My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU

Genre: Comedy
Age Appropriate: Preteens
Emotional Response: mild amusement
Notable Features: high schoolers, awkward kids, social navigation
Language: Japanese
Length: 1 season, 13 episodes
Overall Recommendation: Decent

"I told you we can never be friends." - Yukinoshita

My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU is a high school drama/comedy focused on the school's Service Club. The main character is Hikigaya, a social outcast guy who seems to like being alone. He's forced to join the Service Club after turning in a smart-ass essay to his teacher. The club only has one member, another social outcast, Yukinoshita - a beautiful girl who thinks she's a little better than everyone else, and holds back nothing in conversation. The two realize that they have something moderately in common with their inability to related to others, but have a hard time reconciling that with each other as well. Enter Yui, the first person to ask for help from the Service Club, a pseudo-popular girl who only wants to fit in. After her request is completely, she attaches herself to Yukinoshita (dubbed Yukinon), and joins the Service Club. Despite the harshness owned by Hikki and Yukinon, Yui seems to find them better friends, in some respects, that the people she'd attached to in class. 

Other characters join in during each episode to help with whatever project comes up. The series itself primarily uses the service projects as the individual plots per episode, but the real storyline is about the relationship of the three new Service Club "friends," through the eyes of Hikigaya.  As a high school drama, the storyline is generally pretty standard, with some minor plot twists, and some relational issues that could reach out to an audience. 

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My only real fandom would be attached to the adorable Saika Totsuka. I was a little in love with him the whole time, and I adored Hikiyama's reaction to him every time he was in an episode. Of, if only this was shonen-ai. I think it would've been adorable to have more episodes so I could see the cute awkwardness. Still, the beginning on my review holds true. To add more really could've ruined the series as a whole. He's just so cute!

My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU was generally pretty fun to watch. I wanted a little more out of the story, but that really wouldn't have fit very well with the series. It suffered somewhat under my love for Say I Love You. It was enjoyable, though. A bit like Servant x Service, there wasn't anything particular of note in the series. I think it would only get a recommendation from me beacuse of Saika Totsuka, or for someone of a high school age looking for something like it. It certainly wasn't negative in any way.

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So Cute: Brothers Conflict

Maid Sama

Genre: Romance/Comedy
Age Appropriate: Preteens+
Emotional Response: hah.
Notable Features: high school, girl power, maid cafe
Language: Japanese
Length: 2 seasons, 26 episodes
Overall Recommendation: Pretty Good

"Hey! This ship is very flammable!" - Pirate


Misaki is a no nonsense high school class president whose goal is to make the school better for potential future female students. She's considered a bit of a devil woman because she's strong and stern with everyone around her. She seems to dislike guys, but it's really all about her desire to help the school. The first season focuses on the different activities the cast goes through in her effort to be a good president. Misaki has a deep, dark secret, however. Her family is quite poor after being abandoned by their father, and Misaki helps by working at Maid Latte, a maid cafe in a neighboring town. Half of the conflicts in the story stem from her attempts to keep her part time job away from the students at her school. She's afraid that it would take away from her reputation. There are a few students who know her secret, but since they're frequent patrons of Maid Latte, and desperately in love with her, they've decided to keep her secret.

The underlying theme to the series is her tumultuous relationship with Usui, a super-cool classmate who has taken an interest in her. While he's originally intrigued by her forcefulness as the school president, he turns into more a creepy stalker as the first few episodes go by. Their relationship flips between Misaki being annoyed with his stalker ways and her back-and-forth about her true feelings toward him. Everyone around them seems to understand the feelings between them, except for Misaki. Each episode features some sort of comedic fumbling by Misaki, and her annoyance with at least one male in the cast.

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I liked Maid Sama. It was a pretty easy watch, and I enjoyed the cute love story. My biggest frustration was watching Misaki fumble around with her romantic feelings, but that's how the love-story goes, right? I agreed with Misaki about the annoyance level I would likely feel toward Usui's persistance, but at the same time I can appreciate it. At least he's pretty cute. This is a pretty straight forward, traditional high school rom-com. Definitely a chick flick, but probably shmoopy enough for a guy to endure with his girlfriend.

