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Juujika no Rokunin starts out as a very edgy, dark, gorey, revenge story about a group of unbelievably messed up children with seemingly no supervision and a horrifying sense of fun. After the obligatory shounen training time skip it turns into a revenge hit list that provides satisfying ends.
This all comes to a stop however when the plot begins to take a screeching left turn into a weirdly horrific high-school romantic comedy that seems to be only progressed by multiple instances of rape and snuff. This then starts the severe downward spiral of the story and main character development. The story doesn't get better ... and everyone seems to lose their marbles.

Save yourself some time, and don't bother.

Over half of this season (4 episodes ~ 1 HOUR) was some Karen trying to justify their whiny teenager's driving style that ironically lacks any, after his balls suddenly dropped looking at some legs. Other than his need to compensate for said lack of technique by ramming other cars out of the way, this was the worst season of Initial D.

SPOILERS AHEAD

SPOILERS AHEAD

Then there's the other side of the story Takumi, who didn't show much of what he learned throughout the series in his final battle, other than his blind attack, after spending half of the previous season talking about how he was ... working on the one-handed driving technique from Purple Shadow. He won by successfully blowing up his engine and spinning out in front of Shinji in order to win.

The whole premise was a mess, trying to find out a way to beat the MC without showing too much Plot Armor, but it was just ridiculous pitting a squeaker against someone who "evolves with every race" but doesn't really. Takumi's catch phrase should be "HE'S FAST, VERY FAST".

I'd rather watch the worst Fast and Furious movies for my car fix, and there wasn't even any good Eurobeat in this season.

Asu no Yoichi, seeing the ecchi/romance tags, I went into this expecting a fine balance of a shounen, martial arts setting and some romance infused with some fan service ecchi. I'm sorry to say that near the end, it failed to fully satisfy me.

Story: 6
Art:8
Sound:6
Character:6
Enjoyment:6
Overall:6

Story: The story to Asu no Yoichi is mainly focused on the interactions between the characters, but also since the anime included a shounen aspect, it had the action focus as well. The balance between the two however wasn't exactly up to par in my standards. With the setting A.N.Y. gave, it could have turned out much better,but had a ... lot of wasted potential due to the overall lack of flow the story had. A main plot line was obviously given from the shounen theme, but hardly followed, and easily discarded. This doesn't mean the story was bad, it may be that I have watched too many of similarly themed anime and have found too many that are superior to this one, but, the main problems I found with the story is the lack of overall flow from episode to episode. Meaning a main purpose that connects them. The anime went from a young 17 year old samurai trying to adapt in a completely new atmosphere, to just constant accidental breast grabs, and a sorry attempt at romance. The plot development is another problem; almost none is seen during the middle of the story which is when the cast of characters go about to do things very common in ecchi/harem anime like hot-springs and festivals, but when the story is given a main goal the development of it seems rushed and cliche. To sum up, the story in my experience could have been better, but Asu no Yoichi is a good anime to start out with.

Art: The art was pretty good, the flow of pictures was well done, and I found barely any problems with it. The main thing I focus on would be the quality of the anime, which wasn't too bad, to the flow of the pictures. In both of these aspects, Asu no Yoichi didn't fail.
Regarding the fan service that Asu no Yoichi provided, at first it was included to add comedic effect, but the anime never tried anything different. The fan service was just the same stuff over and over in each episode; after the repetition of the same thing, it got really old and borderline annoying. Almost on par with the To Love Ru franchise.

The Sound: The sound wasn't very good in my opinion. It reminded me of Korean dramas since Asu no Yoichi and most Korean dramas only play about 5 songs, but a billion times. Regarding the OST, it was similarly repeated as the lack of originality in the fan service region. The songs themselves weren't bad, but after hearing the same action song over and over, it gets boring and loses the added effect that is to come from accompanying the scene.

Characters: The main character didn't necessarily seem like a typical main character. IMO Yoichi didn't really stand out from the anime, nor did he have a big affect on it. The only dramatic feature Yoichi had was his adaptation to the new society. His attitude/personality/goals never showed an ulterior goal, thus making him pretty much a static character. The other supporting characters were either infatuated with one of the three following characters. Ibuki Ikaruga, Yoichi Karasuma, and Ryou Washizu. The romance deveopment between each of the supporting characters and either of those three were poorly done and showed hardly if any progress. I'll also have to input that the overall obsessive personality Ukyou Saginomiya put off was just too much. His personality pretty much was repulsive and seemed out of pace with the rest of the story. Bringing up the fan service aspect again, the main character's "Careless" breast grabs followed up by a beating from his fellow female characters was just too repetitive and got old.

