Angel's Anime Rating Guide

I picked up Good Luck Girl ... Ichiko gets lucky a lot. She's rich, beautiful, smart, stacked, and better than you at everything. But there's a reason life always goes her way: she unwittingly steals happiness energy from everyone else! Momiji - a poverty god with a freakishly huge syringe and a bunch of oddball charms - has to take Ichiko's extra good fortune and return it to her various victims of circumstance.

I picked up Girls Und Panzer ... You may have heard of kung fu, but the girls at Oarai Academy practice gun-fu - really, really BIG gun-fu, in fact. It's called Tankery, and it's the martial art of operating armored tanks! And even though the Tankery program at Oarai has been defunct for years, the student council has taken a sudden interest in the art and no one they set their sights on is safe. That's how Miho Nishizumi, who transferred to Oarai specifically to stay out of tanks, gets drafted to join the newly revived Tankery divison. But it's not all bad, because joining her in Team Anglerfish are her new-found friends Saori, the highly receptive radio operator; Hana, a flower arranger turned gunner; Mako, their brilliant but chronically sleepy driver; and combustible tank fangirl and loader Yukari. They may not be on the half-track to fame and fortune, and maybe some of them would rather shop for tank tops than become tops in tanks, but once their focus is locke...

I picked up Kokoro Connect ... The five members of the Cultural Study group that meets in class 401 have spent a lot of time wondering what it would be like to be in someone else's shoes. But they're about to learn that there's a huge difference between thinking about it and literally BEING in someone else's shoes! That's exactly what happens when, suddenly and inexplicably, they each find themselves inside the body of the girl - or boy - next door!

Over the weekend, I picked up Sankarea ... Zombie-obsessed Furuya is making a potion to reanimate his dead cat when he meets Rea. She's about as miserable as a girl can get, thanks to her creepy, domineering father. When the pain becomes too much, she tries to commit suicide with a sip of Furuya's weird elixir. The potion doesn't kill her but it does turn her into a zombie after she falls from a cliff.

I picked up Michiko and Hatchin ... Michiko is a stunning escaped convict with lethal looks and a deadly disrespect for the lawmen trying to hunt her down. Hatchin is a hapless orphan pushed to the breaking point by the sadistic spawn of her fiendish foster parents. On their own, these chicas are nothing more than a Yin searching for its Yang, but when fate - in the form of a mysterious hombre from their past - brings them together, the world better watch out!

Years ago, when DVDs were beginning to replace VHS tapes, I picked up the DVD version of the reboot of A.D. Police: To Protect And Serve ... The A.D. Police saga, the awesome spin-off of the hit anime Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040! As the current crime wave in Genom City escalates, pressure mounts for the A.D. Police to stop the growing number of mutating cyborgs known as VOOMERS. Throughout this crisis, the personal relationships between members of the elite squad of robot hunters are strained to the breaking point.

Over the weekend, I picked up the DVD release of  Cat Shit One aka Apocalypse Meow ... According to Wikipedia ... Apocalypse Meow is a three volume manga series written and illustrated by Motofumi Kobayashi. It was originally published in Japan as Cat Shit One in 1998 by Softbank Publishing, but was renamed for the US release to parody the title of the film Apocalypse Now, which also took place during the Vietnam War. It was published in the UK (printed in Canada) in 2004 by ADV Manga. It was also released in Poland in 2006, also under the title Cat Shit One. It has been released in France, Belgium and Spain, as Cat Shit One, by Glénat in 2006.

Marine Boy took long enough to get an official release, but, I'm glad it's here at long last... Produced in Japan but intended for first run in the US, Marine Boy was one of the first color cartoons to come from Japan, soon to be sharing syndicated screen space with the likes of Kimba the White Lion and Speed Racer (with whom it shares a number of voice actors). Marine Boy battles evil on and under the seas on behalf of the Ocean Patrol, aided by the amazing inventions of his father, Dr. Mariner, and the brilliant Professor Fumble. Joining Marine Boy in his mission are his white dolphin, Splasher, young mermaid Neptina, and fellow Ocean Patrol agents Bullton and Piper.

Since my local video store doesn't carry *any* titles distributed by NIS America, I had to order a handful of NISA releases from an online retailer. Among the titles that I have recently purchased is Everyday Tales Of A Cat God ... Meet Mayu. She's a cat god, but because she couldn't stop getting in trouble, she's been cast down from the heavens and is now doomed to suffer on Earth! Oh, no! But then, one day, she is taken in by the earnest and kind Yuzu, who owns an antiques shop called Antiques Unlimited. As Yuzu is quick to learn, Mayu's laziness knows no bounds. She'd rather play video games than turn over a new leaf.

Recently, I remembered an old movie called Attack Of The Mushroom People aka Matango ... After a yacht is damaged in a storm and it’s boarders stranded on a deserted island, the passengers; a psychologist and his girlfriend, a wealthy businessman, a famous singer, a writer, a sailor and his skipper take refuge in a mysterious fungus-covered boat. While using the mushrooms for sustenance they find in the ship's journal that the mushrooms are poisonous, however some members of the shipwrecked party continue to ingest the mysterious fungi transforming them into hideous fungal monsters. One of the strangest and most horrific TOHO productions to date.

The time had come to stock up on a few obscure items, so, I turned to my favorite online retailer and ordered Time Of Eve ... Two high school boys grapple with their own humanity in a world where people are serviced by androids distinguished from their masters only by the halo-like rings above their heads. Rikuo and his childhood pal Masaki find their assumptions about androids radically challenged when they come across Time of EVE, a cafe where androids and people are treated as equals. Liberated from the strictures of the Ethics Committee, Masaki and Rikuo must confront old wounds of betrayal and grief, and are faced with decisions that put their friendship and families on the line.

