Naruto

Japanese Title: Naruto
Original Story: Masashi Kishimoto
Episodes: 170+ (Still running...) [+OVAs and movies]
Rating: Teenagers
Release Studio: Viz Media
Main Voice Actors:

Naruto Uzumaki ~ Maile Flanagan
Sasuke Uchiha ~ Yuri Lowenthal
Sakura Haruno ~ Kate Higgins
Iruka ~ Quinton Flynn
Kakashi Hatake ~ Dave Wittenberg
Third Hokage ~ Steve Kramer
Ino Yamanaka ~ Colleen O'Shaughnessey
Shikamaru Naka ~ Tom Gibis
Choji ~ Robbie Rist
Kiba Inuzuka ~ Kyle Hebert
Shino Abarame ~ Sam Regal
Hinata Hyuuga ~ Stephanie Sheh
Neji Hyuuga ~ Steve Staley
Rock Lee ~ Brian Donovan
Tenten ~ Danielle Judovitz
Gaara of the Desert ~ Liam O'Brian
Kankuro ~ Michael Lindsay
Temari ~ Tara Platt

A huge fox demon attacked the ninja village of Konoha. They sacrificed a child and sealed the powerful demon inside it. Now, years later, that boy, Naruto Uzumaki is shunned by the adults who know what is inside him. (The people born since the incident are not told...) Naruto has a big goal. He wants to be the greatest ninja ever, a Hokage! He wants everyone to look up to him and actually give him a glance. How is he supposed to fulfill that goal if he can't even pass the Ninja academy?! When he does pass, he is placed into a squad of three with his classmates, the smart female ninja, Sakura Haruno, and Naruto's rival, Sasuke Uchiha. Each with their own goals, they must work together to reach them. Thus, their journey begins...

In the anime world, if you don't know what "Naruto" is, what have you been doing? Living under a rock for the past couple of years? It's very, very popular. It has videogames, headbands, figurines, keychains, plushies.... he list goes on and on... With all of this merchandise, it has to be good, right? Well it is. The storyline is interesting and the characters are unique. The interesting is while in most shows when the hero comes, everyone is saved. In Naruto, when Naruto comes, all hell breaks loose! I love most of the openings and endings... One falls short of my expectations unfortunately... "Rocks" A popular opening is "Go!" but I also like "Haruka Kanata". As for closings, "Harmonia" is funny with the chibi Sakura and Ino. Orange Range does a great job for doing "Viva Rock". The fighting scenes are exciting but sometimes one fight can last forever and just drag on for like three episodes. One other thing that can get annoying is that at the beginning of each episode (almost every one anyay), they take three minutes to review everything. If you have a bad memory, this is good but after a while it can get really annoying.

Okay, so now we know how good Naruto is. If you're cheap , you'll probably tune in Saturday nights and watch Naruto off Cartoon Network. Importing DVDs can be expensive and downloading 170+ episodes can take a while so not a bad idea, eh? WRONG. Viz horribly screwed up Naruto. They changed the opening and while I didn't care for "Rocks" too much, the new opening looks like crap. It looks like Viz took some scenes out of "Haruka Kanata" and added their own thing to it. Ugh... And the voices.... Not all of them are bad I have to admit. Sakura, Sasuke, Kakashi, and Iruka are pretty good. Everyone else is either only okay or they fall short. Naruto sounds like a girl... In Japanese, they have a woman voicing Naruto as well but I thought the voice actor was a young boy. Now that's good voice acting... When the actor sounds like they're supposed to and if they play an opposite gender character, they sound like the opposite gender. All of the Japanese voice actors are great. Now why can't Viz get some good voice actors? You know me... Over half the time I watch dub and I'm almost always satisfied. ADV Films and Funimation can get the job done. They step up to the plate and release good voice actors for anime. Why can't Viz do that? Why are they releasing this anime with such a girly voice for Naruto? It's, it's.... disgusting... Shame on you, Viz. Your manga translations are good but seriously, work on the anime. You released a joke of Naruto.

Watch the Japanese, otherwise you'll claim that you hate Naruto when you've only seen a cheap imitation of it.

