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Hanover Fist:
Gunslinger Girl

Action, Drama, Sci-Fi, Military
Gunslinger Girl (s1) - MAL - Torrents: 1080p BD, DVD (dual audio)Gunslinger Girl: Il Teatrino (s2) - MAL - Torrents: 1080p BD, DVD (dual audio)


The Social Welfare Agency in the Italian government takes in girls with nearly fatal injuries and gives them a second chance at life - but at what cost? They are rebuilt from the ground up into cyborg assassins: Enhanced skeletons, artificial organs and heavy brainwashing round out the modifications. Each girl is under the supervision of an adult agent, the pairs called Fratellos. The conditioning induces a chemical loyalty and perhaps love. The agency performs assassinations, counter-terrorist operations, witness protection in criminal mafia trials and sometimes bodyguard services. Each agent walks a delicate line keeping his girl balanced between going out of control and being brainwashed into oblivion. The girls struggle for recognition and affection from those they love, even if that love is chemically induced.

This is a strong and compelling show and despite the sci fi elements is quite realistic. There are no perfect heroes or villians, just varying shades of grey. When the action happens it is great but the focus is on the relationships between the girls living together and the Fratello pairs. It's a heavy show but all of the pieces come together wonderfully making it one of my all-time favorites.

Be warned, you'll get spoiled by Madhouse in the first season: The budget and artwork in the second season took a big hit in the switch to ArtLand. However, the story is just as strong with even more input from the mangaka.


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Hanover Fist:
Vandread

Action, Ecchi, Mecha, Comedy, Sci-Fi
MAL: 1st stage, 2nd stage - Torrent



Men prepare for war against the evil female race: In this part of the galaxy, the sexes have separated to different planets, each demonizing the other. A factory worker named Hibiki with a short fuse and big mouth stows away on the men's flagship for a bet gone wrong. He agreed to steal a Vanguard, a complex war-mech. The flagship is then captured by female pirates. Dita, a girl with a fascination for aliens (in this case men) meets and chases Hibiki.

After an explosion and a burst of unknown technology, the men and women's ships are merged by a strange crystal and catapulted far from known space. Hibiki and two other men are made prisoners of the women. When hostile aliens attack, the humans make an alliance of necessity. During the attack, Hibiki and Dita's fighters merge into a powered-up super-weapon. A funny story of culture shock and developing tolerance takes off.

The show has it's ecchi moments and the funny plot and unique background make for an excellent series. Over the two seasons there is a lot of good character development with hilarious male to female interactions as they find their way back to home space. With a 2000-2002 vintage, Gonzo blends the 3D CGI and the 2D character animation very well.


Pictures
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Hanover Fist:
Black Lagoon

Action
Black Lagoon (1-24): MAL s1,s2 - Torrents: 1080p, 720p, 480pBlack Lagoon omake: MAL - Torrents: 1080p, 720pBlack Lagoon-Roberta's Blood Trail (25-29): MAL - Torrents: 1080p, 720p, 480p



Okajima Rokuro is an average Japanese salaryman given a big chance by his company to deliver a top secret disc. In the South China Sea his boat is hijacked by a gang of pirates operating out of Thailand hired to acquire this disc. As an afterthought Rokuro (soon nicknamed "Rock") is kidnapped for ransom and taken aboard their ship - the Black Lagoon. His company not only refuses to pay any ransom, they write him off for dead and hire mercenaries to sink the Lagoon and their dirty secret. Rock decides that the pirate life might not be so bad - assuming they survive.

In the anime industry's field full of pretty moe and loli flowers, Black Lagoon is a hungry Venus flytrap. This is the show most action anime want to be when they grow up. Dirty, gritty, sexy and violent - it's packed full of awesome. The art and animation are top notch with beautiful and gritty details everywhere - whether calm or fighting. The music is very diverse but always suits the mood. The plot keeps you on your toes with its two to six episode arcs exploring different and dangerous themes. The characters are the probably the strongest part of this show. Never static, they constantly and slowly change, exploring new facets and making (sometimes arguing about) their own decisions about what is right and appropriate.

There were 24 episodes in the first two 2006 seasons, seven silly little omake skits and a shiny five episode OAV from 2010-'11 - a new arc/season 3 free from the bounds of TV censorship.


Pictures

Black Lagoon (Thanks to aztec for the 'caps.)
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Roberta's Blood Trail (Thanks to Random Curiosity for the 'caps.)
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Hanover Fist:
Psycho-Pass

Action, Sci-Fi
MyAnimeList overview - Torrents: 720p BD, 1080p BD
XDCC: Search for "psycho" on Ginpachi-Sensei for packlist.




In a dark and gritty future, the Sybyl supercomputer system watches over all of Japan. Scanners on every street corner and Dominator handguns measure one's latent capacity for crime. These quantify the crime coefficient, or psycho-pass. Above one threshold, the offender is captured by the Criminal Investigation Division and taken in for therapy. Above another threshold, the Dominators reconfigure themselves to lethal weapons and the cancer of society is excised. The CID inspectors use enforcers - latent criminals themselves - as hunting dogs for individuals with high psycho-passes. Inspector Tsunemori Akane is fresh out of school and dropped into a case on her first day on the job ...

The dystopian setting is fascinating and Psycho-Pass has a very well-built world. The plot is paced smoothly and the story delves into many thorny issues, including: What is justice and how far do you go to enforce it? The cast is well balanced, all with depths of their own. I like how they change over time, suffering the consequences of their actions. The action, animation and background are beautiful and Production I.G. lived up to their name once again. Overall, it's not a perfect show, but it is excellent and well worth the time to watch it. Say a 9/10.


Pictures
Screencaps courtesy of RandomC as usual.
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