Glass no Kamen (2005)

I know this is grave digging, but After having discovered the Glass Mask manga, and then this anime, I was suprised how superb they were. The newest version updates the style of the characters, but it still follows the manga fairley closely.

THIS is the kind of shoujo I want to watch, much, much better than the typical shoujo we get these days. The characters are all engrossing and interesting, even all the supporting characters are well fleshed out and with an interesting and realistic story. If anyone hasn't seen this I strongly reccomend watching the manga, and then watching the anime.

Glass Mask doesn't have the following it deserves (which is a shame, it's practically an icon in Japan, older than Sailor Moon and even references to "Mr. Purple Rose" or characters can be found in newer material such as Skip Beat). Started in the 70s or 80s, the manga after a hiatus is only just nearing completion at over 40 volumes. It's an epic romance with the drive of a young girl, starting at the age of 12 as she embarks on the journey to become an actress and grows up over the y...ears. If you like characters who follow after a dream at all ... costs, than you will find this series empowering and crave more of seeing Maya overcome all sorts of trials. If not, you may simply enjoy it for the romance aspect which is at first subtle and grows more over time.

Even without those, I'm always fascinated by the stage plays throughout the stories.... some very well known such as Little Woman, Hellen Keller in the Miracle Worker, the Prince and the Pauper, Midsummer's Night Dream, or ones I've never heard of that make me very interested in... almost as if I'm sitting in the audience and watching Maya act this plays for real. It always feels new and fresh and I love seeing Maya when she finally discovers her role, or her perspectives of the role. It truly is like putting on a mask, she lives that character's life.

The 2005 anime has taken liberties with the art style and characters, and though I'm sad (I fell in love with the mangaka's style even though it initially turned me off in the beginning), I think it was a good call. The characters look more familiar to modern-day anime watchers and their updated looks still pleasing. There's nothing fancy or awe-inspiring about the artwork of the anime, but then it's not that kind of anime and doesn't need to be. It's the story and characters that drive the story.

We're all familiar with the clumsy girl character who isn't good at anything, but I find something especially endearing about Maya's character. From a poor background, she's been brought up being called useless even by her own mother. The dramas on TV and a glimpses at the theatre wipes everything else from her mind and she becomes quite oblivious to all else. A natural genius for acting, she can recite a 2 hour play she watched once but can't recall one rule in math. I think it's very easy to get attached to her character. She's childish but you see her mature too and her devotion to acting is wonderful if sometimes heart-breaking.

Ayumi is the princess of the story, the complete opposite of Maya and good at whatever she does... prestigious background, actress since she was five, top of school, singing, dancing... a born prodigy and utter beauty. Perhaps you want or expect to hate her at first but I grew to love her just as much as Maya. Her love of acting and recognition of Maya's talents drives her to mprove herself, no matter the hell she puts her body through. And no matter how high in the limelight she gets, or how derisive the media or people are towards Maya, she cherishes Maya as her only Rival. The bond these two form through their acting careers... not even spending all that much time together, is especially amazing to me. I love the idea of rivals that pushes each other up instead of down, who hold each other in such high regard. I love the times when Maya and Ayumi actually meet or even get to act together.

This is a story that can hook you into it. No matter how long this series is, I'm never bored. No number of episodes is ever enough. I got two friends to watch and love it with a marathon sleepover (one who didn't expect much at all and ended up squealing throughout it), and I hope others will similarly give this anime a try. It doesn't deserve being forgotten or bypassed. I've made two recommendations for other animes, and in the reverse, if you liked anime such as Hikaru no Go and Kaleido Star you will definitely like this one.

Glass Mask is not the best anime ever, but it holds beauty and content that are some of the best ever seen in anime.


The series is a biography of a child actress. It captures the whole life of its main character from childhood to adulthood, from complete beginner to professional. The series is similar to the sports genre where stories completely and utterly rely on character development.


The series selling point is the acting itself. The training for these plays as well as the plays itself are content that is simply not available anywhere else, and they are polished beyond belief. My favorite act was ... perhaps Helen Keller's childhood. The actresses went into the role of a young girl who was both blind and deaf since birth. Never been able to interract with other people or the world in any other way but by taste, smell and touch. The way our girls train to achieve this same state in character and deliver it in the play was simply said shocking. It was so natural and radical way of presenting the rawness of human nature that it left me shaking.


