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Ajin is a 13-episode anime revolving around Kei Nagai, an average high schooler who keeps to himself. Ajin are immortal beings that cannot die and after being hit by a truck Kei realizes he himself is an Ajin. Keen to escape the tortures that await him Kei is forced to fight both human and Ajin foes in order to find acceptance amongst humans to live a normal life.

Ok. Now for those of you who cringe at the sight of 3D animation may be thinking “No way in hell I’m watching this!” Now I can empathise as I’m not the biggest fan of 3D animation ... either, but I will try my upmost to convince you to give it a try.


Story:
Kei Nagai isn’t the most social guy in the world and his relationships with his family members are often strained to a degree. Kei is distant from his classmates and has shunned his best friend for unknown reasons. Suffice to say, Kei is quite the loner. Kei is aware of Ajin’s and the rumours surrounding the experiments conducted upon Ajin’s.

On the way home from school Kei is hit by a truck and to his and many other bystander’s surprise he turns out to be one of only three Ajin’s within Japan. Determined not to meet the same fate as other Ajin, Kei escapes the suburbs with the help of his old friend Kaito. Thus begins the story of Kei’s struggles to find peace in a world that brands him as a monster.

The story starts off well introducing us to an unknown Ajin battling militia in Africa presumably to avoid capture and experimentation after being tranquilized he is taken away on a helicopter to some unknown location. We later presume that this is the victim of the experiments leaked on the internet. This sets us up with the understanding of how Ajin are treated.

Ajin has the setting of alternate beings that are hunted by humans and this is a concept that has been around for a while i.e. Tokyo Ghoul or Elfen Lied. The former being something I have yet to watch, but I have read the manga. So my hopes were that Ajin would exceed what I’ve come accustom to with the whole ‘monsters rise against humanity’ thing and I am glad to say I was happy with the end product.

Pacing of the story was fast and it wasn’t in a rush to conclude the story. Which was nice since 13-episodes felt too little to wrap up the whole saga.

I felt that the ending wasn’t anything spectacular and felt cheesy in a sense with Kei vowing to defeat the evil Mr. Sato. However I am aware that it was mainly a set-up for the upcoming series, hence why I am not too let down.

The story has progressed with the plot for Sato’s dominance and Kei’s desire to find peace and acceptance and they eventually intertwine with each other due to their links as fellow Ajin. We don’t just see the stereotypical ‘Let’s save the day!’ antics as Kei is very much aware that he is a target and it’s not worth the torture to save a few lives for a bullshit cause. No, Kei is doing this for himself and it’s refreshing to see a selfish character that is calculating enough to do what’s best for himself regardless of the expense of a few lives, for that I give Ajin merits.


Characters:
Kei Nagai is an average high school student, very distant from others and almost estranged from his best or former best friend Kaito. After realizing that he is an Ajin, Kei utilizes the help Kaito offers to escape the city where he is being man-hunted by authorities. Kei later meets Sato a fellow Ajin with an ulterior motive to commit acts of terrorism. It’s through this encounter that Kei realizes he can’t trust anybody and the experiments that lie before him in the hands of the Japanese government.

Kei is a particularly interesting character as he appears sympathetic and bold, but in actuality his actions are more beneficial for himself. Kei only appears to have genuine emotion towards he best friend Kaito and mainly puts on a front for most others including his family, school friends and others who he meets along the way, mostly for the use of his own gain.

Yu Toksaki is the secondary villain for the series. He is a government official in the Ajin branch is in charge of detaining and capturing further Ajin. His motives become apparent later on in the series and I won’t spoil it. Yu uses his unorthodox methods to get results which can be hit and miss and I feel his all or nothing approach can be deadly to himself and others.

Mr. Sato is the primary villain of Ajin. Having helped a fellow Ajin escape from a research facility with what appears to be minimal effort and being one man alone, Mr. Sato embarks on a quest to gather more Ajin to rebel. After coming into contact with Kei he realizes that trying to change his mind-set is difficult and the two eventual become enemies over clash of ideals.

I did feel that what Ajin did with Kaito and Kei’s sister Eriko is literally throw them out of the window after they out-lived there usefulness towards to plot. Kei left Kaito after finding out another Ajin ‘Mr. Sato’ has Eriko held captive and once the two Ajin meet Eriko as well as Kaito are never to be seen again for the rest of the series. I didn’t particularly mind this, but when their faces are on the advertised photo I expect a bigger role to be played by both of them than just the sisters stereotypical damsel in distress act and Kaito’s selfless act in helping Kei escape. Maybe we’ll see them more in the movies or next season?

Main characters did receive good development primarily Kei Nagai, Yu Tosaki and Mr. Sato. I would like to get more backstory and development for Izumi Shimomura as I feel she was just a subordinate Ajin for Tosaki to use for his own goals.


