Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

Guts is one of those loner heroes with about a thirty word vocabulary. He is much like Clint Eastwoods characters from any Sergio Leone's films. But unlike Clint Eastwood's western characters, Guts carries a seven foot long sword that can cut through anything and anybody. I really can't tell you much about this disc without giving the good stuff away, but I will illuminate the subplot that is never really explained. This is the rather close relationship between Griffith and Guts, if you don't know what it means, when you watch it you will understand. This comes from something that use to be done during Ancient Greece and Rome. Generals would have a close relationship with some of their commanders, this kind of closeness would equal closeness on the battlefield and it is important for a commander to trust his men. There, explaination over. This disc jumps around in time alot, we go from future, to distant past, to three years later from distant past, to even more distant past. But by the end it settles down into the timeline which the next few discs will follow. I will not really talk about the plot, just how cool the disc itself is. Firstly I really like the menu, it is animated but yet not animated. Then there are the dubbing outtakes. These are pretty funny, but the second disc has some that will almost make you wet your pants laughing. Great series, tons, I mean tons of blood. Good series for Halloween.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

First off before I talk about the series I must compliment the dubbing outtakes. The first disc's outtakes are pretty standard fare, but these you can tell they were just having fun. I almost passed out I was laughing so hard. It is worth these outtakes alone to buy this disc. Now onto the story, Guts, Griffith, and company are out killing everybody. Guts gets into a fight with a huge guy that turns into a demon with a candy coated shell that is unpiercable. After this fight Guts gets hurt again and again covered in bandages. I am quiet sure that if you actually put all the bandages Guts has on him in a entire disc he would be wrapped head to toe like a mummy. We see the nobles disliking Griffith for winning and we also meet Charlotte, Griffith's love interest. This really is just a plot building disc. But I have one question, why Berserk? It would be better if it was called Blood. Everybody that dies sprays about four gallons of blood, and after each fight everybody is soaked in blood. Boy would I love to sell them Armour Cleaner after each battle, I would clean up, quiet literally. Another solid disc with great outtakes.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

The story continues to roll on, and the body count rises faster than a man on an entire bottle of viagra. In this disc we start to see the love between Griffith and Charlotte and Guts and Caska intensifying along with the unholy amounts of carnage. This disc has one of my favorite episodes due to what happens in the story. Guts goes to assassinate a noble that is trying to kill Griffith. Well he kills him, of course nobody can get Guts. But the noble's son comes in and sees Guts. So what does Guts do? Runs the kid through and pins him to the wall. The kid is like 10 or 11 and they show him getting stabbed straight in the heart and we watch him slowly and painfully die. That is why I love Wowow TV, they don't hold shit back, they give you the entire visceral experience. By the end of the disc we have the final battle between the Lands of Midland and Chuder beginning. Chuder, I wouldn't not fight for any country whose name is two letter away from being Cheddar. Caska is the star of this disc, we get her backstory, plus some more of Griffith's rather interesting backstory. I realy like Caska, she is the most real of all the characters in the series, she loves, hates, fears, has doubts, the entire range of human emotions, plus she is fiesty and really hot. All good things when making a female character. We have reached the half way point, now the series starts to get really interesting.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

The war between Midland and Chuder draws to a close. But first we conclude Guts and Caska's mini adventure, with Caska finding help and Guts single handedly kills 100 mercenary soldiers led by the pompos blowhard General Aldon, now with only half his teeth and one eye. After rejoining the Hawks, they go to the Chuder's version of Helms Deep that is governed by a man from Griffith rather 'interesting' past. Once again the Hawks do the impossible, they destroy the enemy army, capture the castle, and win the day. But this doesn't bode well for those in power back in Midland, they don't like the fact that the king's ear is taken up by a commoner like Griffith. So they plan to whack him. Another great disk, this is a really great series but not for everybody, very blood, very racy, very ambiguious. Well for those that haven't seen the last two disks all I can say is that, things have only just begun.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

Griffith has now cleared the table of all of his rivals, except one, Guts. It is this rivalary that ends of making Griffith go nuts and bang the living crap out of Charolette, which usually screwing the king's daughter without actually being at least betrothed, is very troubling. So now Griffith is in the joint, getting the living shit tortured out of him, and Caska and company are in serious trouble because they have been branded bandits. Well Guts, he is just wandering about, picking fights with everybody he runs into. He goes back to the home of the man that made is massive sword so he could kill trees for awhile. The blacksmith guy's skin is 100 percent beef jerky. He hears that Caska and company are in dire straights and he goes to the rescue, by doing what he does best. Killing everybody. The disc ends with the preperations for a jailbreak. The best, and most mind bending is yet to come. Another great disc, this is disc's subtitle is the sex disc, all the requited desires come out and the main characters start the Tulsa Two-Step. Everyone must watch this once, it is just great.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

To all things there is an end, or least a point where the season ends. This is the case with Berserk. They go rescue Griffith, who was tortured and starved for an entire year until he became a skeleton wrapped in a grey tortilla. One of the best scenes in the disc is when Guts, Caska, Judnea, and Pippin are trapped in the torture cell with Griffith. The torturer locks them in and proclaims that the door is four times thicker than any normal door. No matter, Guts simply busts through the door and runs the guy through. Well, the secret of the little red pendant that Griffith wore until he got his ass tortured gets revealed. The ends gets pretty freaky when the remains of the Hawks go to Head Hell. I really liked this series, it is solid, well rounded, but keeps you guessing. After the end of the disc, the first episode tells so much more than it lets on. It makes me want to get all the manga that much faster. I wouldn't be surprised if a second series isn't around the corner, there is so much more that has to be covered.

Story: B-
Animation: B+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: B 

This was a fairly good series, I really like the character designs. The story was the major problem by the second disc they had already set the ground work for the final confrontation and then spends the last two discs basically concluding the story of the first two. Plus the whole mother earth must be restored plot line was a little silly. Plus one of the major conflicts was very similar to the conflict between Sesshomaru and Inu Yasha. What makes this series worth it is the Omakes on each disc. While some are pretty funny, the majority are so hilarious that you have trouble breathing. My favorite character is the chick with the purple hair that hangs over her right eye. I also like the hentai computer geek that designs a program to calculate the animal on the main character's panties. The first two discs were peppered with a great sense of humor along with plenty of action, then the last two discs really changes gears and gets all serious and dramatic with the main character running about yelling the same thing over and over much like Gasaraki. All in all quality but probably should only be watched by real anime fans.

