Toradora! [review]

On Sunday, June 5, 2011 0 comentarii


Toradora Plot:

Toradora!'s story begins with the male protagonist Takasu Ryuuji who is frustrated at trying to improve his look as he enters his second year of high school. Despite his gentle personality, he has a natural outer-appearance which makes him look like an intimidating delinquent so he is utterly hopeless about his chances of getting a girlfriend anytime soon, and does not have many close friends either. After being greeted by his hungover mother in the morning, Ryuuji goes to school and finds out that he is in the same class as his best friend Kitamura Yuusaku. But what makes him extremely happy is that he gets to be in the same class as his crush Kushieda Minori. However, it is then that he unexpectedly knocks into "the creature ranked most dangerous in the school" — Aisaka Taiga —, who goes by the nickname "Palmtop Tiger" and who just happens to also be in his class.

Taiga has a negative attitude towards others and will not hesitate to snap at people. After a series of misunderstandings between Ryuuji and Taiga, Ryuuji is taken in by Taiga as her personal servant. Taiga had moved out to live on her own due to family issues and isn't able to do any housechores. After discovering the state of her apartment Ryuuji, who has a real talent at domestic chores, decided to do all of her housechores. Taiga spends a lot of her time over at his house, so much so that she could almost be considered a member of his family. Since Ryuuji spends a lot of time with Taiga, he is opened up to her world and to a side of her that most people do not see. The two also attempt to help each other in order to improve their relationship with their crush (Taiga has a crush on Ryuuji's best friend, Yuusaku, and Ryuuji has a crush on Taiga's best friend, Minori). Unknown to them, however, people they know from school start to become curious about their strange relationship together and rumors begin to spread about them.


Alternative Titles
English: Toradora!
Synonyms: Tiger X Dragon
Japanese: とらドラ!

Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 25
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Oct 1, 2008 to Mar 25, 2009
Producers: J.C. Staff, Genco, NIS America, Inc.
Genres: Comedy, Romance, School, Slice of Life
Duration: 24 min. per episode
Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older



Toradora Review

Animation: 8/10

Though technically not the greatest, it's J.C. Staff (Shakugan no Shana, Zero no Tsukaima) after all, animation of Toradora! possesses undeniable charm, similar to that of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. Some facial deformation and awkward movements during "action" scenes only add up to the style and likability of the show, though I must admit I didn't particularly like how hair moved in big chunks as opposed, to well, how hair really moves. Anyway, the most important part for the genre - character designs are cute and adorable, furthermore they really work well with the personalities of the characters and even the plot of the show. I mean, the show would have lost half of its novelty if Taiga had looked different than she does now, right? Anyway, though not as finely detailed as in most modern anime, all characters have their own style and "moe" qualities which make this show even better to watch. Backgrounds, the same way as characters, don't particularly exhibit a high level of detail, but work nonetheless. Slightly grainy color palette makes the show look realistic and it's good since it really happens in a reasonably realistic world for a change. Fluidity is lacking and character movement is slightly choppy when compared to today's standards, but as I have mentioned before, for some reason, it doesn't disturb, it just adds to the overall charm anyway. Perfection is boring and imperfections are attractive because there are times when they look better than usual, thus making them more memorable. Also, unlike most of the shows which run out of budget near the end, Toradora! actually improves its animations in last episodes.

Sound: 7/10

Toradora! has one of the best OP/ED combinations I have ever seen in anime before. First OP Pre-Parade by the three main female seiyuu of the show is an awesome upbeat piece of music which wonderfully blends with the comedic and cute atmosphere of the first half of the show. It's funny how the first frame of the first OP is the only scene in the whole show which looks relatively like fanservice. However, the way it is carried out feels more like a satyric attempt to make fun out of erotic innuendos so popular in the genre, I mean, the look in her eyes is deadly. Anyway, the OP not only contributes to the atmosphere, it also gives some depth to characters, whose actions, while perfectly timed with the music, actually reveal their personality traits rather than useless and random imaginary found in virtually all anime around. First ED Vanilla Salt by Horie Yui is also a pretty good song perfect for the atmosphere of the show, though on the contrary to the first OP I didn't listen to it for hundreds of times, that Pre-Parade is damn addicting. Anyway, once the anime finally jumps into its serious stage new OP and ED are introduced, and they are as good as the ones before, also more fitting since they cut down on upbeat nature, but never go as down as to sound gloomy or emo-like. Anyway, both the second OP silky heart by Horie Yui and the second ED Orange by the three main seiyuu of the show are good pieces of music to listen to. Now that I think about it, they are not that special as stand alone, only when combined with the show they give off that great feeling, as even the lyrics fit. Anyway, it only proves that making seiyuu sing for their own shows makes it all better because they know what they are singing about by heart.

Background music doesn't exceed as OPs/EDs do, but is still satisfactory to listen to. It's actually not the quality of compositions by Hashimoto Yukari, but their timing what makes them so acoustically pleasing. Most of the music disperses into the background the moment it ends playing, but there are some scenes when some above average music pieces are timed so well they work perfectly with both character voices and their actions, giving the scene an epic feel. I remember seeing many such scenes in Gundam Seed which wouldn't feel half as epic without their perfectly timed music. Anyway, I think you'll easily notice what I am talking about, as though I wouldn't listen to the OST, I would definitely like (and actually did) to re-listen to some scenes again. BGM does not shock, but is satisfying nonetheless.

Finally voice-work in Toradora is as top-notch as it gets. Tsundere master Kugimiya Rie (Shakugan no Shana as Shana, Hayate no Gotoku as Nagi) yet again offers a magnificent performance as Taiga, sounding considerably different from her other roles this time around. I didn't know she could produce such low-pitched voice and growl. Kushieda Minori is voiced by Horie Yui (Love Hina as Narusegawa, School Rumble as Sawachika Eri) and Kawashima Ami has the voice of Kitamura Eri (Chaos;Head as Sakihata Rimi, Seto no Hanayome as Shinarui Akeno). Needless to say that both veterans sound great. This show combines some of the best female seiyuu in the anime industry and I must say it works well in its favor. You can even hear Tanaka Rie in the background.


Story: 8/10

Though the show takes place in the real world, which I usually find boring, it turns its setting into one of its main strengths. The setup is quite simple - main character and heroine meet up by chance, have some comedic and hilarious misunderstandings and finally stick up together to help each other with their love, since both of them are best friends of the other's love interest. I must say I wasn't particularly amazed by the first episode, indeed I noticed the good pace and great potential outright, but I expected it to fall apart once the fanservice kicked in... but it never did. Nor did it ever fall apart. To the contrary, the further the show goes, the better in becomes. For that I must commend great director of this show since he made an almost revolutionary step and decided to ignore all the factors which make romantic comedies turn into crap. He never did any "anime original" fillers, he never did any fanservice, he never used idiotic deus-ex machina and he managed to turn each second of every episode into a meaningful tribute to the anime's plot. Though it's not completely clear at the beginning, all the episodes in the first, more light-hearted half of the show, are meant to give depth and develop characters all the while guiding them to the high quality drama which awaits them near the end. There is not a boring moment in the show, when the cute tsundere romance feeling is about to burn out you get a good joke and once the high-spirits from comedy run out you get some important drama to spice things up. The show keeps great balance between healthy angst and comedy, benefiting from them both. Even when the serious side kicks in, the show doesn't rely on blind romantic fanservice, but actually builds up mature and realistic relationships suiting the anime's real world setting.

What's even better is that the plot becomes better with every episode and never degrades. By having spent couple of years watching anime I have noticed that most of the shows tend to have good beginnings and fucked-up endings, especially in the genre Toradora! belongs to. It's truly a miracle that Toradora!'s conclusive ending is not only better than its beginning, it also has parallels with it, thus proving that the show was planned out solid before it even started airing, unlike most of the random crap around. Anyway, I must say Toradora! starts getting epic little by little since kicking into the second half and the last five or so episodes are pure brilliance. All the build-up and character depth given in the beginning finally blows up and you get the chance to finally taste a ripe fruit of romance so rare in anime media. Not only it's the best harem/romantic comedy around, it's one of the best romance shows in anime industry as well. Though it doesn't offer enough novelty to remain classic among people forever, I will never forget Toradora! as the best crafted tribute to romantic comedies ever.

Characters: 9/10

Obviously, most of Toradora's quality comes from its characters. The main lead, Takasu Ryuuji, though a normal high school student living a relatively normal life (that would be an insult to the genre if he wasn't anyway), is much more interesting and nowhere near as generic as I have originally thought. Though his obsession with cleaning and assorting stuff is not the most innovative, his stubborn feelings for Kushieda and surprisingly strong spine makes him rise above most of the generic leads in the genre. His "evil" eyes also add some needed spice to the comedy. He is still a perfectly normal human being, nonetheless, he is interesting, mostly due to the fact that most of his personality traits completely contrast with Taiga's thus creating a really entertaining relationship.

