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Story: 8
Middle school, a period of uncertainty, immaturity, boredom, and all out hell. I'm sure we all have some pleasant memories of this time in our life, but I think for the most part was pure and utter insanity. This is where FLCL begins, a boy, Naota, whose life is bland and surrounded by an endless fog from an iron shaped factory.
Then in comes a woman riding a yellow scooter who whacks him over the head with an electric guitar and promptly moves in with him and his perverted father and grandfather.
Welcome to hell- er I mean, puberty Naota.
And so continues this story ... of growing up and realising what libido actually means. Because every time Naota gets turned on a giant robot pops out of his head and it must be defeated by either Haruko Haruhara's guitar (say that name ten times fast if you dare) or by the other robot, Canti, that also emerged from his cranium.
If you haven't gotten the idea yet, this story is probably the most random thing you will ever come across. For six episodes you have exciting battles, comical dialogues, bawdy innuendos (mostly of the phallic variety), and several very touching and deep moments.

Art: 10
Gainex studio never ceases to amaze, the artwork and animation is crisp, smooth and outstanding. Even when the characters are drawn simply (to enhance the comedy) the shading and colour is stunning. On two episodes there are scenes that seem to drop the whole high quality animation claims, but it was still good, I didn't like it... you'll know when you see it.

Sound: 10
The background music is primarily done by 'the pillows' and sounds fantastic. Not actually my favourite type of music, but it fits. Voice acting is great, notably Stephanie Sheh and Kari Wahlgren.

Character: 8
YAY CANTI!!! My favourite character is the one that doesn't speak at all. I give full credit to the animation department for bringing a monitor faced robot to such life and vibrancy. Haruko Haruhara is hilarious and... can't say anything else but amazing and more than she seems. Naota is surprisingly not a whiny character, he's a rather sharp and entertaining 11 year old boy, that is hard to do. I love Mamimi's story and psychological makeup, I find her mental retardation rather fascinating and endearing, especially how she makes sense of the world in her own unique way.

Enjoyment: 6
Now I'll let the cat out of the box, I really didn't like this series very much. It was entertaining, but there were far too many sexual innuendos and too much crude humour for my taste. Also I really don't like randomness, I find such things actually rather irritating, so I'll probably never watch this show again.

Overall: 9
Despite my personal reservations, this series easily passes the 9 mark. It is well made and interesting to say the least. At times, it was quite sweet and beautiful in it's metaphors of growing up that really touched my heart, and then were immediately followed by some barely risible humour. Available for free viewing at http://www.hulu.com/flcl and also purchasable from amazon for a reasonable price. I highly suggest the dub.
Gainex has always put out good shows, though the closest one to being anything near my personal tastes has been Evangelion. Just not a fan of this studio yet, though I'm sure I'll find something eventually from them I'd like, send me suggestions!

Parental Caution
Rated PG-13 (bahaha! This makes me laugh, no this show is totally R).
-As stated above, tonnes of phallic jokes (if you don't know what phallic means look it up via Websters).
-Some toilet humour.
-Relatively mild language.
-No actual immodesty that I remember... odd.

Kino’s Journey

Story: 8
Being a largely episodic series the plot is easily identifiable. It is about Kino’s many journeys through a very strange and at times demented world. She is frequently faced with a moral question and I’ve always been impressed with how this series handled it.
The plot is simple at first glance, but Kino’s actual background is covered in two separate episodes, both of which I was very glad for the insight into who she is and was amazingly well written. There was also one two episode plot halfway through which I thoroughly enjoyed as it was action packed and exciting.
A ... few downsides to this series was that it just cuts off where I would be expecting, “well, next episode?”. I felt it was building up to something greater but instead it left me feeling half full at the ending. The last episode was certainly the best, but it failed to give any form of wrap up. Leaving you with many questions.
The beginning of the series you find Kino in the middle of a desert, how she got there? You don’t know. Who is the master? You don’t know. Well I found out why. There is a movie. Kino’s Journey: Life Goes On, that was released as a prequel. It apparently explains all of these questions. I have also found that there is both a movie and special of Kino’s journey and I am going to be sure to check those out.

Art: 8
This is the low point of the series, the art is just ok. It is simple so you aren’t distracted from the thoughts that are being portrayed. The backgrounds are all simple and I found them very plain. The actual animation is a high point. The movement of the characters are smooth and the action scenes are quite suspenseful. Character designs, well Kino was the only person of any real importance to the series and she looks memorable, I guess. So it’s a good piece all aspects accounted for, just not an amazing piece of art. The art is perfect for the mood of the story and GENCO tends to do this right (they also did Azumanga Daioh and Elfen Lied).

