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Tsubasa, truly a masterpiece! If you’re watching it for the right reasons that is. I’ve heard the criticism about how the manga is better and so on but to be honest it is bull. A little blunt but I don’t like manga elitism or anime elitism either, if I wanted to read the manga I would have done so but I went for the anime. Is the anime different than the manga? Yes! Is that a bad thing? No! If I read the manga and the anime is the exact same thing then why watch the anime? As you can notice I’m not one of those who believes the anime should be a page by page animated version of the original manga but that’s because after reading/watching one, I like to get something new and refreshing out of the other as well. So if you watch Tsubasa, go in knowing you’ll see an heart warming romance with good action and awesome music and not the manga.

Opening sequence: 8/10
Ending sequence: 6/10
My Age Rating: AA: Really, there is nothing objectionable, a lot of the heavier stuff from the manga was toned down but even so I think it worked well anyway. It’s not as if we needed to see blood being splattered, that’s not what the story is about.

When Tsubasa starts we see Syaoran and Sakura together, we get a good grip that they are in love and they demonstrate that in a nice and subtle way. They also lay down a little about the villains and the world where they live. Then it happens, because of outside interference Sakura’s feathers (which contains her soul) are removed and scattered across dimensions leaving her lifeless, without her memories and soon to die. Syaoran then takes on the quest to travel between worlds to recover her feathers and save her life but the price he must pay the Dimensional Witch for the power to cross dimensions is the relationship he and Sakura shared. So for the sake of her life he will risk his own even though she will never remember him or the moments they shared together. Now if that isn’t the most epic, sad and powerful romantic story I ever saw I don’t know what is, screw Romeo and Juliet it’s just been beaten.

They are later joined by Mokona, Kurogane and Fay, traveling companions who will journey with them but I’ll elaborate on these guys in the characters’ section. As they travel from world to world to find her lost feathers they realize how each feather contains unimaginable powers that when used by the wrong individuals can cause troubles for an entire world and so they battle various enemies, journey to foreign and dangerous lands and get closer to each other along the way. As the story goes on very little is revealed about the main plot and the main villain so some might be turned off by that, however, it adds a touch of mystery throughout and if you do like this show it won’t be for the main plot anyway or at least not primarily since the characters are all that matters here. Besides, when it does shape up, the main plot is pretty deep, complicated and interesting.

Now as they travel they cross various worlds as I said and that allows the viewer to experience different genres and adventures, here is a list of the worlds (arcs) of the story and what you’ll get out of them:

-Clow Kingdom: The story starts there. It’s the desert world where Sakura resides as princess and possesses an impressive castle, a small town and some ancient ruins that are at the core of their troubles. It lays the ground work for the rest of the story basically.

-Hansin Republic: There everyone as the ability to use special powers that are provided by creatures who grant the owner as much power as they have strength in their hearts. When fully summoned, the creatures actually do battles for them so this turns out to be the monster tournament kind of arc playing on shows like Pokémon, Digimon and Yu-Gi-Oh!.

-Koryo Country: This is an adventure happening in a more ancient world where people still live like they once did in China and Japan’s past when villagers were ruled by a lord/warlord and had to obey under a life of virtual slavery (less depicted here but this is clearly where it is going if left to continue). If you enjoy samurai stories or shows set in the past of Asian civilizations then this arc will definitely appeal to you.

-Jade Country: This is set in more of a European kind of city but from the past again. This time it’s a mystery to be solved that you get and a tale of ancient ghosts. Basically it’s entertaining if you like looking at the available clues and trying to find out “who did it” before the characters do it first.

-Storm Country: This time you assist to a tournament where people fight one on one to win the prize. But both Syaoran and another participant fight to save the girl that they love so things get pretty tensed.

-Oto Country: If you haven’t seen the anime then don’t read this one as describing it will spoil it big time. Now they present us with a virtual world story where the characters are basically in a video game (virtual reality) and encounter their strongest enemy yet. Pretty elaborate and intense arc.

-Tsarastora Country: This one is mainly a heavily plot related episode that brings epic and intensity like never before, pretty interesting but doesn’t give us anything new like the multi-episode arcs that came before.

With that being said I really liked that they gave us a different kind of story and even sometimes genre to keep us entertained with fresh material while continuing on with the main focus of the story.

