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It contains spoilers.

Ah, love... What would it be of our lifes without love? It moves the world, it makes us feel things, it makes us happy or destroy our heart... A strong feeling, motivation of hundred of people every day to fullfil their routine. You can love a person, an animal, the music you listen, anime and manga... I hope you agree in it, because Kotonoha no Niwa brings us some cups of sweet sweet love.

This manga is an adaptation of the well known movie made by Makoto Shinkai (the best he's made in my opinion) in 2013. In it, it tells the exact same ... story as the movie, but with some little differences, details that make Takao and Yukari more human.

For those who may not know about it (if you are here, I suppose you saw the movie and want more), Kotonoha no Niwa —or The Garden of Words— tells the story of Yukari Yukino, a 27yo woman, and Takao Akizuki, a 15yo student. Takao has decided that the rainy days, he'll not assist to the high school, because he would be drawing shoes in a park. His dream is to be a shoemaker. One day he encounters a mysterious woman drinking beer and eating chocolate in the same spot he always visit to be alone. The woman, out of nowhere, tells Takao a 'Tanka', a japanese poem. From that day, Takao and Yukari meet each other every day thar rains.

The story is pretty simple, but it's beautifully related as an impossible romance. One of Shinkai's main themes in his movies is the distance between two individuals and how they know each other. In Kotonoha no Niwa, we see how they begin to love each other. This tries so hard to tell us that it doesn't matter who you are, because if you support me, I'll support you.

Kotonoha no Niwa is, somehow, a bittersweet romance, impossible to complete by now. Different ages, different positions, but the same strong feeling of human need.

The ending is really satisfying. The movie showed us how Takao tried to convice Yukari (and himself) that he was only a tool, that he mattered none to her. In the other hand, in the manga, we are blessed with a mature but childish monologue that comes to say the exact same thing but different. Takao wants to know why if she had been treating him like his equal, now, in that exact moment (when he confesses to her), she starts acting like an 'adult'.

The art is incredibily good. It has some accurate details in the backgrounds and the faces are so well drawn, maybe better than the movie itself. The dialogues were sometimes messy, difficult to follow —because it uses a bubble system that misleaded me.

The character creation is the same that in the movie but with some improvements. We are delighted with some Yukari moments that build her personality. I could, in every moment, believe what I was reading. They treated each other like strangers, but like if they had known for all life. The intimate moments in the garden are perfect, and even if the magic scene when Takao draws Yukari's foot is the same as the movie, it felt even more intimate.

I love Kotonoha no Niwa, I can't deny it. It pierced my chest like an arrow, and I really hope that this manga adaptation is not the last thing we see about that impossible couple. If you liked the movie, I strongly suggest you to read this, because is the same but has more things to offer.

It contains minor spoilers. Proceed with caution.

Hell yes. Neon Genesis Evangelion, the 'love it or hate it' king. 23 years after its first release, Evangelion is still considered one of the most influencial, overrated, incredible, awful, outstanding and obnoxiously bad animes that ever existed. Every person has an opinion on Neon Genesis Evangelion. It aired when anime was in a bad moment, and since that day, it haven't stop growing. Today, we have tons of mangas, doujinshis, novels, fanfics, and the best of the fan theories, that fight amongst the hordes of haters that critizice it. First of all, I have to say something that ... has been repeated millions of times: Evangelion is NOT for everyone. As Hideaki Anno, the mastermind behind NGE said once, if you don't symphathize with Shinji, you'll probably hate it, but if you do, man, this series will be in your mind forever and ever.

