Back to ShintakoInari's Profile ShintakoInari's Profile

Take a deep breath. Long review ahead.

Also, a bunch of tears included. I thought I wrote a masterpiece, but then I deleted half of it when I decided to preview it. Stupid me. Should've just submitted it. Never again. I seriously want to cry. This is so ironic- the only half that I kept is the part about the flaws.
-
Sometimes you read manga so great that you wish there was a larger number you could rate it because it doesn't even compare to the other manga that you also rated as a ten out of ten. Sometimes, it is so great that even ... people who dont like writing reviews will decide to sit down and write one, just so they can brag about it, the same way someone who is so stressed out that they would happily punch a wall if some of the stress gets released. Hoshi no Samidare is one of these mangas. I'm trying to write this review exactly like the one I wrote before but I'm failing desperately and it's turning out to be crappier then the one I wrote before, so I really apologize. . . Anyway. It reminds me a lot of Puella Magi Mahou Madoka (or something along those lines) and I don't even like PMMM (abbreviating names now. . getting tired. I really want to cry. Oh god.) to be frank. However, both mangas take what you think is an ordinary story full of cute little whatevers and give you a complete shock. Doesn't this manga look boring? With it's half assed, confusing summary, ridiculous names, and its cover with a seemingly huge eyed little girl with old men that you would never find attractive? (This in itself sounds creepy, but I have no such intentions.) Normally, nobody would be interested. However, (and I notice I repeat however an awful lot, so I apologize for that too) anybody who does decide to look past this and actually reads the manga will become hooked.

HnS takes the most oddest group of genres that you would never think to put together and makes the most out of them. Havent you ever read an action manga where you wished and wished for a certain pairing to "come true" (in other words, for your favorite unofficial couple to become an official couple) and kiss or something? Naturally, that does not happen. You are not reading a shoujo manga. It's action. Of course, this also happens with romance mangas where you wish there was more fighting scenes where the main characters look extremely cool. There are also mangas that try to attempt using action and romance but fail greatly. However, HnS suceeds where others dont, while tossing in genres like drama, comedy, psychological, adventure, and ecchi in there. Perhaps because of that, new scenes that ought to be used in manga from now till forever were created, or perhaps the new scenes were created first. I'm not the mangaka, so I don't know which came first.

Perfect as I may believe HnS to be, there will always be those people who disagree. There will always be critics that have to complain and have to criticize in place of having fun and laughing, so this section is for them. If they do not like the art, they will claim it does not fit the story and rate it a 5 while also claiming to be unbiased. Well, that's humans for you.

While trying new stuff is good as is new experiences, if you know for a fact that you don't like ecchi and never will, STOP READiNG/WATCHiNG iT, STOP GOING NEAR IT, AND STOP COMPLAINING BECAUSE ECCHI THINGS WILL ALWAYS BE MADE. Just to note, this is a little piece of my mind to all those people complaining about ecchi things in their reviews. Unnecessary ecchi scenes are not exactly unnecessary. . . they are there for comedic effects, to loosen it up a bit. You could say it is the calm before the storm.

In addition, the art. While I personally think the art is perfect and fine as it is, I can see why some people wouldn't like it. There are people who will think it is too "childish" and "unrealistic". Call me a hypocrite, but if you wanted realistic you can always get your lazy butt off the computer and go say hello to your neighbor.

Another thing- the story. The beginning is a bit. . . off, I'd say. It's a bit slow paced for my preference (I usually prefer stuff that speeds up the pace A WHOLE LOT by chapter . . .10?) and some people might find it confusing. However, this is made up for because everything that you may have found confusing is craftily explained. That can also be applied to some of the characters. (Although not as much.)

This might not even count, but some people might want a more. . . happy-go-lucky type of manga and wish that everybody came back to life (as in, the characters that died. Not really a spoiler, I think.) and that all the characters "pets/sidekicks/minions" could stay with them. (Alright, this kind of is a spoiler.)

