Psychic Detective Yakumo

Psychic Detective Yakumo

    In order to help a friend possessed by a spirit, Ozawa Haruka knocks on the door of her university's movie research association. There she meets Saitou Yakumo, a rude, unkempt young man with a red left eye, who is said to have spiritual powers. At first Haruka is skeptical, but she comes to believe him when he conveys messages from her older sister, who died when she was a child. Together, they work to shed light on the terrifying events happening at their university. But this is only the prologue of what's to come...

General Info:

Episodes; 13.

Language; Japanese with English subs.

Review:

    I love mystery-like shows, and 'detective' was not just part of the name. Despite the cases seeming relatively random, they were all connected in one way or another; in my opinion that is the work of a clever mind. 

    I found the romance between Yakumo and Haruka gentle and sweet. It wasn't exactly basking in the spotlight, but subtly hinting. I think their non-extreme relationship suited Yakumo's internal conflict with himself, and Haruka's self-unawareness, so it worked really well with them. It left me completely satisfied in that sense to say the least.

    The story had interesting twists and each ending was both conclusive and a cliff-hanger - again takes a clever mind to do - with left me happy with the episode, and eager for the next. 

    I feel as if I can't say much without ruining the story - but I can comment and say that I would also be in love with Yakumo, and I also really loved Nao (Isshin's daughter) I thought she was absolutely adorable.

    Also - speaking of Isshin - whatever episode it was when the crazy man was trying to resurrect his daughter, when Haruka first met Isshin, I thought he was the crazy man in disguise. Ha ha; proves how skeptical I am. It would have made a nice twist though, eh?

   On second thought, perhaps not. I really liked the opening song and video, it set the whole atmosphere for the show, so I really enjoyed this. Fantastic!

Rating:

I would give Psychic Detective Yakumo 4 out of 5 stars. * * * *

Fruits Basket

Fruits Basket:

Tohru Honda is 16 year old orphaned girl who gets invited to live in the house of her classmate, the handsome boy Sohma Yuki, and his cousins, 16 year old Kyo and 27 year old Shigure. However, these young men and parts of the rest of their family (both close and distant) hold a curse; if they are hugged by the opposite gender, they transform into animals of the Chinese Zodiac. Everyday is an adventure for sweet Tohru, as she gets to know everyone in the large family better (especially Yuki and Kyo), in both common and bizarre situations. But, the Sohma Family curse is certainly no laughing matter... it also holds horrible cruelty and heartbreak.

General Info:

Episodes; 26.

Language; Japanese with English subs, English dub.

Review:

    It's been a little while since I've watched this show, but I really did love the whole family like aura that Tohru emitted, and the reaction each other boys had. 

    I have to say this for clarification's sake (lies, I just want to), Kyo is my favourite. Both the of the boys have troubling backgrounds - Yuki with Akito and Kyo with the overall thing (I don't want to ruin anything) - so it makes you feel equally heart broken for both. It just comes down to personal preference when you decide to favour one, I just always liked the kind of temperamental guys - ha ha.

   Tohru also has a sad past of her own, along with various characters you encounter like Momiji and Kisa who also have sad past.

   Despite all this sadness you aren't really depressed and whatnot while you're watching this anime, instead it just shows you how the character has come to be, and also some of the reasons the characters react to certain things. I also found it very entertaining at some parts, especially with the men turning into animals all the time, and the troubles that causes. 

   I know this is short, but I am in a bit tight on time. I will edit this later and add some more stuff, I promise, I just wanted to make sure I at least got one out a day. :]

Must Watch Episodes:

-Episode 10: Meet the Zodiac of the Cow (Ox?), Hatsuharu.

-Episode 11: Valentines day. :]

-Episode 16: At the summerhouse.

-Episode 19: Tohru gets sick.

-Then episodes 24-26 (basically you have to watch these ones in one go).

Rating:

I would give it 5 our of 5 stars, I really did love this anime, and I am planning of reading the manga from where it left off. * * * * *

Gakuen Alice

Gakuen Alice:

    Mikan is a girl full of vitality living in a local town. She followed her best friend Hotaru who had moved, and she finally reached to Alice Gakuen. But it was a special school that only those who had special abilities called “Alice” could enter. She managed to enter the school, but she was embarrassed by the special environment. What would her school days become?

General Info:

Episodes; 26.

Langauge; Japanese with English subs.

Review:

    I really did like this anime quite a bit. Normally, I'm not a huge fan of the younger heroines and other characters, and I like to look at the pretty boys - bad me - but for this anime it actually added to the whole comedy of it all. I do have to say I love the addition of Tsubasa, which definitely helped develop the relationship between Ruka (who is called Luca in the manga), Natsume, and Mikan. Along with this, he has some wise words and some freaking cool powers.
    There is a little bit of action in here with Natsume's job and also just what is generally expected of an anime with supernatural powers. The action is not the dominant point of the anime. The dominant point of the anime is it's comedic side, so a little action and a little romance is sprinkled in to add to the experience and make it more realistic. Well, perhaps the action isn't terribly realistic, but the little crushes are.

    The general idea of the anime - a school for kids with special powers - is a tad cliche, but they add some unique things, like the festival and unique powers of some kids, which definitely kicks cliche's ass. 

    If I could have added anything to the anime, I would have wished they had more to Natsume's side job. A couple more fighting scenes or something? I'm not sure, though I'm sure such is in the manga.

    As for the romance bit of it, it's slow and subtle, becoming more pronounced towards the end. If you're looking for some kisses and hand-holding - this is not the anime, but if you like the blushy faces and fits of unknown jealousy (yes, episode 19, I'm talking to you) then you will definitely like this.

Must Watch Episodes:

    My favourite episodes to this series were

-Episode 16: Special Ability class' festival maze.

-Episode 19: Somatic Type class' festival play.

Can you guess where I liked the anime best?

Rating:

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