11 Eyes:
Fantasy Romance, Special Powers, Extra Dimensions
2009
15+ due to bloody scenes, animated violence, and Sexual Situations although I think the eventual mental instability of one of the characters is more disturbing than all of the above.
The setting for this show is modern day Japan (pre-disaster) in your average high school. Main characters, Kakeru and Yuka, are old friends and are getting close to having a serious relationship when they are sucked into a dimension only accessible to a few people who unbeknownst to themselves have been implanted with a shard of an witch’s power. In this dimension people are attacked by gelatinous monsters and their controllers, 6 members called “The Black Knights.” These knights are keeping a little girl imprisoned within a crystal so as to seal her powers and those with the witches shards are the only ones capable of setting her free.
The rest is spoilers from here on. Kakeru and Yuka are especially sought after by the Black Nights (who turn out to be the good guys) because Kakeru’s eye can see into the future and Yuka’s power comes from the fact that this is actually her reality they are fighting in so she can nullify power. The duty of the Black Nights is to kill those holding the shards to prevent the crystallized girl (evil witch that wants to destroy the world) free. Here the writers decided that it was best to create a second hand plot twist and not have the Black Nights tell the shard bearers so the Black Nights end up looking like the bad guys. As a result of constant attacks Kakeru and Yuka meet several other shard bearers increasing there odds of unknowingly setting the evil witch free.
Technically this show is sound with the typical opening, ending, and situational music only and decent animation styles. Character wise it’s another plus for this show. They are interesting and their relationships to one another have large impact on the outcome, so well done there. Now I get to destroy all the good I’ve just done for the show. This show was not fun to watch, in fact, by the end I was debating just deleting it and watching something that only marginally disappointed me. Only one character was developed fully as powers and person were concerned, the main protagonist was a pansy, the swordsman girl was given several kick ass swords (none of which were really explained) and their powers were never really used. They gave one guy (who should have been way more influential) the power of flame and only give him one technique. The love interest of Kakeru was a nut job that couldn’t really care if the world ended so long as she had Kakeru and then she could nullify any power so she chooses be a pain in the ass instead of a help. Finally the sword girl was the obvious choice in who is a better girl friend but again lets go with the weak willed psycho. 6.4/10.0 for all the above. No quote, this show sucked.

Plot and story: 6.0
Animation Style: 7.0
Character qualities: 7.0
Music: 7.0
Enjoyment: 5.0

Downloaded Episodes: 12

Sports, Action, Comedy
2006

17+ for action violence, adult situations, upper body nudity. Despite the age rating this is still one of the more innocent shows. I say this as its hilarious and most of the nudity is used comically. All right this show takes roller blades to the steroid extreme, and I was a pair of Air Treks when they make’m like this. Basically they have taken your good old fashion roller blades and put motors inside the wheels, allowing for insane stunts and the formation of a culture involved in battle amongst each other, even a pseudo-religion of sorts. Ikki who is a kind of mystery as he really doesn’t have any parents is being taken care of by 4 strange girls who just happen to be legendary AT (air trek) riders. He doesn’t know much of AT only that they are cool. His mischief winds up giving way to the creation of his own team and eventually a plot twist that shakes the whole culture of AT’s to the core. He will along the way meet up with some of the most unusual human beings I could have imagined. I love this anime, not only because it involves insane stunts but also explains some of the physics behind them making it sound possible. Also the music is good, the character design is good, as is the plot, and obviously for a show like this character development is a must. "ok, ok just don’t eat me"

Downloaded Episodes: 25

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion
Mecha, Drama, Alternate History
2007

Age 15+ for bits of nudity, action violence, and some suggestive content. When the writers began with this show they asked the question "To defeat evil would you become evil itself?". Cross tactics with Gundam Seed and say the British Empire won the revolutionary war and you’d have a show like this one. Basically the British Empire is on a conquest for world domination with the last holdouts being China and some other smaller nations. In Japan/ Area 11 the British have been in power for 7 years and the rights of the conquered Japanese taken away. An active terrorist organization holds out hope to spark a revolution and take back Japan but with the Brits having far superior technology there really is no hope. That is until Lelouch is given the power to command anyone. Lelouch disguised as Zero then rushes to aid the terrorists with his brilliant tactics and seething hatred for the emperor/ father who tossed him out and may have had a hand in killing his mother and crippling his sister. Suzaku an old friend of Lelouch and an ace mech pilot is also a key player here and true to Gundam form both are secretly pitted against one another with the fate of a nation in the balance. This show though resembling much in the way of Gundam’s tech races and friend vs. friend theme has a much more modern and realistic aspect to it.
Ok lets do the break down animation style is not extremely detailed but more of a nice average appearance. The mechs look like shiny new cars despite having appendages and the people are Mcjaggar skinny with the lanky arms and legs. This appearance gives elegance to most things and grandiosity to theatrical moments. Finally the battle animation is excellent when depicting strong vs. strong. There is a great deal of character development and quality of design. The main characters are all mostly school aged and actually attend school, they have funny quirks to them and are interconnected much in the same way most school friends would be. Through out the show every important character is put into a situation which is difficult and emotionally expensive resulting in a change. These characters evolve with the show or die. Kudos to Sunrise for making a mech show where people are actually people and not genetically or chemically enhanced some how. Music is not really a strong point in this show but they do a good job regardless, the openings and endings are pretty average of today’s shows but the situational music in the show is what catches you, it may not be fantastic but it is tasteful and well played. The plot of this show is probably the biggest draw of all the talking points. Some twists are expected and some ploys are common uses in mech shows but there are plenty of great surprises and on edge occurrences which keep this show both interesting and entertaining…it’s a mech show with a good story. Finally I was never really board with this show, the pacing was right on and though much action is used the writers have made sure that there is a light hearted element that is never abandoned yet easily not the focus of this show. 8, 9, 7, 9.5, 9…8.5/10…WTF Nina, seriously, you’re messed up.

