Pokemon Ranger: Hikari no Kiseki

Pokemon Ranger: Hikari no Kiseki (Path of Light) is a short two episode OVA that follows Natsuya, a Pokemon Ranger, as he tries to disband the Pokemon Nappers and protect a very special Pichu. Rather than catching and battling Pokemon, Pokemon Rangers use a special capture method that allows them to connect their thought and feelings with their Pokemon. The Pokemon Nappers are looking to exploit Pokemon for their own use, while Pokemon Rangers are out to protect Pokemon from being taken advantage of.


Since the combined length of both OVAs is about 10 minutes, there is really little that gets resolved in the story. It acts as a great preamble to the new game on Nintendo DS and is an excellent marketing gimmick on Ninendo and The Pokemon Company's part to get kids more involved in the game.

Even though this is geared at younger kids, it is still an entertaining OVA to watch for fans of the series. Given that it is only 10 mins, it can't be any worse that watching commercials on an hour long TV program, so it's worth giving this one a chance.

Ai Yori Aoshi

Ai Yori Aoshi is an a series adaptation from a manga by the same name. The story follows Kaoru and Aoi, two childhood friends set to marry each other but separated at a young age. Kaoru decided to leave his family and pursue his own life. As a result, the wedding between the two was canceled. When Aoi randomly finds Kaoru at the train station in Tokyo, the two begin building a relationship. In order to let the two be together, one of Aoi's attendants comes up with a plan to live in a large house with Aoi while Kaoru lives in the servants quarters. This plan backfires a bit as some of Kaoru's friends end up moving in (all of whom are females) and turning the house into more of a dormitory. As the story progresses, there is some conflict with Aoi's father and her choice to marry Kaoru despite him turning his back on his family.

It's been a number of years since I watched this anime. I am a little rusty on the plot so you will have to forgive me if there are some gaps in my recollection. This is the first season of the series (the second being Ai Yori Aoshi Enishi). Ai Yori Aoshi was very entertaining a few years back when I watched it. While my tatses have changed since then, I would still recommend it to those who are fans of shoujo anime. This is very much a comical love story, and for those who are fans of anime such as Chobits and Love Hina, then this is a show worth checking out.

Great Mazinger vs. Getter Robo

Great Mazinger vs. Getter Robo is part of the Go Nagai crossover series. This is a short OVA, about 30 minutes in length, premised around the Tetsuya and Great Mazinger competing with the Getter Team to destroy alien invaders threatening Earth.

The two teams find themselves pitted against a space monster attacking Japan and a UFO ship that summons the monster. Essentially Tetsuya and the Getter Team have to learn to work together or face defeat at the hands of these alien threats.

The animation is very old school and has all of the goofy cliches that you would expect to see from the Mazinger and Getter Robo series, right down to calling out every attack and movement that the two robot suits make. I was a personal fan of the Boss Borot appearance. The comical humor really and sense of justice really made this a  lighthearted watch.

I would recommend taking a look at this OVA if you have any interest in Mazinger or Getter Robo. My only caution is to get yourself a little familiar with both of these series or else it can be a little hard to follow. I ended up having to Wikipedia some things to get up to speed after watching.

Full Metal Alchemist the Brotherhood

There is really only one word to describe this series and it’s AMAZING! I totally loved it! From the start to the finish it was nothing but great anime. If you ever watched the original Full Metal Alchemist and felt that it dragged on a little long and the ending wasn’t up to your standards than skip it and move on to the Brotherhood, it doesn’t drag and the ending is fantastic. For the last ten episodes or so I couldn’t stop watching. Each episode ending on cliffhanger and I hated to wait a week to catch the next airing. That’s how great this series is, you can’t wait a week for the next part.



If you have never seen or heard of the show, a quick overview is two brothers who study alchemy and upon the loss of their mother they try forbidden techniques and lose much more than they bargained for. After that tragic incident the brothers set forth to regain what they lost and learn all they can about alchemy. Throughout the series the brothers run into trouble and do all they can to correct things. The story has some very deep human emotions throughout and tugs at your heartstrings; while at the same time has great moments of humor. The fight scenes are well animated and eye catching. The level of romance is kept a minimal amount and not a large part of the story. The main focus is the bond between brothers and friends.

Overall I think anyone would enjoy this series, I don’t recommend it for young children once there is blood and the story would be difficult to follow but for older kids, teens and adults it’s nothing less than a great anime. Pick it up in stores or watch on Adultswim on Saturday nights. Either way just watch it you would regret it.

MD Geist II: Death Force

So I managed to finish the second OVA for MD Geist. I have to start off by saying that it was pretty painful to watch. As I predicted in my previous post, the strong and weak elements were pretty much the same, with the exception of the newer animation style. The series lost that retro feel and just ended up as more of a modern junky OVA.

