The series follows the (mis)adventures of Sergeants Miyuki Kobayakawa and Natsumi Tsujimoto who work at the traffic division of the district police station in (fictional) Bokuto, (real) Sumida Ward in Tokyo. Natsumi has just transferred to the station, and after a series of initial mishaps she and Miyuki become partners and fast friends. Add to this the somewhat stoic station Chief (whose real name spells out the Japanese word for chief), grizzled detective Tokuno, ace motorcycle cop Ken Nakajima, worrywart and station snoop Yoriko, mysterious girl Aoi Futaba, crazy traffic violators, newly acquired family members, nutty bombers and costumed, mustachioed superheroes and this is a fluffy show where not a lot actually happens. I think the appeal of the series comes from the fact that in real life, the traffic division of a modern metropolitan police department would never be this exciting. Miyuki is a no-frills straight-lace officer (though she can bend the rules on occasion) who has Natsumi, with her gung-ho attitude, superhuman strength and unlimited appetite, as her foil. They really do complement each other well. But these girls are still crazy as anything, I suppose.  If it’s not Miyuki hitting the nitro boost on her heavily modified Honda Today then it’s Natsumi sticking her feet out of the car to act as an artificial brake. I’m going to talk in a bit about other aspects of the series but I have to stress that the core relationship between the girls defines the series in more ways than just their roles as partners. They go through the usual pulls and draws that friends go through and they survive the worst that life throws at them. It’s nice to see maturity beneath the fluff.

Another interesting thing, for me at least, is to view YUA through the microscope of Japan coming through its economic bubble. The first season came out in 1996-97, the second in 2001 and the latest one was shown in 2007-08, so we see Japan go through prosperity and a waning economy. Bokuto Station isn’t real but we see how technology and society change as crime and punishment morph through a decade. For most of Season One’s run of 52 episodes, the station mostly deals with speeders and drunken idiots, but occasionally things get sophisticated when a high-speed train chase has Natsumi leaping from one train to another, when Natsumi ends up in Edo-era Japan after getting a bump on the noggin, or when three cops use police-marked cars and motorbikes to injure members of the public while letting Bokuto station take the heat. Tonally speaking, Fujishima’s manga is slightly different from Junji Nishimura and Kazuhiro Furuhashi’s vision for the anime. The manga has action elements but has more slapstick parts to it. So with this many episodes and only seven volumes of the manga ever written, the show's producers have done an excellent job salvaging a show out of a limited amount of material.

The most interesting aspect of this series is the development of the characters and their relationships. From the outset, it’s blatantly obvious that Nakajima, nicknamed the "White Hawk of Bokuto" because of his success chasing down criminals, likes Miyuki, but the big dolt is so boneheaded and Miyuki is so timid that theirs is a slow-burning relationship. However, whenever one is in danger, the other leaps in action to help or avenge them. It’s pretty much a done deal, barring something major, that they’ll end up together.

Natsumi, on the other hand, has a more straightforward relationship with special lieutenant Shōji Tokairin. Tokairin and Natsumi take forever to get together with him only being introduced in the 34th episode of the season. Theirs is a more organic relationship with their abnormal strength, massive appetites, and tendency to throw themselves into danger. I’m happy to spoil things for you and say that as of the second season, they are still together despite the fact that both of them are constantly being reassigned to different places. They have fun, but they are, just like Nakajima and Miyuki, there for each other.

The third character I mentioned who goes through a change, character-wise, is Aoi. Aoi, who joins the station after the series starts, is anatomically a man but who acts, dresses and feels like a woman. Initially the girls at the station want Aoi to get changed in the men’s locker room, something Aoi doesn’t want to do, but over time as she reveals more of her personality they happily accept her as one of the girls. Aoi has a question hanging over her as to whether she likes guys or girls and the station engages in gossip as to the answer. But we get a slight answer in one episode where Aoi has to give a reply to an admirer. It’s not a conclusive answer but it’s interesting that the show’s producers run as much with Aoi’s backstory as they do.

Speaking in animation terms, the first four episodes in the season are actually OVAs so the quality is quite high. Going into the double digits on the episode count, the style and quality do fluctuate somewhat, as if there were another studio handling the animation on some weeks, but it's nothing terribly egregious. One interesting note: the dub for this series is quite good and AnimEigo did an amazing job matching their English VAs to the Japanese cast. I was very impressed.

This is the first title in the Trap Door column that is most assuredly out of print. AnimEigo announced late last year that at the end of January 2012, YUA would go out of print. At the moment, it’s relatively easy to buy copies from Amazon, Rightstuf, and AnimEigo themselves but I had difficulty in obtaining a copy of volume 11 even on eBay (I got it in the end). The reason I’m saying this is that You’re Under Arrest: Season One is a series worth investigating and possibly saving from the Trap Door. It’s fluff, sure, but at least it’s competent and a curious window into the culture in Japan in the mid 1990s.

Last thing: I’ve already selected my next title for the column, but I would like your help selecting the one after that. Is there a title that you think should not escape the trap door and is better left forgotten? Email me at phillipo [AT] anigamers.com or send me a tweet to @eeeperschoice with your suggestions. Only rules are that it can’t be too expensive to acquire and it had to be in print and licensed in North America or the UK at some point.

[00:00] Evan introduces this super-old podcast.

[01:08] Intro: "Kill Me" by Lame Drivers

[01:23] Let's meet our guests!

[01:53] The review begins with a summary of the setting and characters of Spice & Wolf, and some of our general impressions.

[11:17] We start by talking about the sly wolf goddess Holo.

[16:27] Next up is our straight-man protagonist, the trader Kraft Craft Lawrence.

[29:35] Evan gets super-angry about Nora, the shy shepherd girl.

[30:22] Season one spoilers start here.

[31:27] Evan likes to see people die. Also, more spoilers.

[37:27] Incredibly mild spoilers about the final scene in season one.

[37:24] The spoilers are over now. You can uncover your ears, you babies.

[39:16] We talk about the animation, background art, and some of the music in Spice & Wolf.

[44:09] Final thoughts

[48:08] "The awkward ending." Twitter: @AniGamers, @VamptVo, @AnimatedInk (Ink has split his accounts between poetry and anime since this podcast was recorded), and @BradleyCMeek.

[51:10] Outro: "Kill Me" by Lame Drivers

[51:37] We read food nicknames from Parks & Recreation's Tom Haverford.

