Another anime review. Skip this if you’re not into anime. Yeah, I know it’s not aid work, but I do have a little leisure time you know.
Okay, and I’m a geek too.
In Il Teatrino, the follow-up series to the original Gunslinger Girl, the characters of the first season are back, with handful of extras, most notably the boy-assassin Pinocchio. While the first season focused primarily on the girls of the Social Welfare Agency and their stories, this second season becomes more plot-focused and splits its time evenly between the girls eponymous with the title, and a small band of terrorists against whom they are pitted. Picked up by a different production team, Il Teatrino isn’t the artful, subtle story that the first season is though dealing with the same sombre subject matter, so can hold its own, but with some disappointments. Read the full review here.
The Social Welfare Agency ostensibly saves the lives of children on the verge of death using cutting-edge medical technology. In fact, it takes them and turns them into deadly government assassins with cybernetic implants. Devoted to their handlers, these girls are at once deadly machines, yet retain the personality of the children they are under the surface. Artful, sombre, subtley told and full of dark notes and interesting contrasts, this series is a high-quality piece of anime as it tells the stories of half a dozen of these girls. 
Clare is a Claymore, half yoma, half beautiful woman, bred and trained by a shadowy organization to hunt down and destroy innard-devouring yoma (monsters) that ravage the medieval landscape. Together with Raki, a young boy whose life she saved after his family were slaughtered by yoma, she travels from mission to mission, overcoming not just monsters, but the hostility of the mistrusting villagers whose lives she protects, and the yoma nature inside her own body, always struggling to take control. Claymore isn’t the prettiest-looking anime around, but with a dark gothic feel and plenty of gore, this would be good fare for fans of the horror genre. See the 
Van is a mysterious, sword-carrying stranger who says little and has an unusual taste in condiments. In delivering a local town being held hostage by bandits, he inadvertantly saves the life of a young girl, Wendy, who immediately pledges herself to him in marriage- something he’s none to keen on. Together they set off across the wilds of their world, he seeking to avenge the death of his bride, she to find her brother, allegedly kidnapped by the same man. Gun Sword looks like a quirky and entertaining adventure series that blends the wild-west, giant robots, and a zany sense of humour. See the 
Brandon Heat and Harry MacDowell, friends from childhood, vowed to make it to the top of the criminal organization of Millenion, until the day that Harry betrayed Brandon and had him killed in his own quest for power. Brought back from the dead years into the future, Brandon is sworn to avenge his betrayal and the murder of the woman he loved, and to bring down the monstrous henchmen that Harry uses to control his vast empire. Gungrave is an original blend of crime thriller and the monster genre, but an excellently-plotted, characterised and rendered series that is engaging and intense. See the 
When famous but retired war photographer Tatsumi Saiga goes to investigate a shadowy club, he uncovers a sinister society indulging carnal pleasures, in which are embroiled the sinister Suitengu, and an innocent fifteen-year-old girl, Kagura Tennozu. Mysteriously endowed with the sudden ability to make things blow up just by taking a photograph of them, Saiga rescues Kagura from the club and together the two of them try to stay ahead of the murderous Suitengu and his supernaturally gifted henchmen. Speed Grapher is a formulaic and periodically gratuitous plot that never really gives life to its characters. See the 
In the third installment of Koichi Mashimo’s Girls-with-Guns trilogy, we meet Ellis, a young girl with a hole in her memory, and Nadie, the bounty hunter who will protect her from the dark forces who are trying to capture her. Lighter, funnier, cuter and a little more tired than its gritty and violent predecessors, El Cazador de la Bruja doesn’t have the engaging storyline, nor the sombre mood that soaked the first two stories, but it still delivers a pleasant ride with all the trademark Bee-Train production values. Read the 
And again with the 
When Tsubasa, a chronically-shy only-child recently moved to Hokkaido with her father, discovers a crashed alien spaceship in the woods near their ranch-home, little does she know it will change her life forever. This moving series blends sci-fi action with a tender story of friendship and growing up, showcasing lovely scenic artwork and fantastic characterisation. Read the 
Rock is a conservative and mild-mannered Japanese businessman who winds up being hijacked by a gang of pirates known as Black Lagoon. When his company leaves him in the lurch, Rock throws his fortune to the wind and joins forces with the gang. Together with leader Dutch, enforcer Revy and tech-guy Benny, Rock and the Lagoon crew blast their way through the seedy underworld of South East Asia. This is a brash, colourful and in-your-face action series that is an absolute hoot to watch. See the 