Pretty much all of the major plays and events are similarly powerful, yet extremely different from each others. The series focuses on all sorts of plays, roles and working partners. Offering and leaving behind countless amount of memorable scenes and events that are surely to burn in to the viewer's very soul.


The reason why Glass no Kamen isn't the best anime ever is very simple. It suffers from horrid romantic subplot. The beginning of the series is terribad. There is absolutely no point in even trying this series if you're not ready to give it at last 8 episodes. The same words can be said about the ending. The manga series it's based to has been published since 1976 and it's stlll ongoing. The anime has an original open ending and it's not pretty to watch.


Despite all of these major problems and flaws, the uniqueness it has to offer: from one of a kind character development to the countless scenes that are animated masterpieces, this series is worth of a watch to anyone who is ready to take it for what it is.

Glass no Kamen is a shoujo manga written by Miuchi Suzue starting in the mid 70s and still going. The series has had two anime adaptations. The first was done by Eiken in 1984 the second was done by TMS Entertainment and ran from April of 2005 to March of 2006. We're going to be looking at the TMS Entertainment version because I was specifically asked to look at that one. The Gent in question provided a link and everything.

Story:

Kitajima Maya has always been a normal girl. She works after school to help pay for her and her mother's room and board. She ... also happens to have a bad habit of getting distracted by dramas. While re-enacting a scene for some children she comes to the attention of Tsukikage Chigusa, a former actress who had to retire when an accident left her scarred. Tsukikage sees a vast potential for acting in Maya and becomes determined to help her develop those talents so that Maya can eventually take the coveted Crimson Goddess role. A role that hasn't been seen on stage since Tukikage's retirement. This gets the attention of Hayami Masumi, the young heir to the expansive Daito entertainment. Maya's skills also quickly draw the attention of the young genius actress, Himekawa Ayumi. A girl who desires the Crimson Goddess role.

Let's begin by looking at the negatives of the series. The biggest one is the romance. Fortunately, it's a somewhat downplayed element since the main focus is on Maya's journey to be an actress and on her rivalry with Ayumi, but it still bears talking about. Glass no Kamen has a creepy obsession with young girls getting involved with creepily older men who possess quite a bit of power over them. To the point where Miuchi would fit in with Clamp. In all fairness, Maya does get a couple of disposable love interests who are her own age and peers of hers. I'll just call them Something and Whatever. You might wonder why I'm not taking ten seconds to look up their actual names and that's because her relationships with them are dull and largely pointless. First you have Something, a young actor who appears early on and has a crush on Maya only to disappear for most of the middle and reappear at the end to take a role in a play and basically just exist. Then we have Whatever. A bloke who appears for a few episodes in the middle and go on a date with Maya before being banished from the series. The only other real issue is the ending. Again, to be fair there are some good aspects to the ending but there's also a lot of stupidity in it and the whole thing feels pretty rushed. Like they only learned it was going to be the last episode after finishing the episode before it and they scrambled like mad to try and resolve things.

Let's move to the positive aspects. Final episode aside, the pacing is really excellent. The series is really good at building up tension and giving resolutions that really work. The narrative flows really naturally and seeing Maya's ups and downs is really compelling. I also like that she experiences legitimate setbacks instead of ultimately overcoming every obstacle that comes up. It really makes the drama stronger when you aren't sure whether this is going to be a case where everything turns out all right or if it's going to be a situation that ends badly, forcing her to pick herself up.

Characters:

Most of the characters in this are well fleshed out, have realistic flaws and verisimilitude. The big differences are Something & Whatever, who both have a generic nice guy schtick and a girl who comes across as kind of cartoonishly evil in the way she tries to destroy Maya's career. I do really love the rivalry between Maya and Ayumi. It's all too common for series like this to have rival characters who are obscenely petty but Glass no Kamen plays up their mutual respect and even has Ayumi stand up for Maya, in one case in a really badass moment. It portrays their rivalry as being based more on envy than anything else but the two still manage to get along pretty well. Which isn't just refreshing, but leads to a more interesting dynamic.

Art:

The artwork is really well done. The theatrical stage designs and costumes look like the types you'd actually get in a real theatre. The whole series is really well detailed and has an authentic feel to it. The animation is always nice and fluid and gets really interesting during the scenes where they're actually putting on some kind of production.

