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Black Bullet, an anime aired in Spring 2014, is an adaptation from a light novel. At first glance, it looked to me quite promising, or at least worth watching.

Story 6/10: A classic scenario, humanity against aliens, is forced to fight and defend itself. Walls are erected around their territory in order to protect them from Gastreas, the name given to these aliens. This scenario basically reminds somehow of the popular Shingeki No Kyojin. However, the survival aspect of this apocalyptic show is not really present.

Art 8/10 - Sound 7/10: The art is great. I am quite picky when it comes to the art of ... an anime, and I cannot watch anything without good graphics, decent animation, and good soundtracks, even if the story is exceptionnal. This show met my requirements art-wise, even if the opening will (also?) reminds you of the one from Shingeki No Kyojin.

Character 6/10: There is different type of characters in this show. There is the loli girl category, who are also the last hope of humanity, since they can display extraterrestrial strength. There is the protagonist, Satomi Rentarou. Quite a stereotype, pretty blend, and pretty similar to Kirito from Sword Art Online. He is also quite the strong type of guy, even if he does not look that invincible. And then, the characters who should have been more on screen maybe, the bad guys. Especially Hiruko Kagetane actually, a mysterious character, who is unfortunately still left in his secrets by the end of the show.
I cannot say that these characters is a great team, and that is definitely not the strong point of this anime, but they do their job, which should be enough if you are only looking for some entertainment.

Enjoyment 8/10: Now, I hqve said several times that this show reminds of SnK. BUT this show is not SnK. Loli scenes are here to prove it. Good thing? Well, this actually depends on you. But one thing is certain, the fights are really enjoyable. Great variety of fights, everything is used, being snipers, bombs, cameras, as well as the battleground itself.

In the end, was that show a good show to watch? Well, by the end of the show, we are a bit left wanting for more, 13 episodes feel too short. In 24, characters could have developed a better personality, and the show could have started rolling for real. Despite all these flaws, I enjoyed this show a lot, and I didn't feel like I wasted my time. So this show is probably not a state of the art, but if you are looking for a show without any pretention, then Black Bullet will provide you a good entertainment.

Tasogare Otome x Amnesia, or Dusk Maiden of Amnesia. A tale about a maiden who lost the memories of her past and keep wandering in her school in order to retrieve them.

The story focuses on a young boy, Niiya Teiichi, and his adventures with the ghost of the maiden, and the Paranormal Investigation Club, which main objective is to retrieve her lost fragments of memories from her past. In this club we have Okonogi Momoe, a complete airhead, but always enthusiastic and ready to act.
Then we have Kanoe Kirie, who seems to look at the growing relationship between Niiya Teiichi and the ghost with a ... certain suspicion and a taint of jealousy.
And last the two main protagonists. Kanoe Yuuko, the ghost of the maiden, who seem to love doing pranks and starting ghost rumors, and Niiya Teiichi, a normal boy at the exception that he is the only one with Kirie who can see the ghost.

Definitely a strange setting for a romance, but this part is well made and a relationship with a ghost is rare enough to keep it interesting. This anime is tagged as horror, so indeed there are a few dark parts in it, especially at the end, but far from enough to be a real horror anime. Still, the psychological aspect is present and isn't boring, though it holds no suspense.

The art is brilliant, being the opening or the ending, that I really loved, or the drawings (char designs, scenery, animations, everything is successful).

But then what falls apart, at least for me, was the characters personality. Yuuko is the exception though, she does have a consistent and attractive behavior (well, if we can say that for a ghost), which may seem weird when she is supposed to be the only "not normal" character.
Let's start with Momoe. Stereotypical girl, the naive but always strong girl, ready to support the MC in his toughest hardships. It reminded me of Chitanda in Hyouka, but with even less personality.
Then we have the "I will always support you no matter what it takes, even if it isn't what I truly wish deep in my heart" girl, Kirie. She really fits the support role, as she has to support this relationship between the protagonists without a word to say or so. It kind of hurt me to see her being tormented as the story goes on, but I guess seeing someone suffer in the backstage isn't something I like.
Lastly, the MC, not much to say, except that for someone admired by the few people he frequents, he isn't smart at all. At taking decisions, he is definitely not the best, and I sort of regretted Houtarou (Hyouka again), who at least had the decence of thinking logically (most of the time). It might be a crucial point in this romance to be what it is, so I won't criticize much , but his personality added to the two girls' was really irritating to see sometimes.

