Legend of Legendary Heroes

Genre: Fantasy/Adventure
Age Appropriate: Teens
Emotional Response: funny, suspenseful, heartbreaking
Notable Features: heroes, relics, magic, friendship
Language: English
Length: 2 season, 24 episodes
Overall Recommendation: Great!

"I just want to take a nap." - Ryner

In a land, far away, there are two nations fighting - Roland and Estabul. Ryner Lute is a magic recruit for Roland, with a special magic ability called Alpha Stigma. There is something dark, and mysterious, about his magic, and it's all hidden in his eyes. For the most part, this magic helps him in little skirmishes in training, but if it gets out of control things can go terribly wrong. As a young man, he's trained in magic, but his dark powers make him a target in the end. There are others in the world with the Alpha Stigma, and they're persecutes as monsters. He's imprisoned, and it's only when his dear friend Sion attempts to rescue him that we realize the depth of his personality.

Ryner is a bit of a lazy bum.  On top of that, he's a pacifist. He believes war is useless and terrible. His "manifesto," written while he is imprisoned, reaches the new king. The new king is his old friend Sion. As part of his friendly release, Sion sends him on a mission with a sword-wielding lady to find magical artifacts that may help their cause. While Sion believes in a peaceful existence, he cannot find a way to get it without war and violence. Ryner helps Sion out of loyalty, and forms a strong bond with his partner, Ferris, that spurs him to act when he can, despite his constant desire for a nap.

The series follows the conflicts between Roland and the neighboring hostile territories, and the effect that have on the characters in the story. Ryner has difficulties reconciling his abilities and his personal beliefs, especially in the face of society. Sion finds himself following a path against his feelings, and Ferris fights for them and for her beloved dongo. Along the way they all meet others who greatly effect them personally, but in the end it comes down to their bonds with each other.

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The Legend of Legendary Heroes starts out intriguing and funny. It's a great start, and it sucked me in pretty well. All in all, it's a pretty amazing story. I don't know exactly how high it would be on my list, but it's no where near the bottom, that's for sure. It's a great adventure tale, with some heavy personal development and strong emotional pulls. The only difficulty I had was dosage. I took a break from it for awhile because the fun adventure drops into heavy, darker storyline and that was hard for me to do quickly. I suppose that's a mark of a good series, though. I became invested in some of the characters, and I was pissed off anytime someone hurt them. Since they all face emotional, and personally difficult choices, with heartrending obstacles, it's not something you can easily sit through marathon style.

I both loved and hated Ryner's whining about naps. Near the end, it's was all I wanted to hear because it meant that he was in a moment where he was feeling himself. I constantly wanted to punch Sion in the face, for his poor decision making skills, but I admit that I wouldn't know what to do either. I'd like to think I wouldn't make his choices, but who knows? Ferris has a great obsession for dongo. It's a huge signifier about her emotional state when she either wants tons of dongo or none at all. It makes me want to try some.

I'm sorry I keep writing about this one. I recommend it. Highly. The violence level is fairly high, with a little gore, but nothing too terrible, I guess. It's a bit like Tears to Tiara in it's epic story-ness, but the feel is different. I'm not sure I could talk a second viewing anytime soon, it's certainly pushed me in the more comedic direction - if you haven't noticed - but one day I'll probably watch it again. I'll sucker someone into watching it with me.

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Seriously!?: My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU

Shattered Angels

Genre: Sci-Fi
Age Appropriate: High school+
Emotional Response: ugh
Notable Features: "angels" (AI), high school girl, giant magical-like robot representations
Language: English
Length: 1 season, 12 episodes
Overall Recommendation: Not so much

"Let's go. Together." - The Prince

Ku is a young high school girl who is in love with the "Prince" from her dreams. She seems like a typical girl with a romantic daydream life. She attends a school in the educational community of Acaemia. She has a friend who appears for the first two episodes, and they're both in love with the school's Morality Squad, good looking students in charge of keeping order in the school. All of the girls swoon over this group, and more so when a transfer student joins their ranks for another school nearby.
Ayanokoji is the new girl-crush worthy transfer student. He reminds Ku a lot like her dream prince.

Within the first two episodes of the series, she becomes mixed up in a battle between groups with Absolute Angels - at the center of which is Ayanokoji, who is desperate to follow in his brother's footsteps. The Absolute Angels are AI developed for war, after years of research. These angels fuel themselves with the energy of humans, through kissing. There are only four main Absolute Angels, specifically attached to one person each. Setsuna, a young looking lady in a maid outfit is attached to Ayanokoji, and is helplessly devoted to him - despite his desire to end all Absolute Angels.

