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To start off, I never thought that I would write a review for any of the "Kara no Kyoukai" movies, let alone anything from Type-Moon. Also, this is one of those anime's that I had literally no choice but to give a 10 mainly because I could not find any fault with it. So it falls under the category of "Giving it a 10 because it doesn't deserve a 9 or lower because I can't find anything wrong with it, and it may have been sort of enjoyable". (i.e. Terra e...). This movie has changed my opinion on the "Kara no Kyoukai" series, and now I am going to archive it because of this one movie.

Ultimately, two aspects of the movie stuck out to me: plot and plot development and character relations and development. You may be asking me why animation or soundtrack don't really stand out that much; that's because I'm just comparing it to other "Kara no Kyoukai" movies rather than just the movie itself. I'll get more in depth about that later.

There's a lot that happens throughout the movie. A distorted time line (you can even say it was in medias res at the beginning), different perspectives from the characters, and varied time lapses which may seem like weeks but actually span over months. Throw in a decent plot that ties in all the past four movies' plots and characters and you have this masterpiece of a movie. The plot was absolutely spectacular; a mix between psychological thriller and semi-mindfuck as we follow mainly Ryougi Shiki and Enjou Tomoe. You can get a sense of what the plot will be like by looking at the title "Paradox Spiral". The plot truly spirals into a paradox and messes with your mind. The story was fairly fast-paced, especially towards the end when everyone was fighting and everyone was bleeding somehow. However, if you like more fast-paced/action animes, the first third of the movie may bore you because it's mainly all talking and running around.

It's hard to review the plot thoroughly for these kinds of animes without spilling out every spoiler that I possibly can, so I'll just summarize things: the plot is really, really good.

As a whole, the animation in this movie was amazing. Action sequences and time lapses stood out of the ordinary and definitely delivered. All in all, the animation was more or less similar to that of the previous four movies. All was smooth and flowed well, nothing too hard on the eyes, and it complemented the atmosphere that the director was trying to create, which you can see in the previous four movies as well.

The soundtrack for the movie was more or less exactly the same as the previous four movies. Even though it was similar to the previous four, that does not mean that it was bad at all. It was mostly subtle, being "action-y" when needed and calm when it didn't.

The development between the characters, especially Ryougi Shiki and Enjou Tomoe, is intriguing, causes you to think, and is a little cute at the same time. From complete strangers after Enjou's "incident" to what I would call "best friends" (In quotes because Shiki doesn't know how to have friends) at the end. Yet again, with the plot, it's hard to review the character aspect of the movie as I can't thoroughly review it without giving out spoilers, and I try to refrain from spoiler tags in reviews because they're just so goddamn clickable, and I don't want to ruin your experience. I know what it's like to click on spoiler tags and realize that watching the rest of something is pointless.

To sum things up, "Kara no Kyoukai 5: Mujun Rasen/Paradox Spiral" is an excellent follow-up for the previous four movies as it does it's job in tying up the loose ends and answering questions which any viewers may have had. Everything else (soundtrack and animation) was almost exactly like the previous four, but that's not a bad thing. Whilst watching this, be sure to look out for the plot and character development as it does get out of order, such as when sequences are repeated, and try not to lose track of what's going on because when you understand everything, it's truly a mindfuck.

If you like action/psychological/mindfucks, this is the movie for you, but be 100% sure that you have seen the previous four movies or else you will be lost and out of order, completely.

Oh yeah, Shiki gets a katana, get to it. read more

This will be my first ever manga review, enjoy. As the series progresses, there will be some modifications.

I started this manga after going on /a/ and seeing all the people going "Where's my HotD?" and "What happened to HotD?" Well, I just got through the first 4 volumes in about 2 days, and I can't think of a better word or phrase to describe this manga but with "guilty pleasure". But now that I think about it, there's probably a whole ton of other series out there that are just as filled with fanservice as this one, if not more.