Characters! This series as them and all are interesting. Of course most of the characters are taken from other CLAMP works, Cardcaptor Sakura is the strongest influence, and offer some nice appearances of mostly everyone’s favorites since most of them are there. First I’ll get on with the main 5 of our group of travelers:

-Syaoran: The teenage version of Syaoran from Cardcaptor Sakura. He is however completely in love and dedicated to Sakura this time around instead of acting like a dick towards her in the beginning, which was a nice and much needed change, I sincerely couldn’t have taken it if he had been mean and dumb towards Sakura until the later half. Syaoran is truly in love with the princess and he braves any danger to manage to save her with his devotion and dedication, never wavering for a second. In that regard he is much unlike any shonen hero in that he is serious, strong from the get go and already completely in love.

-Sakura: A kind hearted nice and sweet girl who is in love with Syaoran. Even after losing her memories she still remains herself while she slowly discovers her past. Unlike the old Sakura (From Cardcaptor) she isn’t strong. After losing her feathers her strength is all but gone but she wants to help since everyone is doing this for her and she does her best to stay by Syaoran’s side and do whatever she can. Instead of just playing the damsel in distress they really dug into the theme of helplessness and the need to contribute, having Sakura keep trying no matter what.

-Kurogane: In this season not much is revealed, he’s a fearsome warrior that was banished from his world by his princess for reasons unknown and seeks to go back. His journey forces him unwillingly to tag with the group and he slowly gets to know and like the others. He delivers some moments of awesome, trains Syaoran in becoming a better warrior and helps in his own way.

-Fay: An energetic yet somehow effeminate magician who can no longer use magic due to his price for travelling with the group. His only goal is not to return home for reasons unknown, we at least know he’s afraid of someone awaiting him there. He adds a lot of comedy to the series and can actually handle himself pretty well in a fight but as the series goes on we realize his fake smile hides darker feelings towards himself.

-Mokona: A perky funny and cute plushy like mascot that follows the group providing humor and a way to go from one world to the other. He’s fun and cute, what’s more to say?

The remaining characters from various worlds are all well written and interesting and since they move on after that you never get sick of any of them so the cast is quite diverse. Each world offers new enemies and new allies who make this show an entertaining ride.

Now on with the main theme, love! This show is one of the best romantic story I have ever seen. Syaoran sacrifices his relationship and risks his very life for the sake of the woman he loves knowing full well she will never remember the childhood and moments they shared together, showing true devotion and selflessness. As Syaoran fights and consistently stays by her side, Sakura realizes his feelings for her and develops new ones in return, giving this hopeless romance a flicker of happiness in the horizon. The series as several touching scenes between Sakura and Syaoran that did bring tears to my eyes. Yes, the writing, execution and emotional impact were this good. This series succeeded in consistently furthering their relationship by a gradual demonstration of their emotions without ever needing to spell it out to the audience.

The voice acting was more than enough; the villains sounded like villains, emotions were delivered, lines were given life and felt genuine and the voice actors were provided with solid dialogue.

While not bloody or violent by any means, the series provides great and intense fights only rendered more epic by what as to be the best soundtrack in anime. Adding high stakes with each fight, added with the rising tensions up until then and good directing made these battles some of the best in shonen, since an epic battle is about more than just a good choreography. Also, giving the heroes different powers from world to world only made it more diverse and new for each new battle. The artstyle isn’t going to be for everyone, long limbs and thin body, but personally I liked it and it ranks up there with my favorites but I understand that’s not a shared view.

If you like adventure, shonen and love stories then I can’t recommend this title enough. It was one of the rare classics of our times that I’ll always cherish. read more

Frankly, I don’t see the goal of this movie: for series like the original Gundam who have little content during the course of the show it’s rather easy to pack it into a movie but for a series like Escaflowne, packing it all in forces them to rush the plot and step over character development.

The movie did change a few things when it comes to the plot and the characters but what most will notice is that several subplots and even some parts of the main plot were completely forgotten due to lack of time. Major elements of the plot were also completely changed but at least it gave the movie a feel of originality. The story goes by in the blink of an eye and doesn’t have much substance. The best I can do is say it was entertaining enough in a fast pace kind of way.

