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Sword Art Online was quite the controversial anime with half the fans loving it and the other half hating it. There is almost always one anime that gets overly hyped and fans are cut in half over why you should/shouldn't love it. SAO took this hype pretty far. While I didn't watch it when it was first released, I watched it recently after a 'friend' claimed it was better than FMA Brotherhood. So in a rage, I watched it while calmly trying to give it an unbiased chance of a good score. Now it has been almost 2 months since I've watched SAO so this ... is probably the most unbiased I could be.

The concept of SAO is fantastic. The gamers of the otaku community will probably love this to death. The idea is soo wonderful and fun that it can hide the flaws of this anime. In the first half of the SAO, I too was getting quite excited about the plot. Things didn't turn out so well though.

The first flaw of SAO is the pacing. Many people have complained about time skipping and it ruining the story. I'm a bit mixed on this. To fit 2-3 years in 12 episodes is a difficult thing to do well. It makes sense to have some time skips to get along with the story. The problem is, the timeskips weren't handled very well. It often felt detached to the main story. You could take it as character development but you don't see the character really develop from whatever events he went through. There is progress within each mini arc, but it doesn't help progress the overall plot.

I mentioned how the characters weren't really developed. The characters were honestly, the worst part of this anime. I've always heard these stereotypes of Mary Sue/Gary Stu and I never really understood what they were until SAO. Kirito (the main character) was a beta player so he knows a few nooks and crannies about the game. However, the creators took advantage of this and made it the entire reason Kirito can 'pwn' the game. Kirito does go through some traumatic experiences but I felt these experiences weren't taken seriously. Yes Kirito does go back and think about said experiences, but he never actually makes anything out of it. There's no smooth character development, if there is any at all.

Asuna is quite the same. She is introduced to be this mysterious, strong character but as soon as she becomes a main focus, she switches to a tsundere and then just....nothing really. She's just there for Kirito and the fanboy's delight. There is straight up nothing going for her except for her looks and her maxed out cooking skill.

And those are the main characters. There are other characters like Kirito's younger 'sister' and the villain and the random girls Kirito meet. But it is all basically a harem with the main route following Asuna. Don't even get me started on the second half of SAO. The only thing going for it was the wings. Can't really say more than that though coz of spoilers :/

A couple of good points is the art. SAO was done by A-1 Pictures and it is absolutely stunning. The motion is fluid, the colours are bright and appealing. Just thinking about it makes me wish I was playing SAO. They set up a world that fulfills every gamers' dreams. What set the world more was the music. Yuki Kajiura is well known for her beautiful compositions. She has been part of other anime such as Tsubasa Chronicles and Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica. I personally adore her works. It always manages to get me pumped over anything. SAO was no different. It was a treat to hear her unique soundtrack as we watched Kirito kill the next giant boss. The gaming world is also another concept done well. All the battles, the skill sets, the customization can make any gamer froth at the mouth.

You can see where SAO received its hype from. While the story and characters were quite horrible, the ideas and concepts behind it pushed through. The world of SAO is incredibly appealing to the point that the story and characters are minor bumps along the ride. To the critical watcher though, the flaws can be so obvious that watching it may be difficult. SAO is far from a great anime. If anything, it's mediocre. It felt a bit like a waste of time for me, but I also felt it was something I had to watch. I just wish it wasn't so urgent that it took priority over other anime I would much prefer to watch.

For a long time, Bokurano had been on my list waiting to be watched. Only recently have I finally gotten around to it and it was well worth the wait. Each character went through some sort of ordeal in order to overcome the fate they were tricked into. Each and every story was interesting, displaying all kinds of human traits ad desires. While the ordeals were psychologically wonderful, this anime is far from what I would call epic. Instead, Bokurano chooses to present its story in a different light which I personally think makes Bokurano just that much better.

Bokurano is very character based with ... 1-3 episodes depicting the struggles for each character. It almost felt episodic with the way the episodes changed from theme to theme but I believe it rounded up very well in the end. The themes presented in this anime are a bit touchy so I would advise not to watch Bokurano after touchy issues or if you're particularly sensitive. The strongest theme in this anime is the well known quote 'one is all, all is one'. Take this quote how you wish and see if it changes your perspective on Bokurano. For me it definitely did and the theme well and truly rung out.

