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One piece is another well respected and ambitious shonen series especially in Japan. It is currently the leading crown jewel of shonen in its home country and the most popular manga in the world. Believe me if there is any shonen series out there that deserves this recognition, it is one piece. Helmed by Eiichiro Oda himself, the author of one piece has a level of commitment and confidence to his manga that you don’t often see in many mangaka’s careers. One by one Naruto, bleach, fairy tail, hitman reborn, magi. They all fell apart at some point, usually towards the often unplanned or convoluted ... climax of a story. Or some shonen adapted works become too reliant on typical standardized tropes that often are unexecuted and not consistently planned leading to plot holes. One thing all large ongoing shonen have in common is they are plagued by inconsistency both in the writing and themes and elements presented. This is a growing trend that is predominant in this genre. This is where one piece greatly improves the formula on a level I have honestly never seen before within Shonen. This series really opened my eyes on the same level as like Hunter X hunter did.


The plot is about adventures and pirates sailing the seas’, meeting new exotic locations with new belief systems, ideologies, races of different cultures and exploring deeper stories behind each of these locales all with different solutions and consequential problems to solve for our protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and the Straw hat crew.

It’s a world filled to the brim with uniqueness, diversity, colorful abstract themes at every corner and even philosophical notions with a touch of heroism in poetic motion which is so unique to oda’s style of immersing you into the experience and helps to establish your connection to these characters and the story presented. The series has some of the most inventive and well-developed cast of characters with tragic but also drama fueled dramatic backstories along with a very deeply crafted and Imaginative expansive world just full of beauty.


One piece never feels like its derailing off track or contradicting its written code that is the mechanics and rules written that dictate the structure of the series and its universal principles outlined by the author. This sets the foundation of the many hundreds of episodes and continues along consistently with those established elements.

(An example would be something like how Dragon ball and Dragon ball Z differ greatly from being a series about classic adventures and down to earth conflict with a focus more on comedy and slapstick to galaxy type cosmic battles of destruction and a clash of superpowers. Now granted I love Dragon Ball Z for a lot of reasons but one can argue that it some times truggles with trying to find its middle ground in terms of the audience and its source material.)


This is something that does not happen with one piece. Characters do grow more powerful as the series progresses, but it’s confined with-in the rules established and never breaks that barrier feeling like a deconstruction towards a different series. Each individual character be it main, secondary or even villains will go through lots of emotional and physical development and the scaling is maintained and well balanced, never giving you the insinuation that there is any sort of absurd power curves or as most fans put it “ass pulls” come with out warning.


One of the largest reasons why I have such hope that the ending of one piece will be great, because this man has mapped out and has drawn the final arc of the story from literally two decades ago and has since dropped the breadcrumbs often hinting or leaving subtle clues that tie and connect seamlessly to some of the deepest mysteries of the plot. In short you can feel that the show is building towards something with many lingering questions and answers that will eventually come to the forefront of this epic saga. I swear I have seen this show a lot and I am still picking up on certain foreshadowing that was conveyed literally hundreds of episodes ago which later became a huge plot point. This man plans so meticulously, that it literally boggles your mind and to be able to achieve that for a serialization as long as one piece is just... Unbeliable!


Oda enjoys exploring things with such subtly, it feels like this man knows exactly what is on the horizon and loves to throw in such amazing Easter eggs to see if viewers are really paying attention. This is also another reason why this series has a huge following of theorists and analytical reviewers.

In terms of the art and style. The diverse and rich universe that oda creates with some of the most impressive world building and the ability to establish each new locale with different laws, cultures, morals, rules, etc. The often-exaggerated display of facial expressions and abnormal designs can turn some people off but if you look above that exterior you will notice a unique style that is not used in any other anime with such a wide range of variety that is often hard to interpret just from mere words. Objects and characters represented in the one piece world are often large in scale and tower over the main protagonist in a way that makes you feel their dominance and control that the one piece world is full of such monsters and incredibly powerful adversaries. The significance to this design choice by oda is amazing and really exemplifies the massive threat level conveyed in this world. The anime actually makes this element of the series more prevalent. Also, the type of scale the one-piece world has is unprecedented. You will never see a world with such rich lore and world building and oda gets a lot of his ideas from so many other novels, movies, real world and fictional historical references, etc. So, there is bound to be something that you will recognize from other iconic anime or films. Things like Alice in wonderland, the god father, Dragonball, Moby dick, to name a few.


Don't be put off by the often-classic style of animation if you’re watching the anime, because it will evolve over time. Obviously with a show that has started in the early 1990's and is continuing into 2022 will have some changes in terms of art quality and animation. Seeing the transition to 16:9 is where you can really see the massive difference.


The Music deserves a mention in this series. Without it, it would not be the same. The music suits the scenes of battle marvelously, it gives the people who's watching seeking for more and more action. The orchestrated trumpets and trombones, mixed with the drums fit the action scenes very nicely and the piano themes that you hear during some of the drama, really creates a powerful scene that is trying to bring out your emotion and just tingles your heart and soul. You really do feel for these characters as almost living in their world. Believe me, you will cry, you will laugh, and you will even get angry during some of the more intense dramatic moments in this show. The background music is also very capable of strengthening suspenseful or triumphant moments. There is just something about it that fits the story of pirates sailing to sea so well. Additionally, you may become so attached to the main cast, that even considering the prospect of our heroes dying at some point, would absolutly devestate you. I have never in my entire anime career been more attached to a cast of characters like the Straw hat Pirates.


