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Saki is exactly what you'd expect from a tournament-style "sports" game, minus exceedingly high testosterone levels, and plus lots and lots of moe. Now, Saki is about mahjong, which really... isn't a sport, but it's treated like one, and it's, as they say, serious business— every character lives and breathes mahjong.

The premise is not what you would call exceptional in any case. You have your protagonist who possesses remarkable talent, and through training and perservance, will become the best of the best. Who learns lessons through trials and tribulations, deepening and strenghtening bonds with teammates as time goes along. Your standard stuff.

So why should you watch Saki?

I think there are various demographics who would like Saki. Let's list them out first.

1. Sports/tournament-style anime fans
2. Moe moe kyun~ ♥
3. Yuri fans

It's pretty obvious why sports/tournament-style anime fans will like this series, 'cause that's exactly what it is. If you like seeing your protagonist face off with increasingly harder opponents, learning new things and gaining others' respect slowly and surely, then this is definitely for you. I think Saki reminds me a lot of Hikaru no Go and Prince of Tennis (but, as I've mentioned, a lot lower with the testosterone level).

As for moe, 99% of the cast consists of cute high school girls. I'm serious. Let's see, the only guys who get more than two lines are the commentator (for the prefectural qualifiers), someone's grandpa, and the one guy that's the protagonist's childhood friend (who is largely absent in most episodes). And if I told you that there was one guy surrounded by five girls, you'd think "harem!" right away, right? Wrong. It's remarkable how little presence the guy has in this series. Half the time you forget he actually exists. But there are a couple of gratuitous fantasy scenes from him (i.e. well-endowed girls in bikinis), so you might like it if you like harem series, but you have to remember that the guy barely exists.

Now, for yuri. It's unbelievable how... yuriffic Saki is. At first I thought it was my imagination, but it's laden with so much subtext that it'll send you reeling. The girls keep blushing at each other (half the time the blushes don't even make much sense) and it's about as unsubtle as subtext can get. (If you don't like yuri, I suppose it's still possible to see it as "just" friendship, but you gotta wonder sometimes...)

I think the character designs are pretty cute (it's moe, after all), and a lot of the mahjong parts are CG, which looks really sleek. (And who knew about automatic mahjong tables? I sure didn't.) Gonzo's animation quality is inconsistent though, so sometimes the characters look a little blobby, but overall I think it's fairly good.

The cast for Saki is HUGE. Nevertheless, the seiyuu cast is very solid, with quite a few big names. The OP and ED are okay, but nothing exceptional. And character development is next to none, which is pretty much what you'd expect for a "sports"/tournament-style series. It's not trying to be deep or anything; it's just entertainment.

People who dislike lots of confusing terminology (and who are not familiar with Japanese names for mahjong terms) probably should stay away. They keep talking about terms and giving 5-second explanations that will leave you even more confused than before. But if you can take it all in stride, I think Saki's a good guilty-pleasure that you can blaze through mindlessly. read more

This short little fifty-minute OVA is... wow. Kaleido Star: Legend of Phoenix just does something that warms the cockles of your heart. The story itself is very simple, and can be summed up in one sentence: Layla Hamilton tries to find herself.

What should be surprising (if you've watched the actual series) is how out of character the above statement sounds. Because in Kaleido Star, Layla is one of the strongest, most professional, confident, and assured women you can find. In fact, her "character type" is rather archetypical. But in the later episodes of Kaleido Star, you see just how human Layla is and how strong she is for holding up the way she does, but Kaleido Star: Legend of Phoenix manages to take even that to the next level.

The OVA knows how pretentious "finding yourself" plots can be, and pokes fun at itself for the way Layla goes about actually doing it. It's very grounded and real, and although the dialogue-- and I will be the first to admit this-- isn't something I understand 100% of the time, the characters' resolve, their emotions, are all clearly felt. Layla and Sora share a very complex relationship, and I was terribly moved to see their relationship continue evolving as it had in the series. Sora had always admired Layla, and I think in this OVA, she connects with Layla on an even more personal emotional level.