Character development is major. It is a bit dfficult though as there are 15 characters that are needed to be tracked of. Unfortunately for some people, remembering the face and name of a character you met two episodes ago is quite difficult. This leads to the development of early characters feelingl a bit weak which is a shame really. Once you get a grip on the layout, then it becomes easier to remember who is who and who did what. For the later characters, they developed quite well along with a kind-of main storyline. This storyline is overshadowed by the characters. I don't find this particularly bad as it is an anime based on, well, characters.

Where the character development was great, things fell through a bit with the art and sound. Did you know Bokurano was made the same year as 'The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya' and 'Ouran high School Host Club'? You know, those really pretty and flashy anime? I had believed for years that Bokurano was made in 1995 or something like that. If you would like to analyse it, it could represent the reality of everything, where not everything is beautiful and flashy. I did enjoy the battle scenes where it was slow and sluggish. It really helped describe the heaviness and difficulty of moving Zearth (the big machine thing). While the art wasn't appealing, it did well to set the atosphere of the show. The sound of the show (BGM, seiyu, OP/ED) didn't really capture me. It was alright. Nothing great, nothing horrible.

Overall, I really enjoyed watching Bokurano. I loved the ordeals the characters went through (yes I am slightly sadistic). I loved the atmosphere where things felt hopeless. I loved how Bokurano ended with a quiet realisation on what it was trying to say. It was cruel and heartbreaking but in the end, it didn't really matter. The characters were fantastic and so were the battle scenes but this lead to a not-so-important storyline. Again, this doesn't effect Bokurano that much; it's just obvious they want you to focus on the characters. And that's exactly what you get.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya was never a series I liked a lot. I watch the latest anime craze go by and I never watch the 'trendy' anime until months even years after it's completion. Due to this, I believe I lose the extra 'oomph' that makes everyone love the new 'trendy' anime so much.

However, 'The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya' changed my opinion on the series quite a bit. Whether the effect was intentional or not, I'm not sure, but it is this one theme I felt that made me appreciate Haruhi a whole lot more.

Throughout the series, you see the ridiculously random events that ... Haruhi drags you into. You are not on the same energetic level as her. You quickly become tired of her outrageous antics and things become almost like a chore. You go through everyday following the orders of this crazy woman and the unfortunate people who she has dragged along with you until one day, it's all gone.

The theme I felt in this movie is 'you never realise what's important until you lose it'. I strongly felt this theme and it poked and prodded at my emotions really well. I didn't realise how much I appreciated the characters. I took them for granted. To me, watching the series was about as tiring and chore-like as how Kyon viewed his day-to-day life. While the shock of Haruhi's disappearance wasn't as strong as Kyon's (it's quite obvious what happens due to the title), I still felt the emotions and trauma he went through in the rest of the movie. As I watched, I cried, I squealed in joy and watched in awe. It was a great experience.

While this experience was great, there were definitely some flaws. The main one is a couple of loose ends. You get hints as to what happened but never a clear answer. As a stand alone movie, it felt slightly incomplete. It did leave a good impression for me to continue watching the Haruhi craze to see every detail and event that happens. I thoroughly enjoyed how closely it linked with past events. I don't feel that other anime connect with seemingly meaningless events with world changing ones. It just made the movie that little bit more interactive with the viewer.

This is of course, animated by KyoAni. It is a company well known for it's gorgeous art. The company has outdone itself with this movie. I did not believe that KyoAni could get any better but it did. There was soo much attention to detail, it was such a visual treat. The differences are only small but it changes the look and feel of everything. It is definitely one of KyoAni's magic touches and it certainly did the trick. Amazing animation.

Music was also done incredibly well. A famous piece called Gymnopedie is played several times in the movie. It creates a nostalgic and sad atmosphere which reflects upon the theme really well. Most of the BGM was of a beautiful symphony which brought out the emotions and the events yet still managed to stay quiet and hidden when deep in thought. Voice actors have stayed the same which is great. It wouldn't have been the same if they didn't. Overall, I loved and music and sound.

This movie, just like the series, follows Kyon, his emotions and thoughts. While following him, we also obverse the SOS Brigade characters through his eyes. Through his eyes and my own, I watched the characters mature or open up just that little bit. I understood the characters more, I felt the characters more. They weren't just the 'alien girl' or the 'time travel girl' and the 'ESP', no, they were their own individual selves. TDoHS is a more personal approach to the series. From here on out, it will probably become more personal and interactive. I am expecting these characters to become almost real. This series can really go a long way.