The characters were different, their personalities were changed a little and some characters don’t seem to have a personality anymore because of how little screen time they got. New characters were added but they had so little screen time, a few lines sometimes, that their presence was a waste of screen time and their concept a waste of the writers’ and director’ time. Of course lack of time destroyed the characters' background stories, their most important traits, interesting twists, relationships and took all the emotional bite the climatic battles could have had.

The ending is still the same crappy one too. The biggest let down I had with Escaflowne was the lame ending and I thought the movie would change it given it changes everything else, but they kept that stupid part in for no reason.

You don’t watch the show for the mecha either, there’s one short boring battle in the entire course of the movie.

The action and blood are the only reason I gave this movie a 7, its pretty superficial I know but it was entertaining enough as a short action flick.
My advice is to watch the movie before the T.V. series: you’ll still get all the fun of the twists and plot of the original series and you’ll get more out of the movie if you’re not dumbstruck at how pathetic it is compared to the real thing. read more

This movie, much like the OVAs, is a standalone story made to provide us with another fun Naruto adventure. Again it isn’t the most trilling adventure but it is entertaining enough for any fan of the series.

Basically Naruto and his team go with Kakashi to escort an actress during her trip but they soon come under attack from ninjas just as interested in the dear actress who may well be more than she let on at first. It’s a basic Naruto plot so far.

During the duration of the movie you’ll assist to short but still pretty good fights and be entertained by more of Naruto’s random stupidity. Sasuke’s as badass as ever and Naruto goes after the big fish of the bunch again. But a surprise came from Sakura who actually fought this time around. The main villain was good enough: Great voice acting, solid appearance and fighting abilities… up to Naruto standards. Though the villain’s motivation was dumb once again: The problem with side villains in long running series is that every time they come up with a plan to conquer the entire world you’re always left wandering “He’s got a run for his money with three kids and their sensei, how the hell is he going to defeat the kages, Orochimaru and the Akatsuki.” World domination 101, if you’re not part of the main storyline, don’t aim for it.

The animation on the other hand is totally stunning, it makes the series eat its dust but considering this is a movie it was only to be expected.

I guess you could say the movie deals with the hardships of being an actress but the way it was presented was rather cliché and lacked focus so I don’t count it. The other themes are pretty much what you’ve seen in the series.

Basically this movie is a fun watch during the course of the series and Naruto fans should appreciate it but outside of those who like the series there is little appeal. read more

The short special chibi episodes that follow the series. To me they were a mixed bag: On one hand they did offer some light humor and a different perspective on the characters but on the other hand they were rather silly and uninspiring.

The humor presented was often crude and graphic as well and while it did have its moments, it was by no means a riot. It was worth watching the whole thing just to hear the joke made on Tokyo’s governor though.

Basically it’s inconsequential to the story and just good crude fun at the expense of others, the characters and even the audience at times. If you know what to expect then by all means watch it.
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A yes, when I started this series I was under the impression it was one of those shows that aims to shock its audience with material only controversial to the weak of heart and so I went in fully aware of its darker nature. However the entire thing felt as if it was meant to be a series for kids and even the first murder was so moderate that I thought the controversy was merely the ranting of easily impressed viewers, to my surprise it those indeed go to the extremes later and is definitely not for children.

Opening sequence: 8/10
Ending sequence: 6/10
My Age Rating: 12: While there is no overflowing of blood the show deals with very mature and graphic situations.

The story seems fairly simple, a group of kids possess Pokémon like monsters and learn about the secret world of which these monsters are part of (by secret world I mean metaphorically, there isn’t actually another world involved). The atmosphere is sweet and kind hearted and all is introduced to be your average mon series. But then things start to turn darker, one of the characters attempts to commit suicide with a knife, an enemy gets killed, by one of the cute monsters no less, and the kids who possess some of these monsters are seen getting guns for protection. I think by that point we can clearly assume it is not going to be your average mon series for 6 years old. As the story progress the army also gets involved and you start to realize that the cute monsters are more than just pets for kids to play with, they have the ability to kill and destroy and are targeted by the military.

Off course this series’ main plot isn’t the most important part of the story. It is important to understand that the main plot here only serves to create the situations in which the main characters will be endangered since the story concentrates heavily on the characters and their ordeals. One of the main themes of this series is how isolation and persecution by society can drive some people to suicide and others to madness. Each of the characters has to deal with the harshness of life on their own and it sometimes proves too much for them.