"Traitor’s Keep" is all about back-story. By way of an assassination attempt, the monarch comes to learn of Ravenscar Keep (the aforementioned prison) and that it has long been used by at least the two previous rulers: the current hero's brother, Logan, and mother. Given Logan’s predisposition towards military might and his hard-line tactics towards the general populous, one can imagine what types of people he incarcerated there ... namely revolutionaries, like the present monarch (though less successful), who’ve been seething ever since their imprisonment. While touring Ravenscar, players learn of a plot betwixt three pathologically fixated inmates, each of which (gasp) constitutes a quest, and one of whom fills in some blanks about how Albion transitioned to its industrial state.

While "Understone" presented little challenge to players who had already leveled-up their character by way of completing the game, "Traitor’s Keep" introduces new enemies as well as a few variants on some favorite beasties that manage to evoke some mildly impressive battles (some of which are more inventive than tough and vice-versa). In addition to the new clockwork creatures (beetles, exploding dogs, and psychotic automatons), there are rainbow-licious hobbes, extra-hollow hollow men, and (my favorite) drunken balverines. There are humans to fight as well, and being in a prison seems to have honed their group-based fighting skills a bit.

If there’s a weakness to "Traitor’s Keep," it’s the obvious moral choices. Kudos are deserved for including them at all, but the few choices that are presented are so heavily weighted that there is absolutely no ambiguity concerning where the hero’s yea or nay would place him or her in an opinion poll...a shame given Hobson’s prominence throughout the earlier portion of the DLC. More decisions affecting the public-at-large would have been terrific, especially if they came to learn of the prison despite attempts at secrecy. That could have at least added a feeling of political pressure.

Most importantly, "Traitor’s Keep" brings the funny. Sight gags and great writing as well as Fable in-jokes found scrawled across myriad notes and letters abound throughout this DLC. Supplement all of the above with four new outfits (three collected and one given) and one robot dog (non-exploding) to call your very own, and the 560 MS points it takes to purchase this quest seems a pittance for the experience.

[Highly Recommended]

This review is based on downlodable content purchased by the reviewer.

In the future, human society has been forced underground by environmental destruction. Archeologists have now dedicated themselves to archiving and researching photos and other documentation from the surfacebound past. Photographs of a green, living earth captivate the protagonist of the story, while everyone else is questioning the necessity of the historical discovery and feel as if it is better if humanity doesn't know what it was once like. Despite his female friend encouraging him to abandon his work, the protagonist discovers an old music video that compels him to seek the truth about the human race's previous life.

My issues with the plot are largely irrelevant since the entire OAV is a technical demonstration, but as a vessel for displaying Yoshiura and the studio's animation talent it succeeds quite well. The animation is gorgeously detailed with intriguing cinematography. The aesthetic is built around, well, technology looking cool, and as such it features lots of detailed shots of wires, pulsing light towers, computer desktop screens, and related. Naturally, it is impossible not to make the obvious Serial Experiments Lain (1998) comparison with its technical, cyber-cool focus. Interesting camera angles and panning may serve as animation shortcuts at times, but are effective stylistic choices at others. Aside from the amateurish character designs, Pale Cocoon is a strong demonstration of atmospheric, technological animation.

It is easy to compare it to Makoto Shinkai's Voices of a Distant Star (2002), as both are these are short works that showcase the director's budding talent. However, since Pale Cocoon is a studio production, it features better quality animation that Shinkai's home made effort, but there is a similar spirit between the two. In fact, both manage to pull off a "Macross" by using cheesy pop music to reinforce a climactic scene. Voices of a Distant Star, however, executes a very effective character drama built around strong SF themes, whereas Pale Cocoon's plot comes off as mere structure to show off pretty graphics.

If not for the Secret Santa recommendation, I would not have even bothered to review Pale Cocoon. I see it as a piece of experimental filming, used as practice for the director's "real" debut. Reviewing it seems equal to browsing through an accomplished director's early archives and giving criticism on their practice projects. I can understand commenting on it when it was first released, but now it should be left alone and treated only as historical documentation. Where Pale Cocoon succeeds is in whetting the appetite for future projects from the director.

Despite its flaws, Pale Cocoon has attracted a surprising amount of enthusiastic viewers. With its short length and ease of access through Crunchyroll streaming, it requires no significant commitment. I believe that it also represents anime fandom's interest in good science fiction anime, and people watch it in hopes of filling a void. Thankfully, Yoshiura went on to release Time of Eve (2008) that uses even better animation with similar elements and overall vibe. Time of Eve is a strong science fiction series that has the appeal that Pale Cocoon only hints at. I would recommend skipping out on Pale Cocoon, and diving straight into Time of Eve. Pale Cocoon could then viewed as a piece of historical interest to fans interested in the director's developing ideas.

[Bad]

This review is based on the Crunchyroll stream of the series, provided by Studio Rikka.

While the overall presentation of said story is awash with harem elements, the main conflict of the story, pacifism in the midst of battle, is aptly personified via the assignment of Saber to ShirÅ. Furthermore, implications are deepened via the introduction of ShirÅ's inability, caused by his lack of study in magic, to make Saber properly materialize. Thus Emiya and Saber, respectively as magus and servant, portray two incomplete parts that leverage each other to form a whole in the hopes of competently fighting against multiple pairs of complementary wholes. This setup is rife for conflicts, and the execution does right by exploring the main theme of action vs. inaction. However, the weaving of romantic tension turns too many scenes into boring and (for the most part) inconsequential harem tropes.

That's not to say that romantic tension doesn't serve some purpose. Rather, the execution of its repeated influence only weakens the story. I'd maintain there are two instances of romantic tension aptly serving the story: that of Emiya's falling for Saber and Rin's unexplainable interest in Emiya. While the latter only serves as a reason why a fellow magus would not kill, and instead might even protect, a competitor, Emiya's falling for Saber further lends credence to why he constantly puts his life on the line for what he views as his responsibility. Really, there's an essay waiting to be written on Emiya and Saber, and that fact alone makes the anime a worthwhile watch, but other aspects deserved to be touched upon as well. Art in Fate/Stay Night is standard fare but of above average quality (budget). Really, its only fault would be the showcasing of CG alchemic circles, the animation of which seems a little too out of place. Fight scenes are well orchestrated and, for the most part, fully animated, and the overall ambience is set rather perfectly. Deep hues of night, the only time during which combat is permitted, are foreboding and bloodthirsty, while days offer a palate more complimentary to the harem walls and the associated tension break. Character designs are also quite Romantic, especially concerning the servants' attire/armor.

