Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitteiru (Uraboku)

    Sakurai Yuki is a mysterious boy with a mysterious ability. He was found in the bushes as a baby and adopted by his current family. Because of this, Yuki strives for independence. The last thing he wants is to be a burden to anybody. Furthermore, when he touches others, he can feel their emotions. Unable to control his ability, he often made insensitive blunders in the past. With death threats and his abilities increasing, what will happen when a man claiming to be his older brother appears?

General Info:

Episodes; 24.

Language; Japanese with English subtitles.

Review:

    This was an extremely serious and dramatic one. Yes, it had action, but these were also drawn out in a dramatic way. I found it sort of slow in the sense nothing terribly interesting happens every episode, but it was smooth like this - making the story easy to follow. It was heavy on the whole magic-y and Duras such and so, but it was quite unique and interesting.

    The ending wasn't quite conclusive enough in my opinion, it's like the makers didn't know how to end it, so just threw out any old cliche and hoped for the best. Cliche, yes, but it was a final-seeming ending. In other words I don't exactly expect a sequel. At the same time, though, at episode 23 I was thinking there was going to be a sequel; do you see what I mean when I say abrupt?

    This is supposedly yaoi - and I guess a minor sense it is - but it more one characters feelings for another. There wasn't any kissing or sex or anything of the sort in here - so I would count it at all as yaoi. Unless you can't stand even the slightest hint homosexuality, this will be fine. And technically it's not homosexuality if you think about it (you'll have to watch it if you want to know what I mean~...)

    I did quite enjoy this one, and despite seeming slow at times, I really enjoyed it!

Must Watch Episodes:

My list this time is;

3

4
7

14

15

18

20

23

Rating:

   I would give Uraboku 4 our of 5 stars. * * * *

Hakuouki

Hakuouki:

   Based on Idea Factory's romance adventure game: Yukimura Chizuru has come to Kyoto looking for her father, a doctor who has gone missing. While there, she witnesses a fight between an Oni and the Shinsengumi. Taking her into custody, the Shinsengumi debates on what to do with Chizuru when they discover that she is the daughter of the doctor they are also looking for. The Shinsengumi then takes Chizuru along on their search after the missing doctor, from adventures to adventures.

General Info:

Episodes; 12.

Language; Japanese with English subs.

Review:

   I found this one not only slightly creepy (I love creepy!), but fantastically action-filled as well. I absolutely love samurai/ninja/sword-fight anything, so this was already shot to the top of my list. As explained by the blurb, it is about a girl who's father went missing, and so after waiting for while, she dresses as a boy and goes out to find him. Within the first five or so minutes of the show you see her basically running for her life and hiding behind some barrels from some guys, only for them to be slaughtered by the Rasetsu (sorry if I spelled this wrong). AND - I know the blurb says 'Oni', but they are not Oni's, they are Rasetsu's. They guy Kazama is a real Oni.

   Either way, there is a little romance between the characters (as expected when one girl is living in a dojo filled with hot guys). You are supposed to favour Hijikata, but how can you with all the others around!? My favourite guys were Saito, Keisuke, and the bad-sexy-guy Kazama. Kazama is my number one, why do I always like the wrong ones?

   Anyways, the fighting scenes in this are absolutely fantastic. If you have a weak stomach against blood and such, then I wouldn't suggest it. It is also a fairly serious and tense anime, considering there is a war going on at this time. It has a lot of confusing twists and unexpected moments. Just a general tip when watching animes - skip the beginning song unless you really love it, or if you do, don't watch the video. It always tends to ruin the story a little bit. 

   I, like I said before, I love fighting/tense/serious animes (I mentioned sword fighting I'm sure) and anyone who is into that stuff will surely love it. And girls who like this stuff, but can't suppress their girly nature, it is mostly action a fighting plus hot guys with a touch of romance on the side. You will like it, and I definitely recommend it.

***Just a side note, sorry for not posting in so long. Also sorry this such a shitty review, I'm a little rusty, no?

Must Watch Episodes:

    I didn't note them, I seem not to, eh? I liked them all, but my favourites were definitely episode 1,  3,  6,  & 9 of what I remember. I like any episode with Kazama in it honestly, and episode 3 because it was a bigger battle one.  