Anyway, the real star of the show is Aisaka Taiga, who is also known as Tenori Taiga (palmtop tiger). She is there on a fine line between man and a beast, as I wouldn't be surprised if she would beat someone to death one day. I mean, she doesn't even mind raiding classrooms and hitting other girls with fists to let the steam off. I must say her existence itself is a really heavy blow to the whole tried and true tsundere stereotype industry. Hell, is she even a tsundere? Now that I think about it, tsundere's defining trait is that she masks embarrassment with violence and is never honest, that doesn't add up to Taiga, because she is almost always honest. Actually Taiga is naturally violent and stubborn, she hits people because she wants to, not because she is embarrassed about something. Furthermore, she rarely acts violent in regard to those she loves, she'd rather go all red and be unable to piece a sentence together. Her relationship with Kushieda also shows that she is completely honest concerning feelings to people she likes or doesn't. Then again, if you would have to describe her personality, tsundere is probably the closest word to it. Either way, Taiga is an awesome character who literally shatters all stereotypes (and their skulls) and becomes one of the best leading heroines in romantic comedy genre and anime industry as a whole. I'm buying her figure, because there is definitely no other character like her elsewhere and if there ever will be, it will be guys copying THIS show.

There are only three other characters who are in the center of attention, but as I say, quality beats quantity any day. Other heroines include Kushieda Minori who usually behaves like a wacky entity from another planet or something, doing incomprehensible things, walking with "bald" wig sometimes and generally appearing very hyperactive and high-spirited (or just insane if you are a doctor). Obviously, that wouldn't account for the awesome character she is, hence all that is just a facade to mask her true feelings which are hard to perceive even for the most experienced of viewers. The other heroine in question is Kawashima Ami who is a two-faced narcissistic model appearing innocent and "clumsy" to the masses and majority of people around her. Her acting cracks up once Taiga decides to beat the hell out of her, thus revealing a surprisingly mature and experienced character who, though standing at sidelines, is the only one who perceives the situation in a crystal like view and is the wisest of the bunch. Her meaningful yet ambiguous one-liners is one of the highlights of the show. Finally, the third one is Kitamura Yuusaku who is Taiga's love interest and, again, isn't really honest to others. Despite appearing cheerful and wacky all the time he never really tells anyone his inner feelings and usually plays stupid, even though he realizes the complex relationships going around him. His worth both as a comedic relief and plot device exceeds the complexity of his personality, but he is, as all the characters in this show, interesting and deep.

All characters in this show, even the background ones, are very realistic and resemble real world human beings very much in the sense that they are rarely honest to others or even themselves. Despite posing as exaggerated anime stereotypes, all of them are very realistic inside. Even miscellaneous things, like Ami's tendency to sit in a short gap between two vending machines, give characters great depth and brings them even closer to full fleshed human beings. I wonder if it is the influence of Honey & Clover since I have never seen such complex characters in other romantic comedies.

Value and Enjoyment 8.5/10

This series was highly regarded and anticipated, and rightly so: it's an excellent investment of time (and money, if you buy the DVDs). When I've had a chance to view the discs, I will comment on their value, but the series is well worth your time, and is recommended without qualification. I enjoyed the series enough to wish someone would put together another season with the same characters, and give them a chance to do some soap-opera dramatic turns. 8 points for value, and 9 for enjoyment.
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Hunter x Hunter review

On Saturday, May 28, 2011 0 comentarii




Hunter x Hunter Plot:

Gon's father, long believed to be dead, is still alive and was once one of the greatest Hunters in existence. Gon believes he will be able to meet his father once he himself becomes a Hunter. However, before he can become one, he has to pass the Hunter Exam first, an exam made of numerous tasks and dangerous trials. Persevering and refusing to give up, Gon manages to reach the Hunter Exam, all the while keeping his innocent attitude. Throughout many of the tasks and trials of the Hunter Exam, Gon manages to make many unique friends. Kurapica, a sole survivor of his clan seeking revenge, Leorio, who wants to become a doctor, and Killua, a member of an infamous assassin family, all eventually join up with Gon in hopes of passing the exam together. Each of them have their own reasons for taking the exam, but will they manage to pass it alive? It will be no easy task, as the tasks and trials in the exam are not easy. Aside from worrying about dying from the exam itself, Gon and his friends also have to watch out for killers participating in the exam...



Alternative Titles
Japanese: ハンターxハンター

Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 62
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Oct 16, 1999 to Mar 31, 2001
Producers: TV Tokyo, Nippon Animation, Viz Media
Genres: Action, Adventure, Shounen, Super Power
Duration: 23 min. per episode
Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older

Review


Alright, all 10's for this one...then again...maybe not. But with animation being the only non perfect factor in this anime, it dosn't really matter.
This is the best combination of adventure-action-comedy I have ever seen. At first it seemed a little boring, but it was because I had no idea that the story would evolve into something so interesting and intense. It didn't take long until I became really rapturous about this anime. I seriously recommend getting all the episodes and then make a "marathon", that way you won't get the feeling of anxiety to see the next episodes that you havn't yet downloaded...believe me, that feeling is almost unbearable.
Predictable? Hunter X Hunter? In my opinion it's on the contrary, it's unpredictable. At least all my auguries went completely off the track, or maybe I'm just dumb, or maybe I was blinded by the extremely advanced-simple storyline of this anime. Yes, this anime is so simple and straighforward, yet really advanced and full of twists and they are all combined so naturally which makes HXH very unique.

About the animation part, I must confess that I have seen many animes that are better in animation, but I did consider the fact that this anime is from the year 1997 and that I really loved the drawing style of the characters, but even that had its own flaws. Not that any of the characters was badly drawn but some were kinda silly and really weird. The silly faces(in the comedy part I mean) on the other hand were really hilarious, especially Killuas transformation into a cat(don't worry, he dosn't really tranform into a cat, watch and you'll find out what I mean ).

The sound...it's perfect, the first opening really gets to your head, soon, without even noticing it, you may be humming the melody while taking a walk. The second opening...it gave me the chills, not that it was scary, it was just so good. Dark, slow and mysterious, just like bman already said, it puts you just into the right mood for the last episodes starting from 49. The endings, again I agree with bman, I didn't pay much attention to them, hell, I don't even remember them very clearly even though I just watched nearly all the episodes today, but I do remember the second ending which was the best. The background music perfectly synchronized with the different situations in the story and with the action, it's so good that you don't listen to it as a background music but as something obvious that really should be heard in that certain moment of the story.

Characters...there are so many of them, and they are so different, sometimes you even have trouble figuring out who the main character is. In this series however, the main character still remains Gon. There really aren't evil-taking-over-the-world characters, but some are prett bad. Not Hisoka though, that guy is very funny...and a little weird
Anyway, most of the characters backgrounds and intentions will be explained so nothing will remain in shadows, unless you didn't pay attention.
Explanations are also the strong point of the story. Everything will be expounded, how some certain things work, what do certain things mean etc. That makes Hunter X Hunter one of the most logical animes out there, I'm not saying that it dosn't have any unlogical stuff, actually it has a lot of them. But even the unlogical things become logical...in a certain way...am I making any sense here?
Probably not, so it's best if you check HXH out yourself, I assure that you won't regret it
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Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora review

On Wednesday, May 25, 2011 0 comentarii





Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora Plot:

In a winter when he was in the second grade of the high school, Yuuichi was hospitalized because of hepatitis. Soon, he became so good as to be scolded by the nurse for going out of the hospital. One day, he happened to meet Rika, a girl of his age, in the next building. He was fascinated by her beauty, but she was very selfish girl. Although she led him by the nose, he began to be attracted by her. However, when Rika told him about her illness, he knew why she acted so selfish; she couldn't live long.

Alternative Titles
English: Looking up at the Half-Moon
Synonyms: Hantsuki
Japanese: 半分の月がのぼる空

Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 6
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Jan 13, 2006 to Feb 24, 2006
Producers: Group TAC, Pony Canyon
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Duration: 24 min. per episode
Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older


Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora review

Story 8/10
Yuichi is a guy that's hospitalised when a girl named Rika arrives to the hospital. She as a seriously weak heart and she doesn't have much time to live if she don't gets a surgery really soon. The nurse that take care of Yuichi asked him to visit Rika and so he did. Yuichi and Rika became good friends and one night Rika tells Yuichi that she want to get to the top of a nearby mountain. Yuichi takes her there and at the top, he suddenly faints...

The very next day he wakes up at the hospital and he's back at square one.

And then, the real story begins.


Characters 9/10
Interest: Who can't help but be interested in Rika? She may be a little selfish, but she's absolutely charming. Yuuchi is one of the classical good guys, someone that we all wish we were a little more like. The secondary characters are all interesting as well - Dr. Natsume has his inner demons and Nurse Akiko has a rather interesting personality. Most of the other characters are so minor, they are pretty much stereotypical filler, but that is their purpose in the show. Hantsuki is primarily about Yuuchi and Rika, and it does an excellent job of making you interested in them.

Growth: Oh hell yes. Both Yuuchi and Rika. It's impossible to talk about it without giving away the crux of the plot, but...let me just say that neither one of them are unchanged by the time the credits roll. Even Dr. Natsume has changed a little by the end.



