Our next meeting will be October 27th from 5-6pm. We’ll be watching episodes 1 and 26 of Shounen Onmyouji. Hope to see you all there!

This Boy, Seimei’s Successor
At a first glance, Abe no Masahiro, youngest grandson of the famous Abe no Seimei, does not seem to have any talent. He tries hard at everything, but never manages to succeed. However, things are about to change when Masahiro meets up with a mysterious mononoke. The mononoke claims that he can help Masahiro achieve his dream: to become an Onmyouji.

When the Imperial Palace Burned
Masahiro is now officially an onmyouji-in-training. In celebration, his father takes him to visit the head of the important Fujiwara clan. While there visiting the Fujiwara clan’s castle, he meets the princess, Akiko, who can also see spirits. And when the castle, and the princess, later come under attack it will be up to Masahiro to save her life.

Our next meeting will be October 13th from 5-6pm. We’ll be watching episodes 25 and 26 of Ouran High School Host Club. This will be the last episodes of Ouran, and next meeting we will be switching to Shounen Onmyouji!

The Host Club’s Declaration of Dissolution
The time of the 43rd annual Ouran Festival has arrived and the Host Club, of course, participates in their own way. Things become hectic though when Tamaki and Kyoya’s fathers come to see them and Tamaki is forced to make a decision. What will become of the Host Club once the Festival is over?

This is Our Ouran Festival
The festival continues as the Host Club worries about Tamaki. Things take a turn for the worse when the Host Club finds out Tamaki is leaving the country. Can the Host Club reach Tamaki and tell him he’s got it all wrong about their feelings before he leaves?

What they say:
The only person with a chance to melt Kazuma’s chilly exterior is the same red hot firebrand who incinerated his chances of a happy home life. Ayano is the smoldering redhead that issued a royal beat down to her cousin and staked her claim to the Kannagi Clan’s sacred sword. This stubborn flame thrower is a prodigy when it comes to making things explode, but she fights with an enraged, reckless abandon that could get her burned. Put her in the same room as Kazuma, and there’s bound to be fireworks. Trouble looms on the horizon, and a pairing of Wind and Fire is Tokyo’s best bet to survive the night and see the light of day – provided it can take the heat.

What this Librarian says:
In this half of the series, Kazuma has been back in Tokyo for a few months now. He’s mellowed considerably since then, though he still delights in tormenting the people around him, especially his younger cousin and resident hothead, Ayano. But under that new persona still lies the heartbreak that has given him the reputation as one of the most brutal magic users ever.

When a new game called Pandemonium has been making the rounds though the city, giving the teens that participate magic powers of their own, Ayano is sent to look into it. But when she comes face to face with the mastermind and his puppet, Lapis, things take a sudden turn for the worse with Kazuma. It’s up to Ayano to find a way to get through to Kazuma and bring him back to their side.

A satisfying conclusion to the series, though for romance junkies might find themselves just a little disappointed that there wasn’t a more concrete resolution to the relationship between Kazuma and Ayano. The quality of the animation did start to falter a bit in the last few episodes, but mostly with secondary character and some of the more dynamic backgrounds. The final battle is a little confusing and a great deal of explanation is left out, but it was still enjoyable.

Information:
Episodes: 24
Rating: 14+
Year: 2007 (Japan), 2009 (USA)

What they say:
Naruto Uzumaki is back! After a long training journey with one of the Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya, Naruto has returned older, a little bit wiser, and a lot stronger! Sakura’s been studying under another of the Sannin, Tsunade, and is now an accomplished medic ninja with a few new battle skills of her own.

To show off their new skills, Naruto and Sakura team up to take on their old master, Kakashi. While the three battle it out, the Village Hidden in the Sand is infiltrated by the Akatsuki, who are after Naruto’s old rival and the newest Kazekage of the Sand – Gaara!