With that all being said, I just want to say that one piece is not an episodic type of series, it is a massive serialization with an overarching narrative, but the core of the series is structured differently than Naruto for example. The series is a more of a character driven narrative and the mystery and lore take kind of a back seat for a while. There is a common misconception where people perceive this series as being very slow paced for that reason and the story does not move to the end goal any time soon but as i said, the driving force of the story is the characters them self's well the mystery and lore are conveyed throughout the journey. Eventually It will come full circle and you will just be in awe at how carefully planned out the plot really was by the ending. You can witness the many clues and hints outlined throughout the plot and details early on that have a groundbreaking significance later in the story.


In closing to say I know most people are turned off by it because of how intimidating it can be with its nearly 1000 episodes and nearly 1100 chapters of content and still on going. But rest assured this is not pokemon, it is a deeply well developed and expansive story with rich lore and world building and it’s about journeys, adventure and mystery that will captivate the audience and become a spell binding experience that will sure to intrigue you to no end. Check this one out if you’re a fan of anything shonen and as Rayleigh says:

"Nothing in this World happens by Mere coincidence. It's Possible that everything happens for a reason and together our lives and adventures on the sea's help shape our destiny." - Dark King ~Silvers Rayleigh~

This film had some slight enjoyment to it but nothing to crazy. Considering the time in which it aired, the animation and budget was improved quite a bit over its TV series counterparts of each respective series. How ever I did not like how this film protrayed more of an emphasis on mazinger dominating most battles and Devilman characters were amostly delogated to supporting roles.

Personally I enjoy the Devilman verse more so then the classic Mazinger series and to see the Devilman villians treated like this was kind of off putting. All in all though the budget and animation was interesting and if you enjoy ... Mazinger and Devilman and you are just looking for an excuse to see both heroes in action teaming up with some interesting fight choergraphy, then you may enjoy this.

When it comes to monster of the week 70's mech series, this is pretty much about as simplistic and bare bones as you can possibly get both in characterization, stories, and animation. It had its somewhat great moments and I think what kept me invested was seeing Baron ashura and his many antics and conquests to try and take down mazinger.(But certainly not as great as "Berge Katse" from Gatchamon. ) Loved the episodes showcasing the many mazinger upgrades as well and some of the stories were inventive and quite interesting in early parts of the series. It then built up steam quite a bit ... around the mid portion of the show and things started to gradually become more intense how ever it lost alot of steam around the last 1/3 of the series which i felt that i just wanted things to move on to the final episodes already.

The beginning of the series helped set the foundation of what was to follow and helped establish the characters very well and it felt fresh with each episode offering new and unique ways for Dr hell and his minions to win against the good guys. However, I feel what ultimately ruined my experience was as the series went on, many of the stories and idea’s the writers threw in felt very nonsensical and rehashed to many times. To the point where it felt that mazinger kind of suffered from an identity crisis and the writers even forgot what the initial character motivations were, especially on the antagonistic side.

For example, in the premise of the story Dr hell’s main goal was always to conquer the world. World domination was his ultimate goal and many of the MECH beasts that were deployed did just that, started blowing up cities and creating massive destruction in its wake but the writers of this series sort of shoehorned in the the idea that Dr hell and his minions are trying to take over and infiltrate the photon light institute and there where many episodes where he also wanted to destroy the photon light institute. So, you get this constant sudden change of character motivations and goals for the main villain and it just felt a bit strange to see that. It got the point where the writers relied to heavly on the concept of "lets take over that photon light institute because that is our primary objective" its like the writers were obsessed with this idea. Ultimatly it kind of derailed from its original story concept of what was established at the start of the series.

The series had some decent moments but lacked consistency and especially when compared to something like Gatchamon which aired even before mazinger, was quite a great deal a much better series with greater characterization, larger world with bigger set pieces, greater story arcs, etc. In Mazinger it is mentioned quite frequently that some how these characters are going to school, but we do not even see them attend school except for maybe a few episodes. I realize the series is targeted towards japanese children and needs to mainstain that thematic element of mechs and fights but the world could have been fleshed out a tiny bit more to showcase some other locations in the mazinger verse instead of just consisting of the battle ground locations. Overall, I would give this probably a 7/10. The ending really caught me by surprise and im hoping great mazinger is quite a bit improved over this classic series but will see. With all that being said, it can’t be overstated just how influential and important this series is to pioneering the mecha genre with many of the common themes and tropes you will see in many shows to follow. It certainly left behind a great legacy for mecha and that is something I will never forget.

The first thing you need to know about Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica is that it is not as revolutionary as it wants you to think it is. Dark magical girl shows have been done before--Princess Tutu delved into some pretty heavy stuff, and Revolutionary Girl Utena (if you can even call it mahou shoujo) went...well, deeper. Action magical girl shows have been done before, Nanoha's probably the prime candidate for magical girl shootouts, but practically every popular magical girl show since Sailor Moon's been about throwing around magic for peace and justice. Even looking outside the mahou shoujo field, at deconstructions that throw young kids ... into terrifying situations, Narutaru and Bokurano had it down a long time ago, graphic evisceration and everything.

So then, what makes Madoka Magica special, you might ask? The answer is a little tricky to define. It's not so much about the gripping story, the brilliant art direction or the incredible music as it is all these elements working together as one coherent entity. If the viewer wasn't so caught up in the plot, he wouldn't miss the visual shortcuts. If he wasn't awed and frightened by the witch battles, he would see the rough patches where ambition perhaps outstrips technique. And in patches where the visuals are almost too quirky or the story going on weird faux-scientific tangents about entropy, Yuki Kajiura's soundtrack saves the day and distracts the listener just long enough to get back to the good stuff.

