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I consider myself relatively new to the mecha anime genre, with my main exposure to it being in the form of Evangelion, Gundam, and a little bit of Macross. So when I heard about Nadesico and its parodies, I figured that it wouldn’t hurt to give it a go. To be honest, I don’t think I’ve laughed more throughout any other series.

Whether you’re a seasoned veteran or new to mecha anime, Nadesico doesn’t fail in its quest to poke fun at its ancestry and let you know about it. It’s rather fun to watch the show and point out the parody moments in each episode. ... It even contains a parody within a parody in the form of Gekigangar 3, a spoof of the mecha anime of the late 70s and 80s. Don’t think that parodies are the only things that will make you laugh. There are many points where the crew takes over and keeps the laughs coming with their daily interactions.

Speaking of which, I couldn’t help but fall in love with the crew of the Nadesico. Each crew member is unique and memorable in his or her own way. The entire spectrum is there: the otaku, the diva, the quiet one, the pervert, etc. It’s almost impossible to not find one character that you can relate to in one form or another. The seiyuu do an equally great job at fleshing out their respective characters. Houkou Kuwashima (InuYasha’s Sango, Azumanga Daioh!’s Kagura) does a wonderful job as Yurika, switching from heartfelt to hyper with ease.

As the series cruises along the half-way mark, the focus changes. The rampant parodies are taken back a bit, and a solid plot emerges. There are several psycho-analytic moments that blatantly poke fun at Evangelion, but I just didn’t find myself laughing as often as before. As everything hit the fan and the end began to come in sight, I was waiting for the epic conclusion that I had planned out in my mind. What I saw was nothing close to my hopes. Rather, Nadesico simply ended.

The ending left me with mixed feelings, and it will most likely be seen as a love it or hate it ending among others. On one side, there are numerous plot holes that are left wide open, and several events are left unexplained. To put it simply, under most circumstances, I would see such an ending as a failure. However, I found it to be fitting finale for such a quirky series. There didn't need to be a perfect ending. I was able to leave the Nadesico with a smile on my face and a satisfied feeling, and that’s what matters.

Whether you’re a fan of mecha anime or not, I still highly recommend this anime as an enjoyable comedy. Sometimes, you just have to take some time to laugh at yourself, and Nadesico does just that.

After finishing the first Higurashi series, I was actually looking forward to seeing what Kai had in store for me. Despite my dislike of the horror genre, I was more than willing to give this one a chance too, since I was proven wrong by the former. I was proven wrong, all right, but it was not for the right reasons.

Where the first Higurashi was centered on shocking the viewer at every turn, Kai went for a slower, more suspenseful approach. Because of this decision, this approach turned out to be exceedingly slow. With only two major arcs present and twenty-four episodes to use, many ... events were stretched out beyond their limits. There were several occasions where the story virtually stalled for two episodes at a time with almost nothing being accomplished. Perhaps because of this, the twists that were thrown in became more surprising. There were just enough of these to help me see this series to its unexpected end.

Luckily, thanks to this pacing change, I did see some good come out of Kai. With several major questions raised at the end of the first Higurashi, the series took each one and explained the reasoning behind everything clearly. I can safely say that I had no further questions about any past events when the final credits rolled. There was one other good thing about this slower approach; something that I didn’t expect. The amount of back story given was a rather nice treat. Most of this was focused around Takano, someone that barely received any time in the first season, but proved to hold much more that what I saw previously. Her story was more compelling and memorable than the actual plot ever was at any given point.

Throughout the entire run of Kai, there seemed to be something missing. The sense of paranoia that was so prevalent in the first season was absent. Granted, this had to do with the focus shift, but there still could have been a way to keep it in the plot. Without the constant fear that someone or something may be lurking around the corner, this series felt rather dull outside of Takano's story. At least the beginning and ending of each episode is enjoyable with the new opening and ending themes.

When all was said and done, I could do nothing but sigh. The ending may have been satisfying, but I still wanted more. Despite my distaste for graphic violence and horror, I actually wished that it were there from the beginning. That, my friends, is saying something.