What this Librarian says:
If you put up with the more than 40 filler episodes at the end of the original Naruto series, then it’s time to welcome series two, Naruto Shippuden (Hurricane Chronicles). After almost three years away from the village of Konoha and all his friends there, Naruto has returned a little stronger and a little wiser, but only a little wiser. He’s still Konoha’s number one unpredictable ninja.

This first volume spends most of the time setting up Naruto’s return to the village and how his most important mission yet, retrieving the long absent Sasuke, will go. But things rarely go as planned when you throw a bunch of teenage ninjas in the same room together, and Naruto has a lot of catching up to do, all of his classmates have managed to move up in the ranks to Chunin or Jounin while Naruto is still a beginner Genin. And now Akatsuki, a group of powerful rogue ninja, is on the move and their newest target is Gaara, the newest Kazekage!

Shippuden is a great follow up to the original series. But now that Naruto is a little older and series has also geared up as far as content. While not being too far off from the original in content, there is still a bit more violence than previously, so is may not be appropriate for the younger crowds anymore.

Information:
Episodes: 133 (Ongoing)
Rating: 15+
Year: 2007 (Japan), 2009 (USA)

Our next meeting will be September 29th from 5-6pm. We’ll be watching episodes 23 and 24 of Ouran High School Host Club.

About episodes 23 & 24:
Tamaki’s Unconscious Melancholy
A student outside of the Host Club has learned Haruhi’s secret. Can the Host Club stop the student from spreading Haruhi’s secret? And just what are Tamaki’s feelings for Haruhi?

And Thus, Kyoya Met Him
After Haruhi asks him, Kyoya thinks back on how he met Tamaki and how the Host Club came to be, and how he and Tamaki formed an unlikely friendship.

Well, the poll has closed and the votes are tallied and our new series starting October 27th will be Shonen Onmyouji!

Abe no Masahiro is the grandson of the great sorcerer Abe no Seimei. Unfortunately for him, his grandfather did such a great job in the past, he really hasn’t had a need to perform any magical duties. As a result, Masahiro has lost his sixth sense and the ability to see spirits. One day, a demon drops from the sky and proclaims that Masahiro must continue his grandfather’s work or perish in flames!

Our next meeting will be September 15th from 5-6pm. We’ll be watching episodes 21 and 22 of Ouran High School Host Club.

I also want to remind everyone to vote for our new series that we’ll be starting on October 27th. I’m going to be closing the poll soon (probably between 9/18 or 9/22), so don’t forget to get your votes in ASAP! And don’t forget, you get more than one vote! ()

About Episodes 21 & 22

Until the Day When it Becomes a Pumpkin
It’s almost time to celebrate Halloween at Ouran Academy and Haruhi’s class is getting ideas for things to do. Renge then comes up with her own idea for a scary Halloween special. Unfortunately for the class president, who can’t stand scary things or the dark, the rest of the class approves. Will this Halloween night result in fright, or in romance?

The Desire to Apprentice to Mori-senpai
The Host Club cosplays in samurai outfits when they’re interrupted by a boy named Ritsu who wants to become Mori’s apprentice in order to become less frightening. The Host Club decides to chip in and help, but will they just make things worse than they were before? And what will happen when Ritsu starts to get a crush on Haruhi?

Our next meeting will be September 1st from 5-6pm. We’ll be watching episodes 19 and 20 of Ouran High School Host Club.

I also want to remind everyone to vote for our new series that we’ll be starting on October 27th. Head here to cast your vote!

About episodes 19 and 20.

The Lobelia Girls’ Academy’s Counterattack
The Zuka Club is back, and they’re after Haruhi for their club again. This time, she has been convinced to take part in one of the Zuka Club’s performances. Plus, to spite Tamaki, Benio decides to steal a kiss from Haruhi right in front of him. Will the performance be a success? Will the Host Club thwart the kiss?