All in all, it's an amazing movie. I knew it was good before I even watched it but I didn't prepare myself for what did happen. It was a journey for Kyon and a bit of one for me as well. The movie was executed incredibly well. I am really excited for the next installment if there will be one (there should be but I don't keep up with this stuff). While it is a great movie, don't watch it unless you have watched ALL of BOTH series. I skipped the last three episodes of season two and I missed out on some bit of info that would've been pretty cool to know. Endless Eight you can skip a bit though. Haruhi Suzumiya is really something you need to start from the start otherwise you just lose the essence of Kyon's world. The movie won't be as enjoyable otherwise.

For as long as I've heard of Kobato, I had always wanted to watch/read it. I have been on and off with the manga and still haven't finished it. I've recently finished the anime and basically, it's another work of CLAMP.

CLAMP is a great shoujo group with famous works like Card Captor Sakura, xxxHolic, Wish etc. It's a group of women who make cute stories and handsome male characters for girls to read and look at. Because all the stories are made by the same group, they have this privilege of incorporating older stories into their newer ones, eg. Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles. Kobato does this ... too with Chobits and Wish incorporated into the anime/manga. There are also references to other anime. I think that this incorporation really made Kobato fun for me. I was soo excited whenever I saw Kohaku as I love her character soo much.

ANYWAYS. The story was quite interesting, just only in the last 3 episodes. It's a slow paced anime and does not rush through the story at all. Each episode is a new day of what silly/helpful things Kobato will do. It's similar to TRC how each episode is a story in itself that doesn't really continue with the actually plot. You move through Kobato's day to day life with the same ongoing jokes. I personally did not find it very entertaining. I skipped about 3-4 episodes because I didn't want to know what Kobato was doing. I wanted to know why the things were the way they were and how it would turn out. I believe there was one episode which particularly touched me, episode 17 I think. You could probably watch episode one then skip all the way to about 19-21 without missing a lot. For me, it was boring, but then again, I prefer fast paced anime.

Besides, the slow paced middleness, the ending really did touch me. I will admit to crying at the end and maybe in episode 17. Where CLAMP really tried, all the feels did come through. Being a made by girls, made for girls thing, they really do know how to bring out the tears. The ending was well done and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The characters. You see quite a few recurring characters from other CLAMP works which made me really happy. The main character is your typical dumb klutz who everyone hates. I hated her character so much. It was so typical, like CLAMP didn't even bother trying to bring out an original character. I didn't feel that there was a lot of character development. Each episode was basically Kobato trying to awkwardly help someone out with Ioryogi and/or Kiyokazu yelling at her with Chitose and/or Sayaka being supportive of her really clueless actions. You do see some character development towards the end of the series but I don't feel it was really justified.

CLAMP's artwork is generally incredibly beautiful. As I said before, CLAMP knows what girls want. The designs are typical designs with the scarily lanky and tall characters but they are still sooo pleasing to the eye. I just love the character designs. I've always loved CLAMP art. I was a bit disappointed with the lack of dresses Kobato wore. There were only about four? One for each season I think. I was really looking forward to new dresses because Kobato is just soo cute and it perfect to play around with dresses. The manga art is even more beautiful with such detail. I know you do get to see it in the last ED (I'm not sure if there's more than one) and I couldn't take my eyes off of it.

Sound, I'm never really too sure on sound. Nothing stood out to me though. None of the OPs/EDs, no really fitting BGM or anything. I'd just say average.

Overall, I could've spent my time better but as a CLAMP fan, I would've regret not watching Kobato. I'm not saying that it's bad, just shoujo isn't my genre anymore. It's a kind of typical shoujo with the sweet bits of fantasy that CLAMP does so well. Nothing really happens but when it does, it really hits home. I would say if you like shoujo, you would like this anime. For those who don't like this anime, stay away from it. It will most likely be a waste of your time. With those who want to watch it but aren't a fan of shoujo, you are very welcome to skip episodes. Like I said, the only real important bits are at the very start where everything is introduced and the end where the feels are. If you already know the premise, you could pretty much just skip to the end coz nothing happens. A few background info is given in around episode 7 (not sure at all) so watch out for those. They can make the ending make a bit more sense, though not all of it is clearly explained. Some things were still left unanswered. Kobato is a good shoujo, but nothing much else. That's really all there it :)

Soul Eater. I had always had high expectations of this anime. The animation looked amazing from the few scenes I had seen, and they were also quite scary. The AMV 'This is Halloween' on this anime is what attracted to Soul Eater most. It looked flashy, scenes were scarier and more brutal than normal shounen; I expected a lot, something different. But alas, this expectation was not met. At all.

