+Anima

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Ahh, +Anima. Half the readers probably stumbled upon this manga because its name is, alphabetically, one of the first to appear on a manga-hosting website.The other half probably just liked the word "anima" because it sounded pretty. Despite what coincidental "methods" we readers used to find it, +Anima was far from something meagerly amusing, and in fact, was engrossingly endearing in its own right. You can tell a professional storyteller from an amateur one, and Natsumi Mukai is by far the former. A story that's able to be told with stunning and consistent aesthetics, married with heartwarming character development and engaging subplots is difficult to ... find. Look no further, however, because +Anima is one of the most underrated manga I've ever read (according to MAL scoring); I write this review on this sleepy Monday night to bring light to the wonderful +Anima.

STORY: 10
Some lump character development in the "character" section of reviews. I don't disagree that character development is related to the characters themselves. However, MANY stories convey the growth of characters as their means of storytelling. It's not something merely physical such as a journey (though that is the physical plotline of +Anima); story also includes the story of character growth and how their interactions change later on in the manga. Despite other reviewers' relatively lower scores of +Anima's story, I give it a well-deserved 10.

The premise is simple enough. You have children that have the ability to use physical traits of animals, be it because they've been forced to adapt to this ability or whether they're born that way. Cooro sets on a journey to find other +Anima and travel with them for no exact reason, other than perhaps an innocent "because it's fun" chain of thought. Given its somewhat linear overarching physical plot, it's deduced that this is a slice of life manga. Which is perfectly fine, but I'd have to disagree with other people giving the story a lower rating because of it. Stories don't need to be complicated to be wonderful; the purpose of telling +Anima's story is not to confuse readers or tell a save-the-world/damsel/treasure story, but rather portray the everyday lives of our party of +Anima.

"Given that it's a slice of life manga, how are the daily events of Cooro, Senri, Nana, and Husky, anyway?" you may ask.

"Well," I answer, "it's sweet, relatable, and shifts between fun and serious." Some of the fun ones, such as Husky being mistaken as a mermaid later in the series by a young man, makes the corners of the reader's mouth daintily twitch up in amusement. Yet, there are also points of reflection and the subplots provide small tidbits of information on the characters and their pasts. The more serious stories, such as meeting Senri's tribe, heavily emphasize on the characters' pasts and why they've become whom they are today. It's difficult to convey the endearing moments in these events in this review, but each story provides a small moral or lesson that is IMPLICITLY (and I emphasize this word because there's just not enough IMPLICITNESS in manga) told to the reader, not shoved in our faces like a whole pie. Beautiful, beautiful storytelling. The daily lives of our protagonists are interesting and allow the reader to reflect upon common morals that we may or may not agree with.

ART: 10
Beautiful details. Intricately drawn backgrounds. It's not like your common shoujo with half-assed bubbles or flowers shown in the background when a character has her moment of pleasant surprise. Instead, these beautiful, lush backgrounds of the nature surrounding the party is depicted. And if it's not nature, it's the bustling towns that they move to and fro. Line art is well done -- bolder where emphasis should be and shyer where they're just small wrinkes in the clothing, etc. Given the age of this manga, the style of art has stood the test of time because the mangaka knew how to actually DRAW. As stated before in my review of He Dedicated to Roses, you'd be surprised at how many mangaka can't draw for the life of them despite the nature of their occupation. The characters' clothing designs are done extremely well; one look at a coloured (actually, it doesn't even have to be coloured) picture of Cooro and you can see the bright yellows contrasting the blues and reds, as well as the well laid-out, yet practical, layers of clothing he adorns. Wonderful work on the mangaka's part.

CHARACTER: 9
Despite the colourful cast of protagonists that most readers grow to love, there are several irking supporting characters within +Anima that were evidently not well-designed. Characters such as Fly could have had so much more done with them, but instead they're presented as rather 2D, especially in contrast to the well-designed +Anima protagonists we all know and love (at least, I do anyway).

Even if the supporting characters fall short of what's ideal, the main party makes up more than enough for it. Each of the main party's members has a distinct feel to them. Cooro is playful, yet mysteriously obedient, and loves to eat; Husky is rather frugal, dislikes girls, yet looks like a girl himself; Senri... I'd have to be a little biased and say that he's my favourite character in the manga because there's so much to him (you'll love his absent-mindedness, his ability to spice up cooking, and his forgetfulness); and then there's Nana. Not particularly likable at the get-go, but later on she does learn her place and even Husky learns to tolerate her. Though these may sound stock characters to you, rest assured they're not; the mangaka uses tiny details in their actions and cleverly manipulates the dialogue to give colour to the characters.