Story: C
Animation: A
DVD Quality: A
Overall: C- 

Weird is not really a good word to describe this. I thought it was impossible to actual bring paranoid delussions to animation but somebody sure has. It took me almost three years to watch the entire four disc series, it has a hard time to get the stories going and it is very disjointed. I had heard that if you stuck through the story got better but unfortunately it didn't. This is another example of why I love Japanese tiles. There is no Boogie or Pop, but lots and lots of Phantom. Warning, if you are mentally unbalanced already stay away from this Anime feature for danger of turning into a complete raving lunatic. Solid DVD quality keeps this series from being totally unwatchable and unbearable.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

Another excellent anime series. This has robots of a small size that run amok. They are fought by the shapely Knight Sabres who have high heels on their combat armour, this always strikes me a rather bad idea. I can't walk in high heels let alone do kung-fu in them. This also has the AD Police, who's idea for fighting the boomers is if the boomer is in a building, destroy the entire building and hope it crushes the boomer. The series has some twists in the plot and has the odd feature that all the good guys manage to survive. I like how they managed to keep the action different each time they fight which are always fluid and well done. This is a hard fighting, heavy metal rocking, motorcycle driving, good time. Go Nene!

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

Cute, Adorable, Precious, these words don't cover the sweetest of this series. The series follows a bunch of cute girls chasing after spirits they trap in cards. This will surprise many that read this page but I really like this series. There is no apocalypse, politcal intrigue, heart wrenching deaths, or bloody violence. Anime needs series like these, if not it would all be intense and dark. Sometimes you just need to watch something that is cute and escapist (while escaping into the world of early teenage girls could be seen as descending into madness) to lighten their anime collections. Watch the series and enjoy just be careful that you don't contract diabetes from the sweetness of the series.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

This is the DVD that brought me back to the world of Anime. Personally is this favorite anime series and my favorite disc of the six. This disc has a little of everything that makes Cowboy Bebop so great. It has humor (Stray Dog Strut), Hot chicks handcuffed to things (Gateway Shuffle), and serious plot (Ballad of Fallen Angels). This is the disc that introduces all but one of the principle characters and gives extremely good foreshadowing of the true Spike/Viscious/Julia Story line that makes this series more than your average sci-fi anime (see Outlaw Star). The rest of the series was extremely good, but this disc was the best.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

The second disc introduces the last crew member of the Bebop, Radical Edward or Edward Wong Hau Peplu Tivrusky 4th (hey if you're going to choose your own name it might as well be elaborate). This disc also has the only episode banned on both Japanese and American TV, Sympathy for the Devil. This is because it violates the cardinal rule of anime and cartoons, you never kill kids, even if the kid is a couple hundred years old. When movies kill kids, it is always off screen or implied but when Cowboy Bebop does it the kid gets it right between the headlights. I really like how the death was done, it wasn't half ass'ed or overly done. Why do so many animes take their episode titles from rock n roll albums (ie Bebop and Bubble Gum Crisis)? Bebop takes a lot of their titles from Rolling Stone songs or albums, Honkey Tonk Woman, Sympathy for the Devil, Wild Horses. Do they have to pay for the title, if they do it must cost them a fortune I doubt the Stones give freely (wheelchairs and viagra cost a lot these days).

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

This is a selection for the intelligent sci-fi fan. It is a very interesting and cerebral story that is very intriguing but you have to activitly follow the story. True the first time i watched it (very late a night), i slept through a couple of episodes. But it was enough to interest me enough to rewatch the entire series. I would recommend this story to everyone, not everyone has the patient (or intelligence) to stick through the entire story. But thankfully it was not like other sci-fi stories that are so much science you never really get to any fiction. But Crest of the Stars combines some science with plenty of very interesting fiction. More is to come so fans of this series can rejoice.

Story: A
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A 

Junta is a loser, basic archetypal Japanese High School loser with a rather unique problem when he is around girls he vomits. Not just a little puke either but rather a tidal wave of either strawberry red or blueberry vomit. Well if things in his life couldn't get any worse, enter Karin a time traveler that has to shoot him with a gene manipulation bullet to keep from becoming a Mega-Playboy who impregnanted 1000 women in his life time. Talk about life taking a 180 there, well she shoots him, but because we have to fill up 15 episodes it is the wrong bullet and he becomes the Mega-Playboy, well sorta it hasn't taken affect it only works when certain conditions apply. Well Karin has to fix everything or she will get fired and she won't get her husband, pet, and sweet, sweet home. So she figures out that Junta's best friend Ami is the only girl that isn't affect by his Mega-Playboy charms. So she tries to setup these long time friends but things get in the way. It is an okay series, but this is a little too formulatic, by the end of the first episode you know how it will end because it is just that kind of series. It has some good laughs but is still formulatic.

Story: A
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A 

Things get more complicated which is not all that unexpected. Karin pushes Junta and Ami together every chance she gets. Well Junta is falling for Karin instead, yep you fall for a time traveler instead of the busty next door neighbor that is attracted to you as well, doofus. Our first misadventure involves Junta buying a necklace for Karin instead he runs into the always undressing Tomoko who thinks the necklace is for her, so she drags Junta into a dressing room to change. Well Junta does what Junta does best around girls, projectile vomits all over her. Well she is still totally smitten with Junta's Mega-Playboy side. Well Tomoko gives Ami the necklace and says it is from Junta. Things are starting to come together so Karin can accomplish her mission but because it is only episode 5 we need more twists and turns. Namely a new love interest entering the pictures, Kotomi, Ami's bestfriend. She is now smitten with Junta's Mega-Playboy side but has a little problem being around guys, and that problem is she breaks wind like mad which makes for some seriously hiliarious laughs when it just happens out of the blue. While not as racy as the first disc, it keeps the undressing and bodily functions going at full steam to keep the story interesting. Still good but very formulatic.

