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Anime of the Year 2005-II Spring - Hachimitsu to Clover
kivandopulus posted a blog entry in Anime of the Season
Lots of decent works, none is good enough for me. If I really needed to choose, I'd probably go for Hachimitsu to Clover as with all its flaws it can still be nice at times. 1. Koukyoushihen Eureka Seven Eureka Seven 交響詩篇エウレカセブン [Bones] (Finished 3/50) Tags: Mecha Adventure, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi In the backwater town of Bellforest lives a 14-year-old boy named Renton Thurston. He desires to leave his home behind and join the mercenary group known as Gekkostate, hoping to find some adventure to brighten up his mundane life. However, stuck between his grandfather's insistence to become a mechanic like him and the pressure of his deceased father's legacy, the only excitement Renton finds is in his pastime of riding the Trapar wave particles that are dispersed throughout the air, an activity akin to surfing. Everything changes when an unknown object crashes through Renton's garage, discovered to be a Light Finding Operation—a robot capable of riding the Trapar waves—specifically known as the Nirvash typeZERO. Its pilot is a young girl named Eureka, a member of the Gekkostate, who requests a tune-up for the Nirvash. Their meeting sparks the beginning of Renton's involvement with the Gekkostate as he takes off alongside Eureka as the co-pilot of the Nirvash. Eureka Seven is of high quality, so it's watchable and easy to watch. But it's just not interesting for me as it's a slow mecha without big aim. Compared to contemporaries, it has many benefits, but the newer anime titles, even of the same genre, put the whole enterprise of Eureka Seven to shame as they actually know what they are doing and where they are going for a change. It's too immature. And seriously... 50 episodes of this drag? Overall Rating: 6/10 2. Hachimitsu to Clover Honey and Clover ハチミツとクローバー [J.C.Staff] (Finished 6/24) Tags: Josei Adult Cast, Love Polygon, Visual Arts Comedy, Drama, Romance Yuuta Takemoto, a sophomore at an arts college, shares a cheap apartment with two seniors—the eccentric Shinobu Morita, who keeps failing to graduate due to his absenteeism, and the sensible Takumi Mayama, who acts as a proper senior to Takemoto, often looking out for him. Takemoto had not given much thought to his future until one fine spring day, when he meets the endearing Hagumi Hanamoto and falls in love at first sight. Incredibly gifted in the arts, Hagumi enrolls in Takemoto's university and soon befriends the popular pottery student Ayumi Yamada. Ayumi is already well acquainted with the three flatmates and secretly harbors deep feelings for one of them. Hachimitsu to Clover is a heartwarming tale of youth, love, soul-searching, and self-discovery, intricately woven through the complex relationships between five dear friends. I generally like such college dormitory anime like Silver Spoon, but this first representative could never involve me. All female characters here are too weird. And there's no even distinctive theme to revolve around despite the fact it's art college - compare that to Blue Period, for example. Without some glue it all falls apart to pieces, and rather irritating characters make it all obsolete under pressure of time. Overall Rating: 6/10 3. Tsubasa Chronicle Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE ツバサ・クロニクル [Bee Train] (Finished 4/26) Tags: Shounen Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Supernatural During an excavation at the mysterious ruins in Clow Country, Syaoran discovers his childhood friend Princess Sakura appear on the site with wings that disperse into many feathers. As the feather's disappear to different dimensions, so does Sakura's memory. In attempts to save Sakura's life and restore her memory, Syaoran travels through to another world to find a solution. There's only one thing left he can do. Travel through to different dimensions to collect Sakura's feathers. Helping out with the quest is Kurogane, an exiled ninja from Japan Country who wishes to return to his world, the runaway magician, Fay, who desires to jump between each world never to return to his own and the white meat-bun shaped creature, Mokona. Tried to watch it before, and it inevitably irritated me with simplicity and stupidity as well as bland protagonists and horrible mocking villains. It's not bad, but it's worse - it's plain, and has aged poorly. Overall Rating: 6/10 4. Basilisk: Kouga Ninpou Chou Basilisk バジリスク 甲賀忍法帖 [Gonzo] (Finished 4/24) Tags: Seinen Historical, Samurai Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Supernatural For centuries, the Iga and Kouga ninja clans have engaged in a bitter war. But when a ceasefire is ordered by the powerful warlord Ieyasu Tokugawa, the two clans are forced to put down their arms. Years later, Gennosuke Kouga, heir of the Kouga clan, and Oboro Iga, heir of the Iga clan, have fallen in love. Through marriage, both heirs aim to bring peace to the clans. But their hopes are dashed when flames of rivalry between their clans are reignited, and they are dragged into another war. Ieyasu's two grandsons have both claimed to be the next heir to the shogunate. To resolve this dispute, both the Kouga and Iga are ordered to send their 10 best warriors to fight in a bloody battle royale, with each clan representing one of the potential shogunate heirs. Two scrolls with the names of the fighters are given and are to be marked in blood upon the given fighter's death. The prize for winning is the favor of the Tokugawa shogunate for a thousand years. Torn between their love for each other and duty to their clans, Gennosuke and Oboro must ultimately decide the fate of their clans. It's pure fighting action between Iga and Koga, canonical and gory, but not to my liking. Overall Rating: 6/10 5. Trinity Blood トリニティ・ブラッド [Gonzo] (Finished 24/24) Tags: Vampire Action, Supernatural Following Armageddon, an apocalyptic war, mankind faces yet another menace: vampires. The continuous confrontations between the races have split the world into separate factions. The race of vampires, Methuselah, are affiliated with the New Human Empire; whereas the humans, deemed Terrans by the vampires, make up the Vatican Papal State. Furthermore, extremist groups like the Rosenkreuz Order strive to rekindle a war, despite the factions' attempts to avoid direct conflict. To combat terrorist organizations, the Vatican has implemented the AX unit. Led by Cardinal Caterina Sforza, the AX agents investigate vampire-related disturbances with hopes that the Terrans and the Methuselah will one day achieve peaceful coexistence. Amongst the AX unit is priest Abel Nightroad—a seemingly disoriented but gentle-hearted fellow who is a fierce vampire slayer on the battlefield. Joining the unit as his partner is agent Sister Esther Blanchett, a brave and gentle young nun troubled with a tragic past. As the two grow closer, they begin to uncover signs of malicious schemes and dark forces working in the shadows. But the path they walk is riddled with misfortune that might just force them to confront the memories that plague their hearts. It had all the chances for a solid vampire story, but execution is poor. And unlike Hellsing or Vampire Hunter D this one is more about world, politics, mystery rather than action. Basically, need some kind of vampire affinity to like it as story itself is lacking. Overall Rating: 6/10 6. Eyeshield 21 アイシールド21 [Gallop] (Finished 1/145) Tags: Shounen Team Sports Shy, reserved, and small-statured, Deimon High School student Sena Kobayakawa is the perfect target for bullies. However, as a result of running errands throughout his life, Sena has become agile and developed a skill for avoiding crowds of people. After the cunning Youichi Hiruma—captain of the Deimon Devil Bats football team—witnesses Sena's rapid legs in motion, he coerces the timid boy into joining his squad. As Hiruma wants to conceal Sena's identity from other clubs, Sena is forced to hide under the visored helmet of "Eyeshield 21," a mysterious running back wearing the number 21 jersey. The legendary Eyeshield 21 can supposedly run at the speed of light and has achieved remarkable feats in the United States during his time at the Notre Dame College. Accustomed to avoiding his problems in the past, Sena's specialty might just help him become the new secret weapon of the Deimon Devil Bats. As he interacts with his teammates, Sena gradually gains more self-confidence and forges valuable bonds along the way. Quality is higher than average, but that's as far as I'm willing to go for spokons. Overall Rating: 6/10 7. Ueki no Housoku The Law of Ueki うえきの法則 [Studio Deen] (Finished 2/51) Tags: Shounen Super Power Action, Adventure, Supernatural Unbeknownst to most humans, a bizarre tournament is held to decide the next ruler of the Heavenly World. In this tournament, 100 Heavenly Beings known as the "God Candidates" are required to search among the middle school students on Earth, and transfer their powers to a student of their choice. The chosen ones will then battle each other, representing their God Candidates. The victor of this tournament will be awarded the "Blank Talent"—allowing them to choose any one unique ability they so desire—while the God Candidate they represent will obtain the position of "God" and become the king of the Heavenly World. Participating in this grand tournament is Kousuke Ueki, a middle school student who is given the power to turn trash into trees by his homeroom teacher, Kobayashi. Despite the concerns of his classmate, Ai Mori, Ueki embarks on a journey to pursue his own sense of justice after witnessing the people around him misusing their powers for selfish purposes. But as he encounters talented power users such as Seiichirou Sano, Rinko Jerrard, Robert Haydn, and Hideyoshi Soya, he realizes that achieving his goal might be harder than it seems. One of the bland superpower battle royales imitating Shaman King. Very irritating. Overall Rating: 6/10 8. Ichigo 100% Strawberry 100% いちご100% [Madhouse] (Finished 2/12) Tags: Shounen Harem Comedy, Romance, Ecchi One day, Manaka Junpei walks to the roof of his school and encounters a beautiful girl falling down from above him and accidentally exposing her strawberry panties. The embarrassed girl runs away before Junpei can find out whom she is. He wishes to become a filmmaker, and this whole experience seemed like it would make the perfect scene in a movie. And so he goes on a search for the girl with the strawberry panties in order to reenact it all on film. But he will soon discover that finding that one girl will not be that easy... A memorable ecchi, but mostly because of the concept stupidity. Overall Rating: 6/10 9. Speed Grapher スピードグラファー [Gonzo] (Finished 24/24) Tags: Adult Cast, Super Power Action, Mystery Ten years after the Bubble War, the dichotomy between the rich and the poor in the world becomes more prominent and Japan is no exception. The rich seek to satisfy their desires and derive pleasure for themselves, and Tokyo has materialized into such a city as a result. Saiga, once a war photographer, works for Hibara Ginza in the capitalist state of Tokyo. He infiltrates the Roppongi Club, a secretive base located in the red light district of the city, to collect information about them. However, he was caught in the process and brought forward to a girl called Kagura who was in the midst of a ritual. His contact with Kagura awakens his special ability: the power to make things explode when photographed. In order to unravel the mystery behind the Roppongi Club and Kagura, Saiga begins his solitary battle. It's just a weird and senseless mess with actual adult themes that I could not believe it would not develop into something normal by the end. And it did not. Same pursues, trap cabaret and with just more fighting action towards the end. It's such an inarticulate story that I don't want to recommend it. But at least it tries to experiment, still better than all those generic schematic adventures we get more often than desired. Overall Rating: 6/10 10. Erementar Gerad Elemental Gelade エレメンタルジェレイド [Xebec] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Shounen Super Power Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Romance After a routine raid, the rookie sky pirate Coud finds a most unusual cargo in his mates' cargo hold: Ren, an "Edel Reid", a race prized by humans for granting special combat power to their partners through "Reacting". He quickly discovers, however, that Ren is even more prized than he expected. The pirate ship is visited by three members of the Edel Reid Complete Protection Agency "Arc Aire", who try to purchase her. When Coud refuses, the ship is suddenly attacked by a mysterious force, and Coud's captain charges him with Ren's protection. A most tasteless fantasy travel adventure to some Shangri-la again. Since plot is generic, only characters could save it, but characters are nothing but a bunch of irritating stamps as well. The flow and slapstic comedy obviously imitate Slayers. Overall Rating: 5/10 11. Kore ga Watashi no Goshujinsama He is My Master これが私の御主人様 [Gainax, Shaft] (Finished 2/12) Tags: Shounen Comedy, Slice of Life, Ecchi Izumi Sawatari and her younger sister, Mitsuki Sawatari, have run away from home and are in need of employment. The only jobs available are as maids in the mansion of 14-year-old millionaire, Yoshitaka Nakabayashi. What seems like simple work is soon revealed to be far more than the girls bargained for when they find Yoshitaka to be an authoritative employer who demands they call him "Master". Gainax actually made maid fetish work watchable, but there's mostly fanservice and affiliated humor. Overall Rating: 6/10 12. Sousei no Aquarion Aquarion 創聖のアクエリオン [Satelight] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Mecha, Super Power Action, Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi Once upon a time, a race known as the Shadow Angels attacked Earth to harvest the life force of all those who inhabited the planet. Thanks to some outrageous miracle, the Shadow Angels went dormant, and humanity was able to live another 12,000 years without fearing their presence. But 11 years after a catastrophe dubbed the Holy Genesis brought ruin to the Earth, the Shadow Angels were stirred from their slumber and resumed the attacks once more. To give humanity somewhat of a chance, an organization known as DEAVA was formed, and use of a robotic weapon named Aquarion has been authorized. In order for the Aquarion to be brought to full power, three pilots must combine their hearts, bodies, and souls into one—a feat few can hope to accomplish. Thus, the search for so-called 'Element Users' was prioritised, hoping to ensure humanity's future. Sousei no Aquarion follows the story of Apollo, a near-feral young man brought up in poverty, who is believed to be a legendary hero reincarnated. After his best friend is taken by the Shadow Angels, Apollo chooses to become an Aquarion pilot. Will he be able to turn the tides of the war, and free humanity from the threat of the Shadow Angels for once and for all? A decent mecha with mediocre characters. And it's more interesting to watch than any Gundam series because of tension, to be honest. Overall Rating: 6/10 13. Eikoku Koi Monogatari Emma Emma: A Victorian Romance 英國戀物語エマ [Pierrot] (Finished 1/12) Tags: Seinen Historical Drama, Romance Emma has been a maid for most of her life. Working for a retired governess—the strict but compassionate Kelly Stownar—Emma has grown to love her work and has long since accepted her place in society. Beautiful, hardworking, and exceptionally kind, Emma has captured the hearts of many of London's working men—but their feelings always remain unrequited. Emma is waiting for love, and she finds it in the most unlikely of places. William is the eldest son of the wealthy Jones household—a family that has only recently been accepted into the gentry, securing their position in high society. He is also the former ward of Mrs. Stownar, and on his first visit in years, he falls madly in love with her maid. His earnest attempts to win her affection, coupled with his good nature and warm personality, have captured Emma's heart. But the polite society of 19th century England does not take kindly to the rejection of tradition. As a result, Emma and William's relationship could not face more opposition. In a world where the class lines are as strongly defended as the borders of nations, does their love have the strength to survive? A normal victorial novel. Definitely not for me. Overall Rating: 6/10 14. MÄR メル [SynergySP] (Finished 5/102) Tags: Shounen Isekai Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy Dreaming of a magical world every night, the young Toramizu Ginta yearns to be able to go there. With only his friend Koyuki believing in his dreams, Ginta remains positive despite the slander he receives from others over his dreams. But his wishes are answered, as one day a large door appears in front of Ginta, summoning him to the land of MAR Heaven. In this land, the weapons known as ARMS exist. While initially Ginta greatly enjoyed the discovery of this magical world, he soon learns of the terrible wars that have once plagued MAR Heaven and the upcoming war that may soon appear. A generic shounen, I'd call it a mix of Dragon Ball and Shaman King, but it surely has many more sources of inspiration. Overall Rating: 5/10 15. Glass no Kamen (2005) Glass Mask ガラスの仮面 (2005) [Tokyo Movie Shinsha] (Finished 3/51) Tags: Shoujo Performing Arts, Showbiz Drama Two Girls. One Dream. And the entire world for a stage. At 13 years old, Maya Kitajima seems destined to spend the rest of her life toiling in a crowded restaurant alongside her bitter and unstable mother. But when her incredible acting talent is discovered by the legendary diva Chigusa Tsukikage, Maya finds a new future filled with both golden opportunities and terrifying risks. For Ayumi Himekawa, success has always been assured, yet she longs to be recognized for her own talents and skills, not her famous parents' connections. For both, the ultimate prize is the role of The Crimson Goddess in the play of the same name, a part created by Chigusa. To achieve this goal, both Maya and Ayumi must seek out and conquer every acting challenge, pushing the limits of their talent and endurance to the utmost, until they are worthy of the part… But for one to win, the other must fail! They took their time preparing this classic remake, and it's indeed decent. For me this shoujo still lacks complexity of Nodame Cantabile and some other psychological or twisted shoujo titles. Overall Rating: 6/10 16. Futakoi Alternative フタコイ オルタナティブ [ufotable, feel., Studio Flag] (Finished 2/13) Tags: Comedy, Drama, Romance The Futaba Detective Agency, being run by Rentarou, who has taken over the family business, after his father's death 3 weeks ago. Along w/ Sara & Souju, his live-in identical twin assistants. He ends up running afoul of the local Yakuza. Lots of ridiculous nonsense action akin to R.O.D. . It's not funny as parody, not engaging as story , not serious for anything deeper, so just some surface scratching comedy . Overall Rating: 6/10 17. Zettai Shounen 絶対少年 [Ajia-do] (Finished 11/26) Tags: Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Sci-Fi Oftentimes, people are most vulnerable when they are lonely and unable to get along with those around them. Isolation is felt more keenly amongst a crowd, so some will try to find solace in the strangest of places, where the unknown lurks. Such people include Ayumu Aizawa, a former city boy now living in the countryside of Tana, and Kisa Tanigawa, a young girl who has a hard time relating to others. What these two share in common is a feeling that their life has gone astray. Zettai Shounen tells a story of strange phenomena affecting two different settings, with no explanations of their origin or sudden appearance. All that is known is that these phenomena seem to center on individuals with mixed emotions toward themselves and others. As most mysteries, a total bore with the essence being a 99% filler. So pissed. Overall Rating: 5/10 18. Gokujou Seitokai Best Student Council 極上生徒会 [J.C.Staff] (Finished 4/26) Tags: School Comedy, Slice of Life Randou Rino is a young girl with a head full of air and a talking puppet on her hand. She is accepted into the illustrious Gokujou all-girl's school, and is summarily, almost curiously, accepted as part of the even more illustrious Gokujou Student Council, who has more power and business ventures than most large businesses. Now a part of the student council, she befriends the talented members of the Gokujou Student Council, leaving one to wonder how a girl with seemingly no talents or redeeming qualities would get chosen for such a group. It's sort of parody on girls love academy stories. It's funny enough, but there's no story, just setting. Overall Rating: 6/10 19. Koi Koi 7 Koi Koi Seven こいこい7 [Studio Flag] (Finished 2/13) Tags: Harem Comedy, Romance Tanaka Tetsuro is excited at getting a full scholarship at a new high school, far away from his family. What he does not know is that he will be the only boy in an all girl school, and that there is a girl head-over-heels in love with him, waiting for his arrival. But his special friendship with the very cute and dynamic Asuka also causes him to get into a lot of trouble with the powerful student council leadership, as they are at open war with Asuka and her five friends, a group of super amazon warriors called the Koi Koi Seven. Longs things short, there's hardly anything but constant fanservice. Overall Rating: 5/10 20. Zoids Genesis ゾイド ジェネシス [Shogakukan Music & Digital Entertainment] (Finished 1/50) Tags: Mecha, Military Action, Adventure, Comedy Natural disasters have devastated planet Zi, killing off almost all life. A thousand years later humans have gradually re-established civilization, salvaging ancient Zoids through diving and mining efforts. In a village whose most previous item is a giant sword which they worship as a holy symbol. A teenage boy discovers an ancient Liger-type Zoid while on a deep water salvage operation. Suddenly the village is attacked by skeletal Bio-Zoids intent on stealing a powerful generator located in the village. Our teenage hero awakens the Liger and discovers that the town`s sacred sword is the Liger`s weapon, together they fight off the mysterious Bio-Zoids. At least for now... I lost any remaining interest in the very first season. Overall Rating: 5/10 21. Onegai My Melody おねがいマイメロディ [Studio Comet] (Finished 3/52) Tags: Comedy, Fantasy My Melody arrives on Earth much to the surprise of her rival Kuromi. Together with one of the junior high school students, Yumeno Uta, they decide to protect the dreams of the people with the help of magic. Childish humor, simplicity and episodic nature, young girls problems. It can be enjoyed by the target audience, but this audience seems to be very narrow. Overall Rating: 6/10 22. Izumo: Takeki Tsurugi no Senki Izumo: Flash of a Brave Sword IZUMO -猛き剣の閃記- [Trinet Entertainment, Studio Kyuuma] (Finished 12/12) Tags: Martial Arts Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Romance, Supernatural Yagi Takeru has been living in the Touma family's house since his parents are gone. He was raised by Touma Rokunosuke, the head of the house. He is surrounded by many people such as Yamato Takeshi, his best friend-cum-rival from the kendo club, the Shiratori sisters, Kotono and Asuka, and his childhood friend, Oosu Seri. Life has been blissful until one day, an earthquake strikes the school and everything changes. Takeru awakens to find that the school looks as if it has been abandoned for centuries and reduced to ruins. He also realize that all the teachers and students have disappeared as well. He meets up with Seri and Asuka and they fled from the ruins, only to realize that the town they used to live in is completely empty. Subsequently, people wrapped in cloaks appear before him. They were told that they have been brought to another world. Sat through this horrible bore about flirt and some fighting of a school boy in a fantasy land. It had better stayed as a game without serialization. Overall Rating: 5/10 23. Fushigiboshi no☆Futagohime ふしぎ星の☆ふたご姫 [Hal Film Maker] (Finished 2/51) Tags: Mahou Shoujo Comedy, Fantasy In the hollow Mysterious Planet, seven kingdoms co-exist, all of them lit by the Sun's Blessing from the Kingdom of the Sun, in the middle of the planet. The light of the core sun is necessary for the continued existence of all the kingdoms. Yet, something is causing the Sun's Blessing to weaken. If something isn't done, it will be the end of life in the Mysterious Planet. Fortunately, the twin princesses of the Sun Kingdom, Fine and Rein, have been endowed with the magic of the Prominence, and are looking for a way to fix things. Feels like a fusion of Do-Re-Mi and Precure in fantasy kingdom setting. Humor is nice, but not finding it outstanding. Overall Rating: 6/10 24. Comic Party Revolution こみっくパーティー Revolution [Radix, Chaos Project] (Finished 13/13) Tags: Otaku Culture Comedy, Drama Sendo Kazuki, failed the entrance exam for the art college he was applying to, His childhood friend, Kuhonbutsu Taishi forced Kazuki to enter the doujin (private publishing) world. I hated OVA since it was fanservice spin-off about two female heroines, and this second season is actually same spin-off episodes with addition of some glue ones that have original protagonist. There are couple episodes that can be considered plot development, but overall impression is poor as it's one big filler for the most part. Overall Rating: 6/10 25. Yuki no Joou (TV) The Snow Queen 雪の女王 [TMS Entertainment] (Finished 2/36) Tags: Shoujo Adventure, Drama, Fantasy Based on the children's story by Hans Christian Andersen. Gerda and Kai have been neighbors and best friends since childhood. Gerda is eleven, Kai twelve. They were happy children who worked and played as they should. All that changed when the Snow Queen's mirror broke. The shards spread all through the world, each containing evil. If a shard went inside your eye, it would turn your heart to ice. A shard went into Kai's eye. After that, he grew cold to those he loved. One night, the Snow Queen came in her carriage and took Kai back to her ice castle at the farthest north point of the world. Everyone in Kai and Gerda's village didn't know where he went and believed he died from drowning in the frozen-over lake. Gerda doesn't believe this, for she dreamed of seeing Kai enter the carriage. When a drunk man admits that he also saw this, Gerda starts realizing that maybe what she saw wasn't a dream. She packs her things and goes on a journey to save Kai and bring him back home. I seriously dislike it when short fairy tales are turned into some huge series. Lots of useless SOL, antics and slow-paced fiddling details... too irritating to go on. Overall Rating: 5/10 26. Yuusha-Ou GaoGaiGar Final Grand Glorious Gathering King of Braves GaoGaiGar Final Grand Glorious Gathering 勇者王ガオガイガーFINAL Grand Glorious Gathering [Sunrise] (Finished 1/12) Tags: Mecha, Super Power Action, Sci-Fi Following Gutsy Galaxy Guard's victory over the Zonder Empire and the 31 Primevals, a new threat makes their appearance on Earth. GGG - with Guy Shishio and the newly-constructed GaoFighGar - team up with their French counterpart Chasseur to battle the evil organization BioNet. Among Chasseur's ranks is Renais Cardiff Shishioh - a former BioNet cyborg with the relentless pursuit of destroying those who took away her humanity. But as GGG and Chasseur fight the BioNet, GGG's bases around the world are suddenly attacked, and the recently-discovered "Q-Parts" and the original Gao Machines are stolen by Mamoru Amami, who has been abducted and cloned by an even greater threat known as the "Eleven Kings of Sol." Evicted from Earth by the United Nations, GGG must now travel to the far reaches of the galaxy to battle the Eleven Kings of Sol and save Mamoru before it's too late. Childish Tarzan-themed beast transformers are back for those who care. Overall Rating: 5/10 27. Kouchuu Ouja Mushiking: Mori no Tami no Densetsu Mushiking: The Guardians of the Forest 甲虫王者ムシキング ~森の民の伝説~ [TMS Entertainment] (Finished 1/52) Tags: Fantasy The story begins with a spaceship struggling to return to its home world, which crash lands onto a dying planet, triggering an explosion of pure energy, generated by the powerful and mysterious life forms that are piloting the craft. This outburst of energy infuses the dying planet with a life-generating force. Popo, the main character of the story, lives happily with his mother on this planet in a remote part of the forest that is populated with praying mantises, ladybugs, beetles and many other insects. Popos greatest desire is to grow up and become stronger, so that he can search for his father who left the family several years before and has not been heard from since. His father was known as the Guardian of the Forest, as he was passionately dedicated to his research on the planet and on the forest in which his family lives. One day, while walking through the forest, Popo witnesses an ominous event. A strange flowing mist appears, completely covering the forest. A mysterious and sinister character, Passer, also appears, condemning Popos father as an enemy of the forest people and the source of all their trouble. Popo races home only to find to his shock and amazement that his mother has been transformed into a half-plant, half human creature. Confused and dismayed over what he has seen, Popo decides that only his father will be able to restore his mother to her human self and rescue the forest from harm. He decides to leave his home in search for his father. However, the evil Adder and his henchmen plot to prevent Popo from achieving his goal with the help of giant beetles who attack the young boy at every turn. Fortunately, Popo has an ally, Mushiking: The King of Beetles! With his overwhelming strength and overpowering fighting style, Mushiking always comes through at the nick of time to save the young boy from defeat and to set him back on his quest. Is Popo able to find his father and to save his mother and the forest? Discovering his destiny as the next Guardian of the Forest, and protected and guided on his journey by Mushiking, Popo's epic quest to reunite with his father now begins! Setting is childish - just having adventures with bugs etc. Overall Rating: 6/10 28. Shinshaku Sengoku Eiyuu Densetsu: Sanada Juu Yuushi The Animation 新釈 戦国英雄伝説 眞田十勇士 The Animation [Group TAC, G&G Entertainment] (Finished 1/12) Tags: Historical, Military, Samurai Action, Comedy In the Fifth Year of the Keicho era, the Tokugawa clan sought to solidify their control of Japan. Hidetada Tokugawa has come to the doorsteps of Ueda Castle with the intentions of having the Sanada clan open its doors to him. But the Sanada and their retainers have other plans... Not translated, only movie special is. With great NHK taiga about Sanadas having subtitles this one hardly matters till it gets subs. Overall Rating: 6/10 29. Eien no Aselia The Eternal Aseria 永遠のアセリア [Studio Matrix] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy Yuto Takamine and his younger sister-in-law Kaori, were at their parents' grave, when they were suddenly summoned into another world, Phantasmagoria. The King and a woman named Restina took Kaori as a hostage, and ordered Yuto to fight against their enemies. Then, the King gave him a sword called Motomeh to protect their kingdom from enemy spirits. Kaori will only be freed if Yuto helps protect Phantasmagoria. Thus, Yuto's journey begins... Short and rather unimpressive advertisement for the game. Overall Rating: 5/10 30. Mezame no Hakobune Open Your Mind めざめの方舟 [-] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Fantasy The plot of Open Your Mind follows the extraterrestrial origin of life, coming from outerspace as six deities (Intermission act), evolving into water (Sho-ho) then emerging to the air (Hyakkin) and to the ground (Ku-nu). Each one of these creatures rules one of the six elements of the godai philosophy, i.e. Earth, Water, Fire, Wind (referred to as kaze in the Hyakkin chant), Sky and Consciousness (referred to as "Awakening" in the movie's title). Another weird experimental something, more like music with random imagery. Overall Rating: 5/10 31. Kirameki☆Project きらめき☆プロジェクト [Studio Fantasia] (Finished 5/5) Tags: Mecha Comedy, Sci-Fi, Ecchi In a world where giant rude robots are common and used to fight wars appears a giant Handcrafted robot that defeats the major armies of the world. Meanwhile in a kingdom where three sisters reign in peace and harmony there is a secret that they keep from the rest of the world until they must use a Doll-looking robot to protect their nation, even when her creator refuses to put her friend in danger. A ridiculous fanservice mecha with poor plot. Overall Rating: 5/10 32. Haruwo ハルヲ [CoMix Wave Films] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action In a violent post-apocalyptic Japan, a reckless juvenile delinquent named Haruwo takes on the Yakuza, but their new bouncer may be more than he can handle... Over a year in the making, this half-hour short was entirely the work of one person--even the music! "Haruwo" animator Shao Guee writes, "I didn't make this film for money, just for fun. I hope people all over the world will have a chance to see it. If you like it, please tell your friends about it. That's all I want. My thanks to everyone who helped me make this project a reality." Just a small simple revenge story, and the fact that it's done by one person does not justify it in any way. Overall Rating: 5/10 33. Crayon Shin-chan Movie 13: Densetsu wo Yobu Buriburi 3 Pun Dai Shingeki 映画 クレヨンしんちゃん 伝説を呼ぶ ブリブリ 3分ポッキリ大進撃 [Shin-Ei Animation] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen School Comedy, Slice of Life, Ecchi An action comedy including parodies of tokusatsu monster/hero genre, such as "Godzilla" and "Ultraman." A time-space conditioner from the future, Miraiman, suddenly appears before the Nohara family, and he requests the family to fight against giant monsters who appear from time-space distortion one after another, in order to save the world from destruction. Every time monsters appear, Shinnosuke's parents, father Hiroshi and mother Misae go to the world three minute later, transform themselves into righteous heroes and defeat them within the time limit of three minutes. Hiroshi and Misae become wrapped up in getting rid of monsters, and Misae stops doing the housework. Then, a strong monster appears, and he cannot be defeated within three minutes. Shinnosuke rises up against the monster. Superhero family themed movie with kaiji is more dramatic than funny. I don't like this change. Overall Rating: 6/10 34. Ark [Skouras] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha, Military Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Supernatural Ark takes place on a dying alien world in which a global war between two technologically advanced human civilizations has reduced the planet to a wasteland. The only way to escape the world is by activating the Ark, an ancient giant robot capable of supporting a human city as well as traveling through space. A surprisingly well done machinima with a nice small story. Overall Rating: 6/10 35. Ashita Genki ni Nare!: Hanbun no Satsumaimo Tomorrow Will Become Better!: Half a Sweet Potato あした元気にな~れ!~半分のさつまいも~ [AYCO, Studio Kelmadick] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Drama The story is about a 5-year-old girl who lived in just after World War II when people were struggle for living. Not translated. Basically, 5-year-old girl cheers up and helps people. There's not much substance or drama, just some more or less touching episodes from war aftermath life. Overall Rating: 6/10 36. Kumo no Gakkou 雲の学校 [-] (Finished 0/1) Tags: Drama, Slice of Life Near the end of the 19th century, a young boy loses his father and has to move from a comfortable city to a poor village in Saitama. There, living with his mother, elder sister, and a dog, he learns valuable lessons about what's truly important in life. Not found. Overall Rating: 0/10 37. Yin Shun Daoshi Fu Ven. Yin Shun [-] (Finished 0/1) Tags: Historical Drama The story begins in 742AD, when Japanese monks Yoei and Fusho, pay a visit to Jian Zhen, the abbot of Daming Temple in Yangzhou, China, and implore him to help implement Buddhist precepts in their homeland. When his disciples shy away from the task, the abbot volunteers himself. From 743AD, he tries to sail to Japan several times and only succeeds on his sixth attempt. By then he had already lost his eyesight, yet not once did he lose sight of his aspiration nor did he allow his determination to falter. Bringing along with him several Chinese artisans, Jian Zhen, himself a medical practitioner, went on to make major contributions to the development of Buddhism in Japan, as well as to its culture, architecture and traditional Chinese medicine. Not found. Overall Rating: 0/10 -
Slow beginning of the year, and among decent ones Karas is at least memorable 1. Air [Kyoto Animation] (Finished 12/12) Tags: Drama, Romance, Supernatural Yukito Kunisaki is on a journey in search of the Winged Maiden who was bound to the sky centuries ago, after hearing an old childhood tale from his mother. As Yukito shows his puppet show to people in an attempt to make some money, he finds himself in a small town in which he did not expect to stay very long. However, when he meets an unusual girl named Misuzu, things take a drastic turn as he is invited to stay with her. By staying in the quaint town, Yukito soon becomes friends with the locals. As he gets to know them better, he learns of their problems and decides to help, putting his search for the Winged Maiden on hold. With his search on hold, and his growing attachment to Misuzu and the small town, will Yukito ever find the Winged Maiden, or is she closer than he thought? Watched it twice, hated it immensely both times. One of the most overrated stories ever. Overall Rating: 5/10 2. Aa! Megami-sama! (TV) Ah! My Goddess ああっ女神さまっ [AIC] (Finished 3/24) Tags: Seinen Comedy, Romance, Supernatural In a world where humans can have their wish granted via the Goddess Help Hotline, a human, Keiichi Morisato, summons the Goddess Belldandy by accident and jokes that she should stay with him forever. Unfortunately for him, his "wish" is granted. Suddenly, Keiichi is now living with this gorgeous woman all alone, causing him to be kicked out of the all-male dormitory he was staying in. But soon, after they find lodging in a Buddhist temple, Keiichi and Belldandy's relationship begins to blossom. Although they are both awkward and rather uncomfortable with one another at first, what awaits these two strangers could turn out to be an unexpected romance. There's been over a decade since OVA, and finally its issues are addressed. But result is not great with a lot of mediocre and simple content introduced. Overall Rating: 6/10 3. Mahou Sensei Negima! Negima! 魔法先生 ネギま! [Xebec] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Shounen Harem, School, Super Power Comedy, Fantasy, Romance, Supernatural, Ecchi 10-year-old Negi Springfield is a wizard-in-training, and needs only to pass one more test in order to become a Master Wizard. Unfortunately, his final task is a bizarre one—to become a English teacher at an all-females boarding school. As soon as he arrives, he completely embarrasses one of his students, Asuna Kagurazaka, and replaces the teacher she loves, which garners her hatred. To make matters worse, Asuna learns that Negi is a wizard, and promises to tell unless he helps her out. But unfortunately, circumstances force them to work together to do many things, from fighting evil wizards to helping the class pass their final exam, with a lot of humor, magic, and romances thrown in. Sampled it several times, and it's too simple and nowadays feels morally old. Overall Rating: 6/10 4. Peach Girl Peach Girl: Super Pop Love Hurricane ピーチガール [Studio Comet] (Finished 2/25) Tags: Shoujo School Drama, Romance With her gorgeous, tan skin and long, bleached hair, former high school swim team member Momo Adachi seems like the kind of girl who could get any guy she wants. In reality, however, she is only in love with Kazuya "Toji" Toujigamori, a baseball player whom she fell for in junior high and who reportedly only likes pale-skinned girls. Despite her attempts to change her appearance, many of her jealous classmates have begun spreading rumors about her promiscuous and "easy to get with" personality. Momo's friend Sae Kashiwagi is always there to comfort her, but is secretly the source of the rumors about Momo as part of her own scheme to steal Toji. Further complicating things is Kairi Okayasu, a popular male student at Momo's high school who has publicly declared his love for her and is determined to date her. Hoping to find love in a nearly impossible predicament, Momo must navigate complicated love triangles, back-stabbing friends, and her insecurities about her appearance to discover who she really i There has been non-sexualized anime about gyaru culture already, so this one begins a streak of sexualized ones. It's so primitive that I could not even tolerate it for three episodes. Overall Rating: 5/10 5. Girls Bravo: Second Season GIRLSブラボー second season [AIC Spirits] (Finished 1/13) Tags: Shounen Harem, Isekai, School Comedy, Fantasy, Romance, Ecchi Small for his age, Yukinari has been bullied and abused by girls all his life. Now in high school, he has developed a rare condition: whenever girls touch him, or even come close, he breaks out in hives. Imagine his surprise, when he is suddenly transported to the city of Seiren on a mystic world invisibly orbiting the Earth, and populated with vast numbers of women and very few men. Fortunately, he has a new friend, Miharu-chan, whose touch inexplicably doesn't affect him. More of cringe fanservice in the second season. Overall Rating: 5/10 6. Mahoraba: Heartful days まほらば ~Heartful days~ [J.C.Staff] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Shounen Iyashikei, Visual Arts Comedy, Drama, Romance Shiratori Ryuushi is a young artist-in-training, about to start studying at a vocational school. Arriving at his new lodgings, Narutakisou, he finds himself the focus of attention for the collection of weirdos that inhabit the place. He also meets and falls for the landlady, Aoba Kozue, who seems to be both lovely and charming. However, Kozue is not what she seems to be... in fact, she's more. Boarding house setting is quite good for romcom, but Mahoraba is typical. It delivers what you expect of it, but does not offer much more or anything exceptional . Overall Rating: 6/10 7. Xenosaga The Animation ゼノサーガ THE ANIMATION [Toei Animation] (Finished 12/12) Tags: Mecha, Space Action, Sci-Fi The year is T.C. 4767. Four thousand years have passed since humanity abandoned its birthplace, the planet Earth. Beset by the hostile alien Gnosis, mankind is now scrambling to find ways to defeat this threat to their existence. The development of KOS-MOS (a specialized android with amazing capabilities) by Vector engineer Shion Uzuki was one response to the threat. But when their ship is destroyed by the Gnosis, Shion and her companions find themselves thrust into the middle of a battle with no clear sides... Rather bland space mecha, at least without experiencing the game. Overall Rating: 5/10 8. Futari wa Precure: Max Heart ふたりはプリキュア ー マックスハート [Toei Animation] (Finished 1/47) Tags: Mahou Shoujo Action, Comedy, Fantasy Shortly after the fall of the Wicked King, the Queen of the Garden of Light lost her memory and came to Earth, in the form of a 12-year-old girl named Hikari Kujou. Now, she—with the help of Nagisa and Honoka, endowed with new costumes and powers—must find the 12 Heartiels, which hold the key to restoring the Queen's lost memories. For together once again, they are Pretty Cure. First episode has a familiar flow, not sure it something changed. Overall Rating: 6/10 9. Starship Operators スターシップ・オペレーターズ [J.C.Staff] (Finished 13/13) Tags: Military, Space Drama, Sci-Fi For the 73rd class of cadets of the Defense University of the small planet Kibi, a shakedown cruise on the fleet's new starship "Amaterasu" is a fitting lead-up to graduation. As they are returning to their home planet, however, they are shocked to hear news of a declaration of war by the aggressive Kingdom against Kibi. When their planetary government surrenders without a struggle, the cadets decide to launch their own war, aboard the "Amaterasu". To gain funding, they make a deal with a galactic news network - and find themselves the "stars" of their own "reality show". Unfortunately, this is the kind of reality show that can get you killed... It tries to be Yamato in a trivial way with lots of SOL in addition to space battles. And execution can be described as mixed at best. I struggle to remember anything memorable after watching it, maybe apart of politics. Overall Rating: 6/10 10. Buzzer Beater [TMS Entertainment] (Finished 2/13) Tags: Sci-Fi, Sports Hideyoshi is a homeless boy living in New York in the near future, who survives by hustling other kids in basketball games. But now he's been drafted into a pro team-a pro team with a very unique goal. There once was a time when humans dominated the game of basketball. But times have changed, and now the physically superior alien players have taken over the game, and there are barely any human players left. But Hideyoshi's team-the first all-human team to compete in the Space League-intends to change all that, and bring the championship back home to Earth. Unusual, yet still silly spokon. Overall Rating: 5/10 11. Gallery Fake ギャラリーフェイク [TMS Entertainment, Tokyo Kids, Minami Machi Bugyousho] (Finished 3/37) Tags: Seinen Adult Cast, Visual Arts Mystery Fujita Reiji is the owner of an art gallery, Gallery Fake. He deals with fake items, and is also familiar with the black market. However, he has a special talent for art, and used to work for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York as a curator. I used to watch everything Seinen, and this is another horrible representative of it. Episodic and super boring, but maybe it feels like that for me because of mystery genre, very similar to detective mystery. Overall Rating: 5/10 12. Jinki:Extend ジンキ・エクステンド [feel.] (Finished 4/12) Tags: Mecha Sci-Fi Aoba is a young girl who loves to build models of robots. She lived alone with her grandmother until her grandmother passes away. Shortly after she is kidnapped and brought to a secret base where she discovers a huge robot. The piloted robots fight against Ancient-Jinki in The Grand Savanna, but the true meaning behind the fights is hidden. Aoba works hard at the base so one day she can pilot one of the robots and discover these secrets. It's primitiveness extended, feeling dumber after just a few episodes. Overall Rating: 5/10 13. UG☆Ultimate Girls Ultimate Girls UG☆アルティメットガール [Studio Matrix] (Finished 2/12) Tags: Comedy, Sci-Fi, Ecchi During a monster attack on the city, which is something that happens quite often, Silk and her two friends try get close to the attacking monster for a better view. An unfortunate choice of location to watch from leads to UFO-man, the city's giant protector, to land on the girls crushing them to death. Feeling sorry, UFO-man blames their death on the monster and promises to bring Silk and her friends back to life by lending them his power but the catch is that they now have to become the city's protector as well. Some cosplay kaiju superhero nonsense parody. Overall Rating: 5/10 14. Transformers Galaxy Force Transformers Cybertron トランスフォーマー ギャラクシーフォース [Gonzo] (Finished 1/52) Tags: Mecha Adventure, Sci-Fi Forced to abandon their home planet of Cybertron due to the threat of the Blackhole, Optimus Prime prepares to lead his autobot warriors to Earth. Just as they are leaving they are confronted by Vector Prime who warns Optimus Prime of the threat to the galaxy if the four Cyber Planet Keys are not gathered in time. However, Megatron has plans of his own for the universe. As they embark on the search, they land on new planets which are inhabited by different Transformer races as well as the Convoys who lead these planets. Won't hit the dead horse. Overall Rating: 5/10 15. Magical Canan Magical Kanan まじかるカナン [AIC ASTA] (Finished 2/13) Tags: Drama, Fantasy, Supernatural Five dangerous "seeds" have been stolen from their vault in the world of Evergreen and taken to Earth. Natsuki, an agent of the Queen, has been sent to retrieve them. However, he cannot do this alone and enlists the aid of Chihaya, a middle school student, who is "the only one" who can help him. With his aid she transforms into Magical Warrior Carmine in order to save the humans possessed by the seeds. Questions abound though, such as why Chihaya's mother appears to know all about this secret activity, why Chihaya remembers her father who reportedly died before her birth, and why she dreams of Evergreen, which she has never seen. Source is old bad visual novel imitating Sailor Moon poorly. Overall Rating: 5/10 16. Lime-iro Ryuukitan X らいむいろ流奇譚 X CROSS ~恋, 教ヘテクダサイ.~ [A.C.G.T.] (Finished 3/13) Tags: Harem, Historical, Mecha Drama, Supernatural, Ecchi It was Meiji 38 (1905), the Russo-Japanese War that had begun since the previous year was getting hard. In this severe circumstance, they reorganized the Raimu Squad. The members of the Raimu Squad were the girls. They were just like other ordinary girls who went to schools and yearned for love, except that they had "Raimu." Inukai Tsuyoshiro was a young man who was newly chosen to be the leader of the squad. He was ambitious to fight for Japan. When the young man met the five girls, the new chapter of "Raimu" began. Terrible source, terrible original, terrible sequel. Overall Rating: 5/10 17. Shin Chou Kyou Ryo: Condor Hero II Legend of the Condor Hero II 神鵰俠侶 II 襄陽風雲 [Nippon Animation] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Historical Adventure, Drama, Romance Continuation of Legend of the Condor Hero. It's in Chinese, it's sequel, it's nauseatingly culturally narrow and pretentiously epic making it feel even more like bad parody. Overall Rating: 5/10 18. Oretachi Ijiwaru Kei おれたちイジワルケイ [Karaku] (Finished 0/14) Tags: Comedy An anime about Kei's daily life. Not found. Overall Rating: 0/10 19. Karas 鴉 -KARAS- [Tatsunoko Production] (Finished 6/6) Tags: Gore, Super Power Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi The world of the humans and the world of the demons (youkai) have overlapped one another, leaving humans to walk the streets of life as they normally would, while demons walk, hidden from the naked eye, down the very same streets. A seemingly young woman named Yurine and her servant, the Karas (from the Japanese word for "Crow"), have long maintained order and balance between the overlapped worlds, ultimately keeping the demons from interrupting the lives of humans. However, humans have come to forget and jest at the existence of demons, and no longer understand the privilege it is to live without fear. Disgusted by this arrogance, an old Karas turns his back on the laws he had once upheld, and in his human form, named Eko, he creates an army of Mikura, or mechanized demons, to ready an attack on the human race. A young man named Otoha inherits the powers of the Karas and takes his place at the side of Yurine, who claims that his soul called out for her while he lived the life of a human. They live in the world of the demons. It is now up to Otoha to prove himself as a Karas, and restore the balance that Eko threatens to upset. Meanwhile, a superstitious police officer named Sagisaka and his rational new recruit, Kure, follow the trail of the murders dealt by Eko's Mikura, as well as the trail of a rogue Mikura named Nue. The prophecy unfolds from here into a grave revelation for all in the city. Beautiful fighting action with good and bad demons, but can't call it something outstanding. Overall Rating: 6/10 20. Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-chan Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-chan 撲殺天使ドクロちゃん [Hal Film Maker, Nomad] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Gag Humor, Gore Comedy, Ecchi Sakura Kusakabe, a mere junior high student, has committed a horrible crime. Or, rather, he will commit a crime—20 years into the future. The crime in question? He will prevent all women from developing past the age of 12, with immortality as an unintended side effect. As a result, the angel Dokuro Mitsukai is sent from the future as an assassin, armed with with a magical spiked bat named Excalibolg. However, rather than kill him, Dokuro wants to take a different approach. She resolves to be a constant nuisance to Sakura, in an attempt to prevent him from focusing on anything long enough to create his criminal technology. With Dokuro going against orders, the angel Sabato is sent out to complete Dokuro's mission. Between the impulsive Dokuro—who often murders Sakura with her bat before reviving him with the magic words "Pipiru piru piru pipiru pi"—and the electric baton-wielding Sabato, Sakura's life will never be peaceful again. Some nonsense for cute gore lovers? Not finding it funny. Overall Rating: 6/10 21. Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu イリヤの空、UFOの夏 [Toei Animation] (Finished 6/6) Tags: Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi Asaba Naoyuki is an ordinary high school student. As a member of his school's press club, he's just spent the summer camping outside the local military base, in hopes of seeing the UFOs that are secretly kept there, according to local legend. Returning to school, he meets a strange girl, Iriya Kana, and gradually comes to realize that she is more than merely strange - and that a dark secret lies beneath the world that he knows. A rather weird show in the sense that something goes on and on and then ends, and there's no real story in all that, just some pointless low pressure drama. Just a drag. Overall Rating: 5/10 22. Long Dao Qi Yuan DragonBlade: The Legend of Lang 龍刀奇緣 [-] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Fantasy A town is attacked by a deadly creature, it can only be stopped with the Dragon Blade. The one person who knows where the blade is won't tell Lang, and even if he did, untold peril will fall on anyone who dares to find this legendary weapon. Something like kung-fu panda, also a musical, for me a bore. Overall Rating: 5/10 23. Hurdle ハードル [Magic Bus] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Drama Yuuki has to move from Yokohama to a rural city and becomes the target of bullying. Not translated. Aged SOL, drama, crying - everything as I like. Overall Rating: 5/10
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Fall has become even more saturated than Spring lately. Beck is something unique that I'm willing to cherish. Genshiken is a cozy place to return to. Zipang is probably the best navy anime, at least to my awareness. 1. Bleach BLEACH - ブリーチ - [Pierrot] (Finished 4/366) Tags: Shounen Action, Adventure, Fantasy Ichigo Kurosaki is an ordinary high schooler—until his family is attacked by a Hollow, a corrupt spirit that seeks to devour human souls. It is then that he meets a Soul Reaper named Rukia Kuchiki, who gets injured while protecting Ichigo's family from the assailant. To save his family, Ichigo accepts Rukia's offer of taking her powers and becomes a Soul Reaper as a result. However, as Rukia is unable to regain her powers, Ichigo is given the daunting task of hunting down the Hollows that plague their town. However, he is not alone in his fight, as he is later joined by his friends—classmates Orihime Inoue, Yasutora Sado, and Uryuu Ishida—who each have their own unique abilities. As Ichigo and his comrades get used to their new duties and support each other on and off the battlefield, the young Soul Reaper soon learns that the Hollows are not the only real threat to the human world. Looks like someone watched Yu Yu Hakusho too much, and I actually favor that over Bleach. Overall Rating: 6/10 2. Beck Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad ベック [Madhouse] (Finished 26/26) Tags: Shounen Music Comedy, Drama, Slice of Life Fourteen-year-old Yukio "Koyuki" Tanaka is a dispirited young boy with no goals in life. However, this all changes when Koyuki saves a strange-looking dog named Beck from being harassed by a group of local kids. The dog's owner, 16-year-old Ryuusuke "Ray" Minami, is an emerging guitarist and the former member of a popular rock band. After Koyuki meets Ray again in a diner, the older boy leads him to his former band's meeting place and dazzles Koyuki with his amazing guitar skills. Slowly becoming interested in the glamour of western rock culture, Koyuki decides to start playing the guitar while helping Ray achieve his dream of leading the ultimate rock band. Together with Ray's younger sister Maho and a few other members, the two boys launch their career into the world of rock by forming a band called BECK. Beck follows the group's struggles and successes as they spread their fame across Japan. Back in time, I just thought it was great anime. Nowadays, it seems to be still not surpassed as anime about music. I don't enjoy it as a genius masterpiece, but it's truly unique and can't be repeated in our times. Overall Rating: 9/10 3. School Rumble スクールランブル [Studio Comet] (Finished 2/26) Tags: Shounen Gag Humor, Love Polygon, School Comedy, Romance Just the words "I love you," and everything changes—such is the nature of the bittersweet trials of high school romance. Tenma Tsukamoto, a second year, is on a quest to confess her feelings to the boy she likes. Kenji Harima, a delinquent with a sizable reputation, is in a similar situation, as he cannot properly convey his feelings to the one he loves. Between school, friends, rivalries, and hobbies, these two will find that high school romance is no walk in the park, especially as misunderstandings further complicate their plight. Azumanga random gag sketch curse continues, at least humor is somewhat better than usual. Overall Rating: 6/10 4. Gankutsuou Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo 巌窟王 [Gonzo] (Finished 3/24) Tags: Award Winning, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Supernatural, Suspense In the year 5053, French aristocrats Viscount Albert de Morcerf and Baron Franz d'Epinay attend the festival of Carnival on the moon city of Luna. While Franz is just looking to have fun, Albert is seeking something more to fill his life—but he finds more than he bargained for in The Count of Monte Cristo, a mysterious and charming self-made nobleman who meets his gaze during an opera performance. Through a few twists and turns, Albert befriends the Count and introduces him into French society. The Count, however, has more on his mind than just friendship; he plots to finally unleash his vengeance on those who wronged him years earlier. Gankutsuou follows Albert and the Count's intertwined destinies and the ultimate price paid for enacting revenge. A weird aristocratic fantasy based on old novel. I dislike the visuals, the style, the corrupted air - pretty much everything here. It may change for the better further on, but I don't want to observe it. Overall Rating: 6/10 5. Yu☆Gi☆Oh! Duel Monsters GX Yu-Gi-Oh! GX 遊☆戯☆王 デュエルモンスターズ GX [Gallop] (Finished 1/180) Tags: Shounen Strategy Game Action, Comedy, Fantasy In the world of Duel Monsters, a new generation of duelists await their turn to bid for the highest title: The King of Games. As an aspiring duelist, the happy-go-lucky Juudai Yuuki enrolls at the Duel Academy, a reputable institution tasked with nurturing these potential challengers. On his first day, however, Juudai's laid back and careless attitude causes him to arrive late to his entrance exam. There, he stumbles upon a familiar figure who entrusts him the "Winged Kuriboh," a card which becomes Judai's new partner. Soon, he begins living as a duelist—but will destiny and darkness bend his reality into something beyond his imagination? Yu☆Gi☆Oh!: Duel Monsters GX follows the story of Juudai as he strives to fulfill his goal of becoming the next King of Games. As they are thrust into countless unprecedented circumstances, one thing is for sure for Juudai and his friends—there will never be a dull moment at the Duel Academy! Since it's the third iteration already, I can hardly care. Overall Rating: 5/10 6. Rozen Maiden ローゼンメイデン [Nomad] (Finished 2/12) Tags: Seinen Action, Comedy, Drama Traumatized by school, Jun Sakurada spends his days at home as a shut-in, purchasing things online, only to send them back before the free trial period ends. So when a note appears on his desk, asking whether or not he would wind something, he assumes it was something he ordered and carelessly circles "yes," changing his life forever. A box arrives with a wind up doll inside, but this is no ordinary toy: after Jun winds her up, she begins walking and talking as if a normal person. With a haughty attitude, she introduces herself as Shinku, the fifth doll in the Rozen Maiden collection, a group of special dolls made by the legendary dollmaker Rozen. These sisters must battle each other in a competition called the Alice Game with the help of a human to ensure victory. The winner becomes Alice, a real girl who is worthy of meeting their creator. As more sentient dolls end up taking residence in Jun's house, and a foe from Shinku's past makes her appearance, Jun's life becomes far more complicated than he ever thought possible. Finally Chobits stories start to transform in different direction, and arrogant intelligent gothic doll is still better than simpleton ones. Guess style and mysteries can intrigue its share of audience, but it's nothing big or especially interesting. Overall Rating: 6/10 7. Genshiken げんしけん [Palm Studio] (Finished 3/12) Tags: Seinen Otaku Culture, Parody Comedy, Slice of Life Kanji Sasahara is an introverted college freshman just looking for a place to fit in. One day, he happens to stumble upon the club known as the Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture—otherwise known as Genshiken—that serves to bring the full spectrum of otaku culture together. His first visit to the club, however, does not end well as Sasahara's pride is crushed by his senior, Harunobu Madarame, and he leaves the meeting in full denial of his otaku nature. However, after befriending club member Makoto Kousaka, who turns out to be a hardcore otaku despite his looks, Sasahara becomes more involved with club activities which include obsessing over their favorite anime, reading doujinshi, and attending conventions. There, he meets other interesting people like Kousaka's vehemently non-otaku girlfriend Saki Kasukabe, who strives to turn her boyfriend into a "normal guy." While Saki struggles to understand otaku culture and her boyfriend's love for it, Sasahara finds himself enjoying his time at Genshiken, gradually shedding any denial he once had about being an otaku and immersing himself in an otaku lifestyle. For many years I keep considering Genshiken nothing special, just rather truthful depiction of a nice otaku circle. But whenever I start watching it, I just keep watching till the last episode of last season. It has that special coziness that makes it totally believable and trustworthy. Can't call it particularly sophisticated, but it's at least a firm masterpiece for me. Overall Rating: 8/10 8. Sunabouzu Desert Punk 砂ぼうず [Gonzo] (Finished 6/24) Tags: Seinen Action, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi, Ecchi The Great Kanto Desert, a sweltering wasteland of nothing but ruins and sand, is all that remains of post-apocalyptic Japan. The once fair population has been left to cling to the inhospitable dunes for survival. At least, that is the case for normal people. For those who have spent a little too long in the Kanto sun, the desert offers a wondrous opportunity to make a name for themselves. One such person is the masked handyman "Sunabouzu," or Desert Punk, who has forged a legendary reputation for always finishing his jobs, no matter the nature or cost. Cunning and ruthless, he has become a force of crude destruction to the other desert people. However, the "Vixen of the Desert," Junko Asagiri, discovers that Sunabouzu is not without his weaknesses—he is easily swayed by his insatiable lust for large-breasted desert babes. Following their chaotic adventures through the Kanto Desert, Sunabouzu features a bizarre cast of personalities who entertain themselves with senseless violence and perversion in a world long destroyed by their forefathers. And just like them, they have not learned a damn thing. Sampled it several times, but episodic random nature with seemingly no big plan on the horizon always killed the motivation for me. And I consider humor here very poor. Overall Rating: 6/10 9. Mai-HiME My-Hime 舞-HiME [Sunrise] (Finished 6/26) Tags: Mahou Shoujo, School Action, Fantasy, Girls Love Thirteen girls, each with the ability to materialize "Elements" and summon metallic guardians called "Childs" have been brought to Fuuka Academy to battle mysterious creatures called Orphans. Each with a different personality and background, they must decide who they truly care about and why they fight. Sunrise guarantees high production quality, but their original concepts often raise questions. This time it's a decent enough attempt to fuse multiple genres, but shortly after introduction it falls into stretched averageness. Overall Rating: 6/10 10. Kidou Senshi Gundam SEED Destiny Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny 機動戦士ガンダムSEED DESTINY [Sunrise] (Finished 3/50) Tags: Mecha, Military, Space Action, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi In the year Cosmic Era 0071, a wartime brawl between two mobile suits results in the destruction of a neutral country. Shinn Asuka finds his entire family killed as casualties of the violence, and swears his life toward a vengeful pursuit of the Earth's Natural forces, under the impression they were the ones responsible for his family's death. Shinn works his way up through the ZAFT military forces, eventually gaining access to the cockpit of the prototype Impulse mobile suit. Athrun Zala, a veteran of the recent war employed in the service of diplomat Cagalli Yula Athha, finds himself drawn into a new conflict between the Naturals and the Coordinators: human beings artificially enhanced before birth and hated by the Naturals for their biological advantages. As the new war rears its head and violence becomes inevitable, Athrun finds himself as a mentor to the bitter Shinn. Athrun must steer the young pilot towards a mindset of mercy before his rage and desire for vengeance consumes him. Are they try to start ANOTHER war?! They're gonna pay for that! These phrases sound multiple times during first episodes and it describes the state of staleness in series well. Compared to this void without a grain of inventiveness even Yamato looked fascinating as it had very distinctive varied four seasons. Overall Rating: 5/10 11. Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha 魔法少女リリカルなのは [Seven Arcs] (Finished 3/13) Tags: Mahou Shoujo, Super Power Action, Comedy, Drama Nanoha Takamachi, an ordinary third-grader who enjoys spending time with her family and friends, rescues an injured ferret that she had dreamed about the night before. The next day, the ferret cries out to her telepathically, asking Nanoha to save him. The ferret reveals himself to be Yuuno Scrya, a mage from another world who is trying to collect the dangerous 21 Jewel Seeds that he accidentally scattered across the world. He enlists Nanoha's help, gifting her the magical wand Raising Heart, and teaches her how to become a powerful mage. Days later, after reclaiming a few of the Jewel Seeds, another mage appears: Fate Testarossa. Stronger than Nanoha, Fate refuses to divulge her reasons in trying to collect the Jewel Seeds. Nanoha senses a melancholy in her eyes, but Fate refuses to communicate. Directed by Akiyuki Shinbo, Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha is a story about the clash of emotions when goals collide. An alright magical girl anime with distinguishing features being seriousness and even realism as it's a complex life, and everyone has their problems. Inside the genre it's a big step in the right direction. But can't say first three episodes hooked me in any way, not sure any will till Madoka. Overall Rating: 6/10 12. Major S1 メジャー (第1シリーズ) [Studio Hibari] (Finished 1/26) Tags: Shounen Team Sports Gorou Honda, a little boy obsessed with baseball, has always admired his father, Shigeharu. Wishing to follow in his father's footsteps, Gorou dreams of becoming a professional baseball player. In turn, his son's starry-eyed admiration encourages Shigeharu to keep persevering, despite his late wife's death and his unsatisfying position on the second-string team Blue Ocean. Unfortunately, an elbow injury forces Shigeharu off the team, and he falls into despair. However, after an offhand joke from his childhood friend, Shigeharu reevaluates his choices and decides to keep playing, leaving behind his prime position as pitcher and taking up the bat. Now motivated more than ever, Gorou works hard to carve his way in the Japanese Little League. Not a bad spokon, but protagonist is too young to present a sophisticated story. Overall Rating: 6/10 13. Gakuen Alice 学園アリス [Group TAC] (Finished 8/26) Tags: Shoujo Love Polygon, School, Super Power Comedy Mikan Sakura is a normal 10-year-old girl. Optimistic, energetic, and overall a very sweet child, Mikan is the complete opposite of the aloof, intelligent, and somewhat cold-hearted, Hotaru Imai. Despite their glaring differences, the two girls have been best friends for a very long time. So when Hotaru suddenly transfers to Alice Academy, a prestigious school in the city, her best friend is devastated—especially when she hears of the horrible rumors regarding the academy's harsh treatment of students. Beset with worry, Mikan runs away to see her best friend! Upon her arrival, Mikan learns of "Alices," individuals gifted with various supernatural abilities, and that the school is an institution built by the government to train and protect them. Discovering that she has her own unique powers, Mikan enrolls in the academy, and, after a lot of trouble, finally reunites with Hotaru. Gakuen Alice is a heartwarming comedy that follows Mikan and her friends' adventures in the academy, as well as their attempt to uncover the mysteries surrounding the problematic, fire-wielding student Natsume Hyuuga. Basically, marmalade boy plus mahou shoujo. This is a shoujo oriented work with not much to enjoy for the males . Overall Rating: 6/10 14. Yakitate!! Japan 焼きたて!! ジャぱん [Sunrise] (Finished 1/69) Tags: Shounen Comedy, Gourmet While countries such as France, England, and Germany all have their own internationally celebrated bread, Japan simply does not have one that can match in reputation. Thus after discovering the wonders of breadmaking at a young age, Kazuma Azuma embarks on a quest to create Japan's own unique national bread. And being blessed with unusually warm hands that allow dough to ferment faster, Azuma is able to bring his baking innovations to another level. As he begins working at the prestigious Japanese bakery chain, Pantasia, Azuma encounters other talented bakers and experiences firsthand the competitive world of baking. Along with his newfound friends and rivals, Azuma strives to create new and unparalleled bread that will start a baking revolution. Cooking anime is not my loaf of bread, so to say, as I reluctantly finished even Souma just because it was already approaching the end. But among the cooking anime this one feels relatively decent. Overall Rating: 6/10 15. Tsukuyomi: Moon Phase 月詠 −MOON PHASE− [Shaft] (Finished 8/25) Tags: Seinen Vampire Comedy, Fantasy, Romance Freelance photographer Kouhei Morioka is traveling to a castle in Germany to take photos of paranormal activity for his friend Hiromi Anzai, editor of an occult magazine. Upon entering the castle, he's confronted by a young girl in a white dress and cat ears who calls herself Hazuki. She takes a keen interest in Kouhei and offers him a kiss, but she instead reveals herself to be a vampire, sucks his blood, and turns him into her slave. Much to Hazuki's dismay, however, Kouhei is unaffected by her bite. Hoping to escape the castle and her possessive butler Vigo, Hazuki instead forces Kouhei to help her. With the help of his powerful exorcist cousin Seiji Midou, the two make it out safely. Finally free, Hazuki flees to Japan in search of her mother. Not long after Kouhei returns home, he discovers Hazuki has nested in his home, where he reluctantly allows her to stay. Meanwhile, other vampires set out to find the missing Hazuki. Equal parts gothic and adorable, Tsukuyomi: Moonphase is a charming and mystical story where two unlikely allies form a unique bond in an attempt to defy a society of immortals. Had to linger for quite some time to even figure out what this vague chaotic mess is. Lots of filler episodes with random stuff. Those with imouto and vampire affinity may enjoy the process, but looking for a plot here is a waste of time. Overall Rating: 6/10 16. Kannazuki no Miko 神無月の巫女 [TNK] (Finished 2/12) Tags: Shounen Mecha Drama, Girls Love, Romance, Supernatural Kannazuki no Miko begins in the village of Mahoroba, where time passes slowly for both man and nature. Two students from the village's prestigious Ototachibana Academy might as well be night and day. Himeko is shy and unassertive, while Chikane is bold and elegant. Despite this, they love each other, and nothing can come between them, no matter how hard they try. On the two girls' shared birthday, a sinister voice corrupts one of their friends into attacking them, and just when it seemed grimmest, the lunar and solar priestess powers that lay dormant in the two girls awaken, dispelling the evil. That was only the first hurdle, however. The two must now fend off the countless others who would threaten their well-being—even the people closest to them! I feel like a lot of anime from 2000s were created just by genre randomizer. Girs love and mecha about boy? Sure we can do it. There's nothing to enjoy here without significant yuri affinity. Overall Rating: 6/10 17. Grenadier: Hohoemi no Senshi Grenadier: The Beautiful Warrior グレネーダー 〜ほほえみの閃士〜 [Group TAC] (Finished 3/12) Tags: Shounen Action, Adventure, Comedy, Ecchi Rushuna is a blonde and very beautiful Senshi (gun expert) that travels through the world with one purpose. Which is to make the world a peaceful place by, instead of fighting with weapons, taking away the people's will to fight by giving them a smile. Although she doesn't want to fight, she is forced to, and shows amazing gun skills. In this journey she meets Yajirou, a mercenary that uses a sword to fight and joins her on her journey. Booby action that at least tries to be serious. Nothing really special about it. Overall Rating: 6/10 18. Tactics タクティクス [Studio Deen] (Finished 3/25) Tags: Shounen Historical, Mythology Comedy, Drama, Mystery, Supernatural Ichinomiya Kantarou grew up with the ability to see demons, but was isolated and bullied by others who did not share the same gift. Instead, he became being friends with the demons, gaining a great attachment to their existence. One day, Kantarou was told about the strongest demon, the one known as the ogre-eating Tengu. Amazed by the news of his strength, Kantarou vowed to find this demon who was far stronger than any other, deciding to call him Haruka when he did so. Since this time, Kantarou searched far and wide for the ogre-eating Tengu with no luck, making his living by becoming a folklore writer and demon-buster. On a particular job, Kantarou had finally found news of a nearby shrine supposedly the place where the ogre-eating Tengu was sealed. Detective mystery about bishounens in kimono hunting monsters. It's not up to me to judge detectives. Overall Rating: 6/10 19. Final Approach φなる・あぷろーち [Trinet Entertainment, Zexcs] (Finished 3/13) Tags: Comedy, Drama, Romance Ever since their parents died a few years ago, Ryo and his sister Akane have been living alone together. Despite their difficult situation, they are still living reasonably happy and normal lives. However, everything is about to be flipped upside-down due to a secret government project. Due to increasingly low birth rates in Japan, the Japanese government is testing a program in which two young people are forced to marry. Ryo wants no part of it, but he is given little choice in the matter; his new fiancée, Shizuka, comes to his home late one night with several dozen government issued bodyguards, who are there to ensure the success of the new couple. Unlike Ryo, Shizuka couldn’t be more willing to go along with this new program, and eagerly goes about her wifely duties, despite his objections. With meddling friends, pushy bodyguards, and an overenthusiastic new fiancée, Ryo’s life has taken a turn in a direction the young man certainly didn’t expect. More like final cringe. Random and degrading. Overall Rating: 5/10 20. Futakoi Twin Love 双恋 [Telecom Animation Film] (Finished 3/13) Tags: School Comedy, Romance With his mother dead and his father working abroad, Futami Nozomu returns to the town where he lived as a child, to attend high school and work part-time at a local shrine. He soon finds himself caught up in a local legend of twin girls loving the same man. And there are many twin girls in this town.... There was already series about seven twins, so let's beat them with the number of pairs! Or something like that because there's not much here apart from cute nonsense. Overall Rating: 6/10 21. Black Jack (TV) ブラックジャック [Tezuka Productions] (Finished 2/61) Tags: Shounen Medical Drama Black Jack is an "unregistered" doctor with a clouded, mysterious past. He works with his little assistant Pinoko (who has a massive crush on the doctor), dealing with medical cases not very well known, which can be strange, dangerous, or not known at all. But he is a genius, and can save almost any of his patients' life (as long as they have the money for it, that is), and is known to many around the world, especially to those of medicine and science. He's a man of science himself, and does not believe much until he has seen it, yet it is many times he is surprised by love and nature often overpowering the science he bases his life in. After all those OVAs and movie I really can't stand the TV series, too simplistic, schematic and morally old. Overall Rating: 5/10 22. Fantastic Children ファンタジックチルドレン [Nippon Animation] (Finished 26/26) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Sci-Fi, Suspense A group of enigmatic white-haired children has been spotted at different times and places in Europe for over 500 years. Always with the appearance of 11-year-olds, they behave far more mature than they should be, never grow old, and seem to have supernatural power. What they have been seeking is a girl, and the only clue they have is a picture with a crescent moon. Now, in the year of 2012, an athletic boy named Tohma is about to be involved in this centuries-long mystery. Initial impressions of visual style, characters and their emotions was horrible, but I thought maybe it got better in the second half, yet no. The summary is that albino children live through times, learn about their genesis and there's some drama among themselves by the end. It's so weak in every field that I just can't believe my eyes when I see the number of positive reviews it got. Overall Rating: 5/10 23. Uta∽Kata Utakata うた∽かた [Hal Film Maker] (Finished 4/12) Tags: Psychological Drama It's the last day of the school term in Kamakura Girl's School, and summer is about to begin. Serious but polite 14-year-old Ichika Tachibana is excited to make her summer vacation with her friends a special break to remember! But little does Ichika know that this summer will be more special than she could have ever imagined. While cleaning in an unused school building, Ichika notices an image of an unfamiliar girl in place of her own reflection in a large mirror. Convinced by her friends that she was just seeing things, she is surprised to see the girl in the mirror later that day, holding her lost cell phone. Introducing herself as Manatsu Kuroki, she comes out of the mirror and hands Ichika's phone back—and to Ichika's surprise, the stones on her cell phone charm have changed colors and now allow her to borrow the power of the 12 Djinn that watch over the world. Uta Kata is a tale of a young girl who will realize new things through her interactions with these spirits. As the Djinn show her overwhelming sights, they will soon also bring to her overwhelming thoughts... Just cute simplistic girls doing simplistic stuff with a bit of flavor, though nothing worth mentioning. Overall Rating: 5/10 24. Harukanaru Toki no Naka de: Hachiyou Shou Haruka: Beyond the Stream of Time – A Tale of the Eight Guardians 遙かなる時空の中で〜八葉抄〜 [Yumeta Company] (Finished 1/26) Tags: Shoujo Historical, Isekai, Mythology, Reverse Harem, Time Travel Fantasy, Supernatural Akane Motomiya and her friends Tenma and Shimon are pulled by a demon into another world, where Akane becomes the Priestess of the Dragon God. The people of this world tell her that she is the only one who can stop the demons from taking over; meanwhile, the demons want to use her power for their own ends. Luckily, Akane has the Hachiyou, eight men with powers of their own who are sworn to protect the Dragon Priestess. Someone watched Fushigi Yuugi too much, but this imitation is much worse. Overall Rating: 5/10 25. Zipang ジパング [Studio Deen] (Finished 26/26) Tags: Seinen Adult Cast, Historical, Military, Time Travel Action, Drama, Sci-Fi Mirai, an improved Kongou-class Aegis guided missile destroyer, is one of the newest and most advanced ships in the entire Japanese Self Defense Force (SDF). Her crew, also one of the newest, is lead by Capt. Umezu Saburo and Executive Officer Kadomatsu Yosuke. While running scheduled training exercises one day, Mirai encounters a fierce storm that throws their navigation systems into temporary disarray. After a few minutes of recovery, the crew is shocked to discover that they've been transported back in time to June 4, 1942—The Battle of Midway, during World War II. Letting history take its course for this battle, they manage to avoid the conflict firsthand and make a vow to remain anonymous, changing history as little as possible. However, when the crew comes across the dying Lt. Commander Kusaka Takumi, XO. Kadomatsu's instincts to save lives takes over, changing the course of history more than he could've imagined. I referenced Zipang so many times that it's evident it impressed me. A serious navy story with tilt into time travel. Not exactly my genre, but it only makes it more precious. Overall Rating: 7/10 26. Fuujin Monogatari Windy Tales 風人物語 [Production I.G] (Finished 3/13) Tags: Iyashikei, School Drama, Fantasy, Slice of Life, Supernatural Nao, an 8th grader, is one of the only two members of a Digital Camera Club, where she also serves as the manager. It's a mystery that she shoots nothing else but the skies and clouds. One day, she finds a cat on a rooftop where she usually shoots her camera. It's a cat that knows how to manipulate the flow of a wind. Shocked to find a strange animal, Nao loses her footing and falls off from the rooftop! Miki is the other member of the club, and also Nao's best friend. Mr. Taiki is the teacher who's taught the cat how to manipulate the flow of a wind. Ryoko is a girl who has a huge crush on Mr. Taiki. And there's Jun, who helps Nao and Miki look for a cat that can fly. Then, there's Yukio, who is the widow of Mr. Taiki's deceased brother. On the outskirts of this big city, a town off the "Wind Handlers," has been formed—and a mysterious Wind Festival is about to begin... It's a lot of SOL stories with wind as a theme. And aquarelle visuals not feeling good. Still a lot better than movie about a boy who controlled the wind. Overall Rating: 6/10 27. W: Wish Double Wish W 〜ウィッシュ〜 [Trinet Entertainment, Picture Magic] (Finished 3/13) Tags: Harem, School Drama, Romance, Slice of Life The main character, Junna has a twin sister Senna. He is an ordinal student of an elite school. However, in the past, a traffic accident deprived him of his parents and his memory. Junna survived the accident, and he has lived only with his sister though he has been looked after by his relatives. And present... The life with Senna in the same high school is so pleasant that he can forget the severe past. Because he has been in the world where there is only Senna, his lives in this town, such as the beginning of a new life, new environments, and the meetings, are so refreshing. However, he begins to recall the memories he lost in the accident. Though he enjoys happy and pleasant days, he is tossed by the past, the present, and the future. What is the truth hidden in his memory? The amount of cuteness astonishes, but nowadays it's just a long streak of stamps. Still, probably the first case of volunteer school club that was widely used later on, including Haruhi. Overall Rating: 6/10 28. Bouken Ou Beet Beet the Vandel Buster 冒険王ビィト [Toei Animation] (Finished 4/52) Tags: Shounen Adventure, Fantasy, Supernatural It is the dark century and the people are suffering under the rule of the devil, Vandel, who is able to manipulate monsters. The Vandel Busters are a group of people who hunt these devils, and among them, the Zenon Squad is known to be the strongest busters on the continent. A young boy, Beet, dreams of joining the Zenon Squad. However, one day, as a result of Beet's fault, the Zenon squad was defeated by the devil, Beltose. The five dying busters sacrificed their life power into their five weapons, Saiga. After giving their weapons to Beet, they passed away. Years have passed since then and the young Vandel Buster, Beet, begins his adventure to carry out the Zenon Squad's will to put an end to the dark century. I generally like such lvl 1 adventures, but brat protagonist is very irritating, and despite the lvl 1 references it's a normal fantasy and not MMO. Just a crude battle shounen where boy protagonists gets stronger. Other characters aren't impressive either. Overall Rating: 6/10 29. Ginyuu Mokushiroku Meine Liebe 吟遊黙示録 マイネリーベ [Bee Train] (Finished 3/13) Tags: Shoujo Fantasy The first season begins with introducing the characters, their past and their ambitions. Orpherus, Eduard, Camus, Lui, and Naoji are five noblemen who attend the prestigious Rozenstolz academy, and who are a part of the