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TL;DR Jormungand is a good series.

Jormungand is the story of a crew of arms dealers, led by the charismatic Koko Hekmatyar. The series is mostly episodic, weaving in some character arcs on the way. Usually the formula is this:

1. The crew arrives.
2. Stuff goes awry and they need a way out / need to out-think their opponents / straight up kill dudes.
3. Mission completed and on to the next arc.

Pretty easy formula to make a series from. I’m sure that if you’ve heard about this series earlier, then you’ve heard about the series that undoubtedly stands as a huge influence: Black Lagoon. Black Lagoon is ... about a small group of people who conduct usually illegal business and get in trouble with all sorts of people. Jormungand is basically this, but with a bigger group. Now, obviously Jormungand isn’t a straight rip-off of BL, it just builds from the same ground. While BL arcs usually comes together with cooperation and the combined with of the Lagoon Crew, Jormungand is basically The Koko Show. And that’s perfectly fine. Koko carries the series very well. For a more fleshed out character run-down, look below:

Koko Hekmatyar: Arms dealer, handling business mainly in Europe and Africa. Very charismatic and beautiful. Usually very energetic and behaving sometimes like a child, she has a ruthless interior and on multiple occasions called a monster. Although usually cool with a smile on her lip, Koko has one of the most intimidating glares in anime.

Jonah: Child soldier. His parents were killed in an air-strike and he became a child soldier shortly after. Has a strong hate for weapons, but still works for Koko, often serving as her bodyguard. He definitely shows more understanding than expected from a child.

Lehm: Ex-Delta Force operator. Used to be active in Somalia. Second in command of Koko’s crew. Veteran mercenary who takes charge when armed conflict arises. Used to work for Koko’s father. Very versatile in weapon use, ranging from long-distance sniping to close quarters combat.

Valmet: Ex-Major serving for UN forces in Africa. Her unit got slaughtered by Chen Guoming and she lost an eye in the attack. Since then, she suffers from anxiety whenever she sets foot in Africa. Very proficient with knives and pistols.

Then there are the rest of the cast, that aren’t given much other than support roles most of the time. Technically only Koko and Jonah are the only real main characters, but Valmet and Lehm are given much more time on screen than the other side characters, so they sort of slide into main roles by association. The entire crew is 10 men strong, and the series struggle to give decent air time to all.

The big cast isn’t a bad thing in itself, but it doesn’t help either. It’s quite logical that an arms dealer would have a decently sized squad with her, but most of the characters see very little air time. Most characters get to have their arcs play out (some might have theirs in the second season) sooner or later, but it’s a shame we aren’t given more time to know the entire cast better. Especially since they keep being given airtime and dialogue with Koko that are defined by their characters and their pasts, both of which we don’t know. Valmet's arc is especially strong. The characters mostly revolve in and out when they have an arc or not. When they’re around, they contribute to the colourful group of people.

To my surprise, there is little discussing of morality around, especially considering Jonah is a fucking child soldier. Sure, it’s brought up, but quickly shot down at times. Let’s be frank about this, the characters in the show aren’t good guys. They’re varying degrees of bad, I guess. Or, a better way to put it would be that they are all in the moral grey zone. They’re portrayed romantically as the heroes, so naturally you’re going to root for them when the oddball villains pop up to kill them. I wanted to see some more discussion or feelings about war, than what we got. It is a character-driven drama/action series, which is right up my ally, but I feel they do themselves a disservice to skip some strong discussion points on the way. And it’s topical because, you know, there’s tons of child soldiers in the world.

As for the story, there’s not a whole lot to be had, except for when the supporting characters have their arcs. The story follows the crew as they deliver and/or sell weapons and other necessities to a diverse set of people. They’re usually dealing in Europe and Africa through the season. Then there’s usually a villain for each episode, with some villains lasting another one or two more. The formula mentioned before is how the episodes unfold.

