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Jan 8, 2010
Rurouni Kenshin is one of the animes I can remember from growing up (as a child, mind you) during the late 90s. It can also be considered one of the pinnacles of 90s anime, being an amazing series that can still be watched, loved, and enjoyed today.
Story -- 9
The story of Rurouni Kenshin follows that of Himura Kenshin, also known as Himura Battousai, or Battousai the Manslayer. It's laid out in such a pattern that you get basically little snippets of plots in the beginning, each "mini arc" letting you get to know a main or main supporting character. The story is how the ruthless
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assassin Himura realizes the horrors he has committed, and swears never to take another life. However, he is thrust into the position of having to defend a run-down dojo, its inhabitants, and eventually all of Japan from the man who took Himura's place as head assassin during the Japanese revolution, Shishio. After the initial ease into the main story after learning about all the different main and supporting characters, the plot takes off and is decently fast paced and gripping.
The "Shisio" arc, aka the main story, is well made. It is well crafted with several different, intriguing characters, followed along by an original plot which is, for an anime, has amazing historical context. Much of Rurouni Kenshin is historically accurate, which creates an amazing immersive world, as if it really were a documentary about the Meiji era of Japan, rather than an anime taking place in it.
After the "Shishio" arc, an arc of filler-esque episodes begin. They serve no real purpose except to show the viewer what happens after the Shishio arc, and the mature-ment of the characters. The final "episode," #95, was actually made several years after the series officially ended. It shows all the characters about 10 years older -- and how much they've changed. The end of the story (which was lackluster, sadly enough) hinted at the change the characters were going through, and the last episode confirmed it.
Art - 10
This would have to be my pick for best 90s anime art. It's very well made, and has a shojo-y feel to the drawing. It can clearly beat many of today's animes' standards by a mile, showing the care that went into creating the anime of Rurouni Kenshin. If you manage to watch the OVA's of Kenshin, "never before has blood looked so beautiful" basically sums up Kenshin in a whole. Every part of the anime is visually pleasing and looks painstakingly cared for.
Sound -- 8
Rurouni Kenshin has a couple very beautiful themes on violin that repeat throughout the series (see: "Departure", one of the main violin themes). Beyond having some very appropriate, and beautiful traditional themes like Departure, the anime has decent enough endings and openings. None of it is truly rememberable at all except for the aforementioned themes, however, so I'm going to have to give this an 8.
Character - 10
I don't really believe that much of a character change occurs in Kenshin(Himura) throughout the series, but he remains a strong and good main character. The real development is with the other characters that make up the main cast; Kenshin, through his kind ways, manages to save a vagabond boy from a life of petty theft, a mercenary for hire who had been wandering aimlessly, and a poor girl trying to maintain her dead father's rundown dojo. Together, he protects them from harm while nurturing them -- the boy, Yahiko, learns the way of the sword and how it should be used to protect others, and the values in life (Episode 95 shows him being very Kenshin-esque). The mercenary for hire, Sanosuke, learns the meaning of humility and modesty from Kenshin, and, while still maintaining his stubborn ways, manages to change from the mercenary to a defender of others. He manages to overcome his gruesome past and forgive those (to a degree) of those who had wronged him. And the girl, Kaoru, learns the meaning of love and desire she feels towards the seemingly innocent and kind Kenshin.
As a character, Himura Kenshin does not really "progress" as much as just show off his personality. He was a man with a terrible past -- being raised by slave traders, fighting for most of his life, and then becoming Japan's greatest assassin -- definitely created a strain for him. After the war, the realization of what he done in the name of creating a new, peaceful world hits him, and his penance begins. The anime takes it time revealing all the secrets of Kenshin, his personality, and his past. A constant conflict that happens is that he fights the assassin inside himself, having to use all his will to keep use vow of not killing anyone ever again. As his friends are dangered, the assassin sometimes breaks free, but manages to be reeled in somehow through various methods.