After I finished the OVA, I felt soothed, comforted, and it had induced a generally uplifting feeling. Perhaps this experience can be best described as catharsis, one which I felt along with Layla. There is a special scene in this OVA where you feel like all is right in the world. It is, above all things, very innocent and poignant in its simplicity.

The art is much, much better than the series (as one would expect of an OVA) and the colour palette is soft, which fits the tone of Kaleido Star: Legend of Phoenix very well. The seiyuu from the series reprise their respective roles in the OVA, and Oohara Sayaka (Layla's seiyuu) even sings two songs for us. (They're listed as the "OP" and the "ED", but there isn't an OP or ED sequence; the songs play as the story begins and ends, so you're in for a solid fifty minutes.)

I highly, highly suggest that you watch Kaleido Star before even considering the idea of attempting this OVA, because there's just so much you'll miss on. It's still very beautiful on its own, but various details and the humour sprinkled throughout will mean less, as will the depth of the two female leads' relationship. I recommended this to those who love beautiful, poignant tales of self-discovery, though I sincerely hope whoever watches this will at least attempt Kaleido Star prior to it. It is a serious commitment, especially for those who do not necessarily like shoujo, because the series lasts for over fifty episodes. I will also warn you here that Kaleido Star, although a good series, has a less realistic take compared to the OVA-- "if you persevere, you can overcome anything". With that in mind, I hope you'll greatly enjoy this beautiful little OVA. read more

Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS indisputably falls under the mahou shoujo (i.e. "magical girl") genre-- heck, the words are even in the title. So it should come as no surprise when I say it's got transformation sequences, mascot animals, and a whole slue of magical girls (one of which is even a pink healing type).

But what should come as a surprise is when I tell you this is a series with awesome, mind-blowing action. The action sequences are great, and never choppy. StrikerS's got the type of action that rouses excitement and gets your adrenaline pumping, not what you'd expect to get in mahou shoujo.

And perhaps a little background history is in order. The Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha franchise was originally created and geared toward seinen audiences who like their flat-chested loli girls. You can see the franchise succeeded admirably, given the immense popularity Nanoha and Fate (our two original magical girls) enjoy. I've also noticed that really hardcore fans of this franchise tend to prefer the original Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha and Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's a lot more than StrikerS; I see this as evidence of StrikerS falling into the opposite end of the mahou shoujo spectrum, setting it apart from its two predecessors. (Besides which, since StrikerS is set ten years after A's, Nanoha and Fate are no longer, ah, flat-chested loli girls.)

StrikerS has a solid and grounded plot. It's well-paced, mixing everyday life with the very hectic nature of our magical girls' (and one "magical boy") job duties quite well. You get to see them on their down time, in actual combat, and what's surpising is, you even get to see them training. You get to see them get bruised, exhausted, have arguments with their team members, and even screw up majorly. With that said, I can't say the plot's extremely original or anything; it's good, but not superb. The characterisation is very good, especially since we can see various characters' vulnerabilities and misgivings. Their motivations are clear as well (maybe not at first, but definitely by the end of the series you know why people do what they do).

Now, for sound. Check the seiyuu list-- you've got a lot of big names there, so you know at the very least the quality meets a certain standard. There are some emotionally-charged scenes, and they're executed very, very well by the seiyuu. The OPs are terribly uplifting and catchy, especially the first one. The EDs are very good, particularly on the basis that they offer suitable music to listen to after an episode, whether it was happy or gut-wrenchingly sad. There's nothing as bad as watching a sad episode and then suddenly having sugary happy music assaulting your ears before you've even had enough time being sad.

I've mostly had good things to say about StrikerS, so needless to say, I enjoyed it very much. I think StrikerS transcends the mahou shoujo genre and is just plainly enough, a series done well. I would recommend this to anyone who just wants to watch a good series and isn't too particular about genres. For people who are allergic to girly mahou shoujo, I would still ask you to keep an open mind and just try out the first episode (which, incidentally, has awesome action and isn't the least bit girly). If you like the first episode, I can almost guarantee you'll like the rest of the series. Those who are looking for romance in StrikerS might be disappointed though, since the only romance I really saw (if any) was subtextual f/f (which is worth watching for, in my opinion, if you're into yuri). So I wouldn't suggest this title to hardcore shoujo romance or harem series viewers.

