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I stumbled across Tales Of Demons And Gods primarily by mistake due to a recommendation on a website. The visual premise was similar to Naruto, so I thought why not try this chinese ;anime; out?

The show uses a lot from spiritual concepts originated from China. The plot is very vague and not well expressed. It's hard to understand why Nie Li lacks soul power as its not even described properly. That's mostly due to poor world building and my lack of knowledge about Taoism. Also, notice how Nie Li is a genius and has only begun to be noticed now.

The Art is pretty mediocre ... as they have used 3D animation. I tried reading the Manhua and the character sketches were way better. However, its not too bad after around 5 episodes. By the end of the series, I could hardly notice the flaw in animation.

The OSTs were actually pretty nice. They have used Guzheng a lot, which I think has a beautiful vibe to it. Well, I am not so used to Chinese language in general so subtitles were my only way to understand stuff.

The characters were actually good. They are pleasant, except for that unnecessary pain in the butt Shen Yue. Funny thing is how there's too much 'laughing' in the show and you won't understand what the joke is about.

Despite all the flaws, I was hooked to the series. Eventually that is what matters. Also, I'm expecting a lot of development in second season. Grateful to this anime, because now I'll probably start watching chinese adaptations too.

'Can we open our hearts to others? Can we let others know about our anguish? Can we learn to love and share all our worries?' Marmalade Boy seeks the answer.

PLOT: 7/10

Marmalade Boy starts with Miki, a high school student, having her parents swap with Yuu's parents during their Hawaii trip. This unusual situation causes both families to stay together. This is where it begins, their romance. Yuu does not open his heart to anyone. With all the hurdles in their way, will they last?
The plot is unique and that needs to be appreciated. Since it's a long running series the plot does go astray sometimes ... and there are events which make you ponder, 'Why did this even happen?'. Some events are generic and there was a point of time when i got sick of love triangles. However, even after all this. there are still some themes in the story which shine and save it. For example, Meiko's side story was pretty unpredictable and amused me every time.

CHARACTERS: 10/10

I'd be joking if I said Marmalade boy didn't have a good character development.

Miki: In the beginning, I thought Miki might be just another lead with low self confidence who follows her crush everywhere. But she turned out to be different. She was weak, yet strong. She took stands where required. She was a little indecisive but when she took the decision, the matter was over for her. Overall, she turned out to be a loyal, loving and cheerful character.
Yuu: I admit I had problems with Yuu in the first half. He seemed less genuine and not worth Miki's emotions. But towards the second half, he became quite passionate. My heart ached when he was heartbroken, I was happy when he was happy.
Meiko: As I mentioned before, I liked her story. I loved he character as well. She was the one I could relate to the most. 'Don't you think everyone has some secrets? Things they can't tell anyone about? They want to but they can't. It's hard to talk about it, but even harder not too. So they just keep it to themselves' (As quoted by Yuu for Meiko and himself) I could see myself in Meiko.
Satoshi: Satoshi was a selfless man throughout the show. He was honest about his feelings. He knew when to enter and exit. He gave everything he could to Meiko and proved to be the real lover.
Kei: Now, Kei was my favorite male throughout the show. The part of him which I liked the most was that he grew just to make Miki love him. I admire it when people make genuine efforts in love. And his smile made me feel warm.
Ginta and Arimi: These two were charming as well. Ginta was a little cringe-worthy sometimes but all in all he was very cute.

Nevertheless, I do have certain complaints with the cast too. Miki and Yuu's parents were made inconsiderate just for spice. Rokutanda was made to be a constant loser in every thing. Na-chan had too much a straight face for passionate affairs. I'd still give the cast a 10 because nothing really hindered my good experience.

ANIMATION: 7/10

It took me a little time to get used to. Quite obviously, since this series is from mid 90's. It's still quite satisfactory and better than it's competitors.

SOUND: 6/10

I do have some complaints here. The opening was lovely but it was repeated for the entire 76 episodes. All the OSTs were catchy but they were repetitive and disoriented. They had a gloomy OST playing suddenly in the midst of a cheerful moment, which would change my mood instead and my inference of the scene. The voice characters did a good job.

ENJOYMENT: 9/10

I thoroughly enjoyed this show. I saw myself constantly trying to watch an episode after another. Even though it was predictable at times, I still wanted to witness it happen. The romance was well done too.

PROS:
+ Good romantic development
+ Characters are worth looking out for
+ Strong and affable female lead
CONS:
- Generic and predictable at times
- Didn't get enough good music
- Length could've probably been shortened by 15 episodes

CONCLUSION

MB is a wonderful show with a strong set of characters. Don't let the length or the shoujo tag put you off, these can be the strongest points of the show.

RATING: 7+10+7+6+9/5 = 7.8
AVERAGE RATING: 8
STATUS: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

I was a little hesitant of watching Midori Days at first because it seemed quite unconventional. However as soon as I started it, I had quite less complaints.

STORY
8/10
It seems peculiar, doesn't it? I love this facet of the manga and anime industry. Where most of the TV soaps and movies have their limitations due to VFX, this industry can provide us with almost anything. Also matter as bizzare as a human becoming your right hand! It can explore, vary and broaden our imagination.

CHARACTERS
7/10
The characters are not what I'd call mind blowing but they all have their share of adequate development.
Startingwith Seji, I really admired him. ... He follows A-known-to-be-delinquent-but-actually-a-soft-person appeal. I know, I know, we have come across this a lot. But his development doesn't seem forced and is executed swiftly and softly unlike what we generally observe.
Midori, for me, was a little less developed here. Her purpose from the beginning to the end remained same. Also noting her constant will to be a guy's right hand just because she was infatuated with him was superficial. She was naturally timid and we do see her opening up and expressing her feelings but the anime doesn't let us explore this aspect or rather, is too short to do so.
As far as the supporting characters are concerned, I enjoyed the side story in which Tsundere Ayase was involved. She didn't provide a tough competition for Midori (which we generally expect in a romance anime) but she had her own importance and her attempts to woo Seiji were comic. Seiji's sister Rin didn't really catch my attention or impress me. She was a little cliched and annoying during the show. Takamizawa,Miyahara, Shiori, and Kouta contributed a little as much as all supporting characters do.

ANIMATION
7/10
The animation was pretty good. The transitions were fluid. But it was nothing special.

SOUND
7/10
The OP and ED were decent. The voice actors were good pretty amazing and I'd like to give appreciation for that. The background music to was minimal and didn't seem as a principal focus in the show.

ENJOYMENT
7/10
In the end, I was a little disappointed with no vindication given about how Midori became his right hand. But the excuse is, it's not a science fiction. The length could've been increased to around 20 episodes because I like my romance long.
One good thing about Midori Days was that the fanservice didn't interrupt the flow of the show *breathes relievingly*

OVERALL SCORE: 7+7+8+7=7÷5 = 7.2
AVERAGE SCORE: 7
STATUS: Recommended.