Story: A
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A 

Well after all her hard work in the last disc it appears that Junta and Ami's relationship is basically sunk which drives Karin to distraction, no sweet, sweet home. Well Junta and Kotomi are trying to help one another over come their rather unique disfunctions of love by Kotomi dressing up in a tight thong back gymnastic outfit and doing her ribbon waving routine in front of Junta. Kotomi is extremely busty which is very unusual for a gymnist. Well after several tries they both seem to have kicked the problem which leads Kotomi to strip down to her panties and a white shirt and jump Junta who immediately becomes the Mega-Playboy all in front of Karin's eyes which makes her upset. But Kotomi doesn't fall for him, in fact smacks him around a bit and leaves him. Karin then recieves the proper bullet to turn Junta back to his normal self, well she decides to shoot from across two rooftops and of course misses hitting the real playboy, whoses name I forget. Well to really shake things up, he turns into his love, Tomoko. A very strange cliffhanger of an ending. The story does a good job of moving along with out drowning in tidal waves of vomit and at times is kinda cute, especially Kotomi in her gymnastic outfit.

Story: A-
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A- 

Well the Real Playboy apparently can change into who ever he wants to, just by touching them. This apparently turns him quiet insane and he sets out to destroy Junta because he is hogging all the hot chicks, namely Tomoko. He tries to rape Ami, in the form of Junta but is totally unable to do it, but because Ami passed out he plays it up that he did. Well Ami hated Junta exactly for one episode before they make up. Well our insane playboy decides to go around attacking people with his new power, in the form of some sort of Gay-Pigeon secret outfit. Karin goes to stop him because he shouldn't exactly have these powers. Well they fight and Junta comes in to see Karin take a wicked mean ass whooping in the playboy's mansion, not Hefner's but Japan's playboy, the Gay Pigeon Man. Junta turns into Mega-Playboy, who also happens to be the reincarnation of Bruce Lee. He defeats the Gay Pigeon Playboy in front of Tomoko, talk about tying all the loose ends. Tomoko falls in love with the Playboy again, and Junta burns out the Mega-Playboy. Ami declares her love and Karin has accomplished her mission. I didn't like this disc like the previous three, it doesn't have the humor this series desperately needs to keep it from becoming like most of the other romantic anime comedies. It was still pretty good, the fight in the marble ballroom is going to cost a lot to have fixed. The cover of the box horribly lies to us, there is no Kotomi in her gymnastic's outfit, I want more busty incontinent Japanese Gymnast Fun in this disc, the box led me to believe it but they didn't deliver on their promise.

Story: A-
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A- 

Plot Twists, mind control, a dozen new characters, three episodes that take us in a plot cul-de-sac and of course Ouch! Well things seem to going well, except for the real playboy who seems to be going out of control and becomes violent. Well it is because of the guy that made the gene changing bullets is trying to take over the future by controling Junta, so he brings along two of Junta's descendents to get the bullet in him. Well Karin is there to save the day. When I saw the first episode of this last disc Fan subbed some time ago, I was convinced I didn't have all the episodes because the introduce this entire new plot line but two episodes later it is all neatly wrapped up. This wasn't a bad series but it stumbled too many times for me to over look. It was funny but after the first three discs most of the humor was gone and it got serious, I want more funny less serious.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

Giant Robots, in invisible cloaks, and with huge swords, and giant floating Airships. The first four episodes only build some ground work but so far it is really good. It starts with one of the very standard anime setups; Japanese schoolgirl falls through time into some weird alternate reality and serves some great purpose for good. What I think it is, it is those sailor uniforms that cause these rifts in time, there is no other answer to it. And of course Hitomi, our heroine, has to wear the school uniform the entire time while she is there. It is just like Kagome from Inu Yasha. When you are in a strange time, filled with evil creatures that you are the greatest weapon against, why don't you try to blend in? Nobody outside of Japan that is mentally balanced wears those sailor uniforms on any regular basis (CosPlay is okay, but only on the strictest limited basis, we can't have everybody disappearing into alternate realities). My only problem is with one character Dilandau, according to one source this character is suppositly a man, but he looks and sounds just like a woman, and then 'his' two principles toadies also looked a lot like chicks. Maybe it is just me but we really need to keep our genders straight forward and clear. It makes my viewing of said anime much clearer. Now as I continue to ramble on, it is time to talk about Balgus. Balgus is the greatest swordsman on Gaea, basically the huge can weild the same sword as the giant robots. But of course he has to die in the second episode during the first really big battle. I'm willing to bet that Balgus isn't as dead as he appears to be.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

The lesson I learned from this disc is that sometimes you lick the pussy and sometimes the pussy licks you (Lord Van's companion is a cat-girl). This is a pretty good disc, there could be a little more fighting and less teenage romance fantasy, but then again all series need a little romance so I have no problem with it. The Japanese seem to do a better job at this than Americans do. In anime, there is a lot of trying to express love but never being able, in America it is all i love you, i hate you, i love your best friend, i love your brother, i love you cousin's friend's little sister, i hate you, now i want to marry you. That seems about right. And yes Dilandau is still a chick, remember. If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, then it belongs on a plate as dinner.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

From the man that brought you Cowboy Bebop comes, Quack Experiment Excel Saga. The heart warming tale of a girl, the man she loves, and their goal to completely conquer F Prefecture of F City. This is one of the most insane anime series out there. In the first episode, our hero Excel gets shot and killed six times by Lord Illpalazzo. Her next adventure ends up with the death of Pedro, the only Puerto Rican in the entire nation of Japan. This begins the side story of Pedro trying to get back to his family. The next introduces the hottie of the series, Hyatt, who is freed from the horrible (horrible cute that is) Pichuus. All the while we have Nabeshin (the alter ego of the director Shinchi Wanatabe) who sports a Lupin Suit and an afro not seen this side of Welcome Back Kotter (seventies TV Show noted for white men with Afros). The series is totally insane and it is best viewed when not trying to understand anything. It is like a fast moving curent, don't try and fight it by finidng meaning, just kicked back and let the rapids smash your fragile body against the jagged rocks that is each episode.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