Overall, it was just a fluff piece, but there's nothing really wrong with that. The only reason I gave it a preteen rating was based on interest level. There were some great things about it - I had a fondness for the cross-dressing middle schooler - and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a stress-free time. It was a nice chaser to Kanamemo's blah.

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BingBong: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic

Sukisyo

Genre: Comedy/SciFi/Romance
Age Appropriate: Older Teen/Adult
Emotional Response: Giggles and frustration
Notable Features: high school, split personalities, yaoi
Language: Japanese
Length: 1 seasons, 12 episodes
Overall Recommendation: Great

"Waiting is a sort of sorrow, too." - Matsuri



Hashiba Sora mysteriously fell four stories and landed without a scratch on him but lost all of his memories. Now he's back on his feet, attending an all-male boarding school, in an all-male world. The school has some old friends around, but the story shows that he's had to remember them. He remembers Matsuri, after a certain amount of prodding, but gets a good punch in the head when he doesn't remember Sunao. Sora's first experience waking up in his dorm is having Nao crawling onto his bed with him and saying strange things. Turns out, Ran lives inside Nao and has been looking for his long-lost love Yoru - who apparently lives inside Sora! So begins the drama that is Sukisyo. Underneath the crazy comedy and tension-filled love story is a deep dark secret to be uncovered hiding between all of the characters.

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Sukisyo is so full of comedy in the beginning that there isn't much room for a full-blown plot, but what is there is really well done. The series is all fun and games with a little evil foreshadowing, but the turn is pretty drastic when the real story comes to light. I actually found this to be a good thing, because it really made the "real" story more important. Sometimes it is hard to pull off that same level of emotional involvement with characters in a short series. At first, I expected it to be a lot more relationship drama based, but despite the relationship development, this really was more focused on the story itself.

I would really recommend this to someone looking for a mix of lighthearted comedy and a tiny bit of psychological thriller. It's not that complicated, but it makes for a good drama without being super messed up like some of the ones I've seen. I would rate it for older teens because of one particular scene in episode six that is a little bit adult. There is one part later that is "implied" but not in a way that might bother someone really. I have to say, though, no matter what else i might think, Sora's tantrums are the cutest thing I've seen in quite awhile. Overall, I was really pleased with the series.

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Let's see...: We Without Wings

My Little Monster

Genre: Comedy
Age Appropriate: Any Age
Emotional Response: Ha.
Notable Features: high school, socially inept students, a chicken
Language: Japanese
Length: 1 seasons, 13 episodes
Overall Recommendation: Great

"You can't be lonely is no one is around." - Yamaken

My Little Monster is a romantic comedy starring an awkward young freshman girl, Shizuku. She is cold, and brainy, and believes that studying to get the highest marks to be the center of her world. One afternoon, a teacher asks her to bring some worksheets over to a student who hasn't been in school since the beginning of the year, and despite her immediate rejection, ends up doing it anyway. Somehow, she stumbles into the young man, Haru, and ends up in a bizarre friendship with him - mostly made bizarre because he is bizarre all by himself. His overwhelming desire and enthusiasm to have a friend drives Shizuku up the wall at every turn, but she seems unable to separate herself from him.

Part of it seems to be an interesting take on interpersonal relationships, and part of it seems to be from a confusing misunderstanding about Haru's declared feelings for her, or not declared, or taken back, or maybe just friends, or definitely friends but not love in the same what that the other persons feels...etc. The whole series includes various mini-situations, but all stem from Shizuku trying to figure out what is going on, and how her controlled lonely existence has turned into this weird mess. Include a handful of additional brand new friends, including some delinquents, another smart guy, and awkward pretty girl and a baseball player, the advice for the two kids becomes varied and often wrong.

