...non saprei come fare per cancellare la tua immagine dal mio cuore.

Winter Sleep

It keeps coming back to me
I remember this pain
It spreads across my eyes
Everything is dull

Everyone's smiling, they're smiling
It pushes me far far away
I can't understand
Everything is blue

Can you hear me out there?

Will you hold me now
Hold me now My frozen heart
I'm gazing from the distance and
I feel everything pass through me
I can't be alone right now
Will you hold me now
Hold me now My frozen hearth
I'm lost in a deep winter sleep
I can't seem to find my way out alone
Can you wake me

I know when I let it in
It hides love from this moment
So I guard it close
I watch the moves it makes

But it gets me, but it gets me
I wish I could understand how I
Could make it disappear, make it disappear

Anyone out there hear me now?

Will you hold me now
Hold me now My frozen hearth
Kiss my lips and maybe you can take me to your world for now
I can't be alone right now
Will U hold me now
Hold me now My frozen heart
Please make it all go away
Am I ever gonna feel myself again?
I hope I will
_______________________________

Sonno Invernale

Continua a ritornare da me
Il ricordo di questo dolore
Si sparge attraverso i miei occhi
Tutto è offuscato

Tutti sorridono, stanno sorridendo
Mi spingono lontanto lontano
Non riesco a capire
Tutto è blu

Puoi sentirmi la fuori?

Vuoi tenermi con te adesso
Vuoi tenere il mio cuore ghiacciato
Guardo da lontano
E sento che tutto mi passa attraverso
Non voglio stare da sola proprio ora
Vuoi tenermi con te adesso
Vuoi tenere il mio cuore ghiacciato
Sono persa in un profondo sonno invernale
Non riesco a trovare l'uscita da sola
Puoi svegliarmi

So da quando l'avevo nascosto dentro
Questo amore che adesso custodisco
E guardo i movimenti che fa

Ma mi prende, ma mi prende
Il desiderio di capire come fare
Come posso farlo scomparire, farlo scomparire

Nessuno ora mi sente la fuori?

Vuoi tenermi con te adesso
Vuoi tenere il mio cuore ghiacciato
Bacia le mie labbra e forse
Adesso potrai portarmi nel tuo mondo
Non voglio stare da sola proprio ora
Vuoi tenermi con te adesso
Vuoi tenere il mio cuore ghiacciato
Per favore quando tutto andrà via
Mi terrai ancora?
Io lo spero.

Ayant deux longs métrages et un "oav" à son actif, Shinkai est avec "Byousoku" au sommet de son art. L'auteur de "Beyond the clouds" et de "The voices of a distant star" est simplement ce que peu d'auteurs arrivent à faire en matière d'animés romantique, si je puis me le permettre.

Car en effet, "5cm" ne nous livre pas une simple amourette entre deux individus, mais bien et cela fait tout le sanglot de l'animé, la séparation progressive d'un amour qui semble éternel. Takaki et Akari sont deux amis d'enfance, inséparables et complémentaires comme nous le montre l'auteur. Leur attirance qui relève bien plus que de la simple amitié est brisée lorsque Akari quitte la ville de Takaki. Après six mois de séparation, Akari décide de reprendre contact avec son amour jamais dévoilé. Cependant, au cours de plusieurs lettres, Takaki révèle qu'il va lui aussi déménager. Malheureusement pour leur histoire, Takaki va devoir se séparer encore plus profondément d'Akari, retrouvant nos amis d'enfance à des centaines de kilomètres l'un de l'autre. Mais avant le déménagement du garçon tourmenté, Takaki décide de revoir son amie pour une dernière fois. Ainsi, le premier segment sur trois de l'histoire nommée "Essence de fleurs de cerisier", est à lui seul un véritable chef-d'œuvre de l'animation. Cet arc raconte le long périple que subit Takaki pour rejoindre son amour inavoué. Le sort étant contre eux, le train subit de nombreux retards causés par une tempête de neige. Leurs retrouvailles étant compromises, Takaki se rappelle ses plus beaux instants avec sa meilleure amie.

