Having watched Ghost in the Shell since it first arrived on western shores I, like so many other fans, have had a few questions about Major Kusanagi. Who is she? How did she get a fully cyborg body, where did she come from, what her family was like…these all seem pretty reasonable questions, when you think about it.

Ghost in the Shell: Arise 01: Ghost Pain answers these questions – without actually removing much of the mystery behind Kusanagi. Although we now know how she meets Aramaki, Batou, Paz and Togusa, there’s still way more questions than answers we have about her life. With luck, none of them will be addressed in future episodes. ^_^

The main strength in Arise, is that someone with little to no knowledge of the Ghost in the Shell franchise – and the ability to flow with a cyberpunk-y, slightly non-linear narrative – will have no trouble following this story. (Completely unlike Innocence, for instance, which makes little sense if you have not seen at least some of the other GitS franchise.) You do not need to know Kusanagi Motoko – Arise will introduce more about her than we have had in all the previous series.

Of interest to me was Motoko’s superior, Kurutsu, who was a character design that could only exist in anime. Long yanki-style skirt over black leather pants, no bra, shirt open to the navel…what military is this again?  I had very much hoped that she and Motoko would end up fighting, because Kurutsu so wore the look of “mentor gone bad.”

The Japan Collector’s Edition contained Episode 01 on Blu-Ray,  a few frames of “film” of Batou and a booklet with commentary and character designs.  The episode comes in just shy of an hour so whether you feel its expensive, will depend on how you feel about paying for your anime.

The plot is convoluted, and has obligatory government corruption, brain hacking and a fair amount of fanservice, so if looking at Kusanagi in underwear or naked is high on your list, bonus points for you. It is a solid OVA (OBDA, maybe, since it’s a Blu-ray?) for GitS.  I’m definitely looking forward to Ghost in the Shell: Arise – Border 2.

Ratings:

Art – 9 Top notch, except in a few scenes. Faces in 3/4 profile still seem to be the most challenging for animators.
Story – 8
Characters – 7 Comfy, rather than good
Yuri – 0 (I was really hoping for something between Kusani and Kurutsu, sad face)
Service – 6

Overall – 8

My very very since thanks to  an anonymous Okazu hero for sponsoring today’s  review! It was so much appreciated  – and enjoyed! It would be even better if you tell me who you are, so I can thank you.

Due to the kindness and generosity of my Okazu Heroes, I have very much been enjoying capping off a day’s hard anime watching with the whipped cream and cherries of this ridiculously pleasant series. If you’re the Hero who made this possible, please let me know so I can thank you properly!

My Little Pony ~ Friendship is Magic, Season 1 takes what is a well-known and well-worn toy franchise and has imbued it with new life. Several of my friends suggested I watch it, culminating in a passionate plea from one friend, and so, I acquiesced. Not surprisingly, I fell for the charm of Twilight Sparkle and her friends…and the sugar-sweet morality plays about friendship and love. I’m a sucker, I admit it. ^_^ But there’s plenty to like.

MLP ~ FiM has easter eggs for fans of all sorts of pop culture media. The first arc climaxes with something that feels awfully Sailor Moon-like, but it was the Pinky and Brain reference that hooked me. Seeded in the episodes are  many and varied references and part of the fun of watching and rewatching the series is catching them all.

Ultimately what MLP ~ FiM is about is the very same thing Hayate x Blade is “about” – deep, abiding friendship with the kinds of friends you call on in the worst of times. This is probably lost on the under-12 audience, but those of us who know who our shinyuu are, who we want at our back, know that friends are friends, whether online or off.

Decent animation, excellent writing and morals of the story that don’t make one gag. Totally worth watching.

Ratings:

Art – Clever and silly
Story – Variable, but mostly smile-making
Characters – I can’t decide who my favorite is, (much like the Senshi, in fact). I consider that a good sign.

Overall – 9

So, thank you, my friends in Yuri. And thank you my friend who  bought me this entertaining Season 1 set! And all my friends who made me watch this in the first place. ^_^ In return I give you this awesome piece of fan art.

Update: While in Japan, I was able to see an episode of this. It was fun, as expected. I’ve now seen this cartoon in three languages. But most interestingly, I note that they did not attempt to Localize Applejack’s country twang to some kind of regional accent. ]