Bleach

Japanese Title: Bleach
Original Author: Tite Kubo
Episodes: Still Continuing (currently at 66)
Year Released: 2005 (I think...)
Main Voice Actors (Japanese Only):

Ichigo Kurosaki ~ Masakazu Morita
Rukia Kuchiki ~ Fumiko Orikasa
Orihime Inoue ~ Yuki Matsuoka
Sado Yasutora ~ Hiroki Yasumoto
Uryu Ishida ~ Noriaki Sugiyama
Kon ~ Mitsuaki Madono
Zangetsu ~ Takayuki Sugo
Kisuke Urahara ~ Shinichiro Miki
Jinta Hanakari ~ Takako Honda
Tsumugiya Ururu ~ Noriko Shitaya
Shihouin Yoruichi ~ Shiro Saito/Satsuki Yukino
Isshin Kurosaki ~ Toshiyuki Morikawa
Yuzu Kurosaki ~ Tomoe Sakuragawa
Karin Kurosaki ~ Rie Kugimiya
Don Kanonji ~ Shigeru Chiba
Kuukaku Shiba ~ Akiko Hiramatsu
Ganjuu Shiba ~ Wataru Takagi

Shinigami (Organized by Division)

1st Division
Yamamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni ~ Unknown
Vice captain ~ Unknown
2nd Division
Soi Fong ~ Tomoko Kawakami
Ohmaeda Marechiyo ~ Unknown
3rd Division
Gin Ichimaru ~ Kouji Yusa
Izuru Kira ~ Takahiro Sakurai
4th Division
Retsu Unohana ~ Aya Hisakawa
Isane Kotetsu ~ Yukana
5th Division
Aizen Sousuke ~ Sho Hayami
Momo Hinamori ~ Kumi Sakuma
6th Division
Byakuya Kuchiki ~ Ryotaro Okiayu
Renji Abarai ~ Kentarou Itou
7th Division
Sajin Komamura ~ Tetsu Inada
Tetsuzaemo Iba ~ Unknown
8th Division
Shunsui Kyouraku ~ Akio Ohtsuka
Nanao Ise ~ Hitomi Nabatame
9th Division
Kaname Tousen ~ Toshiyuki Morikawa
Shuuhei Hisagi ~ Katsuyuki Konishi
10th Division
Toushiro Hitsugaya ~ Romi Paku
Rangiku Matsumoto ~ Matsutani Kaya
11th Division
Kenpachi Zaraki ~ Fumihiko Tachiki
Yachiru Kusajishi ~ Hisayo Mochizuki
Ikkaku Madarame ~ Nobuyuki Hiyama
Yumichika Ayasegawa ~ Jun Fukuyama
12th Division
Mayuri Kurotsuchi ~ Ryusei Nakao
Nemu Kurotsuchi ~ Rie Kugimiya
13th Division
Juushiro Ukitake ~ Hideo Ishikawa
Kaien Shiba ~ Toshihiko Seki
Sentaro Kotsubaki ~ Kouichi Enkan
Kiyone Kotetsu ~ Chinami Nishimura

Ichigo Kurosaki has the ability to see ghosts. He didn't ask for it. He just has it. One night, a shinigami comes into his room looking for a "hollow". The hollow attacks Ichigo's family. When the shinigami, Rukia Kuchiki, becomes injured from the hollow's attack, to save his family Ichigo borrows the power of Rukia. Unexpectedly and by accident, Ichigo takes all of Rukia's power. Unable to defeat hollows, Rukia has to convince Ichigo to become a shinigami (or "Soul Reaper") to cleanse the hollows and allow other ghosts to pass on the "Soul Society".

I love Bleach. I don't know what makes it so popular but I am addicted to it. Usually, I don't say this, or I don't think I usually do anyway, but my favorite character is Gin Ichimaru. My friends think I'm absolutely nuts because he's my favorite character but I like him anyway. Now, moving on, let me address the main problems of Bleach. One, the names are so hard to remember! It took me eternity to remember all the captains' names and I still don't know all of them. I know only a fraction of the Vice-captains' names. Maybe that's why I like Gin. I remembered his name easily. Two, Bleach should seriously include more Gin footage. Most people don't think this is a problem, but it is a very serious one. Trust me.

Okay, moving onto the Bleach storyline. When I read the back of the Bleach manga, I'm going to be honest here, I thought the story was ridiculous (don't kill me, Mayu-kun!). I thought I'd read the first 5 pages and then put it down. Surprisingly, although it sounds weird, the story works out great. (Possible minor spoiler: After the "Soul Society" arc, the story gets a little weird. Yeah, the story doesn't end after one arc.) I hope Bleach doesn't end up like One Piece or something else really long. Then Bleach will be like week-old onion rings. Yuck... After the first arc, the second part arrives. Bleach keeps it fresh and interesting although somethings I wanted could have come (More Gin!). The fights are quick. (No five episode fights. Thank God.) The fights aren't so fast you don't know what happened nor do they drag on forever to the point where it seems they want to torture you. The action is fast-paced and you always wonder what abilities the next enemy will have. The openings and closings are awesome. The in-episode music is a tad under the mark. It just seems weird, not bad, weird.

