Full Lists at ANN:

Seen Some
Seen All
Will Not Finish

Anime: Currently Watching

Bleach - 127 (on hold until crappy filler passes)
Getsumen to Heiki Minna - 7
Hayate no Gotoku - 21
Idolmaster Xenoglossia - 21
Lovely Complex - 20
Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS - 8
Mai Otome Zwei - 3
Nagasarete Airantou - 14
Naruto: Seppuuden - 27
Overdrive - 9

Spring 2007: 6 Episode Test

Darker than Black - 1
El Cazador de la Bruja - 4
Gigantic Formula - 1
Heroic Age - 3
Kami-chama Karin - 3
Kaze no Stigma - 1
Monster Princess - 3
Murder Princess - 2
Romeo and Juliette - 1
Sisters of Wellber - 1
Sola - 3
Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagaan - 3

Summer 2007 Anime - 6 Episode Test

CODE-E - 4
Mushiuta - 2
Sky Girls - 5
So Long, Mr. Despair - 1
Zombie Loan - 4

Anime: On Hold for Future Watchings:

Black Cat
Blood+ - 1
Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokoro-Chan
Boogipop Phantom
Claymore - 6
Code Geass - 1
Death Note - 1
Demon Detective Loki
Fate/Stay Night
Ikkitousen Dragon Destiny
Initial D Stage 3
Initial D Stage 4
Kashimashi Girl Meets Girl - 2
Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru - 2
Reideen - 10
Soukou no Strain - 1
Utawarerumono
Venus Versus Virus - 1

We start off with a brief history of the bike race called the Tour de France, then a reporter tells us that a Japanese person is in first place of that race at this very moment - it’s Shinozaki Mikoto.

Flashback to before he became a bicyclist, and we learn that Shinozaki Mikoto is clumsy and a bit of a dorky pushover when we see that he has trouble riding a motor scooter and has been sent by a group of guys to buy them all lunch. He ends up eating lunch by himself afterwards and reflects that though he is in high school now, he doesn’t really know anything about what he should do.

He stays after class to work on a painting of the girl he likes, Fukuzawa Yuki, when she walks into the room. After some awkward conversation she figures out he likes her, and puts him off by saying that she has a boyfriend in college with a car, though she is stretched out on his desk while she’s saying this. She tells him that rumor has it she likes more than one guy at a time, and if he changed himself a little she’d think about dating him.

As she’s about to walk off, Shinozaki gets the courage to ask if she would model for a painting. She agrees and while he’s painting her, he gets really caught up in the moment, painting wildly and standing on the desk. She’s amazed at his seriousness and his expression reminds her of someone named Yousuke. She ends up throwing the painting out the window because he drew her in a bikini.

Before she leaves, Yuki asks Shinozaki if he wants to join the bicycling club. He has no idea what she’s talking about, but then follows her out to a shed where she wheels out a bicycle. She starts saying all these things about how it’s a passionate heart that makes you a good rider, trying to convince him to join the club. Embarrassed, he tells her he can’t ride a bike and runs away.

That night, after waking up from a strange dream in which he was riding a bike perfectly and Yuki was riding on the back of it in a bikini, he gets up and goes to the school even though it’s still dark out. There he finds the bike, and for some reason it looks a lot more appealing to his eyes than it did before.

Characters

Shinozaki Makoto

Mikoto is definitely too clumsy for his own good. He thinks he isn’t good at anything but he isn’t so bad at painting and almost seems to overcome his clumsy shyness when he becomes passionate about something. It sort of reminds me of the Kenshin/Battousai switch. It’s only a matter of time before his self esteem rises some. His crush on Yuki is cute, and I’d be surprised if he could ever spend time with her properly in serious-mode and win her over.

Fukuzawa Yuki

Yuki seems like she’s sort of, well, a bitch. However, even though she blatantly puts off Mikoto and still teases him afterwards, she does blush when she realizes he likes her and when he draws her in a bikini, showing she isn’t truly a man-manipulator type. She’ll probably soften up on him as days go by, but something probably happened to her to make her seem a little mean, and she’ll have to overcome that eventually.

Storyline Thoughts

Storyline…meh, I don’t know how long I can stick with it on storyline alone. Then again I said the same thing about Initial D. That makes two racing anime for me so far, and I don’t even care about real racing. I’m interested in what sort of shape Mikoto’s path will follow and how much of an influence Yuki will have on him, though. And, why she wants random people to join the bicycling club to begin with.