Strahl class—a class for potential candidates for the advisory positions in the royal palace in the small European country of Kuchen. Isaac is an English writer who visits Kuchen. While still students, the five noblemen are forced to deal with corrupted politicians, secret agents, attempted murder and ambitious individuals from both inside and outside of school who threatens to break the fragile peace in their country, and even assassinate the king. Again Shoujo genre without actual girl protagonist, which makes it boys love with bishounens in an instant, and I'm not distinguishing its sorts. Overall Rating: 5/10 30. Viewtiful Joe ビューティフル ジョー [Group TAC] (Finished 2/51) Tags: Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi Joe, a red-headed movie buff, and Silvia, his girlfriend, are having a bit of relationship trouble. Silvia feels that Joe is taking her for-granted and wants to do something together for once, so Joe decides to take her to see an old action movie featuring his favorite hero, Captain Blue. What started out as a cute movie date takes a turn for the worst when Silvia is pulled into the movie by the leader of the evil organization, Jado. Joe follows her into the mysterious "Movieland," and is granted a powerful device known as a V-Watch by Captain Blue himself. With it, he transforms into the action hero named "Viewtiful Joe" and goes off to rescue his girlfriend before she can be used by Jado to take over the world. It's a long road to go from average Joe to full-blown hero, but he'll give it his all to save both his girl and the world—and he'll do it in the most "view-ti-ful" way possible. No idea about the game, but it does not look like anime, just a western superhero cartoon, and only dub is available. Pretty bad overall, but at least there is some humor in it. Overall Rating: 6/10 31. Zoids Fuzors ゾイド・フューザーズ [Tokyo Kids] (Finished 1/26) Tags: Mecha Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi R.D. is a delivery boy who works for a company called Mach Storm in order to earn money to search for the legendary Alpha Zoid. A Zoid that he heard rumours about from his dad that he passionately believes in. Mach Storm also doubles as a Zoid Battling team. In R.D.'s first Coliseum Zoid Battle, he encounters a team that can fuse Zoids. R.D. soon discovers that he has a Zoid that can computably fuse with his Zoid, Liger Zero. After this happens R.D.'s adventure to discover the truth about the Alpha Zoid begins. Zoids should stop with this tasteless agony already. Overall Rating: 5/10 32. Rockman.EXE Stream ロックマンエクゼStream [Xebec] (Finished 1/51) Tags: Shounen Mecha, School, Strategy Game Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi A comet burns in the sky, its brilliant light shining down upon the people of Earth. At that time, a giant army of viruses invade the real world, crushing everything in their path. Netto and Enzan use cross fusion to intervene, but are whisked away to an unknown location, only to be confronted by the one responsible for the attack - Duo! Third season already, so who cares. Overall Rating: 5/10 33. Samurai Gun サムライガン [Studio Egg] (Finished 12/12) Tags: Seinen Historical Action It is the beginning of the industrial revolution, and feudal Japan is in turmoil. The ruling Shogun are wielding their abusive powers to instill fear and dominance over their oppressed subjects. Beatings, imprisonment, rape and even murder are the adopted tactics chosen to maintain their reign. The bloodshed must end. A group of Samurai have banded together, and, with the development of new weapons and new technology, they have both the will and the hardware to stand up and fight. Ichimatsu is one of these fighters. By day, he works incognito at a local tavern, in the evenings he frequents the brothels, and by the dark of night, he doles out some big-time, gun-barrel justice. He is here to help. He is Samurai Gun. Rather weird mix of samurai action, guns and geisha brothel with excessive violence, but story and characters aren't really articulate or interesting, and the ending is on par with that. Overall Rating: 6/10 34. To Heart: Remember My Memories トゥハート ~remember my memories~ [OLM, AIC ASTA] (Finished 1/13) Tags: Harem, School Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi, Slice of Life Time flies by; Hiroyuki and Akari are 12th-graders now. Both of them and their friends have grown up gradually in someway, physically or mentally, but one of their best friends is missing: the lifelike android Multi. To their surprise, Multi is brought to their campus again without notice, yet she is no longer the same Multi they have known. Obviously, only for fans, and I'm a long-standing hater of To Heart in any variant. Overall Rating: 5/10 35. Kakyuusei 2: Hitomi no Naka no Shoujo-tachi Kakyusei 2 下級生2 ~瞳の中の少女たち~ [Arms] (Finished 2/13) Tags: Harem, School Comedy, Drama, Romance Many people have fond memories of meeting a certain teenage boy in their younger years. However, their ages vary widely, and each remembers him as a teen. This story follows the intricate intertwining of their various stories and how this young man, who apparently lives outside of time, has affected each of them. Lighthearted school romance, but it lacks conception and extensive in nature, so outcome feels episodic . Overall Rating: 5/10 36. Onmyou Taisenki The Chronicle of the Big Battle between Yin and Yang 陰陽大戦記 [Sunrise] (Finished 4/52) Tags: Shounen Adventure, Fantasy, Supernatural All his life, Riku Tachibana has been raised by his grandfather. For some reason, the old man has always been fond of strange hand gestures, and they've rubbed off on Riku, who performs them almost subconsciously, to his classmates' great amusement. One day, however, it suddenly becomes clear to Riku what his grandfather has been surreptitiously teaching him. And the teachings could mean the difference between life and death for Riku. The first use of QTE in anime! Actually, Naruto seems to be the first even here. Looks a lot like Digimon, but more serious in comparison. Overall Rating: 6/10 37. Ring ni Kakero 1 リングにかけろ1 [Toei Animation] (Finished 1/12) Tags: Shounen Combat Sports Action, Sports In order to fulfill their dead father's wish, the siblings, Takane Kiku and Takane Ryuji aims for the champion title of the boxing arena. The sister, Kiku, will act as the trainer while her brother, Ryuji, will concentrate on the role of the boxer and learn the Boomerang. His battle with many rivals has led to the growth and maturity of Ryuji. The junior high boxing tournament has began and Ryuji will be fighting with his arch-rival, Kenzaki Jun. The battle begins. It loses a bit time to Hajime no Ippo, and I did not consider even that a masterpiece. Overall Rating: 6/10 38. Ryuusei Sentai Musumet 流星戦隊ムスメット [TNK] (Finished 1/13) Tags: Adventure, Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi, Ecchi One day, seven shooting stars fell on to the ground. The shooting stars were colored by seven colors, and they had terrible powers. Those who took the shooting star were tuned into monsters by embodying their desires. Dr. Mishina and Dr. Kishiwada obtained the red, green, and blue stars secretly, and they studied the stars. Finally, they could successfully control their power by putting a special helmet on. The newly developed helmet, "Musumet", was as large as an automobile helmet. Putting Musumet on the head, it turned a person's body into the strongest one on the earth. Furthermore, it received the signal from the brain and amplified the inherent power and ability unlimitedly. To utilize the power of "Musumet", to keep the world peace, and to protect from the disasters caused by the remaining shooting stars, Dr. Mishima and Dr. Kishida founded a secret organization "MET". However, he died before he accomplished his aim. The bereaved daughters, Aoi, Midori, and Kurenai, made up their minds to become Musmet in order to execute the father's will. Even if they turned into Musumet, their wearing wouldn't change except helmets, gloves, and boots. Therefore, they had to go to the scenes wearing their own clothes. The girls had to go to the incident spots occasionally wearing school uniforms, occasionally gymnasium suits, occasionally swimming suits, depending the case, they had to go there even if they were naked, and they would do great jobs. On the other hand, at other times, they were ordinal adolescent girls who were dreaming of lovely meetings with boyfriends. Whether would they cope with the world peace and boyfriends at the same time? Not translated in English, but available in Spanish, because it's a simplistic mass superhero mecha product suitable for export. Overall Rating: 5/10 39. Top wo Nerae 2! Diebuster Gunbuster 2 トップをねらえ2!DIEBUSTER [Gainax] (Finished 6/6) Tags: Mecha, Space Action, Award Winning, Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi Generations have passed since the war with the Space Monsters started, and none remain who know how it began, with even records of those times being scarce. It is a lost cause, but humanity still fights against them, relying on the "Topless": a group of elite space pilots with special powers that allow them to use the Buster Machines—the last hope against the Space Monsters. Nono, a girl from a remote Martian town, has heard tales all her life of the legendary pilot "Nono-Riri," and wants nothing more than to leave her humble life behind and follow in the footsteps of her idol. Though she has no idea of the dangers that lie ahead, nothing will stop her from achieving her dream. While Nono is down on her luck, she chances upon the lonesome Topless pilot Lal'C Melk Mark, and decides to stake her entire future on following Lal'C, no matter the cost. Anniversary titles are always high budget, but getting a sequel for a finished story after over a decade is an ambiguous decision. I got clear Abenobashi vibes out of it, but could not enjoy it as story itself is absurd though lack sincerity this time. Overall Rating: 6/10 40. Tenkuu Danzai Skelter+Heaven Skelter Heaven 天空断罪スケルターヘブン [Minami Machi Bugyousho] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha Sci-Fi When a mysterious entity suddenly appears in the center of Tokyo, the Alta Mira Agency is tasked to repel the extraterrestrial threat. Otsuya Funagai must guide his all-female unit of "Battle Sole" pilots to take down the strange being no matter the cost. However, his intimate relationship with one of the pilots, Rin Ichikawa, may spell trouble for the team and the mission itself. After Diebuster these ugly 3D CG look especially bad. Just 18 minutes of game advertisement, as usual for Idea Factory production. Overall Rating: 4/10 41. Tales of Phantasia The Animation Tales of Phantasia テイルズ オブ ファンタジア THE ANIMATION [Actas] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy Tragedy strikes the lives of Cless Alvein, a young swordsman, and Chester Barklight, a young archer, as they return to their village of Totus to find it razed to the ground by the mysterious Black Knight. To take over the world, the Black Knight seeks to claim the power of the Demon King, Dhaos—sealed away by the ancestors of Cless and a young cleric named Mint Adnade. Dhaos's reawakening signals not only the end of the Black Knight, but potentially the world. Cless and Mint must now journey a century into the past to rally allies capable of vanquishing the Demon King for once and for all. Tales of Phantasia The Animation follows Cless and Mint's journey through time to long ago, where they forge an alliance with the half-elf sorceress Arche Klaine and the summoner Klarth F. Lester. Together, they strive to defeat Dhaos and his army in saving the past as well as the years to come. I generally like RPG-like fantasy anime, but this one is too short and confusing, more like addition to the game than separate piece of art. Overall Rating: 6/10 42. Akane Maniax アカネマニアックス [Silver] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Mecha Comedy, Romance Jouji Gouda is a new transfer student at Hakuryo High. He fell in love at first sight and boldly proposed to Akane Suzumiya, representative of his class, on his first day at the new school. Although Akane finds him very annoying, hot-blooded and simple-minded Jouji never gives up and would do anything to express his love towards Akane. Parody for Age fans. I'm not included there, so it's just a lot of rarely funny mess. Overall Rating: 5/10 43. Kujibiki Unbalance くじびきアンバランス [Palm Studio] (Finished 3/3) Tags: School Comedy, Romance Chihiro Enomoto is a freshman that just got to a new school called Rikkyoin High School. He lost his parents in a traffic accident when he was 10. Since then, he has been living only with his elder sister Shinobu. He is good at cooking and cleaning, and does all the housekeeping jobs. He fell in love with Tokino at first sight when he met her in the school library on the first day of school. Another girl named Ritsuko, a childhood friend of Chihiro and the chair of student council, falls in the love with the boy instantly after this long-awaited reunion. But she is not the only one who is in love with him. This is the story about a one-year campaign among the candidates for the next students government leaders, who are also chosen by the lot (kujibiki), in order to gain the position. A streak of activities to compete with another team. Rather random and generic from today's experience, but it's not long, and it's one of the first anime about otaku. Overall Rating: 6/10 44. Howl no Ugoku Shiro Howl's Moving Castle ハウルの動く城 [Studio Ghibli] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Award Winning, Drama, Fantasy, Romance That jumbled piece of architecture, that cacophony of hissing steam and creaking joints, with smoke billowing from it as it moves on its own... That castle is home to the magnificent wizard Howl, infamous for both his magical prowess and for being a womanizer—or so the rumor goes in Sophie Hatter's small town. Sophie, as the plain daughter of a hatmaker, does not expect much from her future and is content with working hard in the shop. However, Sophie's simple life takes a turn for the exciting when she is ensnared in a disturbing situation, and the mysterious wizard appears to rescue her. Unfortunately, this encounter, brief as it may be, spurs the vain and vengeful Witch of the Waste—in a fit of jealousy caused by a past discord with Howl—to put a curse on the maiden, turning her into an old woman. In an endeavor to return to normal, Sophie must accompany Howl and a myriad of eccentric companions—ranging from a powerful fire demon to a hopping scarecrow—in his living castle, on a dangerous adventure as a raging war tears their kingdom apart. Having watched it for the first time now, it's disappointing. It felt totally like sequel to Spirited Away with both protagonists grown up. Trying to parasite on previous financially successful works is a definite sign of degradation. Overall Rating: 6/10 45. Kumo no Mukou, Yakusoku no Basho The Place Promised in Our Early Days 雲のむこう、約束の場所 [CoMix Wave Films] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Military Award Winning, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi Hiroki Fujisawa and Takuya Shirakawa harbor admiration for two things in their life: their classmate Sayuri Sawatari and the vast Ezo Tower that stands boundlessly across the Tsugaru Strait. Fascinated by the limitless structure beyond their reach, Hiroki and Takuya begin constructing an aeroplane from a fallen drone they discovered—naming it the Bella Ciela—to fulfill their dream of one day reaching the sky-scraping top of the tower. Later joined by the girl they love, Hiroki and Takuya promise Sayuri to fly with her to the seemingly otherworldly top together. However, Japan has suffered a North-South partitioning that has fueled conflict near the base of the tower, which marks the border between the America-controlled Southern islands and the Northern lands occupied by the Soviet Union. Further along, Sayuri suddenly disappears, and Hiroki and Takuya never see her again. Unbeknownst to them, she fell victim to a sleeping disorder that left her comatose for the past three years. Although Hiroki and Takuya later learn about Sayuri's condition, they also discover that the girl's unconscious state is oddly linked to the same tower the trio had promised to conquer together. I dislike such whiny stories where someone is always terminally ill or something and everyone is whispering all the time to show how painful it is to live. BS. Overall Rating: 6/10 46. Shin Angyo Onshi Blade of the Phantom Master 新暗行御史 [OLM Digital] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Fantasy After wandering through the desert for days, a bitter warrior named Munsu is lost and unable to continue. His life is unexpectedly saved by Mon-ryon, a young man who dreams of becoming a secret agent for Jushin, a once-great country that was recently destroyed. Mon-ryon's goal is to save his girlfriend, Chunhyan, a born fighter who is held captive by the evil Lord Byonand. Then, from out of nowhere, blood begins trickling from his chest. He has been fatally wounded by the Sarinjas, a cannibalistic breed of desert goblin. The quick-thinking Munsu convinces these beasts to spare his life, in exchange for the peaceful handover of Mon-ryon's appetizing corpse. Although skeptical of Mon-ryon's motives, Munsu sets out to continue the mission that the young idealist described. Accompanied by an army of ghost troops, unleashed using the powers of Angyo Onshi, Munsu liberates Chunhyan. After visiting her boyfriend's final resting place, she declares herself Munsu's bodyguard and, together, they set out on a mission to punish those who stripped Jushin of its original glory. Nice short action movie for one sitting. Even characters are actually good, but overall I would not want to rewatch or recommend it as there's nothing really special about it. Overall Rating: 6/10
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Anime of the Year 2004-III Summer - Gantz 2nd Stage
kivandopulus posted a blog entry in Anime of the Season
Turns out I criticized everything too much this season, and Gantz 2nd Stage comes out as the only candidate 1. Elfen Lied エルフェンリート [Arms] (Finished 13/13) Tags: Seinen Gore, Psychological Action, Drama, Horror, Romance, Supernatural Lucy is a special breed of human referred to as "Diclonius," born with a short pair of horns and invisible telekinetic hands that lands her as a victim of inhumane scientific experimentation by the government. However, once circumstances present her an opportunity to escape, Lucy, corrupted by the confinement and torture, unleashes a torrent of bloodshed as she escapes her captors. During her breakout, she receives a crippling head injury that leaves her with a split personality: someone with the mentality of a harmless child possessing limited speech capacity. In this state of instability, she stumbles upon two college students, Kouta and his cousin Yuka, who unknowingly take an injured fugitive into their care, unaware of her murderous tendencies. This act of kindness will change their lives, as they soon find themselves dragged into the shadowy world of government secrecy and conspiracy. As I often say, it fought the war on Chobits territory, and Chobits won again. Still, Elfen Lied has more on the side, so it's say it's a tie. Never had any piety towards it. Overall Rating: 6/10 2. Gantz 2nd Stage Gantz: Second Stage ガンツ [Gonzo] (Finished 13/13) Tags: Seinen Gore, Psychological, Survival Action, Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi, Supernatural, Ecchi Despite having seemingly returned to their normal lives, Kei Kurono, Masaru Katou, and Kei Kishimoto are forced back into the lethal game after Gantz's recent activity. The black sphere continues to summon recently deceased people to fight alien invaders. And having survived the two previous encounters, the trio are more than prepared for the upcoming missions. As they progress through the tournament's stages, the three proceed in their attempt to earn 100 points, which is said to be the only way to leave the parallel dimension for good. However, with the constant onslaught of alien invaders and the threat of imminent death, they must first focus on the task at hand—immediate survival. As a sequel, gets one score less, but I don't distinguish first half and second half. Overall Rating: 7/10 3. DearS ディアーズ [Daume] (Finished 4/12) Tags: Shounen Harem Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi, Ecchi One year ago, a UFO containing 150 aliens crash-landed off the shores of Kasai. Because no one could fix their ship, the Japanese Government decided to bestow upon them the designation "DearS" and make them into Japanese citizens, teaching them the language, customs, and culture of Japan. However, in order for them to become more familiar with human society, a home-stay program has been enacted to allow them to mingle with other humans. One misty morning, a truck carrying a capsule that housed one of these aliens ends up dropping it into the riverbank, releasing her from her confinement. She is eventually found by a high school student named Takeya Ikuhara, who saves her from being hit by a truck and takes pity on her, despite being extremely distrustful of their race and wanting nothing to do with them. Upon being named Ren, she imprints upon him as her "Master" and serves as his personal "Slave," leaving him with a "DearS" who wants to remain with him no matter what and bringing his ordinary, alien-free days to an end. That's what I'd call moege if it was a game. So horrible that it does not even deserve discussing it. Overall Rating: 5/10 4. Girls Bravo: First Season Girls Bravo GIRLSブラボー first season [AIC Spirits] (Finished 3/11) Tags: Shounen Harem, Isekai, School Comedy, Fantasy, Romance, Ecchi Small for his age, Yukinari has been bullied and abused by girls all his life. Now in high school, he has developed a rare condition: whenever girls touch him, or even come close, he breaks out in hives. Imagine his surprise, when he is suddenly transported to the city of Seiren on a mystic world invisibly orbiting the Earth, and populated with vast numbers of women and very few men. Fortunately, he has a new friend, Miharu-chan, whose touch inexplicably doesn't affect him. A big rival for DearS, not in a good way. Overall Rating: 5/10 5. Samurai 7 サムライセブン [Gonzo] (Finished 4/26) Tags: Historical, Mecha, Samurai Sci-Fi In the far distant future, on a planet that might have been called "earth", there was a war between samurai who mechanized their bodies. After the long war, people enjoyed a modest peace. Facing starvation and abductions at the hands of fearsome mechanized bandits (Nobuseri), the farmers of Kanna Village make the dangerous choice to hire samurai for protection. The village's water priestess, Kirara, her younger sister, Komachi, and a heartbroken villager, Rikichi, set off to hire willing samurai with nothing to offer but rice from their meager harvests. Through dangerous encounters and a bit of luck, seven samurai of varying specialties and experience are gathered for an epic battle against the bandits and the merchants that influence them. Samurai 7 is based loosely upon Kurosawa Akira's famous movie "Seven Samurai"/"Shichinin no Samurai" Guess concept was too lucrative - you can press on Kurosawa nostalgy, show varied bright samurai, gather them for a whole season and pack a lot of action in here. And Gonzo is the studio that can pull off such ambitious work. But what I want to ask - is it really interesting? Because it was not for me. Overall Rating: 6/10 6. Soukyuu no Fafner: Dead Aggressor Fafner 蒼穹のファフナーDead Aggressor [Xebec] (Finished 25/25) Tags: Mecha, Military Action, Drama, Sci-Fi Tatsumiyajima is the central island in the middle of a small cluster of islands, in a sleepy backwater of the Japanese isles. Not much happens there, and the island's young people go to school knowing that their lives are likely to remain peaceful and undisturbed. Or so they have been taught... but the truth is different. The fate of mankind is on the line, and Tatsumiyajima is the last line of defense against a hostile and incomprehensible enemy. At the center of it all, fighting for Humanity's continued existence, is the giant robot Fafner, the dragon that guards this final treasure of mankind. As Evangelion clone, it was supposed to get better towards the end. And it did not. And it managed even to have an open ending to spawn sequels and spin-offs. Very immature, as for me . Overall Rating: 6/10 7. Ninin ga Shinobuden ニニンがシノブ伝 [ufotable] (Finished 3/12) Tags: Martial Arts, Parody Comedy Kaede is a normal school girl who was studying for her exams for school when suddenly she is interrupted by Shinobu, a girl who is a ninja-in-training, attempting to complete her exam. The problem is, in order for her to successfully complete her exam, she must steal one of Kaede's panties! In Kaede's attempt to stop Shinobu from stealing her panties, an unexpected friendship is forged between the two. Kaede soon becomes engrossed in Shinobu's world, surrounded by partying ninjas and a yellow pac-man like thing by the name of Onsokumaru, who claims to be the master of all ninjas! Title "Nonsense ninja" says it all. Some pervy humor is not bad, overall rather average. Overall Rating: 6/10 8. Kurau Phantom Memory クラウ ファントムメモリー [Bones] (Finished 13/24) Tags: Space, Super Power Action, Drama, Sci-Fi It is the year 2100, and on the colonized Moon, a project is under way to explore new aspects of energy. Amami Kurau is the daughter of the chief scientist on the project, and on her 12th birthday, she accompanies her father to the lab to observe the experiments. Then something goes awry, and Kurau is struck by twin bolts of light. In the aftermath, her father is dismayed to find that his daughter is no longer his daughter. Rather, her body is now home to two energy entities with fantastic powers. This story absolutely does not know what it wants to be and where it's going to. First it's SOL and split personality drama, then it's sci-fi, next it's using attacking and healing magic, and elements just interchange to prolong the senseless agony. Overall Rating: 5/10 9. Maria-sama ga Miteru: Haru Maria Watches Over Us: Printemps マリア様がみてる~春~ [Studio Deen] (Finished 2/13) Tags: School Drama, Girls Love The spring term is beginning for the students at Lillian Girls' Academy. Friends are reunited, but for the Yamayuri Council, it's a bittersweet time. Yoko, Eriko, and Sei are busy preparing to depart Lillian while Sachiko, Rei, and Shimako are doing their best to ensure that their dear sisters receive a memorable commencement. Sei's departure will leave a sizable hole in the White Roses, and filling it won't be easy. But is there anyone who could appeal to Shimako enough to become the next Rosa Gigantea en bouton? Yuri stories have its audience. I'm not included. Overall Rating: 6/10 10. Otogizoushi Otogi Zoshi: The Legend of Magatama お伽草子 [Production I.G] (Finished 7/26) Tags: Historical Adventure, Drama, Fantasy The year is 972 A.D. in Kyoto, the capital of ancient Japan. Kyoto is becoming a corrupt and run-down city; selfish samurai and onmyoji, who care only about gaining political power are everywhere. To make matters worse the city is suffering from famine and widespread disease. Unable to ignore the condition of the city any longer, the Imperial Court decides to send Minamoto no Raiko, a famous samurai well-known for his archery skills, to recover a legendary gem said to hold mysterious power to save the world. However Raiko also falls ill to disease. Instead his youngest sister, Hikaru, decides secretely to make the journey in his place. Hikaru meets many people, and has many adventures while on her trip for the legendary gem. Yay, new aimless travel adventure about collecting all the pieces of something. Great premise for wasting time which is executed brilliantly if that was the aim. Overall Rating: 6/10 11. Wind: A Breath of Heart (TV) Wind -a breath of heart- [Radix] (Finished 5/13) Tags: School Drama, Romance, Supernatural Okano Makoto transferred to the school in his home town. There, he spent normal but happy school days with his sister, Hinata, a jokey classmate, Tachibana Tsutomu, Shikouin Kasumi, Tsutomu's childhood friend, and other friends. One day, after school, Makoto heard someone playing the harmonica. That melody made him feel something old, and it brought him to the roof of the school buildings. There, he met a girl in the dusk. It was Narukaze Minamo who turned her face to him with a smile. She was a childhood friend, but they had lived separately for years. Hiding their true thoughts, Makoto and his friends spend their lives in school. Their stories in a mysterious town are about to begin. Vanilla sweet and banal with the obligatory drama developing the further it goes, and it could only scrap "content" for half a season with 12 minute episodes. Overall Rating: 5/10 12. Tsuki wa Higashi ni Hi wa Nishi ni: Operation Sanctuary 月は東に日は西に〜Operation Sanctuary〜 月は東に日は西に〜Operation Sanctuary〜 [Radix] (Finished 6/13) Tags: Harem, Time Travel Comedy, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi Naoki Kuzumi, a junior in high school, had lost his parents in an accident five years ago, and is living with his aunt, uncle, and cousin Matsuri. He always thought his life was ordinary, besides the fact that he can't remember what happened in his youth. One sunny day as he is taking a nap on a bench, a redheaded girl -- Mikoto -- literally falls on him from the sky. For some reason, she thinks he's her younger brother. Naoki's time period is a temporal shelter for those in the future, when many are suffering from an incurable disease. When she heard her younger brother Yuusuke had been taken to Naoki's time, Mikoto herself had gone back in time. It feels that it comes out of an old visual novel. And source material is definitely weak. Overall Rating: 6/10 13. Galaxy Angel 4 ギャラクシーエンジェル4 [Madhouse, feel.] (Finished 1/13) Tags: Comedy, Sci-Fi Starting out with the new Galaxy Angel, Chitose Karasuma, the Angel Troupe continue their search for The Lost Technology while running into different kinds of mishaps. The nonsense horror continues for the fourth time now. Overall Rating: 5/10 14. Agatha Christie no Meitantei Poirot to Marple Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple アガサ・クリスティーの名探偵ポワロとマープル [OLM] (Finished 1/39) Tags: Historical Mystery Young Mabel West is the daughter of mystery writer Raymond West, who wants her to lead a normal life. Rebelling against this, Mabel wants to be a great detective, and sets out for London to become assistant to none other than Hercule Poirot, the great Belgian detective who resides there. She finally wins the reluctant approval of her father, and embarks on an exciting life of mystery and suspense—his only demand being that she occasionally spend some time with her great-aunt, Jane Marple, in the small village of St. Mary Mead. What can I say, I seriously detest works of Agatha Christie. Overall Rating: 5/10 15. Uchuu Koukyoushi Maetel: Ginga Tetsudou 999 Gaiden Space Symphonic Poem Maetel: Galaxy Express 999 Side Story 宇宙交響詩メーテル ~銀河鉄道999外伝~ [Azeta Pictures] (Finished 2/13) Tags: Space Drama, Sci-Fi Maetel abandoned her mother and her home planet, the doomed and frozen La Metal, where people must become cyborgs to survive. When she is beckoned to return, her options seem slim: follow her mother's path (and with it a robot mind and the contempt of all humans), or run away and fight with humans against the machines. Yet, she is not without comrades and defenders. If she can accept the friendship of beings of metal who desire peace, and oppose those who think being made of flesh and blood is enough to make one human, she may still have a chance to find her own path. Wow, just wow. It's like 5th remake of Express 999 or close to that. Of course it's a side story this time, so it's one coherent story instead of many travel episodes, but I'm so sick of this franchise that I just can't treat it calmly - very infuriating beating around the same stale bush for decades. Overall Rating: 6/10 16. Monkey Punch: Manga Katsudou Daishashin モンキー・パンチ 漫画活動大写真 [TMS Entertainment] (Finished 3/12) Tags: Seinen Gag Humor, Parody Action, Adventure, Comedy, Ecchi It's an animated variety show featuring the works of Monkey Punch that aired on WOWOW with the episodes being 52 minutes long. 12 episodes were aired between July 31, 2004 to June 25, 2005 and received a DVD exclusive 15 minute long special called Crime Mate. Some kind of anthology with familiar Lupin characters and not only them. Pretty weird, as for me. Overall Rating: 5/10 17. Monkey Turn V モンキー ターン V [OLM] (Finished 1/25) Tags: Shounen Racing Action, Drama Sequel to Monkey Turn. Original was already non-repairable, maybe for game fans. Overall Rating: 5/10 18. Eiken: Eikenbu yori Ai wo Komete Eiken エイケン エイケンヴより愛をこめて [J.C.Staff] (Finished 1/2) Tags: Harem, School Comedy, Ecchi Zashono Academy is a massive educational institution with over thirty-five thousand students enrolled across all grades. It is here that the plain and unpopular Densuke Mifune enrolls in high school. While he looks forward to blending into the crowd, circumstances change when he runs into Chiharu Shinonome, an incredibly attractive and intelligent girl who has captured the attention of all the students at the school. Witnessing the encounter between the two, Kirika Misono pressures them into joining her mysterious "Eiken Club" to compete in the school's annual club tournament. The tournament causes Densuke to become more intimate with his fellow club members, but will he be able to maintain his composure or will he give in to their bold advances? An abominable attack of giga boobs. Overall Rating: 5/10 19. Re: Cutey Honey Re:キューティーハニー [Gainax, Toei Animation] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Action, Comedy, Girls Love, Sci-Fi, Ecchi The last words spoken to Honey Kisaragi by her father before his death at the hands of the mysterious organization Panther Claw have shaped her way of life. It is the sole reason she still continues to fight for the sake of others. The energetic Inspector Natsuko Aki does her absolute best to apprehend the members of Panther Claw and bring them to justice, but they are simply too much for the police to handle. The only one who can give these criminals a run for their money is the sexy warrior of love and justice, Cutie Honey—the secret alter ego of Kisaragi. Although Natsuko refuses to acknowledge vigilantes, her relationship with Honey progresses for the better as the strong-headed detective realizes the true intentions behind Honey's actions. Overtime, Honey grows more fearful of her burning desire for revenge; meanwhile, Natsuko wants to protect her friend, a sentiment that clashes with her ideals of upholding the law. If they ever hope to stand a chance against the menacing Panther Claw, the duo will have to put aside their differences and stand together. Original was very modest, in contrast this interpretation is provoking and using lots of absurd humor akin to Abenobashi magical circle. At least it's something that stays in memory. Overall Rating: 6/10 20. Kishin Houkou Demonbane 機神咆吼デモンベイン [Group TAC, View Works] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi Lily Bridge, a young journalist, arrives at Arkham City, hoping to find a big scoop. However, with all the strange things occuring around the city, only the exceptional findings are news-worthy, such as the mysterious mecha known as Demonbane. However, upon finding a small piece of machinery that seemed to be connected with the Hadou Combine, Lily is determined to find the truth. Little does she know, she enters into a dark world, involving herself with Demonbane and the powerful forces that control the city. It's just a single episode prequel to the game, for advertisement purposes, so no great. Overall Rating: 5/10 21. Ajisai no Uta あじさいの唄 [Group TAC] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Historical Comedy, Drama This is a heartwarming story about a family during the Edo era. The main character, Kuritaro, lives with his father and a stray dog. Despite his mother's death, he continues to live a cheerful life. Not translated. It's rather heart-freezing than heart-warming as it involves too much crying. It's a mixed bag - some events are nice and some are just a spree of crying. Overall Rating: 6/10 22. Mind Game マインド・ゲーム [Studio 4°C] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adult Cast, Psychological Adventure, Avant Garde, Award Winning, Comedy, Romance After seeing her jump onto a subway at the last second and getting her ankle crushed between the doors, Nishi reconnects with his high school sweetheart, Myon. Nishi is still very much in love with Myon, but is shocked to learn that she is engaged to another man. Nishi agrees to meet Myon's fiancé at her family's Yakitori restaurant, but members of the Yakuza storm the joint and murder Nishi when he tries to stop them from raping Myon. Nishi, now dead, wakes up and meets a constantly shapeshifting god, who mocks him for dying. The god tells Nishi to walk into a portal and disappear from existence, which Nishi rejects, choosing instead to sprint past the god and reanimate. With a new outlook on life and knowledge of how the Yakuza are going to attack him, Nishi kills one of the Yakuza with his own gun, fleeing in a stolen car with Myon and her sister. Acclaimed director Masaaki Yuasa's debut film, Mind Game's constantly shifting visuals tell a story about living one's life without regrets that is unlike any other. Super experimental something. It's rather mindless games. Overall Rating: 5/10 23. Steamboy スチームボーイ [Sunrise] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical, Military Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi Ray is a young wunderkind inventor living in Victorian England. His life is turned upside down when he receives a special package hailing from the United States, sent by his grandfather, Lloyd Steam. The package contains a device called a Steam Ball, a device so powerful that it can drive any machine that requires steam with a nearly limitless amount of energy. Ray is instructed to not let the Steam Ball fall into the wrong hands, which include the mighty O'Hara Foundation, who desperately want to bring the Steam Ball back into their control so they can achieve their less than noble goals. He will need to use every bit of his brilliance in order to dodge the countless goons that are sent to snatch the device from him. It will be a battle between good and evil, a battle for redemption, a battle for the future! I seriously dislike steampunk, and this thing is one condensed steampunk. I've yet to see any worthy steampunk work. Irritating characters only add negative emotions. Overall Rating: 5/10 24. Kakurenbo Kakurenbo: Hide & Seek カクレンボ [Yamato Works] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Psychological Horror, Supernatural Among the high rises of steel pipes, meshed power lines, and faded neon lights, exists a game that children dare to play within the ruins of the old city. "Otokoyo," a secret game of hide-and-seek, one where all who play wear fox masks and only begins when seven have gathered. But it is no normal game, as all who have played it have gone missing. Many whisper it is the work of demons, but that is just a rumor... or is it? Kakurenbo follows the story of seven children as they play Otokoyo for the first time and discover why if you play, you never return. Length is of just one episode, and hearing same two phrases kills any motivation. Overall Rating: 5/10 25. Nareuneun Dwaeji - Haejeok Mateo 날으는 돼지 해적 마테오 [] (Finished 0/1) Tags: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi A 2004 Korean CG film about an anthropomorphic pig being a sky pirate. Not found. Overall Rating: 0/10 -
Gantz is the anime I truly love with all its weak sides. Samurai Champloo and Appleseed (Movie) should be noticed as well. 1. Samurai Champloo サムライチャンプルー [Manglobe] (Finished 26/26) Tags: Historical, Samurai Action, Adventure, Comedy Fuu Kasumi is a young and clumsy waitress who spends her days peacefully working in a small teahouse. That is, until she accidentally spills a drink all over one of her customers! With a group of samurai now incessantly harassing her, Fuu desperately calls upon another samurai in the shop, Mugen, who quickly defeats them with his wild fighting technique, utilizing movements reminiscent to that of breakdancing. Unfortunately, Mugen decides to pick a fight with the unwilling ronin Jin, who wields a more precise and traditional style of swordfighting, and the latter proves to be a formidable opponent. The only problem is, they end up destroying the entire shop as well as accidentally killing the local magistrate's son. For their crime, the two samurai are captured and set to be executed. However, they are rescued by Fuu, who hires the duo as her bodyguards. Though she no longer has a place to return to, the former waitress wishes to find a certain samurai who smells of sunflowers and enlists the help of the now exonerated pair to do so. Despite initially disapproving of this idea, the two eventually agree to assist the girl in her quest; thus, the trio embark upon an adventure to find this mysterious warrior—that is, if Fuu can keep Mugen and Jin from killing each other. Set in an alternate Edo Period of Japan, Samurai Champloo follows the journey of these three eccentric individuals in an epic quest full of action, comedy, and dynamic sword fighting, all set to the beat of a unique hip-hop infused soundtrack. Of course I watched it in the past and even got a friend who is head over heels over it. Always could enjoy it only slightly. because for me it's primarily an aimless journey with rare bright moments. Still it must be the first road movie that I can enjoy to an extent. Overall Rating: 7/10 2. Monster モンスター [Madhouse] (Finished 3/74) Tags: Seinen Adult Cast, Psychological Drama, Mystery, Suspense Dr. Kenzou Tenma, an elite neurosurgeon recently engaged to his hospital director's daughter, is well on his way to ascending the hospital hierarchy. That is until one night, a seemingly small event changes Dr. Tenma's life forever. While preparing to perform surgery on someone, he gets a call from the hospital director telling him to switch patients and instead perform life-saving brain surgery on a famous performer. His fellow doctors, fiancée, and the hospital director applaud his accomplishment; but because of the switch, a poor immigrant worker is dead, causing Dr. Tenma to have a crisis of conscience. So when a similar situation arises, Dr. Tenma stands his ground and chooses to perform surgery on the young boy Johan Liebert instead of the town's mayor. Unfortunately, this choice leads to serious ramifications for Dr. Tenma—losing his social standing being one of them. However, with the mysterious death of the director and two other doctors, Dr. Tenma's position is restored. With no evidence to convict him, he is released and goes on to attain the position of hospital director. Nine years later when Dr. Tenma saves the life of a criminal, his past comes back to haunt him—once again, he comes face to face with the monster he operated on. He must now embark on a quest of pursuit to make amends for the havoc spread by the one he saved. Suspence mystery is just not a genre I can appreciate. I remember trying to watch it and even sneak peeking into the last episodes which did no good, of course. I see that there is a shorter version released in 2005, so I'll wait till then before commenting on substance. Overall Rating: 6/10 3. Gantz ガンツ [Gonzo] (Finished 13/13) Tags: Seinen Gore, Psychological, Survival Action, Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi, Supernatural, Ecchi Thought your life was bad? Sometimes, death is worse. There is no salvation, peace, nor god waiting to receive you into their care. But wait, a god? Maybe you are talking about that big black ball stuck in the room with you. Now you are thrown into a game, fighting green aliens and robot monsters for the chance to survive. When Kei Kurono is killed, he thus finds himself caught in such a game—a test of his skills, morals, and will to survive. His life is not his own; his death is spat and trampled upon over and over again. What happens if he does not listen? God knows. A word of warning: Gantz is not for the faint-hearted, but neither is it as simple as it looks. Gore, rape, and violence is rampant, as are portrayals of greed, violence, and all the ugliness that one sees in society today. Gantz had a great impression on me when I first watched it. After all, I only read manga twice in my life - to see the ending of Berserk and Gantz. I'm still waiting for the third season so that you know! At the same time I'm not ready to treat it as genius masterpiece, and there's not much in intellectual department either, quite the contrary at times. lol. Will have to settle with a firm masterpiece score. Overall Rating: 8/10 4. Tenjou Tenge Tenjho Tenge 天上天下 [Madhouse] (Finished 2/24) Tags: Seinen Martial Arts, School, Super Power Action, Comedy, Ecchi For some people, high school represents the opportunity for a fresh start. You can take new classes and make new friends. For Souichiro Nagi and Bob Makihara, though, high school means something different: the chance to become the top fighters in the entire student body! Too bad Toudou Academy is the hardest possible place to realize their dreams. Their new high school is no ordinary academic institution. Rather than concentrating on classic subjects like math and science, Toudou Academy was created for the sole purpose of reviving the martial arts in Japan! As a result, Souichiro's aspirations to become top dog are cut short when he runs afoul of Masataka Takayanagi and Maya Natsume. The two upperclassmen easily stop the freshmen duo's rampage across school, but rather than serving as a deterrent, it only stokes their competitive fire. What kind of monstrous fighters attend Toudou Academy? Are there any stronger than Masataka and Maya? And why in the world is Maya's younger sister stalking Souichiro? Learn the answers to these questions and more in Tenjou Tenge! Cheesy and ugly. I managed to hate even the so called "epic" fight beginning and can only imagine the depths of despair awaiting further... Overall Rating: 5/10 5. Initial D Fourth Stage 頭文字〈イニシャル〉D FOURTH STAGE [A.C.G.T.] (Finished 1/24) Tags: Seinen Racing Action, Drama Takumi Fujiwara finally joins Ryousuke and Keisuke Takahashi to create "Project D." Their goal is twofold: Ryousuke wants to develop his "High-Speed Street Racing Theory," while Keisuke and Takumi aim at improving their driving skills by facing powerful opponents on dangerous roads. The idea of Project D is to challenge street racing teams from other prefectures to improve both their uphill and downhill records. In order to attract the attention of the best racing teams, Ryousuke creates a dedicated website to announce the future battles of Project D and post the team's results. The fourth season of Initial D details the hardships and successes of the members of Project D as they try to become the best street racing team outside of Gunma Prefecture. It was weird to see third iteration as a movie, good thing it's back as longer series, but it's not my plate. Overall Rating: 6/10 6. Midori no Hibi Midori Days 美鳥の日々 [Pierrot] (Finished 5/13) Tags: Shounen Comedy, Drama, Romance, Ecchi There isn't a single person in Sakuradamon High who hasn't heard the legends about Seiji "The Mad Dog" Sawamura's demonically powerful right hand. His reputation makes it fairly difficult for him to approach girls, and after being rejected 20 times straight, he half-jokingly vows to finish high school with his right hand for a girlfriend. Much to his surprise, after waking up the next morning, Seiji discovers that his demon right hand has mysteriously turned into a miniature girl, Midori Kasugano, who reveals that she has had a crush on Seiji for the past three years. Because their situation is not ideal for either of them, Seiji attempts to return Midori to normal. But after causing a big misunderstanding at the Kasugano household, the pair decide to keep their predicament between them until a solution is found. Thus begins an odd relationship, and what could be the only chance for Midori to finally be with the one she loves. Wanted to watch it in full as this anime is referenced quite a lot, but this farce hurts. I'd say it's another attempt to play on the Chobits territory, and it's another win for Chobits. Overall Rating: 6/10 7. Kyou kara Maou! 今日からマ王! [Studio Deen] (Finished 1/78) Tags: Shoujo Isekai, Mythology Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy Kyou kara Maou! revolves around Yuri Shibuya, your average Japanese teenager. One day, Yuri sees a classmate being harassed by bullies. Thanks to this intervention, his friend is able to escape, but unfortunately Yuri becomes the new target of the bullies in the process and gets his head shoved into a toilet. But instead of water, the toilet contains a swirling portal that sucks him into another world, largely resembling medieval Europe. There, he is told that he will become the next Demon King due to his black hair and black eyes, traits only possessed by the demon's royal lineage. Yuri's arrival is met with some skepticism by some of the demons, who view him as unworthy to be their king. However, after Yuri wins a duel by utilizing his magical powers, the demons slowly begin to acknowledge him as their monarch. Yuri must now learn what it takes be a true Demon King, as he tries to keep the peace between demons and humans in this strange new realm. How come this is marked as Shoujo with male as protagonist... some kind of shounen ai with bishounens. I block boys love genre for a reason not to watch things like this. Overall Rating: 5/10 8. Aishiteruze Baby★★ 愛してるぜ ベイベ★★ [TMS Entertainment] (Finished 2/26) Tags: Shoujo Childcare Comedy, Drama, Romance Katakura Kippei is in every way a high school playboy. Spending his days flirting with any female he can see, responsibility is the last thing on his mind. Life takes an unexpected turn for him as one day he returns home to find himself with the fulltime task of caring for his 5-year-old cousin. Kippei's aunt Miyako had disappeared, appearing to have abandoned his cousin, Yuzuyu. With Kippei's lack of responsibility and knowledge of childcare and Yuzuyu's injured heart with the disappearance of her mother, their time together is in for a bumpy ride. Basic childcare story with Marmalade Boy motives. It has ways to go till Bunny Drop. Overall Rating: 6/10 9. Koi Kaze 恋風 [A.C.G.T.] (Finished 13/13) Tags: Seinen Psychological Drama, Romance Saeki Koushirou works as a wedding planner, but his own love life is in shambles. His background makes it difficult for him to commit himself wholeheartedly to love. The child of a divorced couple, he lives with his father. He has a mother and a sister, but he has not seen them in years. After being dumped by his girlfriend, a chance encounter with a female high school student shakes Koushirou's calm and awakens new feelings in him—but he learns that the girl is in fact his sister, who will now be staying with his father and him. Yet, the feelings in Koushirou's heart... Watched it in the past , and it's a platonic romance Lolita story, so to say. It's good and all, but I'm not enjoying this, although there was a time when I did. Overall Rating: 6/10 10. Keroro Gunsou Sgt. Frog ケロロ軍曹 [Sunrise] (Finished 2/358) Tags: Shounen Mecha, Parody Comedy, Sci-Fi It is the year 2004 AD, and pandemonium breaks as a mysterious frog-like alien race fills the sky with UFOs—or so 12-year-old Fuyuki Hinata dreams. Coincidentally, Sergeant Keroro, leader of a preliminary squad for the Keronian invasion of Pekopon—the alien name for Earth—begins his mission by invading Fuyuki's home. After subduing the boy and his sister, Keroro plans to reunite with his comrades and return to the mothership to repair his invaluable invasion device, the Kero Ball. Unfortunately, he receives word that headquarters has abandoned his unit's retrieval due to an unprecedented issue that forced the rest of the Keronians to flee. Consequently, Keroro is forced to stay at the Hinata residence together with the friendly, starry-eyed Fuyuki; his athletic, short-tempered sister Natsumi; and their hardworking, attractive mother Aki. Now stuck until further notice, Keroro and his platoon spend each day plotting world domination, but are thwarted each and every time by various unexpected factors. Nevertheless, as they live alongside humans, they learn to treat them as friends and allies, forming comedic yet meaningful connections that make their lives on Earth worthwhile. After a peek into this, I realized that I got immune to mediocre Sunrise comedy by now already. It only feels tiresome now. Overall Rating: 6/10 11. Bakuretsu Tenshi Burst Angel 爆裂天使 [Gonzo] (Finished 3/24) Tags: Mecha Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi In Japan's not-too-distant future, crime has become so common that the government has legalised firearms for citizens to use in self-defence. To combat this new wave of wrongdoing, the Recently Armed Police of Tokyo was established in hopes of hunting down criminals with lethal force. Kyohei Tachibana is a gifted culinary student who dreams of saving up enough money to become a pastry chef in France. When four young mercenaries ask him to be their cook, he's forced into making a tough choice. As Jo, Meg, Sei, and Amy take on the bloodiest jobs in the chaotic city of Tokyo, Kyohei accepts an imminent descent into the world of crime—and he'll do a lot more than just cooking! Why does this resemble Evangelion so much... Asuka has grown up quite a bit! Anyway, there's mostly just action, and it inevitably gets repetitive. Quality is high, but there's not much to enjoy besides fighting that gets dull. Overall Rating: 6/10 12. Kono Minikuku mo Utsukushii Sekai この醜くも美しい世界 [Gainax, Shaft] (Finished 5/12) Tags: Comedy, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi, Ecchi High school student Takeru Takemoto works part time as a (motor)bike courier. During one of his deliveries, he saw a mysterious light passing him and fell into a forest. What he had found was a beautiful girl coming out from a glowing cocoon, calling herself "Hikari." While Takeru was quite embarrassed because of Hikari's nudity, a strange monster suddenly showed up and immediately attacked the two. Both Takeru and Hikari demonstrated the power of their other selves before Takeru had a clue of what's going on. Again Gainax takes the most ordinary plot of Urusei Yatsura and tries to revolutionize things... and it feels different from other anime, but different does not necessarily mean good. It's a slow paced SOL about getting used to life on Earth with friends, and I can't get to like this flow. Overall Rating: 6/10 13. Ragnarök The Animation Ragnarok the Animation [G&G Entertainment] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Action, Fantasy A great evil is sweeping over the realm; an evil that the young swordsman Roan and his life-long companion, the acolyte Yufa, must face head on! For these two travel toward their destiny, from the highest towers to the depths of the underworld, through forest and desert alike. With an ever-growing cast of fellow heroes, fate will grasp these travelers by their very souls and propel the band of skilled adventurers towards a noble end. Or ignoble, if they don't watch their step! Monsters are afoot and the way rife with danger and magic, the path forward may be unclear... But where will is strong, there is a way! Lessons wait in the depths of darkness, and good must prevail. The journey starts now! Never understood the appeal of Ragnarok game. This setting is generic and bland, so I think appreciation for the game is must have to like it for details or something. Overall Rating: 6/10 14. Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch Pure マーメイドメロディーぴちぴちピッチピュア [Actas, SynergySP] (Finished 1/39) Tags: Mahou Shoujo, Music Adventure, Comedy, Romance After the final battle against Gaito, Sara had given her life to remain with him. The sea world is now at peace, but only with six mermaid princesses. While Caren, Noel, and Coco have returned to their kingdoms, it should be time for Lucia, Hanon, and Rina to do the same. After all, Mitsuki Tarou is leaving for Germany, and Doumoto Kaito is heading to Hawaii. Lucia is devestated, and when things couldn't get any worse, Kaito is lost at sea! Worst of all, a strange angel named Michel has appeared, wanting the mermaids to join him. But on the lighter side, Sara's spirit tells Lucia of Sara's successor, a young mermaid named Seira. The mermaids are in for another adventure! Having dropped the prequel, can't say I understand much of this idol mahou shoujo with battles, but it does not look good. Overall Rating: 5/10 15. Madlax マドラックス [Bee Train] (Finished 9/26) Tags: Military, Psychological Drama, Mystery, Supernatural In the country of Gazth-Sonika, civil war rages. There, a mercenary called Madlax plies her trade, with almost supernatural skill. In the seemingly peaceful country of Nafrece, Margaret Burton lives a tranquil life. As separate as their lives may seem, the two are connected by ties of mystery, and by a holy book that is also sought by the shadowy organisation, Enfant. As Margaret and Madlax follow the path of their destiny, they come ever closer to uncovering the truth - with no guarantee that it is a truth they can bear to learn. I gave it a lot of chances. Slow-paced boring action mystery that in my opinion has the primary aim to kill time as many early 2000s anime did. Overall Rating: 6/10 16. Mahou Shoujo-tai Arusu Tweeny Witches 魔法少女隊アルス [Studio 4°C] (Finished 5/40) Tags: Isekai Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy Arusu believes in magic. With all her heart, she believes that magic is possible and that it can be used for good deeds and fun games. But suddenly, she finds herself transported into another world, ruled by a mysterious elite of witches—and these witches don't seem to be in it for the fun. They're hard at work capturing sprites, the native magical beings of the world, and forcing them into slavery. Once Arusu realizes that her new surroundings aren't just a dream, she sets out to change things. A pretty good anime about witches, but I seriously lack affinity even to Harry Potter let alone some naïve ambitious witch trainees. And it looks too Western to my taste, probably was created for export. Overall Rating: 6/10 17. Mutsu Enmei Ryuu Gaiden: Shura no Toki Time of Shura 陸奥圓明流外伝 修羅の刻 [Studio Comet] (Finished 26/26) Tags: Shounen Historical, Martial Arts, Samurai Legends tell of an invincible martial art known as Mutsu Enmei-Ryu, an unarmed style that allows the user to defeat any number of armed opponents using incredible speed and strength. This is the story of three generations of those who bear the name Mutsu, and their encounters and battles with the strongest fighters of their era. Basically, it's anthology about different samurai stories linked with this unarmed mastery. It's a good anime with enough tension and historical flavor, but too many characters don't add empathy, and historical events are often distorted for the sake of the story which is totally ok for the Japanese who know what happened precisely, but it can confuse foreigners. With that in mind, can't recommend it. Overall Rating: 6/10 18. Hanaukyou Maid-tai: La Verite Hanaukyo Maid Team: La Verite 花右京メイド隊 La Verite [Daume] (Finished 3/12) Tags: Shounen Harem Comedy, Romance, Ecchi After his mother passes away, Taro Hanaukyo is invited to his grandfather's home. There, he meets a beautiful maid named Mariel and finds out that his grandfather has retired to a remote island and has given him ownership of his estate. Taro also discovers that not only is the estate a colossal mansion, it has hundreds of gorgeous maids ready to serve him 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There was already a worthless bland ecchi maid story Hanaukyou Maid-tai, this one is only a tiny bit better. Not sure if it's worth watching even in case of maid fetish. Overall Rating: 5/10 19. Saiyuuki Reload Gunlock Saiyuki Gunlock 最遊記RELOAD GUNLOCK [Pierrot] (Finished 1/26) Tags: Josei Mythology Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Supernatural The Sanzo Ikkou continues its westward journey, on a mission to prevent a demonic resurrection. As Genjo Sanzo, Cho Hakkai, Sha Gojyo, and Son Goku fight their way to their goal, their path is fraught with internal strife. When they encounter a formidable pair of adversaries from the west, the cohesion of the group -- and the fate of the mission -- may be at stake. Another reminder of how bad it was. And everyone encountered in each episode is inevitably a demon. So old. Overall Rating: 5/10 20. Love♥Love? [Imagin, Studio Live] (Finished 1/9) Tags: Harem Comedy, Romance, Ecchi Naoto Ooizumi is the writer of the CosPrayers TV show, although this is a secret known only to the producer of the show, Mitsuki Ikuta. He has a crush on one of the actresses in the show, Natsumi Yagami. As the show proceeds so does their relationship, with many wacky twists and turns along the way. Just an endless spree of flashing, groping and similar ecchi situations. Even worse trash than cosplayers were. Overall Rating: 5/10 21. Kenran Butou Sai: The Mars Daybreak Mars Daybreak 絢爛舞踏祭ザ・マーズ・デイブレイク [Bones] (Finished 5/26) Tags: Mecha, Military Action, Adventure, Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi Mars is now almost entirely covered in water. Humanity exists in large city-ships that float through the open seas. But life is hard for those who live on Mars—the economy is in bad shape, work is scarce, and food is expensive and highly prized. Gram and his friends try to do the best they can, but the work keeps drying up. Some have taken to a life of piracy to combat the corruption in the government; one such group is the pirates of the feared Ship of Aurora. And the Earth government, which rules Mars, has dispatched a new team of military pilots to combat them. In their specialized mecha called Round Bucklers, they must make the seas of Mars safe for humanity. Caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, Gram finds himself on the run with the most notorious pirates on Mars. But here's the thing—he's starting to like them! Reinvention of Harlock, but a rather flat one. There's not much direction in all that, and characters are rather sour for the colorful pirate crew. There are some battles, some mecha, some romance, some not funny comedy, some adventure - a bit of everything for everyone, and with all that not much remains for the substance. Overall Rating: 6/10 22. Boukyaku no Senritsu The Melody of Oblivion 忘却の旋律 [Gainax, J.C.Staff] (Finished 24/24) Tags: Shounen Mecha, Psychological, Space Adventure, Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi, Supernatural A great war occurred in the 20th century between humans and monsters. Since that time, the monsters rule the world in fear but keep relatively hidden from public view. A boy named Bokka ponders the past and wonders what became of the Meros Warriors who defended the world so bravely against the demons. He soon meets Kurofune and learns of the power of the Meros and the I-bar machines they ride in battle. Warriors are the only ones who can see and hear the Melody of Oblivion, a phantom girl hidden away waiting to be rescued and be the savior of mankind. During a battle between Kurofune and a demon, Bokka discovers something only his wildest dreams could possibly imagine...he too can hear that melody. Throughout his journeys, Bokka meets many monsters and their agents, friends, and companions as he discovers the true extent of his new powers. He must continue to battle evil in the hope of releasing Boukyaku no Senritsu and free a world that has forgotten its once beautiful melody. Gainax still tries to do something different, but miracles have stopped happening to it. It's a very unexpected mix of Saint Saya, Macross, corporation of monsters, vampire hunter D, ecchi and what not. It's a unique blend, but it's still a blend and not something authentic. It lacks really strong points. Overall Rating: 6/10 23. Hi no Tori Phoenix 火の鳥 [Tezuka Productions] (Finished 13/13) Tags: Historical Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi, Supernatural From prehistoric times to the distant future, Hi no Tori portrays how the legendary immortal bird Phoenix acts as a witness and chronicler for the history of mankind's endless struggle in search of power, justice, and freedom. The Dawn Since time immemorial, people have sought out the legendary Phoenix for its blood, which is known to grant eternal life. Hearing about rumored Phoenix sightings in the Land of Fire, Himiko—the cruel queen of Yamatai obsessed with immortality—sends her army to conquer the nation and retrieve the creature. Young Nagi, his elder sister Hinaku, and her foreign husband Guzuri are the only survivors of the slaughter. But while Nagi is taken prisoner by the enemy, elsewhere, Hinaku has a shocking revelation. The Resurrection In a distant future where Earth has become uninhabitable, Leona undergoes surgery on a space station to recover from a deadly accident. However, while also suffering from amnesia, his brain is now half cybernetic and causes him to see people as formless scraps and robots as humans. Falling in love with Chihiro, a discarded robot, they escape together from the space station to prevent Chihiro from being destroyed. Yet as his lost memories gradually return, Leona will have to confront the painful truth about his past. The Transformation Yearning for independence, Sakon no Suke—the only daughter of a tyrant ruler—kills priestess Yao Bikuni, the sole person capable of curing her father's illness. Consequently, she and her faithful servant, Kahei, are unexpectedly confined to the temple grounds of Bikuni's sanctuary. While searching for a way out, Sakon no Suke assumes the priestess's position and uses a miraculous feather to heal all those reaching out for help. The Sun After his faction loses the war, Prince Harima's head is replaced with a wolf's. An old medicine woman who recognizes his bloodline assists him and the wounded General Azumi-no-muraji Saruta in escaping to Wah Land. But their arrival at a small Wah village is met with unexpected trouble as Houben, a powerful Buddhist monk, wants Harima dead. With the aid of the Ku clan wolf gods that protect the village's surroundings, he survives the murder attempt. After tensions settle, Saruta uses his established reputation in Wah to persuade the villagers to welcome Harima into their community. Over a period of time, Harima becomes the village's respected leader under the name Inugami no Sukune. But while the young prince adapts to his new role, he must remain vigilant as new dangers soon arise and threaten his recently acquired tranquility. The Future Life on Earth has gradually ceased to exist, with the survivors taking refuge in underground cities. To avoid human extinction, Doctor Saruta unsuccessfully tries to recreate life in his laboratory. However, the unexpected visit of Masato Yamanobe, his alien girlfriend Tamami, and his colleague Rock Holmes reveals a disturbing crisis: the computers that regulate the subterranean cities have initiated a nuclear war that will eliminate all of mankind. Phoenix series had to be made to finalize everything Tezuka did. But it's of anthology genre that I dislike. Could not enjoy it even on the same level as Hi no Tori: Uchuu-hen movie. Overall Rating: 6/10 24. Sensei no Ojikan: Dokidoki School Hours Teacher's Time せんせいのお時間 [J.C.Staff] (Finished 1/13) Tags: School Comedy Meet Suzuki Mika, teacher at Okitsu High School. Mika-sensei is a good teacher, but she has a small problem... literally. Although she's 27, she is only 148 cm tall, and has the face of a child. As a result, it is often difficult for Mika-sensei to get anyone to take her seriously. It cries of Azumanga Daiou and even copies multiple sketches per episode structure. It's ok as sketch comedy, but loses big time even to spiritual predecessor that I do not evaluate highly either. Overall Rating: 6/10 25. Shinkon Gattai Godannar!! 2nd Season 神魂合体ゴーダンナー!! SECOND SEASON [OLM, AIC ASTA] (Finished 1/13) Tags: Mecha Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi, Ecchi The history is placed right after the -cliffhanger- end of Godannar when Anna looks surprised to see Mira driving the Neo Okusaer. Second season of really a poor ecchi mecha. Overall Rating: 5/10 26. Kinnikuman II Sei: Ultimate Muscle キン肉マンII世 ULTIMATE MUSCLE [Toei Animation] (Finished 1/13) Tags: Combat Sports, Martial Arts Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi, Sports The Chojin Crown, the tournament which Mantaro (Kid Muscle) reluctantly participates in. After going along with the obstacles (most of which were created to try and eliminate him), he qualified. Only for long-standing fans. Overall Rating: 5/10 27. Hit wo Nerae! ヒットをねらえ! [Imagin, Studio Live] (Finished 1/8) Tags: Comedy, Ecchi Mitsuki Ikuta works for the Houchiku Corporation, making movies. To all who know her, she is perceived as being a very infantile woman, still wearing childish fashions. A fan of the detective movie genre, she suddenly finds herself chosen to be the main producer of a new film—but it's a "hero movie" (a genre generally considered childish). Determined to succeed, regardless, she takes on the job. Among the whole trilogy, this part is the most straightforward and enjoyable though seriously lacks tolerance. But since it's part of trilogy, it's absolutely not recommended to suffer through three mediocre shows. Overall Rating: 5/10 28. Tetsujin 28-gou (2004) Tetsujin 28 鉄人28号 (2004) [Palm Studio] (Finished 1/26) Tags: Shounen Historical, Mecha Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi In post-WWII Japan, Prof. Shikishima has built up Shikishima Industries to be a technological powerhouse, working on developing robots. However, at the heart of their success lurks a dark secret from the war, something that cost the life of Prof. Kaneda, the mentor of Prof. Shikishima. Now Kaneda's son, Shoutarou, is about to learn the truth, and it will change him forever. Pretty sure it's the third iteration of Gigantor already. Material does get less morally old and obsolete. Overall Rating: 5/10 29. Dan Doh!! ダンドー [Tokyo Kids] (Finished 1/26) Tags: Shounen Adventure, Sports Dandoh was playing a baseball game with friends Yuka and Kohei and hits a wild fly ball which crashes into the principal's potted plants. Rather than getting mad, the principal admires Dandoh's swing and introduces him to the world of golf. It's now an adventure in golf as Dandoh is under the watchful eye of a former pro-golfer. They enter a tournament together and play for a shot at the national championships. Ordinary spokon about young golf prodigy. Childish. Overall Rating: 5/10 30. Legendz: Yomigaeru Ryuuou Densetsu Legendz: Tale of the Dragon Kings レジェンズ 甦る竜王伝説 [Gallop] (Finished 1/50) Tags: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy When a crafty toy company "Wiz" also known in this show as Dark Wiz Company, finds crystals with the faint DNA of monsters known as "Legendz" are found and made into a battle game. A young boy named Shu receives one these crystals known as "soul figures" from his father after a baseball game. Legendz rapidly became popular and more and more children played it. Wiz employeys start to track down Shu for his special soul figure, for his soul figure can revive real legendz not just the little kiddy digital images! How will Shu fight his way to victory and claim this soul figure as his own? It is childish, though maybe borderline and not full-scale childish. Comedy is relatively ok at least, and that's a rarity for a toy promotion anime. Overall Rating: 6/10 31. Massugu ni Ikou. 2nd Season まっすぐにいこう。第2期 [Yumeta Company] (Finished 1/5) Tags: Josei Pets Comedy, Romance, Slice of Life Mametarou is a Crossbreed and this is about his daily activities and the friends he makes with his girlfriend, Hanako. Never finished original, have not got dogs affinity since. Overall Rating: 6/10 32. Get Ride! AMDriver Get Ride! アムドライバー [Studio Deen] (Finished 1/51) Tags: Mecha Adventure, Sci-Fi In the future, human beings are attacked by beings called the Bug-chine, which appeared a few years back. No normal human weapon can defeat the Bug-chine, but there is hope. It is the AMDrivers that will save the earth. They are solders using the latest "AM Technology". With overwhelming power, they will beat the Bug-chine one after another and become heroes, as well as capture the hearts of their fans. Partially translated. One of the most pathetic mecha released even compared to titles from 1970s, so bad on so many levels. Overall Rating: 5/10 33. The Marshmallow Times マシュマロ通信 <タイムス> [Studio Comet] (Finished 1/52) Tags: Slice of Life The series focuses on 7 children and a sheep-like character. Together, they work together as a team and hang out together. They wear various fashion through the series. They also have different colored hair. Sandy, a girl who has a pet sheep-like character named Cloud and 6 other children, Jasmine, Lime, Basil, Clove, Nattsu, and Cinnamon, became friends, they become a news reporter team. Each episode has the children dressed in various clothes. Not translated. Sample episode consisted of three stories. Humor is not bad, but it's all about elementary school girl, so not really appealing to me. Overall Rating: 5/10 34. Cossette no Shouzou Le Portrait de Petit Cossette コゼットの肖像 [Daume] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Gore, Psychological, Visual Arts Drama, Horror, Romance, Supernatural Eiri Kurahashi is a Japanese art student who works in an antique shop. His friends begin to notice a dramatic, and rather concerning, change in Eiri, as he becomes more absent-minded and his behavior completely changes. They quickly decide to blame their friend's troubles on a girl. They may be right, however, as Eiri has begun seeing a beautiful, doll-like girl trapped within an antique Venetian glass that his uncle bought in France. She seems to be living in a strange other world, contained entirely inside this glass, but her image refuses to leave Eiri's mind. His sketchbook becomes filled with her likeness, and he realizes he has become completely infatuated with this strange little girl. When he recognizes her in a portrait by the mysterious Italian artist, Marchello Orlando, he learns her name is Cossette d’Auvergne, and that she was tragically murdered along with the rest of her family. One night, as he closes up the shop, he hears a voice asking him not to leave. Finally making contact with the object of his obsession, he makes a deal that he doesn't fully understand. I feel uneasy when blood is shown abundantly, and this experimental work is mostly about blood, gore and some other disturbing elements. Too much accent on visuals, too little substance. Overall Rating: 5/10 35. Teizokurei Daydream 低俗霊DAYDREAM [Hal Film Maker] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Comedy, Drama, Horror, Supernatural, Ecchi Saiki Misaki has been able to see ghosts since she was a kid. Now, working at an S&M club, her spare time goes to sending the spirits off to the other world by having to make them realize they're dead and have to leave. This would supposedly be a little bit easier if you didnt have a background of hardship and loneliness... and a perverted employer. Albino dominatrix esper solves murder mysteries and fights using demon coming out of her... yes. It's an attempt to make the most shocking and provoking story ever. But I'm trying to remember at least something that impressed me or that I could enjoy... and, nope. Overall Rating: 5/10 36. Shin Getter Robo New Getter Robo 新ゲッターロボ [Brain's Base] (Finished 1/13) Tags: Shounen Mecha, Mythology Action, Adventure, Horror, Sci-Fi Humanity is under attack by demonic creatures called Oni. Unable to fight back by any other means, the scientist Dr. Saotome creates a series of giant robots that harness the mysterious power of Getter Rays, giving them the strength necessary to fight the Oni. The strongest of these is Getter Robo, and Saotome must enlist three very different men to pilot it - martial artist Ryoma Nagare, criminal leader Hayato Jin, and monk Benkei Musashibou. Together, the Getter Team fights to end the Oni menace forever. It's on the brighter side of mecha anime, but too old-school, too shounen in spirit and too schematic for me. Overall Rating: 6/10 37. Natsu-iro no Sunadokei Sandglass of Summer Colors 夏色の砂時計 [Picture Magic, Rikuentai] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Time Travel Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi Makimura Koutarou has made up his mind: during the summer vacation, he is going to confess his love to the seemingly unapproachable Serizawa Kaho. Yet, on the night before, he has a run-in with a strange girl - an encounter which propels him into the future. There, he learns that not only has Kaho-chan become his girlfriend, but she has also died in a tragic accident. Returning to his own time, Koutarou sets out to change the future and save his love. Time slip is only good when it's one-way, as for me. Here it's two-way time slip for the sake of ... just some additional motivation. A very banal visual novel story, sadly, and this time I actually regret I learned this weak cheesy concept as there is not a grain of originality here. Overall Rating: 5/10 38. Aoi Umi no Tristia 蒼い海のトリスティア [ufotable] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Mecha Adventure An ocean city, Tristia. Tristia used to be prospering playing an important role of the maritime trade, and it was as beautiful as to be praised as "marine jewelry". However, that was a long time ago. The attack of the dragons deprived the city of their original brightness. The people in Tristia worked hard to reconstruct their city, but everything they did went wrong, and the city became desolated on the contrary. At the end of their hope, they asked a Great Artisan for the recovery of the city, Prospero Flanka. Prospero was a legendary inventor who had revived cities that otherwise would have been ruined. The long-awaited day came when the Great Artisan Prosper arrived in the city... However, it was only one girl who stood at the port of the city. Prospero sent his grand daughter, Nanoka, for him. Building simulation turned into two episodes flavor anime was doomed from the start. Basically, it's just fanservice advertisement of the games. Overall Rating: 5/10 39. Memories Off 3.5 Memories Off 3.5 [メモリーズオフ3.5] [Picture Magic, Rikuentai] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Drama, Romance This series is made up of two seperate stories with a few overlapping characters. The first story, Omoide no Kanata e, is about Shogo and his current girlfriend Neo. Kanata, a former girlfriend of Shogo's shows up one day and causes Shogo and Neo to think about their current situations. The second story, Inori no Todoku Koro, is about girl called Inori and her boyfriend Isshu. They had made a promise to always go to the fireworks festival together, since that was the place that they orginally became a couple. This year, Isshu says he cannot attend because of his work so Inori goes alone and recalls the previous two years. Not the worst SOL romance, definitely not the best. Overall Rating: 6/10 40. Makasete Iruka! Grrl Power! まかせてイルか! [CoMix Wave Films] (Finished 1/1) Tags: School Action, Award Winning, Comedy Meet Umi, Sora and Ao, the three hardest working school girls in all of Japan. As the proprietors of the best odd-jobs service around, they'll take on any task and guarantee the result! Unfortunately, spending your whole day doing other people's homework and cleaning sewers doesn't leave much time to go to school yourself, so when the girls take on the task of convincing someone else to go back to school, it may prove to be their hardest job ever! Have these junior Jills of all trades finally met their match? Find out in Grrl Power! Length is just of one normal episode. A nice easygoing comedy about girls and for girls. Nothing outstanding, though. Overall Rating: 6/10 41. Steady x Study ステディ×スタディ [Idea Factory] (Finished 0/1) Tags: Romance Nakane Makoto is a freshman in the private school of Kamimori Academy in Harajuku. He enters the drama club because his best friend, Wakabayashi asked him to do so, but it turns out the club is on the verge of dissolution. A girl from Makoto's class, Saitou Koyuki is also a member of the club. In the meanwhile, Makoto's schoolmate since junior high - now a student of the other class - Abegawa Nozomi seeks to launch a so called "study club". Both clubs get into a pinch, as the student council won't finance their activity for this year, and even the day of a performance is approaching... Can the drama club survive this crisis? Not found. Overall Rating: 0/10 42. Appleseed (Movie) アップルシード [Digital Frontier] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Detective, Mecha, Military Action, Drama, Sci-Fi Growing out of the chaos of a global war, the city of Utopia is populated by humans and bioroids (artificial humans). On the surface, everything is harmonious, but tensions lurk. Into this seemingly perfect society comes a survivor of the wars, Deunan Knute, who carries a legacy that will turn out to be of critical importance to the future of humanity. Last time I watched it I was rather impressed. 3D here is not repulsive, but it would feel a lot better if drawn normally. It's more about unique setting and action, although there is also a story dimension alongside with races rivalry line. As for me, it deserves a borderline masterpiece score anyway, but not higher as it's not without controversies. Overall Rating: 7/10 43. Crayon Shin-chan Movie 12: Arashi wo Yobu! Yuuhi no Kasukabe Boys 映画 クレヨンしんちゃん 嵐を呼ぶ!夕陽のカスカベボーイズ [Shin-Ei Animation] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Historical Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy A fantasy action set in a world of Western films. One day the Nohara family, Kasukabe Defense Forces (Shinnosuke Nohara and his mates: Kazama-kun, Nene-chan, Masao-kun and Bo-chan), and other people living in Kasukabe City get lost in a world within a Wild West film, which is a city ruled by an evil governor named Justice. The time progression has been stopped there because the film is unfinished but people are losing their memories about the past little by little. To go back to their former world, the Kasukabe Defense Forces tries to defeat Governor Justice and finish the film before everyone loses their memories. Another thematic story, but a rather unfunny one this time. Overall Rating: 6/10
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One normal title per month is all we deserve these days 1. Red List Girls. [230223] 7th;MINT 1 The world has changed dramatically since the war. Humanity, once the supreme power on earth, was swallowed up by the power of the weapons it had created. As a result, the number of human beings has been greatly reduced. Scientific development ceased, but humans continued to kill animals. However, there were a few humans who were concerned about the danger to animals. They created organization "Agape", the Organization for the Assistance and Protection of Endangered Animals. Organization started to transform the strongest of animals into the same form as Human. Girls who are a cross between animals and people. This is the story of the battle waged by animal girls with weapons in their hands to protect their endangered brethren. Partial release 2. FLIP * FLOP ~RAMBLING OVERRUN~ [230224] DiGination Ran Tsukigaoka is a genius girl, but no one truly understands her - even herself. She knows who she is, but she never experienced love. I admit skipping the sequel, but it was vanilla nukige with an AI girl - a super boring service game. This time heroine is a genius creator of AI, so it's at least more or less natural, though still a totally fetish little game. 3. SACRIFICE VILLAINS [230224] CLOCKUP CRIME has reigned supreme in SCUM CITY since the day the SUPERVILLAINS showed up— However, at the heart of this evil nest lies a sanctuary known as JUSTOPIAN WARD. As a deterrent to the evildoers, the SUPERHEROES constructed this self-sufficient stronghold, which thrives despite the surrounding CHAOS. JUSTOPIA, the ultimate hero and bane of countless villains, is its FOUNDER, MAYOR, and CHAMPION. Justopia also founded the HERO SOCIETY and serves as its chairman, giving orders to the other heroes as they fight crime and bring peace to the city and the world. Yet, the crafty VILLAINS are growing stronger, and the HEROES are struggling to keep up... some of them have even betrayed the cause by swearing allegiance to the dark side in the most heinous way! If not the ASYLUM, to whom should Justopia seek assistance? This facility reforms criminals, and who could be more qualified to lead it than YOU? Capturing and reforming S-level villains must be done rapidly and efficiently. It's in your hands to rehabilitate these scumbags and put their power to use for JUSTICE again! Tried to find at least some gameplay elements in it, and no, it's just a pure nukige, and I would not include it unless it got translation at some point. 4. Sakura no Toki -Sakura no Mori no Shita o Ayumu- サクラノ刻-櫻の森の下を歩む- [230224] Makura 1 Even disappear into the inexhaustible world. Still, the sounds overlap and resonate. The time flows – one day, it will become poetry. A two story about geniuses, geniuses and mediocrities. Weak God and strong God. A story beyond happiness. That is the second act of the cherry blossom story. A genius chosen by God, a genius abandoned by God, and a mediocre man who resists God. What is the charism that dwells in beauty? Why is the fruit given only to the chosen one? "Where did we come from, who are we, where are we going?" A world united by the light of causal exchange. Can artists answer that question through beauty? A story told around Kusanagi Naoya after "Sakura no Uta". From that slope, Naoya and Ai went down while looking at the city of Yumihari. There were many untold stories leading up to it. About two geniuses. The true story of Natsume Kei and Kusanagi Naoya. Why do they continue to fascinate people even after Natsume Kei's death or when they break their brushes? A true painter, Misakura Rin, who is the embodiment of beauty itself. Why does she want to go beyond where they stopped? What about Hikawa Rina? What about Kawachino Yuumi? What about Toritani Makoto? And Natsume Ai? All human thoughts intersect. There is at least one English review already.
