Remaining a strong work in atmosphere and ambience, volume two in the Mushi-shi series, containing episodes six through ten, portrays five more stories revolving around the strange creatures called mushi and their impact on human lives, with Ginko leading the way as our guide and informant to their strange world.
After finishing the first "arc" of an eventual nine and introducing us to the second, When They Cry: Higurashi moves on to showing the brutal conclusion of the Cotton Drifting arc, providing several more key clues to the nature of what's happening in Hinamizawa. With the introduction of the Curse Killing chapter, however, things only continue to become more mystifying as events seem to begin to overlap and contradict each other as Keiichi attempts to protect a dear friend.
One small tweak to the way user feedback is integrated into the scope of streaming video is enough to enrich the entire experience from solitary amusement to shared laughter and comments amongst a friendly and hilarious community. Nico Nico Douga (or Nico Nico Video), a streaming video site based in Japan and highly popular amongst its anime fanbase, demonstrates this with rather engrossing and addictive results.
As Ichise becomes more indoctrinated into the ways of the Organo, Onishi becomes aware of a new threat shadowing the city of Lukuss. Texhnolyze continues in this volume, which contains episodes thirteen through sixteen, as the final puzzle pieces of the setting click into piece to begin pushing forward towards the true core of its story.
Mushi-shi, as its title would suggest, revolves around the idea of the existence of the mushi, or organisms composes of the basest, most purest form of life, and the impact they have on the people who interact with them. A traveling Mushi-shi (or Mushi Master), Ginko, makes his way around the countryside, seeking out those whose problems have arisen from the mushi and doing what he can to resolve them.
Recently re-released by Funimation, Slayers is widely known as a classic fantasy anime-or to be more accurate, a classic comedic take on fantasy anime-is based on a series of light novels by Hajime Kanzaka, which also spawned video game, manga, and OAV adaptations. Slayers stars Lina Inverse, a young, underdeveloped sorceress with a nasty temper as she travels the world in search of fame and fortune, yet somehow inevitably becomes caught up in dramatic conflicts to save the world instead.
Texhnolyze's third volume, spanning episodes nine through twelve, continue to follow Ichise's journey through the dark corridors of Lukuss and the political factions and individuals that continue to manipulate it. A strange, disturbing series of events leads to a shakeup within the ranks of the Organo, and Ichise finds himself indebted to its young leader, Onishi. At the same time, the young girl Ran continues to watch everything, knowing and already dreading the inevitable outcome.
The Third: The Girl With the Blue Eyes, produced by Xebec and distributed in the US by The Right Stuf, introduces us to a version of Earth ruled by desert sands and with its population ravaged by wars in the far past. Under the rule and watch of a species known as The Third, jack-of-all-trades Honoka does her best to get by, unaware that a young man she rescues seems to be one of their targets...
Texhnolyze continues in its second volume, covering episodes five through eight, and slowly gives its viewers a clearer picture of the true undercurrents pulling the strings in Lukuss, as well as how Ichise begins to come into play amidst its warring factions. Still somehow both utterly breathtaking and horrifying at once, Texhnolyze remains a difficult watch, determined to explore the nuances of despair and pain as viscerally as it can--but is ultimately rewarding to those willing to let themselves be captured in its dark world.
From much of the team that brought Serial Experiments Lain into fruition, Texhnolyze is a dark, surreal, disturbing look into the dystopia of Lukuss--an underground city divided amongst itself due to the process of Tehxnolyzation, or the substitution of lost limbs with artificial appendages. In the first volume, we are introduced to the story of Ichise, a boxer faced with the loss of both his right arm and left leg, and how he slowly begins to be dragged into the conflict amongst the warring factions of the city.
Based on the popular shoujo manga series by Takaya Natsuki, Fruits Basket is the story of a high school girl named Tohru Honda who finds herself landed in with the Sohma family--twelve members of which are cursed to transform into an animal of the Zodiac whenever hugged by the opposite sex. Although many tragedies and dark undercurrents lie in the shadow of the curse, Tohru slowly inspires those around her with the strength of her hope and kindness, and changes their lives forever in an impressive release by Funimation.
(Volume One)
(Volume Two)
(Volume Three)
[a href="http://www.ultimateanime.net/articles/view/columns/other_reviews/2526-Fruits-Basket-Volume-Four"](Volume Four)
Geneon's When They Cry: Higurashi details the story of a boy named Keiichi Maebara, newcomer to the small village of Hinamizawa, who grows close to a circle of friends composed of four girls. Things take a sinister twist, however, when Keiichi hears whisperings of the dark history that surrounds the peaceful village--stories of brutal serial murders and dark cults, and becomes alarmed and increasingly paranoid as he begins to suspect his friends are involved.
For those needing a refresher with Moon Phase, these episodes start up after Hazuki has been rescued by supernatural photographer Kouhei, goes to live with his family, gets nabbed by Count Kinkel and returned. There's more to it than that, but anything else would lead into spoiler territory. It sounds exciting, but it isn't. In Phase 3, the mundane threatens to eclipse what is technically a beautiful series.
Death hovers quietly over the Mahora Academy's Class 2-A as one prominent student meets a painless, yet tragic end. The last volume is filled with confessions, life lessons, and some astonishingly deep guilt and angst you wouldn't expect to find in a light hearted offering such as Negima!, but the spirit is not entirely lost.
For ten year old Professor Negi Springfield and Mahora Academy Class 2-A, the class trip to Kyoto takes top priority in everyone's minds, opening the possibility for mystery, surprise, and danger. A high action volume, the series takes an abrupt turn from the last volume in both tone and speed with excellent results.
Read More
