鋼の錬金術師 Hagane no Renkinjutsushi

Rating: (5/5)

Released: 2003
Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy

Plot: Edward and Alphonse Elric are two alchemist brothers searching for the legendary catalyst called the Philosopher's Stone, a powerful object which would allow them to recover their bodies (which were lost in an attempt to bring their mother back to life through alchemy). Born in the village of Risembool from the country of Amestris (アメストリス Amesutorisu), the two brothers lived there with their mother. Their father, Van Hohenheim, left home for unknown reasons and years later, their mother Trisha Elric died of a terminal illness, leaving the Elric brothers alone. After their mother's death, Edward became determined to bring her back through the use of alchemy, an advanced science in which objects can be created from raw materials. They researched Human Transmutation, a forbidden art in which one attempts to create or modify a human being. However, this attempt failed, ultimately resulting in the loss of Edward's left leg, and Alphonse's entire body. In a desperate effort to save his brother, Edward sacrificed his right arm to affix Alphonse's soul to a suit of armor. Some days later, an alchemist named Roy Mustang visited the Elric brothers, and told Edward to become a member of the State Military of the country to find a way to recover their bodies. After that, Edward's left leg and right arm were replaced with automail, a type of advanced prosthetic limb, created for him by his close family friends Winry Rockbell and her grandmother Pinako.


Main Character Descriptions:

Edward Elric - the "Fullmetal Alchemist," the youngest State Alchemist in history, is the main protagonist of the series. He and his younger brother, Alphonse Elric, scour the world in search of the Philosopher's Stone, in the hopes of restoring their bodies. Edward lost his left leg in a failed attempt to revive his mother Trisha Elric using Alchemy, and lost his right arm in exchange for attaching Alphonse's soul to a suit of armor. Edward now employs the use of metal prosthetics, known as automail, as replacement limbs. Edward harbors a sharp sensitivity to his short height; a recurring gag in both anime series and the manga is for Edward to overly react to people that call him short.

Alphonse Elric - the second protagonist of the series. The younger brother of Edward Elric, did not become a State Alchemist at the request of his brother. Together, he and Ed scour the country in search of the Philosopher's Stone in the hopes of restoring their bodies. Unlike Edward, who lost one arm and one leg in the failed attempt to revive the brothers' mother, Al lost his entire body. At the last moment, Ed sealed Al's soul in giant suit of armor, making Al almost invulnerable. Because of his size and him being a suit of armor, a running gag is that he is always mistaken as being the older brother and the Fullmetal Alchemist.

Roy Mustang - the "Flame Alchemist," holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the State Military at the start of the series, and was promoted to Brigadier General by the end of the first anime series. He aims towards becoming the next Führer of Amestris, heavily relying on the support of his loyal subordinates to propel him along that path.ch.2 Mustang would find this path interrupted by the murder of his best friend and confidant, Maes Hughes, afterwards, beginning an almost behind-the-scenes investigation into finding the true culprit.

Winry Rockbell- a childhood friend of Edward and Alphonse Elric, lives in Resembool with her grandmother, Pinako Rockbell, who raised her after the death of her parents during the Ishbal War. In the manga series, her parents were killed by Scar in a blind rage, while in the first anime, they were executed by a younger Roy Mustang under Military order. Winry is a practicing and gifted automail mechanic, following in her grandmother's footsteps, continually designing and maintaining Edward Elric's automail prosthetics. In the manga, Winry is often used as an unwitting hostage by the homunculi to ensure the Elrics' subservience to the State.

Scar - also known as the "Scarred Man" (傷の男 Kizu no Otoko), is a major supporting character in the series. A devout Ishbalan, Scar is one of the survivors of the Ishbalan Extermination Campaign. Depicted in the manga as an Ishbalan warrior priest, Scar was a capable fighter who desperately tried to save whomever he could from the State Military onslaught. However, Kimblee's enhanced alchemical attacks were too much. Scar's brother, who had been researching Amestrian Alchemy and Xingese Alkahestry in an attempt to gain power against the State, gives Scar his right arm in order to save his life

Review: I haven't come across anyone with a bad word to say about this series. It is amazingly well written, the story is deep and intricate. The characters each have their own unique backstory that ties into the over all story so well that I find myself learning something new about this series every time I watch it. If you haven't seen this series, or just haven't seen it in a while... I HIGHLY Recommend it!

