SPECIAL NOTE TO BE MADE: For everybody who reads this biography, please note that I do not, nor will I ever, post anonymous reviews to anybody's stories. My reason for this? People have, in the past, signed in anonymously using my username and flamed other users. I very nearly got into trouble because of that once, and have reason to believe it may happen again if I do not take special precautions. Just thought I'd let you all know.

NAME: neomage

AGE: 23

GENDER: Male

ALIASES/ALTER EGOS: krizrampage, kRiZ, rampagerkriz, yamikriz, kriztrigun

OCCUPATION: College student

FAVORITE SHOWS: Justice League Unlimited, Teen Titans, Dark Angel, Street Justice, Walker: Texas Ranger, The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, The Flash, and others

FAVORITE GAMES: Street Fighter 2, Super Street Fighter 2, Street Fighter Alpha 3, Mortal Kombat 2, Need for Speed: Underground, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, King of Fighters 2006, Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance

FAVORITE FOODS: Burgers, chicken and fries; corned beef; cheese-steak sandwiches; grilled cheese sandwiches, baked chicken with rice and peas; stewed beef :)

Oh, and if you're wondering, my little avatar at the top there represents a certain little group that I've created for my new One Piece story...heh heh heh.

And because I feel like it, for anyone who wants to know, my Top 15 Favorite Anime of all time! (Updated May 8, 2008; formerly the Top 10 Favorite Anime, upgraded to Top 15.)

15. DRAGON BALL SERIES (Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT)

PLUSES: A wide diversity of alien races, anthropomorphic animals interacting regularly with humans on Earth, magic and martial arts...my, my, my. In Dragon Ball (the original series), the show was all about pure martial arts, with ki attacks being used very rarely and only where necessary or for plot advancement; there was more emphasis put on training to become stronger physically, in terms of actual hand-to-hand fighting, and the eponymous Dragon Balls themselves only appeared in the series whenever absolutely necessary (which, thankfully, wasn't often). In Dragon Ball Z and GT, the focus shifted to fighting extraterrestrial beings, in light of the revelation of Goku's ancestry, and characters (especially villains) became more diverse and more powerful as the series went on.

MINUSES: I have no real qualms with the original Dragon Ball...rather, my beef is with Dragon Ball Z and GT. One question: WHAT WAS UP WITH ALL THE CHARACTERS' ATTACKS LOOKING EITHER EXACTLY THE SAME OR SIMILAR TO EACH OTHER? Sure, they might have different names, but they're all basically energy beams that just happen to be colored differently from time to time! (One notable exception to this that I've seen is Krillin and his Destructo Disc.) In addition, a little too much emphasis was put on Goku's main-character status; certain bad guys could ONLY be killed by Goku; certain scenarios needed Goku to be defused or resolved; etc. And as for the precious few times when hand-to-hand fighting was showcased in between all the throwing of energy beams here and there: while the hand-to-hand fighting appeared more realistic in the original Dragon Ball, in Z and GT all you see is limbs flying at hyper-speed while characters either fly around or stay on the ground, and the same hyper-flying limbs may or may not connect with their intended targets.

OVERALL: Note that I've put the original Dragon Ball, Z and GT together under one umbrella because they all follow one major continuity. While this series may have appealed to fans years ago (understandable, since this was really one of thew few major anime shows being franchised and dubbed in the West at the time), it has its share of positives and negatives that somehow manage to balance each other out. If you're a hardcore DB, DBZ, or DBGT fan, you can go right back and watch this series all over again if you like, for the sake of seeing your favorite characters and/or battles; otherwise, there's plenty more anime out there.

14. SAMURAI CHAMPLOO

PLUSES: The fight scenes were close to realistic, with no outlandish special techniques being used. In addition, the story stayed linear, with even seemingly unconnected episodes tying in to the main story in some way.

MINUSES: The ending...the ending...while it wasn't bad, it wasn't what I expected, either. The ending seemed a bit jumbled together to me. I won't spoil it here, though. Aside from that, there were a couple of episodes, unconnected to the main plot in any way, that left me wondering, "WTF?"

OVERALL: The fight scenes were good, the back-story was intriguing, and...that's about it.