Something that quickly stands out is the very distinct art-style. It’s not super drastically different compared to most other anime. It’s usually very realistic, sometimes with some exaggerated details, usually the eyes. For the most part it’s absolutely gorgeously drawn and animated. Backgrounds are usually done nicely as well, and at times with great and impressive detail.

The voice acting is excellent across the board. The only drawback is that there’s rarely chances for the actors to use a wider range than slow drama and some comedy here and there. The soundtrack is good when used. Pretty sweet electronic battle music. OP (opening theme) and ED (ending theme) are both excellent songs.

As far as the general theme of the show goes, it’s usually a slow-paced drama with some comedy blended in. Then there’s the occasional high-speed action scenes when deals either go tits-up or there’s other people that want to hit Koko’s group.

As for the comedy, it’s a bit too much. I would have prepared being almost completely without it. In the most serious episodes, there’s practically none of it, and they’re so much better off without. The comedic parts being randomly inserted here and there just disturb the pacing and atmosphere of the series. It just feels like something inserted to please the mainstream audiences. The thing is though, that this isn’t really a series made for mainstream audiences. It’s about killers and mercenaries selling weapons to guerillas and warlords. Not something that you want your kids or the family to sit down and watch in the evening. Inserting comedy into the formula is detrimental to the concept and leaves us a worse product to enjoy. I want to stress that I’m not anti-comedy, but doing it as half-heartedly and shallow as it is here it can only work badly.

The antagonists that pop into the episodes are along the lines of the comedic tendencies mentioned. They’re almost always very eccentric or have some crazy fighting style. In some arcs it works, like when the crew goes to Africa and come face-to-face with an old enemy of one of the crew members. They usually don’t take anything away from the enjoyment, but they don’t usually add to it either.

An excellent scene which stands as a display of how good the drama of the series can be is when it's brought up that killing to much people can make you "a dragon," and a character asks Koko if she would ever become one. The scene is unbearably tense for it's short running time, and shows how good the series is when it sticks to straight-up drama instead of faffing about with random comedy.

As for the enjoyment, it’s great. While not being the best I’ve veer seen, this series is highly enjoyable. It’s variance is it’s strength, and while I don’t usually like the comedy, some light-hearted scenes are always good in a series like this, and some scenes succeed in being genuinely funny. From slow-paced planning with some tense meetings with antagonists; to high-speed gun-play and chase-scenes, Jormungand is one hell of a ride, and it’s a pleasure watching it. While not always ending in cliffhangers, the show still gets you excited to watch the next episode after you finish one, and that’s high praise for a series. Jormungand is a delight to watch, and should be seen by people interested in serious drama, and is obviously very recommended for fans of Black Lagoon.

If you like it, check out it’s sequel, Jormungand: Perfect Order.

A short warning: This is kind of long and I'm a bit of a potty-mouth (I tried to take the cursing out, but some might still be in there). Also, please leave some feedback, especially if you don't like the review. All criticism is appreciated.

The setting is basically this: The Robotics Club at Central Tanegashima High School want to build a huge mecha, and the series follows its members in their struggles with funding and other stuff. Pretty basic. Obviously there's more under the surface than the characters just going at it with spanners, including a mystery slowly being revealed about a conspiracy that would ... severely endanger a sweeping majority of the people on Earth. It's pretty far-fetched and we're never given a proper explanation why the plan is in motion any way. The series is very episodic and each episode usually focuses on one of the side characters and how Kaito fits in and helps them.

To begin with some negativity, my main gripe with the series, is that it feels so very standard. Generic is another word I could use, but it feels too negative. Robotics;Notes takes what you find in most series nowadays: A cast of rather quirky characters that compliment each-other's quirk/weirdness and go with it. It embraces the stereotypic tropes usually associated with anime and doesn't shy away from using them.

A positive to be found is that the animation is of very good quality. It's not Makoto Shinkai level of quality, but not much out there is. I'm far from an artist myself, so that's about all I'll say about it. One of the few good things with the series.

