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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.

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.

An anime season wouldn't be complete without a shoujo show or two. And this fall's offerings include the shoujo series "Hakushaku to Yosei" or "Earl and Fairy" as the fansubbers called it in English.

Lydia Carlton, who has huge green eyes and masses of red hair, is a fairy doctor which is a term used for those who act as liaisons between humans and fairies. It seems Lydia inherited the ability to see and talk to fairies and assorted spirits from her late mother. Her companion is Nico, a spirit who takes the form of a talking cat. He drinks Scotch and walks on two legs when he can.

But Lydia lives in the Victorian age when many people don't believe in such things anymore and just see her as some kook. She leaves her Edinburgh home to visit her father in London. On the way, she is waylaid by some men and ends up on the run with a charming rogue who calls himself Lord Edgar, the successor of the legendary Blue Knight Earl.

The Blue Knight held titles in England and the Fairy Nation. Edgar wants the Knight's Noble Sword of Merrow which would allow entry into the fairy world and so recruits Lydia to help him in his search. He also lies shamelessly to others about why they're traveling together and flirts with her at every opportunity. And like many other shoujo heroine, Lydia blushes, gets annoyed, tells him to stop but somehow likes the attention. ( I would have kicked him where it hurt already.)

But blonde, mauve-eyed Edgar is not a good man. He is the scion of a nobleman who when accused of treason, kills his family and himself. Edgar, the lone survivor, gets sold into slavery and does everything to survive. He is a thief, a liar and a suspected killer.

The one who actually did the killing turns out to be his servant, Raven, who has fairy blood and a bloodthirsty sprite inside of him. Raven's sister, Ermine, also served Edgar but it seems she was killed or died.

Edgar tells Lydia he isn't a descendant of the Blue Knight but believes if he gets the sword, he can turn an impostor into the real thing. However, there are hints he is the successor since why else would Raven be able to obey him and there's two other characters following them around who are definitely not human.

Their nemesis is Gotham, the son of a doctor who experimented on criminals and took their brains. Gotham also wants Lydia to get the sword and much of the problem is caused by him planting false stories about Edgar and trying to capture the couple.

I don't mind watching the show but it really doesn't rank very high on my list right now. Edgar knows he is cute, poses a lot and lays on the charm too thickly. And like all bishounens, he gets surrounded by sparkles or flowers. The series also appears to be a reverse harem which means Lydia will have a bevy of beaux to choose from.

Let the fangirl squealing commence.

Everyone has a list of their favorite anime shows. That's a given. But do you have a list of the anime you consider so pedestrian, lame or terrible you wouldn't show them to you ex ever?

Lemme share my lame list. It's not in any order by the way.

1. "Bartender" - Show about a mixologist who can ease your troubles with a drink. Each episode comes with a history or story behind the cocktail du jour. Employs fourth wall techniques. Verdict: bleah and just plain boring

2. "Boys Be" - Tales of boys at school and the way they drool, pine for and leer at girls and women. Contains fanservice which means scenes where female characters inadvertently end up showing their underwear. Verdict: sexist and dumb

3. "Diamond Daydreams" - Show about the lives and loves of several women who reside or work in the nothern part of Japan. At times seems like an ad for certain locations. The character designs are among the ugliest I have ever seen. Memo to the show's animators: Go back to art school and learn how to draw. Then smack yourself for producing what amounts to nothing more than a disguised travel brochure.

4."Haunted Junction" - Kids from different religious backgrounds attend a haunted school with well-known ghosts from Japanese popular culture. Well they focus mostly on spectres Japanese school kids yak about such as the girl who haunts toilets. Verdict: A big mess. Supposed to be funny but is excruciating to watch. Has disturbing characters like a teen-aged girl overly fond of little boys. Gag.

5. "Gregory Horror Show" - MIni episodes about a mouse the unseen protagonist encounters in a place full of "scary" characters. The segments are too short and choppy. The characters are NOT scary at all since they are drawn simply. Think of wooden blocks then imagine them with faces and stubby appendages. The premise isn't bad but the animators faltered in the execution.

6. "Oh My Goddess" OVA - The first installment in a series that should have been buried long long ago. Geek meets one of the Nordic goddesses of fate. She ends up keeping house for him and falling for this very common guy. This show is nothing more than wish fulfillment for the guy who cannot get a date and still lives in his mom's basement. This tripe is an insult to any woman who can think for herself.

7. "Onegai Teacher" or "Please Teacher" - Half-human/half-alien lands on Earth and pretends to be a teacher to gather data on humans. Circumstances force her to marry one of her students. She looks like a well-endowed woman in her mid-20s. He is actually 18 but looks 15 because he was in a coma-like state for several years. They keep their marriage a secret and eventually fall in love.

