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After finishing this series, there are just a few things I'd like to clear up.

First of all, this series was adapted (quite faithfully, I must add) from a relatively popular shounen manga of the same name. It's not in any way complete, and a second season has just been confirmed. This first season served mainly as an introduction to the characters and setting.

Secondly, if you haven't read the manga already, I suggest doing so. It's nearly exactly the same as this anime has been so far, so you won't be missing out on much if you skip over this in favor of the manga.

Alright, ... on to the actual review!

Medaka Box starts out as a typical school life story with supernatural/shounen elements. It's interesting to see a shounen series with the main fighting protagonist a female, although some may argue that Zenkichi is the true protagonist here.

The premise of this series is about a student council with an unbeatable president, Kurokami Medaka. Right off the bat, everything about this series seems like it should be completely unlikable. We've got a useless male lead, an overpowered big-breasted female lead, and a bunch of other seemingly annoying characters. But somehow, after just watching a few minutes of the first episode, I began to actually like them.

Honestly, by itself, this anime is not very good. It just doesn't make sense unless you know what the manga will eventually be about, and that's never a good idea. My enjoyment came from the way this show made me laugh, and I really did like the characters a lot. Despite the fact that all the characters are overpowered archetypes, Medaka Box presents them in a way that is rather satirical. This show doesn't take itself seriously, which makes it very enjoyable to watch.

Overall, I liked Medaka Box. The pacing was strange, but the ending left room for all of the events that have yet unfolded in this anime adaptation.

*This will serve as my review for both seasons 1 and 2.


What is love? What is adulthood? What is the true meaning of life?

Those are the questions Honey and Clover tries to explore, and in my humble opinion, it definitely succeeded.

At first glance, Honey and Clover seems like your average slice-of-life series with a little bit of romance and comedy. However, what starts out as a light-hearted story of a group of art students living and interacting with each other turns into a full blown romantic drama. And, at the heart of that drama, lies a poignant look at what it really means to grow ... up.

Honey and Clover follows these young protagonists as they find love, suffer tragedies, and gain wisdom. Along the way, they discover many little insights about life that most people will also find at some point. Although the series starts out slow, and dare I say, a little bit boring, the characters soon endear themselves to the audience, so that when they laugh, we laugh, and when they cry, we cry along with them.

The animation is very simple, in light pastel colors that fit the series well. The soundtrack was very beautiful and enhanced both the comedic and touching scenes, and the voice acting was top-notch. Everything that wasn't the story and characters only helped, not hindered, the story and characters.

But what really captured me most about this show was that the characters seemed so...human. They were selfish and stupid at times, but they made realistic mistakes. They were reflections of ourselves, and our own insecurities.

Many people will complain that Honey and Clover had an unsatisfying ending; that certain characters didn't get what they deserved; that other characters should have gotten more. However, I though the ending was perfect, as it portrayed how real life often works. Not everyone has a happy ending in the classic sense, and not every issue is resolved, but people still manage to find joy in what they do have.

In the end, Honey and Clover became one of my favorite series because of this. Never before have I watched or read anything in which I've been able to relate to the characters so well. I was struck by the simple humanity of this show, and I have a feeling most other people who watched this show were as well.

Horror, like any other genre, is rather subjective. While some are thrilled and excited by fear, others become truly frightened and even repulsed. Unfortunately, I was among those who were actually quite scared after watching Another, thus lowering my enjoyment considerably.

Therefore, it will be rather difficult for me to review this series fairly. I'd like to point out that, for me personally, the quality of the plot and story have little to do with the overall emotional impact.

So, with that in mind, let's get started.

A regular kid moves from the city to a small town to live with his aunt and grandparents. He meets ... a mysterious girl with an eye patch at the hospital, where he was recovering from a lung condition. The girl ends up at his new school, where a lot of strange things happen due to an accident involving a popular student's death many years ago. And from there, the story progresses through numerous horrific, gory twists and turns, finally arriving at a (rather anticlimactic) conclusion.

Honestly, Another starts out as very interesting mystery coupled with horror elements. The first few episodes, while slow, were actually very good. But I distinctly remember the exact point at which I became sorely disappointed with the direction of the plot. What could have been a thrilling supernatural mystery/horror simply became Final Destination with some loose semblance of a plot. And that plot became so riddled with holes by the end that I really thought the creators were trolling us in the last few episodes.

Yes, I know that Another is a light novel, and I'm sure the light novel was well written enough to even get an anime adaptation in the first place. However, I did not enjoy the way the anime version was directed. Another had a solid premise to build upon, but the creators simply did not deliver. Most of the deaths were extremely contrived and sometimes downright silly. If Another did not take itself as seriously as it did, then much of it would have been a whole lot less ridiculous.