Art:
I must be living under a rock because I’ve never heard of Polygon Pictures before. Though given the task of using 3D animation, it was well executed. Nothing felt static and I particularly enjoyed the bad-ass scene with Mr. Sato when he stormed the government base for Ajin experiments. You lose sight of the fact that its 3D animation after a few episode and the story did well enough to carry it through any weak moments.


Sound:
Sound was good, I do need to listen to the OST to get a good idea of whether or not the tracks stand out on their own. I initially watched the first episode subbed before going on to watch the dub and I’d have to say that it’d be best to go with the sub. Familiar voice actors Todd Haberkorn (Yu Tosaki) and Johnny Bosch (Kei Nagai) didn’t do a bad job and I was particularly impressed with whoever Mr. Sato’s voice actor was. I didn’t feel it was particularly strong enough of a performance and if I wasn’t in a lazy mood I most likely would have finished Ajin in subs.


Final Verdict:
Immortal beings, Invisible powers that can only be seen by Ajin themselves, Ajin being experimented on by the government, a female Ajin that looks suspiciously like Ennis from Baccano? I can only deduce that Ajin is Elfen lied smashed with Baccano. There are surprisingly a lot of similarities, though I felt Ajin managed to succeed in the more serious tone that was lacking slightly in Baccano and Ajin lacked what made Elfen Lied collapse which was the cutesy comedy.

Characters were strong, but I felt that the exclusion of Eriko and especially Kaito that it was pointless to label them as main characters in the first place.

Seeing Kei’s true nature was a bit of a surprise as I thought he would end up being a weak and whining character.

I would like to know more about Izumi as there wasn’t much development for her character in the show.

I would also like to see Kaito again.

Overall I couldn’t find much to fault the show on. The show didn’t derail from the story and it maintained a consistent pace which was admirable in comparison to other similar shows.

I give Ajin an 8 out of 10 and a recommendation to watch the first 4 episodes and see where it takes you.

Alternate recommendations are Baccano that also has few immortal beings, contains black comedy so beware. Another one is Elfen Lied which follows the story of Diclonius a sub-species of human that have invisible powers that can slaughter anyone and are being hunted by the Japanese government for experimental purposes. Amongst these two you can find something you like.

This was a long one wasn’t it? As always thanks for reading and have a nice day!

I figured for this particular anime, I’d change my usual layout a bit differently.

Anime comes and go, but every once in a while a particular exciting show comes along with a strong premise and a very promising story.

In the past these shows can be Future diary and SAO for example. In the case of Boku Dake ga Inai Machi or ‘Erased’ in its English title it falls more in to the category of what Future diary did.

We have our main protagonist Satoru Fujinuma who is a 29-year old delivery man. Satoru feels responsible for not being able to prevent the deaths ... of three classmates and even after 18 years have passed Satoru still feels the after-effects of the events that took place.

I have to say I don’t particularly like Satoru’s character. What Satoru needed to realize was the fact that Satoru didn’t befriend Kayo Hinazuki when they were younger didn’t have any real effect on her death or not. The anime even goes to show that in the first ‘Revival’

When you’re an 11 year old, there was no real way in being able to stop the murder as I’m sure the killer has the victim in his sights the whole time. Even if they were friends or not, the outcome would be the same and the fact that Satoru went unnecessarily out of his way to stop deaths from happening almost cost him his own life.

What I hated the most (and this applies to a lot of situations that happen in real life) is that he ran away from the police after they suspect Satoru of murder. Surely the police would know that Satoru hadn’t killed said person after he just came home from work. Surely Satoru would have alibies and surely the police would actually have found the killer if Satoru hadn’t BLOODY RUN AWAY!!

The ending for Erased also being similar to Future diary ended in an unsatisfactory way. Satoru changes the timeline and the fact that Satoru completely justifies his actions in changing the past as the correct choice is quite arrogant. Surely if I had the ability to go back in time, I’d be betting on the scores of games or getting the winning lottery tickets, but hey! Why not save a few kids who may or may not end up being future serial killers themselves right?


It all comes down to the fact that if you go back and kill someone it may not change things for the better and if you save someone things also may not change for the better as a greater evil may take its place.

While I’m focusing heavily on the negatives, I still found Erased to be a very good show. I felt that a loss of direction stopped this from being a truly great anime and I feel with this anime it ended up being what Future diary and SAO had become. Characters like Kenya were particularly mature for the most part and does evoke suspicion because of that. While Satoru has the best intentions despite his flaws so I can’t fault him on that. Satoru also did a good job of challenging the killer with his limited knowledge of the past events.

The sound for the show was great and I particularly enjoyed the opening song and the animation behind it. Character designs were a bit different from what I’m used to seeing, so it was fresh.