Since I'm trying to be spoiler free, I can't really explain why the characters are so likable while most of them still hold qualities that the average person in real life has (and, being honest, most of them are bad things). However, trust me. You will at least like half the characters there are, even if you are the most hateful person in the world. Most likely, you'll hate a character just because you think they look kinda funny. (Again, being honest, I was a tad bit uncomfortable with a fat character being one of the good guys, but even I got use to it and started liking him. Soon enough, you'll even find me crying a long with him. Hey, maybe HnS makes people more open minded!)

Obviously, my enjoyment and overall was outstanding. Hate to end my review so plainly like this when there are obviously so many more things to brag about, but I'm trying to stay unbiased here. Plus, I don't even know how to end things like this. . .

Let me get this straight first- i usually dont read josei romance manga. What the hell, I generally only like manga that has a bunch of random crap . . . so when I found myself captivated by manga, I surprised myself. However, now that I've finished reading Gold, I don't see why I was so surprised. In fact, I should be ashamed of assuming that all romance manga were cliche and crappy. While Gold undoubtedly has cliche moments, the plot is definitely unique, and the characters help make it a lot better- bad guys included. However, I still love how realistic it remains and ... now I'm wondering if I'm only this excited because I don't read that much josei romance mangas and don't know what to expect. But then again, it's not like I havent tried them before. . .

I really mean it- the characters and the story, after you read a bit, will keep you hooked. Even if you find a way to abandon it and leave it aside, theres a constant nagging in the back of your head that screams, "I want to know what happens next! What does the main character do?! How does it end up?!" While the characters indivually may not be too special, with the plot, they blossom. In addition to the fantastic art (not to mention that this manga isn't exactly some recently released thing. . .

Anyway, there are undoubtedly mature parts (sex scenes) and even though I'm still underage *coughcough* I still found myself intrigued in the story and the "inappropiate parts" weren't really used like some kind of ero-manga, it was used to boost the plot and develope the characters. To be honest, explaining this is hard- what the hell, explaining the manga is hard. You have to read it to understand it, otherwise you'll just stay biased and think this is some stupid manga for old women with no taste.


>>>>>>> i know this review isn't really helpful, but there wasn't any (reviews) and i just wanted to at least encourage a couple of people to read Gold.

Alright, this is going to be a brief, short, review so if your going for a long, detailed one, this is not where you want to stay. And dont just give me a "This was not helpful." because it's short, i told you it was short, didn't I? Exactly. Anyway.

Lovely Complex is probably the best shojo anime I've ever watched that has a high school setting. Although some scenes are undoubtedly cliche, they have realistic twists that have actually made me weep a tear or two. (I d-didn't cry! There's a difference!) The characters are all people we can connect to and like, and they ... are voiced perfectly. The music was great, and the art was also wonderful. If you're tired of extremely predictable romance animes but want something still cute, this is for you.

Why hasn't Tokyo ESP gotten any reviews? It's a real gem compared to all the trash the media is releasing- I don't even get how some of that stuff is published. So anyway, let me ask you a question. Do you want to read a manga with romance that has a supernatural setting and a kick ass crew? Are you sick of cry baby, pathetic, heroines? Do you want some good action? How about flying fish, macho, literally magnetic fathers, yoda in a panda disguse, a little girl using nunchucks like a boss, and more? If you said yes to any of those, Tokyo ESP ... will be your haven.
The story may seem unoriginal and pretty common, but it's not. The plot has twists, and the twists have twists. While some things may be predictable, that doesn't make it any less enjoyable. Also, Tokyo ESP isn't just some shojo manga. It has amazing fighting scenes, as well as events leading up to them. Also, the main characters (Rinka and Azuma) aren't overpowered- they dont have battles that last one page. I mean, if the fight scenes are amazing, they wouldn't last one page, right? That's one great thing about Tokyo ESP. The balance between romance and action is amazing. Also, there arent guys falling for Rinka all over the place for no reason, and the guy she happens to be in love with? She actually has a reason besides that he's super cute or something along those lines. (Although Rinka probably wont deny Azuma's appearance) There are scenes where you want to cry, scenes where you want to laugh, and scenes where your outraged.
Also, Rinka, my dear Rinka. . . I love her. She's wonderful. She isn't nastily selfish, but she isn't unnaturally humble- I'm able to connect to her in many ways, while still being able to admire her formidable strength. She has to deal with annoying female classmates, she's gets beat up, she's also poor, and she only has a father. However, she has a conscience, she's also ridiculously strong at times, she's weak at times, but she made friends. (somehow) She is probably one of the most developed and realistic characters I've met in a romance-related manga that I've liked. Most of the supporting roles (that appear in at least approximately five pages) also have backgrounds that help the story.
The art was at times normal, but at times pure magic- it created the perfect mood whenever necessary. The cover art was amazing, and the contents weren't a disappointment. Overall, I really enjoyed Tokyo ESP and I highly recommend it to anyone who's life was scarred by the good-anime/manga-turned-bad-Vampire-Knight. (and I feel like no matter what anime or manga I revew, I'll always make a diss towards VK. MyAnimeList should make a Most Hated Anime/Manga/Character/etc feature.)