I realise that the manga is not yet completed and the story of the anime probably took its own path and just went the wrong way. I don't know much about the manga, but nonetheless, I ... am reviewing the anime and nothing more.

My first impression of the first episode was different from other anime. I was really quite shocked with the events that happened being a bit cruel for a shounen. As I went through the anime, it became normal and it was just Soul Eater. My impression of the anime from the AMV is pretty much all there was to Soul Eater, great animation and somewhat brutal scenes. Soul Eater had the potential to be a great and exciting anime but it fell so badly in the two most important areas, the story and characters.

What Soul Eater tried to do was give the main characters challenging missions in attempt for some character development. The characters were sent off to missions which brought them back to tragic pasts, conflicting emotions and all that jazz. By the end of the episode, the characters seemed to have matured only to return back to their original ways in the next episode. The only character to have received some character development was Black Star, who wasn't even the main character. He was an immature brat, like Naruto, than was consumed by his past making him a bad character than realised his mistakes and matured. This maturity stayed for the rest of the anime. Stein also got some pretty good development too now that I think about it. He was quite the interesting character to watch.

The actual main characters, Soul and Maka, just stayed the same. Maka continued to be the annoying protagonist who couldn't actually achieve anything, got mopey about it, promise to try harder, and still didn't achieve anything. She made no progress what so ever. Soul did have some stuff going on with him but it was never really concluded so his character never felt finished. Disappointing how it was the side characters that received the best development yet the main characters were left for dead.

There were quite a few fillers in this anime. Fillers are a major anime turn off for me. I was hoping Soul Eater wouldn't have any but it does. There was one episode of just Excalibur just talking. Such a waste of time. So maybe a quarter to a third of the series, you don't actually needa watch. The ending was horrible as well. Nothing was concluded in the ending. The fighting literally stopped in the last minute and your ending was a 'triumphant' smile. Terrible ending.

On a brighter note, the animation is incredibly good. Character designs are different, cool and quirky, it's a nice break from regular anime where everything looks 'cute' and 'pretty'. The latest trend in moe is unpleasant and the crisp edgy animation of Soul Eater is just amazing. It is also a much more brutal anime than you'd expect from something that's raated for teens. Soul Eater could've been soo amazing. It would've easily have been one of my favourite anime as everything is fun and exciting except for the story and characters. It dropped in these two areas so badly, it was such a disappointment. The bad ending also left an incredibly bad impression as there was nothing much in the series to make up for it.

Soul Eater to me, is not a serious anime to watch. It's amazing for when you're sick of watching cute girls who can't do anything for themselves (the cool factor of this anime makes up for Maka's uselessnee...sort of). It really could've been great and I wished it was. But it isn't. I suggest maybe reading the manga f you want a better story/characters but I'm not sure what that is like. Sorry to the people who love this anime, but it really doesn't deserve an 8/9. More like a 5.

Haibane Renmei is an anime that speaks little, yet tells a powerful story. I don't mean it literally when it speaks little. In my opinion, Haibane Renmei is similar to life, it's mysterious and unknown but you understand the key parts with little hints here and there. It's a very special anime.

Okay, the story. This is what I mean by speaking little as it does not directly give you answers. Heck, some of the answers you won't ever get given, similar to the questions 'Is there a God?' or 'Are there any other beings alive other then the ones on this planet?'. Hence why it ... is so similar to life. The story is the struggles of accepting oneself, of forgiving yourself when you have sinned. It's a small story, yet it is so big. Get the picture? You go through the emotions of the two main characters, Rakka and Reki. You follow Rakka's journey as a newborn Haibane and from there, you watch Reki's story from her POV. It's quite an interesting way to present an anime if you ask me.

I want to talk a little about how real this is. No, the art does not look realistic, neither do the voices. It's more of the presentation. For example, imagina taking a walk at night (and you're scared of the dark and what's in it of course). You're walking bravely through the night yet inside you await for the worst to happen, a ghost or a burglar to appear. Catch my drift? Well this is how this anime feels like. Some of the scenes you just await for scary things to happen, like it would in a horror anime/movie/book etc. but it never does. Realisations are real as well. Throughout Haibane Renmei, as there are many mysteries, the sudden realisation of something is really a drastic thing. As they are not handed to you, it makes it all the more stronger. It really pulls at your emotions as you just figured out a mystery. Some of it makes you feel sorrow or fear. It's just simply real.