Overall I did enjoy Erased. Despite the lack of direction the anime had I felt that the story and the characters carried the show best throughout the middle. Erased is by no means a bad show, for me it just didn’t fulfil its full potential.

I give Boku Dake ga Inai Machi a 7 out of 10 and a recommendation to watch this series.

Thanks for reading guys. Have a nice day!

In an alternate world anti-gravity shoes are commonplace worldwide that allows the user to fly around in the sky practically. Thus came the creation of a game called ‘Flying Circus’ Asuka Kurashina is a transfer student who has no idea about anti-gravity shoes. After being introduced to the anti-gravity shoes and the sport ‘Flying Circus’ by Hinata Masaya and Misaki Tobisawa, Asuka then decides to join the ‘Flying Circus’ club bringing about its revival.

Now I’ll be the first to admit it, I didn’t think this anime was going to go anywhere and the subject of flying was going to be a small plot point ... whilst the series focusses on the romance aspects and such. Boy… was I wrong.


Story:
The story focusses on our main heroine Asuka Kurashina and her progression in the Flying circus team and we have the inclusion of other characters from Kunahama academy and their progression within the sport.

Initially the show starts off in what I perceived to be a stereotypical romance/harem anime. Asuka meets Hinata on the beach and helps her out. The anime however decides not to take the romantic route and focusses entirely on the sports aspect of the anime.

Story progression was steady throughout the show and I only feel that the rushed ending was the let-down for me. However what surprised me was that the show made me feel that some romantic elements were going to be included, but shifted focus away from what was in the visual novel, which in my opinion was a fantastic call.

Romance elements can distract the story of an anime unless that is the central theme. However being a sports anime the focus was entirely on the development of their skills and the determination of the characters to fight for the sport that they love.


Characters:
Asuka Kurashina is a ditsy and adorable girl who had aspirations of soaring through the skies as a child. When introduced to grav-shoes, Asuka initially struggles to use them and with the assistance of Hinata and Misaki, Asuka learns how to fly properly and after being persuaded to join the flying circus club Asuka’s skills in flying and as an all-rounder player excel greatly. Asuka’s relationships with other members in the group is solid and especially with Misaki which I will delve into.

Misaki Tobisawa is a stern and energetic girl who is personally my favourite character in the show. It was after introducing Asuka to flying circus that Misaki would try competing in the sport again. I felt Misaki’s development as a character was really tested after being beaten Kazunari Shindō. I really loved how the show goes about portraying the change in desire after losing to someone else and witnessing someone else better than you.

The last mentionable character is Hinata Masaya who is the coach of the flying circus team. Hinata acts as a mentor for Asuka and the others to help improve their game. Masaya is a lesser character in the anime in comparison to being the main protagonist of the visual novel.


Art:
Studio Gonzo does yet again a great job of animating this series, the use of 3D was apparent in some episodes, but I didn’t find it particularly distracting. Colours were vibrant, but character designs were nothing special if I’m honest.


Sound:
The sound was very good for the series. I haven’t listened to the OST yet, but particularly during the flying circus matches It was heavy with excitement and anticipation. The sound tracks did a good job to get me invested in the intense sports battles. "A-gain" by Ray was an excellent ending song for the anime and accompanied by the visuals of Asuka and Misaki highlighting the two’s close friendship and rivalry made it very enjoyable.


Final Verdict:
I was quite sure this anime would end up being another stereotypical adaptation of a romance visual novel and I was honestly quite surprised with the final product. Let’s get this straight Aokana is a sports anime, something I didn’t realize since old reliable Wikipedia branded It as a romance. When stripped away of its romantic elements you do have yourself an enjoyable show to watch. That doesn’t however mean it’s a justifiable show to recommend.

The anime started off quite slow actually. I also felt that there are a lot of other sports anime out there that could do equally as much justice as Aokana did, but just a difference in sports. I can see how the appeal of flying through the skies can make can the show an attractive proposition and to integrate a sport into this was a very good idea, to which I give the Reiko Yoshida applause.

The silly moments provided comedic relief weren’t anything too amusing and at times Misaki’s use of cat speech like ‘Nya’ can be annoying, though I'm just nit-picking the little things.


Overall I found this Aokana to be a very nice show about competitive flying sports. I recommend this to fans of sports anime looking for alternative sports to basketball or tennis. Those looking for romance elements won’t find any here, so scoot along.

I give Aokana a 7 out of 10 and a recommendation of trying the first four episodes. If you don’t like it then move on to something else after that.

Alternative recommendations for this are Ro-Kyu-Bu! A basketball anime with cutesy girls who aim to become better basketball players… Yeah... Sorry guys I don’t watch a lot of sports anime can’t find much else to compare this to if im honest.

Lastly I suggest trying a visual novel called. ‘If my heart had wings’ vastly different in terms of story as a group of highschoolers set out building a glider to soar through the open skies. It came to mind when i watched Aokana. If you like visual novels check it out.