Rating:

    By far 5 our of 5 stars! * * * * *

Samurai Champloo

Samurai Champloo:

    Mugen's a buck wild warrior - violent, thoughtless and womanizing. Jin is a vagrant ronin - mysterious, traditional, well-mannered and very strong as well. These two fiercely independent warriors can`t be any more different from one another, yet their paths cross when Fuu, a ditzy waitress, saves them from being executed when they are arrested after a violent sword-fight. Fuu convinces the two vagrant young men to help her find a mysterious samurai "who smells of sunflowers." And their journey begins. This is a story about love, friendship and courage... NOT!

General Info:
Episodes; 26.
Language; Japanese with English subs, English dub (very good English dub, the voices suited the characters.)

Review:
    Everyone needs to watch a good action anime once in a while, and I absolutely loved this one. Good action animes can be a little hard to find because they can just turn out with several episodes of accomplishing nothing (cough cough Bleach), but this one was quite the contrary. Yes, because they are travelling there is quite a bit of the same sort of thing - finding a shelter and eating - but it's never boring.
    This is rated +18 for good reasons, there are several suggestive things and 'red light district' sort of stuff, but I think the rating is mainly because of all the blood and whatnot. There is definitely a lot of blood-spraying and limb-chopping fun, but I actually quite enjoyed this. I don't mind gore and whatnot, but I mainly liked the fight scenes because they were cool to watch. There were a couple guns, but it was mainly about katana use (thus the 'Samurai') which pretty much kicked ass. I like!
    Along with the explicit scenes are gore, there was a reasonable amount of swearing, so I wouldn't watch it if you are sensitive to any of those things, are just young in general. Either way, the plot line is good, and lots is added onto it throughout that don't make it too heavy emotionally, but definitely increases the danger.
    I have to admit, and I don't really like how the very end was, but then again is sort of suited everything, so it was for the best. There is a touch of romance in it, but not really within the three main characters. It is there, just not prominent. More subtle, there if you want to see it, but easily overlooked.
    This is by far an action anime, and I wouldn't say it has much romance at all. Considering I only have a 'Romantic Action' tab, that is where it will go. Perhaps if I get into more genres, I'll make more separate tabs and just make 'Romance' a tab of it's own. We'll see. If I had to sum up this anime though, I would say it's basically a Samurai gang fight. There's even graffiti, beat-boxing, and rapping, so who can say otherwise. That and the fact that there are actually gang fights....

Must Watch Episodes:
    I actually stopped keeping track of my favourite episodes....I sort of was to engrossed in what was happened to care much... I would definitely say you have to watch the last three or so episodes though, very good!

Rating:
   I know I have been giving out a lot of 5 stars lately, but this one definitely deserves it, I can't really find anything I didn't like about it. So 5 out of 5 stars. * * * * *

Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakamatachi

Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakamatachi:

    Ookami Ryouko is a spunky and, by some accounts, rather manly high school girl. She is tall, speaks in a traditionally masculine way and is very proficient in fighting. Ookami-san's best friend is the small and high-pitched voiced Akai Ringo. Incidentally, the two are rather flat-chested, a fact the Narrator (voiced by Arai "Kuroko" Satomi of Railgun fame) is all too eager to point out.

    Ookami and Ringo are members of the Otogi Bank, a club in Otogi High School that assists students with their problems in return for their assistance on a different problem at a later date; thus the Otogi Bank is effectively a loan institute for problems where you can take out a loan for a solved problem but you have to repay it sooner or later.

    The Otogi Bank is able to solve any problem and will go to any lengths to do so, often leading the members to danger or mayhem. Since all of the members of the club are female, a male one is needed for the more dangerous assignments. Thus, the scopophobic (the fear of being looked at) Morino Ryoushi is inducted as a member, right after he confesses his love for Ookami...
    The series parodies many famous fairy tales, either with puns relating to names or fairy tale themes being used in creative and funny ways. The two main heroines' names are a play on words relating to the story of Little Red Riding Hood; Akai means red and Ookami means wolf. The title of the anime is a pun for the full title of Snow White and translates to Wolf and the Seven Companions; additionally, Ringo means apple and Ryouko means hero, making their names double puns. Other fairy tale parodies include Cinderella and The Ant and the Grasshopper.

