACTION FABRICATE FOG EMBARRASSMENT REVERSAL PROCESS MARTIAL LAW NUCLEAR POWER THIS SIDE OF JUSTICE ENDLESS GIG Giant Robo (Action/Adventure/Comedy(Ginrei Specials only)/Drama) Giant Robo is a tribute the late 70's early 80's giant robot shows. Even the character designs draws much influence from that era. Despite it's appearance making it seems as if it is going to be kiddie stuff, it actually has a bit of darkness in it's story. Several characters are exceptionally developed through out the entirety of the story and it is quite enjoyable to watch. It also has one of the most ironic plot twists in the end that comes to my mind in recent history. Yes definitely worth the bucks to buy this. Get the special set that comes with the big eye thingie that became the main enemy mech through out the series. The Black Atache Case: When a sinister plan has been set into motion by Big Fire, a set of three attache cases are involved. The last one of these three is protected by Dr. Shizuma, creator of the Shizuma drive that powers the world. Taken back to the Peking branch of the International Police Organization for protection by Ginrei, Tetsugyu, Daisaku and Giant Robo, he is a complete wreck and keeps on mumbling about the mistakes of his past. Elsewhere, in Paris, three of the five scientist that helped create the Shizuma drive are found murdered and the man responsible appears to be Professor Franken Von Vogler, the one blames for the tragedy known as Bashtarle that threw the world in the darkness for seven days. As Kenji Murasame of the Paris branch IPO investigates further a phenomenon occurs similar to that of Bashtarle and all the power in France dies out. In Peking, the safety of Dr. Shizuma and the attache case is compromised when the base is attacked by Alberto the impact of the Magnificent Ten. Buying time for Ginrei to get Dr. Shizuma and the attache case to safety, Taiso takes on his long time rival. As they are about to escape, they are ambushed by Ivan, Alberto's second in command and his giant mech, Uranus. The Tragedy of Bashtarle: Sensing that Daisaku is in danger, Giant Robo launches into action. With Daisaku taken hostage by Ivan and Uranus' force field keeping Giant Robo out, the third attache case is about to fall into Big Fire's hands when Dr. Shizuma grabs it and attemps to use it causing a miniature Bashtarle phenomenon in Peking. In the midst of the confusion, Uranus stops functioning as well as all other Shizuma drives, Dr. Shizuma is murdered, and everyone discovers that Giant Robo is powered by a nuclear reactor. Trying to regroup, the Experts of Justice heads off to Shanghai in the Greta Garbo airship to launch a counter offensive.Commander Choji and Professor Go heads of to Ryuzenpaku to determine the true nature of the Shizuma drive in the attache case and Tetsugyu and Daisaku is ordered to stay put. The Magnetic Web Strategy: In Shanghai, they attempt to recreate the method used to control and minimize the effects of Bashtarle by using a series of magnetic wave guns to cause the Vogler eye to fly off into space. During the operation, the guns are attacked by Ivan and the operation falls apart. Giant Robo arrives and fights Uranus, killing Ivan. Going up against the Vogler eye, Giant Robo is badly damaged and nearly destroyed. The IPO retreats with Taiso staying behind to slow down the eye and Issei and Ginrei off to retrieve Daisaku. When Alberto attacks them, Ginrei is forced to flee with Daisaku and the attache case. Cornered, Ginrei teleports herself and Daisaku to safety, shocking Genya, the man put in charge of the operation and controller of the Vogler eye. With the remaining IPO forces inthe Greta Garbo, Alberto switches target to Taiso and the two of them have their final battle to settle their rivalry once and for all. Taiso dies, giving Alberto the victory to protect the magnetic gun and protect everyone. The Twilight of the Super Heroes: Thinking that they have escaped, the IPO forces finds out that they are sadly mistaken when Ko Enshaku, appears inside the Greta Garbo. Issei and Youshi attempts to stop his rampage in vain. In the bridge, Professor Von Vogler appears before Ginrei and she quickly realizes that it is not her father, but her brother Emanuelle, also known as Genya, disguised as her father who is attempting to take revenge on the world for the shame that they have given their father. With her dying actions, Youshi separates holds back Enshaku as Issei separates the bridge from the rest of the ship to keep the attache case safe while Giant Robo manages to keep Genya from taking the attache case. With the bridge so badly damage, they crash into the mountains. The Truth of Bastarle: Facing against Genya and Enshaku in the mountains while searching for Daisaku who fell off, Tetsugyu and Ginrei makes plans about what to do next. While the Experts of Justice from Ryuzenpaku attempt to rescue them, they curse the name of von Vogler for attempting to cause a second Tragedy of Bashtarle as a "vengeance" when everything was his fault. Unable to remain quiet, Professor Go, Professor von Vogler's assistant, reveeeals to them the truth of Bashtarle and how it was actually Dr. Shizuma who caused the tragedy, not Professor von Vogler. In truth, it was Professor von Vogler who attempted to stop the tragedy when the other 4 scientists turned against him. In the end, they thought that he never survived and placed the blame all on him and Professor von Vogler goes down in history as a reviled egotistical man who caused the death of two thirds of the world's population. Professor Go and Farmelle, Professor von Vogler's daughter who we now know as Ginrei, has since spent their time in silence about the tragedy while hoping to clear the professor's good name. Cornered, Ginrei and Daisaku are suddenly saved by the arrival of the Experts of Justice from Ryuzenpaku and Kenji who had been dispatched earlier to rescue them. Crime and Punishment: Daisaku. Ginrei and Tetsugyu have been rescued just in time and Daisaku wakes up to find Ginrei sealed in a tube of glowing liquid and Giant Robo chained. Ginat Robo will eventually be released as soon as they figure out what the snow like object that has been stuck in its right shoulder is, but Ginrei is permanently sealed under the suspicion that she might turn traitor and hand over the third sample to her brother in order to fulfill her father's dying wish. In BF Group's main base, 5 of the Magnificent 10 stationed there are really beginning to doubt Genya. When a transmission is received by Hansui from Alberto courtesy of Alberto's daughter, he begins to research Genya's past and discovers that he is Professor von Vogler's son. The Magnificent 10 springs into action and half way through, they realize that Koume, their chief tactician is in on it too. They are captured by Big Fire's personal guards in their attempt to capture and question Genya. On his way to St. Abbe Bay where Bashtarle once stood, Commander Chujo stands inhis way and shows him why he is Chujo the Silent, the man with the most explosive punch in the world. To stop the advance of the Vogler Eye, Chujo willingly sacrifices his life by using his forbidden technique, a nuclear explosive punch. In Ryuzenpaku, amidst all the angst and questions, 3 of the Magnificent 10 attacks the base and they are completely helpless. As the Fantastic Fitzcarle is about to kill Daisuke and take the thrid sample from the sleeping Ginrei, Ginrei awakens and initiates a massive teleport. Grand Finale: When Ginrei creates a massive teleport, Big Fire's forces are forced to flee and Fitzcarle is killed. Ginrei bids Daisaku farewell and teleports to the Vogler Eye to plead with her brother. Left on the battlefield, Daisaku looses his way and refuses to fight while the rest of the Experts of Justice struggle to mount a last ditch defence on St. Abbe Bay. Only Daisaku's mood swing saves them when he decides to fight once more and commands Giant Robo to fight. Racing to where Giant Robo is, the Experts of Justice and BF Group clashes all around with one goal, to prevent/aid in Daisaku getting to Giant Robo. Reaching Giant Robo, Daisaku realizes that he is not alone and there are always other standing next to him. Using Giant Robo to mount an attack against the Vogler Eye, they are about to be overwhelmed when a massive shockwave saves them and holds the Vogler Eye at bay. The snow like substance in Giant Robo's shoulder turned out to be Alberto. Having hidden himself after Genya tried to kill him, he has waited all this time for the most opportune moment to counter Genya's manipulation of the BF Group. Having died in order to give Giant Robo the chance to crush Genya and the Voggler Eye, Daisaku takes the opportunity and breaks into the Eye. Inside, Ginrei, almost dead and half of her body gone from the massive teleport that she created, reaches Genya and pleads with him. When she refused to give the third sample to him, Genya shoots her dead and activates all three samples. Upon activation, Genya hears the full message. He doesn't want him to hate the other four scientist that he killed. He wants him to live happily with the sister he just shot dead. His goal in dreating the 3 samples were to correct the minute flaw in Shizuma's design which would have robbed the world of its oxygen and make it unlivable, hence his lst words..."stop Shizuma," meaning the flawed Shizuma drive. With the Eye about to explode, Genya teleports it into space as all the Shizum drives in the world is transformed into the perfected form that Professor von Vogler has initiated and reactivates. The battle has been won, but the war between the BF Group and the International Police Organization is far from over. Ginrei Special - Barefoot Ginrei: Ginrei Special - Blue Eyed Ginrei: Ginrei Special - Strong Armed Ginrei: Gokudo Gokudo is the perfect adventurer. Reckless, greedy, and ambitious, he's only after two things: all the money and hot babes in the world, of course! With a gender changing genie, a tomboy sidekick, a demon prince, two Chines witches and a permanently buzzed panda, he sets off on a quest to uncover the great treasures of the world. He'll succeed, or make a total fool of himself trying! (Comedy/Fantasy) It's an okay series. I would say that you should just rent this if you are a swords and sorcery fanatic like me, but even I wasn't much impressed with it, so, to everyone else, don't get this one. Suddenly, I'm a Girl Gokudo is an adventurer and the unlikeliest of hero. Talking to an old woman who is trying to tell him of an impending danger to his future, he ignores her and steals her wallet to find a genie inside who loves giving lectures. After scamming the inn owner by promising to rescue his daughter, Gokudo decides to run off and encounter monsters and one of them wielding a magical sword that he claims for himself. Deciding to party in town with the money he has, the genie, now in female form (to get him to listen), gets drunk and transforms Gokudo into a babe. Sappy Sidekick, Bracing Appearance ~in the works~ Please Grant My Last Wish ~in the works~ The King's Race: Ready or Not, Here I Come ~in the works~ The Riddle of Sphinx ~in the works~ Don't Let Women Fool You ~in the works~ The Shocking Truth of the Third Man ~in the works~ The Rose Prince, The Charming, Winning Smile ~in the works~ When in the Unimaginable Ryuga Castle Why does this series have to have so many episodes?! Stormy Weather! The Selfish Sun-Goddess Explodes ~in the works~ The Destiny of the Hotoke and Magic Gods ~in the works~ Let's Play Doctor! Here Comes the Magic Sphere! ~yup, STILL in the works~ World Shattering World! Which Way is the Future of Inaho! ~in the works~ Identity Crisis! I am You, but Who are You ~in the works~ Temptation of the Deadly Gorgeous Sisters! ~in the works~ Me, Myself and Monkey! It's not MY fault Bon-sama's too lazy to write up summaries. I've never even HEARD of this series before! The Trembling Debut of the Bok Choy Sisters! ~in the works~ The True Identity of Me - I'll be a Monkey's Uncle! ~in the works~ The World is Full of Loving and Shoving! ~in the works~ Who's That Baby - Whose Baby - Mystery of the Blue Egg ~in the works~ Monk Sanzo appears! What is Happiness ~in the works~ The Awakening of Miroku! Where is Happiness ~in the works~ Sanzo Counterattacks! Please Gimme Back my Body! ~in the works~ Get Back the Spring of Life! I Shall Return ~iN t3h WoRks~ Am I Dreaming - Surprise at Sunrise ~in the works~ See ya, Everybody! Nobody Can Stop me Now! ~in the works~ Gokujou Seitoukai (Comedy) Dear Mr. Poppit: Randou Rino is filled with anticipation as she travels to attend her new high school which Mr Poppit, her penpal has been kind enough to take care of all the paperwork. Upon getting there, however the appartment that her penpal has arranged for her has been burned by an arsonist. Without any money and all of her stuff turned to ash along with the appartment, she is out on the street on her own when she gets an idea from her puppet, Pucchan to try and see if she can stay in the school for a while. Trying to get there, she is knocked out when she ran into Izumi Kaouri, a student chasing after the arsonist. The next day, she makes friend with Ayame Oome, a girl from her class who nominates her for class rep since class reps have a higher chance of being chosen into the student council and they live in the dorm with free rent and food. On her way to the student rep meeting, she gets lost and screws up the capture of the pyromaniac again, but chases after him. Having passed out from fright, Pucchan, her puppet beats up the arsonist and when she wakes up, the other student council members are so impressed that they make her a member as well! Outpouring Youth: Rino has been accepted as the new secretary of the student council. She now has a place to stay in and doens't have to worry about paruing for food anymore. The next day, the whole school is abuzz with rumors of her appointment to the student council, a coveted position that every student aspires to. Noticing that Rino doesn't seem to have any outstanding qualities (as a matter of fact, she got 0 in her skills test and 300th place out of 300 in the physical assessment), they are wondering why Kanade, the council president has chosen her for the position of secretary, an executive position within the Gokajou Student Council. That afternoon, while holding her welcome to the Gokajou Student Council party, the party is disrupted by Ryuuheita Iwazakura, the heir to the Iwazakura conglomerate which rivals the Jinguji conglomerate that owns the island and the school to which Kanade is the heir and tries to propose to her again to make a strategic marriage. Nanaho Kinjo, the vice president and leader of the assault squad gets peeved and tries to use the big cannon. When Ryuuheita runs away, they get hit by the cannon anyway when Rino panics about while trying to convince her not to use the cannon, trips and causes the button to fall to the ground hitting the switch. Payapaya in the Gokujou Dormitory: When the Gokujou members see Kanade coming out of Rino's room, they inadvertently start a rumor that there is something unspeakable going on between the two of them that frequently happens in an all girls school. The rumor spreads like wildfire and soon enough, everyone wants to know what is going on between Kanade, the president of Gokajou and adored idol of the school and Rino. Soon, there are rumors of them doing "payapaya" in that room! As the photography, newspaper, and paparazzi club joins forces to find out just what is going on in that room when they are alone, the Gokujou tries its best to protect Kanade from snooping eyes. Placing traps all over the compound and members guarding the building, they start wiping out members trying to sneak in to get a photo of what is happening in that room. When the president of the newspaper club manages to sneak in and take a picture, she finds out what they are doing in that room. They are doing...*gasp*...SUKIYAKI!!! With that out in the open, they manage to trick the newspaper club president into thinking that Rino and Kanade are sharing rooms due to room shortage and the room dies with the next day's news printing. A Brilliantly Clear Headed Way: It is time for Rino to start perforimng duties as a member of Gokujou and for that fact, she is paired up with Izumi by Kanade. Izumi who worships Kanade is resentful of the fact that Rino is a newcommer and yet Kanade seems to favor her above everyone else. For her, this situation she finds herself is a bit of a pain. Patrolling the premises for problems, they are presented with the first incident for Rino. The puppet club's lead puppet in the coming play is torn up and no one knows who the culprit is. It is up to Rino, Pucchan and Izumi to solve the case. After thorough searching, they have concluded the cat did it at presented the report to the vice presidents. Afterwards, Izumi confronts the puppet club president about her being the actual culprit. She has been resentful of the fact that her subordinates are getting better that she doesn't shine as much anymore on stage. She berates her on her action. After all, one who stand out above the rest and is loved and admired should take a greater responsibilities in their every deed - just like Kanade, her idol. A Beautiful Battle: With all the extra spenidings that they have made without the accountant's permision, the budget comes up short and there is no money to supply for everything for the next month. In order to make it through, either the asault group under vice president Nanaho or the covert group under vice president Kuon will have to do without any budget. In order to findout who will have to make the sacrifice, Kanade have decided with help from Rino's mumbling in her sleep, to make a curry battle decide which group gets the money. Izumi heads up the assault group's effort to win while the cooking club is recruited for the covert team. During the battle, they find out that they have to do challenges while cooking. First is to climb a wall to get the ingredient. Second is a duel for it. Last is a game of chance. With the battle over and the judging left to Kanade and Rino, it becomes a draw when Rino decides that either one tastes better than the other and that they taste better when you mix them together. Horror! Pucchan's Revenge: People have gotten little comfortable with Pucchan's presence that they nearly forgot about it until Nanaho made them remember it. Angry that Rino is taking bad things about them by using the puppet as an outlet for it, she confiscates Pucchan with the help of the assault team. Separated from Pucchan, Rino dissolves into a bluberring mass of tears. Meanwhile, Cindy decides to try wearing Pucchan. When they discover that Pucchan is gone and an omnious note is left on the wall promising vengeance, they soon start getting jumpy, even Nanaho who claims she doesn't believe in curses. When all three emembers of the assault team are taken out, she prepares herself and manages to knock Pucchan out of Cindy's hand. Angry that she was playing a prank on them, Pucchan lands on Mayura's hand and begins talking again. Having tricked Nanaho, she throws him out the window where he gets hit by lightning. Afraid that she had lost him, Rino starts crying out until Kanade points out that Pucchan is just playing dead. In the end, everything remains the same. We Love to Help Out: When the rest of the Gokujou found out that Mayuri, their uptight accoutnant is going out on dates, they decide that they want to know just exactly what kind of man her boyfriend is. Kuon gets her covert team ot research him and has found out something disturbing facts about him. It seems that he's a bit of a playboy and that he is dating multiple girls behind their back. Even worse, he's going out with Mayuri because she is in the executive commity of Gokujou and that would open up a window of opportunity for him to get into their all girls school and pick up more cute girls. When they have found out about this, they decide to act on their own without letting the president or Mayuri find out and run him out of town on their own. What they didn't realize is that Kanade and Mayuri already know about him and that Mayuri is doing just that to get him to stop seeing her friend. When they fail to convince him to stop doing what he is doing, they just flat out beat the crap out of him in order to "convince" him to stop seeing Mayuri. In the end, everything is resolved as one of Kanade's operatives beats him up again to "convince" him to stop seeing Mayuri's friend as well. Goodbye Gokujou Student Council: With their midterms looming closer and closer, Rein, Cindy and Rino have a huge worry that they have. They must pass all of the exams or they are going to be kicked out of the Gokujou. Rein only has one bad subject - Math and Cindy - English, but Rino is bad in every subject scoring only single digit points out a hundred point on all of the mock exams they gave her. With Mayuri watching over Cindy and Sayuri making sure that Rein studies, everyone ele concentrates on teaching Rino. After five days, she still hasn't improved a bit and everyone is starting to worry. To be kicked out of the Gokujou also means that she will have to find a new place to live in, pay for food and tuition again. Finally, Izumi asks Pucchan if she's always been that dumb and gets an idea. They throw her a party to get her to stop worrying and being sad so she can actually concentrate more on her studies. After the exam, Rino passes, but just barely. Everything is back to normal as Izumi leaves to go home where her younger siblings are waiting for her. Like Rino, both her parents are dead as well, escept she has her siblings to lean on unlike Rino who is an only child. Liking Doesn't Stop: When Kimiduka, Sayuri's cousin comes to Miyagami searching for Sayuri to take vengeance for what she has done to her father, Sayuri begins to break down again. A while ago, before she was a member of the Gokujou, she was a frail girl on the verge of falling apart when Kanade invited her in. Before that, she was a genuis at the sword but an incident happened that shook her ability to believe in herself and her sword. That incident is a match between her and her uncle, the head of the Hida Kassei Dojo. She was supposed to be the next head of the dojo and they were pushing her hard when she accidentally sent him toe the hospital. Ever since then, her uncle has been unable to use the sword with the nerves on both his arms badly damaged. Finally deciding on things, Sayuri accepts her cousing challenge and faces her in a duel with the other Gokujou members as witness to the match. Having been beaten, it turns out that Kimiduka doesn't hate her cousin as much as it first seemed and that she only came there to see if her sword has gotten dull or not. At the same time, it turned out that Sayuri has been sending her uncle flowers everyday ever since that day as a way of apology. Don't Make her Wear a Swimsuit: With the summer in the air, it means only one thing, the pool and swimsuits. Of course, the bad thing is that everyone knows about it. The Gokujou needs to do something to prevent the chaos of the past summer from happening again. They need to think of a way to keep all the boys from the surrounding school from sneaking in and taking a peek and photos to sell later on. Trying to figure out ways to do that, their meeting is disrupted when they find out that several boys have begun to camp the gates in hopes of sneaking in when the pool opens up. To get rid of them and make things easier for themselves, they have decided to use disinformation and placed an announcement that pool is cancelled. With a few boys still not accepting that fact, they still need to do something to get the pool open. With several boys already having had snuck in to the school pool, they decide to charter a cruise ship and open up pool there for everyone in the school. The Winning Five: When the members of the school's futsol (an indoor soccer with less members and modifications to the rules) come down with a summer cold, they are unable to attend the exhibition match against Kenran High, Miyagami's rival school from across the town. To play against them, they have decided that the Gokujou will substitute the players who got ill. They get even more resolved to play for victory when the Kenran High Student Council president, vice president and secretary comes over to make fun of them. Practicing as hard as they can, they are about to give up when their coach reveals herself to be a part of the Japan all team (a lie to give them courage to practice even harder). That following day, after 12 hours of practice, they start playing only to realize that Kenran has paid of the referee as he starts tossing out player after player until only two players remain on the field. With a 26 to 0 lead, things seem hopless and becomes even more hopeless when they pull in another player that looks like a proffesional registered as a student. With such an overwhelming advantage, the landlady steps in and reveals herself to be unstopable in the field as she overwhelms the competition all by herself giving Miyagami the win at 100 to 26. With victory in hand, Kanade reveals that it was actually another member of the covert squad disguised as the landlady. As they are celebrating their victory over their hated foe, they get news that the entire Lacrosse team is out with a summer cold and that their next opponent is Kenran...again. It was on a Rainy Day: On a rainy Sunday, Kanade and Nanaho goes back to the family estate for Kanade to meet her grandfather. While there, Nanaho runs into her older brother who has lost the Jinguji member that he was protecting and is out of a job. She remembers the first time that she has met Kanade and how she despised her for being the one she is forced to protect since her family has been protecting Kanade's family for generation. She is surprised to find herself suddenly free when Kanade releases her from her duties. Free to be a normal girl at last, she goes out to have fun with her classmates until she realizes that just like her, Kanade is also chained to the destiny that she was born in. With that, she resolves to stay by Kanade's side to help free her the way that she has freed her. When Nanaho's eldest brother came to take them back after Kanade ran away, he tells them that if she doesn't want the situation that she is in, she should change that situation instead of running away. A year later, Miyagami High School for Girls is built and opened following Kanade's wish to be able to go to school like a normal girl. Friend or Foe - Minamo-chan: When Kanade and Nanaho returns to the dormitory, they are surprised to find it in a demolished state. The only one left there is Rino and she begins to recount the tale on how the dorm was decimated. After they left, Kuon, Cindy and Seina also leaves. Passing the time, they play cards and Rino having lost, is sent to buy snacks where she met Minamo. When Minamo collapses, Rino brings her to her room and goes out to buy medicines. When she got back though, Minamo is gone and has begun to wander around snooping into rooms. With the other members help, they begin to search for her. Trying to stop her from running amuck around the form, they all got suckered into going into the emergency hatch. Finally, Rino finds her in the secret room. Trying to get her to stop, she accidentally pushes the self destruct button causing all the damage in the building. For Kanade, the girl looks familiar. When Kuon, Cindy and Seina returns, she is reminded why - she is Seina's little sister and she will be transfering in the next day as a new student. Very Poor Student Council: With the dormitory destroyed, everyone (except for Kuon) that used to live on the dorms are now staying in school. Without a kitchen, the landlady prepares the food in the scince lab and dishes out nothing but instant food that isn't ery appetising. Much to Nanaho's frustration, Kanade allows Minamo, the sorce of the disturbance to join the Gokujou just becuase she thought it would be fun to do so. On top of that, she has decided that they should perform a play to get money for themselves. The play, written during lunchtime, seemed completely plain, cliche'd and destined to failure, but Kanade allowed it anyway. During the preparation of the play, Rino is asked to look for Minamo and has discovered that she is born with a weak heart when she discovers Seina carrying her to the infirmary. That is the reason that she is so spoiled and selfish, although Seina asks that she be given no special treatment. In the end, the play goes on when Minamo gets an attack on stage again. Managing to finish it, the crowd hated the play and demanded their money back! The Reason I am Here: The new dorm is rebuilt and Minamo, wandering into other people's room finds a photo of Kuon with a man. They wonder who he might be. Later that day, Kuon goes out and meets that man. He is actually an intelligence officer of the NAFRES Intelligence Agency and Kuon was planted there as a spy to find out the secret ability that Kanade has. For over three years, she has been giving them reports on a regular basis, but for the past year, she has had nothing new to report. Pressured into finding out more, Kuon goes into Kanade's room to look for something when she is confronted by a covert member who investigates other covert members and is forced to flee. Meanwhile, it turns out that Kanade already knows about Kuon and has allowed her to stay so that she can be free. When Kuon comes back to the dorms to pick up her stuff and leave, she is confronted by Kanade who tells her that she knew from the beginning and in order to keep her from leaving, she tells her it's ok to keep on investigating her. In return, she'll make sure that she will never know her secret. I Want You to be Here: When Rino and Minamo are asked to help out in covert work, they enthusiastically ask Kotoha to let them come along. Kotoha cannot fathom why Seina would do so, since they will both be just a burden to her. Investigating a new transfering student, she finds out that the same man that Kuon reports to is behind this one as well and learns of the reason why Kuon is doing what she is doing. Reporting back, she tells Rino and Minamo that the investigation is over and sends them back home. Later that night, with, Nanaho's 4th brother, they confront and capture the two spies sent by NAFRES. In the end, with Rino and Minamo's help, she realizes the importance of the school and the purpose to which Kanade built it - to protect the innocent smiles of its students. Returning to the school, she can understand now the difficulty of Kuon's position and forgives her actions. Maintain the Lie: When Cindy's mother decides to drop by suddenly, Cindy is afraid that all the lies she has written to her will be revealed. In order to do that, Kanade has decided to turn the lies she has told into truth - all 200 of them. From Cindy being the president, to Rein and Izuki fighting to be by her side all the time, to Kande and Kuon as her personal maid to Nanaho acting out the role of her boyfriend. At dinner time, everynight is a full course French cuisine appearently. Not only that, but the girls will dance the hula for her entertainment. Even more is the fact that she told her mom that she is an international racer. Come evening time, her personal maids washes her back an pampers her and her boyfriend gives her a goodnight kiss. After dinner, though, instead of going through the schedule, Cindy and her mom goes out to the beach. There, they find out that she was lying the whole time, but she isn't angry because of that. She's angry because she isn't being true to her feelings - that she really loves...Pucchan!?! Satou Hitoshi, 28 Years Old, Occupation - Lawyer, Wealthy Parents A Person with so many Qualifications that you couldn't Ask for More: When Yukimi-sensei is in utter bliss, the cause appears to be a marriage meeting that she is about to attend. His name is Satou Hitoshi and he is so wonderful that there is nothing more that Yukimi-sensei could ever ask for. Of course, Wakana-sensei isn't very happy about it. Not only did they both promise each other to find happiness together, but she is so much younger than she is and she might be getting married first. Getting herself completely smashed to forget her depresion, she stagers out of the school the next day to run into him. By coincidence, he is actually someone she used to know in high school. Back then, his last name was Hasegawa because his mother remarried. When Yukimi-sensei sees the two of them looking back on their high school years together and the years apart they've had since then, it causes some minor friction. That night, Wakana-sensei calls him to find out that he is withdrawing from the marriage meeting. His mother is dying from cancer and he only did the marriage meeting to appease one of her wishes. Hearing this, Wakana-sensei calls the hospital that Hitoshi's mother is in and where she used to work. Seeing the results for herself, she decides that she can be saved with a difficult operation that she can easily perform. The next day, Yukimi-sensei comes to her and she isn't mad at all...until she sees the marriage meeting pamphlet that Wakana-sensei is carrying that she got from the chief doctor of the hospital. Farewell My Dear Friend: Going home one day, Izumi comes across a box with what she thought might be an abandoned pet. Looking inside, she finds another puppet that is like Pucchan. His name is Lance and he knows both Pucchan and Rino. Going to school, he and Pucchan are reunited. It has been 14 years since he left and Rino was just a baby back then. Together at last after 14 years, the two them act as if no time had been lost at all. In the meantime, Kotoha is getting curious as to what the dolls really are. When she gets a hit on her search matching Lance's name to the name of a top secret Jinguji operative who died 20 years before, her curiousity grows even more. As Lance and Pucchan reminisce about the past and Chieri, Rino's mother, Lance has some concerns about Kanade's intent in having Rino by her side. He is afraid that she might be trying to take Rino back into the Jinguji house. The next day, after beating up a guy harrasing a student in the front gate, Lance goes to see Kanade and leaves Pucchan and Rino in her care. The power that fuels his body is starting to die out and when Lanade offers to recharge him, he refuses. Outside, Kotoha is there when Seina tells her to not investigate the matter any further. That night, when Kanade tells Pucchan and Rino that Lance has left, Pucchan cries for his friend, knowing what really has happened. Ayu-chan Becomes an Idol: When Ayumu is scouted by a talent agent on the street, Rino and Pucchan accompanies her to see if it is the genuine thing or something fishy. When it turns out to be the genuine thing, all Rino can do is show her support for Ayumu. Everyday, she goes out after school to her dancing and singing lessons. The Gokujou shows it's full support of her although Kuon and Seina are worried about her being found out if she becomes an idol. It is her dream though and it's just fine with her if her location is discovered. Elsewhere, in a ninja house, they are glad that they have finally discovered her whereabouts and now that they know where she is, they can administer the proper punishment that she deserves. Returning to school just before her first live performance, she is attacked by a ninja. It is her twin brother who has come to punish her from running away from their clan. Running away from her, Rino finds out that she is also a Gokujou covert member. When her brothers finds her again, the tow of them begin to fight. Pucchan manages to stop them and Rino gets them to see eye to eye. Moments before the concert, Ayumu's manager comes with a special costume. She wants her to wear a ninja costume which will become her schtick from then on. Ayumu, whose reason for running away from home is the fact that she hated being a ninja, refuses. With her debut cancelled because of this, everything returns to normal. Fine Days are Always Rein: When a baby is left on the Gokujou doorsteps, it falls on them to find the mother of the baby and take care of her at the same time. Going through the police, there has been no report of a missing baby. In the meantime, Rein has taken it upon herself to care for the baby. Surprised that she would do something like that, Rino and Pucchan discovers from Izumi that Rein was also abandoned by her father when she was just a child. The reason that she and Sayuri are so close is that Sayuri's family adopted her when she was left behind. Looking for a clue of the baby's mother, Kotoha discovers that Rein's father was staying at a hotel three days prior. When Rein refuses to try and see him, Rino convinces her to do it and calls the other Gokujou members into action. Searching out in mass through the streets, the baby's mother, uncertain of her actions, runs into Rein's father who helps her make a decision based on chance. Rino yells out in a voice that is strangely heard through out the city and allows the baby's mother to find them. With a happy reunion accomplished, Kanade and Seina are worried that "it" is starting to emerge from Rino. Gokujou Card Battle: To help out with the budget, Minamo created a Gokujou card battle game that has become very popular not only in their school, but in other schools as well. When Rino finds out that her card is a completely useless one with 0 points ineverything, she is dsturbed by it. When she finds Minamo to complain about it, she discovers that she is not the only one who is complaining about it. Nanaho has a complaint about the cards revealing her teddy bear hobbies. Rein is mad that her card becomes almost useless when a snack card is used on her card and Sayuri doesn't like the fact that her card becomes worthless when a glasses card is put into play. In order to decide whether to recall the cards or let it stay in circulation, they have decided to battle it out using the cards as the battlefield. Deciding to let Rino and Pucchan be their representative, she faces Minamo. Since Minamo is the card's creator, they are completely overwhelmed as she counters everything that Rino does. With only one life point left out of a hundred, Rino almost gives up when all she has in her hand are her cards. To everyone's surprise though, it turns out that her hand has become a trump hand. With all five cards as a Rino card in play, all the other members takes pity on her and doesn't move. Free to attack without being countered, Rino easily beats Minamo. After the battle, Rino, Sayuri and Rein realizes that the cards are pretty fun after all. With the three of them in agreement to let the cards remain in production, Nanaho is forced to comply as well. Of course, she later regrets that decision when everyone found out that she has a weakness for teddy bears. Shoujo Detectives: : : : Golden Boy Kintaro Oe leaves college just as he was about to get his law degree to study the real world and wanders around looking for new and interesting things to learn. Of course through out the course of his education in real world dynamics, he meets all these hot babes whom he generally, mostly annoy as he learns things. In the end though, he wins them over with his charm, curiosity and drive and as they get captivated by him, he leaves them behind for his next real world class! (Comedy/Ecchi) Kintaro is awesome! I wish I could be like him. He's so smart that he learns to program just by reading books and typing on a cardboard box with the keys drawn in! He's so smooth that he wins the approval of a calculating politicial. He's so awesome that he can ride his bicycle on power lines! This is one funny series and I just wish that there were more episodes out. Yes, I recommend this for your collection. I LOVE this series! I make ALL my friends (even people I just randomly meet in class) watch it! For some, it's too graphic and they just don't get his obsession with toilets (ahahah!). For others, it's the greatest thing since...umm... the last greatest thing in existence! Kintaro cracks me up so badly I have to remind myself to breathe every now and then while laughing. GET IT! Note: Do not watch this in front of parents or in the vicinity of little children. Computer Lesson ~in the works~ Temptation of the Maiden ~in the works~ Danger! The Virgin's First Love Not to fear! I WILL watch this series again to put up summaries! Swimming in the Sea of Love ~in the works~ B@!!