Thanks for reading guys. Have a nice day!

Re-Kan! Is a supernatural, comedy anime that aired in the spring of 2015. The story revolves around Hibiki Amami a high school girl who has the ability to see and talk to spirits. We see the daily life of Hibiki and her friends as they often assist with helping spirits come to peace.

Now I originally reviewed this series back in the summer of 2015. Fortunately I have had time to reflect over my original thoughts on the series and see if this new one gets taken down. Wish me luck!


Story:
Hibiki Amami is just your average high school ... girl who has a heart of gold and a personality of sweetness so over used that I had to drink my tea without sugar whilst watching this anime.

The series was episodic dealing with different spirits and the life they lead before passing on into the spirit realm. Hibiki and co set about helping the spirits find peace, but they never move on and still linger around Hibiki, more often than not to provide comedic relief.

I feel that it was a shame that the bad humour took out the sting of the more heart felt moments from the heavy hitting stories.

Episode Nine was a prime example of how the comedy made said heart felt moments look completely out of place. I was actually surprised with how sad the ending of that episode was especially since the cast assumed that Hibiki dating an elderly gentlemen. That for me was a prime example of Re-kan’s undoing.

Well… maybe im being a bit too harsh on the comedy elements as I’ll admit some of it got me smiling.


Characters:
Like most comedy shows the supporting cast does much better than the main character herself. Mainly the dead spirits which Hibiki interacts with provide more comedy and honestly more story. Hibiki is the one that brings the living and dead together like the mother Teresa she is.

Hibiki Amami is a sweet but ditsy girl who is a ghost whisperer. She is a nice girl and at times can be taken advantage of unintentionally by spirits who crave for her attention. Hibiki often helps the spirits to find peace. Her relationships with the living cast of friends are not the focal point, but the friendship she has with her group is just as meaningful as it is with the dead. It is implied that Hibiki and Narumi Inoue are Yuri partners, but never specified.

Narumi Inoue is the secondary character who is afraid of ghosts and is the shows Tsundere. Over time she befriends Hibiki without ever really admitting it until later episodes. Narumi does a good job of supporting Hibiki and being there for her in good times and bad.

Other mentionable characters include the role-call samurai who has a massive crush on Hibiki, Merry-San who haunts Kana Uehara and Ero-Neko the perverted cat who… has his moments.


Art:
The Artwork isn’t great and neither is the animation. I rarely see points throughout the show which suggests this is pretty to look at.

Kana Uehara is an example since her hair covered her eye, yet you could still see the eye… I don’t know why this bothered me really. This is the first show I’ve watched of Pierrot’s work but I wasn’t impressed.


Sound:
Re-Kan’s opening felt that I should have been is a stereotypical Yuri show, which to be fair appeared to have the lingering undertones of one.

The rest of the soundtrack was nice actually. I could range from happy peaceful music to upbeat and whacky at a moment’s notice. Some parts of the soundtrack can stand out on its own.


Final Verdict:
Overall Re-Kan! was an average show. Whilst there always seemed to be a positive message by the end of most episodes it’d hard to justify watching through twenty minutes of a perverted cat looking for girls panties.
(I’m probably over-blowing that scenario, but I hope you get the gist)

Hibiki stole the lights for your typically sweet main protagonist and the side cast do a positive job in progressing the movement of the episodes, whether that be offering comedy or helping the spirits find peace as well.

Animation is almost below standard and the soundtrack does an relatively decent job.

I’d recommend that you watch sixth sense if you want something a bit more serious.


Overall Re-Kan! Gets a 6 out of 10.

Alternate recommendations are the aforementioned Sixth Sense which is not an anime.
I also recommend Death Parade focussing on dead people and their passage in to the abyss or reincarnation which does a more serious take on the dead and the infamous realm known as ‘In Limbo’

Thanks for reading guys. Have a nice day!

Ore Monogatari is a 24 episode romantic comedy revolving around the big loveable giant Takeo Goda and his girlfriend Rinko Yamato. It shows there trials and tribulations in being a couple, with some bumps along the way.

Story:
When this anime first aired I was surprised at how the less attractive male would take leading role in place of the usual blonde and handsome male in every other shoujo, romantic comedy. Little to my surprise that Takeo would be the one with a heart of gold and a much more likeable personality compared to that of his best friend Makoto Sunakawa.

However due to Takeo’s ... freakishly large stature for his age he has trouble getting the girl he likes to return his feelings and them often falling for Sunakawa instead. After the process repeats itself for many years it would be safe to assume this would happen again after helping the kind and sweet Rinko Yamato.

Making the assumption that Rinko likes Sunakawa, Takeo goes about trying to set the two up. Things stay this way before Sunakawa being the good friend he is and clears up the misunderstanding and helps get the two together.