As far as the voice acting, it's mostly solid. Fukuda Nobuaki stands out as "Doc" in an emotional episode at about the middle of the series. Most others are good, but not outstanding. Part of the soundtrack stand out, but others are pretty run-of-the-mill pieces. Sound department ends up being a little above average, all things considered.

To the characters:
Akiho (the female protagonist) is super energetic and ambitious, while Kaito (male protagonist) is when the series begins depicted as a sloth and generally disinterested in doing anything but playing Kill-Ballad (an on-line fighting game with mechas) which he apparently is one of the top people in the world at. As the series goes forward, Kaito's character is all over the place. Junna is what I like to put in the category of "moe-blob. Basically, she's a throwaway character that's in the series to be cute and once or twice pop into the main plot-line for an episode or two. Contrasting her is Subaru, ambitious and helpful dude, who was told by his father to stop building, and competing with, robots. Then there's Kona, the epitome of stereotypic nerds in Japanese culture; She's a shut-in; almost entirely communicates in memes; is incredibly perverted and is generally pictured as a bit of a nut-case. That said, she does have a back-story that ties into the main story which is intriguing for the peculiarly short time it's given to develop. There's also the obligatory crazy director guy who's completely obsessed with boobs, and has a parrot that's trained (or is just damaged for being around him too long) to chant along in his craving for beholding boobs, as well as the oddball teacher who seems to be the most stupid and unreliable person on earth, but ends up being a person you should count on. You know you've seen these character types before if you've watched more than a couple anime.

A big problem the series has initially, is the fact that it takes a long time to get going. It starts with an in medias res scene, with the group starting up a big mecha and getting it started. After that we're showed the lives and struggles of Akiho and Kaito in their strife to get the robot working. They get some more members shortly, but the two are unquestionably the main characters. So, basically, the first episodes are for introducing the characters and the basic plot, which is usually fine. The problem is that the main characters aren't really that interesting, and neither is the main story to begin with. Viewers who stick around will have a passable series to watch, but there's not a whole lot keeping you in attached to the show or its characters. Let's see why:

The characters, with focus on the main characters:

Kaito - the series main protagonist, mind you- is an extremely bland and terribly boring character. He rarely shows interest in doing anything at all and seems to be sticking around "just because". In the beginning, coming off as eternally sceptical and non-committal, though at times showing intense caring and emotion, Kaito is a character that's all over the place, everything at once. It's not that he breaks out of his usual behaviour once or twice, it's that he doesn't have a starting point. Which is something you can say about the series as well.

Akiho - sharing main protagonist duties with Kaito - is a very energetic character who strongly believes in herself and her vision of building the robot her sister started building years previously. I can see her being a character that splits the audience, like a Haruhi. Infectious and happy-go-lucky personality that can alienate some viewers and enamour others.

The most glaring problem with the side-characters is that they're used mainly as plot devices. Characters pop in and out of relevance when it's convenient to the story, and few are consistent throughout the series. So, even when there are scenes that are supposed to evoke emotional responses, we as viewers haven't been given enough to care about the characters and their fates. Every scene should get some sort of reaction or give you something as a viewer. Tons of scenes and some episodes could and should have been cut out to give the viewer more information and background.

The story, which takes the back seat to introducing the characters. The mecha launching stuff in the opening moments of the show is a set-up for other things to happen in the second half of the series and the main story takes a few episodes to even enter the series. The story is told very episodically, in fragments between the episode-long character arcs, where you get more information about the characters and at times ending that characters arc entirely. Like seriously, what ever happened to Subaru's dad going at him for still being into robots? Did he just chill out after Subaru picked one apart in front of him? It was never very clear in the series, or at least not given enough time to appreciate what the arc ultimately did for the character (nothing at all).

