The world is a powder keg of religions, cultures, and political alliances. It will only take one critical moment to throw everything into turmoil and war. Enter Yugo Beppu, a Japanese national with an uncanny ability to negotiate situations that many people consider hopeless causes. He travels the world encountering many different cultures and people diffusing problems and solving historical riddles to save the lives of the people is tasked to recover.

Why I like it: Like many American shows, most anime tends to take place within the country of its creation. More precisely, the story tends to take place within a city of its home country (such as New York for America and Tokyo for Japan) and rarely moves any further. Every so often however, there is a show goes for the unfamiliar and focuses on a nation that is radically different from the world their audience tends to know. Yugo is that type of anime. Like Roger Smith of Big O, Yugo is a negotiator attempting to recover kidnapped or otherwise captured people. Unlike Roger, Yugo's clients rarely speak his home language making the negotiation a bit more difficult.

The entire series it done in two volumes. Volume one (ep. 1-6) has Yugo traveling to Pakistan to negotiate the release of a Japanese businessman from Islamic rebels. In volume two (ep. 7-13), Yugo is hired by a former Russian aristocrat to retrieve a little girl who is a long lost relative from the frigid cold of Siberia. In both cases, Yugo is immersed in a culture and language foreign to him and his native Japan. This gave Yugo a unique form of negotiation that has him relate to the captures. This results in him studying the culture of the captures unprecedented to most people. For Pakistan, he learns Arabic and learns the Koraan word for word. For Russia, he studies the ways of the Russian people and emulates the way they would think. Also, his negotiation style includes him finding ways of gaining the respect of the native people. He understands that even if does know the language of that nation, it does not guarantee an audience with the people he needs to see.

To gain the respect of native people, he goes though many trails that often include a lot of pain. These trails were often various forms of torture where survival is slim. Despite knowing what he will go through, Yugo still does them because he knows it will get him closer to accomplishing his mission highlighting his conviction for mission accomplishment.
The scenes in Pakistan and Russia are surprisingly detailed. The artists for the series did a lot of research to make the look of each region as authentic to the actual nations they portray. This helped in creating the specific atmosphere needed to give the story its worldly feel. This surprised me because anime is not really known for its heavy research in its foreign scenarios. In many cases, their attempts are usually very weak and heavily influenced by their own culture (anime is filled with American characters that have very Japanese mannerisms). This anime has showed initiative by really studying the mannerisms and ways of the culture it's trying to represent.

Along with the detailed backdrops, the anime does well in accurately showing how people of that region would react to the events they are placed. Though one may think that the story portrays the people in a savage and violent light, keep in mind these regions are harsh and unforgiving. Though most people of that region are very kind, when problems arise they do solve them in a more harsh and unforgiving manner. Despite this aspect I do believe the writers did create a story that is respectful to the cultures they portray.

My verdict: A great and rare political thriller that is on par with most political dramas. Though there is very little action, if you like the political intrigue of the Bourne series or 24, you probably like this anime.
Anime

Yugo The Negotiator
What would you do for when you condemned? What will you do when your sins condemn others? Mizuki Ayase, a gifted sixteen year old professor, felt she committed an act so heinous that her death is the only way to save others for her sins. Her suicide attempt, however, was foiled by a young girl named Eve. Having regain her senses, Mizuki begins to study Eve and discovered three unusual things about her. One she is an orphan just like Mizuki. Two, Eve is actually a boy. Three she is possessed by a powerful being name Judas. Now, Mizuki is embroiled in an apocalyptic struggle where mankind?s only defense is the greatest traitor of all time.

Characters
Mizuki Ayase: Receiving a doctorate at 16, she developed a drug in hopes of helping her fellow orphans. To her horror, the drug was actually used to experiment on the orphans causing them to die horrible deaths. Her despondency grew so large she nearly committed suicide. She survived by the aid of a young girl named Eve.
Eve Makuran: A young boy who dresses like a girl, he is the vessel for the soul of Judas. When is blood is spilled, Judas is able to fully control Eve and become a weapon of vengeance against their enemies. After saving Mizuki, he is currently residing in her apartment along with the spiritual manifestation of Judas.
Judas: Apostle with the power of Death. Condemned for his crime, he must kill 666 people to remove the curse and to gain back his body. However, his quest for his resurrection has been put on hold due to the return of the apostles and there attempt to break the seals that start the apocalypse. He currently posses a young boy named Eve who he constantly picks on by making him wear girl's clothes and getting him girlie mags. When not fully possessing Eve, he usually exists outside of Eve in the form of a spirit only visible to Eve and Mizuki.
Kogiku: A schoolmate of Mizuki. She has a weak heart and has trouble doing many physical tasks. Very shy and somewhat dimwitted, she hangs around Mizuki and Eve and is often confused at their actions when they interact with Judas (since she can't see him).
Peter: Apostle with the power of Birth. After returning to earth, he and the other apostles set in motion plans to break the seals and begin the apocalypse on earth. Though kind and gentle by nature, he loses his temper when Judas is mentioned. He as vowed revenge on Judas and plans to destroy him during the armageddon.