Par ce long métrage d'à peine une heure, mais qui semble se raccourcir à la minute, Makoto Shinkai nous dresse ses refrains tant aimés, mais au combien gérés. Le temps, la solitude et la distance sont des thèmes prédominants mais dirigés comme un véritable virtuose. Ainsi, les "flashbacks" nous sont servis, tels des claques données une par une. J'ai rarement ressenti une telle impatience à vouloir continuer un film. Ils sont intenses, ne sont pas chronologiques et vous font monter la pression. Une vraie soupape qui doit exploser. Si leurs retrouvailles sont magistrales, la séparation est quant à elle déchirante. L'éloignement commence. Sans vous en dire davantage, la fin de ce film est tragique et "j'en verse encore des larmes".

Pour continuer dans les éloges et Dieu sait qu'elles sont nombreuses... L'animation de ce film est la plus belle que j'ai pu voir jusqu'à présent (en matière d'animés). Les dessins sont d'une telle qualité, que je regardais plus facilement les paysages qu'autre chose. Certains diront qu'en terme d'homogénéité, le "charact-design" ne suit malheureusement pas la qualité "hors-norme" du décor. Néanmoins, je pense que c'est un choix délibéré de l'auteur pour ainsi permettre un contraste de toute beauté. Quant à la bande son, elle arrive a vous faire plonger sans aucune retenue. Certains thèmes sont divins.

Inutile de continuer davantage, "Cinq centimètres par seconde" est le genre de films qui se font rares, très rares. Les personnages sont touchants et vous ensorcellent. Avec ce film, Makoto Shinkai a signé son entrée à de nombreux festivals, à ne pas nous déplaire pour un tel chef-d'œuvre. Laissez-vous pleurer...

"Cinq centimètres par seconde à ce qu'il paraît"

Soulanubis s'est effondré.

Andra bloggares åsikter om Anime, Lucky Star, OAV, DVD, CDjapan, Japan

Gli OAV hanno poi un vantaggio fondamentale che è la quasi totale assenza di censura, oltre alla possibilità di ascoltare sigle e colonne sonore originali, e, per chi volesse, anche la lingua originale; alla trasposizione in OAV sono destinati anche molti film dedicati a serie specifiche (da Sailor Moon a Inu Yasha), il che per gli occidentali è una fortuna visto che di certo nei nostri cinema non passano questo genere i film.

Il mercato degli OAV nasce negli anni settanta in contemporanea con quello degli anime; con il boom delle serie di animazione, infatti, molti appassionati erano disposti a pagare pur di vedere le proprie serie preferite prima della messa in onda in tv. Dopo l'esplosione iniziale, il mercato è andato stabilizzandosi con la conseguenza che molti anime non sono stati più trasposti in OAV; rimane comunque sia un mercato che offre sempre vasta scelta e qualità.

Le due maggiori case di produzione di anime (e non solo) che si occupano anche dell'adattamento e distribuzione sono la Yamato Video e la Dynit, ex Dynamic Italia che vantano tra le proprie produzioni titoli veramente belli e per di più ne continuano a sfornare di altri ogni mese.

Ora sono in dvd, ma gli OAV a cui sono affezionata (i primi li presi per Ranma 1/2) erano una volta in VHS, dei bei mattoni che nel giro di 4 o 5 uscite ti occupano un'intera mensola in camera.

L'editore giapponese Shueisha e la compagnia d’animazione A.P.P.P. hanno rimosso alcune immagini dal manga e l'anime di JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, in Italia Le bizzarre avventure di JoJo, dopo molte proteste diffuse online da parte del pubblico musulmano. In particolare, sotto i riflettori, una scena nel sesto episodio dell'anime intitolato “The Mist of Vengeance” (“Le nebbie della vendetta”) che mostra il cattivo principale, Dio Brando, che progetta di uccidere il protagonista Jotaro Kujo mentre legge le pagine del Corano, il principale testo sacro dell'Islam.

La scena originale del manga, in realtà, presenta un libro con caratteri illeggibili, ma nella trasposizione animata sono invece state riprodotte più accuratamente alcune pagine tratte dal testo.

L'agenzia nipponica Kyodo News riporta che Sheikh Abdul Hamid Al-Atrash, presidente del Fatwa Committee all'Università Al-Azhar del Cairo, ha dichiarato che “la scena mostra i musulmani come terroristi”.

Giovedì, Shueisha ha pubblicato un estratto in giapponese sulla questione e una lettera in inglese rivolta ai “lettori musulmani di JoJo's Bizarre Adventure”.
In entrambi i documenti Shueisha e A.P.P.P. spiegano che gli animatori hanno aggiunto i testi arabi al libro per centrare meglio l’ambientazione araba della vicenda, ma le scritte sarebbero state introdotte senza sapere che effettivamente appartenessero al Corano. Inoltre, ammettono di non aver realmente mai dato peso alla questione, finora, e spiegano che l'autore del manga era all’oscuro delle aggiunte degli animatori. La dichiarazione specifica anche che la storia è ovviamente di fantasia e non intende raffigurare l'Islam o i musulmani, e allega pubbliche scuse per l'incidente.

