Now, to deliver what I promised…

Title: Mahou Shoujo Tai
Year: 2004
Total Episodes: 40
Categories: Adventure, Fantasy, Magic
Fansubbed Version Watched: AnimeForever
Episodes I Watched So Far: 30
Episodes Available ATM: 30

Alice, a human girl, is transported to a world of magic and brings with her a magic book that was entrusted to her by her father. And there, she gets her first hostile encounter with witches (not mages, but witches… darn, I still prefer ‘mage’ since ‘witch’ just has that negative connotation you know)

P.S. I’m sidetracking here. Just for your information, these are a few definitions of ‘witch’ from www.dictionary.com:

1. A hag.
2. A woman considered to be spiteful or overbearing

Anyway, that’s basically the starting point of the series. After that, Alice befriends “somewhat” the two apprentice witches that “had the opportunity” to meet her first. Now, I say somewhat because Alice (after being caught by those two apprentice witches in the beginning) happens to release all the sprites (magical beings that are required to use magic) that were kept captive by the witches for their use. That’s really bad.

Personal Comments:
Well, since the episodes are about 10 minutes long, the 30 episodes so far are actually less than 15 normal episodes in content. The story in the beginning is pretty slow, where Alice basically assimilates into witch society and later, starts exploring the boundaries of the magic world. Only from the later episodes do we see the mysteries surrounding Alice, and the magic book she brought over, begin to unravel.

I know I’m being abrupt here, but… In any case, I would like to watch more episodes… But not before I watch Mai-Otome Ep. 7, now. That basically sums it up.

Title: Gokujou Seitokai (or Best Student Council)
Year: 2005
Total Episodes: 26
Categories: School Life, Some Drama
Fansubbed Version Watched: 3WA-Subs
Episodes I Watched So Far: 19
Episodes Available ATM: 19

This series catalogs the ups and downs of the Maximum Authority Student Council (or Gokujou Seitokai) of Miyagami Academy - a relatively new school setup by the Student Council President, Jinguuji Kanade, herself. Apparently, Kanade is such a charismatic character that many aspire to join the Gokujou Seitokai just to get near her.

But while she is an important character, the heroine of the story is Randou Rino, who recently lost her only source of support - her mother. But, not to worry because her pen-pal comes to save the day; he/she offers to setup Rino at Miyagami Academy.

Moreover, Rino is always accompanied by Pu-chan, one of those hand-type dolls (dunno what its proper name is…) who apparently has a life of its own.

Personal Comments:
Gokujou Seitokai is definitely of those light-hearted anime that you would prefer to watch to relax. In this regard, it has a rather interesting cast of characters, especially with a foreigner (Cindy Manabe) that doesn’t seem to be able to say anything except ‘uh’, ‘yes’ and other equivalent statements.

You’ll find that the initial parts of the series do not seem to develop the story much, but as the series progresses (about the middle), we see glimpses of the secrets behind Randou Rino, Jinguuji Kanade as well as Pu-chan. In fact, there are other mysteries too, but that’s for you to discover.

Its a pity that the series is being subbed quite slowly, but given that only 3WA is doing it, then we should definitely appreciate their effort. The problem probably lies with the lack of response being given to this particular series.

I know I didn’t say I was watching this, but I kinda forgot. Here’s some info and my personal take on it.

Title: Jigoku Shoujo (or Hell Girl)
Year: 2005
Total Episodes: 26
Categories: Horror, Serial (I mean really serial, you’ll see what I mean)
Fansubbed Version Watched: Ayu
Episodes I Watched So Far: 2
Available Episodes ATM: 2

The premise of the story is the existence of Hell’s Correspondence, which seems to be a revenge service that can be contacted through a website that can only be seen at 12 midnight. Anyone who wishes to get revenge only needs to type the ‘revengee’s (lol) name in.

But of course, nothing is free. By doing so, the person who requested the revenge will be sent to hell after death. So, in the mean time, you live your normal life. Kinda useful if there’s someone blackmailing you to death eh.

For more info., visit: http://www.animenfo.com/animetitle,1969,nxailn,jigoku_shojo.html

Personal Comments:
The first two episodes at least had zero connection. It seems that the series (at least in the beginning) is based on the concept of “1 episode, 1 revenge”. But it seems that we get a better look at the Hell Correspondence’s executor, a girl named Emma Ai, after each episode. So there is a plot. But, I would like to see some sort of twist arising from the later parts of the series.

Title: Bleach
Year: 2004
Total Episodes: Unknown
Categories: Action, Martial Arts
Fansubbed Version Watched: Many, Many Different Ones
Episodes I Watched So Far: 59

Truthfully, this anime doesn’t need much explanation. It’s currently one of the most popular manga (Japanese comic book) adaptations being aired. So, I’ll keep it simple.
It starts with a 15-year old boy, Kurosaki Ichigo, whose family is attacked by evil spiritual beings known as Hollows. A Shinigami (or Death God), Kuchiki Rukia, comes to save the day, only to fail (in a sense). She ends up sharing her powers (or in this case, more towards transferring her powers) to Kurosaki Ichigo, who manages to defeat the Hollow.
The story then begins, with Kurosaki Ichigo being a Replacement Shinigami.

Personal Comments:
I have to say that I love the combat system in Bleach. They have these Soul Slayers that have really cool powers. I better not say too much, in case I end up spoiling the story. But the battles tend to be pretty long-winded and Naruto, in this respect, displays more fluid battles (but to me, Bleach’s battle scenes are still cooler of course). Watch it!

Title: Ginban Kaleidoscope
Year: 2005
Total Episodes: Unknown
Categories: Sports, Drama
Fansubbed Version Watched: Arienai-Conclave
Episodes I Watched So Far: 3

A drama-type series about a supposedly beautiful figure skater, Sakurano Tazusa, who’s at the same time unbelievably hot-headed when it comes to interviews with the media and of course, her rivals. Not that her rivals have anything to worry about at the moment: She’s been failing to shine at every skating event so far and as a result, has a place on the Japanese squad at risk.
Bring in a Canadian ghost, Pete, that ends up posessing Tazusa for no particular reason (except fate that is) and we find ourselves with an interesting premise. In the beginning at least, we see a hostile relationship between the two, but it seems that their relationship will soon improve…

Personal Comments:
A fun to watch series for now, but nothing particularly spectacular. It’s coming out pretty slow as well, but it’s one of the few fansubs (if there’s any other at the moment) that’s using .mp4 too. But I kinda want to see how the story develops…

P.S. A bit too many ‘but’s there I suppose…