What a way to start off the new year! Ergo Proxy is a blast in every way imaginable. A cyberpunk suspense thriller with a unique storyline that will leave you hanging off the edge of your seat, it's also a mind-blower visually. A stunning blend of 2D digital cel-animation, 3D computer graphics, and special digital effects, Ergo Proxy looks like nothing that has come before (with the possible exception of Blood - The Last Vampire).
In a world where humans and androids (known as autoraves), live in relative peace, there exists a domed city named "Romdeau", a paradise where feelings are literally discarded, and the governing council dictates the way of life the citizens should live. Read More...
Below: The opening title scene from Ergo Proxy just looks amazing!
"Gantz" is the ultimate reality TV game-show, except for the fact that you're already dead.
A teenager named Kei Kurono dies in a train accident attempting to rescue a homeless man and becomes part of a semi-posthumous "game" in which he and several other people who have recently died are forced to hunt down and kill aliens - the missions in which they take place are often dangerous, and very few members of the team survive (only to be replaced by others who have recently died). If you are killed by the aliens, you die forever, but, if you manage to "win" and score 100 points, you may be set free, able to return to your previous life (with all traces of Gantz wiped from your memory). Read More...
Elemental Gelade is like a mix between A Little Snow Fairy Sugar and Nausicaa, danger and lots of explosions but love and sweetness as well. Elemental Gelade may not wow you with it's visuals or even with it's storyline at first but it will grow on you. Blundering sky pirate Cou finds the mother of all treasures in the form of the lovely Ren, a member of an ancient race called Edel Raids, much desired for their magical powers. When Cou agrees to protect Ren on her journey to a mystical garden, the pair must fend off fleets of enemies that want Ren for themselves. After all, her powers can be a destructive weapon if they fall into the wrong hands. Read More...
Ok, if you can't deal with Brokeback Mountain as being JUST a love story then read no further. You are not open minded enough for this anime.
If you like boy-boy love stories or if you are curious like me, check out manga-based Kizuna. The story simply draws you in and you fall in love with the characters. It all starts when Ranmaru and Enjoji were in high school. Both of them joined the kendo club and became best friends.
After an "accident", Ranmaru was paralyzed for a while and both discovered their love for one another. Enjoji gives up kendo in support of Ranmaru and they both move in together during their college days. Read More...
If you've ever wanted to be a part of the Japanese Mafia (without having to lose a pinky in the process), then this may be the easiest way into the fold. Yakuza is a Japanese gangster story with a uniquely cultural outlook and a zen-simple but highly enjoyable gameplay mechanic. If storytelling and character development mean as much to you as framerate and polygon counts, then this excellent and engrossing title is definitely in your league.
Sega has crafted a game for the PS2 that for once, uses an actual published author — Hase Seishu, a well-known Japanese crime novelist, has written a stirring tale dripping with a Japanese aesthetic. Read More...
The secret, silent, invisible, deadly assasin — the Ninja is perhaps the most revered of all Feudal-era Japanese archetypes, and yet, at the same time, the most misunderstood. Overhyped by Hollywood, ninjas have been perceived as having almost mystical, supernatural powers. Read More...
As fans of the wonderful art and incredible creativity of Dan DeCarlo, we *love* Josie and The Pussycats (which is a precursur to all anime — consider that it's a trio of shapely animated women in skin-tight cat outfits — how "anime" is that?), anime as we know it owes a huge debt to all the Archie Comics (Rumiko Takahashi's smash hit "Urusei Yatsura" is really just the Archies with a space-princess twist) in general, but Josie and the Pussycats holds a special place in all our hearts because it's just so bizarre and risqué. Read More...
A Japanese anime soundtrack as good as this one should not be missed. Plenty of piano scores that will keep you reliving the moments from the Someday's Dreamers series. The scores are a perfect blend to the series. A must buy item for someone who loves a serene and uplifting musical score. It's not just any classical music soundtrack, but it's more than a normal one too. Read More...