Skip this so-called romantic show. If you have the DVDs, burn them and fumigate the room where these were kept. I found the relationship between the main characters disturbing and just wrong. The creator of this show should be ashamed for producing this putrid excuse for an anime. He or she deserves a flogging.

8. "Rahxephon" - Show where giant statues ( actually just prettier looking giant robots) wreak havoc in a walled-off world. Hero is a teen with a murky past. There is also a mysterious girl and a woman who is more than what she seems. Great animation, nice CGIs and compelling storyline at first. But I found the plot too convoluted for my taste and the pace of the show can be glacial at times. I couldn't finish this out of frustration and boredom.

9. "School Rumble" - HIgh school anime about a clueless girl, the guy she likes, the bad boy who loves her and their classmates. Typical show where someone can't tell the object of their affection how they feel because of certain reasons and circumstances. (e.g. the person they love just doesn't get it). Some people like this show. I don't. I got tired of the main characters' inability to confess their love.

10. "R.O.D." the TV series - Three sisters with the unusual ability to manipulate paper. They solve cases and are called paper masters for a good reason. One can create paper animals that do her bidding while another can fashion weapons out of paper. This is the tv spinoff of the popular "Read or Die" OVA about a bookworm who is really a special agent for the British.

The television show buchers certain characters in the original movie much to its detriment. The plot is more complex and folks double cross each other out of the blue. The series also runs too long and gets bogged down by the different subplots. This is one sorry spinoff to a decent, original movie.

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.

Change is inevitable. Who you are now isn't the person you were five, 10 or 15 years ago. But fear traps many folks from realizing their full potential. At least that seems to be the case with Shinichi Chiaki, a young man with exceptional music skills who harbors a deep fear of flying and sea travel. We meet the 22-year-old Momogaoka Music Academy student in "Nodame Cantabile", a 2007 anime series based on a popular and award-winning manga. There is also a live-action show that was shown in Japan last year.

Chiaki plays both violin and piano at a level beyond most of his peers, composes music and possesses an ear that knows when a piece is being played right or being massacred. He is well aware of his talents and doesn't suffer fools gladly. He walked out on his piano instructor and was dropped from a competition.

He yearns to become a conductor and study under the conductor Sebastino Viera whom he met as a child. But alas, our arrogant musical prodigy cannot leave Japan because he cannot ride an airplane. So he is stuck and seethes at his apparent misfortune as other music students head for greener pastures overseas. During a self-pitying bout at a bar, his girlfriend decided to drop him because he doesn't seem to be going anywhere.

Chiaki drunkenly collapses outside the door of his next door neighbor, Megumi Noda, another piano student at the academy commonly known as Nodame. She lets him sleep it off inside her apartment which is unbelievably filthy. He is appalled at her abode when he wakes up and proceeds to clean it up. While she is smitten with him, he just wants out of the disgusting place. But he pauses when he hears piano music.

Nodame plays the piano in this freewheeling style that both annoys and fascinates Chiaki. She can listen to a piece once or twice and then play it note for note in her unique style. She gets so obsessed with playing a piece that she can be up for days focused on nothing else. Nodame, however, is a slob and often wears the same clothing for days, forgets to bathe daily and rarely cleans her apartment. She peppers her language with gibberish picked up from her favorite inane cartoon. She also tries to talk cute, acts a lot like a simpleton and mooches food from Chiaki daily. She makes no bones about her attraction to him while he constantly nags, scolds and insults her. Yet deep down, he doesn't really mind her hanging around.

She has her own fears to conquer. We see this weird couple overcome personal obstacles on the way to becoming better musicians. The series also features a great selection of music the different characters played. I love classical music a lot so I enjoyed most of the episodes of "Nodame Cantabile". Not all the pieces played are classical however.

Nodame, however, took a lot of getting used to. Her voice, mannerisms and subservience to Chiaki irritated me to no end. I longed to smack some sense into her or at least make her stop her inane exclamations. Although a lot of CGI is used in the musical parts, I've seen better animation. The characters are drawn simply. Was it beyond the skill of the manga artist to draw lips?? How about faces that don't look exactly the same?

Despite the annoying heroine and boring character designs, I think the show works because it doesn't lose sight of its heart. Love of music, friendship, believing in someone and overcoming one's personal fears are themes that weave in and out of this entertaining show.

My inner fangirl would like to show some more of the reasons why she likes "La Corda D'Oro". Five reasons actually and they all wear pants. Sigh. Please excuse me while I throttle her into silence.

Here's an animated music video created by Tsukimorifanatic and posted on YouTube. The song used is "Trouble with Boys" by Loreta.

Attention fangirls. Let the squealing commence. I will now die of embarassment.