But make no mistake--despite Akiyuki Shinbo's recognizable touch, this is Gen Urobuchi's piece, through and through. Considering Shinbo's other work, which have been almost totally overwhelmed every time by his own unique aesthetic, this is kind of a miracle. When the gloves come off in episode three and one of the magical girls is decapitated, directly followed by the brilliant hard-rocking ending, designed to make anime nerds shell out money for Madoka Magica Bluray disks. That's a statement of intent, right there.

This is where Madoka Magica outdoes just about every show in 2011, its insane ambition. You see, Madoka Magica is not a show about magical girls. It is a show about the magical girl system, and the handful of poor scared girls thrown into its midst. It is a show where the scope of the horror increases every episode, and the true villain is always in doubt. The scariest thing of all is that the true villain may be the rules of the universe themselves. I mean, if you've seen the show, I know you laughed through Kyubey's entropy speech, but think about it for a second. What happened there was that the show contextualized itself yet again, as it does over and over again throughout the show. What starts out as a slightly twisted show about girls fighting Lovecraft horrors quickly becomes the struggles of under-prepared young people against the universe itself. You might be able to fight witches, asks Madoka Magica. But can you fight gravity?

Complementing the deranged scope of the story is the fact that the folks over at SHAFT are in no way interested in padding the story with filler, like Sailor Moon or even Cardcaptor Sakura (no matter how brilliant the filler was in the latter.) There are no extraneous transformation scenes, no villains-of-the-week, no cut-and-paste enemies. Every witch is a marvel of surreal design, and every magical girl uniform says something about its owner. The fights on display are probably some of the most kinetic and interesting of any magical girl show ever made. Many would say that the fights are not the focus of magical girl shows, and I'd agree. But it's also true that in each clash with witches , no moments are wasted and no punches are pulled.

SHAFT couples Madoka Magica with arguably the most restrained use of Shinbo's trademark aesthetic yet. Some might decry his work as being a step below Bakemonogatari in terms of visual creativity. I'd say, though, that while some of his earlier work flirts with visual craziness for the sake of visual craziness, Madoka Magica comes as close as I've ever seen him come to his style actually meaning something. Just the sheer difference between the wide-open spaces and futuristic architecture of the human world coupled with the cluttered paper-cutout world of the magical world conveys more than flashing text across the screen. Even though the latter effects could certainly entertain in his other work. Shinbo's style is coupled with a memorable soundtrack by Yuki Kajiura, which is by turns melancholic, whimsical and terrifying. Then, of course, there's the opening theme, which grows more poignant with each listen; and the ending theme, which is probably one of the greatest ending themes of all time. Magia is Madoka Magica's Cruel Angel Thesis, and it deserves a spot up there in the pantheon with it.

So the story aims for greatness, the visuals amaze despite the middling budget, and the music is phenomenal. Why isn't this anime a 10, then? It's probably the best show of 2011 that isn't named "Wandering Son", and should be watched by every self-respecting fan of Japanese animation out there.

On the other hand, there are two things about Madoka Magica that I can see as significant problems. The first is that it is that, when you come down to it, it doesn't bring anything particularly new to the table, besides maybe Kyubey. The second is that the characters don't hold their weight. Despite the superbly constructed story, despite the art and sound, the characters themselves can be a little dull. Kyubey is brilliant, and makes for one of the best sort-of-antagonists of any anime in the past few years, but as for everybody else: Sakaya's fall of darkness happens too quickly, Mami leaves the picture before she experiences much development, Kyoko's change of heart happens too fast and her decision in episode 9 is frankly ridiculous, and Madoka herself spends most of the series in a tear-ridden stupor. Madoka's family actually succeeds as one of the most convincing representations of family in recent memory, but they ultimately play so little part in the storyline that it is a little frustrating. Madoka's dynamic with her mother was so warm that I expected her to play a larger role, but in the end her role was disappointingly minor. The fact that Madoka actually had a visible family, in contrast to just about every other heroine in the story, was something in itself, but the potential was ultimately squandered for something less interesting.

Homura, on the other hand, received an entire episode to herself, and ultimately became one of the most sympathetic characters in the show. So maybe I'm undervaluing the cast just a little bit. Compared to a show like Princess Tutu, where the main cast are all uniformly multilateral and tragic, the characters of Madoka Magica are lacking; but on the other hand, given the show's time limit and the scope that it pulls off, it is difficult to see how they could have had time to give everyone more development. More importantly, in contrast to other shows where the characters remain frustratingly static, the cast of Madoka actually go somewhere. Sayaka loses her ideals but holds true to them at the same time, Kyouko puts her life on the line for a friend, Homura learns a lesson about hope and Madoka, at the very end, like Shinji before her, gets on her feet and makes a difference.

I think it says something that while the amount of development the characters go through isn't enormous, each of the characters in the show are developed just enough to remain sympathetic. They may be archetypes, but they aren't one-dimensional.

There's plenty more to say about this show: the Buddhist overtones, the cosmic balance of happiness and despair, whether or not Kyouko and Sakaya were lesbians, the ending itself. But I think it deserves to be said that whatever Madoka Magica's faults, it's something special.

Also, what other magical girl show would have the guts to end the way it did? That's not commercial calculation, right there. Anno might have aimed for meaning at the end of Evangelion, and Rahxephon might have tried to synthesize that meaning into something palatable. But I think that Madoka's end, succeeds in dominating both of these shows. Considering Evangelion's weight, that's no mean feat.