Enjoyment and Overall: The main problems I had with Asu no Yoichi! were: the flow and development of the story, the OST's lack of diversity, the repetitive fan service, and some of the character's personalities. Other than these things, I think that it is just that I have seen too many anime like this and Asu no Yoichi failed to stand out. So with that, I have to say, if you have seen anime such as To Love Ru, Princess Lover!, Ichiban Ushiro no Daimou!, Rosario + Vampire, and IS: Infinite Stratos, you might want to skip out on watching this one. However if you are relatively knew to the genre, or anime in general this is a good starting plate. The overall story,characters, art and sound weren't bad or awful in any way; it's just that the anime lacked flow and originality. Giving this anime a "Fair 6".

Thanks for reading,
Nebarto

Suisei no Gargantia, at first I assumed that this was going to be another common, standard anime that focuses on just nonstop battle of giant robots and snail aliens in space. To my surprise this proved to be the opposite.

Story:6
Art:10
Sound:10
Character:7
Enjoyment:7
Overall:7

Story: The story of Suisei no Gargantia, even though it wasn't what I initially expected of a space giant robot themed anime, the story was still "Fair" at best due to it's lack of originality. The story lacked this because of how easy it was to predict the events that would occur based on the common plot line it follows. The beginning has its own ... arc and then the story progresses into a more slice of life, romance, themed anime. With the time spent on the character development of Ledo (the main character), who is forced to adapt to a society that is completely different than the one he grew up in. During this lapse of a main plot goal, the story focuses on Ledo's reintegration into a new society while bringing up the problems Ledo has with his past. When the story begins to move again, as I said before, the outcomes were very predictable, but that doesn't mean the Anime was bad. The way the producers went about bringing the resolution was a little different. The ending wasn't amazing, but it left a somewhat satisfied feeling.

Art and Sound: I've never had to complain about the art and sound of an anime before, and the art in Suisei no Gargantia, being from the year 2013, was very good. The flow of the pictures whether during action or the slice of life moments, was exceptional. That's the main thing I look for in the Art, the quality of the drawings, and the flow the pictures have. The fan service that was included was put in there nicely. It didn't have a major role, but was like a mint on your pillow.

The sound was beautiful. The OP and ED were very nicely done, and the OST during the anime accompanied the mood of the moment well. To very few anime that I watch can I say, "I need to download this" and Suisei no Gargantia has a few tracks that I do want to put into my phone so I can listen later.

Characters: The character development was mainly focused on the two dramatic characters of Chamber and Ledo. While Chamber's development surprised me a little bit because not only was Ledo was affected by the kindness and different atmosphere of Gargantia's population, but Chamber, an artificial intelligence, was as well. Ledo's personality change was mainly seen in his goals. As he went through a lack of purpose without the military and the Hideauze to fight, he found another meaning for life, and reasons to protect a society that is different from the one he knew.

Enjoyment: I enjoyed this series mainly because of the characters, the plot didn't interest me too much.

If you like anime such as, Asu no Yoichi, Hataraku Maou-Sama!, Oreigaru, or Princess Lover! they all have that kind of feeling of when the main character is suddenly thrust into a new society that forces them to adapt and change for the better. Although comedy wasn't a main focus in SNG, one can certainly find it through the interactions between the main characters and the society.

Thanks for reading,
-Nebarto

"I will not forsake anything this time"

Kaze no Stigma in a few words is about a man named Kazuma who had no talent to control fire, losing the right to wield the legendary Kannagi family sword Enraiha, Kazuma is banished by his father. 4 years later, with a mound of unknown events in his past, Kazuma returns to Kannagi territory as a powerful wind user. The events that occur between the troubles of his past four years, and his standing with the Kannagi family, play out the story that Kaze no Stigma presents.

Kaze no Stigma was a different anime for me. Though I haven't ... really seen other anime that were released in 2007 (that I know of), I can say from my perspective that it was well done for its time. The story felt as if it was going at a calming pace, not too slow that it felt like I was watching a Korean drama, but also what satisfied me is that the story didn't get rushed at all. The fact that the main things that drove Kaze no Stigma didn't result in a rushed ending in my opinion is something worth high respect.