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Among three titles with score of 9 only Interlude is a new title, so it takes the upper hand over sequels Koukaku Kidoutai: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG and Innocence , plus there's this great little series Mousou Dairinin that deserves a mention. 1. Mousou Dairinin Paranoia Agent 妄想代理人 [Madhouse] (Finished 13/13) Tags: Detective, Psychological Avant Garde, Drama, Mystery, Supernatural, Suspense The infamous Shounen Bat (Lil' Slugger) is terrorizing the residents of Musashino City. Flying around on his rollerblades and beating people down with a golden baseball bat, the assailant seems impossible to catch—much less understand. His first victim, the well-known yet timid character designer Tsukiko Sagi, is suspected of orchestrating the attacks. Believed only by her anthropomorphic pink stuffed animal, Maromi, Tsukiko is just one of Shounen Bat's many victims. As Shounen Bat continues his relentless assault on the town, detectives Keiichi Ikari and Mitsuhiro Maniwa begin to investigate the identity of the attacker. However, more and more people fall victim to the notorious golden bat, and news of the assailant begins circulating around the town. Paranoia starts to set in as chilling rumors spread amongst adults and children alike. Will the two detectives be able to unravel the truth behind Shounen Bat, or will the paranoia get to them first? I generally don't like mystery, but can't say the show exists solely for the sake of unveiling a mystery. Rather than inserting filler middle, it usually devotes each episode to some character, and there are a lot of connections between different characters. Compared to Tokyo Godfathers, everyone is much more pleasant, all the nonsense luck motive is gone, and a much wider array of interesting tricks is used. Can't deny I enjoyed it both times I watched it. Overall Rating: 7/10 2. Koukaku Kidoutai: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG 攻殻機動隊 S.A.C. 2nd GIG [Production I.G] (Finished 26/26) Tags: Seinen Adult Cast, Detective, Mecha, Military Action, Mystery, Sci-Fi Following the closure of the "Laughing Man" case, Section 9 is re-established by Japan's newly elected Prime Minister, Youko Kayabuki, to combat the persistent threat of cyber-terrorism. A group calling themselves "The Individual Eleven" has begun committing acts of terror across Japan. While Motoko Kusanagi, Daisuke Aramaki, Batou, and the other members of Section 9 investigate this new menace, the Japanese government faces a separate crisis, as foreign refugees displaced by the Third World War seek asylum in Japan. But as the members of the special-ops team continually encounter Gouda Kazundo—a leading member of the Cabinet Intelligence Service—in their hunt, they begin to suspect that he may be involved, and that the events of the refugee crisis and The Individual Eleven may be more connected than they realize... I decided from the start that sequels can't get the same score as original season in order not to clutter genius masterpiece score. And that's the only reason this series is not getting top score. Fantastic. Overall Rating: 9/10 3. Maria-sama ga Miteru Maria Watches Over Us マリア様がみてる [Studio Deen] (Finished 2/13) Tags: Drama, Girls Love When Yumi Fukuzawa entered the Lillian Girls' Academy, a prestigious all-girls Catholic school in Tokyo, she never imagined she would catch the eye of beautiful and demure Sachiko Ogasawara, one of the school's most popular students. Now Sachiko has offered to be Yumi's soeur, her "sister" and guide for all her years at the academy. The whole idea has Yumi completely flustered—after all, they hardly know each other! The entire campus is abuzz with rumors about the two of them, but Yumi is conflicted over accepting Sachiko's offer. While she admires Sachiko, being her soeur would also mean constantly being at the center of the entire school's attention! Is it a good girls love story? Probably. But it's totally alien and heavy to me, so I need something on the side to enjoy like comedy plus cuteness of Yuri Yuri. Overall Rating: 6/10 4. Futari wa Precure Pretty Cure ふたりはプリキュア [Toei Animation] (Finished 4/49) Tags: Mahou Shoujo Action, Comedy, Fantasy Middle school students Nagisa Misumi and Honoka Yukishiro are the epitome of dissimilarity. Popular with their classmates, Nagisa is the school's energetic star lacrosse player, while Honoka is the soft-spoken "Queen of Intelligence." As unrelated as they may seem, Nagisa and Honoka live double lives as the "emissaries of light": Cure Black and Cure White of Pretty Cure. With the assistance of two fairies, Mipple and Mepple, the girls fight against the Dotsuku Zone—an evil force that has invaded the Garden of Light. In order to prevent the Dotsuku Zone from taking over the Garden of Rainbows as well, the pair must work together to find seven Prism Stones and restore the Prism Hopish to drive out the vile forces. With strong foes standing in their way, Nagisa and Honoka learn to work together and harness their newfound powers in order to save the worlds from further ruin. A more realistic and down to earth mahou shoujo compared to Sailor Moon, also never understood the need to implement half a dozen of similar looking heroines - here it's totally different. A good setting to serialize and pass time on everyday basis, but killing time was never among my interests, and story arcs don't seem to vary much from Sailor Moon at a glance. Overall Rating: 6/10 5. Gokusen ごくせん [Madhouse] (Finished 13/13) Tags: Josei Delinquents, Organized Crime, School, Workplace Comedy, Drama, Slice of Life Kumiko Yamaguchi is smart, enthusiastic, and ready to start her dream job as a math teacher at Shirokin Academy. But as her first day opens on atrocious students and cowering teachers, Kumiko realizes that the all-boys high school is a cesspool of delinquents with no intention of improving themselves. However, what her rowdy students don't know is that behind her dorky facade, Kumiko is the acting head of a powerful yakuza clan, and she has the skills to prove it! Capable of overpowering even the strongest of gangsters in seconds, Kumiko must keep her incredible strength and criminal influence a secret in order to keep her job. Unfortunately, with the vice principal constantly trying to get her fired and Shin Sawada, the leader of her class of delinquents, suspecting she's stronger than she lets on, Kumiko has a difficult teaching career ahead of her. An obvious imitation of Great Teacher Onizuka, reversed version. But character designs are rather bad, and a bunch of Beavis and Butthead types with one bishounen confident are in the center of attention, so I could not enjoy it despite finishing it. Overall Rating: 6/10 6. Yumeria ゆめりあ [Studio Deen] (Finished 3/12) Tags: Harem, Super Power Action, Comedy, Ecchi On his 16th birthday, Tomokazu Mikuri had a realistic dream where he sees a girl battling a giant floating monstrosity. When he wakes up, he is surprised that the girl is actually sleeping next to him... Whenever he sleeps from now on, he ends up back at the dream world, and more and more people that he knows keep showing up there too. He finds out from a mysterious masked woman in the dream world named Silk that they are fighting against one named Faydoom, and he is the one who provides the powers to those girls so that they can fight these monsters. And so it goes... It's a shameless imitation of Chobits in SOL part, but all the other parts like fighting and harem feel hugely borrowed as well. It only has value for those who like harems, but it's also a miss for me. Overall Rating: 5/10 7. Mezzo DSA メゾ [Arms] (Finished 13/13) Tags: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Mystery, Sci-Fi Mikura, Kurokawa, and Harada are the 3 members of the Danger Service Agency (DSA). Mikura is the brawns of the group, Harada is the brains, and Kurokawa is just a bitter ex-cop that likes to think he's in charge. They'll take on any job as long as it involves lots of danger and, of course, money. If you want to live long enough to eat dinner, you better not cross them. Their biggest case, however, could prove to be finding out why someone wants Kurokawa assassinated. Decent action with good visuals. But I never got to like characters which happened even in Armitage III that I never declared a masterpiece. There is also dolls theme here, by the way. Some talks and fanservice are repulsive. Overall Rating: 6/10 8. Hikari to Mizu no Daphne Daphne in the Brilliant Blue 光と水のダフネ [J.C.Staff] (Finished 5/24) Tags: Detective, Psychological Comedy, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Ecchi In the future, water has covered much of the Earth due to the effects of global warming. The orphaned Maia Mizuki, 15, just graduated from middle school and has already applied for employment in the elite paramilitary Ocean Agency, part of the futuristic world government. Only the best, most intelligent, and physically fit students are eligible for admission. Maia, the series' protagonist, is set to become one of the few. But her ideal life quickly falls apart. To her disappointment, Maia unexpectedly fails her entrance exams. Making matters worse, she promptly gets evicted from her house, pick pocketed, taken hostage, then shot. She is "saved" by two women (Rena and Shizuka) that are part of an unorthodox help-for-hire organization called Nereids (inspired by the Greek mythological Nereids ). With nowhere to go, Maia joins up with Nereids, taking jobs from capturing wanted criminals to chasing stray cats, often with unexpected results. Gloria and Yu later join up with Nereids. "Daphne" in the title refers to a subplot that starts midway into the series and eventually become important to Maia. "Brilliant Blue" refers to the fact that this is a world covered by water with almost no land. The world consists of vast oceans, a few islands, and floating cities. Focus on fanservice and lack of story episodes don't do any good here. Characters are straight up irritating. Can't find anything to hold up to here. Overall Rating: 5/10 9. Area 88 (TV) エリア88 [Group TAC] (Finished 1/12) Tags: Shounen Military Action, Drama, Romance Deep in the sandy plains of the Middle Eastern kingdom of Asran, Japanese photojournalist Makoto Shinjou travels to the remote airbase Area 88 to document the activities of the mercenaries who destroy the country's enemies for a living. Among their ranks is Shin Kazama, a Japanese ace pilot who was tricked by his former best friend into signing a contract with the Asran's fighter squad. Because of this, he lost his career as an airline pilot and the chance to marry his fiancee Ryoko Tsugumo. Now, Shin has three choices in order to leave Area 88 and return to Japan: serve the mercenary group for three years, earn US$1.5 million, or desert the base, risking imminent death. I absolutely hated its OVA and movie at the ancient times for anime. Watching this lousy story for the third time is beyond my patience. Overall Rating: 5/10 10. Yuugo: Koushounin Yugo The Negotiator 勇午 ~交渉人~ [Artland] (Finished 3/13) Tags: Seinen Military, Psychological Action, Drama, Mystery, Suspense "Negotiation means, you turn words into weapons" This is the realization of the popular comic Yu-go that was published in Kondasha Afternoon Magazine over a period of 10 years. Beppu Yuugo is the world's most successfull negotiator. His only weapons are "words." Yuugo doesn't kill people. Neither does he threaten them with brute violence. With rich knowledge and a calm judgement, he believes in the humans inside them. Doing only that he has managed many dangerous negotiations successfully until now. Now two of the many episodes have been chosen very carefully, one taking place in Russia, the other one in Pakistan. In the burning desert and the freezing Siberia Yuugo begins his negotiations. Entrance story is ok, but further one falls into mediocrity. Too many simplifications. Such stories are a disgrace for the seinen genre. Overall Rating: 6/10 11. Juubee-chan 2: Siberia Yagyuu no Gyakushuu Jubei-chan 2: The Counterattack of Siberia Yagyu 十兵衛ちゃん2 ~シベリア柳生の逆襲~ [Madhouse] (Finished 1/13) Tags: Martial Arts, Samurai Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama Three hundred years ago, in the frigid land of Siberia, Jubei Yagyu engaged in a fierce battle with Kitaretsusai of the Northern Yagyu clan. The duel was costly, as his daughter Freesia was frozen in suspended animation. As a result of global warming in the present day, Freesia breaks free from her icy grave and moves to Japan as a middle school transfer student, where she befriends Jiyuu Nanohana. Little does Jiyuu know that Freesia is targeting her to acquire the coveted Lovely Eye Patch, which Freesia believes is rightfully hers. Sequel coming after five years has not really improved the idea. Overall Rating: 5/10 12. Burn Up Scramble バーンナップスクランブル [AIC Spirits] (Finished 5/12) Tags: Detective Action, Comedy, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Ecchi AD. 2023, Tokyo. Because of the change of the society such as internationalization and enlargement of the trading, the dark side of the society also continues changing. The criminals are getting deep, and their organizations are increasing its size, then the peace and security is getting worse. The government takes it seriously, and decides to introduce an innovative system. In order to cope with the special criminals, an extralegal police is founded. It is a special criminal team, Warriors, which consists of a few elite members. Yet another Bubblegum Crisis imitation, and a really poor one this time. Overall Rating: 5/10 13. Kita e.: Diamond Dust Drops Diamond Daydreams 北へ。 ~Diamond Dust Drops~ [Studio Deen] (Finished 1/12) Tags: Drama, Romance If a couple sees the diamond dust together, then they will certainly find eternal happiness. Or so it is said. This is a drama about the romances, friendships and conflicts of six girls from Hokkaido and how the diamond dust affects them and eventually links them together in the search for happiness. Can't stand sentimental nonsense while the anthology form and questionable source only aggravate things. Overall Rating: 5/10 14. Choujuushin Gravion Zwei Super Heavy God Gravion Zwei 超重神グラヴィオンツヴァイ [Gonzo] (Finished 1/12) Tags: Mecha Action, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi After Gravion was able to use its ultimate attack, the Zeravire threat seemed to have temporary stopped. However when it rises back up all of a sudden, the Earth Gult and its trump card, the super robot Gravion, is needed to defend this world again. All this while, the EFA is planning to create their own weapons to counter the Zeravire, the Grand Trooper. Now as they attempt to fend off the Zeravire, the people of the Earth Gult and EFA must protect their future as well as confront their pasts, and unveil the mysteries of the Zeravire. Mecha with a sequel is a rare occurrence. Good mecha sequel is something impossible . Overall Rating: 5/10 15. SD Gundam Force SDガンダムフォース [Sunrise] (Finished 1/52) Tags: Mecha Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy The land of Neotopia is attacked by the Dark Axis, evil invaders from another dimension who wish to conquer this land. Neotopia's answer: the secret Super Dimensional Guard and their defenders, the Gundam Force. Led by Captain Gundam, the Gundam Force and its team of Gundams with special abilities are aided by a boy named Shute as they stop at nothing to defend the land from the Dark Axis and to defeat them once and for all. Sadly, this title is not a joke. I don't know where to start, so I won't. Overall Rating: 4/10 16. Chou Henshin Cosprayers The Cosmopolitan Prayers 超変身コス∞プレイヤー [Imagin, Studio Live] (Finished 8/8) Tags: Super Power Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Ecchi Koto unknowingly seals away the Sun Goddess Amaterasu, and now she is in a different world and can't return. Meeting priestesses who combat the evil in this strange place she learns that Black Towers throughout the land keep Amaterasu sealed away and are guarded by evil monsters. Koto must now find a way to help defeat these monsters and return the world to the way it was. Experimental title sounds like swearing to me already. We're getting thrown unbearable nonsense that might get clearer and might get a decent score if we watch the whole trilogy and get to understand the director - blah blah blah - or it might not. Or we can just dump this trash where it belongs to. Overall Rating: 5/10 17. Divergence Eve 2: Misaki Chronicles Misaki Chronicle: Divergence Eve みさきクロニクル 〜ダイバージェンス・イヴ〜 [Radix] (Finished 1/13) Tags: Mecha, Military, Space Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi Through the long distance warp called the "Exodus Project", Worns, Ryer and the other crew members of "Watchers Nest" manage to escape from the Earth. Misaki, who was attending the final battle with "Ghoul" at that time, isn't present there and before her eyes, the earth changes and gets enclosed by a time barrier. Ryer and the others search for a way to escape from this space time maze, but the earth changes to various forms. Innumerable "Nows" appear due to varying time axes. And also Misaki, who should have disappeared because of the Exodus Project incident, still afortiori. Before Ryer and the others, different forms of Misaki appear. The Misaki from training school, the Misaki from her childhood days. Are these reflections caused by the conflicts that exist inside Misaki? She awakens a second time and when she derives the response, that history is leading into a completely differnet direction now. Will Misaki, Ryer and the others be able to find a real happy end?! Original season was too weird in trying to combine eternal fanservice with serious sci-fi. I could not finish it, so just a glance into sequel is more than enough for me to forget about it forever. Overall Rating: 6/10 18. Transformers Superlink トランスフォーマー スーパーリンク [Actas] (Finished 1/51) Tags: Mecha, Space Adventure, Sci-Fi It has been 10 years since the fateful battle with Unicron. Many of the Decepticons who fought in the battle against Unicron have joined forces with the Autobos to mine for Energon, an alternate energy source. But a new source of evil has a risen, Alpha Q who plans to steal the Energon from the Autobots with the help of Scorponok and the Terrorcons. This new evil is trying to revive Megatron and Unicron in order to rekindle the old flames of war. At least it's staying true to itself... because I fail to find any strong points. Overall Rating: 5/10 19. Kaiketsu Zorori かいけつゾロリ [Ajia-do] (Finished 1/52) Tags: Adventure, Comedy Adapted from the popular storybooks of the same name by Yutaka Hara, Kaiketsu Zorori follows the adventures of a scheming fox named Zorori, who is determined to become the King of Mischief with his very own castle and beautiful bride. Although Zorori is notorious for his pranks and tricks, his conniving plots often backfire and end up helping his targets, and despite appearing to be villainous and immoral, he is actually caring and sentimental. Nevertheless, Zorori has the wits, intelligence, and dexterity to always find a solution out of the most hopeless of situations. Travelling with a pair of twin boar bandits, Ishishi and Noshishi, he continues on his journey to make his deceased mother proud. Kids anime not marked properly. Overall Rating: 5/10 20. Monkey Turn モンキーターン [OLM] (Finished 1/25) Tags: Shounen Racing Action, Drama Based on Kawai Katsutoshi's manga of the same name, published in Weekly Shounen Sunday, Monkey Turn is a sports anime based around professional speed boat racing. The anime's protagonist, Tadano Kenji, is too short to follow his dream of becoming a professional baseball player, but his baseball coach recommends him to boat racing. One day Tadano-san unexpectedly meets his old girlfriend and they exchange promises: in return for her being faithful to him, he is charged with becoming Japan's best racer within three years. The eponymous "Monkey Turn" is a boat maneuver Kenji-san thought up while visiting his girlfriend. The Monkey Turn gives Kenji quite the advantage over other boaters, but is it enough for him become the best? Racing spokon is combination of two things I can't stand, and this representative is particularly bad. Overall Rating: 5/10 21. Taikong Xiha Zu Space Hip Hop Duck 太空嘻哈族 [-] (Finished 1/26) Tags: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Sci-Fi - Not translated and not in Japanese. Abstract nonsense for kids. Overall Rating: 5/10 22. Wolf's Rain OVA ウルフズ・レイン [Bones] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Psychological Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi, Supernatural As the world accelerates toward its own destruction, Kiba and Cheza—with the help of Tsume, Hige, Toboe, and Blue—race to reach true paradise before the entire world is rendered uninhabitable. Now reunited, Cher and Hubb decide to accompany the wolves in hopes of seeing the journey through to its end, while a distraught and confused Quent wanders aimlessly into the wasteland with his mind fixated on revenge. Meanwhile, Lord Darcia the Third has finally put his plot into motion and pursues Cheza, pitting him against the pack. As everything falls apart yet simultaneously falls into place, the wolves struggle to survive in an increasingly dangerous environment. Though the end draws near, paradise seems further away than ever before. Wow, they managed to pull the same old stunt again, that means a penalty to the score. Overall Rating: 5/10 23. Phantom The Animation Phantom: The Animation ファントム THE ANIMATION [Arcs Create] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Organized Crime Action, Drama Zwei was an ordinary person, until one day, while walking the streets a night, he witnessed a brutal assassination. He managed to avoid the sniper, a young girl named Ein, but was soon captured, and had the memories of his former life erased. He is spared death only by accepting a condition: to train to become an assassin alongside Ein. Now, he must find a way to free himself from this shady world and reclaim his life once again. Having read visual novel, can say that anime is enough to get into this story as what's dropped is like 30 bad or neutral endings. Overall Rating: 6/10 24. Interlude インタールード [Toei Animation] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Adventure, Horror, Mystery The unnamed main character has been having strange dreams, seeing strange things, and meeting strange people. He investigates these events and finds a strange girl named Aya. With her help, he discovers that his world may not in fact be real and many of the people he thinks he knows may not exist anymore. I love anime version more than the game one due to the ending that gives an additional meaning. I would not go that far to call it a genius masterpiece, but it's not without food for thought, so it qualifies for a nine. Overall Rating: 9/10 25. Animation Seisaku Shinkou Kuromi-chan 2 Animation Runner Kuromi 2 アニメーション制作進行くろみちゃん 2 [Yumeta Company] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Otaku Culture, Parody Comedy, Drama Following Studio Petit's popularity for Time Journey's, the crew is now faced with 3 anime at the same time. Rushing to fill the quotas, the owner of Studio Petit hires Takashimadaira, a veteran producer to help Kuromi. However, all Takashimadaira cares about is making deadlines, severely hurting the quality of the images. Shihonmatsu, who has been helping Kuromi, gets angry at the new producer and leaves, leaving Kuromi with a difficult choice: to choose between the quality or the deadline. Studio Petit managed to survive the production of "Time Journeys," but now that show's finished, and in its place they've got no less than three series to animate, with just four artists, one manager and one director - not to mention one very bedraggled animation runner. And it doesn't help that Shihonmatsu picked this week to quit smoking. As the staff starts to fall behind their crushing deadlines, the owner calls in an old "pro," Takashimadaira, to get production back on track. But once he starts putting speed above quality, the Petit team has to choose between following orders and doing their jobs right. Decided to rate sequels lower, and again that's the only reason this little thing is outside radar range, but sequels are easy to discover anyway. Overall Rating: 6/10 26. Tokyo Daigaku Monogatari 東京大学物語 [Shinkuukan] (Finished 2/2) Tags: School Comedy, Drama, Romance, Ecchi Murakami Naoki is the most intelligent student at his high school, but he can't stop obsessing over a girl named Mizuno Haruka. He finally asks her out, and to his surprise, she accepts. After several months of a loving yet obviously doomed romance, it comes time for them to take the entrance exams for Tokyo University. But what would happen to their relationship if only one of them was accepted. Rushed and weird in motivation romance. Overall Rating: 5/10 27. Hijikata Toshizou: Shiro no Kiseki 土方歳三 白の軌跡 [Studio 4°C] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical, Samurai Action, Drama A biographical sketch of the life and ideals of Hijikata Toshizou, Vice Commander of the Shinsengumi, fighting to uphold the Shogunate during the Meiji revolution. A short 30-minute biography sketch on a historical figure is welcome, but such format does not fit for a greater score. Overall Rating: 6/10 28. Dai Yamato Zero-gou Great Yamato No. 0 大ヤマト零号 [JCF] (Finished 5/5) Tags: Adult Cast, Space Sci-Fi In the galactic group there are more than 100,000,000,000 galaxies, and the Milky Way galaxy, the one which includes Earth's solar system, is only one of these... one of many in the immensity of outer space. This story starts in the year 3199, when a mighty enemy attacks the Milky Way from a neighbouring galaxy. The enemy engages the combined forces of the Milky Way, an Alliance of many stellar nations, and defeats them one after another. The remaining Milky Way Alliance forces are reduced to just six fleets. After the Alliance headquarters is destroyed, and when the collapse of the central Milky Way Alliance is imminent, the Great Yamato "Zero" surprises everyone and embarks on a mission to assist the Milky Way Alliance in one last great battle. This Yamato is so great that it's not even translated... Decent space battleship action in alternative setting, but ugly CGI and lack of sense. Overall, quite good, but in current untranslated state hardly watchable. Overall Rating: 6/10 29. Innocence Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence イノセンス [Production I.G] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adult Cast, Detective, Mecha, Military, Psychological Award Winning, Sci-Fi With Major Motoko Kusanagi missing, Section 9's Batou is assigned to investigate a string of gruesome murders—seemingly at the hands of faulty gynoids, or sex robots. But when a faulty gynoid leaves Batou a cryptic message, he begins to question the cause of their malfunctions. Suspicions of politically motivated murder and an illegal "ghost" quickly crop up, drawing Batou and his partner Togusa into a perilous web of conspiracy. As their investigation goes on, the line between man and machine continues to blur, and reality and perception become indistinguishable. Confronting strange and dangerous foes, Batou and Togusa explore a futuristic world filled with machines and living dolls but utterly devoid of humanity. Again, great sequel to the original movie, and only being a sequel inqures a penalty score. Overall Rating: 9/10 30. Dead Leaves デッド リーブス [Production I.G] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi Shortly after waking up in an unknown street with no clothes or memories, Retro and Pandy team up and begin a life of thrill chasing and violence. Retro's wild antics and Pandy's carefree personality make them the perfect partners in crime to cause mayhem wherever they strike. When an accidental mistake lands them behind bars, Retro and Pandy are sent to Dead Leaves—a high-security prison on the Moon. Once there, they soon discover that the other inmates are clones, all products of genetic mutation experiments. With nothing better to do, they escape from their cell and lead a prison break with the other captives. Armed with a crew of mutants and a hunger for havoc, the chaotic duo begins their wacky escape. It's schematic in the way that it avoids showing details , it sketchy in the way it tries to mimic manga strips, it's visually chaotic, also more absurd that I'm willing to tolerate, contains some really bad humor. I refuse to acknowledge this as something good. Overall Rating: 5/10 31. Nitaboh NITABOH 仁太坊―津軽三味線始祖外聞 [WAO World] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical, Music At a young age, Nitaroh is stricken with an illness that leaves him blind. He inherits the shamisen once used by his mother and is taught its basics by a blind traveling shamisen player. In time, with the help of friends old and new, he walks the paths that leads to his ultimate fate—that of founder of the Tsugaru style of shamisen playing. Great, another special movie about disabled people. At least it's not a tearjerker this time, and those people are showed as strong and finding their place as equals in the society, plus it's partially a musical. But I can't enjoy such a story. Overall Rating: 6/10 32. Hudie Meng: Liang Shan Bo yu Zhu Ying Tai The Butterfly Lovers: Leon and Jo 蝴蝶夢:梁山伯與祝英台 [-] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Drama, Romance The Butterfly Lovers is an animated re-telling of the classical Chinese story of two lovers, Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai. Not translated and in Chinese. I'm not a fan of traditional Chinese tales, and this one is rather poorly done. Musical part is super cringy. Overall Rating: 5/10
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Anime of the Year 2003-IV Fall - Sakigake!! Cromartie Koukou
kivandopulus posted a blog entry in Anime of the Season
Lots of titles, lots of masterpieces. Gunslinger Girl , Gungrave and Jungle wa Itsumo Hare nochi Guu Final deserve a honorary mention as minor masterpieces, but my heart is with Sakigake!! Cromartie Koukou 1. Fullmetal Alchemist 鋼の錬金術師 [Bones] (Finished 3/51) Tags: Shounen Military Action, Adventure, Award Winning, Drama, Fantasy Edward Elric, a young, brilliant alchemist, has lost much in his twelve-year life: when he and his brother Alphonse try to resurrect their dead mother through the forbidden act of human transmutation, Edward loses his brother as well as two of his limbs. With his supreme alchemy skills, Edward binds Alphonse's soul to a large suit of armor. A year later, Edward, now promoted to the fullmetal alchemist of the state, embarks on a journey with his younger brother to obtain the Philosopher's Stone. The fabled mythical object is rumored to be capable of amplifying an alchemist's abilities by leaps and bounds, thus allowing them to override the fundamental law of alchemy: to gain something, an alchemist must sacrifice something of equal value. Edward hopes to draw into the military's resources to find the fabled stone and restore his and Alphonse's bodies to normal. However, the Elric brothers soon discover that there is more to the legendary stone than meets the eye, as they are led to the epicenter of a far darker battle than they could have ever imagined. Just as with other notorious shounens I could never understand the hype and had to listen to some podcasts about it to see what excites people in it. And I did not get good answers - just story of their mother, some epic action, the way equivalent exchange works. Nothing of this makes sense it's it's just super minor points. I'll get to listen to some more with time, but for now after three episodes it's exactly average shounen that's too childish to even consider watching seriously. Overall Rating: 6/10 2. Planetes プラネテス [Sunrise] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Seinen Adult Cast, Space, Workplace Award Winning, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi In 2075, space travel is no longer just a dream, but an everyday reality for mankind. Advancements in science and technology have led to the colonization of the moon, the commercialization of outer space, and the formation of large space corporations. Ai Tanabe, an upbeat woman whose interests lie in the cosmos, joins Technora Corporation as a member of their Debris Section, a department dedicated to the removal of dangerous space junk between the orbits of the Earth and Moon. However, Ai soon discovers how unappreciated her job is. As the laughingstock of Technora, the Debris Section is severely understaffed, poorly funded, and is forced to use a dilapidated spaceship nicknamed the "Toy Box" for debris retrieval. Undeterred, Ai perseveres and gradually becomes acquainted with the strange personalities that make up the Debris Section's staff, such as the bumbling but good-natured chief clerk Philippe Myers; the mysterious and tight-lipped temp worker Edelgard Rivera; and the hotheaded and passionate Hachirouta Hoshino, who longs for a spaceship to call his own. Planetes is an unconventional sci-fi series that portrays the vastness of space as a backdrop for the personal lives of ordinary people—people who may have been born on Earth, but whose hopes and dreams lie amongst the stars. Welcome the new space janitor Roger Wilco... I mean, some bland girls. I remember dropping this series even when I was younger and more open-minded for weird stuff popping up the screen. Planetes is just SOL on a spaceship with occasional collecting space trash. That's basically it, because everything is supposed to look cooler in space. So it has no story and no humor, plus not interesting characters, as for me. I'm sure author put a lot of effort in character development and unique situations, but it's not the buying points. Just SOL in unusual place is enough for a concept, there must be something of substance to go, for some reason newer anime can find that something alright, but pioneers got lost in weird experiments. Overall Rating: 5/10 3. Chrno Crusade Chrono Crusade クロノクルセイド [Gonzo] (Finished 3/24) Tags: Shounen Historical, Mythology Action, Romance, Supernatural The 1920s was a decade of great change and upheaval, with monstrous demons appearing across America. To combat this menace, the holy organization known as the Order of Magdalene was established. The organization's New York branch is home to the young and reckless Sister Rosette Christopher, as well as her partner Chrno. Tasked with the extermination of demonic threats, the renowned team is excellent at their job, despite causing extensive collateral damage on their missions. However, both Rosette and Chrno are driven by their dark pasts. Through exterminating demons, Rosette hopes to find her lost brother Joshua who was taken by the sinner and demon, Aion, with whom Chrno also shares a bloody history. The two of them must fight off the increasingly dangerous demonic menace and discover its source, while continuing to search for the truth behind Joshua's disappearance. Another shounen with decent visuals, but what's really special about it... I see two good points - lack of evident weak sides and also serious attitude with occasional relief. Nun and good demon fight bad demons , and that's it - no aim, no motivation of both sides, no real hunt. Just enjoy SOL or character past stories and by the end of the episode some demon will hop by. It's not Hellsing to live on characters and action, but even Hellsing had a more refined concept and development than this mess. Overall Rating: 6/10 4. Gunslinger Girl ガンスリンガー・ガール [Madhouse] (Finished 13/13) Tags: Military, Psychological Action, Drama, Sci-Fi In the heart of Italy, the Social Welfare Agency rescues young girls from hospital beds and gives them a second chance at life using the latest in cybernetic advancements. With their artificially enhanced bodies, the girls are brainwashed and trained as assassins to carry out the dirty work of the Italian Government. Despite all the modifications, they are still just children at heart, struggling for recognition from those they love, even knowing the love they feel is manufactured. This tragic tale unfolds as these girls grapple with their emotions in an agency that treats them as nothing but ruthless killers. Seen it long ago, but it still keeps a small corner in my heart, enough for a minor masterpiece though. Serious, dramatic, sympathetic. Overall Rating: 7/10 5. Gungrave ガングレイヴ [Madhouse] (Finished 26/26) Tags: Adult Cast, Gore, Organized Crime, Super Power Action, Drama, Sci-Fi Brandon Heat and Harry MacDowel, two friends so close they could be called brothers, receive an abrupt and violent reminder one fateful day of how appallingly merciless the world around them can be. Their whole lives before then were simple and easygoing, consisting largely of local brawls, seducing women, and committing petty theft to make a living and pass the time. What they failed to realize is that in this cruel world, happiness is fleeting, and change is inevitable. Enter Millennion, the largest and most infamous mafia syndicate in the area, which accepts Brandon and Harry into their ranks and starts them at the bottom of the food chain. Harry has ambitions to ascend the ranks and one day replace Big Daddy as the supreme leader of Millennion, while Brandon only wishes to support his friend and appease Big Daddy who has taken custody of the woman Brandon loves. Based off the third-person shooter video game under the same name, Gungrave is an epic story of friendship, betrayal, and avarice that spans the course of several years, ultimately tying back to the gripping and foreboding first episode, all the while building up to the story's thrilling conclusion. It was always a masterpiece for me, but the one that needs to be known and remembered, not rewatched, so probably will also settle with a minor masterpiece score. To avoid spoilers can only say that story was really impressive and dramatic the first time seen. Overall Rating: 7/10 6. Shingetsutan Tsukihime Lunar Legend Tsukihime 真月譚 月姫 [J.C.Staff] (Finished 12/12) Tags: Super Power, Vampire Action, Horror, Mystery, Romance, Supernatural Shiki Toono wakes up in a hospital ward with the ability to see invisible lines. These thin threads, which make up all matter in Shingetsutan, instantly destroy an object when severed. Shiki discovers that if he traces the lines of something, its destruction soon follows. While keeping his supernatural vision a secret, Shiki proceeds to live his sophomore life in peace. However, this peace is short-lived when Shiki encounters a mysterious woman with bright red eyes on his way back from school. Following a sudden psychotic lapse, he appears to kill the woman, and passes out shortly after. As if things couldn't get any worse, Shiki is assailed by a pair of demonic hounds the next day—facing certain death, Shiki is saved by the timely arrival of the same woman from yesterday. She introduces herself as Arcueid Brunestud, a vampire princess. Deciding to team up, Shiki and Arcueid embark on a journey to uncover the truth behind their lineage and the recent string of murders around town. The beginning is great, but I don't remember this SOL in the middle where all characters drink tea together rather peacefully. All this sudden lose of tension does not qualify for a masterpiece. Overall Rating: 6/10 7. Kimi ga Nozomu Eien Rumbling Hearts 君が望む永遠 [Studio Fantasia] (Finished 14/14) Tags: Love Polygon Drama, Romance In the warmth of a golden sun, timid high school student Haruka Suzumiya confesses to Takayuki Narumi, the boy she admires. Takayuki accepts Haruka's confession and the two become a couple, supported by their mutual friends Mitsuki Hayase and Shinji Taira. All is well for these friends—until tragedy strikes. One of them is sent to an unenviable fate, lying dormant in a coma. Three years later, they awaken, but their sudden reappearance in everyone's lives threatens to test the limits of these friends' bonds. A normal love triangle modified by one girl in coma. Unlike Memories Off characters are at least memorable, still it's decent at best. Overall Rating: 6/10 8. Sakigake!! Cromartie Koukou Cromartie High School 魁!! クロマティ高校 [Production I.G] (Finished 26/26) Tags: Shounen Delinquents, Gag Humor, School Takashi Kamiyama is your typical mild-mannered high school student—polite, aloof, and pacifistic, with a slightly above-average IQ. But would your average high school student really enroll himself at the infamous Cromartie High School, known as a breeding ground for the toughest delinquents out there? Apparently so, as that is exactly what Takashi does, though for reasons he'd rather leave unmentioned. However, one thing is for sure: the "hard-boiled rabbit in a den full of hungry lions" is never going to have another dull day. And how could he, now that he's surrounded by mohawked punks, obnoxious robots, and... gorillas? And was that Freddie Mercury riding a horse down the corridor? Follow Takashi as he earnestly dedicates his new high school life to better his school's reputation while his classmates are hellbent on wreaking havoc. Great comedy with absurdity of humor just enough for me to enjoy. I say it deserves top score reserved for such comedies. Overall Rating: 8/10 9. Maburaho まぶらほ [J.C.Staff] (Finished 2/24) Tags: Harem, School Comedy, Drama, Romance, Ecchi In the world of Maburaho, everyone is born with the ability to use magic and are thus labeled magicians. However, the magical ability of each person is not equal. The number of times you can use magic determines the amount of respect you receive, and since one’s magical power is determined at birth by traits and genetics, those who have a bloodline stemming from famous magicians are highly sought after. Having the lowest magic count in Aoi Academy, Kazuki Shikimori is looked down upon by his classmates and seen as a nearly worthless magician. However, his bloodline consists of many great magicians throughout the ages, meaning that while he may not be a great magician, his offspring could be. This leads to him being sought after by three different young women: Yuna Miyama, a transfer student who declares herself his wife upon arrival, Rin Kamishiro, a prideful swordswoman of a traditional family who wants to kill him so she will be free to pursue her own desires, and Kuriko Kazetsubaki, a member of an influential family who bluntly tries to seduce him for his genes. Now he has to deal with not only the jealousy of all the guys in his school, but also various women chasing after him! A typical thematic ecchi harem, totally plain. Overall Rating: 5/10 10. Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo ボボボーボ・ボーボボ [Toei Animation] (Finished 1/76) Tags: Shounen Gag Humor Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi In a futuristic world, the Maruhage Empire is a militant organization out to steal everyone's hair, and thus their freedom. But a brave man with an afro of gold and nose hairs of steel stands up against their tyranny. Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, trained in the ways of hair, rescues a teenager named Beauty from the grunts of the Maruhage Empire. Together, they start on a journey to defeat Emperor Tsuru Tsurulina IV. As Bo-bobo meets new friends and battles foes along the way, so too does he begin his quest to save all the hairs of the world! Light-hearted and comical, Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo details a wacky adventure in which Bo-bobo and his companions fight all sorts of villains and deviants within the Maruhage Empire, all the while having a fun and exciting adventure. Total absurdity that I can't stand, hardly endured a single episode, so better ask someone else. Overall Rating: 5/10 11. R.O.D: The TV R.O.D -The TV- アール・オー・ディー ザ・ティーヴィー [J.C.Staff] (Finished 2/26) Tags: Super Power Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi Anita King, Maggie Mui, and Michelle Cheung are the Paper Sisters. They run the Three Sisters Detective Agency in Hong Kong which is dedicated to solving cases involving books. They are hired as local guides for Nenene Sumiregawa, a Japanese novelist who has been struggling with writer's block following the disappearance of her longtime friend, Yomiko Readman. The sisters are all Paper Masters—individuals with the power to control paper—and with their abilities, they save Nenene from the dangerous terrorists targeting her at a book signing. But in case they strike again, the sisters remain as her bodyguards to protect her from further harm. This is a dream come true for bookworms Maggie and Michelle who love Nenene's stories, but the young Anita cannot stand books despite her powers over paper. The three struggle to adapt to their new daily life in Japan, guarding Nenene while continuing their detective work under a mysterious organization, Dokusensha. However, the more they get to know Nenene, the more they discover the link between her, the disappearance of her friend Yomiko, and the mysterious books Dokusensha sends the Paper Masters to investigate. What began as a simple job ends up a bigger case than they have ever had before. Are these girls really willing to risk their lives over literature? Concept was clear from the OVA - some detective mystery with absurd action afterwards. And serialization only highlighted its flaws and lack of story. Overall Rating: 6/10 12. Ai Yori Aoshi: Enishi 藍より青し~縁~ [J.C.Staff] (Finished 1/12) Tags: Seinen Harem Comedy, Drama, Romance Two years after meeting Aoi, Kaoru and gang are still up to their normal habits. Kaoru now in grad school and the tenants being as rowdy as ever what will become of Aoi and Kaoru's love. Two years has passed since Aoi and Kaoru were freed from the bonds of their families. They continue to live their normal lives with their usual friends in their house. Still decent romance even after confession, still too typical for me. Overall Rating: 6/10 13. Peace Maker Kurogane PEACE MAKER 鐵 [Gonzo] (Finished 9/24) Tags: Shounen Historical, Samurai Action, Comedy Although traumatized by witnessing the murder of his parents by one of the Choushuu, Ichimura Tetsunosuke's thirst for revenge lead him to desire strength. At the age of 15, Tetsunosuke approached the Shinsengumi, wanting to become one of its members. However, Tetsunosuke lacked the skill, mind and will to emotionlessly cut down whoever threatened peace and the Shinsengumi. Even with the support of his brother Tatsunosuke and his newfound friends of the Shinsengumi, little did Tetsunosuke know the blood and pain he would have to face being part of this historical group. I really tried to like Peace maker Kurogane. Main problem for me is that half of it is silly shounen with a typical cheeky brat, and the other half is serious drama with adult samurai. The will to appeal to different audiences can be understood, but this ambiguity can scare seinen audience off. There is also a lot of confusion and strange scenes that aren't explained. As I see it, Kurogane tries to imitate Kenshin series badly and in the end falls short in comparison, and I did not even rate Kenshin as masterpiece. Overall Rating: 6/10 14. Gilgamesh ギルガメッシュ [Group TAC, Japan Vistec] (Finished 4/26) Tags: Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Supernatural In an attempt to gather information on immortality, scientists from around the world have assembled to study "Heaven's Gate"—the tomb turned laboratory of the mythical king Gilgamesh. But soon enough, the research is deemed unethical and all planned work comes to a halt. However, a group of terrorists pay this no thought and storm into Heaven's Gate, ultimately causing an explosion that leads to the collapse of the advanced information civilization. Many years after the incident, the siblings Tatsuya and Kiyoko Madoka are on the run from thugs. Yet this seems to be the least of their worries as they find themselves in the midst of a war between two powerful cryptic factions. With both groups claiming to fight for the betterment of society, Tatsuya and Kiyoko will have to find a way to decide who to trust. I'd say genre is mystery because it's never clear where it all is going to and more and more confusing stuff just piles up. But without all the cryptic stuff it's mostly running away and getting to know this strange world with its rules and factions, also fighting, of course. Despite ugly drawing it's not bad, but it failed to attract me in four episodes, and I doubt it actually has any direction at all to fill those 26 episodes, and I don't fancy rationalizing messy stuff. Overall Rating: 6/10 15. Kyougoku Natsuhiko: Kousetsu Hyaku Monogatari Requiem from the Darkness 京極夏彦 巷説百物語 [TMS Entertainment] (Finished 1/13) Tags: Historical, Psychological Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Supernatural Tired of writing riddles for children, Yamaoka Momosuke plans on gathering spooky and gruesome stories and publishing them in an anthology called Hyakumonogatari ("One Hundred Tales"). While researching these old myths and legends he comes across a mysterious trio who call themselves the Ongyou. They are detectives who are investigating the legends to reveal their truths...and bring those in the wrong to justice. Each time Momosuke meets the Ongyou he must face horrible truths and battle with his morals, but he's seeing things he shouldn't be seeing... I detest horror, mystery and anthology genres, so this is a combo for me. Still a lot better than all the school urban legends or whatever we usually get as horrors. Overall Rating: 6/10 16. Battle Programmer Shirase バトルプログラマーシラセ [AIC] (Finished 15/15) Tags: Comedy, Sci-Fi, Ecchi Battle Programmer Shirase, also known as BPS, is a free programmer with super hacking abilities who doesn't work for money. What he does work for is certainly something that only people like him would appreciate. But, his demeanor certainly doesn't suit the jobs he is hired for. With the evil King of America causing trouble via the internet, Shirase is nothing but busy as each new adventure brings even more interesting people into the picture. By a twist of fate, I watched it in the past and actually liked quite a lot. It's mostly about coolness, but with time I can hardly appreciate that anymore. Great for youth though. Overall Rating: 6/10 17. Saiyuuki Reload Saiyuki Reload 最遊記RELOAD [Pierrot] (Finished 1/25) Tags: Josei Mythology Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Supernatural Priest Genjo Sanzo and companions Cho Hakkai, Sha Gojyo, and Son Goku maintain their westward journey to stop the resurrection of the demon Gyoumao. As the reputation of the Sanzo Ikkou precedes them, they continue to fight demon assassins at every turn, but they must also deal with increasing tensions within their group in order to defeat a powerful enemy. Since it's a sequel, it depends on attitude to prequel. Overall Rating: 6/10 18. Yami to Boushi to Hon no Tabibito Yamibo: Darkness, The Hat and the Travelers of the Books ヤミと帽子と本の旅人 [Studio Deen] (Finished 2/13) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy, Girls Love, Mystery, Ecchi Hatsuki is a highschool student living with her sister, Hatsumi, who she has a huge crush on. On Hatsumi's 16th birthday, she is suddenly surrounded by a green light and disappears in front of Hatsuki. She manages to follow Hatsumi with the help of a being resembling a fat baby chick (literally), ending up in a place called "The Great Library", which is full of different worlds stored in books. Hatsumi wasn't there, though, so the search for Hatsuki's great love begins and involves traveling from book to book. Source material is weak. I guess it's possible to proceed on visuals alone, but there's nothing but disappointment in the end, anyway. Overall Rating: 5/10 19. Mujin Wakusei Survive 無人惑星サヴァイヴ [Madhouse, Telecom Animation Film] (Finished 3/52) Tags: Survival Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Slice of Life The story is set in the 22nd century where space travel, planet colonization and anti-gravity basketball are practically everyday things. Planet Earth has become uninhabitable, and therefore people live in colonies on the surrounding planets. On a school field trip, a mistake causes the protagonist, a young transfer student named Luna, her pet robot, and six of her classmates to be thrown through a gravity storm and crash land on a seemingly uninhabited planet. There, with Luna as their leader, the robot cat Chako, the lone wolf Kaoru, the spoiled rich boy Howard, the shy Sharla, the obedient Bell, the prideful musician Menori and the young genius Shingo must fight for their survival. But is the planet really uninhabited, or is there someone or something out there, waiting in the shadows? A cast of bright characters is thrown to an uninhabited planet to... actually, without purpose - just to be , survive , generate some situations. There's no conflict, no real mystery, no magic elements... it's just SOL for 52 episodes. Unless viewer is a kid who learns stuff through this or viewer likes some characters a lot, I see no good reason to watch this. Unfortunately, original stories are often made to suit format and not to actually tell a story. Overall Rating: 5/10 20. Takahashi Rumiko Gekijou Ningyo no Mori Mermaid Forest 高橋留美子劇場 人魚の森 [TMS Entertainment] (Finished 1/13) Tags: Shounen Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery According to an ancient legend, mermaid's flesh can grant immortality if eaten. 500 years ago, Yuta unknowingly ate a piece of mermaid's flesh. For centuries, he travels across Japan, hoping to find a mermaid, thinking she may be able to make him a normal human again. When he finally finds one, he discovers that she and her companions have been raising a girl to be their food so they can eat her and take on her youthful looks. That is how mermaids stay young. Yuta kills the mermaids and rescues her, but she has already eaten some of the mermaid's flesh. Although he had to kill the mermaids, Yuta isn't too disappointed. Yuta's once lonely existence is now over, as he has found a companion in Mana. And Mana, who had been trapped in a small hut her whole life, finds delight in even the simplest of things. Together, Yuta and Mana attempt to seek out more mermaids, trying to become normal humans again. I seriously detested first two Rumiko anime about mermaid flesh. I can't understand why it can be so bad and why anyone in sane mind would serialize it. I've experienced so many negative emotions within just a single episode that I can't call it even average. It's straight horrible. Overall Rating: 4/10 21. Binzume Yousei 瓶詰妖精 [Xebec] (Finished 1/13) Tags: CGDCT Comedy, Fantasy Set in the year 2004, Binzume Yousei is a slice-of-life fairy tale that revolves around four fairies, each represented by four unique colors as seen with their magical bottle jars. These fairies are the extremely peppy Kururu, the reserved and feminine Chiriri, the samurai-loving tomboy Sarara, and the quiet yet quirky Hororo. Fascinated by the human world, these fairies arrived from the fairy world in hopes of participating in the annual traditions and overall way of human life. However, they have a very limited understanding of the human world. Luckily, they are befriended and guided by two humans—"Sensei-san," a university student who they live with, and a first-grade girl they call "Tama-chan," who is sometimes as naive as the fairies themselves. Though these bottle fairies have strange ideas and sometimes have difficulty understanding this new world, they try to make the most of the human experience in their own cute little ways. Episodes are just half the usual length, but at least not 4 minutes of Di Gi Charat that I could not possibly allow to list. Genre is familiar cute blobs do random stuff in a cute way. Hope no one expects anything more than that here... Overall Rating: 5/10 22. Shinkon Gattai Godannar!! Marriage of God & Soul Godannar!! 神魂合体ゴーダンナー!! [OLM, AIC ASTA] (Finished 1/13) Tags: Mecha Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi, Ecchi Five years ago, while battling an alien force known as the "Mimesis," Dannar pilot Goh Saruwatari first met Anna Aoi. Today, on the day of their wedding, the ceremony is interrupted when the Mimesis strike again. As Goh struggles in his battle against the alien threat, Anna stumbles upon a top secret robot known as the "Neo-Okusaer" and uses it as a last-resort to save her fiancee. At that moment, Dannar and Neo-Okusaer merge to become the mighty robot "Godannar." It's so funny how old mecha was so pretentiously serious and newer mecha is almost exclusively ecchi. Cheesy and primitive. Overall Rating: 5/10 23. Avenger アヴェンジャー [Bee Train] (Finished 2/13) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi Mars has been colonized and is a world where children have been replaced by robot servants known as "dolls." Layla is a skilled fighter with a tragic past who travels about the world. Her companions are Nei, a strange and unique doll with some unknown ties to Layla, and Speedy, who is a doll breeder. The founders of Mars see the trio as a threat to their world, and each time they attack Layla and Nei a bit more of their mysterious past and future is revealed. Mars as stage is just wasteland with high tech locations, so can't call it great. Story is... non-existent as companions literally just travel around the world. That's probably done to shift focus to characters and their stories that unfold one by one... but characters are rather schematic and not interesting either. Setting of dolls is not really unique, and there's heavens and earth between Armitage III and this. Guess execution and weird story moves are to blame. Overall Rating: 5/10 24. Rockman.EXE Axess MegaMan NT Warrior: Axess ロックマンエグゼ Axess [Xebec] (Finished 1/51) Tags: Mecha, Strategy Game Action, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi Netto's father Yuuichirou Hikari has made a scientific breakthrough by introducing the "synchro chips". If an operator and his or her navi are in a special enviroment known as a "dimensional area", they can fuse together in the real world via a technique called "cross fusion"! Yuuichirou's first test subject, Misaki Gorou, attempts the process and sadly fails. Netto offers to try with Rockman, but his father forbids it. Cross Fusion puts enormous strain on the operator's health, and battling in the real world could mean death. Sequel about toy robots sparring is back. Overall Rating: 5/10 25. Ginga Tetsudou Monogatari The Galaxy Railways 銀河鉄道物語 [Planet] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Space Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi In the distant future, trains are no longer bound by their physical tracks. Instead, they take to the skies and travel across the universe on the Galaxy Railways, transporting mankind from planet to planet. However, the Galaxy Railways are no safer than traditional trains: criminals, terrorists, and vile aliens always find a way to stir up trouble. Manabu Yuuki, a rash and hot-headed man, is the latest addition to the Galaxy Railways' elite Space Defence Force (SDF). These brave men and women are responsible for protecting the railways and responding to any unprecedented danger, risking their lives to protect the innocent from evil. But as this drama unfolds and the SDF's greatest crisis draws nearer, Manabu must truly learn what it means to be a member of the SDF before it is too late. Since it's alternative setting of Ginga Tetsudou 999, there's not much to say about it. Recycled characters to inhabit recycled story which is different, but feels like young Daiba/Harlock training as captain. So we once again need to watch as immature emotional captain toughens up and makes difficult decisions. It's far from great and feels worse than Harlock. Overall Rating: 6/10 26. Futatsu no Spica Twin Spica ふたつのスピカ [Group TAC] (Finished 3/20) Tags: School Drama, Sci-Fi, Supernatural When Kamogawa Asumi was just a baby, her mother was grievously injured when a rocket crashed to the ground. Five years later, having been in a coma all the time, Asumi's mother finally dies, and the little girl struggles to come to terms with the death of a mother she barely remembers. In the midst of her turmoil, she meets "Lion-san," a strange figure wearing a lion mask and claiming to be a ghost. Lion-san helps Asumi to bury her mother's ashes, and finally, Asumi reaches her own decision: "When I grow up, I'm going to be a rocket pilot." I absolutely hate fake romanticism shows about space like constructing a rocket or training to become astronauts with maybe Robotics;Notes as sole, but still boring, exception. Don't remember how much of Futatsu no Spica I watched in the past, but only negative emotions remain. Overall Rating: 5/10 27. UFO Princess Valkyrie 2: Juunigatsu no Yasoukyoku UFO Ultramaiden Valkyrie 2: December Nocturne 円盤皇女ワるきゅーレ 十二月の夜想曲 [TNK] (Finished 1/12) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi Valkyrie, Kazuto, Akina, Hydra, and friends are back for more when the Key of time suddenly appears along with many other mysterious happenings. All seemed to be linked to a person named "Valkyrie Ghost" whose only goal is stealing Kazuto for herself. As they team up against this seeming unbeatable foe they dig deeper into the mysterious past of Valkyrie's home planet, Valhalla. Second season, so should be clear. Overall Rating: 5/10 28. F-Zero: Falcon Densetsu F-Zero: GP Legend F-ZERO ファルコン伝説 [Ashi Productions] (Finished 1/51) Tags: Mecha, Racing Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Rick Wheeler was a police detective who got into a fatal car accident while pursuing the criminal Zoda. He was placed into artificial coldsleep for 150 years. Wheeler is brought back to life by Jody Summer and Dr. Stewart, who work with a group of good racers who try to keep prize money out of the hands of unsavory people like the Dark Million Organization run by Black Shadow and Deathborn. Video game adaptation racing mecha? It was doomed even as concept long before seeing this ugly CGI. Overall Rating: 5/10 29. PopoloCrois ポポロクロイス [TMS Entertainment] (Finished 1/26) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy Pinon, the boy who flows within his body, the blood of the three races (the Dragons, the fairies and the humans), is actually the son of the Courageous One, Pietro. Pinon's encounter with a mysterious animal, Pap, opens up the door to an adventurous journey. He befriends Luna and Marco on the way. However, when he learns that his adventure will determine the fate of PoPoLoCrois, Pinon hardens his heart and leaves his friends. Unknown to him, this is an introductory chapter to a new adventure and Pinon will realise that he must resolve the bigger crisis present in PoPoLoCrois. Everything here cries "kids only". It manages to present even sword fight with skeletons and monsters as something super unserious so that Dragon Quest looks like a serious drama in comparison. Overall Rating: 6/10 30. Papuwa パプワ [Nippon Animation] (Finished 1/26) Tags: Adventure, Comedy In this sequel series, events continue four years after they left off in the first series. Papuwa-kun is a mysterious boy who lives on a new tropical island full of the same crazy creatures. Along with his maid, Liquid, and his new amnestic friend, "Rotarou", they lead nonsensical adventures as they try to evade and confuse the Ganma Army, Special Corps, and even the Shinsengumi from discovering Rotarou's real secret and taking him away. First season only translated pilot episode looked like low quality and more absurd imitation of Dragon Ball. Now quality has improved and absurdity has bloomed even more. Lack of logical development soon invokes headache for me. Overall Rating: 5/10 31. Midnight Horror School ミッドナイトホラースクール [Milky Cartoon] (Finished 1/52) Tags: Comedy The school has 26 students with each name of them beginning with a letter of the alphabet in order and a color, 3 teachers, 3 classrooms, a library, a cafeteria, a music room, a playroom, a fountain, a skeleton playground, a graveyard and several school staff. Not translated. Kids 3D show to learn letters, colors and some other basics. There are two stories in each episode. That's as far as I'm willing to go investigating this. Overall Rating: 5/10 32. Jungle wa Itsumo Hare nochi Guu Final ジャングルはいつもハレのちグゥ FINAL [Shin-Ei Animation] (Finished 7/7) Tags: Shounen Gag Humor Award Winning, Comedy, Slice of Life Haré's family receives a video letter from Weda's home in the city. Witnessing how sad and lonely Weda's mother and Bel are without her, Weda decides to take Haré and Guu back to the city for a while. After Haré complains about being bored and lonely without his friends in the jungle (as part of his plot to persuade his mother to take him back), Weda decides to send him to a private school in the city, where he instanly falls in love with a pretty girl named Rita. But, of course, Guu wants part of the action too. After great series Deluxe OVA looked like thematic episodic stories about different characters, but now the great Guu is back in full swing - just crazy concentrated comedy. I decided to never rate direct sequels the same score as original, so it's one score less now, but overall same high level. Overall Rating: 7/10 33. Aquarian Age: Saga II - Don't Forget Me... アクエリアンエイジ Saga II ~Don't forget me...~ [Madhouse] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Super Power Action, Drama During the chaotic period known in Western astrology as the Aquarian Age, the alien ERASER fleet attacks Earth, ravaging cities. However, a counteroffensive is launched. The four factions—ARAYASHIKI, WIZDOM, DARKLORE, and E.G.O.—who have been fighting each other for control of Earth, join forces to defeat the ERASERS. In the aftermath, Earth is placed under the unified rule of the POLESTAR EMPIRE. However, peace is shattered when the EMPIRE begins to use forbidden magic. These dark powers cause dimensional rifts around the world and once again plunge Earth into chaos and warfare Ironically, in contrast to "Don't Forget Me" title this sequel is totally forgettable. Without finishing original season it all looks like a spree of chaotic action. There's some kind of finale for the boy and five girls from different factions, but it's as messy as everything else in here. Overall Rating: 5/10 34. Comic Party Revolution OVA こみっくパーティーRevolution [Chaos Project] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Otaku Culture Comedy A college student, Sendō Kazuki, happened to set foot in the doujinshi community. There, people are producing and selling doujinshi, which is the comic book drawn by fans rather than professional writers. At first he was reluctant, but as he met the girls earnest about producing doujinshi, he was gradually involved in creating it himself. This series is based on a Dreamcast/PC game, "Comic Party", and its setting is different from the TV series. The main characters, Kazuki, Taishi, and Mizuki are college students whereas they were high school students in the TV series. The story starts after Kazuki has become acquainted with other characters. Main problem of routine in Comic Party is gone, but these three episodes are sort of fan-disc short stories with side-heroines, so can't even treat it seriously. Overall Rating: 5/10 35. Moekan The Animation モエかん THE ANIMATION [KSS] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Comedy, Romance An anarchistic country that is said to dominate the world exists on a vast island known as Moekko Island. This is where the final works of AC Company's android combat maids (resembling beautiful young girls) are done, also where these maids get there communication training. A new maid is to come to the island to be trained, Rinia, she is a young looking girl, who has lost her all of her memories, she tries very hard to impress the owner at Moekko island, but just ends up making a lot of trouble around the mansion. Takahiro, the owner of Moekko island, a depressive young man who has also lost his memories is seen as a very unhappy person who thinks Rinia will only be trouble around the mansion. As time passes, Takahiro slowly grows attached to Rinia's attempted ways of helping and so starts a beautiful relationship among the quiet island. I'd say it's closer to average. Some scenes transferred from the game are ok, but all different routes mashed up into one monstrosity did not do good here. Overall Rating: 5/10 36. Kidou Shinsengumi Moeyo Ken Moeyo Ken 機動新撰組 萌えよ剣 [Trinet Entertainment, Picture Magic] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Historical Adventure, Comedy Set in the Meiji era, Kidou Shinsengumi Moeyo Ken tells the story of Kondou Yuuko, Hijikata Toshie and Okita Kaoru. These three are the daughters of former Shinsengumi members and, in the same fashion as their fathers were, they get called upon to protect Japan from its current problems. Much of their work deals with vanquishing the mysterious paranormal phenomena springing up ever more frequently in the Kyoto area and defending the city from any other dangers that may arise. Nonsense setting , characters and beasts from phenomena in a short OVA. Flow is also whatever for the bigger half and some fight at the end. It tries to be comedy, but comedies are supposed to be funny. Overall Rating: 5/10 37. Kingdom of Chaos: Born to Kill キングダム・オブ・カオス 〜ボーン・トゥー・キル〜 [Idea Factory] (Finished 1/4) Tags: Fantasy Neverland is a world where humans, demons and dieux live peacefully. Lord of the Kingdom of Bjor, wants to conquer the world... Anime based on the online game "Kingdom of Chaos (K.O.C.)". Only found a single translated episode, and can't really say much after just 25 minutes - just some weird fantasy setting with ugly graphics. Overall Rating: 5/10 38. Heart Cocktail Again ハートカクテルアゲイン [Meruhensha] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Romance An OVA produced to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Watase Seizou's Heart Cocktail manga. Guess depends on whether you get to catch sentimental vibe from it. I did not, for me it's pseudo-seinen. Overall Rating: 5/10 39. Tokyo Godfathers 東京ゴッドファーザーズ [Madhouse] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Childcare Award Winning, Comedy, Drama One Christmas Eve, Hana, Gin, and Miyuki are rummaging for presents through heaps of garbage when they chance upon an abandoned baby in the cold winter night. Appalled at the pitiful sight, Hana's maternal instincts kick in and she insists on finding the baby's biological mother to demand an explanation. Naming the baby Kiyoko—meaning pure child—they begin their search using the possible clues left alongside her: a mysterious key and a single note. However, their plans are soon thrown into disarray as they get caught up in a series of unprecedented events. Tokyo Godfathers follows the journey of the trio as they stick together through thick and thin, hoping to deliver Kiyoko to her true home, and find their very own Christmas miracle. It's a well animated curious chasing story, but it dwells on miracles and bad luck way too much. I definitely don't enjoy it aesthetically as it's mostly about unpleasant people in unpleasant places doing unpleasant things, so the main question left for me is the message of the movie, the reason to watch it. And all I see here is some clever tricks, a way to tell several life stories and social commentary on homeless people who are just like everyone else and even recently successful people while in some qualities are even better than the most. I find it all really ugly and senseless, so I see no reason to recommend it. Cheesy weird Christmas fairy-tale about bums. Overall Rating: 6/10 40. Fuyu no Hi 冬の日 [Imagica] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Award Winning Winter Days is based on one of the renku (collaborative linked poems) by the 17th-century Japanese poet Bashō. The creation of the film followed the traditional collaborative nature of the source material – the visuals for each of the 36 stanzas were independently created by 35 different animators. Each animator was asked to contribute at least 30 seconds to illustrate their stanza, and most of the sequences are under a minute (Yuriy Norshteyn's, though, is nearly two minutes long). As you see, it's avant-garde anthology with hokku in between. And most of the animation is not even real anime... Overall Rating: 5/10 41. Kochira Katsushikaku Kameari Kouenmae Hashutsujo The Movie 2: UFO Shuurai! Tornado Daisakusen!! こちら葛飾区亀有公園前派出所 THE MOVIE2 UFO襲来!トルネード大作戦!! [Fuji TV, Shueisha] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Adult Cast, Detective, Gag Humor Action, Comedy, Mystery More movie mayhem for Ryoutsu. This time it's just fooling around and having a rest while trying to earn money for Ryoutsu. It all brings to UFO case only accidentally. Again only not bad. Overall Rating: 6/10 42. Ougon no Hou: El Cantare no Rekishikan The Golden Laws 黄金の法 エル・カンターレの歴史観 [Group TAC] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Fantasy In the year 2403 AD a young student named Satoru is visited by a time traveler from the future, a cute girl named Alisa. The two go back in time together to explore the 21st century when a malfunction sends them hurdling through seemingly random episodes of religious and perhaps historic importance. Japan's answer to Scientology, Kyoufuku no Kagaku (幸福の科学, also known as The Institute for Research in Human Happiness), returns with their third animated feature. Time travel and just peeking into some myths is hardly a good concept to choose. Nonsense is the closest word to describe it. Overall Rating: 5/10 43. Atashin'chi Movie 映画 あたしンち [Toei Animation] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Super Power Comedy In a stormy night, Mikan and Mom were stricken by lightning simultaneously and switched bodies. In the following days, while Mom enjoyed being a student again, Mikan had to fought with house chores. Meanwhile, Yuzuhiko and Dad were busy looking for a way to switch them back. Not translated. It's all in the synopsis, really. And since I can't get used to ugly character designs, it gets another score point deduction. Overall Rating: 5/10 -
