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Bleach is an enormously popular anime and manga series. Everyone already knows about it, right?

But with all of the anime out there to be watched, you may have given Bleach a miss, figuring all shonen series are the same. However, Bleach is one of the best shonen series for good reasons.

The hero of Bleach is Ichigo Kurosaki, a 15-year-old who receives shinigami (soul reaper) powers from Rukia Kuchiki, a shinigami from Soul Society. Soul Society is the place where souls go after they die, and shinigami are responsible for sending souls who are stuck on Earth for various reasons on to the other side. Ichigo’s school friends also develop special powers, and together they embark upon the series of adventures that comprise the storyline of Bleach.

Bleach is all about the fighting. There aren’t many emotion-driven or relationship-driven scenes – this is a shonen story after all – but on the rare occasions when an emotionally-charged moment is required the series definitely lives up to it. (The episode when Rukia’s execution day arrives and Ichigo comes to saves her is a good example.) But generally, what fuels Bleach is the sense of adventure and great fight scenes between characters with strange and fantastical powers.

Along with all of the action scenes, Bleach features a huge cast of colorful characters, in particular the captains and vice-captains of the thirteen Soul Society protection squads. It’s a tribute to creator Tite Kubo’s imagination that he has created so many fascinating characters that there’s going to be at least a few you’ll be intrigued by, and continue to watch the series for. Ichigo is also an engaging hero and deservedly one of the most popular protagonists in all of anime.

So if you’ve been avoiding Bleach, you may want to give it a try – because you’ve been missing out on a lot of fun.

Bleach was created by Tite Kubo. The manga is published by Viz Media, and the anime is produced by Studio Pierrot.

Jan Suzukawa works in the manga industry as a freelance editor and English adaptation writer. Website: www.jansuzukawa.com. Blog: jansuzukawa.blogspot.com.

If you’re in the mood for atmospheric horror anime set in samurai-era Japan, Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales makes for a nicely creepy evening or two of anime entertainment. Each self-contained tale is vastly different in tone from the other stories, and can be watched separately from the others.

The first is the darkest of the three stories. Yotsuya Kaidan (Yotsuya Ghost Story) is a retelling of a traditional Japanese ghost story. Tamiya Iemon, a ronin samurai, marries a beautiful woman named Oiwa; but after the birth of their child he grows restless. When a scheming young woman from a rich family offers her family’s wealth if he will marry her, Iemon agrees. The young woman poisons Oiwa, and Oiwa later dies; but after death she continues to haunt her former husband and all of his associates. The character designs for Yotsuya Kaidan are by famed artist Yoshitaka Amano.

The second tale is Tenshu Monogatari (Goddess of the Dark Tower), a haunting romantic drama set in feudal Japan about Zushonosuke, a falconer, who is ordered by his domain lord to retrieve an expensive falcon that has escaped. While searching for the falcon, Zushonosuke comes across a beautiful woman bathing in a lake, Tomihime. He follows the falcon to the woman’s castle, only to discover that she is a fallen god and the falcon is actually the spirit of her mother. Her mother committed the sin of falling in love with a human – the same sin Tomihime comes to fear she will commit with Zushonosuke. The tone of Tenshu Monogatari, rather than horror, is more romantic and supernatural.

The final installment of Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales, entitled Bake Neko (Goblin Cat), employs a fascinating and unique art style as background to a quirky horror story. A demon cat haunts a corrupt rich family. A traveling medicine seller arrives, and as the demon cat’s attacks increase the medicine seller promises to exorcise it, but only if he understands why the family is being haunted – which leads to the unveiling of the family’s dark history and secrets.

Incidentally, Bake Neko gave rise to a separate anime series, Mononoke, which follows the continuing adventures of the enigmatic medicine seller, utilizing the same unusual art style.

Each of the three tales is around two hours in length (Goblin Cat is a little shorter, at one and one-half hours).

Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales was produced by Toei Animation and licensed by Geneon.

Jan Suzukawa works in the manga industry as a freelance editor and English adaptation writer. Website: www.jansuzukawa.com. Blog: jansuzukawa.blogspot.com.

Two Anime Series Featuring Mini-Episodes About Cats

Some days are stressful, and can only be made better by… watching mini-episodes of anime series featuring cats. 

Chi’s Sweet Home is about a kitten who becomes separated from her mother and is discovered lying on the ground by Youhei, a little boy. Youhei is an only child whose family lives in an apartment building that doesn’t allow pets, so he and his parents have to keep Chi hidden. While they search for someone else to take Chi in, they begin to fall in love with the little cutie.

