Anime reviews.
Remaining a strong work in atmosphere and ambience, volume two in the Mushi-shi series, containing episodes six through ten, portrays five more stories revolving around the strange creatures called mushi and their impact on human lives, with Ginko leading the way as our guide and informant to their strange world.
After finishing the first "arc" of an eventual nine and introducing us to the second, When They Cry: Higurashi moves on to showing the brutal conclusion of the Cotton Drifting arc, providing several more key clues to the nature of what's happening in Hinamizawa. With the introduction of the Curse Killing chapter, however, things only continue to become more mystifying as events seem to begin to overlap and contradict each other as Keiichi attempts to protect a dear friend.
As Ichise becomes more indoctrinated into the ways of the Organo, Onishi becomes aware of a new threat shadowing the city of Lukuss. Texhnolyze continues in this volume, which contains episodes thirteen through sixteen, as the final puzzle pieces of the setting click into piece to begin pushing forward towards the true core of its story.
Mushi-shi, as its title would suggest, revolves around the idea of the existence of the mushi, or organisms composes of the basest, most purest form of life, and the impact they have on the people who interact with them. A traveling Mushi-shi (or Mushi Master), Ginko, makes his way around the countryside, seeking out those whose problems have arisen from the mushi and doing what he can to resolve them.
Recently re-released by Funimation, Slayers is widely known as a classic fantasy anime-or to be more accurate, a classic comedic take on fantasy anime-is based on a series of light novels by Hajime Kanzaka, which also spawned video game, manga, and OAV adaptations. Slayers stars Lina Inverse, a young, underdeveloped sorceress with a nasty temper as she travels the world in search of fame and fortune, yet somehow inevitably becomes caught up in dramatic conflicts to save the world instead.
Texhnolyze's third volume, spanning episodes nine through twelve, continue to follow Ichise's journey through the dark corridors of Lukuss and the political factions and individuals that continue to manipulate it. A strange, disturbing series of events leads to a shakeup within the ranks of the Organo, and Ichise finds himself indebted to its young leader, Onishi. At the same time, the young girl Ran continues to watch everything, knowing and already dreading the inevitable outcome.
The Third: The Girl With the Blue Eyes, produced by Xebec and distributed in the US by The Right Stuf, introduces us to a version of Earth ruled by desert sands and with its population ravaged by wars in the far past. Under the rule and watch of a species known as The Third, jack-of-all-trades Honoka does her best to get by, unaware that a young man she rescues seems to be one of their targets...