From there on out we go through their angst, lack of trust, other love interests for both Takeo and Rinko and other stories.

Characters:
Takeo Goda is our main star for the show. He has a large and muscular build despite being a first year at high school. People often mistake him for a criminal as seen in one episode where police approach him. Takeo has a kind personality and helps others who are in need of it without. The downside of his personality is his self-doubt from constant rejection, making the first few episodes of the series quite frustrating.

Rinko Yamato is the main love interest and girlfriend of Takeo she is a sweet and nice girl who often likes to bake sweets for Takeo. After being attacked in the first episode Takeo came to her rescue and she developed a crush on him, even going as far as to track him down via police in order to see him again. I get the feeling that there may be more to her character than meets the eyes.

Makoto Sunakawa is Takeo’s best friend. He has the prince charming look and the laid back personality to make girls think he’s cool. Sunakawa is often rejecting girls as they either say bad things about his best friend or has no connection with them whatsoever. Sunakawa was instrumental in getting Takeo and Rinko together and is often good to clear up misunderstanding both have for one another.


Art:
The art was really nice in this series; it had a lot of shiny and pretty colours to suit the romantic theme. Madhouse was the studio behind this, meaning of course that we’re unlikely to get a second season.

Sound:
The opening “Miraikei Answer” was a nice opening it was sweet and the visuals to go with it worked a treat. The ending song "Shiawase no Arika" was much better to my taste having a sharp vocals and a lovely guitar sound.


Enjoyment:
I very much enjoyed this show. When I first saw it I instantly regarded my two best friends as Takeo and Goda as the personalities matched the characters in Ore Monogatari. The story was refreshing, telling it from the view of the less attractive best friend character. The comedy was entertaining and it gives me hope that even I can find love if my heart is good enough. The only flaws I could think of were the shows length, whilst I did enjoy its entirety I did think 24 episodes seemed like a lot. Another is the text that appeared above characters heads when they were thinking something and not saying it aloud, sorry to nit-pick, but I found that distracting.


Overall:
Ore Monogatari is a lovely show. Being a kind person with a golden personality is more than enough to get the girl of your dreams and this anime portrays that well. Characters are well developed, but leave me feeling there is more to be discovered about the trio of main characters. Story is good, although a bit longer than it needed to be. Art was good and had very pretty colours and nothing wrong with the animation either. There are few flaws in the show to mention.

Overall I give Ore Monogatari a 7 out of 10.

I don’t have any specific alternate recommendations as this show is similar to most other Romantic comedies out there.

Baccano is a 13 episode crime anime revolving around a mix group of protagonists and antagonists. The story focusses on each characters point of view ranging from robberies, immortality, torture, violence, murder and more.


Story:
It is hard to generally give a summary of the story for such a mixed bag. The large list of characters for the show makes it hard to follow and with the addition of time skips in every episode makes it even more confusing for the longest time.

We are primarily in two separate timelines with a third acting as the back story and stories, the first story takes place ... back in 1711 where a group of alchemists summon the devil and are given an elixir for immortality.

The second story takes place in 1930 where the remaining members of the alchemy group live their respective lives.

The third revolves around the hijacking or a train called ‘The flying pussyfoot’ (Best name ever)

Over the course of 13 episodes we’re presented with the three stories intertwining with one another and despite initial confusion, it all becomes clear by the end of the series.


Characters:
It’s not often that I’ve had to deal with such a large cast of characters in an anime. I will only give two of the main characters for each of the three story arcs.

Maiza Avaro is one of the alchemists from 1711 who gained immortality through the elixir; the devil only gave Maiza the knowledge of how to re-create the formula for immortality, which he decides against telling the others. This causes conflict with a fellow immortal

Szilard Quates is the main antagonist for the 1711 and 1930 arc. Obsessed with knowledge and the secret of the elixir Szilard kills most of the alchemists from 1711 to obtain it.

Firo Prochainezo is a member of Camorra family and is close friends with Maiza. Firo is quite a cheerful and nice guy often not resorting to violence unless necessary. Firo is the main protagonist for the 1930 arc.

Ennis is Szilard's clone or homunculus created for the sole purpose of serving Szilard and his ambition to obtain the elixir.

The final are Isaac and Miria who are the main couple in the 1932 arc. Making the obvious reference to crime partners Bonnie and Clyde the duo are common thieves though remain elusive through their rather unconventional means of stealing. Often using crazy outfits and masks they are mistaken for actors and move from town to town. I can say without a shadow of a doubt that these two are my favourite comedy duo of all time.

Other characters have pivotal roles in the series appearing in each arc and despite being lesser characters they all get a good deal of screen time and development.


Art:
The artwork for the anime wasn’t that great. A lot of the time it was dark colours to suit the crim theme. Brain Base were the studio for this one having also created works such as My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU, Blood Lad and One Week Friends all of which are very good works, though not really memorable through the art.


