Things to do

Reviews to write:
Kino's Journey
Twelve Kingdoms
Elfen Lied
Afro Samurai
Solty Rei
Kuroshitsuji
Telepathy Ran
Allison and Lilia
The Great Happiness Space
Talk about Manga-ka (Takaya, Hino, Nakamura)
Midori Days
Legend of Crystania

Shows to watch:
Finish Tales of the Abyss
Finish Clannad After Story
Finish Skip Beat
Finish Natsume Yujin-Cho
Watch Vampire Knight Guilty
Finish Nodame Paris
Finish Chrno Crusade (again)
Start Burst Angel
Catch up with Mushi-Shi
Xenosaga the Animation
Finish Battlestar Galactica

Read:
Finish Trigun Maximum
Start re-reading Fruits Basket to get ready for final volume
Finish A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Start A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire

Play:
Finish Last Remnant
Finish Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon
Restart Assassin's Creed

Misc:
Drool over End of Eternity screen shots and trailer.
Pretend there's amazing footage for the new Assassin's Creed, even though it's all cryptic nonsense.
Drool over the awesome preview spread in new Game Informer instead.
Be jealous of Japan yet again.
Play Last Remnant and forget to do everything else.

Le Chevalier D'Eon

This is going to be a weird one, folks. Animated by Production I.G., it's beautifully crafted. Filled with great sword fights, beautiful settings, perfect music...and one of the weirdest stories I've seen. Le Chevalier D'Eon is loosely based on the real life of d'Eon de Beaumont, a knight and spy for Louis XV, king of France. There are plenty of other historical characters like Louis XV, Marquise de Pompadour, Comte de St. Germain, Francis Dashwood, the Russian Empress Elizabeth, and even Maximilien Robespierre. They are mixed in with purely fictional main characters Robin, Durand, and Teillagory.

D'Eon, Robin, Durand and Teillagory all work for King Louis XV as spies in his personal spy network le Secret du Roi. When the story opens, D'Eon is mourning the death of his sister, Lia, a member of le Secret du Roi who died while on duty in Russia. In history, D'Eon did not have a sister named Lia, but D'Eon himself spent a good portion of his life as a woman and went by the name Lia. In the anime, instead of using the real D'Eon's transgendered nature, he is occasionally possessed by the vengeful spirit of his dead sister. Even Lia is unsure of who murdered her and why, and her soul will not rest in peace until the mystery is solved. D'Eon serves as a vessel for her soul because of their close bond as siblings.

When Lia's body appears floating inside a casket on the Seine, it sets D'Eon off on a journey that will forever change his life. On the top of her casket is the word "Psalms" written in blood, and it is the only clue he has to follow. With Queen Marie's help he discovers that this is somehow related to the Royal Psalms and the Revolutionary Brethren, a group of Poets attempting to decipher the Royal Psalms (a book that denotes those chosen by God to be King). Louis the XV conscripts D'Eon into le Secret du Roi along with the Queen's page Robin, fellow le Secret du Roi member Durand, and former Musketeer Teillagory, and sends the four of them off to find the missing Royal Psalms. D'Eon believes this will lead him to the culprits behind his sister's murder, and they hunt down members of the Revolutionary Brethren through France, Russia and England.

On the other side of the story, Maximilien Robespierre, Francis Dashwood and the Comte St. Germain work against the King and le Secret du Roi to uncover the mysteries of the Royal Psalms and use the Psalms for their own goals. Lia, as one who was actually able to read the Royal Psalms (and knows their secrets), becomes a pawn for both sides.

If it sounds confusing, that's because it absolutely is. The story isn't entirely fabricated. Le Secret du Roi was a real organization, Francis Dashwood's Hellfire Club did exist, D'Eon was sent to Russia to aid the pro-French faction there, and he also collected information for a potential invasion plan against England. There is plenty of build up to the French Revolution specifically and also the American War of Independence. The storyline surrounding the Royal Psalms and the cult that is formed around them is created for the anime. It gets a little out of hand from time to time and becomes somewhat hard to follow.

The anime is based on a novel by Tow Ubukata, who also had a hand in scripting the manga and in writing the screenplay. The 24 episodes span 6 discs from ADV, though the series now belongs to FUNimation. Each DVD comes with an incredible amount of historical data relating to the characters and episodes included. That's really handy to have, but I suggest ignoring it for the most part as it has little to do with what's going on within the story of the anime. It's good for a history lesson though, just be aware of a few typos scattered here and there (including mis-typed dates, which is a nuisance). There are also interviews, clean credits, and a rather bizarre but professional photo shoot of the title character's voice actors (as D'Eon and Lia) cross dressing as their characters (meaning David Matranga wears a dress and Taylor Hannah a suit or uniform). The English voice acting is excellent as well, particularly for the main cast. It's worth a watch or two (a second go through would probably help in understanding what's going on a bit better); it's certainly got the high production value one would expect from Production I.G. Just don't get hung up on the history and enjoy the story you're given.