I am very aware of the controversial hatel this anime has produced among the community, it is almost quite sad. This is I think is a series you will either deem one of the most spectacular series to grace the medium, or something you will hate, depending on your tastes in certain hobbies. If you’re a video gamer at heart, you will probably just feel as though your being swept away into an immerse experience that won’t let go especially if your have never seen an anime marketed towards the video game virtual reality. I was so intrigued to watch this, after seeing ... MAL’s 10+ reviews just after watching 1 episode. How the hell can anyone judge an anime after 1 episode? Well read on and you will soon find out why this series is one of the most talked bout series of 2012 and still is even this year. This is a show that will giving a lasting impression in this generation and possibly even the next generation.


Have you ever wanted to live in a virtual world where you can fight monsters and clear dungeons while meeting thousands of players online? Sword Art Online is a story about just that. It starts out with ten-thousand players all logging into the greatest virtual reality MMO game of all time: Sword Art Online. Kirito, the protagonist of the anime, is a beta tester of the game and has more knowledge about the game than most. While this school aged kid wanders around the world of Aincrad, he notices that it is not possible to log out. Soon afterward, all players are teleported to the main area of the game. The GM, or game moderator Kayaba Akihiko, appears to tell all of them about the game: They cannot log out until all one-hundred floors are cleared as well as if they die in the game, they die in the real world. All players then go into a complete panic and replicate their true selves. Sword Art Online then begins as a trial for everyone's lives.

Kirito also faces a daunting challenge emotionally, as the stakes are exceptionally high. A death in-game equates to death in real life. These obstacles flesh out the human nature of Kirito’s character in great detail. His behavior, emotions and actions are closely related to his recent happenings and experiences. Kirito starts off as a social recluse who prefers to limit his interactions with other people. This leads him to shun the cooperative nature of MMORPGs and plays solo. Through a chance encounter, Kirito manages to befriend a group and re-learn the significance of friendship and comradeship, and how that improves his mental well-being. This does not lead to the unrealistic result of Kirito becoming instantly socially adept, as he faces further obstacles and setbacks that push him back to his reclusive old self. Such flaws truly show that Kirito is simply a mere mortal with variable emotions and feelings, which serves to connect with the viewer with empathy. For Kirito is only the strongest player in SAO due to his effort and research, rather than simply being perfect. Only through real experience can Kirito grow as a person, and the growth is closely tied in with the story.

We are therefore treated to relevant side stories instead of level-grinding filler. Each of these side stories involves an encounter with a supporting cast with wide variations in personalities and nature of the quest. Through the use of variety in the story, not only do we get to see Kirito develop, but also the world. The viewer is introduced to the world of MMORPGs involving Guilds, Raids, Smithing, Conspiracy and even a compelling virtual romance that becomes the foundation of a timely rejuvenation of Kirito’s character and part of the core element of the story. Asuna’s the main heroine worldview is also seamlessly influenced, and improved. The two-way nature of the relationship really makes it convincing, and leaves a lasting impression. The end product is an Asuna, despite her obvious flaws as a human, becomes a character whom many would look up to, due to her dedicated and faithful nature that was born out of hardship.

The writers performed an exceptional job. The accurate portrayal of human emotions, and especially during the years of adolescence really brings the show to life. The level of language, and the tones used by the voice actors were highly appropriate. The quality of writing continues with the way the villains are portrayed. The first major villain, Kayaba is an accurate rendition of the genius, lost in his own world, which he seeked to control. He is the prime example of a person termed as a sociopath. The best aspect of him however is not his character itself, but the way he integrated himself into the story line, and produced the most unexpected plot twist. This twist is a very crafty and convincing one due to it being totally out of the blue.

Although show is somewhat lacking in all-out battle action which comes across as strange, due to its highly suggestive title; the art of sword-craft, the worry is misplaced. The rarity of such scenes only serves to enhance the excitement during the boss battles. The immersion is further exemplified by the convincing use of light effects during animated scenes. This highly appropriate use of animation technique serves to amplify the effect of each, and every single hacking and slicing motion.

SAO attempts to provide a realistic and varied portrayal of the world of MMORPGS. The Animation is outstanding. The design of the scenery is complex and detailed, as well as each and every character you come across. Of course, this does not always apply to the minor appearances, but they are certainly detailed enough for simple presentation. With that being said, the art is rightly represented by smooth and realistic animation that will have you struck in awe as Kirito and others pull off some of the most exciting works of swordplay in history. Everything about the way SAO looks is more then wonderful enough to leave a permanent image print in your mind.


Kajiura Yuki who worked on the music. (Another reason’s why I highly praise the music in this series. The style of the music resembles her most recent previous work (Fate/Zero), but is sufficiently different to set it apart, reminiscent of the time she worked on Mai-HiME and Tsubasa Chronicles back-to-back. She is one of my favorite composers and her music really brings every scenario and event to life. In this series she instead utilizes a greater reliance on classic instruments and the orchestra. A highly appropriate decision as the art of swordsmanship and the resulting sword fights are traditional in nature. Despite classical instruments being rather ‘soft’ in comparison with electronic music, Kajiura delivered beautifully with the softer style actually multiplying the effectiveness of the battle scenes. Her mix of opera in the battle tracks only serves to give a sense of ‘epicness” and an intense adrenaline rush.

The voice acting is unbelievably emotional and real. Hearing all of the voices from everyone will make you feel as if you're in their position. Sword Art Online would definitely not be the same without the wonderful sounds that you hear while watching it. I will say that the English Dubbing licensed by Aniplex is pretty exceptional, so if you’re the kind of viewer that don’t like the original Japanese, then the English sports a pretty good cast of characters, particularly Kirito and Asana. I myself prefer the Japanese, I think the emotion that is portrayed throughout many of the voice acting roles are more convincing. But to each their own, either way sub or dub, this anime is a must watch.


