Code Geass: Lolouch of the Rebellion

Before TV5 tagalized the series, I was already watching it but only 1 episode at a time. Until about Monday, I just watched season 1. Well no more. Once I got to finished watching season 1 (I think I still need to watch 3 episodes) I watched season 2. Well I got glued and finished it in about 2 days. Let's have the rounddown.

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion (コードギアス 反逆のルルーシュ, Kōdo Giasu: Hangyaku no Rurūshu?), often referred to as simply Code Geass, is a Japanese anime series created by Sunrise, directed by Gorō Taniguchi, and written by Ichirō Ōkouchi, with original character designs by Clamp.

Code Geass first ran in Japan on MBS from October 5, 2006,[1] to July 28, 2007.[2] Its sequel series, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2 (コードギアス 反逆のルルーシュR2, Kōdo Giasu Hangyaku no Rurūshu Āru Tsū?), ran on MBS and TBS from April 6, 2008 to September 28, 2008.[3][4] Both seasons have won several awards at the Tokyo International Anime Fair,[5] Animage Anime Grand Prix, and Animation Kobe event.

Plotline: The series is set after Japan's conquest by the Holy Britannian Empire on August 10, 2010 a.t.b., with their powerful new robot weapons, the Knightmare Frames, stripping Japan and its citizens of all rights and freedoms and renaming the country Area 11. The titular Lelouch vi Britannia is an intellectual Britannian prince who was sent as hostage, along with his sister Nunnally, by his father, Emperor Charles zi Britannia, after his mother was murdered, and has vowed to destroy Britannia. He gains an ability through the mysterious power of the Geass, becoming the leader of the resistance movement to fulfill his two wishes: to seek revenge for his mother and to construct a world in which his beloved sister Nunnally can live happily.
Code Geass is set in an alternate universe where three superpowers, the Holy Britannian Empire, the Chinese Federation, and the Euro Universe have divided the world between them (with the exception of an independent Australia) and maintain a tentative balance for the first part of the series. The balance shifts in the second season as the E.U. has much of its territory conquered by Britannia while Lelouch engineers a revolution in the Chinese Federation and creates a new alliance of countries, the United Federation of Nations, reducing the number of superpowers to two.

Let's say I was hooked on the premise of the tale, Clamp animation really did a good design for the series.

Mazinger Angels

Mazinger Angels (マジンガーエンジェル, Majinga Enjeru?) is a manga series which began in 2004 and chronicles the adventures of four women who pilot giant robots in the Mazinger vein. The concept is a spoof on the late 70's and early 80's popular TV series Charlie's Angels. It was originally published in Kodansha's Magazine Z, starting in 26 June 2004 (#2004-08) and ending in 25 November 2006 (#2007-01).[1] It was compiled in four tankōbon.

Three of the robots, Aphrodite A, Diana A and Minerva X are from the original Mazinger Z series, while Venus A is from the Great Mazinger series. Their pilots are also traditional characters from Go Nagai's universe, Sayaka Yumi and Jun Hono from Mazinger Z and Great Mazinger respectively, and Hikaru Makiba and Maria Fleed from Grendizer.

The style of the manga highlights the sex appeal of both the characters and the mechas, sometimes similarly to the way Aika's female characters are shown.

There is a sequel, released in 26 December 2007 in Magazine Z as well [2], called Mazinger Angels Z (マジンガーエンジェルZ), which features the original design for Mazinger Z, called Energer Z, as well as Kikunosuke Abashiri from Abashiri Ikka.

Mecha Description and Pilots
Aphrodite, Diana, Venus and Minerva in their Mazinger Angels incarnations.

All four robots have a simplified color scheme compared to the older versions, usually reducing the number of colors to only two, but respecting the overall appearance of the robot. They sport heart shaped designs in different parts of their bodies as well as the Mazinger Angels symbol, a winged heart. They also become substantially more powerful and resistant, adding several weapons (many inspired by the Mazingers' ones) to their classic ones.