ENJOYMENT: 9
It's a great read, but don't expect to finish it all in one or two go's. It's slice-of-life, and meant to be taken in small doses because it's calming and simply a pleasant read. Like Cooro and friends, just take a bit of time out of your daily life to read a little at a time, as reading +Anima could be a slice of your own life's events.

I couldn't give it a solid 10 because some of the events weren't consistently strong; however, they were all well-done. Some were simply better than others, and when compared, the reader wouldn't have the same gratification of reading some of the weaker stories.

OVERALL: 10
Terribly underrated series, and I suppose being a slice-of-life really can bring the story score down for certain reviewers. Don't treat it like a manga you can race through, because that's just simply not how you can enjoy +Anima. Read as much as you want, and stop when you feel you won't get any joy out of reading more. Then pick it up again, sprinkling it in the multiple slices of your own life to help sweeten a tame Sunday afternoon.

First of all +Anima is a great manga for anybody that loves great artwork and awesome characters. It isn't for everyone becouse there isn't a lot to the story and there isn't a lot of action.

Story: The story received a 7/10 because it wasn't all that special. The four main characters,Cooro, Husky, Senri, and Nana, walk around the world of +Anima in search of a true home. This doesn't sound all that special but it is because on their travels they encounter villains and friends alike, as well as other +Anima which makes the story a little more interesting.

Art: This is what I think ... is the strong point of this manga. The artwork a amazing. Everthing is drawn to it's fullest. The characters are drawn perfectly. I really think Mukai Natsumi did a wonderfull job with his artwork. You will fall in love with the art.

Character: This is another strong point to this manga. Each character has strong points and weak points, likes and dislikes. At the end of a chapter Mukai Natsumi usually has character charts so you can compare all the characters together. Most people that read this manga will probably be able to relate themselves to one of the characters. This manga also doesn't just focus on the four main characters. It also focuses on supporting characters that Cooro, Husky, Senri, and Nana meet on their travels. So if you can't relate to a main character you probably will to a supporting one.

Enjoyment: Enjoyment only got a 7/10 becouse I personally am a shounen type of guy. Even with that this manga was good and kept me tuned in.

Overall: Overall this manga was very good. What made me really like this manga was it's artwork and characters. They were both amazing. The story wasn't as great but it was original so that made it special. While reading this manga you can just sit back, relax and be ready to be taken into the world of +Anima.

I'm very surprised there isn't already a review for +anima.

+Anima is a very unique manga in it's storyline and characters. Although +anima doesn't have a set storyling except for the characters exploring new places and meeting acquaintances, it is still very enjoyable.

The characters are very well developed. Frequently at the end of a volume, Natsumi Mukai will often have a page or two describing the characters. As you progress in the manga, you'll notice that the characters become more and more developed with traits that make them unique.

I really loved this manga for it's great art, wonderful characters, and it was very enjoyable. ... It's still running, so there's more fun to come!

I'm very picky when it comes to manga, but this one just drew me right in!

I picked it up just to fill in the slack between Naruto and D.Gray-man updates and just piled right through all that has been posted (up to chapter 41 on the site).

It's amazing, the artwork and the stories. One by one you're drawn in by the characters and kept wondering about them. The manga adds twists and turns, giving you something else to wonder about on top of what already has you wanting to read it. Along with the beautiful pictures and the short clips explaining why Senri has no ... mouth sometimes, in example.

It truly is a wonderful manga, if you like anime and animals, it's a must read. Comical, beautiful, suspenseful... it has it all.

+anima was overall an amazing manga I enjoyed every chapter too my hearts content. the charters felt like they had real personality's and I felt that they really grew over the time this manga continued, The story was amazing and I could for the most part never guess what would happen next there were many twists and turns and it was so well built and thought-out there was never a dull moment in this manga. The art was really cute but at the same time quite detailed which I enjoyed.

There was a very calming sensation around the whole thing but sometimes I would crack up ... laughing at the funny moments which thankfully ( for me at least ) came very often! :D

Overall it's not a very serious manga it doesn't have moments that make you want to hide under your bed sheets or be disgusted. Yet at the same time it doesn't quite fit into the kids category ether In my option this manga would suit pretty much all ages from small too big it can be a little bit sad at some parts but these moments always get resolved.

