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For all of you reading this wondering how you can watch it as well, I have some bad news - this movie is a short film shown only at the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Japan. When you visit the museum, they give you a pass to see whatever short film is playing on that day, and the films rotate every few months. I happened to see this movie not once, but twice, the two times I visited the museum (YEARS apart). I wish I had seen another film the second time I visited, but that being said, it's a truly fantastic movie. In the fantastical tale, Mei meets up with a baby Catbus that she can actually fit in, and the... See full review

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Boobs, jiggles and endless groping? Not for me, thanks. It's no secret that ecchi anime aren't my cup of tea – at least, they weren't until I stumbled upon Queen's Blade, a gem of a series that shows all women out there, especially the young and impressionable girls of the next generation, that any lady worth her pound of flesh had better be showing a lot of it. Sure, there are more innuendos and over-the-top naked breasts than you can shake a 'stick' at, but with such strong imagery and admirable moral lessons, I cannot in good conscience overlook this empowering series that will delight... See full review

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Let me just start out by saying that if you have watched one episode of Gungrave and then put it down, thinking it was a ripoff of another well-known series (which I won't name, for spoiling purposes), or just didn't look interesting, think again. Granted, I usually don't base my opinion on a single episode, but there are surely a lot of you out there who have done just that for Gungrave, and know exactly what I'm talking about. Read this review with an open mind, and realize that the episodes which follow are VERY, VERY different in plot. Also, I would suggest not reading many (if any) reviews... See full review

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Full Metal Alchemist takes place in a world that seems similar to our own, but not as technologically advanced. Trains and steam powered engines are used a great deal, and the science of alchemy is far more prevalent than machines of our time. In alchemy, there is the rule of equivalent trade: you must give something of equal value in order to get something. And above all else, human transmutation is against all rules of alchemy, and does not work... or so it seems. Rumors have it that the Philosopher's Stone can give the alchemist the ability to even raise the dead, but it is long since sought... See full review

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Finding a realistic anime about space travel can be a most elusive and difficult task. While many a series has been constructed to tout the deeds of intergalactic bounty hunters and tell the tales of alien invasions, rarely are we shown mankind's attempt to extend its arms into the reaches of the beyond. Moonlight Mile focuses on the drama and relationships of those who desire to travel to space; Wings of Honneamise is a first-hand look at a fictionalized space race on Earth; and Space Fantasia 2001 Nights, the most epic of all, takes us upon a journey that spans centuries and generations... See full review

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I love cyberpunk. I dress like it, read about it, and am enamored with anything related to it. For god’s sake, I’m covered in cyborg tattoos because I’ve been obsessed with becoming a cyborg since I was 10, and since I can’t physically, I might as well look like it superficially. Thus, people have been telling me for years that I’d love Armitage, yet I put it off until today. The moral of the story? Listen to your friends more often.

Armitage III takes place on Mars, in a dark and futuristic city. Androids, amongst other things, serve as housekeepers, babysitters, and... See full review

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In the streets of Tokyo, demons walk amongst us, but only they know we exist. The protector of the city is Karas, a man who transforms into a crow-armored persona when evil threatens humanity. Saying much more about the plot of Karas would be borderline spoiling (don’t worry, the AniRec description doesn’t spoil), so that’s really all you need to know. Creatures are draining humans of blood, and a sinister villain wants to take control of Tokyo. Who better to stop the nefarious plans than Karas?

Karas is touted as being like Batman Begins, and that’s a damn accurate... See full review

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Paranoia Agent is a brilliant, intelligent story that is extremely hard to explain without spoiling. The general story revolves around what you see above: people are being randomly attacked by Shounen Bat. But around episode 5 or 6, a new plotline evolves, which becomes very enthralling and in depth. By the end, fear not, the main idea of the story is revealed, but you are indeed left with many questions, twilight zone style.

In general, the story is presented in an AMAZING way. It's hard to explain why the story flowed as good as it did. Each episode almost seemed like an... See full review

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Having seen the original OVA for Appleseed, I was expecting this movie would be nothing more than glorified eye candy with a weak plot and nothing to show up the surely pretty graphics. The original OVA is basically a police show, handling one case. We know about the city and the bioroids, and the hostilities between the bioroids and the military, but not much more than that. We have no idea what Appleseed means or why it has anything to do with the OVA, and there isn't anything deep, per se.

Boy, was I surprised...

Appleseed the MOVIE was incredible. Simply... See full review

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Cat Soup is a bizarre and abstract look at the lives of two young kittens, as they peruse the land of the dead. Then again, knowing that information is hard to discern from watching it once, and odds are, had you not read any review or description, you may have not picked up that fact at all. There is no dialogue in Cat Soup, except random noises used for the characters talking with occasional subtitles (in Japanese characters). Usually these words are very simple, not even full sentences. The story is told primarily through the visuals, and again, are very abstract, making it hard to... See full review

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Within the first three minutes of the first episode, I knew this would be something that kicked ass. Thankfully enough, I wasn't mistaken.