Sound:
The upbeat jazz sound in Baccano had me reminiscing of my time watching Cowboy Bebop. The opening song "Gun's and Roses" was good, but every time I played it in my head I kept thinking of ‘Tank’ the ending "Calling" was nice, but I didn’t listen to it all the way through.


Enjoyment:
Did I enjoy Baccano? For the most part, yes I did. I always love a good black comedy and with the violent murders of men, women and children not being held back in the show along with the comedy aspects of Miria and Isaac it all balanced itself out well.

The flaws in the show could be the unanswered questions of some characters. For example who are the two characters at the beginning of episode one and what relevance did they have? What was the whole Rail tracer and Chane Laforet about? Is Ladd Russo immortal? Would Ladd Ruso have killed Chane had the Rail tracer not interrupted? What happened to the rest of the characters that are up to the date 2001? Is Dallas Geonard still alive? A few questions which may be answered in the three OVA episodes I will watch later.


Overall:
Overall I think Baccano did an excellent job with the large cast of characters and the interesting time skips which could have gone wrong, but it all came together into a nice tidy finish. The story was done well although it was split into three different parts and all links together nicely. I can’t find much fault other than the standard artwork and the few unanswered questions regarding some characters.

I give Baccano a 7 out of 10 and a recommendation to watch it if you are a fan of crime and black comedy anime.

Alternate recommendations are Cowboy Bebop where a group of bounty hunters are chasing people for any crimes and it has a kickass soundtrack. The second anime recommendation is Gungrave, having supernatural themes and organised crime. Either of these two will be a better alternative to Baccano.

Thanks for reading guys, have a nice day!

Taifuu No Noruda is a short anime film revolving around Azuma, Shuuichi, his best friend Saijou, Kenta and the alien girl Noruda.

Story:
Azuma quits the baseball team and this causes him to fall out with his best friend. After a storm stops Azuma from going home he spots a woman on the top of a electric tower. After witnessing her fall he goes to her aid.

The story then goes about Azuma stopping the storm which will inevitably destroy the earth with the help of his best friend Saijou.

Art:
Studio Colorido was in charge of this making this anime. The only other show I ... know they cam out with was Brynhildr in the darkness. Safe to say they are relatively new. The art wasn't bad and I'd almost thought that it was from studio MAPPA who did terror in resonance.

Sound:
No particular tracks stand out as it was too short.

Characters:
Azuma was our primary protagonist playing the hero to the helpless alien. He wants to follow his own path rather than that of his best friend, feeling that he is in Saijou's shadow the two fight and fall out.

Noruda is seemingly the catalyst for earths destruction as she is bound by a necklace that causes a storm. She desperately struggles to rid of this and requires the help of Azuma and Saijou to destroy it.

Saijou is Azuma's best friend, he struggles to come to terms with Azuma leaving the club and then holds a grudge after fighting and after talking things through they both come to understanding and make up.

Enjoyment:
I didn't think this anime was particularly enjoyable, it was too short and not enough time for much development in my eyes. It was rushed greatly and I didn't learn much about Noruda and her origins or why she ended up on earth to destroy it.

Overall:
This is just your average OVA film that you can just add to your list or to pass the time. Good way to kill time if your waiting for a game to download.
The only plus side I can think of is that friends always find a way to pull through? Yeah lets go with that.

I rate this anime a standard 6 our of 10 and a recommendation of try it if you have a spare half hour on your hands.

Whew! its been a while since I've done one of these. Thanks for reading guys, Have a nice day!

Gungrave is a 26 episode anime that was released back in the fall of 2003. We follow Brandon Heat or what he is currently known as Beyond The Grave on his journey to get revenge on the organisation that killed him called Millenion.

Story:
We are first introduced present time to Beyond The Grave who is resurrected from the dead by Dr.Tokioka using necrolyzation that he developed years prior. We see Grave’s journey as he battles the forces and undead forces to destroy Millenion. The majority of the show back peddles to Brandon Heats past which shows us the progression of how ... things came to be how they are.

I have to say that the pacing of the show was incredible. Everything was well fleshed out and even though there were some time skips we get the general idea of how things play out as through the suggestive dialogue between characters. The story ends on a good note concluding the show rather than leaving it open to interpretation or leaving it unfinished for a second season that will never come *Cough* Highschool of the dead *Cough*

I was surprised when I found out that this was an original anime and even more shocked that I didn’t hear about this show earlier.

The few minor flaws with the show could be down to how Grave came to be necrolyzed, something which I can’t delve into for spoiler reasons. Other flaws can be the lack of dialogue from the main protagonist; however I felt the little he speech he did use and his use of actions were much more powerful. The only other problem I could really say I had was with Mika Asagi who was really just a blatant plot device. I didn't think her character brought much to the show literally other than for minor progression.

