Nurarihyon no Mago

Edited this review by the way :)
Grammar Nazis? GTFO lol. This review is not for you. Why not create your own then? :P

Glad that my friend let me watch this great stuff.
Okay now let’s start.
What will you do if you will become a powerful commander?

Story: 9/10
The story revolves around Nura Clan. A Clan of “youkai” that controls 10,000 demons. Amongst them is what they called “supreme commander” a very powerful “youkai”.
Now for the protagonist story so far. Nurarhiyon no Mago didn’t lack story backgrounds at all. They explained what happened in the past with the right execution. Except for the flashbacks that his ... season lacked. The jabs also were at the right timing and in the right scene.
The first antagonist didn’t lack also the background which is a factor plus because you know why he did that and those. Over all pacing are great. There is no filler. None at all. Some scenes from manga are cut here and placed at the second season instead.

Art: 8/10
IMO the sword/katana fighting are the main stream of this, the animation was great. Also the opening credits were great it’s well drawn. The ending credits weren’t that good compare to the opening. The chibi or the miniture forms of the characters didn’t fit. The genre of this was supposed to be "Monster" not a "Cute" or "Moe" one.
The youkai are well drawn, Animations are really great.

Sound: 8/10
Opening song was great. Fast Forward by Money Majik. Every time I’m listening to the full version I also sang.The BGM when Nurarhiyon attacks a youkai has a good execution. The back ground tracks fit every scene Nurarhiyon no Mago has to offer. What destroyed the good sounds is the ending song. It didn’t fit what genre nurarhiyon has. The 2nd one didn't make it for me either.

Characters: 8/10
The characters fit what personalities they have. Adding characters while the story progress with their background is also a plus factor, at the same time Rukio is “growing” every episode. They also didn’t lack time executing who is going to “grow” with the explanation.
The character development is great. Overall the adaption from the manga onto an anime didn't lacked anything except less than 10 chapters form the start but not that huge character back story. Try to read the manga first rather knowing it here (at the review)

Enjoyment: 9/10
I really did enjoy this. Various scenes will be enjoyable while watching this. You will be caught in suspense, laugh at the jabs and get excited on the katana fights. And this anime already leave a huge impression to me and still continued for the 2nd season!

Final Score: 9/10
It’s up to you to decide whether you gonna watch this or ditch it, but imo this anime is great. The jokes are in the right time. Great Music and the BGM is really mixed on the scenes. Great Art and Character development.

If there's one word I could describe Nurarihyon no Mago, it would have to be BORING.

Having read the adaptation I really had high hopes for this series as the formula to which Mago is about, is seldom used in shonén anime and if done right, would have definitely been one of the better series for 2010.

...but like I said, BORING. Here's why:

Story - 8
Nurarihyon no Mago is a tale of the supernatural. It's a tale of demons and spirits and the co-existence between their kind and ours. It's also a tale of Rikuo Nura and how he takes over his grandfathers clan known as ... the Hyakki Yakō, a clan made up of yōkai(demons) and other familiar spirits of Japanese folklore. Nurarihyon no Mago is about the trials and tribulations Rikuo goes through to achieve being the head of that clan(to which at first he has no interest in) while knowing that he is only a quarter yōkai himself.

What makes the story even more interesting is how the Nura yōkai clan portray chivalry, similar to those you'd find in yakuza(Japanese gangster) movies, and how this series uses fear to gauge their strength.

Nurarihyon no Mago is Rikuo's story, as he struggles to find his place between both worlds, and it's a tale of superiority between other yōkai clans as you'll find in the second half of the series.

So far so good right? So what went wrong?

Art & Animation - 6
This is where it was a miss for me. While I was happy the art stayed true to Hiroshi Shiibashi's manga, giving you a richly detailed account to Japan's yōkai like you'd find in an old Japanese tapestry, I was really disappointed in its animation. For a shonén title, the series really lacked 'fluidity' for a better word making each scene seem like your watching still-frame art from the 90's. The execution and pacing was lacking and for a series made late 2010, the choreography was non-existent.

While there are times when you think animation might improve(like watching the intricacies of a Sakura tree blossom at night), you are let down the next moment when characters clash....very...slowly. Even anime such as Hikaru no Go, which is a series about an Asian 'bored' game provided better excitement. I usually have a benchmark when it comes to shonén anime(specially ones released in the last few years) and Mago simply did not cut it for me.