The story is really good. It has been criticized very hard, but I find it enjoyable, not too easy nor difficult. Of course, it has some plotholes and flaws, as every anime or story ever told. The beauty behind Evangelion is that it starts as a normal mecha anime, and it becomes one of the greatest mindfucks ever told. Shinji Ikari, a 14yo kid, goes to Tokyo-3 with Misato Katsuragi to pilot what is said to be 'the last hope of humanity', in order to fight some giant monsters called Angels. NERV, the project his father commands, is the responsible of destroying them and keeping Earth safe. As the plot progresses, he meets the other two pilots: Rei Ayanami, a 14yo girl that pilots the Unit 00, and Asuka Souryuu Langley, the other 14yo girl who pilots Unit 02. Things happens, NERV fights the angels, the relationships between characters develop and something called 'Human Instrumentality Project' starts to get prominence. Gendo Ikari (Shinji's father), created NERV in order to complete that project, supported by a secret organization called SEELE, not to help humanity. Basically, that's the plot, but I don't want to write heavy spoilers, so I won't talk about episodes (18-24), but I will talk about its controversial final episodes. Episode 25 and 26 are supposed to happen in the mind of the main characters. In Episode 25, we see the main characters Rei, Asuka and Misato, like if they were been interrogated. Episode 25 is a desperate cry of help of those characters, asking themselves about their most deep fears, and how to fight them. Rei, asking herself who she is. It's an individual, it's a doll? Asuka wants someone to love her, even when she claims everyone to stay away from her. Misato admits that she hides her problems behind sex, and she was traumatized about losing her father in the Second Impact. The most interesting thing about the final episodes is that every character seems to be in their mind, judging them for who they are and for what they do. Episode 26 is the same, but only for Shinji.

The art, for 1995, is really good. For today standarts looks 'good', a little bit dated. One of the main things with Evangelion's art is its iconic rapid image transition. Because of the budget problems, Evangelion had interesting camera plans, changing really fast. Some scenes were elongated in purpose, in order to create that climatic situation. For example, when Asuka and Rei are in the elevator, that scene lasted like one minute. You could feel the tension and the discomfort between them. Also, when, in episode 4, Misato and Shinji keep looking each other for nearly two minutes, that long plan symbolize what they feel. Misato is regretful about what she said to Shinji, and Shinji knows that, if he had left, he would have fled again. Also, removing any kind of sound, with only the singing of the birds, makes it more believable. That kind of scenes are really climatic and I love them.

The Evangelion's Original Soundtrack is one of the most well known in anime history. It has even trascended to popular culture. A Cruel Angel's Thesis, Evangelion's opening theme, tops 10º in the karaoke songs in Japan even today. In the action scenes we have epic themes like Angel Attack. I love this soundtrack, and I like to listen to it, for example, to focus or to motivate while playing games.

Let's be honest here. People don't hate Evangelion for its story, or for its art, or for its soundtrack. The main problem with Evangelion, is its realistic, sincere, depressed and human characters. While I can understand why people hates them, I really don't when they say 'they are unrealistic'. Well, let me tell you that's some bullshit. Imagine you're 14yo, your father left you abandoned since 4, your mother is dead and you never had any kind of love, and you're forced to pilot a giant monster in order to fight other giant monsters that try to kill you. Your father, the one who wishes you were never born, treates you like shit even when he orders you to save humanity. You are forced to live with an alcoholic borderline women and a girl with serious trauma and mental issues, receiving from them no more than hostility, destroying your low self-esteem, even if the woman tries his best to love you, but being that impossible because of his mental problems. Well, that kid is Shinji Ikari, one of the most well-known characters in anime, not for representing some deep trauma or for being one of the best characterizations of depression in any media, but for being a 'whiny'. Humans are despicable, dont you think?

I mean, I don't agree with all the things Shinji has done or has thought, but I can really understand why he behaves like he does. He's no hero, he's no god, he's only human, and as a human, he has his problems, real, heavy bags in his back.