In conclusion the excellence of the individual components ( sound, animation) come together at the end to give the viewer an anime that is pleasant to see, awe-inspiring to hear, and minds in intrigue with the story. A1 Pictures has successfully created an adaptation that entertains a wide variety of audiences. SAO is a must watch for fans of adventure, fantasy, and even romance. A truly enjoyable series that crosses an extremely wide range of anime fan bases which is a hard feat to pull off. Sword Art Online is definitely one of the greatest and promising pieces of Japanese animation to exist in the year 2012. Anything that can make you love, hate, cry, and rejoice the way that Sword Art Online does is going to be hard to beat and for fans that are video gamers alike, I think they will appreciate this series even more so. The product’s success is clearly seen through pure, objective evidence by means of Blu-Ray sales as viewers have overwhelmingly embraced SAO.

At the beginning, Hyakka Ryouran: Samurai Girls almost seems to know where it's going in terms of plot. Almost. A fascinating introduction informs us that this show will combine historical elements with fantasy and science fiction elements. Somehow, in this world of Zeppelins, DragonBall-style scouters, and bio genetic mutations, the Tokugawan Shogunate is in charge. And this re-imaged version of the Tokugawan Shogunate maintains its grip of power by utilizing attractive female super-warriors that it calls "Master Samurai". Now, this is all pretty far out there, but its also kind of cool, and after the first episode I was eager to see where they were ... going with it. The premise felt very promising.



The show becomes more and more complex, with naked Samurai-girls mysteriously descending from the sky, and angles relating to a government conspiracy unfolding. I don't shy away from complex stories, but its clear that they bit off more than they could chew with this one. As far as the romance goes, wait did i say romance? This isn't meant to be a sweeping love drama. It's a harem anime; you get your typical haphazard sexual tension with jealousy at first. It certainly never takes itself too seriously in this aspect, but as a result it's never particularly moving either.



The Characters in Hyakka Ryouran are, as a rule of thumb, flat. Occasionally we'll get a flashback that attempts to inform us more of that characters resolve, but these flashbacks usually aren't very exciting or interesting and mostly forced and not properly integrated into the experience. Most of the characters don't even receive this treatment, and we are instead left with stock characters pasted into the story to fulfill their purpose. Among these are the hotheaded, pampered princess, Sen Tokugawa, the super genius-tsundere Yukimura Sanada, and the male character who does absolutely nothing but act as plot-glue for the girls, Muneakira. I don't want to give away spoilers, but you will see when you start watching it. What exactly is the MC's main role?

They are not, however, without their positive qualities. Aesthetically, almost all of the characters have an interesting design (at least the female ones.) And despite being generic, the characters aren't unlikable. Characters such as Yukimura fulfill an archetype that works; and it would take a person without a heart to hate the adorable Jyuubei. Aside from that though their really is nothing redeeming or inspiring bout the characters in this show.


This show's artistic style boiled down to one word: ink. This was never meant to be a series that looks "normal" like other animation. Character outlines here are strikingly bold, but the thickness of the lines vary as if it were done with a brush stroke. Backgrounds appear to have been painted in a similar way. It never looks bad, but it's also strange to see this application of style in an anime. It appears more to be a style used in visual novels or video games. Still, it looks great when animated; screen captures do it little justice. Hyakka Ryouran's love affair with ink doesn't end with the character and background lines though. During battles, the ink blots actually splash off of the characters weapons onto the "camera." During transitional screens, the ink blots are again prevalent. In fact, even the rain is drawn boldly in black, as if it were meant to be ink. Not even the opening and ending videos are spared the splatter. This effect is really incredible in episode one, but by episode twelve, it begins to feel really stale. They did something great, but they went back to the well too often with it. This is perhaps my personal most favorite aspect of the show, no joke. It reminds me of some video games like "Okami" or Muramasa the demon Blade's visual anesthetic art style.

Now speaking of the music. I will say that the opening song is what actually drew me to this show in the first place, the opening is very catchy and a great j-pop with a mix of rock in it. I truly enjoyed the opening and it even gave that unique artistic style in the first episode, the moment i watched the opening, i was drawn to the series. As far as the music in the series it self, it was pretty mediocre. The music did improve towards the end of the series.


The animation quality is high, and the visual effects look quite good. Unfortunately, none of the battles in the show have any punch to them. They feel as though just pretty pictures of still images on screen flashing back and forth during transitioning of scenes.

I do want to say that one thing I found appealing was that the girls each have their own unique attacks which appear on the screen (written in ink of course.) I found this aspect kind of cool. I am not sure if different fansubs differ in that regards but i watched the Ryuumaru fansubs and each character, along with attacks had their own colored texts.

Final Words
Honestly, if you've read this far you've probably already decided whether or not you're going to watch this show. It's an ecchi. If you're planning to watch it, it's for the blend of comedy and the fan service even though the comedy was not that hilarious to me. I had a few chuckles here and their but thats bout it. You're going to get all of the breasts shots, tits and even ass. Lots of soft core nudity as expected with most harems. Think about (Sekirei). If moments like that are what you're after, you won't be disappointed.

Aside from that, Hyakka Ryouran doesn't have much going for it, though. Everyone should watch at least one episode just to get a sense of the unique style, since it is something different, and it's something kind of cool. Ikki tousen ( I am taking bout the 1st season of course) came to mind well watching this, but as sup bar as ikki tousen is, i would say that ikki tousen does a more improved job of integrating the story and not just heavily focusing on ecchi as a primary core element of the series. Taking into account everything, else, story, plot, character development, i am going to say pass on this one. Their are much better samurai girl anime's out their.