Onto the more negative points of this anime; art and sound. The art, though nice, just wasn't good enough. Some of the faces looked distorted, the transition between scenes took too long and made things awkward and it was also a bit skippy, as in the animation wasn't too smooth. Some of it might feel odd to the viewer, especially up to present standards in art but it's not something that ruins the anime completely. Just a positive thing to say, actually I'm not sure if it's a good thing or not, but some of the episodes looked like a movie. You know when watching anime movies, the lines are slightly blurred and it's widescreen? Yeah it's that. Anime movies took some adjusting to for me coz it made me feel like I was going blind, it was a nice touch.

I mentioned sound as well didn't I? Don't get me wrong, I loved the OP. It spoke more than a song with lyrics ever could. I would've watched the OP more often if I didn't marathon it. I also liked the BGM. I love the violin and it really suits the time the anime was set in. Some of the piano added that sad touch that made you wanna cry. It was beautiful really. What really got to me was the ED and the voice acting. I was unable to retrieve a subbed version and found a dubbed version. I honestly do think that VAs should really try to bring out their own voices instead of poorly imitating a high pitched 'cute' voice that sounds terrible in the first place. Listening to some of the characters speak was like scratching nails down a chalkboard to me. I did get used to it in the end, still annoying though. there was also the ED. I couldn't listen to it at all, not even once through. I usually listen to each OP and ED twice, the first time it appears and the last time. Not with this ED. The voice as incredibly nasally and it really added that creepy tone to it. I'm very easily frightened so naturally I couldn't listen to it. Made me think some undead being was crawling into my room. Bah!! Unfortunately I haven't read the lyrics either so the song holds no meaning for me. Props to the producer if a creepy song was what they wanted to achieve though. But to be honest, I think it was more suited for a horror anime. I have yet to see one, but I think Haibane's ED could easily pass for one.

Haibane Renmei is strongly character driven. As I said before, you follow Rakka as she struggles being a Newborn and you then watch Reki's story from her POV. The two characters present feelings of loneliness, helplessness and despression. Some of their actions seemed to be metaphors for what some people do, but to not spoil anything. I won't say a thing. What they feel is completely real. It's what a lot of people, if not some, feel. It's what makes the story so gigantically big yet so microscopically small. It's big to the individual, just not to the world, just like life. You also have other characters like Nemu, Kana, Kuu and Hikari who are simply likable. You get a bit of background information on them in the first half of the series as well. You also meet other characters that you know and sometimes bump into and get along with. Yes, I am trying to make another point of this being so real but it's true. You have the guy at the second hand clothes store and it's like being a regular at a particular shop. It's really quite cool. You got to see the light things in life and the dark things. I found it amazing.

So a few episodes were a bit slow for me. Episodes 3-5 I think. It was nice watching them but they were the getting to know everyone episodes and it's quite important really. I also really loved how realistic this anime was. It was so real it was scary, and I really do mean it. I was crapping myself watching this. Don't expect anything really scary though, I'm just a wuss. There is a gruesome scene or two but you can easily cover the screen if you don't like watching wings break out of someone's back. I also found this anime very touching to me personally. I really enjoyed this anime. Whether everyone else would enjoy it, I'm not sure. It's a story of Rakka's and Reki's inner self and can also be a story of your inner self as well, simply personified. You might not enjoy dwelling on such things and simply look onwards. It's really your view on life that depends on how much you enjoy this. However, it's not that bad being in someone else's shoes if you think of things differently.

I have debated within myself as to whether or not I should write a review for this show. You see, normally I write reviews for anime/manga that had a really strong impact on me or I really really liked. I produce more solid reviews that way. But I have given Madoka an exception as I am dying to put my two cents in.

Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica is really quite amazing. The first 5min of the first episode gets you pumped and excited for the show. It's dark and captivating and a great way to start the show. Then you're suddenly thrown into a world of ... normal and get to enjoy a more slice of life element while adding in a few mysteries at the end.