Sound:

In terms of acting, Kobayashi Sanae and Yajima Akiko are absolutely brilliant in this. Not only do they play our main heroines, Maya and Ayumi, but they have to convincingly portray the various roles that both girls get, or convincingly fail to give a good performance in some cases. They both rise to the challenge and are just spectacular. The other various actors all do well in their roles too. Even the people voicing the weaker characters manage to give passable performances. The music is pretty good as well.

Ho-yay:

There's not much. There's a girl named Rei who attracts some fangirls but they're shown as thinking she's a guy and she doesn't get romantically involved with any of them. There are also some moments between Maya and Ayumi that give you pause to question whether they're using Greta's definition of “rival” but there aren't many. Actually, this is strangely lacking ho-yay given that it takes place in the world of theatre. Although I suppose it's just as well considering what passes for romance in the series.

Final Thoughts:

Glass no Kamen suffers a bit from the romance, the ending and from some generic characters. However, it is a really strong series overall replete with tension, drama, a lot of strong characters, excellent voice work and epic artwork. My final rating is a solid 8/10. Next week I'll look at Kigurumikku V3.

If someone asked me what is the perfect acting anime what anime can be known as probably the best in its own genre then i would say Glass No Kamen.

The story has the feeling of cliche around it since it almost depicts Cinderella who cant break out of her shell because she is held back by those around her. Having said that it wouldn't be the anime it was if it hadn't something like this in it and the way it flows is perfect with everything else that happens around it. Although there is drama in this anime even close to become a melodrama ... something makes you want look past in and look at it as general but great drama almost as if in a play. It never gets too suffocating which is normally the flaw in anime like this. It embraces drama in ways other anime to this date could learn from and know that this is how you make a story flow as it grabs the main character through her ordeals , this is how you make her feel sad and show it. Everything about this story has a meaning which is why it makes it even greater and one never get tired from it. As i watched this anime i almost binged it through all the 51 episodes because i always wanted to know what happened next even though that might bring another cliff hanger that one had to watch.

It more ways than one the soundtrack captures what this anime is although it doesn't stand out too much its still good for the anime its in. The openings and endings are notbad but they are not the best either but again its not bad and it flows well for what it is.

To start of most characters in this anime are great in their own regard and its even harder to pick out one or the other to give a better image of the anime but i will use the 3 mains in this anime to give a better image of how i viewed it.

Kitajima, Maya a girl who grows up with a mother who expects nothing about her own daughter. She has a personality that one falls in love with at once. Her passion for acting feels so real you want to let her do well in whatever she does although her naiveness or dense personality has you wondering she is a perfect main character in many ways. You wont get tired of her but you will always want to see more of her.

Himekawa, Ayumi who is what is called a genius in many fields of entertainment. I personally like how she is a mature yet fragile person in different ways. She isnt one of those cliche rivals to the other main whos only thing is to bully the others out of their role. No i love how she fights for her role no matther what it happens and aknowledge those around her for their abilities and doesnt try to put them down because of superiority.

Hayami, Masumi a man with sometimes mysterious motives and a person you will either hate or love depending on how you see the story. His character is a divided in 2 parts one can say. One is the the ruthless media man who does anything to get what he wants while the other is the caring person who wants those around him to bloom while he watches from distance. As the other two characters this one is unique in the sence that he portrais different sides of a male main character in an anime whom you never really know if is going to someone you dislike or someone you want to follow as much as the other mains.

These 3 characters are at the center of this great anime and one feels it as the story and other characters are supporting them in every sense.

I never expected to find this anime and when i found it i was surprised and over the moon. Rarely do i get to find these hidden gems and always after finishing one of those i am afraid that this will be the final one. That is why i enjoyed this in every way i could. I loved the story and how it was set and that it created a perfect atmosphere that captured what i romanticize as acting in its purest form. Which is also why i have basically nothing bad to say about it.

Overall i rate this anime as a masterpiece since as of now there are few anime that deals with acting in the way this anime has captured in and i dont think that as of now there are many if any anime that can compete with this anime with this concept. This anime is a masterpiece for everything it does. It doesn't try to make something out of nothing and it doesn't try to drag things out in ways it shouldn't be. Its one of those anime you will hope in your heart that you wont forget because of how great it is.

This is my first review, so I hope it's helpful!

Anway, I was expecting this anime to be really rubbish at first and I was pleasantly surprised at how addicting it was.