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This series reminds me a lot of Say "I Love You." Despite being a comedy, the characters remind me of each other - or at least Shizuku does. The two female protagonists have the same level of awkwardness between them. My Little Monster is not quiet, however. It's crazy, and amusing. The best part, I think, might be the chicken, and I don't mean that in any derogatory way. The chicken is pretty awesome. I found it interesting for myself to actually be rooting, at some points, for not the obvious couple. I kinda wanted Shizuku to end up with the other person who is interested in her at some point.

The series is a little open-ended. So, maybe one day they will make a sequel. The series was just released, so there hasn't been anytime to figure that out. It does feel like it might be the end, though. I did enjoy it quite a bit. I think for a good amount of time I was just confused, but I also thought the whole mess was kinda sweet. There wasn't much character development shared between the secondary characters, which I think might have worked well, but when a series is only 13 episodes, I supposed one can't expect much. I would still recommend it, especially is you liked Say "I Love You." They're similar without being the same. There really isn't much else to say on this short series. It's definitely a chick-flick.

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Something new: Witch Hunter Robin

(Guest Review! I've had a friend do a review for me. You can read his thoughts next time - I'm sure it will be a treat to have a geek BOY do a review.)

The Wallflower

Genre: Comedy
Age Appropriate: Pre-teens
Emotional Response: Ha!, ::swoon::
Notable Features: Cute guys, creepy girl, becoming a lady (or not), kidnapping
Language: English
Length: 1 season, 25 episodes
Overall Recommendation: Yay!

"What would you do for a popsicle?" -Yuki (singing)

The Wallflower in this case is Sunako, a young weird girl with a love for all things creepy and gory. There is a bevy of good-looking guys living in her aunt's mansion with her. Those guys have been charged with making her a respectable young lady, and in return they can live there rent free! However, if they fail then the rent will be tripled. Needless to say, these handsome guys are desperate to avoid the terrible money situation. Each episode includes a segment titled, "The Road to Womanhood," that shares tips about different little things to make a girl into a young lady - or at least, that's the idea.

Sunako is battling her feelings of being ugly and worthless because of something thoughtless a guy said when she was young and confessed her love to him. He said, "I hate ugly girls," and her fate - along with her roommates' - was sealed. To top off her difficulties, she sees her new friends as "radiant!" and can't handle looking at them without sprouting a nosebleed. As the series progresses, she actually forms worthwhile relationships with the other characters, despite her strange quirks of watching zombie movies and having an empty medical mannequin, named Hiroshi, as her bff. Every other episode has something to do with kidnapping, and requires everyone to work as a team to save whichever member is in trouble. Despite all of their efforts, the friends struggle with changing Sunako but also learn to accept her weirdness as a good thing.

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I didn't want to watch it. Then, I totally did. Oh the pretty boys, and the funny girls - so much fun. I adored it. I could definitely put this in my watch-it-again list for those days when I really need a pick me up. Truth be told, I was sick all week and this really kept my spirits up. I also admit that the pretty boys had something to do with it. They totally tickled that teenager part in me that giggles with girl-crushing. Heehee. Shockingly, I had a mini-crush on Kyohei. I also feel a little lame for being so predictable about it.

It's not a complicated anime. I appreciated it, not only for the funnies, but also because Sunako reminded me of myself. I didn't have any sexy roommates but I was a total outcast geek. I didn't like horror movies, but I did wear a lot of black. I can only hope that I wasn't as scary as some of the bit playing girls that chased around the guys (like the GothGothLoliLoli girls). I do remember feeling the way Sunako felt a lot. I think it made the whole comedy even better for me. I would definitely recommend it for the geeky-gothy girls in the world. It was totally awesome.

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And action!: Black Butler

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

Master of Martial Hearts

Genre: Action
Age Appropriate: Adult
Emotional Response: O.M.G., speechless
Notable Features: actions, fighting, high nudity, shocking messed-up-edness
Language: English
Length: 5 episodes
Overall Recommendation: WTF

"What the hell is going on!?"  Aya

There is a supposedly magical heart that will grant the bearer any wish. This heart is the Martial Heart. Generally, it's considered some sort of local urban myth but young women everywhere believe in its existence. The way to obtain this magical heart is through trials and battles. It was thought to have disappeared but some time recently it resurfaced and now women can be found secretly battling each other for the chance to have their wish come true.