Hitman Reborn’s story revolves around a teenage boy attending Junior High whom everyone calls “Tsuna”. He is known to be bad physically and academically and top of that, he is unpopular, an absolute "loser" and had no friends. His life however, takes a sudden and extraordinary change when ‘Reborn’, an infamous hitman from the Vongola mafia family, takes a flight to Japan and trains Tsuna into becoming the 10th boss of Vongola.


One of the largest flaws in Hitman Reborn’s storytelling is the plot inconsistencies, not much planning can be seen in the plots department. That’s the sole reason why Hitman Reborn’s story changed so much ... drastically over the years as the author published it. First, we have normal everyday school life with humors and styles that could easily been seen as a gag comedy. Many people may not know this but originally the author Amino Akira intentionally thought that the manga was going to be a gag comedy or a parody of sorts.

The action comes in and the anime finally became what it is more intended for.. shounen. It is at this time where arcs like the Kokuyo Arc and Varia Arc emerged. And for the final arc which is the largest arcs in the series the "future arc", now turns into a bizarre arc which even involved time traveling on a large scale. Ironically, it seems this franchise gotten more known just when the actions started kicking in. I myself, also prefer the more technical and bizarre plot too, with all those time traveling, guardians, rings, boxes and deathperation flames, in contrast to the formerly gag tropes and comedy that was supposed to be hilarious, but i personally didn't find it the parodies or the comedy that funny at all.


Hitman Reborn is pretty poor at character developments. Out of all the characters, Tsuna is probably developed the most. But even then the way the MC is developed in this show is spread out so thin, that you have to be well into 100+ episodes just to see slight change in his personality and character. By the end of the show, he finally shows some qualities, but STILL does not accept the fact that he wants to join the mafia, i really found this very agitating after going through so much growth and change, he still denies that he is a boss which is something that happened at the very start of the series. For the other characters, I found them a bit annoying at first but after learning more about them, I grew to love some of them and each of their special traits the characters possesses. Yamamato is probably my most favorite of the vongolo guardians, reborn is definitely the most intriguing and interesting character in the series.

Hitman Reborn has a big character cast and I can’t help but find that some of them are nothing more then just plot devices. Besides, some of the characters could even be removed and the show would have been perfectly fine too. Especially when it’s nearing the end, there’s the main character and his guardians, the Varia, the Acrobelona, Mukuro/Chrome and the rest of the gang.

After some epic fights, the Antagonists guys are defeated but they usually don’t die. Then after a while, they return and help the protagonist. Rinse and repeat and that explains the huge character cast and over all structure of how the story is told. Having so many characters made viewers lose focus on the main characters, namely Tsuna and his guardians. Nevertheless, Hitman Reborn still has some good traits for certain characters.

The acrebelno characters were my in my opinion my most favorite and the background history behind these charactersz in the show during some of the acs were the most compelling i though and definitely gave the linear and inconsistent story structure some redeeming qualities. This is not the largest focus in the anime though, i imagine in the manga their will be much more focus on the acrebelono.

For an anime that started in 2006, it has quite a decent level of art and animations. Though I found their battle animations looking a bit stiff at some points but that is nothing to fret about as most of the elements are illustrated thoroughly. The art styles is well designed and the characters and settings did not lack too many details from the original artwork.

Hitman Reborn has a lot of great openings and endings, one of the redeeming things i loved bout the music in the show. One of my favorite is LM.C’s BOYS & GIRLS. I also like LM.C’s 88, CHERRYBLOSSOM’s DIVE TO WORLD and Ame Ato by w-inds. The voice acting is good too. I think the only voice acting I don’t like in this show is Gokudera. He sounds too forced, especially when he had to shout during battles, doing tsukkomi or when he had to show sincerity in his voice. I do like Mukuro’s distinctive “fufufu” and Hibari’s “kamikorosu” and Squalo’s “VOOOI!!!” Kind of reminds me of one piece's unique laughs.

Both the sound effects and background music are good but seems reused a lot as you watched the more later episodes. I really wished they mixed it up a bit and didn't rehash the same over used music from the start of the show in later arcs. How ever it definitely makes up for it when you get towards the end with some ground breaking epic music used to close off the show, but that really doesn't redeem its quality as far as music, to much rinse and repeat tunes and the limited amount of sound tracks really didn't keep me that interested during some of the more dramatic events, or the comedy moments.



In conclusion i would have to say that their is quite the fan following in this series, alot of people enjoyed it, i just happen to not be one of them. Like i said the inconsistencies of the pacing of the story and the underdeveloped characters, personalities types, such as the infamous "hibari" which lots of fans loved, i really didn't care for him because of his over used lines such "i will bite you to death" or "you must not lay a hand om nanimori" and almost dense like personality. It really turned me off as a viewer. Many of the characters i guess you can say have these types of traits to them then uniquely identify them as who they are but the dialogues they used are just over used to the point, that it kind of takes away the enjoyment in watching them go through growth and change through out the show.

If your an action fan, some of the fights are choreographed pretty well like bleach. Some of the action moments i really enjoyed and watching is a definite improvement over the manga in that regards. How ever if you are looking for a series that has a deep compelling plot, look else where, because this is really catered to more of that action shonen demographic rather then some one who really wants to see a deep interesting story unfold and characters with lots of depth to it.