Downloaded Episodes: 25

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2
Mech, Drama, Alternate History
2008

14+ for scantily clad women, action violence, and some suggestive content. The rebellion has been repelled and the dissenters captured. Lelouch has had his memories rewritten and a battalion of intelligence babysitting him incase he regains them while the rest of the Britanian empire searches for C.C. Immortals are crafty though and Lelouch a genius at tactics and theatrics. It doesn’t take long for Lelouch to once again don Zero’s façade and rescue his disenfranchised colleagues. The second rebellion begins with renewed vigor but not without some doubt and classic Zero surprises. The original cast returns for a second season and a new group is added to fill in this final season. Several twists and turns are thrown in and final ambitions revealed in this season.
This show is nearly a carbon copy of the original as far a quality goes that is if you don’t mind brilliantly connected plans and plots. Nearly all the unanswered questions are attended to in a direct way and if you look closely enough they are all answered. The ending is also a shock surprise that given the previous story line few could predict. The animation style this season is exactly the same as the previous season so no changes there. The music hasn’t changed aside from the openings and endings and they are better this season I think. Character development is an easy improvement given the number of added characters and a Gundam like plot. Even Nunnely gets a major role in this one. Any other information you might need about this show can be found in the notes I have on the original.

Downloaded Episodes: 25

Downloaded Episodes: 26

Kekkaishi:
Supernatural Action Comedy
2006-08
12+ for animated action violence. If you liked Shaman King and were ok with Yugio than this show will please you too. The premise is simple two families are feuding over the successorship of who is to protect a land which, since feudal times, has had strange mystical powers. These mystical energies have a tendency to give extreme boosts of power to demons and so it is coveted by demon kind. Now in the modern day the feud is superficial if anything and a school has been built on the sacred ground. It’s a case of student by day and protector by night.
The plot of this story is obvious almost to the point of cruelty towards the audience so I won’t bother going into it. Setting is modern day Japan…’nough said. As far as character development goes it is a mainstay of this show. The main character starts out as an idiot blessed with tremendous ability and eventually turns into a natural tactician blessed with tremendous ability and a moral code. The music of this show unlike other shows is not a detractor from the quality. Though situational, the music is upbeat and entertaining. While the music is good the animation is decent to average with the occasional really good scene thrown in. I know I know I don’t have much to say about the show and what I have said isn’t very positive but this show is meant for kids. If I had to guess it may show up in American Saturday morning cartoons sometime. 6.9/10…Again the target audience is children so I’m a little biased.

Downloaded Episodes: 52

Downloaded Episodes: 24

Kurokami
Action Fantasy, Special Powers, Proxy Battles
2009
12+ because of animated violence (which is what the whole show is about) and all that comes with beating the crap out of each other but the gore is kept to a minimum. I’m not really into proxy battle shows b/c they usually pale in comparison to PvP with the same circumstances. This one in, all honesty, isn’t much different than Zatch Bell except that combat sequences are far more interesting and they have that “ouch” factor when someone get’s put through a car window. Also there are no stupid books to read from just go out there and hit the guy and then we’ll call on your power to finish them. This show is set in future Japan although it does seem like it is modern day with the flooding.
So here’s the set up, the writers have gone with chi power and to balance the worlds chi there exists a race of guardians who are hidden from view. Also a system is set up to distribute the chi to people it is called the doppel liner system, think doppelgangers here and you’ll have some clue. Any way to make this system interesting one of the three copies gets the majority of the luck (the root) and one gets the least possible leaving the last in a happy medium. Further, when one of them sees another the person with the lowest luck gets killed by strange accident. Our main character (Keita Ibuki) is a struggling programmer who accidentally witnesses a fight between a Mototsumitama (guardian race) and another powerful person. As a result of this fight he is fatally injured. Kuro (the guardian) makes a contract with him to save his life and now he is reluctantly involved in the fight to save the Mototsumitama and prevent the world’s chi control from falling into the wrong hands. These hands belong to a company trying to gather together all the roots and thus all the power to rule.
The plot of this anime is really not unique in that Zatch Bell used it two years earlier. Sure there’s little twists and the fight is more about the human world than the guardians, but it’s still the same set up and the proxy still gets their power from the human (an interesting complication when choosing who to make a contract with). Just the same I didn’t run from the show. Animation style is modern and really suits a fighting show so don’t look for extreme detail. Didn’t like the whole Power Ranger bit where the host and proxy synchronize and you have to watch a stupid scene, once in a while is good enough. Character wise a show like this requires characters to advance both in their relationships to others and how they see themselves and this show does it, if not a bit unoriginally. Music is a strong point b/c not only are the opening and endings good but the situational is decent as well. Finally, did I enjoy this one? Not as much as I wanted to. It took forever before Keita stopped being a pansy, didn’t give you enough time with the team of good guys that eventually form, and we have another stupid woman who thinks that the way to show her love is to try and kill the one she loves. All in all 7.2/10.0. Not a bad show just not one that’s all that original and inspiring. If you wanna keep something from this one get the sound track.