Writing is a tad overly dramatic, except, surprisingly, for the harem aspects. Instead, I found myself actually liking how statements by the majority of the female characters never (or rarely) said anything directly. In retrospect, I also greatly enjoyed the underlying and understated theme of regret that manifests not only within the warriors throughout the series but which also resonates as the drive behind the warriors â each a mythical figure of ancient origin.

If you have time to kill, there are far worse anime to help you pull the trigger. It's pretty, the pacing of the main plot is quick, and general subtext is nothing that requires much thought. There is even decent potential as fodder for analysis, which is surprising given the series' origin as an âerogeâ (erotic game). What I can only guess to be a successful anime translation (best to ask Elliot Page) manages to eliminate all hentai aspects, save the annoyingly omnipresent harem elements (beware the first half of the date episode!!!), and deliver an enjoyable watch akin to a more grown-up Zatch Bell (2003).

[Recommended]

This review is based on rental copies obtained via the reviewer's personal Netflix account.

How much fun you'll have, truly the value behind any game, depends on your predisposition towards high-speed, high-stakes racing and lording your own victory over the collective failures of your competitors (or the general determination to win despite the looming laughter of finish line-wading winners). Like the automobile racing game GRID, one slip-up can mean the difference between a lengthy lead and a laughable last, promoting great tension during any race. There is also a good sense of humor through the courses, be it from either the announcer's (all too repetitive) comments on whatever you’ve just collected or backgrounds featuring mighty Thor creating waves in Asgard and alien ships dominating what appears to be Willy Wonka’s version of Mars. It should also be mentioned that the graphics are good (particularly the reflections in the water and water itself), but nothing that’ll turn a mariner’s head away from an albatross.

The physics engine lends great variety to the gameplay in terms of in- and out-of-water maneuverability (both of which come in very handy) throughout not only individual levels but level types as well. All in all, there are three game modes: Race, Ring Master, and Gauntlet. Championship courses combine all or some of the former into multi-event ... events. In addition to keeping things interesting, these different modes unlock various in-game goodies, such as new boat skins, new boats, and more tracks. OK, it’s actually mostly the points earned per event that add to your bank, but the more you play on tracks with which you’re not bored, the more prizes you earn, right?

Whenever I play online (King Ink), I host all rubber ducky races, and the squeaking from the "boats" is only barely audible over everyone's laughter. Even if you only work a minimal wage job, isn't two hours worth of pay worth infinite enjoyment and adrenaline of online boat racing? You know it is!

[Recommended]

This review is based on a digital copy of the XBLA game purchased by the reviewer.

Instead of being some randomly instituted loli ratings booster, Kikuri turns out to be a poignant addition to the Hell Correspondents. More or less the embodiment of the will of their master, Kikuri's antics grow from passive-aggressive playfulness into full-blown antagonism. While there seems to be no reason to her actions in the first collection, her actions in HGTM C2 serve to spur on the vengeful to supply Ai with more work and hell with more souls. This makes Kikuri the foil to Ai’s wavering commitment to consigning souls to hell.

Speaking of which, damnation starts to get its Dante back in episode 15 but abandons it until regaining those progressive tracks of surrealistic comeuppances in episodes 19 and 21. When ironic tortures are not applied, the very ferry to hell is used to illustrate the nature of the damned. It is the return of these sequences as well as the return of stories that concern people who actually have serious problems that give more meat to these episodes than those of the first collection, but the morality and circumstantial twists lend to something greater.

Just as the strength of season one lies in the threaded plot that develops from reporter Hajime Shibata’s investigation into Hell Girl’s consignments, HGTM C2 uses Detective Meshiai’s investigation into the rash of disappearances attributed to “devil’s child” Takuma (episodes 14 and 22–26) to define its purpose. These episodes, so well done that they bring to mind The Twilight Zone’s “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street,” make HGTM C2 about Ai Enma bucking the proverbial system by standing up for one person undeservingly sentenced to hell, just as she had been sentenced to death. This parallels the first season, where Ai breaks the rules to release her pent-up fury and avenge herself through the direct descendants of the same traitorous bloodline responsible for her unwilling sacrifice and accursed death.

HGTM C2 succeeds in tying the previous collection’s seemingly flippant content into a story both poignant and well orchestrated. While its skill at enhancing supporting characters is questionable, the collection further rounds out Ai Enma and more importantly restores faith in the series’ signature bite while using it to accomplish something new. Instead of being pushed to the breaking point by hate as in the first season, the Hell Correspondents are broken by the conflict between mercy and their cursed duty. Taken by itself, HGTM C2 is a change of course for the series that seems to be tackled with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. However, this collection shows its strength by knowing how to effectively leverage similar and contrasting content from pasts both distant and recent.

[Highly Recommended]

This review is based on a Sentai Filmworks DVD set purchased by the reviewer.

Ignoring the ambiguity of said child’s presence, HGTM rolls along with the same premise instituted in the first season: people want revenge, go to a rumored website, and summon the hell correspondents to get rid of the antagonist. Unfortunately, the latter happens all too hastily and almost entirely without the surrealist imagination of the first series. Then the protagonists get a nifty tattoo to show that they are damned to hell for their decisive actions over which they’ve anguished. My main issue with season one was that the formula used in episode after episode — people pushed to the brink of sanity, upon which ledge they damn their tormentors and selves to hell — only began to be played with in terms of sequence and morality towards the very end of the series. HGTM definitely continues to play with sequencing and morality, but most of the time the attempts are gratuitous or superfluous.

This time-trickery also does something far more detrimental to the series — it takes away the building of truly tormented characters that made the first season so much fun to watch and justified viewer sympathy. Of course the reason behind not getting to know many of the episodic characters in the first 13 stories of HGTM is to showcase their unjust or frivolous use of the hell correspondents. Such are the protagonists' motivations that, in the end, most feel totally unidentifiable or unsympathetic (sometimes more sympathy is felt for the hell correspondents for having to put up with such summoners, which is more the point). Maybe this is karmic retribution for their taking more active roles in season two (CSI: Hell on Earth) versus their behind-the-scenes role as divine sword of justice from season one, but either way the hell correspondents remain flat despite their foray into the spotlight, which only serves to make their attempted breakthrough naught but arduous viewing that detracts from the vignettes which make the series.