The idea of it is pretty interesting in my opinion. A few high school kids running around having fun, falling in love, and throw in a few possible love triangles; but wait, there's zombies. Throw in a teacher that's so sick he lets his students have huge orgys in order to brainwash them and character designs that either make your eyes fall out of their sockets or leave you in disgust, then you have HotD. I don't want to spoil it too much, but it starts out with some "outbreak" that happens and people turn into zombies via bites, simple, eh? All in all, the story is pretty engaging, and doesn't drag out too much, at least not for now.

The art in this series is pretty good, above average. The one thing I'm not a fan of is the character designs, most notably all the females that aren't the little kids. Personally, I'm not really into the art style where every female has to have breasts larger than their heads and ripped up clothes on them even though the only thing they did was sit down just so show bras and panties flashing in every scene (okay, maybe not that much...), but then again, this series is a guilty pleasure. I don't have any problem with the fanservice, I actually quite welcome it. But I would agree with anyone else that thinks it would be nice if it were toned down a notch, or even a few. Things get bloody, and that's what I like to see. The bodies of the zombies also look pretty good, torn up and all.

Almost all of the characters are pretty interesting. They range from the president of the high school's kendo club, a gun otaku, a school nurse, the daughter of some ultra-nationalists, and a few other people that aren't as interesting. This section gets minus two points for: 1. the main character being a generic shounen dude, and 2. the main character's woman being a generic shounen girl. If you would like to debate with me otherwise, go ahead. Make 50 different MAL accounts and vote this review as not helpful, but keep in mind that I don't care.

Surprisingly, I actually enjoy this series. The fanservice is tolerable for me, the characters not too boring and the story is interesting enough. Come on, who doesn't like zombies, worldwide nuclear war and hot manga chicks, if you're into that kind of stuff? Even the references to popular zombie movies and other things is just pure awesome on it's own. I've spotted a reference to "Shaun of the Dead", with a convenience store owner dubbed "Simon", most likely a reference to Simon Pegg in the movie, and he has a cricket bat next to him. Zombies that look like Condoleezza Rice on the Air Force One? Yes, that's in here too.

Overall, I can give this series a pretty high score as it isn't all that bad. True, fanservice overload, but once you get past that, it's pretty damn decent by itself. I'll be anticipating further releases of this manga, but apparently there's been a huge stall or something as raws are hard to come by or something like that. My advice to you for this manga is to try it out and if you don't like it, just drop it. At least you gave it a chance.

Oh yeah, apparently the best way to encourage a sadistic woman is to fondle her breasts and tell her how hot you get for her. >_> read more

* Do keep in mind, which this review is of both seasons of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (GitS: SAC), not including the movies. Yet again, I tried my best to leave out spoilers.

Just to start things off, I just have to say, this is a clever series, probably one of the “smartest” series I have ever watched, yet it’s a different kind of “smart” when compared to some of the others I've watched. The creators really put out all the stops on this one, and that totally deserves props. This is one of those rare series that’ll make you think about the situations that are thrown into the intricate and complex plot. There’s quite a bit a ton of philosophy in this series, especially when the Tachikomas are involved. If there had to be two parts to this series, I’d have to say they were philosophy and either action or plot, I can’t really decide which one outnumbers the other. The hardcore philosophy isn’t really during the main bulk of the show, but the shorts after the credits completely devoted to the Tachikomas. Make sure you end up watching those as they are worth the 5 minutes.

As I have stated above, this series is clever. The creators really touched on some current issues that happen or will happen worldwide. Here’s a list of some of the things I have remembered to be covered throughout this series: governmental corruption and instability, artificial intelligence evolution and comprehension of various “human” concepts such as the existence of a God, life and death, and self-sacrifice (self-sacrifice is a big one), sexism, human psychology, nuclear warfare, cyber terrorism and crime, and possibilities of further World Wars. There’s probably a lot more, but that’s all I can come up with at the moment. These issues and events defined the series as futuristic.

