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AnimeGhost in The Shell (SAC): Solid State Society
It's been two years since Major Motoko Kusanagi left Section Nine. Since then, Section Nine has grown to three times its size, Togusa has been team leader, and Batou has resigned himself to training officer in order to secretly search for the missing major. As a wave of suicides of political leaders erupts, the newly appointed Togusa must investigate the ties between the suicides, the mass disappearance of children through out Japan, and the dangerous hacker known as the Puppeteer. As the conspiracy deepens, the sudden appearance of the Major creates more questions than answers. Who is the Puppeteer and what is the Major's connection to the terrorist? As the mystery is slowly revealed, Batou, Togusa and the rest of Section 9 must confront the fact that they may need to go head to head against their section's greatest agent, Major Kusanagi.
Characters
Major Kusanagi: Former leader of Section 9, she disappeared two years ago in a quest to find herself. As the Puppeteer begins his terrorist attacks, her mysterious reappearance has lead Section 9 to consider the worst. She may have been part of the current attacks and must be taken down.
Batou: The last person to see the Major, he is secretly searching for his lost leader. As the Puppeteer crises erupts, he is called out of training duty to investigate the case. But with appearance of the Major, will he follow orders and possibly take her down, or will his loyalty to her affect his judgment?
Togusa: With the Major gone and Batou the training officer, he is now team leader for all of Section 9. As as he gets more submersed in the Puppeteer crises will the pressure of the job and the threats against his children force the once promising rookie to his breaking point?
The Puppeteer: He has no face, his battle ground is on the net. With his skill, he has caused many leaders to commit suicide and was able to kidnap children right under their parents noses. Who is the Puppeteer? What is the motive for his actions? Is he powerful enough to finally bring section 9 and the government to its knees?
Why I like it: This is the latest installment in one of the most popular anime franchises ever. Like its predecessors, this story is heavy in philosophical quandaries and military violence. It also covers what happens to the Major after the events of the previous Ghost in the Shell movies. The original movie was one of the first animes I watched and it blew my mind. Solid State Society to me is a great continuation to this prestigious story. This is mainly due to it tying up a lot of loose ends left over in the series and the previous movies. The story also adds a little more humanity to its usually stoic characters. Though its not much, it gave me more of an insight into why they risk their lives in what they do.
My verdict: If this is the last story told about the world of Ghost in the Shell, it is a great way end its run.
Strawberry Marshmallow
Life is tough for 12 year old Chika. She must constantly put up with her annoying best friend and next door neighbor Matsuri and her 11 year old and highly emotional friend Miu as they tear up her room and drag her from one misadventure to another. Throw in Nobue (Chika's mooching 20 year old sister) and Ana ( a foreign girl who is not as 'foreign' as she would like to be), Chika's life is very tough indeed.
Main Characters
Chika: 12 year girl and somewhat considered the main character of the story. She is usually the straight man to Matsuri's antics.
Matsuri: The group's most perky and troublesome member. She reminds me of Osaka from Azumanga Daioh! Except with ADD.
Mui: The shyest, most emotional, and most gullible of the group. Usually the object of Matsuri's abuse and tricks.
Ana: Blonde haired, blue eyed foreigner from England. She tries to maintain her foreign mystique amongst her classmates. Only Mui and her friends know Ana's dark secret of being fluent in Japanese.
Nobue: Chika's older (but not mentally) sister. Usually bumming money from Chika for smokes she has a strange affinity to Ana and cosplay, which becomes apparent when she's drunk.
Why I like it: A while ago I suggested this anime to Steam Monkey when he wanted to show an anime to his niece. I feel I should validate this choice by making it one of my picks. Now I know I usually pick fairly violent anime or anime where the comedy can be very adult, this family friendly anime is one of the few to break my barrier against 'kid shows'. Like Azumanga Daioh!, the story mainly focuses on the girls and their daily life in Japan. Their little adventures are usually weird, disruptive to themselves and other people, and very cute. My main reason for liking this anime is due to the funny, but safe adventures they get themselves into. When I watch their exploits, I feel a sense of serenity because I know that what ever they do, they do not have to worry about dangers such as gang violence, muggings, or murder. This world where little kids can run around safely and only fear skinned knees is a world I aspired to give to the American people when I joined the Marines. I wanted to shield the children in my family and the rest of America from any dangers emanating from its borders and beyond. Though I know I couldn't change anything by myself or see any results of my tour in my lifetime, I hope my tenure fighting for my country leads to at least one child to have a childhood of fun and innocence.
My verdict: This is a great anime to introduce to a burgeoning young otaku due its cute characters, funny story line, and family friendly adventures.
Comic Party
Kazuki Sendoh is an high school student with little drive to do anything. His only unique gift is his sketching. He didn't take much interest in his doodling until his best friend and ultimate otaku sees his potential and forces Kazuki to partner up with him to create a doujinshi worthy of bringing manga to the forefront of pop-culture in the future. Now a member of 2 Brothers Publishing, Kazuki must race to create a comic to display in the biggest doujinshi convention in Japan: Comic Party! But as the deadline gets closer and closer, will he be able to complete his work before it's too late?
Characters
Kazuki Sendoh: Artist duped into drawing doujinshi for his friend. Though originally against it, he grows more interest in the otaku world as his work slowly goes from idea to published reality.
Taishi Kuhonbutsu: An ultimate otaku, he dreams to taking over popular culture by way of doujinshi. As the second member of 2 Brothers Publishing, he pushes and guides his friend Kazuki through the trials and glory of a doujinshi artist.
Mizuki Takase: Kazuki's on and off girlfriend, she is totally against doujinshi and the otaku world. But due to Kazuki's enthusiasm for his new hobby, Mizuki becomes torn in tearing Kazuki away, destroying his new enthusiastic attitude or allowing his hobby and risk having less time with Kazuki.
Yuu Inagawa and Eimi Ooba: Prominent doujinshi artists and fierce rivals, they often help Kazuki in the doujinshi process in between their spats. Yuu and Eimi's doujin groups are Kareimetei and CAT OR FiSH!! respectively.
Aya Hasebe: A shy and quiet struggling doujin artist. Kazuki and Aya become friends when Kazuki complemented her artwork. Aya and Kazuki usually help each other out to make deadline. She is affiliated to the Jamming Book Store doujin group.
Minami Makimura: Head staff of Comic Party, she helps the wet under the ears Kazuki in the ways of Comic Party.
Why I like it: I picked this anime for two reasons. The first is for its origin, and the second for what it's representing. Recently, I have noticed a trend where anime is taking stories from popular video games. Animes like To Heart, Air, Digaea, and Xenosaga show that manga is no longer the sole medium that is tapped by anime. In honor of this, I felt I should showcase one of the original game/anime conversions. The second reason I chose this anime is for its story. Like Genshiken, it's a slice of life anime that focuses on a part ot the otaku world. In this case, the world of the doujinshi artist. It shows the trials and tribulations that a burgeoning artist must face to get his/her doujishi to Comic Party (a homage to the real big Japanese convention Comiket). It also shows the dangers often found in large conventions and the techniques used by artists to attract readers to their book. Though the first season has been out for a while, the second season called Comic Party Revolution has been coming out steadily this past year with new stories and with more characters from the game not previously seen in season one.
My verdict: It's a good window into the world on the other side of manga. It gives me a new found appreciation in the hard work an artist goes through to get his or her manga from a simple idea on paper to a published book in my hands.