The Story: The story overall wasn't too streamline, in other words, in the beginning it really didn't have a main goal. The beginning was composed of little missions from episode to episode that allowed for character development and the presence of themes to be revealed. Aside from the beginning, which had its own little main arc, until the main goal was shown near the last third of the series, the story kind of played out as a comedic, slice of life, romance anime. The setting was also interesting for me, I have yet to see an anime that included a somewhat similar feel of dominating families, loyalty, pride, and spell casters that relied on the elements. This makes me think of the Avatar Airbender series which I never really watched, maybe just the first season, but Kaze no Stigma puts a more "gang" feeling to it. With Japanese families competing with each other, while each having their own specific element, it differs from the Airbender series' of rebellion and overcoming a dictating empire. The setting was definitely a unique aspect to Kaze no Stigma, and the main plot line that was shown was pretty well done. The anime never totally lost the main reasons or origins, so the ending or the events that took place from beginning, middle, and end didn't feel out of place.

Art and Sound: Since I didn't watch anime back in 2007, I can't compare the art to other anime specifically. However, I've never had to complain about an anime's art production before. Mainly what I look for in anime is decently drawn pictures while having a smooth flow from frame to frame. Kaze no Stigma didn't disappoint, not once did I feel something was going too slow, or the actions seemed a little edgy. The sound wasn't a big part of the anime, since none of the tracks from the OST blatantly said "Download me", I won't say that the OST was amazing, but the music was well picked, done, and added to accompany Kaze no Stigma.

Characters: The characters were also well done. Clearly differentiating between the main characters and the supporting, the main comedy aspect came from the romance that occurs between Kazuma and Ayano. While providing sincere heart tugging romance between characters, there was a well put balance of conflict between the mains and supporting characters as well. This can also be seen through the main families of the Kannagi and the Branch families. I'll have to say, the fathers in Kaze no Stigma made me laugh with joy. Each character had their own personality, which is mainly what I look for in characters. The main character was well done and when the plot line started his actions were somewhat predictable, but done in a acceptable manner. The other characters' personalities can be seen elsewhere, either as, Yandere,Tsundere, devoting, etc...Each character to my enjoyment wasn't fully controlled by those main basics of anime character personalities. The main thing to look out for in these characters of Kaze no Stigma is their conflict, romance, and interactions with one another. Kaze no Stigma wasn't character driven since it had a main overall plot line, but had a well balance between the two main categories.

Enjoyment: I enjoyed this series well, I recommend it to any who are into the supernatural/romance/drama/action genres, or who have seen anime such as: Code Geass (both seasons), Hataraku Maou-Sama!, or Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou (although Damilou's plot development is awful, way too rushed.)

Have fun,
Nebarto

Story:7
Art:7
Sound:8
Character:7
Enjoyment:7
Overall:7 (Good)

Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou, for future reference it will be called Daimaou, a story about a high school student in a world where the God Suhara, which everyone believes in, is a system created by humans. This system creates a loop of events that occur every 100 years. This includes the continual reincarnation of 2 main characters. The Demon King, and The Law of Identity. But this time, the Demon King is different, can Sai, Akuto, escape the loop of inevitable events created by the one and only god?

Whew, Daimou definitely was a roller coaster ride of events that occurred mainly because of the main ... plot line behind the anime.
Story:3
Art:8
Sound:9
Character:7
Enjoyment:6
Overall:6
Now to explain my reasons for the scores above. Please remember that when writing a review, the MAL ratings are very unbalanced, which indicates that for each category; it can be considered "decent" from a score of 4 (+). Whereas below 4, is negative.

The Story: The story was very captivating and well done, with an introduction to a harem/ecchi/romance anime that I haven't seen yet, Daimaou was going very well. The main plot line of an almighty God, and The Demon King tested by a loop of events was thrilling to me since the animators didn't leave out a nice development of a shounen main character that also does not entirely fall under the two commonly seen harem main character personalities. Those would be, the kind-hearted saviour, or the useless loser that constantly has to be saved. To my surprise I have recently found similar anime with main characters of a harem that I would like to relate to for Sai,Akuto. Sai, Akuto can be filed as a kind-hearted one, yet does not entirely fall under that category because of the implication of a shounen themed anime. This type of main character can also be seen in Campione!,Hataraku Maou-Sama!, and Princess Lover!. As one can see each main character out of these anime that I have listed aren't the standard types in harem, so they manage to stand apart in their own category. This unique aspect I found very enticing, which is why I found the anime to overall be a score of 7-8, however this is only in the beginning. If I could make an analogy of how the story developed, the simplest would be; The take off of a space shuttle, everything goes optimally well, when a sudden engine failure and the shuttle crashes to the ground. Thankfully, 4 of the 6 pilots managed to survive and crawl out of the wreckage. Got that picture in mind? In other words, they took a very well made anime with a good start, and smashed it to tiny little pieces, then managing to tape some of it back together in the end. To quote one of my favorite Youtube reviewers, GRArkada "The ending is Paramount". In Daimaou's plot line, this was done quite well. The story managed to pick it self back up after horribly committing anime suicide with a load of cliche, power ranger, korean drama shit. The reason I still managed it to be scored as "Fair (6)" overall is because the ending is something one can definitely look forward to.