If your looking for a Good Manga or your just sitting down for a nice quite read this would be great for you!! :D ( well I was reading this on a bus once though... but you know whatever) It's really addictive and at times I could get completely lost in +anima's world it's a Highly underrated manga for how good it really is and if it had a bit more popularity has great potential to become anime! let's all hope for the best!(btw this is my first review sorry if I got a little carried away *awkward smile* :D)

I've only read the first two books but so far this manga has been awesome. It somewhat reminds me of Pet Shop of horrors because of its strange unconnecting chapters, that only follow on with a storyline that keeps the manga together.

The art is great, I just love how the mangaka draws, though i only rated 9 because i love some other manga more.

The characters in Anima are so coolo, just basically because they are all different, but their characters somehow compliment each other making them seem like they really WOULD stay together.

The main character is an Anima of a crow, which is really ... awesome, i wish i had his black wings. The only problem i might see is the fact they managed to collect four anima by the end of the first book so it makes anima look not as rare. I'm sure this will sort itself out eventually and the pacing will be just fine.

+Anima is really a manga that you wont stumble across everyday.

What makes it unique is the wide expanses of audience that it targets, the carefree yet deep enough to loose yourself into pages of +Anima really makes it a story for everyone.

Story: 6/10
Whilst the story seems shallow in the beginning, it sets the manga out for an easy read at first, making the strange and fantastic theme of +Anima good for beginners.
Later in it's chapters, +Anima introduces some quite interesting plot turns with the extremely likeable characters draws you right in.
You must see it until the end.

Art: 8/10
The art style may seem simplistic to some ... of the more advanced manga readers of the sort, yet as you progress, the art style seems to fit it just right with the themes of friendship.
The style is easily likeable, with every character having their own unique appearance, emotions and messaages are clear and there wont ever be a time when you're confused with what's going on, avoiding awkward re-reading of chapters that sometimes plague other manga.


Characters: 10/10
As mentioned before, each and every character is extremely likeable and memorable as you continue through the manga, all with their individual quirks and traits make each larger than life apperances that will surely have the fanbase swarming with fangirls and fanboys each in the large numbers for even the most minor of parts.

Each clothing, face and hairstyle is unique to each character, never finding any person looking quite like the next, even with the less talkative characters (eg: Senri, my favourite character!) the messages are extremely evident but not in-your-face to make it annoying like other manga, each character still has an extremely developed mysterious background and there is still much to be learnt about them even near the end of the story.

Enjoyment: 10/10
+Anima is realy a great manga that you don't feel you have to ploug through but innovative and interesting enough to make it unbearable to place the book back down.
The unique characters really get you involved, sometimes making it hard to know who to route for and can stir some amazing conversations with friends.
+Anima really is fun, no one has denied it.

Overall: 9/10
Each and every page is intertwined with amgic that makes +Anima a must read, while it may be a little different for advanced readers to get into and certainly great for beginners, +Anima draws it's entire audience into it's already devoted fanbase.

For me it is simply the best manga ever.

beautiful pictures, characters with a lot of secrets and a neverending row of surprises makes it so interesting and perfect.

Especially interesting is also that not just the life of the main characters but also of minor roles and even the complete world is explained in its detailes and natural wonders.

there's even a world map for it, making you come even deeper in the worl and even a calender, which enables you to eg. find out the age of the characters which isn't displayed in the informations, just the birth date, and if you look carfully, you'll ... find a date inside the story!

you'll be with the characters everytime, understand and misunderstand their feelings and after reading this make you dream about being a +anima and living in his world by yourself (that's what happened to me, after all^^)

you won't regret reading this manga, cause it have everything: an interesting plot, ´great pictures and art, fascinating characters and countless secrets to discover.

This is one of the first manga series I've read. I think I went from Fullmetal Alchemist to this, which was more than a slight change of pace.
This is a really cute manga about a bunch of really cute characters who go on cute adventures. Why? I don't really remember. I'm not sure if that was ever really established. I think they gave a reason for all of the characters coming together, but the reason that satisfies me more is BECAUSE THE PLOT MUST GO ON!
As for that plot, it's not a story where every event builds onto the next. It's more of a collection ... of stories, where the only thing that is constant in each story is the characters involved. The characters do develop throughout the series, and we get to know them all pretty well by the end.
The one thing that stood out to me the most in this series was the art and the character design. It was freaking glorious. It fit the tone of the series perfectly, and also made the story more interesting. Really, if the art wasn't as good, I probably would have dropped the series halfway through.