It does pick up a considerable amount later, with some emotional episodes and big events and twists. The middle part of the series is easily its best. Though, with the characters being horribly, infuriatingly uneven, it's hard to fully enjoy the series. Also, some scenes are so ridiculously improbable and out of the blue that any seriousness it's trying to get across gets lost.

Now, I've been ragging on it a lot, but honestly, Robotics;Notes is an enjoyable show at times. It's passable as a watch, but if I were to decide on it being good or bad, I have to go with bad. With the story presented, the show has the potential to be a great show, but there are like six episodes dedicated to the story when the disappointing endgame rolls in, filled with deus ex machinas.

To summarise: The series does a poor job at getting the attention and sympathies of it's viewers to begin with and the pacing is way off from where it should be to tell a story that you, as a viewer, should become invested in. Main characters aren't able to carry the show on their own, and as a result the show is pretty flat in the end. It's almost fun how much we're meant to take for granted without any explanation at all. As such, it fails in doing what any series striving to be considered a serious work should do: Make the viewer care. It certainly has some sweet feel-good moments, but they hardly weigh up the series' shortcomings. It's a good try, but in the end it fails more than it succeeds. It falls short of the line between good and bad, and as such, I won't recommend this series to anyone. Maybe I would recommend an aspiring storyteller to watch it, just to know what pits in writing and storytelling to avoid, and that's certainly not something you would want written on the back of the DVD-case.

Mawaru Penguindrum to me is a show that had lots of potential, but ultimately fell flat towards the end, due to a convoluted plot and wonky character development. Let me tell you why (I'll try to keep it as spoiler-free as possible):

The Story:
The show starts with our main characters in a state not that unusual in anime: orphaned teens living on their own, doing alright. The little sister is sickly, but is miraculously saved by a hat. While being possessed by the hat, she tells her two brothers that they must find the "Penguindrum", and that's our set-up.

The story follows our heroes as they ... try their best to find this Penguindrum and with it, solve all their problems. The story is all over the place in the beginning, with some seemingly random events and flashbacks here and there. Towards the end it becomes too much. Too many themes and events are introduced to the viewers and it all felt quite silly in the end.

The Art:
Not much to say here, to be honest. The art is nice, as it usually is nowadays. Pretty generic character design as well.

Sound:
Great voice actors and a good soundtrack makes this the best part of the series. Short of a 10, but at random times the music would not fit the scenes.

Characters:
Oh man, the characters. Some of them are pretty generic, like the naïve girl (Ringo) and genuinely good guy (Shoma). Most characters have some sort of twist though. The thing that bothers me sometimes with anime is that the characters have vastly different values and interests than me, and such is the case here. I simply can't put myself in their shoes and understand their decisions, because many of them are as if pulled from thin air to make the plot work.

One thing that especially baffled me is this: one character consistently is in the way or ruining the events and lives of the other characters, but nobody seems to mind. It is just accepted without much doubt and the bad events it causes are never mentioned.

Enjoyment:
I gave it a pretty low score, but I would be lying if I said that I haven't enjoyed Mawaru Penguindrum. The sad part is though, that I spent more time being infuriated with some of the characters and some very odd plot turns. There was more confusion and sadness then pure enjoyment for me, which is a shame.

I'll save the worst for last. "Fate." The word is prominent in the series and everything is circling around it. Fate is story-writer lingo for "this doesn't really make sense, but here's a word to make it better" to me, and having a series revolve around the shallow premise of "what ever happens, it's fate," is unacceptable to me, and it is the biggest reason I didn't enjoy most of my time with Mawaru Penguindrum.

The Verdict:
Like I said, i felt like Mawaru Penguindrum had a lot of potential. It unfortunately throws that away and the end result is not terrible, but not that good either. Ultimately there is more good than bad and I'll weigh it in at a 6/10.

Despite the bad grade, I still think that this is an interesting series that might fit you well. If you consider yourself a believer in "Fate", this might be right up your alley. The series is quite quirky and fun at times and usually is quite light in atmosphere. I recommend you check it out if you find the plot interesting, and I hope you enjoy it more than I did.