FUNimation picked up the original Hell Girl, and its failure to pick up the second season might be saying something. It definitely says there’s no dub support — a shame given the great dub of the first season. The Japanese voice cast is fantastic though, so there are no real audio drawbacks, and the background music is as divinely chosen as ever. Also, the original season one DVD releases came with a bunch of cool extras, including some live-action Hell Girl re-imaginings, but Sentai Filmworks’ Two Mirrors discs offer only the standard trailers and opening/closing credit options, an unfortunate choice given the new direction this season is obviously taking. Would director interviews or commentary really be too much to ask?

Overall, I’d have to say this is worth checking out from Netflix or streaming. If nothing else, it highlights the merits of the original series by comparison and just might have something good going for itself somewhere further down the line.

[Recommended]

This review is based on the Sentai Filmworks DVD release of the series, purchased by the reviewer.

The extraneous elements removed from this adaptation are many in number, but none are worth mourning the loss of. The main beneficiary of this trimming is, rather surprisingly, the quieter moments in between the massive robot battles which have greater deal of clarity and impact due to the tighter writing. In particular, the fluctuating relationship between Shinji and his father is explored in a new depth, making it a much more tangible element in the storyline than simply a sterile case of “whiny brat hates his asshole dad.” One downside of this compression is that the relationships between Shinji and Rei/Asuka lose much of their subtlety. At some points the movie feels like it has switched genre to a harmless harem comedy show following a love triangle of socially useless robot pilots.

The film itself looks utterly amazing, with almost mind-wrecking detail lavished into the art and the robot models in particular. The Angel designs have had a complete overhaul and some pivotal examples have been re-worked with almost sick levels of care. The fights themselves sport amazing CG animation and are utterly engrossing in how they are presented for the most part — unlike other recent films that shall remain nameless. You can easily follow the fight and appreciate the overall tide of the battle, drawing you in. Fans of the original, who may think they know how every fight turns out, will be met by some surprising variations that keep the film feeling fresh and punish you for assuming that it is merely a remake of the original series. While the music during the quieter moments follows the previously used themes and leitmotifs from the TV show, the fight scenes have an all-new pulse-pounding score that amplifies the impact of the action to explosive levels.

It’s not without flaw though — there are times when the movie loses its way and forcibly ejects you from the experience. Most notable of these is the entirety of the first fight scene, which feels very roughly conceived and edited. You are introduced to a new character, mecha, and setting, but are never given time to absorb and appreciate what is being shown on the screen. I, for one, have no clear recollection of what the new Evangelion featured in this battle even looked like! One particular gripe, and one I assume will be fixed for the DVD/BD, is that most of the characters in this scene speak in mumbling "Engrish" at a level just barely louder than the surrounding battle.

Thankfully this poor presentation does not infect the rest of the film, but then neither does the newly introduced character. Strangely, she only appears and interacts with the principal cast twice for the entire rest of the film. While the things she does are important to the overall plot, you can’t help but feel that she was roughly shoehorned into the proceedings by an over-eager intern who would burst into meetings waving his new character design around. I imagine him saying something like:

“Duuuuuudes! You gotta include her; she has glasses and a ponytail! Plus, she has a bigger chest, so we can use her for the trademark Gainax Bounce!” At which point everyone cheered and went out for a round or five of drinks.

When they got back from having nine drinks each, the staff set to work on my personal pet peeve of the entire movie: CG people in the background of scenes. It wrenched me out of the film entirely to see tiny, stiff polygonal people from Quake 2 stuttering in the background of scenes that needed to include some humans for atmosphere. I hope they fix this for the inevitable revised version as in this theatrical version it looks just plain cheap and nasty.

These small flaws are all utterly forgotten, however, in the exuberant blur of activity that is the last 30 minutes or so. At this point the movie stops joking around and ramps every setting it can up to 11, utterly destroying any doubts you may have had festering about the film or the direction of the series overall. In remaking what was already a pivotal part of the original TV series, the creators went all out in providing a mind-blowing ending that left the cinema audience cheering through the end credits. I dare not spoil a single second of it, but I implore you not to leave your seat until after the credits are done or else you will miss the single craziest thing of the entire film, one which bodes well for the two that are to follow. I already can't wait to get my hands on the Blu-ray version so I can see it all again.

[Highly Recommended]

This review is based on a theatrical version of Evangelion 2.0 shown at the London BFI Cinema as part of its Biannual Anime Weekend. Admission and all related expenses were paid for by the reviewer.

If you were unfortunate enough to not have either an Xbox Live membership or anyone to play with on the same console or via system link, Crimson Skies: HRR campaign mode is where the fun lives (especially today, when the online games are naught but virtual ghost towns, reminders of the fun which was had in years past). Story mode lets players wear Fortune Hunter Nathan Zachary’s flight jacket and take the controls of ten inventively designed planes, loosely based off of WWII-era birds of prey, which can be used throughout the game (or any subsequent run-through). There are five and a half geographical settings (the half being allotted for Chicago's tranformation into fhe final Windy City stage), each of which contain several unique open-areas with a range of standard and optional missions. Four difficulty settings, the last of which can be unlocked after beating Hard, lend to replayability, and Ultra-Hard can give even veterans a run for their money (or force them to use the available cheat codes).

The graphics, both in cut scenes and during gameplay, are fantastic for that generation of console and still hold up today if playing on a Standard Definition TV. The sole exception to the quality is that of the somewhat jerky body movements and out-of-ratio-rendered body parts (hands in particular) in cut scenes. Furthermore, the game was not made for High Definition, but the only quality lacking is seen in the cut scenes, which are humorous and well-written but luckily not the meat of this game. Xbox 360 compatibility is a wonderful thing, but the transition was not flawless. Though far from hindering, slight visual glitches that detract from the perfection of the game’s original incarnation occur occasionally during play. If you’ve got an original Xbox, there are no problems at all.

Crimson Skies: HRR can be found for $2.99 at GameStop or EB Games that have yet to liquidate their used Xbox originals cache, or you can download it via the Xbox Live Marketplace for 1200 MS Points ($15.00). I’ve not known anyone who’s done the latter, so I’m not sure if that fixes any of the aforementioned slight visual glitches. Easy to play and challenging to master, this humorous and fun game earns a permanent spot in any action-lover's collection.

great.

While the film could hardly be said to have a tight narrative, it does follow a relatively centralized set of main characters, namely the perverted twenty-something Nishi, his busty ex-girlfriend Myon, and her sister Yan. After an incredibly strange run-in with some Yakuza thugs, the three flee the scene of the girls' father's bar, only to find themselves swallowed by a whale. Inside they meet an old man who has lived inside the whale for years.

Did I mention that this movie is a little weird?