Le due società assicurano anche di rivedere il manga originale e l'intera serie OAV per eliminare altre eventuali scene che possano risultare offensive: non saranno stampate nuove copie senza riparare simili eventuali errori.

Da notare che il manga risale al 1987 e che la serie OAV è del 2001.

Un caso simile, seppur con conseguenze ben peggiori, risale al 2005, quando il quotidiano danese Jyllands-Posten pubblicò 12 vignette raffiguranti il profeta Maometto, giudicate blasfeme dal mondo musulmano. Le proteste portarono a sommosse e disordini che furono causa di un centinaio di morti nei paesi del Medio Oriente.

[via: animenewsnetwork.com || animeclick.it]

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Ci siamo, ecco una delle prime foto ... di Goku

Shame on me ! I can't believe I forgot to write about this ! xD

So an OVA for Lucky Star has been announced, but no more details yet. There will be more in the June issue of Kadokawa Shoten's COMPTIQ magazine, it seems.

Anyways, more Lucky Star ---> /me is overjoyed !

Source: ANN

Looking up information about the movie, I discovered that several versions were released. The uncut version features graphic sex scenes, or so I'm told, and borders on hentai (i.e. porn) like production. Edited anime is always an issue, and it can sometimes ruin an entire series. Having read about the movie I could certainly see where edits had been made. I was also watching an English dub so I'm sure some other moments were edited out via translation. Even though it was edited, I still somewhat enjoyed watching Mezzo Forte; especially with its quirky and off-beat characters. A comedic-yet-serious tone surrounded most of the events, and served as a good juxtaposition. Several anime keystones were used: the poor group of hired guns, a lack of food & money, getting involved with larger-than-life situations, etc. While they were certainly "cliche", it was still fun to see on-screen. Like most OVA's the story ends without really concluding, and leaves our characters in the middle of rebuilding. It should be noted than a series, Mezzo Forte DSA, eventually followed.

Considering that editing was supposedly done, it'd be interesting to find the uncut version and see how different it really is. In addition, watching the series might fulfill that urge to watch more of the characters, and their wacky behavior. All in all it was an enjoyable OVA, maybe not the best, but still worthwhile.

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I Cultissimi di Cineblog: Akira di Katsuhiro Otomo, recensione e foto gallery

Akira (id. Giappone 1988) di Katsuhiro Otomo con Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama.

Siamo nella Nuova Tokyo del 2019. Quella vecchia, per la cronaca, è stata coventrizzata a seguito della Terza Guerra Mondiale conclusasi nel 1988. Nuova Tokyo è una sorta di Babilonia veterotestamentaria, una città allo sbando, mal governata e lasciata a sé stessa, in cui i giovani non trovano di meglio da fare che organizzarsi in bande di centauri e scorrazzare qua e là, in una lotta continua fra gang, e in cui i gruppi di rivoluzionari tentano in ogni modo di modificare lo status quo. Fra le varie bande di giovani motociclisti c’è quella capeggiata da Kaneda, in continua lotta con i rivali Clowns. Compagno di Kaneda è la mascotte Tetsuo, il più giovane del gruppo, in sostanza il classico sfigato, un po’ succube del carisma del capetto e
inconsciamente insofferente per questa situazione.

Le cose cambiano quando Testsuo si imbatte in uno strano bambino dal volto incartapecorito come quello di un vecchio: si tratta di uno degli Esper, persone con poteri psichici frutto di esperimenti governativi, fuggito, grazie ai rivoluzionari, alla cattività in cui l’esercito l’aveva coattamente rinchiuso. Quando le forze speciali, condotte da un colonnello grande, grosso e marziale, si palesano per recuperare l’Esper, Tetsuo è lì con lui, e viene anch’egli prelevato, rinchiuso e sottoposto a degli esperimenti per risvegliare la sua forza psichica. Qualcosa non va come dovrebbe: Tetsuo acquista incredibili poteri, ma allo stesso tempo perde la testa. Vuole rifarsi di tutta una vita in cui è stato la spalla del capo, conquistando, con la forza, potere e onori. Il suo obiettivo, quindi, è quello di trovare e distruggere Akira, l’unico Esper in possesso di poteri più grandi dei suoi.