Anime of the Year 2003-III Summer - Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu
kivandopulus posted a blog entry in Anime of the Season
Can't call anything masterpiece again. Let's point out Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu , maybe. 1. Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu フルメタル・パニック? ふもっふ [Kyoto Animation] (Finished 12/12) Tags: Gag Humor, School Action, Comedy Sergeant Sousuke Sagara returns to Jindai High School to protect the precious war asset, Kaname Chidori, from any threat. However, his lack of social skills and real-life experience result in comical yet dangerous situations, endangering the peaceful school life Kaname longs for. As Sousuke continues to bring a wide range of weapons to school as a means to solve threats—real or fake—Kaname struggles to fulfill her duty as the student council vice president all while keeping him in check. To ensure a successful mission, Sousuke is occasionally forced to use the costume of a famous amusement park mascot called Bonta-kun. With his technical expertise, he eventually transforms the exuberant uniform into a cutting-edge exoskeleton that has only one dysfunction: the voice translator can only produce the sound "mofu." Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu depicts the adventures of Kaname and Sousuke as they try to live their normal school lives despite the chaos they inadvertently cause. A living proof that mecha anime feels much better with mecha itself taken out. Jokes aside, I liked it quite a lot when first watched it, but still never considered a masterpiece. With time this idea only strengthened. Kyoto Animation squeezed maximum from this stale concept, but conceptual flaws aren't easily overrriden. Overall Rating: 6/10 2. Ikkitousen Ikki Tousen: Battle Vixens 一騎当千 [J.C.Staff] (Finished 3/13) Tags: Martial Arts, School, Super Power Ecchi In the Kanto region, seven high schools fight to the death for absolute power. Each fighter is the reincarnation of a glorious warrior from the Three Kingdoms period, placing them in a perilous endeavor to overcome their often cruel destinies. Among them is the airheaded Hakufu Sonsaku, a student at Nanyou Academy who—despite possessing brilliant martial art abilities—is deemed to be killed at a young age by the ruthless Ukitsu. However, her fellow classmate Koukin Shuuyu is tasked by Hakufu's mother to protect his cousin from this grim fate. To add to his burden, Hakufu is subject to sudden bursts of anger, where she loses consciousness and unleashes a destructive power that threatens her own life. Together with Nanyou's "Big Four," Hakufu and Shuuyu will have to foil the plans of their main rival schools and uncover the true nature of Hakufu's powers before it is too late. Ecchi fighting that's not too bad as it has enough drama and bloody scenes to make up for all lighthearted fanservice humor. Overall Rating: 6/10 3. Green Green グリーングリーン [Studio Matrix] (Finished 12/12) Tags: School Comedy, Romance, Ecchi Kanenone Gakuen is an all-male boarding school located in the countryside of Japan. Although an all-male school is nothing new, life can become quite difficult when there are no female students for miles around. In order to help the psychological health of everyone involved, the school board has decided to try and merge with the nearest all-girl boarding school in order to become co-ed. The boys of Kanenone are more than thrilled at the prospect, and the girls are curious as to how interesting school life might become if there were more boys around. Before any serious decisions are made, the girls have been invited to stay at Kanenone for one month as a test. Green Green follows Yuusuke Takazaki and his naughty room mates called the Baka (Idiot) Trio, and their ability to talk to the girls without making complete fools of themselves. But as soon as the school bus with the girls arrives, things become weird, hormonal, and hysterical. In particular, a girl named Midori Chitose leaps off the bus and immediately embraces a very confused Yuusuke. Is he a natural ladies' man, or do the two of them have a shared history that he is not aware of? First Green Green looked rather sincere, but it never rose above ecchi youth romcom. Still finished it in the past, so it had its amusing moments. Overall Rating: 6/10 4. Onegai☆Twins Please Twins! おねがい☆ツインズ [Daume] (Finished 3/12) Tags: Harem, School Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi Maiku Kamishiro's past has always been somewhat of a mystery to him. The only clue he has to who his family might be is an old photograph showing two young children, a boy and a girl, playing in a small pool outside of a blue house. In an attempt to find his family, he moves to this blue house and begins working as a programmer. He's living a comfortable life until the day two very different girls show up at his door, both in possession of the same photograph, and both claiming to be his twin. With no way to prove who is a relative and who is a stranger, Maiku allows both girls to move in with him until they know for sure. Never expected to see spin-off of Onegai Sensei. Everything was typical and expected, thus the score. Overall Rating: 5/10 5. D.C.: Da Capo D.C.~Da Capo~ D.C.~ダ・カーポ~ [feel., Zexcs] (Finished 1/26) Tags: Harem Drama, Romance Hatsunejima abounds in mysteries—one of which is the town's unwithering cherry trees that are said to grant the most genuine wishes. There are also rumors of people possessing supernatural powers, like Junichi Asakura, who can see other people's dreams and create sweets out of nothing. Alongside his sister Nemu, he enjoys living in peace with his friends at Kazami Academy but chooses to shroud his identity in secrecy. His tranquil school life comes to a halt when he finds out that his childhood friend Sakura Yoshino has returned from America after six years. She is there for one purpose: to fulfill the promises she made long ago with Junichi. Little does anyone know, however, that Sakura's appearance is bound to change everyone's lives—for better or worse. For me it's the barebones of school romance without anything to like at all. Overall Rating: 5/10 6. Narutaru: Mukuro Naru Hoshi Tama Taru Ko Shadow Star Narutaru なるたる ~骸なる星・珠たる子~ [Planet] (Finished 13/13) Tags: Seinen Drama, Suspense During her summer holiday at her grandparents house Tamai Shiina, a young and cheerful schoolgirl, meets a strange looking creature. They befriend each other and Shiina names it "Hoshimaru: The Round Star." When Shiina returns home after the summer to go back to school, she starts meeting other kids that also have befriended a strange creature like Hoshimaru. But she soon finds out that not all these creatures and their masters are as friendly as Hoshimaru. After mildly intriguing episode 2 and 3 decided to watch how it ends, but the whole middle felt like a horrible waste of time. Basically, things spice up only in the very last episode, and it's still really bad. Terrible execution. Overall Rating: 5/10 7. Popotan ぽぽたん [Shaft] (Finished 3/12) Tags: Time Travel Comedy, Drama, Supernatural, Ecchi Beautiful sisters Ai, Mai, Mii, their android maid Mea and slippery pet ferret Unagi make an amazing journey together through time and space without ever leaving their beloved mansion behind! Following the clues of the strange dandelion-like "Popotan," the girls are theoretically seeking the person who has the answers to their most personal questions, but they seem to have more than enough time to take side trips, meet new friends, visit hot springs and occasionally operate the X-mas shop they keep in the house along the way! Yet, the girls' ultimate destiny holds more than a few surprises of its own, and not every moment is filled with hilarity, as moving through time means having to leave friends behind as well. Cute enough, but eventless and boring. I hoped that there won't be Popotan nakedness, but alas. Overall Rating: 5/10 8. Happy☆Lesson Advance [Studio Hibari] (Finished 1/13) Tags: Harem Comedy, Romance Hitotose Chitose is now living together with his 5 teachers as his mothers when a mysterious girl appears and becomes their neighbor which turns out that that person is Nagatsuki Kuron who wants Mu-chan to be her mother so another sibling rivalry ensues as to who would end up as Mu-chan's child. Need to like either original series or OVA. Overall Rating: 5/10 9. Divergence Eve ダイバージェンス・イヴ [Radix] (Finished 4/13) Tags: Mecha, Military, Space Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi In the 24th Century, Intergalactic Space Travel has become a reality. One of the first outposts in the far reaches of space is WATCHER'S NEST - an inflation hole drive portal - which has recently come under attack by a mysterious force known simply as GHOUL... A group of young female cadets assigned to the portal are unexpectedly thrown into a hornet's nest of trouble as they finalize their training to become an elite pilot in the Seraphim Squadron. A very strange experience, but a poor one. Lots of confusion, strange ecchi, serious though boring development and no foreseeable aim. It's definitely watchable, but episodes have no clear beginning or ending, so it's tasteless something that wastes time here and now while other purposes are unclear. Overall Rating: 6/10 10. Cinderella Boy シンデレラボーイ [Magic Bus] (Finished 2/13) Tags: Seinen Magical Sex Shift Action, Adventure, Comedy, Mystery Ranma and his partner Rera run a detective agency in Giraffe City. An arranged accident leaves Rera and Ranma in an unfortunate state where the two detectives swap bodies at the stroke of midnight. With Ranma dissapearing and the beautiful Rera appearing. Action detective with familiar Ranma spice. Overall Rating: 5/10 11. Takahashi Rumiko Gekijou Rumiko Takahashi Anthology 高橋留美子劇場 [TMS Entertainment] (Finished 2/13) Tags: Seinen Comedy, Drama, Romance, Slice of Life, Supernatural Shelter. Employment. Companionship. Rumiko Takahashi explores the stress that can befall people when these basic necessities become endangered. From penguins to wedding chapels and to amnesiac husbands, each episode explores supposedly normal people under extreme situations with all of the dramatic skill and warped comedy that you expect from the world-famous creator of InuYasha, Ranma 1/2, Urusei Yatsura! Being anthology and comedy, it's not great. Overall Rating: 6/10 12. Sumeba Miyako no Cosmos-sou Suttoko Taisen Dokkoida Dokkoida?! 住めば都のコスモス荘 すっとこ大戦ドッコイダー [ufotable] (Finished 5/12) Tags: Shounen Parody Action, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi The Galaxy Federation Police (GFP) desperately wants to cover-up its personnel shortage with new mechanized power-suits. Suzuo, 19-years old, desperately needs a job. Tampopo needs an earthling to fit the prototype of her company's suit and declares Suzuo the perfect candidate! Strong competitors and the wacky A-class criminals fight against our hero in diapers, but they must not recognize each other out of costume or the test results will be a failure- but it's OK if they all live in the same apartment building to save money, right? Nonsense comedy, so need to like specific humor and antics to go on. I did not. Overall Rating: 5/10 13. Massugu ni Ikou. まっすぐにいこう。 [Yumeta Company] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Josei Pets Comedy, Romance, Slice of Life A talking dog is a beautiful story that you should have dreamt of as a child. But if you have forgotten about it, this is a reminder of that fable story. This is the story of a dog that talks, but ordinary people cannot hear his voice. The main character, Mametaro, is an adventurous crossbreed dog. He loves his owner, Iku-chan and his girlfriend Hanako-chan very much. However, he just cannot stand Iku-chan's friend, Akiyoshi. During this story, which will be told from Mametaro's point of view, the warm days of spring are finally here. The school and the riverbank, which is actually just an ordinary neighborhood for people, seems like a mysterious world that extends infinitely to little Mametaro and his friends. Need to either own a dog or like dogs, plus it's Josei. I'm not target audience, so it does not look cute or funny to me. Overall Rating: 5/10 14. Nezha Chuanqi The Legend of Nezha 哪吒传奇 [-] (Finished 3/52) Tags: Adventure The Legend of Nezha narrative The story of Natra, the heavenly boy who was born bare, very mischievous, but the temperament, the mentality of goodness, always towards the righteous. With powerful martial arts and magic, he tried to save the evil to bring peaceful life for people in the time of raging love. Not translated. Some basic shounen based on China mythology. Overall Rating: 5/10 15. Triangle Heart: Sweet Songs Forever とらいあんぐるハート -Sweet Songs Forever- [Seven Arcs] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Adventure, Romance Fiasse is a world-renowned singer. She is now the headmistress of a special Singing School who does a Charity World Tour every year. Her mother left behind a inheritance for her after she died and some shady people are after Fiasse and the inheritance. Bring in Ellis, and two siblings who are master of the swords to protect Fiasse. The World Tour is coming up and Fiasse will continue the show. Ellis, Kyoya, Miyuki and company must protect their childhood friend at all costs. Bodyguard stories are nothing new for visual novels. I remember triangle heart trilogy being not possible to hook, so good to know how it looks in its prime. Overall Rating: 5/10 16. True Love Story True Love Story Summer Days, and yet... [Picture Magic, A-Line] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Romance Picture Magic, A-Line When Morisaki Yuuta ran into a girl in the school hallway that day, he had no idea his life would change forever. As a member of the photography club and a fledgling to the world of women, Yuuta's life has been turned upside down by the entrance of not one, but several women into his life! From old friends to new acquaintances, it will be tough figuring out who to choose! It is based on the latest installment of the True Love Story series of dating sims. PS dating sims aren't exciting enough to adapt them in anime in first place... Overall Rating: 5/10 17. Submarine 707R サブマリン707R [Group TAC] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Military Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi In order to keep ocean peace, PKN was organized. It consisted of the state-of-the-art battle ships of various countries. However, they were raided during the foundation ceremony by the unidentified organization, USR, which plotted to conquer the world. They couldn’t be much for the submarine UX which was operated by Admiral Red of USR. But an old Japanese submarine, the 707 saved them, which was operated Captain Hayami at the risk of his life. One year later, succeeding to the 707, which had been ruined during the former fight, newly developed submarine, the 707 II, went for a sail. Among the crews, there were boys, such as Kenji, Goro, and Senta, who had been trainees. PKN formed a fleet led by the Great Guardian, which was the latest battle ship of the United States. However, the attacks of Submarine U were very server, and the fleet was defeated. Then, the 707 arrived. As soon as Red noticed the 707, he was glad to reunion with his rival and began to fight. Escaping from the submarine attack, they hid the 707 in the valley. But Red tried to destroy the valley in order to put the 707 into the torrents of mud. The 707 nearly escaped from it and got in the crater. However it was the pure water layer where the submarine couldn’t float up. At the moment, numerous torpedoes launched to the 707. Nice little OVA with just one big fight and mostly full of SOL. Overall Rating: 6/10 18. Wonderful Days Sky Blue 원더풀 데이즈 [Tin House] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Love Polygon Action, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi Set in 2142, Wonderful Days depicts a world that has been nearly destroyed by environmental pollution. Human life as we know it is almost extinct, and only a few were able to pull through the collapse of Earth's ecosystem. In order to deal with the chaos, a city named Ecoban was created. The city uses the very pollution that caused the disaster as an energy source. However, although the initial plan was successful to an extent, it didn't just create a new source of energy, but also an elite group of people. This prestigious faction believes that they are above the system, and are not willing to accept survivors from outside the city unless they are put to work as laborers. Among the people living in the wasteland outside Ecoban is a young man named Shua. He leads a very difficult life, but tries to make the most of it through the love that he feels for his childhood friend Jay. Unfortunately, Jay may be more interested in her security commander Cade than in Shua, and thus a love triangle is formed. Not only does Shua have to deal with the heartbreak, but he must also find a new way to survive in the crumbles left from the once-beautiful planet Earth. The first decent Korean anime, beautiful and even 3D is used well. Story and execution are horrible, though. Super slow pace, lots of needless shots. We don't get familiar with the characters, and after some confusion it's already time to finish. Overall Rating: 6/10 19. Nasu: Andalusia no Natsu Nasu: Summer in Andalusia 茄子 アンダルシアの夏 [Madhouse] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Racing Sports Pepe is a Spanish cyclist competing in an multi-stage Iberian cycling race similar to the Tour de France. He is a support rider for one of the teams competing in the race, and his role is to assist the team's top rider in winning the overall race. As the story unfolds, the racers are set to ride through Pepe's home town in Andalusia on the same day as the wedding of his elder brother Angel to his former girlfriend Carmen. Their relationship was a factor in his decision to leave the town to pursue professional cycling, and the wedding is a frustrating reminder that his career hasn't turned out as he would have liked. Now, with the sponsor planning to drop him from the team and his family and friends cheering him on, Pepe abandons his assigned role and strives for glory. Not the worst short spokon that I watched, but all the deus ex machina factors involved make it not worth watching. Overall Rating: 5/10 20. Momoko, Kaeru no Uta ga Kikoeru yo. もも子、かえるの歌がきこえるよ。 [Magic Bus] (Finished 1/1) Tags: School Drama, Slice of Life Momoko, who attends a special school, is both mentally and physically disabled. Every morning she becomes peevish because she can't go to the ordinary school with her twin brother Riki. Her family soothes Momoko by singing her favorite song "The Song of Frogs." One day, Momoko shouts encouragement to Riki who's playing dodgeball at an open classroom day and Riki's team wins the game. Ryuji, whose team lost the game, is not impressed and demands that Riki stop bringing his 'idiot sister' to school. Riki totally loses control and hits Ryuji with all his might. The following year, an experiment in integrated education is implemented and Momoko begins to attend Riki's school. Unfortunately, her physical condition takes a turn for the worse and she's sent to a hospital. Riki and all her classmates want to cheer her up and they set a goal of winning a relay race so that they would be able to tell Momoko the good news. Meanwhile, the fastest sprinter, Ryuichi, insists that he won't be taking part in the race. I seriously dislike scoring on disabled people. Have not seen such evident tearjerkers in a while if ever. Overall Rating: 6/10 21. Elysium 엘리시움 [Toei Animation, OLM Digital] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha Action, Sci-Fi In In the year 2113 A.D., a team of scientists is dispatched to Antarctica to investigate the region's abnormal seismic activity. Near the epicenter of the activity, the expedition discovers vast land markings akin to the Nazca paleoglyphs drawn in the Peruvian desert. Stranger still is the presence of an enormous underground cavern below these symbols. At the bottom of the chasm, a portion of a tremendous tower juts from the ground. Armed with ultra-digital cameras, the scientific team transmits their findings to the Command Center. One explorer traces the image of a star chart engraved on the tower's exterior. The tower begins to emit a sinister howling as if possessed by demonic forces. One by one, the members of the expedition writhe in pain and die. Those observing the scene at the Command Center watch helplessly. As the high-frequency noise suffuses their headquarters, they too succumb and die in agony. When the waves of the frequency are analyzed, they are discovered to be a beacon directed at the planet Elysium, which lies beyond Earth's solar system. Van, the reluctant hero of the story, is an 18-year-old pizza delivery boy in Manhattan. He competes in the most popular sport of the 22nd century -- turbo jai alai racing. These races are fast paced and deadly affairs that integrate virtual reality into the competition. He's deeply in love with Lydia, a talented ballerina. In the chaotic futuristic metropolis, they only have each other and their dreams. Van and Lydia desperately want the chance to escape the polluted city-scape. Despite the dangers, Van enters a turbo jai alai race in the hopes of winning first prize -- two tickets to a galactic resort where Lydia can audition for the Jupiter Ballet. Meanwhile, earth's deep space observation vessel, the Odyssey, patrols the planet's orbital perimeter. The Odyssey is confronted by an armada of sophisticated alien spacecraft from Elysium. The awed human crew prepares to receive the Elysian ambassador, Yaspe. Without warning, the Odyssey loses control of its weapons, fires on the ambassador's vessel and destroys it. This tragic misunderstanding results in brutal retaliation by the Elysian fleet, culminating in the destruction of the Odyssey and a full-scale attack on Earth. Van's deadly sport of choice turns deadlier when the stadium he is competing in comes under fire from the Elysian barrage. Van struggles through the chaos on his turbo-cycle to rescue Lydia from the collapsing stands. The indiscriminate Elysian onslaught scorches cities worldwide. Van and Lydia flee through the burning streets of Manhattan seeking safety. After a series of harrowing escapes, they find refuge in a claustrophobic fall-out shelter. Cringy 3D is back. Animations are so laughable that it's impossible to take anything seriously here. Story is torn and nothing to be missed. Overall Rating: 5/10 22. Ryoukan-san 良寛さん [-] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical An animated motion picture about a real-life Buddhist monk and renowned poet, Ryoukan who lived in 18th century Japan, during the Edo Period. Though born to a wealthy family in Izumozaki, Ryoukan chooses to abandon the easy life he would have inherited in order to understand the true meaning of life through the teachings of Buddhism. From his early adulthood, he undergoes a series of harsh training that demands a solitary and meager lifestyle. Throughout it all, he remains an extremely modest and humble person, a true humanitarian who accepts every individual for who they are while rejecting all worldly fame and wealth. Ryoukan found true peace in life through nature and spending time with children. His pure mind and affable personality have captivated many, and his legacy and the wisdom of his teachings live on today. Just an eccentric monk life with real video shots of the places he inhabited. More an educational/cultural//touristic video that a piece of entertainment for those who never heard of this Ryoukan before. Overall Rating: 6/10 23. on-chan, Yume Power Daibouken! On-chan, Dream Power Big Adventure! onちゃん夢パワー大冒険! [Nippon Animation] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Fantasy on-chan and his friends from the universe's Parade Star, for some reason meets the brother and sister, Kenta and Haruka, who is moving from Tokyo to Sapporo along the way, in the middle of a meadow. The two of them travel to get back to their new home in Sapporo. For on-chan and the other's though, they encounter all sorts of trouble. At first, Kenta was opposing on-chan's dream power but before he knew it, he was also under its influence... Not translated. Just needed to confirm that it's a kid's work. Overall Rating: 5/10 -
Anime of the Year 2003-II Spring - Texhnolyze
kivandopulus posted a blog entry in Anime of the Season
Many titles, but still no masterpieces. Texhnolyze is the closest one, as for me 1. Kino no Tabi: The Beautiful World キノの旅 -the Beautiful World- [A.C.G.T.] (Finished 13/13) Tags: Iyashikei, Psychological Action, Adventure, Slice of Life Kino, a 15-year-old traveler, forms a bond with Hermes, a talking motorcycle. Together, they wander the lands and venture through various countries and places, despite having no clear idea of what to expect. After all, life is a journey filled with the unknown. Throughout their journeys, they encounter different kinds of customs, from the morally gray to tragic and fascinating. They also meet many people: some who live to work, some who live to make others happy, and some who live to chase their dreams. Thus, in every country they visit, there is always something to learn from the way people carry out their lives. It is not up to Kino or Hermes to decide whether these asserted values are wrong or right, as they merely assume the roles of observers within this small world. They do not attempt to change or influence the places they visit, despite how absurd these values would appear. That's because in one way or another, they believe things are fine as they are, and that "the world is not beautiful; therefore, it is." Towns are interesting and varied, but it's still just fantasy travel genre, could never understand the appeal of it. Overall Rating: 6/10 2. Texhnolyze [Madhouse] (Finished 22/22) Tags: Psychological Action, Drama, Sci-Fi In the dark underground city of Lux, people live in fear and despair under the rule of various criminal factions. Almost secluded from the surface, the gangs' only interaction with the outer world is their mining operation of "raffia," which is the raison d'être of the city. Available only in Lux, this rare substance is the basis of "texhnolyze" transplants that permit humans to replace parts of their body with cybernetic prostheses. The latter have the particularity not to trigger an immune response in their hosts and the "Class" has the privilege to conduct research on them. This elusive organization, also in charge of the raffia production, delegates its executive authority to a group called Organo led by Keigo Oonishi—a self-righteous man with texhnolyzed legs who is rumored to hear the "voice of the city." The fragile balance of powers in Lux is disturbed when a mysterious visitor named Kazuho Yoshii begins committing a series of crimes that puts the gangs at each other's throats. In the midst of the chaos, new actors emerge: Ichise, an ex-boxer mutilated by Organo and recently texhnolyzed by Eriko "Doc" Kamata; and Ran, a young florist who can see the future. While Lux steadily plunges into insanity, both Ichise and Ran find themselves involved in the greatest crisis the city has ever faced. Watching it for the third time overall now, because hardly anything is left in memory apart from cyborg angel action and gorgeous abandoned city landscapes. I definitely get visual and thematic enjoyment out of this, but not sure if can call it a masterpiece, because story itself is cluttered and not great while protagonist behaves in an irritating manner for half of the time. Basically, it's too dark and incoherent for me to be able to recommend it. Overall Rating: 6/10 3. D.N.Angel [Xebec] (Finished 2/26) Tags: Shoujo School Action, Comedy, Fantasy, Romance Daisuke Niwa is a clumsy, block-headed, and wimpy middle school student who has few redeeming qualities. On his 14th birthday, he finally decides to confess his love to his longtime crush Risa Harada, but is rejected. In an unexpected turn of events, however, Daisuke finds himself transforming into Dark Mousy, the infamous phantom thief, whenever his mind is set on Risa. Though Daisuke is unaware of this strange heritage, his mother is certainly not: since before the boy was born, his mother had been planning for him to steal valuable works of art and let the name of the elusive art thief be known. With doubt and confusion constantly clouding his mind, Daisuke finds himself struggling in his relationships with classmates and family. And it is not long before Daisuke Compilation of cheesy utter nonsense elements makes it unbearable for me. Overall Rating: 5/10 4. Last Exile LAST EXILE(ラストエグザイル) [Gonzo] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi In the world of Prester, flight is the dominant mode of transportation, made possible by Claudia Fluid: a liquidized form of the crystals that are produced on the planet. An organization known solely as "the Guild" has absolute authority over the skies, with a monopoly on the engines that make use of this fluid. Moreover, as ecological disasters destabilize the warring countries of Anatoray and Disith, the Guild also arbitrates in the disputes between the two. Caught in the middle of the conflict are Sky Couriers, piloting small, two-person vanships that fly freely through the sky. Last Exile follows the adventures of two teenagers who dream of surpassing their parents: Claus Valca, son of a famous vanship pilot, and Lavie Head, Claus' best friend and navigator. Their job as couriers entails passing through an air current called the Grand Stream that separates the hostile nations, which even standard airships struggle to survive. However, when they take on a high-rated delivery to bring an orphan girl named Alvis Hamilton to the battleship Silvana, they get dragged into a much greater conflict that pits them against the might of the Guild. Children in steampunk world travel, compete with other aircrafts, get involved into some "adventures". Can't say I like anything at all here. Maybe there's some cool plot to unveil with time, but beginning episodes are absolutely daunting. Overall Rating: 6/10 5. Konjiki no Gash Bell!! Zatch Bell! 金色のガッシュベル!! [Toei Animation] (Finished 2/150) Tags: Shounen Mythology Adventure, Comedy, Supernatural Takamine Kiyomaro, a depressed don't-care-about-the-world guy, was suddenly given a little demon named Gash Bell to take care of. Little does he know that Gash is embroiled into an intense fight to see who is the ruler of the demon world. All of the demons have to pick a master on Earth and duke it out with other demons until one survives. Needless to say, Kiyomaro becomes Gash's master, and through their many battles, Kiyomaro learns the importance of friendship and courage. Do you know who else wanted to become a king in his field? Despite a totally different setting all the major flaws of One piece are copied here with addition of unfunny comedy. Anyway, it has not gone far from a typical shounen. Overall Rating: 5/10 6. Scrapped Princess スクラップド・プリンセス [Bones] (Finished 6/24) Tags: Mecha Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi Born to the royal family, Pacifica Casull has earned the nickname "Scrapped Princess" after an apocalyptic prophecy foretells her destroying the world on her 16th birthday. Rescued from certain death by a kindly family, she takes shelter with her adoptive older brother and sister, Shannon and Raquel Casull. When news of her survival reaches the ears of the God Mauser's worshippers, they issue her death at all costs, forcing Pacifica to flee for her life. Plagued by threats from the church, the nobility and even the common people, the three siblings attempt to outrun the fate Pacifica is destined to bring, all the while questioning if one girl's life is worth the world's demise. The true nature of the Scrapped Princess, along with the harrowing revelations of the world itself, becomes more and more apparent as the princess' 16th birthday fast approaches. As you see from the concept it's again journey in the company without real aim apart of wasting time till 16 years old and getting constantly attacked on the way... which is sad, because characters are ok'ish and visuals are on high enough level. Still might work with outstanding characters, but, alas. Definitely watchable, but I can't answer why I should keep going Overall Rating: 6/10 7. Kaleido Star カレイドスター [Gonzo] (Finished 2/51) Tags: Performing Arts Comedy, Drama, Fantasy The Kaleido Stage is known throughout the world for captivating audiences with its amazing acrobatics, innovative routines, and extravagant costumes and sets. It is a place for guests to believe in magic, and Sora Naegino wants nothing more than to be a part of that magic—by becoming an acrobat for the famed circus herself. To realize her dream, she travels from Japan to California to audition for a place in the group. However, Sora learns that she needs much more than her natural talent to bring joy to the faces in the crowd. She quickly discovers just how difficult it is to be a professional performer where the stakes—and the stunts—are higher and mistakes spell danger! To put on performances worthy of the Kaleido Stage, she will need to endure rigorous training, unconventional assignments, fierce competition, and the antics of a mischievous spirit named Fool. Can Sora reach new heights, make new friends, conquer her fears, and surpass her limits to become a Kaleido Star? We've seen shoujo about a lot of activities like idol, actress, singer, dancer. So let's make another one about acrobatics and fill the airing time for the whole year... As usual, lively and good enough, but not psychologically tilt, so not for me. Overall Rating: 6/10 8. Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch マーメイドメロディー ぴちぴちピッチ [Actas, SynergySP] (Finished 2/52) Tags: Mahou Shoujo, Music Adventure, Comedy, Romance As the mermaid princess of the North Pacific (one of the seven mermaid kingdoms), Lucia entrusts a magical pearl to a boy who falls overboard a ship one night. Lucia must travel to the human world to reclaim her pearl and protect the mermaid kingdoms. Using the power of music Lucia is able to protect herself and the mermaid kingdoms from a growing evil force. One of the early shoujo Mako the Mermaid had a very similar concept, and there have been several idol magical girls, so it does not feel fresh, more like compilation of multiple elements, plus romance, plus humor. As usual, far from enjoyable for me . Overall Rating: 6/10 9. Juubee Ninpuuchou: Ryuuhougyoku-hen Ninja Scroll: The Series 獣兵衛忍風帖「龍宝玉篇」 [Madhouse] (Finished 5/13) Tags: Martial Arts, Samurai Adventure, Horror, Supernatural Fourteen years after defeating the immortal warrior Himuro Genma and thwarting the Shogun of the Dark's evil plans, Kibagami Jubei continues to roam all over Japan as a masterless swordsman. During his journey, he meets Shigure, a priestess who has never seen the world outside her village. But when a group of demons destroys the village and kills everyone, Jubei becomes a prime target after acquiring the Dragon Jewel—a stone with an unknown origin. Meanwhile, Shigure—along with the monk Dakuan and a young thief named Tsubute—travels to the village of Yagyu. And with two demon clans now hunting down Shigure, Dakuan must once again acquire the services of Jubei to protect the Priestess of Light. It may be not bad, but on contrast with the movie all this loose comedy about thievery with some fighting looses completely, so just using this title without any connection to original brings lots of critique. Overall Rating: 6/10 10. Matantei Loki Ragnarok Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok 魔探偵ロキ RAGNAROK [Studio Deen] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Shounen Comedy, Mystery, Supernatural Loki, the Norse god of mischief, has been exiled to the human world for what was apparently a bad joke. Along with being exiled, he's forced to take the form of a child. He's told the only way he can get back to the world of the gods is if he can collect auras of evil that take over human hearts, and so to do this he runs a detective agency. Loki is soon joined by a human girl named Mayura who is a maniac for mysteries, and she soon helps out in her own way. However, soon other Norse gods begin to appear, and most have the intent to assassinate Loki for reasons unclear. Detective mystery with fighting and norse mythology. Not my genre. Overall Rating: 6/10 11. Air Master エアマスター [Toei Animation] (Finished 1/27) Tags: Seinen Martial Arts Action, Comedy A former gymnast, Aikawa Maki has turned her skills to a different way of life—street fighting. The only thing that truly makes her feel alive is violence. With amazing power and grace, she fights opponent after opponent, repeatedly demonstrating the gymnastic talent that earns her her nom de guerre, "Airmaster." Something like Grappler Baki, female version, with more acrobatics and unofficial fights. There's no way I can enjoy this. Overall Rating: 5/10 12. Tantei Gakuen Q Detective School Q 探偵学園Q [Pierrot] (Finished 1/45) Tags: Shounen Detective Comedy, Drama, Mystery Kyuu is your average boy with a knack for logic and reasoning. Desiring to become a detective, he finds out about the existence of the Dan Detective School (DDS); a famed school where students are allowed to bear arms. Together with Megu, a girl with photographic memory, the martial arts master Kinta, the genius programmer Kazuma and the mysterious Ryuu, Kyuu tackles many well planned out crimes, always seeking the truth. Too many detectives together, it's multiple times more boring for me than usual. Overall Rating: 6/10 13. Ultra Maniac ウルトラマニアック [Ashi Productions] (Finished 2/26) Tags: Mahou Shoujo, School Comedy, Romance Fantasies and miracles never interested Ayu Tateishi, a popular second-year student at her middle school. She was content with preserving her image of being cool, calm, and collected—all to catch the eye of her crush, Tetsushi Kaji. Ayu's carefree youthful days are interrupted by the appearance of Nina Sakura, a new transfer student who turns out to be a witch. As the only person who knows about Nina's ability to cast spells using a mini-computer, Ayu is forced to help Nina with her mission to find the five Holy Stones, qualifying her to marry the prince of the Magic Kingdom. Unfortunately, Nina's ineptitude with magic and her habit of meddling in Ayu's personal life cause nothing but trouble for the two of them as Ayu toils to maintain her good reputation and Nina struggles to hide her secret from the discerning eye of Hiroki Tsujiai, Tetsushi's best friend and an avid fan of manga. And when Nina's search for the five Holy Stones brings allies and challengers from the Magic Kingdom, Ayu is dragged into a world she never even dreamed was possible. Reminds Marmalade boy a lot, but for some reason also incorporates magic that is used not only by heroine, but by quite some people. SOL is ok, romance average, humor below average. Overall Rating: 6/10 14. Uchuu no Stellvia Stellvia 宇宙のステルヴィア [Xebec] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Mecha, Space Action, Romance, Sci-Fi In the year 2167, a wave of radiation released by the supernova of the nearby star Hydrus Beta caused cataclysmic damage on Earth, leaving millions dead. Now, it is the year 2356. United to rebuild Earth, humanity prepares for the supernova's second wave of destruction. In order to protect the planet from future harm, massive space colonies called "Foundations" have been built throughout the Solar System. Acting as centers for both knowledge and exploration, it is at one of these Foundations—the Stellvia—that Shima Katase applies to be a preparatory student against her mother's wishes, aspiring to see space directly with her own eyes. At the Stellvia, Katase trains to become a pilot and hopes to be selected for the "Great Mission" to shield Earth from the second wave. While she struggles with both her pilot classes and her tumultuous social life, she slowly grows into someone who might just be able to protect humanity. There have been at least three mecha lately with just training and either no actual battles or something only in the end. This is continuation of this trend, but with younger characters than usual and without needless drama over trifles. Good SOL inside training school, but there's little besides SOL, so need to like this flow from the start without hopes for something bigger. Overall Rating: 6/10 15. Astro Boy: Tetsuwan Atom Astro Boy (2003) アストロボーイ・鉄腕アトム [Tezuka Productions] (Finished 1/50) Tags: Shounen Mecha, Super Power Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi At the Ministry of Science, fervent Professor Ochanomizu alongside his coworkers strive to reactivate Atom—the first robot with a human heart. Atom is the masterpiece of enigmatic Professor Umatarou Tenma, who built the android to replace his deceased son Tobio. However, while Tenma inexplicably shut down his brainchild and disappeared, Ochanomizu refuses to let such a major breakthrough in science go to waste. Despite having the appearance of a nine-year-old, Atom not only possesses incredible strength and intelligence, but he is also endowed with a remarkable conscience and compassion that rivals humans. Sadly, the mechanical boy soon faces rejection and learns that not everyone is as welcoming as Ochanomizu. Although automatons have integrated into society, they are accepted only as tools and even seen as an upcoming threat to mankind's dominion. Dreaming of a world where people and robots can prosper together, Atom dedicates his existence to protecting the lives of both and inspiring them to form genuine bonds. I'm glad that Astro Boy can be experienced in modern colored version, and several stories are indeed worthy. But it also brings that extremely retro feeling which can only be experienced with proper attitude. Overall Rating: 6/10 16. Dear Boys Hoop Days ディア・ボーイズ [A.C.G.T.] (Finished 2/26) Tags: Shounen Drama, Sports Aikawa Kazuhiko was the captain of Tendoji high school prestigious basketball team. He moves into a new town to attend Mizuho high school and joins its basketball team. However, Mizuho high's basketball team is far from being prestigious, in fact, it's now defunct. Nevertheless to say, Kazuhiko's persistence, passion and basketball skills inspired other team members of the dysfunctional basketball team to gear up and start practicing again. The goal is to play in the national tournaments where all young basketball players meet their opponents to compete with them. The tale of youth of the five protagonists: Fujiwara Takumi, Ishii Tsutomu, Dobashi Kenji, Miura Ranmaru and Aikawa Kazuhiko have just began along with the live of Mizuho high school basketball team. Best basketball spokons so far like Dash! Kappei and Slam Dunk had big tilt into humor while this one has less humor and more drama. But the main disadvantage that it's unrealistic in the way of having a super player and showing off. But I don't care about spokons in first place. Overall Rating: 6/10 17. Narue no Sekai The World of Narue 成恵の世界 [Studio Live] (Finished 2/12) Tags: Shounen Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi Meet Narue, an adorable schoolgirl with a secret. She's really an alien with powers right out of a sci-fi comic! But growing up is never easy, and sometimes it doesn't help when you're from outer space. Join our spunky heroine as she faces androids, alien invaders, and her first date with the boy next door. It's the sci-fi comedy that's a direct hit to your heart! A mix of a many elements spiced generously with absurdism. The school romcom SOL is typical, and aliens stuff only adds chaos. Overall Rating: 5/10 18. E's Otherwise エスアザーワイズ [Pierrot] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Shounen Military Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi, Supernatural Kai, who has powers different from the rest, together with his sickly sister Hikaru was protected by an organization called ASHURUM. Scouted by Eiji, Kai was delegated to the ASHURUM special force AESES and undergo intensive training. Whenever he was free, Kai visited Hikaru at the hospital belongs to the organization, but Hikaru's condition never improved. So, one year later, with amazing growth from the intensive training, Kai decides to escape from the organization. Of course e's had to mean espers. Protagonist realizes evil ways of his employer and confronts former friends. Story itself is nothing new, but has enough potential and action opportunities, though heavily depends on execution. And there's not enough effort put into quality here to shine. Overall Rating: 6/10 19. Gad Guard ガドガード [Gonzo] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Mecha Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Several hundred years in the future, the resources of the Earth runs out, and the progression of the human race has stagnated. The world is now divided into "Units." A boy named Hajiki Sanada lives with his mother and sister in Unit 74, in a place called "Night Town," in which all electricity is shut down at midnight. The key in this story is an object called the GAD. GADs have the ability to reconstruct materials while reacting to feelings of an organic life. The size and shape of the resulting product seem to be different depending on the kinds of feelings that the life possesses. When Hajiki comes in contact with one by accident, it transforms into a huge robot—a Tekkoudo, or "Iron Giant"—which Hajiki names Lightning. And soon he realizes that he isn't the only one with a Tekkoudo, and must find out how to deal with those others who he feels are the "same" as himself. As studio's original story, it's easy to predict the loose middle and real plot elements pushed to the end. The core is just random adventures of children who laid hands on a high tech weapon in a crime town, and even if I'm generous it's only decent. Overall Rating: 6/10 20. Ningen Kousaten Human Crossing 人間交差点 [A.C.G.T.] (Finished 2/13) Tags: Drama, Slice of Life, Sports Though seemingly unconnected, the characters in HUMAN CROSSING all have something in common. They are dealing with the sometimes joyous, but often horrific realities of everyday life. Set in modern day Japan, this compilation of short stories explores the lives of people from all walks of life. The animation used here is subtle, with realistic renderings that fully express the range of emotions experienced by the film`s characters. HUMAN CROSSING taps into the dramatic potential of reality, focusing on the isolated, sometimes lonely nature of urban life. Ultimately, however, the film suggests that perhaps there is an inter-connectedness between people that binds even the most disparate strangers together. Anthology about simple stories with complex details of grown-ups which get interconnected by the end. I don't like anthologies and such format and don't find it entertaining or useful. Overall Rating: 6/10 22. Mousou Kagaku Series: Wandaba Style 妄想科学シリーズ ワンダバスタイル [TNK] (Finished 2/12) Tags: Comedy, Sci-Fi Genius scientist Tsukumo Susumu knows each and every single theory behind aerodynamics that exists on earth despite being only 13 years old. He wants to travel to the moon without the use of fossil fuels that power rockets. So begins his heavy research using his knowledge in the laws of physics, scientific theory and his wild imagination. His test subjects are the unpopular idol group Mix JUICE (Himawari, Yuri, Ayame, Sakura). They come up with all sorts of crazy ideas to become the first humans to successfully hold a concert on the face of the moon. Will the four girls from Mix JUICE be able to struggle their way to the moon successfully? Comedy is too crazy and childish for me. Failed to catch its vibe to enjoy. Overall Rating: 6/10 23. Submarine Super 99 サブマリン スーパー99 [Vega Entertainment] (Finished 3/13) Tags: Shounen Military Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Dr. Oki , the genius scientist who designed a new type of submarine is missing. His son, Susumu, smells an evil scheme of unknown group. He knows everything of his father's submarine called "Super 99" – equipment, weapons, functions and capacity. Susumu thinks that to find his father is to reveal the secret organization, Helmet Party, and stop their conspiracy. With the help of his friends and Marine Corps, he sets out to an underwater quest, not knowing how dangerous his endeavour is… All this Leijiverse with side stories and recycled characters is getting tiresome and irritating. This time it's getting closer to shounens, and submarine instead of spaceship tones the scale down. Overall Rating: 5/10 24. Firestorm FIRESTORM ファイアーストーム [Trans Arts] (Finished 2/26) Tags: Mecha, Military Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi It is the year 2104 AD. The terrible war is over and peace seemed close in the world. However, there is one thing that can bring down this peace. That is the criminal organization who's power and actions are widespread across the world... The Black Orchid. From the main countries of the world, the "Storm Force" was formed to take down the Black Orchid. They are also known under the code name "Fire Storm". Baddies fulfil evil plans only to be defeated each time by goodies. For me every second mecha is this way, so can't even criticize it. Overall Rating: 5/10 25. Jikuu Boukenki Zentrix Zentrix 時空冒険記 ゼントリックス [Imagi] (Finished 1/26) Tags: Mecha Adventure, Sci-Fi The series is set in Zentrix City, a seemingly "perfect" city. Emperor Jarad is a scientist who with the help of scientists Dr. Roark and Dr. Coy, created a super-computer called OmnicronPsy, which manages all of the city's higher and day-to-day functions, controlling a wide variety of machines and robots, allowing humankind to live a seemingly "perfect" life. However OmnicronPsy, using His super-intelligence, decides that it would make a better ruler than Jarad, and starts to break down the coding that stops him from revolting and harming the Royal Family. Discovering this, Jarad and Dr. Roark head back in time 7 years to stop the revolt from ever happening. To accomplish this they plan to shut down the six Zentrium chips that power OmnicronPsy. Upon discovering this, Jarad's daughter and only heir, Princess Megan, proceeds to follow him to the past while OmnicronPsy concurrently undoes his restriction codes and sends his Robo Guards to hunt her down. Horrible full 3D and there's only official dub version, because no one cares to sub it. Safe childish bland mecha adventure with time travel. Overall Rating: 5/10 26. Bouken Yuuki Pluster World Adventure Hero Pluster World 冒険遊記プラスターワールド [Actas, Brain's Base] (Finished 1/52) Tags: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi According to the legend, the once peaceful "Pluster World" plunged into chaos and darkness due to the manifestation of the evil MINASUTA. At that time, selected Plusters were combined with humans, and successfully sealed away the evil MINASUTA. It was then believed that the peace which had returned would continue forever. Greenery and trees filled the land, flowers bloomed everywhere, living creatures soar in the blue sky, run on the land, and swim in the seas. However, this peacefulness was once again lost due to reappearance of the MINASUTA... Now, the fusion of Plusters and Humans once again opens the door for a hot adventure! Not translated to English, but aired in arabic, for example, as it's a safe show for kids that's not marked properly by MAL. Overall Rating: 5/10 27. Mugen Senki Portriss 無限戦記ポトリス [Sunrise, Dongwoo A&E] (Finished 1/52) Tags: Mecha Action, Sci-Fi In a raving world, legendary knights stood up. Will they become gods of war or world saviors? Three Portriss Knights and sole human boy are now going to change the World! Portriss Planet, home of where robots live in peace. However, this peacefulness was ruined by the sudden appearance of a Dictator "Dark Portriss". Dark Portriss plans to attain infinite powers through the use of the "Space-time destroying Cannon". The only ones able to stop this are the Portriss Knights! A boy, Yuuma, accidentally got into the Portriss World, and the Portrisses` adventure begins! Only partially translated, it seems. Korean anime is still way too childish compared to older brother, again not properly marked. Overall Rating: 5/10 28. Wonder Bebil-kun ワンダーベビルくん [Radix] (Finished 3/30) Tags: Comedy, Fantasy Bevil-kun, who lives in Wonderland, decided to go out into the human world and live with Ryota in order to set a good example for human beings by his father who wanted to keep his position as a monster. Not translated. MAL incorrectly shows episode length as full while it's just 7 minutes. It's just another Doraemon imitation for kids. Overall Rating: 5/10 29. The Animatrix アニマトリックス [Madhouse, Studio 4°C, Square Pictures] (Finished 9/9) Tags: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi 1. Final Flight of the Osiris The crew of the Osiris discover an army preparing to invade Zion. While one crew member races inside the Matrix to get the message to Zion, the others try desperately to buy her enough time while fighting off an onslaught of Sentinels they can't possibly defeat. 2-3. The Second Renaissance Part 1 and 2 Humans have created the ultimate AI, which is just as smart as they are. But complications arise when these robots and the humans try to exist peacefully, and eventually all-out war breaks out. The humans ultimately lose the war, and become trapped in the Matrix as seen in the live-action films. 4. Kid's Story A young man discovers that his world isn't real, that it's a computer-generated fantasy land created by robots using humans for energy. He escapes with the help of the hacker Neo. Based on the Matrix trilogy. 5. Program Cis and Duo engage in battle in a virtual recreation of Feudal Japan. 6. World Record While running the fastest race in his life, a champion track star breaks free of his computer-generated world for a small period of time. When he goes back to the real world, he has no memories and is placed in a nursing home. Based on the Matrix trilogy. 7. Beyond While looking for her lost pet, a young woman meets up with some kids in Tokyo to play in a "haunted house," which is really a glitch in their computer world. Based on the Matrix trilogy. 8. Detective Story A detective named Ash is called upon by a mysterious organization to hunt down the notorious hacker Trinity. 9. Matriculated A group of scientists capture a robot and place it in a surreal fantasy world. When the robot's friends come in and kill most of the scientists; however, the robot and the last scientist remaining face isolation in the computer-generated world. Based on the Matrix trilogy. It's anthology made partly in 3D lasting for 9 episodes 9 minutes each, so it's already impossible to compete for a masterpiece score. It's basically a fandisc as some stories provide new details for the movies, others are just fantasies with familiar characters or even just around some familiar phenomenon. I'm not a big fan of the original, and these stories did not look significant for the story to me. Overall Rating: 6/10 30. Eiken: Eikenbu yori Ai wo Komete Eiken エイケン エイケンヴより愛をこめて [J.C.Staff] (Finished 1/2) Tags: Harem, School Comedy, Ecchi Zashono Academy is a massive educational institution with over thirty-five thousand students enrolled across all grades. It is here that the plain and unpopular Densuke Mifune enrolls in high school. While he looks forward to blending into the crowd, circumstances change when he runs into Chiharu Shinonome, an incredibly attractive and intelligent girl who has captured the attention of all the students at the school. Witnessing the encounter between the two, Kirika Misono pressures them into joining her mysterious "Eiken Club" to compete in the school's annual club tournament. The tournament causes Densuke to become more intimate with his fellow club members, but will he be able to maintain his composure or will he give in to their bold advances? Fast-paced short fanservice comedy fantasy about breast size. It's clearly of fetish nature and should only be tried with corresponding affinity. Overall Rating: 4/10 31. Parasite Dolls パラサイトドールズ [AIC] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Detective, Gore, Mecha Action, Sci-Fi A secret unit of the AD Police, known as Branch, specializes in crimes involving humanoid robots called 'Boomers'. Branch officer Buzz must cope with having a Boomer for a partner, while officer Michaelson finds the line between human and robot to be a thin one. Together they serve to protect a world that is slowly deconstructing around them. Set in the Bubblegum Crisis universe. Original A.D. Police was not great, and despite different pair of protagonists Parasite Dolls feels only slightly better as it's pure case investigation without police routine. It clearly tries to imitate Ghost in the Shell while remaining in Bubblegum Crisis world, and result is really decent, but due to lack of attention to protagonists, fast pace and lack of details it does not become engaging. Overall Rating: 6/10 32. Hitsuji no Uta 羊のうた [Madhouse] (Finished 2/4) Tags: Vampire Drama, Horror Kazuna's family has a history of suffering from a disease that creates an uncontrollable vampire-like thirst for blood. Knowing none of this, Kazuna was sent to live with the Eda couple as a child. As the sickness begins to show signs of being present within himself, he comes into contact with his older sister, Chizuna, who has been suffering from it since early childhood. Knowing that the sickness incurs a heavy weight upon those that suffer from it, Chizuna tries to ease her brother's burden, to help him learn to control his urges, but... Concept already looks like a bore to me, but it incorporates slow pace, distraction to details, flashbacks and scenes that add very little apart of some supposed emotions. If you like vampires, suspense or mystery it will probably be a treat, but it's three misses for me, and poor visuals alongside depressed atmosphere make it unbearable. Overall Rating: 5/10 33. Guardian Hearts がぁーでぃあんHearts [Venet] (Finished 1/6) Tags: School Comedy, Romance, Ecchi Maya, Kurusu, and Chelsea hit it off really well when trying to get revenge on Guardian Hearts for making them suffer. Maya and company thought that Guardian Hearts usually appears when Kazuya is getting along with a girl. Not knowing that Guardian Hearts is actually Hina, they leave her alone with Kazuya in an attempt to lure Guardian Hearts. Only good if you're in mood to watch light ecchi nonsense. Overall Rating: 5/10 34. Lingerie Senshi Papillon Rose Papillon Rose OVA ランジェリー戦士パピヨンローゼ [Studio Kelmadick] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mahou Shoujo, Parody Sci-Fi, Ecchi Tsubomi is a savvy and horny school girl who works at a lingerie club, a gentlemen's bar where scantily clad young women serve drinks to the patrons. She is useless at her job but is blackmailing her boss so she won't get fired. One day she runs into a gorgeous young man who she takes to bed. She meets into a perverted talking cat with a butterfly on its forehead, who recruits her to be a magical soldier. She has to fight off a dominatrix elf woman called Beene, a minion of Regina Apis, a matriarch bent on chaos and forming her new Dynasty. Tsubomi is learning of her powers when she is rescued by an oddly familiar masked man, known only as Dandelion. The plot of this anime is completely farcical and parodies the magical girl genre and Sailor Moon in particular. Short ecchi parody on Sailor Moon. Overall Rating: 4/10 35. Mizuiro (2003) みずいろ (2003) [OLM] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Drama, Romance, Supernatural Brother and younger sister-in-law live in the house which parents are often away from. Yuki who is the younger sister is secretly yearning for Kenji who is the elder brother. However, one girl came to show up from the closet in Kenji's room after a certain night. Moreover, her body is transparent, and she looks like the ghost. Her name is Hiyori. She is a friend in their childhood. They are pleased with reunion though Kenji and Yuki are perplexed with the way of Hiyori's strange appearance. However, Yuki gets the mind shaken as Kenji and Hiyori become intimate, and the pain in her mind in the childhood is recalled. At the childhood, Yuki was going to pass the light blue toy ring which Kenji had had to Hiyori in exchange for Hiyori's yoyo. However, because Hiyori became sick, and had moved, the promise was not an accomplishment. Their events in the childhood seem to be related to Hiyori's showing up in front of them. A painful love story of Kenji and two girls progresses. A normal triangle romance drama with aim to squeeze a tear or two. Overall Rating: 6/10 36. Futari no Joe ふたりのジョー [Office AO] (Finished 1/6) Tags: Shounen Combat Sports Joe Yuki, one of the coolest DJs in Shibuya, has a secret identity as the leader of gangs. Because of his traumatic childhood, he fiercely hates "weaklings" and sees winning as his only option in life. One night, an old man is being taunted by the kid known as "the human punching bag." The old man reminds Joe of his parents and childhood, and he uncontrollably challenges the kid to a fight. A fight in which he's defeated, and his pride is utterly shattered into pieces. I see it as trying to parasite on Ashita no Joe name , but with two protagonists and only six episodes having to resort to simplifications. Since I'm not interested in spokons, no will to sample it further. Overall Rating: 6/10 37. Alexandros no Ketsudan Alexander's Decision アレクサンドロスの決断 [Toei Animation] (Finished 0/1) Tags: Historical King Alexander of Macedonia and his troops are at war with the armies of Persia. When he suddenly falls ill, Alexander is faced with a decision: to trust his life-long Persian friend Philip and accept his help or treat him as an enemy because he is Persian. Only dubbed version found. Finally normal visuals unlike previous season and movie about Alexander. It's indeed difficult to stay impartial when father is betrayed and killed before one's eyes and letters warning of spies are arriving. Having received Aristotelean training, it can be assumed that he will take a good decision, but intrigue still remains of how it all ends. A good example how a historical story should look like, but with current length and pace it's not exactly masterpiece material. Overall Rating: 6/10 38. Oseam 오세암 [-] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Drama The animation is based on the fairy tale of the same name with the local sale over 100,000 copies by Jeong Chae-bong, a writer well known for his innocent and heart-stirring tales. It is a story about two orphans, Gil-son, a five-year-old boy, and his blind sister Gam-i who are brought up by a charitable monk at a secluded temple in Mt. Seorak. Gil-son, a mischievous boy, is the guide for this hour-long travel in search of innocence. Having a pure heart, he befriends all living things and communicates with clouds, birds and flowers. One snowy day, however... Using already successful material and going harsh rural childhood way is not a bad decision for still young Korean animation that's only starting to get serious. Still the best praise I can give is adequate as serious Korean drama for some reason always deals with some disability, fed up with that already. Overall Rating: 6/10 39. Crayon Shin-chan Movie 11: Arashi wo Yobu Eikou no Yakiniku Road 映画 クレヨンしんちゃん 嵐を呼ぶ栄光のヤキニクロード [Shin-Ei Animation] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Action, Adventure, Comedy A slapstick comedy going back to the basic, "laughable" style of the TV series. One day, the Nohara family was looking forward to having an ultra-rich yakiniku dinner, but they were put on the Wanted List on suspicion of heinous crimes because of a scheme of a mysterious organization named Sweet Boys. The Nohara family must run from Sweet Boys' pursuit but to eat yakiniku for dinner they need to stop escaping and decide to meet the boss of Sweet Boys, who is based in Atami (a hot spring/resort city in Shizuoka Prefecture). The whole movie is about running away... that's not funny, just simple action humor. Overall Rating: 5/10 -
With already few titles released it might be the swan song for Giga and MAGES 1. Aoki Bara no Terrarium 蒼き薔薇のテラリウム [230101] CURARE It's a world where magic and Three Great Wizards exist, but close-range combat with use of cavalry is the mainstream. Clan Tistia nurtures proud traditions of sword skill going 400 years back. In such household twin brother and sister are born, but sister starts to show signs of possessing witchcraft. One day siblings set out for adventure. Can't afford the luxury of ignoring all doujin games, but doubt it'll ever have reviews either 2. Tristia: Restore トリスティア:リストア [230119] Kogado Studio Happening in parallel to Tristia:legacy, the story of Tristia:restore follows the genius inventor girl Nanoca Flanka, granddaughter of the legendary inventor and crafter Prospero Flanka, as she is working to revitalize the floundering marine city of Tristia alongside her trusty companions! But this game focuses more on running the shop: She has some major crafting projects to complete, but it all starts with smaller objects. Gameplay title 3. Harakiri Geisha Girls ハラキリニンジャガールズ [230120] Frontier Works Inc. The main character, who grew up in America, is determined to become the best "samurai" in the world. He enrolls in Fujiyama High School, a prestigious school for training samurai. And with other unique girls who aspire to become "geisha" or "kamikaze". They will face various ordeals! Mobile game port, so it's inevitably a simplistic dating SIM 4. Summer Time Render - Another Horizon サマータイムレンダ Another Horizon [230126] MAGES. GAME Ajiro Shinpei returns to his hometown of Hitogashima after two years to attend the funeral of his childhood friend Kofune Ushio. While reuniting with Ushio’s younger sister Mio and his best friend Sou, he learns about Ushio’s mysterious cause of death and the legend of the “shadow disease” passed down through the ages. The legend of the shadows—it is said that anyone who sees a shadow with their appearance will die. Ushio was said to have seen that shadow. The shadows of death haunt Shinpei and his friends. Eventually, the day of despair visits Hitogashima. “How can we save our friends, protect the islanders, and avoid death?…” Shinpei is forced to constantly think and make decisions in order to avoid despair, but every choice may only open a new door to despair. But he cannot afford to stop thinking and making decisions. To overcome the three days of despair. Console exclusive 5. D.C.5 ~Da Capo 5~ D.C.5 ~ダ・カーポ5~ [230127] CIRCUS Grand cherry tree still towers over private school . This year students can't decide between sports and cultural festival, so they decide it in competition around cherry tree. With many friends main character has a noisy but fun school life. One day he walks down the lake and sees how another cherry tree that never bloomed suddenly starts to drop petals and with them a girl falls down. The fated meeting marks the beginning of a new story. If previous iterations provided a relatively new story to get enriched with numerous fandisc content, this part is already fanservice as it uses heroines from previous parts... 6. JINKI -Unlimited- [230127] Giga In September 1992 Tokyo was attacked by an organization called Kyomu and it triggered what's now known as "Tokyo Lost Life Phenomenon"... Midori Oribe who worked as a nursery teacher fled the destroyed city of Tokyo with her children. However, during that time, she lost consciousness once, and when she woke up, children were gone. In order to find them she embarks the mecha, but two pilots are needed to run it. A companion joins her and battle begins to regain the occupied Tokyo. Gameplay title 7. RE:D Cherish! -Eternity Blood- [230127] CRYSTALiA It's been a year since main characters revived the diner having overcome many difficulties. Protagonist's twin sister arrives and demands even more attention than a girlfriend. At the same time the Holy Church of Hakuryuu starts its expansion and marks diner as one of first targets. A rare fandisc that actually has story expansion and even battles.
