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Power. Be it in the form of wealth, influence or any other, we all know that it can change the people who have it. We are quick to call the rich, the politicians and many others corrupted when they abuse their power. And we often say that it should be us that had it, that we would be able to use it for the greater good and for that only.

The truth is... we never know how corruptive power can be, until we have it in our hands. And, even if we don't realise our corruption, it shows to the ones around us. We may think ... that we are using the power we are given to fight evil... but what is evil and what is good? If everything has a cause, then so does evil, and, if so, is the cause also evil? Is then everything evil? In the end, do good and evil truly exist? And who has the right to say so?

These are the questions you 'll be asking yourself as you watch "Death Note". The whole series is a battle of morals in the characters' heads and a battle of wits between Yagami Light, the person bestowed with power capable to change the world, and the people who try to uncover him and put him to justice. In the beggining of the story, you will almost certainly find yourself supporting Light and his ethics to the fullest. But, by the time you reach the finale, that will probably have drastically changed. As Light's character would have changed from the person with the pure motive of cleansing the world from (what he perceives as) evil to a monster that won't hesitate to toy with the feelings and lives of humans and gods alike, to acheive his own selfish goals. As the story goes, his hybris constantly becomes bigger and bigger. In the end, will he receive divine retribution for his attrocious acts, or will he become a God on earth?

The story and the way it unfolds strongly reminds me of another show, coming from the other side of the pacific... namely, "Dexter". In fact, their story and plot are so similar (save for the supernatural element in "Death Note") it's almost suspicious. For those who 've seen "Dexter", the phrase which summarises "Death Note" is "Anime Dexter on steroids". And probably crack as well.

To the more technical aspects of the show, you can't really find something to be unhappy about. The art and animation are done really well, and particularly the designs of the deathgods were quite imaginative. The voice acting is almost perfect, with the characters' feelings and personalities succesfully portrayed in their voices. I don't have much to say for the opening and closing animations, except that the second OP kicks a**.

Well, even though most agree that "Death Note" is a masterpiece, it is, like everything else, not without it's flaws. There are mainly two things I didn't like.

- Misa. I cannot decide if I adore her for her cuteness and sexyness, I admire her for her detective skills or absolutly hate her for being the world's biggest IDIOT (with all the letters in capital) when she is around Light. Really, she can be so pathetic at times, it hurts to watch. In a series where all the characters' personalities seem somewhat realistic, hers seems like it came straight out of "Pink Panther".

- The ending. Or rather the way we come to it. Because the ending itself is fantastic by all means, but the last episode as a whole feels like:

"-OK boys, look, we've only got budget worth for one more episode, so let's wrap it up and go for a drink. Oh, and the story will end like THIS.
-But, boss, we can't go from HERE to THERE in one episode. It won't make any sense no matter how we present it.
-No, you can't. But you will."

Yeah, whatever.

Anyway, these and some other minor problems are not enough to deter me from saying that "Death Note" is one of the best anime series ever created and an absolute must-see for everyone. It is the most popular anime here in MAL, and that is for a good reason.

Vampires have lately become a trend in the entertainment industry, obviously including the anime and manga industry. Countless movies/books/series etc have been made about them, and in the name of originality, their creators had to more or less move away from the actual vampire myths. Which is a good thing, because otherwise all of them would pretty much be like Dracula, and that could ruin the whole genre. Nobody likes rip-offs, after all. Therefore, over the past few years we've seen vampires that can walk under the sun, go to human school and live a pretty much normal life.

Now, the reason I'm taking this long ... introduction is because "Record of Fallen Vampire" features the most rediculus variations of the original myth, namely vampires that don't drink blood to survive. I don't know your opinion, but any creature that doesn't need to drink blood is, at least for me, not a vampire. It might be a drow elf, but that's beyond the point. There is however a single blood-sucking moment towards the end of the story, so I will accept it as it is. Now, to the review.

"Record of Fallen Vampire" has one of the most gripping stories I've ever seen or read. Part of it is because almost everything you thought was true at the beginning of the story will have been dismissed as lies by the time you've reached the middle. You'll be led to believe the myth surrounding the vampire king's name, but you will soon learn that nothing is as it seems... and again... and again... until the final truth, the one even the king himself doesn't know, is revealed. On the journey towards that truth you will discover political intrigue in the human and the vampire world, and you will see mortal enemies joining hands to fight a common foe. The only thing that bothers me with the otherwise great story is that, at some point, there is the introduction of aliens to the plot. Many may find them matching well with the vampires, but I personally find the combination pretty silly. The fact that the aliens themselves - although we never get to actually see how they actually look like - are as cliche as they can get certainly doesn't help.