On a final note, it has taken me literally almost 8 months to finish this show and thats a long time. I still have yet to read the remainder of the manga, some mysteries and some plot threads are introduced towards the end that i found very intriguing, so i may continue the manga, but the story that amino akira wrote could of had much more development, much more interesting characters and over all a more consistent and deep plot rather then using the same old competition like scenario's in the show.

Takumi Fujiwara is an average 18-year old high school student with an average job as a gas station attendant, and a not-so-average hand in the family business. To help his father's tofu shop, Takumi has been delivering tofu in his father's 'Eight-Six' Trueno to a hotel at the peak of Mt. Akina. Every night at 4 a.m. He's is brought into a world full of street racing and eventually over time feels compelled to become the best drift racer in all of tokyo. He is soon plunged into a world of competition and contests against some of the greatest racers in the japan prefecture.



The ... story may not be its strongest aspect and just by reading it, may turn some viewers off if they are not the type of car junkie otaku fans but the focus and attention in this series is to the Characters. Takumi which has the personality of a very layed back fellow who just enjoys his work and doesn't think much of his driving skills. Using his fathers car to deliver tofu on the downhill at Mt. Akina. That is until fate decides to change his determination and course of action when lots of rivals wonder who is the driver in the AE86, thus many challengers want to challenge this ghost of the streets. The journey towards takumi becoming a legendary racer begins.

Takumi has a very charismatic and charming personality and will do anything to protect his friends. Itske his closest and best friend, at first glance is like the otaku nerd of all things cars but even though he may be in over his head some times and some times gets him self into trouble or overthinking things at times. Takumi is always their to have his back. Both of these characters have great contrast between each other, other characters you will meet soon join up with takumi at first our rivals, but soon their after become great friends.


Created in 2-D animation, contrasting noticeably with the technically detailed look of the cars and races, which are recreated with 3-D CGI for the anime. While the integration of 2-D and 3-D is somewhat awkward in the early episodes, it improves greatly as the series progresses to the point to where both the CGI and animation blend pretty seamlessly together. The character designs get better also, with more detailed facial expressions becoming quite evident later in the series.

The races are edited and designed with great skill and thought. These sequences are genuinely exciting even to those of us who never followed any kind of racing action sequences before and action movie car chases. Most fans will feel that they need to be a greese monkey or an automobile expert to enjoy this show. That is not true. The technical aspects of this form of racing, particularly the all-important practice of "drifting," are adequately spelled out for novices to the point to where the series might even be called educational.

The music track deserves singling out for its lively collection of pulsating, catchy songs in the "Eurobeat" style popular in Japan a mix of rock, hip hop, and techno. The songs come into play in the opening and closing credit sequences and during the racing sequences where they work perfectly. The instrumental tracks during the quieter scenes are expertly done as well when trying to convey emotion through the characters.

Though the series does primarily focus on racing as a core concept for the driving of the plot and characters, their is a blend of romance and relations and i like how the series balances both of these elements together creating something that is not just about racing, but also what happens to these characters in their every day lives and their romantic encounters they come across, this obviously being the first season i expect more development in this area in subsequent seasons.

I have seen quite my share of anime in a variety of different genre's, but ive never seen an authentic car racing anime before, that being one of the smallest target audiences. At first glance it was hard for me to get into the show because im not entirely what you would call a "metal head" but i was really blown away when i finally watched this series. The characters are all very inspiring and entertaining to watch, the MC is one of the most outstanding characters in any anime iv'e seen, watching him grow throughout the season and probably alot more in other season's. The races are just awesome, lots of dynamics and it really makes you feel as though your tuning to your favorite racing station and watching the real race cars attack the corners at every turn. The CGI i have to admit is a perfect contrast to really help portray the realistic vision of real street racing.

I was actually turned onto to this anime by a friend of mine and i won't regret it, even though this is a very niche genre in the anime industry, initial D is a must watch for any advid fans who enjoy car racing or any fans for that matter who just like an enjoyable cast of characters, great musical sound tracks, and a well structured series from beginning to end.

This series is bout two characters, "Gorou Saruwatari" and Jack F. Woodbridge aka "Lostman" Two talented individuals that have their own unique personality and identity traits, both enthusiastic mountain climbing partners, they want to try and hit the highest mountain peek in the world but are unsatisfied until one day they want to explore the heavens, the vast ocean of the stars, they both want to each pursue their dreams of one day entering outer space and be the first man to walk on the moon. While the story takes place in a slightly more technologically advanced future, the rigors of space flight are ... every bit as insurmountable as they would be today.

What makes the core of the tale work so well is that the interaction between the two lead characters is anything but direct for the vast majority of the season. Rather than lump them together in their competitive race to be the first to the moon, the show's creative staff pays careful attention to crafting two very separate and unique stories. Sure their paths cross on more than one occasion along the way but the overall feel is almost that of a competition from opposite sides of the globe.

The viewer is transported along to several locales around the planet including a snowy Russia, sunny coastal Japan, scorching Middle Eastern desert and even the mystical Area 51 all under the near-flawless portrayal of the technological space race taking place between nations. It turns out that the future spawns a sort of United Nations banner (the International Space Agency or ISA for short) specifically catered to space travel and the common goal of using material within the moon's core as a near limitless global energy source.In case you haven't noticed, the show takes a very tangible approach to the sciences contained within.

The acting is simply flawless in both the original Japanese version and the English dub. Moonlight Mile manages to impress. The voice work is emotional and passionate throughout without crossing the delicate line between acting and overacting. Casting choices of the lead and secondary roles are spot on (especially with Goro and Lost Man themselves as the actors simply nail the unique yet similar traits of their respective personalities). I especially found myself appreciating the rare moments when the two lead characters interacted. It was almost as if there was a sense of their underlying friendship even though each acted as though he cared little whether the other lived or not.