Sound: 9
Oh the music! I loved every moment of it. Especially the opening and ending which I listen to regularly. The sound effects were very well done making you feel as if you are really there.
The voice acting was great, particularly Kino’s voice actress Kelli Cousins, who hasn’t played very many roles at all but was able to make Kino a deep and at times conflicted personality behind her indifferent exterior. Cynthia Martinez played the raspy Hermes, Kino’s motorbike (it must have been horrendous on her cords!) was a great performer. And lastly there is Vic Mignogna, who plays EVERYONE ELSE. It got downright freaky at times. “It’s an intense scene and she’s in trouble and then he opens his mouth to spe- OH NOES it’s Vic!” He's still great, but his voice sometimes just is not appropriate.

Character: 9
Kino quickly won my heart with her steady head and genuine personality. She’s indifferent at times but she really does have a deep insight. Her moral choices are unique but amazingly true and she knows when to act, and when to simply go on her way.
Hermes was funny and an enjoyable, but not distracting, comedic relief. I especially likes how he was always getting phrases wrong.

Overall: 9
The best episodic series I have seen thus far. It is extremely unique and the author Keiichi Sigsawa is a creator of masterpieces. This is a must own series for anyone who likes philosophy or simply a quiet show for a time which needs serenity.

Parental Caution:
Rated PG-13
-Some disturbing images such as a rabbit getting skinned and human remains.
-There are the presence of the topics genocide, slave trading, and murder.
-Many episodes deal with some form of tragedy.
-Very little swearing and is very minor.
-A tiny bit of violence.
-There’s a king who has a harem, but their never focused on and despite how they dress the art form of the series makes this moot.
-Honestly this series should have been rated PG.

Story: 8
I was very surprised by this anime with how deep the plot was in only twelve episodes. Many of the twists I didn’t see coming. Generator Gawl’s story starts out slow but it was fast enough to keep you interesting in what was going to happen next. My two problems with this series are firstly that the first half of the series could have had a bit more plot development than it did rather than a monster of the week show. Secondly the School Festival episode was entirely useless. It had a little plot development but it could have been spread between the first ... half of the series, thus making the first half more plot based. I also didn’t get the ending of this series, I just didn’t get it. It was a very scifi ending and I didn’t see it coming, but it just felt like it wrapped everything up rather conveniently. Nevertheless, it was at least a good ending that didn’t have me needing a sequel.

I loved the dialogue in this series. It was all very fun and added much comedy. Their explanations of time travel and the science of the series made sense without the characters going into too much depth.

Art: 8
When it came to animation, this show took no shortcuts. Almost all movements were smooth. The battle scenes were active and didn’t have moments of just screaming how powerful you were to your opponent with a lined background to somehow make it look cool. It got right down to the attacking with little or no exhibition. This show is practically on par with most of the modernly made anime in its quality, particularly in its realistic character designs.

The characters were good when it came to appearance, noticeable their eyes were not typical anime eyes and their faces were very organic looking. The Generators, though, are where the real creativity went. They were all very detailed and interesting, until later in the series when some of them look just like humans with some putty plastered on them. Generator Gawl in my mind was always the coolest in appearance. The main bone I have to pick is with Natsume’s hair. What was with that? The way her hair was shaped was very distracting and honestly creepy. And I never got used to them. She was the only human who looked entirely unbelievable.

The background of this future set anime was realistic! Most anime set in the future (2007 in this case) take society to a ridiculous level. This show didn’t. We still had cars, cell phones, and schools, and we still dressed like human beings who need a sense of self expression. Thus it made the future seem to be a believable existence.
The art for the background was not fantastic but they did do the job and at times was quite beautiful.

Sound: 7 (dub)
The music is where this show really lacks in. The tracks really aren’t that great and from most scenes are absent entirely, and with the lack of background noise it was even worse making it seem like you are listening to a silent void.

I didn’t like the opening at all to start out with but it oddly grew on me. I still can’t say it’s great but it is a good opening. The ending has a sort of catchy tune that is pleasant to listen to and was comedic, a good thing for a show that otherwise has a serious plot.

