Sword Art Online

Genre: Fantasy/SciFi/Action/Adventure
Age Appropriate: Preteens
Emotional Response: heart warming and heart breaking
Notable Features: swords, video games, love, evil scientists
Language: Japanese
Length: 2 season, 25 episodes
Overall Recommendation: Top 10 (Fine, Top 5, but don't tell my cousin)

"Kirito-kun will save me" - Asuna

In a time far, far from now (not that far), in a land far, far away (not that far either), a VRMMORPG comes online with 10,000 new players. These players are a mix of beta testers and new players, trying out Sword Art Online. The game is set up to use NeverGear equipment that intercepts brainwaves and makes it a full-dive gaming experience. Something is wrong, though. While there seemed to be no weird occurrences in the beta test, the real game has a terrible problem. There is no log-out function! The game's creator reveals his dastardly plan to use the game as a new world. The only way to release the players is for someone to finally beat the 100 level game, but climbing the tower and defeat the bosses. The even more terrible catch: because the game is linked to all players via their brains, anyone who dies in the game will die in real life. 

The protagonist is Kazuto, but his game handle is Kirito. Kirito is a beta tester who commits himself to surviving, and winning the game. The world develops into a real world out of the real world. Guilds are built, teams made, and battles won and lost. Kirito chooses deliberately to be a solo player, especially after tragedy strikes in his first guild foray. Through his grueling journey to beat the game, he meets people and makes important, life altering friendships. The series follows Kirito's journey and relationships as he carries on his mission to survive.

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My little cousin is probably going to make me eat my words. I'd been avoiding this, solely because I didn't think I would be in the mood. I think I got back into the adventure mood after finally finishing Legend of Legendary Heroes. This, by far, surpassed LOLH. Frankly, it surpassed a lot of anime series I've seen. I watched all 25 episodes in less than 48 hours, and I loved every minute. I will recommend it to everyone.

This is one of the few series that I've watched and nearly had me in tears. It's rare for me to get the sniffles at anything, and there were just a few episodes where I admit I teared up. The emotional investment was huge. It might take a little recovery, but I will watch this again. And possibly again. I'm floored by my feelings at the moment. There were some parts that were unsatisfying, but I'm pretty sure they were supposed to be. I mean, not every story is supposed to be exactly the way you want it to be, right? I'm glad for some of the more traditional elements, though. I might replace Tears to Tiara with this, with the sole exception of the fact that TtT was much funnier. That's not to say this didn't have funny moments, but they weren't a focus.

Seriously, unless you have some unknown hatred for Adventure/Fantasy/SciFi, you will not regret watching this.

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Dumbfounded: Freezing

Listen to me girls, I'm your father.

Genre: Comedy
Age Appropriate: Any age
Emotional Response: Sad followed by happy
Notable Features: family committment, adorable kids
Language: Japanese
Length: 1 season, 12 episodes
Overall Recommendation: Great

"Twinkle, twinkle, little star...." - Hina & Co.

Yuuta is a first year college student who is interested in joining the SS club at school. Well, he's kidnapped by said club, but there is a beautiful girl involved, so he dicides to stick around. Then he gets a call from his sister. She scolds him for not visiting. It turns out that his older sister raised him when their parents died, so she became closer to a mother. Now she has three little girls, two from her husband's previous marriages, and one of their own. His sister bullies him into a visit, and has a secret plot - a test run for having him stay with the girls for a time when she and her husband have to go out of town for his work. He does have fun with the girls, and despite being reluctant about it, agrees when the little girls guilt him into it.

Their first night home alone, tragedy falls for the family. The airplane with the parents crashes and now the girls are orphans. At the funeral, the families agree to split the girls up, so that each family only has to take one. Yuuta flashes back to his parents funeral and his sister's response. He jumps up and declares that he will take the girls - despite being poor, having a small apartment, and not much at home. The girls jump at the chance to be with him. They don't really understant what they're in for, but they'd be together. So begins the story of Yuuta being the father of a preteen, a 10 year old, and a toddler.

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I loved this series. It was bittersweet, but engaging. After the past few confusing, multiple personality based series, I was really looking for something straight-up normal. No magic, sci-fi, psychological factors, but just something "normal." This series really nailed it.