Comes the two-three last episodes ... and then when I thought it wasn't a good anime at all, it deeply moved me, the anime pictured their emotions really well. And I remember that indeed, a romance with a ghost is not common, and can lead to an interesting development. Unfortunately all the previous episodes weren't of that quality, and contained a lot of fan service (I can go with it, but not when the plot is going nowhere and the characters development is boring).So after these ups and downs, I can say that I enjoyed this anime (I really appreciate it when the art is great, and in this case, it was), but I was sadly disappointed by these characters, that I found too slowpoke (the same reproach can be made for many animes, such as some in Baka to Test for example), definitely not my taste. But if you are fine with it/can overcome it, it is a nice romance show.

So, Black Rock Shooter (BRS). True, as many critics here and there said, it sure is not the greatest anime, and it feels at first like the story is torn in several directions, and none of them is successfully achieved.

BRS started with a song, done by the now famous vocaloid Hatsune Miku, which was the beginning of the OVA, and then the serie. The main focus was, it seems, the sound and the art part, so it looks pretty stylish, but the story suffered in the OVA.

Unfortunately, the producers decided to continue in the same idea, which was a group of teenage girls ... living their normal lives and dealing with the emotional hardships that come with it. But compared to the OVA, it turns out pretty good, and 8 episodes was a correct bet: long enough to create a proper story, and short enough not to dwell in teenage garbage.

STORY -- 7/10 --

A nice gamble it was, to make a story out of a song and refined visual graphics.

The story, as said before, is about several teenage girls dealing with emotional problems. It shows us right at the start a parallel world, where girls in there seem to be fighting indefinitely, and it eventually leads us to wonder what are the links between the two worlds, how it works, etc.

It has several links missing, plotholes and such, added to some psycho episodes, where one can wonder if it as really necessary, or even thought out.

And yet, characters (at least the few main ones) develop a bit more complex personality as the story goes on, and it raises several interesting questions about feeling, relationships and life in general. Something I quite have not expected from a teenage girls anime/moe which started with so many weird and psychedelic episodes/characters.

It is true that by the end of the anime, we might wonder why so many things are still untold/hidden/forgotten, but it leaves us with interesting questions, only to be solved by our creativity, which in our world seems to be rarer and rarer.

To put it in a nutshell, a first half a tad disappointing, and a second half much more likeable, and a well made conclusion.

ART -- 9/10 --

Definitely a strong aspect of BRS. A feast for the eyes. A big part of it relies on 3D CG (fighting sequences in the parallel world), a wonder. Everything is beautifully designed, and the movement created by the 3D is epic. The 2D part is also nicely done, colors being a bit pale, but it sets the story/atmosphere really well.

SOUND -- 9/10 --

The opening is the song done by Hatsune Miku, the vocaloid, so it will depends on your tastes. I had difficulty at first to listen to it, but then I found it pretty nice. Soundtracks (or should I say sound effects, in fact) supports the fighting scenes/the daily life properly, no complaints here.

CHARACTERS -- 6/10 --

To me, this is the part I was mostly disapppointed by. Teenage stereotypical girls at first, and then over-dramatic characters around, it definitely felt kind of wrong. And the only "adult" present had such a strange behavior it did not by any mean raised the level.

Fortunately in the second half the main protagonists start to develop a bit more, but it still is not the strong point of BRS.

OVERALL -- 8/10 --

For me, Black Rock Shooter was a great experience. It might be a lot biaised, since I did not have high expectation from it by reading the critics. It turned out in the end pretty good, so it might have affected my judgement.

BRS was an anime where visual/sound effects where almost as important as the story, and it as so brilliantly done in this way that it makes up for the black of consistence in the story.

