Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, Supernatural

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AmberGround exists in eternal twilight, lit only by its artificial sun and its inhabitants scattered cities. In this darkness roam countless mechanical insects, named Gaichuu, keeping the population imprisoned and isolated within the safe confines of the cities. There are a few brave souls that will venture into these wastelands; chief among them, the Letter Bees. A Letter Bee is a mixture of adventurer, cartographer and postman. their duty is to deliver letters between cities in AmberGround, as well as map out new routes in attempts to reconnect cities.

Gauche Suede is our first introduction to a Letter Bee in this series. His first “letter” to be delivered is actually a young boy named Lag Seeing. Lag is quite hesitant to be shipped off to his aunt’s home in the far off city of Cambel Litus. His mother was taken from him and sent into Akatsuki, the capital city of AmberGround, which is off limits to anyone not invited to enter. Gauche’s sidekick, called a Dingo in this world, is named Roda. Roda is some doglike creature and serves and a decoy and early warning system for Gauche versus the Gaichuu.

Gauche explains his weapon of choice against the Gaichuu, a Shindanjuu or “heart gun.” This gun amplifies the users will into a powerful bullet that will destroy the mechanical beasts. While holding the gun Lag accidently activates it, due to his special gemstone eye (hidden under his hair 99% of the time) and nearly dies from the effort. This in turn draws more Gaichuu to them, leaving Gauche and Roda to battle for hours on end. At one point soon after, Lag steals Gauche’s Shindanjuu and strikes off to find his lost mother, nearly getting Gauche killed in the process of saving him from a rather crafty Gaichuu.

Lag drags the nearly dead Gauche through the gates of Cambel Litus and after getting to know him as a friend, decides that he too will become a Letter Bee. He does this in hopes of gaining access to Akatsuki and finding his mother again. At this point the series fast-forwards 5 years to Lag at 12 years old, ready to start his journey.

This series has a bit of a slow start, but due to seeing a few clips ahead in the series, I can say that there is a LOT of great stuff coming! They took two episodes to complete the back-story and I feel they did it more than sufficient justice. This would have easily earned an A if they would have gotten to the point faster. The concept is solid and there are enough mysteries to keep me coming back.

Overall Hook Rating: B

Watch episode one via Crunchyroll after the break!

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Genres: Comedy, Romance, Supernatural

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Junpei Kousaka hates cats. He is allergic to them, they annoy him… even the fat cat his family owns, Nyamsus, constantly picks on him. It goes without saying that as a comedy, it’s all downhill from there. On his way home from school he innocently kicks a can into the trash. However, fate decides that he will miss this attempt and instead behead the statue of a neko-jizo, a cat guardian deity. This act brings upon his the curse of the neko-jizo; if he does not assist 100 cats with their tasks on earth, he will become a cat himself. This is when he begins to hear the voices of every cat around him.

Knowing that his allergies would probably kill him at that point, he goes about seeking alternate ways to break his fate. He first consults with the monk at the cat shrine, Keizou Kirishima, about the history of this deity. Midway through the long wandering stories dating back to the Edo Period, Junpei begins to argue with the monk’s cat, Tama. Tama explains the curse to Junpei further and he begins to hallucinate that he is becoming a cat (after badmouthing the cat deity). He wakes in his bed again, only hazily remembering what happened after the hallucination that day.

Junpei ’s first task is the stop a bully from picking on stray cats in his neighborhood. As it turns out, this bully is his friend (and secret crush from school), Kaede Mizuno. He tries to explain to her that, unlike the dogs her parents own, cats cannot be handled roughly. Nyamsus and Tama begin to harass Junpei and he ends up yelling at them to just “knock it off already.” Kaede assumes he is talking to her and runs off apologizing.

In attempts to complete his second contractual obligation to a cat, Junpei is reintroduced to Kanako Sumiyoshi, a friend from his distant past. There was a time when they were younger that she had feelings for him. She took a situation she walked in on out of context and began a long running feud with him. The cat, however, requires Junpei to pass on its feelings to Kanako for it, as she took care of the cat for some time. A few tears are shed, but things end up MOSTLY patched between the two. This moment also begins the roll of this series toward a more harem-ish spin.

This series has some good potential and as long as the harem aspects to not get trashy, we should be in for a good show. As anyone with cats will know, they find a way to get as close as possible to those who want nothing to do with them. This does add a bit of slapstick comedy to the situation, and we have yet to see the series take a fully serious note.

Overall Hook Rating: B

Check out a clip from episode 1 after the jump…

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Genres: Action, Fantasy, Occult

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In a world much like our own, around the height of the 19th century, a rather peculiar event happens upon ones’ death. Every memory, every recorded moment of your life encodes to a stone “book”, representative of your soul. A facility was created to house these tomes: the Bantorra Library. There in, every possible “book” is cared for by the Armed Librarians. These librarians must guard the books from those that might abuse them, as well as from the creatures which inhabit the ancient halls below them.