As Ku learns about the story, step by step, she begins to see underneath the surface what she's first told about the situation. She starts to question the things going around her. The story follows her discoveries and the relationship between Ayanokoji, his brother, and the Absolute Angels. Underneath it all, there is a bit of a love story for each angel.

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This series was completely irritating. I suppose it would be more fair to say that Ku is super irritating. Every episode opens with her letters to her prince, and they're stupid drivel composed by an introverted teenage girl who lives in her own fantasyland. The biggest problem is that that is exactly what she is. I don't think the anime was done wrong, I just want to punch her character in the face sometimes. Ayanokoji is kind of a tool, but only made worse by Ku's swooning girl-crush love for him. I was also irritated by his treatment of his angel.

On top of it all, underneath all of the stupid highschool girl stuff, some of this is messed up.The angels also manifest their power as robot things that remind me of Power Ranger animal/robot things. After I thought it the first time, I couldn't get forget it. Maybe it's the mini-feminist in me that is bothered by the whole series. I don't usually think of myself that way, but aside from the asinine, irritating dialogue, I guess I really was bothered by the whole thing. It reminded me of Twilight. I admit, near the end my heart went a little pitter patter, and I got the sniffles, but it couldn't completely erase the full series. I guess, I would only really recommend it if you're a Twilight fan - despite the lack of vampires and werewolves.

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Keep it movin', mister.: Pretear

Blue Exorcist

Genre: Action
Age Appropriate: Pre-teens
Emotional Response: excited, surprised, entranced
Notable Features: demons, exorcists, high school
Language: Japanese
Length: 2 seasons, 25 episodes
Overall Recommendation: FTW

"Time, Stop! Thou art so beautiful" - Mephisto/Faust

Rin and Yukio are a set of 15-year-old twins who've been raised in a monestary by Shiro Fujimito, as his sons. While they know that he's not they're actual father, he is still their Dad. Rin is the troublemaker of the two, always getting into fights and refusing to grow up. Yukio is serious and wants to become a doctor, so he's more driven. He's gotten himself a scholarship to go to True Cross Academy - an elite school campus in their area. It is both a school for regular (read: rich) kids, and new exorcists-to-be.

Rin and Yukio are also the sons of Satan, who impregnanted their mother during a terrible event. This is how their father found them. At first, Rin seems to be a normal bumming high school-age student, but it turns out that he's been hiding his demon powers - until being accosted by a gang of teens including a demon, sets his powers free. His father saves him and drags him back to their monestary and gives him a brief talking to while they run from the little demons heading from them. During the attack, Shiro gives Rin a demon sword with instructions to never use it, and then locks him in an underground room to fight off the demons with the other priests. When Rin finally releases himself the battle seems over, until he gets upset at his father, says terrible things, and earns a slap in the process. That one action opens Shiro up to Satan's possession and thus is the beginning of the series story.

All of these events, lead Rin to join the Exorcist Cram School. It will include regular classes and cram school classes with hopes of educating all of the students to be exorcists fighting the evil demons that escape into Earth. There is no greater shock than to look up and for Rin to see that Rin's twin brother, Yukio, is his new teacher! Not only that, but Yukio is a full intermediate level exorcist whom Shiro had been training since age 7. With this new revelation, and the other students being annoyed with his presence, Rin's first days in class are difficult. His relationships with his classmates, his brother, and other characters as they enter the scene all lead up to the grand finale.

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I loved it! I didn't think I would. I'd been putting it off for awhile, because I wasn't too impressed by the synopsis where I found it to watch. After surfing around the internet for ideas, I decided it was time to watch it, anyway. I'm so glad that I did. I think that it's sometimes harder to get myself to watch anime in Japanese, because sometimes I'm too lazy to think about subtitles. If a series is new enough, Japanese may be the only option - or the easiest to find.

Anyway, I watched almost the entire two seasons in one day. I've figured out how to watch some of the Japanese series that I watch via the Xbox, which means I can enjoy them on the couch rather then on my iPad and it's has been awesome. Blue Exorcist just possessed me (haha), and I couldn't watch only one episode. It is highly likely that I will watch it again. After a little bit of time, and a lot more anime, I may consider promoting it up to Top 5 status. Per the usual note: No nudity, or swearing, some blood but not enough to make me cringe, so I think a mature pre-teen could handle it. Did I mention that I loved it? It was very exciting, and funny, and woooooooooo! Go Get Satan! Raaar! Also, I would like a familiar like Rin's.