I love all of the characters. Yuuta is so sweet in his struggles to meet the needs of the girls, while being completely oblivious about the actual day-to-day necessities. He really wants to make them happy (but forgets to think about their emotional states and the stress of being mini-homemakers). Sora is sweet, and takes on something closer to the "mom" role. Maybe it's just being a really good older sister, but she has to deal with her major crush on Yuuta. He's pretty oblivious to that, too. The only negative about it is that Sora is kind of annoying with it sometimes. Miu loves to torture her sister about her crush. She's pretty nice and a little mischevious, but in a good-hearted kind of way. She's stuck between being the older sister to Hina, helping Sora and wanting to just be a kid, and not wanting to cause anyone any trouble. Hina is just cute. Seriously. CUTE. I squealed a few times when she was on screen because she's so freakin' cute. C.U.T.E. I don't know if I would need to rewatch the series, but Hina might make it nice to do so.

It's really those characters that make the series. The story is nice, and uplifting despite the sadness of what they face, but it's really pretty great. I'd recommened it to someone looking for it, hands down, and there really wasn't anything inappropriate. I liked it.

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Roll over!: Heaven's Lost Property

Amnesia

Genre: Romance (kinda?)
Age Appropriate: Teen
Emotional Response: total confusion
Notable Features: amnesia, repeating days, hot guys
Language: Japanese
Length: 1 season, 12 episodes
Overall Recommendation: WTF?

"Don't trust him!" - Orion

A young lady has lost her memory, and begins a strange journey toward recovering it. She has an apprentice fairy friend, Orion, who seems committed to helping her find her lost self, but it becomes more complicated at the series goes on. She re-meets her friends, re-learns her job and finds herself trying to hide what's missing. It gets her in trouble with the person who is supposedly her boyfriend, and she can't figure out what's missing, again.

She fell and lost her memories from after she lost her memories, which happened right before she lost her memories - again - and behind it all is a strange, probably evil, man with green hair who messed with her by appearing and disappearing every time she tries to have a meaningful conversation with him, maybe. It's a upside down world and the path to getting out makes it worse rather than making it better, maybe. Her strange journey takes her through different worlds, sorta, and she changes love interests per world, kinda, and in the end it theoretically makes sense.

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I picked out this series, because at the time I was looking for something with hot guys. This looked kinda good, but I decided to wait a little bit because it was being simulcast. You can't really finish up a series for review if it's not actually done being aired, right?

It wasn't anything at all like I expected. I guess, I was expecting something a little more comedic, and a lot less creepy. It almost has the same quiet tone as "Say 'I love you,'" but there is a sinister aftertaste that is nowhere near related to anything else I've seen. I've seen creepy zombies and dark vampires, evil gods and bad guy ninjas, but nothing prepared me for this. I didn't want to finish it, but I made myself. Usually, I don't want to finish things because they're terrible and I make myself because I've committed to it. This just had me nervous the whole time. I don't know how to explain it, and I don't know that it would translate to another viewer. I think part of it was the eyes. Each person's eyes are a wierd half/half mix of odd colors. Otherwise, they all look like normal characters - and they have very interesting clothing tastes. I also realized somewhere near the end that there doesn't appear to be much of a soundtrack - I'm not sure if that makes a difference either.

I really didn't understand what was going on until the second to last episode. I know a number of people who would enjoy, or at least be intrigued by, this series. I would definitely recommend it to them, but unless you're into really weird, mind-boggling, confusing, kinda emo-esque stuff, this might not be for you. I've finished the series, and I understand everything now, but I'm still feeling a little
dazed.

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What's going on?: Kenichi: The Mightest Disciple

Say "I love you"

Genre: Romance
Age Appropriate: Teens
Emotional Response: indulgent smile, lovely
Notable Features: high school, young love, sweet
Language: Japanese
Length: 1 season, 13 episodes
Overall Recommendation: Great

"I love you."

Say "I love you" is about a boy and a girl who fall in love, and it includes all of the misunderstandings that come with it. It all starts with a roundhouse kick from the least popular girl to the face of the most popular guy. He becomes intrigued by her because she doesn't seem to care that he's popular and beautiful - therefore not throwing herself at him every five minutes. A few episodes in, she gets sucked into being his girlfriend - because he's nice, beautiful and persistant. He stole her first kiss while saving her from a creepy stalker-like guy, and she has to battle in her mind to try to make it not a big deal. The series becomes a look into her mental state as she struggles against trusting him, and then falling in love; learning to have friends for the first time and battling her new, difficult issues with unfamiliar feelings of jealousy. While, the two seem to come through each new situation a little stronger, the process is painful.