Enjoyment -- 9
I honestly, short of maybe one or two unsavory post-Shishio episodes, think of any place where I disliked Kenshin. The anime definitely would've received a 10 if the post-Shishio story had had a streamlined plot, rather than just being a bunch of random plots thrown together. As a whole, Rurouni Kenshin should be classified as a "classic" and be appreciated for what it is. It isn't often you see an anime like it. The rewatchability during the intro and Shishio arcs are high and the episodes, enjoyable. The -.5 comes into play with the lack of streamed plot after Shishio.
Overall -- 9.5
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jan 7, 2010
Bleach -- one of the top dogs of shonen anime. And I'm going to say this right now -- Bleach is probably my favorite anime. I've cosplayed it, I've cleaned it/fansub'd it, and hell, I even wrote a 4000 word essay on the structure of the story. It's a very large and compelling anime...just with a lot of drawbacks.
Story -- 7
The story of Bleach is long, complex*, and colorful, to say the least. It has a gripping plotline(for the beginning anyway), and can manage to interest anyone for at least a little while. Its filler arcs aren't so bad (see: Naruto fillers) to bring tears
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to the eyes, but they aren't exactly as entertaining as the normal story. The impression I got when I first started watching Bleach was that the author, Tite Kubo, had no idea what he was doing. It was sort of like an idea popped into his head, he drew it (it was then animated later) and that became the story. This doesn't lead to a bad storyline.The story, in my opinion, is very good, developed, and complex. However, because of the issue listed above, there are several plot holes due to the fact his ideas came spontaneously. One such being that shinigami, in the first few arcs, are unable to fly (this is reinforced by the fact Ichigo, the main character, has to steal a pair of wings to move quickly around Soul Society). About halfway through, however, all spirits suddenly gained the capability to fly, negating the whole thing about Ichigo having to steal wings. This change is worked in subtly, and I didn't even notice for a while. However, contradictions like this are present in the story of Bleach. And while it doesn't ruin the story, it does detract from the overall experience.
However, the story does start to degrade somewhat after the first main story arc ends (ie. when Rukia is saved). It jumps from filler to story randomly throughout the remaining episodes to allow the manga to get a further headstart; the main story arcs are not too bad, but they never reach the full potential that was shown in the first.
*Edited in note: I had referred to the story of Bleach as "complex." I wanted to clarify that the storyLINE is not complex, the the world the story takes place in is. It has a lot of ongoing elements which are managed decently well, showing that Tite Kubo can manage a large, complex world with not too much difficulty. The plot is by no means complex.
Art -- 7
Unlike Naruto Shipp., Bleach has had fairy consistent art. It does peak at some times and slouch at others, but it is basically consistent. It isn't stellar, and can't compare to the likes of Romeo X Juliet, Code Geass, Eureka 7, etc. But for a mainstream shonen, it's acceptable and palatable. Honestly, I would just leave art blank...it doesn't really add or subtract from the show, at all.
Sound -- 8
Bleach, for being one the top kings of shonen anime, has a lot of very recognizable tunes. Many of them are sweet, many sad, and are generally very fitting. Most of the opening themes and end themes are well done and enjoyable, and overall, very recognizable and memorable. Yui's "Rolling Star," the several themes by Aqua Timez, and other themes make the anime have both popular, modern Japanese pop/rock music, as well as some very beautiful, haunting instrumental pieces (See: Never Meant to Belong).
The music I'd say is tied with Naruto's and far ahead of One Piece's. It doesn't quite match up to Romeo X Juliet's (see: Lena Park's cover of "You Raise Me Up"), but is overall very decent and well rounded, as to be expected of a big budget show like Bleach.
Character -- 6
Bleh. Character. There really isn't too much development character wise; one of the main supporting characters, Orihime, does manage to grow from the frightened girl to a mature(ish), courageous (albeit still useless) supporting character. Ichigo, the protagonist, also progresses in terms of his understanding of the world(he seemed very naive in the beginning of the anime, and seems much more experienced now, though they are overplaying this a little much).
