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Yotsuba&! is the story about Yotsuba Koiwai, a five-year-old girl who stays at home with her dad. She has no mom and is too young to go to school yet. Yotsuba is a cute girl with green (yes green) hair that’s done in four pigtails, giving her the appearance of a four-leaf clover (“yotsuba no kurōbā” in Japanese), and thus her name. 4channers may recognize her as the website’s unofficial mascot.

The manga is by Kiyohiko Azuma who also created Azumanga Daioh. The similarities between these two are very apparent, and the style of humor is the same, so if you liked Azumanga Daioh, then you don’t want to miss reading Yotsuba&!.

Similar to Azumanga Daioh, you’ll meet lots of new characters as the series progresses, mostly Yotsuba’s friends and neighbors, and they are all almost as odd as she is. XD My two favorite characters are Mr. Koiwai and Fuka Ayase. Mr. Koiwai is Yotsuba’s father. I aspire to be like him when I have my own daughter. He’s kind and is always there to take care of Yotsuba, but at the same time he makes sure she behaves properly (not so easy for a five-year-old). Fuka Ayase is 16-years-old and the middle sister of the Ayase family, who lives next-door to Yotsuba. Fuka is creative and smart, and she is the vice-president at school, but she also gets flustered really easily.

Yotsuba&! is a slice-of-life series, through and through. When I thought about slice-of-life, I used to think about Azumanga Daioh or Lucky Star, but none of them capture the little joys and perks in life as well as Yotsuba&! does.

In the manga you’ll follow Yotsuba to the bike store, the zoo, and much much more, all while seeing what life is like through the perspective of an eccentric five-year-old. It is funny reading Yotsuba's unusual but completely innocent remarks about things such as global warming and cicadas. Youtsuba will say and do the darndest things, and despite her bratty side which appears from time to time, you can’t help but adore her. read more

If you love cats like I do, then immediately stop reading this review and go watch. For the rest of you, proceed to the next paragraph.

Chi’s Sweet Home is like the Nintendo Wii of anime. Anyone of all ages can enjoy it: your sister will like it, your mom will like it, even will grandma will like it, if she’s into anime and is cool like that.

Story
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The story is pretty clear-cut. A cute kitten named Chi gets lost and separated from her mother, and a human family that lives nearby finds her and decides to adopt her. Unfortunately, pets are not allowed in the apartment complex, so the Yamada family must keep Chi out of sight, especially from the landlady. The third quarter of the 104 three-minute-long episodes gets kinda repetitive and filler-ish, but once you get over this small hurdle and reach the last quarter of the anime, you’ll remember why you stuck with this series for so long. Chi’s Sweet Home is not only entertaining, but enlightening for future cat owners like me. It’s like an animated pet manual. I had no idea about some of the things I’d have to go through while owning a cat, until I watched this anime.

Animation
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Some people may complain that more shadows or a darker color palette should’ve been used, but I think the watercolor style reminds me of a children’s book, which complements well with the innocent atmosphere of this anime. The animation stays very true to the manga’s design. Actually, if you were to set them side-by-side they would look almost exactly alike.

Sound
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The OP theme with Chi the cat singing the lyrics is cute, but odd, to say the least. Even I wouldn’t be caught listening to it on my MP3 player -- and that’s coming from a person who likes Figu@Mate. XD The only thing I can compare the OP theme to is Menchi the dog howling the ED theme of Excel Saga (which is ironic, because it’s sung by the same voice actress). As for Chi’s ED theme…what ED theme? Lol. The rest of the music is standard and bubbly, but in a good way. Simple music for a simple anime. Most of all, I gotta give huge props to Satomi Koorogi for doing such a great job with Chi’s voice. Many times I thought they used a real cat!

Character
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The characters don’t have much depth, except the main star, Chi, of course. The parents and the little boy are mainly there to serve their role of caring for and disciplining Chi. Yet, the Yamada family does grow on you. Soon they will feel like distant relatives or close neighbors.

Enjoyment
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I’ve never said “kawaii” so many times in an anime. This anime is very funny, which may be hard for you to believe until you see for yourself. Chi’s facial expressions and the way she reacts to her owners are simply priceless. This anime isn’t all about comedy, though. It is also suspenseful when Chi is at risk of getting caught, and there are some sad moments where I couldn’t help myself from saying “Poor Chi,” or “Poor Dad.”

Overall
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Unless you totally hate cats or are allergic to uber kawaiiness, you should give this anime a try. Even though it’s a hefty 104 episodes, the series is only a little over 5 hours in length. Heck, even if you have 30 minutes to spare, you can zip through the first 10 episodes to see if you like it. In my opinion, Chi’s Sweet Home is the best anime about a pet. It’s suitable for all ages, and you may even learn a few things about cats. read more

Story:
This is where Shuffle! excels the most. There are at least 4 or 5 arcs packed into 24 episodes, so by the time you finish, you can’t say you didn’t get your money’s worth. I was hesitant about watching at first, but this anime can’t be judged by the impression the first two episodes give, because there’s a whole lot more to it. Every episode you learn a little more about a certain character, which makes a good incentive to continue. Most of the plot is filled with twists, but some episodes (especially the last few) are predictable.