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Anime of the Year 2003-I Winter - .hack//Tasogare no Udewa Densetsu
kivandopulus posted a blog entry in Anime of the Season
My personal preference goes to .hack//Tasogare no Udewa Densetsu in the absence of masterpieces 1. Wolf's Rain ウルフズレイン [Bones] (Finished 26/26) Tags: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Sci-Fi In a dying world, there exists an ancient legend: when the world ends, the gateway to paradise will be opened. This utopia is the sole salvation for the remnants of life in this barren land, but the legend also dictates that only wolves can find their way to this mythical realm. Though long thought to be extinct, wolves still exist and live amongst humans, disguising themselves through elaborate illusions. A lone wolf named Kiba finds himself drawn by an intoxicating scent to Freeze City, an impoverished town under the rule of the callous Lord Orkham. Here, Kiba discovers that wolves Hige, Tsume, and Toboe have been drawn in by the same aroma. By following the fragrance of "Lunar Flowers," said to be the key to opening the door to their ideal world, the wolves set off on a journey across desolate landscapes and crumbling cities to find their legendary promised land. However, they are not the only ones seeking paradise, and those with more sinister intentions will do anything in their power to reach it first. An abomination. It's another take on journey to the West in search of some stupid paradise, now wolf edition. It's beautiful all right, but it all consists of three main actions - going, quarrelling among themselves, getting attacked. I often complain about loose middle, but here there's real filler middle as we're shown bad ending and then like 4-5 recap episodes and finally continuation from a point back in time. Total bs, and it's not even interesting to justify all that. Overall Rating: 6/10 2. .hack//Tasogare no Udewa Densetsu .hack//Legend of The Twilight .hack//黄昏の腕輪伝説 [Bee Train] (Finished 13/13) Tags: Shounen Video Game Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Sci-Fi Winning the legendary characters "Kite" and "Black Rose" from an event held by the creators of the MMORPG "The World," Shugo and his twin sister Rena steps into "The World." Together they completed events and quests, along with their new friends Ouka, Mirelle, Hotaru, and Sanjuro. Soon after, mysterious monsters appeared, and death by these monsters caused players to slip into a coma in the real world. Only Shugo and Rena can solve this problem, but why are they being targeted, and what secrets is the game hiding? I liked it quite a lot when watched it first time. It's rather simple, but mmorpgs have this charm of simplicity, and it's utilized here good enough. A good niche product, but don't know if it can be called a masterpiece. Still a lot of ideas from here are borrowed by Sword Art Online later. Overall Rating: 6/10 3. Bakuten Shoot Beyblade G Revolution 爆転シュート ベイブレードGレボリューション [Nippon Animation] (Finished 1/52) Tags: Shounen Action, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi, Sports After keeping their BitBeasts out of harm's way, a new world championship tournament is announced, but the defending champions can't all be on the same team. Their friendship will be tested and tried as each Bladebreaker goes on a quest to prove why they are the best Beyblader around. Tyson, Max, Ray, Kai, and newcomer Daichi, must keep up their winning ways...even if they must face each other. But, after the tournament is over, what awaits them is an old foe, Boris, taking over the BBA and transforming it into BEGA, the Beyblade Entertainment Global Association. To save Beybladers of the entire world from BEGA's corruption, the Bladebreakers must reunite once again... Gah, these nonsense toy robot battles again. Overall Rating: 5/10 4. Ashita no Nadja Tomorrow's Nadja 明日のナージャ [Toei Animation] (Finished 6/50) Tags: Historical Adventure, Drama, Romance This story takes place about one hundred years ago. Nadja is a bright, cheerful girl who was raised in an orphanage near London, England. Nadja was entrusted to the orphanage when she was a baby. So she thought her father and mother were dead. But before her thirteenth birthday, she found out that her mother might be alive.. Nadja sets out on a journey to find her mother! With all of Europe as the stage, Nadja's exciting adventure begins! The pinnacle of what non-psychologically tilt light shoujo can achieve, but I like different type of shoujo. Overall Rating: 6/10 5. Mahoutsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto Someday's Dreamers 魔法遣いに大切なこと [J.C.Staff] (Finished 4/12) Tags: Shounen Iyashikei Slice of Life Yume Kikuchi, a girl who can use magic, goes to Tokyo to be an apprentice mage to the handsome Masami Oyamada (a professional mage). In Tokyo, Yume learns about magic, helping people, and various other things on her way to being a mage. But she soon also finds out that even just magic alone isn't enough to make someone truly happy... Drama about something insignificant as for me... morality of using magical powers and bureaucracy around it... and it being so serious about that is laughable. Overall Rating: 6/10 6. Mouse マウス [Studio Deen] (Finished 3/12) Tags: Shounen Harem Action, Comedy, Ecchi Teacher Sorata Muon carries on his family's centuries-old old tradition of being the master thief Mouse who can steal anything after properly alerting authorities of his intentions so they can be there yet fail to stop him. He is assisted by 3 nubile female assistants who also use the teaching cover and who, in typical Satoru Akahori, favor tight/skimpy/bondage outfits over their ample curves as they constantly pursue Sorata much more than he pursues them, although the girls do get some attention from their master. Not only is Mouse pursued by the girls & the local law enforcement authorities, there is also a secret art protection society employing the services of a former ally of Sorata's after his pretty little hide, all in 15 minute episodes. Light ecchi about phantom thief who can steal absolutely everything with silly plans and about how it all pulls out greatly each time... no substance, as usual. Overall Rating: 5/10 7. Gunparade March: Arata Naru Kougunka Gunparade March: A New Song for the March ガンパレード・マーチ -新たなる行軍歌- [J.C.Staff] (Finished 12/12) Tags: Mecha, Military Action, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi It began in 1945, at the end of the Pacific War. Alien invaders filled the earth's Skies, and mankind was forced to confront an unprecedented threat. For the first time in human history, people of all cultures came together under one banner. This war has now been raging for over fifty years. Countless lives have been lost, and the Japanese military is now forced to rely on young people such as Atsushi Hayami and his high school class, also known as Unit 5121. This new generation fearlessly struggles on with the aid of the HWT humanoid combat machines and the devastating PBE bomb. If you expect mecha, don't, because it's just training for mecha fights at best and fights themselves are out of focus... so instead it focuses on just bonding of two very different protagonists together... through school events and trainings.... it's not irritating, but there's hardly anything to see here, kind of awkward romance of sorts. Overall Rating: 6/10 8. Stratos 4 ストラトス・フォー [Studio Fantasia] (Finished 3/13) Tags: Military Comedy, Sci-Fi The Earth has developed a defense system against large meteorites that are on a collision course with it. This protection system is made up of the Comet Blasters based in several space stations as the 1st line of defense, using nuclear warheads launched by spaceships. The 2nd line of defense consists of the Meteor Sweepers launching from ground airbases using hypersonic planes with special missiles to deal with the resulting debris from the blasts. Mikaze is a troubled girl that is a trainee pilot for a Meteor Sweeper team that dreams of becoming a prestigious Comet Blaster pilot. Stratos 4 revolves around Mikaze's and her teammates' challenges to become real pilots, while the Earth faces the threats that come from space. Inarticulate SOL about training... to oppose threats from the space. Bland girls and fanservice shots killed the little leftover hopes. Overall Rating: 5/10 9. Lime-iro Senkitan らいむいろ戦奇譚 [Studio Hibari] (Finished 1/13) Tags: Harem, Historical, Mecha Drama, Supernatural, Ecchi Around the the 37th year of the Meiji Era (1904), in the midst of the Russo-Japanese war, the small Japanese army, in need of assistance, uses its special flying (thanks to a benevolent demon) ship, the Amanohara, to attack Russia's major base at Port Arthur (Lushun). Umakai Shintaro, a Russian diplomat originally from Japan, defects and goes to Sapporo to teach at a girls academy. However, that girls academy is not typical—it is on board the Amanohara, and the five girls Shintaro teaches are known as the Raimu Unit—girls with the ability to summon powerful beings to fight for them. Shintaro eventually becomes their teacher and general in battle, and so the six embark on a weird and excessively erotic journey, as Shintaro helps the girls overcome their weaknesses, become stronger for the final stand at Lushun, and also understand the motives of the "Russian Spiritual Corps" that assist the opponent, which, unfortunately, has one member whom Shintaro knew well... Not every Elf game deserves adaptation, Cheesy ecchi baka harem that challenges silliness and fanservice tolerance every running minute. Overall Rating: 5/10 10. Chou Robot Seimeitai Transformers Micron Densetsu Transformers Armada 超ロボット生命体トランスフォーマー マイクロン伝説 [Actas] (Finished 1/52) Tags: Mecha Action, Sci-Fi On the mechanical planet of Cybertron live super robotic organisms known as Transformers. There, mainly consisting of convoys, the Cybertron army, and their old enemy Destron fell into conflict to gain hold of a new power to join their side. A new breed of Transformers known as the Microns. But, grieving over the battle the Microns set off to the other end of the universe. 4 million years later, on Earth, 3 young children activated a mysterious panel inside a cave. And somehow, that was the dormant Micron... This series should be properly marked as kids already. Overall Rating: 5/10 11. Nanaka 6/17 ななか6/17 [J.C.Staff] (Finished 2/12) Tags: Shounen Comedy, Drama, Romance, Slice of Life Seventeen-year-old Nanaka Kirisato is a high school student serious about her studies and goals in life. She frequently criticizes her best friend, Nenji Nagihara, for being a childish delinquent who spends his time fighting other boys. Then one day, after a heated argument with Nenji, she falls off a flight of stairs and suffers a brain injury, resulting in her mind reverting to that of a six-year-old. With this in mind, Nanaka's father and Nenji must keep her injury a secret as she struggles to live a normal life and grow up all over again. Both sides of Nanaka personality are irritating, so it's a cute thematic comedy, but nothing bigger than that. Overall Rating: 6/10 12. L/R: Licensed by Royal Licensed by Royalty [TNK] (Finished 2/12) Tags: Detective Action, Adventure, Mystery Jack Hofner and Rowe Rikenbacker are Cloud 7's L/R. Their job is to protect the Royal family of Ishtar, their treasures, and their reputation. Jack & Rowe face one of the toughest missions of their career when they are assigned to protect Noelle, a candidate for the 15 Year Princesse contest. It starts out simple, but soon all of Cloud 7 are involved in a web of intrigue that includes bombings, corruption and murder. Detective series with action segments... I'm definitely not enjoying this. Overall Rating: 5/10 13. Majuu Sensen: The Apocalypse Beast Fighter: The Apocalypse 魔獣戦線 THE APOCALYPSE [Magic Bus] (Finished 1/13) Tags: Shounen Mythology, Super Power Action, Supernatural An entire city is destroyed by two monstrous and omnipotent beings. Genzou Kuruma, a scientist but also the leader of a sect wishes to awake God, but first, he needs a special kind of blood for it. His son, Shinichi Kuruma, and a young girl, Ayaka Sanders, possess that blood, and he will do anything to capture them and take their blood for God's Awakening, and so, humanity will be lost. Shinichi, along Ayaka and Tomizoro (Tommy), are escaping from Genzou Kuruma's "New Humans" (genetically altered humans who can turn into monsters), while Shinichi only wishes for revenge against his father. He, like the other "New Humans", has the power to summon different beasts from his body. With this power, he will fight until Genzou Kuruma is killed by his own hands. Reinstallment of another ancient series based on manga from 70s. I rated OVAs as 2/10 and genetics religious bloody core has not changed. Overall Rating: 5/10 14. Barom One Barom 1 バロムワン [E&G Films] (Finished 1/13) Tags: Shounen Action, Sci-Fi, Supernatural Takeshi Kido and Kentaro Shiratori are a pair of friends who have been together for almost their entire life. One night, a strange being comes out from the lake and starts attacking them. When Takeshi and Kentaro are almost eliminated, a strange being named Kopu calls them and tells them that they are the chosen ones to inherit the power to protect the world from an evil being named Goumon. Now, they join their hands to transform into Barom One, a being with superior skills, who will fight to protect the city. Manga from 1970s just refuses to die peacefully. New spree of monsters and new joint Guyver to oppose them... Overall Rating: 5/10 15. Shutsugeki! Machine Robo Rescue 出撃!マシンロボレスキュー [Sunrise] (Finished 1/53) Tags: Mecha Action, Sci-Fi In the future, age is not a factor to determine whether someone can perform a certain task or not, but special talent and training. An organization, Machine Robo Rescue (MRR), was established for robots and children to become partner and rescue people from danger. Then 12 children with various abilities were selected and introduced as part of this program: Robo Rescue! Meet Oozora Taiyou, one of the children who were chosen as a part of MRR program. After being late on his first day of training, he went to perform a hot rescue with JETROBO. However, a mysterious Robot from mysterious organization, "The Star"(?), appeared before MRR team to interfere with the rescue. What are the motives of the mysterious organization? And what are their goals? Life as one of the children chosen as part of MRR has started for Oozora Taiyou. Bumpy and hard training is just ahead for MRR team in order to protect many people's life! Characters are a little bit older than usual, but it's still kids anime through and through. Overall Rating: 5/10 16. Crush Gear Nitro クラッシュギアNitro [Sunrise] (Finished 1/50) Tags: Racing Sports Story about a young boy name: Mahha Masaru, who dreamt of having a crush gear fight with the others even though he doesn't have his very own crush gear! One day, a sudden chance came to him and he got the legendary crush gear which look similer to the one that was used by Kouya Marino and finally he can go and paticipate in his own crush gear fight with his friends and foe!! Not translated. Same toy robot fighting trash as Gekitou! Crush Gear Turbo. Overall Rating: 5/10 17. Greek Roman Sinhwa: Olympus Guardian 그리스 로마 신화-올림포스 가디언 [-] (Finished 1/39) Tags: Historical Adventure, Fantasy The animated form of the Korean manhwa. It's in Korean with subs and of educational nature as it's introduction to Green Mythology in a playful manner. Overall Rating: 5/10 18. Spheres 스피어즈 [Studio Kaab] (Finished 0/26) Tags: Super Power Action, Fantasy Unbeknownst to human history, the Kingdom of Spheres existed upon our earth long ago. The people of this kingdom would be regarded today as people with psychic powers. Unfortunately, like most other civilizations, as the gap widened more and more between the social classes, the Kingdom of Spheres was troubled by those greedy for power; and in the end it collapsed. Na Yeon is a mysterious girl who was found in the Antarctic after the destruction of Spheres. One day Asten, the chairman of Sphere Union, who has a burning ambition to control the world, sent his followers to keep watch on Na Yeon. Na Yeon and her friends try to keep three artifacts, the keys to conquer the world, from the hands of Sphere Union. Not translated. And I'm not going to watch untranslated anime about psychics in Korean. Overall Rating: 0/10 19. Munto MUNTO [ムント] [Kyoto Animation] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Fantasy, Romance Above Earth, invisible to humans, float the Heavens—a collection of floating island kingdoms supported by the magic of their godlike inhabitants. The mysterious power source known as Akuto enables this magic to exist, but this is quickly running out. In response to this energy crisis, most of the kingdoms in the Heavens agree to use the minimum amount of Akuto required to sustain themselves, except for the Magical Kingdom. The leader of this kingdom, the Magical King Munto, believes that Akuto can be replenished if he travels to Earth and meets a mysterious girl shown to him by a seer. While Munto sets off on the dangerous journey, the other kingdoms attempt to destroy the Magical Kingdom and acquire the remaining Akuto for themselves. On Earth, Yumemi Hidaka is dealing with her own problems. She can see floating islands in the sky that nobody else can. While her best friend Ichiko Ono believes her, Yumemi wonders if she is going insane. When Munto suddenly appears before her, Yumemi dismisses him as a mere delusion. She is more concerned about her 13-year-old friend Suzume Imamura, who is attempting to elope with her delinquent boyfriend. As the Magical Kingdom nears the point where it will fall from the sky, Munto's quest to save both the Heavens and Earth grows increasingly desperate. Early Kyoto Animation works already have outstanding visuals, but plot is dreamy fantasy drama and it does not feel great, though really good starter work. Overall Rating: 6/10 20. Memories Off 2nd Memories Off 2nd (メモリーズオフ 2nd) [Picture Magic, Rikuentai] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Drama, Romance Shirakawa Hotaru, a girl who's in love with Inami Ken, finally confesses her love. From there on, they were happy couples, until one summer. Ken met a new friend, Tobise Tomoe, who is Hotaru's best friend. Tomoe seems to have her own charm. Ken, now have two paths to choose from; to be with Shirakawa Hotaru or Tobise Tomoe. Otherwise, he will lose them both. Love triangles were specialty of early Memories Off, as a romance drama not bad. Overall Rating: 6/10 21. Early Reins アーリーレインズ [OLM] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action, Adventure Early Reins features six beautiful women on a train en route to Sunshine Hill in the early 1800s. When the train is highjacked by robbers and the soldiers on board are caught unawares, another surprise is in store: these lovely ladies can fight! The heroine emerges as Margarette, a young woman determined to become a sheriff although she is somewhat lacking in experience. She gains plenty on this trip, however, and the ragtag team of Western warriors joins forces with another passenger, Spencer, to fight some nefarious bandits and guide the train to safety. 40 minutes to get acquainted with six heroines, show action and tell a story? Guess this mission was impossible from the start, so authors decided to strike out story at all and not even give an ending. Overall Rating: 5/10 -
Koukaku Kidoutai: Stand Alone Complex is a genius masterpiece. 1. Naruto ナルト [Pierrot] (Finished 3/220) Tags: Shounen Martial Arts Action, Adventure, Fantasy Moments prior to Naruto Uzumaki's birth, a huge demon known as the Kyuubi, the Nine-Tailed Fox, attacked Konohagakure, the Hidden Leaf Village, and wreaked havoc. In order to put an end to the Kyuubi's rampage, the leader of the village, the Fourth Hokage, sacrificed his life and sealed the monstrous beast inside the newborn Naruto. Now, Naruto is a hyperactive and knuckle-headed ninja still living in Konohagakure. Shunned because of the Kyuubi inside him, Naruto struggles to find his place in the village, while his burning desire to become the Hokage of Konohagakure leads him not only to some great new friends, but also some deadly foes. A decent shounen that has a positive effect on some people. Never could understand that though, for me it's just a fine childish action with questionable comedy. Overall Rating: 6/10 2. Koukaku Kidoutai: Stand Alone Complex Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 攻殻機動隊 STAND ALONE COMPLEX [Production I.G] (Finished 26/26) Tags: Seinen Adult Cast, Detective, Mecha, Military Action, Award Winning, Sci-Fi In the not so distant future, mankind has advanced to a state where complete body transplants from flesh to machine is possible. This allows for great increases in both physical and cybernetic prowess and blurring the lines between the two worlds. However, criminals can also make full use of such technology, leading to new and sometimes, very dangerous crimes. In response to such innovative new methods, the Japanese Government has established Section 9, an independently operating police unit which deals with such highly sensitive crimes. Led by Daisuke Aramaki and Motoko Kusanagi, Section 9 deals with such crimes over the entire social spectrum, usually with success. However, when faced with a new A level hacker nicknamed "The Laughing Man," the team is thrown into a dangerous cat and mouse game, following the hacker's trail as it leaves its mark on Japan. Series is of surprisingly high quality and still with Mayor Kusanagi. One of the best experiences possible with sci-fi anime. Overall Rating: 10/10 3. Haibane Renmei 灰羽連盟 [Radix] (Finished 3/13) Tags: Psychological Drama, Fantasy, Mystery Born from a cocoon in the village of Old Home, a young Haibane—a being with a halo and small gray wings—awakens to a world she does not understand without memories of her past. Named Rakka for the dream of falling she had while inside the cocoon, she soon becomes accustomed to life in the strange town. However, there are strict rules for the Haibane, such as being forbidden to leave the village or go near the walls surrounding it. These, along with mysterious disappearances of their kind on their "Day of Flight," begin to unsettle Rakka and the others since they know almost nothing about their own kind. Haibane Renmei tells not only Rakka's story but also of those around her, as they live their lives with no memories of the past while trying to break free from their former pain and ultimately find salvation. Setting is indeed unique, but it's so painfully slow and SOL oriented that I can't tolerate if for long. Overall Rating: 6/10 4. Kidou Senshi Gundam SEED Mobile Suit Gundam SEED 機動戦士ガンダムSEED [Sunrise] (Finished 5/50) Tags: Mecha, Military, Space Action, Award Winning, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi In the year Cosmic Era 0071, the space colony Heliopolis remains neutral in the great war raging across the galaxy between Coordinators, human beings whose biological traits have been altered before birth, and Naturals, unaltered people who remain on the planet Earth. The Naturals' deep hatred of the Coordinators drove the advanced beings into space, seeking shelter in man-made colonies. Kira Yamato is a Coordinator and university student on Heliopolis, when his life is thrown into disarray as ZAFT, the military organization composed of rebellious Coordinators, attacks the colony in an effort to steal a set of five state-of-the-art military mobile suits known as Gundams. While ZAFT manages to make off with four of the mobile suits, Kira take control of the final Gundam, the Strike. Surviving the battle, Kira and his college friends join the crew of the Archangel, a ship run by the Earth Alliance, and the young soldiers experience the horrors of war and the loss that comes with it. Sunrise as diligent artisan has learned its craft over so many iterations - fill in varied characters, add lots of war measure references and of course let many characters die for drama to go on. Fells very artificial. Overall Rating: 6/10 5. GetBackers ゲットバッカーズ 奪還屋 [Studio Deen] (Finished 6/49) Tags: Shounen Super Power Action, Mystery, Supernatural Mido Ban and Amano Ginji are known as the Get Backers, retrievers with a success rate of 100%. Whatever is lost or stolen, they can definitely get it back. Despite their powerful abilities and enthusiastic behavior, Ban and Ginji are terminally broke no matter what they do simply because few people would actually desire to hire them. As a result, the pair of them tend to do dangerous jobs, often leading to unwanted re-encounters with their old (and dangerous) friends. Just episodic retrieval, usually with fighting in the process. Why even try if you can just make episodic shounen crap and people will still watch it. Overall Rating: 6/10 6. Spiral: Suiri no Kizuna Spiral: Bond of Reasoning スパイラル -推理の絆- [J.C.Staff] (Finished 2/25) Tags: Shounen Drama, Mystery Ayumu Narumi has lived all his life in the shadow of his famous detective brother, Kiyotaka. However, Kiyotaka disappeared two years ago, leaving behind his wife Madoka and Ayumu himself, along with a cryptic message about the "Blade Children." One day, a girl at Ayumu's school suddenly dies. What seemed like a suicide at first glance turns out to be a murder, and Ayumu is the prime suspect. While investigating the person responsible for framing him, he discovers that the mysterious Blade Children are involved—and they somehow know Kiyotaka personally. Ayumu soon finds out just how dangerous the Blade Children are and learns that, in reality, he and Kiyotaka are intertwined more closely than he had ever believed. Another detective mystery. And again episodic. Ugh. Overall Rating: 5/10 7. Kiddy Grade キディ・グレイド [Gonzo] (Finished 3/24) Tags: Mecha, Super Power Action, Sci-Fi, Ecchi In the distant future, humanity has taken to the skies and colonized many planets throughout the universe. An agency known as the Galactic Organization of Trade and Tariffs (GOTT) has been formed to maintain order. Within GOTT, a secret squad of enhanced human beings—known as the ES Unit—carry out secret missions to put a stop to major galactic crimes. Two such operatives are the lowly C-ranked Éclair and Lumière. Despite being on the bottom of the totem pole, the pair wield formidable powers: Éclair's superhuman strength and lipstick whip and Lumière's ability to take control of any computer. Together, they can take on any mission that GOTT throws at them. But as they complete more and more missions, the duo begin to uncover a major conspiracy that leaves them questioning everything they know about themselves and the entire galaxy. For a long time we have not seen reinvention of the bycicle, I mean imitations of Dirty Pair. Now there's more communication with HQ, but the episodic nature is intact. Overall Rating: 6/10 8. Mahoromatic: Motto Utsukushii Mono Mahoromatic ~Something More Beautiful~ まほろまてぃっく ~もっと美しいもの~ [Gainax, Shaft] (Finished 2/14) Tags: Seinen Military Comedy, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi, Ecchi As the relationship between Mahoro, Suguru and his classmates develops further, another android girl enters their lives and becomes attached to Mahoro. All the while, the number of days before Mahoro is to shut down decreases steadily. There's a new cyborg girl, there's more ecchi, somewhat more of school, the core has not changed. Overall Rating: 6/10 9. Hungry Heart: Wild Striker ハングリーハート Wild Striker [Nippon Animation] (Finished 2/52) Tags: Shounen Team Sports Comedy, Slice of Life, Sports As the younger brother of Japanese soccer star Seisuke Kanou, Kyousuke was always expected to grow as a soccer player at the same pace his brother did—an expectation that proved too difficult to meet. Having fallen behind, he now lives in the shadow of his brother's success. Entering his freshman year at Jouyou Akanegaoka High School, Kyousuke vows never to play soccer again. However, Miki Tsujiwaki, the captain of the girls' soccer team, and Mori Kazuto, the manager of the boys' team, recognize Kyousuke's potential and want to see his return to the game for their own reasons. With an opportunity to play soccer again, Kyousuke must either remain steadfast in his decision to abandon the sport he once loved, or allow himself to reignite that flame to become the best striker in the world. Noisy, cheesy, conveniently . Overall Rating: 5/10 10. Heat Guy J ヒートガイジェイ [Satelight] (Finished 3/25) Tags: Detective, Mecha Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi In the city of Judoh, Claire Leonelli has inherited leadership of the Mafia group "Vampire" following the death of his father. To keep Claire's and other criminal activities in check, the city's Bureau of Urban Safety has Special Services Division operative Daisuke Aurora and the super android codenamed "J" (whose identity is apparently kept in secrecy, as androids are banned in the city). With both of them around, crime now has little room to breathe in Judoh. Shounen variant of Ghost in the Shell with eternal episodic nature present. Some episodes are good, but overall it's a bumpy ride. Overall Rating: 6/10 11. Hanada Shounen-shi 花田少年史 [Madhouse] (Finished 3/25) Tags: Seinen Comedy, Drama, Slice of Life, Supernatural Ichiro Hanada is a hyperactive little boy who lives with his parents, sister, and grandfather in a rural town. He is always up to some kind of mischief, often teasing his sister or making rude comments to others. Consequently, his mother constantly scolds him, and even the neighbours express disturbance from time to time on how rowdy he can be. One day, after pulling a terrible prank, Ichiro sprints onto the streets as his mother chases him. He steals a nearby bicycle and takes on a dangerous route, eventually being hit by a truck. Miraculously, he survives the crash, requiring nine stitches to the back of his head and balding for the surgery. However, the near-death experience gains him the ability to see ghosts—the last thing he needs in his life. Since Ichiro is the only one who can communicate with them, several ghosts of people who have recently died come to him, seeking help to fulfill their last wishes before achieving enlightenment. Each adventure with a ghost leaves the young and curious boy with a different lesson that gradually makes him wiser. Reminds SOL comedies of the 60s-70s, but also interchanges with this ghosts stuff. Protagonist is too young to make it interesting for me. The level of home violence is high here. If you don't get touched by immediacy of protagonist and stories of dead people, probably won't enjoy it just like me. Overall Rating: 6/10 12. Puchi Pri*Yucie Petite Princess Yucie ぷちぷり*ユーシィ [Gainax, AIC] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Shoujo Comedy, Fantasy Despite recently turning 17, the otherwise ordinary Yucie still has the body of a child. Having stopped growing past the age of 10, Yucie yearns to fully mature into an adult body. One day, she is chosen as a candidate for the title of "Platinum Princess," given once in a thousand years to whoever is worthy of the Eternal Tiara—a mysterious crown said to grant any wish. She's not alone either, as four other candidates also compete to have their own wishes granted by the crown. As a result, Yucie enrolls at the nearby Princess Academy in order to grow her heart and work towards becoming qualified for the Eternal Tiara. With her family, rivals, and even the principal of the academy there to lend a hand, will Yucie's much-desired wish finally come true? Gainax revolutionizes mahou shoujo genre... and just as with mahoromantic, succeeds only to an extent and only makes things worse by fitting it into two seasons instead of one. Themes are too childish and too boring for me, but I'm not fan of the genre anyway. Overall Rating: 6/10 13. Choujuushin Gravion Super Heavy God Gravion 超重神グラヴィオン [Gonzo] (Finished 1/13) Tags: Mecha Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi The year is now 2041 AD. A new enemy called Zeravire suddenly appears in the solar system, destroying all military installations it comes across. However, a wealthy man named Klein Sandman is already aware of this planned invasion and had been secretly preparing his army for battle. His trump card is Gravion, a giant robot that utilizes gravity as its source of energy. Meanwhile a young man named Eiji secretly enters Sandman's base in search for his missing sister. It is there that he meets another young man by the name of Toga... These two must now fight together with four other individuals aboard the super robot, Gravion to fend off the Zeravire threat. Another attempt of mecha genre resurrection with the power of action and fanservice while saving most of the core cliché. Even pilot episode is bad, so can only guess the degradation ahead. Overall Rating: 5/10 14. Overman King Gainer オーバーマン キングゲイナー [Sunrise] (Finished 1/26) Tags: Mecha Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Sometime in the distant future, mankind is forced to live in domed cities while the rest of the world is left to recover from years of environmental hardships. In the Siberian Dome-polis, professional gamer Gainer Sanga and mercenary Gain Bijou commandeer an Overman and lead a mass exodus out of the city. Sunrise original again, and scenario writer is still not fired, so the result is predictable. Confusion, inconsistency and artificial characters - all as we like it. Overall Rating: 5/10 15. Weiß Kreuz Glühen Knight Hunters Eternity ァイスクロイツ・グリーエン [ufotable] (Finished 13/13) Tags: Action, Drama Koua is an academy that brings Japanese's most talented people and students together. The mission is to train talented people to bear the world's future leadership. However, recently, the suicide rate in the academy is increasing and there is hardly any information being released to the public. Fujimiya Aya is sent to infiltrate this school carrying out criminal investigation and disguise himself as a teacher. In fact, actually, there is a connection between Koua academy and the global terrorist activities that are frequently occur. Therefore Persia assigns Hidaka Ken and Kudou Youji as well into this mission to solve the truth and connection of the incident behind Koua academy. Series started really weak, but improved substantially on the way, so OVA looked nice and serious. Short stories in each episode repelled me back then, but sequel is one big story over the course of one season, so why not watch it. As expected , curious beginning is followed by shallow middle and bloody resolution. Decent at best. Overall Rating: 6/10 16. Galaxy Angel 3 Galaxy Angel A ギャラクシーエンジェルA; ギャラクシーエンジェルAA [Madhouse] (Finished 1/26) Tags: Comedy, Sci-Fi Their mission is to locate and retrieve the mysterious Lost Technology, even though these girls have never been known to stick to their mission. Milfeulle, Forte, Ranpha, Mint, and Vanilla are back for another round of hilarity. The Galaxy Angels have sworn to protect the galaxy one planet at a time. Now with some competition with the newly-formed Twin Star Brigade, they continue to find themselves in the center of chaos... though usually they're the ones at fault for its cause. Triquel of an absurdist gag comedy. Overall Rating: 5/10 17. Sister Princess: Re Pure シスター・プリンセス ~リピュア~ [Zexcs] (Finished 1/13) Tags: Harem Drama, Romance After a long time, Wataru has decided to leave his family home and live on his own. The girls have also decided to split up and most of them are living separately as well. But none of them have forgotten about their brother and still stick together to meet him. Without heavy imouto fetish nothing to do here. Overall Rating: 5/10 18. Piano (TV) Piano: The Melody of a Young Girl's Heart [OLM] (Finished 3/10) Tags: Music Drama, Romance, Slice of Life When Miu was young, she was fascinated by the piano and took up lessons. When the show opens, Miu is in middle school. She is shy, a soft-spoken girl who doesn't have a lot of confidence in herself. Her friends would describe her as "sweet" and "quiet." At this point, Miu has been taking piano lessons for some time and while people have told her that she's gotten very good over the years, Miu herself feels she's not really good at anything—including the piano. Her teacher, Mr. Shirakawa, is often frustrated with her playing. Although she plays every note exactly correct, her heart just isn't in it... Meanwhile, Miu's come of the age when she's noticing boys and this shy young lady has noticed the handsome Kazuya Takahashi—even if he hasn't noticed her. This is Miu's story. The story of a young girl who is on a journey to discover the melody within her own heart and the courage to express it. So it's just school SOL where one classic composition is eventually featured in each episode... just playing piano for fun... it not Nodame Cantabile for sure. Overall Rating: 6/10 19. Bomberman Jetters ボンバーマン ジェッターズ [Studio Deen] (Finished 1/52) Tags: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi Deep Space, many different cultures have come together to live on planet Jet. To keep the peace an organization known as the Jetters is formed. This space police group fight against the villains known as the "Hige hige dan" making sure that the universe is safe. The leader of the Jetters Mighty is a powerful Bomberman, who is looked up to and respected....his brother however is a lazy crude slacker named Shirobon. Suddenly Mighty disappears and Shiro finds himself placed in a new situation. Shiro steps up and become a responsible Bomberman, and with the new friends he made of the Jetters it may become possible for him to be the next "Jetters leader." Another nonsense sequel that's impossible to be taken seriously. Overall Rating: 5/10 20. Asobot Senki Gokuu Monkey Typhoon アソボット戦記五九 [Studio Egg] (Finished 3/52) Tags: Shounen Action, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi Four years into the future, the world has lost its balance... 10 thousand metres of vast woodland is gone, preventing humans to live and leaving a desert to spread endlessly. And so, they head into the world of Meshichi, to live together with the Anbots. As if guided by fate, Sanzou and Gokyuu meet. Traveling together, Sanzou - a young man shrouded in mystery, Gokyuu - the strongest and worst Anbot around, Tongoh - an Anbot fond of drinking, Jou - someone who is great with machines, Suuji - a female Anbot thief, and last but not least, Mioto. And so, their journey begins to the boundless East, to the land where the sun was born! Author also wrote GetBackers manga, and in both cases those are typical representatives of the respective genres. Good elements here easily coexist with really poor ones like slapstick comedy and horrible cheeky pervert as protagonist and childish looking designs of enemies and some allies. But since it's all just about travelling with fights, for me it's only slightly better than Saiyuuki with similar concept. Overall Rating: 6/10 21. Kikou Sennyo Rouran Strange Steel Fairy Rouran 奇鋼仙女ロウラン [Zexcs] (Finished 6/28) Tags: Mecha Action, Fantasy When the secret occult society, Shiromorishuua, sends a huge monster to attack Tokyo, ASY, a peace-keeping organization in Japan, retaliates with a Gousen (metal faery). ASY's Gousen annihilates the creature after driving it into open ocean. Although successful, a surprise attack follows. A girl, floating in midair and glowing with radiance, strikes with a beam of light. This girl is "Rouran." She knows neither her identity, her origins, nor why whenever she senses the Gousen or Kyoushi (reanimated corpses) she transforms into an avenging angel. As Rouran worries about her mysterious existence, Tetsuya kindly watches over her in Tokyo Arcadia, a settlement of expatriates and dissidents. Episodes are only half the normal length just as previously in Neo Ragna. Just like then it's a unique mecha with decent enough setup stories, but too chaotic. Overall Rating: 6/10 22. Shin Seiki Den Mars 神世紀伝 マーズ [Plum, Studio Guts] (Finished 1/13) Tags: Shounen Mecha Sci-Fi Mars is discovered on a forming volcano island, Heisei; a man with no memory. In reality, Mars is from outer space, and is supposed to gather information to decide whether Earth should be destroyed or not. Along with the giant robot Gaia, and his mysterious images of a woman urging him not to destroy the world, Mars decides to fight for Earth rather than destroy it, even if it means fighting his own kind. But if Mars is killed, Gaia will explode, destroying Earth along with it. Such concept feels very old, and indeed manga was published in 70s. Nostalgy or real mecha affinity are the only reasons that I can imagine to watch it. Overall Rating: 5/10 23. Tsuri Baka Nisshi 釣りバカ日誌 [Toei Animation] (Finished 3/36) Tags: Comedy, Slice of Life Hamazaki Densuke (Hama-chan) is an unavaricious white-collar worker who does not have any interest in success and self-protection. Even though he incurs the wrath of his superior and stir ill feelings from his wife, Hama-chan prefers to take things at his own stride and goes fishing. He feels that there are more important things in life than work and enjoys the simple things in life such as fishing. Not translated. A decent SOL with inclusion of office work, sadly won't get translated anytime soon. Overall Rating: 6/10 24. Kyojin no Hoshi: Tokubetsu-hen - Hanagata Mitsuru The Star of the Giants (Hanagata) 巨人の星【特別篇】猛虎 花形満 [TMS Entertainment] (Finished 0/13) Tags: Drama, Sports Mitsuru Hanagata spent his early childhood in the UK, where he developed a noble spirit by fighting back against the bullying faced by Asian people. After returning to Japan, he becomes the leader of a baseball team of juvenile delinquents and meets his eternal rival, Hyuuma Hoshi. After going to Koshien, the two rivals join Tigers and Giants respectively as professional players. They face-off against each other as they continue to improve their skills, Hyuuma as a pitcher who throws "Big League" balls and Hanagata as an aggressive player. Not found. Overall Rating: 0/10 25. Macross Zero マクロス ゼロ [Satelight] (Finished 5/5) Tags: Mecha, Military Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Taking place one year before the Zentraedi arrive on Earth, Macross Zero chronicles the final days of the war between the U.N. Spacy and anti-U.N. factions. After being shot down by the anti-U.N.'s newest fighter plane, ace pilot Shin Kudo finds himself on the remote island of Mayan, where technology is almost non-existent. While Shin stays on the island to heal his wounds, the tranqulity of the island is shattered by a battle that involves the UN's newest fighter - the VF-0. I did not rate even original as masterpiece let alone this short CGI-filled prequel. Drama itself is not bad. Overall Rating: 6/10 26. Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou: Quiet Country Cafe ヨコハマ買い出し紀行 Quiet Country Cafe [Ajia-Do] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Seinen Iyashikei Sci-Fi, Slice of Life In the twilight of the human age, mankind continues to persevere, resisting the lull of nature's reclamation. For Alpha Hatsuseno and her café, things have not changed. The familiar sights and scenery instill a comforting solace—a sentiment cherished by Alpha. One day, however, a radio weather report forecasts an approaching typhoon that threatens to undermine the enduring peace. After taking refuge at Ojisan's gas station and returning to the café, Alpha is devastated to see that her beloved shop had been ravaged by the storm. Determined to restore it back to its former glory, she resolves to find other jobs as a way to fund the repairs. The journey into the unknown is an opportunity to explore what remains of civilization, and Alpha seizes this chance to expand her view of the outside world. Never knew there was a sequel. But how did they manage to make it even more boring now? They are literally wasting time and that's all they do. I'm in awe of such straightforward impudence. Overall Rating: 5/10 27. I''s フロムアイズ ~もうひとつの夏の物語~ [Pierrot, Arms] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Drama, Romance Aiming to become a modeling artist, Itsuki, a childhood friend of Ichitaka who went to America has come back to Japan. Iori who refused the idol path and started to pursue her ambition to become an actress instead. Ichitaka, wandering on his bicycle alone, tries to decide his choice between the two persons. A short and unremarkable love triangle story. Overall Rating: 5/10 28. Space Pirate Captain Herlock: Outside Legend - The Endless Odyssey [Madhouse] (Finished 13/13) Tags: Seinen Space Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi On an archaelogical mission to the end of the known universe, Professor Daiba unwitting unleashes an ancient horror from its confines. Five years later the malevolent alien force sets in motion a plan which reunites the various crewmembers of the Arcadia to sail the stars once more as well as bring Tadashi Daiba to meet Harlock for the first time (again). I expected more, not super irritating Daiba and story about some aliens with psychic abilities. And there are also very silly moves and miraculous survival through them. Loses in integrity and consistency even to Battleship Yamato. Overall Rating: 6/10 29. Happy World! [Zexcs] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Comedy, Fantasy, Romance, Ecchi Oomura Takeshi is one unlucky fellow. He has has this case of bad luck ever since he was little. One day, while on his normal runs with bad luck, he meets an Angel named Elle, and he finds out that his father wished the curse of bad luck upon him. Takeshi has the oppurtunity to pass on the curse, but accepts it to save a young girl. For his noble act, Elle becomes human and lives with Takeshi to protect him from the curse, which is something Takeshi isn't particularly happy with. No idea what it tried to do, but it definitely failed... something lighthearted and aimless. Overall Rating: 5/10 30. I'll/CKBC [M.S.C] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Shounen School, Team Sports Action Pressured by his family's background and expectations, high school student Hitonari Hiiragi has been considering quitting basketball. However, after meeting Akane Tachibana, Hiiragi's love for the sport is reignited. As he joins the Kouzu High School basketball club, Hiiragi aims to pursue his own path in basketball together with his cherished teammates. But despite having fun with his newfound comrades, Hiiragi eventually starts to question whether he can achieve his dreams with the current team and environment. As they each struggle with their differing approaches towards the sport, Hiiragi and the team ponder what it truly means to play basketball together. Some average spokon drama, characters behavior was very irritating. Overall Rating: 5/10 31. Gakuentoshi Varanoir Joukan 学園都市ヴァラノワール 上巻 [Idea Factory] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Action Based on a Playstation 2 game by the same title, Varanoir's story takes place in a Magic University called.. well Varanoir. Students in this university are trained here for war preparation against the devil master. The main characters of the story is Myu, a granddaughter of Jii. Jii was a great swordsman in the past and he taught various sword fighting skills to Myu, although he's working as a chimney cleaner right now in Varanoir. Myu then decides to go to Varanoir for training to become a fighter. In Varanoir, Myu meets Ryuto, a talented student. However, Ryuto always sees Myu as her rival. Nonsense rivaling the title of the worst anime in history. Overall Rating: 4/10 32. Blue Gender: The Warrior [AIC] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha, Military, Space Adventure, Drama, Horror, Romance, Sci-Fi It is a time of chaos. Earth is no longer what it used to be. It has been infested with a bug like species called the Blue. 20 years ago Yuji Kaido, who has a mysterious disease, is put into suspended animation until a cure is found. When he wakes up Yuji learns that it’s been more than 20 years since he was put into suspended animation, and the world is now controlled by these creatures. He then decides to join a group of soldiers fighting against the Blue for hope of a better future. Sadly, only retelling of the series, nothing really new. Overall Rating: 6/10 33. Tamala 2010: A Punk Cat in Space タマラ 2010 ア パンク キャット イン スペース [-] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Psychological Avant Garde, Comedy, Sci-Fi In the year 2010, practically one hundred percent of Cat Earth's GDP comes from the megacorporation Catty & Co., which is rapidly spreading across the rest of the galaxy. Here lives Tamala, a beautiful yet foul-mouthed cat, who decides to travel to the planet of her birth, Orion. After an unfortunate crash landing on the planet Q, Tamala meets Michaelangelo, a fellow cat, whom Tamala refers to as "MoiMoi." As Tamala and Michaelangelo explore the planet's capital, Hate City—which is under martial law to separate the feuding cat and dog populations—they pass by graffiti and museum exhibits about the ancient cult of Minerva that speak of something dark and sinister. After Tamala catches the eye of the extremely violent motorcycle-riding Kentauros, she and Michaelangelo flee, but mysteries about Tamala's identity continue to surface. Why did Tamala originally leave Orion, and what exactly is her connection to Catty & Co.? I'd call it Cat Soup, part two, just nonsense. Overall Rating: 5/10 34. Aterui アテルイ [Magic Bus] (Finished 0/1) Tags: Historical Action, Fantasy A pseudo-historical movie that follows a modern day elementary schooler as he's tossed back into time to observe Aterui--a real leader of the Emishi who fought against the Imperial Yamato Court. Not found. Overall Rating: 0/10
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Did not want to give Jungle wa Itsumo Hare nochi Guu Deluxe a masterpiece to allow some other decent anime a highlight, but 'tis a barren wasteland this season. 1. Princess Tutu プリンセスチュチュ [Hal Film Maker] (Finished 3/38) Tags: Mahou Shoujo, Performing Arts Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance In a fairy tale come to life, the clumsy, sweet, and gentle Ahiru seems like an unlikely protagonist. In reality, Ahiru is just as magical as the talking cats and crocodiles that inhabit her town—for Ahiru really is a duck! Transformed by the mysterious Drosselmeyer into a human girl, Ahiru soon learns the reason for her existence. Using her magical egg-shaped pendant, Ahiru can transform into Princess Tutu—a beautiful and talented ballet dancer whose dances relieve people of the turmoil in their hearts. With her newfound ability, Ahiru accepts the challenge of collecting the lost shards of her prince's heart, for long ago he had shattered it in order to seal an evil raven away for all eternity. Princess Tutu is a tale of heroes and their struggle against fate. Their beliefs, their feelings, and ultimately their actions will determine whether this fairy tale can reach its "happily ever after." It reminds me Utena the most as there is also private girls school SOL and surreal battles full of powerful music and symbolism. But I'm not target audience, and I have no desire to watch it further. Overall Rating: 6/10 2. Witch Hunter Robin (ウイッチハンターロビン) [Sunrise] (Finished 4/26) Tags: Detective Action, Drama, Mystery, Supernatural Robin Sena is a powerful craft user drafted into the STNJ—a group of specialized hunters that fight deadly beings known as Witches. Though her fire power is great, she's got a lot to learn about her powers and working with her cool and aloof partner, Amon. But the truth about the Witches and herself will leave Robin on an entirely new path that she never expected! I love Sunrise originals, I mean to bash them. It's a horrible super boring detective mystery with superpowers very rarely used at all. Sunrise scenario writer should have been fired long ago. Overall Rating: 5/10 3. Saishuu Heiki Kanojo She, The Ultimate Weapon 最終兵器彼女 [Gonzo] (Finished 13/13) Tags: Military, School Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi Chise is an ordinary schoolgirl: small, frail, and not particularly intelligent. Her greatest joy is her budding romance with her classmate and childhood friend, Shuuji. They both live in a small military town in Hokkaido, where high schoolers have few concerns other than who is dating whom and complaining about the steep climb up "Hell Hill" every day before school. One day, Shuuji and his friends make a trip to Sapporo to buy gifts for their girlfriends. A massive air raid on Sapporo that day kills thousands, including one of Shuuji's friends, and signals the beginning of a war. Fleeing from the carnage, Shuuji spots Chise, though now she has steel wings and a massive gun where her right arm should be. Against her will, she has been transformed into the ultimate cyborg weapon, capable of leveling entire cities. As the war rages closer and closer to their hometown, Chise and Shuuji's relationship is strained by her transformation, and they are left to wonder whether she is even still human. Wow, I'm so enraged. Basically, this anime tries to be second half of Evangelion without normal introduction, right away presenting constant drama over nothing at all. There's no story, no action, just nakige where half of screen time is taken by crying and mindlessly blabbing characters. I understand that it was golden time of nakige back then, but this is an overkill and total waste of time on pure nonsense... Overall Rating: 5/10 4. Samurai Deeper Kyou Samurai Deeper Kyo [Studio Deen] (Finished 5/26) Tags: Shounen Historical, Samurai Adventure, Comedy, Supernatural In the year 1600, at the fog-covered battlefield of Sekigahara, a fierce battle was waged by two exemplary swordsmen. One was Kyoushirou Mibu, a skilled and noble warrior in possession of the unique powers of the Mibu Clan. The other was the thousand-man slayer, with eyes and hair the color of blood, "Demon Eyes" Kyou. Their legendary clash was cut short when a meteor from the heavens fell down upon that battlefield, leaving both to vanish in its wake. Samurai Deeper Kyou begins four years after that battle, when a gun-wielding bounty hunter by the name of Yuya Shiina hunts down Kyoushirou—now a perverted, traveling medicine-man who has built up a large debt. On her way to claim his bounty, they are attacked by an inhuman monster that seeks to devour Kyoushirou. This encounter awakens "Demon Eyes" Kyou, whose mind has been trapped inside of Kyoushirou's body ever since that fateful battle. Thus begins a grand tale of legendary two swordsmen and the discovery of their secrets. A new bunch of sword and gun wielding characters gather to... do pretty much nothing except getting attacked constantly. Getting to know some lousy secrets is not a good enough motivation to watch this mess without much substance. Overall Rating: 6/10 5. Dragon Drive ドラゴンドライブ [Madhouse] (Finished 2/38) Tags: Shounen School Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Sci-Fi If there's one word to describe Reiji Ozora, it would be "quitter." He can never find the motivation to finish anything, and loses interest at the drop of a hat. This all changes when his best friend Maiko introduces him to the new game "Dragon Drive." In this virtual reality game, each player is assigned a dragon tailored to match their personality and strength. Reiji hopes for a big, strong, scary beast, but instead, he is stuck with Chibi, a cute, friendly-looking dragon smaller than he is. How disappointing—except it turns out that Chibi is the rarest dragon of them all! Reiji finally discovers something he can remain interested in, and works hard to train both himself and his newfound friend. Soon this training will be put to use to save the world, for there are people who have dark aspirations for Dragon Drive! Another virtual reality fighting competition. Extremely bland and cliché. Overall Rating: 5/10 6. UFO Princess Valkyrie UFO Ultramaiden Valkyrie 円盤皇女ワるきゅーレ [TNK] (Finished 3/12) Tags: Comedy, Sci-Fi, Ecchi UFO Princess Warukyure, aka UFO Princess Walkyrie is about a princess from outer space who accidentally crashes on earth, where Kazuto desperately tries to maintain the public bath of his grandfather. Due to circumstances, Kazuto receives part of princess Walkyrie's soul which forces her to stay there with him. But that's not the only problem ... because her soul lost strength, the princess transforms both mentally and physically into a little kid! Very irritating fetish something, because I failed to see traces of comedy here, maybe parody. Overall Rating: 5/10 7. Maou Dante Demon Lord Dante 魔王ダンテ [Magic Bus] (Finished 3/13) Tags: Shounen Mythology Action, Horror, Supernatural While sleeping one night, Ryo Utsugi had a nightmare of monsters attacking him. One day he learns a mysterious power to let him hear voices and have visions of girls getting killed, but one night he hears the same voice. If you don't like Devilman, don't even start as this is part of that franchise with those characters. Very familiar story and flow, and not likable for me. Overall Rating: 5/10 8. Asagiri no Miko Shrine of the Morning Mist 朝霧の巫女 [Chaos Project, GANSIS] (Finished 4/26) Tags: Seinen Action, Comedy, Fantasy, Supernatural Since childhood, Tadahiro Amatsu has two different-colored eyes - one brown and one light hazel. But because of a dark secret behind his left eye, he's become a target for the masked sorcerer Ayatara Miramune and his band of demons. To combat the demons appearing all over town, Yuzu Hieda, a priestess in training, recruits four other girls from her high school. Under the supervision of Yuzu's elder sister Kurako, the five young priestesses must undergo months of training to master their abilities. Episodes are just 12 minutes long, so it's just cute SOL gags, average. Overall Rating: 5/10 9. G-On Riders G-on らいだーす [Shaft, TNK] (Finished 13/13) Tags: School Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi At Saint Hoshikawa School there is a secret group called the G-On Riders. Students with superior strength and ability are chosen to be in the group, which was formed to fight against alien attacks on the earth. However, many of the problems that the members face are ones amongst themselves, and the same is true for the invaders. And another student at the school, Ichiro, tries desperately to confess his love to Yuki, one of the Riders. Managed to watch it fully in the past since glasses fetish was rather unusual. Chaotic slapstick comedy not really worth discussing. Overall Rating: 5/10 10. Fortune Dogs ふぉうちゅんドッグす [Vega Entertainment] (Finished 0/39) Tags: Pets Adventure A French Bulldog is adopted from the Happy Kennel by a girl named Ai and is given the name Alex. She tells him stories and reads to him from a book titled The Adventures of Freddy about dog who leaves home to find the Fortune Tree. However, he is separated from Ai when he mistakenly follows a girl wearing the same clothes as Ai on a bus. Adopting the name Freddy, after the hero in Ai's storybook, Alex begins his quest to return to Ai. But before he can return to his owner, Freddy and his new friends must find the Fortune Tree and save it from dying, otherwise all the humans in the world will lose their good will and no longer care about their pets. Not found. Overall Rating: 0/10 11. Futari Ecchi Step Up Love Story ふたりエッチ [Chaos Project] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Seinen Comedy, Romance, Ecchi Makoto and Yura Onoda are a newly-wed couple with zero sexual experience. Yura is a shy and naive 25-year-old woman whose good looks grab men's attention, something that she dislikes because she gets embarrassed very easily. Her husband Makoto is of the same age, but as opposed to his wife, he loves having dirty thoughts about other women. Physically though, Makoto is truly faithful to Yura. Both of them may be virgins, but now that they are married, they are ready to dive into the world of sex, "practicing" as often as possible. However, the world of sex is complex, so they need all the help they can get to find their way through it. Thankfully, their friends, acquaintances, and porn media lend them a helping hand. It's all around ecchi and about ecchi, plus some thematic comedy on the side, everything is quite expected. Overall Rating: 5/10 12. Sentou Yousei Yukikaze Yukikaze 戦闘妖精雪風 [Gonzo] (Finished 5/5) Tags: Military, Psychological, Space It has been 33 years since an alien race, known as the JAM, emerged from a hyperspace passage over Antarctica with the sole purpose of invading Earth. Despite their unexpected initial assaults, a combined effort by humanity not only pushed the JAM force off of Earth but also moved the frontlines of the battle onto the JAM's homeworld of Fairy. Though out of sight and mind for the majority of Earth's inhabitants, the conflict still rages on Fairy, where the United Nations has established five bases and a powerful, technologically advanced military—including the Fairy Air Force (FAF). Lieutenant Rei Fukai acts as a pilot for the FAF Special Air Force’s Boomerang reconnaissance squadron, flying a Super Sylph fighter jet with the personal name "Yukikaze." Soaring high above and observing the battles for air superiority, he is responsible for collecting and analyzing valuable intelligence on JAM methods. While his flying skills are unmatched, he also heavily relies on the highly advanced weaponry and near-sentient AI system of his aircraft. Though despised by other members of the FAF for his antisocial and standoffish nature, Lt. Fukai continues to carry out his duties along with Yukikaze. However, during a particularly bloody battle, the appearance of an unresponsive and hostile aircraft catches the lieutenant off-guard—an aircraft which is of the same make and model as his own. SOL about space pilots. was really boring for me as execution is horrible and characters are totally forgettable. Overall Rating: 5/10 13. Nurse Witch Komugi-chan Magikarte ナースウィッチ小麦ちゃんマジカルて [Kyoto Animation, Tatsunoko Production] (Finished 5/5) Tags: Gag Humor, Mahou Shoujo, Parody Comedy Ungrar, the King of Viruses, has escaped from his prison cell in Vaccine World. Maya, the Goddess of Vaccine World sends Mugimaru down to Earth to find a human to accept the powers of Vaccine World and become the Magical Nurse. He finds the best (and the only willing) person for the job when he meets Komugi Nakahara. Komugi is a playful, lazy, and easily distracted (typical) teenager whose dream is to become a cosplay idol. Balancing her career with the Kiri-Pro Promotion Company and her new job battling Ungrar's loyal henchman, the Magical Maid Koyori, Komugi delights audiences in this parody anime series. Lighthearted cosplay competitions with some mahou shoujo elements - nothing that we have not seen. Overall Rating: 5/10 14. Jungle wa Itsumo Hare nochi Guu Deluxe ジャングルはいつもハレのちグゥ デラックス [Shin-Ei Animation] (Finished 6/6) Tags: Shounen Gag Humor Comedy, Slice of Life After the events in the city, Haré and family come back to the Jungle. But it is never calm for Haré as he first must deal with an unstable substitute teacher, then with some big news: Weda is pregnant. The answer to how and who will change his family forever. Poor Haré, now has to deal with a father in addition to his drunk mother and Guu, and soon a sibling too. It's a sequel, so inherits some drama. Humor not stable here like was in the series, more like decent and with adding parody. Overall Rating: 6/10 15. Koroshiya 1 The Animation: Episode 0 殺し屋1 THE ANIMATION EPISODE 0 [AIC] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Martial Arts, Psychological Action, Avant Garde, Drama, Horror A masochistic mobster meets his match in the dark streets of Tokyo. His nemesis, Ichi, is a psychopathic killer with an unrelenting thirst for bloodshed. A horrifying secret burns in his mind, and his hands deal death without mercy. At last, the shrouds of mystery are parted to reveal the origin of the monster. The city will know its greatest fear at the unveiling of Ichi the Killer. Disgusting avant garde movie about ultra violence.. Overall Rating: 4/10 16. Neko no Ongaeshi 猫の恩返し [Studio Ghibli] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Anthropomorphic Adventure, Award Winning, Drama, Fantasy High school student Haru Yoshioka is bored with the monotony of life. One day, she saves Prince Lune of the Cat Kingdom from being run over by a truck. As a token of gratitude, the Cat King sends her "presents" and invites her to the Cat Kingdom to become Lune's wife. Haru's inability to properly communicate with the cats leads to the misunderstanding that she has accepted the proposal. As Haru ponders on ways to escape the predicament, a mysterious voice instructs her to search for the Cat Bureau. However, not long after she finally arrives at the bureau, a horde of cats swarms in and forcibly takes her to the Cat Kingdom, along with a member of the Cat Bureau. Concerned for their safety, owner of the Cat Bureau, Baron Humbert von Gikkingen, follows close behind. The more Haru immerses herself in the activities of the Cat Kingdom, the more cat-like she becomes. To her dismay, she soon learns that, unless she can find her true self, she may become a cat permanently. Haru's adventures in the world of cats lead her down a path to self-discovery, allowing her to return as a more confident person. Turns out I watched this, but forgot about it because of how forgettable it is. Mimi wo Sumaseba was on the weaker side of Ghibli movies, but someone decided that it was great and needed more development in a childish way... I'm just out of words for this poor logic, self-repeats are a sign of degradation. This is exactly average. Overall Rating: 5/10 17. Sennen Joyuu Millennium Actress 千年女優 [Madhouse] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical, Showbiz Action, Adventure, Award Winning, Drama, Fantasy, Romance At the turn of the millennium, Ginei Studio's dilapidated buildings are set to be demolished. Ex-employee and filmmaker Genya Tachibana decides to honor this occasion with a commemorative documentary about the company's star actress: Chiyoko Fujiwara, the reclusive sweetheart of Shouwa Era cinema. Having finally obtained permission to interview the retired starlet, an enamored Genya drags along cynical cameraman Kyouji Ida to meet her, ready to put his lifelong idol back in the spotlight once more. Hidden in this secluded mountain retreat is a thousand years of history condensed into one lifetime, waiting to be narrated. Chiyoko's recollections take them on an illusionary journey through Japanese cinematic history that transcends the boundaries of reality; the saga of her acting career intertwines with her filmography, the actors in her life blend seamlessly with the characters on screen, and the present melds with the past. Though the actress may have retired at the height of her career 30 years ago, the curtain on her life's stage has yet to fall. I don't like biography stories even if it's a story chosen to shape century perfectly and references are thrown around millennium. This is just not interesting, show made for media critics rather than wide audience. Overall Rating: 6/10 18. Xevious ゼビウス [KENMedia] (Finished 0/1) Tags: Space Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi In the year 2150 A.D. space pilot Takeru and human computer Martha come across a giant ship which contains two mechanical beings called Sara and Ru Mi. They warn Takeru and Martha of the Gump, an alien race that is heading to Earth so that it can take over the planet. With only 40 mintues remaining until Earth's invasion, Takeru enters the Solvalou, a combat aircraft, and heads to the Gump's base on the planet Andoa. Not found. Overall Rating: 0/10
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Anime of the Year 2002-II Spring - Abenobashi Mahou☆Shoutengai
kivandopulus posted a blog entry in Anime of the Season