I think StrikerS is different enough from its predecessors to watch on its own (it is, after all, set ten years after A's), but to truly understand the relationship between Nanoha, Fate, Hayate, and the rest of the older generation, you really have to watch the original series and A's. The first two series are very traditionally mahou shoujo though (but with great animation and vague hints of fanservice, due to its seinen-geared history) so please proceed with caution if you are allergic. read more

Gokujou Seitokai is a lovely, rather under-appreciated series. Certainly if it were defined by its genre (a school comedy), it would not stand out from the million other school comedies, all with more cute, young characters filled to the brim with moeness (and who induce purely visceral "kyaaa!", squeals, or nosebleed reactions).

Gokujou Seitokai follows the formulaic school comedy idea fairly closely, and boasts a rather, if you will, cliché student council centric cast. But this is also where this series shines. I left something out when I said this series fell into the school comedy genre because technically speaking, this is a satirical school comedy.

We need not go far to find evidence of this; just the title of this series alone has satirical elements to it. "Seitokai", as you might already know, means "student council". "Gokujou", then, is actually an abbreviation-- the full title of this series should actually be Miyagami Gakuen Gokudai Kengen Hoyuu Saijoukyuu Seitokai (Miyagami Academy Maximum Authority Holders Ultimate Level Student Council). I hardly need to point out it pokes fun at ridiculously long titles and names for things to make them sound impressive (think "ultimate attacks" in fighting anime series). Because of this satirical take, the series is not hindered but actually made better by its simple and rather predictable storyline.

Art-wise, it's fair enough to not really bother you either way. The animation is less than stellar, and sometimes you're left wondering where the heck the characters are looking at since they usually seem to have far-off gazes to their eyes. It shouldn't bug the average anime viewer very much, though. I didn't even notice it when I watched it the first time around. Colour-wise, this series goes with softer pastel colours, and it really goes well with the vibrant cheeriness that Gokujou Seitokai exudes.

The OP and ED are very good, in my opinion. Before I really get into the songs, I must say, it's particularly surprising that Gokujou Seitokai isn't more popular. It has an astounding seiyuu cast, with most (I'm talking 75% and above) being veterans and solidly A-list seiyuu. I won't elaborate too much on this since not everyone is into seiyuu (or even original Japanese audio), but if you are interested in seiyuu, I urge you to take a look at the cast. And although it has an impressive seiyuu cast, I can't give higher than 8/10 because there weren't any gut-wrenchingly mind-blowing scenes for the seiyuu to perform at their full capacity.

Now, the songs. Tamura Yukari sings the upbeat, cheery OP. It works, to say the least, since Tamura has one of the most moe voices I know. Oh, and this might be a concern for less serious anime goers. You may find the protagonist (voiced by Tamura) to be a little too high-pitched. I remember it getting on my nerves before I got my bearings and got used to the relatively high-pitched voices for girls in anime. The ED is very good too, and it's sung by several veteran seiyuu.

So... to put it shortly, I think this is a series I'd recommend to anyone who likes school comedies. It's suitable for all levels of viewers. Less serious anime viewers will like it for the hilarity, and people who've watched a gazillion school comedies will probably like it for the satirical elements. It also has vague (but very there) f/f vibes. It's played up for comedic value, but yuri fans will probably like it as well. (Anti-yuri people probably won't mind it, since as I said, it's played for comedy.) One thing to note, however, is that this does not have seinen-esque fanservice in the manner of cleavage shots or I-see-your-panties-and-get-massive-nosebleed gags despite the entirely female cast. Comedy and satire carry this series through. read more

Maria-sama ga Miteru OVA (a.k.a. the third season) is a sequel that doesn't disappoint. The quality of the animation is indisputably superior to its two predecessors, while the flavour of these five (fifty-minute) episodes is largely similar. This time, however, we get to see the characters in casual wear a lot more and in various settings outside of school, which is quite refreshing.