The plot is very complex, and can get confusing at times, but that’s what I really liked about this series. At points, I thought that I had skipped an episode because I didn’t really know what was going on, but by the end, everything just fell into place. That I think is that this is one of those series that if you missed about a minute of crucial dialogue, you’d be completely lost for the rest of the episode and maybe a few after that. Due to the complex nature of the plot, it kept me thinking about what’s going to happen next, who’s going to do what, where’s everything going to fall into place and so on. By doing this, the creators really added some suspense in each episode, even though it wasn’t done with cliffhangers, but with cleverly thought out “change of events”. The plot was confusing. Yes. But was it so confusing that no one would understand what’s going on at the end of an episode? No, it’s just perfect in my opinion. That’s what I like about anime these days, plots that make you think.

The characters of this series were pretty well developed by the last episode of the 2nd Gig. Personally, I thought that the other members of Section 9 could have has more back-story to them. Characters such as Boma and Ishikawa didn’t have much history or significance at all unless it has to do with missions and fun things like that, but it didn’t really matter once you get down to the story. I was glad that they had the one episode about Saito, who was probably one of my favorite characters in GitS: SAC just because he’s badass, same with Batou. Character development is present, but limited to basically an episode or two per character except for a select few (namely Makoto/The Major). Like I stated above, having only a select few characters be developed completely didn’t really bother me. I just expected more with a cast of about eight characters; each of them should have had more spice in their lives I guess. True, I saw much more potential in other characters. But did that annoy me to the point where it stopped me from enjoying it? No, not at all.

The musical score in GitS: SAC was spectacularly done. The Russian (correct me if I’m wrong, sounds Russian to me) music in the openings was something I have never seen or heard before. Openings tend to be Japanese and rarely English. I thought Production I.G. took a bit of a risk here, but it paid off because it’s just awesome. The endings were pretty average in my opinion, no more non-Japanese music there. The soundtrack in the series was clever and inspirational. It was heavy when it needed to be, but never overpowered any other sounds. There was intense music for intense scenes, and calmer music for the calm scenes, nothing too special. Overall, the music was pleasant to my ears with the clever openings and evenly balanced soundtrack.

As far as art and animation goes, I thought that both were absolutely flawless. I just loved the animation in this series. The cityscapes, skies and clouds, landscape, and whatnot were all drawn to the utmost perfection. The futuristic feel of the settings really help out this series, but it’s not ridiculous where everyone drives floating cars and buildings went so high you couldn’t see the sky. The fight scenes and such were brilliantly executed. I really liked the fight scenes in this series. They really had some thought in them, and don’t really consist of senseless blind fire and making 50 ultra flashy jumps until someone stabs someone in such a fashion where their blood spews out in the pattern of a butterfly, then covers anything and everything in blood. The word I would use to describe the fight scenes is “tactical”. Almost everything is taken into account

The use of 3D animation for the Tachikomas, other Think Tanks, “normal” tanks, and armored suits were cleverly and carefully used. This really gave them some life that traditional, hand drawn animation could not. I know that 3D animation in anime is something that not many people are fond of, but it’s different in GitS: SAC. When you see it, you’ll notice that it’s 3D, but it doesn’t really try too hard to stand out. What I’m trying to get here is that the 3D animation really blends into the surroundings fairly well. It’s noticeable, but it’s not annoying or hideous.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex is series of thrills and cleverly thought out stories. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters, the intense plot, the absolutely stunning animation, and the evenly balanced music. Even if you’re no fan of cyberpunk, futuristic series, be sure to check out GitS: SAC, it’s better than you’d first expect. If you didn’t like the movie either, then that’s no problem, watch the series. Personally, I thought the movie was pretty average, and thus I wasn’t a huge fan of it. However, the series takes it further with all new elements, immersing viewers into a world never seen before.

Overall, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex is a series definitely worth your time. Even if your brain explodes and your ears bleed from all the futuristic jargon, it’s a pretty flashy series nonetheless. The one part that really got me into this anime was probably the plot. Vaguely confusing, yet so interesting that it’ll keep you on the edge of your seat/couch/bed/etc. for the whole season. It’s an action packed series with enough political background and top-notch animation that’ll blow your mind.