Still a better love story then twilight.
-
When I saw Blood Lad, it looked extremely interesting. The art was different from many mangakas that I've seen so far, the plot looked creative but not dangerously and recklessly so, and it had a score of 8/10 along with some good reviews. . . so I decided to read it, and now I'm hooked.
While reading Blood Lad, please toss out any labels of vampires you have of dark, gloomy, reclusive creatures that just happened to be extremely handsome- none of that here. (Although I'm not saying Staz isn't attractive. . . he is, but just not in ... that elegant, superior kind of way.) I can't really say anything that won't spoil the manga, so I'll just point out the pros and the cons-
The pros:
As I said, Blood Lad has amazing art- I don't think I've seen much of this kind of art. Blood Lad also manages to hold up the plot- it isn't a wreck like I was afraid it would turn out to be. It has a great plot so far, and it's being drawn wonderfully. The characters are all lovable, although the more criticizing of us manga readers might get angry that Fuyumi doesn't have much of a background. There is a subtle mix of comedy and action, and the supernatural theme isn't being exaggerated too much.
The cons:
There are few, if any. One of them could be the lack of background for some of the supporting characters- however, I have a feeling most of that will be taken care of later on. (I mean, the manga is still publishing and it would be a real bummer if it suddenly got cut off.) No matter how hard I look, besides that, I really just cant find anything wrong with Blood Lad. I mean, I'm literally sitting here, about to make my dad's $3000 PC burn up with my ferocious glares, trying to spot any errors the author did.

Blood Lad really is an amazing piece of work so far- I'm crossing my fingers that the publishers don't rush it and end it crappily, because it's gotten a lovely headstart.

Let me get the bad stuff out of the way first- some of the voice actors/actresses voices were just annoying. They just didn't do that little "click" for me. However, it was only some of them- most of them minor characters that only appeared in one or two episodes, never to be heard of again. I also can't stand Garcia. Are you familiar with Vampire Knight? He's kind of like Yuki, and his maid Roberta is kind of like Kaname. Roberta herself is an okay character with a little bit of developement so far, but Garcia. . . he's just the epitome of annoying, ... and he's so emotional for no reason as far as I can tell. It's like the creators tried to make him like Ciel Phantomhive but failed. Also, they had some good potential ideas for a cliff hanger at the end of each episode, but most of them didn't leave me feeling as hyped up as it shoud've- mostly because of how insensate it was and how the ending song turned out kind of. . . plain, to be honest. It wasn't horrible, but it certainly wasn't good either.
Black Lagoon also has lots of cursing and dirty talk, which may also be a downer for some people, but personally, when it's used right (and it is, in my opinion) it's something that that makes me enjoy the anime/manga even more. The "inappropiate language" really sets the mood- it can make you laugh, get riled up, or pissed off. One thing to note is that despite the jokes, there are some pretty serious badass scenes, so don't you worry- Black Lagoon isn't some kind of slice of life comedy.
However, that's all the bad things I have to point out- now let's get along with the good aspects of Black Lagoon.