The Art and Sound: I've never had to complain about an anime's art or soundtrack before, and I don't plan to start now. The animations for Daimaou were well done, very smooth, I couldn't see any breaks in a picture, the action was very well done. All in all, a good job by the animators. The soundtrack complimented the anime well, adding tense music when needed, and badass music where the main character needed it. Although it didn't strike me entirely as "I need to download this OST", it is still worth a mention of supporting the shitty plot line through to the end.

Characters: I'll have to say that the main character reminds me of a recent anime that has just been completed and the theme of both do not fall that far apart from each other. Hataraku Maou-sama! Coincidentally both are Demon Kings xD. The main character has his faults, that coming from the common necessities of a MC from a harem minor themed anime, nonetheless even when the story fell apart, he was IMO the only thing that didn't fall to pieces. The other characters were introduced quite well, although the anime was more plot driven and failed to elaborate enough to satisfaction on the development of each character. The story definitely pushed the anime pace to its limit,which in turn hurt the potential character development deeply.

Enjoyment: To reiterate, the beginning was very well done, and I enjoyed it very much, when the shuttle crashed, I never stopped cursing myself for even clicking on the next episode, when some of the pilots survived, I was mediocrely ( I made that word up) satisfied.

Overall: Those looking for a harem shounen romance drama anime that is mainly plot driven, look no further, but prepare for the ride of ups and downs. It doesn't do too badly in terms of characters, yet one can see the neglected potential. If this anime went maybe for 20 episodes rather than 12 I believe it would have been 5 times better. IMO the score of (6:Fair) is a decent one for Daimaou.

"I've decided to stop thinking!"

Thanks for reading,
-Nebarto

The ancient gods of myth and legend, whether it be Athena the goddess of Wisdom, or heroes like Perseus, we humans thought that world to be outside of our realm. We saw the gods as untouchable, immortal, all powerful beings, yet those who overcome that barrier earn the title known as Campione, or God-Slayer.

Campione! : Matsurowanu Kamigami to Kamigoroshi no Maou, phew, I'm outta breath, for future reference, I'm going to shorten it to Campione. Campione focuses an a young high school ... boy by the name of Kusanagi, Godou. Godou, on a trip to deliver an old stone tablet for his grandfather (whom is never revealed) is suddenly and accidentally thrust into a world he previously thought didn't exist. With the help of the Italian, Bronze Black Cross knight, Erica Blandelli, they manage to slay their first god, which turns Godou into a Campione. The title of Campione can have many benefits and many downsides. Those negative effects may be the attraction of organizations who want them for their own purposes, or the positives of women flocking around him. Godou must survive the interactions of gods coming to earth and a prophecy that foretells to destroy the world. Of course, he can't do this without hot, sexy knights by his side.

To startoff, the anime Campione may have been ecchi based to start off, seeing as though there is two different types of ecchi included. Quoting my friend Milanvde, Showoff and Romance, examples of these types can be seen as; The anime KissxSis is a Showoff anime, pushing the borders of anime and hentai, whereas Romance can be seen as an attempt of showing some skin in the character's attempts at a romantic relationship. Campione, unlike KissxSis isn't entirely about showing off, yet focuses more on an overall plot line while including some nice fan service from time to time.