The voice acting was the best part. Both Vic Mignogna (Gawl) and Monica Rial (Natsume) did excellently in their roles. They obviously showed less experience but I think this added to the performance, especially Gawl who sounded very snarky. Rozie Curtis, who voiced Masami was perfect at being bossy and sassy towards Gawl. It really is a shame she has barely voiced in anything else.

Character: 9
Gawl would have to be hands down my favourite character as well as the best written. His personality was very deep and intriguing. Not to say that the others weren’t also well made and all of fit into their roles. Gawl and Masami helped keep the mood light with their antics. Without it the series would have been very dark overall. The villains were also well made and I felt I had come to know them through the writing, very impressed.

Overall: 8
Scifi, action, suspense, mystery, and a tiny bit of romance make this "sort of" mecha series the right to be considered a classic. Unfortunately it seems the Otaku world has forgotten this series, which is a real crying shame. ADV going out of business didn't help either.
Frankly this is an amazing anime that everyone needs to check out, if you are lucky enough to find it that is. I just happened to have a copy at the local library, the rest of you, good luck. It had me interested from beginning to end and I am definitely considering owning this series because I could watch it over and over.

Parental Caution:
Rated PG-13
-Some swearing.
-Lots of monster blood.
-There is a public bath shown in one of the episodes. Gawl stands up in the bath but thankfully it was cleverly censored.
-There is a female generator who appears to be naked in her human form but the body tattoo mostly omits this and how the animation is done. Similar to Mystique or one of the other characters in X-men.
-The terms stalker and flasher are used, but neither situation come to fruition.

Story: 9
On first appearance, School Rumble doesn't have a story, but this slice of life actually does and it is; 'everyone is in love with the wrong person and they are all a raving pack of morons.' There you go, that is the plot. This show is simply one gag after another with drama that's really just getting you ready for another gag. Many story elements make no sense, so don't even try. The purpose of the show is fun, nothing more. Now how did a slice of life, with such a simple premise, and a just-for-fun attitude get a ... 9? Because it works so well! The timing of the jokes are so near perfection and the utter randomness, and I laughed every episode. Also The ending makes just so much sense and all I can say about that is just wow.
The series also feels longer than it really is because each episode has three storylines, each seem like episodes unto themselves.

Art: 7
Well, it’s lacking. Character designs are good, but overall animation not that great. Backgrounds are typically well drawn but many scenes are just speed lines, especially the fight scenes, yes I did just say fight scenes, plural.

Sound: 8 (dub)
The intro and ending are wonderful, and incredibly addicting. I never skipped the opening, it was just so good. The dub voice acting was hilarious and was oddly even able to convey puns from the Japanese, though perhaps with different words. Harima was hilarious with such precious lines and his voice actor, Brandon Potter, was perfect. Eric Vale who played Karasima was also well cast, having played Yuki Sohma in Fruits Basket using his smooth quiet voice. Background music was, forgettable, and unfortunately there was next to no environment sounds. But I suppose those might distract from the endless comedy. One of the best dubs I’ve heard.

Character: 9
One word describes most of the characters; moron. They are all morons, but such incredibly likeable morons that you just, well, like them. Much of the comedy is simply watching these characters mess up in their everyday lives and in their many attempts to confess their undying love. It would be very difficult to pick a favourite from this cast of character they are all just so great.

Overall: 9
The funniest comedy I’ve ever seen (even funnier than Ouran, my 2nd favourite show). The comedy is never crude and just slightly inappropriate, though oddly anything bad is avoided from being said. Just overall good fun.

Parental Caution:
Rated PG-13
-There's a pool episode and a beach episode, (episodes 11 and 12) that seems to be a staple for slice of life animes.
-In one of said episodes you see Harima's backside... my eyes died.
-Swearing, and Harima uses the middle finger, but it's "censored"
-Comical violence
-There's not anything explicit, but so many scenes make possible innuendos and questionable situations, but no fear they are simply setting you up for a gag.

Story: 7, Art: 9, Sound: 9, Character: 9, Overall: 8
I can't say the storyline is really unique or special, but it was an interesting twist on an old theme. There were some clever lines that made me laugh and overall it was an enjoyable distraction. The art was at the same level as the best of the Shippuden episodes. The fights were very well done as they seem to be in all the movies. As far the original characters of the movie, well none of them stood out, they all felt like drab filler characters. It was amusing, and I ... didn't waste my time. It was basically a very well done five episode filler arch.

Parental Caution:
Rated PG-13
Mild swearing.
Sakura screams "You bi***!" I'll admit that I laughed.