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Usually, I try to be a little varied in what I'm watching. Black Butler episodes aside, I seem to be on a romance kick. Good thing it's my blog, huh? Say "I love you" was sweet, and maybe a little bittersweet. I found myself jealous of the female protagonist, Mei. It wasn't because she ends up with the hottest guy in school, necessarily (because what girl didn't want that when they were in high school?) but because in the short season, I got to watch her battle through new friends and becoming a little popular herself. I had friends in high school, but they always felt a step outside. And, yes, I'm a little jealous of Mei for dating the cute guy, but less because he was "the cute guy," then the fact that there was a guy interested in her in the first place. I was not, however, jealous of all the drama she had to deal with. Every episode had a least one moment where my heart hurt for her. It's quiet, I suppose, like Mei. No flashiness, no comedy, no throwing of object extreme drama. Just quiet.

The team who made this anime series happen did a fabulous job. I'd been avoiding this one just because I wasn't in the mood and I knew absolutely nothing about it. I'm also glad that I was in the current romantic mindset because it would've been hard to jump from Black Butler right into this. I don't know if I would watch it again, but if they manage to come out with a second season, I don't think I would hesitate. It's a new release, and while I was a little unsatisfied with the random ending, I won't cry if a new season doesn't happen. I would recommend it to a lot of people. There are a few subtle adult themes, so I would wait until someone was at least in high school, but nothing blatant. My best review for this series: I kept thinking about it, like a fond memory, for days afterword.

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Say it: Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero

Kamisama Kiss

Genre: Romance
Age Appropriate: Pre-teens
Emotional Response: smiley, romantic
Notable Features: familiars, gods, clueless girl
Language: Japanese
Length: 1 season, 13 episodes
Overall Recommendation: Yay!

"Don't touch me, human." - Tomoe

One day a young lady saves a strange man stuck in a tree afraid of a dog. After going through a difficult time with her father, Nanami ends up homeless, and as a result of saving said strange man, she ends up with a new home at Mikage Shrine, the shrine of the local land god. Apparently, as part of a thank you kiss on her forehead, Nanami is now the land god. Mikage has left behind quite a mess with his twenty year absence, upsetting his familiar Tomoe and leaving the shrine in disrepair. When Nanami arrives, Tomoe, a kitsune yokai, takes this to mean that his time as a familiar is over and runs to "over yonder," to lose himself in being the "wild fox" that he was before stumblig on Mikage. Nanami's reaction bothers him, and as she runs away she's cornered by another yokai (read: demon) Tomoe has to save her. Thus begins their newfound familiar/god relationship.

In this short series, Nanami must battle her own teenage feelings of inadequacy along with Tomoe's obvious resentment at being dragged into his new familiarship with a lowly human girl. Joined by new supernatural friends - Mizuki, a white snake and Kurama, a pop idol/tengu - Nanami struggles with being a god and trying to make a real teenage life for herself. She never quite feels like the god she's supposed to be, and Tomoe's attitude makes everything harder for her. On top of that, she begins to develop romantic feelings for him as the series moves along. She makes baby steps of progress as she meets new characters, friendly and not, in this coming-of-age story with a supernatural twist.

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I am so upset with this series. They totally could've gotten more than 13 episodes out of it. It would have been pushing it to try to get more than 24, but really there wasn't enough. I was surprised that I liked it so much. I really didn't think that I would, but I randomly picked it out of a small list I was trying to make, and I'm so happy that I did. I have a total girl-crush on Tomoe. It was adorable. Not in that sickeningly sweet chibi way, but more of a awww kind of way. I was totally cheering for Nanami the whole way through. The way the story goes is pretty standard and not surprising, but I enjoyed it anyway.

I would totally recommend this for anyone who would enjoy a little supernatural teenage romance. It reminded me a bit of the last time I saw a similar fox (Inu X Boku!), but in a good way. This would probably be pretty awesome for a bunch of haggling girls, or a chick-flick enjoying mother/daughter duo type experience. I'm sad that there isn't another season, but I can at least appreciate that it isn't going to be ruined by one either. High marks from me!