Post-review:
Hi ya'll. It's been quite a while since I wrote a review, so I tried to keep it short and to the point. If you didn't like the interview, I'd love to know why. Hit me up with a PM or post a comment on my profile with any criticism. Also, if you'd like to know more about the series, I'll try my best to answer. Cheers.

Mars Daybreak is a 26-episode series that aired between April 1st to September 23, 2004.

The genres include: Adventure, Action, Comedy, Drama, Romance.

Story
Pretty interesting. Mars is covered by water, and the economy is really lousy. Gram tries his best to live a good life, but everything changes for him when he is accidentally brought onto the pirate ship "Aurora", and being a pirate on "Aurora" becomes his new profession. The story follows this merry group of pirates on their travels, as they reveal secrets that could change Mars forever, and a team sent from Earth to catch the pirates. It starts of very nice and entertaining, ... but as the series progresses, the plot gets weaker, and starts to rely on filler-ish episodes, abandoning the initial story.

Animation
Seeing as this was made by Bones (also did Fullmetal Alchemist and Darker than Black), i was expecting awesome animation. I was disappointed. The character designs are bland and the animation looks awkward sometimes.

Sound
Decent. Most of the voice actors were pretty bad, actually (the only really good one being Tomokazu Seki), the BGM was nothing special and the OP/ED were so-so.

Character
Best thing about this series. The characters are great: there's the over-the-top Captain, the nonchalant "pilot ace", the little brat, a talking cat, a childhood friend. The cliché stuff(pretty much the greatest cliché characters since I watched Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann). Oh wait, there's also a talking dolphin in a weird suit(yeah, you guessed it, he can talk). The two characters that stand out (apart from the talking dolphin) are Gram, your shounen hero, cool to the max, making the ladies fall for him(really enjoyed him though) and Enora, the spoiled girl that tags along the ragtag pirate crew.

Enjoyment
As I said earlier, Mars Daybreak starts off greatly. It's fun, exiting and interesting. You actually get mecha-fighting under water. It's awesome. You want more. Then it goes all Eureka Seven on you, and apart from E7's emo awesomeness, Mars Daybreak fails miserably when it comes to the drama, just making it pathetic. I talked about the transition to fillers earlier, and after these so called fillers end, the story just spirals towards it's doom, becoming predictable, boring, and even screwing up the comedy.

Overall: 7/10
Not a series i would really recommend, but those who liked Eureka Seven might like this, seing as it's like E7, except underwater, with a lighter take on life than it's rawer cousin.

Hatenkou Yuugi is a 10-episode anime based on the ongoing manga with the same name. It aired between the 4th of January and the 7th of march, 2008.

The genres include: Comedy, Adventure, Drama.

Story
Hatenkou Yuugi begins pretty randomly, but with a lot of promise. The young woman Rahzel is thrown out of her home by her dad, because he wants her to travel and see the world. She quickly finds two traveling companions, Alzeid and Baroqueheat, and together travel from place to place, helping out people with different problems. Sounds good? Sure does, but during episodes you sometimes experience these random comedy moments that destroy the ... series (I say sometimes, but in some episodes, there are like 10 minutes wasted on horrible time-fills like these). Sometimes they're so bad I actually laugh at them, but usually they're just failed attempts at making the series more enjoyable. The series did pick up pace, but way too late to affect this score.

Animation
This series has beautiful character designs. Every character is detailed and nicely drawn. The thing that fails though, is the fact that sometimes the movement looks awkward (a character cheering will only move his/her arm and the rest of the body just stays still, like a mannequin), wasting the good designs. If you take a look at the backgrounds, they're all nicely drawn, and look good. Too bad that the quality drops loads of times and negatively affect the series.