The seiyuu offer a good, consistent performance, so no complaints on that front. The ending theme songs, however, are rather at odds with the general tone of the series. The first ED passably complemented the series, but the second one was too upbeat. Don't skip out when the credits roll in the later episodes like I did at first, though, as it comprises absolutely gorgeous artwork.

Maria-sama ga Miteru OVA also explores different relationships that weren't previously addressed, in addition to delving into existing ones at greater length. A few characters that we haven't seen in a while are brought back (some only momentarily) and there's at least one character introduced that we haven't met properly yet.

For some reason, in the OVAs they've stopped the tradition of using tongue-in-cheek humour for the episode previews, and it's vaguely disappointing in that regard. (The DVD specials are as funny as ever though, but that's another kettle of fish.)

There were some cheesy-- but heartwarming-- moments, and it's getting increasingly to the point where the f/f subtext can't be called subtext anymore. To be sure, little is of the "in your face" sort. Some appreciate such things expressed forthright, but it is not in line with Maria-sama ga Miteru OVA's style.

So in that sense this series might not be such a good choice for these people, but I think after watching the first and second seasons, we should all know what to expect. If you haven't started liking Maria-sama ga Miteru as a whole after two seasons, it's unlikely to change in the third. With that in mind, I can only say that Maria-sama ga Miteru OVA was above and beyond what I expected. read more

Candy☆Boy is a series that'll induce an "aww" feeling, given you accept two main premises-- one, it's f/f (shoujo ai). (Please refer to the warning spoiler below for the second premise.) It started off as a seven-minute ONA but I guess it fared well enough since we've got more episodes coming, now each being fourteen minutes long to boot.

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Before we get into the review, I'd like to mention a major warning (that is fundamentally SPOILERish): This series has incestual vibes between fraternal twin sisters.

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The additional episodes don't seem to push the sisterly relations between the two protagonists as much with the shift from calling Yukino "Yuki-nee" (in the ONA) to "Yuki-chan", but even with episode one you can see that the fluffy overtone is a clear continuation of the ONA.

Candy☆Boy is one of those series that rolls slice of life, comedy, and romance all into one, so plot is most likely going to be rather incidental. The art is a lot more detailed and the animation much smoother in the additional episodes compared to the ONA, while the seiyuu continue to deliver a solid performance. (You may recognise Sakuya's seiyuu as Katou Emiri, of Lucky☆Star fame as Kagami.)

The comedic moments are well-timed, and serve to enhance the series overall without taking the limelight away from the relationship dynamics.

Of course, it's still too early to say much in terms of character development at this time and there are many other points that haven't been expounded on yet, so I will update this when we are privy to more episodes.

I do think the series is coming along nicely, however, as the motivations of certain characters weren't made too clear in the ONA.

Updates*:

Episode two brings more of the same defining characteristics of Candy☆Boy that makes it so lovable-- cute interactions between Kana and Yuki, with Sakuya keeping things light-hearted. A shot or two reminiscient of fanservice cropped up, so that might be this series' attempt to draw (and maintain) the attention of its targeted demographic audience.

*Will be integrated into the rest of the review at a later date when generalisations are possible. read more

To understand my attitude toward El Cazador de la Bruja you have to know a few things. One, El Cazador is the last instalment of Bee Train's "girls with guns" trilogy. Two, I've watched a previous instalment in this trilogy. Three, I got into El Cazador because I heard it had some f/f in it.

Well, if you don't know from those three points already, I had some relatively high expectations of it. I was quite sceptical about this series after I finished watching the first episode because I found the premise ridiculously similar to the prior instalment that I just mentioned. I decided to stick around for a bit, and I'm really glad I did because my first impression was quite off the mark.