Story 9/10

To be honest, I thought this was a good exmaple of your run-of-the-mill reaching for your dream scenarios. I thought that watching Maya start off from the very beginning give you this warm fuzzy feeling when you watch her do so well. You follow her journey from the complete beginning and so you gradually begin to know her character a lot better as you progress through the story. the story starts when she's ... roughly 13 and spans across a 5 year span (I think). taking into fact that this manga was actually written roughly 3 decades ago does prove that it is one of your classic plots. It's quite a romantic plot as well, which is quite a bonus for a someone like me.

Art 8/10

being quite a modern perosn now, I'm always expecting the kind of anime art you see in some of CLAMP's work or looking a lot more modern than the large, starry eyed characters in the past. Again, I was pleased that the anime wasn't too old fashioned in their art approach to the anime and it was actually quite pleasing to look at. It wasn't the 'in-your-face' kinda of art, but more soft and pleasant (which I liked)

Sound 8/10

Well, the opening and ending themes were pretty cool and the pieces of music throughout the anime was pretty good. I did think that some of the music was a little but...over-the-top? I'm not sure why...but it was good all the same :)

Character 8/10

Again, I thought this aspect was well brought out through the anime and there were times when you could really feel what the characters were going through. I found myself on serveral occassions crying along with the characters and yelling at the screen at the character's stupidity and naivety. I suppose, it's great in the sense that it can play with your emotions. However, I did think that some of the charactersation was a little cliched for example, cold and evil looking persona on the outside with a squishy kind loving heart inside. Doesn't that remind you of Mr Darcy from Pride and Prejudice (for you Austen fans!) or Ituko from Shugo Chara!

Enjoyment 9/10

I really enjoyed it and although it ended on a major cliffhanger (very annoyed) I thought it was a wonderful anime with emphasis on that you can do anything as long as you have passion for it and are willing to do anything to get where you want to be.

Overal 8/10

I thought that it lacked something... I'm not sure what it is. Maybe I was just a little disappointed at the end or a little disappointed at how they changed the manga a little bit more than I had anticipated. They cut out some major important bits (like a few kisses here and there, which is really annoying). But apart from that, enjoyable and well worth watching!

Oh god... what a rollercoaster. Being a fan of older anime I'm quite happy I came across Glass Mask and decided to give it a try, even though I expected it to be just another cliche shoujo, it really surpassed my expectations.


Story 9/10
From the first episode I was really intrigued by Maya's character. At first sight she seems like your basic 13 years old, naive and not being in touch with reality, but her passion for acting shows another side of her: the hidden genius. During the 51 episodes you can really observe Maya  and enjoy her journey, while she will face happiness, ... achievements, failure, grief and even love, (but that's one things i really liked about the story, it doesn't focus on a particular love interest, but is reflects the many ,, masks" Maya wears as an actress, her amazing creativity and understanding of each character feelings and also her rivality with Himekawa Ayumi gives the plot such an interesting direction).  It's really interesting to see how two girls coming from completely different backgrounds face hardship in order to reach their goals.
The only thing that is keeping me away from giving Glass Mask a 10, even though I enjoyed it enormously and Maya's motivation even rubbed on me, it's the ending...major cliffhanger. I was so disappointed because it's an open ending and after all this struggle from the main character you would expect she would finally get what she longed for. (Of course, you can read the manga and get to the bottom of it)
Overall it was really great, I recommend it from the bottom of my heart if you like stories about facing hardship, realistic characters, and going into the depth of the mysterious world of acting, where you have the freedom to be anyone!

Glass Mask was amazing! I finished it in 2 days because it had been a while that I had seen such an amazing anime.

Story 10/10
Great plot. It is very interesting and it brings you through so many emotions. Love, happiness, sadness, anger, etc. It was very emotional and I cried many times. It is about a girl named Maya who strives to become a better actress so that she can eventually play the Scarlet Angel like Ms. Tsukikage. However, she has a rival named Ayumi who has been acting all her life and seems to have everything. It's a beautiful story. (I'm mad about ... the ending though)

Art 10/10
I had no problems with the art. I really like how the characters were drawn (though sometimes the nose seemed a little off to me idk) but considering that it was made 11 years ago, it's amazing!

Sound 9/10
Didn't really stick out to me but I really liked the opening theme!

Character 8/10
The characters developed and had different personalities. There weren't a bunch of cliche characters either. In the beginning, I was kind of frustrated towards the main character with how distracted she got with plays, etc. but I grew to love her. Also, I felt so bad for her mom. Her mom had a round characterization and although many people hated her mom, they failed to see what the mom was feeling and her other layers.