Aya is a teenage high school student who stumbled upon one of these fights with her friend. The fight was between a priestess and a stewardess, and the girls were shocked to see two random people fighting. Aya steps in a certain point, being a good person, and beats the stewardess enough to get her to back off. It is revealed that she has a good amount of martial arts training because he mother used to compete. The girls make a new friend, Miko, as a result. She explains to them how she entered the battle via text message and her wish was to make new friends.

The girls become her new friends and she decides to drop out, somehow this means that Aya is now in the fight and Miko has disappeared. The stewardess returns, holding Aya's crush hostage, and Aya beats her soundly, cementing her fate to enter the contest. The series follows Aya's desire to figure out what is going on, and how to save Miko from her mysterious fate. There is a giant, unexpected twist at the end!

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The series is messed the hell up. The high nudity is a little extreme. Every point of contact in a battle means some piece of clothing is damaged or outright destroyed. Really, a punch to the face shouldn't end up with someone's shirt tearing off, but that's how it goes. Generally, this isn't that unexpected. It almost reminded me of Sekirei in that respect. It's also a bunch of women fighting for some sort of prize, also very like Sekirei. The big difference is that there is no comedy in this series whatsoever. It's almost as if the nudity is supposed to be some sort of smoke screen for how messed up it really gets.  It isn't nearly as bad as Rin: Daughters of Mnemosyne, but it Rin is one of my favorite anime series, and this is not.

There is a lot of bizarreness involved. People disappear after losing and no one ever hears from them again - the myth says to a mysterious "Dark Realm." Not only that, but it seems that others have no idea that the person in question remembers their existence. It's also a little strange that Aya's sidekick friend follows her to almost every fight as her cheerleader. The messed up part is actually hidden until the very end and then o.m.g.. I mean, if you like this type of series, go for it. I'm sure it's a good one. Personally, I watched it in the light of day. Of course, I can sometimes be a little bit of a wuss.
Don't let your kids watch it.
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Turn around: Blue Exorcist

Fruits Basket

Genre: Fantasy
Age Appropriate: Pre-teens
Emotional Response: a little bit happy
Notable Features: zodiac magic, high school, family
Language: English
Length: 2 seasons, 26 episodes
Overall Recommendation: Great

"Well, my mom used to say..." -Tohru

When Tohru was a little girl, she was picked on. She was always made the rice ball in the Fruits Basket game. The point of this is to highlight that she's a bit of an outcast herself, but she also seems a bit oblivious at times to. Her mother is the focus of all of her internal monologue. Tohru lost her mother in an accident, and through a variety of events ends up living in a tent and stumbling into the Sohma house. Tohru ends up living at the house with the boys and their cousin Shigure, with a promise to pay for her room and board through housekeeping. Her smile-laden nature reals people in to wanting to help her, despite her obliviousness.

The series is all about the crazy shenanigans that occur at the Sohma house. Tohru makes some new friends, namely two young men in her class - Yuki and Kyo - and in the process learns their family's terrible curse. Certain members of the Sohma family turn into one of the zodiac animals when hugged by a member of the opposite sex! Her happiness draws all of the Sohmas to her, and she imparts her wisdom, taken directly from her mother, on a regular basis. She does it in that story-telling manner, without being condescending. Yuki and Kyo are an interesting duo. Her relationship with them seems to temper their mutual hatred into the reality of their competitive natures, and painful pasts. Part of the experience the zodiac members all have with Tohru ends up as part of their individual healing processes. It makes her the focus of good events and bad events, with a dark villain at the end.
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Fruits Basket is cute. Half the time I wanted to punch Tohru in the face, for being such a spacey ditz, but she's a sweetheart. I really did enjoy the series. It was cute and generally age appropriate for everyone (there was some funny wink-winks but you'd seriously only get them if you're older). My only hesitancy was Kyo's occasional swear. If it were me, I'd probably just ignore it, but some might take that seriously if watching it with children. I think the messages of loving yourself and seeing good in others might outweigh the potential negatives. Each character has a startling different personality, which I know was done on purpose, but they're so freakin' funny. Aya and Ritsu were probably my favorites for most outrageous behavior. The girly part of  me has a bit of a crush on Hatori (shocking, I know).