Characters:
Brandon Heat/Beyond The Grave was our main protagonist and Dandere character. He wields two heavy pistols with a out of town cowboy get-up. At first I actually saw some similarities to his character with Guts from Berserk. Brandon’s development throughout the series is very drastic yet it seems to flow along at a steady pace. Brandon is shy and that’s one reason for his lack of speech. He is also a very skilled street fighter and later being an equally as skilled gunman. Brandon’s relationship with Harry McDowell is the focal point of the show and we see the best friends rise to the top and their eventual falling out.

Harry McDowell is the secondary main lead. Harry is very smart, charming, intelligent and cunning. Harry originally wishes for freedom in his life, however after meeting with members of the Millenion group his goals switched to wanting power and money. We can see the quick change in Harry as the early episodes go on. Harry soon turns into the antagonist of the series with his quiet up-rise to rule Millenion. Here we see the dark points of what a power hungry man and what he will do to accomplish this.
Since there is quite a large cast I won’t bother going into the detail. I will give a special mention to my favourite character Bunji Kugashira the lone hit-man who considers Brandon his brother.

Art:

The artwork wasn't amazing, having no source material can be difficult, but with what they had they used it well. The animation was ok Madhouse did a decent job of it and it was fluid at times, though it had its bad moments as well.

Sound:

Listening to the OST was fun for me, when it pushes away from the stereotypical mafia songs it sounds quite good. The opening song 'Family' was very contrasting to the anime, but it was still enjoyable. The ending song Akane iro-Ga Moeru Toki was a good song and had a terrific bass line.

Final Verdict:

Though Gungrave had a few minor flaws in its department it managed to be the first anime in five long years that made me consider my number one anime. This anime is excellent and i'm surprised i have never heard anyone mention this to me before until July 2015.

I give Gungrave a well deserved 9 out of 10 and a recommendation to watch this ASAP.

Alternate anime to watch are Berserk this show has a main protagonist similar to Brandon and follow similar paths. I would also recommend Black Lagoon as it is notorious for its dark crime.

Nisekoi is a twenty episode anime centred on the life of Raku Ichijo who is the son of a Mafia leader. Due to tensions between a rival gang Raku is forced to stage a relationship with the opposing Mafia leaders’ daughter Chitoge Kirisaki. Thus begins the awkward façade whilst he pursues his actual crush Kosaki Onodera, deals with Chitoge’s overly violent and love stricken bodyguard Seishiro Tsugumi and the forced fiancé Marika Tachibana.

I initially started to watch this show upon its release back in January 2014. I had decided to put this on hold after being less than impressed with it due to the Tsundere ... Chitoge who was a consistent thorn in my side up until episode six. Come the end of the show, Chitoge was still a major hindrance rendering the show further un-enjoyable for me. The main protagonist certainly didn't help matters with his obliviousness to realize that Onodera has feelings for him.

Story:

The story revolves around Raku Ichijo the son of a Mafia leader who enjoys his normal high school life despite his unusual upbringings around many gang members. On the way to school he is kicked in the face by a blonde transfer student Chitoge Kirisaki who would later in turn be forced into a fake relationship with Raku in order to stop the violence between the two gangs much to both parties dismay.

The two then go about putting on a front for the rest of the series in front of the gang members and school students alike.

The story is frankly not great. Throwing the two into a no win situation where they have to be together for lengthy periods of time when they don’t necessarily get along makes for bad comedy at times. Chitoge’s Tsundere act is quite annoying as she only throws anger at the direction of Raku despite his efforts to be nice and help her out on multiple occasions. Other comedy elements stem from misunderstandings which is horribly distasteful and the best friend Shu Maiko who does well on his part for the show being the most rational yet comedic trouble maker.

Characters:

Raku Ichijo is your standard guy. He just wants to live peacefully without the hassle of Mafia breathing down on him. He has a long time crush on Onodera which is sweet and all, but his inability to realize that Onodera has feeling for him infuriates me. I remember at the beginning when Raku didn't notice a substantial clue about his childhood sweetheart which was so blatantly obvious that I questioned how he can be so completely oblivious to the matter. I hate how he cannot make up his mind as to which girl he is in love with. Raku states Onodera, but his relationship progression with others would just tell you he is indecisive.

Chitoge Kirisaki is the main lead who in general can be a bitch at times. Coming back from America Chitoge is introduced and initially struggles to read Kanji amongst having a hard time making friends. Despite Raku’s dislike of her he does his utmost to help her study and make friends. Chitoge does have her moments of kindness, but it is usually thwarted by her embarrassment to admit she is wrong or thank Raku for his help. I personally wouldn't root for her in pursuit of Raku.