Enjoyment 10/10
Could not stop watching, literally. I cried a lot and the story was beautiful. I was, and still am, really angry that the ending didn't finish anything. The ending could had been a lot better. However, the manga is still ongoing, though none of the volumes that continue the story can be found online for some reason, but only summaries of them which is weird.

Overall 10/10 GREAT!

Glass Mask puts you in the shoes of Kitajima Maya, who isn't really good at anything except watching dramas, until she is cast in the school play and discovers her passion for acting. Her character develops greatly from a clumsy, good-for-nothing to eventually a strong-willed, hard-working actress. Along the way she goes through many trials, losing her naievity and realizing that "to be in the spotlight means to cast a shadow behind you."

She deals with learning about the complexity of love for the first time, to experience it, and to act it. One of the most interesting parts of this romance is the emotions ... of the men who love Maya, and their mixed feelings, and then in turn, Maya's mixed feelings about them. As the viewer you get to see from each character's perspective and come to understand their motives, and reservations.

The rivalry between Maya and the beautiful, famous actress Ayumi for the coveted role of "The Crimson Goddess" keeps the series interesting and gives it direction. Ayumi's character is equally as complex as Maya's, being the wealthy daughter of a famous actress and a famous director, combating Maya's instinctive acting ability with her own hard work and "perfection", attained through attempts to lose the stigma of inheriting fame from her parents.

For those who have read the manga, you will find yourself probably slightly disappointed with this adaptation. While in general it stays true to the original, there are a few discrepancies. Ayumi is portrayed as a spoiled, bratty enemy for most of the series. Some scenes have been changed slightly to give an entirely different meaning to the event (notably, Masumi and the wine glass, Masumi and the blue scarf, etc) The appearances of some characters (notably Rei) have been completely changed. To top it off, there's an annoying announcer who makes obvious and unnecessary comments about the direction of the plot at the beginning and end of each episode.

If not for the simplification of the vital character Ayumi into a typical "bad guy", I would have rated this 10/10. It's a classic, definite must read/watch for any fans of the shoujo/romance genre.

Glass Mask is amongst my most beloved series. It is not often you see an anime about acting, well, ever. One would think an anime about such a profession would be boring and uneventful but the main character Maya Kitajima takes watchers through a journey as she, an unlikely delivery girl with no acting experience takes on the hefty expections and pressure to attempt to snag the nearly impossible role of the Crimson Goddess. As an avid reader of the manga I am glad that this version of the anime has not strayed far at all from the original. This series will send your heart ... soaring, make you laugh, make you cry and want to tear your hair out all at once. I am forever wondering what will happen in the next episode, as I'm sure you will find when you watch this anime. Don't be fooled by the lack of a following, this is an anime you will not want to miss.

The first episode made me think this was going to be a normal "good" anime. The art was pretty old looking at first but soon grew on me and before I knew it I was immersed in the world of the Glass Mask.

I was amazed at how the characters acting made me feel so much; I laughed, I felt their sorrow, and I yearned for more. The first couple of episodes, although not very outstanding, is the key background information. After, the show quickly takes off into the start of Kitajima Maya's amazing journey as an actor.

This anime's most enjoyable part for me is ... how it connects all the characters around Maya. The characters who support Maya and the people who do not all add to the development of her actor self. I truly recommend this anime for anyone who enjoys entertainment based anime!

I want to review this anime very briefly.

First, It has a great story and I love the main character Maya.
Her struggles to become an artist all felt too real and inspiring.
I didn't think acting was so hard and I learned something about perseverance and giving your best for your dreams. If something, I would give this series a perfect 10 for the first half episodes.

Then it becomes more and more cliche. I understand this comes from a Shoujo manga, and it shows, latter on the series Maya and the other characters do things that I think are not very rational, and are kind of cliche ... on these kind of mangas: (like falling in love with your tyrannical master or "casual" miraculous encounters, things like that), still it was not that bad, but it surely made the overall plot not perfect, at least for me: male not a big fan of cliches or cheap plot tricks.

The end, I didn't like at all, the acting went abstract and too much religious/philosophical and it was left open and inconclusive. If this series haven't had that superb start I would give this series just a 7 at most. But in average, it was good.
If you like acting or are a Shoujo diehard fan this anime would be perfect.

