Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice

These were the ingredients chosen to-

Wait a second... This isn't the original!

This isn't fake. There is literally an anime version of the popular American cartoon, Powerpuff Girls. I heard about this a few years ago and saw a couple videos and started watching the anime, but never got around to finishing. Now my spark of interest for this anime has come back and here I am reviewing it! Say hello to Powerpuff Girls Z!

Powerpuff Girls Z is set in Tokyo City (New Townsville) where Professor Utonium and his son, Ken, live. By accident, Ken creates Chemical Z, a new form of the Professor's original substance, Chemical X. A sudden worldwide ecological disaster brings in Chemical Z as it is shot into a glacier in Tokyo City's bay and restoring the weather back to normal... That is of course with some after effects like, oh I don't know, rays of light and dark scattering about Tokyo City.

As a result, three 13-year-old girls (who in this Japanese spin-off are unrelated to each other) are hit by rays of light and turn into Powerpuff Girls Z! However, the rays of dark hit people as well and turn them into the villains you know and love such as Mojo Jojo, Sedusa, the Gangreen Gang, Princess Morbucks, and many others!

Momoko is (Hyper) Blossom and the ecstatic leader of the team with a yo-yo for her weapon. She has a great love for sweets and snacks and her constant crushes on various boys.

Miyako is (Rolling) Bubbles and is very happy and "bubbly" yet a complete ditz. Her choice of weapon is a giant bubble wand. She's very oblivious to the many boys who have crushes on her yet is aware of her adoration for fashion and cute clothes.

And last but not least is Kaoru or (Powered) Buttercup. Unlike the other two, she's a total tomboy and favors sports over "girly" things. She's very reluctant to be a part of the team due to the fact her transformation forces her to wear a skirt, yet she wields a giant hammer for her weapon.

So as you can probably analyze from all of this, the Japanese took the original American cartoon and turned it into a magical girl anime. And damn did they do a helluva good job!

It's very bright and colorful and it's quite hilarious, including their version of Mojo. Though my only downside for this is the English dub they made that's only aired in the Philippines. Honestly, it sucks. So if you really want to check this out, go for the Japanese because it's so much better. I really enjoy this anime and hope others will too!

~Liz~

God... I was so obsessed with this

When I started gaining my interests in manga and anime as a young girl, I used to read Shonen Jump. A manga called One Piece caught my attention one day when I was seven, so I began to read it and never stopped. When I heard the anime was gonna be released on TV I just had to watch it.

It starts off with a small prologue of the execution of Gold Roger, a man who was known as the King of the Pirates. Just before his death, he announces that his treasure, the One Piece, is up for anyone's taking. Thus began the Great Pirate Era as numerous pirates set out to the Grand Line for Gold Roger's treasure.

Twenty years later, a young 17-year-old pirate named Monkey D. Luffy sets out on his journey in search for the One Piece. Ten years prior to his adventure, he was inspired by the pirate "Red-Haired" Shanks to start off his own crew and one day become the next King of the Pirates. However, at that same time, he accidentally ate what's known as a Devil Fruit which allows his body to stretch in outrageous ways, but takes away his ability to swim.

It doesn't matter to him though as he slowly builds up his crew such as bounty hunter swordsman, Roronoa Zoro, navigator and thief, Nami, and many other interesting characters. Along the way however, he faces many enemies such as Buggy the Clown, the Black Cat Pirates, and many others including the Marines who eventually put a bounty on Luffy's head. Yet Luffy won't stop until he gets to the Grand Line and becomes the King of the Pirates.

Okay, I know this sounds like a cool anime, but here's the truth: It goes nowhere fast! The original Japanese is STILL running with over 500 episodes! I mean, at first it's okay, you can get through most of the extra filler stuff that gets a bit annoying, but after a while I got bored with it and was kind of an on-and-off status with it for a small time. Then after a while I thought, "This has turned into such a boring show." I still like some of the characters like Zoro and Sanji but everyone else gets really annoying. I'm still surprised I have friends who actually still like it. But I guess it depends on preferences in anime. It's not totally bad since there is a good intended story line with great characters, but it's slow in delivering the actual story. Just my opinion.

~Liz~

Okay this is actually better

Out of all the "mainstream" animes I've seen, this is actually a better one. Thought I haven't watched it in over a year or something and still have yet to catch up.... But anyway! Here's Bleach.

Ichigo Kurosaki is just your normal 15-year-old high school student, but with the ability to see ghosts. He's had this ability for many years and up till now, none of them have posed a threat. That changes the night he meets Rukia Kuchiki, a Soul Reaper who balances the flow of souls between the human world and the afterlife. She's arrived in search of a dangerous type of soul called a Hollow which she does find as it's attacking Ichigo's family. During the battle, Rukia gets severely injured while protecting Ichigo and tries to give him half of her spiritual pressure so he can defeat the Hollow. But in the process, Ichigo accidentally takes almost all of it and turns into a Soul Reaper and letting him be able to kill the Hollow easily.

The next day, everything is back to normal and it seems Ichigo won't see Rukia again... Well, that is until she arrives at his school as a new student. Because of her lack of spiritual pressure thanks to Ichigo, she's stuck on the human world to recover her lost powers. In the meantime, Ichigo must take over her role as a Soul Reaper, killing Hollows and guiding souls to the afterlife, the Soul Society.