13. YU-GI-OH! GX

PLUSES: More diverse Duel Monsters strategies abound in this series than in its predecessor, the original Yu-Gi-Oh. The characters were quite likeable, one might sayy loveable, even the comic relief villains (yes, you have at least one or two of those in every anime). The show started on a light note at first, then gradually took a darker turn as characters matured and a sinister back-story was revealed. And, pretty recently, the series ended after four seasons, and ended on an open-ended note at that. (revs up engine for fan-fiction writing)

MINUSES: One of the issues I had when I first started watching this series had to do with Duel Academy's three dorms. I disliked the reason for Obelisk Blue's preferential treatment over the other two dorms (not spoiling it here; if you've watched the original Yu-Gi-Oh series, you'll figure it out). And I was especially put off by some of the voices that were used for the 4Kids dub (anybody get a feeling that 4Kids voice actors don't know how to act?) Want examples? How about, in order of uber-annoyance...Mad Dog (though he was seen for only one episode), Syrus, and Jaden? As well, whereas in the original Japanese version, Jaden (the main character) is much more serious and thoughtful but still able to show humor now and then where appropriate, in the 4Kids dub they turned him into a complete idiotic goofball. If I never see the 4Kids version again, it'll be too soon...Oh, and I also disliked very much how they either made up a whole bunch of anime-exclusive cards, without even trying to use more of the real-life cards, or completely disregarded and/or changed card effects of actual cards that were used in the series (Elemental Hero Bubbleman being the most exclusive example that comes to mind). Oh, and lest I forget, in Season 1 there were these items called the Shadow Charms, akin to the original show's Millennium Items, for which I would've liked to see some explanation of their origins...but sadly, that was never forthcoming.

OVERALL: I advocate watching this show's original Japanese version with English subtitles. Trust me, having to listen to Syrus and Jaden's 4Kids voices every episode is enough to make you want to rip out your eardrums. Other than that, the story is good, worth watching (even if some fans contend that it's inferior to the original Yu-Gi-Oh), and enjoyable after a few episodes.

12. SOLTY REI

PLUSES: Bounty hunters. Androids. An underlying story of a father searching for his daughter. A global catastrophe that occurred more than a decade before the anime's timeline, prompting the aforementioned father's search for his aforementioned daughter. Cool-looking vehicles. A bunch of Robin Hood-style thieves, including their very attractive female leader, Rose. Tender moments, full of emotion. An impressive soundtrack. And the mysterious past of the main character, Solty, who gradually recovers her memories over time.

MINUSES: The bullheaded-ness of the local authorities within this aniime's universe. Some of the officers of the special unit that gets much screen-time in the show, in particular, I found hard to really like or trust at first. And after witnessing Rose's greatest secret (which I won't spoil here), I felt that while it was good that it was revealed, it was revealed a few episodes too early.

OVERALL: Recommended for anime-watchers who like shows that include the repercussions of past events on present-day living. Also recommended for those who like seeing girls with nice-looking figures. (sweatdrop)

11. FIST OF THE NORTH STAR

PLUSES: Fists flying, blood showering, wrongs being righted, justice being delivered, a tragic romantic back-story, mystery, adventure...and just one phrase: "You are already dead."

MINUSES: A lot of the enemies Kenshiro fought died a little too easily by his hand.

OVERALL: I really like this show, I do. Given the opportunity, I'd watch it again, if only to hear to Kenshiro's battle cry as he pummels his opponents at lightning speed.

10. CHOBITS

PLUSES: Romantic themes, mixed in with comic relief and plenty of embarrassing innuendo moments and nose-bleeds from Hideki...also, I liked how Chi, over time, learned and was taught how to do things for herself, and how she learned how to function in an ever-moving and ever-developing society. The back-story was extremely touching, too.

MINUSES: Two certain characters, the so-called "Ultimate Perso-Com" and his fellow Perso-Com and assistant, showed up pretty late in the series, and while I thought they'd have done something epic, in the end, they didn't really do much. That was something of a let-down for me.

OVERALL: Highly recommended for those who love non-sexual romance and comedic innuendo.

9. LOVE HINA

PLUSES: Seeing the main character, Keitaro, on something of a quest to find that "one special girl" who he made a childhood promise with so many years ago for the purpose of entering Tokyo-U with her...it was really quite romantic and had me on the edge of my seat many a time, wondering if he'd succeed. To me, Keitaro is the embodiment of a nerd who seeks love; and I advocate "giving nerds a chance to succeed at love." There was also a whole lot of comedy in this show as well, with plenty of innuendo moments. Also, there were quite a number of surreal moments in various epidoes that added to the show's fantasy genre, which I happen to be a fan of. I also liked how they delved into the characters' back-stories, allowing viewers to really understand and/or sympathize with those characters in question. And, through it all, there was always a sense of mystery about the actual identity of the girl from Keitaro's past that added further to the show's charm.