If I had to make a comparison to Mago's animation, it would probably come close to Samurai Deeper Kyo(which aired back in 2002), another anime that had all the right premises but didn't deliver.

Yes, Nurarihyon no Mago may have picked up after 20 episodes into the series, but that's 20+ episodes too late! For some people, an anime is good if it entices you through the first few episodes. NOT at the very end where people have already dropped it or have put it on hold waiting for someone to tell them to pick it up again. It's not fine wine which you to mature(unless you're one who don't drop anime regardless)

Sound - 5
While I have no complaints about the voice actors chosen for Mago(besides the obvious of some being miscasted), where I really felt the series was also lacking was a 'strong' musical score. Shonén anime can be gripping when a running score is played in the background. The series I mentioned earlier, Hikaru no Go is a very good example to this in that it has such a moving soundtrack, that regardless how boring the game is played in Hikaru it still keeps you riveted, and at times even on edge. Whilst Nurarihyon no Mago does have BGM running(softly), none felt suited to the tempo of each scene making it seem like I was watching an 80's series due to just hearing dialogue.

I will commend that the OP's for both arcs in the series were consistent( with both titles performed by Monkey Majik) giving you that feeling for what the show is going to be, but I'll be honest and admit that the ED's(performed by Katate☆Size) just did not feel appropriate for each ending episode. Instead of thinking I was watching a series about demons and the supernatural, the upbeat tempo at the end of each episode made it sound like it was done by a backyard DJ adding music to his favorite home video.

Characters - 6
The series as a whole only really shines through its characters. For one, you have Rikuo who is a quarter yōkai which means like any shonén anime, there is a part of the main character that would make any fan who's into transformations go: "Wow! Sick! I want to see more of this!" And I admit, when I had first read the adaptation, I was pretty much all over it the moment Rikuo turned into the 'Master of the Night'.

Just seeing his transformation made me feel like a little boy again watching Goku turn into Super-Saiyijinn 3.

Nurarihyon no Mago also features a huge cast of characters which at most 'can' be likable, but I wouldn't start saying that they'd be memorable like other well known shonén supporting characters and the only one I'd take real note of is Kiyotsugu(of the Kiyo Paranormal Squad) who happens to probably be the most annoying side character in all of anime history.

Enjoyment and Overall - 5
In all honesty, I have mixed feelings for this series as a part of me wants to grow to like it thanks to having known how the manga continues, while the other half is screaming "Bloody Murder!" at the anime director.

Overall I am clearly disappointed with Mago as an anime due to the segments I had mentioned earlier and I'm surprised that it's even getting a second season when there are clearly far better anime out there who hasn't seen the light of day since they first aired(Berserk & Kenichi to name a few). I can only hope that they find a better director(or another studio take it up) for season 2 as there is no way I'd be buying the first once its licensed.

Nurarihyon no Mago is more 'superficial' then it is supernatural and at best may pass time for people with nothing to do, but it definitely isn't praiseworthy let alone top-shelf when it comes to action anime.

Ah...Nurarihyon no Mago. An interesting anime indeed.

Before I start reviewing, I have to admit, I'm a big sucker for Jun Fukuyama voicing characters with alter egos (e.g. Lelouch/Zero in Code Geass, Ryner/Ryner with Alpha Stigma activated in Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu and of course, Rikuo Day/Rikuo Night in Nurarihyon no Mago), so excuse me if I sound a bit biased here.

Now, on to the actual review:

Story (7/10): You have your classic reluctant hero, Nura Rikuo, heir to the Nura Clan. 3/4 human and 1/4 youkai, he lives a normal school life by day and controls an army of youkai by night. The story details ... the challenges Rikuo face as a part human in a youkai household and as a part youkai in human society. Sounds cliched, right? I agree. Even so, the story isn't all that bad. Although the development of the plot is painfully slow, it also allows the viewer to gain a greater insight into the characters.

Art (8/10): Studio Deen has never really done a bad job with their animations, so there's nothing much I can critique here. I really liked the colour contrast between the human and youkai societies. You can see that anything relating to humans generally has warmer colours, whereas anything relating to youkai generally has cooler colours.