If I had to pick a season, which was the best, I’d have to choose season one with the Laughing Man case over season two with the Individual Eleven. I thought that the “detective-like” storytelling of the first season was more favorable over the much more action-oriented second season. read more

* Do keep in mind that this is a review of all three seasons of Aria. There should be no spoilers, I think.

In this review, I will answer the question: “Why is Aria so goddamn perfect?” and to start things off, there’s a saying that goes something like this:

"All good things must come to an end."

And this is certainly one of those good things. I'll miss the voyages to Neo-Venezia, the great characters, the soothing music, the entertaining stories and the beautiful art. Yeah, I'm going to miss this series. Yet I think to myself, "Why? Why must Kozue Amano stop writing this excellent series?" Perhaps 5 years of one series was too much, who knows. All I know is that I’ll be rewatching this series for years to come, and I won’t care if it’s going to be my eighth time watching all three seasons, it’s seriously that good.

Overall, it took me a while to get through all three seasons. The reason behind that is because I wanted to savor this series, watching a maximum of two to three episodes a day. Some of the better series I’ve watched just made me go right through them, from first episode to last in about a week, which is fairly fast for me. However, with the case of Aria, I watched about an episode a day, which stretched out to a few months.

For the short amount of time that took me to watch this series, I felt completely renewed/refreshed/uplifted/happy (I could seriously think of at least fifty more adjectives, but I’m not going to). The atmosphere really defined this anime for me. Every little detail in this anime was stunning, absolutely stunning. Sometimes I thought to myself: “How does Kozue Amano do it?” Honestly, I can’t figure out how one person could craft such an extraordinary world, let alone keep it entertaining. But there it is, Aria, such a goddamn masterpiece.

Somebody out there must be thinking to himself or herself: “How does a slice of life series get 10 for story? Don’t all slice of life series basically have no story and automatically deserve a crap score?” Well, if you’re one of those people, let me tell you all about it. In place of an ongoing theme or plotline, Aria delivers many stories, one per episode to be exact. The stories from episode to episode aren’t “connected,” so to say. Instead, each episode is unique, in terms of story, characters, and setting. Sometimes, the episodes will focus on certain characters, other times on settings, and later on, the plot. If I’m right, any kind of ongoing plotline in this series should be something like Akari, Aika, and Alice becoming Primas and going along with their daily lives (it’s a slice of life, duh). A few of these stories really got to me because they have meaning, which, I’m afraid to say, you don’t see everywhere nowadays. From there on out, Kozue Amano takes it away, immersing viewers into a wonderful world of magic, no, not Disneyland, Neo-Venezia.

With the countless stories that take place in this series, they are also accompanied by some spectacular visuals. They really did keep the original Venice backdrop, but threw in some sci-fi here and there. I must say that the animation of the water throughout the series was quite well done in my opinion. Each and every setting gives a little finishing touch to each episode, pretty much making them perfect. From the first episode of Aria the Animation to the last of Aria the Origination, the quality of animation has elevated quite a degree. Aria the Origination is even in widescreen, which I thought was a nice little touch to the end of the series.

If I had to choose a word to describe the music that was worked into this series, well, I couldn’t. Each soundtrack is beyond words. I have each soundtrack and I have listened to each and every one of them contently. Well, what I’m really trying to say here is that the soundtrack for Aria is so relaxing it’ll make you forget that you’re baking a cake thus burning down your house. You get my point, it’s just subtle and calm, but never overpowered or overpowering throughout the series. The soundtrack could not have been more perfectly fitted for Aria. To Choro Club, Takeshi Senoo, Kawai Eri (You will certainly be missed by all of us fans. May you rest in peace.), Makino Yui, and even Round Table ft. Nino, bravo, this was honestly a job well done.

