On the Verge of Lunacy

The Seigaku tennis club regulars visit England to represent Japan in a tournament. Everything was going well until a series of attacks on other players force them and the other Japanese representatives to confront the perpetrators. Rumor has it that the attacks were orchestrated by a group of banned players. Ling Xiu, a former member, warns the other players to stay away from Keith and his gang.  Ryoma decides he needs to test this Keith in a tennis court. He is joined by Tezuka, Fuji, Atobe, Shiraishi, Kite, Sanada, and Kirihara. This 10th anniversary movie of Prince of Tennis is full of humor and action. With strong opponents as challengers, you'd expect nothing less than explosive tennis matches. Some might not like the lineup of Ryoma's supporting cast but keep in mind that this is a movie made for fans. I don't recommend this to viewers who haven't watched the series. The characters, humor, and exaggerated plays would not make sense at all. As for the ...

Based on the cardinal points of painting, Randall Davies attempted to classify, explain the origins and influences, and present the development of painting in the western hemisphere. The cardinal points he used are the following: basis of religion, development peculiar to the soil, imitation of nature, and approbation of the public. This volume is quite helpful to art students and even to general readers because of the organization of the information. However, it is more like a list than a study of the distinct features of the schools. Some portions did give useful information about the styles and their differences but it is very rare. Only the well-known artists are given special attention as well. Moreover, the author injects biased comments about the specific artists' styles, putting aside what could have been a more useful general comparison of styles. Nonetheless, the book has plenty of useful information and is easy to read. The ff. are the chapters included in the vo...

When humanity was threatened to extinction by the arrival of man-eating, human-like giants, the survivors built a settlement protected by three separate walls. For a century, the humans lived in safety, confident that the walls cannot be breached by dumb titans. The three walls are Maria, Rose, and Shina. These have four outer walls designed to attract titans and prevent pressure throughout the walls; making the task of guarding easier for defenders by concentrating in these four districts. It is in one of these outer wall districts, Shiganshina, that Eren Yeager and his family lives. A passionate young man, Eren's desire to join the Recon Corps was revealed to the family by the Yeager's adopted daughter Mikasa Ackerman, much to the dismay of Eren's mother. However he got encouragement from his father, Dr. Grisha Yeager, who promised to show Eren the research he has done on titans. The Recon Corps is one of the three military divisions created to protect people and f...

In the rural town of Sotoba, mysterious deaths force Doctor Ozaki Toshio and monk Muroi Seishin to investigate. Upon examining the bodies, Ozaki finds that the victims suffered from a rare case of anemia and had mysterious insect bites somewhere in their bodies. Other than those, he has no more clues passing it off first as an epidemic. Coincidentally, the deaths began occurring when the Kirishiki family moved into town, but with so little evidence of their involvement, no one but an old lady suspected the family. As the numbers piled up and an attempt to cover up the deaths was discovered, Ozaki thinks he is up against something more terrifying than a disease. Meanwhile Muroi meets one of the Kirishikis, a girl named Sunako, who has a disease preventing her from going out at night. The two seem to get along very well especially when Muroi brought up his novels including the latest called Shiki.  Although Muroi wanted to help with the investigation by int...

Set in the Philippine Revolution, this eight-part series shows the rise and fall of Katipunan's founder and  the father of the revolution, Andres Bonifacio. Katipunan follows two main story lines. A young woman's death opens a series of atrocities committed by a new cleric in a small town. Pacquing and Sebastian, Teresa's friends, want retribution for her death but they are powerless. They had to flee and along the way met Andres Bonifacio, who became a friend and mentor to the two young men. Andres Bonifacio When Jose Rizal was arrested and later exiled to Dapitan, Bonifacio and colleagues decided to organize the Kataas-taasan, Kagalang-galangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (Katipunan). The recruitment process alone was tedious. Katipunan was hard-put in convincing some of the ilustrados to support them; some people also snubbed them thinking the revolution will never succeed. The Spanish colonizers are too powerful; while the Filipinos lack the arms ...

Episode 1: Atobe times Tezuka, divided by Koharu Prince of Tennis fans will surely enjoy this short series for its humor. The picture drama is made up of eight episodes, each one not more than 10 minutes. The best part is that all the Seigaku members each had their spotlight. Besides Seigaku are a select few characters from other schools. If you like Tenipuri humor, then this is for you. The cute ending song is a bonus. Episode 2: Fuji brothers after school Episode 3: Initial A Episode 4: Kai Para Episode 5: Beach Side's Popular Watching Episode 6: I Don't Understand Your Feelings! Episode 7: Whose Spectacle is This? Episode 8: The Ocean Festival Rating: 10 out of 10

Although the title refers to the epic of king of the same name, there is almost no connection the Gilgamesh itself except the references to his tomb and the retelling of the epic by the characters. Siblings Madoka Tatsuya and Madoka Kiyoko have nowhere to run. Forever haunted by their father's reputation as the cause of Twin X that wiped out most of the human population, they were chased by an unknown group with unclear motives. Not only did Twin X caused widespread death but  the explosion caused a mirror-like layer to appear in the sky. Most of the people born after Twin X have never seen the blue sky. Tatsuya is a Dynamis user. Dynamis is a psychic energy that allows the user to control physical objects.  Tatsuya and Kiyoko While trying to escape the pursuers, the Madokas meet three men in an abandoned house. Apparently those men also have Dynamis just like Tatsuya. It seemed that the group that's chasing them is opposed to the three men with dynamis. The f...