$ to the Wall ~in the works~ Animation is Fun ~in the works~ Grave of Fireflies It is post-war Japan, just weeks after the American occupation. In the city of Kobe, a boy lies dying in a train station. Beside his body lies a small candy container. A janitor, unsure what to make of its ashy contents, pitches it into the night. As fireflies float softly around it, ghostly images of the boy and his little sister appear? Flashback to a short time earlier. Orphaned and homeless from a firebomb attack on their city, 14-year-old Seita and his 4-year-old sister Setsuko, set out to survive in the face of a society that is no longer able to protect them. Forced to live in an abandoned bomb shelter in the Japanese countryside, they slowly come to the realization that they can never escape the hardships of war, or even find enough food to survive? (Drama) Grave of Fireflies is an excellent film although it is difficult for most American fans to watch. I believe this to be a must own/must see at least once for any and all Anime fans. A real tear jerker so make sure to have lots of tissue around because unless you have a heart of stone, you are going to flood your room with tears-no, really! Green Legend Ran In the future, our planet will be transformed into a strange new world where human life struggles on an Earth without rain or oceans-only vast, parched deserts. Mysterious objects known as the Rodo have gathered a cult following who now rule over the survivors of Earth. Ran, a young, hot-blooded boy, has sworn revenge against the Anti-Rodoist group, known as the Hazzard, for the death of his mother. In his quest, he meets and falls in love with Aira, a pretty silver haired girl, who everyone wants to possess. Caught between the overbearing Rodoist and terroristic Hazzard, Ran pursues the one thing that is clear to him, his love for Aira! What is her connection to the Rodo? Find out as our heroes travel to the Holy Green! (Action/Adventure/Romance/Sci-Fi) This is an interesting take on the whole post apocalyptic distant future genre, although I wasn't truly impressed by it. There are touching moments in there and the story is interesting, it just wasn't something that I am generally interested in. My recomendation is to just rent this one (although if you did buy it, it's only 12 bucks). Grenadier: The Smiling Senshi (Action/Comedy) : : : : : : : : : : : : : Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz (OVA/Movie) After Colony 196. One year after the end of the Gundam Wing television series. Now, peace has spread through the Earth Sphere and the colonies are at peace. The Gundam pilots now find themselves attempting to rebuild their lives in this new era. And no longer having need of their weapons of war, they have sent their Gundams into the sun to be destroyed. But suddenly, Relena Darlian, who has become a high ranking government official, is kidnapped by a colony with aspirations of total dominance. The Gundam pilots and their allies find themselves called into action once again. The Endless Waltz has resumed? (Action/Drama/Sci-Fi) There really isn't much difference between the between the movie and the OVA's. The only thing that is different is that the movie has more scenes added on to it and the song has been changed to something a bit more mellow in my opinion. Also, the OVA's are the ones that Toonami showed as a "movie." This also delves deeper into the gundam pilots' pasts and allows us to partially see what motivates them. Silent Orbit: Someone is trying to destroy the peace won after an extremely costly sacrifice a little less than a year ago. They have began making new mobile suits and have kidnapped Relena. The Gundam pilots make their move without the help of their Gundams. Operation Meteor: Hiro, Trowa and Duo learn that the enemy intends to reactivate operation meteor, the original operation meteor. To do so would mean that a colony must be dropped on the Earth, killing almost all of its inhabitants. Return to Eternity: The only thing that stands between the Barton foundation and world conquest are the Gundam pilots, Zecks Marquise and Lucretcia Noin. Will their efforts be enough to stir the hearts of the people to fight against this newest tyranny? Gunsmith Cats Based on Kenichi Sonada’s Manga of the same name. When the Gunsmith Cats are on the loose, the streets of Chicago has never been so dangerous…especially if you’re on the run from the law! Meet Rally Vincent, the part-time bounty hunter and gun expert who brings a new meaning to the phrase “pistol packin’ mama” and her street-wise, grenade-happy partner, the luscious Minnie-May Hopkins. For the right price, these two lovely ladies will take on the dirtiest tasks our nation’s law enforcement divisions would prefer not to handle in person! (Action/Comedy) Chapter 1 - Neutral Zone: The Feds make Rally an offer she literally can’t refuse. Forced to infiltrate a gun running operation, the Cats are left stranded under a hot tin roof when a double cross leaves them with no recourse but to literally blow the opposition away! (a bit of trivia for those who don't have or read the manga-the huge knife and the leg thingie that Jonathan Washington shows Rally are actually Bonnie's leg attachment from the first graphic novel and Grey's hand attachment from the second and third graphic novels.) Chapter 2 - Swing High: When gunrunner Jonathan Washington is brutally murdered, Rally and May find themselves pulled back into the case they thought they’d solved. The situation gets even worse when it turns out that the killer used Agent Bill Collin’s I. D.! Then the action hits the highway when May is kidnapped by a psychopathic Russian assassin and it’s up to Rally and her trusty Shelby GT-500 to run them down! Chapter 3 - High Speed Edge: Hit the dirt! Rally Vincent may be the fastest gun in the Midwest, but when freelance hit-woman Natasha Radinov takes an assignment, her chosen target always ends up dead! Now the streets of the Windy City become a combat zone as these two femme fatales find themselves facing their most dangerous opponents ever…each other! It’s a no hold barred duel to the death as two deadly damsels duke it out with an arsenal of illegal weapons as the prize! The police and the ATF are helpless and, with Rally’s explosive-crazed sidekick on the loose as well, not even the bomb shelters will be safe in this mind blowing conclusion to the series that has given nightmares to law enforcement divisions across the nation! Hades Project Zeorymer The Hakkeshu - a team of eight giant robots with fantastic powers built to allow the forces of Hau Dragon to achieve their quest for world domination. Zeorymer of Heaven, the most powerful of these robots, is stolen along with the frozen embryon of its genetically engeneered pilot. Fifteen years later, it is finally time for Zeorymer to awaken. As powerful forces gather to battle for the fate of the world, a teenager is swept into the heart of the action. (Action) It is somewhat interesting, but not that interesting. just go rent this one. Project 1: Teenager Masato Akitsu' world is turned upside-down when he discovers that his entire life has been orchestrated for him, and that he was only born to pilot the mighty robot warrion Zeorymer. As he struggles to accept his situation, Hau Dragon's Lanstar robot is brought to bear on him. Can Masato learn to pilot a machine he's never seen before, before he is killed by an enemy he can barely understand? Project 2: As Masato learns more about his true origins, he begins to question who he actually is: a real person or simply a component of Zeorymer. But when he comes face-to-face with twin warriors Si-Aen and Si-Tau, the hostile personality triggered by his earlier battle with Lanstar re-surfaces stronger than ever. Who is Masato: the confused teenager, the pilot of the Zeorymer, or...something much more sinister? Porject 3: Masat's last battle with Aen and Tau unleashed a frightening new personality and now all wonder if they really understand the true relationship between Masato and the Zeorymer robot. When Miku is kidnapped by an equally curious Yuratei, Masato is forced to face his greates challenge all by himself: Rose C'est La Vie of the Moon, one ot the Hakkeshu's most powerful battle machines. Without Miku to help pilot the zeorymer, Masato is an easy target for his new enemy, the mysterious Ritsu. But in the midst of this latest duel, more shocking secrets about the two Zeorymer pilots are about to be revealed.... Project 4: Masato was simply born to be the Zeorymer's pilot...or was he? Now all secrets are revealed, and no one is quite sure who is behind the pilot which will either lead to world domination of absolute wxtinction. As Masato fight to regain his old personality, Yuratei sends the last of the Hakkeshu pilots to destroy him and Zeorymer once and for all. As both sides meet for the final showdown, the world teeters on the knife-edge of nuclear destruction, and the true face of Hades Project is discovered at last! Haibane Renmei (Charcoal Feather Federation) Haibane Renmei takes place in a quite little town that is cut off from the rest of the world. The Haibane's are angel like creatures who are born through cocoons and comes out at different ages. They don't use anything first hand, are not allowed to handle money, and yet all their needs are taken care of by the people of the city and the Federation. (Drama) This is an excellent series made by Pioneer. The story has the central theme of seeking redemption and salvation and is handled beautifully. Well worth the the cashola you're gonna drop to acquire this one! The animation in this anime is so appropriate to the story. It's drawn in dark, grayish hues that give it a somber, pensive ambience. The story is unique and draws you into it as it develops. NOT a comedy, but it has its funny moments. Not necessarily a tear jerker either, but since I cry at the slightest provocation, I shed a few sad/happy ones. The Dream of Falling From the Sky. Old Home: A new Haibane is about to be born as Reki discovers a cocoon. All the other Haibanes gather around it joyful anticipation and waits in turn hoping that the cocoon breaks open soon. A girl in white comes out of it and when she wakes up, everyone else is there and she gets a halo. She is given the name Rakka (to fall) because all Haibanes lose their names and identities and are named after what they see in their dreams. Soon, Rakka's wings begin to grow out of her back and Reki does her best to take good care of her. The City and The Wall. Toga. Charcoal Feather Federation: Rakka is trying to learn more about what her life in the city will be like and what the proper thing that a Haibane should do and how they should act. She is taken by the other Haibane's into the city to learn more of what is expected of her. There she finds out that Haibanes are only allowed to have second hand items and that they are not allowed to use real money. She also learns more about the city like the fact that no one except the Touga are allowed to travel outside. After a tiring day, Rakka returns home to find Reki waiting for her in the room the she prepared for Rakka. Temple. Washi. Pancake: Rakka has been summoned to the temple where the Haibane Renmei is. Hikari accompanies her there and there she receives her book that will guide her as she adjusts to her new life in the city and use as money. Afterwards, Hikari goes to her job and Rakka returns to the Old Home and helps out Reki with the kids. In order to get the kids to eat the vegetables, they bribe them with pancake and Rakka goes into the city to get some pancakes where Hikari works at. There, she learns the reason why her halo wouldn't stick to her before- it seemed that Hikari was using the mold to make some halo shaped bread. Garbage Day. Clock Tower. Birds That Fly Over the Wall: For the, day Reki is going to be helping out Kana in her job at the clock tower/shop. Before they leave, they check out the non-functional clock tower in the Old Home and there Rakka learns more about Kana's dreams. While at work, Rakka learns even more about Kana and what drives her. She also learns the reason why Kana hates it when the Ravens eats the garbage is that she's afraid that those bird will lose their wings and never go across the wall which people are not allowed to cross. Library. Abandoned Plant. The Beginning of the World: Another day of searching for the job that Rakka is most suitable for and this time, she is helping Nemu out in her job at the library. There she meets Sumika, one of Nemu's co-workers and friend in the library. While helping out, the other Haibane visits them for Nemu to read the children their story time. During lunch, Rakka and Nemu accidentally comes across a scene where Reki gets in to a confrontation with Haibanes from a different part of town and Nemu tells Rakka a little bit of Reki's history. She tells her that once, a long time ago, Reki ran away from home and she and Hyouko, the Haibane she is arguing with, eloped. When they got back to the library, Rakka goes on to research the beginning of the world and just can’t find any information about them. She talks to Nemu about it and discovers that Nemu is writing a story about the beginning of the world which she is going to give Sumika as a gift celebrating the birth of her child and Rakka decides to help her with the story. End of Summer. Rain. Loss: Rakka is exploring the Old Home looking for a room that she could use as her own since she is still sleeping in the guest room. She meets Kuu while exploring for a room and she decides to help her out. Kuu seems to be acting strangely these days and Rakka is confused at her behavior. She figured that Kuu's just being helpful to her, but in reality, it's her way of saying farewell to all of them. For Kuu, the time of the "Day of Raising" is at hand. When everyone else finds out that she went to the Western Woods where the raising takes place, everyone decides to go after her. In order to return back safely, Kana lets the clock tower toll continuously to lead them back home. When they finally reach their destination, Kuu just isn't there anymore. The only trace that proves a Haibane was there is a discarded halo that is now turned completely black. Scars. Sickness. The Coming of Winter: A month has already passed since Kuu vanished and Rakka still hasn't come to grips with the reality that she is no longer with them. She cleans up her room everyday hoping that she would came back to them and spends the rest of her time being depressed at the lack of understanding as to how everyone else can go on as if nothing ever happened. She also notices that black spots have begun appearing on her wings and she constantly cuts them off with a scissors. While the rest of the Haibane are making wing mittens in the guest room, Hikari notices he poor condition of Rakka's wings and Reki, upon closer inspection, sees the black spot. When she ran away, Reki ran after her and explained that there are some Haibane that are born with black wings instead of charcoal colored ones. They are those who are born with a sin to atone for and cannot fully remember what their dream was. They are Haibanes just like Reki. Reki tries to cheer Rakka up and wipes a medicine on her wings that is supposed to prevent the black spots from growing bigger and deceive the evil eyes and keep them from seeing her wings. Bird: Reki, worried about Rakka, asks her to accompany her to the used clothes shop with the kids so that she can buy winter clothes for them. She also suggests that Rakka buy some winter clothes too. When Reki went in the fitting room to fit the kids, Rakka decides on the coat she wants and the store owner also tells her to buy boots. Even though she only has one page left in her book. When a customer walks and starts prodding her wing out of curiosity, she couldn’t take it anymore and ran away from the store. When she finally stopped running, she notices the ravens watching her and is somehow compelled to follow them as they fly into the Western Woods. There, they lead her to a well and when Rakka tries to find out what is in the bottom of the well, she slips and falls in. At the bottom, she finds the bones of a dead raven and at that sight, she finally remembers the parts of her dreams that she had forgotten-particularly, the raven who tried to help her out. Will. Rebirth. Pose a Riddle: Rakka, still stuck inside the well, are rescued by two Touga’s who happen to be passing by. After getting out of the well, Rakka pleads with them to tell her if they have seen Kuu outside, but they just ignore her and walks away. Trying to follow them with a twisted ankle, Rakka ends up at the wall and hears Kuu’s voice within the wall. When she touches the wall, it felt icy cold and at that instance the Washi of the Haibane Renmei found her. She tells him about the ravens and the Washi explains to her that the ravens are said to carry lost memories and she is born with a sin that she must somehow atone for. He then gives her a riddle. “It’s not a sin for a person to learn of their sins, then I ask, when does a person become a sinner?” Once she is able to answer that question, she will be free from her sins. The Washi leaves her at the edge of the forest and Reki finds her there. She is unnaturally cold and is numbed all over. Reki brings her back to the Old Home and stay by her side the whole time. While caring for her, she notices that the black spots in Rakka’s wing are no longer there. When the others take over caring for Rakka, Reki goes back to her room. She tells herself that Rakka no longer needs her help, she isn’t a sinner anymore, and that she’s all alone again but it’s alright because she is used to being left behind. She then goes into the room that she doesn’t allow anyone in and closes the door behind her... Kuramori. Haibane of the Abandoned Factory. Rakka’s Work: The story begins one winter night. In an abandoned room at the Old Home, Kuramori and Nemu discovers a Haibane who has already hatched from her cocoon and whose wings have already sprouted. Her wings have black areas all over and Nemu doesn’t seem to like her automatically. Kuramori takes her to the Washi and explains that she can’t remember her dreams. From the small part that she does remember, the Washi gives her a name-”Reki” meaning pebble. Kuramori also learns of a way to treat Reki’s wings. Kuramori promises her that she will always be there for Reki and gets sick looking for the medicine to treat Reki’s wings. While she is sick, Reki and Nemu finally learn to get along while taking care of Kuramori. Reki then wakes up inside of her closed room gently calling out for Kuramori. She then remembers about Rakka and runs of to the guest room and finds her condition still as bad. Reki runs of to the Temple to talk to the Washi and get some medicine. There, the Washi tells her that her “Day of Leaving” is drawing close and she must pass her trial soon. When Rakka finally recovers, she is summoned to the temple for her punishment of touching the wall. Her punishment also became her new job and that is to clean the inside of the wall and collect the glowing materials there that are used to make halos. Reki, waiting for Rakka on the bridge meets up with Midori and Hyouko from the Abandoned Factory and receives their gift and apology to Rakka for the soup incident. When everyone finished the food that was given to Rakka, everyone leaves the room except for Reki and Nemu. As Reki is about to leave the room, she looks back at Nemu and remembering the words of the Washi, tells her to stop worrying so much about her - she’ll be fine on her own, she’s used to it by now. Separation. Darkness of a Heart. Precious Things: The incident with Rakka in the forest is over. Rakka is now free from her sin while Reki is still trapped within the cycle of hers. Rakka accompanies Dai to the Abandoned Factory and meets some of the Haibane from the Abandoned Factory. There she learns more about Reki from Midori and what Midori has to say about Reki troubles her. While working, Rakka couldn’t help but daydream about Reki’s past. Because she wasn’t paying attention, her boat floats away and she has to chase after it. She ends up in a part of the Wall that has some nameplates and engravings on them and within the plate, she could swear the she heard Kuu’s voice. After she finishes her job for the day, the Washi accompanies her home and they talk about Reki. The Washi informs her that Reki’s time is growing shorter and she still hasn’t passed her trial. In Rakka’s case, explains the Washi, she had the ravens who helped her remember what her dreams are while Reki doesn’t have anyone to help her stand up to the shadows deep within her own heart. The next day, Nemu gets sick and Rakka decides to go to the library to tell them that Nemu won’t be working that day. While there she discovers books with writings similar to the ones inside the wall and gets a clue how to read them. After leaving the library to go to work, Rakka meets Reki and accompanies her halfway to the Old Home and tells her how she wishes today would last forever. Reki replies that it’s impossible- that nothing can last forever. Back in the Old Home, Reki visits Nemu and tells her while she is sleeping that if she ever meets Kuramori again, to tell Kuramori “I’m sorry” because she is afraid that she’ll never make it to the other side. Bell Nuts. The New Year’s Festival. Reconciliation: Rakka wakes Reki up for breakfast and in return, Reki gives her lighter to Rakka saying that she no longer needs it. Today is the day that the bell nut market opens and everyone will be going there to buy some. In the city, there is a tradition where they give bells to people that are close to them. The different colors of the nuts tell different things like thank you or I’m sorry. There Reki and Rakka meets Hyouko and Midori