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I'm to sexy for my fox-spirit: Shattered Angels

Vampire Knight - Season 1

Genre: Vampires (Vampires really need to have their own genre. amiright?)
Age Appropriate: Teens
Emotional Response: confused and angsty
Notable Features: vampires, high school, vampires
Language: English
Length: 1 season, 13 episodes (this time around)
Overall Recommendation: Good (especially if you like vampires)

"That girl is the only thing I really care about." - Lord Kaname

When Yuki was a little girl, she was saved from a bad vampire by a "good" vampire. Kaname, said good vampire, developed a certain attachment to Yuki, and their complicated relationship factors hugely in the storyline. The plot is set at Cross Academy, a school both for Day Class and Night Class students. Yuki's job, along with her partner Zero, is too help the transition between Day and Night classes with as little fuss as possible. There is a curfew that is supposed to be held for the Day Class students. The Night Class is actually made up of aristocratic vampires, led by Lord Kaname, one of the last "true blood" vampires. During these transitions, Yuki works to keep the girly girls from swooning too much over the Night Class boys, but at the same time has to contain herself from her swooning over Kaname. Her past with him has led her to fall madly in love with him.

Her relationship with her partner-in-crime Zero is actually more complicated than her relationship with Kaname. When she was saved by Kaname, she was brought to the headmaster and was adopted by him. A few years later, Zero was brought to him as well, and he was adopted into the household - though not really as a "son." Zero's family was slaughtered by bad vampires, and his experience completely colors he feelings about vampires. He hates them all, and wants to kill them. He restrains himself, however, out of respect for the headmaster and only works with Yuki patrolling the grounds to keep everyone in check. There are frequent moments where he has to restrain himself, or be retrained by Yuki, from violence. Growing up together has actually made Yuki and Zero rather close - well, close considering Zero's emotional capacity. This makes Yuki's feeling for both him, and Lord Kaname, a huge area of angst for her. The first season is primarily back story explanations and delving into the complicated emotions that Yuki has to deal with as different situations arise.

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I think I hate Twilight now. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I thought it was awesome or anything. I have better vampire taste than that. It was really hard, though, to get into Vampire Knight at first because I keep comparing the two. After all, Yuki is in high school and has a vampire crush, and Bella is an idiot. I mean...yeah. There are so many important differences, though. I'm most upset because the comparison highlighted things I might have ignored before. I did get past it eventually. Hopefully, I can keep it up for Season 2.

This series is so full of teenage angst that it's a bit overdone. Fortunately, this is anime, and one can get away with a lot in anime. Perhaps without the vampire-esque music, it would be closer to all high school-based anime. Unlike Mystic Archives, while the end credits are dark and haunting I don't feel the need to kill things to move on with my life. The vampires are super sexy, and this goes a long way when it comes to flaws. Of course, it wouldn't be much of a vampire series, much less an anime vampires series, if the vampires weren't sexy. There are unsexy bad vampires, of course, but who cares about them?

I liked it. I'm not delusional enough to call it great, or rate it as Top 5, despite my willingness to see it again. It's like a trashy romance novel. Every girl reads them (even if they don't admit it), but we'd never call it literature. If I went further with the book analogy, I would call it "paranormal romance."
For all that there is a huge complicated love triangle thing going on between the main characters, there's no real sexuality going on. Only the high school relationship soap opera version. There is blood but not bright red spurting blood, no swearing, no nudity...all in all it's pretty tame in that respect. If you're as much of a vampire freak as I can be, I definitely recommend it. I don't know how it would work for someone who isn't, but goth-y/emo kids would probably like it, too.

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Captain Obvious: Vampire Knight: Guilty (Season 2)

Uraboku (Betrayal Knows My Name)

Genre: Action/Drama
Age Appropriate: Teen/Adult
Emotional Response: heartbreak, bittersweet, fruitless hope
Notable Features: demons, special abilities, good vs. evil
Language: Japanese
Length: 24 Episodes
Overall Recommendation: Top 5

"I will not betray you!" - Luka

Uraboku is a story of good versus evil. Yuki, an orphan about to age out of the orphanage he's been in since childhood, is tracked down and approached by Takashiro - the leader of the Giou clan. The purpose of the Giou clan is to protect Yuki, and humanity, from Duras - demons. These Duras come in different classes that range in power. Yuki is especially important because of his power - God's Light. Each member of the Zweilts - a subset of the Giou clan - has powers that are special to them. Yuki's powers are cleansing and healing. The others hold powers more helpful in battle (e.g. God's Voice (Hotsuma) holds fire that can destroy Duras), and this is a sort spot for Yuki. He feels bad about having to be protected all the time. Unfortunately, his power comes at a great price to his well-being, as he has to take on the others' pain in order to heal them, and the others feel a large amount of guilt about it. However, Yuki is the key to the major upcoming battle between the Giou Clan and Reiga - the main antagonist. Things become more complicated as the story reveals the alternate identity of Reiga.

