AnimeReviews

Every once in a while, I find an anime where I don’t really know what I think about it. Sukisho happens to be one of those shows. First off, it’s a BL (boys love) show (after it was a manga and multiple sim games for the pc and game console), so if that’s a turn off, don’t really worry about this review. The main plot’s kind of interesting. Sora goes back to school after mysteriously falling from a fourth floor window, meets his new roomy who calls himself Ran and Sora Yoru and comes on to him. The next day Sora finds our Ran’s actually Sunao, a childhood friend Sora doesn’t remember. Then you find out they both have multiple personalities that happen to be in love. Like I said, that’s kind of interesting.
The way the story plays out it feels slow, and with only 12 episodes, slow’s not always a good thing, there’s always catch up to play by the end, or you’re just left hanging. The voice acting’s alright, I’m not a fan of high pitched, sometimes whiney sounding voices, so most of Ran’s parts makes me want them to either just do it or go back to the background, Sunao’s more pleasing to the auditory senses (even though it is the same voice actor).
This show’s weird, not in a creepy sense, just weird. It goes all over the map sometimes, there’s an episode with a ghost (which’s easier to believe then having multiple personalities? What?) masked bandits, and just odd things. Also, there aren’t any female characters shown ANYWHERE which’s weird to me, yaoi themed or not.
All in all, this is just a mediocer show that seems to want to just make a buck after the popular games and manga. I don’t fault them for trying and it was a decent watch, but not something I would recomend to people pressed for watching time.
This only recieves 2 cookies from me, but, you be the judge if it strikes your fancy.

Before I even start the review for this anime… I just want to point out that the theme song is very catchy! I found myself listening to the intro even though my normal habit is to skip it after the first couple of times. It was actually a pretty cool, upbeat tun if you could get past the horrible English. It is important to note that this is a very old anime. The first time I saw it was many many years ago so the animation is very dated and seems to line up with some of the other anime’s of its time. Things seem poorly drawn and there is an implementation of equally horrible CG to “help modernize” the anime. It is a horrible attempt at looking good, to be honest.

I would also like it out there that I hate sports. I am not a sports person. I don’t know the next thing about basketball. I really don’t understand any of the rules or enjoy playing basketball in any way. I’m pretty sure the world would end before I could manage to get the ball in to the basket. That being said, I really enjoyed this anime. The character progression is really cool and the details are there. It is actually based on a very long manga series so you know that the details should stand up.

Dear Boys starts out telling the story of Kazuhiku. He is a transfer student and is actually very good at basket ball. This is a good thing because the school he has transferred too is really bad! Their basketball club is little more than an excuse for its members to not be part of a different club. The anime revolves around a story that is pretty common place in the sports genre of today. Step 1: New player comes to school. Step 2: School wants to win sports competition. Step 3: New player is key to success. Dear Boys follows the formula and was probably instrumental in propagating it.

Overall, I actually enjoyed this anime. I liked it the first time I saw it, and I liked it again. I will give it 4 cookies for a good story like, cool characters and a nice feel that sucks you in. I would give it 5, but it is really hard to stomach the art work.

Alright. I know. This isn’t an Anime… but… it IS a manga… and maybe one day it will be an anime? *hope hope*

Let me start by saying that this manga would make an amazing anime. It should be one. I would watch it if it became one… I would even watch it if it were a live action! The whole… feel of the manga is just that good.

The premise of the anime is pretty unique and almost difficult to explain; so, I’ll start with just describing the beginning situation and the main character and hopefully will keep from revealing to many spoilers. Ran Kurono is a complex character. Growing up, she idolized her older brother. He was “destined” to be the First Knight of the Ohtori family, and man was he cool. She loved him dearly. One day, a man attacked the Ohtori heir, Sei, and Ran’s brother gave his life to protect her. Ran was also injured in this exchange and only vaguely remembers what happened. With the tragic loss of her brother, Ran swears herself to the protection of his charge. She promises to become the First Knight to protect Sei. That is where the story starts.