Abenobashi Mahou☆Shoutengai is the only work I can call a masterpiece this season 1. Chobits ちょびっツ [Madhouse] (Finished 26/26) Tags: Seinen Comedy, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi, Ecchi When computers start to look like humans, can love remain the same? Hideki Motosuwa is a young country boy who is studying hard to get into college. Coming from a poor background, he can barely afford the expenses, let alone the newest fad: Persocoms, personal computers that look exactly like human beings. One evening while walking home, he finds an abandoned Persocom. After taking her home and managing to activate her, she seems to be defective, as she can only say one word, "Chii," which eventually becomes her name. Unlike other Persocoms, however, Chii cannot download information onto her hard drive, so Hideki decides to teach her about the world the old-fashioned way, while studying for his college entrance exams at the same time. Along with his friends, Hideki tries to unravel the mystery of Chii, who may be a "Chobit," an urban legend about special units that have real human emotions and thoughts, and love toward their owner. But can romance flourish between a Persocom and a human? Have to admit that I was quite impressed when I watched it for the first time, and it still delivers. It has become a golden standard of quality for romance comedies with artificial girls, and it provided example of cuteness done right. Still after a few episodes it becomes a habitual fetish comedy, so I'd prefer a shorter size, plus ending is quite disappointing. I refuse to treat it as a masterpiece , after all it has no real story and cuteness is not a reliable fuel for long trips . Overall Rating: 6/10 2. Azumanga Daiou The Animation Azumanga Daioh: The Animation あずまんが大王 THE ANIMATION [J.C.Staff] (Finished 4/26) Tags: CGDCT, Gag Humor, School Comedy, Slice of Life Chiyo Mihama begins her high school career as one of the strangest students in her freshman class—a tiny, 10-year-old academic prodigy with a fondness for plush dolls and homemade cooking. But her homeroom teacher, Yukari Tanizaki, is the kind of person who would hijack a student's bike to avoid being late, so "strange" is a relative word. There certainly isn't a shortage of peculiar girls in Yukari-sensei's homeroom class. Accompanying Chiyo are students like Tomo Takino, an energetic tomboy with more enthusiasm than brains; Koyomi Mizuhara, Tomo's best friend whose temper has a fuse shorter than Chiyo; and Sakaki, a tall, athletic beauty whose intimidating looks hide a gentle personality and a painful obsession with cats. In addition, transfer student Ayumu Kasuga, a girl with her head stuck in the clouds, fits right in with the rest of the girls—and she has a few interesting theories about Chiyo's pigtails! Together, this lovable group of girls experience the ups and downs of school life, their many adventures filled with constant laughter, surreal absurdity, and occasionally even touching commentary on the bittersweet, temporal nature of high school. Only watched couple episodes in the past and was not motivated enough to go on, so I owe it a better treatment now. It's realistic enough, maybe moderately absurd, so I'd compare it with Ping-Pong club. First of all, Ping-Pong club had a lasting plot, and this one is just discrete gags at a set stage. Secondly, I don't find many jokes in Azumanga funny, and eventually those get repetitive. Lastly, I like characters of Ping-Pong club a lot more than this bunch of clutz. Having lost in every way, can't rate Azumanga Daiou equally, and best not even start comparison with some titan like Lucky Star. Overall Rating: 6/10 3. .hack//Sign [Bee Train] (Finished 26/26) Tags: Video Game Adventure, Fantasy, Mystery, Sci-Fi A young wavemaster, only known by the alias of Tsukasa, wakes up in an MMORPG called The World, with slight amnesia. He does not know what he has previously done before he woke up. In The World, the Crimson Knights suspects him of being a hacker, as he was seen accompanying a tweaked character in the form of a cat. Unable to log out from the game, he wanders around looking for answers, avoiding the knights and other players he meets along the way. As Tsukasa explores The World, he stumbles upon a magical item that takes the form of a "guardian," which promises him protection from all harm. Subaru, the leader of the Crimson Knights, along with several other players who became acquainted with Tsukasa, set out to investigate why Tsukasa is unable to log out, and attempt to get to the bottom of the problem before it gets out of hand. I really don't know why I finished it in the past, but I sort of hated it even back then as it's one of the most boring and bland MMORPG concepts that I've seen. It had maybe couple somewhat memorable moments and characters, but those 26 episodes were mostly a pain. Overall Rating: 5/10 4. Digimon Frontier デジモンフロンティア [Toei Animation] (Finished 1/50) Tags: Isekai Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy With five new kids and an exciting new mission in the Digital World, Digimon Frontier brings back all the great action and adventure of the last three seasons. Takuya, Kouji, Izumi, Junpei. and Tomoki meet each other in a train that takes them to the Digital World where a war against evil is being fought. The Angel digimon, Cherubimon, one of The three angels sent to save the World from the power-hungry Lucemon, has turned to the dark side and the entire Digital World is in peril. To fight this great battle, the five CHOSEN ONES must find the Densetsu no Spirit (Legendary Spirit). Can't block series with openings, or I definitely would block this one. Even contemporary more grown-up versions of franchise like game Digimon Cyber Sleuth were still not serious and interesting enough for me. Frontier has a better stage in my opinion, but all those simplifications drive me mad. Overall Rating: 5/10 5. Tokyo Mew Mew Mew Mew Power 東京ミュウミュウ [Pierrot] (Finished 2/52) Tags: Mahou Shoujo Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi Ichigo Momomiya expected her date with her crush, Masaya Aoyama, to have a more romantic ending than her falling asleep after she sees a vision of a cat entering her body. Things get even stranger when, the next day, she begins displaying cat-like behaviors such as an intense craving for fish. When Masaya is attacked by a monster, she discovers that she is able to transform into the cat-eared magical girl, Mew Ichigo. After she saves Masaya, two researchers named Ryou Shirogane and Keiichiro Akasaka approach her and reveal they had injected her with Iriomote Cat DNA in order to create a magical girl that can save the world from aliens. Ichigo is tasked with fighting these monsters, but saving the world proves to be just too much for Ichigo to handle by herself. Fortunately, she learns that there are four other girls just like her, and now, Ichigo must find them quickly before the aliens completely take over the planet. Such an evident Sailor Moon imitation, but with elements of parody, more bishounens and side work in a cafe... because Pia Carrot or something I guess. Of course tilt into half-beasts is the main fetish dish. Was too much irritation for me to even stay for the 3rd episode. Overall Rating: 5/10 6. Juuni Kokuki The Twelve Kingdoms 十二国記 [Pierrot] (Finished 9/45) Tags: Isekai Action, Adventure, Fantasy Youko Nakajima has only ever wanted to be normal. She does what she is asked, gets good grades, is the class president, and even helps her classmates whenever she can—but because of her red hair, she has never fit in. With her pushover attitude, Youko lets classmates take advantage of her, so she has nobody she can really call a friend. But on an otherwise ordinary day, a man who claims to be from another world barges into Youko's classroom and bows before her. This elegant blond-haired man, Keiki, claims that Youko is his master and belongs on the throne of his kingdom. However, their first meeting is cut short as Keiki has been followed by otherworldly beasts called youma. He is able to escape with Youko into his own realm, but two other classmates—Ikuya Asano and Yuka Sugimoto—are caught up in the madness as well. Unfortunately, their troubles have only just begun, as the youma attack leaves them separated from Keiki. Alone in this strange new land, these ordinary students must learn to fend for themselves or die. Two girls (and one guy who gets lost and forgotten soon) getting into isekai is a cool enough stage, so I liked first three episodes, but it takes its time to unveil, so only in 5th episode we finally see girls ways split. I dragged for some time, because soon after I got angry about some element it was uncovered, that happened with girls connection, with 12 kingdoms that's only explained in episode 6, with Keiki who eventually shows up again, with super weird spirit that sent all kind of madness illusions to Youko. But in the end there's no big story or interesting politics. Youko just wants to get back to Japan, and apparently way goes through most kingdoms, and she is getting constantly attacked by youkai beasts or something. And story goes in cycles as Youko joins new people and eventually gets separated from them. There's a lot of beating around the bush, stupid moves and weird emotional rollercoaster. It did not get better for me with more episodes, and 36 more episodes of such mess is a grim prospect. Overall Rating: 6/10 7. Ai Yori Aoshi 藍より青し [J.C.Staff] (Finished 3/24) Tags: Seinen Harem Comedy, Drama, Romance Kaoru Hanabishi, a college student who lives alone, met a beautiful but bewildered girl dressed in a kimono at a train station. He volunteered to guide her way to the address she was looking for, which happened to be in his neighborhood, but turned out to be an empty lot. Not knowing what to do next, Kaoru invited the devastated girl to his apartment and asked for any additional clues to her destination. She supplied him with a photo of two children whom Kaoru immediately identified as himself and Aoi Sakuraba, his childhood friend. It turned out that the girl in front of him is Aoi Sakuraba herself, his betrothed fiancee who came all the way to Tokyo to marry him. Her revelation was not only surprising but also reminded the deepest part of Kaoru's memory for why he left the Hanabishi family in the first place. It's straightforward deredere romance that would be pretty tiresome to watch over the course of 24 episodes, maybe with the right mood. Overall Rating: 6/10 8. Full Moon wo Sagashite Searching for the Full Moon 満月をさがして [Studio Deen] (Finished 3/52) Tags: Shoujo Music Comedy, Drama, Romance, Supernatural Two years ago, Mitsuki Kouyama's friend, Eichi Sakurai, moved to America before she could confess her feelings to him. Though she cannot contact him, they made a promise to fulfill their respective dreams: Mitsuki wants to become a professional singer, and Eichi an astronomer. She hopes that one day her music will reach him across the world with a brilliance like that of the full moon. There is just one catch: Mitsuki suffers from throat cancer, which makes her voice quiet and singing strenuous. Her grandmother, who has a hatred of music, insists that Mitsuki undergo surgery to remove the cancer, but she refuses due to the risk of losing her voice. One day, two shinigami—Meroko Yui and Takuto Kira—appear to tell her that she only has one year left to live. This sudden revelation spurs Mitsuki into action, and she decides that with Meroko and Takuto's help, she will become a professional singer in the time she has left. Full Moon wo Sagashite follows the emotional story of Mitsuki and her shinigami friends as they discover what it means to sing—and ultimately, what it means to live. Seriously? The way to idol through tearjerkers? Life useless without ability to sing? I just wonder how much more stupid it can get. Believe me, it can as there is all kind of nonsense in the sleeve. Mitsuki turning into older version of herself and back with shinigami taking any appearance at will is only the tip of this iceberg. Overall Rating: 5/10 9. Abenobashi Mahou☆Shoutengai Magical☆Shopping Arcade Abenobashi アベノ橋魔法☆商店街 [Gainax, Madhouse] (Finished 13/13) Tags: Isekai, Parody Award Winning, Comedy, Fantasy, Ecchi Satoshi "Sasshi" Imamiya believes his life is in shambles, as only a 12-year-old can. Having lost his card collection, his childish dilemmas worsen when he learns that his childhood friend, Arumi Asahina, will be moving away. Suddenly, their issues are dashed aside for the surreal, and they find themselves transported away through bizarre worlds of science fiction, magic, and war. Any attempt to escape only catapults them into another alien land. Soon, the two come to a realization: every world is just a reimagining of their hometown. But there are two unfamiliar faces—the voluptuous Mune-mune and the elusive blue-haired Eutus—and they just might be the key to escaping their predicament. Abenobashi Mahou☆Shoutengai follows Sasshi and Arumi's comedic exploits as they desperately attempt to return home. However, when the pair unravel a tale spanning generations, they begin to wonder if the cause of their situation is more personal than they thought. Is returning home truly what they desire? I consider Abenobashi to be an extended take on FLCL with even more freedom and parody - heck, boy protagonist is absolutely the same. Due to episodic nature it's hard to watch it all in a row, but there's enough goodness to rate it at least the same as FLCL. Overall Rating: 7/10 10. Rockman.EXE MegaMan NT Warrior ロックマン エグゼ [Xebec] (Finished 1/56) Tags: Shounen Mecha, Video Game Action, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi In the year of 20XX, a young boy by the name of Netto Hikari receives a very special gift as he enters the 5th grade. His very own customized net navi, Rockman! Despite Rockman's small size and far more responsible personality, the two boys quickly become the best of friends. A net navi is designed to guide his operator from the inside of his or her PErsonal Terminal, or simply PET for short. Children and adults alike enjoy friendly "Net Battles", where they spar their navis against each other to prove their worth. Why this ridiculous plot of toy robot sparring repeats over and over again... it's doomed before start. Overall Rating: 5/10 11. Ou Dorobou Jing Jing: King of Bandits 王ドロボウ JING [Studio Deen] (Finished 3/13) Tags: Shounen Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Sci-Fi Jing may appear to be a young boy, but his remarkable skills make him one of the most feared thieves on the planet. Along with his feathered partner Kir, Jing travels from town to town, stealing anything of value regardless of the amount of security. But when he's in a pinch, he has one more trick up his sleeve: Kir bonds with Jing's right arm to perform the effectively deadly "Kir Royale" attack. And because of all this, Jing is infamously known by many as the "King of Bandits." First episode is bandits competition, second episode is new adventure with getting a partner , third episode is a new adventure again... and withou partner, moreover with a new brief acquantance partner. There is no plot here, just episodic stories, so it can be described as fantasy version of Eat-man. Can't rate that highly. Overall Rating: 6/10 12. Tenchi Muyou! GXP 天地無用! GXP [AIC] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Detective, Harem, Mecha, Space Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi From crashing his bike to falling in lakes, Seina Yamada just cannot shake the bad luck that follows him. But his fortune begins to change when he is forcibly recruited into the Galaxy Police and ends up capturing the most pirates in the force. Now, Seina is no longer just the unfortunate boy from Earth; he is a man that pirates have come to fear. Despite his reputation, Seina is still the same clumsy guy, but at least he has Amane Kaunaq, a former model, and Kiriko Masaki, his long time friend, to keep him together. With their help, Seina sets out on an adventure in the hopes of becoming a great Galaxy Police Officer. Tenchi and the whole harem except space police officer irritated, so this reinstallment has better and less generic protagonist Souma, that space police officer girl and many busty babes. It's a better stage, but show still lacks substance and normal humor as usual, and change of staff can't fix that. Overall Rating: 6/10 13. Tokyo Underground 東京アンダーグラウンド [Pierrot] (Finished 4/26) Tags: Shounen Super Power Action, Adventure, Romance, Sci-Fi Under the capital city of Tokyo, Japan, there exists a large, vast, and unknown world known as Underground. There, people known as Elemental Users exist; people who have the ability to control the elements: Fire, Water, Lightning, Magnetism, Freeze, etc. Meet Rumina Asagi and his best friend Ginnosuke Isuzu, two average high school freshmen who reside in Tokyo. When they meet Gravity User, Chelsea Rorec, and the Miko of Life, Ruri Sarasa, their whole lives change into one big adventure. Pilot is great, but there are just new enemies each episode, so it gets stale. Better than average action, but nothing really outstanding, and I'm definitely not sitting through 20 more filler episodes to get the crumbs of the story. Overall Rating: 6/10 14. Happy☆Lesson (TV) [Studio Hibari] (Finished 1/13) Tags: Harem Comedy, Drama, Romance Hitotose Chitose was always alone and untrusting of people but when 5 female teachers appear and started living together with him in his family's house as his mothers, things started to change and pick up, together with Hazuki-nee and Minazuki (his 2 sisters) everyday is a lesson. Remake of useless OVA about useless cute abusive teachers. Many "jokes" are recycled from OVA. Overall Rating: 5/10 15. Tenshi na Konamaiki Cheeky Angel 天使な小生意気 [TMS Entertainment] (Finished 3/50) Tags: Shounen Magical Sex Shift Comedy, Romance Megumi-chan is a girl with a secret past. She used to be a boy until she met a person she thought was a magic user. This person gave him/her a magical book from which a genie appears to grant one wish when blood is applied to it. Megumi made the wish to be a man in a man's body but the genie has a twist: he grants wishes backwards so he turns Megumi-kun aged 9 to Megumi-chan. Years pass and Megumi enters High School where she immediately beats up the school bully who of course falls in love with her. She is looking for that book again to be able to reverse the spell placed upon her. Today in gender studies there is a man who is temporarily a girl and who gets harassed by other guys... It's better than it sounds, but seriously... 50 episodes? Concept is executed well, but it's a normal delinquents anime with tomboy instead of a hooligan protagonist, and there's a bit of strange romance on the side. I'm not enjoying this. Overall Rating: 6/10 16. Rizelmine りぜるまいん [Madhouse, Imagin] (Finished 3/24) Tags: School Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi, Ecchi Iwaki Tomonori is an average 15-year-old boy who likes older women. He happens to have a crush on his teacher, but soon thereafter, learns she has become engaged. He heads home brokenhearted, only to find a 12-year-old girl named Rizel at his home, who he learns the Japanese government has married him to against his will. Furthermore, he learns Rizel is no ordinary girl; she is a biochemically engineered human, and her creators (her "papa"s, as they are often referred to) promise to waive multiple bills of Iwaki's parents in exchange to be allowed to stay at their house, and thus Iwaki's life with Rizel begins. Exotic girl at home is a poor concept and Chobits nearly perfected that already. This anime is on the lower end of the food chain as it's baked from average elements. Overall Rating: 5/10 17. Pita Ten Pita-Ten ぴたテン [Madhouse] (Finished 2/26) Tags: Shounen School Comedy, Fantasy, Romance Kotaro was pretty much supposed to be your average boy, worried about the pressures of education while enjoying a simple life with his friends. Much to his despair, he one day finds the overly cheerful Misha at his door, asking to be friends out of nowhere. Even more shocking is that Misha is an apprentice angel, yet she does more bad then good. Along with Kotaro's school friends Takashi and Koboshi and the so called devil Shia (once again being able to do more good then bad), the group of friends spend their days getting into all sorts of adventures and troubles. Based on the manga by Koge-Donbo. Exotic girl neighbor next door is only slightly better as a concept. It saves from cohabitation silly humor and fanservice, and this anime requires that handicap as it's aimed towards younger audience, some elementary school or so. Cuteness and conventional humor aren't enough to stand out. Overall Rating: 5/10 18. Wagamama☆Fairy Mirumo de Pon! Mirmo Zibang! わがまま☆フェアリー ミルモでポン! [Studio Hibari] (Finished 4/172) Tags: Shoujo School Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance Kaede is a cheerful and energetic eighth grader. When it comes to boys, however, she is hopelessly shy. One day, on her way home from school, Kaede walks into a mysterious shop and buys a colorful cocoa mug. When she reaches home, she casually peeks into the bottom of the mug and discovers an engraved note, which says, "If you read this message aloud while pouring hot cocoa into the mug, a love fairy ("muglox") will appear and grant your every wish." The skeptical but curious Kaede follows the directions and announces her wish to date Yuuki, the class heartthrob. Suddenly, the adorable blue Mirumo appears! We soon find out, however, that this cute little muglox would rather eat chocolate and create mischief than help Kaede. Mirumo, it seems, is prince of the muglox world. Horrified at the prospect of having to marry Rirumu, his princess bride-to-be, Mirumo has escaped the muglox world. Hot on his heels, however, are Rirumu, Yashichi the bounty hunter, and a cast of hundreds of muglox ranging from the good to the bad to the nutty. This gang of adorable troublemakers will see to it that school life for Kaede and her friends is never the same... It's amusing enough and thus decent, but I did not find myself smiling even once, and apart of humor and cuteness there's no more strong sides. Overall Rating: 6/10 19. Whistle! ホイッスル! [Studio Comet] (Finished 1/39) Tags: Shounen School, Team Sports Kazamatsuri Shou's dream has always been to become a professional soccer player, but he has one problem: he's not very good at the game. He was accepted to the prestigious Musashi no Mori Junior High, known for its top rate soccer team, but he was never able to rise beyond the rank of third stringer. After transferring to Sakura Jousui Junior High, he can finally play soccer. And, with the support of his new friends and teammates, his strong determination, and lots of hard work, his soccer skills are developing rapidly and setting Shou well on his way to achieving his dream. One sample episode is enough for most spokons. This piece wants to be Hajime no Ippo for soccer as protagonist starts as a lousy, but diligent player. Overall Rating: 5/10 20. Gun Frontier ガンフロンティア [Vega Entertainment] (Finished 4/13) Tags: Seinen Historical Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi It is a harsh and barren wasteland, where the weak aren't allowed to dream. It is also a sacred land for true men, for there is no place a man can feel more alive. This is the Gun Frontier. Sea Pirate Captain Harlock and the errant samurai, Tochiro arrive in the United States on the Western Frontier. Along with a mysterious woman they meet along the way, the two friends challenge sex rings, bandits, and corrupt sheriff. They are searching for a lost clan of Japanese immigrants, and they will tear Gun Frontier from end to end until they find it. Recycled character designs as usual. Less confusion this time, but it's just random adventures in the wild west environment with not interesting enough characters and constant losing. Overall Rating: 6/10 21. Atashin'chi あたしンち [Shin-Ei Animation] (Finished 3/330) Tags: Comedy, Slice of Life Outrageous misadventures of an almost normal family with a housewife, her husband, and their two kids Yuzuhiko and Mikan. Wacky humor about this weird family's daily life. Partially translated. There seem to be three stories inside one episode. Visuals are even worse than Yamadas while humor is better. Overall Rating: 6/10 22. Bakutou Sengen Daigunder Daigunder 爆闘宣言ダイガンダー [Nippon Animation, Brain's Base] (Finished 1/39) Tags: Mecha Adventure, Sci-Fi Akira Akebono, a young boy who is competing in a robot tournament where many of the robots are capable of transforming into animal forms. Akira wants to win the ultimate prize, the Titan Belt, with the help of his group of robots, all of which are capable of forming into the robot Daigunder. Daigunder is the creation of Akira's father, Professor Hajime Akebono. Together with a girl named Haruka, they compete under the name of Team Akira. However, Team Akira faces opposition from not only their competition, but a robot named Ginzan who is under the control of the evil Professor Maelstrom. A new fantastic toy robot battles concept anime that I skip! Overall Rating: 4/10 23. Wild 7 Another Bouryaku Unga Wild 7 Another ワイルド7 another 謀略運河 [E&G Films] (Finished 13/13) Tags: Shounen Detective, Gore Action, Adventure, Mystery A big transatlantic ship, full of rich and important people for international business, has been taken by a group of terrorists. The only hope for their rescue is in the hands of a Japanese man known as Japa, but first, he must hire seven companions to help him, and together they will be the Wild Seven. The main plot occurs in the waters of Nicaragua's Canal. As a sequel to ancient movie, it also looks both morally and technologically old. It's a slow and boring gathering of bland team consisting of a big number of characters, then lots of talking with detective mystery elements and finally a bit of action with rescuing. Not impressive, sadly. Overall Rating: 5/10 24. Forza! Hidemaru フォルツァ!ひでまる [Gallop] (Finished 1/26) Tags: Team Sports A soccer anime with a cast of wacky animals in sports getup seems far out of its time in the early 21st century, but it was the year of the World Cup in Japan and South Korea, and the very young audience sees these tropes with fresh eyes. Hidemaru is a feisty fox; his friends include bunnies, dogs, horses, and a couple of hefty hippo girls. Based on a manga Hidemaru the Soccer Boy by Makoto Mizobuchi, serialized in CoroCoro Comics. Super childish soccer, don't know why it's not marked properly. Overall Rating: 5/10 25. .hack//Liminality [Bee Train] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Video Game Mystery, Sci-Fi While playing the newly released MMORPG "The World," Minase Mai and Tomonari Kasumi collapsed in the real world and were sent to the hospital after hearing a mysterious sound. Only Mai had recovered while her friend Kasumi had slipped into a mysterious coma. Mai is later approached by the creator of "The World," Tokuoka Junichiro, who unveils to her that, just like her friend, six other players across the country had also collapsed while playing "The World" and are now in mysterious comas. What exactly is "The World," what is this mysterious sound Mai keeps on hearing, and why are people slipping into comas from this game? Minase, Junichiro and their acquaintances set off to get to the bottom of this problem before any further harm happens. .hack OVAs are either hit or miss for me as I know at least one definite masterpiece among them. This one is just real world detective mystery around MMO, total miss. Overall Rating: 5/10 26. Cosplay Complex こすぷれCOMPLEX [TNK] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Otaku Culture, Parody, School Comedy, Ecchi Meet Chako and her friends from the Cosplay Association at East Oizuki Academy! They're the hottest new cosplay team in Japan...fresh from a winning streak of local battles, they're set to sweep the Cosplay World Series! Yeah, right. In reality, Chako and her friends are barely able to keep their club alive at all. Feeble club membership and a lack of sponsorship might be the end of their cosplay dreams before they can even start. But don't you dare underestimate this group of spunky girls! They'll survive a barrage of pervy newcomers, cosplay rivalries, costume disasters and dating mishaps in order to reach their ultimate goal of competing in the World Series. The clothing flies as the girls suit up (and strip down) for Cosplay Complex! Lighthearted and not memorable. Overall Rating: 5/10 27. Gate Keepers 21 ゲートキーパーズ21 [Gonzo] (Finished 1/6) Tags: Mecha Action, Drama, Sci-Fi Thirty-two years have passed since the initial defeat of the Invaders. A.E.G.I.S is all but dismantled now and has become an underground organization consisting of only a few Gate Keepers left to save humanity. One of the members, Ayane Isuzu, is sick of society as a whole, though she continues to defeat the Invaders out of spite for her father. Suddenly, she learns of the revival of Machine General (Kikai Shogun) and Devil Count (Akuma Hakushaku), but a mysterious ghost girl now accompanies them. It is up to Ayane and the remnants of A.E.G.I.S to stop them and save humanity once again. Since I dropped original midway, and this is sequel, not much to say about it except that it feels more serious and overall better. Overall Rating: 6/10 28. Galerians: Rion ガレリアンズ:リオン [Enterbrain] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Shounen Military, Psychological Adventure, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Supernatural Six years have passed since Rion discovered his own identity as an artificial being, yet succeeded in destroying the genocidal Mother Computer, Dorothy, before perishing himself. Now reactivated by Lilia, Rion awakens to find that Dorothy managed to execute one final catastrophic program, rendering a new evil crew to finish her goal of human annihilation. It is a fully 3D CGI animated OVA based on the hit PlayStation game, called Galerians, released in August, 1999. CGI is still of poor quality, story is not good and characters pretty horrible . Overall Rating: 4/10 29. Armitage III: Dual-Matrix アミテージ・ザ・サード DUAL-MATRIX [AIC] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi A few years after they first met, Naomi Armitage and Ross Syllabus have started a family. Despite their normal lives, they must keep their identities a secret because many people believe that Robots do not deserve equal status with humans. Ross has an opportunity to abolish these ideas on Earth through a vote, but organizations in the shadows are working so that it doesn't happen. Miracle did not happen. Action is still nice, plot still moderately confusing, but simple in the main part. Satisfaction is there, but could not enjoy it. Still loses to everything from Ghost in the Shell. Overall Rating: 6/10 30. Crayon Shin-chan Movie 10: Arashi wo Yobu Appare! Sengoku Daikassen クレヨンしんちゃん 嵐を呼ぶ アッパレ! 戦国大合戦 [Shin-Ei Animation] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Historical, Samurai Award Winning, Drama, Romance A full-scale historical drama set in the last days (the year 1574) of the Sengoku Era of feudal Japan. It is the story of the Nohara family, who has been transferred into the Sengoku Era by time warp, and a tragic love between a princess Ren Kasuga (a daughter of the feudal lord Kasuga at the Province of Musashi) and a samurai warrior Matabei Ijiri (a retainer of the Lord Kasuga). Sengoku is always a safe choice, and Himawari got almost zero screen time, but story turned into drama, and that did not suit Shin-chan. No matter how I look at it, it's only decent. Overall Rating: 6/10 31. Guilstein ギルスティン [ACC Production] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Gore Action, Horror, Sci-Fi The theatrical anime film is a full digital (3-D) action/horror film based on a manga by Tamaki Hisao, best known to Western fans for his manga adaptation of Star Wars: A New Hope. Characters were designed by Yasushi Nirasawa, a well acclaimed maker of creature action figures. Monkey Punch (Lupin III creator) served as the film's script superviser. Set in the year 2088, it depicts a dark future in which humans have been transformed into the "Guilstein," creatures with no human souls in them... A chaotic action with super ugly CGI that are used in some battles, story itself is not bad. Overall Rating: 5/10 -
Anime of the Year 2002-I Winter - Palme no Ki
kivandopulus posted a blog entry in Anime of the Season
No masterpieces as usual, personally enjoyed Palme no Ki more than others. 1. Full Metal Panic! フルメタル・パニック! [Gonzo] (Finished 3/24) Tags: Mecha, Military Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi Mithril, a covert military institution using state-of-the-art technology to combat terrorist operations, assigns a specialized team to a sensitive mission. Under the command of superior officer Melissa Mao, sergeants Sousuke Sagara and Kurz Weber must secretly protect Kaname Chidori—a teenage girl who unconsciously holds breakthrough scientific knowledge and is considered a "Whispered"—from intelligence agencies and other organizations pursuing her abilities. While Kurz and Melissa are to assist him remotely, Sousuke enrolls at Kaname's high school as one of her classmates to closely monitor her. However, his militaristic upbringing and poor social skills lead to a difficult adjustment to civilian life. Not only does he attract unnecessary attention, but his actions frequently make Kaname suspicious of him. Despite the earnest attempts to fulfill his duty, a terrorist ambush further complicates Sousuke's task. Recognizing the vicious mastermind behind the assault, Sousuke abandons his orders to ensure Kaname's safety. Watched it all in the past. but did not expect it to be so old. And even at that time it lost its charm by some 9th episode and started to be a drag. It never felt like mecha to me, more like romcom with rather flat humor. Today it looks even worse as the number of cliché characters and situations outrages even though it might not be the case back then. Overall Rating: 5/10 2. Onegai☆Teacher Please Teacher! おねがい☆ティーチャー [Daume] (Finished 12/12) Tags: School Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi One day, Kei Kusanagi notices a strange glowing woman by the lake. He discovers that the woman is actually an alien officer from the Galaxy Federation named Mizuho Kazami, and even more shocking—she's also his teacher! In spite of this setback, he and his teacher gradually get to know each other and a romance blossoms between them. However, soon enough, the principal of the school finds out about their relationship. The solution? Get married! Together, the newlyweds must keep their marriage a secret, not only from Kei's high school friends, but also the Galaxy Federation. Onegai☆Teacher is the fragile but comedic love story of an alien and her student. Another familiar title that looked fine and even interesting in the past. Today I'd say its best advantage is adequate length as alien female interfering into everyday life is nothing new, and romance is rather strange and forced. Humor is average at best. It aged too much. Overall Rating: 5/10 3. RahXephon ラーゼフォン [Bones] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Mecha, Music, Psychological Action, Drama, Mystery, Romance, Sci-Fi The ordinary life of high school student Ayato Kamina is turned upside down when Tokyo is suddenly invaded by futuristic fighter jets. Amidst the chaos, he encounters a woman called Haruka Shitow who claims to be from a government organization called TERRA. She reveals that he has been living in a time bubble named "Tokyo Jupiter" that was put in place by the Mulians—humanoids from another dimension—in an attempt to isolate and take over Tokyo. TERRA has been trying to break through the barrier surrounding the city ever since. Unable to process the revelation, Ayato panics and flees. He runs into his classmate Reika Mishima who leads him to a place called "The Shrine of Xephon" where a large egg slumbers. She starts to sing and an unknown power awakens within Ayato, connecting him to a being called RahXephon that breaks out of the egg. Shortly after, Haruka finds him again and tries to make him join her cause of fighting against the Mulians. Caught between the crosshairs of the Mulians and TERRA, Ayato begins to question his purpose, navigating altered memories and ultimately his very identity in this chaotic new world. Another overextended show, and moreover with singing mecha. It starts rather chaotically and no explanations ever follow. Guess some explanations will only occur after the filler-filled middle, so I'd prefer to wait for the movie to see if it makes any sense at all. Overall Rating: 5/10 4. Bakuten Shoot Beyblade 2002 Beyblade V-Force 爆転シュート ベイブレード2002 [Nippon Animation] (Finished 1/51) Tags: Shounen Action, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi, Sports The Bladebreakers have to join forces once again because a mysterious group under the lead of Oozuma has defeated them, but the real enemy is not Oozuma. The real threath is formed by a group of people who use cyber-BitBeasts to capture the original ones from the Bladebreakers. I don't remember prequel , because it was properly marked as material for kids. Brief sampling is enough to prove the same about sequel. Overall Rating: 5/10 5. Kanon カノン [Toei Animation] (Finished 13/13) Tags: Drama, Romance, Supernatural It’s been 7 years since Yuuichi Aizawa visited his aunt Akiko, but now that his parents have gone to Africa to pursue their careers, he is finally back in the little northern town. Yuuichi is not really overjoyed with the prospect of living here though, because all of his memories of this place and the people living in it have mysteriously vanished. His cute cousin Nayuki seems like a stranger as well, even though he used to play with her all the time when they were younger. On the day of moving into his new home, Yuuichi starts unpacking the boxes and stumbles upon a red headband that no one seems to recognize. This is one of the first clues that will make Yuuichi take a stroll through the snow-covered town and make him start recalling fragments of his past, broken promises and buried secrets. Yuuichi soon realizes that there is something supernatural going on, and all of his new female acquaintances seem to have links to his forgotten past. It felt quite fresh back then. Today it's still interesting, because it's based on a lot of material from the game and thus does not repeat or have any fillers. There is some humor and cuteness, plus a lot of conversations are lively. But the whole stage of boring MC with amnesia or something returning to home town and by huge consequent strokes of luck making a harem from girls is more interesting from writer's viewpoint than from viewers'. Overall Rating: 6/10 6. Kinnikuman II Sei Ultimate Muscle キン肉マンII世 [Toei Animation] (Finished 1/51) Tags: Shounen Combat Sports, Martial Arts Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi, Sports Kinnikuman II Sei takes place several years after the events of the original Kinnikuman. Mantarou Kinniku is the 59th prince of Planet Kinniku and son of the renowned wrestler, King Suguru. Lazy, immature, and cowardly, Mantarou seems to have little in common with his heroic father. When a powerful group calling themselves the dMP threatens the Earth, only someone as powerful as Kinnikuman stands a chance against them. Not knowing the current whereabouts of the King, a plan is formed to have his son Mantarou take up the mantle. The idea of fighting super villains does not sit well with Mantarou, who initially runs away from his duty. He flees to Earth where he encounters Meat, his father’s old trainer. Despite Mantarou's shortcomings, Meat sees King Suguru in him, and believes he can set the prince on the right path. Thus begins Mantarou's journey to better himself and save the world. I've lost count of Kinnikuman iterations by now and - frankly - I'm sick of it and its unfunny humor. The changes in allies are actually welcome , but this series is long beyond redemption. Overall Rating: 5/10 7. Ojamajo Doremi Dokkaan! おジャ魔女どれみドッカ〜ン! [Toei Animation] (Finished 1/51) Tags: Shoujo Comedy Hana now becomes a peer of the Ojamajo. When Majotourbillon's spirit revives, the witches now have to break her curse. From the help from Pao-chan, Doremi, Hana, and the other witches are able to defeat the curses. Did not expect it to last for four huge seasons. Flow is still nice, and kid with body of pupil provides ample humor opportunities. Overall Rating: 6/10 8. Aquarian Age: Sign for Evolution アクエリアンエイジ Sign for Evolution [Madhouse] (Finished 6/13) Tags: Music, Super Power Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi, Supernatural Five supernatural factions have been fighting against each other for who knows how many centuries, with the beginning of Aquarian Age always in mind. Kyouta, soon begins to see visions of mystical girls fighting, except they do exist. Soon he and his girlfriend Yoriko become involved and the battle for Earth and Aquarian Age lies in their hands. What intrigued me the most is the fact of five factions - why would so many be needed? And the answer to this question is basically just because there are five girls in semi-romantic relations with MC, and at emotional states they have spiritual power outbursts. It's all really super confusing and it's probably leading to some resolution, but it's very poorly done and absolutely sour. Overall Rating: 5/10 9. Galaxy Angel Z ギャラクシーエンジェルZ [Madhouse] (Finished 1/9) Tags: Comedy, Sci-Fi In the far future, the human race advanced to space, and prospered. However, Jikushin ( earthquake of time and space ) which occurred suddenly intercepted all networks, and all the civilizations were reset. However, the human race begins to revive, and enters the prosperity age of The Second by the Transvaal imperial country which rises at the center of the galactic system. The science and technology before the civilization was reset, that is, "Lost Technology" was considered to be god`s task. And, it came to be worshiped by the priest who was called "Tsuki no miko". On the other hand, a certain guard fleet was stationed in the frontier of the galactic system. Though it was the seemingly perfectly ordinary army, the team composed only of the woman called "Angel Corps" existed in this army. They controlled the spaceship which was called "Angel Frame" which was the relic of Lost Technology. And, they collected the lost technology by using the angel frame, and carried out the duties to manage them. They were not the elite pilots, but Angel Corps was rather an eccentric person`s group. Arms mania`s Forte, costume player`s Mint, taciturn Vanilla, showy Ranpha and Milfeulle who likes cooking ... Every time, they cause a big trouble in the mission. More of aimless trifle adventures, but humor has improved, so for those who don't care about actual plot it may be even decent. Overall Rating: 6/10 10. Patapata Hikousen no Bouken The Secret of Cerulean Sand パタパタ飛行船の冒険 [Telecom Animation Film] (Finished 4/26) Tags: Adventure, Sci-Fi Jane's mother dies when she is born, and her father, a rich English aristocrat, soon remarries to a woman with a son, William, who despises his new father and brother. George and Jane grow up with a dream to make a flying machine. George believes the distant Asian sands hold a secret: a mysterious cerulean sand which can make machines fly. He goes on an expedition to find it, and soon is reported executed for treason. William disappears too. After she recieves an unsigned letter holding a handful of pale-blue sand which floats in the air, Jane is sure her brother is alive and leaves to the East to find him and prove him innocent. There are many mysteries to unravel in store for Jane and her new friends on her journey. But perhaps a mystery should forever remain a mystery... It's similar to Nadia: Secret of the Blue Water in most aspects. I often complain about confusing narration, but this is the opposite case - everything is explained instantly and thoroughly, as many as three episodes are given for introduction, and we even know the antagonist by the end of this period. So what's left is action adventure to lead to antagonist and return the good name and goods. Basically, it becomes too simple and not interesting enough, as for me, but it's a decent anime for family watch or for younger auditory. Overall Rating: 6/10 11. Shichinin no Nana 七人のナナ [A.C.G.T.] (Finished 3/25) Tags: School Adventure, Comedy, Romance On the last Valentine's Day before her high school entrance exams, Nana Suzuki tries to build up the courage to confess to her longtime crush. However, when her chocolates are accidentally ruined, she rushes back to her house to make more—not realizing that the microwave has been turned into a strange invention by her grandfather. Suddenly, six additional copies of Nana appear, each possessing their own extreme personality and a crystal that grants them magic powers! With her plans ruined, Nana vows to confess to her crush in her first year of high school. The only problem is that her crush is top student Yuuichi Kamichika, and following him to his elite high school will mean that she has to hit the books. With six new allies to help her, Nana begins to prepare for anything that the exam season might throw at her. Cute little shoujo comedy that satisfies the need of synchronized actions as if it's a constant idol gig. It's rather silly, so just can't take it seriously. Overall Rating: 6/10 12. Kakutou Ryouri Densetsu Bistro Recipe Fighting Foodons 格闘料理伝説ビストロレシピ [Group TAC] (Finished 1/26) Tags: Shounen Strategy Game Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Gourmet An 11-year old boy named Zen bands together with his younger sister, Karen, and a young boy who has a large appetite, Pitan, to battle an evil empire by using their "Foodons"; strange monsters that are created from various foods. Dub only. Did not expect a cooking show to be a show for kids, but it's more fighting action than cooking anime, just fights participants are... cooked dishes... Probably resembles Pokemon the most. Overall Rating: 5/10 13. Genma Taisen: Shinwa Zenya no Shou Genma Wars 幻魔大戦-神話前夜の章 [E&G Films] (Finished 6/13) Tags: Shounen Adventure, Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi, Supernatural In the distant future, monsters and inhumans roam the land, and the ruling Evil King seeks a human woman to bear him powerful, force-adept heirs. Non offers herself to the Evil King in order to save her village from Ape Clan raiders, and gives him twin sons, Loof and Jin. She and her sons are exiled by the ungrateful villagers, however, and Non's companion Nue (a Demon Clan member changed into a wolf for disobedience) takes Loof to be raised by his father, the Evil King. The Evil One's Queen Parome despises humans, however, and her malevolence towards Loof deepens... Manga is from 60s, so character designs are corresponding. Genma Taisen movie from 80s had a different plot about psychics and robots war. This one is more like fantasy with psychic powers. Actually, I remember a very similar fantasy anime movie with two brothers with similar names separated in the childhood and one getting brought up as hero and the other as villain, but could not find that movie. Feels too morally old already. Overall Rating: 5/10 14. Kick Off 2002 Kick Off (2002) キックオフ2002 [-] (Finished 0/26) Tags: Team Sports A soccer animation produced for the 2002 FIFA World Cup co-hosted by Korea and Japan. The main characters are two young men, a Japanese playmaker and a Korean striker. Friendship with teammates, their growth as soccer players, etc. are drawn. Not found. Overall Rating: 0/10 15. Hoshi no Koe Voices of a Distant Star ほしのこえ [CoMix Wave Films] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha, Space Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi It is the year 2046, Noboru Terao and Mikako Nagamine are close friends who will soon be graduating junior high school. But after an alien attack on humanity, Mikako is selected for the UN military space expedition set to retaliate against the aliens. Separated, Noboru and Mikako attempt to keep in touch by sending emails to each other with their cell phones. Yet as the expedition journeys farther from Earth, the time it takes for them to transmit and receive each other's messages increases substantially. Hoshi no Koe revolves around the relationship between this couple as they try to stay connected despite the growing distance between them. Slightly over 20 minutes, seriously? I have not watched much from Makoto Shinkai , but his style is guessed instantly It's a too short work to seriously discuss. Overall Rating: 6/10 16. Arcade Gamer Fubuki アーケードゲーマーふぶき [Shaft] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Shounen Parody, Super Power, Video Game Action, Comedy, Sports, Ecchi Fubuki Sakuragasaki is a powerful gamer who, with the power of her Passion Panties, climbs up the ranks of the BAG (Best of Arcade Gamer) tournament to become the greatest Arcade Gamer in the world. However, the evil Gulasic Group is out to conquer the world through said tournament, and their gaming skills will prove to be a challenge. Fubuki must team up with the legendary Mr. Mystery to combat the four Gods of Gaming and make the world of arcade gaming safe for all. It's a ridiculous fanservice superpower parody comedy... at least I could not come with a better definition for all that mess. It's a weird mix, but it does not feel good, even humor is so-so. Overall Rating: 5/10 17. Koukou Tekken-den Tough Shootfighter Tekken 高校鉄拳伝 タフ [AIC] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Shounen Martial Arts Action Years ago there was an underground match between Pro Wrestling and Nanshin Shadow Stlye (a secret and deadly form of martial arts) to see which form of martial arts was dominant, The Nanshin Shadow style came out victorious in the battle. Now in the present, the man who was defending Pro-Wrestling is back and is out to destroy Nanshin Shadow style in any way he can; however, it is now up to Kiichi, the son of the previous victor to defend the name of Nanshin Shadow style and it is his job to keep it from being completely erased from existance. The most manly writer ever is back with most manly manliness in every scene. For those who did not like Riki-Oh best not even start. Contents is rather stupid as it's another Bruce Lee story variation , but may be worth a laugh. Overall Rating: 5/10 18. Sweat Punch スウェットパンチ [Studio 4°C] (Finished 3/5) Tags: Historical, Mecha Action, Fantasy Sweat Punch is a series of five Studio 4°C shorts collected as a direct-to-DVD package film entitled Deep Imagination. Absurdity rules the show during short episodic stories, so it's alien to me. Overall Rating: 5/10 19. Harukanaru Toki no Naka de: Ajisai Yumegatari 遙かなる時空の中で 〜紫陽花ゆめ語り〜 [Zexcs] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Shoujo Historical, Isekai, Mythology, Time Travel Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Romance, Supernatural Whisked away to the land of Kyou, Akane learns that she is the Ryuujin no Miko, and meets the Hachiyou, her protectors. They must defeat Akuram, a demon who wants to destroy Kyou using the power of Azusa, a woman who has the power to absorb human energy. If Akane and the Hachiyou cannot defeat Akuram and bring peace to Kyou, Azusa'a power will destroy the humans. Again shoujo with a harem of bishounen protectors. Only rushed concept explanation and some action fit into those 50 minutes. Overall Rating: 5/10 20. WXIII Kidou Keisatsu Patlabor WXIII 機動警察パトレイバー [Madhouse] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Detective, Mecha Sci-Fi When the level of Labor accidents begin to escalate around Tokyo Bay, police detectives Kusumi and Hata are assigned to investigate. What they discover leads to a series of government cover-ups, conspiracy concerning a new biological weapon entitled WXIII-Wasted Thirteen and a tragic, personal connection to Hata. The only hope to stop this threat is to cooperate with the military and lead WXIII into a showdown with the Labors of Special Vehicle Division 2. Patlabor was never a great franchise for me, but this is just a different show made by different director. It's detective mystery with two detective protagonists vs monsters, and mecha are only flashed in the end. I think that story came first and then it was put into the most fitting franchise, so some more characters and mecha from original got added. Movie is a good enough gig, but calling it an enjoyable masterpiece would be an overkill. Overall Rating: 6/10 21. Palme no Ki A Tree of Palme パルムの樹 [Palm Studio] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Romance Palme is a puppet created by a man to care for his sickly wife. After her death Palme becomes paralyzed with sorrow, that is, until a woman being pursed happens to cross paths with Palme and his creator and ask them to deliver something precious to a sacred place called Tama. Palme, mistaking her for his masters late wife, accepts the request. This becomes his first step to becoming more human in order to understand his own feelings. A new take on Pinocchio. It's confusing, slow, and over 2 hours long. Childish character designs don't fit the excessively complicated plot and disturbing themes. It provides some fresh imagery and moves, but I ask myself whether I'll remember it in a month , and answer is that probably not. Overall Rating: 6/10 22. Turn A Gundam I Movie: Earth Light ∀ Gundam I: Earth Light 劇場版∀ガンダムI 地球光 [Sunrise] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha, Military, Space Action, Drama, Sci-Fi A movie retelling of the first half of the Turn A Gundam series. Did not expect that much SOL. Hope it all leads somewhere. Overall Rating: 5/10 23. Turn A Gundam II Movie: Moonlight Butterfly 劇場版∀ガンダムII 月光蝶 [Sunrise] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha, Military, Space Action, Drama, Sci-Fi The movie retelling of the final half of the Turn A Gundam series. I'd lie if I said that I understood much of it. Gundam series have this unique trait to make me not care about characters or politics completely. Some lousy sci-fi with sky high ambitions. Overall Rating: 5/10 24. Mari Iyagi 마리 이야기 [ADV Films] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Drama, Fantasy, Slice of Life When office worker Nam-woo receives a package from childhood friend Jun-ho it transports him back to their last summer together. Back to their hometown in a small fishing village it the last few days before Jun-ho left for boarding school in Seoul. When a marble and an abandoned lighthouse had the power to transport him to a fantastic world where a mysterious flying girl named Mari lived. Guess it's important for Korean animation as it's the first serious story if we count out historical pieces, but on the objective side after gorgeous intro it's visually minimalistic 3D. Contents-wise it's imitation of Only Yesterday, just with more chaos, confusion and fantastic elements. Overall Rating: 5/10 25. Ecchan no Sensou えっちゃんのせんそう [Mushi Production] (Finished 0/1) Tags: Historical Drama Based on a children's novel by Etsuko Kishikawa. Not found. Overall Rating: 0/10 -
Hellsing is the only title I deemed worthy at the end of 2001. 1. Hellsing Hellsing [ヘルシング] [Gonzo] (Finished 13/13) Tags: Seinen Adult Cast, Gore, Vampire Action, Horror, Supernatural Hellsing, an organization specializing in dealing with supernatural threats, is called in to eliminate a vampire that is turning the villagers of Cheddar into ghouls. To put an end to this, the leader of the organization, Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, dispatches her most formidable asset: a powerful vampire known as Alucard. Armed with only a single handgun, Alucard wreaks havoc on the monsters plaguing Cheddar. However, a young police officer, Seras Victoria, gets caught up in the chaos and becomes mortally wounded as a result. Taking pity on the girl, Alucard gives her a choice: die as a human or live on as a vampire. Seras accepts his offer and begins a new life as a member of Hellsing. Though it was her decision, Seras struggles with the fact that she is no longer human. Nevertheless, she must embrace being a creature of the night soon if she wants to survive on the front lines in the fight between humans and the supernatural. One of the first watched anime, and for quite some time I thought that all Japanese anime are bloody. It's super cool, but coolness can't get over 8 in my evaluation system. Overall Rating: 8/10 2. Tennis no Ouji-sama The Prince of Tennis テニスの王子様 [Trans Arts] (Finished 1/178) Tags: Shounen School Sports At the request of his father, tennis prodigy Ryouma Echizen has returned from America and is ready to take the Japanese tennis scene by storm. Aiming to become the best tennis player in the country, he enrolls in Seishun Academy—home to one of the best middle school tennis teams in Japan. After Ryouma catches the captain's eye, he finds himself playing for a spot on the starting lineup in the intra-school ranking matches despite only being a freshman. Due to his age, the rest of the Seishun Boys' Tennis Team are initially reluctant to accept him, but his skill and determination convinces them to let him in. Armed with their new "super rookie," Seishun sets out to claim a spot in the National Tournament, hoping to take the coveted title for themselves. In order to do so, the team must qualify by playing through the Tokyo Prefectural and Kanto Regionals. Yet, the road ahead of them is shared by a plethora of strong schools, each playing tennis in unique ways for their own reasons. Ryouma and his teammates must learn to cooperate if they want to become the champions they aspire to be. How many episodes? Anyway, it's an acclaimed spokon franchise with bishounens for girls. It's already super irritating from beginning, and I can only guess the depths of deterioration after several years of running . Overall Rating: 5/10 3. Hikaru no Go ヒカルの碁 [Pierrot] (Finished 5/75) Tags: Shounen School, Strategy Game Comedy, Drama, Supernatural While searching through his grandfather's attic, Hikaru Shindou stumbles upon an old go board. Touching it, he is greeted by a mysterious voice, and soon after falls unconscious. When he regains his senses, he discovers that the voice is still present and belongs to Fujiwara no Sai, the spirit of an ancient go expert. A go instructor for the Japanese Emperor in the Heian Era, Sai's passion for the game transcends time and space, allowing him to continue playing his beloved game as a ghostly entity. Sai's ultimate goal is to master a divine go technique that no player has achieved so far, and he seeks to accomplish this by playing the board game through Hikaru. Despite having no interest in board games, Hikaru reluctantly agrees to play, executing moves as instructed by Sai. However, when he encounters the young go prodigy Akira Touya, a passion for the game is slowly ignited within him. Inspired by his newfound rival, Hikaru's journey into the world of go is just beginning. I just don't consider Go a serious game. But the Japanese can make an anime out of absolutely anything, even out of pachinko as we saw recently. Then cheating one's way through ancient champion and showing off that you're playing for the first time is pathetic. There's too much focus on artistic beauty of actions rather than main matter. And of course everyone resigns like after filling a quarter of the field and viewers should believe that it was all calculated in advance for hundreds of turns. Bullshit. Two words were ringing in my head after every stupidity - March Lion. It's not fair to compare old anime with modern one, but March Lion is at least tenfold better in every regard. I admit Hikaru no Go has a nice flow and is more interesting than any spokon so far, but I don't give bonus scores for being older, and it's far from masterpiece considered the more modern rivals. Overall Rating: 6/10 4. Groove Adventure Rave レイヴ [Studio Deen] (Finished 2/51) Tags: Shounen Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Romance Fifty years ago, malevolent stones known as Dark Brings brought about the "Overdrive," a calamitous event that destroyed one-tenth of the world. In the present day, the nefarious organization Demon Card seeks the Dark Brings' power for their all but innocent intentions. Haru Glory, a sword-wielding silver-haired teenager, inherits the title of Rave Master: the person who wields the power of the legendary Rave Stones, artifacts capable of destroying the Dark Brings. However, the many Rave Stones were scattered across the globe as a result of the Overdrive, allowing Demon Card to continue their malpractices. Groove Adventure Rave follows Haru, his strange dog Plue, the fiery blonde Ellie, and the infamous thief Musica, as they embark on a great journey that will take them around the vast world, searching for the Rave Stones that will finally end Demon Card's injustice. Influx of brainless shounens is what I was afraid of after One Piece started, and this is exactly that case. Don't even know what more to say. It's horrible and flat and imitational . Overall Rating: 5/10 5. X X−エックス− [Madhouse] (Finished 3/24) Tags: Shoujo Super Power Action, Drama, Fantasy, Romance His destiny has finally arrived as the young Shirou Kamui returns to Tokyo after 6 years. A powerful psychic, Kamui vows to protect the happiness of his childhood friends Fuuma and Kotori, even if it means avoiding them. But fate is cruel, whether or not Kamui wants to be involved; he holds the future of the world in his hands, given the choice of becoming a Dragon of Heaven or a Dragon of Earth. The Seven Seals gather, and so do the Seven Angels; all individuals who have their destiny carved out as one who would battle for the fate of the world. What future will Kamui choose to become reality? Bishounents, psychics, heavens and earth dichotomy... sigh, just synopsis triggers three red lights. There was already anime about those seven elemental dragons and bishounens Legend of the Dragon Kings, why go through all that anew... half of Chinese series have all that elemental cringe. I utterly refuse to understand what to like here. Overall Rating: 5/10 6. Mahoromatic: Automatic Maiden まほろまてぃっく [Gainax, Shaft] (Finished 5/12) Tags: Seinen Military Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi, Ecchi Mahoro Andou is a powerful combat android designed by Vesper, a secret organization protecting the world against alien invaders. Unfortunately, her remaining operational time is running short. If she continues to fight, she will shut down in about one month. However, if she chooses to avoid combat, she can live freely for over a year. Suguru Misato is a high school boy who lives alone in a large house left behind by his late parents. Like any other boy his age, he has trouble taking care of the house on his own, so he decides to enlist the help of a maid. His problem is solved in the most unexpected way: when a couple of thugs hijack the bus he is riding, a young, beautiful girl wearing a maid outfit saves the day. It turns out that this girl is Mahoro, who has chosen to live her remaining days as Suguru's new maid. Mahoro makes the best of her remaining time and develops bonds with Suguru and his friends during their peaceful yet lively everyday interactions. However, Mahoro is hiding her true intentions behind becoming Suguru's maid, and it seems that their pasts are more intertwined than Suguru realizes. Watched first and last episodes in hope to see a small revolution that Gainax did with previous titles, and alas. It has some right points like discussion of contract, and there is also enough fighting action closer to the end, but this was a bad stage from the start. This concept of artificial girl showing up at boy's house is morally old and thus is not used nowadays as such concept provides only expected elements - the same story with alterations, fanservice and humor. Overall Rating: 6/10 7. Captain Tsubasa: Road to 2002 Captain Tsubasa キャプテン翼 (2001) [Group TAC] (Finished 1/52) Tags: Shounen Team Sports Sports Tsubasa Oozora loves everything about soccer: the cheer of the crowd, the speed of the ball, the passion of the players, and the excitement that comes from striving to be the best soccer player he can be. His goal is to aim for the World Cup, and to do that, he’s spent countless hours practicing soccer, ever since the moment he could walk on two legs. Now, as he plays for the Barcelona team in a fierce game, it seems as though his dreams are on the verge of coming true. Captain Tsubasa: Road to 2002 tells the story of how Tsubasa climbed his way through the ranks, featuring his roots in the town of Nankatsu as well as his epic journey to master the art of soccer. World championship in Korea in 2002 gave some new breath to old franchises about soccer, but it does not mean shows have become better. Overall Rating: 5/10 8. Vandread: The Second Stage ヴァンドレッド the second stage [Gonzo] (Finished 2/13) Tags: Mecha, Space Action, Sci-Fi, Ecchi Though Hibiki and crew defeated a super-huge battleship of the earth in the last of the first stage, they noticed five battleships further aiming at Mejeiru and Tarahk. And, crew of NIRVANA learnt Tarahk and Mejeiru which were their home had been faced to the crisis of Karitori (reaping). Travel to their home is speed up so that they may inform of the crisis. On the way, current information of the earth having been brought by girl Misty who had come to travel with them was worse than they can imagine. Hibiki and crew noticed a true fight was in the future. VANDREAD is finally changed into final system by the attack of the enemy who becomes violent more and more. Can they save their home? And, what happens to the relations between Hibiki and Dita? Hey, we've got a new heroine! Sadly, this anime has much more grave issues than lack of heroines. It seems to have become a bit more coherent and slightly less obnoxious and sexist, but too little too late. Overall Rating: 5/10 9. Final Fantasy: Unlimited ファイナルファンタジー:アンリミテッド [Gonzo] (Finished 5/25) Tags: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi Years ago, the opening of an interdimensional portal released two beasts into the skies over the Sea of Japan, visible to all the countries along the coast. After destroying the naval patrol sent to investigate the disturbance, the two beasts then turned against each other. Witnessing the fight from Japan, scientists Joe and Marie Hayakawa were sucked into the rift. Upon returning to Earth, they compiled and published the academic findings from their voyage in a legendary book titled ''Day of Succession''. Attempting a second expedition to that other dimension twelve years later, the couple have not returned. Twins Ai and Yu Hayakawa decide to set forth in search of their parents and the mysterious Wonderland they studied. In the ruins of an abandoned subway station, the two wait for a train to take them to the world beyond. On board they meet Lisa Pacifist, who quickly decides to aid the two in the search for their missing family. Can the three of them manage to find Joe and Marie? With two non-fighting protagonists and vague goal of finding parents during adventures it's rather boring. Overextension and rather edgy CGI don't add points as well. Two kid protagonists are plain and irritating, and leftover fighting characters aren't given same amount of attention. Overall Rating: 5/10 10. Cyborg 009: The Cyborg Soldier Cyborg 009 サイボーグ009 THE CYBORG SOLDIER [Japan Vistec] (Finished 3/50) Tags: Shounen Mecha Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Skull, the evil leader of the terrorist organization known as Black Ghost, has nine powerful cyborgs under his control. But Dr. Isaac Gilmore, the Black Ghosts cybernetics scientist, decides to go rogue, helping the cyborgs turn against Skull and his evil organization. Black Ghost wishes to start the next major world war by flooding the market with weapons of mass destruction. It seems the nine brave cyborgs have their work cut out for them, as Black Ghost is determined to bring those nine cyborgs down. None of Cyborg 009 movies or OVAs were great, reinstallment series are also decent at best. Overall Rating: 6/10 11. Hoshi no Kirby Kirby: Right Back at Ya! 星のカービィ [Studio Sign] (Finished 1/100) Tags: Parody Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy A diminutive pink creature orbiting in space called "Kirby" crash lands into Dream Land. Once getting acquainted with the citizens who live there in Cappy Town, he begins to defend the town from the monsters that King Dedede, the self-proclaimed ruler of Cappy Town, orders from the evil Nightmare Enterprises. Kids stuff, or for those who liked original games. Overall Rating: 5/10 12. Chicchana Yukitsukai Sugar A Little Snow Fairy Sugar ちっちゃな雪使いシュガー [J.C.Staff] (Finished 3/24) Tags: Comedy, Fantasy Season Fairies create and control the weather using special musical instruments. They make the wind blow, the snow fall, the sun shine; if it's something weather related, they are the ones who make it happen. Sugar, an apprentice Snow Fairy, and her friends Salt and Pepper, all want to become full-fledged Season Fairies, and the only way to achieve this is to search for and find the "Twinkles" that will make their magical flowers bloom. The only problem is that none of them have any idea what a Twinkle is. They enlist the somewhat unwilling help of Saga, a human girl who can see Season Fairies. Much to her annoyance, Saga's perfectly planned and ordered life has just become a little too lively for her taste. Together, they search for the mysterious Twinkles while trying to perfect their magic. It's all cute and childish ... and weird with all the weather fairy and precise time planning obsession. So there's no story and character development is getting sold as the core which is already very bad. And on top of that it's done during 24 empty episodes. Unless you can fare on cuteness alone, better not even start. Overall Rating: 5/10 13. Otogi Story Tenshi no Shippo おとぎストーリー 天使のしっぽ [Tokyo Kids] (Finished 3/12) Tags: Harem Comedy, Fantasy, Romance Goro's down on his luck. He keeps losing jobs and has little money. One day he meets a fortune-teller outside of a pet store who predicts that his luck will change. That night three girls appear in his appartment claiming to be his guardian angels. Soon a total of twelve girls appear to help him, each one a reincarnation of a deceased pet once owned by Goro. Luck as main moving force , harem with 12 girls, reincarnation as half-pets - it's a serious rival for the title of the most irritating stage ever created. Totally bland and typical. Overall Rating: 5/10 14. Najica Dengeki Sakusen Najica Blitz Tactics ナジカ電撃作戦 [Studio Fantasia] (Finished 3/12) Tags: Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi, Ecchi Najica Hiiragi, perfumer and secret agent, is sent out on a number of recovery missions to round up rogue humaritts, androids with combat abilities. Najica is assigned a humaritt partner, Lila, whom Najica is to groom as an agent and receive assistance from along the way. As Najica grows to accept Lila, each new mission they embark on reveals more and more about the capabilities and mysterious origins of the humaritts. It's so similar to Agent AIKa in everything including theme and designs and number of pantsu-shots , so I have a hard time deciding which one is actually worse. Let's settle this match with a Not Recommended draw. Overall Rating: 4/10 15. Kaze no Youjinbou Kaze no Yojimbo 旋風の用心棒 [Pierrot] (Finished 9/25) Tags: Action, Drama, Mystery In search for Araki Genzo, George Kodama finds himself in the small town of Kimujuku. George quickly realizes that he is unwelcome and is warned to leave as soon as possible. With two rival syndicates roaming the streets and a dark violent past, the town of Kimujuku isn't what it appears to be. George challenges the town of Kimujuku in order to reveal the towns dark hidden past and discover the truth. The premise is actually good, but it all depends on material and execution, and with 25 episodes nothing saturated and thrilling was hardly possible. So after three great episodes it becomes very random - some character story, some criminal investigation, some murder attempt. In the end you just need to like slow mystery crime thriller as a genre to like it. Overall Rating: 6/10 16. I: Wish You Were Here Zaion: I Wish You Were Here i -wish you were here- ~あなたがここにいてほしい~ [Gonzo] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Action, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi In the future, a meteor crashes into Earth and brings with it a virulent form of life. This virus is known as M34 and attacks humans, turning them into vicious monsters. Most of the human population is wiped out, thus government agencies are formed to fight the virus. One of the groups, NOA, inserts nanomachines into the bodies of its soldiers; these machines allow them to transform and fight off the infected. Unfortunately, the virus mutates and becomes too strong for NOA to handle. Now the fate of the world rests in the hands of 16-year-old girl with the power to defeat the virus. Alien virus pandemic is generally a good stage, depending on details, characters and execution. But four episodes are only enough to show defeats in the first three quarters and getting girl brainwave superweapon revenge later on. Sadly, result is only average. Overall Rating: 5/10 17. Kokoro Toshokan ココロ図書館 [Studio Deen] (Finished 3/13) Tags: Iyashikei, Workplace Comedy, Drama, Slice of Life Hidden away on a remote mountaintop, the Kokoro Library struggles to attract many visitors. Nevertheless, it is the home of sisters Iina, Aruto, and Kokoro, who consider it their mission to keep the library running in their parents' stead. Kokoro has long dreamed of becoming a librarian at the library with the same name as her, and tries her best to keep up with her older sisters. Due to the lack of patrons, the girls mainly spend their time sipping tea, chatting, and reading. However, as the number of mysterious visitors progressively increases, Kokoro begins to learn about the strange history of Kokoro Library—a place where small miracles seem to blossom. Probably originator of genre where girls just do ordinary stuff in cute way as this is literally in the synopsis "girls mainly spend their time sipping tea, chatting, and reading". Waste of time, as for me. Overall Rating: 5/10 18. Gekitou! Crush Gear Turbo 激闘! クラッシュギアTURBO [Sunrise] (Finished 2/68) Tags: Sports After losing almost all their members the Tobita Crush Gear club is facing extinction. Kouya who dreams of being a Crush Gear Fighting Champion doesn't want to see the club become extinct and will do whatever he can to keep the club running and become a Cush Gear Champion. There have been at least two anime about toy robot battles already, and I consider it to be the most useless and pointless and incorrigible stage for anime. For me it's a clear indicator of kids show even if show tries to prove otherwise. Overall Rating: 5/10 19. Project ARMS: The 2nd Chapter PROJECT ARMS -The 2nd Chapter- [TMS Entertainment] (Finished 1/26) Tags: Shounen Martial Arts, School, Super Power Action, Fantasy The 2nd Chapter continues the story of Ryo Takatsuki and his companions' quest to discover the secret of the mysterious A.R.M.S. they all possess and what the future may hold for them. They now know where the answers lie but to get to them, they must fight a desperate fight of survival against a powerful military corporation that wants their secrets no matter what the cost. As a sequel, it's enough to sample a single episode. One of sad cases when there is a lot of effort applied to tell a so-so story that's plain not interesting no matter how many characters are introduced. Overall Rating: 6/10 20. Babel Nisei (2001) Babel II: Beyond Infinity バビル2世 [Vega Entertainment] (Finished 1/13) Tags: Shounen Action, Adventure, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Supernatural Life seems simple for Kouichi, a young student, until he learns that he is the reincarnation of an alien protector who crashed onto the mantle of responsibility as "defender of the Earth," Kouichi/Babel teams up with a trio of super-powered alien companions to battle the the dark forces of an evil cult leader. The war to save humanity takes Babel from the deserts of southern Asia to the upper east side of Manhattan and ultimately to a final showdown with "the master" in a hidden base nestled in the Swiss Alps. The action is fast-paced and deadly. The fate of the world rests in the ability of this courageous youth to tame his latent psychic power and use it to defeat the enemies of mankind. Babel Nisei is one of my most hated franchises ever and I hoped it would settle down already after ancient series and OVA. Abomination. Overall Rating: 1/10 21. Shiawase Sou no Okojo-san しあわせソウのオコジョさん [Radix] (Finished 3/51) Tags: Pets Comedy Haruka Tsuchiya is a plain and simple university student who has a pet by the name of Okojo-san. Okojo-san was actually born in one of the mountains in the North and brought to one of the pet shops to be sold. Determined to get out of the pet shop, Okojo-san formulated an escape strategy and ended up in the house of Haruka. There are always funny and strange occurances happening around the two, be it the people or animals who are near them. This is a gag anime in which absurdity is the main feature of the story. Partly translated. Surprisingly fun, but it's still mostly just gags about aggressive pets. If it was fully translated, I might consider a masterpiece score. Overall Rating: 6/10 22. Geisters: Fractions of the Earth ガイスターズ FRACTIONS OF THE EARTH [Plum] (Finished 1/26) Tags: Military Action, Sci-Fi At the end of the 21st century, a meteorite collision plunged Earth into apocalypse, and the remnants of humanity went in two different directions to survive. The aristocratic Dobias headed into space, while the earthy Shioru went underground. Centuries later, they returned to Earth's surface and are now fighting for control of the planet—that is, when they're not busy fending off a new species of predators known simply as Creatures. Amidst this conflict, an elite team of five soldiers known as Geisters protects humanity from the Creatures and from each other. Although part of the Dobias, the Geisters have recently accepted a soldier of Shioru descent onto the team, and her take-charge personality leaves the other members unsure about her loyalty and usefulness to the group. With Dobias and Shioru tensions heating up on the political floor, Creatures running rampant, and a dangerous new weapon being developed in secret, the Geisters must maintain peace among themselves and the rest of society. Not translated, but half of it is dubbed. It reminds starship troopers, but with ugly CGI for enemies and battle suits transforming humans into some kind of Guyver. Can't say it's bad, closer to average, and in current translation form not watchable. Overall Rating: 5/10 23. A-jang.com 아장닷컴 [-] (Finished 1/13) Tags: Fantasy The spirit world, the real world and the Internet cyber world maintain peace and harmony by the Dimension stone, which was created by the three deities named Dragon King, Zeus and Zoolu. One day, Doddery had a date therefore he switched the stone guard duty with the Super Baby by bribing him with milk. A-jang fights hard with LuPin and Pigu till the end but in that process something goes wrong with the Dimension Stone and due to that unusual energy Spirit world becomes chaotic. Many spirits including LuPin and Pigu falls into cyber space and A-jang just manages to escape. Not translated. Korean anime is still too childish and as usual linked to virtual reality and gadgets. It's good to see more variation as one protagonist is a kid god from Olympus and others are ordingary kids with gadgets, but I'd lie if I said that I understood much of it. Overall Rating: 5/10 24. 6 Angels シックス・エンジェルズ [Arcturus] (Finished 2/6) Tags: Action, Sci-Fi Deep in the deserts of southwestern United States lies "Neo Purgatory." Formerly a nuclear waste disposal site, the facility has been turned into a prison for hardened criminals; that is, until the prisoners weaponize the nuclear waste and riot, turning Neo Purgatory into an international disaster. Maki Aoba, Doris Nicholas, Marilyn Moreau, and Naomi Jones make up the "Guard of Rose," an all-female special police task force. Along with stowaway Katherine Hook and multi-purpose robot Link, the Guard of Rose is on patrol investigating rumors of an "angel" near Neo Purgatory when their helicopter is shot down. As the crisis within the prison rapidly devolves, the Guard of Rose members might be the only ones who can stop the prisoners before they unleash nuclear armageddon. Torn jumpy directorship, incomprehensible logic, difficult to follow story, bland characters. That's more than enough to bury this anime forever. Overall Rating: 4/10 25. Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan - Seisou-hen Samurai X: Reflection るろうに剣心 -明治剣客浪漫譚- 星霜編 [Studio Deen] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Shounen Historical, Samurai Drama, Romance Kaoru goes to the harbor every day to see if Kenshin has returned. After a while, she starts looking back at her life with Kenshin and all the things that have happened. It's basically previously great OVA moving by inertia, and since there's nothing really to tell, it introduces some meaningless duels to show transformation from assassin to protector. It's only an hour long overall , and there's no substance here for me. Overall Rating: 6/10 26. Fushigi Yuugi: Eikouden Mysterious Play: Eikoden ふしぎ遊戯 -永光伝 [Pierrot] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Shoujo Isekai Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Romance After years of hardships interfered with their love, Miaka Yuuki and Taka Sukunami are finally married and expecting a baby—the pinnacle of their unbreakable bond. Unfortunately, not everyone rejoices alongside the blessed couple. Mayo Sakaki, one of Taka's students, has a crush on him and cannot bear witnessing the pair's flourishing relationship. Upon discovering The Universe of the Four Gods, Mayo learns that the old book is where Miaka and Taka first met as the priestess of the god Suzaku and the god's Celestial Warrior Tamahome. Unscrupulous about destroying a happy family, Mayo readily ventures inside with hopes of becoming the new priestess of Suzaku and rewriting the story to her advantage. Meanwhile, her actions do not delay to show devastating effects. Leaving an unconscious Miaka at the hospital, Taka must follow Mayo to The Universe of the Four Gods and stop her before the circumstances worsen for his wife and their unborn child. So we've had two epilogue OVAs, but of course that's not enough and we need the third epilogue OVA. This fanfic has an irritating heroine and feels different, not in a good way. Making a fantasy romance into a tricked pregnancy blackmail drama... weird, and bad. Overall Rating: 5/10 27. Kai Doh Maru 怪童丸 [Production I.G] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Action, Fantasy This story takes place during the Heian Period of Japan`s history, when evil spirits still resided in the forests, mountains and rivers. A girl, accompanied by her loved one, battles against these evil spirits, while she is disguised as man. This brave woman, aka "Kaidomaru", with a Chinese character "Flame" tatooed on her upper arm, was one of the "Four Devas". Kaidomaru fights for the honor of her lost love, Raikou Minamotono, who had sacrified his life in order to protect the capital Kyoto, from the evils deeds of a "princess" cursed by a malicious ogre. The princess, whom Kaidomaru used to play with as a child, has now become her ultimate enemy. It's only 45 minutes long and very messy with jumping across characters all the time. Palette is bleak and toned down, so it's not even good visually. Too chaotic and rushed to make sense. Overall Rating: 4/10 28. Canvas: Sepia-iro no Motif Canvas ~セピア色のモチーフ [Studio Kyuuma] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Visual Arts Comedy, Romance, Slice of Life Asou Daisuke is a high school student and a gifted artist - but he is currently suffering from a block, which keeps him from painting. His childhood friend, Tachibana Amane, who loves him deeply, persuades him to do a portrait of Kimikage Yurina, a girl with a heart condition, before Yurina undergoes surgery. In the process of rediscovering his art, Daisuke also realises the love that he and Amane feel for each other Just telling the main story with two episodes would be fine, but with inclusion of ecchi it's compromised even at that. Overall Rating: 5/10 29. Usagi-chan de Cue!! うさぎちゃんで CUE!! [Chaos Project] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Action, Comedy, Romance, Ecchi Mikami Inaba was fighting a person from another school on her school's rooftop. As they fought, her friend Haru appeared. Seeing Mikami distracted, the man charged at her, causing both of them to break the nearby rabbit cages & fall off the roof. As Mikami fell, she desperately grabbed the rabbit. Suddenly, a flash or pink light appeared. Mikami fused with the rabbit, and gained another personality, called Mimika. Now, Mikami only appears when various people threaten her and her friends. Otherwise, she takes on the form of Mimika. Hard to find anything remarkable here but ecchi itself. Overall Rating: 4/10 30. Memories Off Memories Off (メモリーズオフ) [E&G Films] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Drama, Romance Tomoya Mikami's life changed one day when his girlfriend Ayaka was hit by a car and killed on her way to meet Tomoya. He blamed himself for her death and never was the same after the accident. He began acting callously towards Yue and his other friends. Furthermore, every time Tomoya gets involved with a new girl, he sees images of Ayaka in his dreams. He decides he needs to find a way to say goodbye to his lost love once and for all, while dealing with several side romances at the same time. Hate this ever-tragic story, but it's a marker for the whole series to come. Good only for learning the roots . Overall Rating: 5/10 31. Mahou Yuugi 3D 魔法遊戯 3D [AIC] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Comedy Padudu is a 12-year-old apprentice witch, chosen to represent her town in the coliseum. Donning her magical fish costume, which keeps her warm and fed, she sets off on her journey. But on the way she's swept away by a river to Dance Valley. Mayor Koffy captures her and throws her into the dungeon, hoping to eliminate the competition for Dance Valley's own coliseum candidate. Luckily for Padudu, this dungeon holds the mysterious witch Nonononn. They join together in a magical fight for survival. At the end of Blue Gender Trailer, the Magical witchland word came out! 3D is very poor, 30 minutes is really short, random development is the worst. Overall Rating: 4/10 32. Urarochi Diamond 裏路地ダイヤモンド [Studio 4°C] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure Uraroji Diamond is a very interactive DVD which takes you inside a Studio-4C-style town with all the weirdness inside, while you scour for episodes (very short, black and white, weird episodes). Not translated. It's mostly just still manga strips with minimal animation. It's not animation, so I'm not even going to try to evaluate sketches themselves. Overall Rating: 4/10 33. Slayers Premium スレイヤーズぷれみあむ [Hal Film Maker] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy Lina and Gourry travel to a seaside town named Acassi, where octopus tentacle is a delicacy. However, the octopus meat carries a curse that dooms the eater to only speak Takogo (octopus language). Amelia, Zelgadiss, and Xelloss all show up, and the main four characters (Lina, Gourry, Ameria, Zelgadiss) get cursed. The octopi enlist the power of a mazoku to get rid of the humans once and for all. The white sorceress Ruma must learn the cure to the curse from her long-lost master in order to save the town. It's good that they finally understood not to use Naga in OVAs anymore, but this particular OVA is too short with 30 minutes, and it only has time for some slacking and some small unimpressive adventure. Overall Rating: 5/10 34. Sakura Taisen: Katsudou Shashin サクラ大戦 活動写真 [Production I.G] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha, Performing Arts Adventure, Sci-Fi The Imperial Fighting Troupe is called again to defend Tokyo against the demons. However, this time, the Douglas-Stewart Company is selling a superior fighting machine that will revolutionize Japan's defense and make the Flower Division obsolete. However, the girls suspect something may be wrong when members of their team begin to vanish! But what can they do when their division has been placed on indefinite stand-by status? I hoped it would be summary of all fighting from all games, but of course it's rather just a filler between two games... well, at least it's battles and not theater. Overall Rating: 6/10 35. The Siamese: First Mission シャム猫 / ファーストミッション [Maxell E-Cube] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Action Jun and Naomi are a pair of two attractive women who both work as radio station DJs by day, but when night falls they are elite counter-terrorism agents under the code name The Siamese Cats. Not translated. Something like Dirty Pair or Noir mission with grown up heroines. It's pure action, so a normal representative of the genre. Overall Rating: 5/10