Review Written by: Leanore

牙-KIBA

Rating: (5/5)

Released: 2006
Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Shounen

Plot:Kiba's main character is Zed, a 15-year-old boy who lives in a place called "Calm". Frustrated by his current situation in life he feels that somewhere out there is a place where he can live more fully. One day, at the invitation of a mysterious wind, Zed dives into a space-time crevasse (portal), seeking the answers that might be there. Riding on the wind, he is transported to a war-torn world where magic users called "Shard Casters" fight endlessly with each other, using spells in the form of marble-like "Shards".

With the power of the Shards, the Shard Casters are able to use spells and control monsters called "Spirits". Fascinated by that power, Zed aims to become a Shard Caster. However, he still doesn't know that residing in his body is "Amil Gaul", a mighty Spirit with the power to influence the world's future. Amil Gaul is one of the "Key Spirits" that, when together with the other Key Spirits, can destroy or save the world. There are a total of six Key Spirits: Amil Gaul, Pronimo, Sachira, Monardi, Jumamis and Shadin.

Zed undergoes countless trials in order to find out who he really is and what is most important to him.
Main Character Descriptions:

Zed - Zed is the 15-year-old main character and protagonist. He is an unsatisfied and unfocused boy living in Calm. One day, he finally gets his chance at a new life when a mysterious gust of wind guides him to a small space/time crevasse. It leads him to Templer, (known as Tempura in the original) a land full of "magic", crystals with strange powers called shards, and monsters called spirits.

Noah - Noah Boalia, 15 years old, is Zed's friend from Calm. He is sickly, but nevertheless insists on pursuing his goals whole heartedly. After Zed goes through the portal to Templer, Noah is eventually teleported to a militaristic land called Neotopia.

Roya - Roya is a 15-year-old girl living in Templer. She is the disciple of the elder sage Jiko, who rescued a 6-year-old Roya from Tusk. She was to be killed after it was predicted that she would kill her father, Morocco. She is one of the first people who discover Zed as he arrives in Templer, and is an old friend of Mickey.

Jiko - Jiko is a 79-year-old man, and is one of six sages of Templer. Jiko has a rather calm and wise personality, in which he regularly performs rather sagely tasks such as meditation and fishing, while equipped with a mind of void. After Zed arrives, Jiko acts as his mentor, and gives him advice on many occasions.

Robès Redondo - Robès is a princely figure living in Templer. He recently became the Shard Champion after winning the Shard Casters tournament.

Sagiri - Sagiri is the princess of the Seekers. She is very young and innocent. She has the ability to cast Shards.

Mickey - Mickey is a friend of Roya and becomes the town bread maker. He is also a shard caster, but doesn't seem to have the "nack" for it.

Review: This is one of my favorite Anime's of all time. I fell so deeply in love with the characters and the over all story that I literally found myself crying WITH them. It's got something for everyone and I highly suggest it to EVERYONE!!!!1 ^_^Review by: Leanore

鴉 -KARAS-

Rating: (5/5)