How does the craziest anime end? With the funniest, most absurd, insane, and uncontrollable episode I have ever seen in any anime (tieing Puni Puni Poemi, but it is basically the prequel to said OVA). The first episodes on the disk try and tie up all the loose ends the series managed to unravell. We first get a space episode, complete with Gundams, Captain Harlock, Emeraldas, and a huge colony ship crashing into F Prefecture, ala Mobile Suit Gundam (just watch the opening, you'll understand). Next up we have the stab at a serious plot in three post apocalypse episodes where ACROSS is finally taking over the city, but Excel has been expelled and then also shot for her troubles. It gets serious for an episode, then gets sappy for an episodes. Not exactly in the same theme as the previous 23 episodes, but then they have episode 26. You should buy all six discs just for this single episode. It takes everything from the series and takes its insanity up one level. Now Hyatt doesn't dribble the blood, it sprays like a lawn sprinkler. We get one of the next door neighbor losers in bed with Hyatt (who is actually Excel) and it turns into Hyatt and Excel going at it. We have the scientist that made all the gadgets for Kaba and company, finally getting a 10 year old, that turns out to have G Cups jugs thus prompting him to run in terror. We have Pedro and Family living happily ever after. It is so crazy that telling you the entire plot to the episode shouldn't detract from it, it is all in the delivery. A world class ending to one of my favorite albeit totally insane series.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

Fuck, Fuck, Fuck What Am I Doing Here? Kei and Kato where pals in grade school and have a chance meeting on a subway track. They help a homeless guy up off the tracks after he falls in but for their good deed are hit by the train. But instead of being dead they wake up in a strange apartment with a bunch of other guys who are all claiming their dead. Things get really complicated when a ultra yummy naked girl appears in the room and Kei and Kato must act to protect her. In the second episode they learn why they are here and what the giant Magic 8 Ball has to do with things. They have all been chosen to combat aliens and are given their first mission to go out and defeat the Green Onion Man. They managed to track the alien down, he is a short spiky haired green midget. Their first attempt to hunt down and kill an alien ends with mixed results with Kato trying to step in an be a hero. They managed to kill the small guy but then his 7 foot tall brother comes by and kills two of the eight people in a rather grisly dismembering fashion. I liked this disc, namely because of Kei, he is a totally self absorbed prick, or essentially almost every teenage male on the planet. This series is gory, and these discs are the unrated stuff, stuff to hardcore for Japanese TV, there is nudity thanks to Kishimoto, I actually had to hunt for her name because it is never mentioned in the disc. The series has an interesting feature, you get to hear people's thoughts, and not just the main characters but the average people on the street. This series is like Noir, only about ten times more polarized. Either you like this gritty grim sci-fi yarn or you hate it worse than vampires hate garlic and the sun combined. I am firmly in the like camp, the people that don't like it I think this series kinda hits them in the sweet spot and that makes them uncomfortable. Most vocal otaku are stereo-I Mean Like Concert Speaker Stereo (Loud and clear)-typical anime nerds. They have a certain view of anime and of Japan, this series I think fucks with that, they like their anime full of big eyed girls getting into romantic entanglements with loveable but hopeless loser. Essentially they want a romantic portrayal of themselves, where the shy loser gets hot girls to fight over him. In this the main character is such a egomanical prick they get put off a little bit. Also the violence is really extreme, like OVA extreme. The nudity is also excellent, they get a lot of natural bounce. What sets this apart from being some sort of sci-fi Battle Royale is that it has some absolutely hilarious moments, like when Kei is imagining all the girls in class naked and then somebody yells 'Kei Has A Hard-On' or when the dog goes after Kishimoto's crotch with his tongue, you nearly shit yourself laughing, then somebody get hit by an express train or torn in half. My only problem with the series is it is only 2 episodes per disc and that is a bit too small for me, although the price is also reduced but I am a man of limited shelf space and 13 DVDs for one 26 episode series is way too much, we ain't the Japanese here.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

Kei, Kato and Kishimoto are all that is left to stand up to the giant green killing machine that was the buddy of the Green Onion Man. Kato tries to reason with him, but when you don't speak the same language and the other guy is beyond pissed it doesn't work. Kato takes a beating and it is up to Kei who takes off running. This is why I like Kei, he is real, he is selfish, he is a prick, he is a horn dog, basically a teenage male and it is this stark reality of his character that makes me like him so much, personally I think he is revolting but it is so refreshing to see such a arrestingly honest character in anything on TV that it is worth praise. On the other hand Kato is such a pacifist whiner that I was hoping he would get sliced up by the giant green guy. Kishimoto, whose name is also Kei, I like her because she is vulernable and really good at it. After they manage to defeat the big green guy, I'm not sure if he was the real Green Onion Man or not but they manage to defeat him and Nishi shows them the scorecard attached to Gantz. I like Gantz, he really has a jackass' sense of humor, especially with Kishimoto and Kei, both making references to her large breasts and Kei's habit of staring at them. All anime has large breasted chicks in them this is one of the few that make a point of referencing it. The disc ends with them being able to return to their homes but what will wait them next? Can Nishi be trusted, I hope your answer is no, that guy is about a trustworthy as a three dollar bill. This is a good albeit violent and gory series, I think it is that frankness that makes me like it so much, a healthy dose of honest is good in an anime series once and awhile.

Story: D
Animation: A
DVD Quality: B
Overall: D 

If you remove four of the disk in this series it would be managable. This has too many characters, and with a few exceptions they are really similar. It wouldn't be a problem except for all they do is talk, constantly and it is all politcal-economic philsophy. It involves giant robots but they are a real small part of this that it really doesn't help the show. For a couple of episodes it went to feudal Japan, and I think it involved the same characters from the modern time, but I have no idea. I think it is possible that I can't follow the story because we watch it in the middle of the night, but it is impossible to follow and doesn't have enough giant robots like Evangelion. This had potential but never managed to get it going.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