and Reki gives Hyouko a white bell nut a week early saying that she might not be around any longer. Rakka goes with Hyouko and Midori and Hyouko explains what really happened five years ago with Reki. It was right after Kuramori’s Day of Raising and Reki was always crying saying that she needs to find someone on the other side of the wall. Hyouko decides to help her and nearly dies. They both later get severely punished for drilling the wall. After hearing the story, Rakka manages to convince Hyouko to help out Reki. While cleaning the inside of the wall, Rakka figures out how to read the inscription and shows it to the Washi. The Washi, in turn, tells Rakka that all true Haibane have two different names and that their true names are given when the right time comes. He then gives Rakka the plate where the true meaning of her name is kept and Reki’s as well. She is supposed to give it to her after the festival. On the way to the festival, Reki refused to go. She wants to savor the time left to her at Old Home to engrave in her memories that she once lived there. After giving everyone their bell nuts, Rakka meets Midori again and they both rush to the Old Home so that Reki can see Hyouko’s response to her in the form of fireworks. We then learn that white means “thank you” and “goodbye.” Rakka leaves the two of them alone and joins the others outside where they can experience the phenomenon of the wall releasing its memories that it collect over the past year. Reki’s World. A Prayer. Epilogue: The Day of Raising is finally at hand for Reki and her trial is still incomplete. She slips back into the part of her room that she doesn’t allow anyone else to see. Rakka wakes up to find Reki missing and goes on searching for her. She goes into Reki’s room and opens up the door. There she finds Reki just sitting in the middle waiting for what fate that is about to befall her. She then gives Reki the box with Reki’s true named engraved inside that the Washi gave her days before. In it, Reki finds out the true meaning of her name- to pull people apart. She breaks down on the floor upon the realization that there is no forgiveness for her. All the time she spent looking for a way to pass her trial was all for nothing. She then gets mad and drives Rakka away by yelling at her that she was just using Rakka for her own selfish purpose- that she was hoping to attain forgiveness by taking care of Rakka. Rakka runs off from the room at this knowledge and discovers Reki’s diary. In there, she discovers how Reki truly feels and decides to come back and talk to her. When she goes back inside the room, Reki is living her dream all over again as she stands in the tracks of a train that is about to run her over. Rakka, trying to help, is stopped by a child like version of Reki telling her that Reki doesn’t want help from anyone. Rakka cries out to Reki telling her that she is not alone and that all she has to do is ask for help. At the last moment, Reki cries out for Rakka and the child-like version of Reki crumbles to dust allowing Rakka to save Reki. When they both wake up, Reki’s nameplate has changed to mean pebble again and her wings no longer have the black marks on them. It explains in there also that Reki’s true name really meant “pebble.” She never really was the pebble that wedges people away from each other, but rather, she is the stone that marks the way that others must go. With this, Reki is finally able to leave the nest and everyone wakes up in time to see her beam of light and give their farewell to her in their hearts. The story ends with Rakka taking over Reki’s job and discovering two new cocoons in an abandoned room. Hakkenden, The The Hakkenden is the first fully animated adaptation of the well-loved classic by Bakin Takizawa, “Nanso Satomi Hakkenden.” The production features a first-rate staff, including director Takashi Anno, character designer Atsushi Yamagata, and screenwriter Noburo Aikawa. This quality team has combined the rich characters of the eight dog warriors to produce a work of overwhelming popularity. (Action/Drama/Fantasy) A fairly good samurai drama series, it can be confusing at times (especially some of the later episodes). The action is okay I suppose, but that is not what Hakkenden is all about. Hakkenden is all about the drama behind the samurais- their motivations and their desires. Not for everyone, rent it first before you actually buy to see if you like it. The Kaladeiscope: The year is 1457. Princess Fuse, daughter of Yoshizane Satomi, Lord of Awa province is forced into matrimony with her dog, Yatsufusa. This situation occurs when, under siege by the neighboring army of Lord Kagetsura Anzai and facing starvation. Yoshizane makes a desperate, last-ditch promise to the animal. Ultimately, the princess is killed, along with Yatsufusa, by a bullet from the gun of Daisuke Kanamari, who had come to rescue her. At the moment of Fuse’s death, eight spirit beads from the necklace she was wearing disperses into the sky and the legend of the dog warriors begins. Dark Music Of The Gods: The year is 1458. A child is born in the village of Otsuka, in Musashi Province. His name is Shino Inuzuka. After coming of age, he is entrusted with a legendary sword, the Murasame, by his father Bansaku. Shino’s father however commits hara-kiri after losing face when his brother-in-law, Hikiroku Otsuka, tries to trick him into giving up the sword. Then Shino, devastated by the his father’s death, somehow comes into possession of a small bead. On this strange bead, the Chinese character “KO,” symbolizing filial devotion, mysteriously appears. The Futility Dance: Sosuke becomes an assassin after being ordered by Kamezasa to kill Shino. The two warriors, however, soon realize the extent to which fate has connected them, and make a pledge of brotherhood. As for Hamaji, she learns that her hand in marriage has been promised to the jindai, Higami Kyuroku. Deeply in love with Shino and despondent over this news, Hamaji decides to kill herself, but is saved at the last minute by Samojiro Aboshi, who later reveals to her his true nature as an evil sorcerer and sets upon Hamaji himself. Hamaji’s subsequent rescuer turns out to be her long lost brother, Dostsu Inuyama, from whom she was separated at birth. Horyu Tower: In the midst of the disturbance in Otsuka village caused by Hamaji’s disappearance, there comes the arrival of evil itself, personified by the jindai and his retainers, to whom the village chief and his wife soon fall prey. Only one man, Sosuke, is able to stand up to them, though it is he who is ultimately arrested and blamed for the murders of his stepparents. Meanwhile, Shino arrives in Koga and is granted and audience with the Shogun, Nariujiri Ashikaga. The legendary Murasame sword that he offers up, however, is revealed to be a fake, and Shino becomes a hunted criminal. But the man released from captivity in the castle dungeon and assigned to capture Shino turns out to be none other than the fourth dog warrior, Genpachi Inukai. Demon’s Melody: One day, in the town of Gyotoku, in the province of Shimousa, an innkeeper named Kobungo Inuta rescues two men while fishing on the Tone river. The men turn out to be Shino and Genpachi, who had been adrift since falling into the river from Horyu Tower. Kobungo’s brother-in-law Fusahachi, however recognizes the two as fugitives and quickly alerts the authorities. The Cicada Spirit Cry: Leaving Gyotoku, the three warriors take Nui’s infant son Diahachi and set off for Otsuka village. Back in Otsuka, Sosuke faces a death sentence after being charged with the murders of his stepmother and father. After getting wind of this, Shino and Genpachi go to his rescue. Under the cover of night, the two sneak into the killing ground and hide themselves. Then, just as Sosuke is about to have his punishment of crucifixion carried out, they pounce…. Will they succeed in their quest to rescue Sosuke and escape safely? Spirits: I must avenge my father now! Taken over by his quest for vengeance, the dog warrior of “loyalty,” Dosetsu, refuses to bare his soul, even to the other warriors of his marked clan. Taigyuro Hall: Having disguised himself as a dancing girl, Keno draws ever closer to avenging his father. But when the dark shadows of Taigyuro are drenched in blood, evil spirits unsheathe their malicious fangs…. The Legend Of The Ghost Cat: Daikaku lives in his reclusive hideaway, disowned after his father was taken over by evil spirits. His sword grown dull by memories of bygone days, he has been driven to the very brink of despair. Hamaji’s Resurrection: Hamaji emerges from the spirit world enrapturing three dog warriors, as an evil shadow creeps into their tormented soul…. Dog Warriors In The Nether World: Who is this Aboshi that has joined up with the Hikitas, the enemies of the Satomi clan?! The mystery of the fateful attraction that has brought these eight dog warriors together is about to be solved. Aspiration Of Paradise: The time has come to solve this strange mystery! Manipulated by the hand of fate, the eight warriors gather at Satomi castle. They find, however, the figure of Hamaji in the enemy’s clutches. Taking leave Of A Sullied World: The time for the final battle has come at last. Will they savour victory…or suffer defeat? And what strange fate awaits the eight dog warriors after their fight. Happy Lesson (Comedy) : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : Happy Lesson Advanced (Comedy) : Chitose is still living out his high school days with his five mamas who are also his teachers. In school, they are getting excited about the changing of the uniforms and Chitose's mamas are going to be the fashion models for the differnt uniforms that are to be voted on. While displaying the uniform, they also need an enscort to accompany them to the stage. Kisaragi's computer "randomly" chose Chitose as the escort for Mutsuki much to Chitoses complaint. At the same time, the house next door is now occupied and their new next door neighbor is the same woman in the China dress that we saw escaping from armed men at the very beginning of the episode. Deciding whether or not to do it or not, he goes to meet her behind the stage when he is attacked by a strange man who looks like he is also one of his classmates and claims that Mutsuki is his mama and he stole her from him. : A week has passed since he and Nagatsuki fought on stage for a duel to decide who gets to have Mutsuki as his mama. Since then, Chitose has stopped worrying about him. Then, suddenly, he appears again and the two of them start fighting in the roof. Their fight is broken up by Satsuki and Uzuki who calls for the others to the roof. There, Mutsuki realizes who Nagatsuki is and remembers the lonely boy that she promised to be a substitue mama for when she was still in middle school. After that, Mutsuki receives an official transfer for Nagatsuki and he is introduced to the class as the new transfer student. : Nagatsuki is wondering about Uzuki and how she can be a mama to anyone when she seems more a kid than a mama. When Uzuki decides to ask Chitose to go to amusement park with her the following day, Chitose agrees. The strange neigbhoor who has been snooping around their house follows them to the park as well. When the class president sees them on their way to the park, they had to split up to alleveate her suspicion and Uzuki heads to the park alone. In the park, the woman is spotted by Uzuki who recognizes her and they deicide to have a talk. When Chitose shows up after having gotten rid of the class president, the woman who Uzuki calls Natsuki-chan leaves. By themselves, they start to have fun and looked more like a couple on a date as Natsuki-chan watcehs them from a distance. When a haunted house ride stops and fire is accidentally set to the ride, Natsuki sees them helping a mother and child and helps them out. That is when Chitose realizes that their next door neighbor and the guy who has been attacking him over Mutsuki are actually one and the same. The other mamas and their classmates are equally shocked and only Uzuki seemed to have been able to tell right away that Nagatsuki is actually a woman. Yare Yare (Well, Well) - A day at the Nurse's Office: A day is spent looking at how Yayoi spends her days as a school nurse. Pondering a question that she seeks an answer to, she is interupted by people who drops by. She seeks out advice from from Mutsuki and Kisaragi and gives them as well when Nagatsuki sotps by the get her physical examination done and the class president stops by to see if Chitose is hiding there for his nap. When Hazuki drops by to tell them that she is back in Japan, she sees the wallet that Nagatsuki dropped when she changed her clothes and realizes that she is the same girl who asked her about Mutsuki when she saw Hazuki's picute of all of them in Shabghai. When Nagatsuki comes back, she is poleased to find that her picture of Hazuki is now signed with a personal message and is dismayed to find that Chitose is Hazuki's younger brother. Inviting her over for dinner since Hazuki will be there and she is one hof her fans, she refuses saying that she won't come overuntil she becomes Mutsuki's child. At the end of the day, they discover that Chitose was sleeping under the sheets all along and fell asleep there during free period and failed to wake up to go to class. As they are leaving, Yayoi erases her report since she has already realized her answer and knows that everything will resolve itself in its own due time. Sowa Sowa (Rustle, Rustle) - School Trip: The class goes for a school trip and Nanakorobi, the class president, decides that this might be the right time to confess her feelings for Chitose. Of course, ture to form, things never go as planned as things keep on getting in the way whether they be her classmates, circumstances, dire perils, her own nerviousness, or Chitose's own cluelessness at the moment she is trying to create. Between her two groupies to get in the way, accidentally decking Chitose...repeatedly, and nearly getting killed by Mutsuki's terrible driving skills, the only ray of hope for her is Nagatsuki trying to help her out by giving her advice and trying to create a chance for her. Of course, in the end, things stay the same and all is just as well. Pin Pin (Sharp Senses) - Mina-chan in a Big Pinch: When Mutsuki punishes Chitose for failing to do his homework for the third time, he is unable to eat with Mina. Having heard that his homework is to write something about the town that they live in, she decides to do it for him by going to the Koyomi temple caves in the the magazine that Nanakorobi showed her to write about the treasure recently found there. Having gone in, she is followed by two would be thieves who has come to steal the treasure themselve and has mistake Mina as a rival thief trying to get the treasure before they get it. When Mina doesn't show up for dinner, Chitose and the mamas gets worried and decide to look for her. Having run across Nanakorobi, they realize that she mst have gone to the caves. Before getting in, Yayoi decides that they should all dress up as mikos to stave off the wrath of the gods and Chitose gets dressed up as a kappa ince the shrine is to diefy kappas. Having fallen in, the Honey team mistakes him for the treasure of the cave and tries to kidnap him. Fortunately he manages to escape and find Mina. Just as it would seem that they are going to get captured, the mamas arrive in time to save the day. Defeated, the Honey team retreats and swears revenge on the Miko Rangers. Mote Mote (Popular) - Satsuki's Omiai: When Satsuki gets offered to have an Omiai (a meeting for two people to get to know one another in preparation for an arranged marriage), she dodges the request by saying that she will think about it. Back at home, everyone else tries to encourage her to go through it, but she dodges the subject again by claiming that she will be busy preparing fo rthe summer festival and drags Chitose along to practice with her on the drums while everyone else decides to make yukatas for the festival. While practicing, Chitose and Satsuki get into an argument that drives them apart. The following day, Satsuki promptly agrees to go through the omiai propesed to her by the principal. The rift that had been created widen even more when Chitose refuses to admit that he was wrong and the rumor begins to spread theoughout the school that Satsuki is going to have an arranged marriage meeting. Feeling bad and secretly regretting what he said to Satsuki, Chitose is actually secretly practicing the drums for the summer festival. When a night encounter between Chitose and Satsuki occurs with the pet crocodile that Hazuki gave them as a present from Australia reconciles them together and Satsuki promptly changes her mind on going through the omiai once more. At the summer festival, as the other teachers enjoy it with their yukatas on, Satsuki and Chitose plays the drums for the crowd. Yura Yura (Swaying) - Memories at the Shore: When Chitose and his mamas get a letter from Hazuki and tickets to her next concert, they immediately head there. There, Chitose realizes what the significance of that beach is to all himself as well as Mina and Hazuki. It is the place where they first went to and wanted to return to when they were little and first got together in the orphanage. Hazuki picked that place because it will be the last summer that anyone will be enjoying that beach. The following year, there are plans to tear the beach down and build a resort on it. As sad as they are at that fact, there is nothing that anyone can do about it. In the background, the two dirty real estate agtents who tried to blackmail Chitose into giving his house to them so that they can get rich of it are revealed to be the real estate agents who brockered the deal to turn the place into a resort. Having spotted them, they decide to get revenge and exploit Kisaragi's weakness to intense light. Having caught them one by one using a knock out gas, they then cage Kisaragi and place her under intense light. That doesn't stop her from calling Kanna for help though. Kanna arrives just as they manage to get Chitose's seal on the transfer of deed, but Kanna manages to catch them and destroy the paper. In the mama's mercy, they decide to blackmail them instead and force them to stop the development of the beach into a resort. Hoka Hoka (Warm and Fuzzy) - Alone with Kanna: Kanna is a genuis who nearly on par with Kisaragi. In fact, her genuis is sought after by powerful men who pay her vast amounts of money for her services. Despite all of that, she is vexed by a simple problem - how to make Chitose hers and hers alone. The first step that she could think of is to get all the women around Chitose that gets in the way out of the way. She gets an ideal chance when the Uzuki wins a family trip to the hotsprings and they al decide to go there the next day. That night, she ties Chitose up and leaves a dummy in his place that the mamams take with them. Coming with them are Hazuki who won the same thing in a magazine contest and Mina who got hers in an essay contest. Elsewhere in the train, Nanakorobi is also there after winning a poem contest that she doesn't remember entering. With Chitose all on his own, Kanna decides to move in on him, but as she attempts to, a dog is run over by a car. Taking the dog to the vet, Kanna who is not used to taking care of living things spends her day trying to take care of the dog with Chitose. At the hotsprings, they never realize that the Chitose that they have is not the real one. As the day ends the mamas return home, the dog that they are taking care of is reunited with its mother and Chitose finds out that she was the one that made sure everyone got the tickets and he is left behind. Uso Uso (Lies, Lies) - Farewell Kii-chan: Kisaragi has always been weird, but lately, she has been acting wierder than usual. She has decided that she is quiting her job as a teacher. She has also sped up all of her lesson and skipped most of it. At the same time, she has been taking pieces of white cloth and sewing them to something that resembles a wedding dress. Finally, she confronts everyone and tells them that she will be leaving in a few days on her birthday. When they find Kanna sneaking around, they force her to tell them just exactly what is going on. She tells them that Kisaragi's kin has a law that is unbreakable. She is to return when she reaches a certain age and she is to return wearing their traditional formal dress. While putting her affairs into order, Chitose realizes that sh ereallly doesn't want to leave and decides to do something about it. When she is picked up, Chitose sneaks into her luggage so that he can attempt to rescue her. When the other mamas realize this, they force Kanna to help them rescue Kisaragi