Of course, Bleach's VAs are awesome. Japanese VAs are always awesome. Currently, Bleach is in Japanese only. You don't want the US to get ahold of it, let alone Viz. It's going to be forever before Viz releases Bleach because they supposedly "don't want it to compete with Naruto". Naruto, my ass. Viz just released some piece of crap that looks like Naruto. Okay, another story... You'll hear that later... Bleach is awesome but screw waiting for the English, head straight for the Japanese. And look out for Gin!

Weiss Kreuz: Knight Hunters

Japanese Title: Weiss Kreuz
Episodes: 25
Rating: ?
Release Studio: Media Blasters/Anime Works
Release Year: 2002
Main Voice Actors:

Aya (Ran) Fujimiya ~ Paul Juhn
Yohji Kudou ~ Robert Larkin/Marc Diraison
Ken Hidaka ~ Brian Morey
Omi Tsukiyono ~ Jamie McGonnigal
Persia ~ Chris Yates
Manx ~ Suzanne Gilad
Reiji Takatori ~ Mike Pollock
Brad Crawford ~ Michael Tremain
Shuldich ~ Jeff Swarthout
Farfarello ~ Rick Mann
Nagi ~ Christopher Fuller
Sakura Tamara ~ Katie Adams
Aya Fujimiya (Ran's sister) ~ Rachel Lillis
Ouka Sakaki ~ Alissa Gordon

Four men work in a flower shop but this is only a cover for their real job, assassins... Given "missions" by their mysterious boss whom they only know as "Persia", they eliminate the people shown to them. Aya came home with his sister only to find both their parents murdered and a bomb in their house. After escaping, his sister was hit by a car and left in a coma. Thus, Aya wanted revenge on the person in the car, Reiji Takatori. Yohji was a private investigator and after being injured on an assignment he and his partner, Asuka, tried to make their getaway but Asuka was shot and killed. Ken was a star soccer player but thrown out after being suspected of throwing a game. Omi's past is unclear. (Basically, if I told you, I'd be spoiling part of the show.)

A friend of mine got me into this (Reality it's all your fault!). After being intrigued by the manga (which might I add is not in English), I started to look into the anime. The story and art are very well done. In a couple bits, the manga differs from the anime which isn't too uncommon. For example, with the situation with Aya, in the manga she was injured by the exploding office building. In the anime, she was hit by a car. Aside from the story, what really drew me into this was the music. The opening and ending themes were awesome although Piece of Heaven is my fave. Weiß is just so cool. Anyway... the main theme of flower shop into assassins can seem corny but this is an overall good anime. The English voice actors weren't very impressive but for some reason, they started to grow on me (don't ask why). You may not see this one on current store shelves (unless it's a specialty store) since it's pretty old and not too well known, I'd say. In fact, the company is unknown to me and most of the English voice actors only had one job in Weiss Kreuz. So you'll probably not recognize the names... Anyway, if you're going for something a little obscure and you want some action with bishounen, pick this one up.

Full Metal Alchemist

Japanese Title: Hagane no Renkin Jetsushi
Episodes: 51
Rating: PG
Release Studio: Funimation Productions
Release Year: 2004
Main Voice Actors:

Edward Elric ~ Vic Mignogna
Alphonse Elric ~ Aaron Dismuke
Winry Rockbell ~ Caitlin Glass
Scar ~ Dameon Clarke
Roy Mustang ~ Travis Willingham
Liza Hawkeye ~ Colleen Clinkenbeard
Jean Havoc ~ Mike McFarland
Alex Louis Armstrong ~ Christopher Sabat
Maes Hughes ~ Sonny Strait
Fuhrer King Bradley ~ Ed Blaylock
Lust ~ Laura Bailey
Envy ~ Wenny Powell
Gluttony ~ Chris Cason
Greed ~ Chris Patton

When two young boys lose their mother, they are willing to do anything to bring her back.... even if it is forbidden. Ed and Alphonse Elric attempt at bringing her back with alchemy, through equivilant exchange. But something goes wrong. Alphonse is taken before Ed's eyes and he loses one of his arms. Sacrificing his leg, Ed manages to transmute Al's soul into a suit of armor. Ed gets automail to replace his arm and his leg and the two boys set off on a journey to restore their bodies.

