On the Verge of Lunacy

Imagine having to share your body with a historical figure and particiapting in a war that's been going on for 400 hundred years. That's what Takaya Ohgi has to go through the day he found out he's the reincarnation of Kagetora, adopted son of Kenshin Uesugi. This 13-episode series has a mix of history, supernatural and romance. The spirits of the warlords and samurai of 16th century Japan have been fighting all along as 'possessors'. Kagetora was given the task by his father Kenshin to fight and exorcise the spirits who are siding with the Feudal Underworld. He was reluctant to acknowledge these revelations at first and in fact could not remember anything from his previous reincarnations. This locking away of memories would later prove to be vital in understanding his relationship with Yoshiaki Tachibana, Nobutsuna Naoe's reincarnation, the man who swore to protect him and who revealed Takaya's identity. Takaya's power is tested during a battle wi...

Every good deed no matter how small resonates and affects the lives of people we don't know and the next generation to come. Not the exact words of Dean Koontz but that pretty much sums up what he was trying to say in From the Corner of His Eye. This is one of his books that shows the contrast between good and evil. Just black and white, no grays. This has been the trend of his most recent works and I was not surprised that Agnes Lampion and Enoch Cain, Jr. were so different from each other. They represent the two extreme sides of humanity. The former is considered a hero loved by everyone, the latter is human dirt, despised by all those who see him. Enoch Cain, Jr. or Enoch is perhaps the craziest Koontz villain I have read. Not only is he a megalomaniac, he lacks remorse, has a really bad temper and is also prone to superstition. It was not explained how he became like that, although there were hints that he had been abused by his mother as a child. Unlike Koontz's older ...

Stories of two people who used to fight, become friends and end up falling in love with each other is cliche. But the formula never fails to work among the hopelessly romantic viewers. Special A tells a story of childhood friends and rivals, Hikari Hanazono and Kei Takishima. They met through their fathers who were also friends and pro-wrestling fans. As kids they've always competed with each other at wrestling. Hikari had always wanted to beat Kei ever since she was defeated in a match. She began competing with him in everything from school to athletic activities. She would always take it as a challenge as long as Kei is involved in something. Hakusenkan has a different class for the top 7 students of their school, apart from the A to F sections. This class is called Special A. The members of this class include Kei (1st) and Hikari (2nd) and five other students in order of ranking: Jun Yamamoto (3rd) who has a dual personality; Megumi (4th), Jun's twin sister; Tadashi Ka...

This series revolves around three main stories of three couples: Misaki and Usagi, Hiroki and Nowaki, and Miyagi and Shinobu. It's a fun, naughty and cute series sure to make yaoi fangirls squeal. This isn't just about steamy kissing scenes though. It has explored the different issues ordinary couples go through. Misaki Takahashi was about to go to college. He has to pass the entrance examinations in order to get into Mitsuhashi University to fulfill his brother Takahiro's dreams. He needed a tutor for the exam and this task fell on his brother's friend, Akihiko Usami, a fiction and Boys' Love novelist. Takahiko and Usami have been friends for a long time and the latter has fallen in love with the former. Takahiko does not seem to notice this although during the first episode Misaki caught Usami clinging seductively to his brother. Misaki and Usagi Usami finds out later that Takahiro is engaged. Misaki knew Usami is in love with his brother and felt sorry ...

Niwa Daisuke seems like an ordinary teenager having troubles in his studies and romance until he learns he has an alter ego - and a powerful one. Daisuke and Dark Daisuke carries in his genes the ability to turn into Dark Mousy, a thief, and what made the situation worse was that he transforms whenever he sees his crush, Risa Harada. All the years of training he went through under the guidance of his mother and his grandfather finally made sense. Only the males in their family are gifted with the ability. At first he didn't like the idea of having someone else inside his body. As he tries to cope with his alter-ego, he meets an interesting boy at school. Hiwatari Satoshi seems to have taken interest in him and it was already clear in the first few episodes that he was to be Daisuke's rival - or friend? In the first few episodes, he gets to test the extent of his powers but most of the time, the story focused on Daisuke's relationships with family, friends, as wel...

Samurai 7's story may be typical but asking seven men to defend an entire village from bandits and the Emperor is not something you could see on a day-to-day basis. This is an adaptation of the 1954 movie by Akira Kurosawa, Seven Samurai, considered a masterpiece. This anime certainly does it justice. The village of Kanna is in a dilemma. They have to give away almost all of their rice every year to the bandits. The invaders have also taken women and children. Without any other choice, the village leader sent three people out to look for help. They looked for samurai who are willing to work in exchange for rice because they don't have anything else to pay for the services. The three villagers, Kirara Mikumari (water maiden), Komachi Mikumari (Kirara's little sister) and Rikichi, set out for the capital. They met Shimada Kambei who at first rejected their offer. The rest of the seven samurai are: Okamoto Katsushiro, a youngster willing to learn to fight for the first ti...

Taniyama Mai likes ghost stories. What she did not know was she was about to embark on an adventure filled with more than just stories. She was forced to work as assistant to Kazuya Shibuya, whom she calls Naru (narcissist), manager of the Shibuya Psychic Research (SPR) when she broke a video camera during SPR's investigation of a haunted building in Mai's school. She also injured Naru's assistant, Lin Kojo, in the process. During the various investigations they conducted she discovers that ghost hunting after all was serious business. She also unlocked her hidden psychic abilities. From left: Mai, Masako, John, Takigawa and Ayako. The anime focused on eight different cases spanning 25 episodes. Although it was a short series, the story was captivating because it has explored the different abilities of the characters. Hosho Takigawa is a Buddhist monk; Ayako Matsuzaki is a Shinto miko or priestess berated for her inability to exorcise; John Brown is a Catholic pri...