MINUSES: While I understand that a lot of the innuendos and gags were there for comic effect, nonetheless...a few times I felt as though they overdid it. All I could do was shake my head and say "Poor Keitaro. Give him a break, already!"

OVERALL: If you're a romantic at heart, this series is worth watching. My advice? Watch the mainstream series "Love Hina," then the "Love Hina Specials," and finally "Love Hina Again," as those tell the story in chronological order.

8. TRIGUN

PLUSES: The series started out with a good mix of comedy, action, and drama, with Vash's feeble attempts to enforce his "Love and Peace" philosophy a major source of laughs for me. Midway through, the series began to take a darker turn, hinting that there was going to be some major back-story fleshing-out, and the suspension of drama had me coming back every night to watch Adult Swim just to see what would happen next. The music was appropriate for the setting - a dusty planet with towns reminiscent of Wild West movies - and the dialogue, in the English version was at least as similar to the original as dubbing could make it. I was also pleased at the idea that there was only one major villain whose gunfighting skills would definitely be on par with Vash's...Oh, and there WERE the hints of romantic tension between Vash and Meryl, and I loved that very much.

MINUSES: Originally, I didn't have any major grievances with the series, until I went and did some digging around for the back-story of the manga. There it was that I discovered that there were additional characters who were never put into the anime adaptation, in particular two reserve members of the Gung-ho Guns. Aside from that, even now I still don't know what exactly "Plants" in Trigun are supposed to be, or where they came from - whether they were genetically created or whatever.

OVERALL: A good series, without a doubt. Plenty of Wild West themes for the gunslinger-lovers amongst us. Plenty of dramatic tension for those of us who love unraveling mysteries and who are suspense-junkies. And lots of COMEDY to balance out the tense moments! Oh, and DONUTS! And Kuroneko-sama!

7. OUTLAW STAR

PLUSES: Space combat never usually appeals to me much, but THIS series really does a great job illustrating it. The main cast was quite intriguing: a gun-fighter with a space-phobia borne of a tragic back-story involving two of the series' major villains, a genius computer user who happens to be a kid, a female android who's both cute and sexy and serves as the crew's navigator in spite of not having any real memories of her own (which gets resolved as time goes by), a cat-girl who can be extremely goofy one moment and a fearsome fighter the next, and a lady samurai assassin who serves as the "straight man" (or girl :-P) of the group and fights with a wooden sword that can nonetheless kill people with one strike and never seems to break (again, :-P). The designs of the various ships in the series were well-drawn, also, as were numerous assassins and pirates who fought the Outlaw Star's crew for one reason or another at one point or another. And the characters' various back-stories meshed fairly well with each other as the characters themselves interacted, fought against or allied with each other, and sought to further their dreams and ambitions.

MINUSES: When this show aired on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block a few years back, one of the series' 26 episodes was cut from syndication due to there being excessive nudity...even though that episode in question featured a key member of the Anten Seven (that same member only got a few cameos in one or two of the other episodes). Also, the main de facto villain of the show was seen to be a member of a group known as the "108 Stars," but we never got to see any of the other 107 Stars due to the series' duration. I, personally, would have liked to see them, and see the Outlaw Star's crew go up against them, even if it was one by one...

OVERALL: This series, to me, falls somewhere in between Trigun and Cowboy Bebop in terms of aniumation style, story, and characters. I think it's a great show to watch.

6. COWBOY BEBOP

PLUSES: I was very impressed by the series soundtrack and its mix of various musical genres. One episode you'll be hearing pop, another episode you'll be hearing heavy metal, another you'll be hearing rhythm and blues...get my drift? Also, lots of gunfights, aerial combat, hand-to-hand martial arts, and a very DEEP set of back-stories interwoven between episodes. Character development was slightly minimal, but where it did happen, it was worth watching and remembering, especially as the series came up to its last two episodes. The dialogue and voice acting throughout the series was very good, and it left a lasting impression on my mind. I was especially captivated by Spike Spiegel's voice actor, Steven Blum, who also voiced Roger Smith and Makoto Shishio in The Big O and Rurouni Kenshin, respectively. He is, without a doubt, THE BEST anime dub voice actor around. B-) Also, Spike's personal enemy, Vicious...a man who can go toe-to-toe with gunfighters while wielding only a katana, AND kick their asses on top of that...and who walks around with a creepy black bird on his shoulder...can anything top that? (Well, maybe One Piece's Rob Lucci and his pigeon, Hattori... xD)