The major drawback to Bleach's characters is the way their power levels are determined. Ichigo starts off incredibly weak, barely able to beat anyone -- and in a matter of days, thanks to a three day crash course in Shinigami fighting (must be one hell of a crash course) manages to beat some of the toughest shinigami around, including the Third Seat (third most powerful) of the fighting squad, and then shortly after the leader of the fighting squad. By the end of the first arc, Ichigo is able to, with only his fists, destroy three second-seats(a.k.a. vice-captains) in the Shinigami military without breaking a sweat. So by the end of that arc, you understand, wow, Ichigo is really, really badass.
But then you find him again shortly after, and he's back to fighting like crap and can't beat anything. And then some amazing thing will happen (see:Hollowfication) that will make him stronger than any shinigami, and then he will have his power cut back, again. And it continues like this. Ichigo, a lot like other characters, seems to have "Godlike" strength, and can only fight equally 'Godlike' characters, otherwise the fights would be boring. This is nice and all, but when he actually physically changes from maybe the worst fighter to the best and then back again, the confusion that ensues between the "god fights" is confusing and disconcerting, to say the least.
Enjoyment -- 7
Bleach has awesome fight scenes. And a very large world, with a lot to think about. I personally love Bleach, and it remains one of my favorite anime. But it has a lot of drawbacks. It has very poor character development, and serious issues in character balancement. It also has meh art, which isn't something bad, but nothing good, either. The story is nice and long. But it has a lot of holes in it, as well as having issues with entertainment value in filler vs. main story. The fact that it randomly skips around often due to the filler also adds confusion, since sometimes the filler will occur BEFORE the arc you were just watching.
Overall -- 7.0
.5 lower than Naruto Shippuuden, in my opinion. Bleach is worth a watch if you enjoy the stereotypical shonens: it's creative and interesting. But it is a show MADE for people to watch: it's a mainstream shonen. Naruto had the hand up on terms of story depth, in my opinion, as well as consistency in the story. They both have good soundtracks and VA's, and both have not-so-good character development. The enjoyment varies; I honestly think Bleach has a higher rewatch-ability, but Naruto has some very specific episodes which are amazing.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jan 6, 2010
ROMEO x JULIET. The name itself calls only one thing to mind: Shakespeare's most famous tragedy, the tale of the star-crossed lovers, Romeo & Juliet. However, if you want to see an anime adaptation, don't bother with this. After the first four minutes, you will see this has very little resemblance to Shakespeare (in fact, one of the characters in the anime is named Willy Shakespeare).
Story -- 6
I hate hate hate how fangirls and fanboys are going crazy over this. This anime was heavily promoted at anime cons, online ads, previews, etc. However, when its name is literally ROMEO X JULIET, you expect...you
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know...some resemblance to the play, at all? Within the first few minutes, they basically show you the only thing in common is that the characters are named after the ones in the play, and that, yes, it is about two noble children that fall in love and are separated. But here's the issue: it's not separation by the families -- no -- its separation due to the fact that the boy's father gruesomely murdered every other member of the girl's family. Talk about a lot to overcome.
The story is meh at best. It is creative, to say the least. It's set in an island floating in the sky, in a place called Neo-Verona (go figure) where it's basically Italy in the 1600s, except with pegasi. However, this anime is SET UP to be a tragedy -- the problem being that, by the end of the anime, you actually are way too attached to the characters to let them die. In fact, because it doesn't follow Romeo & Juliet by Shakespeare at all, you have NO idea IF they die or not. And you become so attached to the main characters that you're praying that it basically bastardizes the original work of Shakespeare and allows them to live. (Spoiler: Don't worry, they still die.)
In addition to this, the story skips around a bit and adds in random crap that isn't exactly necessary. Although it makes for more time to show off the awesome amazingness that is the soundtrack and art, the story itself takes a hit to allow that to happen.
Art -- 9
SHINYYYYYYYYYY.