Image: D'Eon possessed by Lia.

Ace Attorney DSi

Via Kotaku.

Nintendo and Capcom are releasing a DSi bundle in Japan for the new Ace Attorney game based on Miles Edgeworth. I WANT. But it will never, ever be released here. The DSi, I mean. The game will, certainly, but that DSi will never come here.

Not that it's anything grand. It's just a decal of the Blue Badger police mascot, with some fancy text, on an otherwise plain white DSi. I'd settle for a decal sticker that I could place on my own DS. Pop that in the video game case, please. Instant "premium edition" DS without having to buy another one.

Still doesn't compare to the limited edition game bundles that will never see the light of day in the States. The one for Apollo Justice came with headphones, a DS cartridge dictionary, and a DVD of animated sequences from the games all in a fancy box. It's just not fair.

Galaxy Railways

Don't be fooled. Despite it's old styled character designs, this show is from 2003. It's original iteration, the first telling in this universe, Galaxy Express 999, is from the late 70s, early 80s after all. The series is from space opera veteran Leiji Matsumoto (Captain Harlock, Star Blazers, Arcadia of My Youth). The short credits and the way the show was presented (and also FUNimation placing three commercial breaks into the show instead of the typical two, which I've noticed they do for older, shorter shows) made me think the show was from the early 90s. I was surprised it was so recent. The animation itself doesn't look dated, but the way Leiji designs his characters (and everything else) has changed little over the years; though there's certainly nothing wrong with that.

In Galaxy Railways people travel across the universe on space trains. And these are trains as in trains - with steam locomotives and cars, and they even launch and land on rail tracks. It's a little strange, since they can basically fly around all over in space. There are "rail lines" in space, that the average train follows along by going through rail gates. Each train is enclosed within a magnetic shield, so you could open up the windows if you wanted to and not get sucked out into space. The SDF trains (the universe's military force) seem to be able to go anywhere in space with or without plotted rail lines, but still must use designated warp gate locations. It's a...unique design choice. I don't have any problems with it, but it was kind of hard for me to believe. The reason why these people fly around in trains as opposed to, I don't know, space ships, isn't explained.

Galaxy Railways focuses on Manabu Yuuki, a young SDF member following in the steps of his father and brother who were both killed in action as SDF members. Manabu's father Wataru was the Captain of Big One, but sacrificed himself and the engine to save his crew from a surprise attack by a large (and foreign) space battleship. His brother Mamoru dies while out on a mission with the Space Panzer Grenadiers (elite SDF forces). Manabu ends up back on Big One, now under command by Schwanhelt Bulge, a former member of Wataru's crew. The rest of the crew (known as Sirius Platoon) is comprised of the laid back David, harsh but caring Bruce, fellow SDF newbie Louise, and the android nurse Yuki.

The series focuses mostly on Sirius Platoon and Big One as the team travels across the universe stopping terrorists, protecting stations from meteor storms, rescuing stranded trains and passengers, and fighting off a vicious alien race from another dimension. Throw in some character backgrounds and progression, lots of explosions, plenty of gun fights, and you've got an emotionally charged and action packed series on your hands.

It does have its problems. The plot is a little confusing near the end. The reasons they're being attacked by this mysterious alien race are a little unclear because it's explained a couple of different ways. Initially it seems there's another force behind them, but by the end of the series it's explained with another reason, and the second unknown force remains an unresolved entity. There's also the idea that everyone's fate and destiny is already set, and for the most part no one really bothers to change this. At least not until destiny starts spiraling out of control when the alien race crosses into their dimension to wipe them out. A woman they refer to as The Supreme Commander (it's actually two...two entities...but they're in one person...or something, it's not really clear) watches over the destiny of everyone in the universe. I don't think she has any control over it; for the most part she just stands there and lets things happen so even if she did have control, she doesn't exert it in any real way. Somehow Manabu gets into a lot of situations that he's not supposed to, which doesn't really make a lot of sense. So all in all, I'm not really sure how that element of the created universe is supposed to work.

The names of these guys...gave me a lot of giggles. Every time someone called Captain Bulge just that, I let out a juvenile giggle. And the android nurse, Yuki...I swear she calls herself a Sexaroid, whatever that is (though I should think it's probably obvious). Bruce's full name is Bruce J. Speed. Then of course the trains....Big One, Flame Swallow and Iron Burger. So yeah, now you see how immature I really am.