Story: 9, Art: 8, Sound: 9, Character: 10, Overall: 9
This ONA was incredibly witty, I think I laughed every single episode. It was kept very compact and well paced making every four minute story seem much longer than it really was. The art was of course chibi but very smooth. The backgrounds were oddly well done which I didn't expect from just a simple extra to a main series. Voice acting was superb. Music was appropriate for comedy's sake. I loved how it seemed to develop every character's other side, especially Yuki's "pastimes". A must watch whether you've ... seen the main series or not. If you enjoy humour, this is for you!

Parental Caution:
Rated PG-13
-Yuki plays H-games. You can only tell that she is because of the reactions of people who look over her shoulder and that the screen is censored.

Story: 8
I'm writing this review with great fear and trepidation. In the end I'll either get shot by those who behead anyone who insults Haruhi, and on the other I'll get shot by the people who are simply overreacting giving this show a 1. Let me start off with the fact that the story was superb! The writing didn't drop at all in quality. The second season instead gave us far more insight into Haruhi's character and mysterious forces working behind her. Her powers were shown to a much greater extent as well. It is really quite amazing how ... well this series seemed to have such excellent continuity with the rest of the series and the attention to detail did not disappoint.
Now before everyone starts thinking this review will be just rainbows and lollypops, that ends here. The Endless Eight was a too endless. I honestly enjoyed it, the first four times through. And I did like the last episode, but it was nearly too much making it through the middle three episodes. I loved that there was insight into Yuki's character during this part, but the variances could have been much more noticeable. Basically you watch one good episode, eight times over! (It would have been perfect if it was the Forever Five)
The rest of the series was fun and enjoyable and the last plot was, well, different. I'll address this in the character section.

Art: 9
It was not at the same level as the main series somehow, it felt like K-ON!. So it deserves a nine, a high nine, but a nine. The faces really annoyed me at times, especially Haruhi's, which I thought was changed significantly. Nevertheless it does mostly blend well with the rest of the series, but it didn't test it's limits like the first season did.

Sound: 9
I saw no decrease in voice acting quality. Actually I thought it might have been even better as we get to hear the characters in different situations. I didn't like the intro or ending nearly as much though as the original ones. After all, what can beat Hare Hare Yukai. I thought the intro was actually very mediocre.

Character: 9
One place the show did step up was in the characters. They're different and deeper and in the case of Haruhi, darker. In the "Sigh of Haruhi" plot she seemed at times bordering on evil and we indeed saw her much darker side. This wasn't necessarily bad, it displayed more of her humanity, but it also showed how much of a brat she really was and I felt quite uncomfortable. Usually I can laugh it off when she's using/abusing her friends. But in that plot it just felt very unsettling, and I think that was the intention. This therefore caused what could have been a fun plot, be more of a serious and dark plot and I found I really couldn't laugh like I could with the original series so it disappointed me. Thus at the same time it felt like a step down because of the loss of general likeability.

Overall: 8
Taking all things into account this show does deserve this rating in my most unbiased examination I could muster. It explores a different side of things and it definitely deserves a look from those who've seen the original series. But it doesn't stand on it's own like all the other sequel shows I've reviewed.

Parental Caution
Rated PG-13
-Yuki tackles a girl and it looks... awkward.
-In the endless eight each and every episode has a scene at a pool and on some loops Mikuru is, focused on a little too much.
-In the Sigh of Haruhi episodes Mikuru is in fetish costumes, but they aren't overly immodest.
-Some swearing, I really didn't notice very much of it.
-Some physical abuse.

Story: 3, Art: 7, Sound: 9, Character: 7, Overall: 7
Lol is really all I can say when it comes to the writing in this ONA for the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. It somehow makes "Nyoro-n" the punchline for everything, and still be funny! It's funny and creative, but it's like it was written up when everyone had the midnight giggles and were bored to tears.
The art is smooth but not detailed. Voice acting is perfect since it's still the cast of the main series. The music is simple but appropriate. Characters are all hilarious and enjoyable. But ... Mikuru seemed a bit off her normal self. Basically a short little comedy for laughs.

Parental Caution:
Rated G
Nothing inappropriate is present in this anime.