Released: 2005
Genre(s): Action, Drama, Fantasy, Sci-fi

Plot:
The main plot centers around the confrontation between Otoha and Eko. Character interactions are mainly with yōkai and mikuras. The show employs a cold open featuring a battle between two karas before the title sequence is shown. Eko kills the unnamed karas, and the expositions at the end of the fight announces Eko's plan to remake Tokyo. The story moves ahead three years, introducing Nue as he arrives in Shinjuku to free his brother from Eko's hold, and Otoha in a hospital from heavy injuries sustained in a burglary revealed in later flashback sequences. The early parts of the show proceed in a "mikura of the week" fashion as Otoha (as a karas) and Nue separately fight against Eko's minions. When the mikuras attack hospitals across the ward to locate Otoha's body, Otoha and Nue work together to kill the weasel-like Kamaitachi. The spider-like Tsuchigumo, however, abducts Otoha's Yurine and deprives him the power to turn into a karas.
After splitting up with Otoha, Nue attacks Eko's base. He ruptures the chambers holding Yurine and Eko's body, but falls into Eko's trap. Eko kills Yurine and reveals capturing Nue completes the final part of his plan. Otoha rescues his fellow burglar, Reiji (礼治) from their former yakuza gang. Yakuza reinforcements, however, kill Reiji, and Otoha kills the gang leader, his brother-father in retailiation. Homura (炎), another city's karas rescues Otoha from the remaining yakuzas. When Eko launches the last stage of his plan and ravages Tokyo with metal tentacles, Otoha ends up among human refugees in a shelter the chief of police had commissioned.
Main Character Descriptions:

Karas - the title for the city's appointed agents. Capable of transforming into automobiles and aircraft, they are suits of armor animated by human souls infused into them through Yurine's chanting of a Shinto prayer. Director Sato told his animators to enhance the Karas' dark nature by drawing their faces in shadows. Fight scenes involving Karas take place mostly in dark settings shrouded with steam or lit with spotlights. Animators touched up film frames by hand, creating an effect different from cel-shaded animation. To make the Karas more menacing, they highlighted the eyes as if light bulbs were shining through them, a technique inspired by the suitmation practice of using light bulbs for the eyes of costumes. Producer Takaya Ibira (伊平 崇耶 Ibira Takaya) explained the presence of ravens in Tokyo and the Tower of London, inspired him and Sato to model the agents of the city after them. He stated ravens are believed to be omens of good and bad in superstitions, and they always seem to be watching over the cities. This resonated with his view of the raven in the story Noah's Ark, which cursed Noah as it scouted for land. The presence of ravens all over Tokyo led Ibira to notice the same of cats and conceive the Yurines as catgirls

Yousuke Otoha - the protagonist of Karas. Yoshida wrote out Otoha as a character dark in history and actions, breaking the traditional mold of a Japanese hero. He based his idea on his observation of Shinjuku, questioning what sort of a hero a ward exuding an aura of terror and happiness would produce. He portrayed Otoha as the product of incest between his mother and his brother who is the local yakuza boss. Otoha's back-story states him as suffering from congenital insensitivity to pain which lends the character a merciless reputation as his brother's enforcer. The initial concept of Otoha was much darker, casting him as a serial killer who hunts down mikuras to retrieve his lover's body parts

Eko Hoshunin - the antagonist to Otoha. His back-story states he was the Karas of Tokyo since the Edo period. In events before the start of the show, Eko turned his back on his duties, and started a plan to revitalize the city and its yōkai. He attracted several yōkai to be his cybernetic followers and intended to subjugate the humans. An Oedipus complex forms the basis for his motive. He views Tokyo as a father figure, and his Yurine as a mother figure; and aims to supplant the city's role in this relationship. Eko was a nameless character in the initial draft and known as "Another Karas" with a different appearance, although his prosthetic left leg is retained for the final version.

The Mikura - yōkai who became Eko's minions and replaced their bodies with machinery. Its members consist of Suiko (水虎?), Wanyūdō, Tsuchigumo, Kamaitachi, and Ushi-oni. Ibira and Sato chose them to be villains, linking the act of the Karas as agents of the city killing these folklore creatures to traditional Japanese exorcism. The chimera-like Nue, however, is a tragic anti-hero who learned of Eko's plans and turned against him. Sato thought up the cybernetic angle to surprise the Japanese who perceive immaterial yōkai to lack physical threat. Creature designer Kenji Andō (安藤 賢司 Andō Kenji) adapted the yōkai designs from artist Toriyama Sekien's illustrated folklore books, Gazu Hyakki Yakō. The few yōkai with prominent roles in the show underwent greater changes. Andō drew Amefurikozō (雨降り小僧), a rain yōkai, as an anthropomorphic snail boy wearing a raincoat, and is amused viewers assume him to be a girl due to women voicing the character. Andō pictured mikuras as direct cybernetic versions of Toriyama's portrayals, and made Suiko and Nue look like robotic versions of their illustrated forms. Sato, however, was dissatisfied with two of Andō's designs, and redesigned them based on the concept behind the yōkai instead of on their appearance. Wanyūdō (the ghostly head in a flaming wheel) became a heavily armed skull-on-wheels, Tsuchigumo (the spider demon) became a mechanical spider, Suiko the Kappa became a mechanical kappa, Kamaitachi (the sickle weasel) became a humanoid with spinning razors, and Ushi-oni (the bull-headed spider) became a big-mouth, bug-eye, hungry-for-humans predator.