If you’ve ever wondered what your cat is thinking, this series may be of some assistance. Chi speaks so that the viewer understands her, but the human characters only hear her making typical cat noises. The actor playing Chi sounds just like an insatiably curious young kitten having adventures, if said kitten could speak. The creators have perfectly captured the habits and quirks of cats, like how they can become mesmerized by a moving shoelace, and hate baths (Chi screams that she’s going to die while they’re bathing her). The dad in the family becomes enamored of Chi, on one occasion buying a multitude of cat toys for her, only to find Chi just wants to play with the rustling plastic bag he brought the toys home in.

The second season, Chi’s New Address, shows the family moving to a new apartment just so they can keep Chi. Each Chi episode is only three minutes long, so you can indulge in taking a cat break whenever you need to.

For a completely different kind of cat-centric anime, there’s Neko Rahmen (“Cat Ramen”), a 13-episode series about a cat who owns a ramen shop. Neko Rahmen is more for teenagers and adults than young children, as its humor is more sophisticated. Taisho, a cheerfully unprincipled ramen chef, has only one regular customer, the affable Mr. Tanaka. Despite his not very good ramen, Taisho schemes to expand his business by using bizarre tactics, such as serving ramen topped with cat food to a famous food critic (who turns out to love it) and hiring ineffective assistants, like the French chef who tries to turn the ramen shop into a French bistro. My favorite episode has Taisho experimenting with the menu, offering up “Dessert Ramen” (ramen topped with strawberries and milk “for the ladies”) and “Gone Slightly Bad Ramen” with ingredients that have gone… slightly bad.

Neko Rahmen episodes are even shorter than the Chi episodes, logging in at only two and a half minutes apiece. You can watch the entire series in just under 35 minutes!

Chi’s Sweet Home is produced by Madhouse Ltd. Neko Rahmen is produced by Think Corporation. The second season of Chi’s Sweet Home and all of the Neko Rahmen episodes are available for viewing at Crunchyroll: www.crunchyroll.com.

Jan Suzukawa works in the manga industry as a freelance editor and English adaptation writer. Website: www.jansuzukawa.com. Blog: jansuzukawa.blogspot.com.

Since we’re heading into the winter season, I thought it might be fun to review an anime that is set in the wintry locale of Hokkaido.

There doesn’t seem to be much josei anime out there, but one that stands out is Diamond Daydreams, a 13-episode series about six young women in the northern island of Hokkaido in Japan. Originally titled Diamond Dustdrops, the title referred to the ice-crystal phenomenon where the crystals glitter like diamond dust in the winter sky. The folk legend has it that wishes made upon seeing the diamond dust come true.

The six women live in different cities in Hokkaido and come from various backgrounds. Atsuko works in a Hakodate fish shop with her mother. Although she is already committed for a future arranged marriage, she finds herself attracted to an older man, a local jazz musician. Young Karin is an invalid in the hospital whose doctor tries to convince her to have a needed operation; but since her father died while undergoing surgery, she’s afraid to. Kyoko, a trendy filmmaker, is a demanding perfectionist whose controlling nature threatens her relationship with her easygoing boyfriend.

Suomi is a professional ice-skater with a secret from her childhood. Shoko is a radio talk show host in Sapporo who advises listeners on their love life problems – and who is secretly dating a married man herself. And in the final story, Akari struggles to support her widower father, who is ailing after his wife’s death.

Each character’s story is told in two episodes, with the final 13th episode serving as a grand finale in which each woman’s story is brought to a conclusion. The DVD set also features interesting extras on Hokkaido as a travel destination. If you need a break from shonen fight scenes and shojo schoolgirl stories, Diamond Daydreams might be the perfect anime to watch on a cold winter evening.

Diamond Daydreams was produced by Studio Deen and is distributed by ADV Films.

This column will be taking a break for the holidays, and will return in January. Happy holidays, everyone!

Jan Suzukawa works in the manga industry as a freelance editor and English adaptation writer. Website: www.jansuzukawa.com. Blog: jansuzukawa.blogspot.com.

Night Head Genesis is a dark and atmospheric – and oddly overlooked – anime series based on Night Head, a 1992 Japanese live-action TV series.

Naoto and Naoya Kirihara are two brothers with incredible psychic abilities. Unfortunately for them, this results in their being taken from their parents as young children and imprisoned in a research center located in an isolated mountain wilderness for fifteen years.

The story begins when the energy barrier surrounding the research center suddenly dissolves, enabling the brothers to escape. Now young men, Naoto and Naoya reenter the world they’ve been protected from for years – or perhaps, the world that has been protected from them for years.

Naoto, the older brother, has psychokinesis, or the ability to move objects using his mind. He is protective of Naoya, quick to anger, and can hurt others through his psychic abilities when he loses his temper. Naoya is clairvoyant and telepathic, and frequently afflicted by traumatic visions when physically touched by other people. In contrast to the more confident Naoto, Naoya is sensitive and timid, usually hiding behind Naoto figuratively (and sometimes literally). As the brothers had only each other to rely on for so long, they have an extremely close bond.

Naoto and Naoya are soon confronted by mysterious events involving other psychically-gifted people, including a female serial killer, and an unusual girl named Shouko who appears to be connected to the spirit realm.

The brothers learn that a vision predicts they will cause mankind’s extinction in an event known as “the Upheaval.” The Ark Corporation, a shadowy organization alluded to early on, becomes central to the plot in the final third of the series. Naoto and Naoya close in on the secret behind the Ark Corporation, but the time of the Upheaval is rapidly approaching…

Veteran seiyuu Toshiyuki Morikawa and Akira Ishida portray the Kirihara brothers. The attractive character designs are by manga artist You Higuri. The overall mood of the series is somber and often creepy. Due to frequent adult themes, Night Head Genesis isn’t suitable for younger than pre-teenage children.

Night Head Genesis is a 24-episode series, licensed in the U.S. by AnimeWorks and Media Blasters.

Jan Suzukawa works in the manga industry as a freelance editor and English adaptation writer. Website: www.jansuzukawa.com. Blog: jansuzukawa.blogspot.com.

If you’re a fan of director Satoshi Kon’s brilliant anime series Paranoia Agent, but haven’t seen any of his feature films – you might consider seeing possibly his greatest film to date: the dazzling, futuristic Paprika (2006).

Paprika opens with police detective Konakawa Toshimi being counseled by “Paprika,” a lively red-haired young woman. As it turns out, Paprika is actually the alter ego of Dr. Atsuko Chiba, a research psychoanalyst. Using the “DC Mini,” an experimental device that enables the viewing of a person’s dreams, Dr. Chiba enters the dreams of others in the virtual persona of Paprika in order to treat them.

Three DC Minis get stolen from the lab, and evidence points to it being an inside job. One by one, the scientists at the lab and other characters are brought into the dream world, as the real world and dream world begin to collide.

Dr. Chiba avoids dealing with her emotions and focuses instead on science, while Det. Toshimi is haunted by a recurring nightmare that seems important, but which he can’t discern the meaning of. Their stories intertwine throughout the film as each comes to a realization of their own truth and, in Dr. Chiba’s case, a recognition of what is missing from her life as well.

A recurring image of a dream world parade of cultural icons and strange creatures, symbolic of what captivates people and what people dream about, weaves in and out of Paprika, eventually spilling into the real world at the climax of the film.

Of Satoshi Kon’s feature films – Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers and Perfect Blue being the others – Paprika is by far my favorite. The art is full of colorful kinetic imagery, making the film a visual feast; and the music score is top-notch, particularly the solemn yet quirky background music of the dream parade.

Paprika was produced by Madhouse/Rainbow SPA and distributed by Sony Pictures Classics.

Jan Suzukawa works in the manga industry as a freelance editor and English adaptation writer. Website: www.jansuzukawa.com. Blog: jansuzukawa.blogspot.com.

It’s no small achievement when a movie accomplishes everything it set out to do. Although the plot and characterization are spare, Sword of the Stranger tells the story it meant to tell – and does it beautifully.

Set in late Edo period Japan, Sword of the Stranger is about Kotaro, a young boy who is fleeing from the Chinese Emperor’s soldiers. Along the way Kotaro meets “Nanashi” (“No Name”), a mysterious samurai loner. Together with Kotaro’s dog Tobimaru, the three form a family of sorts on the road as they stay one step ahead of Kotaro’s pursuers.

Among the boy’s pursuers is another mysterious loner: Luo-Lang, a blond-haired and blue-eyed stranger from the West. Luo-Lang’s secret personal agenda is to find the greatest opponent and fight the ultimate fight, as outwardly he serves the Chinese Emperor in searching for Kotaro.

The samurai swordplay and fight scenes are exciting and perfectly choreographed. The relationship that forms between the gentle-spirited Nanashi and little feisty Kotaro is believable in its development. And the pacing of the movie feels just right – moved forward by thrilling action sequences, but slowing down when it needs to in order to further develop the story and characters. The theme music is stately and memorable, complementing the mood of the film perfectly.

Sword of the Stranger is an understated gem and deserving of a much wider audience than it has had to date.

Sword of the Stranger (2008) was directed by Masahiro Ando and produced by Bones.

Jan Suzukawa works in the manga industry as a freelance editor and English adaptation writer. Website: www.jansuzukawa.com. Blog: jansuzukawa.blogspot.com.

Kumiko “Yankumi” Yamaguchi is a cheerful and somewhat ditzy-seeming homeroom teacher for a class of delinquents at Shirokin Gakuen, a private high school for boys. She is small of stature, wears glasses, and looks unimposing. But things are not quite what they seem with the new teacher. The boys in her homeroom class are tough, but Yankumi – as it turns out – is a whole lot tougher than any of them.