The story focuses on another MDS soldier named Krauser. Unlike Geist, Krauser has the mentality to be famed and loved as a savior. Geist does return in this OVA to battle Krauser and essentially destroy everything that he has attempted to build as the humans savior.

Rather than going into all of the elements since there aren't many differences between this one and the first, I'll focus on a couple of key changes. The animation style was more modern and cleaner in terms of picture quality in this one. This was actually a negative for me. One of the nuances that kept my interest in this series was the retro 80's style animation and character design. The other major weakness was the story. To tell you the truth, I had a hard time understanding exactly what was happening. Other than the fact that Geist was a character carried over from the first OVA and the Death Force Army was not causing terror based on Geist's actions in that OVA, there was a great deal of disconnect between the two OVAs.

My recommendation is to only watch this one if you like to add a notch to your belt just to say that you have watched a lot of anime. This was painful for me to sit through and I kept checking the clock hoping it was over soon. While I will give almost any anime a chance, this one will certainly not be getting a second chance from me. I would still recommend checking out the first OVA, MD Geist, but if you weren't completely enthused by it, then don't even attempt MD Geist II: Death Force.

MD Geist

MD Geist is about a soldier who has unsurpassed combat skills and ends up being cryogenically frozen in order to suppress his uncontrollable nature. Geist ends up awakening from his cryogenic state and after the satellite that he is stored in crashes. He ends up in another war, helping the army to stop the planet's central computer from activating a doomsday  device that will wipe out all life on the planet.

This was a fairly short OVA and contains two parts. The first is MD Geist and the second MD Geist Doomsday (stay tuned for a review on the second OVA). There really wasn't a whole lot going for this short film as a whole. It was entertaining but didn't have any elements that jumped out and grabbed you.

Some of the positives of this film include the animation style, design of the cybernetic suits, the retro look and feel of the whole film. I really like old school anime so this was right up my ally. The characters (other than Geist) were not really all that memorable, but the design of the cybernetic suits that they wear was pretty cool. The concept for the atmosphere is very much like Fist of the North Star. The whole era was based in a post-apocalyptic style world.

Some negatives of this film were the story and the BGM. While I can appreciate the complexity in trying to tell and entire story and develop characters in 43 minutes, it is not impossible. I have seen many retro anime from the 80's and 90's do, so the era is not an excuse here. The BGM was pretty unmemorable. While the 80's Japanese rock music was entertaining right before a fight or when something commemorative was happening, there was nothing there to really grab me and make me want to get a copy of this soundtrack.

I found that the most memorable elements from this film all played off of the success of previous films and shows such as Fist of the North Star. While I was entertained in watching this, there really wasn't anything that felt unique or original in MD Geist. I suspect that the second OVA will display many of the same strengths and short comings as the first, but nonetheless I plan to watch it anyway and fill you guys in. I recommend watching this if you are into old school retro anime and want to kill some time with something that has action and not too much thinking involved. Stay tuned for my follow up on the second OVA and that may help you make your decision as to whether this OVA is worth your time or not.

Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War In The Pocket

One my objectives has been to try and finish off all of the Gundam series that are out to date. With all of the anime on the market and new games coming out, it is very easy to get deterred from a goal like this. I decided that the first anime I would watch after getting back from my honeymoon had to be something Gundam since there still are a few series that I have yet to complete. I decided to start with something shorter and chronologically closer to the original. This was the reasoning I had behind choosing to watch Mobile Suite Gundam 0080: War In The Pocket.

The plot behind this OVA follows a 10 year old boy named Al during the one year war of the original 0079 series. Al is a mobile suit enthusiast who joins up with a team of Zeon soldiers who are trying to uncover a secret mobile suit development plant on a neutral colony. One of the rookie Zeon soldiers, Birnie, befriends Al and ends up fighting with the uncovered Gundam prototype suit.

I won't go into too much more detail on the plot to avoid ruining the story outcome. This OVA has much less fighting than many of the other Gundam series and focuses more on the development behind the main character. The main theme that is developed in this show is that war is not something to be glorified. This is evident in the final battle between Birnie and the Gundam.

The soundtrack to this show was not one of the more memorable ones for me as far as Gundam is concerned. The faster paced, techno-based songs are replaced with slower, orchestral themes. While I do enjoy these types of soundtracks, I won't be rushing out to get a copy of this one. With that being said, the BGM for this show fit very well for the atmosphere and animation style.

The image quality was pretty decent for a show that was made in 1989. The animation style was clean and still had the retro look and feel. I am a huge fan of retro style anime, and although the story was a little slower paced in this one (with the lack of battles), the animation style was something that kept me interested.

Overall, I was a big fan of this series. I would highly recommend it for those who are fans of the franchise. For those Who are not huge proponents of the Gundam franchise, this series is something suited towards those who enjoyed movies such as Grave of the Fireflies. There are many elements that will touch your emotions and keep the harsh realities of war in check.