One thing to note about the manga is that it's not very wordy at all. I was able to complete a volume within the span of twenty minutes at one point. There are plenty of pages that either have very few words, exclusively sound effects, or exclusively art. So if you are interested in the series and are going to check it out, get as many of the volumes as possible. The series isn't that long, and it definitely won't last long if you are able to read at a normal speed.

I do highly recommend this series for people who are interested in manga, people who want an easy read, or kids who want to read manga.

Let me set something straight: I don't really have a set genre that I really like when it comes to anime and manga, but I have developed a fondness for one subject that anime and manga often love to touch upon: nice, good-hearted, well-meaning children who get completely crapped on by life, go through many hardships (like poverty or abuse, for example) and are subject to discrimination and social prejudice for varying reasons. Some stories make them achieve happiness in the end, or have them go on a darker path (which either means death or an eternal life of hardship). I LOVE those types of ... stories as long as they have good stories, great characters, good morals, and a good reason for me to care about the characters and the hardships they go through. My fondness for this genre was mostly cultivated by watching anime from the World Masterpiece Theater staple (like Les Miserables, Little Princess Sara, Romeo's Blue Skies, Pollyanna, etc. But nothing beats Dog of Flanders for me!), but strangely enough I haven't found many manga that touched upon the subject. However, there is one wonderful jewel of a manga that touches upon this subject awesomely and wonderfully, and that manga is none other than Natsumi Mukai's 12-year-old (published in 2000) manga, +Anima.

The thing about this manga is that it takes place in more of a fantasy setting compared to the anime I watch which are mostly historical fiction, and this is the first time I've seen this subject taking place in a fantasy world. The story's about four young children who are part human and part animal, and they become part animal due to bad experiences that nearly killed them. Humans who are part animal are called +Anima. Cooro is your sweet and fun-loving boy with the wings of a crow, Husky is your grouchy little snob who hates girls and is part mermaid (or in this case, merman), Senri is silent, innocent, and absent-minded with a sickeningly slick bear claw, and Nana's your nice little girly girl who ironically enough has bat wings and REALLY big and weird-looking ears. Through many strange encounters they come across each other, go on a journey through their countries Astaria and Sailand, and try to find a place they can call home, since +Anima are often feared and hated among normal humans.

One thing I love about this manga is the fact that it's often hard to find manga or anime about discrimination and social prejudice, and the ones you find often have annoying characters who whine and angst and don't do anything to fix their situation (not that I know of, of course). +Anima manages to avoid that stereotype wonderfully, and with great detail too! The characters ALWAYS prepare for whatever journey lies ahead of them, be it having enough food, money, clothes, resources, etc. And if they don't have money, they go to whatever town they go and find jobs so they can get whatever they need for their next round of travels. Plus, they think about what might lie ahead and sometimes plan things out and stay calm (in some situations of course) and find out what'll happen next. It's always like this in EVERY chapter! I love anime and manga that go into detail about little things like this! It's rare nowadays, isn't it?

The artwork is just soooooo nice! I really do mean it when I say nice! It's slick, smooth, it doesn't lose it's edge, everything from small objects (like food crumbs and jewelry) to the characters to the big castles and villages and cities all just look amazing! Plus, no page feels overly extravagant or overly bland. The artwork really takes you into the story, into their world! The author has obviously had lessons (I don't know that for sure, but one can speculate, right?) in art because this is one of the best drawn manga I've ever read!

Another thing that's awesome in this manga: the attention to detail in just about EVERYTHING, from the characters' back stories and pasts to the customs and culture and currency of the places they travel to, I mean it's just superb and AMAZING! Normally fantasy manga and anime just show off people fighting monsters and going into castles and palaces without paying much attention to it's setting. +Anima is the best exception since it's a story about traveling, and of course the characters would need to know things about the places they go, like the food they eat, the money they have to use, the jobs they do, the clothes they wear, everything! The attention to even the smallest, most irrelevant details are just exceptionally awesome! Not only that, they always try to give the various places the characters' visit a history, and the best example of this is in volume 4.