I was really excited for this show. I heard news of it (I hadn't heard of it until the tenth episode came out) and MAL'd, googled and wiki'd it. A mahou shoujo comebined with thriller and psychological mind screwing seemed mind blowing to me. I could only stop myself watching the series for two days until I gave in and marathoned the ten episodes.

The first three episodes were great. It was fast paced and terrifying. It was horrific or anything, just the things the girls went through was just terrible. I can't stand looking at Charlotte, one of the witches, either because her personality scares me. This is where Madoka sort of lost it for me...

I was expecting more terrifying encounters with witches and maybe even a few gruesome scenes. It was what I was expecting. Maybe I was expecting too much because I soon found myself a bit bored. I think my expectation were definitely too high. Yes Madoka was something new and different but it was not something like a masterpeice.

Don't get me wrong, Madoka is great. It goes through the mind of the mahou shoujo, why they became one and what was becoming of them. It was truly intriguing to see what the girls though, to see them hesitate to gain something that is usually seen as a blessing in most other mahou shoujo. The twists were somewhat predictable but it was still exciting to see what the characters themselves would do in the end. Some fates were changed, others weren't.

The psychological breakdown seemed to overpower the thriller side of Madoka though. It was so caught up in the characters' struggles that the action or the thrill had paid the toll. Like I said, I began watching this anime because I wanted something to give me chills up my spine while screwing with the minds of the innocent magical characters. That wasn't achieved. It seemed that the creators wanted the audience to question whether the characters should choose what certain path. I love psychological anime, especially when there's a thrill with it. Madoka didn't live up to that genre which is what disappointed me the most.

The art, as mentioned by many, is similar to Hidamari Sketch's. It is cute, colourful and is just pure eye candy. The colours of the costumes, the designs, the background, it was all hard to keep my eyes off of it. I rewatched the OP repeatedly because it was the only piece of animation where I felt I didn't have to read subtitles and just enjoyed the animation. It's a nice contrast to the darker themes of Madoka which I really appreciated. The genre that I wanted had shined in the art and not the story.

Sound was just wonderful. The OP song is catchy and easy to enjoy. It's a J-Pop song, which adds onto the carefree mask that Madoka puts on. The ED was it's polar opposite really. It was dark, sung by Kalafina which I thought was a perfect choice. Kalafina produces a wonderful deep and dark sound while they have the dark lyrics to accompany it. The music overall is directed by the same person who directed the music for Tsubasa Chronicles. Anyone else notice? It was the first thing that stood out to me. I actually don't remember any happy BGM, all I remember is dark mysterious music so I'll skip BGM for now. Seiyuu were great as well, just putting it out there.

Normally, characters are what I love the most out of anime/manga. I love creating a bond with the characters (yes I don't have a life :P (jokes)). I like to see what reactions the directors can make me feel. Unfortunately, I never really had any real attachments to the characters. Yes they were cool and all but nothing really stood out. I didn't find any of the characters particularly likable. However!! The breakdown on them was done quite well. I liked seeing them go insane. It was incredibly amusing. The ending also got me teary eyed because of the cruel circumstances.

I think one of the best parts of this series was the trolling. the director really did have some sense of humour, or thought, whichever you'd like to call it. It was fun watching the fandom go insane, even if I was part of that fandom slightly, kinda like Kuroshitsuji II except that doesn't even compare to Madoka, only the trolling. Other than that, I got bored at some bits. Not enough action/thriller for me. Some episodes were great and really got me pumped. Others I probably could have skipped if it wasn't for the importance of the knowledge you gained from them. Madoka was a good anime. Quiet psychological but not enough thriller. It is somewhat overrated. It wasn't as amazing as I thought it would be. None the less, it was good and I enjoyed it.

Note: This review has been completely changed and thought over.

To be honest, I was extremely iffy to watch D. Gray-Man. I mean, a series over 100 episodes screams out filler and something more mainstream like Naruto or Bleach. I began to watch it because I already had it and the holidays had come by. With nothing else to do, D. Gray-Man was the better option out of the rest of my anime storage.

This anime is really quite a typical shounen with action, a set enemy and a love interest. It goes more into the dramatic side though. Of course, D. Gray-Man follows the exorcist Allen ... Walker. It depicts his time at the Dark Order. DGM shows struggles within one's self and such. Once you get to about episode 40+ you are thrown onto a roller coaster of emotional struggle. It's really good, it gets to ya sometimes but it's not a tear jerker. It just makes you feel for the characters.