First off while all the characters from the movie Ghost in the Shell are here, from Major Motoko Kusanagi, to Aramaki, Batou, and Togosa, this has nothing to do with the movie at all, Kusanagi didn't merge with the Puppet Master, she is still the ass kicker from Section 9 that we all love. What is new to the equation, or rather what was brought in from the manga that wasn't in the movie are the lovable Tachikomas, the four legged multipurpose vehicles that Section 9 uses that have lovable goofy personalities which gives the show some comedic moments which helps break the serious tone of the show. The show starts off with some robotic geishas who have taken some government official hostage and it is up to Public Security Section 9 to rescue the hostages. This is a great episode because it really gives a great overview to the entire Section 9 team, from the old ape-face Aramaki, to the sexy, because she can whop my ass without breaking a sweat, Major Kusanagi, to the wise ass Bateau. The next episode involves a super tank that has been possessed by its dead creator who takes it home to see his parents. The third episode several old model androids mysterious commit suicide and are linked back to an Ambassador's son who wants his android to be unique. The final episode introduces the main villian of this season, the Laughing Man, a super powerful hacker much of the likes of the Puppet Master but who is into corporate terrorism and blackmail. I loved this series, I love the movies, hell I'm a massive fan of the entire universe, it is techno punk but still down to earth so that it isn't completely alien. The show isn't as philsophical or as heavy as the movies which is good because the movie can be a little off-putting from their depth and complication. First in a series of fantastic discs of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, a definite must have for even the most casual anime fan.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

Enter the Laughing Man, a hacker who extorted money from several large companies years ago is now back and causing lots of trouble by putting virsuses into Ghosts. Aramaki, the lovable old gorilla face of Section 9, believes it is a plot from inside the police force and puts Section 9 on the case. Then Laughing Man ups the stakes by threatening the life of the chief of police. How he does it is really cool, he inputs a virus into random people and makes them try to kill the chief, but Motoko is there to make sure that it doesn't happen. Batou and Togusa zero in on who everybody believes is the Laughing Man only to find him dead and the conspiracy theories grow. This series is truly great, it keeps the action going but also has a really clever story of intrigue and murder to make the action have a reason. The best episode of the disc is definetly the one where Laughing Man tries to kill the chief of police. You have no clue where the assassin will come from, and the old guy who arrives after all the excitment, hobbling in on a cane and stops to ask a cop where the chief is so he can kill him was hilarious, what was he going to do gum him to death? The final epsidoe of this disc is famous, or rather infamous in fan sub circles as the Naked Children Oops. When the series was first fan subbed there were two main groups, AONE and Anime Junkies. Well Anime Junkies royally screwed up when in the episode there is a line they miss translated to There Have Been Mass Naked Child Events Reported On The News instead of Mafia Kidnapping Events which led to the downfall of the rather reviled Anime Junkies who product was just junk. Watch and love.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

Chat Rooms, Serial Killers, Strange Hospitals, Run Away Tachikomas, the exploits of Section 9 continues. The first episodes takes us into the future of Chat Rooms, where technology has made chat rooms really cool, unfortunately the people that populate chat rooms haven't changed. The entire episode takes place in a chat room where a group of people are discussing the Laughing Man and how he really is. Suddenly a mysterious woman appears and listens in. Of course it is the Major and she is after one of the chat room members who had hacked in during the Laughing Man Assassin attempt. The Major gets the data she wants and is suddenly sucked into a strange library where she meets what appears to be the Laughing Man for a brief moment. Not many shows can have an entire episode set in a chat room where people are just talking but this series really makes it seem important. Next is my favorite, in fact it is one of my favorite episodes of any anime. Somebody is skinning women alive in Tokyo cutting out a t-shirt like chunk of skin and leaving them to bleed to death. The killer has ties to the American Empire, yes America is an empire and they've sent agents who are trying to capture the killer for their own motives. Batou knows this killer's signature from his days with the Special Forces in South America. There were American squads that were sent to cause disaffection among the native population by killing the women and children. Now Batou has a personal score to settle with this killer, and is willing to kill him to bring him to justice. Now some might say this is Anti-American but actually all they're doing is taking something this country actually did during Vietnam. It was called the Phoenix Program that was run by the CIA, they sent troops into the villages that were assumed to be sided with the Viet Cong and would kill everything as a warning. Batou has to face his demons and try to keep his own humanity. One of the creepiest and most effective devices in the episode is that the killer records what he does to his victims and then sells them to fund his villainy. Now that makes a twisted killer even more screwed up. The next episode is for Togusa, he is sent to inflitrate a hospital that is setup for children who suffer from Closed Cyberbrain Syndrome, people who either are phobic of the Net or are complusive net user that can't tell the Net from the real world. The entire hospital is cut off from the ouside, and something strange is going on inside. Togusa goes inside and after getting bashed over the head with a violin, that has to hurt he comes back with a clue to the Laughing Man, he was masquerading as one of the kids, why they don't know but he was there. Finally we get a Tachikoma episode, Batou's Tachikoma, the one he feed all natural oil, wakes up and goes for a joyride where he meets a sad little girl and finds a strange box. Inside the box is a theatre, with the greatest film ever on it, so great nobody wants to leave. It is another really great stand alone episode, it raises the question about people who lose themselves in movies and if in the future it is possible. Great disc, great stories, great series a must watch for all.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

This disc starts off with an action filled gunning and running episode. A kidnapped girl whose father is head of a big cybernetics firm has been spotted after sixteen years in the hands of a human rights terrorist brigade, the people who are against cybernetic enhancements, only problem she looks the same as she did 16 years ago. She was spotted on what I think is an old oil rig or something off the coast of Okinawa which as become some bizarre bizaar for black market goods and the like. They find one of the special forces team that initially inflitrated the oil rig but he has been infected with a cyber virus. The terrorists and Section 9 really shoot it out. You just have to love the Tachikomas especially when you give them a chaingun and let them go. In the next episode Section 9 is sent to protect a reclusive financial wizard who has double crossed some powerful underworld figures. These underworld heavies send a cyborg assassin who has a cannon in her arm that fires blasts of 500 Yen coins, think of it as the world's most expensive shotgun. Batou meets some robot dogs and the Major squares off with the cyborg assassin. They all learn the truth of the reclusive billionaire, he is now a dried up corpse and his financial empire had been running itself. It is during this mission that the Tachikomas begin to act strange, they are starting to develop minds of their own, this worries the Major enough that she recalls them to the lab. Batou isn't exactly happy, he seems to have more of a connection with the Tachikomas than anybody else in the unit. While the Tachikomas are being sent to the lab Batou is sent to investigate a Silver Medal Winning Martial Artist who is now training soldiers in martial arts. He never got the Gold because he lost one match in the Olympics and it ruined his life to the point that he is spying for foreign powers. Batou confronts him and angrily puts a magnificent beating on him. I always like the Batou episodes, they are intense and usually involve honor and have some great fight scenes in them. This disc was a little light on the Laughing Man story line, except for the one cryptic moment with Togusa's home computer. That is another reason I love this series, it moves the main plot along in subtle little ways and forces you to pay attention. I love this series, there isn't an episode I don't love.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