My favorite part might be the sound, despite all the things I just mentioned. While some of the characters just sounded terrible and the cliffhangers weren't really cliffhangers, Revy and Dutch sounded perfect, as well as most of the other characters. Also, the background noise is great- for instance, the fighting scenes, the driving scenes, all of it. I also loved the art- I was stuck between deciding which I liked more. The detail in the surroundings is like a work of art by itself, and as for the character designs, weapons, and etc, I'd say everything was beyond what I was expecting. To be honest, I didn't really like the art from what I saw on the cover- but then I actually saw it in action, and I fell in love. The characters themselves were also great, although some of them still lacked development. I had to make up my own stories for what caused them to do what they did, although I don't really mind doing that. However, Rock, being the main character and all, came along great, and the more I get to know Revy, the better she gets. That goes for most of the other characters as well.

The story, as entertaining as it is, isn't really original- however, the way it was brought out was what made Black Lagoon shine. A guy is picked up by a group of people who occasionally brush against the wrong side of the law just to get some food on the table. Nothing special. But then you add in the multiple little arcs that lasts one or two episodes that are all mostly unique and different and boom, we got ourselves a great plot goin' on. It's kind of like Jormungand- it takes an original plot with action and adventure. . . then twists it like pretzel dough, never forgetting to add the desired toppings.
The only thing knocking Black Lagoon down from a ten to a nine in terms of enjoyment is the things mentioned way above, but really, Black Lagoon's still worth rewatching. . . although i'll be skipping the episodes with Garcia in it.

This is the first review I actually tried to write seriously, so please give me some tips on what I should do to make it better, as I know this review is far from perfect. Arigatou. ~
-

Kurohime was the first manga I ever read. (By the way, Rosario + Vampire was the first anime i've ever seen.) However, despite all the mangas I've read afterwards in my four years of . . . otakuness, for lack of a better word, Kurohime is still one of my favorites and I am just infuriated that it is not more popular.

So why should you bother to read ... it? It is, afterall, 80 chapters long. Well, the answers simple- Kurohime has one of the best storylines ever, extremely good art considering it was released in 2002, the best characters in the history of character developments, and was easily enjoyable. Despite all the new animes and mangas that I believe are my job to read and watch, I'm about to begin rereading Kurohime for the 7th time. And just in case you forgot, Kurohime is EiGHTY CHAPTERS LONG. That's like finishing Bleach or one of the other "Big Shonen Three" and then deciding to read it again. You'd have to seriously like it, and Kurohime is easily likable.

The story is basically one of those typical plots with several chapters for one arc where a problem arises while the main character is travelling and they solve it. This itself is nothing worthy of praise. However, when you add in the fact that the aforementioned characters are a cursed witch and a male that is amazing at using guns, then it gets a little more interesting. Then toss in the fact that the witch is cursed because she tried to take on the gods and now she is sort of stuck in a preteen's body and can only go back to her original, kick ass body when she feels true love. . . which is exactly what the male, Zero, is for. Although this does sound a little intriguing, Kurohime doesn't sound worthy of a rating of 10/10 yet, right? Well, I'm not finished.
The characters are extremely unique. They're like a rare, naturally blue rose among a bunch of weeds. The witch I spoke of before (named Kurohime. Duh.) doesn't really fit into just one category. She's not really a tsundere- although she does appear mean, rude, and even cold at times, but can be nice (although hardly ever) too. Everything she does, you can see why she does it- and she also has one of the best character developements I've ever seen. You know why she challenged the gods and how, why she got cursed, how she is the way she is, why her enemies hate her, all of that stuff. The best part is that the author manages to find the perfect time to squeeze these flashbacks in so they aren't just random things popping up out of no where leaving you wondering what the hell did you just read. In addition, Zero, the guy accompanying her, has an equally amazing past. You'll find out how come he's so good with guns, why he bothered following someone as seemingly annoying as Kurohime and especially why he fell in love with her, where he got his sense of justice, and a bunch of stuff. However, the author knows exactly what things to leave out to keep the tension and make it mysterious but not like something done on a whim or to fit the standards. Speaking of mysterious, I love Kurohime's art. I loved the ways everything was drawn when it was a funny scene, because then whatever the hell the characters are doing just got hilarious'd ten times. That also goes for the more serious and dark moments. Again considering the fact that Kurohime was released in 2002, the art is seriously amazing. What's even better is that despite the art being perfectly fine at the beginning, it got even better as time went on. In addition, later on in the series, the manga starts to hit the more intense parts, and then the way Kurohime is told and drawn makes me feel like I've been dropped into a manga utopia, and this was like what every romance-related manga aimed to be. The one bad thing was this manga wasn't long enough for me. . . I wanted more. I mean, the manga was ended just fine, nothing wrong with it, but when you love something, you obviously want more, right? I was rereading this series a bunch of times for a reason, afterall. However, I don't think I could stand this manga being continued and me having to wait god-knows-how-long before the next chapter/volume was released either. . .