In the beginning, I was thinking that this would be just another high school drama that would get pushed under the shelf. In this case, high school isn’t just for learning. High school is a constant testing ground for Sei and her First Knight. Other knights can challenge Ran and she HAS to accept. They fight with swords. Every day is another day where Ran is putting her life on the line to prove that she has what it takes to be the First Knight. That being said, that is pretty much all the manga has to offer. It doesn’t really have a real ending. It leaves you feeling unfulfilled. While the IDEA of the manga is pretty amazing, it could have done so much more. The characters leave you loving them more and more as things go by. Character growth is exponential and development is warm and fuzzy. The plot is just plain cool. The ending just falls short. It seems to end before it is supposed to… for that I can’t give it any more that 3 cookies. That makes me a sad panda.

Well, read it. Make your own opinions. Let me know what YOU think! ^_^

Inspiration Academy Private High School’s a place for geniuses of all types to come and pursue their dreams and grow their unique talents. The geniuses attending are from anything you could think of, mathematicians, inventors, exorcists, hackers, musicians, photographers, a psychic and even an author with the gift of writing hentai novels. This is where the main character comes in. Taketo is an already well known porn writer, who debuted in middle school. His gift caused and causes him to be harassed or shunned by the female population at school and he’s determined to show them he’s a good guy and, eventually leads his class in a competition to beat the other classes using his talents, for better or for worse.

R-15 isn’t what you’d really expect in a harem style anime, not every girl’s madly in love with him but there is a guy who seems to obsess enough for most. Taketo has his main interest, but doesn’t really understand the feelings or, really, himself and is completely oblivious in knowing when girls like him. The show has a lot of well placed comedy but a seriousness that’s an underlying theme to later episodes. Like the name says, R-15 is not for younger audiences, so if you’re under the age of, 18, in the U.S at least, this isn’t something you want your parents to walk in while watching. I don’t know if the DVDs will be censored, but all of the aired shows panty shots, topless/naked girls are all censored with either a glowing white line across the screen or pink tape, like in the opening. I don’t know if it was to add to the comedic portion of the show or if it was just ridiculous censorship.

There’s true character growth in the show, which is amazing to me since it’s only 12 episodes long. It even didn’t feel too rushed, which is another plus to me. also, to top it all off, the series has an ending. There’s only a little bit of wondering, what’s going to happen now? But not enough to demand a second season that you’ll probably never get.

So if you happen to be wanting a nose bleed (a recurring thing for the main character) from something with many sexual over tones that’s not straight up hentai, I recommend this to you. It’s 6 hours of surprising fun.
I rate this show a full 3 cookies. It was well worth it and I might even watch it again sometime soon.

Hazumu Osaragi is the main character of the story in this comical little love triangle of an anime. Let me paint a picture for you.

Let’s pretend that you are Hazumu Ozaragi. You are boy that never quite fits in with other boys. You aren’t that masculine but it is more because gender doesn’t really matter to you to much. You have a bunch of female friends and a few guy friends. One night you go out and an “out of this world” experience occurs: you are hit by a spaceship and you die instantly. That’s right. You read that correctly. This anime starts off with the death of the main character in a hilarious way and follows with even more hilarity.

The aliens that accidentally hit Hazumu are worried about interfering with this little, primitive world called Earth. In a vain attempt to prevent any further damage, they reconstruct Hazumu’s body out of the DNA sample that they got in the crash… well, part of the sample. It was “incomplete” and they don’t entirely understand everything about the human DNA… so they get it mostly correct except for one very important detail. They make him… a her.

The premise of this anime is hilarious. It carries on throughout the series with little plots and subplots. There are tiny moments of comedy spaced with the very crazy nature of the show. It also caters to the fans. There are many moments of fan-service and a little Yuri here and there. Overall, I would say this is one of the cutest yuris that I have seen. I’m not a huge fan of the genre, but I would watch this one again and again just because of the comedy if nothing else.