Mind Game is beyond weird though. The director throws consistency and clarity out the window in favor of frequent cuts to unrelated still photographs or mapping of live-action faces to animated heads. In that regard, it seems like almost all of the aspects of this movie that are seen by many critics as fascinating experimental animation techniques serve as nothing more than self-indulgent artistry from Yuasa. I honestly felt that I was missing something in the experience by not being Masaaki Yuasa, as if the film was crafted for the enjoyment of its creator, not necessarily for the enjoyment of his audience.

And therein lies the rub when it comes to this movie. It is one of the unfortunate anime that works well enough as a piece of experimental art, but fails completely as a piece of entertainment. And even when only examining it as art, it seems that quite often Yuasa is throwing in unusual animation techniques simply for the sake of being unusual.

Unfortunately, the director – pulling double-duty as scriptwriter – can't even hold the narrative together while he weaves live-action and animation into the pastiche that is Mind Game. Besides the horridly cliché ending, the character development also disappoints, as it seems to only occur in short bursts. For example, Nishi inexplicably stands up halfway through the movie and waxes poetic about the meaning of his life. (With the strong visual focus of Mind Game, one would think that Yuasa knows better than to weigh the film down with exposition.) On the bright side, some of the non-sequitur humor – especially a particular scene with a "God" who changes shape every shot – is actually pretty entertaining, though it is, like everything else in this movie, rather odd.

Naturally, there are some viewers who enjoy the insane plot and frenetic animation of 4°C's experimental works, but Mind Game often feels like some sort of exclusive club whose only member is its own creator. Do yourself a favor and pass on this exhausting, confusing experiment.

mediocre.

Yeah, there are a lot of bubbles in this movie.

The voice acting here is superb. No review would do it justice, so here’s a paragraph fan-gushing. Tiny Fey lends a very cool mom voice to possibly the most casual mom in anime history, Lisa. It’s a very natural and I'm honestly surprised to hea such a brilliant comic actress play such a meaningful role. Lisa and Sosuke are always living in close proximity to each other, waiting for Sosuke’s father to get home from his boating job. Night after night, they are let down. There are great moments of Lisa mom-raging, rejecting her husband, then turning the coin and cuddling with her son to make them both feel better. Liam Neeson play Ponyo’s father, Fujimoto, a wild red-headed magician whose sunken cheeks and blush make him look like a dehydrated drag queen. Not to say that Qui Gon Jin can’t play a dehydrated drag queen! Cate Blanchett plays the Sea Goddess (of course), and her deep voice rolls so well off the character’s lips it’s hard to call this movie a dubbing job. Yes, Disney did cast Miley Cyrus’ sister and a Jonas brother to play the leads, but to be honest they carry the movie beautifully.

Miyazaki has his standard “humans mucking up nature” theme early in the movie, but oddly enough it dampers out quickly since Ponyo is the character who ends up accidentally endangering the world, and only Sosuke’s love can set nature back in balance. The true moral is spoken by the mother and repeated by Sosuke: “We never judge someone by their looks.” Sorry, sleep-deprived sea wizard, will you still be my friend even though you hate humanity?

All Miyazaki preset notions and critiques set aside, Ponyo is simple, colorful, and very reassuring about the loss and (more importantly, the creation) of friendship and setting your own course in the sea of life.

great.

The single player campaign of Halo Wars is very much like any other RTS campaign; it slowly brings you through the learning curve by showing you how to control units and build bases until you have to fight off wave after wave of unrelenting enemy forces towards the end of your campaign.

The story is a prequel to the events of Halo: Combat Evolved and takes place six years after the fall of the planet Harvest. Many familiar themes come into play; the Prophets stop at nothing to continue the great journey, you go toe-to-toe with Grunts, Elites, Hunters, Jackals, Brutes, and many familiar vehicles, as well as some new ones, and you have to blow up some forerunner technology to save everyone's lives.

The gameplay within the storyline is slightly different from multiplayer or skirmish matches. For one thing, there are some campaign-exclusive units that effectively change battle scenarios throughout the campaign. They usually give you an unfair edge over the enemy and make some missions a cakewalk if you're playing on the "normal" difficulty level. On top of that, in some missions you're given ridiculous amounts of something, like 11 Spartans as opposed to the maximum 3 in multiplayer, 40 Mass Accelerated Cannon rounds, or free drops of fully-upgraded ODSTs.

The hero system within the campaign is different as well, marking Spartans as hero units, as well as your leader. When any of your heroes die, you can revive them as in Age of Empires III by bringing a friendly unit close to them. In the other game modes, heroes just die and they have to be resurrected, and as a balancing issue, UNSC leaders do not actually enter the battle yet act more like the governors in the AOEIII system.

The game's graphics are the best I have ever seen in an RTS. It includes incredibly detailed, slightly different renditions of the characters of Halo to take time difference into account. The sounds within the game are ripped directly from the Halo series, and their quality has been improved to allow for sound cues within battles.

Playing online is incredibly entertaining because each of the six leaders has a different way of playing the game, therefore making an effective six races. Because the game is not as strict as other RTS games such as StarCraft, no two players can play the game the same way. The limitation of how many buildings one can create force a player to specialize in one aspect and utilize it to its full effectiveness.

Ensemble claims that there is a rock-paper-scissors type balancing within the game, but I found that to not be completely true. The game's unique style of play puts strategy over production, and in a battle of ODSTs versus Grizzly tanks (Scorpion tanks with two cannons) a good commander on the ODST side has about as much of a chance of winning as the commander of the Grizzlies.

The largest drawback to playing online isn't caused as much by the game as by player mentality. When I first got Halo Wars, I ran through the tutorial levels, fought some skirmish battles, played online, then played through campaign mode. The average player, however, would play the campaign before they would play online. Because the campaign only covers the UNSC, about two in every three members of the online community play as the UNSC. Regardless, battles still turn out interesting with every player having their own unique strategy, making every battle different.

Overall, Halo Wars is a great game, earning most of that greatness through its uniqueness. Being a veteran of many RTS games, I can comfortably call this one of the simplest – but simultaneously one of the most fun – games I've played. I wouldn't recommend buying it if you don't have access to LIVE, but the skulls and achievements allow for a lot of replay value, as does the ability to create your own scenarios through the skirmish option. Even with LIVE, the $60 price tag seems a little steep, but due to its addictiveness, Halo Wars is definitely too valuable to rent. Chances are, the price won't drop because it is part of the Halo franchise, so do a few odd jobs and the game will pay for itself.

great.