Anyway. Mahou Tsukai Kurohime is like a classic to me, sort of the way Cinderella, Nemo, and The Lion King are to most children and Call of Duty, Halo, Assassins Creed, and Black Ops are to most teenagers. This manga covers some popular genres, as far as i can tell- comedy,romance, fantasy, action/adventure, bits of horror and even josei. (Although to be honest, I don't really have a firm grip on the idea of josei manga/anime though. . . I just think of it as realistic stuff, and in a way, Kurohime is.)

"One of the best mangas you will ever find in mangaland." - Shintako Inari.

Alright, I'll be honest- I kind of. . . didn't like the anime, so I ditched it for the manga. I watched the first three episodes, then decided to skip a hundred episodes, then skip a hundred more, then decided to abandon it. . . . making a V-line for the manga adaptation, and now I have to say that was probably the smartest random thing I've ever decided to do. Besides the art which I gave a 9/10, everything else is all tens. . . which is rare. Extremely rare. What ... the hell, this is the only thing on MAL I almost gave all tens to.
-
The story. . . well, it's pretty much a slice-of-life manga. To put it extremely, extremely, very, super duper, ohmahgod-a-whole-lot, unspecifically. Despite knowing this will result in a failed attempt, let me try to be more detailed-
Because the main characters, Gintoki & Co., are mostly missing a few screws, they have quite a. . . fun life. I don't remember exactly what Gintoki said, but it was along the lines of having a short, good life is better then having a long, boring one, which I must agree with, although I'm not doing anything to stop my life from being a long boring one. . . .
Anyway, before I get off topic-
The whole series so far is basically a whole bunch of separate arcs that are oddly connected in which either the main characters or supporting characters get into a bit of a tumble. Some of the stories can actually be sad (but that doesn't stop at least one of the characters from making a dirty joke) but most of them are outrageous. . . in an outrageously good way. How outrageously outrageous indeed. Outrageously outrageous oranges or outrageously outrageous orangutans? Or. . wait what. Uhh. . . . *scratches head*
Oh.
Anyway, most of them are like one big joke- you can take half of it and it would still be okay, but it wouldn't be as funny as if you read the whole thing. It's like how eating one chip is okay, but one piece of chip is nothing compared to the whole bag. Before I get off topic again, let's head start talking about the art.
-
The art was great. Splendid. Perfect. Whatever teachers tell parents about their children. Hooowever. . . it wasn't my type of thing. While the art was detailed and the characters all looked nice, to be honest, at first, i got some of the characters mixed up. plis nuh haet. Anyway, the art was just fine as it is- i didn't even hate it. It just wasn't the type of art i liked the most.
-
Now characters.
Weeeeellll. . . .
They're . . . unique, to be bland. To be more precise, I'd say they're probably my favorite sets of characters ever- even the supporting ones. The only reason you don't see any of the characters from Gintama on my favorite character list is because I can't fit all of them there, and sooner or later I'll start a mental conflict on which Gintama characters should be up there and I'd go insane.
I also love how, despite how seemingly goofy this manga is (not that i'm denying it) there are actually moments where the characters get serious and that is some serious character development as far as i can tell. In addition, in those moments when they do get serious, Sorachi Hideaki already has a uncommon but nonetheless superior and commendable setting placed.
Also, you can not disprove of every character in Gintama. You will at least find a handful that you feel you can not stay away from. If you refuse to agree with me, I refuse to believe your being honest.
-
Enjoyment? Do you really need me to spell it out for you? Okay, fine then. Allow myself to bring a time machine and travel back to the past, allll the way to first grade. . . .
. . . .
"Alright children, how do we spell ten?"
"T-E-N! TEN!"
. . . .
*fast forwards back to the current time, whenever that is*
So basically, this manga is a ten out of ten. It doesn't matter if your starting on random volumes like I did (I went from vol. 15 to vol 6. to vol. 1. to 10 to 11, 12, 13, 24, 16, 15, 21, 22, 20. . . and etc. . .I do this alot.) you will STiLL find yourself loving Gintama. As it's a slice of life manga, you can pretty much read in whatever order you want to and it'll be fine, although you might get confused occasionally. *Looks away innocently and whistles*