One thing I will give to Another's storytelling is it's ability to freak people out. If you're used to gory horror elements, then this will be pretty tame to you. But for someone like me, who usually dislikes horror and is scared easily, the creepy and often horrifically shocking atmosphere of Another will surely keep you up at night.

I won't reveal too much about the plot, because in all honesty most people high enjoyed it. If you are intrigued by cheap mysteries and overly creative deaths, then you will have no problem enjoying Another's story. However, if you are looking for something more solid and meaningful, then you will dislike Another's story as I did.

The characters were a big part of the problem as well. Most of them lacked common sense, and although this is normal in the horror genre, I expected anime of all mediums to be more creative and get it right every once in a while. Unfortunately, this did not happen, and many of the characters ended up being shallow, creepy, and generally unlikable.

The art and music were all of top-notch quality, so there's not much to say there. The only problem I had was that all the characters looked bland and emotionless, but I suppose that was part of the creepy atmosphere Another was trying to create. I also thought the music sometimes gave away the scene before the scene could unfold, so it tended to lessen the mystery a little. But overall, Another's aesthetic qualities were all very good.

Overall, I can't say I enjoyed Another very much. I'll give it props for good music, great art, and the ability to give me nightmares, but there were simply too many plotholes and unsatisfying characters for me to fully enjoy this. If the plot had been more solid, and certain story elements changed, then Another would have gotten a much higher rating.

But as it is...6/10.

Most people did not enjoy this show. However, I did. Maybe my opinions are highly flawed. I doubt I'm the pinnacle of good taste, so you shouldn't take my review as the word of God. But the fact remains that I liked Rinne no Lagrange while many others did not, so here's me telling you why.

Story: 7/10
The plot of Rinne no Lagrange is not very complicated to begin with, at least not to me. A lot of people found it a bit confusing and the back stories not fleshed out enough, but keep in mind that this is a two-season anime. I expect, with the ... ending presented in season 1, the reasons behind what happened in these 12 episodes will be further explained. But overall, I found the story to be quite interesting. Basically, a girl named Madoka is chosen to pilot a mecha along with two other young girls. And stuff happens.
It's not unique at all, but I felt that the way it was presented was rather refreshing. Rinne is a show that has serious undertones and darker elements, without actually taking itself too seriously. It's a precarious balance between light-hearted and the somber, and I'll admit that this doesn't always work out so well. But while Rinne's story is far from perfect, I honestly did like it.

Art: 8/10
When I first started watching this show, I had to watch the early release version streaming. I honestly thought the art sucked. But once I began downloading episodes in higher quality, I realized that the art in this is actually very good. The special effects are all done beautifully, and while some of the daily life scenes aren't animated as well, overall I thought the animation was quite good. The character designs were all very interesting as well, and I liked the idea of giving the aliens multicolored "anime hair" while giving regular earthlings normal colored Japanese hair.

Sound: 7/10
The music in Rinne didn't actually start getting good until the later half. The first few episodes had alright music, but in some of the battle scenes later on the soundtrack was just lovely. I liked the voice acting as well, so no problems there. There were times in the series when the uplifting string music gave the rather bleak images an eerie tone, but that was very minor and not often. Overall, the music was nice when there was music, and the acting was fine.

Character: 7/10
Depending on how you feel about moe, the character section will vary greatly for everyone. Madoka, Lan, and Muginami, the three young female protagonists, are clearly there to attract the older male otaku audience. They each have their own cute little quirks, and each of them have their "cute girls doing cute things" moments. However, unlike actual moeblob shows, the three girls in Rinne actually go through a lot of hardship and emotional suffering as the series progresses. There are moments where you know for sure they will be fine as long as they have each other, but there are many other scenes where you question whether or not anything would be the same again. It's not a "tear them up from the inside out" kind of show like another famous series with a protagonist named Madoka is, but the characters do go through enough development to make you laugh and cry with them.

Enjoyment: 8/10
I suppose this show doesn't appeal to everyone. It's not a universally likable show. It has tons of moe fan service (though very little of it is sexual), and seems to attract the older male otaku population rather than everyone. However, as a teenage girl, I can say that I highly enjoyed Rinne. I liked that it started out light and happy, with only a few glimpses at the underlying darkness, and just when you think it's all going to go downhill, it returns to being the same kind of cheery again. This type of emotional setup is not for everyone, and it will confuse a lot of people. But I liked it, and I found it to be rather clever.

Overall: 7/10
If you are looking for a mecha show with badass little girls piloting giant robots and fighting aliens, then this is not the show for you. If you are looking for something more nuanced; something character driven; something that confuses your emotions but still leaves you wanting to know more, then by all means, watch Rinne no Lagrange. It's not perfect or amazing by any standard, but it's good. I can't quite explain in words how I felt overall about Rinne. But I suppose...it was good. Sometimes, it was just fine, and at other times, it was great. So...good would be the right way to express it.