Aramaki and the Major travel to merry old England to attend a conference on International Terrorism. Apparently the British SAS invented the Cyber Anti-Terrorism Squad like Section 9. Aramaki goes to visit and old flame who know works for an investment bank that deals entirely in wine. While they are discussing her belief that the mafia is using the wine bank to launder their money. She asks for Aramaki's help but he is a visitor so his hands are tied. But a strange bit of luck comes their way when 2 mafia flunkies who decide to rob the place. But the authorities outside don't want to take anybody alive including the hostages alive so it is up to Aramaki on the inside and the Major on the outside to keep themselves alive. I liked how this episode showed some more personality of Aramaki and his relationship with the women in his life, the bank president and the Major. I think the Major has a thing for Aramaki, whether it is as a father figure or not we won't know. The next episode is another Aramaki Episode, Section 9 is called in to protect a visiting Chinese Politican who is visiting a War Shrine presumable from World War 3. The prime suspect is the son of Aramaki's boss during the war and was taught him everything they know. The Major and Togusa try and chase down Yuu before he can assassinate the Chinese Politican. This is a really taunt thrilling episode that has a great twist at the end. I also really liked how they realistically used Disassociative Indentity Disorder or better known as Multiple Personality Disorder. The next episode is all about human trafficking. The former Prime Minister's daughter has been kidnapped and this puts him in a very sticky position because he had gone on the record several times saying these kind of kidnapping for parts didn't exist. This puts him in a tight spot, it is his daughter's life over his politcal life. Bateu and Togusa happen to stumble on the kidnappers complete with truck load of kidnapped girls. They were kidnapped by a one eyed Russian Spy who is kidnapping them to send their parts back to the Northern Territories which sounds like Siberia. After pulling her explosive arm off she escapes but soon she can't unload the girls because the former Prime Minister went public destroying his politcal life for his daughter. The final episode of the disc is a big one in the Laughing Man story, Togusa is still obessed with the Laughing Man and has taken up reading JD Salinger's Catcher in the Rye as the way to find the truth behind the Laughing Man. He finds a giant clue in the Ministry of Health and Human Welfare, or to be extact doesn't find what should be there. This leads to intrigue about drugs, micro machines, and Cyberbrain Sciosis, a disease that kills the brain after implanting of a cyberbrain. Togusa goes undercover and discovers the truth only to have thugs from the Ministry of Health and Human Welfare shoot every including Togusa in order to keep their dirty secret. Great episodes on this disc, then again I can't think of a single episode that I don't really like, even the little seemingly pointless ones are really, really good.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

With Togusa shot he tries to tell the other members of Section 9 what transpired when the Narc Agents tried to kill him. They go after a man named Imakurusu who is one of three people who knew the real truth behind the Laughing Man, and the Controversy between the Vaccine and Nanomachines. But at the same time the Narc Squad is out gunning for him looking to shut him up permantely. Section 9 gets to him first but the Narc Guys bring up a Military Grade Armour Suit which deals a wicked beating to the Major before she manages to get the upper hand thanks to a rather big gun provided by Seito. The scene where she keeps blasting the poor bastard in the armour suit is quiet funny just that really pissed look in her eyes. Then after the day is almost saved the real Laughing Man appears in his blue winter parka and pork pie hat. He talks to Imakurusu but before Batou can get him on the helicopter the last of the Narc Squad kill him and the Laughing Man disappears by hacking Batou's eyes. With all the damage to her cyber body the Major has to go in and get a replacement but she of course has to go to the mad doctor who plans on killing her, I mean talk about a tought HMO. At the same time Aramaki goes in search of his long lost brother who was arrested and charge with a drug crime. Of course it is a trap setup by the last members of the Narc Squad. The Laughing Man makes another live appearence and entrusts his memories to her so the truth will come out. The final episode of this three episode disc involves a meeting with Ernest Serano and the Laughing Man in the same area that they made world history exactly 6 years ago. Many of the mysteries of the Laughing Man case come to life, including that a very senior member of the goverment with some really powerful allies was in on the thing the entire time. Now that Section 9 has the evidence it is time for them to act but will the consquences of that act hold for them? The last disc will reveal all. This was a great disc, action, tons of really great plot that really helps tie a lot of the unanswered questions together. But the best thing of the disc is the Major's fight with Gayle in the armoured suit especially when the tables are turned. This really didn't feel like three episodes rather one long well thought through episode. It starts telling the plot of the Laughing Man and why it happened without slipping too deep into nonsense philsophical babble like other Sci-Fi stories have fallen into.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

This amazing and nearly perfect series comes to an end in this great disc. A lot happens, the government turns against Section 9 and they disband the unit. But they have to get the truth out even if it kills them. That is all I will say, you will have to watch to know what happens. This is a great series and continues to cement the belief that Ghost in the Shell is my 2nd favorite anime series second only to Lupin but in truth the two are so close to one another either could easily be number 1. I don't know exactly why Ghost in the Shell hits me in that visceral level but it does hit a cord, I don't know if it is the visuals, the incredibly intelligent and thought through story, or the fact that this is my third time watching it and I still find new things, little touches here and there that show they put a great deal of time and effort into making this and I think it is that joy they had for their work which makes me love it so. A truly classic series that had a perfect ending.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