Final Verdict

This makes the cut into my 6 episode test. Like I said i don’t know how long I can stick with it, but if there’s enough character development happening and they manage to make the actual racing interesting like in Initial D, it’ll probably pass the test - though still not on a priority watching schedule like some of the others.

The country of Forland is home to several different kinds of monsters, which seems to be just fine with a group of bounty hunters that go after monsters for money. Lead by a woman named Faris, the three seem to be good at what they do. On this particular hunt, they are unaware that Forland’s royal family is under attack.

Princess Alita barely manages to escape with the help of her subjects, and runs away through Erure Forest. In the forest, both of her guards fall victim to an attack by a rather large monster. Alita runs, and by chance meets with Faris at the edge of the forest. Scared by the monster’s roar as it exits the forest after her, Alita jumps at Faris, and the two women fall off of a nearby cliff. On the way down, with Alita clutching Faris tightly, the two glow strangely, and fall. Pete and Dominikov, the other two in the trio of bounty hunters, break the women’s falls.

Shortly after, Faris wakes up, only to think that she’s died. She sees her body laying on the ground, and realises that she is somehow in Princess Alita’s body. Alita wakes up soon after, and Dominikov informs the two of their Soul Transfer. Apparently he’s heard of this. When two people face death together, sometimes their souls transfer.

Before anything else happens, the large monster attacks, and Faris (in Alita’s body) quickly kills it. Alita (in Faris’ body) decides that this situation is exactly what she needs to take back her kingdom. She offers herself as collateral, promising any reward that Faris wants in return for her help. Faris eventually agrees, and they go to take back the castle.

After a large display of battle prowess, Faris dethrones the rebellious Doctor Akamasi (or Onion Head as she calls him), by physically throwing him out of it. She then declares that she is Princess Alita Farland, and that she is taking back her throne. Jodo, the small Chancelor, can obviously tell that something isn’t normal.

Characters

Faris

Eurkos: Faris is a stereotypical strong, sexy woman. Along the lines of Faye from Cowboy Bebop, Hilda from Outlaw Star, and Revi from Black Lagoon. She doesn’t seem to be afraid of much of anything. She doesn’t like the fact that she’s swapped bodies with the princess, but by the end of the episode she seems to be enjoying it. The princess’ body is hotter with her soul in there, anyway. Almost like it was meant for her.

Calophi: Faris is a very skilled bounty hunter, capable of killing creatures that lay everyone else to waste. I get the feeling it isn’t just the money she likes, but also a good fight - she’s pretty bloodthirsty. She had no interest in saving the kingdom until the princess offers her body as collateral, and then she really gets into the role of a princess. Eurkos is right - with a sword in her hand and blood on her dress, she makes the princess’s body look like it’s always meant to be ruthless. The Japanese tendency to use blond vampires with red eyes definitely helps reinforce this.

Princess Alita

Eurkos: Alita Forland seems like a sturdy enough girl to be a decent princess, but not a great ruler of a kingdom. Much like Faris, she is typical of her role. As a princess, she loves her people, and obviously feels terrible about making one of her maids impersonate her. She’s much cuter in Faris’ body than in her own. Like Faris’ situation, it’s like she was meant for that body.

Calophi: Alita is definitely way too loving to make a decent ruler, but then again, she is willing to do what it takes to get things done, and I think hanging around with Faris will help her mature into someone strong who CAN actually rule a kingdom - providing she gets her body back. She’s definitely way cuter in Faris’s body, but frankly, what will she be doing in there? I can’t see her being happy in there for too long.

Dominikov

Eurkos: All we really know about Dominikov is that he’s got a skull head, fights with a scythe that he materializes when he needs it, and has a Ghost Rider style motorcycle. He also seems to be the brains of the bounty hunting trio, seeing as he knew the name of the forest guardian, and knew about the soul transfer.

Calophi: I didn’t pay all that much attention to Faris’s friends, but it’s pretty clear that Dominikov is the token smart-guy of their group. Probably not as strong as Faris, but definitely stronger and more skilled than average. His weapon can take out a few enemies with one throw.

Pete Armstrong

Eurkos: I almost feel like I’m repeating myself, but Pete is a typical character. He’s huge, and ridiculously strong. He gently catches Alita’s body when she and Faris fall off the cliff, and gently holds her (in Faris’ body) when they’re on the motorcycle, so he can obviously be very gentle. I’m interested in him and Dominikov, because I want to know why they’re working with Faris. I wonder if they weren’t always monsters.