In season two, we turn our attention to the Seven Stars, a team of untouchably powerful shikabane who seek the utter destruction of the Kougon Sect and their shikabane hime. With a clear central villain and a clear conflict of interests between central characters, you would think the story has plenty of steam to keep this freight train on the move.

Then the middle of the series comes, and with it the mid-season-two-drag. We fall into the shallow grave of flashbacks, recaps and tertiary character development, but only to emerge stronger than ever.

Somehow during the transition of acquiring Ouri as her new contractor monk, Makina has developed a curse, a super-power that gives her unlimited regeneration at the cost of shortening Ouri’s life. This twist is more for dramatic effect then an actual plot point, as she continues her regular Shikabane Hime duties of monster-mashing and self-loathing. Although it does lend itself to some pretty impressive fight sequences.

Some support characters are developed for the sake of cautionary tales between Ouri and Makina, while some new characters are introduced for the sake of fan-service. Not to say that Shikabane Hime loses any of its dark, morbid charm. Most of the fights leading up to the final conflict with the Seven Stars are downright cruel to viewers. Bravo. All that was lacking was development on the Seven Stars: a majority of them are not given memorable names or even discernible powers. Come on guys, you had 25 episodes! At least give me a back story!

Eventually, the Seven Stars and Akasha, the “traitor monk,” get their acts together and start causing mayhem on a grand scale. By using their young leader, a seemingly brain-dead girl named Hokuto, the Stars wreak Left 4 Dead-style havoc on Tokyo. The potential for mass-slaughter is ignored for a handful of “I’m-gonna-follow-my-path-no-matter-what” speeches, but I can overlook them.

The series caps out at twenty-five episodes, and while the plot does not resolve entirely, the characters’ resolve is set in stone, and we leave the series with a satisfying acceptance of life over a peculiar fascination with death, and the changing of the guard - the passing of the torch - is complete.

A huge part of Shikabane Hime’s appeal was its convenience. Using Hulu, I was able to watch the entire series at my leisure with about a minute of commercial interruption. Other than the obvious mid-season-two-slump, Shikabane Hime delivers and pushes its characters to develop their motivations, not just their powers. (Something Bleach might want to take note of.)

good.

The problem is that Snake (not the most flattering name ever) wants to turn the entire city into an amusement park, while most of the inhabitants (including Black and White) aren't very keen on this idea. So begins a sprawling story wherein Black and White fight to survive (and keep each other alive), and friends from the Yakuza and police force work to keep the boys out of the reach of Snake and his superpowered henchmen.

Having no experience with Matsumoto's manga, I can't really speak to the accuracy of the film's screenplay, but I can say that this is a truly unusual story. Sometimes it feels like a children's story, with White showing the virtues of a pure heart and imagination, but then it will launch into vicious bloody fight scenes in which Black jumps all over his enemies, clawing like an animal and battering them with his trademark metal pole. It is in this dichotomy, however, that the film really shows its merits. At one point, White comments to a police friend, "God made me broken. Black too. But I gots all the screws that Black needs. I gots every one!" Like yin and yang, these two brothers desperately need each other, and it is this need that forms the strong backbone of the film.

Outside of that backbone are fascinating characters like Kimura, a Yakuza man with a soft spot for Black who, in an attempt to save his wife and kids from Snake's wrath, helps the slimy man with his nefarious plans. Kimura's painful grapples with love, truth, loyalty, and morality are real, emotional, heart-breaking experiences. Tekkon Kinkreet is a tragedy in the truest sense. It is about innocence lost and families torn asunder. Sometimes there are redemptions, but more often than not, characters meet violent, tragic ends.

Director Michael Arias got his chance to work on this movie after working in the 3D animation industry for years, and his experience really shows. There are sequences in which a 2D scene will suddenly swivel in a continuous 180 degrees, creating a somewhat unnecessary (but no less impressive) shot that has rarely – if ever – been attempted in anime. The character designs are an interesting combination of Matsumoto's originals and Studio 4°C's distinctive style, but they're definitely an acquired taste with their small eyes and mouths. On the other hand, no character movement is spared by the animators at 4°C, who have – successfully – endeavored to make this "one of those movies" that makes up for its deficiencies with an artistic tour de force.

Said tour de force only becomes a problem when it causes the team of director Michael Arias and scriptwriter Anthony Weintraub to spend nearly twenty minutes on a surreal scene filled with watercolors, highly-dynamic art, and tons of weird symbolism. It's an unfortunate, excessive ego-trip of a scene that is unfit for this movie and should have been nixed altogether. The only other big problem is that the film is simply too long. Perhaps this was due to Arias being a fan of the manga, since it seems like he tried to cram too much into one movie. A bit of the Peter Jackson effect, albeit without the Best Picture Oscar.

All in all, I recommend Tekkon Kinkreet to most anime fans despite its flaws, if only because it is the first Japanese-produced anime to be directed by an American. Most viewers will come into this film for the beautiful animation, but the real meat lies in the characters: Black and White are reminiscent of Seita and Setsuko of Grave of the Fireflies in their tragic interdependence, and Kimura is a brilliantly-crafted side-character. This film shows, side-by-side, both Black and White, 2D and 3D, children and adults. Like Yin and Yang, Tekkon Kinkreet maintains balance in all things.

good.

How does voice acting differ from traditional acting?

I mean, voice acting is different because you have a lot less to work with in order to communicate something that the character is trying to communicate. If it's an emotion or a thought, you have your voice as opposed to using your whole body or your face. So you're in a sound booth and you're just implementing what you can do with your voice to emit those feelings.

You've been playing some of the early builds of Velvet Assassin here at Comic Con. How does it feel to play as yourself in a video game?

It's really strange actually, because I'll hear myself and for some reason it doesn't sound like me. I mean first off, it's a British accent and I'm American, so I obviously had to put some work into being able to do that properly. And since I haven't spoken in a British accent in so many months since I've done the recording, it seems almost like its someone else, but at the same time it's me. It's all very strange – but kind of cool, too, and I really like playing the game. I just wish I was better at it.

Do you play video games at all yourself, or is it strictly business?

Honestly, I used to play video games when I was a teenager, but I don't play as much now - it's mainly a time thing. But it's been really cool being involved with Velvet Assassin. It's rekindled my interest in the gaming world.

Do you have any plans for more video game roles in the future?

Yeah, I mean, whatever comes along. I think it's definitely a market that's going to be huge. It's up and coming and people are using video games as a medium in a lot of different ways. I think it's extremely fascinating to be involved in that.

