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If you'd like to take a break from all the new shiny mainstream anime and don't mind dipping back into an older era of anime, Legend of Basara can be a hidden gem. I have the bias of reading the entire manga and I will forewarn you the anime is only a taste of the beginning of what is a very epic story. The end WILL leave you wanting more because there IS so much more. The manga is 27 volumes.

The creator likes to break out of the shoujo mold, though clearly with such aesthetics and a romance interest, there is also the horror of ... war and no punches pulled. Characters will die, they will struggle emotionally, and there's no simple good vs evil. Everyone has weaknesses and something they believe in.

The anime will end shortly after the plot arc introducing the Blue King, though I believe they condensed it quite a bit. Even with having the manga I still bemoan it did not go longer but there really is no "satisfactory" spot they could have ended it aside from the end itself. The story is built around a prophecy, a war, and two star crossed lovers who are usually apart. But you can enjoy and appreciate the anime for what it is.

Just Wow. I have finally caught up to the last chapter and just couldn't resist writing a review. This story was loveable to begin with and the anime was very fun (if too short), but the later volumes have exceeded any of my high expectations as if too say "Hah, you thought that was good?"


STORY: As others have stated the summary and beginning alone has some very standard shoujo elements though the anime version had enough hilarious moments my fiance was able to enjoy it as well. In my late twenties now I can't help expecting and wanting more from a shoujo title. ... This delivered everything. This story was a treat to begin with, but then it becomes a full blown feast of characters and story plots. There is so much more depths to the characters (antagonists or protagonists), and things that seem like fun plots devices in the beginning or random hints become extremely important later on.

ART: I was disappointed by some poor scans in the beginning, but as this has improved I can truly appreciate how the art style has bloomed. As an artist I truly appreciate the flow of the art and some amazing scenes. Especially in later chapters I have found myself helplessly staring and admiring a page or even a single panel.

CHARACTERS:
-The characters may seem predictable at first, but they are all quite three dimensional. Nanami is a much stronger character than she looks. Despite being very optimistic and cheerful, she had a very lonely pass where she was used to being self reliant. Though her feelings for Tomoe may at first seem Juvenile, her honesty, devotion, and the lengths she would go for him rise into a truly great love story. Can a human and a youkai's love for each other work? This question is asked a lot.

-Tomoe can be volatile, strict, and demanding but all his personality quirks and devotion make him endearing. There's usually a reason for his temper and he's quite gentle and protective (if he's not gleefully threatening to turn an enemy into sashimi and cook them for namami). I admit I had fangirl moments when you see his past fox demon self hundreds of years ago. Gone is the protective familiar and enter in a dangerous and notorious youkai. Learning more about the mystery of his past, who he was, how he became who he is in present adds so many layers to his character and the story.

- Secondary characters also shine in this manga. Mizuki the snake familiar is quite endearing in his own way and his past is both happy and sad. The Tengu Kurama seems like he is going to be the stereotypical love rival at first but he really breaks that mold and becomes a great character to have a round. Interactions between Mizuki, Kurama, and Tomoe are usually hilarious. Other characters that are introduced never completely disappear either, and sometimes even come back for a more surprising and deeper plot. Every single character in this series interests me, and there is no real black and white. Even the ones who seem most evil and you are prepared to hate... you just can't. And finally Mikagi, the land God who started this all is such a mysterious and great character. He seems outright silly in the beginning when he meets Nanami and randomly makes her the land God in his stead but there are reasons for everything.

ENJOYMENT: You would be blind not to see how much I have enjoy this series by now, but I will say it again. This is such a perfect blend of humor, romance, intrigue, fantasy, and character development. I would say it feels something close to if you threw Fruits Basket and Inuyasha in together, but is still quite original by itself.

I truly wish an epic story like 7seeds was better known. It's one of the hidden gems of manga. Even many of my popular shoujo favorites feel shallow after this one. It first grabbed my interest due to my love and admiration for the mangaka's other work, Basara, but has gripped me further than I believed an end of the world sci-fi plot could do.

I'm becoming addicted to the art style. It has a strong classic shoujo look but also seems grounded in reality. The characters all have a unique look you can recognize and the world is detailed enough to lose yourself in ... the story.

The mangaka Yumi Tamura has a talent for balancing epic plots and vast number of characters. 7Seeds is more of a thrilling adventure with a flavorful seasoning of horror and romance. It begins in the present as well as sometimes returning to the past to better flesh the characters and story. Any time the story shifted to a different time or cast of characters, I was never disappointed. The story can be down right tragic and depressing at times, but the hope and the strength of the characters that keep going are even more meaningful because of it.

Though they begin in teams, the groups are not set in stone and characters will often split up due to either choice or disaster and interact realistically with each other. It is also very interesting to me that the groups were not released all at once, so you have people adapting to the environment in different stages. There are a lot of great twists and character development and I found it impossible to put down reading this manga. Now at volume 17 I can only look forward to more and encourage any one else to give the series a chance.