Behind the story of good versus evil, there is another story - that of Yuki and Luka. They are connected by a long ago past, and Luka has sworn to never betray Yuki. Luka Crosszeria (or Brand Zess) is a Duras who has betrayed his kind for Yuki. He's a dark, brooding character.Their relationship is somewhat complicated by their past, but at the center is an intense connection between them. While Luka seems to be apathetic and removed from the others protecting Yuki, he makes the effort to be with them because he wants Yuki to be safe and happy. Of everyone Yuki meets in the beginning of his story, Luka seems to be the one person he counts on the most. Much of the story revolves around their reactions to each other as a vehicle between episodes, and is a key component of the series climax.

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 I feel like the synopsis above doesn't do this series much justice, but I really wanted to restrain myself from giving too much away. This is one of my most favorite anime. At the beginning of the series, I felt a lot of hope about the story and where it would end up, but as the series continues it produces a lot of doubts. It was easy to get emotionally invested in the characters, most especially Luka and Yuki. It's a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. It's a lot of wishing that things could be different for everyone involved, and hoping that it will be by the end of the series.

The huge emotional investment aside, there are other things I appreciated about the series. The end of each episode has a brief little conversation between one pair of partners that add a little bit of comic relief, regardless of the previous episode's content. Luka's familiar, Sodom, is also a joy during the episodes, no matter the form it takes. I want one. I also appreciated that while there is a story of good versus evil, there is a gray line that makes the story more interesting than straight up good guys versus bad guy. It's not much of one, but I appreciate it. I lost myself in the episodes and had no problem watching a few at a time.

I love this series and I would definitely recommend it. I admit there is a good amount of eye candy, depending on your tastes (Luka especially!), so maybe it would be better for girls. It depends on what you get out of a series. This is definitely one for someone looking for the emotional component, although it does have some good action bits, too. It gets a Top 5 from me. I will watch it again, multiple times, although I know I'll need a break from it for awhile. My next series will need to be something uselessly funny, after two series that are intense. If you're ready for bittersweet emotions, this is ready for you.


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Prepare yourself!: YuruYuri

Neo Angelique Abyss

Genre: Drama/Action
Age Appropriate: Pre-teen/Teen
Emotional Response: hope, heartbreak, devestation
Notable Features: holy magic, evil spirits, lessons, eye candy
Language: Japanese, English Sub
Length: 2 seasons, 24 episodes
Overall Recommendation: Great!

"Noblesse Oblige..." - Nyx

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Angelique is a young lady at an all girls school, studying to become a doctor like her parents. Nyx is a gentlman who happens to be the Director of the academy. When Nyx shows up at the school, there is a big commotion. Why? Well, he's pretty good looking actually, and they are young ladies.
The shock is when Angelique - who seems fairly immune to a pretty face (at least compared to her classmates) - is called to the Headmistress's office. It appears that Nyx wants something with her. And so, Angelique finds out that she is a Purifier. A Purifier is someone who possesses the specific ability to banish the Thanatos, an invading race of demon/monsters that show up from time to time and attach people, stealing their lives away, and causing damage to anything around them. The problem has been increasing and now Nyx has come looking for help with Angelique. Apparently, she performed a sort of miracle by healing someone who had been injured by a Thanatos. This signified that she must be the Queen's Egg, most obvliously because she's the only female purifier to ever be found.

Throughout the first season, the cast comes together episode by episode. A journalist, Bernal, dubs them the Orb Hunters after meeting Angelique and her friends: Nyx, Lein, Hyuuga and Jade. Each  man has a different weapon, and a different personality and each man has a different type of relationship with Angelique; althought it appears that some of them also harbor romantic feelings for her. Throughout her travels she uses the Sunlight Mansion has a home base (Nyx's home) and goes out into the world of Arcadia, to help with the battle against the Thanatos, until such time that she "hatches" and becomes the Prophisied Queen, about to save and rule the world.  Of course, minor characters show up to help her on her way, and they each leave her with specific lessons about who she is, and what she wants to accomplish - from dragon people to the Head of the Celestial Order (a type of Pope figure). There is also the Artifact Foundation, a research foundation that researches and experiements with Artifacts ("old" technology) to fight Thanatos. In the end, each experience leads her to her place in the world, and gives her the strength to carry on with her duties as the Queen.

