Code Geass season two: The sacrifices for an ideal world

To tell the honest truth, I didn't expect much from "Code Geass" when I first started. There's no way anyone can ever believe a story about a teenage brat who wanted to destroy the fictional country of Brittannia.

I was dead wrong. Code Geass is a virulent vision of destruction and mayhem, all for a much greater good. As illogical as the show turns out, no one can deny its brilliance.

The second season, R2, begins as an awkward slice-of-life story with the main character, Lelouche Lamperouge. He apparently lost all his memory of everything that happened in season one. He doesn't remember his rebel army, the Black Knights. He doesn't remember C.C. or anything about his Code Geass. And for some reason, he has a little brother following him around, named Rolo.

Although the environment drastically changed, the Black Knights still manage to remind Lelouch of his original mission. With the help of the immortal girl named C.C., Lelouch regains his memory and his ability to use the power of Geass. He has the ability to command people to do whatever he wants, by using the Geass power in his eye.

I had a couple gripes about the story as it meandered through a cast of new characters. For instance, the show almost spent too much time at a boring party with Brittannian nobles and a frightened Chinese princess.

Thankfully, the director has a keen way of keeping people interested, even when the anime plods through dull side stories. By the time people reach episode 14, they'll understand that this piece of animation is a frightening masterpiece.

We weren't meant to really hate Lelouch. No one can deny that he's an egocentric villain, but even when he kills all his best friends, he never does it intentionally. He always tried his best to keep them away from his megalomaniac complex.

I admit that the last few episodes are almost bombastic to the point of disbelief. No one would really wish to reduce the world into an intercontinental war of improbable proportions. Still, this show wasn't meant to turn into a satirical comedy. It was meant to reveal all the hypocritical qualities of the shonen anime in its rawest form. Although it plays out like a big, delusional fantasy devised by some otaku nut, it truly defies the philosophical boundaries of anime.

The intellectual battles in season two take on a much shrewder persona than in the previous season. Lelouch battles against selfish, obstinate dictators who wish to keep the people of the world stuck in the past or the present. For some reason, they all intend to create a worldwide apocalypse as part of their master plan.

Thankfully, Lelouch has better plans. He wants to turn the world into a safe place for everyone to live. He lives up to this promise, even to the very end.

Unfortunately, I can't tell anyone whether he's really honest about his intentions. I will say that this anime will always keep people on their toes. No one could ever anticipate this show's crafty ending. I'm still amazed that the director, Goro Taniguchi, had the brains and the drive to create such a wonderful cast of characters.

It's an understatement to say that this is one of the most important anime shows of our time. "Code Geass" is an epic that we deserve to revile and rejoice in. It's possibly the most volatile thing I've ever seen and it's a fantastic piece of art.

Director Goro Taniguchi will probably never create a better anime than this one, but I don't mind. This show is nearly impossible to top, in its scope of haywire chaos and demolition. If you've got the guts, watch every episode of this anime. You absolutely won't regret any second of it.

You'll probably cringe a lot though. This show has tons of explosions.

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Anime Slipstream: A magnificent anime blend of epic proportions

I don't often say this, but "Xam'd: Lost Memories" is possibly the greatest new anime known to man.

"Xam'd" is easily one of the most beautiful robot action shows I've ever seen. Anime fans can easily attribute the show's success to Bones, the anime studio who worked on this series. The director also worked on a well-received series, known as "Eureka Seven". This show turned a love story between two teenagers into a strong message of protecting the environment.

The new show, "Xam'd", is a wonderful marriage between the visuals of "Eureka Seven" and a Hayao Miyazaki film. Both sport an urgent message to protect the environment. Both feature violent robots. Both pieces of animation are truly inspirational.

At first, the series follows the ordinary life of a high school boy named Akiyuki. The show covers his day-to-day routine with his parents, both divorced. After following a hectic schedule, he arrives just in time to meet his friends, Haru and Furuichi. Together, they board a school bus for the class field trip to Sentan Island.

As he is about to board the bus, Akiyuki notices that a shy young girl in rags is in line to get on. He manages to trick a police officer into giving this girl permission to board. Once he leaves the bus, though, his life takes a sudden turn for the worse.

The girl is actually a suicide bomber who detonates herself in the bus. After a devastating explosion, Akiyuki tries to talk to the dying girl, whose belly is bleeding with green liquid. The youngster apologizes before implanting a gem inside his forehead. The gem transforms Akiyuki's entire body into a white robot monster.

The next episode is a sheer masterpiece of otherworldly proportions. Akiyuki's best friend, Haru, desperately tries to help her mutated friend as he defeats another gigantic cyborg creature who dropped down from the sky.

Although Akiyuki is still tormented, he still recognizes Haru as the only friend who remembers him. A mysterious young woman also flies in to calm Akiyuki and to help bring him back to his human form.

Haru collapses out of exhaustion, as the woman takes the boy away. It's such a surreal scene. Yet, the animation is so fluid and smooth that we can't help but believe in it.