Characters, man, I really don’t know where to start. The characters in this series were perfect; I don’t know how to put it into words. This section should deserve an eleven out of ten, seriously. Each character is so unique, the freakishly optimistic Akari, sweet and experienced Alicia, childish youngster Alice, clumsy Athena with the voice of an angel, straight to the point Aika, and strict and spunky Akira. You can connect to each character, and by the end of the series, you’ll feel for each and every one of them. The episodes and plot are completely driven by the characters, so yes, this is a character driven series, but there’s so much more to it than that. The characters just make up a sizeable chunk of this series (almost all of it if you’d ask me), but don’t take it in a bad way, all other elements are in perfect harmony which is what I thought is the most defining feature of this series.

Enjoyment. How can you not enjoy this series? What I experienced on this joyride certainly could not be put down into words. You’ll just have to experience it for yourself (much like every other thing I have said in this review so far). Every episode is filled with kindness, love, passion, and thought. This series was crafted in such a way that, yet again, you must witness with your own eyes and ears. As you can tell, this is an innocent series. No guns, no big swords swinging around, no blood spewing in every corner (Elfen Lied, dear God…), no death, no rape, no racism, no wars, no sexual puns, no ecchi; none of that unneeded crap you get from the usual series. This is pure, unadulterated anime at it’s finest.

When I finally realized this series was over, with the final episode, I was at the verge of tears. But me, being a man, kept them deep inside as I endured the final episode, being tremendously sad that this spectacular series is coming to a close. No more new adventures from the world that is Neo-Venezia, no more characters that I have grown to love and adore, no more blissful music that enticed me from the first episode, no more spectacular visuals of Aqua, no more Aria. This was by far one of the best series I have ever watched, so why the hell are you still reading this review? Go watch it, and if you already have, rewatch it again and again until your eyes bleed, because I know I will.

Well, there you have it, rate it up, rate it down, quite frankly, I don’t give a damn except that I’ve finally finished this review and I need to go rewatch more Aria, get better at Photoshop, then go along with my life and go shopping and whatever I do during the summer. Yeah, I could never have written all of this in one sitting, especially during summer.

EDIT: Rewatched all three seasons recently, my thoughts have not changed at all. read more

A truly amazing series. Honestly, it was amazing in almost all aspects. Normally, I tend to stray away from most sports anime, it's just not my thing. After reading up about this series, and looking at a few reviews of course, I decided to put it on my Plan to Watch list where it sat there, and I didn't really start it until just about 2 months later. But when i started the series, it was just a blast. I must admit, I didn't know very much about baseball, but throughout the series I gradually got familiar with all the hand signals and whatnot. I also sorta marathoned this series, which was the first series I marathoned since I watched Beck, which is an excellent series.

The story is pretty basic, a team of ragtag baseball players turn up at some no-name school to join the baseball club and achieve what they can. Most of the plot revolves around Mihashi Ren and Abe Takaya, who both create the battery of the team. Character development takes place and there you have it, one amazing story. I'm not going to spoil the story, but the series was great fun to watch. The beginning was slow, I will warn you at that, but it picks up early on so there's not much to complain about. All in all, you have to see it to believe it.

At times, the animation can get a little choppy, but not much to worry about here. Overall, the animation was consistent and quite well done throughout the series. The baseball games were animated well; pitches, slides, catches, all were animated very well. One thing I would like to point out is that I liked the design of each character. It was something different from what I usually see, as each character's personalities can be seen in the faces and bodies of them.

At some points, the sound is pretty amazing, others it's just average. I must say that the OPs and EDs were amazing, I thoroughly enjoyed them. The OPs and EDs would be why I gave this section an 8, yeah, I thought they were that good.

Characterization is where the series shines. Unlike some other sports anime that I've seen, where a "team" is about arranging various players with various strengths, this series really emphasizes that baseball is a team sport. Throughout the series' plot, character development plays a large role. Each and every character changes from the first episode to the last, both in terms of baseball skill and emotional changes. The most obvious example of this development is with Mihashi Ren as he changed from the crybaby that he was at the beginning of the series to a person with more self-respect and integrity. Yet again, you have to see it to believe it.