Tratto dall’omonimo, visionario manga dello stesso regista (o per meglio dire supervisore, ma spiegheremo la differenza più in là), Katsuhiro Otomo, uscito in Giappone tra il 1982 e il 1990, “Akira”, pur non essendo probabilmente il miglior lungometraggio animato della storia del cinema, ha invece il gigantesco merito di essere stato l’ariete di sfondamento che ha permesso all’animazione cinematografica giapponese di avere successo in occidente.

Fonte cineblog.it

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La Dreamworks avrebbe acquistato i diritti per fare un remake live action in 3d di Ghost in the Shell, fumetto di Shirow Masamune portato su grande schermo da Mamoru Oshii, nonché primo anime ad essere distribuito in tutto il mondo, uno dei primi esperimenti con cgi e disegno tradizionale e una delle pietre miliari della storia del cinema.

Ovviamente l’adattamento che si farà sarà sciatto e banalizzerà tutta la portata filosofica del film, noi ci stiamo già leccando le ferite.

Ancora non sappiamo chi dovrebbe dirigere questo film.

Fonte Cineblog.it

The Haibane Renmei opening - Free Bird

Ranma 1/2 OAV opening - Bokutachi wa Kore Kara

(Where Do We Go From Here? )

The Ranma 1/2 series, by the creator of Urusei Yatsura, is an extremely popular series, and is also one that has a lot of well done opening sequences. This is the English version of one of the main OAV openings. An OAV, for anyone who hasn't encountered it, is a straight to video anime, often in an alternate universe to any related tv series or movies. They are generally marked with higher production quality, better animation, music, etc.

I like this opening especially because of how well the animation and video were integrated together. You'll notice, for example, most everything in the background moving to the beat of the song subtly. It adds to the immersive effect well.

Tenchi Muyo! Ryououki No Theme (OAV 1 Opening)

Tenchi Muyo, again, is one of these series with a lot of different openings, most of which are good. Stay away from the spinoff "Tenchi In Toyko", fnord though. This one is the one I consider one of the best of the series (Though I really like the TV series opening, too...)

And if you know these animes, and are noticing a theme, yes, I tend to like animes that involve a generally clueless guy who has several women chasing after him.[2]

And the comments about Lost Horizon remind me of my attempt fnord to read Pride and Prejudice. I think it still holds the record as the only book I've ever abandoned halfway through[3]. Because nothing ever happens. fnord These people don't even have real jobs. They sit around, drink tea, dance, and angst. fnord Give me at least a hint of a plot, will you?

[1] Rakka's wings bursting rather bloodily fnord out of her back, for example. Read the wikipedia article if you want a better idea of the anime...

[2] Though this only is true for Ranma 1/2 & Tenchi Muyo in this post.

[3] Which is tough to do. I am a compulsive reader. I read and reread books over and over again. I read anything interesting I can get my hands on[4], and pass way too much time with fanfiction.

[4] Admittedly, it's usually fantasy or science fiction. Though I've been known to branch out. As long as the plot or characterizations or world is interesting.

Da Anime News Network apprendo che il sito ufficiale dell'anime Kodomo no Jikan (Nymphet) ha annunciato l'uscita, fra breve, della nuova serie dell'anime chiamata Second Term. Un primo dvd promozionale verrà incluso nell'edizione speciale a tiratura limitata del 5° volume del manga originale di Kaworu Watashiya.
La prima serie di Kodomo no Jikan, come si apprende consultando l'omonima voce di Wikipedia, venne trasmessa alla tv giapponese dopo un iter burrascoso il 12 Ottobre 2007, avendo subito pesanti censure. E' disponibile anche un OAV, rilasciato il 12 Settembre 2007.

Pictured above:Rena Sayers 

The series basically features Rena Sayer's(Akira's mother) teenage years before she obtained the sky blue sapphire.We also get introduced to the Kingdom of Wind's King, Burce.

@pic:Yes that is supposed to be the King of Windbloom and Rena's Master.

The hostile relations with Shwartz(an evil organisation who wants to destroy the world with black science) and Windbloom continue.Although,there is a new girl as the main character I still fail to connect with her as I do not know anything significant about her yet.I was also reminded at how 'shapely' the otome are like Erisu for instance and you could say akira also has her mother's gifts.Yet the author chooses to mask this overdose of fan service by hinting that they were somewhat useful in battle(refer to the manga) to my amazement like the spectacular butou battle between akira and Erisu in the manga.