Anyway.
To wrap things up, Galaxy Railways is a 26 episode series licensed by FUNimation. There are two direct sequels, currently unlicensed in the states - The Galaxy Railways: A Letter From the Abandoned Planet (4 episode OVA that takes place between the first and second series of the show), and The Galaxy Railways: Crossroads to Eternity (another 26 episodes). Both follow Sirius Platoon's remnants on further adventures in the universe. I should note now that I nearly didn't watch this series because the English voice acting in the first episode was nearly intolerable. It doesn't get much better, but you get (sort of) used to it after a while. Whether it was worth that...I'm not sure. It's an entertaining show, but I don't feel like I would have been missing out had I not bothered to watch it. If you're a space opera fan, it's probably a must, being a Matsumoto creation, and I'm sure you'll enjoy the show. Watch it if you're looking for something different.

Image (top to bottom, left to right): David, Bulge, Bruce, Yuki, Manabu, Louise.

Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens

Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens is a 13 episode series based on the manga by Eri Takenashi. The 13 episodes don't really finish the story that the manga continues on, but I'm not aware of another season being produced, so that's probably all there is. It aired in the fall 2008 season in Japan. The show is directed by Yutaka Yamamoto, the same man who was sacked after directing the first four episodes of Lucky Star for Kyoto Animation (there are a couple of humorous references to this within the show). Kannagi is from A-1 Pictures Inc. and Aniplex.

Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens is a comedy about high school student Jin Mikuriya. Jin, as a member of his school's art club, has been working on a wood sculpture of a shrine maiden, in the image of a mysterious female spirit he saw near a sacred tree as a child (he's used the trunk of the same sacred tree to make the sculpture). However before he manages to transport the statue, a teenage girl pops out from inside. She claims to be a goddess named Nagi, a goddess of the earth. With no other place to go, Nagi claims Jin's residence as her own and pretends to be a long lost half-sister as a cover so that she can freely move about and exorcise impurities from the area.

Things become a little more complicated when Tsugumi Aoba, Jin's childhood friend and acting guardian while his father is away, becomes aware (and jealous) of Nagi's presence. And things get even more out of control when Nagi's sister and fellow goddess Zange appears. As goddesses, the two girls compete to gain the idolization of the people in the town (and also Jin's personal affections) so that they can survive in a time when their believers have become few. They form fan clubs at school, work in a maid cafe, and other various things. But while Nagi's host is the statue carved from the body of her sacred tree, Zange's tree still stands, and Nagi soon learns that her sister has done something terrible and possessed a human girl's body.

For some reason, Nagi is unsure why she has manifested, why impurities are forming in the world and why they take on the form of insects. She suffers occasional lapses in her memory, and she also doesn't remember her first encounter with Jin years ago. It's almost as if the goddess in her is a split personality, because when it takes over her she blacks out and forgets what happened. Most of the story just follows the characters through their lives, as Nagi explores the world of the humans, Zange tries to outshine her sister's existence, and Tsugumi struggles with her feelings for Jin. The other members of Jin's art club - the bizarre (and often perverted) Takako, the enigmatic Shino, the obsessive otaku Akiba, and the very large (in terms of height and muscular build) and quiet Daitetsu - are usually involved in some fashion.

There are lots of things the story never gets to or just doesn't use. Nagi mentions that without believers she'll decay and disappear, but there's never any danger of this within the series. Tsugumi and Jin's relationship doesn't really go anywhere; there's some stuff about his past hinted at that involves her but it's not really explained. Jin and Nagi's relationship just starts progressing when the series comes to a halt. We know that Zange has taken over the body of a human girl (a girl who happens to have a crush on Jin), but she doesn't seem to be evil in any way (other than by antagonizing her sister). In fact, most of who Zange is and what she's really doing isn't touched on at all. You'll likely have to read the manga for that, which is unfortunate, because the anime is immensely more entertaining (not that the manga is bad, but you can obviously do a lot more with animation, and the show takes advantage of this). This isn't to say that the anime is in some way incomplete or disjointed or something. Yes, you feel that there are many things that don't get touched on, and that there are things left unanswered, etc. But make no mistake, the show is good. It's adorably animated (is that possible?), colorful, hilarious. You're definitely going to get a level of entertainment you won't get from the manga. Great animation and fantastic voice acting make this a show to love. It does get a little weird at the end; the first 11 episodes are hilarious from beginning to end (except the end of 11, which starts to feel a little like Evangelion), but the final two take on a more serious tone, and it's a little drab. Well, that's a bad term, because it still remains a good show, you're just not laughing every couple of minutes anymore. It ends with a good punch of hilarity though.

Image: Zange, Tsugumi, Nagi, with Jin in the back.

