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				Spring 2005 in Review Part II by Joe Di Benedetto (Spike Spiegel)
			There are plenty of additional options to choose from besides the new shows of the spring season. Plenty of excellent anime series continue to premiere new episodes all summer long. So if the new season is not enough to quench your anime thirst, you can always become acquainted with an already established series. One such series worth noting is Naruto, which has premiered its 143th episode this past week and stars everyone’s favorite little ninja. Just in case there is anybody that does not know what Naruto is all about, it is the story of a young ninja boy named Naruto who has a monster called the Nine-Tails (or Kyubbi) sealed within him. The story follows Naruto and his goal to become the Hokage, which is the top ninja in talent and spiritual guidance in the village. Naruto has been a huge phenomenon in Japan, and the effects continue to spill over to the United States. I know that 143 episodes sounds like a boat load, but once you get started on the series you will be hooked. There is also another option as you could just wait for Naruto to premiere on Cartoon Network’s Toonami on Saturday, September 10th. Either way, I highly recommend watching this series. Another notable series is Bleach. Bleach is based on the popular Shonen Jump manga. It also comes from the same studio as Naruto, Studio Pierrot. Bleach has a healthy mix of super natural elements and samurai fighting, but it is set in present day. The show follows Kurosaki Ichigo and his family, all of which have the ability to see spirits (or ghosts) except Ichigo’s youngest sister. One day, Ichigo and his sisters are attacked by a Hollow (evil spirit), and a Shinigami (or Death God) named Kuchiki Rukia attempts to save them. When Rukia is injured and cannot fight, she transfers her powers into Ichigo so he could dispatch of the Hollow. The story continues from there with Rukia and Ichigo fighting Hollows all while still attending school. The show gets more indepth than that, as more exciting storylines and characters are introduced. This has easily been one of my favorite anime in recent memory. The 40th episode of Bleach has just premiered this past week, and the current story arc is simply amazing. It is not impossible to catch up to the current episodes premiering each week, as this series is very addicting. I highly recommend this series to all anime fans. Now go out and get hooked on Bleach (the series, not Clorox). Monster is another excellent series still premiering new episodes each week. Monster is another series based on a popular manga series. Madhouse Studios provides the animation in this series, but since it is a drama the animation does not need to shine. Monster has one of the most original stories ever in an anime series. The story’s main protagonist is Dr. Kenzou Tenma, who is a Japanese brain surgeon living in Germany. Tenma has it all. He is an incredible doctor, has a great job and a beautiful fiancée. One day, Tenma is forced to forgo his ethics and operate on someone famous as opposed to a patient that is more critically injured. This incident causes Tenma to decide to do whatever he thinks is right, regardless of hospital politics. Then a young boy is brought in with a bullet in his head, and Tenma is the only doctor skilled enough to succeed with the surgery. But soon after, a politician is also brought in, and Tenma is ordered to operate on the politician and ignore the young boy. Tenma decides to follow his ethics and ignore the orders and operate on the young boy. The young boy survives, but the politician does not. Tenma’s decision backfires as he is passed over for a promotion and his relationship with his fiancée goes south until she finally leaves him. Not long after, the hospital director and doctors that replaced him are murdered. Tenma is back on top, but now he is suspected of being involved in the murders. Tenma must work to clear his name, and get to the bottom of these murders. But he soon discovers that there might be much more to the boy he saved, and the boy could have had his hand in on the murders. The 58th episode of Monster has just premiered this past week. Supposedly, the series will end with 78 episodes total. If you are looking for a show that will make you think and has an incredibly original story, you should definitely watch Monster. This was easily one of the best series that premiered in 2004. There are also plenty of new shows that will begin premiering this week and next week. These shows are the midseason replacements for all the shorter series that have already concluded. For example, the anime series that are only 12 episodes in length (ie: LOVELESS). Now, don’t be confused and think of these midseason replacements as being similar to what we are accustomed to in the United States. Midseason replacements in Japan have been known to showcase a few gems. There is a good crop this time around, which include Gun X Sword and Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid. I will give a brief rundown of the midseason replacements in my next entry. So you can look forward to that release, and in the mean time watch “Futakoi Alternative” and “Basilisk: Kouga Ninpo Chou,” my top choices from Part II of the spring season.
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