Animation 10/10
Character Design: The characters in Hantsuki are drawn very, very well. All are proportional, all are different, except there's a pronounced similarity between Yuuchi and Dr. Natsume - but I think that's deliberate. The animation and movement is very smooth.

Op/Ed: Very high quality. There's just a touch of softness to both opening and ending sequence that makes them both a little dreamlike. Some people may not like that style; I love it.

Artwork: Great artwork. Backgrounds are usually fairly simple, since the majority of the show takes place in a hospital. There are very very few still shots or reused sequences, possibly none. The only complaint is that maybe it's a little too simple, but the focus of the show is on the story, not the artwork.



Sound 10/10
Op/Ed: The opening and ending music are two of the best songs I have ever heard for an anime series. Perhaps even THE best. The opening is paced just right for the series, and the ending flows so perfectly with the sequence, it brings tears to my eyes.

Music: There's a few points where instrumental music comes out and really adds to the scenes, especially in the final episode. Otherwise, the music is unobtrusive.

Voices: I have to say that the voice acting was solid. Yuuchi has a good voice for a 17 year old who hasn't really completely grown up yet, and Rika has just the right inflection for her personality: selfish, teasing, reckless, caring. The voices for the secondary characters are fitting as well.


Conclusion: I feel that Hantsuki would be an excellent gateway series to watch with someone new to anime - it highlights a lot of the very best points of the genre without going too overboard with any. I cannot recommend this series enough. A tiny bit more polish, a little longer, and it would have gotten a perfect score from me. I <3 hantsuki.="hantsuki." span="span">
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Ef - A tale of melodies review

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Ef - A tale of melodies Plot:

The anime once again tells two stories.

The first story takes place in the past. Himura Yuu meets a girl, Amamiya Yuuko who seems to know him, but he doesn't know her. However, he soon remembers that she was a girl whom he knew from long ago. Yuuko then tells him something which he never knew. He was her first love since then, and her first love has not ended yet.

The second story takes place in the present, just after the events of Ef - A Tale of Memories.. Kuze Shuuichi meets the cousin of Asou Renji, Hayama Mizuki and spends a lot of time with her. Unknown to Mizuki, Kuze had contracted a fatal illness and has little time left to live. Kuze had decided to break all romantic ties, but things go bad when Mizuki tells him that she loves him.

Alternative Titles
English: ef - a tale of melodies
Synonyms: ef - a tale of memories second season
Japanese: エフ ア テイル オブ メロディーズ

Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 12
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Oct 6, 2008 to Dec 22, 2008
Producers: Shaft
Genres: Mystery, Drama, Romance, Seinen
Duration: 24 min. per episode
Rating: R - 17+ (violence & profanity)

Ef - A tale of melodies review

Story 10/10
For a drama/romance I was surprised how well they linked the first and second season. Really it left me quite speechless but I think this was because the actual novel was written well and meant for it to be connected in this way. However the case the plot flows quite well and coherently. I think the only downside of both seasons was that every story always ended happy. They would always led up to very unfortunate and painful events but somehow make it happy again. I guess in a sense it was also the magic of the story, but if I had to compare this to real life I couldn't kid myself and think that any of this would actually happen.



Art 10/10
The art of this series is so rich and detailed, I would expect nothing less from the "ef" series, in fact just watching the opening scene with the paper airplane gliding along the sunset sky, is truly appealing for the eyes, as is the entire series. The character design (while nothing particularly new) is well distinct. I especially liked the eyes of the characters. The water effects that come from the ocean will seem to just glide across your screen so fluently. And the character animation and backgrounds are truly superb!


Characters 9/10
I really liked each and everyone of the characters, nobody ever came off as annoying, or would make you feel that they tossed one in just for the sake of doing so. I was especially captivated with the character "Kuze, " he is a musician with a quite interesting past, and the turmoil he goes through is quite sad--yet exciting at times. The character chemistry was a bit rushed for one of the couples, but seemed to be pulled off appropriately at the end. Since half of this title is all about back story, you get a pretty in depth look into the character’s lives and can really connect with just who they are, and will feel what they feel!



Sound 10/10
The first season featured some top notch Ost and theme songs and fortunately this season followed suit. The only thing I can say is the opening song was really similar to the original one and that didn't appeal to me as much. Other then that the music definitely kept me going. Throughout the series you hear this one specific violin tune that stands and it really sticks in your head. Its not very complicated but it definitely captured my heart and pulled me into the anime. The voices and sound effects were also just as good if not better then the first season. All the voices were kept the same and it was well done.


Value and Enjoyment 10/10
The complete anime together came as a package and watching the entire thing does give you a nice message. it really tries show the watchers that hope can be found no matter how bad a situation can get and push the watcher to continue to struggle for what they dream of no matter what. I think that it is an important thing and from watching the series it does leave some impact. I will probably consider rewatching this in the future to see if I have still find the story and characters so unbelievable. With all that being said I did enjoy this series. It was a really refreshing watch since I've been mainly watching love comedies and action animes lately. I really needed a serious one to change up my mood. I would recommend this to fans who like serious romance and dramas. So if you watch it hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
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Ef - A tale of memories review

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Ef - A tale of memories Plot:

The story revolves around the protagonist Hirono Hiro, a poor high school boy who draws shoujo manga for his living. One cold Christmas night after meeting a very strange woman in a church, who tells him that he's going to meet someone he has to meet, his bike gets stolen by another strange girl. He runs after her and finds her collapsed on the street. Her name is Miyamura Miyako and her bag got stolen by a man on a motorbike. Soon after, they start hanging out together, enjoying highschool life. Miyako falls for Hiro pretty quickly but naturally finds a rival in his childhood friend, Shindou Kei, who has been dictating Hiro's life since ever.


Alternative Titles
English: ef - a tale of memories
Japanese: エフ ア テイル オブ メモリーズ

Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 12
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Oct 6, 2007 to Dec 23, 2007
Producers: Shaft, Rondo Robe
Genres: Mystery, Drama, Romance, Seinen
Duration: 24 min. per episode
Rating: R - 17+ (violence & profanity)


Ef - A tale of memories review


Story 10/10
And just like that I became a hypocrite. Though SHAFT stands out really well in the technical aspects for this series, let us not forget that the main driving force for any anime is not in technicalities alone - it is the story it is telling. Technicalities are there to help tell the story, but the story itself should be superb to be deserving of a 10. However cliché some people might say, I think minori invested very well (took almost all of their profits from the past and put them into this game) into writing a breathtaking story and its individually excellent scenarios that mingle well with the others. [Though I have not played Wind yet, I'm sure they exceeded it here.] ef makes use of many metaphors and symbols to emphasize its main theme of finding goals and its secondary theme of art (manga artist, filming enthusiast, and novel writer). Though the story is VERY tedious with its long dialogues, do not avert your eyes or ears! Though you don't need most of these lines to understand the story, it is necessary to get them all in other to fully enjoy what the writers intended you to feel. Some of the more easily grasped metaphors include the sheep in a circle and finding colours, but the harder but more rewarding ones come from Chihiro's novel and possibly Kyosuke's movie. It may be like they are writing along with some flow, but behind that is an amazing web full of connections with each route's elements and deeper meaning behind something that seems obvious.

The course of the routes are more typical, though. Kei's and Miyako's routes are part of the same story, as they make a love triangle in the presence of a stereotypical setup. The more original and serious one comes from Chihiro's route which deals with anterograde amnesia, and is the "main" story of the series. Though it is sort of predictable what happens in the end, is it not how to get there that is the most entertaining part? ef certainly has the script to tell such a tale, evoking tears and pulling heartstrings as if they were bathroom taps and harp strings.

What would have been the fourth route, is substituted by giving those characters the supporting role. Throughout the story, a mysterious nun descends from time to time giving helpful advice when the main characters are in distress. Just a friendly note not to expect anything from this element that is the closest thing to being supernatural in this series.


Art 10/10
The art of Ef - A Tale Of Memories is a very big pluspoint! This anime has a very unique art that's well made. In some scenes something changes, I don't really know how to explain this because I'm dutch, just watch it for yourself. But I never seen something like this before, like I said, it's just unique. Maybe I'll see this as the anime with the best art from 2007, maybe also the best story.


Sound 10/10
It's hard to say something about this. The songs are awesome, the sound is how it needs to be, and that's everything I can say. But I'm sure that the sound isn't the most important thing for watching a anime.

Character 10/10
I am getting VERY tired out by now. I have been on a roll of not describing this category enough, so bare with me.

The characters in ef have some of the most developed personalities I have seen in a long time. Actually, the male leads are some of the most promising and likable in this genre filled with wimps and soft-spoken nice guys (although Renji comes close to this archetype). While I initially liked the Kyosuke and Hirono pair for being "side characters brought into the main spotlight", I really grew on Renji as it becomes apparent that he has the hardest time out of all the guys going through Chihiro's route. Like the usual protagonist played by the player, Renji has to grasp hold on his situation and find a solution to his never-ending problem of trying to hold on. While retrospectively he plays out like a visual novel protagonist, he still grows into his own person through his individualism of his actions to avert his ultimate tragedy. On the other side, Kyosuke stays mostly pretty cool throughout the series; Hirono sort of turns into your typical male archetype later on, which lessened the impacts of his route when it came. Funny how that turned out...