The story: The story was a nice balance of the standard harem / high school story lines, and the other side of a shounen, god-slayer, foreboding prophecy type of storyline. The unique part of Campione for me would be the inclusion of gods in the anime, which led to the addition of the Campiones (sounds a lot like champions, doesn't it?). Using their god powers or authorities that they received from killing their respective gods, the fights in Campione can be very exciting and cool. Not only stopping at the powers from almighty gods, Campione included magic which is controlled mainly by organizations around the Campione. Campione unfortunately cannot use magic and cannot be effected by it, unless through a kiss, which brings about the ecchi based part of the anime. The producers definitely did a nice job of not having an overbearing presence of the common day to day harem style and kept their own originality through the world of myth and legend. A big plus IMO. The ecchi was tastefully included, and the main plot line following the prophecy that is told by a princess (whom is also never revealed) isn't that bad either. The plot line never felt rushed to me, and the introduction of each harem girl wasn't that bad, in fact it was done in some original ways that stayed true to the main theme of Campione!. Overall, the Story, the biggest focus of Campione! is very well done, and provides a nice balance between the ecchi, the common harem outline, and the world of God's from Greek mythology.

The Art and Sound: The art and sound I've never had to complain about from an anime. That being said I think that the animations of the characters were done very nicely, not too sharp and focused that it can be considered high quality graphics, like Guilty Crown, but not too smooth to be considered for a romantic anime. This can be said in other words, also contributing the amount of talented balance this anime had. It not only balanced the story quite well, but also the quality of the drawings. The sound complimented the scenes in the anime well, it wasn't too over the top, but also provided the extra cherries on the top, when needed. These topics were both well done.

Characters: The characters were pretty standard, being that this anime is also harem themed. One can see the common inclusion of the Tsundere, the slighty Yandere, the lolicon, the shy type, and the just overall unusual submissive type. The main character however was a little different, to my surprise. In common harem themed anime, he didn't fall under the type that had to be protected by his girls, he didn't fall under the type to be the kind-hearted saviour either. If I were to put an example that is close to Kusanagi Godou, it would be... Teppei Arima from the Princess Lover! series, I liked both series very much mainly because of how the main character steps outside the box from common main characters and sets themselves apart from the latter. The characters IMO were introduced nicely and the relationships between them didn't seemed rushed at all. Although in some parts of the anime (you'll understand near the end of Campione!) when the relationship got serious, I wish they just went through with it instead of creating an awkward cliche scene... I mean come on, nobody would have complained if they went all the way.
(SPOILER ALERT- "I'm going to inject you with my divine protection!" XD WTF.)
Overall, a good job, and I thoroughly enjoyed Campione!.

Enjoyment: As I said above, Campione! has to be one of my favorite anime with ecchi in it so far, rivaling IS: Infinite Stratos, I also sincerely hope a second season is released because of some unanswered questions I have, and the continuation of this unique style.

Thanks for reading,
-Nebarto

This series caught me by surprise, and within the first episode I was caught up in a world of comedy, demons, and the struggles of the real world.

Hataraku Maou-sama! Is about a world known as Ente Isle, where to us humans, exist all what we see as fiction, this includes demons,angels, and magic. The Demon Lord known as The Overlord Satan seeks to widen his empire, but is soon pushed back by a hero, Emilia who is half human and angel. Using her sacred powers, and her sword, The Better-Half, Maou (The Overlord Satan) is forced to retreat with his subordinate Ashiya. Together they land ... in Japan to find themselves stranded, broke,and powerless. Maou must now learn to live in the human world as a model citizen to survive.

Story: The story IMO completely depends on the characters, it isn't an anime with a major overbearing plot that everything revolves around, but one that revolves around the characters, and their actions. So including the characters, I'll have to say that the story progressed quite nicely, this anime wasn't entirely a shounen, romance based, yet, in another point of view, a comedy based on Maou's struggles in Japan. The characters were all introduced quite nicely and each were provided with their own background information, none at all were too overbearing. The main reason this anime thrives is the interactions the characters have with each other. Starting from Maou, the ex-ruler of Ente Isle, but still the Overlord known as Satan, is a slightly oblivious, yet cunning, and powerful character. As the main character, he fills his role quite well in this slice of life themed anime. The comedy that ensues around Maou because of his peculiar personality that I cannot relate to many other anime allows for laughs to occur. Along with Maou, his trusty subordinate, Ashiya, his loyalty to Maou,and concern for their financial affairs in the human world also allow for good plot development in their social standings, and also supports Maou, which in turn affects the character development that happens to both of them. A standard character development of dramatic characters is seen, which is, "the evil bad boy gets soft and kind" sort of thing, but it is done in a unique way. Character conflict is also a major part of the story, either with the fabled fallen angel Lucifer, or the hero Emilia, comedy seems to be the main focus of this anime, and I'll have to say FUNmation did a fantastic job.The aspect of real world troubles are also very good additions in the anime, that also contribute to more comedy that I found in Hatakaru Maou-sama! The financial troubles of holding down a job produces a unique type of style of comedy that I have yet to see. Keep in mind that anything above a score of 5 on MAL is considered fine or good. Hataraku Maou-sama! certainly deserves this high score.