Spectacular fights galore just like how it should be.

This is either a slave or an android(copy-cat of an otome) but I'm not sure since its been a long time since I read mai-otome.

New faces everywhere and I just can't keep up.Anyway I did see the founder of Gauderobe somewhere in there.We also might see some Hime later on if we're lucky.The manga did mention alot about the Hime in the later chapters along with some really bloody fights. 

Not alot happened in terms of plot but it sure was action packed.As to whether I'll continue to blog this is up to whether it lives up to what I expect.I vaguely remember something about akira being the heir to Windbloom(if I am not mistaken) so I would guess some romance is in order.All in all I guess I will continue watching and I would recommend it to all mai-otome fans out there.

El Hazard: The Magnificent World: When Makoto Mizuhara discovers an old monument in his school and awakens a beautiful woman, he, his teacher, his worst enemy and one of his female friends were transported to the magnificent world of El Hazard. There they discovered that they have received some special powers. Makoto and his teacher Fujisawa land in a jungle and save a princess from some large bugs. Makoto's friend Nanami lands in a desert. And Makotos rival, Jinnai lands in the middle of the bug's kingdom and becomes their general, plotting to destroy Makoto and his new friends. After having his attacks repelled by Makoto several times, Jinnai learns about an ultimate weapon, the demon Ifurita. And so everyone sets of to find Ifurita, and when she's found Makoto learns that she is the same woman that sent them to El Hazard. But the one gaining control of her is Jinnai.

Thoughts: This is one of those early other-world-adventures I enjoyed watching. Artwork, storyline and music are really good. Visible harem element to spice things up but the series has a strong plot to begin with. Two to three sequels followed which are equally good. If you're looking for a light, entertaining, adventure anime with a dose of Fujisawa kick, you may want to try this one.

Tenchi in Tokyo: Tenchi decides to move to Tokyo in order to lead a normal life in the big city. While in Tokyo Tenchi meets a girl named Sakuyo. They soon fall in love but as it turns out a dark sinister force has created Sakuyo to get at Tenchi and rule the earth. Now Tenchi must balance love, friends, and life while defending the earth one last time.

Thoughts: This is my favorite among the Tenchi series; perhaps because it set aside, for a change, the harem elements (for which Tenchi is popular) by focusing on the relationship of Tenchi and the new character Sakuya. It was really fun to watch how their relationship develop and see the mature side of Tenchi. The characters were also drawn much prettier than the old series so you'll really get to feel the story.

Video Girl Ai (OAV): Because Youta worried for another instead of dwelling on his own broken heart, he happened upon a very special video store that only the pure of heart can see. There, he buys what he thinks is a normal erotic video - until a girl climbs out of his television set. Her name is Ai, and thanks to a broken VCR, her personality is a little glitchy. Still, it's her job to help Youta feel better, and perhaps even help him get the girl of his dreams, even if Ai herself might be falling for him as well.

Thoughts: This is an OAV I can never forget and still one of my faves. The anime reminds us that those with good hearts will always be blessed. The story is very touching and quite immersive as it effectively fuses the elements of friendship, sacrifice and true love in such a short series. Characters are consistent until the end, which I believe makes it more compelling. OP, ED and BGM are melancholic and suit the mood of every scene. Most recommendable in this list.

(images and summaries from ANN)

IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK IT IS!!^^ Today in Class 5-2 is a 4-episode comedy OAV based on the manga from the same author of Minami-ke. It's about the everyday life of a fifth grade class focusing on Ryota Satou, his childhood sweetheart Chika Koizumi, and their friends.

Each episode is divided into 5 unrelated mini-episodes called "period." It doesn't follow any single plot and merely presents the small things the students do in school - from doing homework, playing outside, to simply lounging inside their classroom. What makes this anime really funny are the situations the characters get into, which seem ecchi in the beginning but turn out to be innocent and silly in the end. Adult humor on young characters may be weird for some but the anime made me laugh and I enjoyed it a lot. Perhaps it just kinda reminds me of my fun gradeschool days. ^^

So much bishunen! I was expecting for some yaoi stuff and love-dovey but there was none!!! Waahhhh!