As for the girls, two are the usual archetypes and one is unique, but they all grow into their own individual category. Miyako suffers a bit from this, but I really commend her character for the mask she puts on everyday just to go on in the world (no, no yanderes here; no Nice Boats either, just to note). Kei has the most pitied role of all as being the childhood friend with a crush. They both have the best "to root for" stories in the series, but that does not stop them from making a good tale themselves. However, the spotlight stealer here is Chihiro, the most featured main heroine. Complete with a cute voice and character design, her route is the most captivating and cathartic of all three, dealing with an issue that seems so rare so seriously. Her together with Renji make up one of the most "equally good main path" routes in the love/romance genre.

Character designs courtesy of the guy who did ones for the Da Capo series and sola. While I don't find Da Capo's designs very good (especially considering all the negative hype around it), the ones in sola were really good and attractive. Here, the designs are still good considering the males. Chihiro wins extra points for her eyepatch.



Value 10/10
Not only is the tale good, but the presentation pushes new levels in anime as a form of art. Truly can there be more gems like ef ~a tale of memories~ out there? Highly rewatchable, especially for those who missed the dialogues the first time around (it is VERY tedious I know) and for the animation. Highly collectible, too. Which is why I give ef a 10 in value (I only give 10's to stuff I think are classics or should be classics) - a stunning experiment of telling a love/romance story that should become better known when future seasons come.
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Ouran High School Host Club review

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Ouran High School Host Club Plot:

Ouran High School is a school for the extremely wealthy or talented. Haruhi just happens to be more talented than wealthy. Since she had a hair mishap the week before school started and could not afford the school uniform, she was mistaken for a boy.

Wandering into the Third Music Room looking for a quiet place to study, she encounters the school's Host Club — a group of attractive young men who give their time and affections to females, for a fee. After she breaks an ¥8,000,000 vase belonging to the host club, the leader demands that she work off the money by becoming a host. And when they find out Haruhi is not actually a boy, humour ensues.

Alternative Titles
Synonyms: Ouran Koukou Host Club, Ohran Koko Host Club, Ouran Koukou Hosutobu
Japanese: 桜蘭高校ホスト部

Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 26
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Apr 5, 2006 to Sep 27, 2006
Producers: Bones, VAP, Nomad, FUNimation Entertainment
Genres: Comedy, Parody, School, Shoujo
Duration: 24 min. per episode
Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older


Ouran High School Host Club review

Story 10/10
"It's like Fruits Basket," said the friend who recommended Ouran to me a few months ago. "You'll like it." After watching the first three episodes, I promptly proceeded to tell said friend that I thought she was nuts. While I enjoyed the first three episodes of Ouran, arguably even more than I did those of Fruits Basket, I couldn't see even the slightest resemblance between them. Now, having finished Ouran, I think I need to apologise to her, and concede that maybe she was right after all. Though the two shows could not be further from one another in terms of subject matter, they do cover remarkably similar ground in many regards.

The desire for acceptance, the triumph of naivety and kindness over bitter cynicism, and the notion of a 'family' of friends are all ideas that are prevalent within both shows. Equally, both focus on a group of very separate people that are united by someone who looks at the world in a slightly different way: while Tooru and Tamaki are almost polar opposites, they share an enthusiasm for life, and an appreciation of the individuality in those around them. Finally, like Fruits Basket, Ouran has very little story to speak of until its latter sections, and relies instead upon its characters to draw viewers in.

Ouran, though, is rarely as dramatic or heavy as Fruits Basket. Nor does it want to be. The story is often pushed aside to make way for more comedic moments. Which is by no means a bad thing, as Ouran does comedy extremely well. While sometimes a little predictable, it is consistently funny, striking, for me, a good midway point between too predictable (a la Love Hina) and too weird (a la Excel Saga), and offering more laugh out loud moments than many anime intended as straight comedies. While the setup of the show could easily cause it to collapse into a harem-esque mess, the author, Hatori Bisuko, seems well aware of this, and the show is full of wry self-parody; Ouran very skilfully dances a fine line between being a satirical take on the shoujo genre, and being a shoujo anime itself.



Conclusion 10/10
I almost feel guilty for voting Ouran Koukou Host Club a '10', and for allocating it as high a score as I have in this review. Its jokes do not always hit the mark, its story is largely non-existent, and its lead characters, while unanimously interesting and endearing, get very little screen time as anything but instruments of comedy.

However, thinking back over the series, I find that it has left me with nothing but fond memories. It has been no more than two days since I finished watching it, and already I find myself missing it, and wishing there was more. Though I have done my best in this review to look at the series objectively, the truth of the matter is that there are very few things that I disliked about it, that I enjoyed every minute of it thoroughly, and that I will probably rewatch it within no more than a month. To write an objective review is, in this situation, probably more or less impossible, so I shall simply say that Ouran Koukou Host Club is quite simply the most enjoyable anime I have seen in a long, long time, and that it comes with my very highest recommendations.

When the comedy eventually departs to make way for more serious moments, they are handled surprisingly well. Several of the latter episodes are almost entirely devoid of comedy, yet I found them just as captivating as those in the earlier half of the series; a surprising achievement for an anime that sells its characters to the viewer as being nothing more than one-dimensional stereotypes. Perhaps the best example of this is the story of the twins, Hikaru and Kaoru, that is gradually revealed to the viewer throughout the series, that carries their relationship far beyond the bounds of 'pointless shounen ai fanservice' and that made them, for me, two of the most interesting characters in the series.

My complaint about the story, if I had to make one, would simply be that there is not enough of it. Many episodes are almost entirely devoid of character development, dedicating time instead to general silliness. Is this a bad thing? Maybe. While Ouran certainly works well as a comedy, I actually found myself even more entertained by its more serious moments, and longing for the series to lend more screen time to drama, and less to comedy. However, that is more a matter of my own tastes than it is a shortcoming of the series. Ouran never really claims to be anything but a comedy; it just happens to be a comedy that also handles drama alluringly well.


Characters 10/10
Ah. The characters... Well, I found all the main characters likable, and they all managed to leave very distinct impressions of who they were in my mind. Their actions, Tamaki especially, are very fun to watch, and some of them are very easy to picture in my mind, while I know that I haven't gotten them all covered... It is hard to tell if certain characters actually grow and change a bit, which is why I wish it was longer, however, I suppose that it's more realistic that way, since people don't change that fast.


Animation 9/10
Ouran doesn't feature anything aesthetic that will cause your jaw to hit the floor. It does, however, boast consistently good animation that is never painful on the eyes, along with some lovely character designs, a rather sweet opening animation that is well suited to the opening theme, and some very pretty artwork during the closing credits. Due to the nature of the show, everything is very bright, with an emphasis on various shades of pink. Equally, each member of the main cast is, understandably, very aesthetically pleasing, from Kyouya's icy, calculating glare to Haruhi's gender crossing charm.

It's also worth mentioning the incredibly over-the-top animation during moments of comedy, as well as the creative use of pop-up boxes explaining various elements of the show (such as Tamaki's recurring 'inner mind theatre'). While neither of these devices are anything particularly new, both are put to good use throughout the series, provoking more than a few laughs.


Sound 9/10
"Kiss kiss fall in love!" proclaims Ouran's opening song, 'Sakura Kiss', by Chieko Kawabe of Elfen Lied fame. It's a bouncy, Engrish-y J-Pop song with a nice melody, and it suits the show rather well. I liked it, but it's not really exceptional enough to sway the hearts of those opposed to pop songs about kissing and falling in love. The ending theme, Last Alliance's 'Shissou', is of much the same quality. It's not outstanding, but it's a pretty likeable J-Rock song, and I never felt particularly obliged to skip it.

Outside of the opening and closing themes, I'd describe Ouran's soundtrack as 'nice'. It's perfectly pleasant to listen to for the duration of the show, and it never feels out of place, but I don't think I'd consider buying, or even downloading it. I'd hesitate to call it background noise, as it certainly does more than just fill a gap, but, besides the various instrumental versions of the two theme songs, very few of the pieces remained with me beyond the bounds of each episode. It's 'good' music, but not much more.

The voice acting, however, is a notch higher; an important requirement, as even well scripted comedy can fall flat due to poor acting. Each character seems to have been cast with a great deal of care, and each does an excellent job of bringing their character to life. However, for me, the show was stolen by the twins' voice actors. The two actors were so good at mimicking one another that, before spotting their names listed separately in the closing credits, I had assumed that they were being voiced by the same person.

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The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya 2 review

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The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya 2 Plot:

A far from ordinary school story begins here!

This is a story of Suzumiya Haruhi, who upon enrolling at school announces: "I have no interest in ordinary humans. If there are any aliens, beings from the future, or espers, come see me. That is all!"