I’m not a fan of horror films. I get scared easily over things that will most likely never happen in the real world. Despite all of this, I still decided to take a look at Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni, even though I knew what I was getting myself into. I’m glad I did.

The use of deception can be tricky to master. Use it too much, and the story becomes too difficult to follow, while not enough can make the show predictable and take away from the shock value. Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni manages to travel along this line, for the most part, perfectly. ... It puts you into a false sense of security with a typical shonen harem exterior, only to make your eyes shoot wide open with shocking violence and torture. No amount of preparation can set you up for it; it hits just as hard every time. Unfortunately, this system trips up at about the half-way point. For two episodes, the story stumbles off that fine line and becomes uninteresting. Luckily, the story recovers and puts up a strong finish.

The other thing that really sells this anime is the seiyuu. A flat cast here would’ve taken a lot of the suspense out of Higurashi. Luckily, everyone does their part and then some. The way the cast effortlessly swings from playful to psychotic along with the story is nothing short of amazing. The cast is accompanied by a simple, yet oh so effective soundtrack that adds to the suspense. There’s just something about two high pitched violins in a horror anime that sends chills up my spine.

There is just one more part, or rather one person, that bothers me about Higurashi. One character, Officer Ooishi, becomes a nuisance rather quickly. His constant appearance and smug attitude at the situations unfolding on the screen becomes quite tiresome and annoying. I understand that he is an important part of the plot, but is it asking too much for him not to stick his nose in as far as he does on a regular basis?

Despite this, I really can’t knock Higurashi down too much. Did this anime scare me? Several times, yes, but it was worth it. Will this change how I feel about the horror genre? Not at all, but as long as you have a strong stomach, Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni is a series that shouldn’t be skipped.

Released as a sister project to the Nuku Nuku TV series, Nuku Nuku DASH! is a totally different take on the Nuku Nuku story in comparison to the TV series as well as the OVA that came before it. Unfortunately, it seems as though too many things were changed, as this anime ends up being the weakest of the three.

DASH! still keeps one thing in common with its predecessors: comedy. Several moments made me chuckle (many of them focusing around Ryunosuke's pining over Nuku Nuku), but overall, the comedy that Nuku Nuku fans know and love just isn’t there. This is mainly because Nuku Nuku ... isn’t her normal, bubbly self. In DASH!, she’s much more soft spoken (not to mention sporting a totally different hair color) and with the exception of one episode, shows none of the cat-like traits that made her so funny before. Even Megumi Hayashibara's performance as Nuku Nuku is lacking. Most of the comedy from before is replaced with attempts at drama in DASH!, which fall well short of their intended targets. Fan service levels are also alarmingly high by Nuku Nuku standards, especially after watching the TV series. After the first five episodes alone, I almost decided not to finish the series due to the barrage of breasts that did nothing for an already shallow plot.

The action here gets boost in terms of frequency. However, it quickly falls under the “Villain of the Week” routine as each episode becomes very predictable: Someone tries to capture Nuku Nuku, the city gets threatened, Nuku Nuku transforms and attacks, the end. A good deal of these action sequences, as well as Nuku Nuku’s transformation sequence, are made of reused animation cycles that reminded me of such anime as Sailor Moon. There were several occastions that the plot could've been developed further after one of these fights, but nothing came of them, leaving me rather disappointed. The overall poor animation for this OVA does nothing to help out at all; even at its best, it pails in comparison to its older 1992 sibling.

In spite of all of this, the second part of this series, starting at episode 8, begins to show some promise. A main villain appears with real motives other than capturing Nuku Nuku, and some answers finally make themselves known in Nuku Nuku’s past. Though the plot devices are rather clichéd, it is still a welcome change to the former. Everything begins to gain steam, seemingly headed for a monumental final clash between Nuku Nuku and the evil forces of Mishima Industries only to turn into one of the biggest cop-outs I’ve ever seen.

Fans of the first OVA and the TV series should steer clear away from this, as virtually nothing is the same outside of character names. For anyone else, this series might be good for a weekend rental at best. Perhaps I set my hopes too high. Perhaps I expected too much from this anime. Regardless, DASH! is still a disappointment and an ill-fitting final installment of the Nuku Nuku franchise.