Just wow. I was on quite a ride when I watched this series. I guess the suspense in between episodes really got to me, especially during the last few episodes, when they really prove that "nothing is impossible". I loved everything about this series, and learned quite a bit about baseball as well. The characters, the quirks, the laughs, the suspense; everything was enjoyable in my opinion.

A truly amazing series. And I'll say it again if I have to. Don't watch this series just because its about baseball, watch it because it is amazing. If you don't know anything about baseball, don't fret about starting this series, even if you dislike baseball. Who knows, after watching this, you may begin to like baseball. And really, this series proves that "nothing is impossible". read more

Haha, what a great series. I gotta say, it was an amazing ride. Everything got to me, the characters, the sound, and the outstanding artwork in this series. Well, the series is kinda about art, so there you go. I really hated how long it took to get episodes for this, because subbing groups took their time with this series... literally. It was way too long to wait for the next episode, I hated that. I just watched this over the course of my IB hell in high school, and it calms me down. I just like slice of life series like this, and I'll write this review keeping in mind that not everyone does.

Well, it's a slice of life, what do you expect? There is no story to begin with. It's about the life (albeit an interesting life) of a girl named Sora, who goes on with her life in a small town and does whatever she does, like having adventures with her friends. One thing I really don't understand is why people give slice of life series a 1 on story automatically. I mean, the chapters that happen in each episode are great, and they really keep you interested. The humor is great too, with characters like Kate in this series, it just makes the experience wild and fun.

Animation is great. Subtle watercolors make up most of the backgrounds, which I thought gave the series a more calm appeal, even if the characters don't do that already. The animation was decent enough, nothing too horrible anywhere. Also, each piece of artwork that each of the characters create are crafted pretty nicely for this series, with the whole theme being art that is.

The OP was astounding, I absolutely loved it and I actually have Natsumi Kiyoura's single because of this anime. All of the BGM in this series is calming, yeah, it's really calm. I could say that it is almost absorbing, as it absorbed me and contributed to the overall "calmness" of this series.

Each character is lovable, and anyone can relate to each character. Whether it be a shy person, a foreigner fluent in Japanese, a crazy girl that has dozens of puppets, or whatever you want to think of, you can just relate. The originality of these characters are what really got me here. They're all well developed by the end of the series, and how they work together to make this series more enjoyable. The cats in this series are also pretty lovable. I like how the cats live in their own little world and don't really communicate with the humans, you'll need to watch it. This is where this series truly shines.

I had a blast watching this anime. It was subtle and calm, yet quite humorous at times as well. The music and characters in this series really made it stand out for me. I watched this series, getting a calming effect with each episode that I needed to kill stress, even though it made me procrastinate more and more, which kills me grades.

This series was very enjoyable. Everything about this series contributed to the overall greatness of it. I loved the characters, the music, the story, and the artwork that is greatly reflected in each and every episode, from the first to the last. I highly recommend this series for any slice of life junkies out there, like myself. It really calmed my mind, letting myself think of things that aren't really doing the best for me, and that's a feeling that I won't soon forget. read more

I just finished this series pretty late last night and I have to say that this was a fun series. I really did not expect it to be so... interesting and funny. It's educational, if you really want to pay attention to that, which I know I did not, and it's funny and a little childish too. It's a cute series, the characters are cute, the microbes are definitely cute, and the story is pretty cute too. (Chilsung Cider is delicious.)

The story is really interesting. A boy who can see microbes, really original stuff. From the first episode on, the plot and story gets really creative and interesting. It's fun to watch it. But at some times, I feel like I missed parts of the plot in between episodes. I'm not so sure if it's just me, but the pacing may be the problem here as the producers tried to stuff in so much plot/story into 11 episodes. An extra 11 episodes would have helped out with the plot development and also be welcome because I want more!

The art and animation in this series is well done overall. Everything runs smoothly, nothing is terrible on the eyes, it just looks good. It's some pretty average stuff I would say. The sceneries and characters were drawn very well and everything contributed to the greatness of this series.