The Door the Twins Opened
In the past Hikaru and Kaoru have always played the “Which One is Hikaru” game on people, even cruelly tricking a girl who wanted to give them a love letter. They’ve always ignored everyone else but themselves because of an incident in the past, until Tamaki came to them and asked them to be in his Host Club. There is a catch though, Tamaki must first win in the “Which One is Hikaru” game. Tamaki doesn’t seem to have any luck, so how did the Twins first become part of the Host Club?

Heroic Age
Long ago, the advanced Tribe of Gold vanished from the vast universe. In the void left by their departure, the tyrannical Tribe of Silver ascended to rule, forcing mankind – the Iron Tribe – to the brink of extinction. Now humanity wanders the cosmos in search of a savior.
Prophesy has foretold of one who will labor for their freedoms, and on a planet of ruin, a champion is found. A feral boy named Age holds the destiny of their species in his hands and the untold power of the Tribe of Hero within.

Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok
Ah, how the mighty have fallen! Caged inside a little boy’s body and banished to Earth by the almighty Odin, the still-proud and powerful Loki now runs the Enjaku Detective Agency. Joined by his trusted assistant Yamino and a beautiful (but accident prone) high school girl named Mayura, Loki earns a living probing the darkest corners of the paranormal, the occult, and the otherwise peculiar. And yet the one metaphysical mystery that involves him directly remains unsolved: what has he done to be exiled to Earth? How can he return to Asgard? Why do the other Norse Gods want him dead?

Samurai Troopers
Long ago, the evil Arago and his Dynasty waged war upon the Earth from his supernatural realm. Defeated by a lone warrior, Arago was banished, but never forgotten. Reigniting his thirst for power, Arago along with his Warlords have once again invaded the mortal realm seeking to conquer the inhabitants of the Earth once and for all. But the forces of darkness are not unopposed – Protected by a mystical elemental armor, five young men are the last line of defense against Arago and his supernatural army.

Shonen Onmyouji
Abe no Masahiro is the grandson of the great sorcerer Abe no Seimei. Unfortunately for him, his grandfather did such a great job in the past, he really hasn’t had a need to perform any magical duties. As a result, Masahiro has lost his sixth sense and the ability to see spirits. One day, a demon drops from the sky and proclaims that Masahiro must continue his grandfather’s work or perish in flames!

Vision of Escaflowne
Hitomi Kanzaki is a typical high school girl, with typical problems, but when a vision of a young man battling a dragon becomes a reality, her life changes forever.
Drawn into a strange vortex with the swordsman, Van, Hitomi is thrust into the strange world of Gaea. Van must learn to master the suit of armor, Escaflowne, before he and Hitomi are crushed by the ambitions of the Empire of Zaibach.

What they say:
The Fullmetal Alchemist universe expands with new stories that reunite the original U.S. cast in four eye-opening tales available for the first time outside of Japan.

In the Interactive Experience, you’re on the front line against the Homunculus scourge. In the Live Action Featurette, the search for truth continues in modern Japan. The Kids Short offers proof that innocence lost can be found again. Finally, you’re invited to the Chibi Wrap Party, but don’t arrive late… With Gluttony on the guest list, the finger foods – and fingers – probably won’t last long.

What this Librarian says:
With as popular as the Fullmetal Alchemist series is, you would think these neat little shorts would have been brought over sooner. But better late than never, I suppose. Fun, and definitely worth picking up.

The ‘Interactive Experience’ is a ten minute set of shorts that look to have been from an interactive exhibit at Universal Studios Japan detailing the on the job training of an unnamed alchemist newly assigned to Colonel Mustang’s office. And as usual, things start to explode. The ‘Live Action Featurette’ uses the full scale Alphonse statue in shots taken all over the city. ‘The Kids’ shows three kids (who look remarkably like younger versions of Ed, Al and Winry) in a little adventure through the city as they try to find someone. And the ‘Chibi Wrap Party’ is a chance for the cast of the movie to take a break after filming is finally done, but with the usual nut ball results when you get every one in the same room.

Information:
Episodes: 4
Rating: 13+
Year: 2006 (Japan), 2009 (USA)