Yu Yu Hakusho
The story begins when Urameshi Yuusuke, a 14-year-old juvenile delinquent, saves the life of a little boy by sacrificing himself. As he hangs in the void between life and death, he is met by a blue-haired, kimono-clad girl riding on an oar. She introduces herself as Botan, ferrygirl of the Reikai (spirit world) and the equivalent of the goddess of death in the West. She tells him that he is not meant to die yet, and gives him a second chance to return to life. He is then chosen to become a detective for the Reikai and one of his first assignments is to retrieve the three stolen treasures of the spirit world. He comes upon the thieves - Gouki, a soul-eating demon; Hiei, a fire demon; and Kurama, a fox spirit. Yuusuke manages to defeat Gouki. He sees Kurama, but Kurama tells him that he is not interested in fighting and he will return the stolen artifact (a mirror) once he is finished with it. Yuusuke finds out that Kurama is actually a youko reincarnated into a human body, and now his human mother Shiori is dying. Kurama intends to use the mirror's magical abilities to trade his own life for his mother's. Yuusuke intervenes at the last moment, and everyone is saved. In the meantime, Hiei kidnaps Keiko, Yuusuke's girlfriend (sort of) and demands the treasures in exchange for her freedom. Yuusuke with help from Kurama defeats Hiei and returns the three treasures to the Reikai. Later, as penance for their crimes, Hiei and Kurama joins Yuusuke and Kuwabara Kazuma as Reikai detectives.
Slam Dunk
The hero of the piece is Sakuragi Hanamichi, a loud-mouthed, red-haired guy who has been rejected by girls 50 times in junior high. He meets the latest girl of his dreams, Akagi Haruko, and falls madly in love with her. He even goes so far as to join the basketball team to impress her, even though he knows nothing about the sport. But soon, he realizes that he truly loves basketball and he has talent for it. He's bitter rivals with Rukawa Kaede, both on the court and out of it, because Haruko worships the ground Rukawa walks on, though he hardly notices she exists. The other main characters are Akagi Takenori, Haruko's older brother who is also the captain of the team; Miyagi Ryota, who is in love with Ayako the team manager; and Mitsui Hisashi, a third-year former MVP (Most Valuable Player) who has been away from basketball for two years. Together, these unlikely misfits aim to transform Shohoku from a little-known team to the champion in all of Japan.
For more info, go to Slam Dunk Anime Episode Synopses.
Neon Genesis Evangelion
This is one heck of a confusing story. I'll try to explain as best as I can. ^_^ OK, years before the actual start of the anime, there was this phenomenon called the Second Impact, which was caused by an Angel. Angels are organic beings who pose a threat to Earth. In the Second Impact, half the Earth's population was wiped out and NERV was set up to monitor and prevent the possibility of a second occurence. The first episode of the anime introduces the protagonist of the story, timid and passive Ikari Shinji, designated as the "Third Children" whose duty it is to pilot EVA-01 in combat against intruding Angels. The rest of the pilots are Ayanami Rei (First Children and a clone of Shinji's mother), Asuka Souryu Langley (Second), Suzuhara Touji (Shinji's classmate and Fourth Children) and Nagisa Kaworu (Fifth, later revealed to be the seventeenth and last Angel).
I've only watched the animated series so I have no idea what happens in the movies.
King of Fighters
The King of Fighters is a series of 2D fighting games, the newest being KoF 99 which introduces several new characters. Kusanagi Kyo is the long-time hero of the game, while Yagami Iori is the anti-hero, his arch rival. The rivalry between them is the feud between their two clans, which began 660 years ago. Basically, most of the KoF storyline revolves around their rivalry, and Orochi, a resurrected god who wants to either rule the world or destroy it.
Pics and further descriptions of the characters
Jan 23, 1999