I was very surprised by this series--it looked like a bunch of candy fluff in the beginning and though I thought it was still cute at first I didn't expect this addicted feeling to it that I now have. Like an addiction to chocolate--just can't get enough, and beneath the candy sweet there's a lot more bitterness and plot to it than I ever would have guessed. There's a lot about growing up, the feelings of love and friendship expressed in this series and it still carries a very innocent feel to it. If you are fond of series like Ultramaniac, Cardcaptor Sakura, and Gakuen ... Alice you should really like this series. Though amazingly, I think Sugar Sugar Rune has more in romance and deeper plot though it doesn't really start surfacing until about midway through (you just get hints before).

I really like the characters Chocolat and Vanilla and how they manage to be such close friends while still being rivals for the throne. Vanilla is sweet and shy--always kind and gentle though a little bit of a crybaby. This cute nature as well as her clutzy moments tends to endear her to the boys of the human world and she's a natural at gathering hearts. Chocolat on the other hand is brass and strong-willed and her favorite phrase is "I'll whoop your butt" which gains her much less popularity in the human realm than she enjoyed in the magic realm. Even as you wince at some of her antics and her nature, it's easy to root for her, especially as you see her maturing.

Each heart has a different level of worth, the "pee" heart is usually just surprise, to orange, pink, and crimson (along with green for friendship, blue for respect, and the mysterious dark "Noir" heart for jealousy and greed). The system with the hearts is surprisingly detailed. A witch can't give her own heart to a human without being stuck forever in the human world, and if it is taken from a witch (more specifical an "ogre" or dark witch) than that witch's life is forfeit. Ups the stakes a little right? Especially when Chocolat starts falling for the mysterious upperclassman, Pierre who is much more than he seems and bears a startling resemblance to the Ice Prince from the magic realm's history.

Pierre really made this series a joy for me. Even when there was only hints or slight scenes, I loved his interaction with Chocolat and fascinated by his character. As he got more involved into the plot... well, I just happier and happier.

A good majority of the episodes are very episodic and cute, but you'll be pleasantly surprised when some deeper plot starts slipping in. If you can live through transformation scenes, and like a cute series with some fun characters, magic world, and some intrigue and romance on the side, give this series a try.

Glass Mask doesn't have the following it deserves (which is a shame, it's practically an icon in Japan, older than Sailor Moon and even references to "Mr. Purple Rose" or characters can be found in newer material such as Skip Beat). Started in the 70s or 80s, the manga after a hiatus is only just nearing completion at over 40 volumes. It's an epic romance with the drive of a young girl, starting at the age of 12 as she embarks on the journey to become an actress and grows up over the y...ears. If you like characters who follow after a dream at all ... costs, than you will find this series empowering and crave more of seeing Maya overcome all sorts of trials. If not, you may simply enjoy it for the romance aspect which is at first subtle and grows more over time.

Even without those, I'm always fascinated by the stage plays throughout the stories.... some very well known such as Little Woman, Hellen Keller in the Miracle Worker, the Prince and the Pauper, Midsummer's Night Dream, or ones I've never heard of that make me very interested in... almost as if I'm sitting in the audience and watching Maya act this plays for real. It always feels new and fresh and I love seeing Maya when she finally discovers her role, or her perspectives of the role. It truly is like putting on a mask, she lives that character's life.

The 2005 anime has taken liberties with the art style and characters, and though I'm sad (I fell in love with the mangaka's style even though it initially turned me off in the beginning), I think it was a good call. The characters look more familiar to modern-day anime watchers and their updated looks still pleasing. There's nothing fancy or awe-inspiring about the artwork of the anime, but then it's not that kind of anime and doesn't need to be. It's the story and characters that drive the story.

We're all familiar with the clumsy girl character who isn't good at anything, but I find something especially endearing about Maya's character. From a poor background, she's been brought up being called useless even by her own mother. The dramas on TV and a glimpses at the theatre wipes everything else from her mind and she becomes quite oblivious to all else. A natural genius for acting, she can recite a 2 hour play she watched once but can't recall one rule in math. I think it's very easy to get attached to her character. She's childish but you see her mature too and her devotion to acting is wonderful if sometimes heart-breaking.

Ayumi is the princess of the story, the complete opposite of Maya and good at whatever she does... prestigious background, actress since she was five, top of school, singing, dancing... a born prodigy and utter beauty. Perhaps you want or expect to hate her at first but I grew to love her just as much as Maya. Her love of acting and recognition of Maya's talents drives her to mprove herself, no matter the hell she puts her body through. And no matter how high in the limelight she gets, or how derisive the media or people are towards Maya, she cherishes Maya as her only Rival. The bond these two form through their acting careers... not even spending all that much time together, is especially amazing to me. I love the idea of rivals that pushes each other up instead of down, who hold each other in such high regard. I love the times when Maya and Ayumi actually meet or even get to act together.

