Monday, June 9, 2008

Yuyu Hakusho (1992-1995) - 112 Episodes

Yusuke Urameshi is a street-brawling delinquent with a tough guy approach to everything. Yusuke's mother Atsuko, an alcoholic, had him at the age of 15 and took a backseat in raising her son. He has a reserved seat in the guidance counselor's office, and numerous other delinquents in the city are trying to take him on. Yusuke is pretty fed up with life.

However, no one expects a sudden act of heroism on his part: he dies trying to save a little boy from a speeding car. In fact, when he arrives in the afterlife, he is informed that the child would've miraculously survived, had it not been for him the child would have one less scratch on his right shoulder. Yusuke's premature death was unexpected and unnecessary, and the afterlife was not prepared for his arrival.

After numerous tests to gauge his worth, Yusuke is eventually revived, and is assigned to work for the Spirit World as a detective investigating demon cases in the human world. He comes into spiritual abilities of his own, and enlists the help of numerous friends from Reikai (spirit world), Makai (demon world, translated in the English manga as the Demon Plane) and Ningenkai (human world) to aid him in his cases as they fight off demons and humans seeking to rule over all three worlds.


To watch this show: TBA

Devil May Cry (2007) - 12 Episodes

The series takes place between the first and fourth games, and sees the return of series regulars, Trish and Lady.

In the show, Dante runs his devil-hunting business, Devil May Cry, while struggling under constant financial debt. There are also two new regular characters -- Dante's agent Morrison who visits frequently, and Patty Lowell, a young orphan girl he saved in the first episode, who also visits frequently.
While the show's stories were mostly self-contained, a season-long plot was introduced in the first episode, and came to the forefront in episodes 10, 11 and 12.


To watch this show: Click here

Peach Girl (2005) - 25 Episodes

Peach Girl is a high school drama centered on Momo Adachi. A member of the swim team, Momo tans easily and her hair is bleached out; unfortunately, she is stereotyped as a ganguro girl by her ignorant classmates, and is forced to endure rumors about being a beach bunny and a slut. Her only friend is Sae, who is actually responsible for spreading the nasty gossip due to her jealousy to Momo. Momo is in love with Toji, a taciturn baseball player, but the scheming Sae also has her eye on the boy. Momo's life is further complicated with the introduction of Kairi Okayasu, a wise-cracking playboy who is determined to make her his because she had saved him from drowning the summer before high school started.

Things became even more complicated when Sae, in an attempt to make Momo miserable, spread rumors about Momo and Kairi making out. Some of the rumors were true and when Touji was hospitalized Sae forced Toji to break up with Momo. They soon got back together and later Sae tried to make their relationship complicated again by threatening to discredit Momo with her newly acquired access to the mass media. Though Toji was defiant to begin with, he reluctantly broke up with Momo in order to protect her. Momo was heartbroken at first, especially because she did not know that it was part of Sae's schemes. However, she eventually began dating Kairi, whom she had previously considered annoying, and soon began to fall in love with him.

When Toji reveals to Momo what had happened and why he breaks up with her, Momo is left to choose between Toji and Kairi. More problems arose and a love triangle was formed.


To watch this show: Click here

Sunday, June 1, 2008

The Prince of Tennis (2001-2005) - 178 Episodes

The series is primarily set in Tokyo. Ryoma Echizen, a tennis prodigy, attends Seishun Academy (青春学園, Seishun Gakuen?), or Seigaku (青学) for short, a private school famous for its strong tennis club and talented players. Ryoma quickly defeats numerous upperclassmen shortly after entrance to secure himself a spot as one of the team's regulars. In pursuit of their ultimate goal of winning the all-Japan junior high school tennis championship, members of the team make new friends while learning and mastering increasingly complex techniques. Ryoma also begins to develop his own style of tennis, and eventually realizes what the sport really means to him.


To watch this show: TBA