Sound
The far best aspect of the series. The voice actors did a great job in this series. Since you can't really rely on body language in this series, the VA's all helped. Especially the voice actors for Rahzel(Kobayashi Sanae) and Alzeid(Sakurai Takahiro) were the best of the bunch. The OP and ED were both very good and fitting of the series, and one of my favorite voice actors(Koyasu Takehito) had a guest role.

Character
The only interesting characters are the main trio, Rahzel, Alzeid and Baroqueheat. Other than that, you just have a lot of characters, simply used as plot-devices, and even though there's only just three main characters, they hardly get any development, except for the occasional hints of romance. Though I have to admit, that the main trio are all good characters.

Enjoyment
I'll be honest, I did not enjoy this series very much. Only 3 out of 10 episodes were good, and the rest were boring or worse. As I said earlier, there are many totally random events during the series. Sure, I like randomness, as long as it's kept to a certain level, but since these random events n-e-v-e-r have anything to do with the actual story going on, they're just stupid and unnecessary.

Overall: 6/10
I will not recommend this series to anyone. Do yourself a favor, and stay away from this, unless that you really like the things I hated with this series.

I hope you found my review helpful, and if you didn't, please tell me why, so I can improve myself until next time.

Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu is a 6-episode OVA. It aired between the 28th of January, 2005, and the 8th of July, 2005.

The genres include: drama, romance, sci-fi, mystery, comedy, action.

Story
The two main characters, Asaba Naoyuki and Iriya Kana meet during the final day of summer break. Shortly after, Iriya transfers to Asaba's school, and the both of them get to know each other better, although there are many mysteries surrounding Iriya. When you think it's going to be a sweet love story, it comes with a dark sci-fi spin, though the series mostly focuses on their relationship and their ups and downs, till ... the very dramatic finish. Although, I have to say, it gets more and more dark and sad with every episode.

Animation
Toei did the animation for this series. It's very nice to look at; it's fluid, it has good character designs and the backgrounds are beautiful. The CG was a big plus to the series. However there were bad parts, but thankfully not very often.

Sound
Except for the awesome OP, the sound was so-so. The voice actors did their job, but sometimes their performances were pretty bad. There's not a lot of BGM, which could have been used more to enhance some scenes etc.

Character
The characters were the best aspect of the show. The two main characters, Iriya and Asaba are great together, and the supporting characters did a great job; the over-the-top club president, the feisty little sister, the strict military guys and so on. All the characters were realistic and made the story easy to watch.

Enjoyment
I have to say that I enjoyed this anime a lot. Sure, it's short, but the impression it gives you is pretty damn strong. The genres were all over the place; at on second you have a sweet scene with Iriya and Asaba, and the next you have a totally hilarious hand-to-hand combat scene involving two minor characters. The story isn't rushed even though the entire anime is about two hours long. Everything progresses slow and steady, from the beginning to the climatic ending. I'm not sure to whom I should recommend this, since it's such a different kind of love story, with dark sci-fi influences. I guess you have to be into the romance parts to enjoy this fully (like me).

Overall: 8/10
Don't know what more to say. If you decide to watch it, be ready for a good ride. :D

Groove Adventure Rave is a 51-episode anime based on the manga with the same name by Mashima Hiro. It lasted between October 13, 2001 and September 28, 2002.

The genres include: shounen, comedy, action, adventure and drama.

Story: 8
Groove Adventure Rave doesn't have the most original story. It's roughly like this: Haru Glory, a 16 years old "Rave Master", must collect all five Rave-stones to prevent the world from being destroyed by the terrifying power of Darkbring, which caused Overdrive, a huge explosion which destroyed 1/10 of the world 50 years before. So, basically Groove Adventure Rave seems like your average collect-'em-all anime where the main character ... grows with every item he finds. And, yeah, that's basically it, but there are also very interesting back stories and under it's stupid upper layer, there is an interesting story for the ones that start watching "Rave", but I can't go into it further without spoiling.

