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Spice and Wolf (Okami to Koshinryo) is quite a unique anime. It's based in an older European fantasy setting, but instead of magic, swords and dragons, the series has a focus on market trading and a female wolf god Horo (or Holo).

Craft Lawrence is the main character of the series, a traveling peddler who buys stuff at one city, then takes it to the next city trying to increase his stock and earnings with every trade so he can eventually open a shop. While the interactions between Lawrence and the shop-keeps can be interesting, they tend to drone on a bit with unnecessary information. i ... suppose that since the trading is one of the main focuses of the story, they figure that the audience is genuinely interested in types of bartering loans, market fluctuations and church-influenced trade.

Horo, the wolf harvest deity becomes Lawrence's traveling companion early on while a ritual is being performed in the village she was residing in. She takes on the form of a woman, but maintains the wolf tail and ears, I suppose to draw-in the furry demographic ;). Horo is quite far from the typical subservient and submissive otaku cliche of a date-sim girl, but a very proud, intelligent, obtuse, greedy, manipulative, and argumentative girl that occasionally shows her lonely side while being cute at the same time.

I feel that the trading sessions do tend to be a bit long and carry a little too much information for the average viewer, while I would have rather seen a bit more interaction between the main characters. However overall, I found the series to be unique and enjoyable, with believable personalities and setting, and an unusual focus on trading rather than strictly fighting or romance. I would have certainly liked to see this series carry on another 13 episodes, but I'll take what I can get.

Fruits Basket is a very character driven series, as there isn't a whole lot happening in each of the episodes. Despite this, the series remains steady, introducing a new character or two every couple of episodes. In the episodes without new introductions, there seemed to be some sort of revelation about one of the existing characters. So, you can expect to really become acquainted with each personality without heavy-handedness.

Toward the ending, I found that animators becoming a bit more liberal with the random quirky humor thrown in, [mild spoiler] which made the dramatic ending slightly more awkward. The way the series was paced made ... the ending seem very abrupt, and could have used another episode to unfold itself a little better and feel a bit more conclusive. [end mild spoiler] However despite the few flaws (IMHO of course) this series was quite enjoyable and will tug at your heart strings if you let it.

Heat Guy J is one of the most excellent series I've had the pleasure of viewing and exceeded my expectations based on the reviews I've seen. It's basically in the detective/action genre that's set in the future, in a unique environment where cities are divided and dependent on a race of people that provide the technology for air and water, and there are also people living outside of this city in the underground and in the forests avoiding the people in the main city. The main character is a detective of sorts who's partner is a robot "J" that assists him in his quests. ...

The episodes are rarely repetitive and we watch as the main character collects friends throughout the series that offer him assistance in his many endeavors. There is also some nice plot twisting and well integrated CGI that didn't become bothersome. All this is highly impressive, especially for an anime you can find in the bargain bin at your local con. Highly recommended.

Scrapped Princess was one of those series where I got to that point that it's hard to stop watching. I'd just be thinking "I'll just watch another episode, what's one more? I gotta see what happens next".

The series is set is medieval times with the obligatory magic and dragons, however the world is post-apocalyptic in certain ways allowing some technology to still be available. I won't go into any plot spoiling details there. Anyway the Scrapped Princess (which means abandoned princess BTW, such a strange title), is believed by the religious leaders to bring about chaos and destruction to the world on her ... sixteenth birthday, so basically everyone wants her dead. So the series tracks the princess as she avoids her pursuers and makes friends and comrades along the way.

Aside from getting a big load of plot dropped in your lap around the middle of the series spanning a couple of episodes, the pacing was very good. Also there are a few emotional moments in the series where you really feel for the characters. All and all I'd recommend this series to those of you who enjoy a good fantasy adventure.

In Paranoia Agent, things in characters minds actually play out in reality, and you're left with the choice of whether they are actually happening or are some sort of fabrication, very much like the film Perfect Blue.

Almost every episode concentrates on new characters, and there are a few that continue to reappear like the detectives. There are a lot of ideas fleshed out in the series. The catalyst of the plot is centralized around the idea of people getting stuck in a highly stressful situation and wishing for escape. Many small tragedies are played out by the characters and can sometimes leave the viewer ... doubtful of humanities ability to sustain its self. Many of the characters are forced to manipulate their mental living space, sometimes it affects people around them, and sometimes it affects the whole collective conscious of the city.

Through the series you will see a particular entity through many perspectives, and decide what he really is. This anime pushes the boundaries of narrative, and I consider most of it genius. There are a few lulls where the creativity seems lacking about halfway through the series, and I think it would have been a little stronger if some of those parts were cut to make it tighter. I would have also liked the ending to be a little more open ended, but it's so avant-garde already.

The premise of Scryed seemed reminiscent to X-Men, certain people had special powers which led to discrimination from the general public. There's a team of them working to iron out the differences, while others resort to violence. I found the series to be pretty enjoyable despite it's simple plot and progression, although I started to become disenchanted toward the end. Most, if not all of the fights were up-front with little thinking or strategy, and after seeing them play out the same way over and over it became boring. I didn't really care for the way the ending was handled either, but I won't describe ... it to avoid spoilers. Overall a decent sci-fi action anime, but you could do better imho.