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Anime of the Year 2001-III Summer - Cowboy Bebop: Tengoku no Tobira
kivandopulus posted a blog entry in Anime of the Season
Ended up choosing no masterpieces, but Cowboy Bebop: Tengoku no Tobira is my personal preference. 1. Fruits Basket フルーツバスケット [Studio Deen] (Finished 2/26) Tags: Shoujo Love Polygon, School Drama, Romance, Supernatural After the accident in which she lost her mother, 16-year-old Tooru moves in with her grandfather, but due to his home being renovated, is unable to continue living with him. Claiming she will find someone to stay with but also fearing the criticism of her family and not wanting to burden any of her friends, Tooru resorts to secretly living on her own in a tent in the woods. One night on her way back from work, she finds her tent buried underneath a landslide. Yuki Souma, the "prince" of her school, and his cousin Shigure Souma, a famous author, stumble across Tooru's situation and invite her to stay with them until her grandfather's home renovations are complete. Upon arriving at the Souma house, Tooru discovers their secret: if a Souma is hugged by someone of the opposite gender, they temporarily transform into one of the animals of the zodiac! However, this strange phenomenon is no laughing matter; rather, it is a terrible curse that holds a dark history. As she continues her journey, meeting more members of the zodiac family, will Tooru's kindhearted yet resilient nature be enough to prepare her for what lies behind the Souma household's doors What horrible stage and tasteless plain humor for events... My facepalms limit is already exceeded after two episodes. Overall Rating: 5/10 2. Shaman King シャーマンキング [Xebec] (Finished 3/64) Tags: Shounen Super Power Action, Adventure, Comedy, Supernatural A battle is about to begin in Tokyo: the Shaman Fight, a tournament held every five hundred years where shaman—those who can command spirits—confront each other in combat. The victor of this contest becomes the Shaman King and the only one who is able to contact and control the Great Spirit, allowing them to reshape the world as they please through its immense power. During a late night walk, Manta Oyamada runs into his classmate, the carefree You Asakura, who invites him to come stargazing with some friends, who, to Manta's horror, turn out to be ghosts from a local cemetery! However, the knowledge that Manta possesses—a rare sixth sense that allows Manta to see these spirits—endears the boy to You. So when You finds out that his new comrade has been beaten up by a local gang, he decides to avenge him with the help of Amidamaru, a samurai ghost whose tomb was broken by the gang leader. Soon Manta uncovers more about the world of spirits, including the Shaman Fight, in which his new friend You aims to claim victory. Brainless shounen extended to horrific 64 episodes. If I see no additional interesting layer or complexity in starting episodes, it's just average, same as One Piece. Overall Rating: 5/10 3. s.CRY.ed s-CRY-ed スクライド [Sunrise] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Super Power Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi A strange environmental phenomenon 22 years ago in the Kanazawa prefecture caused the land to split and protrude upwards reaching unprecedented heights, creating the secluded area known as The Lost Ground. Kazuma is a young mercenary who lives in the Lost Ground, looking for any work he can find to sustain his livelihood within the harsh environment. He is one of the few people that are gifted with the Alter ability, which allows him to plaster his right arm and torso with a metallic alloy. When this mercenary encounters HOLY, an order whose purpose is to suppress and capture what they call Native Alter Users, and one of the elite members of HOLY, Ryuho, an epic rivalry begins. The flow, action and visuals are pleasant enough, but there is not enough material for 26 episodes, so it inevitably starts to drag soon. It's still a tad better than typical shounen. Overall Rating: 6/10 4. Grappler Baki: Saidai Tournament-hen グラップラー刃牙(バキ) 最大トーナメント編 [Group TAC] (Finished 1/24) Tags: Shounen Combat Sports, Gore Action, Sports Mitsunari Tokugawa, the organizer of the historic Tokugawa underground fighting ring, has created a tournament featuring 38 of the world's best fighters, many of whom are grandmasters in their respective form of martial arts. With the exception of weapons, anything goes in Tokugawa's ring so that each fighter is able to showcase their true power and strongest secret moves. Baki Hanma earned a place in the tournament due to his status as the reigning champion of Tokugawa's fighting ring. Will he be able to come out on top? Baki favored tournaments even in original, so just a sample episode is enough to confirm that it's more or less the same. Overall Rating: 6/10 5. I My Me! Strawberry Eggs あぃまぃみぃ!ストロベリー・エッグ [TNK] (Finished 2/13) Tags: Crossdressing, School Comedy, Drama, Romance Amawa Hibiki is a young man just out of college, with an education to be an athletics teacher. He's been having a hard time finding a job since he graduated, so all his money has gone towards living expenses. When his landlady demands his first payment to live in her living establishment upfront, he heads to the local middle school to get hired as a teacher. However, the principal refuses to hire him without hesitation. She will not hire men as teachers and makes it clear that she hates all men, saying they put no love into their passions and work. Amawa does not give up and with the help of his landlady, he crossdresses as a woman without a second thought, and gets hired, so he can earn money and also prove the principal wrong. Now, he has to keep his real gender a secret, and avoid strange situations, including the affections of his students (from both genders). As it turns out, my aversion for trap stories is still strong. Or maybe it is strong because of such worthless slapstick pervy anime. Overall Rating: 5/10 6. Seikai no Senki II Banner of the Stars II 星界の戦旗 II [Sunrise] (Finished 10/10) Tags: Military, Space Action, Romance, Sci-Fi Due to a lack of ambassadors for the recently-conquered worlds the rapidly advancing fleet of the Bebaus brothers leave behind, Lafiel is appointed Territorial Ambassador of the planet Lobnas II. Upon arriving to the planet Jinto and Lafiel discover that the planet was used by the United Mankind as a prison planet and now has a million prisoners on the only inhabited island. The prisoners are parted in three blocks. The western where women are housed, the eastern belongs to the men and the central is mixed under the restriction that all prisoners living there are sterilized. The women in the western sector want to emigrate from the planet of fear for the men and when they do the men in the east rebel, overthrowing the guards and capturing Jinto to try to stop the emigration of the women. At the same time an enemy fleet heads toward the system forcing Lafiel to abandon Jinto. Since story is a one-sided mess with everlasting streak of victories anyway, let's just sidetrack for a single planet to add at least some complexity. The whole season is one big filler. Overall Rating: 5/10 7. Samurai Girl Real Bout High School SAMURAI GIRL リアルバウトハイスクール [Gonzo] (Finished 3/13) Tags: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy At Daimon High School, kids settle their disputes by dueling with each other in the school's official K-Fight battle arena. Ryoko Mitsurugi, samurai girl and undefeated K-Fight champion, is called upon by a mysterious Priestess to protect the Earth from an invasion coming from the alternate universe of Solvania. She must face battles that will test her skills, her friendships, and her heart in order to find her true strength as a samurai warrior. Some typical fighting action without good distinguishing features, humor is corresponding. Overall Rating: 5/10 8. Magical Nyan Nyan Taruto Magical Meow Meow Taruto 魔法少女猫[まじかる にゃん にゃん]たると [Madhouse, TNK] (Finished 5/12) Tags: Comedy Taruto is a little cat who has just moved to a new city with her master's family. Taruto spends her days making friends and exploring her new home town. She also has a knack for getting herself into trouble. And it turns out that Taruto just might be a legendary magical princess. Almost none of Taruto’s friends believe that she can use magic or that she’s a princess, but Taruto is determined to prove it to them. But Taruto's magic is so unpredictable, you never know what's going to happen when she uses it. A constant streak of silliness that's supposed to be cute or something. Overall Rating: 5/10 9. Cosmo Warrior Zero コスモウォーリアー零 [Vega Entertainment] (Finished 4/13) Tags: Military, Space Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi The long war between the planet Earth and the machine men is finally over, resulting in a peace that is more a victory for the machine men than the Earth. Warrius Zero lost his family in the war to the machine men but despite this he is still is a member of the Earth fleet that is now working in concert with the machine men. His ship, made up of both humans and machine men, has been given a near impossible task: capture the space pirate Captain Harlock. While Zero struggles to accomplish this task, evidence begins to surface that the peace between machine men and Earth may not be as it seems... Don't think I liked anything from Leiji after first battleship Yamato. Even if we omit character designs recycled over and over, this is difficult to watch as camera jumps from some characters to others rapidly and I often can't understand at which point character on a spaceship got landed on a planet, things like that. Show tries to persuade us that we're still pursuing Harlock, but in fact we need to concentrate on the bits of information provided about machine men in a very incoherent fashion. I blame directorship as it would be possible to make a normal story out of it all, but it just crumbles. Overall Rating: 5/10 10. Saiko Robot Kombock Cubix 로보짱 큐빅스 [Xebec] (Finished 1/26) Tags: Mecha Sci-Fi The year is 2040. Japanese robot technology is making remarkable progress; they can understand human language, and they've even succeeded in developing a humanoid robot that can feel emotions. The setting is a future town on the outskirts of Musashino in the Tokyo area, where humans and robots live together, "New Musashino City." In this town, our main character Ichiro and his friends, as well as some robots, all get along very well. Before these friends appears a mad scientist, Professor K, bent on taking over the world. Ichiro and his robot partner, Kombock, and his other friends stand against him to crush his schemes. Will they be able to protect the peaceful lives of humans and robots from this evil?! The story of the friendship of Ichiro, Kombock, and their friends begins!! It's Korean and has only dub in English. It's full CGI. It's for kids. Overall Rating: 5/10 11. Nono-chan ののちゃん [Toei Animation] (Finished 1/61) Tags: Comedy, Slice of Life Nono-chan is the eldest daughter in the Yamada family and a third-grade elementary school student. Her family consists of her father, Mr Yamada Takashi, her mother, Mrs Yamada Matsuko and her brother, Noboru, a junior high student. Together with her grandmother, the family of five makes up a pleasant Japanese family. Everyone is special and everyday is always filled with joy and surprise. Not translated. Very simply drawn SOL comedy, same one we've seen from Ghibli as Yamadas, and I rated it as 5 even then. Overall Rating: 5/10 12. Kinniku Banzuke: Kongou-kun no Daibouken! 筋肉番付 金剛くんの大冒険! [Pierrot] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Shounen Action, Sports A group of school children are invited to compete in the strongest man competition. As the first match is starting, the bored organizer announces that all matches will now be to the death. None of the competitors have a problem with the change. Who will survive and be crowned the strongest? It's death tournament, but teams prefer to fail together or avoid deaths in other ways in various competitions. Competitions are the gist as there is just no time for anything else. Can't say it's not interesting, but it's unclear why viewers should care in the first place. Overall Rating: 5/10 13. Sabaku no Kaizoku! Captain Kuppa Captain Kuppa 砂漠の海賊! キャプテンクッパ [Bee Train] (Finished 0/26) Tags: Action, Adventure Sometime in the future, the world was completely dried up and became all desert. They had little rivers and lakes left, which villians and dangerous animals lived. Water has become the most valueable thing on the world. Whoever can control water will rule over the world. Not found. Overall Rating: 0/10 14. Uniminipet 유니미니펫 [Dongwoo A&E] (Finished 2/26) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy Dong Woo is a very pleasant, responsible and cheerful boy. He gets weird feelings every time he opens his closet door and is the only one that can sense these feelings. Why is this? Dong Woo is destined to be "the person that opens the Door". His closet is a secret channel that connects the real world to the fourth dimension world called "Uniland ". Whenever he opens the door, the wavelength from the other world is transferred to him. Not translated. Childish anime with two pets. From time to time aggressive small enemies come through the breach and are getting dealt with. Overall Rating: 5/10 15. Happy☆Lesson [Studio Kyuuma, Venet, Chaos Project] (Finished 2/5) Tags: Harem, School Comedy, Romance One guy. Five girls. One roof. It's a recycled idea, but it never gets old. Happy Lesson is a kinetic take on an old genre. Chitose shares his house with five ladies. One might think the continued attention of this many girls would be a good thing, but too much attention can prove to be painful. Did I mention they're also instructors at his school (hence the title)? Not only is he the subject of their abuse at home, but at school as well. Even when things finally calm down at night, all the rooms are taken so Chitose must sleep on the couch. It's all in the synopsis - lots of cuteness and silly abuse humor. Overall Rating: 5/10 16. One: Kagayaku Kisetsu e ONE ~輝く季節へ~ [Arms] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Drama, Supernatural Orihara Kouhei returns to his town after a long disappearance to fullfil the promises he made to several girls in his childhood. He suffered from memory loss, and carries a tragic past. An strange ambience surrounds the OVA...It's almost like a dream, like memories from the past trying to come together in one piece but without being able to... Aim is to introduce characters and show their endings, and anime does that pretty well. It differs from traditional anime flow where focus is on one male protagonist, so it can be somewhat confusing, but it's the problem of viewers and their expectations. Overall Rating: 6/10 17. Generation of Chaos ジェネレーション オブ カオス [Idea Factory] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mythology Action, Adventure, Fantasy In the world of Neverland, humans and monsters live alongside each other. Generation of Chaos details the start of the adventures of the two heroes of Neverland, Chiffon and Roze. Departure of Chiffon Chiffon is a boy with the power to train monsters. After realizing that his power is waning, he sets out to Hiyoko Forest to return his Hiyokomushi—a fish-like mount and companion—back to its homeland, the Hiyoko Forest. However, the journey there is anything but uneventful as his control over his monster gradually loosens. Roze's Decision Roze is of half-demon descent, living a quiet life among humans with her sister Emilia. One day, as Roze returns from work, she sees her house being set on fire.The destruction of her home shatters her dream of being able to live peacefully with humankind, as she is reminded that harmony between demons and humans is far from becoming a reality. More of game promo with 24 minutes length (twice less for each of protagonists) and 3D rendered town. It introduced characters, and that's it. Overall Rating: 4/10 18. Tokyo Juushouden: Fuuma Gogyou Denshou 倒凶十将伝 封魔五行伝承 [T.P.O] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Shounen Action, Adventure, Supernatural Long ago, in feudal Japan, there was a fierce warrior named the Demon King. He controlled a band of demons, known as the Kyouma. Only the powers of ten warriors sealed the Demon King away and kept the Kyouma under control. But now, Lord Shindigan, a powerful Kyouma is planning to free the Demon King, and the reincarnations of the ten warriors must band together and save the earth. Ah, so it's last three episodes of Tokyo Juushouden. Mediocre in all aspects. Overall Rating: 5/10 19. Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi Spirited Away 千と千尋の神隠し [Studio Ghibli] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mythology Adventure, Award Winning, Supernatural Stubborn, spoiled, and naïve, 10-year-old Chihiro Ogino is less than pleased when she and her parents discover an abandoned amusement park on the way to their new house. Cautiously venturing inside, she realizes that there is more to this place than meets the eye, as strange things begin to happen once dusk falls. Ghostly apparitions and food that turns her parents into pigs are just the start—Chihiro has unwittingly crossed over into the spirit world. Now trapped, she must summon the courage to live and work amongst spirits, with the help of the enigmatic Haku and the cast of unique characters she meets along the way. Vivid and intriguing, Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi tells the story of Chihiro's journey through an unfamiliar world as she strives to save her parents and return home. It ran on TV many times, but I never cared to watch it from beginning to end before. Don't expect me to like it as it's a high quality movie for kids, but as an adult I start to ask questions and search for logic, and that's not welcome here. From the travel to the bogs and till the end it's just super cheesy. And it teaches nothing - everything will settle somehow on its own. It's toothless, that's why it's exported worldwide. Overall Rating: 6/10 20. Cowboy Bebop: Tengoku no Tobira Cowboy Bebop: The Movie カウボーイビバップ 天国の扉 [Bones] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adult Cast, Space Action, Sci-Fi Another day, another bounty—such is the life of the often unlucky crew of the Bebop. However, this routine is interrupted when Faye, who is chasing a fairly worthless target on Mars, witnesses an oil tanker suddenly explode, causing mass hysteria. As casualties mount due to a strange disease spreading through the smoke from the blast, a whopping three hundred million woolong price is placed on the head of the supposed perpetrator. With lives at stake and a solution to their money problems in sight, the Bebop crew springs into action. Spike, Jet, Faye, and Edward, followed closely by Ein, split up to pursue different leads across Alba City. Through their individual investigations, they discover a cover-up scheme involving a pharmaceutical company, revealing a plot that reaches much further than the ragtag team of bounty hunters could have realized. An omnipotent criminal who steals... kisses? I don't like this generic villain who miraculously survives each time and screenwriters just forget to show or tell , how. There are a lot of nonsense moves, and if writer takes viewers for idiots, I'll do the same in his regards. Overall Rating: 6/10 21. Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within ファイナルファンタジー [Square Pictures] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Sci-Fi The year is 2065, and the planet of Earth is far removed from the place that it was in the past. Deadly alien creatures known as Phantoms have appeared all over the planet, and mere contact with these entities is lethal, whether it be an instant death or a prolonged decline. In order to try and salvage what little of the human race is left, large force-field barriers have been constructed around certain cities to repel the Phantoms. Seeking a more permanent solution to this invasion are scientists Aki Ross and her mentor, Dr. Sid, whose investigations have revealed that there exists a form of spiritual, Gaia energy that can eradicate the Phantom's presence from this world. Aki and Sid aren't alone in their quest through Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within; the human council and the military squad "Deep Eyes" are ready to help. Not everyone is convinced of this plan though. Aki, Sid, Grey, and their allies have to band together against forces both alien and human if they are to have any chance at restoring peace to Earth. An enemy whose mere touch is fatal, the Phantoms appear the more dangerous enemy, but as they will come to find out, their human nemeses are also not to be trifled with. Only dub version available. For the first time in history 3D actually looks totally ok if not counting some difficult animations. Story about cool adult guys with guns confronting virus and losing allies in the process suits Resident Evil franchise much more than Final Fantasy franchise, but there are also aliens both in solid form from the past and as spirits, so let's stick with a series that allows pretty much everything. As for me, for a 105 minute movie it lacks excitement. Majority of time characters jut turn on some apparatus all over the planet and try to figure out remedy for the spirit aliens. Protagonists are forgettable and general impression is black and red as the movie main palette. It does not feel like a masterpiece. Overall Rating: 6/10 22. Arete Hime Princess Arete アリーテ姫 [Studio 4°C] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Fantasy Confined in the castle tower by her father, princess Arete spends her days watching the world outside her window. Sometimes she seeks out to watch the common people at work. The knights of the kingdom compete for the right to marry her and rule the land by competing to see who can find powerful magic objects made by a long dead race of sorcerers. Arete wants none of this. She longs to meet the common people and travel to exotic lands she has only seen in the books she keeps hidden under her bed. One day the sorcerer Boax arrives in a fantastic flying machine and offers to take Arete as his wife and transform her into a proper princess. Rather boring story with bland characters overall, but at least the ending is unexpected and inspirational. It's a fairy tale that criticizes fairy tales. But it's only common sense, can't praise a story for just using logic and common sense instead of believing in superstitious tales. Overall Rating: 5/10 23. Shenmue: The Movie シェンムー・ザ・ムービー [-] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Martial Arts, Strategy Game Action, Adventure Using scenes from the original SEGA Dreamcast game plus some extra made for the movie, Shenmue: the Movie details the events of the first game. After Ryo's father is murdered and a mysterious mirror taken, Ryo sets himself on a quest for revenge. Shenmue is just not an interesting story for me. Sega footage makes it even worse. Overall Rating: 5/10 24. Inochi no Chikyuu: Dioxin no Natsu いのちの地球 ダイオキシンの夏 [Magic Bus] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Historical Drama The anime follows a group of friends Giulia, Maria, Enrico, Lucio and Angelon during the disaster as they team up with a Japanese journalist Shiro Ando, and begin their own investigation of what's occurring (during the week long period of exposure when the ICMESA refused to notify citizens of the poison). As many animals are dying and people are getting sick. The children and Shiro discover deadly dioxin was released and inform Enrico's father, the town mayor, who evacuates all the citizens. Shiro continues investigating more and learns of the negligence of La Roche, a company who controls ICMESA. La Roche knew they were in violating of existing safety laws/protocols and destroyed evidence of their crimes. The children attend a press conference to ruin La Roche's reputation as the destroyed proof might not be enough in a court of law to punish them. Giulia's pregnant sister, who opted to not abort, gave birth to a healthy girl. The happiness is short lived, as the baby prematurely dies from dioxin poisoning. Not translated. Another historical disaster movie. If you read the synopsis, there's no real need to watch it. Overall Rating: 5/10 25. Blue Remains ブルーリメイン [Arts Magic] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Sci-Fi Post-nuclear Earth is barren, and life can't survive on the surface, so the few remaining people have lived under-water waiting for their time to be able to go to the surface. Amamiku and her faithful computer guardians, Pyron and Mayzamik, guard the seeds that contain the DNA for life and re-growth on the surface when the air is breathable again, but not everyone wants that to happen. Post-apocaliptic underwater confrontation with giant monsters is nothing revolutional. But these CGI are just godawful. Logic is also not the strong side here. Overall Rating: 4/10 -
Anime of the Year 2001-II Spring - Jungle wa Itsumo Hare nochi Guu
kivandopulus posted a blog entry in Anime of the Season
Jungle wa Itsumo Hare nochi Guu is unrivalled champion in Spring 2001. 1. Digimon Tamers デジモンテイマーズ [Toei Animation] (Finished 1/51) Tags: Isekai Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy Digimon Tamers takes place in a world where the popular Digimon franchise is all the rage, consisting of a cartoon, video games, and the trading card game. Takato Matsuda is a huge Digimon fan that's particularly obsessed with the card game, and constantly daydreams about the universe therein. One day, he finds a mysterious blue card, which he slides through a scanner toy to use in the popular battle game. His toy suddenly glows and transforms into a Digivice, and Takato's fan-made design, Guilmon, materialises in front of him. Thrilled by the prospect of having a real-life Digimon, Takato embraces his new partner, and his adventures as a Digimon Tamer begin. Takato quickly discovers that being a Digimon Tamer is not all fun and games—in reality, it's much more dangerous than the card games he's accustomed to. Wild Digimon have begun to appear all across Japan, causing rampages that result in chaos and mayhem. Armed with his Digivice, which can scan trading cards to strengthen Guilmon, Takato and his new partner set out to combat the rogue Digimon. They are tasked with protecting the world from Digimon attacks, whilst a mysterious organization determined to eliminate all Digimon and their Tamers lurks in the shadows... Guess why I missed Digimon Adventure in 1999. Because it's marked as kids show. And introductory episode of tamers did not convince me otherwise, so I'll gladly skip it entirely. Overall Rating: 5/10 2. Noir ノワール [Bee Train] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Action, Drama, Mystery On a sunny afternoon in her Paris apartment, assassin-for-hire Mireille Bouquet receives a strange email from Kirika Yuumura, a young student from Japan, inviting her to "make a pilgrimage to the past" together. Initially thinking the email is nonsense, she changes her mind when it begins playing a song that she recognizes from her youth. Upon first meeting each other in person, the two are suddenly ambushed by gun-wielding men. While Mireille is capable of fending off the assault, she discovers that Kirika is quite adept in combat situations after she takes out several gunmen on her own. Despite her proficiency at killing, Kirika laments her inability to feel remorse for her victims. In addition, Kirika apparently has no memory of how she came to acquire the skills she possesses or even of her real identity. Sensing shared history between them, Mireille agrees to team up with Kirika, and together, they embark on a journey to uncover the mysteries of their pasts. Operating under the codename "Noir," the duo's fragile alliance is tested as they begin accepting jobs, each one bringing them closer to the truth of who they really are. As for me, it's difficult to make an interesting assassin story, though not impossible as first Gunslinger girls proved. Noir does not put much effort into it, just like Golgo 13 before. Each episode is a new similar case with a baddie , and there may be some flashbacks that keep suspense and supposedly approach us to resolution. Without a good story characters are the only driving force here, and this resource is far from infinite . Overall Rating: 6/10 3. Shin Shirayuki-hime Densetsu Prétear Prétear: The New Legend of Snow White 新白雪姫伝説プリーティア [Hal Film Maker] (Finished 3/13) Tags: Mahou Shoujo, Reverse Harem, Super Power Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance Due to her father's remarriage, robust 16-year-old Himeno Awayuki moves into a large mansion with a beautiful garden—the quintessential dream house for any girl her age. However, much to Himeno's disappointment, her new stepfamily doesn't really seem to like her, as her stepmother often occupies herself with her father, her younger stepsister Mawata ignores her, and her other stepsister—the equally aged Mayune—tries to prank her at every opportunity. But Himeno doesn't have time to dwell into thoughts of hopelessness—her new life has now become involved with a group of seven magical boys known as the Leafe Knights, after they ask her to become a magical princess who can borrow their powers! Although Himeno accepts their request and becomes the Prétear, she feels doubtful in her abilities to protect the world and its Leafe, the source of energy for all life. Will Himeno be able to find happiness among her new family and also save the Earth from the enemy, the Princess of Disaster? Reverse harem is somewhat fresh, and this anime tries to pose some questions in the right direction about the cost of power, consequences and aftermath, but with rather obnoxious main heroine and lots of cliché it fails to keep interest even with short format of 13 episodes. Overall Rating: 5/10 4. Kidou Tenshi Angelic Layer Battle Doll Angelic Layer 機動天使エンジェリックレイヤ [Bones] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Shounen Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi, Sports 12-year-old Misaki Suzuhara has just gotten involved in Angelic Layer, a battling game using electronic dolls called angels. Even as a newbie, Misaki shows advanced skills as she meets new friends and enters Angelic Layer tournaments to fight the greatest Angelic Layer champions of the nation. It's real pity that old anime did not care much about story, only about stage where things would settle somehow on its own. Basically, I see Angelic Layer as an attempt to make Hajime no Ippo for girls , but keeping battles cute and remote rather than brutal. Add many interesting adversaries with a bit of background , and that's more than enough for children. Sorry, but that's not storytelling , and it can satisfy only simple needs. Overall Rating: 6/10 5. Jungle wa Itsumo Hare nochi Guu Haré+Guu ジャングルはいつもハレのちグゥ [Shin-Ei Animation] (Finished 26/26) Tags: Shounen Gag Humor, School Comedy, Slice of Life Haré was a happy boy living out his days in the jungle with his mother, but then one day Guu showed up and became a member of their household. Throughout the series he faces many hardships as he tries to keep Guu out of trouble in the jungle. It happens to hold middle ground in absurdity, so I was able to enjoy and even finish it in over a decade ago. I find it more enjoyable that Ping-Pong club and thus it deserves the highest reserved score for comedies. I especially like it that there aren't irritating characters here and that development does not get stale and there are even some slightly more serious plot episodes. A truly unique and entertaining comedy. Overall Rating: 8/10 6. Hanaukyou Maid-tai 花右京メイド隊 [Daume] (Finished 3/12) Tags: Shounen Harem Comedy, Romance, Ecchi After losing his mother, 14-year-old Taro journeys to Tokyo to live with his grandfather. But he gets the biggest surprise when he discovers that his grandfather's home is a huge mansion with hundreds of beautiful maids ready to serve him. Making matters worse (at least for Taro, but not for our viewing) is that not only does he inherit the Hanaukyo mansion, he gets the services of all of the maids 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Boring ecchi premise, boring development. Haven't seen such unfunny comedy in a while. Overall Rating: 5/10 7. Galaxy Angel ギャラクシーエンジェル [Madhouse] (Finished 3/24) Tags: Comedy, Sci-Fi The Angel Brigade, an elite branch of the Transbaal Empire military, are assigned to search for The Lost Technology, mysterious items from the past that hold unknown powers. Led by the soon to retire Colonel Volcott O' Huey, the Angel Brigade travel to different planets using their specially designed Emblem Frame ships to search for Lost Technology. Unfortunately, they usually mess up somehow and end up getting into all kinds of weird and troublesome situations. Never fancied the game. So it's angel brigade that embarks on most pathetic and trifle missions possible. Humor is rather average too... Overall Rating: 5/10 8. The SoulTaker: Tamashii-gari SoulTaker The SoulTaker~魂狩~ [Tatsunoko Production] (Finished 3/13) Tags: Mythology Horror, Supernatural Kyousuke Date comes home one night and finds his mother dying in a pool of her own blood. In her final moments, she stabs him in the chest. After a swift recovery, Kyousuke searches for answers regarding his mother's motives, but finds more than he bargained for when he is attacked by two rival organizations: the Hospital and the Kirihara Group. Kyousuke is surprised to discover that he has a twin sister named Runa, and both groups try to coerce information out of him about her despite his ignorance to her existence. As their assault continues, Kyousuke soon makes another discovery—he has the ability to transform into a terrifying mutant called SoulTaker. With these newfound powers, Kyousuke resolves to crush both organizations, uncover the truth behind his mother's actions, and protect Runa. So you need to get through all the avant garde horrible graphics and torn directorship just to receive an average action story as a result. Not cool. Not cool at all. Overall Rating: 4/10 9. Sister Princess シスター・プリンセス [Zexcs] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Harem Comedy, Drama, Romance Wataru Minakami is a top student who failed his high school entrance exam because of a computer glitch. He later discovered that he was accepted to Stargazer Hill Academy, which is located at a mysterious place called Promised Island. At the request of his father, Wataru is whisked away to the island, and before he can settle in, a dozen of cute and charming girls start to flock him and claim to be his younger sisters. As Wataru gets closer to his newfound siblings, a deeper mystery as to why they were sent to the island comes to play. Wow, never thought it'd be possible to provide nothing at all except many cute sisters and rest on laurels. Thus it has only one trick to captivate viewer - by character personalities. And if it misses, there's nothing to see here. Overall Rating: 5/10 10. Mahou Senshi Louie Rune Soldier 魔法戦士リウイ [J.C.Staff] (Finished 24/24) Tags: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy Louie, a brawny student at the mage's guild, is reluctantly accepted by three girls (Merrill-thief, Genie-fighter, and Melissa-priestess) as a companion for their adventuring party. As the foursome explore ruins, battle dark creatures, and make new friends, they also uncover a sinister plot within the kingdom. I'm a sucker for adventurer parties. Strangely enough, Rune Soldier feels surprisingly modern as such anime with upgraded visuals could easily show up today. I'm very sad to admit that after first several dungeons there are no more dungeons and it becomes more and more of a lousy comedy, and no real story shows up. I really wanted to call it a masterpiece, but not with this resolution and not with relatively big format of 24 episodes. Overall Rating: 6/10 11. Super GALS! Kotobuki Ran Super GALS! 超GALS! 寿蘭 [Pierrot] (Finished 3/52) Tags: Shoujo Comedy, Slice of Life Sporting designer clothes, make-up, and nails, Ran Kotobuki is the very picture of a trendy, young Shibuya girl, but don't let that fool you. This girl comes from a family of cops, and she’s ready to lay you out flat if you even think about causing trouble in her town! At least, she will... when she’s not distracted with karaoke, shopping, and dodging her homework. Join Ran and her friends as they defend the streets of Shibuya and attempt to shop their way into the history books as the most famous Gals ever! What... why... I mean, it's a rather narrow niche even inside Shoujo. I refuse to acknowledge this "culture" in general and this anime in particular as first three episodes have not provided anything resembling believable drama or funny humor let alone real story. Overall Rating: 5/10 12. Comic Party こみっくパーティー [OLM] (Finished 13/13) Tags: Otaku Culture Comedy, Drama Destiny or delusion? It's a hilarious rollercoaster of laughter and confusion when Taishi, the ultimate otaku, drags his friend Kazuki into the swirling world of ambition, hatred, and love—the world of fan comics! Poor clueless Kazuki must sink or swim when he's dumped straight into the middle of a massive comic convention. Lost amidst hoards of buyers, sellers, and cosplayers, Kazuki is about to be baptized by fire, all in order to lead him toward his true calling: to take over the world through fan comics! Meanwhile, Kazuki's childhood friend Mizuki isn't about to let him be dragged from his normal life without a fight! But will she be able to stop the addictive draw of the new world that lies before Kazuki? Little by little, Kazuki is slipping down the path towards destiny—and Taishi is shoving him every step of the way! I usually like anime about production, but this is just the barebones of doujinshi and cosplay. And the whole approach is rather discouraging as protagonist has to spend lots of time with sleep deprivation and money on utensils and printing and registry fee and he's already some 10k yen in the red. And since it's rather difficult to sell 20 copies of doujinshi, he needs to work at part-time job to get money for new participation, and the cycle of misery goes on and on. I remember game being a sim mostly about getting to the green balance, but such mechanistic approach overshadows the actual art and culture. Characters are mostly nice, but show up occasionally without much screen time. Overall Rating: 6/10 13. Geneshaft ジーンシャフト [Satelight] (Finished 13/13) Tags: Mecha, Space Adventure, Sci-Fi In the 21st century mankind was on the brink of destruction. Through genetic engineering however they eradicated such feelings as love and the desire for power. Since women are naturally less agressive than men, women to man ratio was set to 9:1. Now people are engineered to have skills that others view as being necessary. There is a giant ring that now orbits the earth, that sits there and relays information back to an alien race that sent it. Now a team of five women will try to eradicate the alien threat. Pace is so slow and story so vague that I could not make up my mind on it and had to watch in full. The result is that is that it's mostly about inner squabbles with a bit of everything else on the side including mecha and comedy. It's all a huge mess with humanity survival at stake. I'm pretty sure that Gal Force was the main inspiration for this anime, but I liked every single part of Gal Force more, at the very least those were short and specific, not chasing some weird spirits across lifeless planets. Overall Rating: 5/10 14. Project ARMS プロジェクトアームズ [TMS Entertainment] (Finished 8/26) Tags: Shounen Martial Arts, Super Power Action A boy gets involved in an accident when in kindergarten, horribly damaging his arm, but the doctors somehow manage to save it. Now, several years later, his arm seems to be becoming the focus of strange events as it turns out to be more than a normal arm. Meanwhile, a secret organization is out to get hold of him and the power he possess. A fine serious action about transforming arms with own conscience. Nice to see a team of protagonists and some kind of teamplay. But is it interesting? As a story not really as it's just running away from organization and getting attacked. But if you liked Guyver, you'll probably like this one as action is satisfactory and characters aren't irritating. Overall Rating: 6/10 15. Figure 17: Tsubasa & Hikaru フィギュア17 つばさ&ヒカル [OLM] (Finished 4/13) Tags: Sci-Fi, Slice of Life Tsubasa Shiina is a 10-year-old girl who recently moved to Hokkaido to live with her father. In school, she is very quiet and unsociable with her classmates. Then one night, she witnesses a UFO crash in the forest near her home. She rushes to the scene and finds the pilot, codenamed "D.D.", in a barely stable condition. Also in the scene is a Maguar, a hideous alien that hatched aboard D.D.'s ship. As the Maguar is close to taking Tsubasa's life, an alien lifeform fuses with her body to form the Riberus battle armor Figure 17, which shortly destroys the alien threat. The life form takes the name Hikaru and turns into an identical twin of Tsubasa. As time passes, Tsubasa becomes more open to everyone around her, thanks to her new twin sister Hikaru. However, with Maguar eggs scattered all over Hokkaido, their ability to form Figure 17 is needed to eliminate all hatched Maguars until backup from D.D.'s home planet arrives on Earth. Are you interested in school and sports SOL of 10 year old girls? That's the core question for this show, because it takes the most time and because aliens sub-plot is rather sour and short. I'm probably too old to enjoy a friendship and socialization story about four-graders. With episodes twice longer than usual all that naïve childish SOL inevitably bores. Overall Rating: 6/10 16. Star Ocean EX スターオーシャンEX [Studio Deen] (Finished 26/26) Tags: Shounen Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi Claude C. Kenni, a crewmember on the spaceship Calnus and son of the commander of the ship, is transported to Expel, a backwards planet with swords and magic. He teams up with Rena Lanford, who thinks he is the legendary Warrior of Light, and other characters to investigate the Sorcery Globe, a meteorite that has been causing problems all over the world. RPG adaptation, and again in 26 episodes, so pacing is not going to be fast. In 6th episode full party gathers and only by 23rd episode they come to Sorcery Globe that they go to from first episode. Feels a lot like dragon quest anime with older characters and some sci-fi. As usual for RPG adaptations, not bad, but overextended and often simplified . Overall Rating: 6/10 17. Koutetsu Tenshi Kurumi 2 Steel Angel Kurumi 2 鋼鉄天使くるみ2式 [OLM] (Finished 1/12) Tags: Shounen Mecha Comedy, Girls Love, Romance, Sci-Fi Taking place 75 years after the first series, Steel Angel Kurumi 2 brings the Steel Angels in a new mis-adventure. High school student and aspiring cellist Nako Kagura accidentally discovers and kisses Kurumi Mk. II at her home, thus making her Kurumi's master. But things go awry as Nako's best friend Uruka gets jealous and tries anything - including her father's army of top-secret mecha - to destroy Kurumi and win back Nako. Things get more out of control when Saki Mk. II is awakened by Uruka, and Karinka Mk. II joins in to steal Nako away from Kurumi. It's not the first season, so should be clear. Overall Rating: 5/10 18. Zone of the Enders: Dolores, I Zone of the Enders: Dolores [Sunrise] (Finished 5/26) Tags: Mecha, Military, Space Action, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi 49-year-old James Lynx was an officer (LEV pilot) in the United Nations global army, one day he received notification that his wife—a Martian scientist—was killed during a lab experiment. Hateful and resentful for letting her go, his children blamed him and cast him aside, depressed and in despair, James quit the military and took up a job as a transporter between Earth and Mars, he had some slight hope of his wife still being alive and to find her he wanted to be out there. After a few years, he seemed to have given up all hope and turned to drinking, until one day he receives an orbital frame by the name of "Dolores," sent by his dead wife. Once again, he dares to hope and sets off on a wild and wacky adventure to find the truth and to reunite his family. Game adaptation, and with prequel movie launched before I expected more. I did not see much story. It is probably pushed to the end, but why extend to 26 episodes at all then. Lots of filler scenes and torn directorship. It's rare to see mecha with humor, but humor here is also not satisfactory. Overall Rating: 6/10 19. Taiho Shichau zo: Second Season You're Under Arrest: Fast & Furious 逮捕しちゃうぞ SECOND SEASON [Studio Deen] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Shounen Adult Cast, Detective, Workplace Action, Comedy AA! Megami Sama creator, Kosuke Fujishima, is back with the second season of Taiho Schihauzo (You're Under Arrest). Same characters, two policewomen, the gentle Miyuki and the wild Natsumi teamed up together in Bokuto police station`s traffic division. Other characters including Kenichi, the motorcycle cop who has a feeling for Miyuki; Yoriko with her gossip and Aoi, a transvestite. They all ready to take on harmless criminals and costumed weirdos... You think you can have a better police station? I had a small hope that direction of previous movie rather than series would be taken now. But of course it's again just traffic police on trivial cases and with goofy humor. Overall Rating: 6/10 20. Shin Chou Kyou Ryo: Condor Hero Legend of the Condor Hero 神鵰侠侶 コンドルヒーロー [Nippon Animation] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Historical Adventure, Drama, Romance Youka is a young 13-year-old boy. One day, his Uncle, Kakusei, has him follow in his steps of martial arts and has him study the art of Zenshinkyou. After being mistreated, Youka runs away Zenshinkyou. He stumbles on a Forbidden Tomb where he finds a beautiful young woman, by the name of Shouryuujo. After a short time, Youka is eventually accepted by Shouryuujo to study the techniques of the Koboha under her, and thus begins their adventure through martial arts and love. There's only Chinese and English dub versions available, that's already alerting and disappointing. Contents is indeed travelling across ancient China and martial arts with some romance. It looks very random, and I'm definitely not going to watch 78 episodes of three paired seasons to see where it all is going if I don't enjoy the flow in the least . Overall Rating: 5/10 21. Gakuen Senki Muryou Shingu: Secret of the Stellar Wars 学園戦記ムリョウ [Madhouse] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Mecha, Space Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Supernatural The world is about to be turned upside down for Hajime Murata. First, a strange alien ship appears over Tokyo, and then a mysterious new transfer student arrives at his school wearing an ancient school uniform. His name is Muryou, and with his arrival, everything begins to change. Students suddenly begin to display amazing psychic powers, a giant white guardian keeps appearing in the skies over the city to fight off gigantic alien creatures, and men with threatening weapons are haunting the shadows of the school grounds. With all these strange events taking place around him, Hajime is determined to figure out the truth about a world he thought he already knew. This is his story: a tale of aliens and humans, starships and spies, and friends who are often more than they appear. Join Hajime as he uncovers the mystery of Shingu: Secret of the Stellar Wars! Decent school SOL. Decent action. It's slow pace, relaxing and easy to watch. Even psychic powers and mecha feel surprisingly fine here. Is it interesting? Probably, but not for me since it's just another stage with episodic attacks and unveiling the mystery of psychic users through characters blah-blah-blah. Basically, I just prefer modern anime where story is in the center and events are so concentrated and fast-paced that characters develop through interesting events rather than through just talks. There's no excitement here for me. I ask myself why I should care and there's no good answer I can find . Overall Rating: 6/10 22. Chance Triangle Session Chance Pop Session チャンス トライアングルセッション [Madhouse] (Finished 3/13) Tags: Idols (Female), Music Drama, Slice of Life This anime is based on a 1999 radio drama about three very different girls: Akari, Yuki and Nozomi; going to see the concert of top pop idol Reika and by going to see this concert their lives are greatly influenced by it. Akari was raised in a very religious background, she is bright and cheerful and a big Reika fan. Yuki is an independent girl who ran away from her home in Hakodate. She is working in the concert hall of Reika's performance. Nozomi is the daughter from a wealthy family in Kobe. She's got one of the VIP seats at the concert. The three girls are so inspired by Reika's performance, that they all enroll in the Akiba music school and endeavor to become pop idols themselves. It's the barebones of pop idol training show - rather simple and predictable. From the show about entertainment I don't even expect entertainment, but please make sure to provide something memorable. And there's nothing I can remember it by. Overall Rating: 5/10 23. Dr. Rin ni Kiitemite! Dr.リンにきいてみて! [Studio Comet] (Finished 3/51) Tags: Shoujo School Comedy, Fantasy, Romance Kanzaki Meirin, a junior high school student, posseses fusui power which can drive away evil spirits away whenever they appeared. She is in fact, the fortune teller Dr. Rin. She is in love with her best friend, soccer club member, Yuuki Asuka. However, Yuuki does not like fortune-telling and superstitious things. Mahou shoujo... without actual magic and transformation scene... without transformation. It's rather simple and episodic. Airing such concept for a whole year takes a lot of confidence. It's easygoing and occasionally funny ... and has a funny pet monkey, but that's not enough, as for me. Overall Rating: 5/10 24. Cosmic Baton Girl Comet-san☆ Cosmic Baton Girl コメットさん☆ Cosmic Baton Girl コメットさん☆ [Nippon Animation] (Finished 3/43) Tags: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi Comet (12 years old in human years) is the princess of the Harmonica Star country and was to meet the prince of the Tambourine Star country at a ball where he'd pick a bride. But he isn't there and so Comet is sent to Earth to find him. He'll be known by the starlight in his eyes. She finds the Earth and she loves the people she meets there. Meanwhile, Princess Meteor of the Castanet Star country also arrives on Earth in search of the prince. Comet's companion is a little puppy with a star at the end of his tail named Rubba Ball. Of course, Comet was not the first to visit the Earth and love it, another before her did as well and married. Her pet (a white cat with bunny ears and a tiny heart on her tail named Bunny) continued life as a kind of fairy in the forest. Comet's power is drawn from the stars of her home and is channeled through her baton; she also wears a special pendant from where Rubba Ball immerges, and with which she can detect and find the prince. Concept instantly reminded me the first mahou shoujo from 1960s like Sally the Witch, so it was cool to find out that Comet-chan origins lie in the 1960s as well. It's a funny energetic show for children, but it's childish and episodic - total miss for me. Overall Rating: 6/10 25. Parappa the Rapper パラッパラッパー [J.C.Staff, Production I.G] (Finished 1/30) Tags: Comedy, Fantasy Parappa is just your ordinary talking dog; he enjoys spending time with his friends, listening to music, and going on adventures. Together with his friends, Parappa gets into many strange situations, all the while learning to navigate through life, get along with his friends, and pine for the girl of his dreams, Sunny Funny. Based on an equally quirky rhythm game, Parappa the Rapper boasts a unique flat style, blasts of color, and a string of strange but charming characters. Among Parappa’s friends are an anthropomorphized blue cat, lamb, and even a flower. Parappa's adventures range from the ordinary to the bizarre. He crosses paths with mischievous baddies, helps resolve questions of friendship and love, and even goes on trips through time itself. Nothing can change Parappa's positive outlook on life. A senseless kid game turned into a senseless anime. It hurts. Overall Rating: 5/10 26. Offside (TV) オフサイド [Ashi Productions] (Finished 1/39) Tags: Team Sports Action, Drama, Sports Goro Kumagaya is an established, tall middle-school goalkeeper who wanted to enter Yokonan high-school that is considered to be among the elites in terms of its football club, only to fail and end up in the lowly-ranked school opposite to Yokonan because of an accident. However, he met Shingo, Hideki and Kazuhito Oda who are all skillful footballers there and together in the Kawasaki High School football club, they challenge Yokonan and any other schools that they have to face in order to improve and become the champions. Any setbacks that they face would instead be an opportunity for a better improvement; one of which was the discovery of Goro's natural talent as an ace striker. Not translated into English even though showed in many other languages. All football anime look the same to me, apart of small details. Goalkeeper viewpoint is unexpected, but now it's great goalkeeper and totally lousy team who only scores with faraway goalkeeper throws. And let's leave it at that for spokon fans. Overall Rating: 5/10 27. Haja Kyosei G Dangaiou 破邪巨星Gダンガイオ [AIC] (Finished 1/13) Tags: Mecha Action, Sci-Fi A mysterious explosion on Futagami Island begins a new chapter in the Dangaioh mythos! Led by the evil Professor Katou, a band of warriors calling themselves the "Tartarus Knights" have begun their campaign to lay waste to the world by way of a small research station on Futagami Island. Katou's victory seems almost certain until he encounters an advanced fortress guarding the island. From it, a group of three humanoid robots are launched—Dangaioh! I rated prequel from 1980s as 3/10 , and since psychics seem to be gone it deserves a promotion. Overall Rating: 4/10 28. Dennou Boukenki Webdiver Brain Adventure Record Webdiver 電脳冒険記ウェブダイバー [Radix] (Finished 3/52) Tags: Shounen Mecha Adventure, Sci-Fi Set in the year 2100 where the world is tied together by a computer network. The children of the world become Web Divers, adapting their consciousnesses into data, and love to play together in the cyber park called Magical Gate. However, a mysterious computer virus appears beginning to destroy Magical Gate from the inside out. In cyberspace, programs called Web Knights have been created to protect the children. But, the computer virus has turned all the Web Knights against the children. The only Web Knight to escape the "brainwashing" is Gladion. Gladion seeks the help of Kaito Yuki, a Web Diver who is in the fourth grade. Another simple and repetitive mecha that does not try to have big plot, so need to like the flow itself. Overall Rating: 5/10 29. Run=Dim RUN=DIM (ランディム) [Idea Factory] (Finished 2/13) Tags: Mecha Action, Sci-Fi In the year 2050 A.D, approximately 1/10th of Japan is now under water due to the global warming effect. The city of Tokyo was no exception. The economy of Japan is crippled from this disaster and the government is willing for anything to help revive the country. As a result, the Japanese government forms "JESAS", a military foundation that has evil intentions of controlling Japan's future. JESAS handles the dumping of nuclear wastes into outer space. To insure their protection from other countries, JESAS has developed "R.B." Robotic Weaponry, which is controlled by pilots with "A.I. (Accurate Intuition)". On the opposite side of the law is the "Green Frontier", a united protection agency that was formed by countries sharing the same beliefs, to save the Earth. Featuring JESAS pilots Kanna and Kazuto and Green Frontier's Doota Kang and Mira Yu, these four youngsters will decide the fate of the Earth through love, friendship and the passion for their duty. It's all ugly early CGI with horrible actions animation. Basically, it tries to play in Gundam as there are two big factions with different reasoning who use giant mecha to fight. Guess need to really like politics here or be mecha enthusiast to go on. Overall Rating: 4/10 30. Genei Toushi Bastof Lemon BASToF Syndrome 幻影闘士バストフレモン [Dongwoo A&E] (Finished 2/26) Tags: Mecha Adventure, Sci-Fi The story takes place in the year 2097 and in the city of Xenon. An ultimate cyber game, where players fight as bio-mechanical cyber robots, has been developed. However, there's something wrong. The game's cyberspace and the real world are linked. The damage that occurs in the game's cyberspace creates destruction in the city of Xenon. This all started when players heard a painful scream, saw a ghostly face, and a powerful scent of lemon overcame them. To solve this mystery, the creator of the game assembles a "Dream Team," which is the top three gamers in all of Xenon. The team is composed of rebellious and arrogant teens, who, have to overcome their attitudes and fears to find the answers, answers to the mystery that are much bigger than just the game. It's in Korean, so of course it's about virtual reality or games, and now also mecha... And basically Korean anime is still too simple and imitational, it just can't let fantasy fly or produce something remotely serious yet. Overall Rating: 5/10 31. Pachislo Kizoku Gin パチスロ貴族 銀 [Fuji TV] (Finished 3/23) Tags: High Stakes Game, Strategy Game Action Ginya Otonashi is a college dropout who works part-time for a pachislot publishing company while aspiring to become a novelist. One day, Ginya comes across a secret organization and gets pulled into a competition to become #1 in "Pachi Battle," which is all a part of the Slotseum, a pachislot competition. Anime about... slot machines... wow. There are all kinds of competitions and power groups in the underground casino. Basically, it's better than expected due to fine execution and some attention to characters, but concept is too stupid for something decent. Overall Rating: 5/10 32. Go! Go! Itsutsugo Land ゴーゴー五つ子ら・ん・ど [Eiken] (Finished 1/50) Tags: School The series is about five quintuplets, Kabuto, Hinoki, Arashi, Kinoko and Kodama Morino, who have all kinds of adventures together. Each has their own talent and personality. Not translated. Characters have only started elementary school and behave like kindergarten kids and have corresponding "adventures". Comedy for kids. Overall Rating: 5/10 33. Gyouten Ningen Batsealer Captain Fatz and the Seamorphs 仰天人間バトシーラー [Group TAC] (Finished 1/52) Tags: Action, Adventure, Fantasy With the ability to transcend time, Captain Fatz and comrades embarked on a journey of battle and adventure to gather the eight scattered stone pieces (namely Light, Darkness, Fire, Water, Air, Earth, Wood & Metal) which was granulated by the lord of destruction, in order to restore the chaotic world back to peace. Not translated. And another kids anime not marked properly. Feels a lot like One Piece imitation. Overall Rating: 5/10 34. Ajimu: Kaigan Monogatari あじむ ~海岸物語~ [Actas] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Music, School Comedy, Drama, Romance Seventeen year old Nakaido Hirosuke is just your average high school student. One morning as he arrives at the train station on his way to school, he catches sight of a beautiful girl, Ajimu Yasuna, and immediately falls for her. The two of them get to know each other and become friends, but he can't confess his feelings and she is unsure of hers. As events and other people present obstacles for the potential couple to clear, their relationship begins to develop and their feelings become clear. A very awkward romance, both in wording and situations. Generic and predictable to the point of nausea . Overall Rating: 5/10 35. R.O.D: Read or Die R.O.D - Read or Die R.O.D リード・オア・ダイ [Studio Deen] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Adult Cast, Historical Action, Adventure, Mystery, Sci-Fi Yomiko Readman is a lovable, near-sighted bibliomaniac working as a substitute teacher at a Japanese high school. Her real identity, however, is that of a secret agent for the British Library Special Operations Division. Her codename: "The Paper." The moniker denotes her supernatural ability to freely manipulate paper into any object she can imagine, including tools and weapons in her fight against the powerful and self-serving IJIN (Great Historical Figure) Army! Along with her partner, the enigmatic "Ms. Deep," Yomiko travels across the world in attempt to solve the mystery behind the reincarnation of historical figures and their attempt to control the world. In a mess of a stage like this books are just a pretext to introduce lots of silly super-agent action with books transforming into weapons. But there are a lot of even more absurd elements, and it's the kind of full absurdity that I can't stand. Overall Rating: 5/10 36. Alien 9 エイリアン9 [J.C.Staff] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Psychological, School Horror, Sci-Fi Soon after entering middle school, Yuri Otani is coerced into joining the "Alien Party," a single-minded group with one goal: capture any alien attempting to enter school grounds. Terrified of aliens her entire life, Otani is anything but thrilled, and to make matters worse, her kit includes a "Borg"—an alien-like creature tasked with ensuring her safety. Despite this, she finds solace in her two partners: the independent and reliable Kumi Kawamura, and the smart and energetic Kasumi Tomine. As the Alien Party works to fend off extraterrestrial threats, will their roller blades and lacrosse sticks be enough to overcome the dire challenges ahead, or will they succumb to fear and suffer the grim consequences of defeat? Well, it's exactly the shoujo with a twist that I did not expect before Madoka. But Alien 9 deliberately tries to bluntly shock and things get really ugly occasionally. The problem is that it does not give much in return and it's even not cute. It's fresh and solid and has enough complexity with interesting thoughts, but it gives a sour aftertaste and no memorable impressions, so I would not want to highlight it. Overall Rating: 6/10 37. Malice@Doll Malice@doll マリスドール [Soeishinsha] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Psychological Horror, Sci-Fi Malice, a sex robot living in an abandoned human city, is assaulted and violated by a mysterious creature. Upon awakening, Malice finds out that she has become human and can pass on her humanity to her fellow machines. However, her gift soon becomes a curse when her fellow robots rage out of control after being exposed to the pleasures of life. First CGI movie that I can promote from not recommended to average as it's not repulsive, just uninteresting, short, poorly done and directed, although with claims of a serious AI self-consciousness work. Basically, it tells that author did Lain Experiments before as it's similar mess. Overall Rating: 5/10 38. Medaka no Gakkou めだかの学校 [Office AO] (Finished 0/5) Tags: Comedy Medaka is a high school student. She wants to be a doctor, and she’s just transferred to Tanaka Private School on the recommendation of her parents. But she finds that his school looks a bit strange. For example, Pochi is such a smart student who always gets full marks, but he is a dog. And there are other classmates: Nekoko, a cat, who thinks of Pochi as a rival, Misa, a five-years-old girl. Of course, her home room teacher, Mr. Tanaka, is not normal. His face is ... A fish?! Not found. Overall Rating: 0/10 39. Metropolis メトロポリス [Madhouse] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Detective Adventure, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi In the great city of Metropolis, severe community structures and prejudice dominate a world where humans and robots live together. Unrest and violence increase with each new day. Searching for the scientist Dr. Laughton, suspected to violate human rights by trading organs, the Japanese detective Shunsaku Ban and his nephew Kenichi arrive at Metropolis. In the scientist's laboratory, Kenichi discovers a girl without any memory of her past life. He decides to help her, so they run away together. His uncle follows him and penetrates the dark secrets of the city to find Duke Red, the man ruling from the shadows. Meanwhile, Kenichi desperately tries to protect the mysterious girl from the people hunting her. However, Duke Red and his adoptive son have their own deep reasons for chasing the girl. These reasons are connected to her true identity and the struggle for the domination of Metropolis... It's a beautiful action adventure in a a dystopian city, but at the same time story develops just through chaotic events and lacks substance. It's rather decent than average, and I remember I enjoyed it a bit when watched for the first time, now circumstances have changed. Overall Rating: 6/10 40. Crayon Shin-chan Movie 09: Arashi wo Yobu Mouretsu! Otona Teikoku no Gyakushuu 映画 クレヨンしんちゃん 嵐を呼ぶモーレツ!オトナ帝国の逆襲 [Shin-Ei Animation] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Comedy, Sci-Fi Adult people all over Japan had been captivated by 20th Century Expo, theme parks that reenacted good old days of the 1970s (the last days of Japan's high economic growth). One day the adults disappeared into the theme parks, leaving their children abandoned. That was a plot by "Yesterday Once More," an organization who despises the 21st century and tries to bring Japan back to the 20th century with the dreams and hopes. Shinnosuke and his parents, Hiroshi and Misae, fight against the plot of "Yesterday Once More" in order to live together with family in the 21st century. Guess can call it being on the better end of the movies. Big tilt into parodies at beginning feels nice. Infantile middle is fun. Another crazy organization confrontation is better than usual. Still can't say I'm impressed enough. Overall Rating: 6/10 -
Calm before the storm of titles in spring. No masterpieces again, my favor goes to Animation Seisaku Shinkou Kuromi-chan 1. Grappler Baki (TV) グラップラー刃牙 [Group TAC] (Finished 3/24) Tags: Shounen Combat Sports, Gore, Martial Arts Action, Sports Ever since he was born, Baki Hanma has always known nothing but fighting—strengthening every single muscle and learning different techniques from various martial arts under the supervision of his mother, Emi Akezawa. He trains in order to prepare himself to face and eventually surpass his own father, Yuujirou Hanma, a man feared by the masses as the "Ogre" and deemed the strongest being in the world. However, when Baki realizes his mother's techniques are no longer enough, he sets out to become stronger in his own way. Seeking out powerful opponents and forming unbreakable bonds with them, he continues to grow both body and his soul, as the clock continues to tick closer toward the inevitable showdown against his father... This series is well done and fulfils niche of exotic boxer - as Ashita no Joe was - just fine. It still loses to Hajime no Ippo which I don't consider masterpiece as well. Overall Rating: 6/10 2. Chikyuu Shoujo Arjuna 地球少女アルジュナ [Satelight] (Finished 3/13) Tags: Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi Juna Ariyoshi is an ordinary Japanese schoolgirl, who possesses a childlike curiosity and a strong admiration toward nature. One day, while on a trip with her boyfriend, Tokio Oshima, Juna dies from a motorcycle accident. However, she is given a chance to live by an individual named Chris Hawken. He offers her powers that make her the avatar of time; in exchange, she must fight to protect the Earth from evil forces called raaja, which are born out of the toxic pollution human beings have caused. She soon discovers that this is no easy task. While trying to master her newfound powers, she must also seek answers to deep questions about the ways science and technology have taken away humans' primal and instinctive connections with nature. With the help of Chris, his assistant Cindy Klein, and a powerful international organization named SEED, it is up to Juna to overcome her fears and find a way to stop the raaja from destroying everyone and everything she cares for. It tries to play into ecology and transform heroine from mahou shoujo into something more advanced, but the gist remains the same, and it remains a beautiful bore with CGI. Overall Rating: 5/10 3. Zoids Shinseiki/Zero Zoids: New Century ゾイド新世紀/ゼロ [Xebec] (Finished 1/26) Tags: Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi, Sports Zoids—powerful animal-shaped combat mechs—are no longer used in warfare, but in organized sporting competitions. The Blitz Team, a group of pilots struggling to carve out a niche for themselves in the Zoid battling leagues, experience a stroke of luck when Bit Cloud, a vagrant junk dealer, wanders into their midst and proves himself capable of piloting the temperamental Liger Zero, a Zoid that refuses to let anyone else into its cockpit. Led by Bit and the Liger, the Blitz Team steadily make their way to the top—but along the way they attract the unwelcome attention of the Backdraft Group, an organization of Zoid pilots that operates outside the laws set down by the Zoid Battle Commission. The Backdraft want powerful Zoids to add to their ranks, and they have their eye on the Liger Zero... With only dub available can't tolerate it for long. Still bad. Overall Rating: 5/10 4. Motto! Ojamajo Doremi も〜っと!おジャ魔女どれみ [Toei Animation] (Finished 1/50) Tags: Shoujo Comedy, Fantasy After losing their magical abilities, the girls once again become witches. However, now they have to go through tests from the Witches of the Witch World. They also meet a new member from New York, Momoko. Third season already, so useless to say anything. Overall Rating: 5/10 5. Tales of Eternia The Animation Tales of Eternia テイルズ オブ エターニア THE ANIMATION [Xebec] (Finished 3/13) Tags: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Romance In order to prevent the catastrophe called the Grand Fall, Rid Hershel and his companions Farah, Keel and Meredy have obtained the three Greater Spirits ("Craymels" in the game version) of Inferia. En route to Mount Farlos, Rid is kidnapped by the bounty hunter Marone Blucarno, and the party is compelled to head to Belcarnu, an archipelago far from the major cities of Inferia. A series of adventures forces them to remain on the islands, where a more immediate threat to Inferia sleeps. It's a filler side-story to feed on game's fame. Since it does not have much in the story department, it tries to imbue more depth into personalities... and it's done in the familiar way by slapstick comedy and fanservice. Overall Rating: 5/10 6. Salaryman Kintarou サラリーマン金太郎 [JCF] (Finished 3/20) Tags: Seinen Martial Arts Comedy, Drama The story follows Kintaro, former leader of a widely feared and respected biker gang, who decides that its time to "straighten out" and become a "salaryman" since his wife died and he has to take care of his young son. GTO is liked, because characters behave in a realistic way . Kintarou problem is that it is unrealistic in both personalities and behavior. How believable is that Kintarou job is sharpening pencils to earn his salary? R u freaking serious. All women love him... because he was a hooligan in a band... sure... Too many issues like that make the whole concept just playground for showing off. Overall Rating: 6/10 7. Hakaima Sadamitsu Sadamitsu the Destroyer 破壊魔定光 [Studio Deen] (Finished 3/10) Tags: Seinen Mecha, School Action, Sci-Fi Sadamitsu, a high-school delinguents turned to a masked-hero, while not dealing with his rocky relationship with the strong female protagonist, he puts on a motorcycle-helmet-like mask and becomes a semi-robotic superhero who fights. He is assisted by other possibly- mechanical creatures in order to save the earth from the invasion of 20,000,000 escaped alien convicts. A generic action, something like toned down Guyver with comedy and even romance. Overall Rating: 5/10 8. Chikyuu Bouei Kazoku The Daichis: Earth's Defense Family 地球防衛家族 [Group TAC] (Finished 3/13) Tags: Action, Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi The Daichis are a family in danger of tearing itself apart. Dissatisfied and money obsessed mom Seiko has served wimpy and otaku dad Mamoru with divorce papers. Daughter Nozomi who has always been saddled with all the housework, feels pained that everyone is using her. The youngest albeit most foul mouthed, Dai is forced to watch all this as everything is going to pieces. However when the Galaxy Federation recruits the Daichis to combat alien threats to the wellbeing of the Earth, it will be a chance for the family to save the world and maybe themselves. Don't remember a single interesting media piece about superhero family. As a parody, it tries to be everything and wants to show as much action as possible. Just noisy senseless mess. Overall Rating: 5/10 9. Nekojiru-sou Cat Soup [J.C.Staff] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Anthropomorphic, Psychological Avant Garde, Award Winning, Comedy The main character, a cat named Nyatto, embarks upon a journey to save his sister's soul, which was ripped in two when Nyatto tried to save her from Death. She trails after him, brain-dead. They encounter many brilliant, mind-bending situations, beginning with a disturbing magic show. I strongly believe that piece of media without words can't be good. This one is both wordless and absurd. The end. Overall Rating: 5/10 10. Puni Puni☆Poemii Puni Puni Poemy ぷにぷに☆ぽえみぃ [J.C.Staff] (Finished 1/2) Tags: Gag Humor, Mahou Shoujo Comedy, Sci-Fi Poemi Watanabe (a.k.a. Kobayashi) is a 10-year-old girl with aspirations of being a famous voice actress. Unfortunately, her school grades are bad and her voice acting is even worse. But when a mysterious alien kills her parents and wreaks havoc all over Tokyo, Poemi grabs a talking fish, skins it into a wand and becomes the magical girl Puni Puni Poemi to save the day. I can't even watch second episode. Excel saga humor is that bad. Overall Rating: 5/10 11. Animation Seisaku Shinkou Kuromi-chan Animation Runner Kuromi アニメーション制作進行くろみちゃん [Yumeta Company] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Otaku Culture, Parody Comedy, Drama After being inspired by the fictional anime, "Luis Monde III", Mikiko "Kuromi" Oguro goes to animation school and finally lands the job of her dreams at Studio Petit. Upon arriving, she meets the head of production. Unfortunately for her, he dies soon after meeting her and passes his position unto her. Now that she's head of production of "Time Journeys", it's up to her to rally up the lazy animator's and finish the second episode in a week. I generally enjoy anime about production, but... under 40 minutes? I know I called Battle Angel Alita 10/10 with just 55 minutes length, but it had lots of intense storytelling over that time. Can't make exceptions for comedy SOL though. Overall Rating: 6/10 12. Zone of the Enders: 2167 Idolo Z.O.E. 2167 Idolo [Sunrise] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mecha, Military, Space Action, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi Z.O.E. 2167 Idolo takes place a few years prior to the events of the series Z.O.E Dolores, i, and is centered on the "Deimos Incident," an act of terrorism by the Mars revolutionaries. The BAHRAM army pilots Radium and Viola are the best in their class, and have such have been chosen to do spearhead testing on a new type of weapon; Mars hopes this weapon will liberate them from the UNSF's (United Nations Space Force) tyranny. This new technology called the "Orbital Frame," is powered by an extremely rare and powerful source of energy known as the Metatron ore. Never heard of Z.O.E. games. It's alright as prequel, but rather boring as a separate piece. Overall Rating: 5/10 13. Spirit of Wonder: Shounen Kagaku Club ザスピリットオブワンダー : 少年科學倶楽部 [Ajia-Do] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Seinen Space Drama, Sci-Fi The now 50 year old Scientific Boys Club decides to built a ship that sails to Mars on the "Ethereal Current" - a thesis of the wife of a club member which claims that the universe is flooded with Ethereal energy. On this stream they travel to Mars in order to prove an old theory about channels on Mars built by Martians, but there is no life. Many years later, when both theories are considered to be nonsense, a Mars expedition discovers a stone with the inscription "Scientific Boys Club 1954". I absolutely loathed first Spirit of Wonder OVA and this one is only slightly better. Have a look at something super short and incoherent, but supposedly related to science, and be happy about it... because... science? Incompetent and shallow. Overall Rating: 5/10 14. Sabaku no Kuni no Oujosama The Princess of the Desert Kingdom さばくの国の王女さま [Toei Animation] (Finished 0/1) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy When the spring that supplies water to her kingdom dries up, the Princess decides to go into the desert in search of a faraway oasis that is said to exist. The Princess and her animal friends face many challenges in their journey to save the draught-stricken kingdom. Not found. Overall Rating: 0/10