This show is a melting pot of the lost emotions and pain that we all hid throughout the Iraq War. Whatever the case, it is one of the most powerful anime series from Japan, because it all feels so real to us.

I admit that the story is a little bare bones. The hectic dialogue often takes a back seat to all the robot fights in the show. However, it looks incredibly beautiful and well animated. "Xam'd" is a conflicting love story. It forces this relationship onto you in the midst of dangerous terrorism and biological weaponjs. In spite of all this destruction, Haru still holds a close relationship with the creature boy, even when he leaves the battlefield.

As noted on the Anime News Network, "Xam'd" originally debuted on the Playstation Network at E3 in 2008. It's received plenty of exposure in Japan. Hopefully some American broadcasters will consider airing this show, because it is amazing to watch.

However, I'm a little hesitant to say that this is one of the best action series ever made. Anime reviewers often commented that the story ends too abruptly with stories that remain unresolve. Still, if you were a big fan of "Eureka Seven," I guarantee that you have to at least watch the first two episodes. "Xam'd" literally grips your interest like a vice.

The show is available to watch on The Anime Network. You can buy this series at amazon.com.

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Anime Streaming Review - The sexy reincarnation of ancient samurai

Japan somehow manages to come up with every excuse imaginable to show female fan service in an anime series. This series, on the other hand, makes fan service incredibly entertaining.

The Anime Network deserves kudos, for airing Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls, a show which features a wide variety of sexy young girls acting as legendary samurai warriors.

I kid you not. This series includes a female reincarnation of Jubei Yagyu, the famous blind assassin who shows up in numerous samurai films. I have no clue why Jubei appears as a naked girl who floats down from the sky, just to kiss the male protagonist.

However, I can't resist liking this show. It's the only show where we can see Jubei reincarnated as one of the sexiest anime girls of all time. Although there isn't much of a story in this series, it makes up for its flaws with some really spunky character designs. The descendant of the Hattori Hanzo clan shows up as a sassy French maid ninja. The daughter of the Tokugawa shogun is dressed in a modern high school girl's uniform.

This show tends to follow a drab plot which resembles almost every other harem romance/action series. In the beginning, a samurai man named Muneakira Yagyu tries to meet up with his friend from from training, Sen Tokugawa. However, he gets sidetracked by two girl students, who are investigating the Tokugawa castle for various reasons. When the maid ninja Hattori attacks them, Muneakira agrees to help the two girls.

In the middle of an especially difficult fight, a mysterious girl named Jubei Yagyu floats from the sky to kiss Muneakira. She then turns into an ultra-powerful master samurai and almost kills the maid, until Muneakira tries to stop the murder. Jubei then mysteriously turns into an airheaded girl with a power level of only 20.

The first episodes serve up some intriguing questions. Jubei is probably the most unusual character in the group, because she only gains her wanton powers of destruction after her new "boyfriend" kisses her. Yet, her partner's possessive attitute always seems to revert her back into a little girl.

In spite of all the questions I still have about this series, it still follows a cool, modern vibe. Characters use their cell phones as often as they use their special ninja powers. Even the villainous samurai warriors drink fine wine in their fancy crystal glasses.

The art style of this show is also beautifully classy. All the characters and background objects have a thick black border, to make it look more like a mural which was painted on a scroll. Also, black splotches of pain cover up any inappropriate parts of the female body. This gives the artists some more freedom to show more skin for the female characters, in order to make the series more racy.

So Samurai Girls might turn out as a hit for the fall season. I'm not betting the horse on this series, but it holds plenty of promise for a pseudo-period piece. Watch it on The Anime Network.

Abenobashi deserves more critical acclaim

It's a shame that Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi passed under the radar of so many anime critics, because it is one of the most original shows of all time.

Every part of this show shines with vivacious energy and animation. The entire span of the series is a big mind trip. In the same way that Paranoia Agent plays tricks on you with its scare tactics, Abenobashi fools you into thinking that this series will follow a tragic turn of events.

Yet, it's not a series about the tragic human condition, where all people have to die at some point or another. The show is all about a boy's coming of age. He learns how to turn his best moments into reality.

It certainly takes a while for the main character to fully understand every part of his dream world. However, this show is one of the few pieces of animation that takes you on a joy ride, to try and understand how movies are really supposed to enlighten us.

Somehow, the main characters change their real world into a culmination of shared experiences with faces they love. The Abenobashi characters cannot settle with accepting things as they are--they have to take action in order to turn their best dreams into reality. The final ending is a surprisingly hopeful vision, that we hardly ever see in an anime.

Many other series have tried to follow the Abenobashi formula, but failed. Kyoto Animation tried to pull off a similar storyline in their series, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. This saga, Endless Eight, was a hideous story arc, where the characters kept repeating the exact same events in every episode of the story.

Only Abenobashi truly nailed the endless dream formula. If only other anime shows would follow suit with this show, because it's just that good.