Sound (7/10): The OSTs in this anime are brilliant. Then again, I shouldn't say OSTs, because it's more like just one OST with many variations, but it still sounds good nonetheless. Seiyuus were well casted for the most part, though I really don't think Akira Ishida sounds good in any part except Arthrun Zala from Gundam Seed, no offense. Again, I'm a sucker for Jun Fukuyama voicing characters with "double" lives, so I have no complaints there. Openings were...decent. Endings were...not so decent. Not the best OPs or ENDs I've seen recently.

Character (9/10): Like I mentioned earlier, I think the characters were well developed because of the slow movement of the plot. There were some crucial flashblacks that I really enjoyed because they cleared up character motivations brilliantly (e.g. Gyuki's flashback regarding his relationship with the Nurarihyon and Kana's flashback regarding her relationship with Night Rikuo). However, because of the large cast of youkai, not many of them are examined in detail, so many of the characters are just kind of there...you don't really know much about them other than little insignificant hints dropped here and there.

Enjoyment (7/10): I must say, I enjoyed this anime, mostly because of its subtle comedy. The names of the youkai are hilarious first of all. Kubinashi (literally meaning "no neck") has no neck. I found that funny. Kana's misunderstanding about Rikuo. I totally saw it coming, but I laughed anyways. Everytime Rikuo transformed, I also laughed, mostly because it reminded me of the cliched: weak character becomes strong through wicked transformation. The worst thing about the anime by far is the slow plot development. And when I say slow, I mean slow. The Shikoku arc was like 12 episodes, when it really should've been something like 6 because half of it was about Rikuo hesitating.

Overall (7/10): It was good, but hey, if you have as much time on your hands as I do, go do something productive instead. Cheers!

I was looking forwad to this show, as i had heard a lot of good things about its source. After the first episode i felt euphoric; a shounen that would provide bad ass fights, but has a dark background, and looks like it will avoid the pitfalls of the others. A plot based on the complexity of a nation of youkai but the simplicity of a shounen. A mix of the happy day rikou and the dark mysterious commander at night.

Expectation: 8-9
Episode Scores: -,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-, 5, 5, 3, 2, 6, 7, 6, 5
Actual: 4 (Bad)

However while everything could have been promising every episode i cried about ... the pace. There was not really anything horribly wrong with the story, and it was really good to tell the truth. Yet, the story crawls at a snails pace that it just ruins the whole experience. Through the start i was just thinking of how the build up was great, but then it hit me. The climax could never reach those expecations it builds up for a whole season. I had my hopes up since it was only 26 episodes, but it felt like i was watching reborn, naruto, bleach. It felt like i was watching filler!

The fights were not impressive. They were good in that Nura kicks ass with nothing more than his brain and a sword, but the animation is poor and honesty the expectation issue comes back again. They did not make up for the wait either. Another complaint is how there was also no real challenge for Nura throughout the season either.

The youkai characters did not get a lot of air time or development at all but they seemed interesting. The majority of the characters are intelligent, respectable, and most of all extremely useful by nature. They follow Nura because his is an indeed admirable character; he is not our typical useless lead, but smart and knows how to put on a good show for us. I was cheering at him at multiple points in the show for his impressive displays. That said his school friends play little part. In fact they are total weights on the story; they don't do anything yet get just as much air time as the youkai. Another issue is how they can all stay in the headquarters for youkai over a weekend and not even meet one. Essentially if i said that the girls go help his mom cook dinner you can infer the level of depth and intelligence given to them.

As soon as i wrote down these initial thoughts i went and started the manga. Decide ending on such a depressing note i read the large quantity of chapters to the most recent one in a few days. I will leave it on a note, seeing the anime first, that the manga is many times superior. If you don't want to read it, then you will be watching a pretty bad adaption.

I was very excited to watch this show and had been looking forward to the first episode, and it was quite a letdown. That was my opinion of the first episode. And I would say after watching the first episode, I would have given this show a 6.

I felt the same after watching the second episode.
I was feeling quite disapointed with this show, but as the episodes progressed, I came to enjoy the episodes more and now at five episodes I know that it's a show I plan on watching all the way through.

That isn't meant to say that the show magically became interesting and ... the plot twisted to something really epic. It isn't like that at all. If you're looking for an intense and suspensful anime, I don't think this is the right choice for you.

Basically, the show is about a boy named Rikuo, who is a weak kid and happens to have a separate form of a demon that takes over sometimes and kicks ass. After just that one sentence, you can see that this story is not completely original and for the most part follows the same path as hundreds of other shows. Which is why I only give this show an 8. There is nothing that stands out from other anime shows from what I have watched.
I'm not trying to put this show down! Don't get me wrong. It's just not as awesome as other shows I've watched.