Art:
This anime looks much older than it really is. I don’t know if it’s because of the shading or choice of colors, but the characters look really flat, which takes some getting used to. If I had to make a comparison, I’d say this anime looks like Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. What I do like is that the animation is very fluid. It’s like watching an oil painting in motion. The backgrounds and lighting effects are especially nice.

Sound:
The OP and ED themes immediately became one of my favorites the first time I heard it. It was hard to stop listening and sometimes I found myself humming them. The BGM on the other hand is a whole different story. Most of the tunes sound like something out of a 90’s video game. Again, it makes the anime feel more dated than it really is. Although I guess you could call it nostalgic if you want to, since the characters are in their teens. It’s unique, but definitely not for everyone. Even worse, it gets repetitive pretty quickly, but at least the right tunes are always played at the right time according to what’s happening on screen.

Character:
Rarely have I seen characters with this much personality. Both the male and female characters are nicely developed (no pun intended). The girls are beautiful on the outside, yet they each have their own set of flaws. I’m sure everyone who watches Shuffle! will find a favorite character -- mine’s Kaede, followed by Primula. XD But I wish some characters would have had more screen time. It seemed two or three girls took over the show while the rest of the cast was placed behind, which is really unfortunate.

Enjoyment:
I recommend everyone to watch Shuffle! because there’s something for everybody -- comedy, romance, happiness, sadness, and even good fan service. Shuffle! is downright funny, but will have you on the edge of your seat just as often.

Overall:
There are many harem animes out there, but Shuffle! is one of the few that does it right. As I mentioned above, despite its looks, this isn’t your run-of-the-mill anime. If you’re looking for a good romance, a light-hearted comedy, or just something with a bunch of twists, Shuffle! is one anime that you won’t forget about anytime soon. read more

The title is Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-chan. I remember reading about it on some site long ago, but I forgot the title. Although, luckily, I asked about it on the anime section of GameTalk and someone was able to tell me.

This anime is REALLY short (4 episodes) -- even shorter than FLCL. And like FLCL, I have to wonder why it isn't any longer.

Dokuro-chan is an angel from the future who is sent by God to kill Sakura who is destined to create the technology that freezes all women's aging once they turn twelve.

Although Dokuro-chan decides to save Sakura, she ends up killing him anyway (multiple times) with her giant spiked club because she is very temperamental.

The great thing about this anime is that every episode had something that made me laugh out loud, and I guarantee you will too.

P.S. I found out on Anime News Network that the Japanese voice actress for Dokuro-chan is the same as Azmaria Hendric on Chrono Crusade. @_@ read more

Midori no Hibi is about a shy girl named Midori who has secretly been in love with Seiji for a long time. One day she gets sick and falls into a deep sleep, only to wake up as Seiji's right hand...literally. And as you can imagine, the hilarity ensues.

Only a couple episodes are dull. Other than that, the enjoyment of each episode is pretty consistent. The same can be said about the comedy: Midori no Hibi always remains in a comedic, light-hearted mood; only getting serious when it is needed to progress the story, not as an excuse to take a break, like some other animes do.

So have fun, and enjoy watching this anime. You'll laugh in every episode, except maybe the last one... I didn't get to see the ending credits because I was crying through the whole thing. read more

The only two minor disappointments I had was the extremely cheesy ending and (I know you might not believe I'm saying this...) the lack of violence. I mean, yes, it was bloody, but it wasn't as gruesome or disturbing as I thought it would be. What annoyed me the most was that a lot of people were killed in almost the same way. Also, I really would've liked to see more one-on-one duels.

One thing that I have to commend Elfen Lied for is that they didn't hold back on anything. Meaning, they show you stuff that other animes are too scared to show you on screen. Although, to my disappointment, there WERE a few parts where they had to draw the line -- they either hid it, or cut the scene short.

Usually when watching an anime, I get tired during the 3rd or 4th straight episode, so I have to stop and continue it the next day. Though with Elfen Lied, I don't know what it was, but something kept me glued to the screen. That is how I was able to finish all 14 episodes in only 12 hours (taking breaks, of course) and only yawned 4 times -- but three of those were because I was sleepy. I don't know if it was the characters, violence, nudity, humor, or animation that held my attention. But now I think it was the animation. The more you watch Elfen Lied, the more beautiful you realize it is. The luscious backgrounds themselves are worth the price of admission.

Elfen Lied will have your emotions running from love to hate and back again with almost every character in the anime; which is hard to believe until you watch it yourself.

With all this being said, Elfen Lied is DEFINITELY WORTH YOUR TIME. To this day it has remained my 2nd favorite anime ever after Excel Saga. read more