MINUSES: Only three major quibbles with this series, really, and all of them involve main characters. The first was that the little girl, Ed, and the dog, Ein, didn't stay with the crew up to the very end, the reason for which I won't spoil here. The second was the fate of the de-facto main character, Spike Spiegel. Again, I'm not spoiling it here. And the third was the lack of proper back-story for the aforementioned Vicious, who we never really learn much about aside form the fact that he's a sword-wielding creep-show whose insight is scary...

OVERALL: Although it's only 26 episodes, it's worth watching. I've watched the entire series through twice, just for the hell of it. Both times, it never lost its appeal to me. I recommend it greatly.

5. YU-YU HAKUSHO

PLUSES: Dubbed by FUNimation!! The dialogue was good, the costumes and characters were well-thought-out, the storyline was both comical and entertaining, and the mood was appropriate for the situations presented throughout the series. Plus, we were treated to a gradual growth in maturity in the main character, Yusuke Urameshi, and I really liked and respected that. I also liked that, unlike rival-at-the-time Dragon Ball Z, Yu Yu Hakusho didn't have all the characters using THE EXACT SAME OR SIMILAR-LOOKING TECHNIQUES! Every technique was unique in its own way, and didn't look like a carbon copy of anyone else's techniques!

MINUSES: There was one major plot point that I had wanted to see resolved that never happened - the fact being revealed that Hiei and Yukina are brother and sister. The reason given in-series for why this couldn't happen made sense, given that this is Hiei we're talking about, but even so...also, my personal favorite pairing (Kurama x Botan) NEVER CAME TO PASS!!

OVERALL: In my humble and honest opinion, this series was WAY better than Dragon Ball Z. Very much so. Nuff said.

4. YU-GI-OH

PLUSES: The back-story behind this series was quite impressive. The character designs were pretty cool, and the fillers weren't too bad - they were tolerable, in fact. In addition, I happen to be a huge fan of the card game itself, and I love making up deck strategies based on the real-life cards that are being produced today.

MINUSES: The anime was utterly skewered by a certain dubbing company (read: 4kids), replacing death with the "Shadow Realm" (which, in theory, isn't bad in itself, but is utterly lame when placed into situations where context is thrown out the window). In addition, it originally had slight adult themes and references, including violence, alcohol, the whole nine yards...and some of the dialogue and/or scene edits that were done by 4Kids really, really spoiled the experience for me. Oh, and did I forget to mention that there were a LOT of anime-exclusive, BROKEN cards that were in use throughout the series, most especially during Season 4?

OVERALL: Watch the 4Kids version only if you have to. Otherwise, if you can get your hands on an English-subbed original version, then by all means, go right ahead and watch that.

3. ONE PIECE

PLUSES: This series is a true gem of Shonen Jump. It's got pirates fighting Marines and each other, some for treasure, others for personal reasons, and a few for the sake of finding the series' eponymous treasure that was left behind by the late Pirate King, Gold Roger. It's got comedy. Lots of it. It's got action. Plenty of it to keep the action-buffs happy. It's got emotional moments for the saps inside each of us. And even though both the anime and the manga are still ongoing at this time, it's not about to get old. I also liked the wide diversity of powers granted by the Devil Fruits, how some of those powers could be silly enough to keep a viewer relaxed enough even during a serious battle, and how some of those powers could literally be breathtaking in terms of execution. Oh, did I mention that the soundtrack for the anime is capable of drawing out appropriate emotions and amplifying the mood of any one scene?

MINUSES: I'm a bit irked by the fact that the series is still going on this long without a clear resolution in sight, but I can deal with that since the above-given reasons are keeping me, a fan, happy at the moment. What really pushes my hot-button, however, is the fact that 4Kids (YES, I'm talking about YOU, 4Kids) butchered the dialogue, made crappy edits, and paid no attention to continuity! Because of this, a whole lot of people will never want to watch One Piece at all! (I should know - I saw one episode of the 4Kids dub on TV, and it took me 2 years before I decided to try checking out the original Japanese version.) Fortunately, FUNimation has managed to redeem the One Piece series for English speakers...even if it IS a bit late...