At the risk of spouting hyperbole, I'm of the opinion that Glass Mask is easily one of the best anime dramas, if not THE best to come down the pike in the last twenty years. The story of ordinary girl Maya Kitajima and her dream of becoming an actress hooked me from the first episode, and the incredible trials and tribulations, successes and failures she endured to realize her dream is nothing less than remarkable. Watching Maya grow and blossom into an actress, tapping into a hidden wellspring of tremendous talent is amazing, and when her eyes glaze over and she "puts on a mask", ... you know that's when she's ready to kick arse in whatever role she's in. The drama surrounding Maya, her "rivalry" with haughty wunderkind Ayumi, her love/hate relationship with Masumi pulls you in and leaves you enthralled and wanting more, the story of Glass Mask is well done and tugs at the heartstrings. Personally speaking, I'm amazed the show did succeed when it had been released in the States several years ago, for fans of good drama, Glass Mask deserves to be at the top of your list!

Hi My Name is Runes. I am doing this review of an semi old anime. No matter how many times I watch this If still Hit right in the Feeling. I am also a guy and I don't Care If Guys think I am Lame or people thing I am weird but I've watch the main:

Character Kitajima, Maya: Is a girl who has feeling and ambitions of being onstage it change her families situation and want sake off the stigma that she is worthless and useless and want to prove she is someone no ... matter the hard ships and humiliations she must endure; to make it to the top and prove she was unique in some way and how she loves and is drawn to the Stage.
One more thing to add Pay attention to how well the Sounds are done. I don't think you can find many with such good time and verity it impresses me.


I would Recommend that even if your a guy or not interested in Drama just this this watch I bet you would like this anime as well.

This anime... wow. Just wow.
This anime has become the oxygen that I breathe- I am only alive because of its existence. It has (almost) restored my will to live.
Every morning, I only open my eyes because I know that an anime like Glass Mask exists. It is the EPITOME of what the anime industry has to offer and it will n e v e r be beaten in terms of its incredibly well-written story and extensive character development.

Seeing Maya's growth throughout the series was so satisfying, and I was never once bored when watching the show. The series also did a good ... job on creating a rival, Ayumi, that was not lazily represented as an enemy, or the 'bad guy' (like a lot of anime and other forms of media do).

Also the romance between Maya and Hayami was 👌👌

However,,, the ending FUCKED ME UP™.
It's one of those 'go read the manga endings' 🙄 I sat through *51 EPISODES* for this B U L L S H I T?? FUCK OFF M8

Fr though Glass Mask is a 👌quality anime👌 so go watch it now

I found this anime because I wanted to know if there were any other anime's that has to do with acting besides Skip Beat. I was told Glass Mask is the best acting anime out there and I have to agree. I find Glass Mask to be remarkable because of it's story line, the plays, the tips and tricks actors do, how to be on stage and capture your audience.

Story (9)
I give this story a 9. I wanted to give it a 10 but like some anime's it lacks a few things. The only thing that this story lacks is the romance. It kinda builds ... you up to something but in the end it leaves you dissatisfied. but because you have come so far and on the edge of your seat watching all 51 episodes, you can't help but give this anime a great rating. I'm not giving out any spoilers on the show but I had to put out that this is what the show lacks, especially on the last episode. I heard it is because the manga is still not finished so they kind of did an open ending to the anime because the manga is ongoing. Other than that, beautiful story. Everything was executed nicely.

Art (8)
I mean, the art isn't all that great. This anime came about around 2005-2006 so your gonna get 2005-2006 anime art. Nothing's wrong with it. Still paints a pretty great picture. Especially when the characters go on stage. You can really see and imagine everything that they are doing because of the art and animation. I enjoyed it.

Sound (9)
I gave sound a 9 because I love the intro and outro songs. Also, the music that plays during the characters act, went with it nicely and everything followed with each other well. The best part of the sound is when they were on stage. You could really feel and understand each character and the different stories with the help of the sound and music.

Characters (9)
I give characters a 9 and not a 10 due to the lack of romance. BUT other than that, I loved every single character. These aren't typical characters that you see in most shojo anime. It's very realistic and can strike a nerve. Each character had their own story. You get episodes sharing each person's story too which makes you relate to each of them more. They all have their drama, their own lives and they are putting that aside for the love of acting. The love of being on stage. They overcome so much and are destined to meet each other. You get to understand why certain characters act the way they do, how does their job put so much stress on them and also it shows people trying to control Maya, the main character, and how she overcome all the bad and all the obstacles that are put in her way. She has heart and passion. Her rival Ayumi is a great character. Their rivalry I have to say is different because they are actually really nice to each other but are still competing to be the best for their own personal matter. So you would see a lot of conflicting emotions with that. But Yyu will enjoy these two characters. And also Maya's teacher. She is the real star of the show. A lot of twists and turns in this anime so it will always keep you watching.. binge watching, that is.

