Slam Dunk centers around Hanamichi Sakuragi, who starts as a
delinquent outcast, becoming the leader of a gang. Hanamichi, being very
unpopular with girls, has been rejected by them fifty times. Yet, he
finds out that Haruko Akagi is the girl of his dreams, and is happy when
she's not scared of him like all the other girls he has asked out.
Haruko Akagi, who recognizes Hanamichi's athleticism, introduces him
to the Shohoku basketball team. Hanamichi was reluctant to join the team
at first because he had no previous background in any sports and
thought that basketball was a game for losers (also because the fiftieth
girl rejected him for a basketball player). Sakuragi, despite his
immaturity and hot temper, proves to be a natural athlete with potential
and joins the team in order to impress Haruko and prove that he is
worthy of her. Later on, Sakuragi realizes that his love for the sport
equals that of his crush on Haruko. Kaede Rukawa — Sakuragi's bitter
rival (both on the basketball court and love, even when Rukawa doesn't
acknowledge Haruko's crush on him), the star rookie and a "girl magnet" -
joins the team at the same time. Hisashi Mitsui, an ex-junior high
school MVP,
and Ryota Miyagi, a short but fast player, both also rejoin the team
and together these four struggle to complete team captain Takenori
Akagi's dream of making Shohoku the national champion. Together, these
misfits gain publicity and the once little known Shohoku basketball team
becomes an all-star contender in Japan.
The series is based on the manga and novel volumes, and sees the return of series regulars, Trish and Lady.
In the show, Dante runs his devil-hunting business, Devil May Cry,
while struggling under constant financial debt. There are also two new
regular characters—Dante's agent Morrison who visits frequently, and
Patty Lowell, a young orphan girl he saved in the first episode, who
also visits frequently and shares a sisterly relationship with Dante.
While the show's stories were mostly self-contained, a season-long
plot was introduced in the first episode and came to the forefront in
episodes 10-12.
When Earth's population drastically increased, humanity, led by the United Nations, attempted to colonize Mars. During the colonization, they discovered two alien technologies: the Bacillus
virus and the Crusnik nanomachines. The colonists injected the Bacillus
in their bodies which transformed them into "Methuselahs." They
installed the Crusnik in the bodies of four test tube babies: Seth,
Cain, Abel and Lilith whose enhanced bodies were the only ones able to
survive the procedure.
Continuing wars on Earth eventually led to "Armageddon,"
the apocalyptic event that happened 900 years before the start of the
story, and the colonists returned to Earth to help with rebuilding.
However, when the colonists returned to Earth, a war broke out between
the Methuselahs and the humans who had remained on Earth. Abel, Cain,
and Seth took the Methuselah's side—while Lilith supported the Vatican,
which guarded humanity. During the war, Cain went insane and killed
Lilith. In grief, Abel took her body to the Vatican where she was
buried. Abel remained at her side, weeping for her, for 900 years.
At the start of the story, the vampiric Methuselahs, still a major
political and military force, continue to wage war on the "Terrans," as
they call the human inhabitants of Earth. The Roman Catholic Church
is a major military power determined to protect humans from the
Methuselahs, with its seat of power based in the Vatican. The
Methuselahs have their capital in Byzantium, which is surrounded by a field of particles to filter out UV radiation, protecting the Methuselah population.
Both groups use "lost technologies," such as airships, missiles, and computers, to engage in a cold war with one another. A third great power, Albion
also plays a role in the war with its superior arsenal of lost
technology and weapons and higher level of manufacturing ability versus
the Vatican. The independent monarchy of Albion is a primarily human country, however the secret of their expertise in lost technology is found in the Ghetto,
an underground city of enslaved Methuselah. It is these Methuselah who
operate and manufacture the lost technology, but with the death of the
Albion Queen, some of the enslaved vampires begin a rebellion for the
freedom of all of the Ghetto residents.
Yuki Cross's earliest memory is of being attacked by a vampire and saved by Kaname Kuran, also a vampire. Ten years later, Yuki and a vampire hunter, Zero Kiryu
attend Cross Academy as school guardians protecting the "Day Class" and
the "Night Class" from each other to keep vampires secret. The story
follows Yuki's discovery that her childhood friend, Zero, has spent the
last four years trying to fight his transformation into a vampire, and
he has finally succumbed. Yuki struggles to help Zero fight his
bloodlust and to recover her own lost memories, while suspecting that
Kaname knows more than he is saying.
Kahoko Hino is a student in the General Education section of Seiso
Academy. One day she runs into Lili, a musical fairy, who grants her a
magical violin and a place in the school's annual musical competition.
Kahoko refuses, only to be pressed on by Lili until she accepts the
instrument and place in the competition. As she practices, Kahoko is
amazed that she can play any musical piece as long as she knows the tune
and plays it with her heart. As the competition goes on, she becomes
more and more attached to the people she is trying to compete with.