As for Asuka, she's a german girl that, apparently has true confidence in its habilities. She really is great at piloting the Eva 02, and I can easily say that she's the best pilot, if we don't count Kaworu. She constantly bullies Shinji and destroys his self-esteem. Behind that bully personality, we find the most destroyed person in the series. When she was a child, his mother, Kyoko Zeppelin, was a volunteer in the Evangelion program. Eventually, the Evangelion stole Kyoko's soul from her body and she became mentally unstable, believing that a doll was Asuka. Asuka witnessed how her mother hung herself, and after that, she swore not to cry ever again. She will live by her own, without any external help. Asuka is the representation of how humans need each other. We can't accomplish everything by our own, and even if she knows it, she will try its best to stay mentally strong. Eventually, its strength will flaw, and she will be unstable until End of Evangelion's movie. But that's another thing.

When I first watched Evangelion, I really hated Asuka. She was cruel for no reason, she cried for individuallity but she wanted anyone (and when I say anyone is ANYONE, no matter Kaji, Shinji...) to love her and fulfill her empty heart. Now I can understand her really good, and even if I don't love her, its impossible for me to hate her.

Rei, the emotionless character. She's a doll that will make everything you want, because that's what dolls do, right? As for Rei, it is clear that Hideaki Anno developed her with no interest. Her character ends in Episode 6, and then, we rarely see any progress in its problems. Ergo Proxy explores with Pino the theme that Rei is responsible of developing: what does it feel to be human? What makes a human, a human? Rei constantly ask herself 'what I am supposed to be', and it represents how someone can change your mind because it treats you like a human being and not like an object. Rei feels Shinji's feelings towards her, not love, but humanity, and develops what I find to be one of the biggest moral of Evangelion: treat humans like humans, not like objets for your own benefit.

I loved Rei, but I found her to be insubstancial. Not because she was a bad character, but for its short development.

Misato... Ah, Katsuragi Misato, the greatest of human creations... Look, Misato is AMAZING. While the bunch of kids I've talked have its issues, Misato has as well. She has, with Asuka, the most heart-breaking story in Evangelion. When she was a child, she survived the Second Impact because her father sacrificed himself for her. Despite of that, she hates him. Misato has a big duality in his mind: 'can I love a man who ignored me and mom his whole life because of his experiments?', but, 'can I hate the man who gave his live for mine, even if I thought he hated me?'. That makes Misato confuse, and she desires to find a man (or a person) that is similar to her father. But when she does, she's afraid and runs, hiding his fear and protecting herself behind a false barrier of work and alcohol. Misato is depressed, and she's broken inside, but despite that, she works his best to love Shinji, to make him confortable, to fight the Angels and to save humanity.

I recognize I am being one-sided with Misato. It's because her character is so authentic and so heartwarming, it's impossible for me not to like her.

I could talk about Kaworu, Gendo, Ritsuko or Maya as well, but I think that would take too long.

So, there it is. Did I enjoy Neon Genesis Evangelion? Well of course I did. I was unable to find its arrogance, nevertheless, I was rewarded with an anime that made me interested for anime itself. Could an anime be that deep, that intriguing? Was it possible for an anime to connect with you in that way? As a person that has fought depression, Evangelion is one of the best representations I've ever seen, and I absolutely love it because, even if it has flaws, the message was much more important for me.

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THIS AWFUL MANGA.

Who, in the name of Jesus Christ, can like THIS aberration against the Saint Seiya franchise? Look, I've seen and read ALL about Saint Seiya, it is my childhood's iconic series. Masami Kurumada made, in 1986, one of the most famous Shonen series of all time. He created the Gold Saints, characters everybody love. He made epic fights, taking advantage of the Greek mythology. Of course, in the manga, he left plotholes he couldn't fill or he forgot to. One of the most iconic plotholes in Saint Seiya, is when Sagittarius Aiolos saved Athena from Gemini Saga. Episode ... Zero covers that part of the story.