8 / 10 in my opinion. It's not incredible, but it's not horrible.

I happened to stumble on this anime by accident. I wasn't looking to watch a new anime, but I saw a picture and was immediately drawn to the image of Rikuo in his demon form and thought I'd give it a shot. Boy, am I glad I did!

The story line is great, though the first few episodes are quite slow and repetitive, but it's enough to keep you interested. It's only on episode 11 as of this week, but I'm already hooked and can't wait to see how it pans out.

The art is spot on. I love the character designs, especially Rikuo's demon form. For ... some reason I'm really loving the hair, it's so unique and fits the character to a tee. Very easy on the eyes. ;o)

The opening theme is catchy! I have it stuck in my head all the time. The ending theme....not so much.

There's some romantic vibes starting up which has me quite interested to see what comes of it. I thoroughly enjoy a good love story!

Overall, this anime has been fantastic and it's only getting better. I hope a second season is in store!!

Nurarihyon is a unique take on the yokai genre, and a very enjoyable one at that. I have to admit, when I first started watching the show I immediately thought: "Oh great, it's a yokai version of Katekyou Hitman Reborn."
But Nurarihyon no Mago isn't as naive, and it keeps surprising you in little ways.
The story starts with a 12 year old boy, Nura Rikuo, who lives in a house full of yokai, and is a quarter yokai himself, and thus his true demon form can only be released for a quarter of a day, under cover of darkness. He is the grandson of Nurarihyon, ... the Supreme Commander of Yokai, and is next in line for succession. But he doesn't want to be a Supreme Commander of all the Yokai, he wants to live as a human. However circumstances do not allow him to remain detached, and the manner in which he embraces his inheritance, with fully formed resolve and responsibility is a treat in comparison to other shonen heroes.
The art throughout the show is amazing, and if nothing else I'd watch the show just for the quality of animation.
However, I feel the characters are rather half-baked, especially the demon-form of Rikuo, which leaves a lot of questions unanswered and didn't have much depth for me. He strikes me as just a generic 'Hero' character, which is sort of off-putting.
Otherwise the show is awesome. Definitely a reccomendable show :D

This would be my first ever review so please bear with me haha:D

Nurarihyon is a manga adapted by Studio DEEN. It’s like a combination of Katekyo Hitman Reborn with an Inuyasha infused yokai theme and more. The story is great, even though it’s quite normal being an heir (involuntarily) and fighting of others that want to get your position, too much proving (with regards to your worth as an heir) and those entire allegiances thing with the other characters (value of friendship and trust) and a pretty obvious love interest since the girl the ... protagonist likes looks like her mom with an addition of slightly harem effect with regards to girls liking the protagonist Rikuo, despite all of that I still dig the story. I can’t seem to think of a wow twist in the story YET but like I said it’s still a great animé. It’s refreshing and a sort of stress relief everyday animé, the kind of animé you would love to watch after a heavy day that would make you feel normal again, also when you don’t like those awesome yet problematic and complicate animés that will give you another headache. Another thing is that even if sometimes you know that there’s nothing that much exciting on the next episode you would still want to watch more of it.

The opening themes by monkey majik are AWESOME and the fight scenes too are great. The ending songs are cute because of the chibi version of the three main female lead, Yuki Onna, Kana and Yura singing and dancing to the ending songs. The character designs have those HUGE eyes; I know most animés do have big eyes but theirs are way too big at first you would be like whoa! But after a while you’ll get used to it and some characters still look pretty and some boys (yokai boys since there aren’t much “normal” boys to begin with) are HOT like the male lead, night rikuo himself the yokais (which aren’t on human form) ranges from ugly weird to cute weird but not too scary at all. It’s a must animé that I hope will go main stream.

"My grandson,when will u gonna to succeeding me?" "But i told u i wanna live as a human!"
"How many youkai I must change sake cups with? I'll take the seat of Third Heir and protect the weak youkai" "Darn! If the dawn breaks,his forms will change again and he'll forget for what he just said.What a pity,master.."