FMA is quite popular. If you'll watch it, then you'll realize why. FMA is funny, suspenseful, and breathtaking all at the same time. There are episodes that focus on humor or action alone so theme can vary per episode. Even if the trailer doesn't look appealing, watch this anyway. I wasn't interested in the trailer and I watched it. Now I'm hooked.

Personally, I like Vic Mignogna as Edward Elric but others comment on that Ed sounds too old and they prefer the Japanese VAs. I haven't heard the Japanese actors so I'm not going to comment on that. The English voices are fine. Even one of my favorites, Greg Ayres, appeared for a few episodes as a chimera so I was happy for that. Chris Patton played Greed perfectly and after hearing Laura Bailey as Tohru Honda (Fruits Basket), I never thought she'd be the one playing Lust. As a note, people complain on Envy's voice. From what I can understand, Envy is supposed to be male. In the English, Envy's voice is clearly female... Sex change, anyone?

FMA can really toss you around emotionally. Some scenes can really funny yet the next moment you are shocked in horror. For some reason, quite a few scenes I found shocking. I thought exactly the opposite of what was going to happen... Not a bad thing, it just everything keeps me guessing.

I love the story and art. This is a soon-to-be classic. Pick FMA up, no questions asked.

UltraManiac

Original Author: Wataru Yoshizumi
Japanese Title: UltraManiac
Episodes: 26
Rating: 7+
Release Studio: Geneon Animation
Release Year: 2005
Main Voice Actors:

Ayu Tateishi ~ Jennifer Sekiguchi
Nina Sakura ~ Carrie Savage
Tetsushi Kaji ~ Tony Oliver
Hiroki Tsujiai ~ Jimmy Benedict
Principal ~ Jimmy Benedict
Yuta Kirishima ~ JimTaggert
Nina's Grandfather ~ Michael McConnohie
Jun Kawanakajima ~ Doug Erholtz
Satomi ~ Sandy Mooney
Akihio ~ Lorelei Hill Butters
Tomoko ~ Lorelei Hill Butters
Mr. Mikami ~ Grant George
Ms. Tamura ~ Lorelei Hill Butters
Magic PC ~ Lorelei Hill Butters

Ayu is the coolest girl at Shuei Junior High. The coolest boy is Tetsushi, whom Ayu has a crush on. But then there's Nina who although looks normal, is actually a witch from a different dimension. She transfered to Shuei Junior High because she couldn't pass the magic classes. Now she's casting all sorts of wacky spells on her friend Ayu to help her with Junior High. The results aren't always what she wants. Maybe she should have studying harder...

Yes, you guessed it! This is a shojo, males beware. Girls are welcome. A friend of mine lent the first four episodes to me so I managed to check it out. The story isn't really my cup of tea, but I enjoyed it all the same. It's entertaining although I'd take Saiyuki or InuYasha anyday. One thing that annoyed me throughout the episodes was the fact whenever Nina has to cast a spell, they have to do that transforming scene. It gets old really fast and made me think of Yu-Gi-Oh. Mind you, that's not a good thing. And Nina always says "Practice!" whenever she casts a spell. The English Voice Actors are alright although there's room for improvement. When Ayu was a boy, the way he/she laughed and always did so also annoyed me. I was surprised at Nina's voice; when I read the sampler manga, Savage's voice and the one I thought of for her were the same. So that's a plus. The same for Ayu. Tetsushi's, Tsujiai's, and Yuta's voices were pretty good as well. No one else really impressed me though. Then again, when it comes to English Voice Actors I've always prefered ADV Films, Funimation, or Viz. *Sigh* No Greg Ayres, Vic Mignogna, David Matranga, Braden Hunt, Illich Guardiola, Jerry Jewell, Laura Bailey, Kevin Corn, Chris Patton, David Kaye, you get the idea. Anyway, UltraManiac is pretty girly and happy and pretty childish if I may add. No cute girls in mini-skirts or sailor fukus. I guess if you want something to give your little sister or daughter this would be something they would like. Humor can be found throughout. Oh, and I really enjoyed the ending song.

Practice!

Kodocha

Creator: Miho Obana
Japanese Title: Kodomo no Omocha
Episodes: 100+
Rating: PG
Release Studio: Funimation Entertainment
Release Year: ?
Main Voice Actors:

Sana Kurata ~ Laura Bailey
Akito Hayama ~ Jerry Jewell
Tsuyoshi Ohki ~ Greg Ayres
Rei Sagami ~ John Burgmeier
Misako Kurata ~ Colleen Clinkenbeard
Babbit ~ Chris Cason
Natsumi Hayama ~ Caitlin Glass
Grandpa Kurata ~ Mike Stoddard

Kodocha is the story of child actress, Sana Kurata. She stars in the television series, "Child's Toy which appears every afternoon. Life must be great with the fans and the fame, right? Not for Sana. Things might look well but Akito Hayama, a classmate, and his band of goons are always wreaking havoc in the classroom. Will Sana discover Akito's weakness or will she learn the consequences for good?