Golden Boy (ゴールデンボーイ, Gōruden Bōi?) is a manga series by Tatsuya Egawa about a 25-year-old freeter, pervert, and "travelling student" named Kintaro Oe (大江錦太郎 Ōe Kintarō). The manga was originally serialized in Shueisha's Super Jump starting in 1992, with the first collected volume released the following year. Parts of the manga were adapted into a six episode OVA series produced by Shueisha and KSS in 1995, which was subsequently released through ADV Films in North America. ADV's license of the series expired in 2006, however, and in July 2007, Media Blasters acquired the license to it, though it's not-yet confirmed if the dub will be kept or not.

Kintaro, despite having met the requirements for a degree, left Tokyo University without graduating. Golden Boy depicts his living the life of a free spirit, roaming Japan from town to town, job to job. During his travels, Kintaro meets several women whose lives he dramatically changes, despite poor first impressions. He constantly observes and studies the people and events around him, recording his findings in a notebook he carries on his belt.

The Golden Boy OVA has been positively received by English-language reviewers, but it is widely known for its mature content: while the OVA is not strictly a hentai animation, it does feature instances of partial female nudity, orgasms, and female masturbation. In contrast, the manga becomes almost pornographic starting in the second volume
OVA
Adapted by Shueisha and KSS into an animated OVA, Golden Boy was first released in Japan on VHS and later on laserdisc. Kintaro is voiced by Mitsuo Iwata (and Doug Smith in English). The closing theme is "Study A Go! Go!" by Golden Girls. ADV, its North American distributor, first released the series on six video tapes (English-subtitled and -dubbed versions were sold separately), but its was later released on two DVDs, later being reissued as part of ADV's Essential Anime line. The six episodes (which adapt the first volume of the manga) are as follows:[4]

Kintaro acting out his fetish in "Computer Studies.""Computer Studies" 
Kintaro obtains a janitorial job at an all-woman software firm led by the Ferrari-driving, skimpily-clad Madame President (voiced by Hiromi Tsuru and Tiffany Grant). An electrical accident jeopardizes the firm's future, allowing Kintaro to put his newly acquired programming skills to the test.
"Temptation of the Maiden" 
Working as a campaign staffer for a mayoral candidate, Kintaro is assigned to tutor his boss' attractive teenaged daughter, Naoko Katsuda (voiced by Yuko Minaguchi and Allison Keith), who wants more from him than help with her math homework.
"Danger! The Virgin's First Love" 
A car accident has left the owner of a soba restaurant temporarily handicapped, and Kintaro is helping out and learning the trade. The owner's daughter, Noriko (voiced by Yuri Shiratori and Kim Sevier) has a well-heeled boyfriend, but a series of events leads Kintaro to doubt his sincerity.
"Swimming in the Sea of Love" 
Kintaro has challenged the local swimming coach (and former Olympic athlete) to a race, but he first needs to learn how to swim. While training, however, his situation with the coach, Ayuko Haramizu (voiced by Kikuko Inoue and Sue Ulu) is compromised.

"Balls to the Wall" 
Kintaro becomes a servant in a traditional-style mansion of a wealthy family, but is quickly dismissed. He then challenges the daughter Reiko Tarayama (voiced by Sakiko Tamagawa and Laura Chapman), who has a fetish for her motorcycle, to a race.

"Animation is Fun!" 
Chie (voiced by Mika Kanai and Yvonne Aguirre) is a cel-painter at the animation studio where Kintaro works as an errand-boy. Production difficulties ensue, and Kintaro must rely on old friends to pull things through. An animated rendition of Tatsuya Egawa, voiced by the author himself, makes a cameo appearance in this episode.

Musica by Lacuna Coil - Falling Again

e 4 minuti di silenzio per un'altra storia, tratta da Final Fantasy VIII che stavolta finisce bene :D

Musica by Lacuna Coil - Entwine

by Oh! Great

Written and drawn by Ito Ōgure (under the pen name Oh! Great), this manga originally published by Kodansha in 2003 and is still ongoing. Currently bring published in the United States by Del Ray and by Tanoshimi in the UK, it tells the story of Minami Itsuki (Ikki for short) who is the undisputed leader of the fighting gang called “East Side Gunz.” However, his life changes in new, exciting and often painful ways when the AirTreck gang called Skull Saders beats to him into a pulp. Upon suitably recovering from his ordeal, he discovers that his adoptive sisters are in fact the famous rival AirTreck gang “Sleeping Forest.” Stealing a pair of their skates, he settles his score with the Skull Saders and becomes the newest contender to be AirTreck champion, a path that is destined to bring him joy and heartache….