Plot and story: 7
Animation Style: 8
Character qualities: 7
Music: 7.5
Enjoyment: 6.5

Downloaded Episodes: 23

Shangri-La:
Science Fiction
2009

Were looking at 15+ on this one for some animated gore and gender bender material. This show is about the oppression of the poor by the rich, so socio-economical injustice. But, that’s just the surface what this is really about is who gets to control the city of Atlas. Virtually forgotten and with the jungle expanding every year, gorilla movements against, what has become and authoritarian dictatorship, spring up. One of these groups is looked to as the leader and has a small girl with a boomerang and two transvestites (one of whom kicks ass). This group is the front for the resistance movement and ultimately is responsible for finishing the job Atlas was built for.
Ok some background, mid 21st century the world has shifted to a CO2 based economics system with countries fortunes rising or falling in an instant. Shortly there after Japan gets rocked by a major earthquake and with the new CO2 regulations rebuilding becomes impossible. It is decided that a giant city will be built which can house the entirety of Japans population. This idea is all well and good but most of the people never end up being relocated, in fact the vast majority doesn’t. With only Atlas seeing any of the modern amenities Tokyo becomes what is termed as a jungle-opolis. But, what is really going on behind the scenes? I’m not gonna spoil it but things get weird when you get close to seeing the true mastermind here. Anyway, on top of the gorilla groups and Atlas there exists a hidden financial institution run by a little girl and a super computer. These guys make a financial killing by manipulating the CO2 markets.
The technical aspects of this show were solid. Animation wise the character designs were crisp and typical for modern styles of anime. Characters were interesting and had good back stories. The two transvestites for example come to play pivotal roles because of their personalities and station. All together the characters tie into the plot very well. Music wise, the show is mostly situational music with the opening and endings being the highlight but seeing as how this show isn’t about music it really can’t be blamed all that much. Plot and story are pretty solid until the very end when they throw a twist at you which is scarcely hinted at (I’m not gonna ruin this for you) and they chose to place at the end. Otherwise I have no qualms with this. I enjoyed this show even if they take a sharp right at the last possible moment. The characters give you plenty of humor and the issues involved held my attention. My only problem with the entertainment was the medusa company which slowed the show down and ultimately struggled to maintain relevance. Good Show 7.6/10.0…why is the girls’ weapon a boomerang when she looses it all the time?

Animation Style: 8
Character qualities: 8
Music: 7
Plot and story: 7.5
Enjoyment: 7.5

Downloaded Episodes: 24

To Aru Majutsu no Index II
Action, Fantasy, Special Powers
2011
Let’s go with 15+ for animated violence and profanity. Our favorite characters are back at it saving Academy City and the world from forces evil and power hungry. All power players are still present, some in new forms (aka minor characters), some in altered forms (accelerator), and still others in more expanded roles (English Church). Yet once again Toma finds himself at the center of everything, usually by choice. Can the elite of Academy City find a way to stave off all those trying to find there way in?
Ok I’m gonna tell you now that if you’ve watched the first season you may just want to consider this second one a special arc. The stories in this one don’t carry the same weight that the first one’s did, actually it’s kinda sad how bad they are. Furthermore, Index doesn’t really get to strut her stuff which is enough to tick me off. I think this is a case where the author tried to cram too many story ideas into one season and his work suffers because of it.
Time for the numbers. As I said before the plot and story are really lacking. In the first season questions had to be answered and what was really happening was a mystery. Here they just shoved all the answers in your face right off the bat. Animation style looks good and easy to watch while being expressive at the same time. Character qualities are the same from last season and no movement should be expected in this one, for some reason. The only characters that show much development are the minor characters. Music is again your standard intro, ending, and situational but at least they all sit right. Did I enjoy this anime? Not really. I was excited about its release and looked forward to it but in the end this season just fizzled out like crappy fireworks. 7.0/10.0 Plot and story really killed this season, way to screw up a sure second season.

Plot & Story: 6.5
Animation Style: 7.5
Character Qualities: 7.5
Music: 7
Enjoyment: 6.5

Downloaded Episodes: 24