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(C) Yazawa Manga Seisakusho / Shueisha (C) NTV / VAP / SHUEISHA / Madhouse )

On Sept. 8, VIZ Media will be releasing a box set of the anime "Nana" which contains 12 uncut episodes. Price is $59.90 for the 3-disc set and includes a "Nana" guitar pick.

The anime is based on the manga by Ai Yazawa, which has sold over 43 million copies in Japan and is published in North America by VIZ Media under its SHOJO BEAT imprint. Yazawa also created the manga "Paradise Kiss."

"Nana" follows the lives and loves of two young women who share the same first name.

Nana "Hachi" Komatsu goes to Tokyo to follow her boyfriend and find a fresh start while Nana Osaki hopes to make it big in the world of rock and roll. They meet in the train and end up renting an apartment together.

This is not a show for kids so there is a reason for the advisory warning on the boxed set. I would put this series in the older teen category. It has a mature rating so don't say I didn't warn you.

I'm not a big fan of "Nana" since I don't like the animation style used. Looking at elongated skinny people with huge heads and eyes makes me want to treat them all to a meal.

Although I like shoujo, I got weary of the drama in "Nana" and found the Nana nicknamed "Hachi" to be a whiny, weak and annoying character. I want to smack her with the other Nana's guitar.

But I'm in the minority since "Nana" has been a hit in its manga, anime and movie incarnations.

I do like the first ending song sung by Olivia.

But as to the other songs? For example, part of the opening song's lyrics are in "Engrish". So if you're a stickler for grammar, you would be reduced to gnashing your teeth by the end of the song. It has a nice beat though to be fair.

While taking a stroll with her mama and two siblings one day, a gray-and-white kitten is distracted for a moment and gets left behind. Lost and alone, the despairing furball is found by a little boy named Youhei and his mother.

They take in the kitten while Youhei's parents try to find someone who would adopt the cat. Their apartment complex doesn't allow pets so keeping the kitten is out of the question. Or so they thought.

The kitten starts answering whenever someone in the apartment says, "Chi." Apparently "chi" means pee in Japanese. Or so the subtitles explain in the fansubbed version I watched.

Cute, isn't it? And so is this show.

"Chi's Sweet Home" doesn't aspire to be anything more than it is which is just fine. The show is supposed to be cute and harmless much like its heroine. I don't think an episode lasts more than several minutes. I didn't time it so don't hold me to that,

There are no dramas, no emo moments and no sudden revelations like Chi is really a puppy in disguise. The character designs are simple and the opening song is Chi singing about her happy life which consists of being petted, fed, playing around and sleeping.

Some folks might think Chi is enough to induce tooth decay. Well, if you're not in the mood for a simple tale about a cat's life then move along, move along. Nothing for you to see here.

I was checking out YouTube and saw this courtesy of Top 5 Anime. I have no idea if the contest was just a fan-driven thing. The tunes are nice though.

In order of presentation they are:

1. "Hare Hare Yukai" by Ayano Hirano which was used as the closing song to "Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya"

2. "Rewrite" by Asian Kung Fu Generation which was one of the opening songs used in "Full Metal Alchemist"

3. "The World" by Nightmare which is the first opening song in "Death Note"

4. "Undo" by Joker also used as an opening song in "Full Metal Alchemist"

6. "Grip" by Every Little Thing which heralded the arc involving the seven Shichinintai in "Inuyasha"

7. "Asterisk" by Orange Range which is the first opening theme song in "Bleach"

Personally, I would pick "Asterisk", "The World", "Go" and "Rewrite." I'm crazy that way.

It's that time of year when folks make resolutions or start cracking on whatever promise they made to themselves. OK here's mine. This year I resolve to watch more anime that I enjoy and be less forgiving with shows that belong in the reject pile.

No more sitting through 5 or 10 episodes of the cliched, the trite and the truly awful. One or two episodes will be the maximum. I am leery of imposing a zero tolerance policy on anime since some shows improve after several episodes.