And yet, I even liked the story: the suspense kept me wonder about the links between the two worlds, the emotions/suffering of the girls and how it is related to this parallel world, and how it will turn out in the end.
Probably it could have been better if the story was not what it is, but for an 8-episodes anime, it felt like the right choice.

Bonen No Xamdu.
At first, I heard about it from a friend, and when I checked, it raised my attention since usually Bones Studio made wise choices (or at least, that fits my tastes: Darker than Black, FMA, Gosick wasn't bad too, etc.). So I decided to try it, despite the fact that usually I do not like mecha animes.

I got a bit surprised by the first episode, quite not what I expected, but not that attractive. So I let it go for a long time, and then one day, out of animes, I tried it again. And the magic happened.

After a few episodes, it quickly ... becomes something else that just the stereotypical mecha/war anime, it becomes an original adventure where you follow several characters and their development throughout this adventure. As it goes on, you get more and more interested in the different characters, as their relationships grow.

This anime provides an in-depth vie of life and its hardships. Several characters have a real behaviour, by that I mean that they are not either "all black" or "all white", and their actions are realistic. It also focuses a lot on relationships (friendships and family), and how they can evolve in such an environment (the three first characters right at the beginning of the anime will get thrown apart, and will try to reunite once again, but war and personal interests will come across. This story is the story of their struggles and the way they try to overcome them).


Music will always beautifully support the emotional scenes, and the world created is incredibly well made, contributing to this breathtaking adventure. The ending is also one of the best I have seen, and all in all, this anime was one of the strongest emotional anime I have seen.

If I were to give an advice about Bounen No Xamdou, it will be that if you like emotional anime, if you are not looking for something too light-hearted, watch it. It might lack a bit of action, but it definitely makes up by showing several well-developed characters.

It has been some time I finished SAO. And after the anime, I continued reading the light novel. And still enjoyed it. Why did I find it so good, and yet so many people found it so overrated? And this thought was the trigger to my review.

SAO is divided in two main arcs, each of them have their own style. Although the first one gave me more of that adventure feel, and I did find the second one not so good, the main plot and the characters had definitely what it takes to keep me from getting bored.

The art is top notch, soundtracks/OP/endings are definitely ... well made (I especially enjoyed the differents battle/emotional soundtracks). Battle scenes are spectacular.

The story develops especially two characters, Kirito, the strong (too strong?) and main protagonist, and Asuna, the strong female lead. While there are many secondary characters, they are not as much developed as what we could expect (or like), bu it is mainly due to the fat that SAO is an adaptation of its eponym light novel. And even if they did not get enough development, they are still all important, either in the story, or in the development of the two main characters.

The anime does have a lot of flaws, but watching was still one of my greatest pleasure in animes, so if you have not seen it, I strongly recommend it.

Not the best anime, but Hidan No Aria was to me an enjoyable one, and since it is highly criticized, I decided to write a review.

The background of the story is attractive, I mean, studying in order to be able to fight criminals sounds nice, and it leads to some nice action scenes. Although the plot isnt that convincing, it is not a boring one. The beginning of the scenario is a commonplace, it starts with a highschool student, at the beginning of yet another year. The highschool not being seen as a true highschool, it can help to forget the number of anime possibily ... seen starting like this.

As for the art, it is a recent anime, so it is pretty good overall. For the soundtracks, the openingending, I found them pretty catchy (the singer for the opening is May'n, also known for the opening of Accel World), especially the opening.

And now, the part that contributes the most (as well as the storyline) to Hidan No Aria's bad reception, the characters. Basically, the story revolves around two main characters, one guy (Kinji) and one girl (Aria), a tsundere. Obviously people who dislike the basic concept of tsunderes will probably dislike this anime, since there is a non negligeable part of it around her. She has everything to fits the cliche, she is even voiced by Rie Kugimiya, so your point of view will also depends if you got bored of her tsundere voice or not. Kinji, on the other hand, is less of a stereotype, and is entertaining to watch. He displays ... quite a unique trait.

So, overall, this anime is more of a good distraction than a breathtaking anime, but still, isn't that the point of animes? From my point of view, if you are fine with tsundere/gun or sword fighting, give it a try, in the worst case you'd lose an hour or so.