The animation quality in this show is absolutely splendid, blending CG and animation so seamlessly together is not something easy to do but yet this show really seems to pull it off so perfectly.

The sound tracks at least in the first half of the show could of been a bit suited towards the theme of the show, but towards the 2nd half, it picks up with music that is really inspiring for the typical setting and space exploration or science.

As i said before this show strives on the realization of inquiring one's own dream's even though some of the actors like goro see's things very differently and acts like he does not care half the time or jokes around, his ideal beliefs and philosophies are still a very prominent attraction to his character. As is the case with Lostman.

The first half of this show really focuses mostly on developing the characters in other parts of the world, showing what kind of situations they are in, what kind of lives they live. The 2nd half of the series involves more of a subplot involving mysteries and touches base on the more rivalry between the two characters, and also other theme's like governmental secrecy and conflicts between nations.

I felt that some of the characters in the first season should not have been introduced, because some of them never really got their spot light they deserved. This is think is one of the flaws of this season. We are barely touched based on these side actors of the story and they become more and more insignificant as the story progress. This is the first season and i expect them to fully be explored in season 2 hopefully. This show is really bout the two main leads and the ISA's experimental projects to entering space, as well as the US military and the Javanese government's involvement. Mankind has reached for this type of technology for thousands of years. The show also explore's lots of politics, mystery, and conspiracy theories.


This series kinds of breaks the boundaries of what is considered a "perfect" anime world. Where everything is always in some sort of order like out of a story book or novel and characters are to strong in certain scenario's and the fan service is always their. This show's core theme is really centered around dreams and how far you are willing to go to achieve those dreams and make them a reality.

It kind of really portrays a much more visual approach to realism. Even the sex is shown in a very natural manner. The series is not afraid to show different racial types as is the case in this world today, so many African Americans marrying other races. I could swear it feels like i am watching an actual movie like "Armeggedon" on screen. Some people are just so stuck so attached to a perfect anime world, they don't realize how a story can be portrayed in a more realistic fashion by not following the general and most notable mainstream anime trends. Its just a rarity amongst anime so its nice to see a show like this come along every now and then.

I highly recommend this series if you want to watch something with a more complex, but intricate plot with interesting characters that explore their own dreams in very different way's and use their wits and skills to undertake any tasks, each having their own ideal philosophies on how to achieve their goal.

Glass Fleet Or (glass no Kantai) is a space opera that depicts the "galaxy in revolution" against the Holy Emperor, Vetti. Opposing Vetti's tyranny is the People's Army, headed by the enigmatic revolutionary Michelle. Eventually Michelle will seek to enlist the aid of Cleo, captain of a mysteriously powerful glass battleship, and his crew. Throughout the series, the bitter rivalry between Cleo and Vetti becomes increasingly important as the core element of the story.

The visuals and character art are good in some parts and just atrocious in others, as the galaxy is populated with vast "Territorial Vessels" or floating landmasses, numerous vessels and ... fleets enter galactic battle but the animation is so sub par, that you feel as though your watching a cheap science fiction movie from the early 80's. The character designs how ever is where the art really shines, some of them all have very unique appeal, as does the battle ships and many other planetary area's they visit across the galaxy. The many outfits is something to really recognize in this series, each and everyone has their own design for every character.

However, there was a lot that I did not like about this series. The three main characters (Vetti, Cleo, and Michelle) are all completely self-absorbed, though they may try to justify this to themselves. It becomes readily apparent in the first episode that Michelle is in fact a woman, and when we later learn the reason for this deception. Cleo's only goal in life is to conquer the galaxy, though for what purpose we never really find out. At numerous points in the series, he tells other characters that he really doesn't care whether they follow him or not, and intones that his "wind of destiny" is carrying him to a final outcome. In reality, he is an arrogant, stubborn fool who would be totally lost without the skills of his crew to support him. And Vetti, a really nasty piece of work, seems to care for no one, casting aside or eliminating anything that stands between himself and his goal of immortality.

Other characters are imbalanced and eccentric to the point of annoyance as well. Noe, the encryption genius, is a whiny little boy who becomes completely useless when he loses his glasses, which is often and annoying. The weapons specialist whose name I forget at the moment has the ferocity and testosterone-pumped aggression of a grizzly bear, and the mental capacity of a five-year-old. Towards the middle of the series, one character is thrown into a prison cell with a dozen perverted "lifers" who initially try to do some nasty stuff to her, but then somehow become her best buddies later on in the series.

This is also a series without moral compass or honor, as the final outcome demonstrates all too admirably. Throughout the series, Vetti has an intimate (sexuality is implied) relationship with Ralph, Vetti's consort and bodyguard, who is a young boy. Vetti is flagrantly promiscuous and manipulative, obsessing over and then casting aside his "love" interests, including at one point Michelle. After his numerous atrocities, murders, and sins, Vetti becomes the one to unite and rule the galaxy.

If you like happy endings, this series is not for you. If you believe that evil should be punished and good should triumph, this series is not for you. If you're looking for some ideas for a creative enterprise and don't really expect too much else of value, this might be for you. I can't say I'm glad I watched it (about halfway through I just wanted it to end, and had to alternate episodes with another anime to maintain my sanity), but there are some interesting designs in this series, so I'll keep it as a reference.

How ever if your hoping for something along the lines of an epic space opera that dives deep into politics and strategic war battles like Legend of the Galactic Heroes or Crest of the star then this series surely is not it. It tries to hard to fit many different stories intertwined together and ultimately does not carry the weight of what the plot is trying to portray.