(I know, long, right?)

General Info:

Episodes; 12.

Language; Japanese with English subs.

Review:

    I always like the animes with the strong heroine, do you not? I think the thing I most enjoyed about this anime was the whole Little Red Riding hood spin off, where Little Red and the Wolf are actually good friends. I watched this anime quite a while ago, so I can't exactly remember all the little details, but I remember thinking that the ending lead to a second season - which there is not.

   I remember that the ending was very unsatisfactory, which for me is by far the most important thing. If you have a fantastic day, but then something shitty happens at the end, you remember it for it's shitty-ness, not all the wonderful stuff during the day. Not to say that this anime had a super shitty ending or anything, this was just an analogy for my disappointment in an aggrandized scale.

    As for the actual plot line, I enjoy how it unfolded and how Ookami came to rely on Morino more and more, and it was mainly that relationship that lead me to believe that there was a second season.

    Probably my favourite thing about this anime is Narrator. Normally, this would be extremely annoying as it is in some animes, but this totally added the whole comedy aspect to it. Loved this, especially with pointing out how flat chested the girls are and such. It makes me smile thinking about it.

    In the picture - because I could not find one displaying the title - is Ookami (left) and Ringo (right). You can tell how they accented the whole Red Riding Hood by making Ringo a red-head with her little red cape thing, and Ookami sort of fierce and feral looking.
   This anime is mostly comedy and romance, along with the puns and a tiny dash of action.

Must Watch Episodes:

    Again I must apologize, gomen gomen,  but I did watch this anime quite a while ago, and did not have this in mind at the time. With the more recently watched animes I will include this. If I don't have any in this section, you will get rambling such as this.

Rating:

    I would give it 3.5 out of 5 stars, * * *  ½*, because of inconclusive the ending was. If there were a second season, or more closure to the series, it would have got 4 stars.

Kamichama Karin

Kamichama Karin:

    Karin Hanazono is an orphan, living with her relatives. Her life has never been easy, her studies are not well, she is not the best in sports and technically she is miserable. Left with only a ring as a memento from her departed mother, she suddenly finds her life changed, as she was mourning her pet cat, Shii-chan. On that night she met a strange boy, Kazune Kujyou. After that event, she experiences several mysterious incidences that soon led her to find out that she is a little goddess. Finding others like her she soon sets out to understand herself better as her mysterious powers grow and she becomes beset by opponents.

General Info:

Episodes; 26.

Language; Japanese with English subs.

Review:

    I actually really really like this anime - more that I thought I would. Normally I'm not into the cutesy-type animation, but I think it added to their innocence. Do not judge an anime by the animations!! <-- Lesson learned.

    I literally just finished the last episode, so I need to vocalize me complaints. First thing is, I didn't like how they started the anime. Yes, I'll admit it's original and an interesting idea, but it's hard for someone who is watching it for the first time to follow.  I started watching and instantly paused it, thinking I was at the half-way point by mistake. Of course this was no mistake, but it confused me more than added to it. 

   After finishing the last episode, I went back and watched that little cut scene again, and it does make a lot more sense now in the sense of Kazune and Michii, but I still have no clue as to who the brown haired boy is. He was never introduced as one of the Gods at all, but I assume he is the pop singer boy - Jin. 

    Believe it or not in the beginning bit I already decided within the second he shoved Kazune aside that Jin (or whoever) was my favourite. I'm just going to call him Jin, because I do actually think it was him - considering the similar dramatic personality as during the curry contest.

    As for the plot line, it sort of doesn't surface until the last five or so episodes. Nevertheless all the episodes are entertaining. I was watching them around one in the morning and I found myself clapping my hand over my mouth the keep the giggles from waking people. 

    It's always so much easier to nit pick than to find things that you like, funny eh? Another thing I did like was the sort of innocent relationship between Karin and Kazune, and then all the awkward positions they were occasionally put through - especially episode 11!

   There are a lot of things in this anime that hint at the ending, things you don't get until the you've watched the entire thing, and then look back. There is something Himeka says in episode 10, so if you watch this anime, look at the Wiki episode listings and it will definitely click in your head as a 'Ohh!?' moment. So sneaky, I love it when anime-rs do this. It makes it interesting still if you decide to watch it a second time through, making light bulbs go off along the way.