On that note, right now video game acting isn't really its own distinct profession, and often gaming roles are filled by stage and film actors. Do you think that as video games struggle to be accepted as an art form, video game acting can separate itself from stage and film as a distinct art?

Yeah, I mean it's very different. Obviously, video games are animated, so as an actor, there aren't really that many things you can do besides doing voice work and motion capture work and that kind of stuff. I think it's really cool when they mix live-action stuff with parts from the game, so you can get a little bit of both. But I feel that a lot of hardcore gamers don't like that. They like it to be purely animated, purely video game.

What has been your favorite experience in working on Velvet Assassin?

Well, the traveling has been great. I was fortunate enough to go to Germany with Velvet Assassin for a convention in Germany and to Seattle and now obviously to Comic Con. So that's been really exciting, just meeting all these people. It's this enthusiasm about games and people showing up in these crazy costumes. I'm not generally exposed to that world at all.

For the benefit of the readers: She showed up in a crazy costume too, but then again that's her job.

Yeah, that's right. It's funny because when I walk to the convention, I wear the costume, and I know that people are looking at me and thinking, "Oh God she's one of those gaming people!" [laughs]

And finally, what tips would you give to aspiring video game voice actors?

Oh, what tips would I give? Don't give up, in anything you do really. And yeah, if you want to do it, then stick to it, and it'll happen sooner or later.

Thank you very much for your time Ms. Cohen. Best of luck with the release of Velvet Assassin this April.

Thank you very much.

EDIT: I accidentally wrote March as the game's release date instead of April. Sorry.

While Velvet Assassin might be classified as a stealth action title, it is all about stealth over action. According to SouthPeak rep Aubrey Norris, the two things to remember while playing the game are "kill everybody, and don't get seen." She wasn't kidding either – Most of the game is spent crouching in the shadows, waiting for a soldier to walk past so that you can kill him. Much like Metal Gear Solid, every area is a puzzle, with soldiers walking along set patrols and obstacles set up to hamper your ability to get past. It makes for some really interesting gameplay as Violette shuts off lights, hides behind cover, and attempts to creep silently over floors coated with broken glass.

When Violette finally stands behind an enemy, you can kill him with a single button press, which will generate one of thirty-six distinct assassination animations. The one that gets used is determined by what weapon Violette is carrying, where she is standing relative to the enemy, and a variety of other factors. The screen turns red as Violette is about to kill her victims, adding an even greater level of tension to the already nail-bitingly tense assassination scenes. Violette's missions range from assassinating Nazi leaders to blowing up bunkers to killing Allied spies before they can give away information, but a lot of what I played was simple room-by-room assassinations. (Think Metal Gear Solid) I could see Velvet Assassin facing the same problem as Assassin's Creed, wherein there are so many assassinations that they become tedious chores, despite how well-designed they are.

For the packrat gamers, there are "collectibles" scattered throughout all of the levels, but instead of being meaningless trinkets, each and every one is an object based directly off of artifacts from Nazi-era Germany. These include things like medals and even letters from German soldiers to their families. Nearly everything in this game, from the weapons to the hairstyles, was heavily researched by the developers at Replay Studios.

One of the more unusual additions to the game is something called morphine. Violette has the ability to use it while telling her story, causing the game world to turn into a psychedelic, flowery dream, slowing everything down so that the now-nightgown-clad Violette can sneak past enemies. This powerful ability can be recharged with morphine syringes found around the levels, and it sometimes must be used to pass obstacles. The morphine is the only part that diminishes the game's realism, since the weird dream sequences are actually a fully-required gameplay element, rather than an optional crutch for players in need of help.

All in all, though, Velvet Assassin is shaping up to be an interesting game. Its take on World War II is quite unique, as it is simultaneously tackling the idea of a female main character and the concept of the battle "behind the front lines." The game looks beautiful, and the stealth gameplay has its share of nerve-wracking moments. Fans of Assassin's Creed and Metal Gear Solid who are looking for a title a little bit more grounded in reality: Don't let Velvet Assassin sneak under your radar.

Gainax flexes their muscles with the opening animation, whipping zombie arms and bullet casings like they were party-poppers at a New Year’s party. The fluid animation paired with the distorted close-up angles bears the proud badge of the studio that gave us Evangelion. Shikabane Hime tones down most of its colors to create the eerie atmosphere we’ve come to associate with modern Gothic stories. It’s dark, almost macabre coloration reminded me of Blood+ (though without the whiny characters). It is strange how the camera holds Makina in frame: her ice-cold beauty and violent passion is quite hot. Almost all of the backgrounds and scenery are unmistakably grim however, due to the lack of any major light source.

Sadly, at times the overbearingly grim tones leads to flat, professional supporting characters that do not elicit much sympathy. Even so, director Masahiko Murata tries to interject slapstick humor and innuendo comedic relief... to no avail. If anything, the jokes are so forced and out-of-place they distract from the task at hand: shooting up zombies. Still, I’d hate to think of how dull this series would be without Keisei’s closeted otaku-tendencies.

Gainax’s staff brought out their big guns in letting Shou Aikawa handle the script. His ear for corrupted morality can be heard in the Fullmetal Alchemist movie, Rahxephon, Wrath of the Ninja, and the OVA of Vampire Princess Miyu. In short, a very experienced man with one foot firmly planted in the realm of the fantastic.

Beyond the gripping stories of people resurrecting as powerful monsters only to be mowed down, I was most invested in the political struggle of the monks’ hierarchy. Indeed, the tethering of "shikabane hime" (corpse princesses) to fight off monsters is a no-win situation of fighting fire with fire – and boy do they use fire. Makina’s firearms are a beautiful, bouncing pair of... Uzis. Another corpse princess fights with her fists, another with a big-ass hammer, and another with a sniper rifle. This team of living corpses perpetually argues among themselves and with their contracted monks, leading to a more fitting, subtle (though definitely black) humor.

As the story exhumes the mysteries surrounding Makina’s death and Keisei’s involvement with the Kougon Sect, it is clear that Ouri’s involvement with the hime will only pull him deeper. I will not spoil the end of the first season, but I will remind you to stay tuned to FUNimation’s YouTube channel, as Shikabane Hime: Kuro, or season two, is already in post-production and ready to launch here in America. It turns out that Gainax is keeping themselves quite busy between this production and both the Gurren Lagann movies. They're clearly not going to let Studio BONES have all the fun.

Shikabane Hime is an all-around decent action piece that dictates a black-and-white argument on using monsters to blow away other monsters. Nothing ground-breaking, but much better than your run-of-the-mill zombie film.

fair.