Kirari Tsukishima, a gluttonous 14-year-old beauty, does not care about idols and the entertainment world because her mind is occupied by food. Herobsession with food only causes her to be clueless about love. One day, after saving a turtle that is stranded in a tree, Kirari meets a handsome and gentle boy named Seiji, who gives her a ticket to a SHIPS (a popular idol group) concert to show his gratitude for her saving his pet. However, when Kirari shows up at the concert, another boy only tears up her ticket, warning her to stay away from Seiji because she and Seiji live in different worlds. The outraged Kirari sneaks into the concert, only to discover that Seiji and the boy who tore her ticket, Hiroto, are actually members of SHIPS. Finally understanding the meaning of "different worlds", Kirari refuses to give up pursuing Seiji and declares that she will also become an idol. However, being an idol requires tons of training and talent. Faced with rivals and scandals, Kirari is determined to come out as a top idol. Wikipedia kirarinrevolution.wikia.com
The series takes place in Tokyo City (New Townsville in English). In order to stop an ecologicaldisaster, Professor Utonium's son, Ken Kitazawa, uses Chemical Z, a new form of the Professor's original substance, Chemical X, to destroy a giant glacier. However, the impact of Chemical Z causes several black and white rays of light to appear in the skies above New Townsville. Three ordinary girls, Momoko (Blossom), Miyako (Bubbles), and Kaoru (Buttercup), are engulfed in white lights and become Hyper Blossom, Rolling Bubbles, and Powered Buttercup, respectively. However, the numerous black lights cause others to turn to the side of evil, so the Powerpuff Girls Z must use their super powers to protect Tokyo City from villains such as Mojo Jojo, Fuzzy Lumpkins and Him. Wikipedia powerpuff.wikia.com/wiki/Powerpuff_Girls_Z
The Powerpuff Girlsrevolves around the adventures of Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup. Each of the girls has a color: Blossom is pink, Bubbles is blue, and Buttercup is green. The plot of a typical episode is some humorous variation of standardsuperheroandtokusatsufare, with the girls using their powers to defend their town fromvillainsand giantmonsters. In addition, the girls have to deal with normal issues young children face, such as sibling rivalries, loose teeth, personal hygiene, going to school,bed wetting, or dependence on asecurity blanket. Episodes often contain more or less hidden references to older pop culture (especially noticeable in the episode "Meet the Beat Alls").
Yuji Sakai, a high school student, expected his very normal life to last forever. However, this expectation is quickly shattered one day while on his way home. The world suddenly freezes in time, leaving Yuji to watch in horror as blue flames engulf the people around him. Soon a monster resembling a large doll appears and begins sucking the flames into its mouth, until it notices Yuji. Surprised with Yuji's insusceptibility to the time-stop (fuzetsu), it jumps with glee. Just as the monster prepares to consume Yuji, a sword-wielding girl in black attire with flaming red eyes and hair appears, swiftly and confidently destroys the monster, before noticing Yuji moving freely. The girl calls herself a "Flame Haze" who hunts the "Denizens of the Crimson Realm" and the "Rinne" they send to do their bidding. When Yuji notices a blue flame in his chest, the Flame Haze tells him that the "real" Yuji died some time ago, and that he is a "Torch", a temporary replacement for erased humans. Torches take on the forms of those erased persons, but after a period of time, they will vanish from existence and the memories of the living. Unfazed by his apparent death, Yuji befriends the strange girl and names her "Shana" after her sword. The reason Yuji was able to move in the fuzetsu is that he is not a normal Torch, but instead a special kind called a "Mystes": he has a treasure inside him, known as a "Hougu", a device possessing special abilities of sorts, and an extremely powerful and valuable one at that. The hougu inside Yuji allows him to remain in existence rather than fading away like other torches. Shana resolves to protect Yuji from the Denizens, who would use the treasure to disrupt the balance of the world, and Yuji decides to join Shana in her fight.
Shana's fight is actually a long-standing struggle between the Lords and Denizens of Guze. The Denizens steal Power of Existence, the energy that forms the basis of the world, from living people and utilize it for their own selfish ambitions. Some Lords inhabit humans creating Flame Hazes in an attempt to retain balance by hunting renegades from Guze. Flame Hazes create Torches in place of the consumed to save the world from the disruption of many existences being lost at once, allowing the Torches to gradually burn out over the course of time.
In 0015, the world is corrupted by Dark Bring, dark stones that bestowed powerful magic to their owners. The Dark Bring are used by the Raregroove Kingdom, and the Symphonia Kingdom fight against them with their Rave Stones. Shiba Roses, the first Rave Master, attempts to destroy Sinclaire, the "mother" of the Dark Bring, with the Ten Commandments Sword. However, the aftermath causes a massive explosion known as "Overdrive", destroying one-tenth of the known world. Shiba, protected from the disaster by Plue, a special guardian "dog" who shielded him from the blast, holds onto the RAVE required to power his sword. Plue and the five remaining fragments of RAVE, however, get scattered around the world.