Cute OP and new and interesting ED. The sound in this series, BGM wise, wasn't really "stand-out-ish". I guess I'd say that the BGMs and stuff like that was pretty average. The seiyuu was pretty well picked for each character, and the microbes are just so cute! (Yeah, I had to say that again...)

This is one of the defining traits of this anime are the characters, in my humble opinion. Each character is 100% original, the two greedy upperclassmen, the old professor obsessed with fermentation, and the gothic-loli crossdresser (at the end). Each character evolves over time, especially Sawaki, as he realizes that the world around him is filled with adventures and people, and microbes of course.

All in all, this series was fun and entertaining, also a little educational. I think that anyone would enjoy this series, it's new, and new things are always welcome in my book. True, it is a bit strange, but that strangeness is what defines this anime, it's what it's about. The wacky characters and superb plot made this series really enjoyable for me, and I'm sure that everyone will enjoy watching this series as well.

I just thought that much plot and story couldn't be fit into 11 episodes. A second season would definitely do the trick, and I'll look forward to it, if they ever decide to do a second season. If there were more episodes of this great series, I'd probably end up giving it a 9, if it's up to par with the story that is. Personally, I think that you should watch this, just to try out something new. read more

This stuff is smut. I just have to say that right off the bat. It's not bad, but if you're into that kind of "thing" then go ahead, perfect series for you, but not me. I am still wondering why I picked this up, it's weird, especially the story, which I'll get into more detail later. I wouldn't say it was a struggle to get through this series, but it was almost challenging.

Interesting. Yes, very interesting, but it did not interest me in a very positive way. The whole harem and borderline-hentai themes that are present throughout this series really got to me, and not in a good way. The constant plot elements in the series were actually well done. Overall, the plot would be pretty excellent if it weren't plastered with the nonstop harem and smut crap that's all over this series.

Some of the animation could have been a bit more smooth, but overall, it's a job well done. The artwork in this series was also well done, pretty good actually. This series is pretty nice on the eyes, especially if you like huge breasts and like to stare at asses all day long. Yeah, it gets that annoying.

The sound/music was pretty average, not much to say about it. A few good tracks made some events a bit more... special? Not really though. The OP was actually pretty decent, surprisingly, but the ED got on my nerves, always skipped it.

I'm not sure what to say about characters. Most of them are pretty hilarious, especially the Nanao twins and Tayura. Each character has their moments, and some of these are pretty memorable as they try to drill them into your minds. Some of the characters in this series are a bit... sexually active? Yeah, that's about right. Sexual tensions fly between characters throughout this whole series, which eventually will get annoying, but it really matters on your opinion. I mean, if you like to watch smut all day long, be my guest.

Like I said before, getting through this series was almost challenging for me. I seriously thought of dropping this altogether because of the smut that's so present throughout all of the 12 episodes of this anime. Well, I got through it, and I'm writing this review now, so that might say something to someone... I make no sense... Anyways, there were characters that I loved and I tried to enjoy this series, I honestly tried, but it really didn't get to me.

Well, this stuff is smut, like I said before. If you're into that kind of "thing", go ahead, watch this, no one is stopping you. Overall, this anime would be WAY better if there wasn't all the sex and crap flying around and it actually focused on the plot a little more, just a little, that's all I ask. Well, if you decide to watch this, enjoy to your heart's content. read more

This was a strange series. I expected something along the lines of Azumanga, but didn't, and didn't get the same thing as Minami-ke either, it was unique. Probably unique in the way that almost every single surface of this series was plastered with kawaii-cuteness, but I didn't mind that one bit. I don't really remember what happened as I was typing papers about the Meiji Restoration and reading the Great Gatsby while watching this, for the most part. Man, only if we lived in a life where worrying about grades didn't exist.

There's not really a story to a slice-of-life anime, but the mini stories that happen in each episode are pretty cute and funny. While watching this, I tended to like some episodes better than others, but that's how it is with every series, right? But this was kind of different, the feeling you only get from watching slice-of-life series like Sketchbook ~full color's~ and Minami-ke, I guess it's the feeling of the totally not connecting stories that are fun. I personally loved the last couple of episodes, the ones about Christmas and Santa Clause, it was just cute!