    I actually could not decide where to put this anime, in 'Comedy' or 'Action', because it had an equal share of both. The comedy was enough to make me laugh, and the action was sparkly enough to capture my thoughts, so I have decided to make a magic tab! A couple other anime's will be on that list!

   If you are going to watch any magic-girl anime, definitely watch this one, I honestly loved it.

Must Watch Episodes:

I actually loved them all, but here are a couple that I think other's may like all the more.

-Episode 5

-Episode 9

-Episode 10

-Episode 11

-Episode 13

-Episode 20 <3

-Episode 26

(My list has all of the episode on it,  ha ha. I write them down on sticky notes, so it wasn't in order, so I didn't notice.)

Rating:

I would give Kamichama Karin 5 out of 5 stars, I really loved this anime! * * * * *

Tokyo Mew Mew

Tokyo Mew Mew:

    On her first date with the cutest boy in school, Ichigo is zapped by a mysterious ray that scrambles her DNA with that of the endangered Iriomote wildcat. The next day, Ichigo discovers that she has developed the agility (and occasionally the ears and tail) of a cat, as well as the power to transform into a pink-haired superheroine, Mew Ichigo. She and four other girls, each endowed with the genes of a different "Red Data" animal, have been selected for the top-secret Mew Project, which aims to protect the Earth from an alien menace known as Deep Blue.

General Info:

Episodes; 52.

Language; Japanese with English subs.

Review:

    First things first - the animation. I am not a huge fan of this style of anime, but it is not the worst I have seen. It took me a little while to get used to, but after that it was fine. My point, if you don't like this animation style, suck it up and watch a couple episodes before you toss it out the window.

   The plot was extremely similar to Shugo Chara - actually so alike I wonder if Shugo Chara copied Tokyo Mew Mew a little... Nevertheless, if you haven't watched SC, it won't bother you in the slightest.

   I quite like all the little boy dramas between Aoyama, Shirogane, and Kisshu, and also the surprises and secrets each of them holds. I find that all of them, especially Kisshu, develop dramatically throughout the 52 episodes, and along the way you learn different things about each of them.

   Being the heroine, you also learn quite a bit about Ichigo of course, but I found that she along with all the other girls didn't reveal as much, or develop much at all; excluding Mint and Zakuro. 

   Out of the three guys, Kisshu was by far my favourite. Again, mostly because I like the enemy/crazies. That and teleportation and the ability to extract souls is f***ing awesome. See my bad choice of men? "Ohh, you can steal souls?! Hot!" All of the guys were sort of girly looking, so this was mostly off of personality and partially for looks.

    I do have a couple of complaints, my main one being that the Mew Mew's transformations take a freaking millenium!! The first couple time you see it, you're sort of thinking it's cool and flashy, but after that you are tearing  your hair out, begging it to get on with it. I will admit that Mint's sort of dance transformation entranced me a little bit, but it was mostly annoying.

   Another thing that bothered me is that it's so blatantly obvious who Ichigo is going to end up with. I sort of like a little bit of the choosing your favourite (I did this regardless) and then hoping she ends up with him. Not in this case.

   This sort of ruined it for me at the beginning, but closer to the end there is enough things that make you go 'what the f***!?' to make up for the lack of chances. It still bothers me.

   At first I thought the ending meant there would be a second season - and it certainly leaves it open enough that if they ever wanted to do a season 2, they could - but after I thought about it for a while, it was just to let you know how their lives would continue on. I can't really explain this without ruining the story a bit, so I wont say anything more on it.

    This is definitely a romantic action, but there are some bits of comedy in there. There are bits that are actually funny, and then there are a couple points that they seem to be trying to hard to get laughs. It's also very dramatic, so I had to debate whether to put it in 'Action' or 'Drama'. I settled on 'Action' because that is a main point of the story.

     I want to say much more, but I'm just going to leave it here;

     Overall I enjoyed just about every episode excluding a chosen few, and I enjoyed the twists that took you by surprise. I do want to warn now that the first ten or so episodes are a little tedious because it's trying to get the story going, so it's sort of just the same thing over and over again, but it gets past that, I promise.