Yu Yu Hakusho Season 1 Box Set

This show is one of my guilty pleasures. It doesn't really have anything amazing going for it. In fact it's horribly cheesy, really looks its age, and comes from one of the genres of anime that I tend to hate. But it's so cheesy, and so ridiculous, and it's fantastic. It's a good show to watch when I just want to giggle a little at the jokes, or the absurdity of the situations in the story. The series succeeds at this, for me, exceptionally well. Also, when I first started watching it, I was crushing on Kurama (but don't tell anyone).

The season one box set released by FUNimation contains the first 28 episodes (out of 112) of the series on four discs, in a thin pack. The cases are clear with reversible covers (both sides are nice). There are some weird, amateur packaging mistakes. The episodes listed on the cases (as per each disc) don't match what's actually on the discs. All 28 episodes are still there, but each disc is off by one episode. Or, I should say, each disc has an extra episode more than what is listed, so they don't match up. It's not a problem for me, but it is kind of a strange mistake. I was also disappointed to notice that, while the first disc contains both dub-titles and subtitles (the second might have as well, I can't recall), the others only contained the subtitle track. Again, it's not a problem; it's the proper track anyway. Just, again, it seems a little strange and inconsistent. Regardless..... DVD extras include some helpful character profiles, textless songs and trailers. I do wish they had gone ahead and only put the first 25 or 26 episodes on there, because that concludes a story line. Episodes 27 and 28 start a new storyline that continues into the second season of the show. Of course, that means, if you want to see the rest you'll buy the next one, but it's a bit annoying all the same. Still, it's hard to complain about 28 episodes on 4 discs.

So here's the scoop:
Yusuke Urameshi is a fairly stereotypical high school delinquent. He skips school, gets into countless fights (and typically wipes the floor with everyone), mouths off to teachers, etc. One day while walking home from school, he performs the unexpected selfless act of saving a small child from being hit by a car, and it causes his death. Because of this rather uncharacteristic act of self-sacrifice, the Spirit World decides to give Yusuke a second chance at life - but with the condition that he must be a Spirit Detective on Earth.

The series then follows Yusuke with new found spiritual powers as he works together with his rival and classmate Kuwabara, an intellectually dense but spiritually powerful fighter, to track down rogue demons and humans posing a threat to the Spirit World (and to Earth of course). Along the way he meets up with the thief Kurama, a demon hiding out in a human body; and the mysterious Hiei, who uses a mystical third eye to augment his powers and skills with the sword. They all work under the guidance of Koenma, the son of the ruler of the spirit world, a strange looking toddler with a pacifier constantly in his mouth; and alongside the cheerful Botan, a cute looking death god.

The show is a fighting series at its core. Complete with training tournaments, battle tournaments, plenty of one on one fights and group battles, etc. But the story that's in there is good, and the characters are very likable...and there's only a handful of them, really, which is refreshing. Keiko, Urameshi's childhood friend (and eventual love interest), tags along with Yusuke when she's not somehow drawing the trouble to herself as well. Yukina, Hiei's sister and Kuwabara's love interest, an ice apparition. Shizuru, Kuwabara's older sister, who also has some spiritual sensibilities. And Genkai, an elderly martial arts master, and Yusuke's mentor.

FUNimation does a good job with the dubbing. I do think they dumb down the dialog a little bit, but it's not an issue because...well, we are dealing with delinquents here. It works fine, and it's hilarious. The voices are so cheesy, but they fit so well. The adorable Sean Teague is fantastic as Koenma, Justin Cook is a hilarious Yusuke, and Christopher Sabat is delightful as Kuwabara.

Image: Kurama, Hiei, Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Koenma (in adult form).

Do You Play Animal Crossing?

Are you over the age of 16? Then congratulations: You're a pedophile.

From Game Politics:

An investigator from a Missouri Internet Crimes Task Force said:

"There is no reason an adult should have [Animal Crossing: City Folk]," says Andy Anderson, Mid-Missouri Internet Crimes Task Force.

Anderson says adults playing "Animal Crossing" and similar games are likely doing it for the wrong reasons.

Now they way I understood the Wii to work, is that when playing online games, you have to have a person's friend code. Maybe this changed for City Folk? Otherwise, these kids aren't talking to people they don't already know. I know on the DS you have to know the town name and the friend code.

That aside. Seriously, WTF? Adults can't play one of the most popular Nintendo games ever made? I guess we also shouldn't be playing Viva Pinata, Super Mario Galaxy, Lego Star Wars, or Kingdom Hearts (all E rated). What, those are some of your favorite games? Um, excuse me for just a moment while I make a phone call; you just wait right there....

I guess E for Everyone means E for everyone under 17.