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THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS.
As of this review, I've only made it up to Chapter 38, so keep that in mind if you're reading in the far future.

Gender benders are a sub genre that I don't really care for. They all suffer predictable cliches such as the gender bent protagonist adjusts to their new gender, with unfunny comedy, ecchiness, lack of a proper ending etc.

That's where Boku Girl comes in. Never before since Ranma ½ had there been a gender bender as funny as this. I was pleasantly surprised how well written and funny the story and characters are.

Story-7: Boku Girl is a ... gender bender, guy turns into a girl story. It's simple, but its done so well because it's funny and interesting. Mizuki is a first year high school student. He trains in akido and wants to prove to his father that he is a strong man. Why does this matter? Mizuki may be a man, but looks very feminine. He wants to prove to others that he is a manly guy, but with such a feminine face and body... it's hard to pull off. In fact, he has been asked out by other men! One day, after failing to propose to his would be girlfriend, he ends up getting stung by a weird looking wasp! It turns out this wasp was sent out by the goddess Loki, who wants to pull a prank on Mizuki for fun. The next morning, after a weird nightmare, mizuki wakes up....as a girl.

The story may sound like another gender bender, but it's told in such a fun way its hard to put down! It maybe simple, but I've founded it harder to predict as the story goes on. It dodges the standard cliches of most gender benders or puts a better twist on them. The characters are relatable to anyone who has been in high school in one way or the other even Mizuki!


Characters-8: What Boku Girl excels in is how naturally characters react to the situation. When Mizuki turns into a girl, he doesn't like it and still pretends to be a boy at school, to the best of his ability. Takeru, obliviously doubts at first the girl Mizuki was originally boy mizuki.. I thought this was a very strong point because its how a real person would react.

There are four main characters for this series:

The main protagonist, Mizuki, is probably the most relatable main lead in a gender bender. He suffers from looking too feminine at the beginning of the story, and often gets asked out by other guys! Whats worse, the love of his life Fujiwara thinks of him as a girl as well! Mizuki wants to get closer to her, but is too shy to admit it. This is hard on him because he wants to prove to be manly for Fujiwara and be her boyfriend. If that’s not enough,when Mizuki turns into a girl, that’s when things get even more complicated!

Mizuki's best friend Takeru have been friends with each other since childhood. Takeru unlike mizuki, is strong, athletic, and actually looks like a guy. He cares for mizuki as a friend, and after the transformation, he helps anyway he can to help him/her out, even though he's starting to fall for mizukis feminine side....

Mizukis love interest Fujiwara is abit of an air head,who is class rep, and is assumed that she has a crush on takeru. She is somewhat of a secret tomboy despite her looks. When she was younger, she acted like a boy. Will Mizuki have courage to tell her his big secret?

The one who cursed mizuki into a girl is Loki. She is a mysterious goddess of tricks who used to play pranks on other gods, until she found Mizuki in the human world. Later, she disguises herself as a human and is now mizuki's classmate! Mizuki does not realize that loki turned him into a girl...yet.

Art/Design-9: Boku Girl is a very beautiful,soft drawn manga. The designs perfectly match the characters personalities. Mizuki as a boy looks feminine, but “boy” enough to look like a guy. His soft skin and face understandably is mistakable for a girls'. It fits that he likes soft things like stuff animals. Takeru may look a little mean at first, but he really is a nice guy and good friend to mizuki. Loki looks exactly like a prankster, with slanted yellow eyes and bizarre black clothing. Fujiwara looks like a curious airhead with her big wide open eyes, and innocent expressions. (Well, most of the time)

Enjoyment-8: Boku Girl when beyond my expectations as not only a gender bender but as a manga. If you don't like gender benders then this may change you're mind. Its so fun to read and well written that its hard not to enjoy it. If you do like gender benders then you'll go crazy over this one. This isn't some quick gags manga. It takes a tired concept and makes it seem new. Despite not having an official English release, I wouldn't mind owning a copy of each volume to support the author. I believe this series is great enough to deserve an anime adaption. There may be some censorship in an adaption, but I think many comedy anime fans will really enjoy this series if it had a wider release regardless.

In the end, I highly recommend Boku Girl! It's funny, has great characters, good plot twists, and most of all fun and entertaining. I hope you found this review helpful!

Kanon is the first key visual novel ever made as well as the first key anime ever made. However when the original Kanon anime was made, it left a bad taste to fans of the original visual novel. It was only 12 episodes, and the animation and character design left much to be desired. After the anime adaptation of keys other visual novel Air, it was proven that visual novel anime can be made right, and due to fan demand Kanon was remade and here we are.

Story: Kanons story, like all key story, relies on emotional characters and situations rather than logical ones. That ... does not mean that this is a “dumb show” but if you are interested in an anime that makes you think, then I would not recommend this one.

Yuichi Aizawa, a high school student has moved to the town he has not visited in the last seven years. In this town, seven years before, something very important has happened to Yuichi, but he can't seem to remember it. So did something really happen? Or is it all just a dream?

Yuichi moves in with his aunt Akiko, and his cousin Nayuki, who has a thing for him. While living in in this town Yuichi meets several girls some of which may have a connection to his mysterious past. The girls are Ayu, who seems to live in the city and likes to say “ugu!”. Makoto, who has quite a foxy attitude and can be violent, Shori, an underclassman who skips school due to her life threating illness but still sneaks to the schools courtyard to see her sister. And Mai an upperclassman who fights ghosts in the schools hallway at night.