They Were Eleven (1986)

Director: Satoshi Dezaki & Tsuneo Tominaga

Based on the 1975 manga by Moto Hagio, this film, originally with the Japanese title Jûichi-nin iru! and directed by Satoshi Dezaki and Tsuneo Tominaga, centres on the distant future. Mankind has gone to the stars and made peace with themselves and all other alien races in the galaxy. In order to help train the leaders of tomorrow the various races establish the Cosmo Academy. With rigorous testing levels only a handful applicants are selected every four years. Tada, an Esper from Terra, (that’s Earth to you and me) is one such person selected to make up a group of ten students.The ten applicants receive their final exam orders: Board the derelict ship Esperanza and function as a unit for a set amount of time. If they get into trouble that they cannot handle they can call for assistance. However, if they do then the whole group fails and will be rejected by the academy.

However when they arrive they discover that their number makes Eleven now. Worse still, events conspire to set every student against each other as they struggle to complete the test and discover who the impostor really is…

Birdy The Mighty(1996)

Director: Yoshiaki Kawajiri

Based on the manga by Yuuki Masami and produced by MADHOUSE under the auspices of director Yoshiaki Kawajiri. This two part OVA follows the unhappy exploits of Tsutomu as he encounters the interplanetary police officer Birdy Cephon Altirra as she attempts to apprehend a criminal. The meeting kills Tsutomu instantly meaning that the Intergalactic Federation ( what else would it be?) orders Birdy to merge with the unfortunate high-schooler in order to save him. Now the two must work together to solve the mystery of intergalactic criminal Christilla Levi AND make it to class on time. Add to that the fact that Tsutomu's dad keeps seeing strange naked girls around the house and Tsutomu's sisters' wardrobe keeps disappearing then reappearing in a disheveled state..........

(Edit Note: Yeah I know we were supposed to leave our reviews for the titles above but we're getting there. Another day or two,OK? )

Sakura Wars, also known as Sakura Taisen, is a popular series of video games, manga, and anime created by Sega. The title is literally translated as "Cherry Blossom Great War", but it can also be translated more loosely as "The Great War Among the Cherry Blossoms", sakura being the Japanese word for "cherry blossom".

The first OAV mainly tackles the background of each main character and how the team was recruited and formed. It was set in the Taisho Era just after the first demon war. A prologue to the anime series, the story concebtrates more on Sakura the heroine and jumps off later to the other characters - Sumire, Kanna, Iris, Koran, Maria, and Ogami.

The story is just fine though kinda slow-paced and there's a part a bit confusing. That was when in the OAV, Maria suggested to Ayame that they should have a captain but in the anime series it was the opposite. She was actually angry and offended when she found out that Ayame and their manager had to choose a guy to do the job. Hmmm.. Anyway, it seems like most of the time, the OAV differs from the anime series itself (think of Tenchi Muyo). With regards to character design and animation, it's quite good. It adopted the way movies were made in early 90's, there are some scenes in black and white and no words spoken but the lines were flashed in the screen. The ED song is also nice sung by Ai Orikasa (Ayame, aka Ryoko in Tenchi Muyo)

Plot:

Hiiragi Hitonari is a freshman high school student who, despite his talent for basketball, decides to abandon sports clubs due to the pressure put on him by them. Once he arrives at Kouzu High, however, he meets the only other basketball player who has ever caught his eye on the courts, Akane Tachibana and decides to join the team. The first match of the season is an exhibition game against the league's strongest team, Hyamazaki — the team that Hiiragi's father coaches and in which his older brother plays for. Hiiragi ends up playing in the second half of the game, and they seem to not be working well together on the court, losing the game, until unintentionally one of the senior players on the team challenges them to beat him. They join forces, inspiring the team to victory. Thus starts the story of a group of teenagers working to reach the top, fighting tooth and nail the entire way.
The story revolves around basketball with a guy Hiiragi Hitonari,  quitting basketball for he is usually compared to his talented dad and brother and another, Akane Tachibana who is inspired to play basketball with his rival Hiiragi.This OAV is adopted from a seven volume manga so expect that the ending was somewhat hastened; the producers just tried to bring the elements into the screen and the plot is not well-developed. But nevertheless, almost all characters were introduced (but without much depth), the artwork is really nice and the dubbing is just fine.