as well. In the end, a spaceship appears and Kisaragi talks to it and had her time with them extended. Now, she has to go home once she has made Chitose into a respectable adult. Gaya Gaya (Noisy) - Hazuki's Personal Shop: Having had some free time, Hazuki decides to fulfill the last of her three childhood dreams and opens up a small variety store selling all of the random object that she brings back from her tours. She names the store Hazuya and keeps it as plain as possible to keep people from coming there because she is the owner. She also enlists the aid of Mina, Chitose and the mamas. Having finished setting up the store, Chitose is placed in charge of watching the store by Hazuki when she goes out for some food. When Nagatsuki comes in to buy a scarf that she wants to give to Mutsuki, she and Chitose starts arguing again. Hazuki walks in on them arguing and realizes something. That night, Hazuki asks Nagatsuki if she would help her run the store the next day. When Hazuki takes Mutsuki with her to buy some tags, Chitose and Nagatsuki starts fighting again. Mutsuki runs off to stop them even after Hazuki tells her to let them fight until they are satisfied. When Mustuki gets there, they have already finished fighting and Mutsuki can't figure out why she hasn't realized before that their relationship is more like competetive siblings. Naze Naze (Why Why) - Mutsuki Runs Away From Home: After failing to realize the nature of the relationship between Nagatsuki and Chitose, Mutsuki has begun to lose confidence in herself as a mama to Chitose and decides to leave the household to think it over. She decides to go stay at Hasamiya and man the store while Hazuki is out on her tour. There she spends her days in reflection of what she has been doing so far while secretly hoping that Chitose will come to take her home. While she is there, the other mamas visits her on ocation as well as Nagatsuki who visits and joins her for dinner everyday. Realizing that the one that she really needs is not her, but Chitose, Nagatsuki runs away from her. The next day, she begs him to go to Mutsuki because she is waiting for him alone. Wai Wai (Clamor) - A Farewell Day: Nagatsuki has received word from the man that came to her house that her father has fallen ill and that she needs to return to Shanghai. That is why she is asking Chitose to take Mutsuki back because she cannot do it herself. At the same time, Nanakorobi has learned where Mutsuki is from Satsuki and Uzuki and has contacted her. Running to the school to stop the fight, she gets there to find that Nagatsuki is leaving. Upon stopping and reflecting back on the situation, they realize another important lesson of being a family - that sometimes, they have to relay on each other. Deciding to throw her a farewell party, Chitose drags her to his house. As the mamas prepare the party, she and Chitose begins fighting again whiile the mamas let them take their frustration out on each other. Finally, we realize that the reason that Nagatsuki and Chitose doesn't get along much is that Nagatsuki is envious of the warm family that he has found himself a part of - something that she has never had - and he takes it for granted. Upon clearing up this, the mamas decide to take her in as their 4th child just before she returns to Shainghai. Happy Lesson The Final (Comedy/Drama) If you liked the Happy Lesson series, this is a definite must. It brings a closure to the series and ends the relationship of Chitose and his teachers as his mama. Not as funny as the others though. Atsu Atsu (Hot, Hot) - A Cool Test of Courage: In the heat of summer, the principal decided to make a suggestion box in which the lucky sugesttion will be implemented. When Mutsuki's suggestion of making a bigger library is approved above all others, they decide to tear down the old school building to make way for a newer facility to use as a library. Before they start tearing it down, they decide to hold a test of courage there for the students as a farewell ceremony for the building. At the same time that they announced the tearing down of the building, Mutsuki has started to act strange. At the night of the test of courage, Nanakorobi grabs Chitose to be her partner sio that she can confess inside. Unfortunately, she keeps getting distracted, but as they exit out the building, she blurts out that she likes him in front of everyone. Uzu Uzu (Naive, Naive) - Mutsuki's Big Romance: Hving finally confessed her love, the teachers as well as everyone else is taking about first loves. Mutsuki is no exception as she remembers her first love, a teacher of hers when she was still a student. As a matter of fact, she has been going back to the old building where her class was. That night, she dreamt about the letter that she wrote to him - a letter that she lost when it slipped through the crack in the wall. The days pass by with Chitose still having no answer for Nanakorobi and Mutsuki lost in her memories of her first love. A bit jealous and angry that Mutsuki still won't let go of the memories of her homeroom teacher, Chitsoe confronts her in that old classroom of hers and tells her about it. When the other mamas drop in on them, he storms out angrily. Afterwards, Chitose meets up with Nanakorobi and tells her that there is someone else that he likes. Yare Yare (My My) - Happy Closure: Chitose, having realized just how important the memories of her first love is to her, decides to go to the old school building with the other mamas. Nanakorobi goes there as well in support of Mutsuki and by morning, pretty much the rest of the class has arrived inprotest of the demolition. Mutsuki decides to go in and convinces them to leave on the condition that she teach class in that room where she was once a student in. Just as they were finishing, the foreman decides to demolish the place with them in it and they have to fight it off. Kanna, Hazuki and Nagatsuki arrives to help them out as well, but in the end, it is Kisaragi that finishes the fight. That night, Mutsuki confeses that the main reason she was going to the building was to try and retrieve the letter she had written years ago and tells Chitose of her first love, and how he reminds her of him. Sharing their first kiss, the other mamas catch them in the act as Mutsuki stops being a "mama" and becomes a "lover" and wants to get in on the act as well. In the end, Chitose gives Mutsuki the letter she was looking for. During the fight, Kanna found it and gave it to Chitose. Heroic Legend of Arislan It is an age of sword and sorcery. Betrayed from within and overwhelmed by dark sorcery, the valiant armies of Pals are overrun by the warrior-fanatics of Lucitania. (Action/Adventure/Fantasy) 1: The armies of Pals are defeated and the crown prince, Arislan, flees from the battlefield with Daryoon, a mighty warrior general and his personal protector. Together, the two must not only evade capture by the Lucitanian forces looking for them, but raise an army to liberate Pals as well. 2: Prince Arislan and his entourage heads for Castle Peshawal seeking aid of the last General still loyal to Pals and his army. Some secrets about why several key generals have betrayed the king are revealed. 3: Prince Arislan now has an army and begins to move to their country’s captured capital to liberate it and the people, while Prince Hermes-Silver Mask makes a move against the fanatic priest, Jon Bodain. 4: 5: 6: Hitsuji no Uta (Sheep's Song/Lament of Lambs) (Drama/Mystery) Hitsuji no Uta is well done series. It is a dark story (literally) and has done well with the visuals although the pacing may be a bit too slow for some people, but rather liked it. The one thing that you will notice that everything seems dark, except for the splashed of red which sort of stand out. These technique with the visuals sets the mood of the story very nicely. Not for everyone though, so just rent this one out. : : : : Chisuna stops Kazuna's attack by letting him bite and drink her blood. After wards, Dr. Minase visits and talks to Kazuna about Chisuna. In the hospital, Dr. Minase remembers of an earlier time when he tried to separate Chisuna and her father and we realize how much in love he is with her. At the same time, Their aunt goes for a visit and tries to convince them to live with them which Chisuna refuses the invitation. Chisuna gets a bad attack afterwards. Refusing to drink blood, she collapses. Remembering what Dr. Minase informed him, Kazuna calls Dr. Minase and Chisuna is taken away to the clinic that their father used to run. Coming back home, he meets Yaegeshi waiting for him and tells her to forget about him as she pours her heart out to him. Att he clinic, Dr. Minase tries to convince Chisuna to stay there and let go of her father's shadow. Later that night, forgoten memories of her mother's death comes back to her in the form of a dream. Realizing that it was because of her, Chisuna decides to head home by herself so that she can die there. Kazuna decides to follow her after she dies with the poison pill that she gave him to which she tells him that it's a fake and that he should live as long and as full a life as he can because he is stronger than she is. Afterwards, we see Kazuna lying on top of Chisuna, their fingers interlaced as the bottle containing the pill rolls empty on the floor. Hoshi no Koe See Voices of the Distant Stars Howl's Moving Castle Sophia is just an ordinary hat maker when she meets Howl, a sorceror who lives in a castle that walks on four legs. Searching for him so that she may eat his heart, the Witch of the Wasteland puts a curse on Sophia that turns her into an old woman. Trying to find a cure to her affliction, she sets off for a journey into the wastelands. Along the way, she meets a scarecrow whom she called Turniphead because his head is a turnip, and it decides to follow and help her. Managing to get into the moving castle, she makes herself into Howl's cleaning lady and becomes a part of his mystical world. Caught between magical problems, a war between to great nations, and mystic creatures trying to capture Howl, Sophia and Howl soon begins to fall in love. Together, they just might find a way to break the curse they both live with. (Adventure/Fantasy) Two words - MIYAZAKI FILM! Need I say more? Yes, it's that good. Those two words guarantees it! Go see it now or buy the DVD when it comes out! I, My, Me - Strawberry Eggs : : : : : : : : : : : : Hibiki is hospitalized after that incident in the fortune tellers house. There Fuuko visits him and even kisses him. Hanajima also begins to suspect that the person that Fuuko likes is Hibiki. There, the assistant principal begins spying on him and actually catches him taking off his disguise on camera. On the day that he returns to school, they have a special conference that morning. Before getting on with the business at hand, the assistant principal puts Hibiki on stage to welcome him back and then reveals the reason for the meeting. She finally reveals to all that Hibiki is actually a man as she plots to remove all men from the school. : With the secret out and everyone that he knew in school treating him as a pervert who dressed up as a woman just to get his kicks at doing perverted things with the female students, Hibiki has decided to leave town and find a job as a teacher elsewhere. Having thrown the towel, he decides to get out of town as soon as possible. Even though he has given up, the landlady still refuses to admit defeat. At the parent-teacher conference where the assistant principal will propose making the school an all girls school from then on with no more boys admitted and the current students still allowed to remain until they graduate, the landlady appears there as Hibiki's representative. Askining them of instead nitpicking on how she was a he, but how was Hibiki as a teacher, his students realize what a terrible mistake they had made and wanted him to come back. Unfortunately, Hibiki has already resolved to leave and tells them to better themselves now that he is no longer there to look after them and someday, he just might return to that town of theirs. Ichigo 100% (Comedy) Ichigo 100% is set up with 2 15 minute episodes making up one episode. The Illusionary Strawberry Underwear: On the rooftop of the school, Junpei encounters a mysterious girl who fell from the skies exposing her strawberry print panties. Unable to get teh vision of his mind, he sets out the find her and is led to believe that the only girl it could possibly be is none other than Tsukasa Nishino, the school cutie. Having returned the book that the girl dropped to Aya Toujou (and having marked her off NOT the girl with the strawberry print panties), he asks for her advice on how to confess to Tsukasa. When she jokes about doing it while exercising, Tsukasa is so amused by the confession that she agrees! Misunderstanding or a Wrong Guess?: Having just agreed to be his girlfriend, the two of them realize that they know almost nothing about each other and promises to go to the same high school to get to know more about each other. Aiming for Izumizaka, the only high school in the area with a movie club, Manaka manages to convince her to go for it with him. With a new goal in mind, he decides to study hard to get there. Having difficulties, Aya shows up at the right time to help him out with some of his reviews leading him to ask her to help him by being his tutor. She agrees to his request with the desire to see him fulfill his dream and see the movies that he will make. In the course of their conversation, Aya trips and reveals a pair of strawberry print panties. Shaky love in the Study Group: Spending time with Aya studying to pass the exams for Izumizaka, Junpei is finding that he likes spending time with her. When When Tsukasa finds out, she wants to talk to get some help from her as well. When Kamiyama finds out that the three of them are going to study in the library in the morning, he decides to show up to spend some time with Tsukasa. When he accidentally cops a feel from Aya, suddenly, his attention is averted away from Tsukasa to Aya. Talking to Ookusa about Kamiyama having a chance with Aya since she doesn't have a boyfriend, Junpei is surprised to learn from him that she likes him. The Illusionary Beautiful Girl Again!: Going through the acceptance exams for Izumizaka, Junpei is in the same room with Kamiyama. When Aya appears to take the exam, he is shocked that the girl that fell from the sky with the strawberry panties was actually Aya. With his imagination running wild, he is unable to concentrate on the exam. Strangely enough, Aya keeps on disappearing during break and reappearing in time take the next part of the test. After finishing, Junpei manages to talk to her and she tells him that she hopes to make films with him and runs of crying. Now, Junpei's attention has turned towards Aya. It turns out that the reason she keeps on leaving and was crying in the end was that her glasses broke and she is wearing contacts she isn't used to. The Second Button of Memories: Junpei passes for Izumizaki due to vacancies. During the time after the test all through out the graduation ceremony for their middle school, all he thought about was Aya and why could it be that she choose to go to Izumizaki. During this time, when all the girls are vying for the second button of the uniform of the boys that they like, Aya is getting mobbed by boys ever since she started wearing contacts and let her hair down. Wandering around, Tsukasa finds Junpei, takes his second button and tells him that she won't be going to the same school as him. Instead she will be going to Oumi, a higher ranked school. At the same time, she broke up with him becuase she realized that he likes Aya more than her and Aya probably likes him in return. As the day ends on their middle school days, Junpei goes to the roof to see the sunset where Aya finds him. Childhood Friend is a Spring Storm: One day, Junpei wake sup to find a girl sleeping in his bed. It's Yui, a childhood fiend of his that moved away 5 years ago. She is back in town to look at the high schools that she plan on attending. It also means that Junpei is dragged along as she wanders around town. It turns out that she is aiming for Oumi. On the way back they are confronted by dogs and Junpei throws meat buns at them as a distraction to give them an opportunity to run away. Back in the house, Yui rewards him by washing his back for him. Junpei is a little miffed that she doesn't see him as a guy and is oblivious to the effects of her running around him naked or nearly naked. The next day, she is supposed to wake up early and take the early train. When Junpei wakes up, he wonders if she made it there without any problems and finds out that she overslept and is sleeping in his bed again. As with the day before, all of her buttons are unbuttoned and this time, her panties have been misplaced inher sleep. Troublesome High School Life: With his acceptance into high school, Junpei's parents buys him a video camera like he has always wanted. Excited about it, he goes out and starts filming things when he accidentaly filmed a girl's panties when a gust of wind blows at the exactly the right moment. She gets mad that a pervert is filming her, she breaks the new camera. On the first day of school, Junpei is surprised to find out that Satsuki Kitaouji, that same girl in the same class that he is in, is also that girl who broke his camera. But when he carries her to the infirmary after twisitng her ankle and helps her out of a situation, she starts thinking more about him. Oblivious Hearts and Dreams that Passes Each Other: Junpei learns that the film club is inactive and needs 5 members. In order to make it active, he goes out in search of members. with Kamiyama and Sotomura from his class as well as Satsuki it makes up 4 members. When asks Aya to join, they get into an argument after he learns that she has already joined the literary club. Sulking about it, he gets into another argument with Satsuki and she accidentaly yells out that she likes him. Running away after blurting it out, Junpei runs after her all over the school until he manages to corner her and the two of them come to an understanding. After school, Junpei runs into Nishino again. Panic in My Room: Talking to Nishino, Junpei remembers why he wants to make movies and rushes to Aya to apologize and manages to get her to join the club as well. When they are planning on what to do for their summer vacation, Junpei invites Aya over to research more about films to get some ideas. When Satsuki calls him, she finds out that he is there with Aya and rushes over with the entire film club in tow. On top of that, Nishino decides to come over to give him some of the cookies that she has made for him. Then, there is also Yui who pops out of nowhere to announce that she will be staying over as well. Raging Waves of the Summer Camp: Arriving at the beach for their summer camp, the film club with Junpei, Aya and Satsuki's homeroom teacher in tow, they begin to have fun at the beach while trying to do a little filming. When Kamiyama learns from Sotomura that both Satsuki and Aya likes Junpei, he and Sotomura decides to gang up on him by carrying him and tossing him into the bath while the girls are still in there. That night, out for a walk because he can't sleep, Junpei runs into Satsuki who asks if he hates her or anything like that since he doesn't seem to respond to her. Answering that he doesn't hate her, in fact, he enjoys being with her because it is fun to be with her, Satsuki collapses on the floor due to a fever. The next day, Satsuki wakes up and learns from Aya that Junpei dragged her along last night after she fainted and has nursed her all night long. A Present with all of one's Heart: On her day off from school, Tsukasa seems lethargic. Spending all morning in bed, she runs off to answer the phone and is a bit dissapointed when it is just a classmate of hers. Asked to go out and shop with her, she decides to go while promising her mom to be back by six for that special day of theirs. After shopping, they stop by a sweets store where her friend talks about having boyfriends and why she hasn't picked one for herself yet. Leading on to that, it turns out that she only asked her so that she could introduce a guy to her. Of course, he is immediately rejected the moment he tried to put the moves on her. Heading home, she is more depressed than ever until Junpei calls her to ask if it is okey to let Yui talk to her about going into Oumi. Asking to meet him, Junpei got it into his head that she had been crying. When they meet, Tsukasa is waiting for him with a strawberry shortcake. Today is her birthday and she wanted to celebrate it with Junpei. For her present, she only asks for a simple handshake. A Sensation of Unknown Destination: Overhearing Aya talking to a friend of hers from the Literature Club about her unrequited love for a certain someone, Junpei is caught in a bind as to how he should react and who should he pick out of the three girls that he likes. Should it be Aya who walks the same path towards the same type of dream as him? Should it be Tsukasa who sheers him on towards walking on to that dream of his? Should it be Satsuki who is most natural to walk the same path with? Unable to come up with an answer, he consults Ookusa with his dilema and comes up with the answer of not chosing any one of them for the moment. Outbreak! The North South War: With Christmas fast approaching, Junpei decides to get a job to be able to buy gifts for Aya, Tsukasa and Satsuki. Working in a burger joint, he is surprised when Satsuki is also there working. After the lunch hour rush, the two of them are left alone as the manager and the other employee rushes off to get supplies. With the two of them alone, Satsuki decides to train him when Yui passes by and sees the two of them together. Yui decides to intervene and get in between the two of them as much as possible. Immediately, a full scale battle emgese between the two of them with Junpei getting caught in the middle. A Christmas All Alone: Working in the burger joint still, Tsukasa drops by to see him. Nearing the end of his shift, he heads on home with Tsukasa so that he could try out the cake that she had baked. Realizing that the two of them are all alone, Junpei is unable to stand the pressure and decides to leave. On the way out, Tsukasa tells him that she still genuinely want to go out with him, but hse has realized that she is too impatient to wait forever for him to come back to her and bids him a farewell. The next day, on Christmas, Junpei is working again when the film club drops by to spend some time with him. After his shift, he goes on home when he sees cakes being sold and realized that the cake that Tsukasa had the day before was actually a Christmas cake and she had planned to spend Christmas all alone with him and he completely screwed it up! Continuation of the Dream Once More: Learning that Aya has materials for Oumi and that she is smart enough to be able to pass it, Yui asks her to teach her in Junpei's house. There, Yui asks her why is it that she doesn't have a boyfriend and she tells Yui that it is an unrequited love because the one she likes has had a girlfriend since middle school. Hearing this, Yui tells her that it won't be forever though. Even Junpei recently broke up completely with Tsukasa. Hearing this, she is a bit shocked. When Yui goes off to the store to buy some things, Aya and Junpei are left all alone when he goes downstairs and sees her sleeping. Looking at all the notes, it makes him a bit nostalgic when Aya wakes up and the two of them start discussing the old days and the novel that she is writing. Unfortunately, the atmoshpere is broken up when they notice Yui eavesdropping in on them. Hug Me in the Snow: The day before she has to go home, Yui and Aya decides to go out for a walk and by chance they run into Junpei on his way home from work and the three of them run into Satsuki with Sotomura and Kamiyama trailing right behind. With all of them together, they decide to do something and Yui decides that it should be hide and seek. With the snow beginning to fall, Yui is the only left and Junpei is worried since knowing her, she won't leave until she is found. With that in mind, they keep searching for her until a sneeze gave her away. Junpei then scolds her about how worried he was that she might have frozen to death. The next day, on her way out of town, everyone decides to drop by and bid her a safe trip. It may be lonely for her, but they'll be waiting when she returns. Valentine's Chance Encounter: When Aya runs into Satsuki and Junpei who is helping her shop, she lies to Aya and tells her that they are on a date. Running aftter Satsuki after he explained the situation to Aya, the two of them get into an argument about Junpei never returning any of Satsuki's advances on him. When Valentine's day comes along, Junpei is a bit depressed that he hasn't gotten any. After school, Aya meets up with him and gives him her chocolate with Satsuki in the background waiting for a chance to give hers and make up with him. Seeing the two of them, she gives up and tosses her chocolate away. Meanwhile, Tsukasa goes to Junpei's house and leaves her chocolate at the front door. Finding it, he mistakes that for something that Satsuki has left for him. Sweet Painful Chocolate: Having mistaken Tsukasa's chocolate as having come from Satsuki, the two of them have patched things up when the miscommunication has Satsuki believing that Junpei picked her chocolate from the trash can that she left it in. At the same time, when Yui runs into Tsukasa, she finds out that Junpei wolfed down her chocolate and is elated by it. Junpei, on the other hand, after having received a valentine chocolate from Aya has begun to think more seriously about her. In the classroom, while reading the latest addition to her novel, Junpei embraces her until the two of them heads on home. Raising the Level of Gratitude: Yui has been accepted to Oumi academy and unfortunately, Oumi has stopped putting students into dorms. That means that she will be staying in the same room as Junpei. Helping him get gifts for white day, they run into Tsukasa and that was when Yui remembers to tell him that the chocolate he got was not from Satsuki, but from Tsukasa. Having learned that, Junpei runs after her and realizes that she has already put him in her past. The next day, he confirms that it really was Tsukasa's chocolate that he ate instead of Satsuki's Beating Heart. First Date!?: Going out on a date with Aya, they meet their homeroom teacher and are forced to help her get some bargain toilet papers. Watching the movie together, Junpei gets into an argument with an annoying woman who keeps on loudly criticizing the film. Outside, after leaving the theatre, Junpei is still mad about the argument until Aya tells her what she thinks of the film. Late that night, as they are about to part ways, Junpei decides to ask her to the bookstore to buy the book that she has been reading intently. Telling her that she is willing to lend him her copy, Junpei refuses and tells her that he wants a copy of his own to treasure. A Dangerous Newcomer: During their new school year, the only one form the film club that isn't in the same class as the rest is Aya. On their first day, there is really no club activity with most of the afternoon being taken in by ceremonies. By himself in the club room, Manaka encounters the foul mouthed critic from his date with Aya. She is actually Misuzu, Sotomura's little sister. She joins the club because she likes the scripting of the film they made that previous summer, but nothing else about it though. There, she immediately gets into arguments with every club member except for Aya. Decision! Birthday: For his birthday, both Satsuki and Aya have prepared gifts to give him and Junpei refuses to accept either of them stating that he cannot choose between anyone just yet. Satsuki tried to give hers in the morning and the two of them get into an argument about it because she didn't really inted for him to be making any choices based on presents and just wants to give him one. Later that day, when Aya tried to give him her present, he refused as well, but she made him realize that the present is there because they want to celebrate his birthday and nothing deeper than that. With that in mind, he goes out to where Satsuki is and accepts her gift. Another Meeting in the Rain: With the new script for the movie made up by Aya already, Junpei is excited about it, but at the same time, he is starting to lose confidence in being a director. Coupled with the fact that he couldn't convince Satsuki that she is better suited for the role of the protagonist's best friend instead of the heroine and Misuzu's criticism of his indecisiveness, and he is seriously starting to doubt himself. Watching an old movie for reference on what he might be able to do, he come sout just as the rain was starting to get bad. Waiting by a cake store, he meets up with Tsukasa once more who just happens to be working in that store. Walking home together in the rain, he realizes that she is still walking te same path to her dreams that she has always beem while he is starting to lose his way. A True Heroine: On her way to school one day, Misuzu spots Tsukasa working at the cake shop and decides that she would be perfect for the role of the heroine. In the club room, when Junpei finally tells Satsuki that he wants her for the role of the best friend, they get into an argument with Sotomura who wants to revise the script to fit a heroine from the people they have. Aya, outside the club room, overhears and runs off. Junpei and the rest runs after her. In the roof, while searching for her, she falls on top of him like the first time they met. There, they live those time in roof of their middle school. Just as it was getting to the interesting parts though, the others get there. Dragging them along, to the perfect heroine, Junpei realizes that it is Tsukasa that Misuzu is talking about. When Tsukasa shows up, Junpei asks her to be the heroine of his film and fulfill that wish from long ago. She happily accepts and they begin filming soon after. Come Pick Me Up!: When Yui goes home to get her stuff so that she can move when she starts her life as an Oumi Academy high school student, Junpei's mom gets a call a few days later from Yui's father saying that his daughter will not be returning again. At that same day, a letter arrives for Junpei from Yui asking him to pick her up. Going to where she lives, Junpei finds out that her father thinks that he has been doing things to her when Yui walks out one morning completely naked. Having found where Yui is, Jubpei learns that she doesn't want to go home and asks him to stay with her for the night. I'll Always by Your Side: Staying at a cheap hotel where the two of them are the only guests, the elderly woman who runs it mistakes them for lovers. When Junpei calls Yui's mom, they later get a call from home saying that her dad has collapsed. Upon Junpei's insistance, they head back to Yui's house that instance. When they reach the house that morning, they find out that Yui's dad faked the whole thing so that Yui would return. When he attacks Junpei for being deceitful and taking advantage of Yui, Junpei collapses from exhaustion after having run around looking after Yui all day long. When they realize how worried Yui is, her father finally relents to letting her stay at Junpei's house. Unfortunately, Yui has now decided to stay by herself. Ichigo 100% OVA Love is Beginning!? Fleeting Heart ~ My Heart is Going East and West: Continuing where the TV series left off, it is the second summer for Junpei and he and the rest of the film club are busy making up their second film with Tsukasa as the star. Meeting Aya at the bus station to accompany her to the lodge where they are staying, they are forced to walk and ultimately, get lost on the way. Lost in the woods, they are forced to take shelter from the rain. The rest of the girls are worried about the two of them in such a heavy downpour and decides to look for them. Tsukasa is the first to find them and discovers an almost completely naked Aya out cold on the floor with and equally near naked Junpei just above her. Form the misundestanding causes a minor amount of rift. Later on, while Sotomura is telling a ghost story about couples who don't get along by the lake, Misuzu gets an idea to do a test of courage for couples. During the drawing, Junpei and Tsukasa are drawn together. As the surrounding takes a creepier tone, the two of them draw closer to each other. Ultimately, they find out that it was just a big farce made by Misuzu to film the two of them in a "genuine" atmosphere. Stormy Spring Festival at the Night of Mist: Preparation for the culture festival has slowly deteriorated into an utter disaster when Satsuki is taken away by various clubs wanting to make her their poster girl to lure in more support. Next up isYui and Misuzu running away from the perverts of Tsukasa's fan club. Thinking that she has escaped, Tsukasa discovers that there are still two of her fans in there and runs away as well. Kamamiya and Sotomura gives up on the project and runs off to play. Finally, with just him and Aya left, she is taken away by the literature club. Working on his own to finish the cafe, the power fails. Continuing by moonlight, Aya returns to help him out when they get into an accident and are pinned down. They manage to escape, but they both take a dunk in the pool and a fish gets into Junpei's pants prompting him to do a strip to get rid of it. At that moment, everyone else returns and sees nearly naked with Aya who has managed to drop her skirt. With the misunderstanding caught on tape, the cafe is reworked into a beauty and the beast cafe with Junpei taking the role of the caged beast, the girls as waitresses, and the incident caught on film played for everyone to see. Exodus from Oumi High: When Yui gets sick, she asks Junpei to return a note that she has borrowed to a friend of hers in school. Junpei is forced to break in, sneak in to class, return the notes to the person's desk, and sneak out before 1st period is over and that class returns from Phys Ed. Unfortunately, Junpei doesn't make it out before the girls return and he is stuck in the closet. When he is discovered, he runs off into the bathroom where he is forced to climb the ledge outside. Out there, he tries ot climb into the first open window that he sees which happens to be where the physical examinations are taking place. Running away, he is snagged by an S&M girl and nearly turned into a slave when Tsukasa comes to his rescue. She hides him in the stair closet and plans a way to get him to sneak off. Using Tsukasa fans, Junpei manages to sneak out of school, but he is discovered by the fans. Making things worse is that the rest of the film club spots him as well. Sawayaka Pension Crisis - Be Careful of the Owner: During their summer, the film club decides to go and find some work to get some cash for their next production. They end up in a faraway resort where the owner, main host, and chef immediately have all these dirty little thoughts on what to do with the girls. When they meet up with resistance, they decide to frame Junpei for braking a "priceless heirloom" vase. Threathening to go to the police and have him arrested, the rest of the club are forced to endure their harrasment and are forced to wear all sort of cosplay costumes for their own pleasure. When their last night comes along, the owner decides to get agressive with Satsuki and brings her along in his private office to "teach" her about giving proper "service." When Junpei barges in to save her, he is knocked over and discovers the "pricless hearloom" vases that are stored as reserve. When everyone finds out, they give them a beating and when the owner runs out, everyone finds out that he is not the owner, but the actual owners son who has decided to use his father's place to get some girls while his father is away on business. A Sudden Change of Heart: Oe day, Junpei is going to school when he notices a sudden change in Aya. Shy and reserved Aya suddenly acts more energetic and now thinks that romance stories like the ones that she likes are boring and ganster films are the best kinds of stories. In fact, she is acting more like Satsuki than even Satsuki - especially towards Junpei. The next day gets worse as Satsuki's personality does a complete reversal and she starts acting shy and demure just like Aya. On top of that, Chinami, their teacher, Misuzu and Kozue are all affected by it and have completely different personalities. Heading to Oumi to see if Tsukasa is alright, they find out that she now has an Osaka accent. Worse of all is Yui who is now a choco girl. When Aya shows up again, an accident reveals that the girls are all being controlled by an alien that looks like a pair of strawberry panties who can control its host and wants to take over the world. Running away, Junpei is the only left and is cornered on the rooftop. Trying to rip the panties off, he finds thatit would be a near impossible feat since the alien keep son replicating itself. Suddenly, Junpei gets the idea to wear it himself since everyone else under control are all female and instantly kills the alien, releasing the girls from their control. When the girls come to, however, the don't remember a thing and beats up Junpei for steaqling and wearing Aya's panties. And thus ends the film clubs newest production. Ichigo Marshmallow (Comedy) Birthday: On a Sunday, Miu and Matsuri comes over to Chika's house to play. While Mobue, Chika's older sister is out, the three of them realize that tomorrow is Nobue's birthday. They want to get her a present, but don't have any money to buy anything. Thinking hard on what they could make her, they realize that since Nobue smokes so much, she would probably appreciate it if they made her an ashtray. Going back to their room with the supplies, they wait until Nobue goes out to her part-time job to start making the ashtray out of clay. Of course, after eating dinner, they have to fight off sleepiness in order to finish it in time for Nobue's birthday. From paper fans to coffee to chewing on ice, they try their best in finishing the gift. When Nobue comes nack home, she sees that the lights are still on in Chika's room and goes in to find all three of them out cold and her gift finished. Ana: Ana is a British who grew up in Japan. Today is her first day in her new school and she wants to make an impression. She has decided that the best way to make an impression is to do what is expected of her when people see her - speak in English and pretend to be as un-Japanese as possible. Of course, she already goofed when Miu greets her with "good morning" and she answers back in Japanese. It's okey though, since she is in 5th grade and Miu and Chika are in 6th. In her class, she tries her best to make it as if she knows nothing of Japanese. Alone in the yard and rethinking her strategy, she sees Matsuri who sits next to her in class, helps her out, and accidentally speaks in Japanese. Forcing her to keep it a secret, she goes home with her and meets Miu and Chika again. At Chika's house, she meets Nobue who is instantly enamored by her. Finding out that her full name is Ana Coppula, Miu makes up a kanji name for her with Ana (cave) Co (bone) ppula (hole), which is one of the reasons why she didn't want to give her last name. House Call: Practicing English with Matsuri, it is obvious that Ana's English is bad - VERY bad! Promising to practice with her that Sunday, Matsuri must escape from Chika's house without alerting Chika and Miu about what she is going to do with Ana in Ana's house. Of course, the moment she leaves Chika's house, Chika, Miu and Nobue decides to go see what Ana's house looks like, giving Matsuri some trouble in trying to disuade them not to go. In the end, they end up in Ana's house and Ana tries to convince them that she is as foreign and other foreigner in Japan. From trying to serve tea British style to showing off her foreign CD collection (made sure to cover her Japanese CD collection) to hiding her English for beginners workbook. Of course, it's a lot of hard work trying to convince them with Miu being way too curious about everything. Part-time Job: Needing more money to buy her smokes, Nobue decides to go look for a part-time job. Unable to properly look through the want ads at home without Miu interferring with her search, Nobue decides to go at a local family restaurant when she notices the sign on the window. The hourly wage of the waitresses are 1,000 Yen per hour. All she has to do is make sure that she doesn't smoke on duty and she has to wear a short, frill waitress' outfit. Working there, Ana spots her with her mom and she quickly tells Chika and Matsuri. Of course, Miu finds out when she decides to play hide and seek and hide in Chika's closet without telling anyone. Deciding to visit Nobue at her job, Miu manages to piss her off and get her to yell at them, giving the four of them free sundaes. The next day, Miu does the exact same thing. On the third day, Miu does the same thing again. Nobue, unable to take it anymore, decides to get back at Miu by putting tobasco in her sundae and it degrades quickly into a food fight causing Nobue to get fired with her having to pay more than she earned for all the food wasted and cleaning up the place. Sleeping Together In school, their classmates are starting to wonder how Matsuri and Ana can be such good friends when