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Anime of the Year 2000-IV Fall - Hajime no Ippo
kivandopulus posted a blog entry in Anime of the Season
Can't call anything masterpiece , but Hajime no Ippo is the closest to it. 1. InuYasha 犬夜叉 [Sunrise] (Finished 3/167) Tags: Historical, Mythology, Time Travel Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Romance, Supernatural Kagome Higurashi's 15th birthday takes a sudden turn when she is forcefully pulled by a demon into the old well of her family's shrine. Brought to the past, when demons were a common sight in feudal Japan, Kagome finds herself persistently hunted by these vile creatures, all yearning for an item she unknowingly carries: the Shikon Jewel, a small sphere holding extraordinary power. Amid such a predicament, Kagome encounters a half-demon boy named Inuyasha who mistakes her for Kikyou, a shrine maiden he seems to resent. Because of her resemblance to Kikyou, Inuyasha takes a violent dislike to Kagome. However, after realizing the dire circumstances they are both in, he sets aside his hostility and lends her a hand. Unfortunately, during a fight for the Shikon Jewel, the miraculous object ends up shattered into pieces and scattered across the land. Fearing the disastrous consequences of this accident, Kagome and Inuyasha set out on a challenging quest to recover the shards before they fall into the wrong hands. I honestly fail to understand what to like here at all. Just less funny Dragonball with female protagonist and jokes as if from Urusei Yatsura. Overall Rating: 5/10 2. Hajime no Ippo Fighting Spirit はじめの一歩 THE FIGHTING! [Madhouse] (Finished 3/75) Tags: Shounen Combat Sports In his father's absence, teenager Ippo Makunouchi works hard to help his mother run her fishing boat rental business. Ippo's timid nature, his lack of sleep, and the sea smell make him an easy target for relentless bullies who leave him bruised and beaten on a daily basis. Mamoru Takamura, an up-and-coming boxer, rescues Ippo from a violent after-school incident and takes him back to the Kamogawa Boxing Gym for recovery. Takamura and his fellow boxers, Masaru Aoki and Tatsuya Kimura, are stunned by Ippo's powerful punches—a result of strong muscles developed through years serving his physically taxing family business. Following brief training under Takamura, Ippo impresses the other boxers in a practice match against prodigy Ichirou Miyata. He gains a rival in Miyata and a coach in Genji Kamogawa, the gym owner and a former boxer himself. As Ippo takes the first steps in his official boxing career, he faces off against a series of challenging opponents, each more powerful than the last. Victory, loss, and a cycle of dedicated training await Ippo on his journey to achieve greatness. With his tough body and unstoppable fighting spirit, the kind young man seeks to take on the world. Never tried it as it's spokon, and the only thing that interests me here is what makes it special, just like in all the other famous anime in the genres I detest. And my answer is that there is nothing special, just a little talent and a lot of diligence , practice and endurance, thus the title. Concept is basically taken from Ashita no Joe where enemies were more interesting than protagonist. But Joe was an adult hooligan dealing with homeless children , so he was rather difficult to empathize with. A totally normal kid is a better material for a lasting story. And with that I'll consider this gestalt closed. Overall Rating: 6/10 3. Gakkou no Kaidan Ghost Stories 学校の怪談 [Pierrot] (Finished 3/19) Tags: Horror, Mystery, Supernatural Years ago, all of the ghosts in a haunted schoolhouse were banished by a certain student. Now, they're back—and they want revenge... Satsuki and Keiichirou Miyanoshita are two siblings recovering from the tragic loss of their mother. After moving to their mother's hometown, they learn that the local school they have transferred to is an old building—one said to be haunted. Despite initially brushing it off as a silly rumor, the two soon discover that ghosts are indeed real and that they're after them! Gakkou no Kaidan is the creepy tale of the lives of these siblings and their newfound friends as they try to survive the school's ghosts—with a little help from their pet cat along the way. Could not care less about dub, original anime is trash with the only redeeming quality being that it tries to be bright and even humorous for the most part and gets dark only around climax. Overall Rating: 5/10 4. Vandread ヴァンドレッド [Gonzo] (Finished 2/13) Tags: Mecha, Space Action, Sci-Fi, Ecchi In Vandread, men are from Mars and women are from Venus! Well, not quite. Technology has allowed mankind to colonize the entire Milky Way galaxy, and in one star system, the men and women live on two different planets, Taraak and Mejere. A bitter and very literal gender war rages, to the point where they don't even see each other as the sames species anymore! Hibiki Tokai, a male third-class laborer from Taraak, ends up stuck on a battleship after a botched attempt at stealing a robot. When female pirates capture the Taraakian Vanguard, things don't look like they could get any worse for Hibiki. Unfortunately, they do; when the male crew of the Vanguard fire on their captured vessel out of desperation, they created a giant wormhole, which sucks the Vanguard and the Mejeran pirate's ships into itself! Now, stuck far away from their home planets, these men and women must learn to work together if they ever wish to make it back home. This anime knows well that it's going to be silly mecha with CGI, so it adapts absurd plot and is ready to go to extremes such as flattest possible gender humor. Need to have an ability to turn off head to keep watching it to the end without any loss of self-respect. Overall Rating: 5/10 5. Argento Soma アルジェント ソーマ [Sunrise] (Finished 4/25) Tags: Mecha, Military Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi In the year 2059, the earth has been plagued by aliens for several years. In an effort to learn more about these aliens, Dr. Noguchi and his assistants Maki Agata and Takuto Kaneshiro try to revive the professor's experiment, a large Bio-Mechanical alien named Frank. During this process the alien comes to 'life' and the lab is subsequently destroyed leaving Takuto the only survivor and the alien disappearing into the wilderness. While Frank roams the wilderness he meets Hattie, an emotionally distressed young girl whose parents are killed in the first 'close encounter' war. Oddly enough she is able to communicate with Frank and soon after they are taken into custody by a secret agency known only as 'Funeral'. Meanwhile, Takuto wakes up in a hospital bed with his life in shambles, and his face disfigured. Motivated by vengeance and heart break, Takuto accepts an offer from the mysterious 'Mr. X' and receives a new identity as a ranking Funeral officer named Ryu Soma. Sunrise original always sounds very suspicious, because it usually means targeting as large audience as possible, and the easiest way to it is imitation of already popular products, namely, Eva. Maybe it changes drastically on the way, but first four episodes don't leave the slightest desire to keep going. . Overall Rating: 5/10 6. Jinzou Ningen Kikaider The Animation 人造人間キカイダーTHE ANIMATION [Radix] (Finished 3/13) Tags: Shounen Mecha Action, Drama, Sci-Fi The genius robotics professor, Dr. Komyoji has created Kikaider—a humanoid robot tasked with the protection of Dr. Komyoji's son and daughter. Gifted with the conscience circuit, Kikaider is given the power to simulate real emotions that helps to distinguish between "right and wrong." Can Kikaider protect Dr. Komyoji's children and battle against the evil Dr. Gill and his army of androids? The fight against world domination lies in the hands of Kikaider. It feels so terribly old... because its source material is kids only and lies in the early 70s. The result is slow, boring, cliché series. Overall Rating: 5/10 7. Shoubushi Densetsu Tetsuya 勝負師伝説哲也 [Toei Animation] (Finished 2/20) Tags: Shounen Historical, Strategy Game In the year 1947, the people of Shinjuku are down on their luck. With little money to buy food or necessities, some resort to gambling in order to survive. Traveling Tetsuya chooses to spend his time at Mahjong parlors where he is wiping the floor clean with his adversaries. However, when Tetsuya meets the intensely skilled Boushu-san, he realizes that his skills are still lacking. I'm at a total loss when it comes to mahjong anime, because it looks and sounds total gibberish. And since there's not much besides gambling, can't even evaluate it. Watching an anime that relies on luck and momentum after Kaiji... feels so wrong. Overall Rating: 5/10 8. Sci-fi Harry サイファイハリー [APPP] (Finished 4/20) Tags: Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi Harry is definitely not your average American teenager. Instead, he is the epitome of an "alienated youth"—friendless at school, extremely weird, and nervous to the point of paranoia. But a chance occurrence causes Harry to start to demonstrate what appear to be psychic powers—yet he neither believes in them nor consciously controls them. However, there are other ominous forces at work who do believe in Harry and attempt to make use of him in ways that are threatening and frightful. It's once again collection of elements I can't stand. Ugly drawn psychic detective thriller with protagonist so indecisive that he can't tie several words together. Overall Rating: 5/10 9. Dotto Koni-chan .Koni-chan ドッとKONIちゃん [Shaft] (Finished 1/26) Tags: Comedy Koni (whose character is based on the famous Sumo-wrestler) and his gang have lots of crazy and incoherent adventures in their town. From fighting with their "Lovely-Teacher" and dealing with Samurai fish, to confirming if "The Armored-Guy's" wife has an affair and saving the world, Koni, High, Moro, Nari and Afro, the Afro-dog, do the craziest and funniest things to have fun. Not translated to English. Absurd episodic comedy with three stories inside each episode. Feels horrible like any absurd comedy. Overall Rating: 5/10 10. Gear Fighter Dendoh GEAR戦士 電童 [Sunrise] (Finished 3/38) Tags: Mecha, School, Space Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi The story takes place in the future where war machines from evil mechanical alien empire Garufa finally reaches Earth. In order to protect earth, an Earth defense organization called GEAR (Guard Earth and Advanced Reconnaissance) is formed. GEAR has an ultimate weapon in a form of war mecha, GEAR Fighter Dendoh, which is piloted by two elementary school students, namely Kusanagi Hokuto and Izumo Ginga. Can the friendship between Hokuto and Ginga unleashed the full potential power of Dendoh in order to fight Garufa? Kids would have a hard time watching Argento Soma, so to milk this audience as well let's make another mecha just for kids. Terrible as everything Sunrise does specially for kids. Overall Rating: 5/10 11. Karakuri Kiden: Hiwou Senki Hiwou War Chronicles 機巧奇傳 ヒヲウ戦記 [Bones] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Historical, Mecha Action, Adventure 8 years ago, Western Civilization visited 19th century Japan. Mechanized dolls and new steam-powered creations began spreading throughout the country. The Wind Gang is a group of doll and steam users who believe in using their creations to violently bring about a new Industrial Era. They attack and destroy the peaceful village of a young doll user named Hiwou one day. Hiwou and his friends escape with a giant doll named Homura. Hiwou now wants to find his father, so that he can help defeat the Wind Gang, and bring peace back to Japan. Pre-school kids accompanied by giant mecha in Edo period competing in clockwork dolls with Wind Gang - what could possibly go wrong? So much effort is wasted on a nonsense concept like that. Overall Rating: 5/10 12. Mutekiou Tri-Zenon Invincible King Tri-Zenon 無敵王トライゼノン [E&G Films] (Finished 3/22) Tags: Mecha Sci-Fi During the Edo Period, 3 mysterious space capsules were sent down to earth. Fear that it might bring chaos to the earth, the humans at that time buried these 3 objects down beneath the ground and entrusted a piece of descriptive map to the Kamui family. Today, these 3 objects were awaken one by one. The first to awaken, Tri-Zenon, one of the Zenon Guardians is now driven by the descendant of the Kamui family, Akira Kamui, his brother Ai Kamui and his friend Kanna. Aliens who descend to earth with a purpose will now have to face Tri-Zenon. Another nonsense mecha for kids with plastic characters antics. It manages to be both stupid and absolutely undistinguished at the same time. Overall Rating: 5/10 13. Sin: The Movie [Phoenix Entertainment] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Detective Action, Horror, Sci-Fi, Supernatural In Sin, Blade must unravel a series of mysterious kidnappings. As he delves into the city's merciless underworld, an elaborate mystery unfold; at is heart, the SinTEK corporation and its leader, the ruthless and beautiful Elexis Sinclair. A Brilliant biochemist, Sinclair will stop at nothing to achieve her goal: a plan that could force the next step of human evolution-or spell doom for mankind. It's mostly just violent fighting action with poor explanations, and after another action cycle it just ends. I've seen worse. Overall Rating: 5/10 14. De:vadasy Devadasy 創世聖紀デヴァダシー [Studio Gazelle] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Mecha, Psychological Action, Ecchi For young men like Kei, life is still plagued by nothing but homework and girl trouble. When an unknown force besieges Earth with robotic war machines, however, it is Kei who is chosen to defend the human race. Another weird game adaptation. Peaceful SOL constantly interchanges with bloody mecha fights and masturbation needed for that. It tries to mimic EVA mental distortion and ends with a fluke. Overall Rating: 5/10 15. Grandeek [Group TAC, animate Film] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Fantasy This is a tale of swords and sorcery as the young warrior-woman Tia Allbright and her hapless assistant, Luke, battle demon assassins in a fantasy land. Tia arrives on the island of Marcleida with her trusted sword 'Grandeek,' which holds a spirit within that helps her on her quests. She is soon turned away however. Determined to get on the island, Tia searches for a way past the fences that guard the entrance, as another stranger arrives on the island to take on a mysterious job. Someone has been killing the inhabitants of the island and has the ability to appear and disappear at will. Seems the sword 'Aihorn' has been stolen and the spirit that resides within it seeks vengenance on those who killed its master 50 years before. As Tia makes her way inside the island, it becomes clear that both she, and the stranger, are after the sword Aihorn, hoping to bring to an end its bloody goal. But the sword has the ability to possess the person who wields it - putting Tia and the stranger at a great disadvantage. Based on the manga by Kohime Ohse, Tia and Grandeek will have to face their most difficult challenge yet... Hard to weave a good story in 40 minutes... especially with no efforts applied to make it coherent. Narration constantly jumps among different stuff with unclear time sequence. There's a girl who seeks a way into town, there are two swordsmen who investigate murders and search for a girl, there are cadavers, scenes with swordsman getting wounded, some women at unknown location , some girl behind bars and it just goes on and on... By the very end all the characters get somewhere close to each other and sword evil nature is getting dealt with somehow. Such lousy directorship should not exist at all . Overall Rating: 4/10 16. With You: Mitsumeteitai With You ~みつめていたい~ [Arms] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Love Polygon, School Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance Based on a H-game with the same title released by Cocktail Soft in 1998, With You: Mitsumeteitai focuses on love triangle between the main characters who were childhood friends. They were separated because one of them had to move to Myanmar (an Asian country formerly known as Burma). After six years, they are re-united again and the story begins... Never finished the game, so was glad to learn about all the connected mythology stuff. Quite a typical early visual novel plot, but good to know the basics. Overall Rating: 5/10 17. Blood: The Last Vampire BLOOD THE LAST VAMPIRE (ブラッド ザ ラスト ヴァンパイア) [Production I.G] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Gore, Vampire Award Winning, Horror, Supernatural Teropterids are evil beasts which pose as humans and live only to drink human blood. Fortunately for the human world there are groups dedicated to destroying them. A brooding and mysterious girl named Saya is the best teropterid slayer there is, and now, in 1960s Japan, she is sent to a U. S. army base which may be infested... It's pure fighting action, so can't be rated too high. Overall Rating: 6/10 18. Aa! Megami-sama! Movie 劇場版 ああっ女神さまっ [AIC] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Comedy, Romance, Supernatural For centuries, a god named Celestin has been imprisoned on the moon for betraying the kingdom of Yggdrasil. Released by the fairy Morgan Le Fey, Celestin travels to Earth to reunite with his former pupil, the goddess Belldandy. Things go awry as Celestin erases Belldandy's memories of her boyfriend Keiichi and uses her as a catalyst to wreak havoc on Earth and Yggdrasil. I was glad that it's continuation and not retelling, but OVA was dealing with departure for last episodes and movie ... deals with departure again, just great. I'm not fan of this franchise or anything, and this probably is a logical ending to TV series, but after OVA it looks really bad as it's almost the same ending, just with more communication with Heavens. And if you ask me right now what the series is about, I'll say that I don't know because all forces in the world are constantly trying to separate main characters so they hardly have a chance to talk at all . Overall Rating: 5/10 -
Anime of the Year 2000-III Summer - Strange Dawn
kivandopulus posted a blog entry in Anime of the Season
Strange Dawn made my day. Vampire Hunter D (2000) also deserves a mention. 1. Hand Maid May HAND MAID メイ [TNK] (Finished 3/10) Tags: Harem Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi, Ecchi Saotome Kazuya is a computer whiz. One day his friend Nanbara, threatens him with a computer virus. Trying to stop the virus, Kazuya ends up making a special order. May is a cyberdoll that arrives at his door a few minutes later and she is 1/6th the size of a normal person, which makes for many awkward situations. Not to mention the fact Kazuya can't even afford to keep May. Cyberdyne is not satisfied with Kazuya's non-payments and will do anything to retrieve CBD May. One of the most boring slapstick comedies that I've seen in a while. I don't even see Moe here, actually, don't see absolutely anything of interest. If there is any humor, it's of lowest quality. Overall Rating: 5/10 2. Medarot Damashii Medabots Spirits メダロット魂 [Trans Arts] (Finished 1/39) Tags: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi The sequel to the famous Medabots series, following the continuing adventures of Ikki and Metabee. The two encountered a strange enemy named Jinkai and the so called Death Medabots. Along with Nae and Erica, they will defeat Jinkai and the Death Medabots. Same kids stuff. Overall Rating: 5/10 3. Brigadoon: Marin to Melan Brigadoon ブリガドーン まりんとメラン [Sunrise] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Mecha Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi Marin is a typical junior high school girl with a sunny disposition and a loving adoptive family. Her life takes a drastic change when a mysterious mirage is seen in the sky above the entire earth. Killer androids called Monomakia descend to earth from the formation in the sky called Brigadoon and begin to hunt down little Marin. She discovers a blue bottle in a shrine as she seeks escape and from the bottle comes a protector, a sword carrying gun slinging alien called Melan Blue, together they must save the earth and deal with family crisis, school prejudice and the police and come to an understanding of Marins past and Melans unexplained mission, as well as learn to trust each other. Set in 1969 Japan with a colorful cast of friends and enemies. Finally Sunrise starts experimenting with mecha, namely, mecha here are small and of different shapes. Main genre is nonsense comedy, but with occasional serious drama elements. There's no real plot to develop, so need to enjoy flow or characters to keep watching. And count me out on both. Overall Rating: 6/10 4. Strange Dawn ストレンジ・ドーン [Hal Film Maker] (Finished 13/13) Tags: Isekai Adventure, Drama, Fantasy Yuko and Eri are two normal girls who are sucked into the alternate world filled with tiny people. The people of this mysterious world sees them as their "Great Protectors" who can protect their land in a time of strife. The two girls set out on a mission with a group of warriors from the village to find out how they were brought here and how might they return home. However, there is a war brewing and these two Great Protectors are the political tool that every faction lusts for to rally the people to their side. Wow, what a surprising and pleasant ride. Isekai is still my favorite genre. What I especially liked is natural and believable reactions of high school student girls, nice system of politics with three factions and some rivaling leaders inside factions, humor overall, including great running jokes about worms and shoes. Second half got a bit loose after girls split up, but ending after reuniting impressed. Plot scale is not big enough to grant it something more than minor masterpiece, but this anime definitely needs some highlight as I never heard about it before. Overall Rating: 7/10 5. eX-Driver エクスドライバー [Actas ] (Finished 3/6) Tags: Racing Action, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi Ex-Driver is set in the future, when all transportation is easily controlled by AI. Though like all machines they tend to break down or lose control or re-programmed. This is where three high schoolers with non AI cars, Subaru WRX, Super 7, Lotus comes in to save the day and make sure the public is safe at all times. I can only enjoy non-racing parts in racing anime, and this one does not have much to offer on the side. Overall Rating: 5/10 6. Honoo no Labyrinth Labyrinth Of Flames 炎のらびりんす [Studio Fantasia] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Samurai Adventure, Comedy, Ecchi Meet Galan, a Russian spastic geek who`d do anything to be a real, live samurai. But that`s just an impossible dream... or is it? When his friend Natsu, who is a successor of Japanese emigrants family, gives him the gift of an ancient sword, strange events unfold, and even stranger people drop out of the sky to attack. Now Galan must overcome his ineptitude and join a bunch of beautiful women in a wacky romp through a kingdom that time forgot. Hey, what could be better? It's too short , fanservice-heavy and unserious to rate it highly. But it's sure decent among trashy comedies. Overall Rating: 6/10 7. Koutetsu Tenshi Kurumi Encore Steel Angel Kurumi Encore 鋼鉄天使くるみ 25-28話 [OLM] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Shounen Historical Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi Four additional short stories of the Steel Angels: Saki becomes a film actress, Karinka goes on a blind date with Kamihito, Kurumi practices the art of becoming a traditional Japanese woman, and the rest of the Steel Angels engage in a contest to win Nakahito's heart. Too few new titles this season, so can't afford luxury of blocking even supplementary season ovas. Anyway, just fanservice OVA in both senses as personality highlights and even more ecchi. Overall Rating: 5/10 8. Kirara [Ashi Productions] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Slice of Life, Supernatural, Ecchi Twenty-four-year-old Kirara is on her way to her wedding when she is killed in a car accident. However her love for her fiance is so strong that she is permitted to return to earth as a ghost to see him. But she is sent back 8 years in time, to when she and her fiancé first met. However her own meddling in the past may make her 16 year-old-self turn away from her would-be fiance. Great. Ghost tries to seduce a high-school student. There's no end to stupidity in here. Overall Rating: 5/10 9. Geobreeders 2: Mouryou Yuugekitai File-XX Ransen Toppa ジオブリーダーズ2 魍魎遊撃隊 [Chaos Project] (Finished 4/4) Tags: Shounen Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi Taba and the Girls of Kagura Total Security Inc. are at it again. This time they have to battle a Gang of Phantom Cats and a mysterious enemy and assassin. And there are the run ins with the Government, the need for a new office, as well as sorting out the past to deal with. Luckily, they've got a stock pile of weapons and super technology to help. Original OVA had weird concept, rather bland characters and weak nonsense comedy. Doubt anyone waited for continuation, but here we are with all poor elements intact and some blood with ecchi added. Average in most aspects. Overall Rating: 5/10 10. Vampire Hunter D (2000) Vampire Hunter D : Bloodlust バンパイアハンターD [Madhouse] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Vampire Action, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Romance, Sci-Fi The story revolves around D, the infamous "dhampir" (born of a vampire father and a human mother) outcast and renowned vampire hunter. His prowess at hunting the creatures of the night allowing his acceptance among humans, he is called upon to locate Charlotte Elbourne, the lovely daughter of an affluent family who has been mysteriously kidnapped. When the sun sets, the hunt goes on! Charlotte's father offers a rich bounty, be she dead or alive, a task D willingly accepts, even with notorious Markus brothers and their gang of bounty hunters seeking the prize as well. Amidst the chase and unknown to all lurks, a sinister evil which has been secretly manipulating their every move and has set a chilling trap that none will expect and few will survive. With the tables turned and the secrets revealed, the hunters could quickly become the hunted! On one hand, it's brainless action with predictable flow from the moment Leila rode bike towards D, and I'm sorry for invested time. On other hand, it's almost flawlessly done movie with given concept. Lastly, I usually evaluate highly stories like Gantz:O where an omnipotent team faces even more overwhelming force. I guess I can still call it a minor honorary masterpiece by sum of factors. Overall Rating: 7/10 11. Cardcaptor Sakura Movie 2: Fuuin Sareta Card 劇場版 カードキャプターさくら 封印されたカード [Madhouse] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Mahou Shoujo Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance For this year's Nadeshiko Festival, Sakura Kinomoto's elementary school class is presenting a play. She will portray a princess who struggles to respond to the love confession of the neighboring country's prince. Sakura empathizes with her character all too well, since she herself still owes an answer to the boy who confessed his love for her four months ago. When cousins Shaoran and Meiling Li return from Hong Kong to pay a surprise visit to their friends in Japan, Sakura receives further encouragement to finally declare her feelings. However, she is repeatedly distracted by a presence reminiscent of a Clow Card as well as unexplained disappearances around town. Eventually, Sakura learns of another of Clow Reed's creations—the "Nothing"—which was formerly sealed away beneath the magician's old house. It has power equal to all 52 cards Sakura possesses, and furthermore, it wants to take those cards away from her! Objects, space, and people disappear from Tomoeda with each card that is stolen. Sakura sets out to capture the Nothing so everything will return to normal, but what must she sacrifice in the process? A much better movie with focus on school, and there is even song here. Concept is still alien to me. Overall Rating: 6/10 12. Kaze wo Mita Shounen 風を見た少年 [Brain's Base] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy Young boy Amon has mysterious powers. His dad is the cheif scientist for the Empire of the Golden Snake. He's invented weapons for this country in the past, but does not want his boy's powers to be used for destruction so he burns his research and tries to escape the country with his family. The mom and dad die in the escape and only Amon is left. He runs from the military, ends up on an island where he learns about the ancient people who could fly on the wind and talk to animals (as he can). Amon then ends up in a fishermen's village and makes friends with Maria. After this village is attacked by the Golden Snake army, the two run away with a band of rebels. Together, they try to stop the Empire of the Golden Snake from destroying and conquering everything. Based on the book by C.W. Nicol. I don't know why it's so boring. It seems to follow other similar popular works, but with only scratching the surface to stay family friendly. Lots of imitation and simplification together with totally failed characters, probably. Overall Rating: 5/10 13. The Aurora: Umi no Aurora The Aurora 海のオーロラ [Nippon Television Network] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adventure, Sci-Fi Deep-sea archeologist Hiroshi Ibuki is the member of the digging team working at the bottom of the sea hoping to uncover the origins of Earth's existence but instead uncovers a mysterious colony of bacteria which gives off light similar to the Aurora Borealis. The ancient bacteria, once revived, attempt to make the world habitable for themselves —a process that would bring Earth back to its early primal form, killing all current life in the process. Early CGI are awful. Plot concept is super primitive, another "Alien". Execution just can't be good with these terrible torn animations. Overall Rating: 4/10 -
FLCL deserves a minor masterpiece for its impact alone . 1. Yu☆Gi☆Oh! Duel Monsters Yu-Gi-Oh! 遊☆戯☆王 デュエルモンスターズ [Gallop] (Finished 3/224) Tags: Shounen Strategy Game Action, Adventure, Fantasy Yuugi Mutou is a naïve and lonely high school student who is fascinated by games. While staying with his grandfather, the owner of a game shop, he comes across an ancient Egyption relic known as the "Millennium Puzzle." Rumored to grant any wish to those who solve the Puzzle, Yuugi becomes determined to solve it to wish for some friends. After years of struggling, Yuugi manages to complete the puzzle and mysteriously finds that his wish has been fulfilled. Meanwhile, a new card game known as "Duel Monsters" starts rising in popularity. In this game, players called duelists fight against each other with "monsters" by using magic and trap cards to foil their opponent's plans. Yuugi quickly becomes skilled at the game and lives a peaceful life with his newfound friends. However, Yuugi's peace is short-lived. The undefeated duelist and egocentric billionaire Seto Kaiba suddenly abducts Yuugi's grandfather, forcing him to duel against the rare "Blue Eyes White Dragon'' card. Yuugi is thrown into a new world of fierce battles and the stakes continue to rise as dark forces interfere from the shadows. After unexpectedly defeating Kaiba with the help of his "other self"—the spirit of a nameless pharaoh—contained in the puzzle, he unofficially becomes the top duelist known as "The King of Games." However, this new title will attract covetousness and Yuugi will have to use all his intelligence and willpower in order to protect what he holds the dearest to him. I evaluated original low, but this is even worse because the skill in all other games is gone and because of some cheater moves used in Duel Monsters game. Overall Rating: 5/10 2. Love Hina ラブひな [Xebec] (Finished 3/24) Tags: Shounen Harem Comedy, Romance, Ecchi Keitaro Urashima promised a girl when he was young that they would meet up again at Tokyo University in the future. Sadly, in the National Practice Exam, Keitaro ranked 27th from the bottom. Knowing his grandmother owned a hotel, Keitaro intended to stay there while continuing his studies for Tokyo U, only to find out the hotel had long been transformed into an all-girls dormitory. Through an odd twist of fate, Keitaro eventually became the manager of the dorm, beginning his life of living with five other girls. If I'm not mistaken, it's only third romcom harem series , so it was still fresh , and harem anime are usually better remembered due to the concept. But since it stands at the barebones of the genre, a lot of its elements and moves would be considered cliché nowadays. After so many years can only treat it as average. Overall Rating: 5/10 3. Ayashi no Ceres Ceres, Celestial Legend 妖しのセレス [Pierrot] (Finished 3/24) Tags: Shoujo Psychological, Reincarnation Adventure, Drama, Horror, Romance, Supernatural, Suspense Ceres was a tennyo (Celestial maiden) who came down from the heavens to bathe in a stream. She hung her hagoromo (robe) on a tree nearby, which was her key to returning to the heavens. But the robe was stolen and the man who had stolen it forced her to become his wife, thus producing a family full of human and tennyo blood mixed. Now, in modern day time, Aya Mikage is a descendent of Ceres, and has quite an amount of tennyo blood. On her 16th birthday, she and her twin brother, Aki, are thrown a party. At the "party," Aya's grandpa plans to kill her, for she has tennyo powers unlike the rest of the family, and can actually become Ceres herself and destroy the Mikage family. Aya, however, can switch back, so this transformation happens quite frequently. With protector Yuuhi by her side, it is up to Aya to control Ceres and keep her from coming back, but her relationship with an ex-worker for her evil grandpa may be a distraction. It's a memorable dark shoujo. But I like only smart shoujo while here heroine is brainless and naïve, basically an object. Logic is also a universally weak side here for everyone . Overall Rating: 6/10 4. Gensoumaden Saiyuuki Saiyuki 幻想魔伝 最遊記 [Pierrot] (Finished 3/50) Tags: Shounen Mythology Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Supernatural Many years ago, humans and demons lived in harmony. But that unity ended when demons started attacking humans and plotted a mission to unleash Gyumao—an evil demon imprisoned for thousands of years. Now, Genjo Sanzo, a rogue priest, must team up with three demons—Sha Gojyo, Son Goku, and Cho Hakkai—and embark on a perilous journey to the west to stop these demons from resurrecting Gyumao and restore the balance between humans and demons on Earth. I don't like character designs and I don't like travelling concept as it's always coming somewhere and fighting similar demons who lost their human parts or something. Overall Rating: 5/10 5. NieA Under 7 ニア アンダーセブン [Triangle Staff] (Finished 3/13) Tags: Iyashikei Comedy, Sci-Fi, Slice of Life In the 21st century, aliens have arrived on Earth and live among humans. In sleepy Enohana, the dirt-poor student Chigasaki Mayuko finds herself living together with NieA, a low-caste ("Under Seven") alien. While Mayuko struggles diligently to make ends meet, NieA seems to be totally unconcerned with the consequences of her actions. As the odd couple throws off the expected sparks, the wrecked alien mothership looms in the background... Aimless SOL with a very annoying alien who does everything to ruin others life. That spoils all leftover hopes. Overall Rating: 5/10 6. Seikai no Senki Banner of the Stars 星界の戦旗 [Sunrise] (Finished 13/13) Tags: Military, Space Action, Romance, Sci-Fi Three years since the end of their intergalactic excursion, both Lafiel Abriel and Jinto Linn have reunited; Lafiel as the captain of the attack ship Basroil and Jinto as her supply officer. The restart of the war between the Abh Empire and the Triple Alliance thrusts the inexperienced duo into the forefront of the deadly conflict. As the catastrophic battle between pure humankind and their greatest creation, the Abh, rages on, both sides accept that their conflict is not merely about territory, but about settling the inherent differences between themselves. If Crest of the Stars showed ugly chaotic roots of turmoil, in Banner of Stars viewer feels like consumer of Abh Empire propaganda in already conquered star system. The total war till the dominion was justified because Abh ship got destroyed under mysterious and never investigated circumstances. The war was inevitable , because democratic human union supposedly thought lowly of Abh and wanted to make them all slaves. Abh commanders act as they want and without any remorse for their own or enemy forces - and it's propaganda task to make those actions look good as they supposedly turned out for the better. Human counterparts are very seldom shown and each their action is portrayed as having egoistic reasoning at heart while Abh commanders are never criticized even though they act literally to have fun and get more entertainment. Show only one side and repeat the same theses over and over - just as Goebbels instructed. It's a genius show in justifying aggressor and the appeal of evil, a truly propagandistic piece of art. That's what happens when fundamentals are cast off as insignificant in favor of aesthetics and simplifications to just present some cool space fighting action. Overall Rating: 4/10 7. Sakura Taisen Sakura Wars TV サクラ大戦 [Madhouse] (Finished 8/25) Tags: Mecha, Performing Arts Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Sakura travels to the capital with aspirations of defending the city from the demonic forces of the Black Sanctum Council like her father before her. However, things are not as she imagined as in addition to using her great spiritual energy to pilot a mech called a Kobu, she must also perform on stage as an actor as The Imperial Flower Division's cover is an art theater. Making a fool of herself and ruining a production gets her on everyone's bad side and somehow she must learn to work with them as well as prevent the enemy from destroying several shrines which protect the city. After two filler OVA series it's finally time for action ! Or so I thought. The beginning is again gathering of the team and the middle is again mostly theater rehearsals. I did not expect this anime to be about theater and on a sidenote somewhere about mecha piloting. And demon forces are just spawning, getting defeated, rince and repeat, there's no big plan for the most part till the end, and I'm not going to watch it all just to know what it ends with. It does not know what it wants to be and thus it's a bore. Overall Rating: 6/10 8. Daa! Daa! Daa! だぁ! だぁ! だぁ! [J.C.Staff] (Finished 3/78) Tags: Shoujo Childcare Comedy, Sci-Fi Miyu is an 8th grade girl, whose parents have been hired by NASA. They take off to America leaving Miyu with Mr. Saionji. Later, Mr. Saionji decides to go on a 1 year long trip to India leaving Miyu alone with his son, Kanata. More complications rise when an Alien baby and his babysitter pet crashes/lands in their house. To make things worse, alien baby starts calling Miyu and Kanata Mom and Dad, also showing ESP power and floating around. We already got two shows when school students had to assume role of parent and there were rather negatives sides - first, kid always cried, second, kid required 100% of attention depriving of any former usual activities. This anime tries to mend those drawbacks. Alien boy is always smiling or may become a bit serious, but never cries. And alien boy comes with a talking nursing transforming pet, so protagonists have much more free time on their hands and they can even go to school leaving kid alone. Oh, and alien boy also flies so that he can get out of almost any danger. I have to admit that it's brighter and easier to watch now. But I still can't enjoy such concept, now it's more like comedy with constant searching for lost alien kid. Overall Rating: 6/10 9. Boys Be... ボーイズ・ビー [Hal Film Maker] (Finished 3/13) Tags: Shounen Comedy, Romance, Slice of Life There are two sides to every love story, and Boys Be... reveals what's really going on—from the guy's point of view! Meet three normal high school guys with just one thing on their minds: girls. Quiet Kyoichi has been friends with Chiharu ever since they were young, but lately, his feelings have begun to change. Lecherous Makoto, a self-proclaimed master of the rules of romance, is ready to sweep the ladies off their feet. And Yoshihiko, a handsome sports nut, is unfortunately a bit clueless in matters of the heart. Join this hapless trio for a year of romantic misadventures that will change their lives forever! So each episode tries to present a complete romance story which always feels super rushed and cliché. Never thought I could say it, but even brainless boys adventures at Green Green are better for being continuous story. Overall Rating: 5/10 10. Gate Keepers ゲートキーパーズ [Gonzo] (Finished 4/24) Tags: Mecha Action, Comedy, Fantasy, Sci-Fi Technology, science, and industry—this is 1969 Tokyo, and there is no better time to be alive! But a shadow looms quietly around every corner: "Invaders" have infiltrated the populace, and nobody knows who or what they are. Only the members of the top-secret agency AEGIS know of their existence. Covertly fighting the enemy is their job, but only those with the ability to open "Gates" to another world can truly defeat them. Within AEGIS is a specialized task force known as the "Gate Keepers." Composed of extraordinary individuals with a variety of Gate-related abilities, they are the only ones who can save humanity from the vicious Invaders plaguing the planet. Shun Ukiya is an average high school student who lives with his widowed mother and little sister. While on his way home from school one day, he comes across a group of Invaders heading toward his house. In a desperate plight to save his family, Shun discovers he possesses the ability to open a Gate, allowing him to harness massive amounts of energy. With his newfound ability exposed, he catches the attention of AEGIS, and particularly the interest of one of its Gate Keepers, Shun's childhood friend Ruriko Ikusawa. A rather weird action comedy with a very varied team cast. By the end of 4th episode only four out of seven team members gathered, so pacing is rather slow and enemy attacks are quite random and not carrying any big plan in mind. Guess it's for those who can turn off head and enjoy easy-minded comedy with fighting. Overall Rating: 6/10 11. Monster Farm: Legend e no Michi Monster Rancher (2000) モンスターファーム~伝説[レジェンド]への道~ [TMS Entertainment] (Finished 3/25) Tags: Isekai Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy Genki is a boy who loves playing video games. One day he's zapped into the world of Monster Rancher and meets the girl Holly and the monsters Mochi, Suezo, Golem, Tiger and Hare. Continuing from where the original story left off, Genki and friends journey to conquer the legend cup in hopes of freeing Holly's father from the mystery disc. Did not see difference from prequel. Overall Rating: 5/10 12. Transformers: Car Robots Transformers: Robots in Disguise トランスフォーマー・カーロボット [Gallop] (Finished 3/39) Tags: Mecha Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi The evil Gigatron has led his forces of Destrongers to Earth, where they seek to pillage the planet for its vast energy resources in order to fuel their war against the Autobots. If successful, the Destrongers will finally be able to tip the scale of power in the war to their favor, eliminating the Autobots and moving on to conquer the universe. To this end, the Destrongers kidnap the scientist Dr. Ohnishi, Earth's leading scientist on energy and natural resources. Dr. Oonishi's son, Koji, is contacted by none other than Fire Convoy, who takes the boy on a mission to rescue his father. Although Fire Convoy and the other Autobots fight valiantly, they are unable to rescue the doctor from the Destrongers. Now it is up to the Autobots and Koji to rescue Dr. Oonishi and protect the Earth and its resources from Gigatron and his army. Ancient mecha franchise is back. Same horrible as always. Overall Rating: 5/10 13. Dokidoki♡Densetsu: Mahoujin Guruguru Magical Circle Guru Guru 2 ドキドキ♡伝説 魔法陣グルグル [Nippon Animation] (Finished 1/38) Tags: Shounen Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy Join the new legend of Guruguru, where Nike, the reluctant hero, and Kukuri, the innocent heroine, return to save the world. The magical adventure that unfolds, with its unique monsters and eccentric characters, is sure to draw you into this curious and exciting realm. To save the world from evil King Giri, Kukuri must locate the monsters in each territory and win them, one by one, over to her side. Meanwhile Nike's task is to be recognized by the Four Kings of Nature and collect their swords. These swords are known as the "Sword of Wind," the "Sword of Water," the "Sword of Earth" and the "Sword of Fire." Can Nike and Kukuri truly become hero and heroine? Follow their journey and find out! The very beginning of this second season was only moderately crazy so I hoped I could watch some of it, but - alas - total absurd got back very soon and with that my headache. Overall Rating: 6/10 14. Hidamari no Ki Tree in the Sun 陽だまりの樹 [Madhouse] (Finished 3/25) Tags: Historical, Medical, Samurai Action, Award Winning, Drama A story set in the mid-1800's about a young doctor who has been trained in Western-style medicine and a young samurai who is trying to live up to the old traditions of his class and culture. The story is actually based upon real people - the doctor, Ryo-an, was Tezuka's great grandfather. During the Second Year of Ansei (1855) in Edo's Koishigawa are two young men, Manjiro Ibutani and Ryoan Tezuka. Ibutani is a low-ranking samurai who is a gifted swordsman and has a straightforward and strong sense of justice. Tezuka has a more carefree attitude. He has an eye for the ladies, but he is passionate about becoming a doctor. The two opposite characters come of age during the backdrop of the turbulent end of the Tokugawa Period (1600-1868 CE). I don't like stories based on real people. Edo period is always nice to watch, but the conflict of the anime is western vs eastern medicine and some clans clashes... nothing even remotely great. So partly it's Black Jack spiritual successor which I already hate immensely. Overall Rating: 6/10 15. Ginsoukikou Ordian 銀装騎攻オーディアン [Plum] (Finished 3/24) Tags: Mecha Sci-Fi Kananase Yu is just an ordinary high-school student. Since he has mysterious inside knowledge about piloting a mecha, he is recruited by the International Military Organization as a potential test pilot for a new mobile armor. However, apparently there are other young recruits around his age, including one of his classmates, were recruited as test pilot as well. Now Kananase Yu must prove that he is the best to be the test pilot. Mecha, bishounens, hectic narration. What could possibly go wrong? Still main problem is that something keeps happening without explanation and most of the time it's insignificant stuff or something running with unknown purpose. Poor directorship can ruin anything. Overall Rating: 5/10 16. Time Bokan 2000: Kaitou Kiramekiman タイムボカン2000 怪盗きらめきマン [Tatsunoko Production] (Finished 1/26) Tags: Mecha Action, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi More Time Bokan adventures. Just one episode is translated as everyone is sick of this franchise that has like 10th iteration already. Villain heroine is surprisingly decent this time, but all the adult related humor is toned town greatly, so it's just another kid show now. Overall Rating: 5/10 17. Fabre-sensei wa Meitantei ファーブル先生は名探偵 [E&G Films] (Finished 0/26) Tags: Mystery The world of insects is full of enchantment and amazement. This animation series is inspired by "the Diary of Insects" written by Jean Henri Fabre, an outstanding French entomologist and author in the 19th Century. In his original works, Mr. Fabre vividly described the life of insects. In this series all the insects and bugs have been personified and drawn into marvelous animated characters. This is the story of the exciting adventures of a crime-buster in the world of insects! Our hero's way of investigation is so unique and always ends with surprising solutions. The interesting ecology of various insects will be described while our "cool" hero, Inspector Fabre, analyzes and unties the knots of crimes and conspiracy a la fashion of Sherlock Holmes! Not found. Overall Rating: 0/10 18. Anime Roukyoku Kikou Shimizu no Jirochouden アニメ浪曲紀行 清水次郎長伝 [-] (Finished 0/30) Tags: Historical Comedy, Drama A story based on Shimizu no Jirochou, an early yakuza who specialized in gambling and maritime transport. The anime is composed of 10 stories. Each story was told over 3 episodes. The particular tale is based on Hirosawa Torazo II's telling; Hirosawa is a roukyoku/naniwabushi. Not found. Overall Rating: 0/10 19. FLCL フリクリ [Gainax, Production I.G] (Finished 6/6) Tags: Mecha, Parody, Psychological Action, Avant Garde, Comedy, Sci-Fi Naota Nandaba is an ordinary sixth grader living in a city where nothing amazing ever seems to happen. After his brother Tasuku leaves town to play baseball in America, Naota takes it upon himself to look after everything Tasuku left behind—from his top bunk bed to his ex-girlfriend Mamimi Samejima, who hasn't stopped clinging to Naota since Tasuku left. Little does Naota know, however, that his mundane existence is on the verge of being changed forever: enter Haruko Haruhara, a Vespa-riding, bass guitar-wielding, pink-haired psychopath whose first encounter with Naota leaves him with tire tracks on his back and a giant horn on his head. Though all he wants is some peace and quiet, when Haruko takes up residence at his parents' home, Naota finds himself dragged into the heart of the greatest battle for supremacy that Earth—and quite possibly the entire universe—has ever seen. For some reason this kind of absurdism does not get me tired as there is usually some kind of explanation, not total randomness. For me FLCL marks revolution in anime that goes against all rules and that creates own rules instead. Don't limit imagination, there's a whole world of possibilities. Don't try to appeal to masses, do what you like and you'll find your niche. Fast pace and some clever humor findings as well. Overall Rating: 7/10 20. JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: Adventure JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (OVA) ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 ADVENTURE [APPP] (Finished 3/7) Tags: Shounen Vampire Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Supernatural Kujo Jotaro is a normal, popular Japanese high-schooler, until he thinks that he is possessed by a spirit, and locks himself in prison. After seeing his grandfather, Joseph Joestar, and fighting Joseph's friend Muhammad Abdul, Jotaro learns that the "Spirit" is actually Star Platinum, his Stand, or fighting energy given a semi-solid form. Later, his mother gains a Stand, and becomes sick. Jotaro learns that it is because the vampire Dio Brando has been revived 100 years after his defeat to Jonathan Joestar, Jotaro's great-great-grandfather. Jotaro decides to join Joseph and Abdul in a trip to Egypt to defeat Dio once and for all. I grasped the nature of JoJo from last OVA well enough, so no need to watch second OVA to the end. Same manly epic noise with zero substance . Overall Rating: 5/10 21. Tenshi Kinryouku Angel Sanctuary 天使禁猟区 [Hal Film Maker] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Shoujo Reincarnation Action, Drama, Romance, Supernatural Setsuna Mudo is a 16-year-old high school student just trying to get by without running afoul of his bullying seniors. It doesn't help that he's in love with his younger sister, Sara, who only sees him once a month. But there's more to his life than just keeping his head down. Setsuna is ambushed by mysterious beings, angels, and demons, all professing to know his true destiny. The angels say he is the reincarnation of their leader Alexiel, while the demons claim he led them to war against God himself. As Setsuna struggles with his identity in such strange times, the eternal conflict between Heaven and Hell threatens to reignite. Will he be prepared when it does? Tasteless eschatological confrontation, now with bishounens and emotional outbursts. Feels so rushed and artificial and having dummy personalities and just bad. Overall Rating: 5/10 22. Amon: Devilman Mokushiroku Amon: Apocalypse of Devilman AMON デビルマン黙示録 [Studio Live] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Gore, Mythology, Psychological Horror, Supernatural Fear runs rampant throughout Tokyo with the revelation that demons in fact exist amongst us. Paranoia and the darker side of humanity boils onto the streets as people turn on one another, suspecting that anyone could in fact be a demon hiding in human clothing. Amidst the growing tensions, tragedy strikes Akira causing his mind to snap, retreating into his subconscious, allowing his Devilish alter-ego Amon to break free from Akira's cage of flesh and wreak havoc on both human and demons alike. A very bloody Devilman franchise movie. Unless someone likes gore or is already an established fan of Devilman series, I see no reason to recommend it. Overall Rating: 5/10 23. Refrain Blue [PP Project] (Finished 3/3) Tags: Drama, Romance A trip to the beach turns out to be more than expected for two people who are mourning the losses of their beloved. Perhaps a mysterious girl known as the "Umi Warabe" can help them to heal their wounds and move on with their lives. Matsunaga Yoshihiro is the chaperone for a group of high-school students on a summer trip to the beach. One night he saves one of the students, Morisawa Nao, as she attempts to drown herself. She had been on this same trip a year ago, with her fiancee, who was later killed in a plane crash. As these two get to know each other, we find that Yoshihiro also has a painful secret from his past. Watching over everything is a mysterious young girl who somehow is always there at decisive moments. I see drama as cheesy here and the romance SOL as insignificant. Average is a good word for it, but it's still great that it exists as visual novel is even worse. Overall Rating: 5/10 24. Space Travelers The Animation Space Travelers スペーストラベラーズ The Animation [Fuji TV, Robot Communications] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Space Sci-Fi In the New Cosmic Century 038, humanity is suddenly attacked by an unknown alien civilization known as the Orbital Ring System. Soon, the entire Earth Civilization Sphere has been cut off from the space colonies, and is under the control of the ORS. Only Hayabusha Jetter, along with his band of misfit space pirates and smugglers, can break through ORS lines. It's only one hour long, and majority of time the supposedly bright crew just sits in their ship as it evades space dangers first on the way to and then from the Earth. There's nothing to look at. Overall Rating: 4/10 25. Jin-Rou Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade 人狼 JIN-ROH [Production I.G] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Adult Cast, Detective, Military Award Winning, Drama, Romance In an alternate history, following World War II, civil unrest and terrorism run rampant in a devastated Japan under foreign occupation. During a botched interception of underground munitions being transferred by a terrorist organization, Constable Kazuki Fuse, a soldier in an elite counter-terrorism unit, witnesses the true terror of human nature. He fails to prevent a teenage girl from carrying out a desperate suicide bombing that subsequently causes immense destruction to Tokyo. With mental scars and his competence under question, Fuse is sent back to the military academy for re-evaluation. Unbeknownst to him, he will soon be caught up in a web of government conspiracies that have the power to determine the future of all of Japan. As Fuse treads the fine line between human and beast, he ultimately discovers to which side he truly belongs. Pace is slow, there's not much explanation in words, and the seemingly great scale of story turns out to be not so great so to say in order not to spoiler, it disappointed me. It's a nice piece of art with all the little Robin the Hood references, but as a story there's nothing much, and I just can't recommend to invest two hours to get only some emotions and impressions out of it. Overall Rating: 6/10 26. Escaflowne Escaflowne: A Girl in Gaea エスカフローネ [Bones, Sunrise] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Isekai, Mecha Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi Hitomi Kanzaki is in a very depressed mood. She only wants to sleep and fade away. Her misery summons Lord Folken who sends her to Gaea. The people of Gaea think she is the Wing Goddess, who can call upon the legendary Dragon Armor called Escaflowne. On Gaea, King Van, the sole survior of the White Dragon Clan, is also in a depressed state. Swearing an oath to get his revenge on the Black Dragon Clan that obliterated Van's kingdom, he lives by the sword. Now that the Wing Goddess has finally appeared, she posseses Gaea's world fate in her heart. Escaflowne will either lead Gaea to peace or total ruin. Series started to resemble a usual mecha very soon after introduction, so I'm happy that almost everything mecha is cut from the movie. It's a beautiful show now albeit rather simple and occasionally silly. Overall Rating: 6/10 27. Crayon Shin-chan Movie 08: Arashi wo Yobu Jungle 映画 クレヨンしんちゃん 嵐を呼ぶジャングル [Shin-Ei Animation] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Seinen Action, Adventure, Comedy An adventure set in a south island. Shinnosuke with his parents and friends joined a tour with the preview of Action Kamen's new movie 'South Sea Millennium Wars' on a luxury liner, but a funky guy who names himself Paradise King and his slave gang of gibbon monkeys took away all the adults to a south island. Gotaro Go, an actor playing the role of Action Kamen, with Shinnosuke, fights a martial-arts battle and air battle against Paradise King. Somehow, was not great again. Little sister Himawari does not contribute to humor and only adds filler events. Overall Rating: 5/10 28. Ghiblies ギブリーズ [Studio Ghibli] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Comedy Two Ghibli created shorts about the happenings in a fictional animation studio, presumably based to some extent on their own. It's slightly over 30 minutes overall and includes live action scenes and CGI while animation is even worse than in Tonari no Yamada-kun , so it's hardly watchable at all, just doodles for the first episode. Second episode looks better than Yamadas, but also uses more CGI and live action. Humor is ok. Overall Rating: 5/10
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Anime of the Year 2000-I Winter - Miami Guns
kivandopulus posted a blog entry in Anime of the Season
No masterpieces and only a few decent anime this season. Among them my preference goes to Miami Guns 1. Boogiepop wa Warawanai Boogiepop Phantom ブギーポップは笑わない [Madhouse] (Finished 3/12) Tags: Psychological Avant Garde, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Supernatural Five years ago, a string of grisly murders shook the city to its core and now the rumors have begun once more. Boogiepop... Everyone knows about Boogiepop: meet her one dark night and you are taken. People tell each other the stories and laugh: no one believes that she can possibly exist in this day and age. Still, strange things appear to be going on and the darkness is taking on many forms. Something is out there. Are you safe? What is this... even if it's a puzzle, why it is so poorly done... Anyway, I don't like mystery hunting and watching something just for the atmosphere with the lack of substance, that's why Lain Experiments got no masterpiece from me. This one is even worse as it's mostly just scenes of someone eating flesh or some face in agony or anything else that is used in horrors. Hits so many red lights for me that any thought of enjoyment is absolutely out of question. Overall Rating: 5/10 2. Megami Kouhosei Candidate for Goddesses 女神候補生 [Xebec] (Finished 3/12) Tags: Mecha, Military, Space Action, Sci-Fi In the future humankind has expanded and colonized other planets. Then an alien species, Victim, attacks the human colonies leaving only one planet, Zion. In an effort to stop Victim from destroying the last planet a training school, GOA, is set up to gather boys from the Zion colonies and train them to become pilots of the Ingrids AKA The Goddesses, five fighting robots that protect Zion. The boys must possess a rare blood type, EO, as well as a special ability, or EX. Zero (Candidate 88) has just arrived in GOA when he falls into the cockpit of the Ingrid Eeva-Leena. Since the synch between pilot and Ingrid are very sensitive everyone believes the Goddess will kill Zero in an attempt to synch. Just before Zero passes out he makes a full synch with the Goddess. Before he can find out more about the incident, his pilot training begins. Pretty generic mecha. Studio uses a lot of cheap CGI, never bothered to buy an opening song for it and probably forgot to order scenario as well as it goes worse with each subsequent episode. Overall Rating: 5/10 3. Ojamajo Doremi Sharp おジャ魔女どれみ# [Toei Animation] (Finished 3/49) Tags: Shoujo Childcare Comedy At the end of the first season, Doremi and her friends all had to give up their witch powers and be normal girls again. This also meant that they couldn't see Majorika, Lala, and the fairies again. The MAHO-Dou was also deserted and the door to the Majokai was locked. The Queen, having seen all this through her crystal ball, secretly makes it so that Doremi and co. all end up heading into the Majokai again, with the excuse to return Majorika's hair dryer. However they end up stumbling into a garden, and one of the roses reveals a baby! The Queen tells the girls that they must raise the baby for a whole year. To help them, they receive newer and stronger witch powers than before! The adventure isn't over yet! For those who liked prequel. Overall Rating: 6/10 4. Kazemakase Tsukikage Ran Carried by the Wind: Tsukikage Ran 風まかせ月影蘭 [Madhouse] (Finished 3/13) Tags: Historical, Martial Arts, Samurai Adventure, Comedy In the Edo or Tokugawa period (1600–1868), Ran, a female wandering samurai whose skill with the katana is only matched by her taste for sake (rice wine), is joined by a chinese martial artist who calls herself Lady Meow of the Iron Cat Fist. Tsukikage Ran has individual episodes that are just short stories of their adventures. Just episodic stories from adventures... without bigger goal it does not sound enticing unless it's Samurai Champloo. It's ok, but in the end it's just samurai SOL with a very similar formula in each episode. Overall Rating: 6/10 5. Mushrambo Shinzo マシュランボー [Toei Animation] (Finished 3/32) Tags: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi In the world of Mushrambo, human life has all but come to an end. After a deadly virus threatened the extinction of mankind, a new race called the Enterrans was created to preserve life on Earth. However, relations between the Enterrans and their creators did not remain peaceful. Soon a war broke out with the Enterrans fighting against the humans and their robots. Ultimately the Enterrans were the victors of this conflict, renaming Earth as Enterra in honor of their victory. Before the last vestiges of humanity fell, one of the few remaining scientists put his daughter, Yakumo Shindou, into a sleep chamber. His hope was that his daughter would one day reawaken and find the human sanctuary known as Shinzo, reviving humanity and restoring peace between humans and Enterrans. Centuries have passed since the war; Yakumo now awakens and meets an Enterran named Mashura who pledges to assist in her quest. Also joined by the Enterrans Sago and Kutal, the group must now work to locate Yakumo's missing memories and locate Shinzo. But not every Enterran is as kind as Yakumo's new friends and some are prepared to commit any atrocity to prevent the return of humanity. Plot felt cheesy instantly, but learning that it's another fantasy on Chinese mythology Journey to the West put the dots to the right places. So it's another loose travelling adventure with vague goal and lots of nonsense. It's even worse than original Journey to the West anime, seriously . Overall Rating: 5/10 6. Miami Guns マイアミ☆ガンズ [Group TAC] (Finished 3/13) Tags: Shounen Detective Comedy, Ecchi Spoiled rich girl Yao Sakurakouji decides to join the Miami police force to enjoy car chases, gunfights and wanton destruction. The psychotic and not-too-bright Yao is partnered with Lu Amano, the soft-spoken and sharp-tongued daughter of the police chief. Together the dirty duo clean up the streets of Miami and take on a mysterious crime syndicate known only as 'The Organization'. Humor is of medium absurdity, so even I can follow it alright. But if I compare it with Ping-pong club that also had moderately absurd humor, quality of humor here is significantly lower, so can't rate too high. Overall Rating: 6/10 7. Oh! Super Milk-chan OH! The Super Milk-Chan Show スーパーミルクチャン [Pierrot] (Finished 3/12) Tags: Parody Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi Milk-chan is a drooling, potty-mouthed baby who lives in an apartment with an obsolete robot named Tetsuko, a slug named Hanage, and an uncontrollable pet named Robodog. Whenever the President calls, Milk-chan and the gang rush to the scene to solve any type of problem - whether it's stopping a money counterfeiter hungry for Belgian waffles or counselling a school of drunk fish. At the same time, they have to avoid a nagging landlord, as they're six months behind their rent. Visuals are schematic, and comedy is random , mostly speech-related and with focus on references. The majority of it all can't be called funny. Overall Rating: 5/10 8. Track City 트랙시티 [SBS TV Production] (Finished 3/26) Tags: Racing Action Jimmy was a typical boy who liked to play computer games. One day he was playing a game called 'Track City' when suddenly he got transported into the game world! Once he regained consciousness, a woman who apparently is the mayoress of the city explains to him that the world is threaten by a powerful malign virus and her allies and their only hope is to ask for the help of the "Legendary racer", the best player of 'Track City". Things get complicated when Jimmy learns that the game made a mistake and confused him with the Legendary racer! Will Jimmy learn the necessary skills to defeat the viruses that threaten the world? Or will he be erased by the 'big head', the heavenly punisher that annihilates those who cannot achieve victory? Not translated and in Korean. Can't be picky with this small number of anime in the beginning of the year. Anyway, shounen racing with a bit dip into virtual reality is way out my sphere of interests, feels childish and even worse than cyberformula that it probably imitates. Overall Rating: 5/10 9. Yuusha-Ou GaoGaiGar Final 勇者王ガオガイガーFINAL [Sunrise] (Finished 1/8) Tags: Mecha Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi Following Gutsy Galaxy Guard's victory over the Zonder Empire and the 31 Primevals, a new threat makes their appearance on Earth. GGG—with Guy Shishio and the newly-constructed GaoFighGar—team up with their French counterpart Chasseur to battle the evil organization BioNet. Among Chasseur's ranks is Renais Cardiff Shishioh, a former BioNet cyborg with the relentless pursuit of destroying those who took away her humanity. But as GGG and Chasseur fight the BioNet, GGG's bases around the world are suddenly attacked, and the recently-discovered "Q-Parts" and the original Gao Machines are stolen by Mamoru Amami, who has been abducted and cloned by an even greater threat known as the "Eleven Kings of Sol." Evicted from Earth by the United Nations, GGG must now travel to the far reaches of the galaxy to battle the Eleven Kings of Sol and save Mamoru before it's too late. I rated original as 5 and in this advanced stage it has become even more creepy and messy. The same word over and over surfaces consciousness every second I watch it - what a cringe. Overall Rating: 5/10 10. Karakuri no Kimi Puppet Princess Puppet Princess からくりの君 [TMS Entertainment] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Historical, Martial Arts, Samurai Action, Comedy, Fantasy, Horror, Supernatural Princess Rangiku lost her entire family to Lord Karimata, who invaded her home seeking her father's life work, puppets with unique capabilities. As her duty, Rangiku sets out with three of her father's greatest puppet warriors to seek revenge. She can manipulate these to battle the strongest of warriors, however manipulating the puppets leaves her own self vulnerable to direct attacks, so she seeks a ninja warrior named Manajiri to aid and protect her in her quest. A short action story with horror elements about controlled mechanical warriors fighting other mechanical warriors. It's original and memorable, but not sure I can call it good. Overall Rating: 6/10 11. Angelique: Shiroi Tsubasa no Memoire アンジェリーク ~白い翼のメモワール~ [] (Finished 2/2) Tags: Shoujo Drama, Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi Angelique... ...started as a dating simulation game for girls back in 1994 on the Super Famicom. The player took on the role of Angelique Limoges, an ordinary schoolgirl summoned to the Sanctuary of the Queen of the Cosmos. She had been chosen to compete in a contest to determine the next Queen. Angelique was clumsy and foolish in comparison to her rival, Rosalia de Cartagena, a refined girl who had been training since birth to compete in the Queen Examination. What was this Examination, anyway? The girls had to use the powers, or Sacrea, of the Queen's nine Guardians to cultivate a barren continent. The girl whose population reached the center island connecting the two continents would become the next Queen. But with the nine handsome Guardians around, it was hard to decide between power or love... Made up of 4 OVAs, each of which has multiple parts. Originator of otome games is quite simple, so I don't want to include further OVAs of it. Overall Rating: 5/10 12. First Kiss Monogatari First Kiss Story ファーストKiss☆物語 [Garyuu Studio] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Drama, Romance Moments before her upperclassman, Yoshihiko, left for college, Kana Orikura finally built up the courage to confess her love to him. Sharing their first kiss, the two decided to enter a relationship—a dream come true for Kana. Since that first moment, however, Kana and Yoshihiko have struggled with their relationship, resulting in Kana feeling lonely and depressed. But things take an unexpected turn when Shougo Hayakawa—the young and attractive teacher assigned to Kana's class—starts living in her house! Will Kana betray Yoshihiko for this new contender, or remain loyal to the man who took her first kiss? Yet another simple visual novel adaptation, and with just 30 minutes length only basic story was possible. Overall Rating: 5/10 13. Sango no Umi to Ouji The Prince and the Coral Sea サンゴの海と王子 [Toei Animation] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Fantasy On the island of Okinawa, driven by his kindhearted nature, a boy named Ray determines to stop the destruction of the island's natural forests and coral reef, no matter what he has to give. What will he give to stop a tidal wave from killing the island's people? Length is of one usual episode, so should not expect much of it, just a simple mermaid story. Overall Rating: 5/10 14. One Piece Movie 01 [Toei Animation] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Shounen Action, Adventure, Fantasy Many years ago, Woonan, a legendary pirate, plundered one-third of the world's gold and stashed it away on his secret island shrouded in mystery. In the present, Luffy and the rest of the Straw Hats continue on their journey to the Grand Line. They are robbed by a group of bandits. Led by their captain, El Drago, these same bandits are headed towards Woonan's famed island. Even though the Straw Hat Pirates must now recover their stolen treasure, they have gained another objective: to discover the lost island, its treasures, and learn about the legend of Woonan. I hoped that movies would be arc summaries, and instead this movie is just a side-story between 18th and 19th episodes. Having second thoughts about the need to watch One Piece movies further. No real difference from the series, so no reason to change score. Overall Rating: 5/10 15. A.LI.CE [GAGA] (Finished 1/1) Tags: Sci-Fi In the year 2000, Alice Hayashi wins a trip to the moon in a sweepstake. However, when her shuttle launches, something goes terribly wrong, and the next thing she knows, she has crashed somewhere in a frozen wasteland. Before she can get her bearings, strange soldiers begin to attack her, forcing her to flee. Eventually, Alice meets a young man called Yuan, who tells her that she is in Lapland in the year 2030. The soldiers pursuing her belong to Nero, an enigmatic leader who controls the world through his supercomputer. He is also responsible for reducing the Earth's population by over seven billion. Convinced that Nero has something to do with her time jump, Alice, Yuan, and the android maid Maria journey to Kingdom, the shadowy fortress that Nero rules from. CGI is ugly and time travel totally failed, so would not recommend to anyone. Overall Rating: 4/10