Cute in day, handsome in night....!! Very rare youkai in new adventures!
It's very great anime! Tell the truth, I didn't like the art of its manga so much. Kinda make me creepy. But its anime now, have change it! I must said, the design characters drawn me ... first, and then the story! The youkai themselves is drawn very beautiful. Really can inivite both male and female fans to crazy about this anime. Hope the story will also reach the greatest battle of Nuragumi with most strongest youkai, like its manga version

Plus the theme songs! I prefer the opening ^^ Kinda familiar with the music theme,remind me of Harry Potter's music >.< but perhaps it's only my imagine hehhe.

Another review for this show mentioned that it took a few episodes for them to get into it and I have to say that I agree completely. A good while back I watched the first episode, and I was kind of "meh"

Some time later I was a bit bored, so I started reading the manga, and it was kind of the same way. But, after getting through the first few chapters, I found myself really getting into it. Really, this anime is quite a lot of fun, and I would say it is worth it once you get into the meat of the ... story. Anyone who liked InuYasha back in the day should be able to enjoy Nurarihyon.

Now I just have to hope that the anime won't catch up to the manga, so I don't have to deal with fillers....

This anime is bad. Its got a very average and predictable story with problems of telling and not showing. They drop names and nouns as if we are supposed to care. What makes it worse is the over sexual tones throughout, the characters are 12 and 13, is there really a need to have bath scenes? Come on Japan, what are you like... The protagonist does a yugioh and gets a lot older when it's night time and they hint at the conflict being that his 12/13 year old love interest is more interested in his adult version, yikes. I did like the once off ... episode where the yokai slayer girl sees the protagonist and the other demon chick bending down and thinks they are kissing and is openly confused about the plot, thinking that the love interest and protagonist are going out already, I related to this because I also had trouble paying attention to this snore fest of a show. The main villains are introduced towards the last few episodes and the build up is rather weak, they all have basic uninteresting attacks with no real flair on both sides. The villains are posing as school boys, and they set up obvious traps and talk a big game, never felt any bit of tension once. It's a very average show that has some fleeting cute moments, but they are few and far between, all and all a very average and forgettable show, most annoying part is that the demon girl is seen by the humans throughout the show both as a demon and a human and it is never questioned. Also the characters will really cheesely slip up and say something obvious that makes them seem suspicious and it's never questioned either. Weak. Also he's the Lord of pandemonium, the guy is extremely quiet, reserved and well behaved even in his adult form, seems like he really doesn't fit the role at all, the bad guys are kinda right he's a bad leader.

how come you say its only 24 episodes...i watched it and its 26 episodes, i can't even change it.
the story wasn't like so catchy but i liked it and I'm watching it to the end.

Nurarihyon no Mago is neither inspired nor terrible. It's rather mediocre actually, which comes as a disappointment especially since it has a decent MAL score. I like the premise and I tried to be as open-minded as I could. It pleasantly surprised me in some areas; for example, the plot elements suggest some strategic thinking on the part of protagonists and antagonists alike. However, the outrageously bad action in the fight scenes is unforgivable in a shonen anime. Neither the character development nor the dialogue are sufficient to redeem this glaring weakness for this sub-genre.

So let's get that out of ... the way first. I have come to expect bad action in shonen anime, especially older anime, but this anime tries to push the lower bounds of that expectation. Characters stand around spouting long monologues, just begging opponents to skewer them with a surprise attack (if only to shut them up). Martial arts are flashy, unrealistic, and lack any sort of kinetic weight. Expressions are grossly exaggerated, moves are telegraphed, and characters cover distances at inconsistent rates. Damage has varying effects on characters, inversely proportionate to their importance to the story I suppose. Nothing resembles highly skilled fighting which is ugly, abrupt, and brutally efficient. Only small children would be entertained, but given the other subject matter small children are not the target audience.

The worst are the sword duels. Obviously, I don't expect anything approaching realism in an anime. I would, however, appreciate things that LOOK cool, as is the case in some more modern anime. But here, sword fights are mostly blade locks that give the combatants a chance to whisper sweet nothings to each other for long stretches while we yawn. It gets old quickly and makes us wonder if perhaps their animators were on a strict budget or simply lacked imagination.

Other visual elements are also lacking. I suppose the anime was made during that awkward time when CG started gaining traction in anime, and it is mixed in poorly enough with hand-drawn elements to stick out. The art itself hails back to an earlier anime art style that I rather dislike. Monsters look silly and cartoonish rather than terrifying and intimidating. Facial features are mushy and indistinct, and nobody in the cast really stand out as having superior character design.