I really did enjoy this quite a bit. I'm sure I will watch it, again. It wasn't perfect, I felt that the end was a little abrupt, but only in a minor way. I'm actually going to try to sucker some of my non-anime friends into watching it with me. It makes for good baby steps. I'd highly recommend it when you have a crap day, or are too weighed down by watching darker things. It's all warm and fuzzy. It's not as funny as some, but I had some awesome LOL moments. It was great to curl up with a blanket with some hot chocolate and put this on.
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Rice Ball!: Shuffle!

My Bride is a Mermaid

Genre: Comedy
Age Appropriate: Pre-teen
Emotional Response: LOL
Notable Features: mermaids, yakuza, marriage
Language: Japanese
Length: 26 episodes
Overall Recommendation: Pretty Good

"Ya see, 'honor among thieves' is really 'honor under the seas'!" - Sun

A young man, Nagasumi, goes on a vacation to a seaside village to visit his grandmother and ends up in a heap of trouble. Somehow, he manages to end up drowning off the shore and is saved by a beautiful young mermaid. In the process of trying to get his parents to believe his story, she shows up at the house and asks him to take responsibility for what happened! Seconds later the house is approached by "her people," and they demand that Nagasumi and his parents return with them to her father's home. On top of it all, they're Yakuza! Because the daughter, Sun, allowed him to see her true form there is now a lot of drama about what to do about it. The mob rules say that if a mermaid is seen by a human, then the mermaid must die. Her father wants to kill him, therefore removing the problem - which Sun resents as she saved him in the first place - and her mother suggests marriage. If he's one of the family, the no one has to die (which now includes his parents as they've been drawn into the whole thing with him). And so, the junior high students get engaged.

The series follows the young teens through out their school years with the interference of Sun's family and friends from her past. The key players in Sun's family actually integrate themselves into her new life, following her inland, and making more trouble for the youngsters. There is a pop star idol who is obsessed with beating Sun at life, and an orca-man shut in who was treated kindly by Sun as a child and wants to marry her. Sun is also followed by a fairy-type assassin bent on killing Nagasumi to release Sun for her promise to marry him. Nagasumi has/had a friend who resembles a chimp (and is therefore nicknamed Chimp) who actually switches sides to help Kai (orca-boy) for Kai's wealth. IN the last episodes, the challenge becomes keeping Nagasumi and Sun together, along with keeping their friends land-side against an unknown evil. This series is a pretty standard teen-life anime.


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Just to get it out of the way: I wasn't a huge fan of the animation style. Generally, it's the same as most, but some of the dramatizations were just weird. It was pretty distracting. Also, the ya's drove me crazy, though I assume the translation was attempting to get the accent across, that's just something impossible to do well in writing. However, that doesn't have much to do with my liking (or disliking) the storyline.

The series was actually pretty fun! I really didn't think it was going to be. I had a hard time getting through it, but around episode 8 it started getting good. It was an epic musical mermaid battle but I was clapping like a school girl at the end. Something about anime brings out the school girl in me - despite never having been that kind of school girl. While this is a typical teen-life anime (mermaids aside), I still appreciated the humor. I might recommend other things first, but there is nothing wrong with this one. It gave me a number of good laughs, just don't expect anything special from it. There's nothing questionable really, so feel free to let your tweens watch it. There are a off-color comments, but it would likely go over their heads. The end battle was pretty awesome, too. So, yeah, it's pretty good.