Phantom takes place in Los Angeles, where a young man whose name we don't know (though based on other reviews I've seen, I guess his name is Reiji) has come to visit from Japan. The reason seems to be something related to being accepted to a school. I don't believe the school is in LA, though the details aren't totally clear, and don't really matter anyways. Our young protagonist is dropped off in the middle of nowhere by his inept taxi driver... See full review

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Wow. The word flowed through my mind at a snail's pace as I absorbed what I had just seen, as the ending credits to Hinotori scrolled down the screen. Have you ever watched an anime that’s hard to pay attention to? When it’s really hard to force yourself to finish it at all, let alone quickly? You know the type: a genre you dislike, a boring storyline, or anything in between – you don’t like it, and you don’t want to have to finish the series. On the other hand, occasionally you find a gem which, for some reason, sucks you in and demands your attention. You can’t wait to watch... See full review

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As an important introduction to this review, I have not read the Earthsea novels; in addition, I generally am not impressed with the majority of Studio Ghibli titles. Spirited Away is a classic in its own right, and I did also enjoy Princess Mononoke and Kiki's Delivery Service; most of the other titles, however, did nothing for me. These points are perhaps important as the two major complaints I keep reading about in relation to Gedo Senki are not related to the actual plot, character development, or animation; rather, the complaints are either "It doesn't feel like a Ghibli... See full review

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On the foundation Stellvia, young people train for the most important mission of mankind: protect the solar system from a devastating shockwave. Close to two hundred years ago, a supernova sent an initial shockwave that destroyed the Earth, prompting the survivors to design the Great Mission that will save humanity from being utterly annihilated. The story of Stellvia follows a bright-eyed and talented cadet who is lovingly known as Shipon, as she makes new friends, experiences life on the foundation, and most importantly, discovers her place in history.

You can think of... See full review

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Prior to watching GANTZ, there were only two anime that I had seen that made me think "SHOCK VALUE": Elfen Lied, and Narutaru. While Narutaru excels in psychological shock value (episode 12, anyone?), Elfen Lied excels in "oh my god I can’t believe that body part just got ripped off of their body" shock value. GANTZ definitely rivals Elfen Lied with its grotesque nature, but is definitely stronger due to how nonstop the gore, violence and sexual undertones are displayed. While Elfen Lied only has sections dedicated to brutal violence, GANTZ is a nonstop assault on the senses with scenes of... See full review

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At twenty-something minutes in length, it usually is difficult for one episode OVAs to have a decent storyline. Luckily, in Ursa Minor Blue’s case, I was pleasantly surprised. A young boy and his grandfather live in an island observatory, secluded, in the middle of a vast sea. The setup reminded me quite a bit of the Myst novels, to be honest. One night, during his ritual star observing, the boy discovers that the Ursa Minor (bear) constellation has what appears to be a new star. He shows it to his grandfather, who recognizes the mysterious urgency of the situation and takes him on a voyage... See full review

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Puppet Princess easily has one of the most messed up and unique plots I've seen. At first glance, it only seems somewhat unusual... evil sentient puppets, murderous revenge, etc. I won't spoil, but I'll tell you that when the true nature of the puppets is revealed, you will think differently about the morbid level of the plot. ;) For someone like me who loves horror, this was a real treat... not only for the idea, but for the execution of it and the flow. The animation definitely had a part to play in my opinion of the story, so this is a fairly mixed score as far as where it came from... See full review

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When I first picked up Diary of Tortov Roddle, I had no idea what it was about. Studio 4C is my favorite studio and the group JollyRoger has put out many of their works and shorts. Thus, when they released this newfound gem, I knew I had to watch it. Luckily, it was just as good as I had hoped it would be.

Shown with no dialogue whatsoever (except the printed words of Tortov's diary), Diary of Tortov Roddle follows a thin and wiry man named (you guessed it!) Tortov Roddle, on his adventures through whatever mystical land he inhabits. We are treated to six different quiet... See full review

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I’ve been putting off this review for a few days now, because I haven’t been able to think of a good place to start. Normally I’d start out the story section with a longer version of the synopsis listed above, but it’s hard to do so without spoiling the twists and turns of Mai HiME. Thus, I’ll have to go about things a little differently this time... Mai HiME starts out feeling like a typical (though darker) magical girl type series. We are introduced to a variety of characters who all attend (or will start to attend) the same prestigious academy. Some of these... See full review

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Kino no Tabi is completely episodic, with each episode (or two episodes) based on a new country and its culture. In general, the tone is remarkably dark, usually prompting at least one "wow" from your lips for most of the episodes. To be as non-spoilerish as possible, let's just say that each one deals with cultural differences that would be considered shocking in some instances, and merely melancholy in others. In general, the series has a remarkably deep and philosophical tone, with lots of undertones that are easily missed. Thus, if you watch this, you need to dedicate your full attention to... See full review

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*Dies laughing*. Oh dear lord... where to begin. Psychic Wars is easily one of the worst things I've ever seen, and only Baoh rivals it. When I say bad, I don't mean terrible Angelique or Wild Cardz unwatchable bad, I mean hilarious YOU MUST SEE THIS bad, like something you'd see on MST3K, but way funnier.