Ever since I saw  Shigofumi , I've had a soft spot for shinigami. So when  Momo: Girl God Of Death  said "buy me", I couldn't NOT buy the series... Dressed all in white with scythe in hand, she is one of the spirits entrusted with guiding the souls of the no longer living to the other side. But unlike other shinigami who approach their grim duty with detachment or even malevolence, Momo chooses to open her heart to those about to cross over. Nor are solace and sympathy the only gifts she offers. If the need is great enough, she may allow a last visit, a message to loved ones, or even a chance to make amends. But how far can even the most well-meaning shinigami bend the rules of life and death before she, herself, is called to task? Momo and her flying cat Daniel may soon learn the answer as they find themselves continually becoming involved in the world of the living, even as they attempt to deal with the not always willing souls in the process of departing it.

Over the weekend, I picked up Lagrange ... Madoka Kyono is an energetic girl who is full of passion. As the proud - and only - member of the Kamogawa Girls' High School Jersey Club, she goes around helping people in need. But Madoka's life is turned upside down when she is suddenly asked by a mysterious girl named Lan to pilot a robot. Motivated by her desire to protect the people and city of Kamogawa, Madoka agrees to pilot the resurrected Vox robot to fight against extraterrestrials that have come to attack Earth.

Recently, after reviewing some of the older entries in the archive, I realized that I was missing Les Maîtres du temps aka Time Masters ... From the director of Fantastic Planet and Gandahar . René Laloux, comes Les Maîtres du Temps aka Time Masters , his penultimate animated feature film, in 1982. A huge hit in France at the time of its release, it combines Laloux's famous imagination with that of animation designer Jean Giraud (aka Moebius). On planet Perdide, an attack of giant hornets leaves Piel a young boy alone in a wrecked car with his dying father. A mayday message reaches their friend Jaffar, an adventurer travelling through space. On board Jaffar's shuttle are the renegade Prince Matton, his fiancée, and Silbad who knows the planet Perdide well. Thus begins an incredible race across space to save Piel...

This week, I picked up A Certain Scientific Railgun ... Season 1 Misaka's electro-manipulation abilities - and delightfully destructive Railgun projectile move - make her a rock star in Academy City. The techno-metropolis is packed with supernaturally powered students known as espers, including Misaka's flirty friend and roommate, Kuroko. She uses her teleportation skills as a member of the Judgment law enforcement team, fighting crime alongside her fellow agent Uiharu. Joined by their friend Saten, a spunky Level 0 esper, Misaka, Kuroko, and Uiharu have a blast taking on danger whenever and wherever it arises. Luckily, in a city full of super-powered gangs, mad scientists, and the occasional weird monster, the girls have no problem finding plenty of excitement, action, and adventure!

Recently, I stopped by the AnimeNation forum when John mentioned  Little Witch Academia ... According to Wikipedia : Little Witch Academia is a 2013 animated short produced by Trigger for Anime Mirai 2013. The short was created and directed by Yoh Yoshinari and written by Masahiko Otsuka and was released in theaters on March 2, 2013. Trigger later began streaming the short with English subtitles on YouTube from April 19, 2013.

Before the release of  Inu X Boku Secret Service  in the U.S., I was really looking forward to watching the series... Ayakashi Kan: a mysterious condominium, widely believed to be haunted, where every resident is required to have a personal bodyguard, or Secret Service agent. When the socially inept Ririchiyo moves in, all she's looking for is a little peace and quiet and some practice at inter-personal communications. However, she quickly discovers that her bodyguard Soushi might not just be foxy; he might actually BE a fox - a fox spirit that is. In fact, all of Ayakashi Kan's residents and their agents are more than they seem at first glance. Each and every one of them has both human and non-human ancestors, but that's okay, because Ririchiyo does too!

I suspected that A Certain Magical Index might be something that I might like, so, I picked up both volumes of the series... Season 1 Kamijo is a student in Academy City, where people use science to develop supernatural abilities. The guy's got a lot of heart - luckily for a young nun named Index. She's on the run from a sorcery society that covets the astonishing 103,000 volumes of magical knowledge stored in her memory. When Index stumbles into Kamijo's life, she finds a faithful friend and protector. While Kamijo's easily the weakest kid in Academy City, he's got something else going for him: the Imagine Breaker, an unexplainable power stored in his right hand that negates the powers of others.

Last night, I fired up the BD player for the first time in over a year to check out the first episode of  Bakemonogatari ... Thanks to Meme Oshino, high school student Koyomi Araragi is able to remain a human after coming across a female vampire. However, since the incident Koyomi seems to meet girls who have apparition-related issues. Hitagi Senjyogahara doesn't weigh anything, Suruga Kanbaru's right arm becomes like that of a monkey's, and a young girl, Mayoi, cannot find her way home no matter how many times she tries. Koyomi, a "Mr. Nice Guy," ends up helping each and every girl solve her problem with the help of Meme Oshino.

I just couldn't resist picking up  Bodacious Space Pirates ... Collection 1 Most families have a skeleton or two in the closet, but Marika is understandably shocked to learn that what her family has been hiding is a skull and crossbones! While the revelation that her late father was a space pirate would have been earthshaking enough for most teenage girls, discovering that he was the captain of the notorious pirate ship Benten Maru will change Marika's life forever. You see, pirating is a family business, and she's just inherited the position of captain - and her father's former crew is quite intent on making sure Marika accepts the job!