That basically sums up the art. It's high quality. Really, really high quality. Some of the highest quality anime art available with the current technology, I'd go as far as to say. It beats the crap out of any of the mainstream shojo or shonen anime art quality.
Sound -- 10
Warning: Rampant fanboyism ahead
Oh my god. The one thing -- one thing -- that makes this anime remember-able, other than being very, very shiny, is two (well, rather, one) songs that form the soundtrack. I don't even remember the rest of the soundtrack -- but the cover of Secret Garden's "You Raise Me Up" by Lena Park is jawdropping. She even had it transposed for a Japanese song, entitled Inori You Raise Me Up, which also happens to be the opening theme for the series. It does not follow the lyrics of You Raise Me Up at all, but flows very nicely and serenely -- if you had not known it were based off of the tune of You Raise Me Up, you would still love it. Between the sappy romance and the utter gore of Romeo X Juliet, hearing about star-crossed lovers and how one shall always support another in such an inspiring song in both English and Japanese says something. This has to be one of the best, if not the best, soundtracks of any anime. Ever.
Character -- 6
Fair would be, well, fair to describe what the characters are. They are loosely based off their namesakes in Shakespeare's play. There is only one very well done performance in the anime. The performance of Juliet, when she decides to be a rebel and crusade as the Red Zorro...er, rather, the Red Whirlwind* shows a compassionate level of caring not found in most characters, giving Juliet both a strength and a weakness to her character. The other characters are basically static throughout, but show enough emotion to give this a "fair" review. They act believable, which is enough for me.
*No. Really. She is basically Zorro, but with a red hat. Don't believe me? Google it.
Enjoyment -- 6
Enjoyment during "You Raise Me Up" -- 9
Otherwise -- 5.8
Evens out to a 6. Ish. Honestly, the anime is "cute" to say the least, and is entertaining. The enjoyment value again varies on your taste; if you're looking for a refined anime, keep looking. Try Cowboy Bebop. But if you're looking for a very well made, artistically at least, anime with an amazing soundtrack, you will enjoy the anime very much. The characters are meh, as is the plot, but for me, the art and soundtrack make it a worthwhile investment to see.
Overall - 7
The 7 represents the culmination of an average or below average anime which has an amazing budget, aka, making it very very shiny with an awesome soundtrack. It would normally get a 5 or 6 -- not rememberable -- but due to its high budget, hype, well made art, and beautiful soundtrack, it is bumped up to a 7. If you really just want to experience the anime in its fullest, however, just watch episode seven. It has all the music and art in one package.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jan 6, 2010
Kimi ni Todoke: From Me To You, is one of the better known shojo mangas in Japan, but not to the extreme fangirl level of something like Fruits Basket.
One of my female friends had been bugging me to start watching this series -- and I'll admit, I actually did watch most of it, and then start to read the manga once the episodes were caught up with. If you're a romantic person, or like the silly girl-meets-boy-girl-falls-in-love-girl-is-happy-forever-after, you'll enjoy Kimi ni Todoke. I personally loved the series.
Story -- 6
The story of Kimi ni Todoke isn't hard to understand. Sadako/Sawako is a shy, antisocial (not by
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choice) girl who is disliked by her classmates due to rumors she has nothing to do with. They immediately set you up to pity her, and want to like her. She's cute, innocent, and very shojo-y. In fact, I bet any person with a soul would liken to Sadako. She then somehow starts to catch the eye of the super-nice, very-popular Kazehaya, which creates drama, since him, being the ever-popular guy, has droves of girls worshiping him. These droves notice he's being nice to the antisocial girl, and start to hate on her. No surprise there.
The story is rudimentary at best, and something you would except out of a crappy author like Stephanie Meyer. It's basic, simplistic, but easy to follow. Sadako, thanks to her savior Kazehaya, suddenly is able to have friends, and lead a somewhat normal life, though her maturity level is stunted due to her years of antisocialism due to the malicious rumors other have about her. Most of the situations the poor girl is put in are incredibly awkward, more awkward than any normal person should be subject to -- and the anime uses this moments to have Sadako learn how to mature quickly. However, such a plot is unrealistic and almost fairy tale ish, having the awkward girl no body likes suddenly be rescued by the prince -- actually, it is fairly similar to the plot of our beloved fairy tales of prince and princesses, but also of over-done stories like Twilight.
