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I never watched the first Slayers series, and yet I was so adamant about buying the Next box set. I had seen more media of it online and therefore became more curious about this season. I am so happy I picked it up too because Slayers Next is THE best of the three seasons. Characters are more fleshed out than in the first series, animation quality went up, and the music is catchy. For fans of the fantasy genre I give you a nudge towards this. Depending on whether or not crack!comedy is your thing. If it is however than you will fall head over ... heels for this comedy-fantasy series. Believe me when I say a lot of moments will have you clutching your sides laughing.

As far as the dubbing goes, I am partial to both Japanese and English. They both have voices that fit and don't fit characters. However that is the beauty of dvds is you can pick and choose your language preference. Aside from that Give a Reason the opening has to be the most popular anime song ever. I hear it everywhere! Also it should be noted later in the series things get slightly more serious, so that is a refreshing change of pace.

I have come across a few interesting hentai titles in my day. Perhaps I am spoiled and have seen mostly the well done ones? Well I picked up Dragon Pink and took a whirl at it. Although it isn't a terrible hentai OVA per say it is still an average hentai all the same. The characters look awfully dated and sometimes crudely drawn. The english dub is a joke so don't even bother with it, and even the Japanese dub gets on my nerves. Then there is the sex, oh sure this is a lot of it but it's still not my cup of tea. ... I feel that in some aspects I wasted my money. However, this could be enjoyable for someone looking for a quick, and somewhat fun fantasy/hentai romp.

Death Note is a rather interesting piece of work. I had never come across a manga quite like it, or characters like the ones I see in here. It starts off with 17 year old Light Yagami finding the Death Note. A Shinigami's handbook that if you write a person's name in it (and assuming you know their face) they die. Sounds like some sort of a sick joke right? Right? Wrong. The power of this little notebook is very real, and so real Yagami couldn't help but be tempted.


Welcome to the world of Deathnote where deception, and keeping on your toes is everything. ... That is what really hooked me about this manga is the complexity of most of the cast. Especially our two main men, Light and L. The dynamics between the two of them were intriguing. I was finding myself unable to put the manga down once I bought it! Everything in this manga does not happen without a precise, and clear reason. There are no piddly plot holes, or things that are untouched. To the first time viewer you may have to read it, and maybe one volume, numerous times to catch something you missed. Make sure you read the dialog again, and when you come to the volume after, go back and make connections. It's like your part of the twisted and macabre tale.

As far as the art goes Death Note is superb. The characters all imbue a sense of realism. Painting the realistic portrait here is what makes it so frightening sometimes. Characters are also top notch, and you'll notice many personalities. One character that stuck out the most, aside from the main cast was Touta Matsuda (hence my SN). He just seems like a genuine goofball, a light hearted guy through most of this. To me he was refreshing he was so undeniably human.
So give this manga whirl, I can bet you will not be disappointed.

Never have I given anything a perfect ten really, and I mean that. However Yu Yu Hakusho I believe deserves that rating. I had been a fan watching DBZ for the longest time, however I threw that show out the window with this one. For all of you wanting to get into the shounen aspect of anime here it is. It's short than most action shows (112 episodes), and shows a considerable amount of characterization. As we meet each person, especially our main cast we may have mixed feelings. Yusuke is a punk, but he has a big heart regardless, Kuwabara may come off stupid ... but he really isn't, Hiei may seem unbelievably cold, and Kurama too nice. As the series goes on their personalities grow with it. That is what I found to be so nice, was the gradual and obvious change in character. Even the 'villains ' some of them aren't too villainous. Take for instance two of the guys from Team Mashou, Jin and Touya. Sure Yusuke and Kurama had to fight them but, they're more like friends.

The dub for the english is actually extremely well done. Kuwabara's voice may take some a while to get used to. However everyone else sounds close, or better to their Japanese counterparts. The animation quality goes up as the series goes on as well. So for all of you looking for a shorter action show with good characters, animation, and plot pick up Yu Yu Hakusho. Now that the boxsets are all but released this should be easy.

Not another card driven game! That is what I thought going into this. I had just gotten over my Pokemon and Digimon phase. So upon seeing this I quirked an eyebrow. However I gave it a whirl and watched it, and by god I actually enjoyed it. The characters are so much more dynamic than most of these genre of shows. There is a plot behind all the games (read the manga for more). The most interesting twist to me was the Egyptian background. That intrigued me to no end to see how exactly that would play out. Surprisingly to me it played out nicely, ... tying the characters together from their pasts to the here and now.