When I think of Rune Soldier, I almost immediately think of Slayers: sword bearing warriors, magical items, monsters, sorcery, etc. It's definitely a comedy, and nearly impossible to take a situation seriously until the very end. There were quite a few times I laughed out loud while watching this. The series is 24 episodes long, and it felt like an appropriate length. There weren't really any dry episodes or filler that was noticeable either. The last three episodes were more or less dedicated to the ending, and although there were events leading up to this it almost felt like an abrupt twist to finish things ... up, but in the end I was pleased with the way things were handled so I can't complain. If you dig comedic anime and the old school RPG setting then I'd highly recommend this.

This review is based on the first 26 episodes. Kaleido Star is about a girl and how she joins a stage in America and performs. Kaleido Stage is about performance, so the trials and tribulations of the character were centered around how she struggles to pull off a series of acrobatic maneuvers and interfaces with the audience. The series took this very seriously, which can feel slightly strange at times, reminiscent of Yakitate Japan which is incredibly serious about breadmaking, but I found that disconnect a bit more entertaining.

Kaleido Star falls into the comedy/drama genre, however it's mostly drama. There are a few humorous ... interactions and a number of other parts that attempt to get the viewer to laugh, but end up falling on their face. Most of the comedy is related to the "stage spirit". It took me some time to get used to him, it's basically a weird little man with a card covering half of his face, with a deep voice and long curly hair. The stage spirit was responsible for reading tarot cards to predict the outcome of the conflict the main character was going through. It's hard to say whether this added or detracted from the series. The comic relief of the stage spirit generally comes from the main character trying to disable it from peeping at her during a shower, which seems too cliche to be entertaining.

Watching the first 5 episodes of Kaleido Star was painful for me. Trying to adjust to the subject matter and it's importance was quite a difficult proposition. Eventually I got used to it, and there was enough happening toward the end that I didn't have to take breaks every couple of episodes. [mild spoiler] The last episode was lacking in conflict, and it felt like it didn't have enough resolution. [ end of mild spoiler]

Overall I have to say that the series didn't really pull me in. I know I'm not really the perspective audience for this type of show, but good direction can usually overcome this. I can say that the animation and effects were top notch. There were a few instances of a frame being out of focus, but it wasn't enough to get upset about. The sound was decent, and the intro music for the first 13 episodes is strangely unique. If you have a special place in your heart for performing arts and can take the subject matter seriously, this is probably worth a watch.

It was actually very close to the type of anime I was expecting (thanks to the glum facial expression of the main character Henrietta on the cover), with a pace on the slower side of the spectrum and lots of concentration on characters and in a couple of cases character development. I could have definitely seen this series elongated from 12 to a full 24-26 episodes by adding a modicum of plot and a lot more character exploration.

To briefly discuss the plot, there are a number of girls ranging from 11 to young teens that were in various tragic situations where they wouldn't have much ... longer to live. A secret faction of the government would secure these girls and replace much of them with cybernetic parts to maintain their life and give them a high combat potential, brainwash them to forget their previous lives and assign a "handler" to them. This handler was always an older man that would command the girl and would consequently also end up in a sort of father-daughter relationship with the girl. Seeing these relationships play out was possibly the most interesting part of the series.

All and all, I'd say this was a real masterpiece, there is very little that I could fault Gunslinger Girl with, and there was so much that it did right. The animation, character expressions, setting and overall feel were spot-on. I'd highly recommend it to anyone that enjoys melodramatic anime.

It always surprises me when I find a series that approaches perfection. I just finished watching Galaxy Railways, and have to say, if you even remotely enjoy anime, it is easily worth your time to watch it. Obviously Matsumoto Leiji is legendary for Harlock and Galaxy Express, and if you've seen his work in the past, this isn't a huge departure from it. Contained is a relatively typical, but incredibly deep cast of characters, including the obligatory hair-covering-one-eye protagonist Manubu, his Harlock-resembling father, and the beady-eyes-popping-out-of-their-forheads old people that bother me to no end.

The story takes place in a futuristic-space setting where the usual spaceship ... fare has been traded in for space-travelling trains, some of which look like they could be from the future, and some have the old-school flair of a coal-powered locomotive. These trains are used to traverse people across the galaxy, and there is a military operation called the SDF that protects these people from all the unusual things that happen to the trains they are riding. Manubu happens to join this faction and the series follows the SDF and their escapades across space.

This is first-and-foremost a drama, you might feel yourself wanting to tear-up a couple of times. Aside from episode 19 (what's with episode 19?? 0_o) there is very little in the way of comedic relief. Despite that, you won't be crying yourself to sleep or anything. The main impression the series is constantly trying to get across to you is that grabbing a hold of your own destiny is possible with the right attitude.

Animation is excellent 99% of the time. There are a couple of spots that appear slightly rushed, although they are brief and barely worth mentioning. There is some CG, however it is mostly used on the trains and is well hidden using cell-shading techniques. It would have been nice to see the trains moving a bit more fluidly in some cases, however this isn't detrimental by any means.

My only other minor beef is episode 19, although I enjoyed it by its self, it doesn't fit in with the series at all. For those wondering, it's the overdone hot spring episode where half the girls introduced in the series show up and everyone suddenly digs Manabu, also interspersed with 1500% more comic relief. I'd love to know the story being this episode.

Anyway, if you have some time to burn, pick up this series, it should not disappoint, even if you're a somewhat jaded anime watcher like myself.