I would like to give this 4 cookies. I would stretch it to five, but really, it doesn’t have a very solid storyline. There are some minor plots and some interesting things here and there, but there is not an overarching story that really ties everything together. Then again, you might not agree. You should watch it yourself and have your own opinion. ^_^

Black Blood Brothers is one of those shows I can’t really decide if I wholy like it or not. It has a really good setting, dynamic and interesting characters, good value to the production along with nice animation, and it’s entertaining to watch throughout the show. It’s a series I do think people should watch because of the seriousness and comedy that fit in in all the right places.

First off, vamipire animes are about a dime a dozen, now adays. But, no matter how oever played it is, we keep coming back for more because there’s something just so fascinating about the genre. There’s something about the dark, sometimes overly emotional, blood suckers and their immortal existance that has us enthralled.

So the show finds itself dropped off into a world where there’s already an over abondance of said material. Kouhei Azano had gone with the Blade esk type setting but that lowered characterization by a couple levels but it’s still excells in action, and story telling, something darker and more sex packed can’t really do as their main characters are emoing over what could have been. It doesn’t beat Hellsing, but it’s still a good watch.

Now, with all that said, I am going to warn everyone out there in intraweb land, the ending of this series will leave you feeling like there has to be another season to make everything tie together. Like a lot of animes about vampires out there it’s a cliffhanger, I can’t believe you’ve let me down, ending.

It could have been a great series, intriguing storyline, setting and characters, but the ending has knocked it down a couple cookies, in my book.
In the rating of one to five cookies(and a glass of milk) I have to give this one 2.5
It’s right in the middle, but it’s still worth watching.

This anime, frequently translated to A Bridge to the Starry Skies , is cute and relaxing. This is one of those animes that I wouldn’t suggest for those that do not care for the sentimental. Personally, I think it is full of sweet and adorable with a healthy bit of ecchi fan-service, but that is just my opinion.

The anime starts out with a few bits of flashbacks and a small explanation why the main character and his little brother are now in the middle of rural japan rather than the city they were living in prior to the town it is set in. As it quickly explains to set the scene; Kazuma (the main character) and his little brother move to a small, rural town with hopes that the air there will keep his brother from being sickly. Apparently he gets sick very easily. From the episodes that I have seen, it is never explained why he gets sick, it is just assumed that the watcher understands this character aspect. For the sake of plot, I’ll give it to them (even if I do find it a bit two dimensional). As the episodes progress, you are introduced to a number of female characters. Seemingly all, save the ones that are in junior high, are very curvaceous. They have ample chests and it becomes the center of lots of fan-service as well as the butt of a few jokes (all of which seem pretty light hearted.)

As far as plots go, there really is not much of one. The anime seems to fumble along a bit. You get the feeling that there is supposed to be a plot going on from Kazuma’s memories involving one of the female characters (whom I won’t mention just to avoid substantial spoilers), but it barely sputters along. All the characters are very tied up in their backgrounds but the excessive flashback scenes seem to bring the anime to a crawl and leave you waiting for the next funny bit to hurry up and get here so that you are more entertained. I like sentimental as much as the next girl, but really, it gets a little convoluted.

Overall, I found myself forcing to watch this. It is sweet (which is fine) and it is funny (borderline hilarious actually) but overall, I really found the comedy to be the only thing that really stuck with me. I am being gracious in my assessment of 3 cookies. Of course, this might just be your cup of tea. Watch it and make your own decisions!

Most people had never heard of this anime until recently. Well, I was one of the few. I have loved this anime for many many years and it is amazing that it has blown up so much. It was recently transformed in to a Korean Live Drama, to follow the Japanese and Taiwanese versions. Commonly known was “Boys over Flower” or some translation of such, this anime will touch your heart if you can get past the dated animation and artistry.

The premise of this anime is one that many people would be familiar with. A young, poor girl (Makino) gets accepted in to a high school based on merit, alone. The school is attended by many rich families and very few individuals get in with just their test scores. Attending this school is likely to make the rest of the attendant’s life a cake walk. Unfortunately for Makino, succeeding can be very difficult if you draw the ire of the four “princes” that run the school, dubbed the F4 (Flowery 4… seriously. Who comes up with these names?).

