Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki

Watching the entirety of Ryo-Ohki is the equivalent of watching a former classmate you have fond memories of making a drunken ass of themselves at a class reunion. Nine years have passed since the events of the mangificant OVA's that spawned the rocky TM franchise, yup the gangs all back and looking incredibly worse for it thanks to the atrocious character designs that turn Ryoko into what resembles a grotesque space chimp/human hybrid! Speaking of Ryoko(who is by far the best character in the whole damn series) she gets absolutely shafted here; her personality and character getting warped by the writers, who would rather spend much more time with the titular Ryo-Ohki; one of the most annoying and useless characters you'll come across. Oh, I almost forgot theres a plot to; the standard cosmic evil endangering the universe mumbo jumbo that's just a poor excuse to milk this cash cow one more time so suckers (myself included) will shell out to see Ryoko...um I mean Tenchi and the gang again. My advice to Tenchi fans, avoid this and watch the original OVA's again.

Grade: D

Reviewed: OVA's 6/6(complete) Format: DVD, English Dub.

Boogiepop Phantom

I'll say this right now; much as the case was with Lain, Boogiepop Phantom is not for all tastes. Some viewers will be unable to make heads or tails of overarching plot or be able to distinguish just what the hell is going on. To say BP is complex is the understatement of the year and the episodic series structure, with a new characters every episode, makes things a beast to keep track of. This is an anime that requires your full, alert and undivided attention throughout its twelve episode running time. Ok, with that disclaimer out of the way the answer is yes, you need to drop everything your doing and watch this anime, it's that damn good. It's nearly impossible to give a description of the plot without giving away spoilers so here's the basic jest of things: After a night of severe electrical disturbances; children and teens from a highly populated urban area start disappearing; the culprit is rumored to be Boogiepop; a malevolent being who prowels the night. Along with the disappearances are a rash of gruesome murders that plague the city and in the middle of everything are the students of the high school where the largest electrical disturbance was spotted. The story follows the teens as they are slowly drawn into a dark new reality were their lives affect the fates of those around them and death as well as Boogiepop are only a few steps away. Is she a friend or foe? Boogiepop Phantom is a masterfully plotted, gruelingly intense mindbender wrapped in the packaging of a sci-fi horror film. There are plenty of jaw dropping, mind blowing moments as you see events play out from different characters perspectives and unlike most horror themed anime, there are some genuinely terrifying moments. Seeing BP once is probably not enough; it stays lodged in your head demanding to be seen again so it can be scrutinized further. If your in the mood for a cerebral, scary anime; Boogiepop Phantom is at the top of it's class.

Grade: A

Reviewed: episodes 12/12(complete) Format: DVD, English Dub.