I read Anata e no Crescendo in one night because I was bored and looking for a short, stress-free, and cliche shoujo manga to get through quickly. Well, it did live up to my expectations, which were not too high in the first place.

Story: 6/10
The plot of this manga is pretty simple. Girl has childhood crush, girl reunites with said childhood crush, girl meets other guy, drama ensues, then voila, happily ever after. The only interesting element was the music theme, and since I do play the piano, I found it nice. There's nothing unique about it though, no other story line other than ... the main characters'. Which, if this is the kind of manga you are looking for, then it's perfectly fine. Just don't expect an amazing, thoughtful shoujo story to come out of 3 chapters. (The other three are all side stories, which weren't exactly masterpieces either.)

Art: 6/10
The artwork is alright, I guess. I didn't like how humongous the eyes tended to be, and the style tends to be somewhat inconsistent. I actually preferred the art in the three side stories; it seemed to improve in those.

Character: 5/10
This is probably the weakest part of the manga. The main female protagonist is a very stereotypical dramatic shoujo lead. She makes terrible life decisions, and you're bound to dislike her a little. She's rather annoying, and you honestly wonder why those guys are even interested in a girl like her. Speaking of guys, the two male protagonists aren't that fleshed out to begin with. Basically, very cliche male leads you would find in every mediocre shoujo manga. Overall, the characters are neither interesting nor complicated. In just a few short chapters, you can't expect to have perfectly developed characters. They were there to advance the simple shoujo romance plot, nothing more.

Enjoyment: 7/10
Strangely, the enjoyment score is the highest for me. Like I said in the intro, I was specifically looking for a quick, cliche-shoujo read. I got what I was looking for, so I'm happy. But objectively, Anata e no Crescendo is not very good. If you are looking for the next shoujo masterpiece, then this is not it. But if you, like me, are just looking for something light-hearted and fun to fill up your list, then by all means, read this manga.

Overall: 6/10
It's good if you like this kind of stuff. (I do.) It's terrible if you don't. Overall...mediocre.

First of all, I usually don't write reviews for this website. I review anime and manga when I have time on my personal blog, but I tend to stray away from MAL reviews, simply because I've seen so many outstanding reviews on here that I feel like whatever I write will be utter crap.

But when I finished The Music of Marie, or Marie no Kanaderu Ongaku, I felt like I just had to at least say something about this remarkable manga.

The Music of Marie is one of the most underrated manga I've ever had the pleasure of reading, underrated in the sense that almost no ... one knows about it. It's definitely an undiscovered gem, and I personally feel like that's one of the best things about it. The author is clearly trying to tell a beautiful story, instead of pulling some deep philosophical stuff out of nowhere in order to make some money.

So, without further ado, the actual review. (For the sake of fluidity and time, I'll be using "Marie" to refer to the manga itself. If I'm referencing the character Marie, I'll do it without quotes.)

Story: 9/10
The story of "Marie" is deceptively simple, yet amazing. Basically, the character Marie is a mechanical goddess that watches over a peaceful, post-apocalyptic world. The plot revolves around two teenagers, Kai and Pipi, as they go through a series of events that ultimately makes them question their world, and perhaps their entire existence. Nothing is what it seems in this manga; everything is full of mystery and wonder, which is what makes the story so captivating. "Marie" is definitely one of the more different stories I've come across, and the ending is absolutely shocked me to the core.
Now, why did I give it a 9, you ask?
Well, it's more of a 9.5, or even a 9.8. The only reason why it's not a full ten is because I felt like the author could have expanded on Kai and Pipi's relationship. Even after the story was finished, I still couldn't understand exactly why Pipi was so in love with Kai in the first place. Maybe I missed something...but anyways, for just two volumes, the story and concept was fantastic.

Art: 10/10
The art in "Marie" is absolutely gorgeous. I've honestly never seen any manga drawn with such attention to detail. All of the scenery and technology in this manga are drawn so imaginatively and beautifully. I'm not much of an artist myself, so there's little more I can say for this aspect of the review. But basically, the art in this manga is breathtaking.

Character: 9/10
To be honest, the characters in this manga by themselves aren't that unique or memorable, though I suppose Pipi is a bit of an exception towards the end. But overall, it's more of the roles the characters play in the whole of the series rather than their individual qualities that makes them shine.

Enjoyment: 10/10
I finished this series in one day, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. "Marie" has now been added to my favorites, where it will most likely stay for a VERY long time. Never before have I read a manga that combines philosophical ideas with fantasy so well. Although this series reminded me of Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica in some ways, I don't even think that could possibly compare to the level "Marie" is on. I'm not religious at all, but I could even relate to the religious overtones found in "Marie". Basically, everyone should read this.

Overall: 10/10
I recommend The Music of Marie to every one and anyone, regardless of what genre you usually enjoy. Even if you don't like manga, you will like "Marie".