The characters are the most important element of this series and yet they aren’t the most memorable or the most well written you’ll see so how can they be so great? Well it’s simple, each character represents a certain problem people are faced with in society and each of them explores the depths of this specific situation and its hardships. So basically the characters serve as a sort of study of society’s most dire problems on an individual based perspective, if that doesn’t sound appealing to you then I suggest right now that you do not watch this series, since that is the goal of the entire thing and the main plot is superfluous. Without delving too much into this, I’ll introduce the main 3 characters and the themes they deal with:

-Shiina: Shiina is the girl who never gives up, no matter what happens she always sticks up for her friends and tries helping others but as one tragedy unfolds after another before her, her unwavering spirit slowly perishes. Of course this isn’t fully covered in the anime since only half of the manga is covered. When the entirety of her tale is given, it becomes apparent Shiina doesn’t deal with any pain or suffering inflicted on her but rather the loss and pain of others, those she loves keep getting hurt and killed and this continues until she finally breaks.

Of course Shina is also a deconstruction of the basic shonen hero: She is perky, excited (over-excited) and reckless as can be. She always tries to achieve everything on her own and doesn't care of danger and she never gives up. But instead of glorifying such foolish behavior this series demonstrates how nonsensical and reckless it can be, then going as far as giving psychological background as to how such a personality can develop.

-Akira (May contain spoilers): Akira is a girl who was abused by her father, this caused her to isolate herself and her reclusive attitude as well as her unhinged mental state also caused her to be picked on at school by others who see her as different. All of these pushed her to attempt to commit suicide. Akira deals with parental abuse and how when alone, when not even your parents are there for you, you can be pushed to desire an end to your life.

-Hiroko (Major spoilers but it can’t be avoided): Hiro is picked on by a group of girls, they bully her and big time too. They do so because they are jealous of her and when she gets good grades they do all sorts of unseemly things to her as punishment. Her parents care not for her problems and only want for her grades at school to get higher and she only relies on her friend, Shiina, to keep going. Eventually she gets sexually abused by her bullies and her father tells her never to see her friend Shiina again, this causes her to snap and she subsequently kills her father and mother, kills her bullies, by raping to death their leader as retribution, and then tries to kill Shiina’s father in her madness. In the end she is killed by her best and only friend during a fit of insanity. This character deals with bullying and how when one is pushed far enough it can cause an individual to fall into madness.

With this covered I think I can safely say it’s not a cheerful show, it’s actually very hard to watch. The ending appears to hint that a happy resolution to it all is possible but that is only a fleeting illusion that will be shattered upon reading the manga.

The action isn’t great at all here, it’s adequate at best. But as I said this isn’t an action shonen nor a plot driven show, so complaining about that aspect is rather pointless, the show best serves its purpose as a study of the causes of several psychological problems by presenting their effects, how they came to be and their possible consequences. It brings those elements to the extreme to emphasize them and as such this series is also devoided of a happy ending, so as to render the impact of the material they presented more genuine.

In the end it’s a good show to watch if you like psychological series and can stand a dark and depressing mood. Useless to say that if you can’t stand graphic content, depressing series or are seeking a plot driven story you won’t like this series at all. With that said I recommend watching it with caution and so as to not be caught off guard by the blatantly misleading first episode and the opening theme. read more

Puni Puni Poemi, a show whose only redeeming feature is that it is 2 episodes long. Rarely have I seen someone try at humor and fail so repeatedly and consistently. It isn’t because I can’t appreciate the kind of humor they offered either, the more crude humor is something I quite enjoy when done right and I also like parody works but this show was plain bad.

My Age Rating: PT: Contains nudity, language and violence to some extent.

Now as I said, I am a fan of parodies. I like it when a show or movie makes fun of other works, aspects of anime in general, laughs at certain conducts of the fanbase and so on. This series did a lot of that, the most notable example being how they treated the entire magical girls genre, but simply deciding to parody something doesn’t make you or your work cleaver by default. You have to actually come up with decent writing and a funny yet cleaver way of making the specific aspect you are trying to parody as entertaining by deconstructing it and studying what composes the specific genre. Simply putting it raw in the show, making stupid rude comments and suggestive situations on it and adding a dose of hyperactivity doesn’t make it funny or cleaver, it makes it dumb and boring. The worst part is I don’t actually hate it when the characters of a series are hyperactive, I actually thought Magikano was quite a funny title, yet this series managed to make it look uselessly dumb and failed to deliver what should be a simple gag.

But maybe I just didn’t get it, maybe it’s meant to be watched while you’re high, or drunk, or both and maybe its funnier after you’ve had an operation and you’re heavily sedated. But there is the strong possibility that it just plain out sucks. read more

This series is another production of the great director (my favorite director) Goro Taniguchi. How unfortunate that the series isn’t up to his usual standard of quality however. Don’t get me wrong, it is by no means bad but I had gotten accustomed to a level of excellence that is unparalleled when it comes to Taniguchi’s work.

Opening sequence: 6/10
Ending sequence: 5/10
My Age Rating: AA: The content never becomes graphic but it does have adult situations so I’d still take that into account.

Now while it is true that many elements within Gun X Sword were rather meh and unexplored it is also true that many of these elements were the foundation for Taniguchi’s later work of Code Geass and as such this series deserves credit for being kind of a test subject for Goro to try out a few things and get himself ready for what is perhaps the best anime series ever to be made.

The story follows Van in his quest for revenge against a man known as The Claw who murdered his fiancé. Along his journey he encounters a girl named Wendy who joins him to find her missing brother who is said to be with The Claw as well. The first thing Wendy does is offer Van to become his bride in exchange for his help; this was an unexpected and rather original move to be made in an anime but unfortunately this is where the wasted potential went. It would have been great had Van accepted and their relationship move on from there but he refuses and they go on with the same relationship the main couple of most anime series have.

The first half deals with stand alone episodes that introduce the characters and lay the setting of the story. While the episodes were good they were by no means great and got a little dragging over time but fortunately the story kicked in soon after. The later half deals with The Claw and his followers trying to change the world though we’re not sure how they intend to do it. It does have quite a nice assortment of enemies and an intriguing and interesting story from then on. The main villain is rather strange but that is not a flaw, he was original and fascinating to watch in a lunatic sort of way. His followers’ devotion to him and his vision are more than convincing and intense enough to make anyone curious about his plan and serve to establish pretty well his charisma and ability to lead through his madness.

The characters were all good to great, which saved this series in my opinion. Wendy and Van were not impressive in any way but worked well together. Carmen was all the fanservice we needed (Taniguchi seems to have a talent for making women with mind blowing breasts and incredible ass). Ray was a nice rival and his determination for revenge against The Claw put Van’s to shame which is saying a lot, he was also badass as could be and a cold hearted ace mecha pilot with double automatic pistols, which made him one of the best characters overall. The Claw was villain enough for the role and rather than making us hate him, the feeling you get is of mystery: since he’s insane it makes you want to figure him out and discover why he does what he does and if there’s a genuine reason behind it. Other characters such as Wendy’s brother become interesting enough later on but saying more would be spoiling it I’m afraid.

The voice actors did their job here and were assigned to characters that suited them well so no complaints. The action was often average but at least there was enough to go around. The fanservice was moderate but present enough to entertain. The show dealt with the themes of revenge, responsibilities and finding your own path to follow in life. It didn’t attack us with the themes but they were present throughout the series.

Overall it’s an interesting enough show but it’s no masterpiece. I recommend giving it a try in any event since you’ll get something out of it and maybe you’ll like it as well. Though given their crucial importance, if the characters don’t click right for you within the first few episodes just bail out there. read more

Gundam Wing is a series that has received a bad reputation from the Gundam fans. But that is exactly the point, the Gundam fans. While it is necessary to appeal to a franchise’s fans it is just as necessary to rack in new fans and reach mainstream audiences, something which Wing achieved with excellence. Wing is by no means a bad show and as someone who wasn’t that taken in by the original Gundam series perhaps I can offer a less biased perspective than a fanboy would. To be honest given how many strong points it has, it also possesses just as much weaknesses so this may be the most negative sounding review I’ll ever make for a 7 ranked show given I have to list both strengths and shortcomings.

Opening sequence 1: 8/10
Opening sequence 2: 9/10
Ending sequence: 7/10
My Age Rating: 8: Lots of action and battles but little in regards to graphicness of the content.

The story of this series isn’t anything impressive, but at the very least it managed to diverse itself enough from the often too similar nature spin-off Gundam series take which makes many of them seem like remakes of the original. It is more political in nature than most Gundams but also as a plot that moves with the characters more than the events themselves. In a series of such a scale it acted in detriment in the way that important and epic events will usually get tossed aside, resolved in unimpressive ways or simply be rendered trivial to allow for the characters to move in the direction they had intended. This does take a bite out of the plot’s power though the last 10 episodes do redeem a lot of its shortcomings; this fact seems to hold for most Gundam series too. Now it may seem like I’m forgetting to talk about the plot itself and what it entails but I’m not, it changes so much every 5 – 10 episodes that actually describing it would be pointless and spoilerrific. All I can say is that the show started strong, slowed near the middle, became truly epic in the end only to give a disappointing ending; so it’s truly a mixed bag. It’s better if you take the good and just accept the bad to fully enjoy the overall series.

The characters weren’t award winning either but they at least held their own better than in most other Gundam series (notably the original series, since Tomino seems to have tremendous difficulties making interesting characters if not believable ones). The five Gundam pilots are all average characters with their back stories and quirky personalities but even though they are the main cast they truly don’t hold the show together. The really good characters in this series are Relena, an idealistic and rather unlucky girl who should have done more in the series. Then there’s Zechs, the inevitable Char-ish character every Gundam as to have. Fortunately for us Zechs was handled a lot better than Char (who showed great promise at first but was ruined by Tomino). Zechs was rather meh at first but as the story progresses and he starts to follow his own path you see what an epic character he can be and by the end he truly exemplifies himself. This is what Char was missing in the original series, doing his own thing; because as a subordinate biding his time his character is lost. Of course there’s Zechs’ most loyal soldier, Noin. She wasn’t really all that present in the series but her style and her devotion made her one of my personal favorites, though I understand that opinion might not be shared. And finally, one of the best villain (of sorts) in the Gundam franchise: Tres. He’s basically Napoleon so that made him more than an interesting character and something more than worthy to hold your attention during the series.

I would elaborate about the themes but Gundam series never truly did manage to present them in a decent way, aside from war most themes are either superfluous or badly presented as the ending will undoubtedly reveal to you. The voice acting was fine, nothing more to say here either. Aside from Zechs I can’t recall a voice actor who truly outdid himself. But even Zechs’ was simply a good match of the voice actor to the proper character and nothing more.

You’ll get your fill of action in this series, it is Gundam after all. Though it isn’t going to be the warlike strategy battles you’ll get but more a super powered mobile suit wins all (much like super robot shows) than anything else, even more so here than other Gundams. The mecha designs are interesting enough but they aren’t anything to drool over, the Tallgeese and the Epyon might be the best designs you’ll get out of this show.

In conclusion, it’s a good enough series for the epicness it can show and some of its characters, you might like it if you’re into mecha/giant robot shows, if not or if you are an old school Gundam fan, then I’d assume you’d hate it uncontrollably. read more

Nabari no Ou is a modern or more realistic Naruto. No denying it borrows heavily on it but fortunately it created its own story along the way and managed to become a work of its own through a focus on different themes and different story than Naruto did. Or maybe it’s simply because the anime diverged from the manga, for all I know the manga may be almost exactly like Naruto but I’m not reviewing the manga today.

Opening sequence: 7/10
Ending sequence 1: 6/10
Ending sequence 2: 5/10
My Age Rating: 8: Violence and bloodshed though in small amounts.

The story is about Miharu having the most powerful technique in existence (godlike powerful) buried inside him and how he is destined to rule the Nabari (ninja) world. Of course while some seek to protect Miharu others wish to acquire his power for themselves and hunt him down. By the way the ninja world isn’t a separate world per se so much as it’s a hidden aspect of today’s society within the series, much like how the underworld (criminal world) isn’t really separate from our world but hidden within our society.

I have mixed feelings about the series’ story. During the first half it’s a great ninja action shounen with realistic and thrilling battles alongside great characters who go through diverse and trying ordeals in the pursuit of their own objectives which are often conflicting, even among allies. But the later half resembles more a soap opera than anything, mainly due to the fact that they made the two main characters as a couple but without officially doing it. They wanted to either pander to the fangirls or actually wanted to make it a yaoi couple but still wanted to leave the show out of that genre so you end up with two characters who act like they’re in love but have a relationship that never ever develops, thus a soap opera. Then the ending was just as exciting and epic as the start of the series. SPOILER-Of course since Yuite dies they never gave or had to give closure on his so obviously apparent relationship with Miharu, which was probably the point but on the other hand his death was also a necessity from a narrative point of view.-SPOILER

The main themes seem to be loneliness and its effect on the individual and others as well as childhood trauma and how similar people affected by one or the other can be. Yuite is alone and driven to want even his own existence to be erased due to severe child abuse, which just goes to show how traumatizing such an experience can be, while Miharu remains shrouded in loneliness so as not to get attached to anyone but although their circumstances are different, both individuals end up similar in their current suffering and low self esteem. Another theme is whether or not one should use power when he as it, if having the power justifies using it and whether or not the reason for using or misusing that power renders it alright and so on.

The characters were the best aspects of this show in my honest opinion. Each of them unique and while some of them sharing similarities with Naruto characters in backstories, they have completely different personalities and style that allows you to enjoy them for who they are.

Miharu: The main character. He is detached from the world doing his best not to care about anyone or anything and discovering the root of that problem which lies deep in his past and forgotten memories is a major plot point too. Despite being empathetic, he still manages to be a good lead.

Yuite: Abused as a child SPOILER-His family even attempted to kill him and told him he should have died and never been born-SPOILER and these abuses have made his only wish to be erased from the world, to have never been born. This is why he and Miharu are working together to unlock the power within Miharu to grant Yuite’s wish. While Miharu may have been coerced to assist him in the beginning, his relationship with Yuite eventually makes it so he wants to help him of his own free will. He develops feelings for Yuite to a point where he is the only person that matters to him (no yaoi intended of course). Don’t get me wrong I have nothing against yaoi but I hate it when they don’t go through with it and make a part of the story suffer because of that.

Raimei: Perhaps not the most important character but I liked her: Her character design, her personality and her fighting style. She seeks out her brother to take revenge on the murder of her family and clan and while this may be reminiscent of Sasuke Uchia she isn’t nearly as much of a dick as Sasuke was. She also develops strong feelings for Miharu but unfortunately for her he as eyes for no one but Yuite.

Raiko: Raimei’s brother. He’s responsible for his family and clan’s destruction but as we see him through the series we find it difficult to believe he would be such a cruel man and so discovering his reasons or even uncovering a complete account of what occurred that day becomes a very interesting aspect of the series. As a samurai and a complex character with torn ideals and a cruel past of his own it should come as little surprise that he’s one of the best characters as well. But I still prefer his sister; I’m pretty sure Gau would disagree with me on that. You’ll get the joke when you’ve seen the series.

The remaining characters are interesting but not important enough or interesting enough to warrant their own private paragraph. You have a wide variety of villains which offer more than just evil no-purpose-but-being-evil characters, each of them having their own past, reasons and ideals which makes them who they are. You have allies and foe which can’t really be called villains, or rather it depends for which character you root for and even then. Yep, the characters are well written and pretty complex which is a huge plus to the show.

The action the series offers is outstanding at parts but yet rather unimpressive in other instances. The humor is present yet subtle so it doesn’t distract from the main plot at all and makes the characters more likable. There wasn’t any obvious fanservice and this time I have to say it’s a real shame, I would have loved to see some Raimei service.

Nabari no Ou is a great shounen and a decent ninja story driven by strong characters. If any of this gets you excited then give it a look and you probably won’t be disappointed. read more

This is a short OVA basically telling an adventure Naruto and his team lived through so while it may not be related to the main plot per se, it is still more Naruto and a chance to see your favorite characters in another adventure.

My Age Rating: 8: Some light violence.

Naruto and his team are sent on a mission that soon turns to be more than they bargained for when they get involved in a dispute concerning the Waterfall Village. Now they have to save the village and prevent a villain’s evil plot. SPOILER-The funny thing is his evil plan is to use the water that increases your chakra to become invincible and conquer all. Two flaws with that plan: 1) Considering the water also shortens your life every time you use it and considerably so too, how long those he plan to rule, 5 minutes! 2) Guess he didn’t factor in people like Orochimaru and Itachi when he set out to conquer all, he should have considering a bunch of kids gave him a run for his money.-SPOILER

The OVA gives you some light humor, good but short action and a simple but still entertaining story. Personally I liked it because I looked at it like simply another episode rather than a work of its own so if you like Naruto and know what you’re getting into this one might just be fun for you as well. read more