I don't know how to express my feelings about Neo Angelique very well, I think. At first, there is a little bit of fun and lightness, but it doesn't really last long. She seems so happy in the beginning, to be useful in helping people. Although it's different from her chosen path as a doctor, she's found some purpose as the Queen's Egg, and helping on a much larger scale, if a less personal one. The relationships she builds with her companions are key to her growth and acceptance of her role.
She gives the people of Arcadia hope, and in turn made me feel that hope for the people. It was more of that low burning hope - augmented by the idea that it's anime and you know the protragonist will win in the end.

The series is tragic, heartbreaking and devestating. Every other step ends up painful for Angelique after that first few episodes of introduction. The further I got in the series, the more my heartbroke for her. She is betrayed personally, by the people at large, and learns that her chosen path of helping people of the world has a price that is nearly too hard to bear. That she does it anyway gives pride in the character, but it's so sad. It's really well done, and if it's a night where you can handle melancholy, watch this. ::sniffsniff::

On a happy note: the music can be very pretty. I might find the sheet music for the piano piece. Also, yeah, her companions are definitely some nice eye candy. It depends on your type, but the few times they end up topless, it's a little distracting. They don't really have any bit comedy to help, and it would ruin the series if they did, but the eye candy softens the blow a little sometimes. All in all, this is pretty Great!

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Working On: Samurai 7

Nabari No Ou

Genre: Action/Comedy
Age Appropriate: Jr. High (violence)
Emotional Response: Wry amusement, heartbreak
Notable Features: NINJAS, and magic
Language: English
Length: 2 seasons, 12/13 ep. each
Overall Recommendation: Top 5


Nabari No Ou follows Miharu, a young teen with an apathetic outlook on life, who becomes the focus of attention of one teacher and a high school classmate. Fairly early, Miharu is told that he is the holder of the Shinra Bonshou - a powerful ninja scroll that contains the power to rule all of the Nabari world (NINJAS!). This power is coveted by all, including two factions of ninjas presented as good guys and bad guys. His teacher, Tobari, has secrets about Miharu's past but will stop at nothing to keep him from using the awful power of the Shinra Bonshou.

Despite Miharu's lack of affect, he has quite the mischievous personality. He pulls minor pranks, and uses his boyish charm to get his way - from getting someone's agreement, to distracting them from seeing him as a threat. Most of his actual pranks end up aimed at Tobari-sensei. Together, with his new band of ninja friends, Miharu struggles against the antagonistic ninjas. The only exception: Yoite, a young man seemingly slightly older than Miharu, who holds a different, powerful ninja technique: Kira.  This technique uses the bearers life force to control the body functions of others, mostly as pain. Yoite is being used as a threat/enforcer/torturer type minion because of his technique. However, part of the series highlights the price he has to pay - which leads to his request of Miharu. Somehow, the two become inseparable. Their similar painful experiences bring them together and both Miharu and Yoite fight against their respective leaders for each other.

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I don't really now how to explain my feelings toward this series. I think it's probably my favorite, if not then in the Top 5. It is, yet again, one of the few things I've watched that has made me want to, or outright, cry. I watched a second time to write this review, and I can say without doubt that watching it the second time was more heartrending than the first. Much like reading a book again, there is foreshadowing and anticipation one might not otherwise notice. Most of the humor, I found to be smirky, rather then LOL. There are a few times in the end where the seriousness is overwhelming enough that a little joke here or there saves the day. Sometimes I just wanted to punch characters though.

As long as you're not offended by blood and violence, this is probably ok as a PG-13 type series. The themes are deeper than most younger series, but there is no innuendo anywhere to be found. Romance plays no role, outside of some implied yaoi, but you really have to notice it to notice it. It's almost like watching America's Funniest Home Videos as a kid and realizing that some of those jokes were pretty bad when you're an adult.

My best recommendation to have the full experience is to watch as much of it in one sitting as possible. There is definitely something lost in watching only one or two episodes at a time, particularly if there is a significant period between sittings. Go forth and watch. If nothing else, it has NINJAS.

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Next series: Rin: Daughters of Mnemosyne