The Armed Librarians enter the series in dramatic fashion, speeding toward a steam ship owned by the Shindeki Church. The church follows a rather brutal hierarchy with those known as the “True Men” on the top. Under them are the “Mock Men”, who serve unconditionally, and give up their lives for the True Men. The lowest rung are called the “Meats”, and have little to no free will left. They are brutally brainwashed and mistreated; frequently being turned into living bombs. It is these bombs that begin throwing themselves at the Librarian’s boat.

The librarians acting leader, Hamutz Meseta, sits on the shore monitoring the group’s progress on their mission to gather information on the church’s activities. She shows on of her psychic powers, that of extended senses, by mentally poking around the boat with invisible threads (the visual representation of her power is that they glow white to the viewers). One Librarian, not realizing the Meats are bombs, is killed trying to rescue a man from the water. The rest make their way on board, slaying the Mock Men left to defend the ship.

After finding a suitable number of clues about the church’s goals, the ship’s cache of gunpowder and bombs explodes and throws the Librarians and Meats into the ocean. One of the Librarians, named Volken McMarney, attempts to save the Meats, but notices they have no will of their own to live, allowing themselves to drown. The Librarians begin tracking down clues which leads one, Mattoalast Barori, into a direct confrontation with three Meats in a mining town. One detonates himself and kills Mattoalast, the other rebels against one of the True Men, Segal, and dies. The remaining Meat continues on his programmed mission, to kill Hamutz Meseta.

There is absolute volumes of information I have left out of this article (the function of the books and shards there of), you just have to watch the series to get the true impact of the events that transpire! Two deaths amongst the Librarians within the first two episodes give us a good feel for the serious nature of the series. There are many levels in the complex social environment that have yet to be unveiled… and I can’t wait to find out. The mix of generally old technology, psychic powers and cults plays out well in these first two episodes. The cool display of Hamutz’s power at the end of episode two leave this as one series to definitely watch.

Overall Hook Rating: A

Check out the stylish opening sequence after the break:
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Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, Ecchi … no, Hentai … no wait Ecchi

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It is to be noted that this series is part two of the Queen’s Blade saga. The Queen’s Blade is a tournament for control over the continent in which the story takes place. Every four years warriors chosen from all over the world will converge on Gainos to battle each other (and the current queen) for the title. at the close of season one, the combatants have finally reached Gainos and Queen Aldra has admitted them to the tournament.

This season starts with the angel Nanael recapping the warrior women who will be taking part in the Queen’s Blade tournament. She is also assigned a special task to make up for her slight failure in the previous story; she will be taking part in the tournament as well. As the clouds of heaven part, Nanael is cast down to the world by The Seraphim. She lands in the church tended by Melpha, a priestess who uses sexually explicit poses to cast her abilities.

A second force, brought together by the “Swamp Witch,” threaten to destroy the Queen’s Blade process, and in turn cause total chaos to ensue. Her minions: Melona (a shape shifter), Airi (a ghost), and Menace (a resurrected Amaran princess, much like Egypt) enter the tournament. Melona, dissatisfied with taking the long route to their goal, decides to attack Queen Aldra directly. Queen Aldra uses her powers to freeze Melona in an amber crystal, ending her threat… for now.

The first two battles of the tournament are called: Tomoe versus Melpha, Nix versus Elina Vance. Tomoe, a major character from the previous story arc, is a Shinto priestess from Hinomoto (much like Japan). Nix and Elina knew each other since childhood when Nix served the Vance family as a servant. Nix has a unique fire magic ability granted to her from a tentacle beast-like staff. Tomoe wins the first battle and the second has yet to be concluded by the end of episode two.

The characters spend nearly equal time during the series clothed and unclothed. A good number wield larger than life weaponry that obviously used up the majority of the metal in their countries of origin, as their armor is scant-to-none. There is more than a fair share of T&A and some additional breast molestation, tentacle beast and acid breast squirting scenes. There is a solid underlying plot, but the over the top fan service muddies it.

Overall Hook Rating: C

Genres: Action, Comedy, Ecchi, Science Fiction

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There exists a technologically advanced city wherein roughly 80% of the populace are developing powers due to the cities highly advanced technology. This facility is named Academy City; its inhabitants are part of the “Brain Development Program” where in psychic powers are developed. To keep order within this city, powerful students are drafted into “Judgment”, as task force who deals with mundane and super-powered crimes.