The slight saving factor in this is the fact that the story is just so damned cute. It helps obscure the fact it's a Princess Cinderella sort of story, given the sweetness, gooey-ness, and cuteness that is Kimi ni Todoke.
Art -- 7
The art is decent. It has the low quality, silly expression, water-drop-on-back-of-forehead moments quite often, but you can't really blame a show like Kimi ni Todoke for having that. Overall, the art is consistent so far and doesn't seem like it'll be dropping. It's detailed, shiny, and very shojo-y in style (see:Code Geass art). From an anime in 2009/2010, this sort of art is what you should be expecting when you watch an anime.
Sound -- 6
The sound in Kimi ni Todoke isn't memorable so far. It isn't bad -- it has fitting music, the appropriate queues, etc. -- but it isn't exactly stellar, either (see:Lena Park's rendition of "You Raise Me Up" in both English and Japanese, in Romeo X Juliet). For a big budget shojo anime, Kimi ni Todoke's soundtrack is pretty much standard, though a very nice and memorable theme would be appreciated.
Character -- 9
The saving grace of Kimi ni Todoke. The character development. Given that it has such a limited selection of characters -- only a dozen or so, compared to the hundreds found in a show like Naruto -- it is no surprise the characters are very well done. Over the first dozen episodes so far, most of the characters have shown real personality and diversity. Sadako, the main character, has, with babying from her awesome Kazehaya and newfound friends Chizuru and Ayane, she manages to learn the basics of social interaction and how cruel people can be. Likewise, the supporting characters of Chizuru and Ayane show character in being able to accurately show jealousy, rage, loyalty, bravery, courage, and other emotions fairly well and believably. The characters look promising and are probably going to have to be what keeps this anime with a lackluster plot afloat.
Enjoyment - 7
The enjoyment of Kimi ni Todoke is basically completely up to you. If you dislike awkward situations, unrealistic plots, or fairy tale like occurrences, this may not be the best anime for you. But if you really enjoy romance, and sappy love stories, then give Kimi ni Todoke a try -- it may not disappoint you. I find the rewatch-ability not too low or high, given that there are some very sappy and sweet parts in most of the episodes.
Overall -- 7
I'd personally give this an 8 or a 9, but this isn't a personal review. It's one from a normal look on the anime. For most people, this will fall under a 6 or 7. It has lackluster and boring plot, cliched occurrences with fairy tale like situations, but it is an incredibly sweet and romantic anime with a lot going for it in the character development department. In fact, the popular manga streaming site MangaFox even has this manga listed as a "Cinderella Story," which applies to the anime as well. If you enjoy shojo, you probably will like this. If not...don't waste your time.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jan 6, 2010
Naruto...one of the most popular anime to ever be created, and one of the big players in mainstream shonen anime. Regardless of whether you love Naruto or hate it, you have to admit it did something right -- nothing can get this popular while being very bad.
Story -- 9
The story of Naruto is probably the best and worst quality of this anime. It's built around the complex world of ninjas (shinobi) that is very carefully crafted with hundreds of characters, tons of ninja abilities (jutsus), and an immersive system of countries/villages. All this creates an almost surreal realistic effect. The amount of work it takes
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to actually become well versed in all of Naruto-dom is a lot, but anyone that watches the 400+ episodes combined between Naruto and Shippuuden will learn them. So the greatest part of this anime is that it is large, evolving, changing. But the world, can, be at times, almost TOO large. You can have one episode in the middle of Konoha (Village Hidden in the Leaves in the dub) and then suddenly jump to a location far far away, with little pretext. While that's fine and dandy, it's hard to jump from place to place and time to time. Some episodes also are happening at subsequent times with others: randomly making up numbers, but 42 and 43 could happen at the same time in the Naruto world -- just in different places. The world is great, but the method they use to show it can be jumpy and confusing at points to someone that isn't used to it.