The main characters are quite deep and are developed pretty well as the story progresses. Particularly Kayuki, Bridget and Strauss are characters to fall in love with. Some of the more minor characters could have been developed a bit more, but you'll hardly notice it.

Art is surelly one of the biggest assets of the manga series. All characters are drawn well, but especially some larger drawings look astonishing.

All in all, "Record of Fallen Vampire" is a trully great manga for all those who love good fantasy, action and romance. I would recommend it as a must-read to all those vampire-fans out there (part of whom I am myself ;) ) although the main story is clearly not of the typical vampire genre. But then again, the manga's backstory clearly is, so you'll probably like it anyway.

"Kore wa Zombie desu ka?" is, despite what the "Zombie" in its title might suggest, the extreme opposite of every zombie show you've ever seen before. Forget about mindless monsters trying to eat you alive. What we have here is a harem mixed with slapstick comedy, magic and lots of gore.

Story: As in most harem animes, the actual story is not the show's main focus. However, at first glance, it seems quite a promising one for its genre, though pretty simple: A high school student is murdered after he is attacked by an unknown person. However, he is revived as a zombie with the help ... of a weird necromancer girl. From then on, he serves as her undead servant, while at the same time searching for the one who killed him, as well as continuing his school life. Various other (female) characters are also introduced, including a magic girl and a vampire-ninja, each with their own mini-backstories.

Art-Animation: Like most of the latest anime, the animation is very good. The designs are crisp and well drawn, and I dare say quite pretty. I can't say that I have any particular problem with it whatsoever.

Sound: The voice acting does its job well, with the voices being properly funny or serious depending on what is needed. There is nothing really memorable about them, but that's not nececerily a bad thing, as long as the job gets done. What I do have to aplaud is the OP, which is officially my third favourite OP of all time (behind only the OP of Umineko and Higurashi no Naku Koro ni).

Characters: To the core, the characters in "Kore wa Zombie desu ka?" are pretty much the usual Harem stereotypes: A teenage guy surrounded by a bunch of girls (which include the typical tsundere, loli etc). However, the fact that they all belong in the supernatural world slightly changes things. They can all be quite kickass at times (except for the Necromancer girl, who is extremely docile 99% of the time, but bringing people back from the dead is even cooler anyway ;) ). They can all be hilariouly funny at the same time, and they all seem to have some higher goal in life than just sleeping with the other characters - which some of them also have, nontheless. To sum it up, they seem like proper characters, unlike in the majority of harem animes. I mean, what other harem features a zombie and a vampire ninja among the protagonists?

Enjoyment: This a harem anime, so fanservice and tyical harem humor is always going to be there. But there is much more to it than that. The element of slapstic comedy is always there. What is unusual is the excecive (for the genre) amount of gore - which can be strangely funny, rather than shocking, at times. Add to that all the supernatural stuff... you 've got yourself a very good combination right?

Overall: Harem, Comedy, Supernatural, Gore, School Life... there are not many series that combine all these. "Kore wa Zombie desu ka?" does so, and it seems to do so well. If you like any of the above genres, you 've got to give this a try. You might love it or you might not... but you'll never know until you try for yourself.

I would like to begin by saying that the only reason I watched this OVA was the fact that it is the lowest scored anime in MAL. After that, I think I can proceed with the review itself.

Story: If there is one, it surely is well hidden behind a series of apparently non-linked random scenes. Long story short, there is an alien invasion from mars, and humans are trying to fight back. Classic theme, only there is a twist in the end. Not that it really matters, as you will likely have lost track of the plot (what plot, again?) by that time. Believe me, ... 20 minutes are more than enough for one to get lost in this anime...

Animation: Let's make a deal. I'm willing to give the animation of this anime a 10/10, as long as someone explains to me how the hell a spaceship could burn from entering the atmosphere in too much

speed, while at the same time being PERFECTLY STILL!!! About 50% of the scenes are still images, while the other 50% is mostly zooming in an out or moving left and right over still drawings. I did like the design of most characters...but that is pretty much all that there is to be liked.

