Corpse Princess Shikabane Hime, Part One: Aka

This anime series introduces viewers to the “Shikabane,” recently deceased folk who rise from their graves and go about killing people. Pretty teenager Makina Hoshiro is a Shikabane-Hime, or corpse princess, who avenges her own death by murdering other Shikabane. She's controlled by Keisei Tagami, a monk with ties to a secret religious sect dedicated to making Japan Shikabane-free, and much of the action is seen from the perspective of Ouri Kagami, a young boy who lives with Keisei. Wearing a miniskirt and tight blouse, Makina roams in search of her prey, delivering woe to the unsuspecting who fall victim to her mad martial arts skills or twin MAC-11 machine guns (think: Night of the Living Dead meets The Terminator, with ample servings of anime-flavored sex and violence thrown in). Strangely enough, the series' sheer weirdness and Makina's offbeat personality help rescue the proceedings from terminal silliness. The stories feature intriguing plots, including Makina's search for a child Shikabane and her attempts to take down a pop singer who's really a killer corpse. Makina's ultimate mission is to score 108 kills before she can enter heaven; if this collection is any indication, she'll have no problems filling that quota. Compiling 13 episodes from 2008 in a dual-language, two-disc set, rated TV-MA, DVD extras include an audio commentary. Highly recommended. [Note: Corpse Princess Shikabane Hime, Part Two: Kuro is also newly available.] (P. Hall)