Review: This anime has some of the best fight scenes ever.... no joke. Thats really all I can say... they're both exciting and beautiful... I couldn't look away.

Review by: Leanore

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戦国御伽草子 犬夜叉 Sengoku Otogizōshi InuYasha

Rating: (4/5)

Released: 2000
Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Historical, Romance, Shounen, Supernatural

Plot: The story begins with a flashback to Feudal Japan, when the handsome half-demon InuYasha raids a human village to steal the Sacred Jewel of Four Souls, a magical jewel that enhances its wielder's powers and can grant a single wish. InuYasha hopes to use the gem to turn himself into a demon, but is soon stopped when Kikyo, the young miko of the village, shoots him with a sacred arrow, sealing him onto the sacred tree Goshinboku in the nearby forest. Mortally wounded, Kikyo tells her younger sister, Kaede, to burn the jewel with her body to prevent it from falling into the hands of evil.

The story then shifts to modern Tokyo, where a junior high school girl named Kagome Higurashi lives on the grounds of her family's hereditary Shinto shrine. When she goes into the well house to retrieve her cat, Buyo, a centipede demon bursts out of the enshrined Bone Eater's Well and pulls her through it.
Main Character Descriptions:

InuYasha - InuYasha is the titular character and one of the main protagonists of the series. Born to a dog demon father and human mother, InuYasha is a half-demon who initially wants to use the powers of the Shikon Jewel to become a full demon. After falling in love with Kikyo, the miko who guards the Jewel, he changes his mind and wants to become human so he can live with her, but Naraku manipulates both of them into believing they have been betrayed by one another. Kikyo is fatally wounded, but before she dies, she shoots an arrow through InuYasha to seal him onto a sacred tree. InuYasha remains in suspended animation for fifty years until Kagome Higurashi, Kikyo's reincarnation, pulls out the arrow and frees him. After the Shikon Jewel shatters, InuYasha and Kagome travel together to retrieve its shards. At first, he is hostile and uncooperative, but Kikyo's sister Kaede restrains him with a magical necklace that hurls him to the ground whenever Kagome gives the simple command word "Sit!"

Kagome Higurashi- Kagome is one of the main protagonists and the narrator of the series. Born in modern Japan as the reincarnation of the priestess Kikyo, Kagome has the Shikon Jewel unknowingly hidden inside her body until 1997, when a demon pulls her into the Bone Eater's Well and 500 years back through time. They emerge in the Feudal Era about 50 years after Kikyo's death, where the demon extracts the jewel from Kagome. When another demon seizes the jewel, Kagome shoots it with a bow and arrow,
While trying to protect the jewel using a bow and arrow, she accidentally shatters it into numerous shards that disperse throughout the country. She agrees to help find them, as she can sense the presence of nearby shards. As the series progresses, she falls in love with InuYasha, and finds herself competing with the revived Kikyo for his affections. During the search for the jewel, Kagome's own spiritual powers and archery skills continue to improve.

Myoga - Myoga is a flea demon who appears randomly and gives InuYasha information on current events, foes, and the shards of the Shikon Jewel. Assigned to protect Tetsusaiga's hiding place in the grave of InuYasha's father, he runs away when Sesshomaru comes there in search of the sword. Myoga often flees before or during a battle, which the others recognize as a sign of pending danger; his mere presence in any area is enough to determine its safety. Myoga enjoys drinking demon blood, and actually saves InuYasha's life at one point by drinking a spider demon's venom out of his blood. He can save the others in a similar manner, but often gets slapped for drinking their blood without permission.