We meet Kuroko Shirai and her roommate (and crush) Mikoto Misaka dealing with a group of thugs who are pestering a younger student. While Kuroko is an actual member of Judgment, Mikoto is not… yet she is one of the seven most powerful people in the city (we will later find out why her nickname is Railgun). As soon as the punks are dealt with, the girls must return to their middle school to undergo a “System Scan”, which is code for an analysis of their primary abilities, ranked Level 1 through Level 5 (the strongest). Level 0 is reserved for those with no powers.

Kuroko plots to get closer to Mikoto by allowing her cohort at Judgement, Kazari Uiharu, a chance to meet her hero (Mikoto). Kazari’s good friend, Ruiko Saten, also tags along. Ruiko is considered Level 0, having developed no powers as of yet. While the foursome is out they come across a bank robbery in progress. The two Judgment members (Kuroko and Kazari) step into action and begin to control the scene. in the commotion, a boy has wandered into the battle and is taken hostage by one of the robbers. Ruiko grapples him away from the robber and gets a boot in the face for her troubles.

The robber, now empty handed, steals a car and attempts to run down the one girl left standing in the middle of the road… Mikoto. She tells Kuroko that she will handle the situation. As the car bears down on her, she flips a coin into the air. Electricity begins to flow about her body and focuses toward her outstretched hand. As the coin returns in line she flicks it, releasing all the stored power… the Railgun. This pinpoint blast of power upends the car and sends it spiraling through the air. The day is saved!

Into the second episode the mood lightens somewhat to focus on more of the day to day school life, Kuroko’s crush on Mikoto, and other zaniness. The tone of the series took such a sudden shift that it worries me that it might spiral downhill. On the positive side, the concept and the Railgun itself is just epic.

Overall Hook Rating: B

Watch part of episode one after the jump…
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A few months ago, I spoke out about the negative reaction to the Endless Eight story arc of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, offering my contrasting opinion on the matter. After this re-airing of Season 1, which attempted to fill in the blanks left out of its original run with new episodes, I predicted we would see more content sooner, rather than later. And, while it doesn’t seem that the fans are going to get their “true” season 2 (because let’s face it, this rebroadcast was Haruhi Season 1.5 at best), at least not now, following the last episode of the rebroadcast of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Someday in the Rain, there was a brief teaser for the next part of the Haruhi Suzumiya franchise: a feature film based on the fourth light novel in the series, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya.

Regardless of the fact that it ended several weeks ago, there is still lingering resentment over Endless Eight among the fan-base. It’s not surprising, both considering the 3 year gap between the original broadcast and the rebroadcast. When new episodes were announced, I’m sure that everyone, myself included, expected the Disappearance storyline to be part of the new series of episodes. And when Kyoto Animation failed to deliver what the fans felt they were entitled to, it is no surprise that they were upset, despite the fact that KyoAni never promised The Disappearance to begin with.

But now, it seems that the fans are finally going to get what they want, at least in Japan, with the film slated for release in Spring 2010. Unfortunately, fans here in the US who rely on fansubs to get their Haruhi fix may have to wait a while for a high quality release of the film, given that a DVD may not hit Japan until late next year. But hey, waiting a year for The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya is a lot better than waiting 3 years for new episodes.

Genres: Action, Magical, Romance

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Imaging having an intense dream of being chased by a maniac with a gun. You are lost, confused, and terrified. Upon waking you realize that, on top of this not actually being a dream, you have also switched genders to enter this death game! All of the details of said game are now explained to you by a stuffed animal with its guts hanging out. Welcome to the life of Natsuru Senou. The boy, who must become a girl to fight for his life.

Natsuru has become a Kampfer (German for “fighter”), who have to be female, and must do battle as such. There has been no explanation for why this is going on (other than the mysterious “Moderators” bidding), so he must learn to fight to survive. His power set is noted as Zauber (German for “magic”), specifically: fire ball casting. The two other power types are Schwert (German for “blade”) and Gewehr (German for “gun”). The first other Kampfer he encounters/fights is Akane Mishima, who is a Gewehr type, and apparently actually on his own team (denoted by the blue bracelet they wear).

She explains to him that there will be two red Kampfer they must battle. Her mascot is a black rabbit; its guts hang out, seppuku style. The first red Kampfer they encounter is Shizuku Sangou, a Schwert type, and is played by their school’s student council president. Her positing on power puts the two blue fighters in a pinch, as she effectively runs the school. Her mascot is an electrocuted cat.

In the end of the second episode the stage it set for the battles to come. Natsuru is transferred to the girls campus by Shizuku so that no questions will be raised about him (as he is male) trespassing, and then she makes him stick in his “girl mode”.

There is an undercurrent of girl-girl romance with Natsuru’s friend Kaede Sakura in both episodes, as she has a crush on the girl-him, and that crushes him. The humor is a bit dark, but still thoroughly funny… I just do not see this making the grade without stooping to the typical yuri harem tricks. Let’s hope it proves me wrong.