Finally, Nintendo fanboys should keep in mind that these guys are not, in fact, Retro Studios, so there's no Nintendo console exclusivity. Mark Pacini points it out nicely: "What really gets me going is that now, no platform is off limits. That is just something we didn't have the ability to do before." Are you ready Xbox 360 and PS3 gamers? You're about to get your socks knocked off by the developers of one of the best console franchises ever.

Keep your browsers locked at Ani-Gamers for Armature's first game title announcement.

Story-wise, Gotham Knight is vaguely slapped together as a whole, and the story thread gets thinner and thinner as it goes along. Visually it’s like a gothic jaw-breaker, each background getting better and better. It’s a double-edged bat-a-rang choice between style and substance, and we can clearly see which one came out on top. By the end, Gotham City becomes its own ominous character, engulfing every shot and looming like the ghost of a filthy Post-Depression slum.

Six writers in America gave six directors in Japan the option to show the Dark Knight and his mysterious, dark environment from every conceivable angle, like staring at a carved diamond from every cut. The result is six heavily stylized takes on Batman that fail to tell a solid story. It is not directly anime, nor is it directly Batman: Dark Knight; it’s a hybrid that runs the risk of injuring Batman fans against anime.

Our first story, directed by Shoujirou Nishimi (of Tekkon Kinkreet), is a tribute to the animated series episode "Legends of the Dark Knight," in which four skate-boarding Gotham teens share their stories and views of Batman as he chases down a tech-driven thug. Mecha-bat, Man-bat and vampire-Batman all come together in this mélange. The characters, with their Nishimi trade-marked shifty faces and tiny eyes, almost clash completely with the background.

Secondly there is “Cross-fire,” in which two detectives (fan boys hush) are brought to trust Batman after they are caught in the midst of a gang war cross-fire. Style-wise, Futoshi Higashide presents a world that would work beautifully for Hellboy or Hellsing, but it makes Batman a tad satanic. He walks through fire! The burning kind! That defines badass!

Thirdly the director of the .hack// series (Horioshi Morioka) gives us a nearly shojo-style pretty-boy of Bruce Wayne as he prepares to test a new bullet-deflection system on some thugs. For me, this was the first redeeming chapter of the story as we not only see Bruce Wayne’s side of Batman, but also the driving sympathy and unexpected compassion that defines the Dark Knight.

Part four was written by Batman: Beyond and Dark Knight writer David S Goyer. Visually, we travel with Batman into the underground hollows beneath Gotham City to fight Killer Croc and the Scarecrow. If this were expanded into the whole movie, I would be one pleased little otaku. Batman becomes something fantastic here as his tech and classic vanishing act take the cake and overshadow the Scarecrow’s new, Gothic Frankenstein costume. If anything, it blends horror with urban mythology into a great visual piece.

"Working Through Pain" shows Bruce Wayne training in India (that’s right, India: deal with it) through a series of flashbacks. In this part, a wounded Batman performs self-surgery on himself as he tries to navigate his way out Gotham’s deadly sewers. As a stand-alone piece, this is magnificent. The writing combined with relatively unknown director Toshiyuki Kubooka creates great film transitions and symbolism. Bravo. Pain and rejection are the guiding forces in this story, the spiritual side of Wayne’s journey in becoming Batman. Huge parallels are drawn between Bruce’s personal rejection and his lady trainer’s social rejection. The scene where Batman wades through garbage and finds a pile of guns is shocking and full of pathos. It’s simple, but "Working Through Pain" is both human and compelling.

Finally, "Deadshot" is about Batman taking down a villainous assassin who (for this very anti-gun piece) is the perfect villain. Arrogant, merciless, and more pro-gun than Charlton Heston, Deadshot’s story is far too short for this fifteen minute visual masterpiece. Sadly, story-wise, it is simply Golgo 13 getting sucker-punched by Batman.

In the end, we see every side of Batman. World’s greatest detective, billionaire playboy, tech wizard, dark angel of mercy, self-driven philanthropist, and vigilante – they all come through in this piece. I fail to see this as an over-budgeted failure on Warner Bros. part, even considering the severe downplay on the Japanese directors. (Show some love, WB!) I guess you could say that too many cooks over-spiced the soup and abandoned the chance to tell one solid story. Instead we leap through time and places in Batman’s career.

The voice acting is top-notch, and you'd have my permission to go full-out Itachi on me for not mentioning the great work (as always) by veteran voice-actor, Kevin Conroy. He syncs up well with the Japanese lip-action and delivers yet another spine-tingling performance as the Dark Knight.

Animation:		4.0		Average: (3.0 stars)
Plot:		1.5
Voice Acting:		4.0
Sound:		3.0
Overall:		2.5

To sum up the setting: near the end of what feels like the Middle Ages, the Church's influence is rapidly spreading, eliminating the Pagan traditions of old and controlling the flow of money. A young but wise merchant named Lawrence discovers a girl with a tail and wolf ears sleeping in the back of his wagon: Horo. After a series of deals are struck, the pair set off to bring good luck to Lawrence's business and return Horo to the forests of the North. Political, romantic and economic drama is set in place, especially since the Church's influence lurks in every town they visit, threatening Lawerence's reputation and Horo's life.

Yet somehow, IMAGIN Studio decided that feudalism economics and bartering deserved an anime. Economics aren't just an aspect of the plot: they are the plot. Oh well, the script is excellent, so it's bound to make economics interesting, right? …Right?!

No, actually. Not at all, in fact.

When you hear dark, ominous chords in an anime's soundtrack, you expect to hear a line like, "they've taken your daughter hostage." In Spice and Wolf, the ominous soundtrack is followed by something like, "The guild has recounted their interest to profit from the recession?! But my stock will decrease in value!"

Now, I am a huge fan of anime that goes against the grain, so I won't dismiss Spice and Wolf just because it went way over my head. Like I said before, the animation is fluid and graceful, and Lawrence and Horo are very believable characters that play a subtle power struggle. Between Lawrence's level-headedness and Horo's carefree nature, they make a very charming couple. The soundtrack will surely earn its place as containing the most Renaissance Faire-friendly sounds in anime history.

If you can stomach entire episodes of Economics 101 and gradual, snail-paced character development, then give it a view. Just expect a cliff-hanger ending, because the 13-episode season hasn't covered the entirety of the original novel.

Animation:		3.5		Average: (2.0 stars)
Plot:		1.5
Voice Acting:		NR
Sound:		2.5
Overall:		2.5