Sound: This is probably the only reason for one to like this anime...but let me first explain that this is not because it's good. Ever heard about things that are so ugly that end up being seen as beautiful? That's the case here - only it's not beauty that stems out of it, it's laughter. Tons of it, to be exact. There is a certain part that the background music seems so out of place that it made me burst into incontrolable laughter. But the funniest part is the voice acting. They must have re-used dubs from some hentai movie - there really is no other way all the battle screams and gasps could sound the way they do. At least one could say that a battlefield filled with the sounds of sensual moans and groans is a refreshing idea in the stagnant scene of action anime... Sure it's fun as hell...

Characters: There is a bunch of them, but the closest to any character development we get is learning the names of SOME of them. Exept from one of them - I can't remember his name - who gets a whole HALF MINUTE of backstory (so that we can learn he is a pure-blooded coward). And that's it. I didn't expect much from a 20-minute show, but at least knowing who some of the characters were would have been nice...

Enjoyment: Depends on what you're expecting to watch. If you are a alien vs humans enthusiast who wants to see every last film/series/anything related to this topic, please turn away while you still can. If you have searched the whole internet, trying to find something even better than the "Jurassic Parc Movie Fails Compilation"...congratulations, you just found what you've been searching for!!!

Overall: To sum everything up, this is an anime that trully lives up to all the hype about it, in that it is exactly as terrible as it is described being. Moreover, it is an absolute must-see for every anime fan, for one sole reason: in order to judge anime properly, one needs to have seen both the best and the worst of the genre (but, really, after watching Mars of Destruction I doubt I'll ever be able to rate anything other any lower than 5...)

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni is probably one of the most difficult to watch animes. The way the story is presented is sure to make any viewer stare at the screen, wandering what the hell is happening. That’s because the series is made up of individual arcs, telling similar stories about the same people, but taking place at different times, or even at parallel universes! Also, the first impressions this series gives are totally misleading – the first episode, as well as the first episodes of each arc, seem more like harem comedy than the horror mystery the series is supposed to be. So, unless ... the viewers show enough patience for the story to unfold, they would be mistaken to think Higurashi is just another of those overrated, meaningless animes.

And what a mistake they would have made…

The beautifully written script, together with the innovative way it is presented, make for one of the most gripping mystery stories out there. Each arc begins in the seemingly peaceful and cheerful Hinamizawa village. Through the eyes of each arc’s protagonist, we see that blissful image being gradually torn apart, as old mysteries and modern murders are constantly revealed. They will take their toll on the protagonist, and by the end of the arc’s end there will be a cruel, bloody finale - usually with the protagonist committing murder, then finding their own tragic demise. Each of the six different arcs presents a slightly different version of the same story, be it from another person’s view, from a different time or with key events altered. As the different stories unfold, the viewer will have more and more questions about what – and why - is happening, some of which will be answered as episodes pass by. But the stories are each time presented from a subjective point of view, so nothing revealed is bound to be the actual truth.

Artwise, Higurashi is surely not the most breathtaking anime. The character designs often appear faded or not properly animated. However, the artistic style itself is pretty amazing. The cute character designs create a big contrast with their dark stories. The way their eyes and faces start deforming when they are flooded with rage is one of the creepiest aspects of the show.

The character voices work astonishingly well both at the comedic and the dramatic parts of the series. Particularly Rika’s voice is perfect. It could make anyone melt with its cuteness – but it also has another, more serious «mode» that sounds almost otherworldly. Moreover, Mion’s laughter has to be noted as one of the scariest, creepiest laughters in history. But where sound gets my 10 from is the opening theme - «Higurashi no Naku Koro ni» from Eiko Shimamiya – which is going to send shivers down your spine no matter how many times you watch it.

The characters are another of the strong elements of the show. They all have, despite their young age and superficial cuteness, very dark backgrounds. In each arc, we see them transform from ordinary kids to bloodthirsty murderers. Other than the main team of young protagonists, there are many others who also get their share of character development.

Overall, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni is my all-time favorite anime series, due to its gripping story, it’s suspense and its healthy dosage of elements from many other anime categories. That being said, there are quite a few gory scenes in Higurashi – nothing like the intensity of those in Elfen Lied of course, though many seem to think they are similar, for some reason – but the shocking aspect of the show lies mostly in the people committing these acts, not the acts themselves. All in all, if you think you can handle the medium amount of gore - and the truly gigantic amount of confusion – in the series, then you really have to watch his show. Also, if you decide to do so, keep in mind that there are two continuation series (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai and Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei) that, together with the original series, tell the whole story.