Throughout the story, Ichigo and Rukia face different threats as well as close friends gain spiritual powers because of them. Uryu Ishida as the last Quincy, Orihime Inoue with her hair barrettes that act as a shield and health to her friends, and Yasutora "Chad" Sado with his powerful, armored arms. Slowly they begin to face threats such as the Soul Society with concerns of Rukia not returning and the betrayal of other Soul Reapers who crave for power and destruction.

One of my more favorite animes out of the mainstream category because it does manage to hold a plot all throughout it's long span of episodes. It does contain arcs within the important plot with mainly fillers, but these are actually quite hilarious. But if you're focused on the main plot, Wikipedia has a list of all the arcs so you know which ones to avoid to keep on the plot, but I have heard that some of the filler arcs are really good. It's still an ongoing series with a current whole new plot (Probably because the creator doesn't want to give up on the series) that I hear has some totally random moments.

But anyway, Bleach is a really great anime full of action and very comedic moments with memorable characters you grow to love.

~Liz~

Dattebayo!

I'm not really particular into doing "mainstream" animes cause I'll assume everyone's heard of them. But I might as well just do a post anyway on the ever popular anime, Naruto.

Twelve years ago, the Nine-Tailed Fox Demon attacked the ninja village of Konohagakure and killed many people. The village's fourth leader or Fourth Hokage sacrificed his own life to save the village a sealed the demon inside a newborn baby named Naruto Uzumaki.

Already at age 12, Naruto has been the victim of neglect for years as no one has ever told him of the demon dwelling inside him as a decree by the Third Hokage for no one to ever mention the attack of the fox demon; not even to Naruto. However, thanks to a rebel ninja, he is now aware of who he truly is.

Nevertheless, he still goes about his life as a normal and over-eager graduate of the village's Ninja Academy. Assigned with his rival, Sasuke Uchiha and crush, Sakura Haruno in a ninja team, they work with their sensei to accomplish tasks, whether they be doing chores or escorting someone to another village.

All seems easy and peaceful at first, but everything slowly turns for the worst as criminal ninjas and criminal organizations seek world domination.

Okay I know this sounds like a completely cliche anime right? Honestly I was obsessed with it at one point but let's face it; it's so much to digest! Not only is it 400+ episodes with it STILL continuing with its sequel, Naruto: Shippuden but a decent portion of it is just fillers which are so annoying! Very few of them are even enjoyable. The actual original series itself is 135 episodes plus 85 episodes with random crap. I've barely even bothered with Shippuden cause it's just SO much to catch up on along with trying to avoid the fillers. And plus my friends who actually like this series and are up to date with it pretty much spoil everything so it's just turned to the point of this: What's the point?

While I admit it was a good series to start off on watching anime, it's kinda overrated after a while. I dunno, maybe I'll get back to it but I highly doubt it.

~Liz~

Better Explanation

I talked a bit about Higurashi Kai when I made an earlier post about Higurashi no Naku koro ni, but I think this deserves a better explanation. And also...

~Spoilers~

Higurashi Kai is like the previous series but with a twist.

This sequel series focuses on Rika Furude and a spirit entity that follows her around named Hanyuu. She's been travelling through countless numbers of worlds that follow the same plot with the Watanagashi festival which slightly different results but always end with the deaths of herself and the people of Hinamizawa.

The last results with Keiichi's remembrance of a previous world have changed things though. Rika for the first time has been given hope to stopping this never ending cycle of death and sadness. With new worlds gives new chances to prevent the events of the Watanagashi festival from happening and move on to a peaceful life past June 1983.

This sequel is actually more violent than the original and gives more details as to previous events and other stuff that was never mentioned before. Other than the blood and violence, I give this anime a perfect ten for a great series to watch.

~Liz~

My First Movie Review!

So out of even more boredom and my lack of catching up on anime, I'll do an anime movie review. Here's Hetalia: Axis Powers: Paint it White!

In Iceland's first appearance, he's trying to find out how to get more tourists to help out in his economy, but notices a strange green mist in the air. This mist is really an alien threat to the entire world.

Through America's alien friend, Tony, the World 8 (which has members of the Allies and Axis powers plus Canada) learns that this new threat are what's called Pictonians who are a race of basically white blob-like aliens with antennas on their heads who change the land and the people into one of them, making the world "completely boring and white!" At first, no one's able to get along (as usual) and try to thwart off the aliens by their own means.

However all the nations slowly realize that the Pictonians are stronger than they thought and can't take them out by normal ways of battle. One by one, the nations and their cities become great masses of white from South Italy (Romano) to Greece, with the exclusion of Liechtenstein and Switzerland as they are in a zone of permanent neutrality that the aliens can't get into.

Now the former Allies and Axis Powers are the only nations left to save the world from alien takeover. They're forced to set aside their differences for the sake of the world and everything. Can they accomplish this? And will Italy finally be of some use to the others?

Like the series, it's all very hilarious. Although it is supposed to be a semi-serious plot, it can't be helped because... Well it's Hetalia! Comedy is to be seen around every corner no matter what given situation. The movie also presents recaps of popular scenes of different episodes of Hetalia: Axis Powers such as France asking to marry England and the discovery of Nikujaga. A great film based off a great series that must be watched!

~Liz~