Pretear (Shin Shirayuki Hime Densetsu Pretear)

Pretear (Shin Shirayuki Hime Densetsu Pretear):

    Himeno Awayuki was a normal sixteen-year old girl until her father married a woman who happens to be rich. Since then, she has been perceived as an outcast by both her new stepsisters and her classmates. Later Himeno finds out from seven men called the Leafe Knights that she is something called Pretear, a girl who has the power to merge with and control the nature of the elemental-oriented powers from the Leafe Knights and stop an evil being called the Princess of Disaster.

General Info:
Episodes; 13.
Language; Japanese with English subs.

Review:
     I very much liked the idea of this show, the Leafe Knights and how she transforms, for lack of better word, into these different power-ed versions of herself. The animations were very pretty, and at times I would literally giggle to death, especially when Hayate runs away from angry Himeno (4).
   Depsite this, there are a couple episode in there where it is just Himeno being useless and feeling afraid for her life. I'll admit it's probably to show that we all have flaws, but it was sort of drawn out to me, it didn't seem as much like a fault as it did a 'look at poor me' sort of thing.
    Even so, Sasame's sexiness makes up for it. Ha ha. In all seriousness I actually enjoyed the artwork of this one very much. The characters had very good facial expressions, and if you pay close attention you can see people in the background who aren't paricularily significant have changing facial expressions. Or even when you look at one character, than to another, if someone is standing behind them their facial expression changed very smoothly. This, and the characters were very attractive overall.
    The romance in Pretear is both obvious and subtle, and I enjoyed it very much! This one belongs in the 'Magic' tab for apparent reasons.

Must Watch Episodes:  
     There weren't many because this was a short series, but here are the ones I took note of:
-Episodes 4 (I laughed so hard at this episode, especially when Hayate ran away at the end),  7,  8,  10, and  12.

Rating:
   I would give Pretear 4 out of 5 stars. I would have given it 5, but there were a couple episodes which were Himeno was just pitying herself, and I always hate that sort of thing. Normally it wouldn't be such a big deal, but considering the anime is only 13 episodes long, a couple is quite a bit. * * * *

Puchi Puri Yuushi (Petite Princes Yucie)

Puchi Puri Yuushi (Petite Princess Yucie):

    In the distant past in a faraway land, Yuushi is a 17-year-old girl that has been put under a spell -- her body stopped aging ever since she was ten years old. Cheerful and optimistic, Yuushi doesn't let the spell bother her. Especially because Yuushi has been selected as a candidate to become the next Puchi Puri Princess. The girl selected to be princess will receive a magical tiara which grants the wearer anything she wants. This means that if Yuushi becomes princess she can wish her spell away! But the competition is stiff and Yuushi still looks like a 10-year-old girl.

General Info:

Episodes; 26.

Language; Japanese with English subs.

Review:

   I definitely liked the plot line, but for me it was a little to drawn out. Several episodes in there had no real significance at all, and seemed like they were there for the sake of making the show longer. I didn't start really enjoying the series until episode 6, and I was not fond of the six that followed. Once it got passed 16 it was better, but still was sort of boring.

   Now I will hand it to them, the last two episodes literally made me bawl. Audibly at that. So I will say I really enjoyed those episodes. The actual animation bothered me a quite a bit - Yuushi's hair style freaked me out. Mind you it did add to the story somewhat, but Arc's hair was equally freaky. During these times you wonder how freaking long it toke to do that.

   Another thing I really appreciated was the commercial break outro (made up term?) and intro they were all different and all cute! I liked that it related to the story as well, sort of prompting  you to notice the development of characters.

   I also liked Arc quite a bit, and I will not take points off for her freaky hair. He truly was a hottie - and even though his looks were not top notch, he won me over with that personality. Of course I did actually like all the personalities off the characters excluding Erumina. 