Kaede - Kaede is Kikyo's younger sister and assists her with various tasks such as gathering herbs or holding her arrows. After Kikyo's death, Kaede becomes a miko in her own right and defends the village against demons. When Kagome arrives, Kaede recognizes her as the reincarnation of Kikyo. After Kagome frees InuYasha, Kaede puts the "Beads of Subjugation" onto him to give Kagome the power to control him with a spoken word. Kaede is highly respected by the villagers and the members of InuYasha's group, and she often advises them about demons and other spiritual anomalies. Though InuYasha is easily annoyed by her, he listens to her when necessary and doesn't hesitate to protect her from a threat.

Kikyo - Kikyo is a powerful shrine maiden, or miko, who is given the task of guarding the Shikon Jewel. She falls in love with InuYasha and considers using the jewel to turn him from a half-demon into a full human; this would cause the Shikon Jewel to vanish, allowing her to live as an ordinary woman by his side. However, Naraku disguises himself as InuYasha to attack her village, mortally wounding her. With her last strength, Kikyo shoots a charmed arrow into the real InuYasha to seal him to a sacred tree, then orders the Shikon Jewel to be burned with her on her funeral pyre. The jewel disappears and is apparently destroyed, but is reborn 500 years later in the body of Kagome Higurashi, her spiritual reincarnation.
After Kagome travels back through time and reappears fifty years after Kikyo's death, an ogress tries to pull her reincarnated soul into a clay body made with graveyard soil and Kikyo's bones and ashes. Kagome appears to suffer no permanent harm, but a small part of her soul detaches and reanimates the new body with Kikyo's memories, personality, and human appearance. Although Kikyo retains some of her old powers in this form, she remains technically "dead" and must absorb the souls of dead women in order to move. At first, she wants to vengefully drag InuYasha to hell and kill Kagome to recover the rest of her soul. However, Kikyo gradually returns to her former compassionate nature and learns that Naraku caused the real circumstances of her death. In the anime she is attacked by a reborn Naraku, who has been able to rid himself Onigumo's heart, and falls into a stream of thick miasma. During her last moments she recollects her fond memories of her and Inuyasha. Inuyasha, also having visions of Kikyo, arrives to Kikyo's broken bow and looks into the stream just in time to see a piece of cloth from her clothing fall into the stream with a soul collector. Her remainder of her soul then dissipates with a flash of light.

Miroku - Miroku is a Buddhist monk who travels the countryside performing spiritual services such as exorcisms and demon exterminations, although sometimes he deliberately falsifies these to earn comfortable rewards. Miroku can attack enemies with his holy staff and sutra scrolls, but his greatest weapon, the Wind Tunnel embedded in the palm of his hand, is also a hereditary curse originally inflicted by Naraku upon Miroku's grandfather Miyatsu. The Wind Tunnel sucks in almost anything in its path and is a powerful weapon against demons. However, it grows larger with increasing use, so that Miroku's grandfather and father were eventually consumed by their own Wind Tunnels. Miroku hopes to break the curse by killing Naraku.
Miroku first meets InuYasha by stealing the Shikon Jewel, causing them to fight one another until Kagome leaps between them. After Miroku explains his situation, InuYasha allows him to join their group as a valuable ally. Miroku's lechery is a recurrent habit, usually manifesting as shameless flattery, semi-surreptitious groping, and asking random women to bear him a child; he learned these bad habits from the monk Mushin who raised him, but he also has the more serious motive of wanting an heir to follow him if he dies without defeating Naraku.