DVD Classic: Never-ending Adventures in J-pop worlds

"Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi" will astound anime fans with a journey that literally takes two young kids on a never-ending trip through the Japanese pop culture universe.

This series has had an awkward release history in America. Although it first aired in 2003, it took two years until Geneon released this series in the U.S. Even then, I don't think this show received the attention that it truly deserves.

Thankfully, ADV Films re-released this series last year. I had the fortunate thrill of seeing it on The Anime Network's website. To say the least, this is one of the most creative anime shows I've ever seen.

The show begins in the Abenobashi shopping district in Osaka. Two teenagers, Satoshi "Sashi" Imamiya and Arumi Asahina, are spending their last summer playing in the empty streets. Their parents' businesses were forced to close, as part of the redevelopment of the Abenobashi shopping arcade. Unfortunately, Arumi's family is also planning on moving to Hokkaido, as soon as her grandfather closes his shop.

Their summer of fun takes a tragic turn, when Asahina's grandfather almost dies after slipping on his rooftop. Asahina's entire family is planning on moving to Hokkaido as soon as he recovers. This could be the last day that Sashi and Asahina can play together.

On that day, though, the town completely turns upside down. The group of elderly people exercising in the park transforms into mushrooms. The buildings fall apart like cardboard cutouts, revealing a magical role-playing video game world in some European pasture.

Thus, the two children begin their treacherous journey through the magical other-dimensions of Abenobashi.

This series is amazing for its immensely inventive visuals. The show jams in an astonishing load of parodies on video games, robot television shows and martial arts series. Anime fans are bound to laugh at anything and everything.

They'll especially enjoy the insane antics in the third episode, where Asahina loses her panties to a goblin creature. Near the end of the episode, the goblin somehow turns into the mask for some gigantic robot ship with a demon head. And for some reason, that head still has Asahina's panties on it.

"Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi" is literally as unpredictable as episode five in FLCL. It is riotously funny, like a hyper episode of Shin-Chan. Yet, there's also a subversive tone of despair throughout the journey. As much as Sashi enjoys the Abenobashi worlds, the two kids are still trapped inside these wacky J-pop dream worlds with little hope of reaching their home.

I have yet to reach the ending, but this series is truly buried treasure. Unfortunately, I've heard that most of the special DVD features are only in the individual volume boxes from ADV. Regardless of which set you buy, you have to see this series. It's one of the few shows that will make anyone laugh.

Even if the English dubs put in some awkward Western cowboy accent for the main characters, this is series is golden. Check it out at least once, because you won't regret it.

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Anime streaming review: Fun slapstick routines about slave labor

"He is My Master" shows off some funny slapstick routines for a fan service anime, as long as you're able to stand the cruel master-and-slave relationships.

This new Gainax show is a heinous slice-of-life comedy that grew on me as I kept watching. It focuses on two middle school girls, Izumi and Mitsuki Sawatari, who run away from their home to find a new place to live.

After numerous homeowners reject them from taking residence, they eventually find a humongous mansion. They take pity on the the 14-year-old owner of the house, Yoshitaka Nakabayashi, whose parents died in a car accident.

They agree to work for him. However, they don't realize that this boy is a cruel master who wants the girls to work as his personal maids. The only remaining women's outfits in the house are racy maid outfits with short skirts, strapless tops and garter belts.

Although the first episodes are incredibly mean comedies with loads of fan service gags, the series packs in plenty of laughs for what it's worth. For starters, the girls own a ravenous pet alligator named Pochi, who always wants to eat Izumi's clothes. Most of the best jokes involve the cute, but ravenous reptile.

As if this wasn't enough, the boy even holds a demented contest with Izumi to be the first to catch Pochi. Don't even ask how this show got to this point. In the last parts of this episode, Izumi breaks all of the master's expensive pots and artifacts by throwing them at Pochi. The master's expression is priceless as he grimaces through this entire scene.

If you're looking for a quick laugh, consider renting "He is My Master" for Netflix. The show will lighten anyone's day with some devious visual jokes involving fan service. And there's even some hints of romance between Izumi and Nakabayashi, in spite of all the chaotic chemistry between the two.

The show is also available on The Anime Network.

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Get it now, before it's gone

In case you've noticed, I wrote a post in memory of Satoshi Kon. And just so you know, now is the time to stock up on all of Satoshi Kon's greatest works.

I'm not kidding. The prices of his movies and his anime show, "Paranoia Agent," are skyrocketing. The last time I looked at amazon.com, the lowest price for volume four of "Paranoia Agent" was a whopping $40.

This is because the DVDs of this anime series are extremely rare. And now that the director of the series passed away, this series will become a precious treasure to come by. I already bought the first two DVDs of "Paranoia Agent." I'll probably pick up the last two volumes tomorrow.

So unless some genius plans on re-releasing "Paranoia Agent" anytime soon, you'd better look for "Paranoia Agent" now. And you'd better not even think about getting the two copies that I saw in my local f.y.e. store or I'll rip your guts out.

Well, maybe I won't go that far, but I'm still not going to let you have it.

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