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Surprise!: Kamisama Kiss

Ozuma (OZMA)

Genre: Sci-Fi
Age Appropriate: Any age
Emotional Response: What will happen next!? Oh. Ok. 
Notable Features: sand, versions of humanity, sand, airships, sand
Language: Japanese
Length: 6 episodes
Overall Recommendation: Pretty Good

Earth has been changed dramatically in the future. All of the water has dried up, and the world is now covered in sand. Ozuma (or OZMA) opens with a young man on a sand-glider moving toward a young lady windsurfing across the sand while running from a military force. A giant creature heaves out of the sand, and creates an avalanche that threatens to take down the woman, and she is bravely saved at the last minute by the young man, Sam. As the fly off together, he learns that her name is Maya. He takes her back to his ship, where it is docked, and invites her into the mess hall. Shortly after their arrival the ship is beset with the military chasing Maya, and the Captain of Sam's ship takes a stand by running with Maya on board. In the process they use scientific technology to shift the sand beneath the ship and sink below it - almost like a submarine in the ocean. The military uses their own methods to find them  under the sand, and they end up in a battle of wills -ending with the concession of the military at the last minute. This is the beginning of a strange story about Maya and what she represents for the world to come.

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Ozuma is only six episodes long - thus the very short synopsis. It's a good six episodes, though. The post-apocalyptic/advanced technology is actually fairly well done. It reminds me of something specific but I can't figure it out. Maybe by the time I post the review, I'll remember. Either way, this is a great sci-fi interlude. It would be great for a night in, when you just need to waste a few hours. It felt like it had more potential that what was realized, but I'm not sure if it would be solved by better writing, more episodes, or simply making it into a feature rather than a series. It's actually upsetting me that I can't really say much more for it, but there wasn't much to work with in 6 episodes - which means about 2 hours of viewing time. If Sci-Fi is your thing though, I would recommend it.

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Thrusters at full power!: Sekirei

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

Canaan

Genre: Action
Age Appropriate: Adult
Emotional Response: Confused, impatient, and painful (emotionally)
Notable Features: rampant super virus, bioterrorism, cover-ups, genetically altered superhumans
Language: English
Length: 13 episodes
Overall Recommendation: Good

Canaan is a girl whose village was burned to the ground during Middle East conflict. Finding her under some rubble, Canaan is rescued by a military man, who trains her in combat abilities as a child. She has synesthesia and uses it to pinpoint enemy targets.  Her enemy is an organization named Snake, and it is now run by Alphard, with Ua virus survivors, or borners, under her control. The plot focuses on the battle between Canaan and Alphard in Shanghai, the location of their current operations. The underlying plot includes a complicated past between Canaan and Alphard.

While Canaan is the main protagonist of the series, each episode focuses a significant part of the story on her friend, Maria. As some point in her past, Maria was infected with the the Ua virus, but doesn't remember what happened. She does remember befriending Canaan at some point, and teaching her Cat's Cradle - an underlying activity that brings them together. Canaan, though a bit detached, seems her most "normal" when she's with Maria, clearly making the effort for Maria's sake. She holds their friendship precious and often has to save her from situations perpetuated by Snake. Maria is wanted both for her status regarding the Ua virus, and as bait for Canaan. A good portion of those situations are a result of her desire to be a photographer, and the relationship she has with her partner, Minoru, a journalist interested in the happenings of the Shibuya incident and the cover-up including gathering information about the strange mark that appears on those who've been exposed to the virus.

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Canaan was a surprise for me. It was mixed, though. When I first read the description, I thought I would like it more. When I started the series, I thought I was wrong. It's slow. The problem is committing to watching the whole thing, but in the end I found it to be worth it. It isn't really my typical genre, but it was a good change. In my efforts to be more inclusive with this blog, I've challenged myself to watching anime that I normally wouldn't. I'm glad that I did in this instance. Unfortunately, the slowness of the series doesn't let up. I struggled to finish it on time, and I had an extra day to get it in. It is definitely one of those series where you really should keep it to one episode per week.

It's complicated, and messed up. If you can get past the beginning parts, and get into it, you'll eventually hit the deep emotionality. You just have to be willing to sit it through. The messed up parts, including one messed up, insane sister, I found a bit tough. It's emotionally painful, and I suppose that makes it a success. Also, there is no comedic relief past the first episode or two. The end takes a little bit away from having to sit through it. This series isn't that messed, but it's rough enough that I would definitely not recommended it for anyone younger than an adult. It's a guy anime, with the violence and military leanings that remind me of certain video games, but good. I won't watch it again, but I would seriously recommend it to someone I thought would appreciate the genre/subject matter.

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For your viewing pleasure: Uraboku