Sango - Sango is a demon slayer who hails from a village of professional demon slayers. Naraku wipes out her entire family and village, then causes Sango to blame InuYasha and try to kill him. When the plot fails, Naraku revives Sango's little brother Kohaku, controlling him as a pawn to manipulate Sango's emotions and attack the rest of InuYasha's group. Sango seeks vengeance against Naraku, but her primary goal is to rescue Kohaku from Naraku's influence and save his life.
Of her broad repertoire of tools and tricks for fighting demons, her most powerful weapon is the Hiraikotsu, a massive boomerang made of purified demon bones. She is accompanied by the demon cat Kirara. Sango is often the victim of Miroku's lecherous tendencies and tends to slap him for it.

Shippo - Shippo is an orphaned young fox demon who attempts to steal the Shikon Jewel from Kagome and InuYasha, wanting to become stronger and avenge his father's death. Though his plan fails, Kagome and InuYasha aid him after hearing his story, and he becomes their companion for the rest of the series.
Shippo normally appears to be a young boy with certain fox-like features: his legs, feet, ears, and tail. He can shape-shift, but his other forms (such as a large pink flying balloon) are temporary and often ineffective, usually given away by his lingering fox tail. He can also create illusory duplicates of himself, as well as weak fox-fire magic and toy-based tricks such as his giant spinning top attack. Naively observant, he often directs cheeky comments to InuYasha, earning a smack on the head. InuYasha and Kagome serve as older sibling figures to Shippo. Because of his small size, Shippo often rides on Kirara or the shoulders of others. His actual age is never stated in the series; according to the official InuYasha guide by Rumiko Takahashi, his appearance is equivalent to that of a seven year old boy.

Kirara - Kirara is Sango's faithful demon-cat companion. Kirara usually appears to be a small kitten-sized feline with two tails, but can become large enough to carry several passengers (usually Sango, Miroku, and Shippo). Her full-sized form has more prominent fangs, flames around her feet and tail, and enough power to fly through the air fast enough to keep up with InuYasha's top speed.
At the end of the series after Naraku's defeat, she joins Kohaku as he trains to become a demon slayer while Sango starts her new life with Miroku and their children. The anime series suggests that she was once the companion of Midoriko, the miko who created the Shikon Jewel.

Sesshomaru - Sesshomaru is InuYasha's older half-brother. As a full-blooded demon, he is very powerful, though he too has been unable to completely defeat Naraku. Unlike most demons seen in the series, he shows no interest in possessing any of the Shikon shards, feeling confident of his own strength and seeming to find the use of the gem to enhance one's power distasteful. He is initially ruthless in dealing with InuYasha, whom he despises as a half-demon who consorts with humans, and attempts to take the sword Tetsusaiga from him.

Naraku - Naraku is the series' primary antagonist. Naraku is responsible for most of the characters' misfortunes, including the death of Kikyo, the sealing of InuYasha to the sacred tree, Miroku's curse, and the death of Sango's family. Naraku was born from the fusion of Onigumo, a crippled human bandit tended by Kikyo, and a horde of weak demons. Driven by frustrated lust for Kikyo, Onigumo made a bargain with the demons: they could eat his flesh, and the demons would combine into one entity to become part of that new body. However the resulting half-demon promptly caused Kikyo's death in an attempt to corrupt and possess the Shikon Jewel.
Naraku is driven by three goals: To become a full demon, to possess a fully-corrupted Shikon Jewel, and to possess Kikyo. The third goal is rooted in Onigumo's heart as a vital part of Naraku's body, causing an obsession with Kikyo that prevents him from killing her. He attempts to rid himself of Onigumo's heart multiple times, ultimately separating it into The Infant. With his heart freed from his obsession, he is able to later kill Kikyo. On his final death, he faintly remembered why he made the bargain in the first place and merely expressed regret at not being able to have Kikyo for his own. He then understood the true essence of peace and recovered himself from his sins.
Throughout the series, Naraku creates many subordinate beings from his own body to aid his goal of killing his opponents and reuniting the shards of the Shikon Jewel, whose corrupted form he hopes to use to gain ultimate power.

Review: This is another classic anime that I'm sure everyone knows and loves. It is one that I would consider more family friendly. It has a little something for everyone, without being overly adult, or graphic. I'm personally a huge fan and have been for a while now thanks to Adult Swim's constant need to re-run the series over and over. Review by: Leanore