Story: 8
The strong part of the series is indeed the plot. I mean it's a about a territory war between bears and dogs. You can't get much more epic. The first seven episodes, though they are necessary backstory, the real excitement doesn't come til afterwards and I really would've rather they been 4 episodes instead.
Once the plot started rolling it gets very interesting. The series doesn't have ups and downs in excitement. It just gradually builds up until the final grand showdown.
I suppose the only real thing about the writing that annoyed me was that there ... were so many possible scenes that could have been tossed in and weren't. Speaking about missing scenes, there are plot holes. Examples: Somewhere between episodes a certain character gets out of a death situation and it goes completely unexplained. "Oh look, I'm alive with no particular reason or explanation!" It was almost as if an entire episode was just dropped. Also near the end an entire slew of dogs mysteriously dissappear from the cast and aren't even mentioned, though some make brief cameos at the very end.
In a nutshell if Naruto was a dog this would be his series. There's ninjutsu, special abilities, big battles, a promising youngster, and just a touch of magic.
The nice thing is that it let's you put the pieces together and doesn't explain all the above to you in any real depth. So you have to use your imagination to fill in these blanks.

Art: 5
Well, after all that glowing sunshine and roses for the story section, here comes the bad news. This show, even though knowing it was made in the 80s, still isn't up to what I could call good art. A few pros are that the dog anatomy is very accurate and when you can have a certain dog do a round house kick and make it look believeable, you've got something good going. The backgrounds are ok, nothing spectacular. Character designs: dogs good, humans bad.
Now when it comes to the animation itself, one on one battles are pretty good, but when there's large groups there are either repeating frames or still paint scenes. An example of this is that a group of dogs are seen getting killed FIVE times, and the only thing different was once the screen was flipped, poor guys.
Facial expressions, though they are dogs, could've been slightly more dynamic. The art near the beginning of the series is better, drops in quality in the middle, then really picks up in the last two episodes and though it becomes more detailed the animation isn't as good. But I again, it was made in the 80s. I should offer it some grace.

Sound: 3
The low point of the show. Music: bad, Intro and ending: bad and ok, Voice Acting: dogs so so, humans my ears burn! Background sounds: poor. Need I say anything else?

Character: 7
I can't give this any higher because of the human characters. The human characters were among the least likeable creations I have ever encountered. But the vast majority of the dogs are quite likeable and easy to put into a box and identify who they are. I think this simplicity was a good thing for the show since complex characters would require more developement and this series was far too busy working on the plot. My top favourite has to be John, though I was surprised that I grew to really like the protagonist Gin and even some of the minor cast members. Anyone who sees this show will probably have a few dogs they would like to have kept as pets.

Overall: 6
Worth checking out for dog lovers. It's got its major faults, but it has some redeaming qualities. Perhaps I may have been a little hard on this series, it is the first "old anime" I've seen.
This series also has a sequel Ginga Densetsu Weed made 20 years later (you should see my review of that soon). Today a sequel to this second series is still in publication in manga form, Ginga Densetsu Weed Orion.

Parental Caution
-Swearing: Dang it, crap, term for illegitimate child, rougher form of goshdang. The propper term for female dog is used but considering they ARE dogs, and it was a subtitle translation, it defeats the affect. The "f" word was used twice in episode 14, that completely surprised me as it wasn't used before or after that point.
-Blood, in fact they leave not much to your own imagination. There is MUCH blood in the finale. This show is NOT for the faint of heart.
-A man forced his dog to eat his frozen flesh. *urk* almost lost my lunch.
-The bears are honestly pretty freaky. Call me chicken but a combination of the lighting and their gastly appearance made me jump more than once.

Story: 10, Art: 9, Sound: 8, Character: 8, Overall: 9
The plot has to be the best yet written for a movie. My first anime film not done by Miyazaki showed me that there are more than just one genius Japanese film makers out there. It goes at an easy pace but never felt slow. I was really surprised how time travel was kept very simple and unconfusing. Somehow it all made sense. The art would be perfect, if it weren't for some of the very slopily made shots. However I think those shots did help give the show it's ... feel. The voice acting and music was very good, far from perfect but it was very well done. Characters were loveable and Makoto pulled at my heart strings several times during the movie. For awhile she was even on my top ten favourite characters. I also liked Kousuke alot. In the end this would be my favourite anime movie, if not favourite movie ever made. Everyone should see this. However my mom went to bed before she even finished it, she just didn't get the point... oh well -_-, I guess it's going to be a little longer before I make her into an Otaku.

Parental Caution
Rated PG-13
-There is some minor swearing.
-An innappropriate comment is made in two timelines.