That's the main plot of the story. The idea is great but it's been seen before, most obvious example being FMA. It's the directing that let's DGM down at times. Some points in the plot is plain boring itself, it's nothing you haven't seen before really. The pacing is inconsistent and it bugged me. You get really tedious 4-5 episode long arcs at the start which are somewhat important to introduce characters and the idea of Innocence to the audience. It just could've been handled better and without the 2-3 episodes to get to the main point.

After you're introduced with everything, nothing big happens until about episodes late 30's early 40's. Feel free to skip anything you deem filler and come back to it later. It's what I did and if you come to be obsessed with the characters in the end like I was, you'd be glad for them fillers you get to watch once you actually do have some sort of appreciation towards the characters. I skipped about 10 episodes, majority were filler and the rest were part of the actual plot. Even the original storyline can get boring as well.

Art wasn't anything major. It was nice but it definitely wasn't something with a high budget. Only major characters were given a decent amount of detail, but at least the animation was smooth. I was also quite surprised with a scene near the end of the series, which I thought had quite a bit of effort put into it. If the scene was handed down to another anime, I fear that the detail would disappear as it's not something I see producers really caring about. So props to the producers for that. It's not shiny and wow looking, it's just a scene that felt realistic is all.

I didn't take note of the BGM. BGM normally doesn't appeal to me unless it's really good. DGM didn't hit that really good standard. OP and ED's were quite normal for me. Catchy, but not something that was really really good. The voice acting I liked. I thought Allen had a too high pitched of a voice at first but it grew on me and is very suitable for him. Everything was up to normal standards and enjoyable.

Now I have a thing for characters so this area usually gets a higher mark then the other categories. You get a range in characters and a few main cast ones but I only felt that Allen was the only one given any character development. Yes we find out Lavi's and Lenalee's past a little but it never really stood out. It felt like something thought up to fill in that curious gap, though it wasn't satisfying. That is why I find the characters bland when I seriously think about them. But if you think of them based on enjoyment then yes that would be quite high. The characters are fun to watch, it makes you happy to see them being well, happy with each other. The Noah are great. They're evil yet human at the same time and it's just so fun to watch.

To sum it all up, DGM is definitely not a technically good anime. It more bases on its fandom and enjoyment rate for its success, like the mainstream anime. DGM is a little deeper then that though. It's better then mainstream but not good enough. This is really something to watch when you have the time and are bored. It's agonising just look at how many episodes there are. Just skip to about 40 once you watch maybe the first 20 and it should be more bearable. Don't expect something that is breath taking, expect something simply fun and addictive, like how Kuroshitsuji is. Both are dark but it's mainly the fandom which makes them awesome.

Panty & Stocking is an interesting anime. I found out about it from a GIF of Stocking eating pudding and everyone in a forum raging about it. It looked cool enough and was apparently amazing so I tried it out. This anime is not amazing. I found myself bored more then half the time. It only got better near the end then the ending sort of disappointed me. Here is why.

The plot is simple. Two fallen angels are given the chance to go back to Heaven by collecting Heaven Coins. These Heaven Coins are retrieved from defeating ghosts that walk the surface. That's pretty much ... it. It's one of them monster of the week things going on except more cool. I will not deny it's coolness coz this show is cool. Just not cool enough.

So the story is shallow and you get really don't anything until the end. However the end plot was kind of WTF?? and didn't make much sense to me. Well it did in the end but you know. Some of the mini plots were cute, some were funny, some were hilarious and some were just boring. It's mainly the two angels just indulging themselves. Story was definitely the weakest point.

The art was awesome. It was like eye candy!! Soo pretty and everything even though it is comparable to the art style of the Powerpuff Girls. Most of the animation screamed western style with a touch of eastern style. Even so, it was pretty cool. I thought it was beautiful and a nice change from what your typical anime looks like.

Sound was even better then the art. Every song was sooo catchy. I LOVE the ending soo much. The OP reminded me of those cartoons you'd watch as a little kid and sing along with cept this time I sang in my head. The transformation theme songs were cool. I liked it..quite a bit :)

The voice acting was fine to me. Stocking sounded so cute and Panty sounds just like a stuck up whore. Mind you, she does have her kind moments. I'm not dissing Panty. I like her as much as Stocking. I'm just saying. Brief had an annoying voice which sort of suited his character. So yeah, sound is all good.