Kosaki Onodera is our second competitor for Raku’s heart. Onodera is a sweet and very shy girl and close friend to Raku. She has a hard time putting her feelings out towards Raku which is difficult to understand as it is painfully obvious to see. I like when she and Raku spend time together as it is very awkward but sweet to watch. The episode in which they are together at Onodera’s shop is a nice bonding episode, but in all fails to amount to any substantial development in their relationship, its as if they are as they started.

Other mentionable characters include the comedic and perverted best friend Shu Maiko who seems to be one of few people who knows what’s going on behind the scenes. Next is Seishiro Tsugumi who is a violent bodyguard for Chitoge, who can have her cute side. Lastly is Marika Tachibana the elegant lady who reformed her strange accent in order to be Raku’s ideal girl.

Art:

The artwork was well done; it had a good variety of colour and lighting which made it good to look at. The character designs were nothing spectacular just clean cut, cute girls. Animation was ok I hate when it uses the cliché tropes such as blushing faces and drastic change in the characters designs to fit comedic and awkward situations in this scenario I wasn't pleased.

Sound:

The few soundtracks that I managed to find on-line were very decent actually and a little quirky, much better off accommodated in a more comedic anime. The use of guitar and piano was very good.

Final Verdict:

Overall I had a hard time with this show. It sums up why I dropped it in the first place. While the show has its moments with comedy and a fraction of development with Raku and the females, ultimately it fails to justify the lengthy time spent watching it. This is the sort of show you shout at the protagonist to make up his mind, becoming much more commonplace these days.

If you hate rom-coms with little to no progress I suggest you steer clear. No characters are worth sticking around for and no episodes really stuck out to me.

Overall I give Nisekoi a low 6 out of 10

I suggest giving it four episodes to see if it sways you.

Alternate recommendation is Highschool DxD a harem with an indecisive main character, but this centres around supernatural circumstances.

What do you get when you mix fan service and plot? High School DxD!

High School DxD is a twelve episode anime produced by studio TNK released in the winter of 2012.

The anime revolves around high school student and grade A pervert Issei Hyodo. His goal is to become a harem king and after meeting with the crimson haired beauty Rias Gremory could his dreams come true.


Story:
Our main protagonist Issei is a pervert, an open one at that. He dreams of having an array of beautiful girls showering him with attention. After being asked out by a timid girl he soon learns of ... the existence of devils and angels. Upon finding this out the angel attacks him. He would later be healed and made to join Rias Gremory's group of subordinates.

Now prior to my initial thoughts there actually seems to be some semblance of a story. Being a pawn in this scenario Issei is challenge to gather contracts from humans. (for whatever reason I've yet to establish) Issei then makes the goal of becoming a top rank devil which is very slow going.

The general plot is somewhat overshadowed by the excessive fan service, however its thrown in mainly for parody reasons. High School DxD is a show that can be serious when it wants to be and it also doesn't stray from its comedic and stereotypical harem anime. This anime is not meant to be taken seriously. I can sum it up with it being a fun show to watch.


Characters:

Issei Hyodo is our main protagonist. It's abundantly clear from episode one that he is a pervert. He gets involved with friends on spying on the girls changing room. Despite this fact he has a good heart. He demonstrates this time and time again with all the female characters in the show. His shear will power to become the greatest demon is nothing abnormal from most main protagonists who are against the odds, but who knows. The only development I can see from Issei is that he gains a greater lever of power and maybe he'll pick a fucking girl to date!

Rias Gremory is our main female protagonist and is the to be head of the Gremory household. She helps Issei out after his altercation with an angel and contracts him to serve the Gremory household. She is the standard set for Issei to beat in terms of power and in general a model demon. She like the many other females in this series wants his... Love? I suppose that'll do.

Other characters include the shy and blond cutie that is Asia. Asia is a former nun renowned for her healing abilities, she is also my joint favourite female in the series. Akeno is the sexy and sadistic goddess of lightning who has definitely got my vote for the best female character along with Asia. Koneko who is the equivalent of many other Kuudere's and lastly Yuto Kiba who doesn't get much screen time until season two.


Art:
The art is standard. Nothing balls to walls worthy but its good during the battle scenes. Other TNK works I have watched include School days... How the hell did I forget that?


Sound:
The sound is god suits the theme of the show, but I've yet to listen to the OST on its own.


Final Verdict:
High School DxD is an anime that isn't meant to be taken seriously. Its a bit of fun for male anime fans. If you are tired of shows with excessive fan service then you may want to stay clear. Mainly aimed at male audiences so girls you may wanna check out fruit basket instead.

Overall I give High School DxD a 7 out of 10

Alternate recommendations are High School of the dead, another show which contains excessive amounts of fan service, but with zombies! and another one of TNK's works which is School days... I'd just stick to the former if I were you guys.

Thanks for reading guys, have a nice day!