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Its not often that I watch a show that is like listening to poetry in motion. Normally a lot of internal monologue on the character's parts can get old. In this case, it adds a beautiful texture to this piece.

What I loved is how this story had every opportunity to stay cliche with its themes of tragedy, love triangles, and loss, yet it did something amazing. It took each moment and twisted it on its head and gave us something tangible, something real. It spoke to realities we all deal with, reminded us that life is complex, and ... ever changing. Every character shows us something we all experience in ourselves, whether its pressure from those around us, the pain of love and its ability to make us stronger, or even the drive to rediscover the joy of life after all seems lost.

Viktor Frankl's words echo through this story about how we can find meaning in life. He lists three ways.

1. By creating a work or doing a deed

2. By experiencing something or encountering someone- "A man who becomes conscious of the responsibility he bears toward a human being who affectionately waits for him, or to an unfinished work, will never be able to throw away his life. He knows the “why” for his existence, and will be able to bear almost any “how.”

3. By the attitude we take toward unavoidable suffering- "Everything can be taken from a man but one thing, the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way."

The theme of creation through being a musician is ever present. Kousei's revival to life through Kaori's inspiration and spark of life. This same spark reveals itself in the differences between Kousei's two great tragedies.

The theme of finding meaning in life is used a lot in story telling, but it never gets old because its something we always have to strive to remember. No matter our circumstances, we have to choose to find joy, to push forward regardless. We have to choose to say,

NO, "my" LIFE IS ENOUGH


and then live.

This is one of those shows that someone pushed me to watch. After watching 3 eps, it grabbed my attention, but not enough to push me to continue. Now, almost two years later, I finished it. This should not discredit you from watching this at all. What originally caused me to not be hooked was that this type of show or the sci-fi aspect of it is not something I normally lean towards. That being said, it didn't take long to make me binge on it and finish the show in three days. I could write a long drawn ... out term paper to describe all of the reasons in detail that you should watch this show, but I will try and sum it as best as I can.

- If you ever dreamed of being able to run, jump, fly, or simply defy what your normal self can do, then you will find excitement.

- If you have ever understood the pain of being bullied, being told you are not good enough, or even felt sorrow or depression of losing someone important, then you will find companionship.

- If you have ever felt the pain of betrayal or the sting of losing a close friend, then you will find the courage to seek redemption.

This show takes all of the pain and negative things the world has done to you and shows you a way to move past your scars and bad memories. It shows that you are never alone and that there are people who care for you if you only allow them to be there. I cannot express enough how this series reminds us that we should never allow our pain to define us, but rather, how it should redefine us. How we should use it to empower us to reach potential in ourselves we never knew we had.




"A scar is a sign that something is missing, something important to you has been removed, leaving a hole in your heart. Having that empty hole can lead to anger, hatred, or despair, or it can do the opposite and push you to reach higher"

While the term "more is better" is usually true, the statement is subjective at best. I never like an ending and all too often I want more of something I enjoy and I also want a perfect happy ending. That being said, I'm also an adult who understands that this does not always equal to good story telling.

Suisei no Gargantia is a story that tries to juggle many things in a very short episode span. I find far too often that people judge anime that is shorter than 24 episodes far too harsh. I would have loved to see ... this anime last longer to hash out the characters more and enjoy more time with them, but I accept what I'm given and try my best to judge it accordingly. All of that being said, on to the review.

Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet is like the game series Star Ocean decided to have a baby with the 1995 Kevin Costner film Waterworld and have it babysat by Gurren Lagann. The main character is from a star faring super advanced society currently in a war against an "alien" race. He finds himself stranded on a post ice-age water covered Earth that has a technology primitive to his own standards. What follows for the first half of the series is a slice of life tale of learning to adapt to the world he is now apart of. The second half is a lot more thought provoking and true to form has conflict that spurs a great deal of action and self evaluation.

Many say that this anime does not identify itself well while others say it tries at too many things. I beg to differ because, guess what, life is complex. This story does a wonderful job at hitting on so many points that people need to pay attention to.

- The main character hits home on the struggles of how a soldier tries to adjust to civilian life and how to overcome what it means to have purpose in a world where their skill set is not needed.

- Bevel's character reminds us that everyone has purpose and value and that their role in society is no less important than anyone else.

-Pinion shows us how futile the need for revenge is.

As a total sum of its parts, the main story pushes topics like codependency, prejudice, self-betterment, and overall love for fellow man. This last topic in particular is mentioned several times over the course of the series and is something we all should strive to achieve. Our lives are made better by the pursuit of helping our fellow human beings.

Overall, go in with an open mind and you will find yourself wondering why this anime is in the 1k list of anime. Enjoy!

So I am going to be wading against the tide of masses here, but I really enjoyed this anime and probably for a lot of the reasons others did not.

That being said, if you have any chance of enjoying this, then I recommend you;

1. play persona 4 and if you have a vita, the golden version.

2. watch the original anime (http://myanimelist.net/anime/10588/Persona_4_The_Animation)

I love the characters in Persona 4 and overall I think they did a solid job on both animes. Unlike a majority of the P4 fans, I feel like this anime did honor to the game's story. So I'll try and keep this ... as simple as I can. Why did I like this anime and the original that its based off of?

1. I feel in love with the characters and world of P4 and the shows did justice in bringing so much of what I liked about the characters back from the game and even stepping it up a notch. If you are new to P4, then welcome to a well rounded crew of characters that mixes anime mystery and slice of life with Scobby Doo adventure and antics, no I'm not kidding.

2. Since the games main character Yu is a Silent Protagonist, its great to see his character be given so much life in the animes. Everything that made him badass based off the players choices, are personified (hehe) in the show. Scenes like the P3 nightclub are made that much greater or in the case of this anime, the Christmas and beach events.

3. This is where most people will disagree with me and why I encourage you to watch the original anime first. Yes the main story is almost completely lacking in this anime, and I'm Glad it is! Why? Well while I understand not everyone fits in this group, its overkill for me. I played the original game to completion, I also 100% the golden version. I also watched the original anime before this one. While I love the story, I also am tired of it as well. I played through the game again and that was fine, but the last thing I want to do is rewatch all of it AGAIN just to see some of the "extra new stuff". This anime gives you Marie's story and all of the awesome extras that the golden game added without you having to rewatch the same stuff again.

The creators made this anime catering to the fans who watched the original already. A similar thing is done in Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood. They rush through the things that sync up with the original anime and when it branches away, they start to give the anime a slower, more depth paced feel, (even if it was a roller coaster ride). The anime producers do this to prevent the original work they did from becoming obsolete while still appealing to the fans of that original work.

So all of that being said, watch this either after or alongside the original anime and you will find yourself in for an enjoyable time.