*I just want to make an off-topic note, but they really f***ed up the name translations and Wiki. Cocoloo? Kokoru! Prince Arrow? Prince Aru! Ha ha, I find this quite amusing.*

    The ending made me cry a lot, and I love it when an anime can make me cry. I guess without knowing it I got attached to the characters.

    Like I said before, I did get bored part way through, but that doesn't mean I didn't like the idea of the anime. It will be docked stars for boring me, gomen gomen!

    Due to the awesome other-worldliness, this anime belongs in the 'Magic' tab.

Must Watch Episodes:

    I picked quite a few, but keep in mind I didn't especially enjoy the episode not listed here. Also keep in mind this is my opinion and my opinion alone.

-Episodes 6,  10,  12,  13,  15,  16,  20,  25, and  26.

Rating:

   I will give Puchi Puri Yuushi 3.5 out of 5 stars. * * * ½*

Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne

Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne:

    Marron seems to be a normal, ditsy kinda of school girl when in actuality she is the reincarnation of Joan of Arc. With her angel sidekick Fin, she attempts to seal demons which are hiding in pieces of art and possess weak-hearted people. However with sealing the demons the art disappears leaving the police and her best friend Miyako, the police chief's daughter, to suspect her to be nothing but a common art thief. More strange twists occur when a smooth talking new boy in school moves in next door along with the presence of a new "art thief" Sinbad, who races against Joan to seal demons. Now Marron must race against the police and Sinbad to seal the demons and manage just to make it through school and a strange homelife.

General Info:

Episodes; 44.

Language; Japanese with English subs.

Review:

   I actually was quite fond of this series, though I have a couple complaints, but their fairly minor compared to the big picture. You really do have to like magic girl animes to enjoy ones like this. They are all fairly similar in context, so you can't really just look at the big picture.

   My first complaint would have to be how Jeanne became so much more girly and vulnerable after Sinbad started protecting. It seemed like now that she has someone there for her, she no longer needs to be a super strong women. Also, because they actually need to put Jeanne in situations where Sinbad needed to save her, she fell for a bunch of stupid traps.

   Another thing that annoyed me was the second version of her transformation - not the actual over-all thing, but the little clip that they put in while they transfer. The thing was a freaking minute long! I always skipped it because it was the same thing over and over again, I was just annoyed. The first transformation this was quick and interesting enough because they background would change to fit her surroundings. Also, it was just her enveloped in pink fiery stuff, in which she leaped out of, transformed. Luckily, the long transformation was only for the last 14 episodes or so.

   That was pretty much it for what annoyed me aside from a couple of the developments that I won't discuss to save the story for everyone; though it's not exactly un-guessable.

   I quite liked the overall story - the hero's actually being theives. I actually quite liked how they made the police seem antagonistic, but also important to the protagonist. Of course the real antagonists were the deamons and the 'Queen', and of course Satan. 

   I also liked how Jeanne (I don't call her Maron, but they are one in the same) and Chiaki developed, but also how Miyako and Iinchou (I can't remember his real name, bad me) developed along with them. I wasn't a big fan of Noin or Himiji (not to sure about his name, either, but I think this is close), but I quite liked Myst. She was f***ing fantastical. I always loved the evil-ish people, but for some reason I toke a special liking to her. Perhaps because she contradicted child-like innocence with evil; how her candy was deamons, and she killed them by crushing the candy. 

    This goes under the 'Romantic Maigc' tab by default, but I would probably stick it under the 'Drama' one otherwise. Yes, it centers quite a bit on the comedic aspect and does a good job of it, but the drama with Jeanne's parents, Chiaki, Miyako, Fin, and even Iinchou out-weighed the comedic bits. Both were still prominent, though. The ending was also quite good!

Must Watch Episodes:

   I had a list on my computer, but I didn't save it, and then I stupidly deleted it. I went through the episode on Wikipedia, and picked out the ones I could remember.

- Episodes 9,  13,  15,  16,  19,  20,  25,  29,  33, 38,  and 44.

Rating:

    I would give Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne 4 out of 5 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! * * * * *