Ana doesn't understand Japanese. Ana doesn't talk much and when she doesn. it's only to Matsuri in the bathroom. She is still embarassed when she can't speak in English much less read in it as with all the love letters that she has gotten that is written in English. During Chika and Miu's PE class, Miu hits the ball into Matsuri and Ana's class and blurts out that her last name is Coppula. Going to Chika's house, Nobue consoles Ana at having her last name revealed. With their parents gone for the night, the girls are going to sleep over at Nobue and Chika's house and there, from buying stuff at the grocery to dinner time to bath time, Miu competes to get Nobue's attention away from Ana. When Miu bursts into tears because she is the least favorite, Nobue lets her sleep in her room while Matsuri and Ana sleeps in Chika's room. The next day, after breakfast, the four of them goes off to school together. Midsummer Day: During the summer days, Chika, Miu, Matsuri and Ana have their adventures in keeping cool. From determining who carries all the bags to school with games to mishaps in buying cold drinks to staying in Chika's airconditioned room. Unable to step out of the room due to heat, they do things from Miu playing around with Nobue's phone when she is not around and making prank calls with it. Then there is the battle to sleep in the bed instead of the floor to trying not to make noises while Nobue is asleep by writing their thoughts down instead of talking. Sea Bathing: During their summer vacations, Matsuri goes off to her aunt's place and Ana goes off to a relative's place for a week. During this time, Miu is attempting to finish her summer homework and she has decided to film Nobue and Chika as her project. Unfortunately, she wanted them to act normal and have the video be exciting at the same time. After a week and Matsuri and Ana have come back, each with their own videos chronicling their vacations. With Miu still trying to film them, they decide to go to the pool. When they couldn't go the pool, Nobue promises to take them to the beach to have the filming done. There, they have fun, while Miu completely forgets about her filming project. At the end of summer vacation, Miu have yet to finish her project, but surprising;y, gets a prize for the half assed work she turned in that is more of an imagination on what her friends did during the summer. Festival: With the festival so close at hand, Miu is starting to get all hyper active about it again. Meanwhile, Matsuri finds out that Ana doesn't have a yukata for the festival since she has never gone on one before. On the day of the festival, Nobue is helping Chika change in to her yukata when she gets a call from Ana. Learning that she doesn't have a yukata of her own, Nobue forces Miu to get out of her own so that Ana can wear it. Miu comes back later on witha ninja outfit and starts acting like a ninja assassin. After a while, Nobue gives her the old yukata that she used to wear. In the festival, they start to have fun with the stalls while Miu creates her usual trouble. At the end of the festival, they didn't get to have a good view of the fireworks so Nobue decides to give them fireworks to play with when they get back home. Growht Peak: Mad that everyone else bought baked potatoes instead of going with her plan to make baked potatoes with the fallen leaves, Miu starts insinuating that Chika is getting fat. Miu begins to eat away at Chika by dropping more and more hints that she is fat. Worried about her weight, Nobue drags Chika out to play sports with Miu, Matsuri and Ana. Even after playing sports with them, Chika is still worried about her weight and is trying to eat less. After having a talk with Nobue, Chika realizes that she has gained a little weight because her body is getting bigger and decides to stop trying to diet. Flower: Wandering around the park, Nobue spots a shop with a seasonal limited cake on sale. At the same time, Chika, Miu, Matsuri and Ana are watching hypnotism in Chika's house. Trying on hypnotism, Miu first tries to hypnotize John, Matsuri's pet, then Satake, Chika's dog, then Chika, then the sky to bu yher some cake. After trying to hypnotize the sky, the phone rings and Nobue tells them to meet her in the park. In the park, they all split up Matsuri and Miu runs after John who started chasing a dragonfly while Chika is chasing after Miu who is being her normal ditzy self. Finally getting together with Nobue after making her wait for very long time, Nobue tells them that she has called them there because she was going to treat them to some cake, but has decided not to since they took so long. In the end though, she still treats them to some cake from the cake house that she saw. First Snow: During a cold day, Nobue, Miu, Matsuri and Ana are hanging around in Chika's room while she is trying to finish her homework. Having run out of cigarettes, Nobue goes out to the convenience store while Miu, Matsuri and Ana play paper sumo in Chika's room. When Nobue returns, she is freezing her butt off after falling on a bucket of water while trying to grab the coin she dropped. With the bath broken, Nobue decides to bring them all to the public bath. This will be te first time that Matsuri and Ana have ever gone to a public bath before. There, they take their time taking their bath. After getting out of their bath and drinking milk, they head back home. On the way home, it begins to snow and the girls experiences the first snow of winter while talking about Santa. Present: With snow piled up in the yard, Nobue has to clear up the driveway while Chika and Miu play around in then backyard and build a snowman. Reaching the end of the driveway, Nobue notices Matsuri and Ana trying to get up the hill incline to their house and sliding down each time the almost reach their driveway. After playing some more in the snow, they go inside and Chika, Miu, Matsuri and Ana play around with a doll house in Chika's room. Talking about Santa and how Miu claimed to have beaten Santa, Nobue remembers the last time that she played Santa for Chika. Trying to make sure that Matsuri, who still believes in Santa, doesn't get disappointed, Nobue decides to go out in costume as a reindeer with Miu as Santa and Chika and Ana as reindeers as well to deliver Matsuri's present. The next day, Nobue wakes up to find that the driveway has been shoveled, but the shoveled snow is blocking the driveway in the form of 5 snowmen representing them. Soon, winter gives way to spring and the days goes on like they always do. Iczer-One The Earth has been targeted for invasion by the alien Cthuwulf. A young girl, Nagisa Kano, becomes key to the Earth’s defense when she is forced to become the partner of Iczer-One, a lone rebel who is battling the alien invaders. (Action/Adventure/Drama/Horror) It is pretty old, but I still like it even now. It is a tale of survival, of truimphs of the human spirit, and of self-sacrifice. Personally, I liked it, but I know my tastes aren't for everyone, so I'm forced to give it a recomendation to rent it and be able to at least watch it once. Act One: Nagisa and Iczer-One meet when the Cthuwulf attack. The aliens send their biomechanical Voids and trap Iczer-One and Nagisa in dimensional subspace. Later, Commander Cobalt launches an attack against Nagisa’s city using the Dilos-Theta mecha. Iczer-One must convince Nagisa to join her and Challenge Cobalt with their mecha, Iczer-Robo! Act Two: A Cthuwulf fortress arrives on Earth. Nagisa befriends a young girl while Iczer-One investigates the alien fortress. Iczer-One becomes trapped in subspace and Nagisa is forced to protect the young girl from the parasitic monsters. Iczer-One escapes only to face the challenge of a new enemy, her “sister” Iczer-Two! Act Three: Nagisa and Iczer-One battle against Iczer-Two’s mecha, Iczer-Sigma. Later, the leader of the Cthuwulf, Big Gold, orders Nagisa’s capture and conversion into Iczer-Two’s partner. Iczer-One must try to save Nagisa and defeat her sister and Big Gold in a final battle for humanity’s survival. Imma Youjo: The Erotic Temptress Throughout history, an elemental force roams the world bringing death and destruction. Upon seeing her, men and women willingly bring down their societies for just a few moments with her body. She exists only to destroy and legends precede her appearances. She’s as evil as she’s innocent, as retiring as she is seductive, and as beautiful as she is terrifying. She is…Maya. Hers is a tragic destiny; even she is powerless to stop the destruction she brings. Not a demoness. Not a witch. She is far more powerful than either. She is a force of nature who possesses a horrible sexual talent to utterly destroy everything she comes in contact with. Many have tried to, if not stop her, at least slow her down and escape, but how does one slow down a hurricane or an earthquake? And Maya is more powerful than either…and more seductive than anyone has ever seen! (Hentai/Horror/Mystery/Suspense) Volume I - What the Wise Stranger Fear: There’s a building in the middle of a desert city that everyone sees yet no one ever talks about, a cloud piercing tower that locals all know means trouble. They’re content to stay away from the thing since it doesn’t appear to mean them much harm…but that’s because there appear to be only men in this city! There are stories about what happens if you are young and female here if the master takes an interest in your body! All of those tales end the same: the women wind up being taken to some vast pleasure chamber and are never seen again! The men never question the status quo; since to do so invites a horrible death…still, there is a persistent story that something both unseen and horrible lives in that tower! Volume II - Making the Woman Perfect: There are craftsmen in this world and then there is Ichiro: what comes out of his workshop is unique and highly sought after. His client list includes the richest and most powerful (sometimes also most dangerous) members of society. In fact, you might think (and many do) that his mechanical women are better than human…they’re always willing and contain a number of enhancements that no flesh and blood creature could ever have. Although people say his creations are truly magnificent, Ichiro doesn’t agree. He won’t be satisfied until he creates something special, even for him. He wants the perfect fusion of mechanical and biological women to call his own…but surely this is an impossible task! Volume III - The Path Less Traveled: There’s supposed to be a place high in the mountains that men never return from. Oh, they’re usually told that something horrible and certainly fatal goes on up there, but few believe it. The legend usually goes that there is a cursed place in the peaks where a demoness waits for unwary men, and that their fate is sealed when she sees them. Legends are, of course, mostly fiction and the mountain pass seem a convenient one so there are always some who will take it. However, most legend sometimes contain an element of truth...and some legends-quite a bit more than others. Volume IV - Within the Lie, Once Told: If you happen to be a woman in this brutal age of witch hunters, your life can be a short and unpleasant one. Worse, if you are suspected of witchcraft, your death can be slow and horrible preceded by torture and interrogation. And, worst of all, it’s very difficult to prove that you are NOT a witch…. Some of the king’s many investigators take perverse pleasure in their work and are not above torturing and abusing innocent women for their own amusement. Since they have the blessing of the crown, they are beyond reproach…and their methods do seem to be effective. Still, it’s obvious to some that these people…men and women…are a rather ignoble lot and should be stopped. Who however could do that? Volume V - The Extent of their Collection: There’s an often told saying that if it looks to good to be true then it probably is, and nowhere is that more true than here. When a job for a maid opens up in a luxurious mansion where the pay is wonderful and the duties light, only a fool would turn it down. Once in place, though, women find that the job description might have been lacking in a few points: They wind up the center of some attention! In efforts to outdo their peers, some members of a hyper-rich, elite clique representing the movers and shakers demonstrate their power over everyone else…particularly mostly unwilling (and always young) women! For, in this rarified group, nothing is prized so much as a slave who gives their life and body to their master…and besides, it’s good theater! Inuyasha: Affections Touching Across Time 200 years ago, InuYasha's father sealed away a powerful demon from China named Hyoga... A Shikon Jewel shard awakens Hyoga's son, Menomaru, inspiring him to absorb the remains of his father's power to take control of the world! It's now up to InuYasha and his friends to stop this nearly invincible foe! (Action/Adventure/Fantasy/Romance) I liked the movie and did enjoy it. It does have its touching moments between Kagome and Inuyasha and another between Sango and Kilala. I don't think it's great enough for me to tell y'all to go out and buy it, but I can recomend that you go rent it out. Inuyasha: The Castle Through the Looking Glass With their greatest foe seemingly defeated, Inuyasha and his friends begin to return to their lives. But their short period of peace is once again shattered as a new enemy begins to emerge. Kaguya, the self-proclaimed Princess from the Moon of legend, begins a plan to plunge the world into a perpetual night of the full moon. Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, Sango and Shippo must once again unite to face the new threat. (Action/Adventure/Fantasy/Romance) This is probably the one that I like most of all amongst the Inuyasha movies. It has elements from the heavenly maidens and Kaguya-hime story woven into it. Inuyasha: Swords of an Honorable Ruler Many years ago, the Great Dog Demon wielded the Three Swords of the Fang. Upon his death, he bequeathed a sword to each of his sons, Inuyasha and Sesshomaru, leaving the third sword, the wrath-filled Sounga, locked away forever. Now that the Sounga's power has been awakened, these two battling brothers must put away their sibling rivalry and face off against a force that spells doom for all mankind! (Action/Adventure/Fantasy/Romance) For all those who can't get enough of Sesshoumaru, this is the movie that y'all been waiting for. I didn't really like it as much as the first two films though. If you have ever wanted to know the fate of Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha's father, you gotta check this one out. A rental. Inuyasha: Fire on the Mystic Island (Action/Adventure/Fantasy/Romance) Inmu: Feast of Victims The Cinderella is falling, but she doesn’t awake from her dream…Here is the new series of omnibus eros…The thing that you want is what you hate. The innocent woman’s sexual desire is in full bloom!! (Hentai/Horror/Suspense) 1st Night - I am Being Watched: Yuumi is raped by a sexual molester on her way to school. She can’t cry out. He violently molests her over and over again. Somehow she escapes from him, but ever since then she feels as though someone is watching her all the time; in the toilet, in the shower, wherever she is, someone’s eyes follow her and… 2nd Night - Things Detested: The haughty woman fashion designer blames a subordinate who mad a mistake. Soon she becomes imprisoned, totally nude, inside of the public telephone booth. But it was just the beginning of revenge… 3rd Night - In the Water: Izumi Hinagawa is the star of the swimming club of whom all the girls aspire. Aki Sakuragi was one of them. In the shower room, Izumi found a white panty inside a plastic bag that someone had forgotten. She confirms that it belongs to Aki. Izumi slowly opens the panty and presses it to her nose. She said, “Aki….” The truth is that Izumi is a lesbian and has feelings for Aki. Then, the next day, Izumi approaches Aki at poolside. From this moment, they are guided into the sexual world. Dear angels you shall experience the pleasure of paradise. 4th Night - The Box: When Aoi wakes up, she is in the dark and there is a wall of concrete on all sides. There is only a bed frame, the light in the ceiling and the iron door. Aoi is startled when the door opens and the locked. Then, men rape Aoi by turns. She is humiliated and tries to remember, “How long have I been here?” The reality is that her state between the real and the fantasy began when she opened the little box that she bought from the strange antique shop. Iria: Zeiram the Animation Zeiram-the most dangerous life form in the galaxy. It’s virtually unstoppable-perhaps-even invulnerable. The Tedan Tippedai Corporation secretly attempted to import Zeiram to be used as the basis for a powerful new bio-weapon, and now it’s loose. Iria, a ruthless young bounty hunter whose brother was butchered by Zeiram, uncovers this information while stalking the monster-evidence that certain parties would rather have silenced. Now Iria must expose the silent conspiracy before any more innocent people are massacred by the monster. With the aid of her young sidekick, Kei, and a mysterious benefactor, Iria will avenge her brother’s death…only who is hunting who? (Action) It’s based on a live action movie called Zeiram. Not something that I would recommend though. Pitch Black: Somewhere in deep space, the spaceship Karma has been hijacked-with the vice president of the Tedan Tippedai Corporation and a mysterious cargo aboard. Iria, and apprentice bounty hunter, accompanies her brother, Gren, and his boss, Bob, on a rescue mission before the authorities arrive. The Tedan Tippedai Corporation secretly attempted to import the monster to be developed into a powerful, new bio-weapon. Rampage: Escaping from the exploding starship, Iria lands on the planet Taowajin-the fate of Gren and Bob still uncertain-and must find her way home. However, Zeiram was not destroyed in the explosion, and crashes into the city’s slums-where he begins a program of “urban renewal.” As the authorities turns a blind eye, only Iria, and her streetwise sidekick, Kei, can halt his rampage. But who is the mysterious voice over Iria’s communicator? Visage: Returning from Taowajan, Iria finds her apartment’s been ransacked and one of her brother’s most powerful weapon is missing. After placing a call, she discovers that her boss supposedly died in a car crash and there’s no record of the incident aboard the Karma! Iria’s in the middle of a major conspiracy-and someone’s out to silence her before she can discover the truth. Iria is on the run-but she is not alone. She’s rescued by another bounty hunter with orders from a mysterious client to keep her alive at all costs. All she knows is that she holds the key to exposing the conspiracy within the Tedan Tippedai Corporation-and their link to Zeiram. When she decides to confront the corporation, will she be beyond the reach of her mysterious benefactor? Broom Tree: Later, Iria returns to Taowajan-as a full fledged, licensed bounty hunter. Her mission: retrieve Dr. Touka, the foremost expert on Zeiram, who was taken hostage during a revolt. Things get complicated when Iria discovers that something’s killed the previous rescue team and terrorists-and it looks like Zeiram. Wind Song: All hell’s broken loose on the planet Myce. Zeiram’s bizarre clones have appeared and citizens are disappearing without a trace. Is there a connection? In a top-secret conference with the leaders of Myce, Dr. Touka concludes that Zeiram is still alive and may be assimilating the organic tissue of his victims to create his army of monsters. The authorities dismiss the doctor’s theory-but the clones are spreading. But if the doctor is correct, how could Zeiram be using the sophisticated transit gates so easily? Meanwhile, Zeiram waits for Iria. When Iria confronts Zeiram, she discovers the awful truth behind her brother’s disappearance-and her connection to the monster. Shanri-La: In the explosive finale to the series, it’s all-out war as Iria faces Zeiram-predator against predator-in their final battle. But is Zeiram truly invincible? Iria has a dangerous plan to discover Zeiram’s Achilles’ Heel-if he has one-and she’s going to need Dr. Touka, Kei, and Bob to pull it off. But even if Iria does the impossible and destroys Zeiram, will she be able to escape the ultimate trap the authorities have set. Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu (The Sky of Iriya, The Summer of UFO) (Drama/Mystery/Romance/Sci-fi) Close Encounter of the Third Kind: Sneaking in school at night to use the pool, Naoyuki encounters a strange girl named Iriya. The next day, the start of the new semester, he is surprised to find her there in his class. Love Letter: 18:47'32": Suizenji, Answer Me!: The Last Road: The Sky of Iriya, The Summer of UFO: Having reached their destination, Asaba is surprised to find Enomoto already there waiting for them. With Iriya retrieved, Asaba is sent back home. On the eve before he goes back to school, the war is declared over. In class though, he is picked up by military personel and taken to Iriya. She has refused to sortie out on the last battle. The war isn't really over yet - onlly with this one will it be over. Talking to her, he finally confesses his feelings for her and it gives Iriya the motivation to go out and sortie so that he may protect him. Afterwards, everything began to return to the way they were before Iriya ever came to their school. All of those incidents behind him, Asaba receives a letter concerning Iriya. She was the last remaining pilot who can control the Black Manta. Before, it was her and Erika Proudfoot. They were loosing the will to fight and both only sorties out to protect each other. However, that reason was lost when Erika couldn't take it anymore and tried to run away. Iriya, ordered to shoot her down, did so, but at a terrible price. Afterwards, she became autistic. She would see Erika's ghost from time to time, and her memories keep fading away from her. Trying to give her a reason to sortie out once more became the highest priority when Iriya ran away and ended up in the pool of their school where she met him. From then on, he became the reason for her to live on. They may have been both manipulated by many with the highest stakes on the line, but at least, what Iriya felt when she was with him and what she felt about him was real enough for her to keep on going on. Irresponsible Captain Tylor, The Common wisdom is that being a soldier is a rather nasty business with a great deal of blood and killing (not necessarily in that order), and that’s still true after mankind had discovered a way to cross interstellar distances. Within the military, the ways of war have been refined and practiced to a point where very little can be considered new. The great battles have been minutely studied. Rules and procedures have been in place for centuries. And then, there’s Tylor. An enigma (don’t define that for him…he’d probably just fall asleep), Tylor has a gift that is undiscovered…until now. He goes through life with an air of complacency that would give granite a run for its money. He may be, however, the one person who can save Earth. (Comedy) Irresponsible Captain Tylor is pretty good comedy. It is pretty funny how things just keep falling into his lap and his enemies all think that it was all done deliberately. Some of them believes him to be a genius and a master strategist when truthfully, he's really just a big idiot with the lady luck always behind him. I recommend that you rent this one. The Mysterious Irresponsible Man: On little more than a whim, 20 year old Justy Ueki Tylor joins the United Planets Space Force. It couldn’t have come at a better time: the Raalgon Empire is in turmoil! For both sides, it looks like space warfare on a grand scale is about to be unleashed. For Tylor, well, he’s just counting the days until he can retire. Hey, Ho! The Happy Pensioned Life!: Though war hasn’t formally been declared, both sides are plotting and maneuvering into positions. The UPSF forces are readying their fleet…and the Raalgon forces are attempting to remove public support for their enemy. Making a hostage of a decorated war veteran goes flawlessly. What the Raalgon don’t count on is Tylor delivering his pension…in person! The Ship Sets Sail, But Misgivings Remain: With the hostage crisis behind him, Tylor is commissioned and given command of the “Soyokaze” (“Gentle Breeze”: a rusty tin can by any other name). The ship isn’t without its surprises…or its dirty little secrets. None of the crew is very impressed with their new commander, and unpopular commanders don’t last long here! Enemy! Crisis! We Surrender!: Things are rapidly going from bad to worse on board the Soyokaze…seems the Marines hate the Fighter Pilots and vice versa. The problem is that full scale war is breaking out between them…and when Tylor is brought in to solve the problem, well… “Angels In White” Begins With An H: The Soyokaze has received a new crewmember…and suddenly every male on the ship is stricken with an incurable disease! The symptoms are racing heartbeat, shortness of breath, and an irresistible urge to supply the new of officer with…flowers. Lots of flowers. Her arrival is a surprise, though, and there’s more to her than just a pretty face. The Tail Of The Lizard’s Tail: Tylor is receiving a commendation for Soyokaze’s performance against the Raalgon…but it’s a booby prize to be sure! Fuji and Mifune aren’t at all happy about their victorious commander and have decided to deal with him once and for all. If he was killed in battle along with his crew, everything would be great! Not too difficult for them… A Gentleman’s Word Is His Bond: Yuriko has had it with the entire crew’s lax attitude, and sees her chance to fix her liking and the regulations! Even Captain Tylor is not immune to her campaign to make the Soyokaze a first class fighting vessel! Of course, it would be a terrible thing if the Raalgon fleet (and an excellent commander) were to attack…right now! Life Is Short, So Girls Should Kill: Harumi’s superiors are getting impatient with her inability to come up with a way to neutralize Tylor. It therefore falls to her to deal with him and leave his inert body floating in space. Tylor, in the meantime, is only thinking about the Miss Soyokaze contest which is about to start…you expected him to be concerned about something? When You Wish Upon A Flower: It appears that Tylor’s rather casual style of command has caught up with him…the Soyokaze is being sent out to the boonies where it will hopefully be forgotten. The crew, though, has one chance at redemption: Tylor can appeal the high command’s decision in person before a specified time. Of course, he has this thing about doing what he’s supposed to… Mind’s Eye. Half Blind, Headed For A Rough Ride: Kojiro, a pilot who’s legendary in his own mind, has pretty much had the run of the ship as far as fighter piloting goes. So, what happens when both Emi And Yumi decide they want a piece of the fighter jockey pie as well? Only Tylor can solve the problem…but will there be any pilots left afterwards? In Demotion Does A Woman Bloom: Yuriko has obviously hoped that her reform measures would last for more than a few days, but it seems they haven’t. Crew members are switching off on the duty roster without telling anyone, and the worst rule-bender is Kim. Tylor, of course, wants everyone to do whatever they want; therefore Kim and Yuriko are now on a collision course! The Day The Soyokaze Vanished: Of the many stories told about the Soyokaze is one particularly bizarre one of a past Captain and his crew (also demoted) who all killed themselves on board. The story continues that on a certain day and a certain time, the Captain’s unquiet spirit roams the corridors looking to destroy the living. Supposes it isn’t just a story? Be Prepared, Be Smart, Or Be Lucky: Admiral Donan, with blood in his eyes and a turkey leg in his hand, has sworn to avenge his previous loss to the UPSF by destroying Tylor. With Donan and a sizable portion of the Raalgon fleet after them, the Soyokaze is doing perhaps the worst possible thing: sailing directly through the from lines! Only a genius…or Captain Tylor…has any chance at all! Equation Of Kindness: As if Captain Tylor and the Soyokaze couldn’t get any more attention from the Raalgon forces, more of their resources are being brought to bear! Shia-Has, another capable commander, has decreed that she will be the one to bring Tylor in alive, and with some help she’ll does just that! Shiny! Happy! (Deadly) Germs!: The Raalgon have finally and truly had it with Captain Tylor making fools of them…and they’re going to use Harumi to deliver him to them! Armed with an engineered virus, the entire Soyokaze crew has become infected. Only by handing over their commander will the crew be saved from a horrible death! Strange Love: Tylor, now captured by the Raalgon, can reasonably only look forward to his impending execution by firing squad. Of course, he’s really only concerned about one thing: getting something to eat. The midnight snack is a universal language, of course, and Tylor’s destiny will change while rummaging about for that drumstick. The Unjust Dessert: Back at the base, the entire crew of the Soyokaze has been quarantined…for their own good (or so they’ve been told). Tylor’s case is lost (They’ve also been told) since the Raalgon don’t take prisoners, but the crew will have none of that. No one, they reason, has the right to kill Tylor but them! A Place For Confession: With the loyal UPSF troops in hot pursuit, the Soyokaze is running for all it’s worth…unfortunately, that’s not quite enough. With the UPSF fleet behind them and the Raalgon fleet ahead of them, they’re in for a hot time. Tylor, of course, is enjoying the Raalgon hospitality…but why does he feel so lousy? Sleeping Beauty: Although Tylor (and an unexpected guest) are now on board the Soyokaze, all is not well. In addition to his being gravely injured, it’s discovered that Tylor has some kind of implant in his head (courtesy of the Raalgon), which must be removed! An operation must therefore be performed (which has an abysmal success rate)…with some unlikely help! Well Handled Situations: As if the Raalgon internal situation wasn’t complicated enough, Wang is attempting a coup! Surely, this will cause a schism within the ranks and there is no force more dangerous than one without control! But, on the Soyokaze, things are pretty much back to normal…and all Tylor wants to do is to watch that special “videotape” the Marines gave him! Paco-Paco Junior: According to the rules (and as we all know, Yamamoto and Yuriko LIVE for the rules), Azalyn must now be treated as a prisoner of war. The Raalgon forces aren’t happy about the way things are going either, and are about to do something about it. But, Azalyn has the biggest bombshell of them all to drop! Could she be…with child? With TYLOR’S child?? Force Of One: With Azalyn’s potentially explosive situation behind them, things can return to normal…or can they? Fuji and Mifune weren’t part of THAT plan, and aren’t very happy about Tylor’s unique typically solution. For his careful work, he’s been sentenced to death by firing squad! Under arrest, it looks like this is one appointment he’s likely to keep! The Longest Day In Space: The Raalgon fleet has smashed each of the ever-contracting defensive perimeters in turn, and is now threatening the homeworlds! Things look very desperate for the UPSF…and some drastic measures are called for. But, can even the Soyokaze’s crew solve the riddle of winning the war without more bloodshed (and without the Raalgon also losing it)? Snap! Snap! Crackle! Snap!: The outward hostilities are now over…Captain Tylor has done the impossible! Rumor has it that he’ll be offered command of the Aso…the newest and best ship in the fleet, but none of that means anything to him. For, although he has beaten the odds and won the war, his most important ally has left him…and Tylor’s life is now totally empty. My Way Is The Hard Way: While it should be a time o rejoicing for the victorious Soyokaze crew, there is only one thing on their minds…where has Tylor gone? While searching for him, though, Yuriko must avert a potential catastrophe which would surely plunge the UPSF back into war with the Raalgon! For His Was A Genius No Rule Could Contain: With Tylor gone, the crew of the Soyokaze have gone their separate ways as if he’d never existed. There have been promotions all around…Yamamoto has even been given command of the most powerful ship in the fleet! But, have they learned the lessons Tylor taught them? Find out, and see a perfect series end! Irresponsible Captain Tylor: The OVA Collection, The While the UPSF and the Raalgon Empire are no longer engaged in full scale war, the war has not really ended for all of the participants. The crew of the Soyokaze is scattered for a short time, and these “side story” events are explored here. Since this is Tylor, subtle elements will have a substantial effect on later episodes! (Comedy/Drama) Okay, these OVA's are way different from the TV series except for "An Exceptional Episode" which is actually more of a movie that was divided in to two parts. The rest, are waaay different than the TV series in the fact the most of try to be a whole lot more serious. Also, the animation style has been changed. It's a little bit darker actually and a little comedy is still there but nowhere near what is in the TV. If you liked the TV, go ahead and at least watch these. Except for the last one, I really wouldn't recommend them otherwise. An Exceptional Episode: The shooting war is over with both the Raalgon Empire and the United Planets Space Force able to declare victory. Both sides have withdrawn their massed fleets and everything should have settled down to normal. It should come as no real surprise that it hasn’t. While neither side is happy with the resolution of the war, the Raalgon Empire was always the more ambitious of the combatants, and they have technological superiority just waiting to be tapped! In fact, they’ve secretly developed something very new and are just beginning to consider deploying it. Against this new system, the UPSF has no defense, or so it’s reasoned. The Raalgon Empire will be able to smash their hated enemy in one decisive battle, should it come to that. In fact, there’s really only one thing that the Raalgon are afraid of: Justy Ueki Tylor (age 20). They’re not real wild about the rest of the Undefeated Soyokaze’s crew either (which seems to have a fanclub of its own these days), but that guy scares them. There’s good reason for them to be afraid. Once again, it falls to Tylor to put both his life and that of the Soyokaze’s crew on the line. Perhaps not surprisingly, Tylor does this when asked…even when the details of the plan comes to light. This is a suicide mission, plain and simple: even Tylor’s superiors admit it. It’s also an audacious strike at the heart of the enemy, and it’s something that only Tylor could attempt. The details of the plan (like the existence of the plan itself) are a secret, even from the bridge crew of the Soyokaze. It will lead to glorious victory or to an even more glorious death: which one is for history to decide. The scariest part of all, though, is that Justy Ueki Tylor…has a plan. The Rules Of Being 16 (Azalyn): Against the advice of her cabinet, Azalyn decides to go back to Ashran (a place overflowing with childhood memories) for some well deserved time off. This world had rebelled against the empire years ago, but the saw successfully put down by her father and the military. It therefore comes as a considerable surprise to her that her childhood friend Ruu (a member of the ruling family) has survived the bloody rebellion. Hardly untouched by the ordeal, he is no longer the same person Azalyn made her promise to so many years before…and her feelings for him could plunge the empire into civil war! Azalyn’s actions here will have profound consequences to her own and her empire’s future no matter what she does! The Samurai’s Narrow Escape (Kojiro): A new temporary assignment is just the thing that Kojiro Sakai always wanted: take a prototype UPSF Fighter and put it through its paces! The high command is not convinced that a service pilot can match the incredible performances claims made during testing, so an officer with a spotless record has been brought in. Naturally, some members of the test team view this new addition with some caution…but one particular test pilot thinks this is the chance to finally test his mettle! For, in the universe of fighter pilots, there are only two kinds of things: Fighters and Targets! The High-Tech Opposition (Anderssen): As Kojiro is off testing the new prototype fighter, Anderssen and Cryburn (along with the rest of the Marines) have assembled to test the newest in assault craft. Much more capable than their existing “MC” Hammers, these have more firepower and computer power than anything that has come before. In fact, some secretly admit that the pilot may actually be redundant and these can do the job without one. This is a good thing...right? Anderssen, however, knows just a little more about their creator than anyone else, and can smell a problem brewing some distance away. The new battlesuit is sailing through the evaluation process and it appears that despite Anderssen’s concerns that it will be approved in short order. The thing is, though…is anyone listening to that tiny voice of reason? White Christmas (Tylor/Yuriko): It’s Christmas and Tylor (true to form) hasn’t done a thing to prepare for it…even when it’s obvious to everyone that Yuriko sort of expects something. Common sense dictates that Tylor should do something and do it quick if he cares at all about her feelings, but once again it’s obvious that you can’t count on this guy doing the logical thing at the right time. You also know (if you’ve been following along) that somehow when things look their worst that it’ll work out. At least, that’s been the case every other time that something along these lines has happened… If Only The Skies Would Clear (Yamamoto/Yuriko): No one ever said that Yuriko’s job as UPSF Intelligence analyst would be easy, but Yuriko has always thrived on the challenge. In fact, she’s pretty much in direct opposition to everything Tylor stands for (or at least that’s been the case for a while…he HAS had an effect after all). This day looked pretty much like any other day when she went to work, but her life (as well as the status of two huge military powers) will be forever turned upside down by what happens here. Something strange is going on with the elements of the UPSF frontier divisions: particularly, ships have been destroyed for no apparent reason. At first it was classified as accidental, and for many that’s where it would sit if the officer was anyone other than Commander Star. Still, even she comes up empty in the investigation…when decidedly odd things start to happen. Mysterious packages. Even more mysterious phone calls. A shadowy figure that has a bombshell or two to drop about some destroyed ships…and an old foe! Meanwhile, Mr. Yamamoto has gotten himself his own command (even if it is just a UPSF escort ship) and is out in space while everyone is grounded by their new assignments. A pity that “grounded” is about the best (and safest) thing to be right now! Things are about to get…Very…interesting! From Here To Eternity: During the course of the television series, the devastating war between the United Planets Space Forces and the Raalgon Empire was won by both side. With Just Ueki Tylor’s (age 20) inspired solution, both sides were able to declare victory, take their fleets and go home. When the Raalgon developed their anti shield technologies, Tylor and his crew defused the situation and restored balance to the opposing forces (but not without physical and emotional casualties). When faced with unsolvable problems, Tylor has been there to save the day (assuming he’s awake). Some time has elapsed since Tylor and the Soyokaze lead the UPSF forces to victory. The Raalgon war has cooled to a point where it can probably no longer considered to be one: in fact, many of the Soyokaze crew had been temporarily reassigned. Even Azalyn had taken time away from her duties as Empress. Although generally placid, some areas of the galaxy are certainly not: the Raalgon cabinet is in turmoil (at Wang’s urging) and some odd things are happening on the frontier. There are the reports of ships being destroyed (including Yamamoto’s first command) under questionable circumstances. It also seems to some that the UPSF is being pushed towards full scale war with the Raalgon Empire, but why would this be…and who’s doing the pushing? While there are people who don’t believe what they’ve been told, they’re probably too few too late. Unlike last time, the UPSF is fully prepared to take the offensive and has the weapons to win. The Raalgon Empire understands this perfectly and is preparing to defend itself. It seems certain that what ended last time in a brilliant compromise will end this time with billions of people dead. If there’s a solution to this, it won’t come from Tylor, but perhaps from someone who has learned Tylor’s lesson. It’s likely that no one can solve this before the carnage starts though, and even if they did that no one would listen. As the Tylor series comes to an end with this volume, things are looking very grim! Still, if there’s anyone who can save the day… Back  Next  Reviews Page  Main