Naturally, any normal person would think "What the...?", but Haruhi is dead serious. Things get crazy when everyone realizes just how serious she is about it all and establishes the SOS Dan.

Suzumiya Haruhi is a good-looking high school girl with a clear head, naughty personality and a very egocentric way of thinking. She has the unimaginable power to change the world, but is completely unaware of this power, and so she is also unaware of the effect her power has on the outside world.

A delightfully strange, yet marvellously interesting story!

Alternative Titles
English: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (2009)
Japanese: 涼宮ハルヒの憂鬱

Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 14
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: May 21, 2009 to Sep 10, 2009
Producers: Kyoto Animation, Kadokawa Shoten, Bandai EntertainmentL
Genres: Comedy, Mystery, Parody, Romance, School, Sci-Fi, Slice of Life
Duration: 24 min. per episode
Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older


The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya 2 review


Story 6/10
Haruhi is a character-driven show. Interesting stuff happening to Haruhi and her inner circle is it's story. In fact, it is explicitly being told by one of the characters that, even though there are various organisations fighting their own passionate battles around Haruhi, all of it has no meaning to Haruhi herself.However, when the character development is as sad as it is, this line sounds less like a good story element and more like a cop-out.
The remaining two arcs had very little interesting stuff happening to the characters. Sure, the basic story elemets are there, but the space between them is filled with nothing but boredom.



Character Development 2/10
Pretty much every minute or two of episode 8 signifies some sort of development, for at least one of the main characters. That's how it should be for a Haruhi show.During the other 13 episodes i only seem to recall two such events - one with Kyon standing up to Haruhi in episode 19 (Endless Eight arc final), and one with Kyon / Koizumi in episode 24 (Sighs arc final). Everything else was just every character doing their usual routines, which we have already seen so many times in season one episodes - which were actually reaired as well.That kind of character development strikes me as seriously lame. Where is further development of Nagato's human emotions? Where is Mikuru dealing with being torn between secrecy and obvious affection for Kyon? Why the hell it took Kyon 8 episodes of absolutely nothing happening to grow a friggin' backbone? I guess we do get to see high-and-mighty Koizumi in a broken crying-for-help state, but why in the world did they decide for the actual breaking to happen off-screen? And what's the point of the side characters? Just to be there and look pretty for the camera? The ultimate ruling looks like this. There were no new characters introduced, and there were virtually no new developments for existing ones for the majority of the new content. That's a fail. The only upside is a good in-character implementation of original character designs.


Sound 7/10
The sound is average, which means highly disappointing. In 2006, we got Hare Hare Yukai, Bouken Desho Desho?, God Knows, and Lost My Music. All excellent pieces of J-pop. Even the background pieces are memorable. But in 2009, all we get are Tomare!, Super Driver, and a couple new background pieces that are extremely meh. Tomare! and Super Driver are still fairly good J-pop songs, but when you think of how Hare Hare Yukai, Bouken Desho Desho?, God Knows, and Lost My Music were done so well three years before, they don’t stand a candle.


Animation 6/10
The execution of visual side of things is on a very professional level. The pictures are flowing, the attention to detail is on a good level. From backgrounds to facial expressions - everything is polished to a good degree. The technical side of things is beyond reproach. The characters are drawn with great care. The moods of every single shot are all captured perfectly.
Seriously, the animators did a bloody good job.
The problem is, the task they were given was incredibly simple.They were animating a series of talking heads, which default to a maximum of two facial expressions. The amount of action was even less than in Haruhi season one, where it was next to none to begin with. In fact, looking back at it, i realise that they drew everything so well because they didn't really have a whole lot to draw.
It can be argued that it's the horrible story holding back the animators, but that's simply not true. Because there are shows out there with stories even more horrible, which are still pretty awesome to watch ( *cough* Lucky Star *cough* ). Why are they awesome to watch? Well, because the guy, who was telling the animators what to do, actually stopped for a bit and considered how the picture stands on it's own.
You see, the picture needs to entice, to inspire, to draw you in and to keep you entertained. An ideal animation does not need sound or plot to hold your attention and interest. Most of Haruhi s2's animation does not even begin to approach that.In short, the pictures were moving and pretty, but they also were boring as hell. So 100% marks for technical execution, 20% marks for artistic vision.


Enjoyment 2/10
I had my hopes up very high as i saw Kyon and Mikuru emerge from their 3 year stassis, as Kyon pondered the meaning of him stepping on some past butterflies.
At this point, i expected season two to be at least as good as season one was.Boy, was I in for a disappointment.
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The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya review

On Tuesday, May 24, 2011 0 comentarii


The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Plot:

A far from ordinary school story starts here!

This is a story of Suzumiya Haruhi, who upon enrolment at school announced: "I have no interest in ordinary humans. If there are any aliens, beings from the future, or super-humans, come see me. That is all!"

Naturally, any normal person would think "What the... ?" but Haruhi is dead serious. Things get crazy when everyone realises just how serious she is about it all and establishes the SOS Dan.

Suzumiya Haruhi is a good-looking high school girl who has a clear head, naughty personality, and very egocentric thought. She has an unimaginably tremendous power to change the world, but she is totally unaware of her own power and so she is also unaware of the affect of her power on the outside world.

A delightfully strange, yet marvellously interesting story!

Alternative Titles
English: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Japanese: 涼宮ハルヒの憂鬱

Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 14
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Apr 3, 2006 to Jul 3, 2006
Producers: Kyoto Animation, Lantis, Bandai EntertainmentL, Kadokawa Pictures USAL
Genres: Comedy, Mystery, Parody, School, Sci-Fi, Slice of Life
Duration: 23 min. per episode
Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older


The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya review


Story 10/10
We’ve seen the plotline for this series before, but not so much that it gets old or boring or unoriginal or etc. A general formula for the story would be: Person A lives in world => A gets bored with world => A drags B, C, D, and E in to her world and it gets better (for all of them) as they go.

Suzumiya Haruhi, East Junior High’s famous girl of ambiguous intentions, comes onto the stage of her namesake show as a mildly depressed and bored… person. Enter Kyon, the sarcastic protagonist to stand alongside Haruhi on her many dubious quests to find abnormal creatures. Following him will be a trio, to be saved for the “Characters” section of this thing of a review. Anyway, she (Haruhi) hopes and wants desperately for the existence of aliens, time travelers, espers, and dimensional sliders to put her world on the edge of its seat.

There are hints, or hardly even traces, of drama and romance in Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu. Kyon holds in his heart feelings for the female trio, but they’re all different and unique (his feelings are).

As for the episode order, there are those out there who didn’t like it (probably because it made them confused and feel bad), but I loved it. It somewhat emphasized on the queerness of the main characters Haruhi and Kyon.


Animation 9/10
Can't really say anything bad about the animations but they could still be better...
Drawings/artwrok are avarage and could have been done alot better... It aslo felt rather blurry, but maybe it was the fansubed version that was bad... Anyway... On to the sound...

Sound 10/10
Probably the most memorable thing in the whole series... Especially the preformace during the school festival. OP/ED is just a matter of taste as always, not everyone likes the same kind of music.


Characters 9/10
Strange how things turned out, but Haruhi got called on to be the main character to her own show, and she’s not an average every day main character. Haruhi is openly selfish, has convenient bouts of deafness (or just refuses to listen to others while she’s in monologue), and is also (considered by her peers) to be a superfreak. Many series before have used such a character, but, what, you ask, makes Haruhi different from all others? The people standing by to support her (though are main characters themselves) bring her eccentricities to light and life better than they could have been without them.

Kyon is, without a doubt, the voice of reason. He grew up glued to such thing as UFO specials on TV, and even secretly hopes that such extraterrestrial things exist. Sadly, however, as he puts it, the laws of physics were too well written.


Value / Enjoyment 8/10 and 9/10 respectively
When I first started watching Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu, it was already on episode 10. That episode, which definitely is NOT the best point to start at, was strange for a clueless newb such as myself. After waiting a week to watch episode 11's first scene, I thought "Ah, finally we get to what the series is about." Soon after, I watched the series in as strange an order as it was already released in (meaning I watched the broadcast releases in the order I downloaded them, which was also abnormal).

After getting the whole series (alongside a few episodes of Ouran High School Host Club), my family and I took a vacation to the Philippines, where I had 0 home access to the internet whatsoever. Luckily, I had a laptop, a portable hard drive, and all 14 episodes of SHnY to keep me company. I watched and rewatched the episodes every day that I could, simply because I couldn't find anything else to do. Between Ouran and SHnY, I chose SHnY day in and day out simply because it was what I enjoyed more.

Because of all the small things done in such large manners (fully animating the concert performances, making people in the background move, the abnormal episode order), this quickly and suddenly became a series worth the time to watch and rewatch, no matter how many times you've watched it. In my case, with each new viewing, something got clearer and pulled more questions up with it.

After watching this series, I fell in love with Hirano Aya's music. She's very talented, as were those working both behind and in front of the scenes in "Haruhi".