Hmmm..characters. The characters are shallow. I didn't like them that much even though I found them pretty awesome. Pretty contradictory huh? I think that's just the show. Some bits are awesome, some bits are terrible. Anyways, I would say, one of the best characters would be Chuck. I loved Chuck. At first I found him annoying but I grew to think he was better. Stocking was pretty cool as well. The characters don't have much of a back story. You do get a bit of a back story during the 2nd or 3rd last episodes. No-one's really explained properly and I'm still iffy on a few things.

I got bored. A lot to be honest. I watched through pretty much every episode wondering 'when is it ever gonna become awesome?'. That never really happened. Like I said before, some episodes were great but most were meh. There's a bit of fanservice in here but that doesn't appeal to me.

I believe that this series depended on its 'awesomeness' to get the viewers. It doesn't go into any big details. TTGL was sort of the same (both are made by Gainax) so in a way, I guess I'm not really surprised. I was disappointed in this series. I went in with high expectations and didn't get that much out of it. I guess, if you're gonna watch it, don't do what I did and go in with high expectations. I don't think you can make a good anime based on how 'awesome' it is. Panty & Stocking as not good but it was somewhat entertaining. Just go in with a shallow mind and you should be fine :)

What do you consider as justice?

A simple wish. A simple desire. World peace. What would you give up for that? How would you go about it?

Code Geass R2, no, all of Code Geass revolves around how Lelouch Lamperouge goes about it all. It all starts in the first season so don't try to watch the second season without watching the first. I don't mean it because you won't get the idea of the plot. No, I believe that anyone can figure out the plot after a few episodes. It is because you will not enjoy Code Geass to its full extent.

In this review, ... I will be talking about the series as a whole, not as season one or season two.

Code Geass is a well thought out story. Throughout the entire series, you never know the exact truth, the full story of what is going on, not until the very last episode. It is an intense anime and luckily, there are a few not exactly fillers (more like those calmer/fun episodes) that just makes you hope that everything will be okay. It tells us, that for now, we have to enjoy everything around us, even if life is too much. It balances out the intensity of Code Geass, even if it does change the mood drastically.

Cliffhangers are wonderfully used. Nearly every episode was a cliffhanger of some sort. It's always 'What's Zero going to do next?'. Zero's complexity left me hanging off my seat, wanting more and more to watch.

The characters were probably the most most strongest point of Code Geass, with the story nicely complimenting them. You will hate characters, love characters or change your mind about them. Every character has their own story. Every character has a wish with a different way to pursue it. Every character was so unique and so real. Zero/Lelouch was the most real of them all.

His 'realness' led me to hate him and despise him. His 'realness' always made me question what was right and what was wrong.His 'realness' was what made me love him as a character. As I said before, Lelouch is an incredibly complex character. He had a goal and pursued. Does that make him the hero or the villain? Or was it Zero? That is for you to answer.

The cast is so lovable yet most had a dark secret. But who doesn't have a secret? I loved most of the cast. They were wonderful and will have a place in my heart.

The art was beautiful. Clamp's over the top lankiness in characters is a trait that I love. Their eyes, wasn't as easy to take in for me. I get obsessive when it comes to eyes. However, their design seemed to have fitted the characters. Some were sharp and cunning, others were soft and caring and some were both. As normal, I don't take much notice to the background. The Knightmares were awesome. I loved the action scenes, especially when a new generation of Knightmares came to play. The animation was fluid and just lovely.

Sound I didn't like as much. The OPs and EDs could've been better in my opinion. They weren't exactly enjoyable and took time for me to get used to. I won't say much on seiyuu as I don't know what good voice acting is (seeing how I am a noob and barely understand Japanese well enough to analyse the VA). The BGM was cool. They used the right music during the right scenes. The soundtrack did bring out either the action or the sadness of each scene.

To be honest, at times I hated Code Geass. It was so much of a roller coaster I didn't know what to think of it. With questions like 'What is the truth?' and 'What is justice?' screaming out at me, I just couldn't think. At times, Zero was right and at others, he was wrong. He had done what was immoral to me and I couldn't help but hate him. But then again, I couldn't help but think, maybe his way was the right way.

The ending was fitting. It was what I wanted but not to such a degree. After finally having the truth revealed to me, it was an ending that I had accepted. Code Geass is a psychological anime. It twists and turns in such a way it confuses your sense of justice. It was a good anime. I love it even if I did hate it at times. It was wonderful and can't be easily forgotten.