The story is atrociously bad. All the Gold Saints have recently received their armor, so they need to train in order to be stronger. Gemini Saga kills Aries Shion and tries to kill Athena too, but Aiolos saves her. Well, we all know this part of the story. Aiolos arrives to the Pisces temple. There, he fights Pisces Aphrodite. Here, is revealed that the sacred Sagittarius technique is an arrow that don't allow movement. Of course, in the original Saint Seiya anime, Shura and Aiolos had a fight where he showed his terrifying Atomic Thunderbolt, an amazing technique. Here, we have..., an arrow, and a shadow. He leaves Aphrodite alive and he gets to fight Shura in the Capricorn temple. And then, Deathmask, blablabla.

Kurumada's art is always the same. We saw 1986's Saint Seiya, and we saw 2006's Next Dimension. Well, of course, Episode Zero looks like it was drawn in 1972. All pages are colored, but, who cares?

The characters are the DUMBEST IN HISTORY. First, we have Pisces Aphrodite and Cancer Deathmask. They are selfish and quite stupid too. At least, Deathmask has some type of personality, but Aphrodite is like a blank sheet of paper, totally different to the 1986's version. We have, of course, legendary hero Sagittarius Aiolos. He bravely fights his companions and get to the Sagittarius temple to take his armor. But he does not use it even when he is close to die! No excuses. He could have used the cloth to easily defeat Deathmask and protect himself in the end, but he prefered to carry it in his back. Finally, we have Capricorn FUCKING STUPID Shura. Shura was always represented as the most loyal defender of Athena. Well, at first he looks like that, but in the end he prefers to kill Athena in order to kill Aiolos! WTF?!?!?!?! You were supposed to protect your goddess, you dumbass!

I am so severe with Episode Zero because the main story was really good to tell a great story. Some people has been waiting for years to see Aiolos in a real fight, with great techniques and fights. Instead, Kurumada prefered to draw some random shit with a mediocre story and stupid characters.

It contain spoilers.

FLCL, or Fooly Cooly, or Furi Kuri, it doesn't matter, is that picture you see in a museum, and everybody talks about it. Some will say 'what a piece of shit', and others will undoubtedly find the magnificence of the stroke, the beautiful color design and the feelings the author put in it. Like Picasso, who painted 'Guernika' exemplifying the horrors of that massacre, Gainax, in colaboration with IG Studios, took advance of the abstract style and created an anime that, definately, none would understand.

FLCL follows Naota Nandaba in his hundrum life, in a town where nothing ever happens. As a 12 year ... old student, Naota finds himself too mature to show his real feelings towards anyone. With him is Mamimi Samejima, a 17 year old university student that dated Naota's brother until we went to America to play Baseball. Naota and Mamimi usually date under a bridge in the afternoon. There, they give each other their company. One day, a crazy pink-haired girl, named Haruko, riding a Vespa and armed with a blue Rickenbacker 4001 run over Naota, hitting him in the head with the bass. From there, Naota's life become a mess, with robots coming out of his head, apparently fighting against the mysterious company that established in the city, Medical Mechanica.

The story is chaotic, I have to admit. It doesn't progress as a normal story would. Is full of changes, stupid scenes and ridiculous dialogs that lead nowhere. As seen from outside, FLCL is about Naota giving birth to robots that fights with other TV-robot. Is not like Code Geass or Aldnoah: Zero, that try to tell a story. No, is not like other mecha animes (even if I don't consider Code Geass or FLCL to be mecha animes, I have to admit they HAVE mechas). From my point of view, FLCL is the story about getting older, about being sexually confused and feel sexual desire for women (in this case). Naota, as a teenager, is forced to live with Haruko, leaving Mamimi behind. The boy, obsessed with looking mature, behaves cold and distant in most of the times, until other person show his feelings. FLCL could be a story about a '12 yo learning to control his boners', but in a complete abstract way. Also, it give us the reality of growing older. None of the characters seem to be sane except Naota. Everyone is crazed as fuck, acting like child and doing what they want in every moment, not taking responsabilities and being selfish. Naota thinks he is different, but by believing that, makes him the most immature and I found those metaphors to be pretty satisfying.