The mecha pilots wear their classic outfits plus the Mazinger Angels symbol.

* Aphrodite A: Aphrodite is piloted by Sayaka Yumi, her classic pilot from Mazinger Z. In this version, Aphrodite is now orange and white, in contrast to the anime version, which was orange, magenta and red. Her weapons are:
o Regular Chest Missiles
o Iron Cutter Missile: A weapon that resembles Mazinger Z's Iron Cutters.
o Megaton Hammer: A pair of flails attached to Aphrodite's chest.
o Snow White Aphrodite / Breast Heart Fire: Aphrodite is modified in one occasion and covered with an acid proof paint coat to face the attack of a monster. She is painted white and gold and also sports chest plates that rotate to form a heart that fires a powerful beam.

* Diana A: Diana's pilot is Hikaru Makiba, from Grendizer. She is now depicted in blue and white, and has the following weapons:
o Regular Chest Missiles
o Screw Crasher Missile: Similar to Grendizer's Screw Crasher Punch.
o Liquid Shooter: Acid shooting guns.
o Blizzard Smash: A freezing weapon.

* Venus A: Piloted by Jun Hono, her classic pilot in Great Mazinger. Venus is now painted red and white. Her weapons are:
o Regular Chest Missiles
o Finger Missile: The classic weapon from the anime.
o Drill Pressure Missile: Venus can fire two giant jet drills from her chest.
o Fire Tornado: Similar to the Blizzard Smash, but this weapon melts everything it touches instead of freezing it.

* Minerva X: Controlled by Maria Fleed, also from Grendizer. Maria has psychokinetic powers that allow her to control the robot thanks to a special helmet that channels her brain waves. At first she uses Minerva against the girls because she holds them responsible for the supposed death of her dog Duke, but later realizes thanks to Hikaru that this wasn't their fault. Duke is later saved and given a prosthetic limb. Minerva's purple color scheme is the most noticeable since it's completely different from the usual Mazinger-like one. She seems to be above the other angels in terms of power, and her weapons are:
o Rocket Punch: The same attack Minerva has in the anime, taken from Mazinger Z; Minerva can fire her fists.
o Breast Fire: Another classic attack from the anime, a powerful beam shot from her chest plates.
o Photon Beams: Optic rays.
o Sirene Mode: Minerva can shift from her regular form to a stronger one, able to fly thanks to wings placed on her head. When transformed she resembles Sirène, a character from Devilman.
o Thunder Breaker: (In Sirene Mode) similar to Great Mazinger's Thunder Break.

Aphrodite, Diana and Venus also have swords called Mazinger Blades.

Bleach: Memories of Nobody

Bleach: Memories of Nobody is a 2006 animated film adaptation of the anime and manga series Bleach. Directed by Noriyuki Abe and written by Masashi Sogo, the film was first released in Japanese theaters on December 16, 2006. The DVD was released in Japan on September 5, 2007. To promote the film, the opening and closing credits for episodes 106 through 109 of the Bleach anime use footage from the film. The film's theme music is "Sen no Yoru o Koete" (千の夜をこえて, Overcome the Thousands of Nights?) by Aqua Timez. The film had a limited theatrical release in America from June 11 to June 12, 2008, and in Canada on October 20, 2008[2] and was followed by the DVD release on October 14, 2008.
Plot

Unidentified spirits begin appearing in Karakura Town. A mysterious Soul Reaper who calls herself Senna appears and begins destroying the spirits. Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia Kuchiki confront her about the situation, but she refuses to answer any questions and leaves. Ichigo follows her while Rukia searches for answers. Ichigo meets up with Tōshirō Hitsugaya and Rangiku Matsumoto at the Urahara Shop, who have been sent to earth to investigate why the real world is suddenly appearing as a reflection in the sky in Soul Society.