Nagato Yuki, the super silent bookworm rooted to the SOS Brigade’s headquarters, is (without a doubt) an homage to Ayanami Rei from Shin Seiki Evangelion (for proof, look to Google). She will change as the series goes on, as evidenced in the book version of SHnY, but enjoyment of such knowledge as Nagato’s development I leave to your own discovery.

Next up is Koizumi Itsuki. Haruhi has a talent for “kissing her own ass,” as Kyon phrased it, and Koizumi just happens to be the one in the SOS Brigade stuck to wipe it beforehand. He is, as described in one of the other reviews, the Yes Man, who goes along with anything and everything that his leader whims.

Last, and definitely not least, would be Kyon’s lust interest Asahina Mikuru. As the big “moe” factor and mascot girl in SHnY, this submissive redhead is doomed to face Haruhi’s wrath… or at least, to jump into any getup Haruhi presents her with.

The supporting characters are unique as well. These people aren’t like the supporting characters in other series… not very much alike, at least. What makes them different? Who they are. Gracing the stage for the first time in Haruhi's mockery of a film were the Taniguchi and Kunikida duo, a social joke and lineless nice guy respectively, and Tsuruya-san, one of Asahina's friends whose energy is matched only by Haruhi. If they aren’t being laughed at, they’re the ones laughing, and even as supporting characters have their own roles to play.
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School Rumble review

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School Rumble Plot:

Tsukamoto Tenma is always chasing after the rather unusual Karasuma Ooji, to no avail. Her over-the-top methods don't even seem to register, but she keeps trying. Harima Kenji, the class rebel, is desperately trying to confess his feelings to Tenma, also with no luck. It's a comedy love-triangle, with humour that comes in from left field!


Alternative Titles
Japanese: スクールランブル

Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 26
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Oct 5, 2004 to Mar 29, 2005
Producers: TV Tokyo, Starchild Records, FUNimation EntertainmentL, Studio Comet
Genres: Comedy, Romance, School, Shounen
Duration: 23 min. per episode
Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older


School Rumble review:

Story:
Okay... This will depend highly on your tastes. As for a continual progressive storyline, you won't find one. Well, there is one, but it's not all that important in the grand scheme of things. The storyline is more like a collction of random events glued to this thin string of a storyline that's running in the background. And of course there's a bunch of running gags throughout the series. They've also used a generous number of parodies, which was a definite plus to the series. But one thing that I'd like to note, is the ending. (I'll try not to spoil anything for you people.) Like most series, the ending is incomplete, and leaves you with questions unanswered and a need to know what happens afterwards to all the characters. But, unlike most other series, this one was done REALLY well and I just have to give it props for it's originality and ingenuity. Anyway though, amist the collection of humorous gags, they did also spend some time developing mini-plots within the series. They didn't last too long, but it aided in some character development.

Characters:
There are no ugly or annoying characters, they were all attractive and likable in their own way. Sometimes I get confused when it comes to shows with a lot of school girls, because I can't tell if it's for the purpose of it being shoujo or to attract a lot of male viewership. Either way all the girls were very cute and each had their own unique traits so you won't get confused, I liked all 5 of the main girls: Tenma, Yakumo, Akira, Eri and Miko [I also love Lala...she was so aggressive].

Animation:
Okay, so the animation style was all across the map in this series. You've got some 3D CG, some chibi stuff, overdramatized freeze-frames, etc. The style of animation that's used throughout most of the series, I'd consider to be about average. There are several scenes where the animators went all out, sharp color, good shading, smooth animation. And others where... well, mostly for humorous purposes, were shakey, washed out, and slide-show-ish. The animation style is all over the place, and I really mean, all over the place. But given this kind of series, it fit well.

Sound:
I found the OP and ED to be really catchy. They're really silly too which fits in with the series as whole. BGM is alright. Nothing too noticible there. Also, throughout the series, there are musical pieces that are sung. (And depending on the fansubbers, they're translated as well.) In the most part, these particular songs are really nice, and very good at conveying emotion during those scenes. It's commendable.


Value + Enjoyment:
Overall, I really enjoyed this series. I was in the mood for a light, fun series and I was very satisfied with this. (Also to note, I might have inflated scores because of that.) All the jokes and anecdotes throughout the series were very clean and well thought-out. (They didn't resort to ecchi when they had ample opportunites to do so, so I commend them for that.) If you're looking for clean comedy, I'd definitely recommend SR. School Rumble is definitely going to be on my list of anime to buy if it becomes licensed in the US.
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Spice and Wolf [review]

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Alternative Titles
English: Spice and Wolf
Synonyms: Ookami to Koushinryou
Japanese: 狼と香辛料

Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 13
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Jan 8, 2008 to May 30, 2008
Producers: Imagin, FUNimation EntertainmentL, Kadokawa Pictures USAL
Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, Romance
Duration: 24 min. per episode
Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older

Review
Story 9/10

Craft Lawrence, a 25 year old peddler travelling from town to town makes his living by trade during a period much like Europe in the Middle Ages. One night he finds in his wagon a 250-year-old pagan wolf-goddess named Holo. She appears to be a 15 year old girl, except for a wolf tail and ears. Her backstory is that she became the town's goddess of harvest (a Japanese element) who has kept it blessed with good harvests of wheat for many years. However, with the coming of the Catholic church (european element), she has lost followers, and she wants to go back to her homeland in the north called Yoitsu. She makes a deal with Lawrence to take her with him. As they travel, her wisdom helps increase his profits, but at the same time, her true nature brings adventure.


Character 10/10

The Characters for Spice and Wolf are GREAT. Even the side-characters are all likable in some way or another. Holo is the one that stands out mostly for this series. She is in no way weak in any way. She is Strong, Wise, Crafty, and Amusing all at the same time. She can be happy one second and then angry another, she is cunning at in both words and action, and she is very smart when it comes to things such as Craft Laurence's business and the ways people's minds work. She also shows great development in the beginning and throughout the story. She is overall a great character who's original, fun and interesting to watch, and nice to relate to.

But that doesn't mean she's the only reason why you should watch this. Craft Lawrence, the merchant in the story, is also a great character in many ways. Most male characters in these types of stories do not often have much spot-light or they do not develop well enough. Craft Lawrence is a exception ( I also like Tomoya Okazaki from Clannad). He is done just about as well as Holo. He is very smart when i comes to business,people, and what they are thinking and doing (almost as well as Holo,making him pretty smart). He is also very considerate to others, helping Holo with her woe's and concerns and vice-versa. Of course, his character also develops more as the story goes, in a way that keeps you interested, and after a while, lets you accept the character (and vice-versa with Holo). He is an original character and an interesting character as well, and as a person i would like to meet if i had the chance(Same with Holo).

That is the thing that really keeps this series going. The relationship between Craft Lawrence and Holo. It is interesting most of the time, and funny at others. It is indeed unique, and one that grows over time, so that they become more and more dependent on each other. Their relationship starts out simple and slow, but quickly turns into a close friendship...maybe even more. It is one that does not drag itself or push itself too much. It is a wonderful thing, with both pros and cons. One with many different circumstances to test thier bond between them, some that even change thier choices and disitions(sorry if i spelled that wrong)), and possibly almost break their bond( this is actually more prominent in the second season). Both have everything to lose and everything to gain.

The side characters also contribute to the story well. They do not drag the story down in any way, and sometimes even make the story more interesting or funny to watch. Most of them are actually important at times, unlike a lot of side-characters in stories.Some might even leave the same impact on you that Craft or Holo might leave. Overall, every character is worth watching.


Sound 10/10

Voiced with both flair and inventiveness by Ami Koshimizu (Claes in Gunslinger Girl, Anemone in Eureka Seven, Yumi in Kimikiss pure rouge), she shows a veteran's command of her voice, unusual in one so young (born in 1986). She has to sell flirtation, anger, frustration, lonliness, and above all command of her situation, and she does it magnificently. Matching her effort is Jun Fukuyama (Watanuki in xxxHOLIC, among many others) as Craft Lawrence, and he shows a campaigner's ability to create a "romantic" character that is both strong and sensitive (and without frenetic verbal excesses). I rather enjoyed this vocal pairing, there's huge chemistry, and it's worth repeating. Seiyuu get an 8 based on chemistry and performance alone.

Enjoyment 10/10

- So far, i have enjoyed Spice and Wolf very very much. Everything about it fascinates me, including the Renaissance-Europe setting, which for some reason is a time in history i've been fascinated with for a long time. I enjoy watching Craft and Holo's relationship grow, along with the many conflicts that come their way and they conquer.

Overall 10/10

Overall- This is a great anime(it is originally a bunch of light-novels, and now a manga, and its on-going), and i look forward to watching the second season very soon and eventually more. I highly recommend it to anyone who's interested in this genre or just wants to watch an anime thats original...or just to anyone who's interested.Just to let you know, the series does have a dub, and its GREAT. Unlike most dubs,each voice for each character fits perfectly and does not ruin the anime. Even if your someone who only watches subs, try it out. You will not be dissapointed.
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NHK ni Youkoso! [review]

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Alternative Titles
English: Welcome to the N.H.K.
Synonyms: NHK ni Youkoso!
Japanese: N・H・Kにようこそ!

Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 24
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Jul 10, 2006 to Dec 18, 2006
Producers: Gonzo, FUNimation EntertainmentL
Genres: Comedy, Romance, Slice of Life, Psychological
Duration: 24 min. per episode
Rating: R - 17+ (violence & profanity)

Review:

Story 10/10

The main plot is about Tatsuhiro Satou who is living for a few years already as a so-called NEET (Not engaged in Education, Employment or Training) and hikikomori (someone who barely leaves his house and locks himself in his own room, hiding from society or even from the own family) in his apartment in Tokyo. One day he comes to the conclusion that he must be the victim of the evil NHK (Nihon Hikikomori Kyokai),an association existing in Tatsuhiro's mind, with has the purpose of making normal people to hikikomoris in order to look down on them. One day he makes the acquaintance of a young lady named Misaki Nakahara. Tatsuhiro thinks that she's part of the NHK. The fact that she seems to help him selflessly, encourages his thoughts about that evil organization and her membership. With his apartment neighbour and former schoolfriend Kaoru Yamazaki, he's producing a dating computer game for the time being which ends up in a lot of verbally violent conflicts. Further on Misaki tries to cure Tatsuhiro of his hikikomori-behaviour by giving him numerous lessons in the evenings on a bench in a nearby park.
The story lacks complexity making it easy and relaxing to watch. Although the story is not breathtaking and may become a little bit boring at some points, I'd still say that all in all it's still pretty good. Being a slice-of-life anime, the progression is moderate and action sequences are practical non-existing. The whole plot brings us nearer to the Japanese society and its many hardships which is an interesting topic in fact.


Characters 9/10

Satou is clearly the most important character. Maybe I'm missing the point and he isn't even supposed to be a hikkikomori. Maybe that's just his excuse for being so lazy or how he rationalises his lack of social zeal. Whichever way you look at him, he's incredibly interesting. Other characters remain excellent varied creations riffing on the ideas of loneliness, troubled pasts and awkward life-situations. Interestingly the most grounded character, Yamazaki-kun, is the one with the biggest obstacle to overcome - the impossible to over-play pull of Japanese familial responsibilities.


Animation 7/10

To add to what I mentioned about the palate and setting, the animation is sometimes very poor. Whether that is deliberate stylisation, or I just had the raw TV version, I don't know.

However, the character designs are nice, and the backgrounds and locations are well rendered and believable.

Sound 7/10

Nothing particularly special here (other than the mighty Odoru Dame Ningen): familiar voices which do a decent job (Japanese), and fairly standard OP and ED. I did like the OP's pleasant balance between Belle and Sebastian and BoA, but it was nothing to skype home about.


Enjoyment 10/10

I enjoyed every second of the approximately 8 hours long story and it seemed to me like one long-lasting movie (in a positive way).
Apart from the touching drama, the comedy is hilariously funny.
This series has definitely exceeded all my expectations and i could watch it over and over again!
Gonzo has demonstrated that it is in fact capable of producing magnificient masterpieces despite its numerous average shows.
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Kanon (2006) [review]

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Alternative Titles
English: Kanon
Synonyms: Kanon Remake, Kanon 2006
Japanese: カノン (2006)

Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 24
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Oct 5, 2006 to Mar 15, 2007
Producers: Kyoto Animation, ADV FilmsL, FUNimation EntertainmentL
Genres: Drama, Romance, Slice of Life, Supernatural
Duration: 24 min. per episode
Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older

Review:

Story: 8/10
The story can start out a bit slow pace for some people (if you're used to faster pace shows), but know this, a rushed story is a rushed ending and nobody likes a rushed ending. The pacing does get better, just the first 2 episodes is mainly introduction for what's to come. The story doesn't detract from the main plot, as it faithfully follow closely on Yuuichi's daily life back in Northern Town, and how the girls he meets again slowly and indirectly help him recollect his past memories. Most of the events occuring requires an open mind and a broad comprehension level to understand what's going on. Kanon isn't trying to mimic real life events directly, but metaphorically, and thus it can be a challenging thought-process of understanding what exactly is going on or what does it all mean. Does this mean casual viewers might find the story a bit too deep to understand and might not be able to enjoy the story? Yes, it can. This can also mean those casual viewers aren't ready for this type of show. Tho, don't be discourage by the depth of the sub-stories, since on the surface, it's not hard to grasp. It's just when you start to look for a different interpretation behind the meanings is when things can get a little messy and complicated, but when untangled, it can be a very rewarding understanding experience (Your WIS/INT went up +1!).

Yes, this series require you to think a little.

While the story isn't very innovating or outstanding, but the experience through it all, the storytelling was enjoyable, even with a few occasional abrupt pacing. It still manage to fill in the blanks while leaving plenty of room for after thoughts.

This series isn't really about "Sad Girl in Snow" but rather, it's more about "Sad Boy in Snow" more accurately fit the meme.

Art: 8/10

There is not much to say about the art and animation when it is done by Kyoto Animations because most of it is a regurgitation of what other fans have already said: absolutely amazing, gorgeous, and stunning. The setting and season of winter are extremely well drawn so that it puts the viewers into that setting. Falling snow has never look so good in an anime until now. It does not just fall; it falls in a way that I could watch it forever. The art style, though it's very clear, colorful and crisp, is a bit generic. The designs are of the eyes, a staple in these types of stories, were a bit too large and I did not like.


Characters: 9/10
At first glance and their impressions, the casting characters will look superficial and presented with a stereotypical persona. Stereotyping character's personalities are common in many stories and shows. These type of characters never change the way they are, thus they're always known as 2-Dimensional characters; aka the main character is shown as a loser at the begining of the story and still remain a loser at the end. Where is the character developement or progression in that story? None. As the story develops in Kanon, you should be able to see and understand their personality traits shift for better or for worst, as it does get explained thru various of events, and they will slowly become more 3-Dimensional as the outcome affects their behavior; thus Kanon characters can achieve a well rounded personality, breaking the characteristic stereotypes we often see in popular anime series. As character progression is very evident in this series. Giving an example of the changes or progression in character's personality would be quite a big spoiler to the series, so you'll have to watch it and see it for yourself.

Enjoyment:

I enjoyed this anime all right; enjoyed it to the point I cried through episodes nonstop. It might have also been the fact that I marathoned three or four episode at once, so the water works just seemed to never stop. There were times where I laughed out loud, times where I cheered (the ending), and many times where I bawled my eyes out.

Overall, I enjoyed this series immensely. It has a touch of everything: drama, comedy, supernatural elements and so forth. I thought it was a very enjoyable series despite its flaws. 8/10
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Bakemonogatari [review]

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Alternative Titles
Synonyms: Ghostory, Monstory
Japanese: 化物語

Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 15
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Jul 3, 2009 to Jun 25, 2010
Producers: Aniplex, Shaft
Genres: Mystery, Romance, Supernatural
Duration: 24 min. per episode
Rating: R - 17+ (violence & profanity)

Review

Story: 6/10

The plot of the show sure adopts some innovative ideas. I must say I was quite impressed when I realized that what I had thought to be an opening in the first episode was actually a flashback. The problem with the overall story, however, is that it doesn't seem to lead anywhere. If you take awesome presentation away, all you are left with are some ghost stories at the level of Natsume Yuujinchou. I found it cool that some of them tie mysteries with word play, but I kind of doubt anyone without Japanese proficiency would care. Anyway one story ends, another starts and you are left wondering if something is really happening or not. Be it not for the awesome character wordy exchanges and linguistic inspired jokes, Bakemonogatari wouldn't have escaped boredom even with that awesome animation. Though I must say even the subbing group didn't seem to catch some of the jokes (I wonder how many I've missed, watched every episode twice though). Kanji expressions are also used from time to time to express the joke, or even to tie a plot point in one particular case, so I kind of believe people who know Japanese would certainly get more out of this show than the ones who don't. Maybe that's one of the reasons behind Bakemonogatari being labeled as the best show of 2009 in Japan (and I agree).

Anyway, unless the three following episodes will tie the plot up like in a real ending, the only really worthwhile plot point in this show which actually advances will be the romantic relationship between the two main characters. The greatness of their relationship is, of course, attributable to their original characteristics and clever dialogue. This might also be the vaguest romantic relationship I have ever seen as they cleverly center on a Tsundere, at least self-proclaimed, who never, even once, goes into extroverted mode. Freshness of the love story comes from the fact that it's so weird you are usually unsure if it even exists, as Senjougahara is unpredictable enough to make you unable to tell if she will confess next or stab someone in the face. However, it is certainly there, and the last episode finally proves that. You can at best guess what Senjougahara thinks, and I found that the most rewarding point of the plot.


Art: 10/10

Once again, SHAFT saves the day! SHAFT is well known for their artistic techniques to portray abstract scenes. Their other works, such as Ef - A Fairy Tale of the Two, are very much similiar. Bakemonogatari utilizes many, unique camera angles that are relevant or not relevant to what is being said. Such scenes could be the sky, cars, the character's hair, etc. Additionally, multiple screens and walls of text pop up to give the viewer a sense of abstract understanding.