The art is GORGEOUS. Yes, gorgeous. Of course, being an OVA really makes the difference from other 2000 animes. Every frame, even the most colorful and messed up ones, are perfectly drawn. It has a different style and a strangely satisfying effect (at least for me). The camera movement is harsh sometimes but it can be pretty smooth too. For example, when Haruko hits a robot with the bass, her movement was damn well drawed, making the Rickenbacker to really move that way.

The sound is really good too, filling the scenes with light guitar music that fits perfectly to every scene. Not much to say here, though.

The characters are really, really well written. Even the supporting ones fulfill the mission they have. As I said in the story, Naota is the kid obsessed with growing and being a senseless wall that doesn't seem to be affected by anything. He runs from the problems and asks to be alone when he clearly doesn't want that. He barely trusts anyone, not even Mamimi. The only respect referent he has, is his brother Takasu. Takasu, being an excellent baseball player, left Japan to play in America. Since he left, Naota is seen as the 'other brother', the substitute. None of the characters really care about Naota, not even his father, obsessed with Haruko. Not even Mamimi, obsessed with Takasu. Not even Haruko (?), obsessed with Atomsk. Not even his grand-father. Anyone. Naota claims respect for who he really is and not for who the people think he is: Takasu's brother. He is Naota, and individual, not Takasu's replacement for baseball, not Takasu's replacement for Mamimi, not Atomsk for Haruko. I found Naota to be the pinnacle of FLCL characters, with a really believable personality.

As for Mamimi, she is a girl that looks for Takasu in Naota, crushing on him since he left. She doesn't even call Naota for his full name, she calles him 'Takkun' (or 'Tak-kun'), being a diminutive for TAkasu and NaoTA. Mamimi looks to me like the embodyment of the person that claims to be an adult for being free and doing what they want whenever they want. Obviously, this is a childish behaviour, as she doesn't assist to the university. Mamimi can't move forward because she loves Takasu and doesn't want him to leave her. Mamimi find Takasu in Naota and she decided to recreate the older brother in the younger, being that extremely painful for Naota. Also, she seems to like protecting weak things: for example, she finds Naota to be extremely vulnerable. When in episode 5, Naota claims for being Naota and not Takkun, for showing some iniciative, she realizes that Naota is not worth the time anymore. With that being said, in episode 6 she says goodbye to Naota, 'Goodbye, Naota-kun', recognizing the existance of the boy, and moving forward, realizing she has to give up on Takasu.

And then we get to the everyone's favourite (except mine). Haruko is a kind of alien that rides a Vespa and carries with her a blue bass, an exact model of the one Paul McCartney used. Haruko usually acts recklessly, by his own moral, not taking in account the other's feelings. She plays with Naota's feelings to obtain what she desires the most. She sleeps with Naota's father to make Naota jealous. For me, Haruko is the worst person ever existed in FLCL. While all have their personal issues, Haruko acts like a child who wants her candy and she won't stop crying until she get it. The most despicable act being using Naota to find Atomsk, the 'power' she most desire and the reason she came to Earth. In episode 6, Naota finally understands that hiding his feelings is the worst and the painful way to live. So, then, he decides to act the opposite way. He goes with Haruko to find his feelings are unrequited (because he loves Haruko). Even when she used Naota to find Atomsk, she blame him for taking all his power to himself. Haruko is a narcissist, selfish and careless person, who puts herself between everything else. In the end, she seem to understand what has done, and leaves Earth following Atomsk to its next destination. Even if she didn't say 'Sorry', she seemed regretful.

I enjoyed FLCL to the max. Every episode was a really satisfying travel through such an abstract work, made by Gainax. The fights felt great, the characters were stunning and the message I got (this is why is called 'abstract', everyone can have different messages or interpretations) was clearly 'growing is not easy, boy. Do not hurry for it, and when you finally get to the point of being an adult, remember that is not a matter of hiding your feelings, is a matter of understanding them'.

Thanks to all. I'm sorry if I made some grammar mistakes, I'm not english.