Top 5 Anime Girls Who Kick Butt

So Angelina Jolie is the next summer action movie star in Salt. (Tread lightly, Brad.)

Here is our list of

Top 5 Anime Girls Who Kick Butt

#5 - Balsa (Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit)

Good thing spear-woman Balsa has sworn to save lives. Unfortunately, that whiny prince Chagum filled her last spot for "life saver." Talk about late to the party!

#4 - Sango (InuYasha)

Don't let this demon slayer's pretty teenage looks throw you for a loop. She can decapitate you with her ginormous boomerang "Hiraikotsu." If you hear that name called out, duck. And that weapon is not Sango's only big accessory. Her cute cuddly Kirara is actually a stallion-sized demon cat.

Awwwww . . . .

Ahhhghghgh!!!

#3 - Nancy Makuhari (Read or Die)

"Miss Deep" here is not only a super-powered spy with master handgun and hand-to-hand combat skills; she's also a clone of Mata Hari, vicious enough to choke herself to death. Stay away.

#2 - Marlene Angel (Blue Gender)

Marlene is an orphaned soldier bent on killing giant mutant bugs, so she doesn't have much time for niceties. That's okay, we'll stand back and let her do the dirty work. (It worked for her boy toy Yuji)

#1 - Major Motoko Kusanagi (Ghost in the Shell)

She may be the sexiest major we've ever seen, but this cyborg can also break our necks with a pair of chopsticks. Lucky for us we love her for her brain.

That's right, ladies. We're the sensitive type. (Just don't hurt us. Much.)

Top 5 Anime That Should Be Longer

Last time we talked about anime that needed to be shorter. But sometimes, you can't have too much of a good thing.

Here's our list of

Top 5 Anime That Should Be Longer

#5 - Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

This Production I.G title built its own world based on the original Ghost in the Shell manga and anime movie. In fact, Stand Alone Complex took Shiro Masamune's creation and made it better.

Check out the opening song of the GitS: 2nd Gig season to see quality animation and music:

What we'd add: With two 26-episode series, one could wonder why we'd need more. But we think the whole Stand Alone/Complex arrangement works pretty well. Add another season with episodic "stand alone" stories mixed among a much larger "complex" mystery/conspiracy plot bound up with cybertech coolness. (And more Yoko Kanno music to boot!)

#4 - Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit

Another fine show produced by Production I.G, this series takes the strong female lead with strong supporting cast and throws it into feudal Japan.

What we'd add: With such an elegant world, more episodes and exploration of fantasy elements would add to the epic feel of Moribito. Plus, the anime is based on only one novel of the TEN volume Guardian series by Nakoko Uehashi. There's gotta be more material to milk!

#3 - Samurai Champloo

Another series set in feudal Japan, with less fantasy and more hip hop. The last trio of episodes features a three-part finale to Mugen, Jin, and Fuu's journey in search of "the samurai who smells of sunflowers." The climatic battles and revelations create a riveting, agonizing, and hilarious mishmash conclusion that encapsulates the show's style.

So why not just end there?

What we'd add: Even with one of the best ending arcs in all anime, Samurai Champloo still has room for more. Several characters and subplots introduced throughout the series are worth revisiting. Even more, start the "second season" by featuring our three hapless heroes in solo adventures, building up anticipation for the trio to finally meet again, diving into another grand odyssey. And more record scratch cut scenes, please!

#2 - Read or Die: OAV

You may be thinking, "Didn't this three episode OAV already have a sequel?"

Well . . . sorta . . . but the less attention we give to the Charlie's Angels-inspired R.O.D: TV series, the better.

R.O.D. the OAV = Literary anime masterpiece. (With babes.)

R.O.D. the TV = Not so much. (Still more babes.)

What we'd add: Ditch the TV chicks and show more literary-based adventures with Agent Paper, the surviving Miss Deep, Drake and the rest of the original crew. We especially would like to explore Joker and Wendy at the British Library as they had been initially portrayed in the OAV. Plus, there's gotta be more I-Jin historical figures resurrected and running around.

#1 - Trinity Blood

Based on light novels by Sunao Yoshida, the Trinity Blood anime suffers from a rushed, blunt ending--partly due to Yoshida's death before completing his story. Trinity Blood's tale of humans (Terrans), vampires (The Methuselah), and vampires that feed on vampires (Crusniks, there will be a test) is prime for a revival in this current craze for vampires.