Calophi: Again I’m agreeing with Eurkos. Pete is the strong, not-so-smart guy, but even so he’s not rude or nasty - it seems that he’s got a kind nature to him. I’m glad I didn’t mention the whole monster thing for Dominikov since Eurkos did it down here, but I also would like to know how Faris fell in with these guys seeing as how they’re monsters.

Jodo

Eurkos: Jodo reminds me of a mix between Yoda and Hoggle from Labyrinth. Note that they’re both muppets. He seems to be the kingdom’s adviser, and knows a thing or two about stuff. He’ll probably play an important part because of how often they show him, but he hasn’t done much yet.

Calophi: Jodo came across as muppet-like to me, also. He definitely seems like a mentor-type to me, and not just because he is the kingdom’s adviser. It’s more like, even in the little bit we saw, he seemed to care about the princess’s fate more than his own life. As far as advisers go, he’s a decent one.

Doctor Akamashi

Eurkos: Onion head shows up in the opener, so I’m sure he’ll be a recurring character. Especially since Faris didn’t kill him. He seems to be exceptionally intelligent, having the knowledge to create robot girls in a medieval style setting. He has a mad scientist feel about him, which is apparent in his (probably) unfounded thirst for power.

Calophi: I don’t really like this guy as a villain. I guess he just doesn’t seem suited to rule. Maybe he was just incredibly bored, or insane? Why do mad scientists always want to take over and rule things anyway? They should just cleverly manipulate things from the background. ::sigh:: Some stereotypes never change.

Ana and Yuna

Eurkos: Twin robot girls that Doctor Akamashi made. Ana is much more vocal than Yuna, sporting a little fang and a bad attitude. It seems that they have a lot of respect for Doctor Akamashi, probably because he is their creator. Don’t know a whole lot about them other than that, since all they really did was fight and stand near Onion Head. I’m sure we’ll see more of them later, though. They show up in the opener, as well.

Calophi: Ana is the brattier one, and did Yuna even do any fighting? Maybe she was built to do something else. I wonder how they’re powered. How could a pure robot be running in medieval times and be that human-like? There’s gotta be something more to them than that. I could definitely survive without seeing either of them again, but as Eurkos said, they’re in the opener and probably here to say.

Storyline Thoughts

Eurkos: Seems pretty original to me, although I could have just missed the last anime with a princess and a bounty hunter chick that swapped souls with each other. I’m interested to see what sort of things happen to the kingdom now that someone like Faris is in charge.

Calophi: The exact circumstances are original, but body-swapping in general has been done in all sorts of mediums. They’ve made it interesting, swapping out royalty with a warrior without doing a prince and the pauper type of thing. I wonder if the kingdom is peaceful now or if the attacks continue on. Something tells me Faris will be very, very bored with everyday goings on that comes with ruling a country, and she’ll be designating the mundane tasks back to Alita.

Final Verdict

Eurkos: One of my top 3. The animation is great. The action is very nicely done. It probably has a bigger budget per episode since it’s probably short, being an OAV series. I find myself hoping that it’s longer than I think, but it probably won’t be. Hopefully that means that it stays good even through the ending.

Calophi: Oh yes, the animation was superb, and the story and characters are interesting. Lots and lots of gore, too. Normally this sort of thing isn’t quite what I go for, but since Faris-Princess is so cool and the series is so short, I don’t see any reason why I would stop watching, though I might not be as quick to watch this as compared to some of the other things I’ve been seeing this season.

Basically I have in place what I call a “6 episode test”. I watch an episode and I don’t outright reject it I internally agree to watch 6 episodes of it and give it a chance to, well, not suck. By the end of the six episodes, it not beforehand, I’ll know whether to stick with or drop the series.

That being said, when starting a newly released series, I’ll review episode 1, then let you know if it’s passed my 6 episode test and made it into my regular rounds. Later I will review the series as a whole when it is complete.

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Basically this is going to be a site for me to put up all my content. Images and fiction will be in blog posts so that you guys can comment on it, and some other more static pages will be added for things like fanlistings.

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The name “AnimeJB” basically came about when I wanted to make an anime roleplaying site (it would have been similar to and partners with the late Toonopolis Fighting World). I think the JB stood for Jujitsu Bodokan or something like that. It really was only coincidence that the JB fit my “in real life” initials.