"Yakushiji Ryouko no Kaiki Jikenbo" or "Ryoko Yakushiji's Strange Case Files" is an anime which started life as a light novel. The 13-episode show aired in Japan last summer.

Ryoko, who comes from a rich family, is a cop with the Tokyo Metropolitan Department. But she's not just any cop. At 27, she is a superintendent who heads a department, can speak several languages, is universally feared by the bureaucrats and can solve the weird cases that often come her way. She is also a crack shot and can take on the baddies with her fists and feet if need be.

She's also imperious toward her underlings, thinks nothing of going shopping in the middle of her shift, wears skimpy suits and shamelessly uses her family's influence.
Her dad heads JACES, one of the major security firms in the country where many police bureaucrats apply to after retirement. She holds this over their heads in order to get her way. Thankfully, she is on the side of the little guy and hates fat cats who abuse the system.

She also likes her much put upon assistant/shopping bag holder. This Watson-wanna-be to her Sherlock is Junichiro Izumida, 33, who narrates the series. He fears and respects her but doesn't get the massive hints she gives him that she really, really likes him. What a doof.

Called Izumida by everyone, he is a decent and hard-working cop whose wits are not as sharp as Ryoko's. But he can fight as well as her. He is not a career police officer so he does his job whether it annoys a bureaucrat or not.

The show is reminiscent of "X Files" because the cases Ryoko tackles include man-made horrors and regular creatures with an unfortunate effect on humans. Case in point. One episode deals with a cricket whose chirping drives people to kill themselves.

Ryoko is also aided by her French maids, Lucienne and Marianne. Fellow superintendent and rival, Yukiko Muromachi, often trades insults with Ryoko but once or twice helps her. Not that she'd ever admit it.

With the new year just around the corner, I find myself mulling over anime I saw this year. Some were horrible, a few were excellent but most were entertaining enough.

I noticed many of the shows I watched had a supernatural or magical theme. I don't even remember seeing anything mecha-related. Sorry but giant robots leave me cold.

I have to feed the artsy fartsy side of moi now and then so I gravitate toward shows that look unique, tackle an unusual subject matter or tell a tale in a way I haven't seen before. "Mononoke", which deals with the adventures of an unusual medicine peddler, fit that bill. You should check out the show when you have the chance. I suppose you could say "Mononoke" was a spinoff of "Ayakashi" since the peddler was a character in one of the featured tales there.


Yes, I also saw my share of shonen anime from "Naruto Shippudden" to "D. Grayman" this year. The latter ended recently and was a letdown. Since the manga isn't finished, the animators decided to end the show just after the Black Order's headquarters get attacked. Lame. I hope they later come out with movies.

Do stay away from the mess that is "Le Chevalier D'eon". It is loosely based on a historical figure who was a spy for the king of France and who had a fondness for wearing women's clothing. In the anime, he dons dresses when the ghost of his murdered sister possesses him. The show is a mishmash of historical figures involved in conspiracies, secret societies and other arcane stuff. While the animation is beautiful, the plot is too convoluted and unbelievable. And anyone who loves history better steer clear of this anime which plays fast and loose with the facts.

In "Hanada Shounen-shi", we meet a potty-mouthed brat named Ichiro Hanada.

He is the village troublemaker; the bane of pets and neighbors. He calls his mother "demon hag" and his sister "fat and ugly". He also doesn't care much for school and would rather chow down than listen to his long-suffering elementary school teacher.

One day while fleeing from his enraged mother on a bike, he runs into the path of an incoming truck. Next thing he knows, his soul is watching things from afar and heading upwards. But he is sent back because it's not his time yet.

Nine stitches later, he is back home. But Ichiro can now see ghosts which is bad news for him since he scares easily. The ghosts want him to do things for them like hand over a long-delayed Christmas present or tell a loved one to keep on living.

While this little scamp grouses about helping dead folks, Ichiro often gives in to their requests because he does have a heart. Along the way, Ichiro learns about people, love and life.

Ichiro and most of the cast are ugly. You can see for yourself in these samples. But there is a charm to the characters especially Ichiro's dysfunctional family. Most of the episodes are worth watching and guaranteed to wring a tear out of the viewer. They don't get too schmaltzy either.

I'm warning you though. This show is not for kids. There are plenty of toilet jokes and bawdy humor plus our hero prances around in the buff in several scenes.

I would recommend it for those 14 and above.

"Hanada Shounen-shi" is one of the few anime I've seen that uses American songs as the intro and ending to the series. It was a jolt to hear the "Backstreet Boys" to be honest.

I enjoys fansubs like a lot of anime fans because I get to watch a series airing currently or just finished airing in Japan. However, I always make a point to buy the licensed versions of shows I like.

With the advent of the Internet, it has made it easier and faster for anime fans to see current shows. Not surprisingly, some anime companies are opting to license a series even before it finishes its run in Japan or they're choosing to show episodes online.

VIZ media announced that beginning January 15, it will begin streaming "Naruto Shippuden" just days after being shown in Japan. It will be free and available at www.Naruto.com There will also be an accelerated publishing plan for the "Naruto" manga beginning in February 2009.