Animation: 8
The art for Groove Adventure Rave is above average. It's nice and fluid, but the producers didn't think much about the backgrounds that sometimes look pretty awful. They stuck to the original designs by Mashima Hiro very well, and the art catches the goofyness of the anime.

Sound: 7
Not much to say here. The BGM is pretty bland, and the OP's and ED's are pretty boring. The voice actors on another hand were very good. Especially Tomokazu Seki as the main character Haru Glory.

Character: 8
The characters for Groove Adventure Rave are very good.
The main characters are Haru Glory: the Rave Master who has to collect the five Rave-stones to save the world (he is pretty much your average shounen male lead who gets stronger and stronger in order to beat the bad guys), Elie: the mysterious beauty with amnesia trying to remember who she is (the most interesting character whose past is unknown), and Musica: a Silver Claimer (meaning he can bend and shape silver as he wants) who is searching for a very special ship (your regular, arrogant cool-looking guy).

Enjoyment: 9
Despite it's lacking story, I really enjoyed Groove Adventure Rave. The last arc was not as good as the others but is still very good. I was entertained the whole way and I definitely recommend Groove Adventure Rave to anyone who's just looking for a fun anime to watch.

Overall: 8
Groove Adventure Rave is a shounen-anime, and a good one at that, but it's not the best one ever. Remind yourself of that before watching it. Still, Groove Adventure Rave is a very good anime and will keep you glad for a while.

I hope you found my review helpful, and if you didn't please tell me why, so I can improve myself until next time.

Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro is a 25-episode anime based on the ongoing manga with the same name. It's original run lasted between October 2nd, 2007 and the 25th of March, 2008 (on Japanese television, of course).

The genres include: shounen, supernatural, comedy, drama and mystery.

Let's get started then.

Story: 10
The story of Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro is very original. A demon from hell (Nougami Neuro) who feeds on riddles and mysteries has run out of food, since he ate all the mysteries in hell. Therefore, he decides to leave hell and travels to the human world. There he finds Katsuragi Yako, who is deeply saddened by her ... father's death. Neuro forces the poor girl to become a detective, then he disguises himself as her assistant, so that he can get easy access to his food. Through the series,we follow Neuro and Yako as they solve various cases, sometimes with the help of Godai, who has underground connections. Most of these are pretty random, but there are some very nice plot-twists too.

Animation: 9
Madhouse (who also made Death Note and Black Lagoon) simply never fails to deliver. I have never seen a series done by Madhouse lacking in the animation department. Neuro will not make you disappointed, either. It has a very unique style of animation and the character designs are awesome.

Sound: 8
The OP of Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro is "DIRTY" by Nightmare. It's a, to say the least, special song which actually fits very nice with the feeling of the anime. The ED is "Kodoku no Hikari" by Kagami Seira. It's not a bad song, but it doesn't catch my attention like the OP does. The BGM is good and well-executed to fi with the series, which it does.

Character: 10
This is where this series truly stands out. Almost all characters are very thought out and interesting. Of course, it's the main character that will get most of the praise here. Nougami Neuro, a demon from the underworld, is one of the best protagonists i have ever come across. He is fun to watch with his superior intellect and inhuman powers. His "777 tools of hell" is probably the weirdest arsenal of weapons I've ever seen. Katsuragi Yako acts as a sort of cover for Neuro, as the detective, but she gets some great development throughout the series. Godai is the ex-mob with many useful connections. He is the jack of all trades for "Katsuragi's detective office". There are of course more characters, but these three will be enough for this time.

Enjoyment: 9
As you might have understood from the score, I enjoyed this anime a lot. Even the random cases are very enjoyable. The main plot that gets thrown in later in the series is very exiting and interesting, although I have to say that the ending was pretty predictable.

Overall: 9
Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro is an easy series to overlook, but it is in my opinion one of the best series from the fall anime season of -07. This is definitely not a show to miss, although I can't promise you you'll like it as much as I did.

I hope you found my review helpful, and if you didn't please tell me why, so I can improve myself until next time.