First let me dedicate three words to Kodocha: Weirdest. Anime. Ever. Now don't assume weird is bad. I like this show it's just really weird. For example, watch the Opening and Ending animations. If my life was an anime, I would've had the biggest sweat drop you can imagine on the back of my head. The Voice Actings good, the story is interesting, and Sana is just odd. She raps in the first four episodes and her relationship with Rei, her bodyguard/agent, I don't want to know. The voice acting is great and always a plus is Greg Ayres. Although the rapping is weird, I have to hand it to Laura Bailey. I have no idea how she could do it for four episodes straight (and possibly even more). And let's not forget Jerry Jewell. He is quite the Akito Hayama. At first when I heard he was Akito, I thought it'd be weird but boy does he do a good job. Oh yeah, and one question why is Babbit (flying rabbit/bat thing) there? He's pretty random. I thought Sana would do expaining, not Babbit. And another weird thing what is up with Sana's mom and her hats?! Let alone that a squirrel lives on her head. One complaint, after the first four episodes the main problem is solved so I have no idea how it continues for more than 100 episodes. Not really bad but I'd thought I'd note that. If you like randomness, weird things (or are a weirdo yourself), or can't keep the same thought for ten seconds pick this one up.

Gravitation

Original Author: Maki Murakami
Japanese Title: Gravitation
Episodes: 13 +OVA
Rating: 16+
Release Studio: The Right Stuff International
Release Year: 2004
Main Voice Actors:

Shuichi Shindou ~ Rich McNanna
Eiri Yuki (Eiri Uesugi) ~ Rome Elliot
Hiroshi Nakano ~ Daniel Kevin Harrison
Suguru Fujisaki ~ Luke Novak
Seguchi Tohma ~ Bill Rogers
Ryuichi Sakuma ~ Robert Kenneth Marlo
Noriko Ukai ~ Megan Hollingshead
K (Claude) ~ Brian Maillard
Mika Seguchi ~ Debora Rabbai
Tatsuha Uesugi ~ Jason Griffith
Ayako Usami ~ Rachael Lillis
Sakano ~ Bill Timoney
Taki Aizawa ~ Tim Breese
Maa-kun ~ John Carey
Ken ~ Joe DiGiorgi

Shuichi Shindou is a pretty normal teenager. He has no talent, no experience, and no band, yet he wants to be a rock start anyway. With his friend and guitarist, Hiroshi he plays a gig and is ready to show the world is awesome lyrics! However, a random stranger, Eiri Yuki, sees his lyrics and puts the singer in his place. Unable to stop thinking about Yuki, Shuichi forces himself into Yuki's life. Whether they like it or not, the force that brings the unlikely pair together is like gravity and they can't do anything to stop it.

If you read the manga first, you may be a bit disappointed with the English voices. I thought Shuichi sounded weird.... Anyway, I adore this yaoi manga. The anime was okay to me but seemed rushed amd I rarely had the times where I'd crack up in laughter. Some people say the manga dragged on too long but those are the people who liked the anime. Personally, I'm siding with the manga. Although, I found it weird how different the art looks in the later volumes than the earlier volumes, I loved the manga. The storyline was well thought out and always grabbed and kept my interest (not like Fushigi Yugi which I found out later). Oh yeah, I almost forgot, now there's an OVA, titled Gravitation: Lyrics of Love. I haven't seen it yet, but I'll get my hands on it sooner or later and I'll spill all the details. (If you haven't noticed yet, my other blog Harajuku is dedicated to this series. Therefore, you know it's one of my favorites.) I have to say, I was skeptical when I first saw this manga but boy was I wrong. Gravitation will appeal more to female fans than male, but any yaoi fan should pick this one up. And don't get me wrong by avoiding the anime. I never had the chance of watching the Japanese voices but the English voices aren't bad. They probably could have been better but they were okay all the same. I liked how they kept the original Japanese when Shuichi or Ryuichi were singing. The English for that would probably have been horrible. I also really like the ending song "Glaring Dream". You also probably want to give the opening "Super Drive" a look. If you want to see this, watch the anime first and then the manga. Then you won't be so disappointed when it ends. Or at least, that's what I think.

"I'm stuck on you like gravity. You're the Earth and I'm the moon. I won't leave you."