Why did I score it so highly given these obvious flaws? Well, I was expecting absolutely terrible storytelling to go along with the poor visuals, but some of it seemed well-constructed. At one point an opposing faction invades Nura family territory and instead of a direct assault (which probably would have failed), they do strategically sound things like attacking scouts, making feints, and eroding power base through indirect attacks.

I cannot say ALL the story elements were sound, however. Rikuo, the main character, has the most annoying classmates and they get a huge amount of screen time. They do improbable things that human beings of sound mind would never do. Despite almost dying several times due to youkai activity, they repeatedly put themselves into compromising and dangerous situations. They visit abandoned, remote areas without adult supervision. Somehow they gain permission from their parents to sleep away from home despite the obvious spate of violence and property damage that recurs in town (and very publicly on the news).

There seems to be a cliched love triangle brewing between Rikuo, the childhood friend, and the snow woman bodyguard. There is a tiny amount of character development, mostly in Rikuo who goes from being an annoying, whiny kid to being a slightly less annoying, whiny kid. Beyond that, don't watch this for the character interactions.

Overall, I enjoyed this more than it deserved given the quality of its individual elements. I just happened to like this kind of anime and its sense of style. But it's executed quite poorly and you'll find better examples of the genre elsewhere. Oh, and regarding the music, although most OP and ED are bad in this anime, the worse is the terrible OP during the second half of the season. Is that some kind of country-western R&B hybrid? I don't know, but feels like they went out of their way to offend my ears.

This is my first review, so please leave comments.

Story:

The story is really good, sometimes it just goes a little to fast. There are also a few errors in the story. Because they say in one episode that the enemy is a coward, because the fight with one against two. But two episodes later they do exact the same thing as the enemy, fighting two against one.

Art:

The art was amazing, that is all I can say about it.

... Sound:

The voice acting is well done for the most character. And the openings are really good and they stick in your head.

Characters:

There are good characters, but I didn't like most of the characters.

Enjoyment:

You will enjoy yourself with this anime. Only sometimes you may think why did they put this episode in it, or why did this fight happen. You sometimes just feel like you are watching a useless and not important episodes.

Inlike many others, I enjoed thi series very much.

Story 10/10
Even if you don't know so much about japan and its demons, you will understand what is happening, because after the expalanation who is the boss and who is not so cool you can peacefuly enjoy the plot.

Art 7/10
In some places you could see some mistakes and not good pic, and you certanly will recognise them.Even OP has some bad spots.But the song and music is very adorable.

Sound 8/10
The groop of the sounders is realy good and rather recognizible.
...
Character 9/10
The stuff about all Japanise folk, plusl youkai as a supporting characters who are ruled by a powerful and handsome leader...*__*

Of course in his human form the main character is not so attractive and that could make you feel that you are watching standard anime about a single schooler with outstanding powers or something else.
But while I was wathcing this I hadn't such feelings

Enjoyment 10/10
I wathced all series in one day, because in every next serie you want to know "I want to know what will happen next"!So my eyes were full of interest and I was waiting everything.

Final Score 9/10
I really engoyed this so I coul realy recomend it to others, but maybe if I will totaly know that my opponent like this demon-japanise-history stuff ^__^

Nurarihyon No Mago.

An anime i first noticed when i saw the title, and really liked the pronounciaton of the name Nurarihyon. (Don't judge me)

And to be honest, it's really good. It's far from something groundbreaking, but if you're in the mood for a battle shounen, this is actually one of the better ones out there.

Our main character is a person who is 3/4 human and 1/4 yokai/demon.

This results in the situation that he can only take on his demon form, for 1/4 of the day, specifically, right after midnight. But you can be damn sure, that when he appears, something epic is gonna happen.

The ... human version of rikuo is very stereotypical at times, but in my opinion, it doesn't take that much away from the show.

If you're looking for an intricate plot, then go on to the next review. This anime is not insanely deep. It's a classic battle shounen, with some of the known clichés every now and then, but that didn't keep me from enjoying it.

typical... Typical.... Typical... And i mean it!!

Nurarihyon no mago is a typical anime in relation to a clan who overrules their species with internal and external conflicts. in the series, one would see how the protagonist, rikuo develops into a mature character and you would also see the loyal and cute supporting characters.

but never the less, despite of the common story line, this anime is worth watching. for those people who wanted this type of anime, just try and watch it. it is also action packed series since yokais are involved...

for those people who wanted enjoy series which are not so cunning and scheming, ... you can watch this anime.