OVERALL: A very good series, plenty of comedy and action, all of it well-balanced out, and good emotional moments with appropriate dialogue and musical soundtrack to go with it. My recommendation: Do NOT watch the 4Kids version. At all. Ever. If you MUST watch an English version of the show, you could probably try the FUNimation version. But I strongly advocate watching the original Japanese series with English subs. At least there, they'll keep everything intact and in context.

2. SHIJOU SAIKYOU NO DESHI KENICHI (History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi)

PLUSES: The series is in a modern, contemporary setting, which is a big plus for me personally. Also, it's set in high school, and gives a little insight into what we who have been to high school should already be familiar with - requited/unrequited love, bullying, and having to deal with school and family while coping with personal responsibilities. The characters don't rely on giant mechas or outlandish techniques (read: Dragon Ball series), instead relying solely on their own limbs and bodies to beat the snot out of each other and at the same time provide an anime view of what the fighting styles that are portrayed would be like in real life. The plot is realistic, the costumes are realistic because they're the characters' own personal and unique street clothes (what we'd expect to see in real life, in addition), and the balance of seriousness and comic relief is very exceptionally well-done.

MINUSES: While we sometimes expect anime adaptations of some manga to be less in-depth than their literary counterparts, there were a few places where this particular series fell down...in the anime, at least. They didn't go into the back-stories of Kenichi's teachers, which I would've liked, and the series was ended prematurely, albeit on an open-ended note (fanfic writers, start your engines! :D). The manga, of course, is still ongoing, and is providing much more information in terms of back-story, which I'm slowly unearthing now that I have access to the manga. And speaking of the manga, there were a few little story arcs prior to and during the Ragnarok confrontation that could've been animated, and which I would've liked to see, but sadly those were never animated at all. Oh, and...I would've liked to see more training from Shigure, the female ninja. And WHAT IS UP WITH THE BANDAGE ON KENICHI'S FACE? Is it just there to look cool, or something?

OVERALL: For anybody who wants to see a shonen anime/manga, but who at the same time wants to get away from giant mechas and energy beams in anime/manga, I strongly recommend this series. Oh, and for those who want to see high-school kids beating the snot out of each other using raw martial arts, this one's for you too.

1. RUROUNI KENSHIN

PLUSES: It was the very first anime I'd ever set eyes on, and it was based on actual history. The storyline was excellent, the characters were good, the costumes were wicked-cool, and the various weapons/styles were spectacular. Plus, I have the manga scans on my computer, another plus. There were many serious moments, but there were also plenty of comic-relief moments to balance them out, and the music was appropriate for every scene - whether in the original Japanese version or in the English dubbed version. And, thankfully, the Cartoon Network English dub didn't butcher the series...just a little editing of blood and some understandable removal of explicitly violent tones, which I could live with (besides, I'd already seen a different English dub that kept in all the violence and innuendos, even though they kinda changed and/or mispronounced some of the character names ;).

MINUSES: Only one major complaint to make about this series. While the anime was out-of-this-world, drop-dead awesome, and provided a whole lot of insight into how the battles in the manga had turned out before I managed to get the manga itself...THEY NEVER ANIMATED THE FINAL ARC! The Jinchuu arc, which was hinted at at the end of the Kyoto arc and which played a critical role in the story, was never animated due to the series' eventual cancellation. Anybody else thinking that it was the whole bunch of FILLER after the Kyoto arc that killed the series and prevented us from seeing the Jinchuu arc in its deserved animated glory? And even the OVA's couldn't make up for that, seeing as Enishi (the main villain of the Jinchuu arc) got barely any anime screen-time as an adult...sigh.

OVERALL: A must-see for anybody who's a history buff (of course, discounting the special moves and bizarre techniques and/or weapons). Also a must-see for anybody who loves a splendid mix of emotional genres. And a definite must-see for anybody who loves seeing swirly-eyed comic-relief moments! What's recommended: Watch the anime up to the very last episode of the Kyoto arc, then immediately go and get the manga and read from that point onward. (If you do this, bear in mind that there are anime-exclusive characters and manga-exclusive characters, not including those in the manga's Jinchuu arc, and certain characteristics of already-established characters from the manga may be changed for the anime.)