Why I like it: Many people think that some things are too taboo to write about, writing about Jesus and the apostles being one of them. I however think it is very refreshing to see an alternate view of events of one of the most important stories ever written. I always had a problem with people objecting with other people writing there own interpretation of religious events. These same objectors usually read and and watch stories that are revised versions of holy text from a religion that is different from their own. I believe that though the story is not from one own religion, it does not make it any less sacred. Aside from the controversial subject, the story itself is a good depiction of what people will do to undo their sins and what sins people will do in the quest for the greater good. We all have sins we regret; some of us go to drastic measures to erase them. Mizuki at first attempted suicide for her sins. Others, try to cleanse their sins by trying to do something good. Judas for instance, stands in the way of the apostles to save billions of lives by preventing the apocalypse. Sins are a very big motivator in what people do. This manga really emphasizes this through the trails and tribulations of the main characters and their antagonists. Aside from the angst, the story has many lighthearted scenes which usually involve Judas picking on Eve similar to how Alucard picks on his subordinate, Seras. Mizuki and Kogiku usually contribute to Judas and Eve's antics by being the straight man and a mark receptively. It is also very fun to once again see the Japanese interpretation of what is considered a very western story.

My Verdict: A dark story with a bit of humor in the league of Hellsing. Would recommend to any body with an interest in religion, but with an open mind.
Anime Classic

Alien Nine
Yuri Otani is a melancholic 12 year old who just got chosen by her classmates to be a part of what she considers the worst job in school: be a member of Alien Party. Alien Party is a club created in order to hunt and capture alien invaders that enter school grounds. Though they use capturing tools such as roller skates, lacrosse sticks, and tranquilizer guns, their main tool of the trade is an alien symbiote known as a borg that look like helmets with the power to create weapons out of the their wings. Though she has help from the other two members of Alien Party, Yuri's fear of aliens and her depressed personality often gets her and her teammate's into all sorts of trouble.

Characters
Yuri Otani: A very quite and shy girl, she is voted by her six grade class to be a part of alien party. Despite her objections, she tearfully does her duties along with the reps from the other two six grade classes. Her fear however, usually gets the best of her which often leads to some very serious problems.
Kumi Kawamura: De facto leader of Alien party. She is the most independent of the three and often helps her widowed mother in tasks around the house. Despite her strong personality, she hides her fear of not being good enough in order to show a strong face for Yuri.
Kasumi Tomine: An extremely talented six grader, she has won many awards for piano, ballet, chess, robotics, and roller skating. Her childish nature makes her the most enthusiastic of team. She however hides her immense love for her brother whom has left for boarding school leaving here with abandonment issues.
Megumi Hisakawa: Counselor for the Alien Party, she is in charge of training and looking over the needs of the team. She also secretly seems to be working on making Alien Party the best it can be for some unknown reason. Her prehensile hair tends to suggest she was a member of alien party in her youth.
Miyu Tamaki: Best friend of Yuri, she tends to be Yuri's support when she becomes overly despondent.
The Borgs: Three alien symbiotes that look like a cross between a bike helmet and a frog. They defend their hosts (Alien Party members) and become offensive weapons through mental commands of their hosts. Though, Kumi and Kasumi and do this with ease, due to Yuri's fear, her borg is only capable of defensive actions. As symbiotes, they feed on the girls in times of rest which tends to freak out Yuri during feeding time.

Why I like it: This is one of the greatest tragedies in anime. Not because of the story, but by the fact it was left unfinished. In all, only four episodes of the anime were ever made. This was due mainly to lack of interest in the Japanese audience. However, like Futurerama, this anime could have been so much more if it weren't canceled prematurely.

The story at first seems like a capture anime in league of Pokemon or Digimon. The aliens that invade the school tend to be animalistic in nature and more inclined to run than fight (like Pokemon). The animation itself is a simple cute style that is not to far from Azumanga Daioh or Strawberry Marshmallow. Though on the surface, this may seem like simple children's anime with simple plots, as I progressed through the episodes, I begin to see how truly dark and psychologically heavy this anime really is. In merely four episodes, the anime explores the deep rooted psychological problems the main characters have that hinder and even endanger their lives in their hunt for aliens. In many other anime, problems like these tend to be solved as part of the resolution of certain event.

This anime however, shows no true problem can be solved by just one simple thing. A lot of these problems, especially Yuri's, tend to be a big factor in how the missions they do are resolved. A couple times, these problems not just become liabilities, but a danger to the lives of the team. To me, this seems more like real life. When we have problems, they can't be solved quick and cleanly by one event. Usually, it's a long and messy process to resolve a psychological problem if it can ever be solved. Most of the times these problems become repressed and can come out worse at a later event. This anime is not afraid to show such problems out in the open. Another shocking thing about this anime is it's use of violence.

In many capture anime, the enemy is beaten when it is exhausted leaving it bruised but alive. Though the main purpose of the girls is to capture the aliens alive, due to the above mentioned explosion of repressed feelings, their actions create scenes of violence more in tune to older anime. This violence looks all that more shocking due to the simplistic art it is drawn in.Finally, despite how innocent Alien Party might be, the scenes with counselor Megumi lead to thoughts that this group may be more than it seems. The added effect of watching her hair move on it's own (like if it was a borg) give rise to more questions behind the true nature of Alien Party. This adds an extra conspiracy flavor to the story making it a richer and deeper plot.

My verdict: I honestly think if this anime wasn't canceled, it could have become one the best animes of all time. I highly recommend it but be warned: Due to it being unfinished, you may become frustrated by not being able to see how this story ends.

Extra Note: At the end of the fourth and last episode, keep watching through the credits to see one of the most shocking cliffhanger images I have ever seen. Keep in mind tough, this is an unfinished series, so don't expect to ever see a resolution.
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