The "plot" revolves around Ukyo, who somehow gets imbued with some sort of psychic power (that just gives him an outer or inner glow of sorts and lets him punch hard) that's to be used to destroy some demons in the past. Who gives him these powers? Five or six old women who are... See full review

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Azumanga Daioh is a show about nothing, literally. Think of it like Seinfeld, but with high school girls and more hilarity, and you've got all the bases covered. The episodes revolve around six girls and their daily life at a high school, which always ends up being random in some way.

The comic formula is hilarious, and is almost flawless. Many scenes will make you scratch your head and wonder "eh?" while simultaneously laughing, while other scenes make you laugh by repeating the same thing over and over and over and over, far past the point where you think it should have just... See full review

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An unnamed young man lives his life normally with his friends, his childhood sweetheart Tama, and the usual daily activities. He goes to school, does his homework, hangs out with his friends, and is by all means a normal teenager. But recently, he has been having terrible nightmares of an existence that seems unreal, and it all goes down hill from there...

Truly, there is not much else that can be said about the plot in detail without spoiling, and since the entire basis of Interlude is that it’s secretive, mysterious, and is designed to make you think and discuss, spoiling it... See full review

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Jing is 100% episodic. There, I said it. If you are reading this and are suddenly not interested, stop reading now and go pick up Juuni Kokki. Else, let's continue...

Jing is the world's best thief and is known for his desire to capture the most beautiful and unique treasures in the world. His pal, Kir, is a talking bird who loves the women, and follows him wherever he goes. King of Bandit Jing follows Jing and Kir as they travel to various towns and places, as they try to steal a different one-of-a-kind treasure. As mentioned, this is an episodic series. There is no central plot... See full review

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From the minds of Studio 4C comes Kimagure Robot, a set of 10 shorts that show us a variety of misadventures involving... robots! There is no plot to be found, for the most part. The only thing that links the episodes is the existence of the Doctor (who creates the robots), and his Hakase Company. Though each episode doesn’t show us the Doctor, they do show us a situation that his robots have been involved in, reminding us that no invention is perfect, to say the least. These short tales involve things like a robot defending the planet (from another robot, of course), a genie robot who grants... See full review

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First, if you'd like information on how this fits in with the movies, please check out the AniRec Database entry, and click the yellow question mark.

Silent Mobius is a gripping sci-fi cyberpunk thriller about a group of women, with their struggle to destroy the merciless beings known as the Hawk. In general, the storyline is unique and interesting, with a great deal of story that isn't revealed until later in the show.

But the part I liked about the Mobius plot the most, was how it was executed. The series starts out how it should be, alternating bits of plot... See full review

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Boys Be is a set of tales that encompass many of a group of friends in high school. With a storytelling that is very similar to Kita-he, each episode or few episodes is dedicated to explaining a new relationship or situation with one of the people of the group. The focal point is definitely Koichi and Chiharu, though... two budding lovers who will experience great joy and sadness. While each story is seperate, they all still remain interconnected through each other's friendship and companionship. This is a step away from Kita-he, where the characters are COMPLETELY seperate. The stories are... See full review

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It is true that Archetypes Forces is only 15 minutes in length, but I am not exageratting when I say that the storyline is superb. Think of it like being in the vein of Alien, or some other thriller sci-fi flick. It's difficult to say what it's about without spoiling (the description above doesn't spoil, trust me), so I'd suggest NOT reading the AnimeNFO description. I will say that there is a really big twist at the end which is open ended, but still totally satisfying (I say that as a person who HATES open ended things). Honestly, it would have been great without the twist too... lots of... See full review

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It's really hard to talk about Beyond the Clouds without spoiling (for the record, I feel NFO and AniDB both spoil in their descriptions... as they both use the same description), so I'll stick to what happens in the beginning. What's implied, but not really discussed in detail, is that Japan underwent a split after they lost the war, and Hokkaido became the land of Ezo. A great tower was also built but its purpose was unknown until decades later. In the present, however, three friends enjoy a summer together. Two of them, Hiroki and Takuya, have constructed a plane over the years... See full review

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Having seen nothing in the Saiyuki universe, I was a bit concerned I would have something major spoiled for me by watching the movie. Luckily, I was pleasantly surprised by how easy this was to watch.

Though there is no introduction to the cast of characters, the story takes place with the cast of the TV series beating up a demon that was in pursuit of a young woman. As a reward they are invited to her master's mansion, where the "fun" begins. Lurking behind the shadows, this master has some plans up his sleeve that are sinister to say the least. Without spoiling, I'll just say it... See full review