Art -- 6
The art in Naruto isn't bad. Well, yes it is. Wait, no it's not. Wait, yes it is. And that basically sums up the art in Naruto -- it will be pristine one moment, then trash the next. I remember at one point during one of the ever-so-long filler arcs, the art quality got so bad that you could just see straight lines for people's edges, rather than the often used inventions known as curved lines. But as soon as the story came back into the main story arc, the art suddenly jumped back. I think even the studio that works on Naruto gets tired of the filler, sometimes. Overall, it would be a 7 or 8 normally, but due to the laziness of the studio in some episodes, I'm bumping it down to a 6.
Sound -- 8
The other great thing about popular shows is that they can always have an amazing soundtrack. This is true for both Naruto the original and Shippuuden. The opening, closings, and themes of Naruto are not overly complex, but recognizable and not harsh on the ears. Some memorable themes from both series would have to include "Blue Bird," "Sadness & Sorrow," and "Sengunbanba." Though they are spread out -- most of the openings and closings aren't bad, just not memorable -- there are the occasional few that you will remember and think "that music paired up so well." At one point, a very emotional instrumental piece -- Sadness & Sorrow -- was played during the funeral of one of the ninja leaders. The somber attitude, good artwork (for once! hooray!) and moody and powerful music allowed that particular episode to stay in people's minds.
Character -- 7
Character, character, character. The characters of Naruto are always evolving, changing, etc., etc. But the problem is -- is that when you have such a large world, with a couple hundred characters, the majority of them will get put on the side. So you are introduced to Awesome Character Z, who you love for maybe 10 or 20 episodes. But then they're put to the side, and they just become filler every now and then -- it's hard to include everyone. The main characters' development is nice, to say a lot. If you compare the Naruto at the start of the original series to the Naruto now, a lot has changed. Even more so if you compare it to what has happened in the manga. It basically follows his life from the 12 year old child everyone hates (you know there is one of those kids you hate in your life, don't lie!) to a respectable and caring adult (ish?) person. Of course, he's still the same old perverted, bloody-nosed kid on the inside, but the change in attitude, thinking, and manners is noticeable to say the least. Other characters -- specifically Hinata -- are thrust into a main-supporting role, with small development -- she basically has a crush on him which cripples her, and then she has to confront that and either save herself or Naruto in order to be productive, and stays like this for well, the entire series. These sort of characters (see: Temari, Gaara, Hinata, Neji, etc.) are basically only used for the advancement of the main characters (see: Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, Sai, etc.).
Enjoyment -- 7
Okay. Filler. Filler. Filler. OMG Awesome episode-! No, wait, filler.
The enjoyment of Naruto is spliced up -- the fillers are generally boring and only put out to keep the massive drones that support Naruto appeased -- but I have to admit, there are some pretty awesome fight sequences and battle scenes. If you are one of the people who likes to skip over / breeze through filler, then you will get a greater enjoyment out of Naruto Shippuuden as a whole. It seems as of late like they've been stretching each of the episodes out a little more than needed (as if to give the manga an already larger head start which it doesn't need), but I'm willing to chalk that up as a decision to explain what's happening fully. At the moment, a lot of complicated drama and plots are coming together and unfolding, so the pace doesn't need to be as fast as in the manga. Regardless, counting filler, enjoyment is about a 7. Without it, it would be an 8 or 8.5; just filler would be a 4.5ish. So as a whole, it's a 7.
