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"Hey I got a great idea! Why don't we (Sunrise) show our fans something they already seen before and turn into a movie! Wow, great! Yeah, great marketing scheme to pull in the profits."

Is it really necessary for me to explain and describe the plot and characters in this review even though you obviously seen the anime and if not why are you, the reader even going to attempt to watch the movie? You won't understand it.

In all seriousness what was the point of this movie? I thought it was going to be something original, something that Gintama fans never seen before. But it turned out to be a remake of a popular arc. I hope I wasn't the only one who was disappointed. Don't get me wrong the Benizakura-hen arc is everything a Gintama fan would want it had action, comedy and adventure but was it really mandatory to remake the darn thing instead of creating something freah and exciting? It takes out the element of suspense and therefore it becomes bland and repetitive. My suggestion: watch the anime.

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Fairy Tail. You had so much potential.

The story starts of typical, Lucy dreams of becoming a wizard to join a prestigious guild. As soon as she meets Natsu her life is changed dramatically. In the process she goes on magical adventures, facing enemies with her friends along the way. The first episode gave me a quick preview of Fairy Tail, and along the way I made quick assumptions. Natsu seems to be your generic hot-blooded, brawling-fanatic, always-hungry main character and Lucy felt like another damsel in distress slash sidekick. I know I was making shallow judgments based on this exposure but it turns out I right. Watching more episodes I was introduced to many typical character archetypes. One that stood out was Erza. Just by studying her actions and interactions with characters I could classify her with one word, "Tsundere". This isn't very good sign when you can summarize characters with on word or in one sentence. For other character archetypes you get the rival (Gray), the playboy (Loki), the all-powerful, perverted master (Makarov), manly man (Elfman), arrogant power hungry boss (Laxus), the fangirl (Juvia), and MANY more. As soon as the "Job Posting" wall was introduced through out the plot I instantly knew that this was going to be arc based. You know the drill; the mangaka is going invent and make up the story as he goes along. The fighting is extremely predictable for the most part: Villain Team/Guild vs. Fairy Tail. Mini tournaments are emphasized because of the cluster of villains and heroes. It's usually someone from each team/guild fighting One-on-One and then leaving Natsu or Natsu and said teammates against the main boss of the arc. Side characters usually defeat the lesser villains and ultimately the one to essentially defeat the big "arc boss" is Natsu which is incredibly unfortunate. The outcome will always be the good guys win, if ever you witness a battle where the good character is about to lose Mishima is misleading you; somehow that character will win. Power levels are quite confusing. For example, Natsu defeats a supposedly powerful enemy like Jellal in the previous arc but then he gets his butt kicked in the following arc by a seemingly less powerful villain. The humor is quit entertaining but that doesn't account for the mediocre filler episodes. Major character development is yet to be discovered, pretty much everyone stays exactly the same. The plethora of side characters aren't worth mentioning because they add so little with the plot except fight the villains in the "mini-tournaments" and add comic relief with the exception of Wendy, Laxus, Charlie, Gildartz, and Gajeel. Fighting is quite DBZ like, this is most evidently in the Natsu and Gajeel fight. Most of the time it boils down to Deux-Ex-Machina moments like constant random power ups directly (mainly towards Natsu),"Nick of the time" character save situations and "My magical attack/technique is stronger than your magical attack/technique" sayings. Did I mention Hiro is obsessed with friends and friendship speeches? With the power of your friends and your "Nakama" behind you can conquer any challenge in this universe in other words if you see a villain who thinks less of friendship they are for sure going to be defeated or unsuccessful in their plans. I know friendship is amazing but don't over-saturate it to point where it's obviously forced down our throats.

Fairy Tail is a great example of an average Shounen. Perfect for people who are new to the Shounen genre but those who are are experienced will be disappointed.

Pros:
+Everything a Shounen symbolizes
+Entertaining and Humorous to an Extent
+Some Memorable Characters (Happy, Gajeel, Mest, Wendy...)
+Friendly Environment and Atmosphere
+Fan service for both Sexes

Cons:
-No Originality
-Plenty Shounen Tropes and Cliches
-Too many Static Characters (Natsu, Gray, Erza, Gajeel, Lucy, Master, Loki... etc.)
-Uneven Character Spotlights (i.e. Too much Natsu, Erza, Lucy and not enough screen time for other more interesting characters)
-Formulaic/Predictable Story Telling
-No Major Character Development
-Dues Ex Machina Moments

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Kaicho Wa Maid-sama, another series put in the category of typical.

Plot:
Typical. The main character, Misaki is your not so average shoujo lead, why? Because she is the head of the student council but also conceals and dark secret; she works in a maid cafe. Big whoop. The plot is very linear she meets the handsome, popular bishie of the school and gradually throughout the episodes romance is suppose to flourish. Slice of life is evident because of school activities, competitions, pesky, convenient love triangles and maid service to make the anime seem related to real life. There's is nothing special about the plot, if you seen other shoujos then you can predict what's going to happen next. On a side note when the words "Maid Cafe" appear, I automatically guessed more fan service than the usual. Yup, there is plenty of fan service for both sexes. Hurray.