Anyway, here's the third opening of the D.Gray-man series which is still running in Japan and hasn't been licensed here yet. I like the show and I prefer this opening song than the previous two. It's called "Doubt and Trust" by Access. Yeah it's JPOP.

The YouTube video is courtesy of someone called "The Bleeding Wrath."

I found the opening song on YouTube to "Scrapped Princess" which has been licensed and is readily available in the U.S. Sorry forgot the name of the YouTuber who put it up there. But many thanks to this person.

"Scrapped Princess" is one of the more interesting and moving fantasy animes I've seen. The title refers to 15-year-old Pacifica Casull, the youngest in a family of three. But there's a reason why Pacifica doesn't resemble her older brother, Shannon, who is a skilled swordsman or her older sister, Raquel, who is a powerful magician.

The blonde-haired blue-eyed Pacifica was adopted. To be more precise, she was hurled from a cliff as a baby by a knight and saved by the Casulls.

Ya see, Pacifica is the daughter of the King and Queen of Leinwan. But while her fraternal twin brother was kept in the family, her father ordered her killed because of a prophecy that said she would destroy the land once she turns 16. The prophecy referred to her as "the poison that will destroy the world."

And some teens think they have it rough.

Pacifica remained safe among the Casulls because people thought the "Scrapped Princess" died as a baby. When it came out that the "Scrapped Princess" could be alive, the hunt was on. Pacifica's foster father was killed and she fled with her foster siblings who would die to protect her. The love between the siblings is a major theme of the series and leads to many a heart wrenching moment. But just when you think you've figured out the show, a major plot twist surfaces.

I won't say what it is. That would be cheating you of the pleasure of watching the series. Suffice it to say that things are not what they seem and the competing religions of Mauser and Browning has ties to an intergalactic war between humans and aliens.

Pacifica cannot wield a sword like Shannon or do magic like Raquel. It isn't until midway through the series do we get a hint that she harbors something powerful inside. She is a sweet girl who acts like a brat sometimes but genuinely cares about people. She feels guilty for being the "Scrapped Princess" because people are getting hurt and killed during the hunt to find and wipe her out.

One thing I didn't like about the show was the way the female characters were drawn. Why oh why do they all look like they got breast implants? Some were so top-heavy, I'm surprised they didn't topple over. I'm sure fanservice was the only reason for such a sexist move.

I found this on YouTube courtesy of andylau12345. Thanks dude. Hearing the "Voltes V" theme song brings back fond memories of watching mecha anime while I was growing up in the '70s and early '80s in the Philippines.

There were so many robot shows then, it seemed there was one mecha show every day. There was "Mazinger Z" with its weird villains and "Daimos" with its Richard/Erika love story. But "Voltes V" was my favorite with its tale of orphaned brothers and longing for a missing/dead father. Plus Voltes V usually dispatched the enemies by carving a V in their bodies with a sword. I always thought he did that to make sure the baddies knew who crushed them. That's "V" for Mr. Voltes V. And don't you forget it!

Of course even then I wondered why the evil guys never attacked the heroes as the robot was transforming. It seemed to me the best time to attack since the robot would be at its weakest. But why ask why.

The only other non-robot show I watched faithfully then was "Candy Candy" which dealt with the Cinderella-like life of one orphan girl. I was 9 when I saw the episode where Anthony, her first love, died in a riding accident or something like that. I bawled for an hour then memorized the sappy ending song. I remember sniffling again when I sang the song afterward. Hey, I was young and easily moved then.

Here's the opening song to "Ghost Hound" which hands down wins the award for best production values out of the slew of anime shows aired in Japan this fall. Thanks to a YouTuber by the name of "explodedrunes", I am able to show you the quality of the animation used for the series.

For some weird reason, I feel the need to dress all in black and snap my fingers a la Beatnik whenever I hear this song. I also dig the two-toned ghostly cat that passes by the hero. Cool.

Although the series makes me want to scratch my head sometimes with its talk about the subconscious, out of body experiences and the mysteries of the human mind. I don't remember signing up for a psych class when I opted to watch this show.