Art and Sound: I've never had to complain about the art of an anime, (unless it's from like... the 1990's, then I just can't watch it), nonetheless being from the most recent season of completion, the art wasn't too sharp to enhance every detail but did a fine job of balancing the smooth aspects of a slice of life genre, and action that occurs from character conflict. The sound complimented the story quite well,the OP and ED were enjoyable, yet during the anime, the music IMO failed to stand out and say "download me". However that failure of attraction didn't detract from the anime as a whole.

Enjoyment and Overall: I thoroughly enjoyed this anime, and while keeping this review short (I hope I didn't spoil too much, feel free to comment complain if I did XD.) This anime definitely deserves a look if you are looking for some major laughs and some romantic comedy. While including those soft slice of life aspects, it also provides that shouneny action stuff for the other type of anime lovers out there. Be sure to check Hataraku Maou-Sama! out if you also enjoyed similar anime such as Blood Lad, Date a Live, Oreigaru, and Beelzebub.

Thanks for reading,
-Nebarto

"Ill deal with it somehow!" - Teppei Arima
Teppei, a young teenage boy who lived with his mother and father in a social status that could be considered poor, but he was happy. Unknown to him, his life changed dramatically after his parents died in an accident that could be related to the recent attacks on the rich families in his area. Accepting his grandfather's adoption, Teppei is forcibly thrust into a world where he went from poor to filthy rich. The romance/comedy/action that ensues following his attempts at adapting to the rich life is one worth watching.

I found Princess Lover! One of the unique harem/ecchi/romance ... anime that I have seen. Contrary to the many harem anime out there, Princess Lover! put on its own style despite being adapted from an adult visual novel.

The Story: Considering all the harem based anime I have seen thus far, Princess Lover! is set in an entirely different setting. Rather than the typical high school drama, PL focuses more on a the world that surrounds the main character which includes Japan families, royalty from other countries, and heirs to major fashion companies. (Not to mention all of whom are filthy rich). The story starts out suddenly, Teppei, completely happy with his life, is suddenly ripped from his normal atmosphere when his parents die in an accident. His grandfather, who adopts him, turns out to be the owner of a mega famous and popular company, The Arima Combine. The comedy that comes from Teppei's sudden transfer to the rich and famous was very pleasing. Even in the short 12 episodes, the plot development surprised me. Usually in harem anime, one doesn't see much plot development because of the major focus on the characters, PL does a good job of balancing both. The story setting and plot isn't a typical harem themed anime, and because of that, PL has a more mature/different/pleasing feeling. Not only does the plot explain more on the conflict between the rich and poor, it also touches on economics and the roles that CEO play in running major corporations. Not only did GoHands, and Dream Force did a good job of balancing the plot and characters to where the story actually progressed to an obvious well done climax and falling action, but they also did well in including comedy and drama.

Art and Sound: The visuals done by the producers weren't sharp and picturesque like one would see in modern anime, but the smooth brightly colored drawings added to the music that accompanied it. I've never had to find fault at an anime's pictures or music, but for a 2009 anime, I think PL did very well. Being tagged as an ecchi anime I was pleased that the fan service wasn't over the top, but tastefully added. There are uncensored and censored versions but either way, it doesn't detract from the work as a whole.

Characters: Like in any generic harem anime, the main character can fall into one of two categories. The useless loser type, or the kind-hearted "I'll save everyone type". Unusually Teppei doesn't fall into either. With a good background from his parents backing his personality, a kind output that allows him to interact well with the people around him, the animators also made a character that I haven't seen so far. Teppei, unlike generic harem main characters, actually saves the day from time to time, either with his badass kendo skills, or his growing skills in managing a business. It seems as though to put it in other words, comparing it to usual harems, for example To Love Ru, Teppei and the characters in PL, and Rito and the characters in TLR are reversed. While Rito depends on the aliens to save him most of the time (not to mention he is dead useless physically), Teppei can be considered the opposite. (Although, I think deflecting bullets with a wooden kendo sword is a little far fetched.) The other characters in PL were also somewhat unique, but not so much that one couldn't see similarities.