Must Watch Episodes:

   I actually was writing down the names of my favourite episodes, but then I threw it away because it was just scrap paper!! Baka! Though I am sad this say, this is not all of my favourite episodes, but just the ones I can remember, gomen!

-Episode 12

-Episode 24 

-Episode 31

-Episode 36: Liked this one a lot.

-Episode 39: Especially love this one!

-Episode 40

-Episode 49

I think that was all of them, and yes, I know there are a lot; I liked a lot of episodes...

Sad thing is that I can't remember the number of my favourite episode! It's one with Kisshu :] I remember all the others but this one, honestly! If I do remember, I will definitely add it!

Rating:

I would give Tokyo Mew Mew 4 our of 5 stars. * * * *

Note:

    Sorry I haven't been posting in a while, I have been meaning to, but I had a French exam coming up and lots of family drama. Also, why are all there names foods? Mint? Lettuce? Pudding? Zakuro (Pomegranate in Japanese I believe)? Strawberry (Ichigo when Mew Ichigo)? Actually, why not just call Ichigo something like Cherry - why Ichigo and her attack strawberry?

Full Metal Panic!

Full Metal Panic!:

Sousuke Sagara, a seventeen year old military specialist working for the secret organization MITHRIL, has been assigned to protect the latest "Whispered" candidate Kaname Chidori. To complete this task Sousuke will have to deal with enemies from his past as well as the occasional panty thief. Unfortunately for Sousuke, the toughest part of his mission isn't only protecting Miss Chidori but also getting used to living an average High School students life, no easy task for someone raised on the battlefield. 

General Info:

Episodes; 24.

Language; Japanese with English subs, English dub.

Review:

    This show DEFINITELY has the whole mecha thing going on, which I will admit I really love the concept of. I always have and always will be a big fan of the flashy robot-y like things, so this was pretty much a drool-worthy gorgeousness for me. 

     So aside the flashiness there was a bit of story line with Chidori being a so called 'Whispered' and then Sousuke sort of being her protector. Then of course there the little bit of love between them. Sadly, it doesn't amount to much more than a little blushing, so I suppose the romance aspect was for girly men and girls. Or in other words - no, it was not the main point of the story.

    Nevertheless, it had an interesting story line with Kurz (Kurts? Weber) and Mel (Melissa Mao), along with the addition of Tessa a little later. It's very dramatic and has a couple things in it that you wouldn't normally expect. 

    I have to say this now, but the whole high school thing is a lie. Yes, they are in high school, but it is NOT AT ALL about how Sousuke copes with being in high school - it's about him protecting Chidori in different situations. There are some school aspects - like Sousuke always getting yelled at (understandably) for bringing firearms and bombs to school and whatnot - but most of the actual story doesn't even take place at the high school!

    However, the actual action bit is quite good. As with all action shows there are times when it is a little redundant, and for a couple episodes your just sort of numb and watching colours fly by, but when the submarine is taken over by the enemies and the one episode where Sousuke is with the other E9 (I cannot remember for the life of me what they are actually called) squad and the whole thing with Gauron. It's a very interesting story line.

    If you are looking for an mecha, si-fi, action show with the tichi-est touch of romance, then this is a good show. If you are looking for something a little more romance oriented, then I wouldn't suggest this, it just leads to disappointment in that area.

Must Watch Episodes:

    I actually didn't have any episodes I particularly favoured over others - they were all pretty good.

Rating:

I would give it 4 starts out of 5. * * * *

Earl and Fairy (Hakushaku To Yousei)

Earl and Fairy (Hakushaku To Yousei):

    The story is set in 19th century England and centers on a "fairy doctor" named Lydia. Her life takes a 180-degrees turn when she meets a legendary blue knight count named Edgar and his crew. He hires her as an adviser during his quest to obtain a treasured sword that was supposed to be handed down to him by his family.

General Info:
Episodes; 12.
Language; Japanese with English subs.

