An ex turned me into a very satisfied anime nerd, to the point where I actually purchase anime blu-ray from time to time. So here is a quick review of some titles I recently took a look at. To start off the blu ray quality of all of them has been fantastic, and I may have a hard time watching anything other than this format. If you aren't interested in specifics you can just skip to the bottom for the grades. There is no spoilers here, everything available you would learn from the back of the package or even a glance at the cover.

Full Metal Panic, and Full Metal Panic second raid. These are two seperate series of the same story, second raid picking up where full metal panic left off. If you are a fan of mech's and political thrillers this is definately an anime for you. There is a bit of a sci-fi edge thrown in, but this mostly stays grounded in the theoretically possible world of tomorrows battle field. There is comedy, and quite a lot of panty shots, but there is also gore and adult ideas that make this quite the pleasing adult showcase. In a rating scale of 1 from 10, 1 being horrible and 10 being great, both are a solid 9. The third in the series, however, is full metal panic FUMOFFO and is pure stupidity, fully mangled into a ball and rolled down hill. I kept watching hoping it would return to what was established in the first two series, but nope it was just a fluffed attempt at terrible comedy, gone were all aspects of drama, suspense, political intrigue, violence. Replaced with anime faces and other such wastes. On it's own, having not seen the other two series and realizing what this bastardized, it may be a 3/10, watching the other two makes it a 1.

Eden of the East is set in the near future, and doesn't stray into any sci-fi routes. It is a drama that again adds twists of comedy, violence, and other adult themes. I love it, about a boy who shows up naked with a cell phone and a gun infront of the white house without any memory. There is a romance aspect to it, technological, and political issues currently undertaking the world. It too rates in at a 9.

Xam'd seasons 1 and 2 involves mechs, monsters, steampunk, and tragedy. It is far in the realm of sci-fi and starts out very quickly, with little explanation of what is going on. A boy is the victim of a car bombing which places in him the seed of a monster, which he turns into. Should he forget himself or be wounded too harshly he will turn to stone. It follows him, those that love him, those that meet him, and the world changing around him in a rather epic story. It has just about everything in it, and I would give it a 7 out of 10.

So to close:

Full Metal Panic 9/10, if you like anime and haven't checked it out do so.
Full Metal Panic: The second raid 9/10
Full Metal Panic: FUMOFFO 1/10, just don't bother
Eden of the East 9/10 A fairly short series with a movie coming out in March that is definately worth watching
Xam'd season 1+2 7/10 If you like sci-fi, steam punk, and mechs you'll like this. Don't expect a strong plot or to always be able to follow.