The Major and the rest of Section 9 are back in action up against a whole new threat, The Individual Eleven. The first episode we rejoin Section 9 as the Individual Eleven, a shadowy terrorist organization takes over the Chinese Embassay. But after the affair with the Laughing Man Section 9 is still official dissolved but this doesn't stop them from preparing to storm the Embassay to rescue the hostages. In the meantime Aramaki, the old Ape is in a meeting with the new Prime Minister and the cabinet discussing the reactivation of Section 9. Of course this being Ghost in the Shell, Section 9 gets reactivated and they go into kick some ass. After succesfully rescuing all the hostages they learn not only is Section 9 back but they have a bunch of new recuirts. Okay not exactly new but they are now fully fledged members of Section 9 now, the Tachikomas. Now with all their members back it is time for Section 9 to take on all and sundry. The next episode is a great homage to the Taxi Driver, in this a WW IV vet who is a helicopter pilot for a big media executive is obessing over his fantasies to kill his high profile passenger to send a message to the world about how they are being lied to by everyone. At the same time the refugees that are filling Japan are being attacked by the terrorist group, the Individual 11 and the refugees are striking back by bombing government buildings. This was such a cool episode because it barely involves Section 9, it is just one guy trying to make do in the world after he served in the 2nd Vietnam War and had to have his legs replaced with artifical legs. He is bitter and disenfranchised like so many veteran from the real Vietnam War as t they try to find their place in the world after such a life altering event such as war. In episode 3 we get to see Kusinagi do her best Spider-Man imitation as Section 9 has to outmaneuver a talented Lupin-style thief who has set his sights on a wealthy man's fortune. The only problem is the thief plans to strike during a party hosted by the man who is going to robbed where wealthy men show off their sex robots that they kept hidden from their wives. Aramaki and Kusinagi go undercover and we get to see Kusinagi in a nice white evening dress. It is hilarious, you just know the Major is boiling mad but keeps a big smile on her face. You also get to see the Foreign Affairs Minister, the guy from the 1st episode of 1st Gig who likes cyberdiving into geisha girls. I love the high tech Lupin style heist, it puts my two favorite series together into one great episode. The final episode of the disc you get to see the Japanese Self Defense Force in action as they entered the Niihama Refugee Seaeled Section to conduct a strike against a group of armed militant refugees that have a think-tank, it may be only an excerise but it turns deadly when one of the Jigabachi Attack Helicopters go out of control. It is up to Section 9 to stop the copter. It is a lot like episode 2 in 1st Gig when the think-tank is hijacked by its creator and he takes it for a joy ride in Tokyo. While resolving the problem we get our first meeting with Gohda, the disfigured head of the Central Intelligence Service, a shadowy service that knows a lot more than he is letting on, but what do you expect these guys were black suits, black shirts, black ties, and of course black gloves. You know these guys are going to be nothing but trouble. This new series is a little darker, everything is toned down, the original series was bright and shiny with vibrant colours, this series is much more muted in its colour palette. It is just as wonderful and perfect as the first series, everything from the incredibly characters, to the goofy and incredibly lovable Tachikomas. Yes even the Tachikomatic Days are back and funnier than ever. This is definitely my favorite new series of 2005, then again that really isn't a big surprise.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

While visiting a refugee ghetto the Prime Minister recieves a bouquet of flowers with a death threat in it signed with a strange symbol. Section 9 is called in provide around the clock protection for the Prime Minister and to try to figure out who the assassin is before he strikes. At the same time Gohda is taking interest in the threats, the guy is so shadowy he is almost X-Files in being over the top. Togusa, Borma, and Ishikawa do some heavy research and discover the symbol stands for Individual Eleven. The title comes from a collection of essays that discussed ten influential revolutions in history. When the assassin strikes the Major and her team quickly learn that the assassin is a heavily reinforced cyborg, of course we learn this after about two dozen pistol rounds are pumped into his body and he leapt through the ceiling in order to make his escape. The next episode Togusa goes it alone to the ruins of Tokyo to investigate the mysterious death of a man who had claimed to know secrets about government corruption. Tokyo is a ghetto wasteland, populated by low grade cyborgs, the place looks really good, the contrast of the glamour of Newport City as compared to the squalor of old Tokyo. Togusa and a woman who knew the dead man go some investigating and find a company has been using refugees to do work in the sunken areas of Tokyo in extremely dangerous areas. I loved both the radiation damage on the bodies and the mysterious men in black that work for Gohda, they don't do anything actively but you know when they are around, trouble is two steps away. The last scene of the episode was definitely the best moment of the episode, so many questions, but no good answers. After finding the nuclear power plant buried beneath a building in old Tokyo, the government decides to transport the nuclear rods and they assign Section 9 to make sure the Individual Eleven doesn't strike the transport. To make everything fisher, Gohda is in charge of the operation. The drive through the refuge zone was wonderfully tense, the attack could come from any place at any moment. The ending is just as great, you just know Batou wants to eat Gohda alive. The final episode of the disc we get a recap of the Individual Eleven crimes, from general terrorism to the attempt on the Prime Minister's life. They zero in on a suspect of one of the members, a cook at a vegatarian restaurant. They learn that the cook is actually an international terrorist or is he? The story twists and turns, Gohda appears to be controlling it all while munching on candy bars and popping pills. This is a great disc, it throws a lot at you but you can eat it all, I picked up more than a few little tells in the series that come from watching the series closely. That is one of the greatest things about this series, it is very well written and thought through. Every episode has a lot of rewatchablity, you can catch something new everytime you watch it. Face it, I love this series and I am not going to say a bad thing about the entire series. Watch, enjoy, lather, rinse, repeat.

Story: B
Animation: B
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: B 

This is one of the stranger anime titles I have run across, a man, basically you the viewer, ends up spending a night at a strange motel, the Gregory House were you find that you are suddenly trapped by the inn keeper and the host of strange people at the motel. Now can you escape before it is too late? It has a very strange animation style, everything is CG and square, the heads of the characters are all various square shapes. It reminded me of some of the adventure games that came out on the computer in the early 90s when game designers were experimenting with 3-D animation. The animation takes some getting use to, and I doubt most people who sit down to watch this will be willing to accept such an incredibly different style. The story is also told in a totally different manner, it is done in 3 to 5 minutes vignettes which in the beginning are random and character based but as the series goes on it takes on the form of a more traditional narrative just broken up into little pieces. The series is totally different and completely unexpected. I have a taste for the very unusual, especially in animation. I love non-traditional animation, I think MTV is to blame for that with their Liquid Television, yes I know I am dating myself but it is still true nonetheless. I did have some trouble getting into the disc in the beginning but once it got rolling it was rather good. I suspect most traditional anime fans will take one look at this and run as fast as possible in the opposite direction but I did enjoy it if not like it. It is even a little too strange even for me at times.