Review:
    I actually quite enjoyed the actual animation of this, meaning the characters were...well they were pretty hot, so to say. In all seriousness I found the fact that they were as attractive as they were to also play part in the story, especially comparing the fairies beauty with that of a normal human. Raven is part fairy, and Edgar is...well Edgar is Edgar, they can't make the male lead uglier than the others in an anime like this - its simply not done!
    Despite being short, it does have a fairly decent plot line. I think if they had maybe brought it to 14 or 15 episodes, they could have explained Edgar, Raven, and Ermine's background a little more. With Edgar - the whole killing thing, Raven's background, and the whole betrayal thing with Ermine. It had some very dramatic and emotionally effective ideas in it, but it wasn't concentrated on enough to make it super effective. So the whole history, in my opinion, just turned into a side story of the love triangle between Edgar, Lydia, and Kelpie (Cain).
    Personal preference wise, I like it better when there is a love triangle that it is unknown for a while who the protagonist with end up with. You would get more of the girly happiness out of the cute moments with both, in this particular case, men. By making it stunningly obvious who Lydia was going to be with, it sort of crushed Kelpie's awesomeness.
    I usually favour the guys that don't get picked, as I'm sure you'll learn I always choose the wrong one... So the fact that my favourite didn't get the girl also crushes it a bit for me. Don't get me wrong, I am happy with who she did end up with.
    So basically, I found that the drama in the show was sort of nondramatic, making it sort of flat, and almost meaningless to me. The main concentration was the relationships between Lydia, Edgar, and Kelpie. It was good, though, and I always enjoy the animes set in an older century.
   This wasn't one of my favourite animes, though, and it didn't quite leave me desperate to watch the next.

Must Watch Episodes:
-Episode 7: Lydia saves Edgar and goes with Kelpie to the fairy world.
-Episode 9: You just have to watch it, I don't want to say anything, ha ha.

Rating:
I would give this anime 3.5 out of 5 stars. * * *  ½*

Note:
I know the picture is for the PlayStation game, but I couldn't resist it! Ha ha :]
Also, surprise surprise, Wikipedia says there's a second season! Thank you again, magic of Wiki!

Code-E

Code-E:

    Chinami Ebihara is girl with a strange ability to generate electromagnetic waves when her emotions run high. However, since this 'ability' affects anything electrical, it resulted in her having to transfer from school to school when she was younger. As Chinami, now 18 years of age, transfers to a new school, she once again affects the electronic devices in the school, but this time, when another student, Kotaro Kannagi, sees her do this, he becomes obsessed in studying her "TYPE-E" ability.

General Info:

Episodes; 12.

Language; Japanese with English subs.

Review:

   This anime was very unique with it's plot line and the way the characters developed. I was not expecting some of the twists to the story. I didn't have any episodes I found boring, and though common with the genre, there weren't any redundant episodes. Though that may have to do with the fact that there are only 12 episodes... I am always fond of the sort of ignorant characters - or at least the seemingly so - and Kotaro was the PERFECT example of that. Not only is he unaware of Chinami's feelings, but of Sonomi's feelings. The comedy in this show would have to be Sonomi's misunderstandings of different situations. Which is totally understandable, because sometimes Chinami and Kotaro's wording is not very well thought out....

   I liked the entire concept of this anime, they toke a very complicated idea and kind of smooshed it into a cute school-girl anime. Sadly, there is not much I can say that won't ruin the surprises or the story-line, which sort of says something about the anime in itself. I said that the episodes weren't redundant, and they were not, but they are not jam packed with action.

   I know I am putting this in the romantic action section, but that is purely because it contains action, yes, but it leans towards si-fi. Thus, it is squished in with action.

   So yes, this is a cute, short anime that you will not regret watching. There are little cute moments that make me blush slightly, so it's satisfying in that department. 

  I also mentioned how I love ignorant characters, but this is because they develope further than other characters. I believe this is one of the reasons I liked this anime.

    The main concentration with this anime would have to be the romance and Si-Fi aspect to it. I believe there may be a sequel based on the ending.

Must Watch Episodes:

*guilty side-ways look* I actually didn't make note of my favourite episodes while I was watching this. I know, I know. "Bad Tasha!" If I ever re-watch it or just glance over them, I'll definitely add them. Promise!

Rating:

I would give this anime 3.5 out of 5 stars. * * *  ½*

Note:
Thanks to the magic of Wikipedia, I learned there IS a second season called Mission-E. I will try to watch that in the near future!