Downloaded Episodes: 1

Downloaded Episodes: 24

Ride Back:
Mecha, Military, Racing
2009
12+ because of animated violence. Do not expect giant mecha battles and Gundam style machine upgrades, think recreation and being caught in the wrong place at the wrong time and you get the idea of how the show flows for the main character. I think in the reality of RideBack everyone has forgotten how to ride a motor cycle and decided to put training wheel arms on the bikes. Anyway the show starts with Rin Ogata, main character, performing as an up and coming ballerina. On stage she gets injured and ends up giving up the practice. Few years later Rin is starting College and stumbles across the ride back club, this is destiny. Rin has everything it takes to become a top rider with her superb sense of balance and focus but there is more to ridebacks than just fun and games. The GGP has taken over the world and has put in place a military dictatorship, and as things like this happen there will be…that’s right terrorist/freedom fighter groups in opposition.
This show is 2009 and it shows, especially when it comes to the animation style. Usually I am not a fan of the computer animation they use to give more depth and realism to the anime, in fact I usually get pissed and toss the show because it looks like crap. Not so with this show, the machines are sleek and actually add to the quality of the animation. The animation without the help of the computer graphics is well done in its own right with plenty of detail. Story and plot wise I feel that the plot has been done before, several times. So, to change things up they throw in a story where the main character has no interest in combating the military force and whose only real interest is protecting her friends. This is where the wrong place at the wrong time comes in. Her attempts to evade capture and death have turned her into a legend among the youth of the nation. Musically the typical openings and endings apply here and some upbeat music is thrown in for riding music. Character wise the writing has them all changing to fit the scenario but I’m not sure I agree with the way they went with Rin, especially with her talent being as great as it is, they don’t even have her continue in the racing circuit. The enjoyment I got from this anime is somewhere between happy and frustrated at the direction. All in all not a bad show by any stretch, but not one that I’ll be keeping. 7.9/10.0…how can you put an incredible machine and an amazing talent together and then decide that they should be a minor factor in the outcome of the story.

Animation Style: 9.5
Character qualities: 7.5
Music: 8.0
Plot and story: 7
Enjoyment: 7.5

Downloaded Episodes: 12

Library Wars
Action Comedy, Social Sci-Fi
2007
12+ is my recommendation, there isn’t much in the way of gore but there is animated military action and it can get kinda violet in some of those times. This is one of the more interesting shows I’ve picked up merely because of the social implications at the center of the story. Japan has passed a law which for all intents and purposes bans media of any sort which is deemed harmful to Japanese society (no clear rules are presented), all print, movies, music, etc are confiscated and probably burned. This is censorship extreme, enforced by an armed group under government control, and the only ones who have the right to keep the banned materials happen to be the Libraries. The libraries themselves keep an arsenal of weapons and librarians are even trained militarily, training which is used regularly. Don’t worry though there are some bright spots to this show, there’s lots of comedy.
The story has us follow Iku Kasahara as she enters the library force and is placed in the elite combat unit. This story is not without hilarity, intrigue, and romance not to mention plenty of military action. The pace is pretty quick and given that there are only 12 eps only one show could have been considered filler but it was important filler at that. Animation style was easy to watch yet detailed enough to be interesting to the eyes and not bland, easily not problematic. Character development was the only department in which this show is caught lacking. I don’t mean that the characters are stagnant only that the case is usually that the main character is the one developing the most, in this case though I find Atsushi Dojo actually beat out Kasahara for top honors. Music is not what you should look for when you watch this show, the opening and endings are the focus but I didn’t find either song enjoyable just bland for an show that is actually interesting. Finally, this show didn’t really ever lose my attention; it moved quickly and addressed every problem. There was enough comedy to break up the tension and enough tension to hold my interest. If you liked Skip Beat you’ll probably find this one to be nearly the same thing only with guns and books. 7.7/10.0; a solid anime with an important topic.
Plot and story: 7.5
Animation Style: 8
Character qualities: 8.5
Music: 6.5
Chance of not sucking at any given time: 8

Downloaded Episodes: 12