Enjoyment (10)
I love this anime so much, it was all that I was watching for the past 3 or 4 days I believe. It had me glued to the tv because of the story and the different plays that Maya and the others had to play. How each of them got their selves prepared and ready for the part. How each of them found the mask of their character, nearly killing their selves just so they can understand the part. It is truly an interesting watch.

Overall (9)
I give it a 9. It is a great watch to where you can relate to each character, learn a thing or two about acting and also find some enjoyment in different stories and plays that were put in the anime. I hope this helped even though it's a little lengthy. But if you have been stuck and don't know what anime to watch next that keeps you engaged and into your feels, I recommend that you watch this next.

Everyone has a rather unique different reaction when they see something they like, my reaction tends to have shivers that run throughout my body along with a sense of unrelenting joy. It is not often that I find an anime that is capable of giving me more than joy. Glass no Kamen is a new member of a small group in anime that has given me shivers due to an uncountable number of outstanding scenes.

I had originally thought that the story was rather generic when reading the synopsis, person x does everything they can to achieve their goal, however, things are often deeper than ... they seem. The base story is indeed something that you can see in countless other anime, but the way it flows, the way it is acted, the ideas behind everything the characters go through is all well thought out.

There is only ONE reason that my score is a 9 instead of a 10, the first 3 episodes may drag for certain types of viewers, but thankfully after those, I was hooked and spent two days watching all fifty-one episodes.

I would absolutely recommend this anime to anyone, even to those who don't often watch drama like me.

Glass no Kamen is really quite the masterpiece I found myself needing to keep watching, it isn't like the anime that you want to know the end already its an anime that sort of wants you to follow every episode see how shes grown as an actress and truthfully I haven't watched a good acting and idol life sort of anime in a long time that was this good the last one that was this good was kilari revelution which I was pretty upset that it ended. I enjoyed this alot I think we can all say that we need to see if our ship ... has sailed like so many of my ships have been broken but the last one of my ships felt like it would happen and I sort of want to know if she ended up with him but like lets just leave it here I don't wanna give out too many spoilers anyway I do hope you watch it! lets just say it did the old manga justice!

This was dreadful. I watched it when I was much younger and loved it. For an anime surrounding acting, Maya's voice actor lacked range and sounded horrible.

I tried binging it.

It's a soap opera at best, like Nana was, except Nana had great voice acting. Every time Maya sees Hayami, her purple roses fan, she blames him for killing her mom. That is horrible. That's a horrible thing to say to someone. Rinse and repeat throughout the whole series. She shows no maturity from losing her mom. Her mom becomes plot device. This isn't a remotely accurate depiction of grief.

This hasn't aged well ... at all. The noses were horribly distracting.

The best part was the Helen Keller storyline and Maya's rivalry with Ayumi. From there, it's a painful train wreck meant for a clearly younger teen and early twenties demographic.

You're better off with Fruits Basket.

I wasn't a fan of Maya at all. I can't believe I sat through this when I was younger!

Overall I really enjoyed this series. At first I thought the story would be mainly focused on acting but it turns out that shoujo is a strong element throughout the story. There may be some judgements on whether this anime is allowed because people may think its pediphilic for a guy to like a girl 11 years younger. But it's really sweet how he expresses his love without directly doing so. So I'm not complaining.

I liked the characters individual personality too, nobody is quite the same. As well as how the mangaka has portrayed them to change by meeting different people. Maya has spunk ... which you may find not many anime characters have today. It was a good freshener. And Hayami, he has more of a supporting role that guides Maya, but eventually he develops quite a close relationship with her. It's damn cute.

Amidst, all this is an intense rivalry between the protagonist and Himekawa Ayumi. They cross paths many times in their acting careers which help to improve each others acting skills along the way. They eventually compete at the last stage where they will pour everything they have learnt into this one role. It's supposed to be thrilling, and it is. I just don't like how the momentum dissipated like that. It felt like the build up (past episodes) were in vain. If you watch the anime you'll understand what I mean.

There are amendments I would like to make towards the series to make it outstanding hence the 9 but unfortunately that's how it is.
Hopefully this review will solve any queries you have,