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Aldnoah.Zero is a show that, despite its amazing (not to mention unique!) plot with, despite the directior (of Fate/Zero fame) having only (allegedly) been in involved with the first 3 episodes only, and great bulidup, it surprisingly fails to build up on the character development. Not to say that the characters aren't good, but more often than not, I found myself rooting for the Martians.

Art - 9

The art is well, to say the least, PHENOMENAL. All the characters are like nothing we've seen before, and the CGI for the mechas looks amazingly smooth to the point that, you forget that it's supposed to be ... CG.

Character - 6

Now as I said before, more often than not, I cared more for what the Martians are doing, instead of what the humans are doing. I'm sorry, but the humans are the poeple are supposed to be the people we're ROOTING for, yet the show barely gives us reason to care about them. Maybe the most fleshed out Terran is Lieutenant Marito, because every time he steps in a mecha, he suffers from PTSD, and the door is left wide open on that after 12 episodes. BUT. I will say this. and that is... SLAINE TROYARD BECOMES THE MOTHERFUCKING BOSS AFTER 12 EPISODES OF BEING A YOUNGBOY. I honestly thought he should have been the main character. But no, we get Inaho. Wheee.

Sound - 10

But to be fair, the musical score is awesome. albeit a bit bland.

FINAL VERDICT

Aldnoah.Zero is a good show, but it has one too many token Terran characters to make us care about them, hell, in the second or third episode alone, *SPOILERS* the bland slacker character gets killed, and we're supposed to care, but the thing is, we don't. If you want an anime where the antagonists are more fleshed than the protagonists, watch this.

GRADE FOR ALDNOAH.ZERO: A-

Hunter X Hunter.
Dragon Ball Z.
One Piece.
Bleach.
Attack On Titan.
Naruto: Shippuden.
These were the anime that everyone was talking about, and for a while, I bought into the hype.

Around last year, I had never heard of this series, up until I was browsing around a YouTube playlist on KaggyVA's channel, and saw the abridged series to this show, Medaka MENT. Ever the curious one, I decided to watch this anime, so I looked it up, and I instantly got hooked.

... Story - 7
The series stars Medaka Kurokami, as she is the 99th Student Council President at Haikoniwa Academy, and she instantly becomes a staple of the school, with her abnormal superhuman feats, and abilities to 'show the right path' to other students in order to make them better people. Accompanying her is her childhood friend, Zenkichi Hitoyoshi, who is basically, Medaka's very own errand boy. Among the others are Mogana Kikaijima, a member of the swim club obsessed with money, and Kouki Akune, who is a judo prodigy.

Characters - 7
I've been browsing around the internet, and hearing things like 'Medaka a complete Mary Sue!' And 'She's too one-dimensional!' To that I say, NOT SO FAST! Medaka is actually a pretty well-rounded character (in more ways than one, you know what I mean?) She's level headed, but is also naive to the simplest things. But she always comes through in a pinch, even when it doesn't help. The rest of the cast is a (literal) colorful bunch. You have Akune, the judo prodigy who's hopelessly in love with Medaka, Kikaijima, who is tough, yet at the same time, shy, and the resident Big-Eater, Hasode Shiranui, who somehow knows everything about everybody, at anyplace or time. The supporting cast is pretty entertaining to watch, too, as they are the ones who get changed without realizing it.

Overall, Medaka Box is a fairly underrated anime, and should have more recognition that it already has.

Grade: A-

Shiki. One of simply, if not, THE most underrated anime of all time. Why is that? Because it doesn't feature fighting, no magic, no Nen, No villains trying to DESTROY THE EARTH!!, nothing. It's just people coming back to life, and becoming vampires. And I love every second of it.

Story - 8
It doesn't really have the STRONGEST story, it isn't until like, episode 12 when you start to become hooked to the story. These vampires, or shiki, start infesting the village and the people of the village don't do (and don't know) until it's too late, and multiple deaths happen, and people move away. Most ... episodes are just exposition, but it's the last few that'll hold you on the edge of your seats.

Art - 10
The art is kind of weird, but you tend to get used to it as you go along. It's not the WORST art ever, just unique.

Characters - 6
Not many of the non-Shiki characters seem to change throughout the series. But other than Masao, the Shiki are coldblooded killers who will stop at nothing to turn it into a village for them only. My favorites would have to be Natsuno, Megumi, Toshio, and Sunako.

Overall, Shiki is a violent, GORY series (especially in the last 4 episodes) that will start out slow, but eventually gets better and better as time goes on, and when it's over, you'll want to watch it again. I recommend both Japanese and English dubs.

Grade: A