And the characters! I'm sorry guys, but I just can not shut up about the characters! They look like stereotypes, but they're soooo much more! And they're kids for that matter! For those of you expecting to go into this manga thinking Cooro's gonna be some shounen anime lead brat (*coughcoughNarutocoughcoughTagirucoughcough*), worry not as Cooro does NOT have ANY of the cliches that the typical shounen manga/anime brats have. He's sweet, childlike, curious, friendly, and just plain adorable! Best of all, he's actually SMART. Sure he does do some dumb things, but there's always a good reason behind it! Plus he doesn't force himself on other people and respects people's decisions to a point where it's just REALLY weird, but it's cool! I love that kid to death! Husky, although he's sort of my least favorite character, has his charms as well. His somewhat brash attitude towards everyone (especially Nana since she's a girl and he hates girls) has somewhat made him popular. He reminds me of Kazune from Kamichama Karin. But underneath his tough exterior is a young, polite princeling who knows what he wants, cares about other people when he needs to, and is willing to do anything to make sure nobody gets hurt. He's smart and always tries to think things through and focus on what's really important on their travels, and not to a point where he yells at everyone for everything they do. Senri...yeah, he's adorable. Silent and strong-looking (and a FREAKING BEAR for that matter!!), but innocent and absent-minded on the inside...how can you not love him!? My friend loves him a lot. He's like a gigantic fluffy teddy bear that needs hugging and cuddling! He looks like a scary fellow, but he's really a gentle soul who loves the smallest things in life, even though he has a troubled history. Nana's pretty much the most normal character in the entire cast. She's your typical girl. She loves dolls, flowers, and pretty things (especially pretty clothes and accessories), is used to living in a house with people, and prefers being with people in a town than in the wild, but she's NOT annoying. Sure she does complain about some things, but she knows that some things have to be done in order to survive, and she accepts that. Plus she even helps her friends on occasion, though her antics are a bit misunderstood at times. She's the character who learns a lot of lessons on her journey and puts them to good use near the end. But really, you can't help but love the entire cast of characters here! They all have their charms that you just can't resist!

For those of you who are interested, I've actually known about this manga's existence for a while. Since 6th or 7th grade even. But back then I wasn't interested in it because I was still getting into other manga and anime (and becoming quite ambitious about it) and trying to find my favorite genres and subjects. It wasn't until about two years ago my awesome friend Miki told me a bit about it and lo and behold I read a bazillion chapters of it online in a whole week! I was on an epic high! I even made a +Anima themed get well card for my friend's mom! I think she still has it, but we don't talk much anymore since we're going down different paths in life, so I don't know what's going on. But I'm glad to say I'm a proud fangirl of this sweet and lovable manga! Plus, the ending is amazing! I loved the end too, even though I wish it'd continue a bit more. I can't seem to get enough of the adventures of Cooro, Husky, Senri, and Nana! One thing I want though: AN ANIME ADAPTATION!!! Why isn't there an anime for this!? This manga's like 11 years old now! The age I was when I first discovered anime in Japanese! Why can't wonderful manga like this be animated!? I'm tired of all the moe and ecchi and harems and incest and crap like that!! We NEED more wonderful stories!!!

To conclude, +Anima is a wonderful, great, and amazing manga! I love it! Are you human? Then GO READ IT!!!

Hello! So, this is my first time writing a review ever... like... ever, so please don't judge me if I sound really unprofessional, however, there's a first for everything, right? Anyway, enough stalling, let's get into the review for the manga... +Anima!
Also, one thing I'd like to let you know before you read this review, this will contain NO spoilers, so you can feel free to read this if you want a spoiler-free review.
Another thing, this manga is pretty old, and I don't know if anyone is really interested in this manga anymore, but I was bored and I wanted something to do regarding writing ... lol. Anyway, enough stalling...

First, let's talk about the story. In my opinion, the story for +Anima was pretty unique and refreshing. I do think it was pretty basic, and perhaps could have been fleshed out a little bit more, however, the almost slice of life feeling the story has about actually makes for a very enjoyable story throughout. So, no matter the adventure (or misadventure), I was always having fun reading this manga.

Second of all is the art, now, I myself am and artist, so stories will amazing artwork will often catch my eye, and I personally love the art style of this series. It just feels nice and the +Animas' animal characteristics really fit and feel like they actually belong on the characters. I also find it comedic that a lot of the boy characters kinda look like girls, however that's pretty common in anime/manga.