The Gokusen is a comedy anime series that presents a fresh twist on the old person-torn-between-two-worlds scenario. Kumiko’s dream has always been to teach; but after her parents’ death she was raised by her grandfather Kuroda, who just happened to be the head of the Oedo Group – a powerful yakuza clan. As Kuroda’s only heir, Kumiko is set to inherit the leadership of the clan.

Since Kumiko’s connection with the yakuza would get her fired, she has to keep her family background a secret at the school, while at the same time teaching and improving the lives of her students. Trained in martial arts, she conceals her true tough girl persona and manages for the most part to fool her students about her yakuza identity. But there is one student, Shin Sawada – the bright and handsome leader of the delinquents – who suspects that Kumiko is not what she seems… which is where the fun really begins.

Kumiko is an appealing heroine in her desire to live her dream of being a teacher, while at the same time remaining loyal to her grandfather and the clan. How she manages her double life as teacher and yakuza princess makes The Gokusen an amusing and entertaining anime series.

The Gokusen was produced by Madhouse Studios. Licensed in the U.S. by Media Blasters and distributed by AnimeWorks.

Jan Suzukawa works in the manga industry as a freelance editor and English adaptation writer. Website: www.jansuzukawa.com. Blog: jansuzukawa.blogspot.com.

One of anime’s classic films, Voices of a Distant Star – only 25 minutes in length – is both absorbing and deeply moving.

Voices of a Distant Star is about two young teenagers, Mikako and Noboru, in the mid-21st century. While in the final year of junior high, Mikako is chosen by the U.N. Space Army as a “Special Member,” or combat space pilot, and is sent to serve in space.

She and Noboru communicate by texting messages to each other on their cell phones, but as Mikako’s division travels farther and farther away from Earth, the longer it takes for cell phone mail to be delivered. At first it takes six months; then one year; then, as Mikako travels light years to Sirius, eight years and seven months. And as Noboru grows older in Earth years, Mikako remains virtually the same age.

As Mikako fights the alien Tarsian forces and experiences grand new vistas on different planets, Noboru remains behind in Japan, waiting longer and longer to receive each of her messages. Both he and Mikako, in her combat ship in space, miss each other as the years pass, but time and distance begin to take their inevitable toll.

The themes of isolation and people drifting apart feel as immediate as in any story set in present day, with the futuristic elements just adding to the overall visual effect. The animation is beautiful, with magnificent alien landscapes contrasting with rain falling on Japanese city streets, infusing the film with a quiet melancholy.

If you have friends who don’t understand why you watch anime, Voices of a Distant Star is the perfect recommendation for them.

Voices of a Distant Star (2002) was directed by Makoto Shinkai.

Jan Suzukawa works in the manga industry as a freelance editor and English adaptation writer. Website: www.jansuzukawa.com. Blog: jansuzukawa.blogspot.com.

You’ve seen his green face and fried-egg eyes staring at you from the manga shelves at the bookstore, and probably wondered what a manga called Sgt. Frog could possibly be about (other than, obviously, a frog who is in the military).

It’s about frogs from outer space invading Earth – what else? 

Sgt. Keroro finds himself stranded on Earth after Planet Keron’s invasion forces abruptly withdraw, leaving him in the home of the Hinata family. Natsumi, the teenage daughter, is suspicious of Keroro, but younger brother Fuyuki is thrilled by their visitor, being a fan of the paranormal and the unexplained. Their mother, manga editor Aki Hinata, loves Keroro because now she can exploit his adventures for her manga magazine.

Keroro is the leader of a small advance force, and his four subordinates got stranded nearby: Private Tamama, who was lucky enough to be taken in by schoolgirl Momoka and her extremely wealthy family; intelligence officer and curry addict Sgt. Major Kururu; ninja-trained Lance Corporal Dororo; and my favorite character, the gruff Corporal Giroro, a take-no-prisoners kind of frog, complete with scarred face and weapon belt.

If Giroro had his way, their leader Keroro would be more gung-ho about their continuing mission. Unfortunately, however, the lazy Keroro has been co-opted by the planet’s more fun distractions, preferring to surf the Internet and build Gundam models instead of resuming the invasion of Earth.

The pace of both the manga and the anime is quick and snappy. The Funimation English dub is a delight, with funny voiceover narration and American pop culture references. A note: the manga is more appropriate for older children and teens, while the anime is more kid-friendly.

The Sgt. Frog manga was created by Mine Yoshizaki and is published by TOKYOPOP. The anime series is produced by Sunrise/Funimation.

Currently, the first 27 episodes of Sgt. Frog can be viewed for free at Funimation’s website: www.funimation.com.

Jan Suzukawa works in the manga industry as a freelance editor and English adaptation writer. Website: www.jansuzukawa.com. Blog: jansuzukawa.blogspot.com.