The story isn't exceptional-- it's neither remarkably good nor remarkably bad-- but I think it serves its purpose well enough. I'll be the first to admit that there are some plot holes, but as you will see, other things make up for it a bit and in the end it doesn't matter as much as it really should. This series isn't very serious most of the time, so I was inclined to be slightly more lenient regarding such things. Those of you who are tired of some of Bee Train's slower stuff need not worry; El Cazador goes at a decent pace as far as things go. I think the animation is pretty good, but then again, I don't appreciate these things from a very technical point of view. And I love the character designs.

Now, to sound-- the music part of this assessment is pretty darn easy. What it comes down to is this: Kajiura Yuki composed the music and I love her work. As for the seiyuu, I'm a bit more ambivalent. I like Itou Shizuka (Nadie's seiyuu) quite a bit here and Shimizu Ai (Ellis' seiyuu) managed to sway my opinion a bit in her favour with her performance as Ellis (whereas I usually cringe at her presence). And Hisakawa Aya is always fun, even though I'm not a particularly big fan of hers. I didn't find anything astoundingly memorable, but it was a good, solid performance throughout and many parts were... how shall I put it... rather cute (in the heartwarming sense and not so much as moe). I'd probably rate it an "eight" if I were rating the seiyuu only, but Kajiura's music bumped the sound category up.

Now for the best bit-- the interpersonal dynamics between the characters, and namely the sweet (not sugary) subtextual interactions. It's great stuff if you go for the slightly more understated sort of thing (though it's also quite in-your-face at times). I think the most delicious part of all was the character development. Especially with Ellis-- you go into the series thinking of her in a certain way, and only in the end do you realise how much she's changed. There isn't one sudden moment where she just changes on you; it's a subtle process, that, as I've said, is great if you go for that sort of subtlety. I also love how some things were played up in the conclusion.

The fanservice is kept to a minimum, for which I am grateful. I could do without it completely, though, since it seemed a bit incongruous to me in El Cazador, what with my experiences with previous series done by Bee Train with no fanservice at all.

I think, really, this is one of those fun series where you don't have to think too much. The plot just carries everything along, but what I think ends up mattering most at the end is the characters themselves. The whole "intrigue" of the plot, in my opinion, takes a backseat to the characters' development, most notably in Ellis' case. And of course, you do get your dose of action and adventure to go along with it. read more

I'll let you know right off the bat I am extremely biased toward Rozen Maiden: Ouvertüre. One, as of this moment, this is the only thing on my anime list that I've rated a ten (not even Rozen Maiden or Rozen Maiden: Träumend gets this honour); two, I think Tanaka Rie (Suigintou's seiyuu) is spectacular; and three, my favourite doll is Suigintou.

Now, to the important stuff: Why do I like this so much?

Simply enough, it explains why Suigintou is the way she is. Haven't you watched or read enough things where there are incredibly evil antagonists, and you hate their guts, but you have no idea why they're doing what they're doing?

Suigintou starts to change in Träumend but as viewers we still don't understand where her attitude comes from. Those who have watched Rozen Maiden will know why Suigintou's particularly sensitive to certain insults, but Ouvertüre tells us the real reason, and I am inclined to believe even Suigintou-haters will empathise (or at the very least, sympathise) with her, even if only for a fleeting moment.

And even though the events in Ouvertüre take place before both Rozen Maiden and Träumend, I highly suggest watching Ouvertüre last to fully appreciate it.

In other news, the art and animation's wonderful, and as for "sound", I tend to weigh the seiyuu's performance more heavily than the music. Both Tanaka Rie and Sawashiro Miyuki (Shinku's seiyuu) were outstanding in Ouvertüre. And I'm not kidding about that at all. I don't think it's possible to watch Ouvertüre and come away thinking, "The seiyuu could've been better than that."

I do wish it were longer-- for how can two episodes sate the insatiable? -- but I think it's a suitable length for Ouvertüre as far as things go. The point of Ouvertüre isn't to answer and explain all the unanswered questions thus far; it's to give Suigintou character development.

And in that regard, I think it's succeeded in a most spectacular fashion. read more

Have you ever read manga where there's this extremely tragic f/f love story that either ends up with one or both girls dead, or one girl decides she isn't going to stay in the relationship?