What we'd add: Go back to the source material and beef up the stories. Add more episodes featuring the diverse cast of heroes of the cloth. With so many divinely cool priests and nuns with assorted abilities and backstories, Trinity Blood is primed for a resurrection.

(As long as they bring plenty of hairspray.)

Top 5 Anime Resets

Happy New Year, everyone! Out with the old and in with the new. Or in the anime world, out with the old and in with the reset.

To honor the beginning of a fresh new year, we celebrate the

Top 5 Anime Resets.

Resets are those anime series-ending cataclysms that turn out to be . . . maybe not the ultimate demise of the world after all. Instead, the story culminates in a reboot, rewind, and/or revolutionary sort of resolution. It’s not over; it’s just begun. So let’s begin!

[Caution, newbies: Show spoilers ahead!]

#5 - Neon Genesis Evangelion/End of Evangelion

Probably the first show that comes to otaku minds when they think of reset endings. We’re talking about the extended “End of Evangelion” ending.

And talk about an ending. We don’t understand it, of course, but basically everyone explodes into orange marmalade while a giant Rei does her impression of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. One psychedelic trip later, we wake up with Shinji and Asuka (the latter with hints of Rei and Misato), in a bloody newborn world.

Our interpretation? The two teens are the next Adam and Eve, chosen to begin a new world—as long as they don’t kill each other.

#4 - Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (Season 1)

This show’s version of a reset is different than what you typically expect. The last episode follows Togusa as he comes to terms with his colleagues’ apparent deaths and arrests following Section 9’s betrayal and blacklisting by corrupt officials. The most human and relatable of all Section 9 agents, Togusa decides he must continue to fight the good fight on his own.

But the next thing we know, Togusa finds the entire Section 9 team alive and well and back in “kick butt” commission. After revealing the top-secret plan to fake Section 9’s demise and appease the big wigs, the squad welcomes Togusa back and returns to their business of cyber anti-terrorism.

No universe-shattering conclusion here, but just as resolvingly jolting as the best of any anime reset.

#3 - Wolf’s Rain

In this unique apocalyptic fairytale, we witness the band of heroes fall one-by-one on their quest to “paradise.” Finally, lone survivor Kiba collapses on top of a snowy frozen lake.

Just when you think all hope is lost, springtime comes double-time: snow melts, Kiba’s body plunges into thawed water, and flowers sprout up everywhere. Then we see a new world with all the heroes alive and well, if not quite what they used to be.

Makes you think the next time you see a wolf.

#2 - Rahxephon

This show by Studio Bones (Cowboy Bebop, Fullmetal Alchemist) follows the Evangelion model and makes it better. That includes the ending, too. We get a more definitive vision of the reset world. Fallen heroes are back and alive again, and better off for it too. Joyful families, marriages, kids, and world peace after a freaky wrestling match between mecha-merged Ayato and Quon.

The latter we could have done without, but if that’s what gets us to a happy world free of attacking blue-skinned atonal aliens, we’ll take it. Oh yeah, and we finally get the whole story behind that painting.

#1 - The Big O

The show must go on. And that’s exactly what happens after Roger’s final negotiation with the reality-controlling Angel. After the screen goes all white, we witness a familiar scene and narration as Roger drives his Griffon to another negotiation. In fact, it’s the same sequence as the very beginning of the show’s first episode.

But not exactly identical. Two changes: Roger no longer wears his wristwatch that calls Big O; and Angel and R. Dorothy smile as they watch their hero drive by. What’s next? That’s up to the viewer (and many discussion board forums). And the ambiguousness is one of the best parts of anime.

Can’t handle ambiguousness?

Then click on the following links for different viewers’ interpretations of the show endings. More importantly, decide for yourself!

End of Evangelion

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (Season 1)--Actually, it’s not that complex. So check out the first Ghost in the Shell movie—if you’re older than 17—then review trivia and the summary here.

Wolf’s Rain

Rahxephon

The Big O

Now wasn’t that refreshing? Easier than resetting the VCR. Yes, we still have one of those. Maybe 2010 will bring Tivo.

Until then, our New Years resolution is to eat more pocky!