Overall Hook Rating: C

Check out a clip after the break…
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Genres: Comedy, Romance

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Saku Oyagi only ever wanted to sit inside and read peacefully. His neighbor, Mihoshi Akeno, had other plans for his free time. From the time they were in the first grade together, Mihioshi was dragging Saku out to play or to go star gazing. Mihioshi wishes to pass on her love of the stars to her best friend… but he is resistant. She decides to climb a tree to get Saku a star but falls, injuring them both. Saku’s family moves away, and he holds some animosity toward her for his broken arm (and that she never came to say goodbye).

During Saku’s freshman year of high school he is moved back to his home town. While his intentions are to forget the past, he runs right into Mihoshi again. Now a senior member of the Astronomy Club, Mihoshi is desperately recruiting members to meet their 5 person minimum enrollment. Saku is, again, very resistant at first. Once he learns that Mihoshi couldn’t see him off because she was in the hospital from the fall, he finally comes around.

The remainder of the cast if laid out, including: Sayo Yarai, a mostly quiet girl who tries to keep Mihioshi in check; Takeyasu Roma, the Astronomy Club president (whos weak constitution leads to much bleeding from the mouth); Masashi Edogawa, Saku’s new friend from the freshman class; and Hime Makita, who has a crush on Saku since he complimented her on her hair during their entrance exams.

This series is very cute and seems to have enough open ended love interestes to remain interesting for now. While it could have taken the traditional harem route, I find it stays a step above, earning it top marks.

Overall Hook Rating: A

Watch the first part of episode 1 after the jump…
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Sequel to Adaptation of Visual Novel Game Coming to Crunchyroll

San Francisco, CA and Tokyo, Japan (October 7, 2009) — Crunchyroll and
Marvelous Entertainment announces today the addition of SHIN KOIHIME MUSO to Crunchyroll’s Fall 2009 Anime Lineup. Adapted from BaseSon’s Japanese visual novel game with a nearly all-female interpretation of the Chinese literary classic ROMANCE OF THE THREE KINGDOMS, SHIN KOIHIME MUSO is animated by Dogakobo and features returning cast members Emi Motoi, Erika Narumi, Hiroka Nishizawa, Maki Kobayashi, and Nami Kurokawa in lead voice-acting roles. More information can be found at http://www.crunchyroll.com/shinkoihimemuso.

“SHIN KOIHIME MUSO exemplifies everything which hardcore anime fans are looking for in anime today,” said Vince Shortino, President of Crunchyroll’s Japan office. “Its ornate visuals, character relationships and fan service all create the ideal core show for the Fall.”

SHIN KOIHIME MUSO will be available worldwide outside of Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and French-speaking Europe in standard definition free of charge to all visitors of Crunchyroll’s website and across the Crunchyroll network one week after airing in Japan. Crunchyroll’s Anime Members will receive early access to the program.

All fans can enjoy all content on the site for free, but Crunchyroll Anime Members benefits include higher quality streams of all shows (in some cases at 720p High Definition Video) with no advertisement and early access to all simulcast shows as early as one (1) hour after its Japan Broadcast. Crunchyroll Anime Membership costs as little as $5 a month and goes directly towards supporting Japan Animation companies. More information, including a two week free trial membership can be found at http://www.crunchyroll.com/freetrial.

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Adaptation of Visual Novel Game Coming to Crunchyroll

San Francisco, CA and Tokyo, Japan (October 6, 2009) — Crunchyroll and Marvelous Entertainment announces today the addition of 11 EYES to Crunchyroll’s Fall 2009 Anime Lineup. Adapted from Lass’s Japanese visual novel game of the same name, 11 EYES is animated by Dogakobo and features Daisuke Ono, of video game and anime voice-acting fame, in the lead role of Kakeru Satsuki. More information can be found at http://www.crunchyroll.com/11eyes.

“11 EYES will be a fast-paced adventure into alternative world of romance, action, and fantasy,” said Vince Shortino, President of Crunchyroll’s Japan office. “This will be a real treat for fans of ‘late-night’ anime.”

11 EYES will be available worldwide outside of Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and French-speaking Europe in standard definition free of charge to all visitors of Crunchyroll’s website and across the Crunchyroll network one week after airing in Japan. Crunchyroll’s Anime Members will receive early access to the program.

All fans can enjoy all content on the site for free, but Crunchyroll Anime Members benefits include higher quality streams of all shows (in some cases at 720p High Definition Video) with no advertisement and early access to all simulcast shows as early as one (1) hour after its Japan Broadcast. Crunchyroll Anime Membership costs as little as $5 a month and goes directly towards supporting Japan Animation companies. More information, including a two week free trial membership can be found at http://www.crunchyroll.com/freetrial.

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