Well, Candy☆Boy is the complete opposite. It's a short ONA that doesn't even last eight minutes long, but it's really sweet and the ending leaves you with a heartwarming feeling.

As a bonus, if you haven't noticed yet, Nabatame Hitomi voices one of the main characters. And if you don't know she's practically seen as the queen bee of yuri* seiyuu... well.

*My usage of "yuri" does not connote anything sexual or pornographic in nature, hence my preference to use "f/f" to mean "shoujo ai" or "yuri".

The ratings to the left are as objective as I can put them; your perception and take of the premise will, of course, greatly influence your actual enjoyment or lack thereof.

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Major warning (and fundamentally slightly SPOILERish):

For those who don't like watching anime with sisterly incest-- then this is not for you.
The bottom line is, if you like f/f and don't mind twincest, then this is a must-see.

In any case, you only have to commit seven minutes and thirty-nine seconds of your life to see if it's a suitable assessment, should it have piqued your interest.

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EDIT: The DVD version's now out, and it's got an additional scene. The cuteness-- well, heck, it's off the scale. The total length should be around ten minutes for the DVD version. Most of the additional length is actually the ED, though. The scene in question lasts less than a minute but it's definitely worth the trouble looking for, as long as you heed the warning from above regarding the nature of the relationship. For those who are a bit more touchy about this and could just barely stand the ONA, don't watch the additional scene. It gives the relationship a bit more "definiteness" while still remaining tame. read more

I've had a very complex history with this series. I only started watching it because people were making a fuss about how another series copied an extremely famous scene from Maria-sama ga Miteru, but I ended up watching both the first and second seasons. (The third season wasn't out at that time.)

This is now my favourite series. But it was far from being a favourite then-- I watched it all very quickly, and I don't think this is a series that was meant to be seen like that. I overlooked a lot the first time around and it ended up seeming the characters were making baseless observations about others. It's easy to watch those slice-of-life school comedy series quickly, for example, since you're just in for a laugh or two, but Maria-sama ga Miteru has got characterisation, believability, and complex interpersonal dynamics that should be savoured slowly.

The seiyuu are great overall and generally convey characters' thoughts and feelings very well. The animation, however, could've been better... some parts look a bit unnatural or perhaps a bit mechanical, but I don't think it detracts very much from the series overall and I enjoyed the art style.

I fell in love with the series when I rewatched it because there's so much in it. This isn't your typical, run-of-the-mill series where you can just watch for mindless enjoyment. It isn't something you just watch because you know there's f/f in it either. This is possibly the best f/f series you'll ever watch-- without your usual crazy and melodramatic minor character lesbians in it, to boot. (Note that the f/f present is largely on the subtext level, which I find makes it even more delectable. There's canon stuff though, so it's not "just wishful thinking".)

On the other hand, I am of the mind that Maria-sama ga Miteru would still be enjoyable for those who don't like f/f or aren't particularly into it. The wonderful characterisation alone should be enough of a draw, should it be the sort of thing you look for in anime. Let me put it this way: This series doesn't necessarily focus on f/f too much if you're inclined to see it that way. Such is the beauty of subtext.

Oh, and if it matters to you, the focus isn't on religion despite the series name and the setting (a private Catholic all girls' school). It's really just about a group of young women and what happens to them and between them... which I guess makes it fall pretty firmly into the shoujo genre.

Maria-sama ga Miteru, then, is not recommended for those who only enjoy panty shots or seeing two girls somehow ending up in unrealistic, compromising situations. (Please go watch seinen for that fanservice stuff because there's no fanservice in this at all.) I wouldn't recommend this to people who like a lot of action either, because, well, it doesn't have much. It's slice-of-life (probably leaning more toward drama), so if you need an overarching plot to sustain your interest, this is also not for you. This is for those who are starved for a series with, finally, good characterisation.

And lastly, there are no self-pitying and screaming adolescent boys piloting mecha, thank goodness. read more