Enjoyment and Overall: I think the major aspect of PL that allowed it to be good, would be the overall feeling of how different it is compared to the norm. In my words, it thought outside the lines of the box and succeeded. If one is looking for a break from the typical harem type anime, PL provides pretty much all of that. To reiterate, with a unique setting, different main character, and actually some plot development that occurs, succeeding at balancing these unusual additions to the harem style, PL is one worth watching. PL can also be considered an indie anime, but it is also underrated; if any of you who read this play League of Legends, it's like an unpopular champion that is actually very strong.

Thanks for reading,
-Nebarto

"Activate! God of Conquest Mode!"
Keima, the main character, has spent nearly his entire life playing Dating Sims and acquired the nickname, The God of Conquest, his fame in the Dating Sim world is unparalleled, yet a mistake happens that throws him into the world he was striving to escape from. Through the meeting of a Demon named Elucia, and the introduction of loose souls throughout Japan, Keima is forced to conquer girls that transcend the unchangeable patterns of the 2D realm, using his experience from gaming, Elucia and Keima set out to make girls fall for him to stop the destruction of his home ... town.

This review is not going to contain spoilers (I will try my very best), and will most likely be influenced by my personal opinion and experience on anime that I have viewed thus far.

How should I put this? The reason I first got hooked into this series was the implication of comedy and gaming that I encountered during the first episode. Since I'm kind of an otaku myself, I found connections to the main character Keima. The comedy that was implemented into Kaminomi was standard at some times yet new for me because of the elements that Kaminomi provided that I have yet to see.

This is an unusual romantic/harem anime, but it works in a couple ways. To start off, one thing that I would argue about would be the way this anime is popularly tagged. Instead of being a shounen themed anime, I would rather recommend a minor theme of netorare, and slice of life. My reasons for this, I choose the slice of life theme because of the daily things that go on in the anime, although I can't reveal any major part of the plot, little plot development happens while Keima "rescues" each girl from their loose soul. In fact the anime plays out more in a loop pattern, each girl does have their respective differences in personality, yet the main base origin of the arc is the same, I would have liked to have seen some changes in the plot. The reason I would choose the tag Netorare, is because of what affects Keima at the end of each "conquest", although I can't reveal what it is, you'll have to watch the anime for yourself and see if my claim for that tag is justified.

The Story & Characters: In my experience of harem/romance anime, Kaminomi was a unique one, to my surprise, the anime failed to follow the standard boring procedures of harem anime, and proceeded to introduce each character whether they would return or not in a different way that I found pleasing. Tying in the typical Dating Sims personalities of girls, and making somewhat similar characters appear in front of Keima that resemble them made the journey of romance pull me along. Though Keima can never fully commit after conquering the girl, I would say that the comedy in his attempts were the best. It seems as though the second season was immediately released and I hope through that some loose ends and questions will be resolved. That being said, the story never left me bored, or wasted time (maybe a bit during each girl's individual background story) but the anime nonetheless made up for lost time.
The characters as I see in most harem romance anime are the main reason the plot develops (if it did at all). Keima, an otaku, Dating Sim gaming freak, is the main character, and through his quirky ways of getting women to like him, the anime thrives in the comedic and slice of life aspect. The only other main character to me seemed to me Elucia, a demon from hell who is assigned to capture loose souls that escaped from hell. Elucia is one of the common air-head characters that adds to the main characters personality and their common goal that brings them together. The beginning did present a more serious life or death situation, but to my disappointment never mentioned it again. Thus the anime lost some serious, "sense of major purpose" feel to it.

Art and Sound: Though the music wasn't something I would immediately say in my head "I gotta Youtube convert this", it contributed nicely to the anime and made many scenes flow better than without it. I've never had to complain about art and music in the series. TV Tokyo, Geneon Universal Entertainment, Manglobe, Sentai Filmworks did a good job with the art aspect, since there wasn't any action at all that required the sharp picturesque feel. The average smooth drawings of characters suited the anime's pace well.

Overall: I enjoyed this anime mainly because of the main character and his journeys with Elucia, not because of possible plot development. Although in the second season I do expect some questions to be answered, this anime is definitely worth a look if you find yourself similarly attracted to anime such as Date a Live, Oreshura (Look up for synonyms), and IS:Infinite Stratos.

Thanks for reading!
-Nebarto