DVD Review – Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle vol. 1

From the Back of the Box:
The fates shine upon young archeologist Syaoran and his life-long love, the Princess Sakura. As the moon hovers silently above the kingdom, a beautiful and otherworldly sound fills the air, drawing the princess to the ancient ruins. Her latent powers stir, awakening an ability to cross dimensions. But the process is interrupted as unseen forces conspire to claim this magic as their own.
Sakura’s soul is sent adrift across the universe, each memory a feather dancing through the stars. Syaoran will make heroic sacrifices to track down the remnants of her soul… With fellow travelers Kurogane and Fai, a warrior and a wizard, the epic quest begins.

This Librarian’s Review:
While the anime adaptation may not be completely accurate to the original manga, Tsubasa fairs better thus far in adaptation than most other series by the CLAMP team. 
Tsubasa is an interesting series for any longtime fan of CLAMP, they have recycled characters from nearly every manga series they have ever done. The only thing truly lacking in the DVD release is a detailed breakdown of the characters that have been reused from older series, something which Del Rey manga volumes have done quite well.

Information:
Episodes: 52
Rating: 13+
Year: 2005 (Japan), 2008 (USA)

Next Meeting Details

The next meeting for the Anime Club is scheduled for May 24th at 4pm. We will be watching Black Cat episodes 5 and 6.

About volume 2:

As all attempt to hide and heal, Train’s conscience grows deep… Deep enough to make the decision to leave Chronos for good. Unfortunately for him, the life he has left proves unwilling to let him go. Creed is sent out to retrieve their best assassin, but when he fails to bring Train back into the fold Sephiria sends her officers to make sure things go right. Never send a man to do a woman’s job. Following his first failed attempt to recruit Train, Creed resorts to more desperate measures, eventually seeking out that which Train cares for most… Saya. What is the cost of redemption for the damned?

DVD Review – Kamikaze Girls

I know, I know, it’s not anime. But it is based on a Japanese novel that was later turned into a manga. And it was far too much fun to pass up on.

From the back of the box:
Momoko is an ordinary girl, living an ordinary life. Ordinary, that is, if you define ordinary as wearing elaborate lolita dresses from the Rococo period in 18th Century France. A complete fish out of water in her rural and sleepy Japanese town, where everyone buys their clothes (and everything else) at the same store and no one understands her, Momoko’s life is one of sugared sweets and frilly treats. Desperate to make some money to pay for her expensive indulgence, Momoko tries selling bootleg Ver*ace and Uni*ersal Studios clothes left over from her Dad’s yakuza days. However, when punk girl and self-styled ‘Yanki’ Ichiko comes calling, her days as ‘ordinary’ are most certainly numbered… Road movie, buddy comedy, deeply insightful and surprisingly touching, the surreal world only further highlights the all too real friendship that brings these two unlikely girls together.

This Librarian’s Review:
This movie must not be missed. Yeah, it is a movie about two girls and their off beat friendship, but it’s what makes them friends that makes this movie so important. Watching them grow up and learn how to be adults without missing out on what makes life a joy to live may even teach a few lessons. Also, try watching the movie once through, then watch it again with Sideways Mode on. Cabbages will show up on screen signifying when cultural notes are available.

Information:
Runtime: 100 minutes
Rating: 13+
Year: 2004 (Japan), 2006 (USA)

Next Meeting Details – Special Viewing

The next meeting for the Anime Club is scheduled for May 10th at 4pm.

The club will be participating in a special viewing of the TV series Black Cat, sponsored by FUNimation. We’ll be viewing episodes 3 and 4 this week, finishing the disc. All members are encouraged to attend this meeting to fill out surveys for FUNimation. These surveys are for the company to test which anime kids are most interested in, and which ones to release next. Filling out the surveys also means free anime for the club! We get to keep the titles for you to watch again later!

About Black Cat: 

Sven is your run-of-the-mill sweeper - down on his luck, haunted by the perpetual grumbling of his stomach and looking to make enough cash to get by. Oh, and he can see the future, but only about five minutes into it. When a dirty politician lands a price on his head, the sweeper jumps at the chance to earn a quick buck, but as he’s working to secure the target, his vision reveals an assassination that will cost him the job. A confrontation with the mysterious killer and Sven has no idea that he’s brushed up against the worst possible luck.

Boys v. Girls, The Answers!

Tsukasa – .hack//SIGN
Tsukasa is played by a woman by the name of Saiga Mitsuki. Saiga-san has played nearly as many boy parts as she has female!

Roger Smith – The Big O
Yep. A guy, one Miyamoto Mitsuru. But I suppose that was an easy one.

Train Heartnet – Black Cat
If you didn’t guess man, you need to clean out your ears. With a voice that deep, Kondo Takashi probably always needs to play the part of guys.

Conan Edogawa – Case Closed
Here’s a twister. Conan is played by a woman, Takayama Minami, who was also the lead singer of the band ‘Two-Mix’ (remember the openings for the show Gundam Wing), but Shinichi, Conan’s real self before he gets shrunk by the bad guys, is played by a man, Yamaguchi Kappei. 

Edward Elric – Fullmetal Alchemist
Surprise, surprise! If you didn’t guess that Paku Romi is actually a woman, don’t worry. Even I didn’t realize it until the second episode!

Quatre Winner – Gundam Wing
This one oughtta be easy. Quatre is played by a woman, Orikasa Ai, and she’s been in five other Gundam series; 0080, F91, Seed, SD Gundam, and Victory.

Hikaru Shindo – Hikaru no Go
Here’s another surprise, Kawakami Tomoko is a woman! Kawakami-san usually plays female parts, but I think she makes a very believable boy.

Ferio – Magic Knight Rayearth
This series may be a little old for some of you to have seen, but Ferio is played by Yamazaki Takumi, who is definately a guy.

Zero Enna – Pilot Candidate
The eternal doofus of GOA is played by a guy, Obi Yukimasa. This was his debut in voice acting.

Ryoma Echizen – Prince of Tennis
Totally a woman! Minagawa Junko often plays the parts of boys, including Ion Fortuna from Trinity Blood.

Hakkai – Saiyuki
Ishida Akira is a guy, an odd sounding guy sometimes I’ll admit, but still a guy. You may also have heard him in Naruto as the seriously crazy Gaara.

Kurama – Yu Yu Hakusho
This one may have thrown you, but Ogata Megumi is a woman! The role of Kurama, the demon soul in a boy’s body, was Ogata-san’s debut.