I recently chanced upon an anime full-length movie by Studio BONES. Seeing the poster had me interested to know what it was all about though I admit it looked like the usual slaughterer-turned-gentleman tale. Evidently, I was not to be disappointed...
The main protagonists are a young boy by the name of Kotarou and his loyal shiba inu dog, Tobimaru. To cut a long story short, they're being chased by members of the Ming Dynasty and happen to run into the ex-swordsman, Nanashi or 'No-Name' when translated to English. What follows next is the classic plotline of how the boy and samurai build a deep friendship despite their differences but it's done in such a poignant style that BONES is forgiven the cliche in my opinion. I fell in love with the characters and the dog is adorable! I wish my dog was that nice. T_T The sword fights are animated extremely well and had me on the edge of my seat the whole while. If you're one who's worried about graphics, have no fear: Sword of the Stranger will deliver the goods. The ending was beautiful, and it's definitely a classic. I recommend this one. ^_^
I'm not into manga much, but I've picked up a rather interesting shoujo series by the name of Kaichou wa Maid-sama! Again, it might not be anything too drastically different from the usual shoujo style ( I seem to be picking up a lot of these stereotypical things of late ) but it still has a unique feel of its own. Synopsis can be found on Wikipedia for those of you who're interested in maid-outfits and extremely well-drawn male characters. ;]
And lastly, a parting shot of my new anime heart-throb, Nanashi:
