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As well done as the first season was, I can only say that R2 has done far better. Backed up by great [English] voice acting, artful character designs, an overwhelming plot, dynamic story and character development, an enthralling soundtrack, and great action, R2 earns its place in the Top 10 anime of all time (ranked by AnimeNewsNetwork).

One of season one's strong points was its ability to, in the plot, build up anticipation and suspense to the viewer, using cliffhangers and twists. R2 follows the same trick as its predecessor, but delivers much better. The best way to describe the plot of R2 is dynamic, meaning it changes very much. The story that is created and built in season one is, without spoiling too much, completely turned around and changed from what any viewer would expect. By doing this, the viewer goes through a whole different experience. Rather than allowing a viewer to think and predict what will happen in the future, they are presented something completely new, which makes the story that much better. Plot devices such as the chess motif is still used, and may I say, used a little better.

As far as production value goes, I'd like to say it's great. The animation is astounding, mostly in the mecha action scenes. But character designs and environment, directing, and the like are good as well. I don't think CLAMP could have done a better job at making character designs the way they did, as they fit the character remarkably well. I'd also like to give R2 and its predecessor kudos for its voice acting. I watched both seasons in English, because compared to other shows, its pretty damn good. It's not very easy to tell what good and bad voice acting is in a foreign language, so because it's in English, I can safely say it's damn good.

I would also like to note it's moral value, at least what I got out of it. The ends justify the means, correct? Or does it? Is it really worth going through what you will to get to your goal, even if it is a good intention? Or is the evil that spawns from your good intentions too great? I'm sure there is a little more to it, but this is the jist of it.

For insert songs, OP's and ED's, and soundtracks, R2 surpasses season one. The songs alone are good, but used in the way they were in the anime made it much better. The timing and choice of music made the show much better than it would have without, not saying that it wouldn't be good without it. It just wouldn't be as good.

What I like most about R2 is the ability to be dramatic. It is the likes of which I haven't seen since Clannad, and even though the two are completely different, I can say that the dramatic effect on me from R2, while not as strong as Clannad, was much more drastic than other shows. With the use of the dynamic story as I stated above, R2 increases its dramatic effect on its viewers. Of course, I can't exactly tell you what happens, so all I can say is watch it for yourself, and you'll understand.

R2 is good. It's great. Hell, it can be called brilliant. It makes little to no mistakes, and works hard. Overall, it's incredible. I recommend it to anyone, and obviously the first season. read more

Jun Maeda, as one of the main writers in Key that created Clannad and Clannad After Story, once again outdoes himself to be able to write a story that keeps up with itself in a good way, while being able to give off that story's main theme. Angel Beats is full of so much potential that it could not fufill due to its short run-time, that it is almost off-putting. In fact, it is off-putting. Regardless, Angel Beats is better than good.

A story like Angel Beats that takes place in life-after-death setting is so uncommon, it's almost unprecedented. The plot is well written and in one way or another, it's viewer can relate to it. It turned out to be a lot more humorous than I thought it would be too, where several scenes had me going back to watch them again. AB has several plot twists that makes it lead to a more complex conclusion. Even though there are loose ends and a few things left unexplained, it was more than satisfying. Unfortunately with 13 episodes, it just ended too quickly. Like stated above, it has so much potential, but it was just too short to be as good as it could be.

The biggest problem about Angel Beats is it's character development. There are 19 characters in AB. Because the plot revolves around the afterlives of kids who lived an unfair life in the real world, we get to see what happened to each individual. Unfortunately, we were only given the chance to see three or four of them. It's shame because I myself would have liked to see the past of a few choice characters.

Lastly, the music for Angel Beats is fantastic. This also includes to songs that were sung by Iwasawa, a character within the anime.

Angel Beats is good. It is almost too good for itself because of its short run-time, where it is unable to be what it truly can be. read more

Clannad ~After Story~ goes far beyond being an ordinary anime series, and serves as a life-changing experience. After Story is a brilliant anime that is cute, funny, and tragic which connects with its viewers emotionally unlike any other series before it, leaving it nothing less than a masterpiece.

While I did praise After Story more than any other series I've seen, I could not help but notice that Clannad's characters are almost too similar to those in Air, one of Key's other visual novels that came before Clannad. However, this is not to say that I disliked the characters. I enjoyed it very much because of how dynamic the characters turned out to be and how they were enjoyable to begin with. Several characters, mostly Tomoya, go through incredible character development, the likes I haven't seen in any other anime.

Like Key's other visual novels, the story played out brilliantly where you could not help but shed a tear here and there. Unlike it's predecessor, After Story made a much greater emotional impact on me than I originally thought it would. However, the actual story of After Story does not begin until the first eight episodes are finished, where the story arcs of Sunohara Youhei, Misae Sagara, and Sakagami Tomoyo. It's obvious that After Story is all about Tomoya and Nagisa, and these characters feel like they were just thrown in because they couldn't fit in the first season. But it wasn't that big of a bother anyway, because even those story arcs were touching.

In the end, After Story is brilliant show that is unprecedented in many ways. Even with a few problems here and there, and a story line that shed tears and confused even more people, After Story is, like stated above, a life-changing experience that can inspire anyone. read more

Mahou Sensei Negima! is a funny, charming, and dramatic piece of work with great characters, incredible art, humor to make you smile, and enough fan service to satsify those who are looking for it.

The best thing about Negima! is the artwork. Ken's art style changed drastically since the beginning of the manga, drawing less detail on his characters, but improving in every other way. They are brilliantly drawn, each with unique characteristics. The action sequences are detailed without using gigantic lines resembling explosions and wind to take up space. The fan service shows off a lot, but is not too overbearing.

For a magical world story, Ken does well keeping up dramatic story arcs while keeping up with over 30 characters. Each character is unique with likable traits. Ken has been able to develop over half of the characters while being able to run such good plot. The plot itself is complex, without being too complicated. With over 30 characters, there could have been many, many possibilities for this story to go, but I firmly believe that Ken chose all the good ones.

Overall, Negima! is a manga worth reading. It's able to keep you interested without making you get tired of really anything and the art is excellent which surpasses Ken's older works. read more

Generally when one watches a good series, one cannot help him or herself but become connected to the characters and setting in said series, in this case, Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya as some people may prefer). I myself am no exception, and I can safely say the same for a very large number of people for Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu. We become interested and are comfortable with the consistency of the environment, characters, and the "problem-here-fix-it-there," ordeal. But what happens when that very consistency that thousands of fans are comfortable with is destroyed? Suzumiya Haruhi no Shoushitsu happens.

The character who shares this interruption in consistency with his viewers is none other than our hero, Kyon. He is the link between us as viewers, and the world of Haruhi Suzumiya. He is the character that shares the same question, "What is going on!?" (Not including those who have read the light novel, but I'm sure that the same thing was going through their minds at the time). The story Of course, there were parts that were a little hard for me to understand, but I did my best to get through it.

Small things like hitting a desk while walking, having a notebook bump into the top of the desk before pulling it out, a cat pulling on blankets before being lifted, the ruckus and damage that occurs when two people have a dispute; all these small things impress me, as they break through the regular physics that I've seen in anime. Of course, there were more things like this in the movie, but it would take up a lot of space.

Kyon (as a male role in this movie) is one of, if not my favorite male roll in any anime works. The voice acting, facial expressions, and everything else about him, I was able to imagine on a real life actor. Nagato Yuki, who is one of my favorite characters of all time, is changed into a timid and shy school girl who I couldn't help but smile at from time to time. The characters are very well done and, with this movie's art style, is one of Ishihara Tatsuya's best work as its director.

The last thing about this movie is its original soundtrack. If I had a dollar for every goosebump I had during this movie... let's just say I wouldn't exactly be taking the time to write this review. I would probably be living a life of luxury in Japan, eating gourmet food from Hokkaido. But instead of a cheesy analogy, I'll explain. This movie wouldn't have made as good an impact on me, had it not have been for its music. "READY" (which was used for the climax of the movie) was probably the best piece of work in it.

Suzumiya Haruhi no Shoushitsu is definitely a movie worth, for fans of the series, to skeptics of it, no every anime fan out there, and to even non anime fans (of course with an explanation for the back story). This movie deserves its position, as I've seen before, one of the best anime works of all time. read more