Warning: I am not a very good. . . reviewer? So, uhh, beware. *flicks booger at screen.*

*Gintoki comes along and highfives me.*
*shot for bad Gintama reference.*
-
Alright, to be blunt, i'm not a sports person. I'm not even athletic, and i have the stamina of a dying cat that is being weighed down by fifty pounds. i dont even like sports. However, i am easily persuaded by manga- for instance, after One Outs, i liked baseball. After Kurogane, i liked kendo. After Kuroko no Basuke, i liked basketball. After Eyeshield 21 and Prince of Tennis. . . well you get it.

So ... now that you know that. . . let's begin ~
-
To start us off, here's a quote that pretty much, in my opinion, sums up One Outs leaving out any details.
"A small possibility/chance doesn't mean zero percent."

The story is perfect. It's pretty much what motivated me to even read One Outs- and finish it. It's kind of like a slice-of-life sports manga about a smart guy, to be extremely general. To be more specific, it's about a guy who's recruited for the Lycaons in an odd way and turns out to be extremely good for the team, even though his physical talent is pretty average. In each seperate arc where a new problem or challenge arises, his mental ability is brought out in a way that shocks the reader and makes you go, "So thats what it was?!!?!" and "How did i not realize that. . . " This manga isn't just about some guy who has some inhuman strength who's super amazing, it's a lot more then that. As I said, I pretty much stayed not for the sport, definitely not for the art, not even for the characters, but for the mystery and plot. A definite ten out of ten.
-
Now the art. . . . at the end of every chapter, the art made me want to quit One Outs. However, nearly immediately afterwards, I would think, "But I really do want to know what's going on. . . Alright, I can do this! Force myself, Uh Huh! *imitates Kagura and is immediately shot again*
Annyyyhow. . .
To be blunt, it was terrible. I hated the art. Sometimes, even when the art is bad, I just get use to it. Although the art did get better a bit, I don't think I'll ever like it. I know that this manga is considerably old, but even so. . . I'm sure some people in this world don't mind the art for this series, but it just makes my eyes burn. While the art is fairly realistic and brings out all the necessary emotions, I guess, frankly, it's not my thing and thus get's a four out of ten from me.
-
The character development was fairly nice, although there are still things to be questioned. I really loved Toua (although, as expected, I couldn't stand how he was drawn. If it was another art style, though, I'm pretty sure I would be fan girling all over him.) and thought he was fantastic, the way he managed to motivate people by insulting them. Also, even if the Lyacon's manager is a terrible guy, I think he was created fairly okay. However, I do occasionally wonder why Toua bothers staying with the Lyacons and dealing with it's awful manager, as well as why Kojima is so. . . emotional? In addition, I think it would be better if the Lyacon members themselves were given more of a background. I'm not asking for a whole chapter for each character, maybe just a page or two so the reader could at least get a basic idea. However, some of the early opponents of the Lyacon's were introduced nicely. Seven out of ten.
-
If you bothered reading the beginning (and I'm hoping you did. . .) then you would've remembered I'm not a sports person. Obviously, that deducts a few points from my enjoyment grade. I mean, if you don't get all the terms used in the manga, then it's like your being left out of an inside joke, and that's just no fun, right? Well, I did eventually learn all of the baseball references, but it was a bit confusing in the beginning and when Toua explained his grand scheme, I'm just like. . .Woah, that's so awesome! So what did you do again? Plus, I couldn't stand the art. It's like I'm just taking a crapper and suddenly I spot a tiny spider on the wall. . . it's extremely bothersome, but I can't do nothing about it. Luckily, the story was fantastic, which was the one thing that stopped me from ripping out my hair and going back to my many other mangas and animes with a bald head. As for the characters, despite the lack of background (as far as i can tell. . . i mean, i want his Toua's life story, or at least a whole bunch of major key events. Call me a stalker. . . or Santa Claus. Hohoho.) I still found them interesting, so that helped alot. Even if I found them drawn horridly. I always said 2D people were better looking than 3D people. . . guess I have to take that back now. Anyway, for the enjoyment rate, I would give it an 8/10.