There are a few arcs that also stand out above the rest. The first being the Battle City arc, where we first meet Malik Ishtar who is a young Egpytian boy. The Doma (Doom in the dub) arc that present to us Dartz, the King of Atlantis and his ragtag henchmen. The last arc, that deals with the origins of Yami Yuugi is also the best, and the one I am most fond of.


Art and animation quality actually go up as the series goes on. The beginning characters didn't always look their best, but as it progressed the characters started to look good as well. So if you are trying to get someone into a card game based show, dip their feet into anime show them this. However, if you want the more serious and true nature of the show watch it subbed.

Short, sweet, cute, and fun are the words to describe this manga. Clamp does it again with a simple plot, and yet their characters are what truly engage us. The three boys that make up the elementary school board are so adorable! From the shy, and sweet Akira, the serious and quiet Suoh, to the cordial and somewhat eccentric Nokoru. Each of them possesses a character quality that makes them lovable. For newcomer Clamp fans this would be a good series to pick up and look into it.

The manga styling is cute, and very much like Magic Knight Rayearth. The panel layouts are good, ... and nothing looks jumbled. The dialog is witty and easy for some who is say 12 to still understand. All in all a keeper, and it's fairly short to so no need to worry about epics!


MISC: Want to expand your Clamp universe? Pick up Dukylon School Defenders. Taking place at the same place as School Detectives, there will be reoccurring characters.

"Devil May Cry novel? Yeah the hell right!" were the words that came out of my mouth at first. I honestly did not think it would be anything special. No matter how much I love those games, I couldn't see the action being put into words. Well I was very wrong, the moment I picked up the first novel I was hooked. The story was written very tongue-in-cheek just how DMC should be! I couldn't stop reading it and ended up finishing it in a day practically. Same thing happened with the second novel as well. The story engaged me with the way Dante talked, ... and how the characters interacted. So for any of you DMC fans out there give these two novels a chance. I can assure you that you won't regret it.

A few years back I had watched the first Yu Yu Hakusho movie. During which time I was rather new to the series, but even so I deemed that movie unfit in the line of YYH media. I wrote it off as crap and went about my life. Some time later the second one pops up. Curious I nabbed it and brought it home hoping it would be better than the first....and I was right! Meikai Shitou Hen is a very good movie, with a sense of action gripping you from the start. Yakumo the evil lord of Meikai (Netherworld) has come to take Reikai ... (Spirit World) and Ningenkai (Human World). So as always Yusuke and the gang have to stop this baddie. I wil wager to say this movie might take place after the Dark Tournament.


As far as the art and animation goes it's tops! The characters look their best at all times, as do the backgrounds. Everything is very fluid and scenes vibrant when need be. The english dubbing is passable, however for those of us used to the Funimation dub it's a hit or miss. However the Japanese voice cast as always has the original voices we love. So if you're new to the YYH verse than pick up this movie. You do not need to know precisely who everyone is or their back story. It's always a good movie for you action junkies.

<b> Misc </b>

This movie also leads way to an interesting character development. A close friend of Youko Kurama! His name is Kuronue and you'll see him in the movie much, don't worry.

Gravitation to me feels to be a bit of a hit or miss. Some anime and manga fans love it, and some of them do not appreciate it. For me I was a bit skeptical upon purchasing it. Although I wanted to broaden my horizons in the realm of shounen-ai I couldn't help but wonder if it was worth it. As the story started out I found myself curious as to how a music based manga would end. So I bought the first two volumes and had a go at it. I have to say I am thoroughly impressed with Murakami-san's ability to create an ... engaging story. My skepticism started first with the quality of the art. It wasn't all I was hoping for but, as the volumes go on the art gets better.

Another aspect that had me hooked were the characters. Each person is distinct in his or her own way. Their personalities are so vastly different, and yet when they interact it gives us a treat. Shuichi's over the top personality, Yuki's sober one, Tatsuha's obessive streak, Tohma's darker side, Sakano's spazz attacks. All of it was so intriguing, and I was surprised how they all meshed with one another. If I had to recommend a series to dip your feet in the water for the newbie shounen-ai fans, this would be it right here.