"Naruto Shippuden" picks up the tale after a now 15-year-old Naruto returns to Konoha from his training with Jiraiya. Everyone in his group has advanced in rank except him. Gaara is now Kazekage and Sakura is now a medical ninja.

Here's the release from VIZ:

"This campaign is the latest expansion of VIZ Media's ongoing strategy to utilize the web to its maximum potential to stream a variety of hit animated properties.

Beginning on January 15, the latest episode of "Naruto Shippuden" (English-subtitled) will be available for free viewing on the official "Naruto" website, www.Naruto.com, within days of its original air date in Japan. A new English-subtitled episode will be added every Thursday thereafter.

On January 2nd, VIZ Media will also debut for free, eight uncut, English-subtitled episodes from the beginning of the "Naruto Shippuden" series on www.Naruto.com. Each Friday thereafter there will be an additional eight uncut, English-subtitled episodes added on Naruto.com until the series eventually catches up to the current third season of the hit program. Also, coming this week, an exclusive sneak peek of "Naruto Shippuden" debuting on Naruto.com.

On the manga side, VIZ Media has unveiled an accelerated publishing schedule for upcoming editions of the "Naruto" series, making them available to North American audiences sooner than ever before offered by VIZ Media. Beginning in February 2009, 11 new volumes of "Naruto" will be released over three months, moving the series from Volume 34 (February 2009) to Volume 44 (April 2009) before returning to a quarterly release schedule beginning with Volume 45 (July 2009).

Earlier "Naruto" episodes are also currently available for free through a variety of web-based, video streaming outlets that have partnered with VIZ Media, including HULU and JOOST."

VIZ Media is releasing a special Shonen Jump "Bleach" Posterzine, which features 11 posters inspired by the manga and animated series created by Tite Kubo.

The $9.99 Posterzine will be on sale starting Dec. 2. Each poster folds out to 16" x 22" and depicts Ichigo, his friends and villains. The special publication will also include two free "Bleach" sticker sheets and an iTunes gift card valid for a free download of episode 59 of the animated series and access to an interview with Tite Kubo. (NOTE: don't think it means you can interview Kubo.)

And for those of you who haven't heard of the show, here is a synopsis from VIZ: "Bleach" follows the story of Ichigo Kurosaki, a 15-year-old student with the ability to see ghosts. His fate takes an extraordinary turn when he meets Rukia Kuchiki, a Soul Reaper who shows up at Ichigo's house on the trail of a Hollow, a malevolent lost soul. Drawn to Ichigo's high level of spiritual energy, the Hollow attacks Ichigo and his family, and Rukia steps in to help but is injured and unable to fight. As a last resort, Rukia decides to transfer part of her Soul Reaper powers to Ichigo.

Enma Ai or Hell Girl (Jigoku Shojo) is back for a third season. In "Jigoku Shojo Mitsuganae", Ai enters the body of middle schooler Yuzuki Mikage and continues her business of exacting people's revenge by ferrying their tormentors/targets straight to Hell.

Ai was killed in the second season so I suppose they had to find a way for her to come back. Hence her spirit (a blue butterfly) alighting on Yuzuki who dreams she is kissed and embraced by Ai. This is not that kind of anime so keep your hairnets on.

Poor Yuzuki carries Ai's spirit inside her so whenever Hell Girl goes into action, Ai comes out of the girl. This time, Ai has five assistants: Wanyudo, Honne Onna, Ren Ichimoku, the devilish little girl Kikuri now inside a doll and Yamawaro, a boy who tags along after Kikuri and calls her "princess".

Anyone familiar with seasons one and two knows the drill by now, Each episode is self-contained and deals with someone who feels they need the services of Hell Girl because they're being bullied or they really hate someone or just want to get rid of a person for whatever reason. At midnight, they access a Web site, enter the name of their target and send their request to Ai.

If she accepts, she will offer the person a straw doll with a red string tied around its neck. Pull the red string and the target goes to Hell. However, Ai's price is that both the target and the person making the request will end up in Hell. The one making the request just goes to Hell after he or she dies. If they enter into a contract with Ai, they will bear a mark on their chest.

The animation is still crisp and sharp in season three. But unless something interesting happens in the third season, this is just same ole same ole for me.

"Shikabane Hime: AKA" or "Corpse Princess: AKA" is action-packed and tackles a weird subject. Makina, the heroine, is already dead but she still exists among the living. She hunts down the living dead like her and blasts them to Kingdom Come using two guns. It seems she needs to whack a certain number to achieve her goal which isn't revealed in the first episode though.

But fighting the undead can be a tough assignment and she gets the stuffing walloped out of her in more than one instance. However, she gets revived by the priest who runs a local orphanage. He and other men back up Makina during her hunts.

Ouri Kagami, a teen who was raised in the orphanage, sees one such resurrection when a talking cat wakes him up and takes him to the temple where a beaten up and unmoving Makina lies. He later moves out of the orphanage and on his way to his new apartment witnesses Makina plummeting to the ground. She was fighting with a serial killer who turned into some vampire/monster hybrid.

Copying what he saw at the temple, Ouri holds the still form in his arms and Makina awakens. Does this mean Ouri will later be involved in her later adventures? Well duh Sherlock. It's called foreshadowing.

No one stinted on the making of this show so the animation, the background and the music are top notch. Here's hoping the show won't disappoint later on,