Overall, animation was very well done. I thought it ran smoothly and nicely. Some parts were drawn very well, while others not so much. Almost half of this series takes place in one room, which is not a really great, but different angles give us something cute and new to look at.

The music was pretty average, nothing too special about it. I must say that the OP for this series was cute. It's just cute and it's cuteness fits perfectly with the cuteness of this outrageously cute series (maybe not that much, but you get the picture).

All of the characters were very well developed. The designs for each characters were cute and each of them had unique personalities. I loved some characters like Nobue, the college student that thinks that talking about smokes and smoking in front of 5th graders is totally fine and not dangerous to anyone's health at all, Matsuri, the super mega kawaii girlie that I just adore, and 3 other crazies that are also kawaii at the same time.

Pretty enjoyable, but I think I would have enjoyed it for if I wasn't so stressed about school (damn you school, damn you!!!). For the most part, I just sat in my bed and watched this, half asleep due to sleep deprivation since the first day of school, which means this summer is going to be nonstop sleep.

There's not much to say about this series, except for the kawaii-cuteness and innocence that's splattered everywhere in this series. Overall, it was quite enjoyable, has it's ups and downs, is very unique, and is pretty worthwhile, if you are into the slice-of-life genre, like me. Not much else to say about this series except that it's just fun, just plain fun, and everyone needs some fun in their lives, and this anime should do just the trick. read more

Beck, an interesting and intriguing series that I stumbled upon a few years ago, constantly contemplating whether or not to watch it and if I had the time. And man, I didn't have the time, but I made time for this. I went to sleep at 6 in the morning just to get in a few more episodes of this great series. And I had two tests the next day, it just made me do that. I must say that I was very surprised when I watched this series, stunned by how much better it was than first speculated and how far it exceeded my expectations. (Took me a while to get to write this review, with all the crap that goes on in my life.)

The story for this series was actually pretty good, not too spectacular but still noteworthy. Some crazy twists happen in the plot, not going to spoil it but they get sorta crazy and almost random. Most of the time it's just Koyuki getting through puberty and high school life and the band progressing to hit it big, but there's interesting bits and pieces that fit nicely into the plot to make it quite enjoyable.

Animation is not the best part of this series. It's definitely not horrible, at all, but sometimes gets a little choppy at places and not 100% satisfactory. It didn't really bother me, but I did notice it. It's nothing to worry about, the music will get you to not focus on it at all. : D

Sound/Music, man, I don't know where to start. Sure there were problems when the characters spoke English (supposedly they spoke English all their lives and can't pronounce "the" correctly), but apart from that, it was spectacular. The music in this series is where its at. You could say that it's the best part about the series, but what do you expect, it's about a band. The many various genres of music really find their place in this series, being played at the right moments. Overall, just perfect.

Most of the characters were well developed, but some were not. I thought that Taira had a lot more potential, as well as some other members of the band (Chiba and Sakurai). However, these characters still have their rightful place in the band and the story, so they at least worked that out fine. The Mako/Koyuki pairing is so cute!

To me, this anime was pretty inspiring, interesting, and definitely entertaining, all at once. I really enjoyed it, so much that I deprived myself of sleep, and I must say that in my world, sleep almost always has priority over everything else. Just crack open a fresh can of Dew and sitting in the bed, watching this was really relaxing, something I needed from the IB program that kills me day by day, but then again, anime and Asian dramas are probably my best stress relievers. If it's good enough to get me to not sleep, it's definitely worth watching.

I give this excellent series a solid 9, it was very enjoyable, but still has a few minor problems that you and others probably won't notice at all. Maybe you won't enjoy it as much as I did, but surely, you'll have fun watching it, I can almost guarantee it. This goes into my list of "If you like music, then watch this" kind of anime as it is all about music and all about the band. read more