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A bit of Saitama's, the One Punch Man's, history on the road to heroedom. Just as bizarre and funny as any other episode, it shows the origins of his suit, the beginnings of his crime fighting, and more of his penchant for oops moments. It even explains the origins of monsters a bit, dispelling some of the other theories I had about how they came about. It has less action than the other episodes but I believe it's an important part of OPM to watch because it emphasizes what this show is about: a simple man, simply drawn, who's a hero for fun, who becomes ... the most overpowered man in anime.

The Irregular at Magic High School is a bit tough to follow and understand for the average viewer. It's a very scientific anime, which I love, and even a sciency person such as myself had to watch it a couple of times to get a full understanding of the science and magic behind the series. This ONA is a great watch to get a head start on the show before watching it. I'd say it's almost essential to watch. The best part is it's short and sweet and to the point and the chibi characters are pretty cute and gives the main characters a quick ... introduction.

Having seen a lot of harem anime, this one is unique in that the main character and 2 of his romantic interests are reincarnations of their past lives, meaning both of them were his lovers at one point, which makes things interesting for the present, especially with the addition of new fan girls. The romance plot as well as the action are pretty decent in this show, especially the spell casting, thought I don't understand why nearly every spell has to have some blasphemus phrase to it. The show has been a fun watch overall, but the downside is it's got some of those unfortunate ... action and harem cliches you just can't get away from nowadays. Also, the intro song is utterly terrible. I probably won't watch it again but you might like it. It's pretty similar to Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero, which I think I prefer.

This is my favorite anime. It's one of the few "smart" anime out there, it's beautiful in its art, and there are plenty of characters to love. By smart, I mean it feels as though a physicist or an engineer wrote this story. The theme is that magic has long been dismissed as legend and is now technology and goes into great detail on how spells work and magical theory. It is a bit hard to follow if you don't pay close attention or are uninterested, but there are 4-5 short episodes that you can watch to prepare for the show, which explains how magic ... and the society works, as well as introduces some of the characters. There are a few things that many people don't seem to enjoy about the show, one being the science of it, as I mentioned. The other aspects involve incest and the main character's emotionless state. The love between brother and sister in this story leads to a lot of implied incest themes, which goes beyond the norm, but hey some people are into that. However, this relationship is explained further on in the story and if you're not into the semi-incest then bear with it and see that there's more to it later in the show and in the manga. The main character, Tatsuya Shiba, is often considered by viewers as emotionless and cold and hard to like. However, he is supposed to be that way and there are reasons that you will see later in the show and it is well worth it once you realize how he's one of the most OP, badass characters ever created. If I were to be any character I'd want to be him because he is charismatic, intelligent, a natural leader, confident, and has goals and everyone in the show loves him. The other characters are very likable and the class president Mayumi Saegusa has effectively become one of my fav anime crushes. I definitely recommend this show but be sure to keep an open mind throughout.

There are very few animes that I would consider "smart" and this is certainly a work of genius. It's deep, well-written, and contains many epic plot twists. It's a story that often references Hamlet and The Tempest by William Shakespeare and keeps you guessing as to whether it will end in tragedy or not. The story is amazing and I couldn't have ever written a better storyline myself. The art is well-drawn but nothing quite as fancy as Black Rock Shooter or Bakemonogatari. Character development is fantastic and you really get to know their personalities and their goals and desires. The romance is spot ... on without the harem aspect or too much fan service and is one of the better romance animes in my opinion. The action is pretty cool but not overboard. The only one thing I don't like about this anime is it tends to follow the overused Deus Ex Machina plot but this one is somewhat original enough to pass. I definitely recommend this show for those who love smart, deep storylines, good romance, and good action and magic.

Fun and quirky. A surprisingly original spin on a zombie movie. It's deep, it's dark, it's sexy, it's cute. Nothing comes to mind that I don't like about this anime. The characters are very likeable, the story is fantastic, it's genuinely funny, the opening is catchy, and it's a zombie show. There are very few zombie animes out there, High School of the Dead and Is This A Zombie? being the most notable. It's got a tiny bit of action but for the most part this is a romance and comedy mixed with a tiny bit of slice-of-life and psychological. Definitely one of my top ... favorites and extremely underrated if you ask me.

While not as great as the original Soul Eater, it does have a lot of great back story and a deeper look into the life of a weapon, their schooling, their transformation, picking a partner, life at the academy, etc. It's like taking a magnifying glass to the original show and I'm glad I watched it. There's definitely a LOT less Black Star, which is a definite plus. It also gives you a closer look into the past lives of the Thompson sisters. This show definitely strayed away from the mystery and action of Soul Eater and added a lot more of the slice of ... life feel but it's definitely worth watching.

Quite awesome! Though not super mind-blowing in terms of action and plot, it is certainly worth watching. What I like most about this one is two particular qualities. First, I like the relationship between the characters. You have the two member fighting team of the protagonist, a 17ish year old boy who has seen some pain but is headstrong and his sidekick, a superhuman 10 year old who is perky and quirky and loves teasing the main character about them getting married someday. They keep each other grounded very well, the boy being the stern older brother who needs cheering up and the girl who ... needs a leash for her superhuman power and someone to look after her. Second, I love the tragedy of the show. It's a tear-jerker for certain and so far only a few anime have drawn me to tears, Clannad Afterstory and Angel Beats included. As the show progresses you see loss, struggle, and despair among some very likable characters. This show, however, falls short in terms of action and plot that stands out like Attack on Titan and Cowboy Bebop. This show is great for a good case of the feels though, which is why I recommend it.

BEHOLD!!! Anime of the year! Why you ask? The answer is art, story, characters, kawaii! Some may shy away from this show thinking "Another show about video games?" but this show differs in the fact that they aren't inside a game playing the game, they are in an alternate world playing games. What's the difference? They aren't trapped, in fact they quite enjoy the fact that they're stuck there. What I love about this anime the most is its genius strategies, very much akin to Death Note. Never before have I been so caught up in a game of rock paper scissors and I wasn't ... even the one playing it (watch and see). The next best thing I love about it is the art. Very colorful and pastel, but what makes this one unique is the red outlines of the character and the light, omnipresent haze. I also love it for its harem quality. Yes, it's another harem and the characters pretty much know it's becoming a harem but it has some semblance of originality when it comes to how he goes about meeting these girls. The characters are all very cute and quite memorable, especially the sister. Another great quality about this anime is that it has a clear goal and that it has its suspenseful, hopeless moments and then it turns around and all I can think is GENIUS! This anime is sure to continue and I certainly look forward to the second season, this show is far from done.

Strike the Blood is one of the sexier animes out there. The story isn't very rich and is a generic "new enemy, new strategy, find a way to defeat him, move to the next one" show. The main character's development moves a bit slowly for my taste but hopefully that's indicative of multiple seasons. The action is a bit generic as well, but better than some. What sells this anime though is its harem quality. The characters are attractive and the show is quite ecchi, without going too much into cliches. It has potential, that's for sure, and the manga is probably quite a bit ... better. A good quality about this show is that even though it involves vampires, it strays from the general vampire setup and gives some semblance of originality. I give this show a 7 or 8 overall and a 8 or 9 in terms of the ecchi world.