Sound: The music in Kanon id say is the second best key sound track, slightly below clannad. The music fits with the emotion going on with the show, and makes sadder moments all the more powerful. The opening and ending songs are great, but sometimes when an episode ends sadly, the ending music does not fit the situation. Overall, the music does not disappoint.

Art. The artwork has vastly improved over the original kanon anime. Eyes have proper proportion on the characters face, leaving the characters face look more expressive and less creepy. I've said this before for crest of the stars but kanon has a soft dreamy feeling, with the snow, coloring and at times relaxing music. The art works goes well with the characters and location, so nothing feels out of place.

Overall, Kanon is one of the best anime key has ever made. It has extremely engaging storyline and remember-able characters you will miss when the show is over. The only thing the original anime has over this one is the mini after story Ova which explains what the characters did when the storyline is over. Its not required but would be nice to have. So if you have enjoyed keys other work such as clannad or want a good harem, check out kanon, It is one of the best in the genre.

In the far future, mankind is on the brink of entering a galactic war with the alien race Abh, as earth is preparing for battle, without firing a single plasma beam, their leader Rock Linn surrenders. In the middle of all this is Jinto Linn, the cowardly leader's son whom is only at the time 10 years old. What will become of mankind after its conquering? Will the human race be destroyed? Who are the Abh and what are their intentions? These answers and more in the beginning of the epic Seikai saga!

Story

The main story begins 7 years after mankind’s surrender to the Abh. Jinto ... is now 17 years old. During the last 7 years Jinto was on Planet Delct, training for the Abh miltary as well as learning the Abh language. While departing, he meets the beautiful young female Abh solder Lafiel. Little does Jinto know, but Laifel is the future princess for the Abh. What we get out of the main story is not only adventure, romance and action, but international space politics that show the problems the nations are going through and what they want. Not many anime do this. If you are interested in an all action show you will not get it here. Yes there is great action, but most of that is saved for the sequel. This anime has a lot of dialog, but its not boring or pointless.

Art

The artwork for crest of the stars is done well, even though it looks like how most animes in the 90s did. Where the art does well is the atmosphere. It feels very misty and dream like. The backgrounds on the space stations are creative. The art gives you a feeling of a living breathing world.

Sound

The music for crest of the stars is great, and help makes the show feel like a real scifi epic. (which it is) The opening song is a tribute to classic SciFi shows of the 1950s and 60s gives the viewer promise of adventure and wonder. The space battle music pumps up the action well, music and background music for calmer moments are at times dreamlike, it fits the space mood very well

Characters

The characters are very well developed, this is due to the many long conversations in the story. Jinto is put into a unique situation, but he is relatable since he is the only major human character. Laifel is the fan favorite, and she does not act like a wishy washy disney princess who just wants more of everything. She is logical but not a genius, she does what she thinks for her country. There are many more characters in the Crest of the stars saga and her sequel, and some are are as developed as Jinto and Laifel.

Overall

Crest of the stars is a great anime with a interesting story and superb character development. Its a shame it did not receive the attention it deserves in western countries. I blame this on the bad marketing bandai had as well as the bad English dub. (watch with Japanese subs) If you are into scifi, or just want a good story with good characters check out Crest of the stars.

Azumanga Daioh

I remember first reading about this anime in the magazine Newtype USA (sadly no longer published) and this was before the explosion of high school anime popularity so I thought it would be a nice break from the action packed shonen animes I was watching at the time, so I was forcing myself to watch it. Man, I was in for a big surprise! I at first impressions were ok... 10 year old in high school... teacher is more immature than the students... but then it happened COOKING IS SO FUN! COOKING IS FUN! LETS NOW ITS TIME TO CHECK TO SEE WHAT WE ... HAVE DONE! I knew I was in for something special, but it went beyond my expectations.

The “plot” is about everyday adventures of 6 high school girls and some of their fellow teachers from their freshman year to the end of their senior graduation. Wackiness ensues.
The girls are a unique cast that many high school anime copy for years to come. Chiyo a 10 year old genius that skipped several grades who now attends high school.
Tomo is the hyper one who has difficulty shuting up and does annoying things just to see the reaction out of the others. Osaka is the “clueless” one who wonders random things that nobody cares about. In one episode she is questioned with riddles and got everyone right, so I can't really say shes dumb. Sakaki is the athletic shy one who always wanted a cat, but every cat wants to bite her instead. Kagura is the athletic jock who is Sakaki's “rival” who tries to out preform her at sports. Yomi, is the short tempered one with the glasses, who puts up with tomo's wackiness the most. She tries to put herself on bizarre diets just to be skinny. Osaka is my favorite character, as her cluelessness somehow works in every situation.

The animation, for what it is, is good at what its trying to accomplish. The animation itself is simple but effective to bring across the light hearted humor and situations. If it was to heavy detailed then the humor would not come off as funny. This anime was based off a 4 panel a day manga series similar to newspaper comics. Many 4 panel mangas do not translate well into an anime but azumanga daioh is one of the exceptions.

In short, azumanga daioh is one of the best high school animes out there and set the standard for many future series. If you like high school anime, or even hate them I still recommend azumanga daioh.

I hope this review helps!