Let me start off by saying that Nurarihyon is one sexy Yokai!

*ehem*err* Alright, now I have gotten that out of the way...

Story: 7 - For me it's just the typical Human/Yokai story... it has an 'Inuyasha' feel to it... the plot is not boring, it's actually fast paced, but maybe I was looking for something more... the characters were developed quite nicely and the fight scenes aren't bad either... since Nurarihyon was strong, i wanted the antagonist to be a bada**... Also, the human by day and yokai by night is okay... not that Rikuo is not cute, but i wanted more Nurarihyon... waiting for ... the transformation kinda gets old...

Overall/Enjoyment: 8 - Nura and his clan are so fun to watch... Nurarihyon is the leader of a bunch of Yokai - most of them appear harmless and they'll be the mischievous spirits at best... his most loyal subjects are Yuki Onna, Aotabo, Kurotabo and Kubinashi (Headless)... they provide comic relief to a seemigly serious story... We also have a "love angle" but being 12 yr olds, they are a little bit too young to be excited about... and i like Yura better than Kana, btw...
Ending had a nice feel to it and was not too mushy... though it did make me go 'Aaawww - that's cute...' -
What I also liked best here is the Sakura tree... it was mesmerizing... i am still waiting if it has some kind of significance in the story or maybe i missed it... :P

Now watching the 2nd season and by the looks of it, the 2nd part is much more promising... can't wait... :)

This show has little going for it.
The show is about the protagonist having a demon form at night, and a human form at day. He struggles/comes to a conclusion about his position as the inheritor of a large demon clan.
Seems quite good, but the show is just flawed in all aspects. The plot isn't intriguing at all. You can tell that the plot is just being used to have character development. Well, that's fine, if the characters end up being good, I guess. But, it really doesn't. It's sort of a coming of age story for the protagonist, but it's done terribly. Rushed ... even. It's a fighting anime, but fights are short, boring, and have no purpose. Everything works out for the protagonist, and everyone in the clan basically loves him for no reason. No politics, no backstabbing, no plots, nothing.

Characters other than the protagonist are one dimensional. They all build off the protagonist, so there is no individuality or purpose to them other than to how they can impact the protagonist. The fact that so much of the plot is spent characterizing them is crazy for how boring they really are.
After a few arcs of "characterization" of the cast of characters which I don't care about at all, since they're all boring, comes the big "fight/story progression arc." Woohoo. It's going to be fun, finally seeing what unfolds when the entire clan is faced with a crisis. Well actually, this big arc definitely was the deciding factor. The anime could have been half decent if the big story arc was well made. But it definitely did not work out. The pacing is terrible, the focus on certain characters are weird, and the villains are just "evil people" that want to kill the nura clan. Yeesh. No other characters can fight other than the protagonist or something, and despite the extremely snail's pace that the plot is moving at, it still isn't well thought out or have any depth because the pacing and focus is nonexistent. Logic does not exist within the show. Actions are made that just don't make any sense, and you really what the hell the author was thinking.
You'd really wish that characters would act on their own, independent from the Main character's wishes, and that the enemy plot made any sense at all. Strategy, tactics, etc don't get used at all. I really wish that the story / show spent a lot more time on the entire clan, and other characters' actions, so that this story would be more fleshed out and thoughtful. Instead, it just focuses on the MC to be the "badass" guy that he is and save that day.

Story (6): Don't get me wrong, the story has good potential, but for some reason I kept feeling sometimes it moved too slow and other times it skiped important development and moved too fast.

Art (9): The art is very enjoyable, specially the design of the yokai, each character is very singular and deteiled in it's own way.

Sound (6): The ending quite grows on you, but I think the sound, plus Rikuo's classmates took a lot of the seriousness this story could have had.

Characters (10): Again, the youkai are very varied and well developed, having so many different characters, one would have not thought they would ... take the time to give each one (at least the main ones) a chance to show their abilities and personalities.

Enjoyment (6): I must admit it kept me pretty interested till the end, the fights are quite nicely done.

Overall: If you like youkai, specially the ones that not necesarilly interact with humans as evil creatures, you'll probably enjoy it, don't expect to watch a very serious anime though, prepare for some lighthearted laughs and nice fights.