Story: A
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A 

Brandon Heat and Harry McDowel are shown enemies, Harry had Brandon killed but that isn't going to stop Brandon Heat, real pornstar name there by the way, he has come back from the dead with the help of an old scientist and the daughter of a woman named Maria. They are on the run from Millenion, yes that is how it is spelled, the big crime syndicate that uses undead monsters to keep control of its rackets. But before we can get to any of that, we go back in time to when Brandon and Harry were best of friends in a little street gang that has a confrontation with another street gang that one of its members is related to a big wheel in the mafia. After a tussle in the streets the other street gangs brings the Mafia into the fray and Brandon and Harry are in deep trouble. I don't know what to say about this series, it is good, better than average but I went into it with much different expectations, I was looking for more of a undead/supernatural gun battle series instead you get a Goodfellas style story. The animation is good and so far the plot isn't all that bad, just not what I was expecting.

Story: A
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A

Brandon and Harry join the mafia as low level flunkies, Brandon's romantic interest Maria, the mother of the girl his undead self is protecting in the furture/present/whenever is now under the care of Big Daddy head of Millenion. Brandon works for a loan shark doing what he does best, beating people up. As the years pass Harry and Brandon climb the mafia ladder with the help of Bear Walken, a big wheel in the mafia hierarchy. Eventually Harry becomes a big wheel and Brandon is his number 1 enforcer. They are really going places. I really felt that a couple of these episodes could have been skipped, they really didn't add anything to the story at hand, they were just filler. If I was doing this series I would have chopped up the flashbacks, we would follow the undead Brandon through his revenge and each person he would meet along the way would have a little bit more flashback instead of making us dine on the entire flashback at one time. But that is life. It is still a better than average series but I am really hoping it starts to pick up steam in the next few discs.

Story: A
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A 

Finally the series starts showing promise, after years in prison Blood War (gee that is a subtle name, bet that isn't the name his parents gave him, unless they were Genghis Khan and Mrs Khan) is released to find that his organization, the Lightning Organization is on its last legs and Millenion has taken control of most of their rackets. But his old buddy Cannon Vulcan has a plan, nearly unkillable zombie monsters that the stereotypical Japanese mad scientist has cooked up, all mad scientists in Japan have glasses that are often mirrored so you can't see their eyes, two or three day beard growth, messy hair, a shirt and tie but the shirt has to be undone a bit and the tie loosened, a lab coat and a cigarette, usually the Japanese Bent cigarette brand, hanging from his lips. Well Cannon Vulcan lets the zombies loose on Millenion and they make short work of some of the easier targets. It is upto Brandon's gang of killers and Bear Walken's hit gang to try and stop these unkillable tools of revenge. I was at wits end with this series until this disc showed up, it had been too much talking and not enough zombie killing. I really hope this disc marks the turn around in this series.

Story: A
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A 

Harry rises to the very top of the Millienon organization over the bodies of his closest supporters, including Big Daddy and of coures Brandon. Oh don't act so surprised, of course Brandon was going to die at the hands of Harry, how do you think he ends up like he is in the beginning of the series? Well the second half of the disc is taken up with lots of zombie killing which is why I wanted to watch this series in the first place. Now hopefully the series will pick up the pace. The series is good but is moves a little too slow for its own good, we don't need an anime version of the Godfather because we already have a perfectly good version of the Godfather, it is called the Godfather. Now hopefully the remaining three discs will pick up the pace and get to the zombie killing.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

13 years have passed since Harry gunned Brandon down, everybody is old, except Bear, he hasn't aged a lick. Maria is living someplace remote, trying to hide out from Harry, but we all know she can't stay hidden forever. She is killed by Harry's hit men but his daughter survives. She seeks out Brandon, yes ladies and gentlemen we have reached the beginning of the series once again. Brandon takes out all the people he encounters while Mika makes him get in touch with his humanity. He first has what I term a boss battle with Bob Poundmax who is juiced up on the same serum as Brandon. Bob's ability it seems is to turn into a hybrid fat man Apache helicopter. After that Brandon has to face Bunji who is still all human so he has to use lots of explosives to try and beat Brandon. That doesn't work and Bunji is the one who gets beaten, and I really mean beaten. I think Brandon should have stopped beating Bunji's face after the 11th or 12th blow. The series has finally gotten good, it has shed the generic Godfather setting that it had languished in for the last 4 discs, now it has gotten really good and very good. With two discs left Brandon has a lot of vengeance to get to and not a lot of time to get it done so I expect the last two discs to be very dense.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

After defeating Bob and Bunji Brandon has dealt with half of the foes he is facing Lee and Bear who are much more fercious than Bob and Bunji. Plus Bunji isn't dead, something that really threw me for a loop, after the pounding Brandon gave him he managed to somehow stay alive. That is is really tough. But he isn't tough enough so he gets the injections to be a superior as well, guess he didn't learn his lesson the first time. With Bear and Lee out of the way, there is only one man left, well actually 2 Bunji really didn't learn his lesson but the end of the revenge is in sight.

Story: A+
Animation: A+
DVD Quality: A+
Overall: A+ 

Gungrave comes to an end and does an excellent job of bringing the series to a close. I was very pleased that this series had an end, when I started watching this I worried this series would just be a lead up to the 2 Playstation 2 games that came out. If I could change one thing about the entire series it would be changing how the flashback worked. I would have divided up the flashback instead of having it as just one big lump and interwoven it with the story of revenge each person they meet gives you another piece of the story and so on. I also would have liked it a little bit more if Harry was a tad more haunted, his character was really good as the man haunted by his past. Ideally the series would have started at the end and worked backwards chroniclly how two enemies were once friends. The final episode of this series really sealed it for me, I had been on the fence for the first half of the series wondering what they would make of all this but in the end they managed to really tied it all together in a nice neat package. This series had a satisfying and excellent conclusion.