Next is the characters and their development. And honestly, I do really like the main cast of characters, they're all unique and different and they all have little quirks about them that make them more enjoyable to read about. However, I do think that a lot of the characters didn't really go through any major development throughout the story, they all kind of stayed the same and their personalities barely matured. However, for some reason I don't think that's really a bad thing in their cases, as they're all enjoyable on their own.

Third of all is the overall enjoyment of the manga. Honestly there were parts where I wasn't having the most fun following Cooro and his group of quirky +Anima friends, but for the most part I had a great time no matter what random sub-plot they got roped into. I personally really enjoyed reading all 10 +Anima manga.


Overall, in my opinion, this was a refreshing, fun, and entertaining story to read, and I think you will enjoy it as well, as long as you consider the pros and cons I listed above. But otherwise, thank you for reading all the way through my first ever anime review, and hopefully enjoy reading +Anima.
-Dokilita

I really LOVED this book! I only started reading it yesterday, August 15th 2009, & I am TOTALLY hooked!
It is sooo hard to put down & has an awesome story & GREAT characters. It is really cool because these kids have a certain power from an animal, Like Cooro has his wings from a crow & Husky has his tail, fin, & underwater breathing skills from a fish! It is really cool & you will DEFIANTLY enjoy reading this amazing manga! :3

Well for thoughs who are mad on animals and people with animal powers this is the best thing to read so far :) i love every single bit of this because +anima is the kind of thing i'd love to be part of. Also if you absoloutely and positively love manga this is great i'd read it over and over again because it's that good and it's a thing everyone loves :D even ME haha

*review may contain vague, minor spoilers*

+Anima is a very unique manga: oddly engaging and memorable, lighthearted and fun but with some occasional emotive moments, and a charm that I haven't quite seen in any other series to date.

STORY (8): There are plenty of series out there that involve shifters or animal-human hybrids in some form or other, but +Anima manages to give it a fresh spin and its concept still feels relatively original. With the tension between the +anima and the regular humans, there is plenty of room for battles and epic confrontations. However, this isn't what this series is about or ever attempts to ... be. It's a character study about how the dislike and fear of their kind affects the lives of four, otherwise normal children who struggle to find their place in a world that largely rejects them.

Set in an original, yet not too far-fetched world in a time before technology came to exist, the manga follows the four main character's meetings with each other, and the resulting journey they head out on, trying to find a place for themselves where they can simply live in peace. Of course, they have various adventures and misadventures along the way, and meet up with all sorts of other side characters. The pasts, motives, and histories of each of the main characters are also revealed. While I don't think it completely falls into either category, as it does have a set progression, it's somewhat similar in feel to a slice-of-life or episodic series. There isn't a whole lot of direction to the plot (though, staying vague to avoid spoilers, there is an interesting twist later on that reveals that there was perhaps more going behind the scenes than may be initially realized), but it's a highly enjoyable venture throughout.

The feel of the story is mostly lighthearted, and generally carefree and cute in tone. You can tell that the manga was likely targeted for a relatively young audience, but it's the type of series that all ages can enjoy and be sucked in by, with depth appearing in some of the chapters that can still be interesting to older readers and characters that are very easy to get attached to. It's also unique in that it contains elements of both shoujo and shounen, but strong elements of neither. There are small amounts of action and hints of romance, but neither is real a focal point of the series.

It's also a mixture of comedic and more serious moments. Even though most of the chapters are lighthearted in feel, there are some chapters that are surprisingly moving and emotional, as well as a few that have slightly darker and more serious undertones, especially when it gets to the second half of the volumes, where the character's pasts start getting more focus. Avoiding any specific spoilers, some of their histories are surprisingly tragic or bittersweet, which provides nice contrast to the series' general lightheartedness.
Even in these chapters, though, the manga maintains its unique charm and aesthetic throughout, but that's part of what makes the manga so likable.

I've seen many people complain about the ending, saying that it's not memorable or that it lacked a real climax. I personally highly disagree, however - +Anima had one of my favorite endings out of all the manga and anime series I've seen! The tone takes a noticeable shift towards the last two volumes, and unlike most of the chapters, which are pretty straightforward, there are some questions that are left unanswered or that require some thinking, but I thought it was overall very satisfying. True, the two-page or so epilogue was a bit rushed, but it definitely had a climax! It's just that the climax is an emotional one as opposed to a physical one - like with the rest of the series, just don't come in expecting epic, large-scale battles; the series remains concerned only with the four main children all the way through to the finale.