This is a story that can hook you into it. No matter how long this series is, I'm never bored. No number of episodes is ever enough. I got two friends to watch and love it with a marathon sleepover (one who didn't expect much at all and ended up squealing throughout it), and I hope others will similarly give this anime a try. It doesn't deserve being forgotten or bypassed. I've made two recommendations for other animes, and in the reverse, if you liked anime such as Hikaru no Go and Kaleido Star you will definitely like this one.

This is not so much a sequel as an OVA covering the very beginning of the story of Glass Mask. It begins with Maya, the girl who is not good at anything... aside from her fascination with all that is movies and dramas. Even her own mother believes her a useless girl. If a tv is on, she won't hear a word you say, if you send her out to deliver Ramen she may come back hours later, she can't remember a single formula for school... but she can recite any play she's watched once by heart. As a habit, she acts out her favorite ... dramas in the park to some kids where she is spotted by an mysterious old woman. You will see Maya's growing devotion as she finds the one thing she may be good at and the trials as she first establishes this dream.

This series of Glass Mask is good for two instances. One: A taste to see if this is a series you would like to watch in full or to have someone else watch to get them hooked. Or if you're already hooked on Glass Mask and simply want more and a different perspective on the beginning.

The Girl of a Thousand Masks follows closer to the original manga in story as well as character design. I find it a treat to watch merely because it captures the original character designs with quality animation (unlike the old and flat looking first anime series). As much as I enjoy the 2005 anime, it's nice to see this.

You can read a more thorough review on Glass Mask, 2005 version.

I didn't expect to like this series so much. The animation is average and of an older anime era, and military/sci-fi anime is always a hit or miss with me. But you can't NOT love Captain Tylor. As the title says, he's irresponsible... on of my favorite anime music videos has hime singing "Reponsibility, what's that?" But he's also a very happy, easy going or care free individual who thinks life should just be fun. Though he makes enemies within his own fleet due to his idiotic luck, he manages to win the respect and eventually friendship of many of their foes (I'd say he ... could sweet-talk himself out of any assassination attempt). Somehow this misfit crew becomes the most notable in the war.

In the same regards as Luffy, you can sympathize with the crew with who they have as a captain... you have to scoff and laugh that anyone like Tylor managed to become captain. And yet through unimaginable luck, gets out of every mishap still smiling. This series is just plain fun to watch. My dad and everyone in my anime club are always happy to sit down and re-watch episodes. The ending was also a great climax and conclusion (especially for a series largely bent on comedy or entertainment). I would recommend the series to anyone. I also don't mind watching the dub for this series which is rare for me.

Wow, I didn't even know this series was licensed until I happened to see the series was on TV. This is an amazing series and is a must to watch, especially if you're tired of the typical anime. I recently watched the entire series marathon style with two friends who were as equally engrossed as I (myself watching it for the second time). This series has a very realistic feel to it in this ancient time and the animation, music, characters, and story are beyond excellent. Even the fantasy elements are believable and seamlessly portrayed in the series. Sometimes it carries a bit of slice-of-life ... feel, but always in a way that really brings the series, story, and characters to life. There's plenty of conflict to keep things interesting and a climax you couldn't imagine. The relationship between Balsa and the young boy-prince Chagum is extremely heartwarming. Balsa is an admirable and strong female warrior and Chagum the epitone of a little boy with too much responsibility on his shoulders. I can't even begin to describe Chagum's character though my heart went out to him so often and I loved seeing him mature. If you liked series such as the Twelve Kingdoms, you will definitely love this one. If you're looking for anime fluff, romantic anime, extreme action, or comedy, look elsewhere... If you're interested in sitting back and watching an extremely well developed story told with beautiful backgrounds and believable characters, do yourself a favor and check out this series!

I loved the story concept when I first heard it--it sounded awesome and I couldn't wait to watch it. Guess what? It is awesome! I have watched this series numerous times with different friends (surprisingly a few were guys!) and all have loved it. The animation style is a bit more old school... but in a way it's more endearing than all color shininess. I like the more subdued coloring style in settings and the music fits well. I love the violin music and the opening song. Some people may be annoyed by character stubborness... key word DRAMA, lots and lots of it. And just ... when you think there should be a happy understanding and feelings returned time and time again? Think again. Though may I say she's a stubborn idiot when it comes to love, Makino is a strong-willed character that you can admire. Doumyouji is a tempermental rich-boy, but under the tough-guy act he's more of a cute bratty kid who doesn't know how to act around a crush... and gradually starts to grow up. With the setting, the characters, plot, romance, drama, and a bit of humor, I highly recommend this series.