Characters: 9/10

I must say that the mentally imbalanced cast of characters was the last thing I expected in the show from "ghost stories" genre. While Araragi comes off as perfectly normal most of the time, even able to pull out some common sense slapstick, his tendency to save anyone involved with the supernatural no matter what's the cost is certainly not very healthy. Though it took me a lot of insanity from other characters to account for that. The show, like no other ghost story I have watched, ties its paranormal side stories with the mental condition of the characters, usually with perversive themes even. There is an obsessive lesbian, older brother complex having loli, stressed out family abuse undertaking girl and so on. On the other hand, however interesting they are and however brilliant their dialogue is, side cast is still one step away from being fully fleshed out, mainly due to the series' short length. That hardly matters though, as the main heroine of Bakemonogatari is one of the best mentally imbalanced characters I have seen.

Even if you wouldn't account for some vague flashbacks relating to Senjougahara's past, you would still soon notice that she is, well, weird. Not eccentric weird, but like, dangerously weird. The fact that show at best hints at her condition and her real feelings doesn't stop her to come off as a living and charismatic character. There are certainly many characteristics which can make one fall for her, be it her extremely clever insults or eccentric behavior similar, but somehow different from usual tsundere archetype. However, I myself found her almost manic inability to speak her true feelings and those sparks of obsessive insanity the most attractive. She sure isn't your everyday tsundere, and her head is sure not normal, but damn, is she interesting. Anyway, I was really pleasantly amazed at how Bakemonogatari never let's the viewers unto their characters feelings easily, you have to interpret a lot to even guess what's going on in their weird heads. The only real complaint about Senjougahara would be that there isn't enough of her, she sure holds much more potential than she has used and hopefully the following three episodes will mark my words true.


Enjoyment/Overall: 9/10

Beside the story and character development-in-15-episodes, Bakemonogatari deserves a good two thumbs up. Also, for a anime having a tsundere female, I'd say it REALLY stands out from Shakugan no Shana or Zero no Tsukaima. Albeit the many interesting anime coming in 2009, Bakemonogatari is certainly something else. It's unique because it stands out from your traditional anime. It is as if Bakemonogatari is wearing a green shirt while the other anime series wear white.To put it bluntly, Bakemonogatari offers this sense of upmost perfect surrealism that is damn near addicting.
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Death Note [review]

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Alternative Titles
English: Death Note
Japanese: デスノート

Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 37
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Oct 4, 2006 to Jun 27, 2007
Producers: Madhouse Studios, VAP, Konami, Viz MediaL, Ashi Productions
Genres: Mystery, Supernatural, Police, Psychological, Thriller
Duration: 23 min. per episode
Rating: R - 17+ (violence & profanity)

Review


Story (10): The story of this anime is a masterpiece. The concept itself - the Shinigami's notebook which grants the person who has it the power to kill anyone by simply writing the person's name while picturing the face in his mind - is already brilliant to begin with as it presents the viewer questions like "What would I do if I had that power?" The way it is developed brings us yet more questions and defies our morals.
Light Yagami, the main character, is a brilliant high school student who's angry at all the injustice in the world. One day, he finds the notebook and he tries it out. At first, he's not sure about if what he did is correct but he ends up loving the power he got and trying to use it to build a new and better world. He's nicknamed as Kira by the citizens. Of course that would simply be boring if it wasn't for L, a detective that tries to discover Kira's identity. Both of them are simply genius and their counter clock run to find out each other's identity is full of intelligent moves and suspense which kept me trying to guess what each one of them would do next.
Really, the simple ingredient that's so great about this story is that it manages to keep you thinking. But at several levels. Let me explain that to you.
First, it makes you think about if what Light's doing is right or wrong. "Is it right to be the judge and executer simultaneously?" "Don't the circumstances of each crime matter as well and is it right to judge without knowing all the facts?" "Can't the criminals be reformed?" "Is a world where people don't commit crimes because they're simply afraid really desirable? Isn't what Light aims to achieve theoretically similar to a dictatorship?" Those are questions that ran through my mind. At one point, I was totally rooting for him. But as the story develops and his actions begin to change, you'll start to wonder...
Second, it makes you think about what's going to happen next. Trying to follow Light's and L's line of though is both challenging and entertaining. Their move will surprise you and you'll keep trying to guess what they're gonna do next. This show will keep you on the edge of your sit through its entirety.
Third, it changes the way you see the world and the people in it. With each kill and each action Light takes you can't help but wonder: "It may be wrong but what would I do if I were in his place?". People change, situations make us change. One different thing in your life and you could be going from a dedicated doctor to a serial killer (just an example).
Besides that, the lack of flaws plot wise and the amazingly conceived connection of the events are also a great bonus and grants this story a rating of 10/10.

Art (9): The art is clean, the character designs are both unique and somewhat similar to reality. The backgrounds are detailed enough and the animation is really good. Even though there are few action scenes throughout the show, the car chasing scenes for example are really well done. Also, I've never seen writing so well and fluidly animated as here. It seemed so cool. A little exaggerated, yes, but nevertheless amazing.
But were the art really shines is in the coloring schemes. The dark and dull tones totally fit the anime. And Light's monologues, with the red hair also add a nice touch.

Sound (9): First, let's talk about the openings and endings. Well, I dislike both openings and love both endings. Quite wired isn't it? Because you know, the 1st opening and the 1st ending are both by the band "Nightmare" (they're a really good band by the way) and the 2nd ones are both by "Maximum the Hormone". Still, it's just my personal preference though some people may be turned of by the heavy metal sound of the last opening and respective ending.
The ending song from episode 37 is really beautiful and fits the last scenes awesomely well.
But that's not all. The opera-like songs that pass in the episodes really add to the scenes and were, with they're somewhat religious tune, the best choice to set the mood.
I can't say much about the voice acting. I watched the english dubbed version and I thought it was really good but I'm no expert on that matter.

Characters (10): The characters are amazingly portrayed. Let me put it this way. When I see an anime, there's always a character that stands out the most for me, that has characteristics that make me root for him/her. When that doesn't happen, I usually don't enjoy an anime. In Death Note, no character stood out. But somehow, I still loved it. I think no one stood out because they were all equally great. There was no one with fantasy-like characteristics. They all seemed like real people with real problems. No unneeded and exaggerated tragedies but no totally sweet lives either.
The character development is also brilliant, specially that of Light Yagami, the main character. Starting of as a genius, calm and collected high school student with a strong sense of morals and justice, he undergoes a slow but drastic change of character. The more he uses the Death Note, the more he slowly drops his morals because he finds it is needed to continue his work. He ends up an arrogant person with no consideration by the people who surround him. He starts trying to create a new and better world for people to live him but ends up obsessed with power and with being the "God of the New World".
I love it when Light loses his memories about the Death Note. He turns back to his old self, refuses to use people as tools (what he had been doing all the time) and he even thinks Kira is wrong and wants to catch him. At that point, I also thought Kira's actions were going way too far but so did Light. And Light WAS Kira. So what if the notebook was real, what if I had pick it up? Wouldn't I do the same and end up like that?
Moving on to L. He may seem like a plain character, but he is not. He tried his best to capture Kira risking himself a bit more in each attempt. He seems cold but deep inside I think he really didn't want Light to be Kira because he had never met anyone so similar to him in his ways of thinking and he saw Light as a friend, even though he was almost sure that Light was, in fact, Kira.
The support characters are surprisingly also well developed. I'm talking about the task force. At first, we didn't know much about them and they're development is not much noticeable but then at some point you realize you already know how they feel about Kira, what their line of thought is. The truth is, we subtly get introduced to their problems and internal struggles. This anime has a great cast of supporting characters.
My least favorite character was Near. Even Mello was better developed than him. Near wanted to catch Light, sure. But it seemed like he was barely concerned about anything else that was happening as long as he could catch him. He was too cold and underwent none changes.
But that doesn't take away from the fact that character wise, this show is a masterpiece.

Enjoyment (10): This review is getting way too long... Anyway, I really enjoyed this anime. Each episode got me craving for more. It made me think, it made me feel bad for some characters, it made me hate some situations... It was truly a great viewing experience. I enjoyed it a lot. Even now, one month after watching, I still think about Death Note and its moral changing story whenever I see some hostage situation on the news. Sometimes I'm just like "Damn, I wish I had one notebook like that! I could prevent so many bad stuff from happening...". And then, on those nights, as I'm in my bed the same questions I had when I was watching the show come once again to my mind. "If the notebook was real, wouldn't it bring even more bad things that it could prevent? Would it be right to use it? What would guarantee that I would not get corrupted by its power?" I loved this show and I still do.

Overall (10): I recommend this to anyone. Whatever genre of anime you like, you should watch this. It is a really intelligent story and even though you may not love it as much as I did, the chances are, you will. Even for people who never enjoyed anime, I would still recommend it. In fact, I am now in the process of making Portuguese subtitles so I can get my mom to watch it. Death Note defies your morals and enables deep discussions with yourself and others. It truly is a masterpiece.
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