Overall - 7.5
TLDR:
You can't really put "halfs" on these reviews, so I decided to be generous and give it that extra .5. Out of the "kings" of shonen mainstream anime, Naruto definitely is not the worst (see: One Piece, Bleach) but not as refined as the best (see:Fullmetal Alchemist). It has very strong story and sound elements, and can have both very crappy and very well made art. The character development for main characters is fantastic -- just not so much for the static and supporting characters. The enjoyment value is high when it's following the manga and not in filler -- it is dismal when it is in filler, though. Overall, it's a decent series. Maybe not watching 400 episodes worth if you want to catch up / are starting new, but not a bad series by any means.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Dec 6, 2009
When I first picked up Fairy Tail, I had heard much hype from friends -- that it would pose a challenge to the big four kings of shonen anime, e.g. Naruto/Bleach/One Piece/Fullmetal Alchemist. After watching the first few episodes, I could not decide whether I hated it or loved it. I gave it a 6 for many reasons, but I personally have started to follow it and hope it develops.
Story: 8
The story is one of interesting concept, not over-done in anime right now: a world of magicians and wizards, where everyone has the ability to do some form of magic. At the start, I was
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confused whether Fairy Tail was a shonen or a shojo. We start off with an adorable, innocent looking girl aspiring to become a great wizard. Each wizard belongs to a guild, sort of an organization that gathers people together as allies (think Squad in Bleach, Hidden Village in Naruto, or crew in One Piece, etc.).
The story progresses as you are set up with your protagonists being very under developed but having an interesting(at first) plot. Lucy, the main character, is the aspiring girl who was thrust into the guild Fairy Tail. She is quickly taken under Natsu's wing, one of the strongest wizards in Fairy Tail. Of course, given this, Natsu is incredibly powerful and can wipe the floor with any normal opponent, reminiscent of Bleach's Ichigo and his godlike powers. Other equally-god-like characters are introduced to create what attempt to be fair battle sequences, but fail as it is obvious through some "I-WIN" method that Natsu and Lucy are always going to win. The one redeeming factor of the story is the little change found in Lucy as well as the occasional good moral or funny scene.
Art: 5
The art almost made my eyes bleed. It was so blatantly attempting to fanservice people it almost made me cringe. The art would go from intense battle sequences, with at least some effort put it, to some low quality form of joke with little to no imagination. The art seemed mediocre at best, being bested by many 90s anime(see: Rurouni Kenshin / DBZ). While older anime may not have been as "clean" as a new one like Fairy Tail, the art is clearly sloppy and the episodes made to be a cash cow.
Sound: 6.5
Sound is a decent factor in this. None of the tracks are memorable (see: Lena Park's rendition of "You Raise Me Up," found in Romeo X Juliet). It can be fitting at times, and the OP and ED are not too bad. It looks as though the creators of Fairy Tail actually tried to find some appropriate music and settings, though it cannot save the anime.
Character: 5
Static. Static static static bland boring static. You are introduced to the main few characters within the first two or three episodes, and then from there, besides Lucy, there is no development. Each of the characters has some rivalry or funny quirk that attempts to make them seem less Mary Sue, but basically all of the characters short of Lucy are godly powerful and make others worship them. The one aforementioned, Natsu, was trained by a dragon and can utilize fire to deadly possibilities. The line is even said that he could reduce an entire city to rubble...which implies how incredibly unbalanced it seems. Likewise, the characters seem to jump in power from average to within seconds godlike, having a decent battle sequence followed by an overly-powered God-like maneuver performed by a protagonist. The only worthwhile watch here is that of Lucy, who seems to progress and gain some depth.
Enjoyment: 6.5
For the first two episodes, I was IM'ing a friend saying "This can't be a legit anime. It's like Fruits Basket and One Piece had a baby which was then hit over the head with a waffle iron." But the anime slowly grew on me, regardless of the low quality of animation, lack of character development, or general idea of plot. Being such a shonen sucker, I keep watching Fairy Tail hoping it can at least turn out to be something similar to One Piece, Bleach, or Naruto -- something at least watchable. For the new viewer of anime, it is a good easer into the more intense stuff, but overall I would give this anime a 6.5 / 10, solely for its lack of effort, when it was hyped to be a very good anime and manga.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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