Characters/Development:
Very static. Misaki may appear strong at first but after seeing her character I have one thing to say, Tsundere. Everything about her is "Tsundere". How she treats her fellow students with her Iron Fist. How she treats Usui harshly and then tenderly is just plain nonsensical. Did I also mention that she is poor too? Typical. Usui is definitely the worst character in the entire show. He has no flaws, everything about him is perfect and to add he's from a wealthy family. Wikipedia even says so! How is this bad? Usui stalks Misaki... and this is suppose to be sexy? He does not show any emotion, and character at all. Essentially he is a boring robot. Incredibly indistinguishable if you line up him up with other male leads. Expecting character development? Than you'll be disappointed. Side characters are quit forgettable except Hinata and Aoi. Well there's the egotistical rival of Usui, the fan-boys and Misaki's classmates/co-workers. Blah
I have a problem with people liking the series just because they think Misaki is a "strong" lead. If that's the case then why does Usui always comes to the rescue? Even when someone is harassing her, Usui seems to be there to stop it automatically.

Art/Sound:
Decent.

Enjoyment:
Mediocre. I was expecting something out of the norm since this series was so "talked" about.

Overall:
The only thing that is unique about this series is Misaki working in a Maid Cafe. Don't believe the hype.

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[MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS]
Bleach- also known as "Blah"

Intro:
Basic story starter. "____ is your typical high school student but one day his life is changed forever when he meets a "mysterious" girl who gives him the power to defend and save humanity. In the process he is practically dragged into her world and has no choice but to interfere." Does this sound cliche to you? No duh.

Story: Above Average --> Disappointing --> Nonexistent
Plot like most long running shounen follow the arc-based-plot. Okay.. I have to admit it the first quarter of the plot was good. Ichigo's introduction to the world of Shinigami's was quite amusing and entertaining. The Soul Society arc was imaginative and great in terms of fighting, suspense, dialogue and plot. But somehow in the end it turned out just about average. Along the way Kubo decided to throw in more cliches and glitches: the mystifying sensei, the damesel in distress, random super main character power ups, multiple transformations and the ever popular "Half-Demon-Half-Human" trope. Please don't tell me "well yeah... its a shounen." Let me say this, Shounens can be unique and special, take FMA and Death Note for example. Not all of them have to follow the "norm". Nevertheless the arc was again above average. Unfortunately it was the peek of the series. And this is where Kubo should have ended the series.
Everything after the the SS arc was honestly a waste of paper and ink. Kubo must havebeen thinking, "since, the SS arc did so great, why don`t I do it again but with a different premise..." Thanks Kubo. If you read past the SS arc, you know that Rukia gets captured right... well this time its Orhime's turn. The damsel in distress situation, how times have you seen that? This formula for this arc follows: Insane Powerful Villain Apears--->Ichigo gets owned---> Train--->Insane Power Up/Transformation--->Ichigo Owns--->Cycle Repeats
Boss battle after boss battle. Team A/Hero A vs. Villain A/Team Villain A. Another thing that is just pure idiocy is the fact that at the end of some chapters, we see someone seemingly "defeat" Aizen. But no, at the beginning of the next chapter he comes back unscathed and defeats that individual. Kubo does this for 3-4 chapters.. seriously talk about wasting your time. The ending of the Aizen arc is predictable and unsatisfying. "The Main Character Loses his powers in the end." I had someone ask me "Do you think he'll get his powers back?" "......." was all I said.

Characters/Development:
There is no major character development at all. If you count the "I want to protect friends and family" or "I want to be stronger to blah blah blah.." as development then your talking about the typical character development you would expect from this type of shounen. To be blunt most of the characters are one-dimensional and quite forgettable. Ichigo, the hotblooded, brave, strong, stubborn, hero. Yawn. Orhime, the useless heroine, Mary Sue and damsel. Chad, the strong yet gentle type. Ishida, the smart, tactical "rival". Azien, the god modding final boss. Yawn. And off course characters for fan service (Matsumoto, Hitsugaya, Hisagi.. etc). The only memorable, uniques ones are Kon, Grimmjaw, Ururu, Kisuke, Karin, and Chizuru. Too many characters does not equal good Kubo, especially when you completely forget about them (cough Nell, Kon, Grimmjaw..etc). Like what happened to everyone after the fight with Aizen? Characters are definitely not the strong point.

Art:
Looks decent. Although the environments are pretty bland and lifeless. Artwork changes overtime to a more mature look for the characters. Plus one for Kubo.

Enjoyment:
Mediocre. I keep telling myself it will get better, but I'm not sure anymore.

Overall:
My score would have been higher if the series ended at the SS arc with all the lose ends tied up. Right now, Kubo is miliking this cow for its worth.
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**MAY INCLUDE SPOILERS**

"The protagonist, Yukimura Chizuru, is the daughter of a doctor who works in Edo. Her father "mysteriously" vanishes thus she has to leaves Edo to find her. When she arrives at Kyoto, Chizuru is attacked by criminals and witnesses a fight between an oni and the Shinsengumi...erm bishies. Taking her into custody and saving her, the bishies debate on what to do with Mary Sue errm Chizuru when they discover that she is the daughter of the doctor they are also looking for (whoa.. unexpected eh?). They decide to become Chizuru's playthings..ermm bodyguards and help her look for her father(the doctor). The story is overall not romantic with a poorly adapted historical and political background."

I tried to enjoy this anime.. several times... but it in the end it failed. There is just too many mistakes.

1. The main character is useless. She can only cry and whine and offer words of encouragement. Like we haven't seen that before.
2. Other characters are only eye-candy. They don't really have a purpose except standing and looking pretty all the time.
3. Plot is absolutely ridiculous and just predictable.
4. Filerish Episodes
5. Unnecessary Time-Skips
6. No Character Development whatsoever.

These are just the list of reasons to not watch this pathetic excuse for an anime. I assure this animes' only purpose is for fan service. Girls are definitely going to eat this one up. read more