Now. . . .
*puts on circular glasses and a Shinpachi wig*
Look at me! I'm so smart looking, right?!

*is knifed*

"-insert touching quote from Mirai Nikki-"

Alright, before I begin. . . if you don't like slightly messed up things. . .Well, more like very messed up . . Actually, extremely messed up, then you won't like this anime at all. I recommend you go back to whatever shoujo or shounen anime you were watching. However, if you do like that kind of messed up, common-sense defying, bloody as hell anime, then this is for you.
- there are no spoilers, more like my personal opinion on everything. -
-
Story: Let me blunt- even if i gave the story a 9/10, this story has to be the most ... unique thing i've ever seen. In my opinion, the only thing that'll top this plot is Code Geass R2's. However, i gave it a 9/10 mostly because sometimes it gets confusing and i'm just like. . . . what just happened? However, i'm pretty sure if i was rating it again after i re-watched it, it would be a ten out of ten because i would understand it better.
-
Art: Again, 9/10. While the art is very appealing and everything is top notch perfect, that's all it is. It's in no way unique or special- there are some parts that I think are masterpieces, but to be honest, most of the art is just kind of normal. I think the art's unique side mostly comes from what is actually being drawn- like, Yuno Gasai's stalkers moments for example. Normally, she looks. . . like your average anime character. Nothing too special, nothing too plain- just normal. But then add in the yandere-ness. . . and it's suddenly amazing. You'll get it when you watch the anime.
-
Sound: Perfect. Ridiculously so. The OP and ED's are a perfect match and even now, I still listen to them everywhere I go and never get sick of it. (And I'm one of those people who change favorites on a weekly basis. . .) In addition, the voice actors voice everything so perfectly, and again lets use Yuno as an example. Normally, a yandere character would scare the hell out of me (not gonna stop me from watching an anime that's good, though) but Yuno. . Yuno is my goddess. . . and her cute-sometimes-sexy voice is part of the reason why. When Yuno has her little "moments", the blend between cute and macho is just perfect. I'm not sure how Yuno's VA did it, but even if she did it unconciously, it was perfect. There is no character who matched their VA better then Yuno Gasai- ever. Anyway, the bgm and extra little noises were good too, but I would place them as average because that's exactly what I expect from an anime.
-
Character: 10/10. Yuno Gasai. End of story.
No just kidding. ~
The characters (besides Yuno) themselves are pretty average, actually- they're pretty popular type of characters. However, what made them that way and the little things they do because of who they are is what gives this part of the anime 10/10. In addition, the character developements with one another are splendid. (Although I did wish, somewhere deep in my heart, that Akise and Yuki ended up together, and was disappointed there wasn't any of that.) Now let's talk about Yuno again. . . .
Yuno is splendidly different from mainstream characters. Yes, so what, she's a yandere and that's all, right? is what your probably saying. While yes, being a yandere is one of the unique things, the best part is WHY Yuno is a yandere and what made her have her occasional. . . paranoia attacks. In addition, her total character change at the end of the story (as well as Yuki's) are perfect as everything builds up perfectly, and you knew it was coming, but it still surprises you. Now before I start going on a tantrum about the ending which doesn't even belong in the "Character" section, NEEEEXT ~
-
Enjoyment/Overall : 9/10
It was something I loved and would rewatch whenever I have nothing to do, and the characters felt like my best friends (although. . . you know, Yuno. . .) however, while Mirai Nikki was so unparalled, rare, and plain out uncommon, i'm not really a fan of it's genres. While i love all animes, my personal preferences lean towards a veeerryy different direction then Future Diary. More like I just decided to pick up Future Diary because it was so popular, the music was catchy, I was bored, and nobody was home to listen to Yuno's insane-phases besides me. However, in the end i DID like it, but I must say i prefer the manga version.
-