Kisuke Urahara explains that a dimension between Soul Society and the real world, the Valley of Screams, has expanded to the point that it is connecting the two worlds. The spirits seen earlier are "Blanks", souls without memories that were lost in the space between the two worlds and that comprise the Valley of Screams. The memories of the Blanks combine to form a single being, the "Memory Rosary." Upon further investigation, it is revealed that Senna is this being.

The Gotei 13 are sent to try to deal with the problem of the expanding valley, however the "Dark Ones", a group of exiles from the Soul Society seeking revenge for the past, appeared and captured Senna. They take her to the Valley of Screams and attach her to a device powered by the Blanks that will cause the Valley to collapse, resulting in a collision between the real world and the Soul Society that would destroy both worlds.

Ichigo travels to the Valley to rescue Senna while Rukia goes to get reinforcements from Soul Society. However, Captain Yamamoto wants to destroy the Valley before it collapses and refuses to order a rescue mission with only an hour left. In the Valley, Ichigo is overpowered by the large number of blanks, but he is saved by the arrival of his many friends from the Soul Society. While the group battles the Dark Ones and Blanks, Ichigo battles and eventually defeats their leader, Ganryu.

The process of the collapse has gone too far to be completely stopped. Senna sacrifices herself to push the two worlds back apart to save Ichigo. Senna asks Ichigo to take her to the graveyard so she can see her name on her gravestone. Though the stone is blank, Ichigo lies and tells her that her name is on it. Believing him, she expresses contentment that she once had a life of her own before fading away. Rukia notes that once the power of the Blanks fades away, so will all memories of Senna. After the credits, Ichigo is walking on the bridge where the portal was and sees a red ribbon, the one that he had bought Senna, floating down from the sky then sees a girl who looks just like her running past him, he smiles and continues on with his walk.

Trinity Blood episode 1

Kaze No Stigma

Another anime I'm fond of. Watched this about 2 years ago and it's still one of my favorites.




Kaze no Stigma (風のスティグマ?, lit. Stigma of the Wind) or Kaze no Seikon (風の聖痕?) is a Japanese light novel series written by Takahiro Yamato and illustrated by Hanamaru Nanto. After the death of the author on July 20, 2009, the story remains incomplete at eleven volumes.[1] An anime television series adaptation directed by Junichi Sakata and animated by Gonzo began airing on April 11, 2007.


Kazuma Kannagi was considered useless within his family because he could not use Enjutsu, the power to control flames. When he was defeated by Ayano Kannagi, one of his relatives, in a bout to decide who the wielder of Enraiha, a sword that was wielded by the family heir, he was banished from the family. Four years later, he returns, now a master of Fuujutsu, the power to control wind, with a new name: Kazuma Yagami. Soon after his return, he is reunited with Ayano and his younger brother, Ren, who is also gifted in Enjutsu. Soon, however, Kannagi family members are killed and the murder weapon is revealed to be Fuujutsu. Now Kazuma has to fight his family to prove that he is not the murderer.

Gonzo's Kaze no Stigma animated TV series aired on Japanese broadcasting channels between April 11, 2007 and September 20, 2007, containing twenty-four episodes; it aired in a late night slot. The series was directed by Junichi Sakata. The first DVD release of Kaze no Stigma was released on August 24, 2007. It was released by Funimation in 2009 starting with part 1.^[2] The anime's opening theme is "Blast of Wind" by Saori Kiuji. The first ending theme is "Hitorikiri no Sora" by Saori Kiuji and the second ending theme is "Matataki no Kiwoku" (瞬きのキヲク^?) by Ayumi Fujimura, Yuka Inokuchi and Shizuka Itō.

The major difference between the novel and the anime is the significant darker tone in the novels. The character of Kazuma is much darker in the novel, which depicts him killing most of the antagonistic characters in the series while the anime changes these deaths so Kazuma is uninvolved with them. Other scenes involving gruesome deaths are simply removed.^[3]

Story plots involved spiritual and elemental magicks. Like all anime has a mix of humour, suspense and action all roled into one.