Fifty years later, 16 year old Haru Glory lives on the peaceful Garage Island with his sister Cattleya. Haru accidentally fishes Plue up. Shiba arrives and his desire to reclaim Plue, but a group of terrorists from the Demon Card organization appear and destroy Haru's house. Shiba tells Haru that he is the second Rave Master, entrusting the Ten Commandments sword, Plue and his Rave to him. Seeking revenge on Demon Card, Haru and Plue set off on a journey to find the missing Rave stones. Upon arriving at Hip Hop Island, Haru befriends a girl named Elie, who has no recollections of her past.
In the Slayers universe the Lord of Nightmares is the ultimate being, the creator of at least four parallel worlds. The Claire Bible, an artifact containing the knowledge of a fallen shinzoku, Aqualord Ragradia, states that the Lord of Nightmares seeks to regain its "true form", which is only attainable by destroying these worlds and returning them to the chaos that it itself is. For unexplained reasons, though, the Lord of Nightmares has not acted upon this desire by itself so far.
On each of these worlds are gods (shinzoku, lit. "godly race") and demons (mazoku, lit. "monster race"), fighting without end. Should the gods win the war in a world, that world will be at peace. Should the demons win, the world will be destroyed and returned to the Sea of Chaos. In Lina's world, the supreme god is Flare Dragon Ceiphied, and the supreme demon is the Ruby-Eye Shabranigdo. Long ago, their war ended more or less in a stalemate, when Ceiphied was able to split Shabranigdo's existence into seven pieces in order to prevent him from coming back to life, then sealing them within human souls. As the souls are reincarnated, the individual fragments would therefore be worn down until Shabranigdo himself would be destroyed. However, Ceiphied was so exhausted by this that he himself sank into the Sea of Chaos, leaving four parts of himself in the world.
A millennium before the events in Slayers, one of Ruby-Eye's fragments (which was sealed in the body of Lei Magnus, a very powerful sorcerer) revived and began the Resurrection War (降魔戦争Kōma-sensō, alternately "War of Demon Conquering") against one of the parts of Ceiphied, the Water Dragon King, also known as Aqualord Ragradia. Ultimately, the piece of Shabranigdo won, but Aqualord, using the last remnants of her power, sealed him into a block of magical ice within the Kataart Mountains. Nevertheless, Shabranigdo's lieutenants remained at liberty, sealing a part of the world within a magical barrier, through which only mazoku could pass.
There are four types of magic within the Slayers universe. Black magic spells, such as the famous Dragon Slave, call directly on the powers of the mazoku and are capable of causing enormous damage. White magic spells are of an obscure origin and are used for healing or protection. Shamanistic magic is focused on manipulation and alteration of the basic elements of the natural world (earth, wind, fire, water and spirit) and contains spell for both offense and convenience, such as Raywing, Fireball, or Elmekia Lance. Holy magic uses the power of the shinzoku, but the aforementioned barrier made its usage impossible before the death of the mazoku Hellmaster Phibrizzo. As a rule, mazoku can only be harmed by spiritual (astral) shamanistic magic, holy magic, or black magic which draws power from another mazoku with greater might than the target.
Above all other magic, however, are the immensely destructive spells drawing power from the Lord of Nightmares. The two spells of this class are the Ragna Blade, capable of cutting through any obstacle or being, and the Giga Slave, which can kill any opponent, but which could also destroy the world itself if the spell is miscast. Some have clamed that this is a fifth form of magic called Chaos magic (after the Lord of Nightmares).
Kobato is a sweet, perky, cute girl but also extremely naive about the world around her. She has a "mission" to fill her mysterious bottle with people's hearts she heals so her wish to go a certain place can be granted. However, the restriction is that she is not allowed to fall in love with any person whose heart she heals. As Kobato attempts to fulfill her mission, she is accompanied by Ioryogi, a spirit in the form of a dog plushie. Because Ioryogi is responsible for a punishment that has been applied to him and his friends from the spiritual world, he must guide Kobato and ensure that she succeeds her mission and his friends might return to their true form. Wikipedia kobato.wikia.com
Hikari Hanazono has always been second to Kei Takishima. When they were
six years old, their pro-wrestling loving fathers introduced them to
each other. Assuming that she was the best in wrestling, young Hikari
challenged Kei to a wrestling match only to be thoroughly defeated by
him. Ever since that fateful incident, Hikari swore to beat Kei in
school grades, sporting events or any competition. To do this, she has
enrolled in the same school as Kei since elementary. Now she attends
Hakusenkan, an ultra elite school, that costs her carpenter father a lot
of money. Hikari and Kei are the top two students in the school, with
Kei holding firmly to that number one position. While Hikari considers
Kei to be a rival and important friend, she is completely unaware that
Kei is in love with her. The story primarily focuses on Hikari and her
constant attempts to defeat her one and only rival, Kei, and how she
finds love in their rivalry.