Makino often considers herself as a “tough weed.” She knows that her tenacity is her strongest suit so she tries to persevere no matter what. One day, the F4 decided to pick on someone that Makino called a ‘friend’. Instead of just looking the other way like everyone else, she stood up against them and told them how horrible they were to do such things to someone so innocent. That is where the trouble begins. It is then that Makino becomes the target of bullying from the entire school. Her backbone gave her an unlikely “ally”(The “‘s are there, because he doesn’t really help her out like he should) in one of the members of the dreaded F4 (Hanazawa Rui). Makino falls in love with Rui and proceeds to be stuck in a one sided relationship with the aloof prince. In the meantime, Makino’s actions seem to draw the attentions of another member of the F4 (Domyoji Tsukasa). In time, things change and blossom. The love triangle is convoluted and so much interacts with all the characters forcing them to grow exponentially.

The story is filled with the type of strife and romance that is rarely as compelling in the animated form. The characters develop, grow, and change throughout the series. Emotions brim constantly as the story progresses. This series will make you laugh, cry, and plead with the screen.

It deserves nothing short of 5 cookies.

Welcome to a little pet shop in Chinatown where you can find everything from your average cats, dogs, birds and reptiles and, for the right person, you can find some of the rarest and most exotic things on the planet.

Pet shop of horrors is a short anime consisting of four OVAs. Nothing, as of right now, is in the works for a full length series, but the OVAs keep to the original theme of the manga pretty well.

Each episode is about one pet and the owner(s). While this seems like it could be boring but each pet’s rare, comes with a contract with care for instructions and presents itself as being some semblance of human. with the contract and care instructions in place, you would think all would go well. Unfortunately, with how some, well, most people are with caring for animals, things don’t stay cupcakes and kittens for long. While there is a horror aspect to the show there is a moral to each story. A deeply planted lesson to be learned with each.

There aren’t many repeating characters in the series, but with a show that’s so short it’s hard to really have development. So with there only being a couple main characters it’s easier to keep them from being flat.
Count D is the one who runs the pet shop and is willing to help you get the pet you want and makes sure you understand the contract and what you need to do to take care of your new animal. He’s a little creepy but that might just be the mood that’s set in the shop, the fact he seems to be able to know what’s going on with the animals he has out on contract, or maybe it’s from him being at the right place at the strangest times. The Count’s under the suspicion of a homicide detective, Leon. Leon’s convinced something’s not right with the pet shop. He thinks it has something to do with drugs, human trafficking or even murder.

If you have a couple hours to sit down and watch a good, small series I suggest looking into Pet Shop of Horrors. Better yet, if you have the chance, see if you can get hold of the manga it really is a good read.
I give the OVAs 4 cookies. And if you’re interested, the manga gets 4.5.

Hare’s your regular ten year old boy that lives on an island with his mother in a village. He comes home one day and they have a new member in their household… Guu. She’s your cute, friendly little girl. The next day she’s completely different and that’s when the fun really begins.

Hare nochi Guu’s one of those animes that’s completely insane and insanely funny at the same time. The animation’s not great. (Everyone but Guu has a bit of chibiness to them.) And the characters don’t have a lot of development. (In a show like this you don’t really expect it.) But all in all it’s all about the comedy.

Guu isn’t human and wants to learn about them. She does this by making Hare’s life a little bit of a hell. And she wants to eat everything, including people and, on occation, Hare. In her stomach, well her three stomachs, there’s another world that has many different and surreal creatures living in there.

All in all this is a 26 episode long must see if you’re into the insane comedy anime. It’s good for those rainy days with nothing to do or when you just need a mindless pick me up.
I give this show 4 cookies. German chocolate cookies with butterscotch and wight chocolate morsels mixed in for the weirdly delicious.