Addict Overview: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica

Where young male anime fans have shonen anime, such as Naruto, DBZ, One Piece, etc, young female fans have mahou shoujo. Mahou shoujo, or Magical Girl, is exactly how it sounds; a show where a female character or a group of female characters use magical powers to fight off the forces of evil. Sailor Moon is the most common and popular example. At first glance a mahou shoujo series may seem cutesy, sweet and girly....and that's because a lot of them kinda are. There isn't much danger that the main characters could get in, the explanation for why they have these magical powers are simplistic and the opposing force they're usually up again don't really seem like they'd do much damage if they DID succeed. There isn't enough emotion, risk or characterization involved.....that is unless you're watching Madoka Magica, in which case you're in for a surprisingly intense ride.....

Miku Hatsune hits Stateside!.......in a Toyota!

I'm a big Vocaloid fan. Not only is the music really good, but the fact that it's all done on a computer without the need of a physical singer is amazing to me. I'm not the only one who loves it, too. If you know an anime or Japan fan, chances are they know what Vocaloid is and probably have a favorite song. Now Japan has gotten a ton of Vocaloid merchandise, games, programs and even two live concerts. We US fans, on the other hand, have to resort to imports. That may change soon, though, as there have been rumors of the program being sold in American stores as well as online, which could not only open up a ton of possibilities for composers but will also finally introduce our favorite group of musical robots to the rest of the country. In fact, just a few days ago we got our first taste of US Vocaloid....just, not the way we though we would have gotten it....