If you have to have constant action or unwavering seriousness in your manga, then +Anima probably isn't your cup of tea, but for those who want something charming, fun, and with a focus on the characters, you'll probably highly enjoy the plot throughout all of the 10 volume series.

CHARACTERS (10): Where the series really shines is in its characters, which is fortunate, because without good characters that you could get attached to and care about, the main plot would've lacked emotion and fallen flat. The characters really bring it to life and make you care about the movements the story makes.

Some of the side characters lack real depth, coming and going quickly, but the main four characters are all well developed. There's Cooro, an energetic, food-loving boy who seems to constantly be smiling, Husky, a rather irritable and defensive boy who claims to not be able to stand girls, but is rather effeminate himself, Nana, an outgoing and just slightly bossy, but rather insecure girl, and the oldest of the group, the oddly silent Senri. In description, they might sound a bit like typical character archetypes, but they all have a lot more depth and uniqueness to their personalities, lively dialogue, reasons behind why they became who they are and act the way they do, and are fully fleshed out as characters. They're all quirky and likable to the point where it's hard not to become attached to them, and the interactions between them are entertaining and slowly start to shift over time.

Cooro, in particular, stands out as a very interesting, surprisingly unique character. His personality is actually very complex, and not really as it seems to be at first glance, which is one of those things you'll notice if you read between the lines in a few of the chapters. This becomes increasingly apparent as the series goes on, but unfortunately some people still seem to miss this all together, which I think is too bad, because it gives the series some more emotional depth. The more you really pay attention to the characters, the more interesting the series becomes.

However, if by chance you do take a disliking to the characters, it's unlikely the manga will hold anything else for you, either. As previously stated, the plot is almost completely character focused and driven, so how engaged you become in the story depends directly on how attached you become to its likable, memorable cast of characters.

ART (10): The high quality art is another thing that really makes the series. The art can switch from striking, surprisingly beautiful pieces of work to chibi-style drawings on an almost panel to panel basis, but it works here, making this a very eye-catching and eye-pleasing series. The mangaka draws in consistent, large amounts of detail, too, from the finely crafted environments that the characters come across to the intricate patterns, layers, accessories, and laces on their clothing. The character's also have great, readable facial expressions - you can almost always tell what they're supposed to be thinking or feeling, which is another aspect that really brings the characters to life and makes them memorable.

ENJOYMENT AND OVERALL (10): With an interesting setting and concept, character-driven story, striking artwork, unique, lovable cast, and a satisfying mixture of lighthearted fun with just enough seriousness to keep it interesting and emotion to make it memorable, +Anima is a rare, underrated gem.

It was one of the first series I read when I started getting into manga several years ago, but it still stands as one of my all time favorites today. Again, just don't go into it expecting it to be action-driven - there are plenty of series for that, and with its setting and concept, the manga could've easily gone in that direction, but it doesn't, instead opting to give the spotlight to its characters and uniquely charming aesthetic, and I've yet to see another series that does this better.

It's not for everyone, but if this sort of thing appeals to you, even if just for a change of pace from the more serious, dark series out there, then I highly recommend +Anima.

My first review, but i can't help it i love +Anima. I think i'll do it like this.
STORY
the story is brilliant, with no real point to it besides kids with anima (or animal) powers looking for a home.around the 7th book though, the story becomes more plot based, and that really slows down the fun. Still amazing, but less.
ART
to put it simple, i love it. very light, no heavy action, but when its needed its there. The other 4\5 of the art is light, fun, chibi on occasion, and... hugable!
CHARACTER
Cooro- he is a hyper, loveable, nice, simple crow +anima who starts the little group.
Husky- he ... is broody, negative, and unkind at times but he likes cooro and the rest. He is a fish +anima.
Senri- bear +anima who almost never speaks. He still comunicates still though, and is just so sweet. hes older than the rest, BTW.
Nana- the only girl there, nana is clothes obsessed (in a good way), cute and a basic loveable 10 year old girl. she's not normal or basic at all though, and shes a +Anima.
ENJOYMENT
... 1, would i be writing this if i DID'NT love +anima, and 2, its a 9 because of how it gets more plot driven towards the 7th up.
OVERALL
No, im not gunna give you a quickee. go read the review.

+ Anima is an amazing story for everyone no matter the age. It has a sweet, touching, and sometimes humorous plot. I recomend it for people of all ages who love stories about frienship.