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Wait for it...: Aria the Scarlet Ammo

Baka & Test

Genre: Comedy
Age Appropriate: Teen
Emotional Response: LOL
Notable Features: avatars, education and cuteness
Language: English/Japanese
Length: 2 seasons, 26 episodes
Overall Recommendation: Great

"I don't want to be your doughnut!" - Akihisa Yoshii

Fumizuki Academy is a high school that is highly focused on academic achievement. The better the test scores, the better the students' equipment. Each student takes an entrance exam at the start of each year, and based on those scores they are placed in a class with students who have similar scores - ranging from Class A to Class F. Class A has laptops, a kitchenette, comfortable desks, recliners...etc. Class F starts out with kindergarten tables and deflated seat cushions. The classes have the option of challenging other classes to Summoner Test Wars. The purpose is to trade up for better equipment if the lower class defeats the high class. Any class can challenge any other class. Students have avatars that represent them in the Wars, often reflecting that student's personality. Their starting scores reflect their most recent test scores, and the battles are usually in a specific topic. These rules make for important strategic battle plans between classes.

Yoshii, a student of the academy, starts his year in Class F, along with his friend Himeji. Himeji is actually a Class A level student, but because she fainted during the entrance exam she was given zeros and begins with nothing. The other students in the series all begin in Class F, and they all seem to be friends from past years in school. Yoshii's desire to help Himeji begins a class war, because he wants to get her back to where she should be academically. His friends help him because they want to rebel against the system, or just kick some higher class butt. The friends have varied personalities, from a pervy teen boy with a camera to a psycho girl obsessed with her elementary school crush. Throughout the wholes series, despite the battles,  the real story focuses on coming of age issues, teen romances, and teamwork.

Season two starts as a summer vacation episode, but it returns to the school based shenanigans pretty quickly. This season, however, has no overwhelming need for battling and is much more focused on friendship interplay and embarrassment comedy. There are also a few episodes centered on flashbacks of the friends' first year. It also delves straight into the romance part of the story.

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I watched the first season in one day.

Baka & Test is hilarious and just what I needed. It's ridiculous. I also want a battle avatar. They're super cute and super awesome. Yoshii's avatar is probably my favorite, and I appreciate the special abilities that come with his being an idiot. I also learned a lot of interesting little educational tidbits that I'll probably never remember, but it was fun.

I admit that the second season was not nearly as good as the first season, but I still watched it in about a day. Unfortunately, this caused the overall rating to go down a bit. The multiple-episode battle of the teachers/girls vs. stupid boys is quite epic, though. Both seasons have a really good flow, enough that I didn't actually realize that I'd seen 5 episodes in a row before taking a break.

It was silly, and while there were some head-shaking tsk-tsk moments, there was no serious nudity, swearing, or blood that would usually prompt a higher appropriate age rating. It didn't rate a Top 5, but it was simply fun. No serious plot, no super-drama, no heartbreak, but all in a good way. The only thing that might have made it better would be to have a real ending. It seems incomplete and I'm hoping they're planning on a third season. I would still recommend it.

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Summon!: Canaan

Girls Bravo!

Genre: Romance
Age Appropriate: Adult (High Nudity - Not for Children)
Emotional Response: LOL, LOL, huh?, LOL
Notable Features: nudity, aliens, girls, innuendo
Language: English
Length: 2 seasons, 24 episodes
Overall Recommendation: Top 5

"...IN HELL!" - Kirie

Girls Bravo! is a series featuring Yukinari, a young man allergic to girls, and Miharu, a young woman from a planet of woman who shows up through a portal in Yuki's bathtub. Within the first sixty seconds there is some nudity, which essentially carries through the whole series. The whole story really begins with Yukinari accidentally walking in on Kirie, his neighbor and friend, in the bathtub. She kicks his ass - part of what would show to be her personality. This assault on Yukinari puts in motion his meeting of Miharu, when he is mysteriously transported to her planet and he realizes that she doesn't make him break out into a rash (he's literally allergic to girls).

Yukinari is a bit of a runt. Miharu is a bit of a ditz. When they meet on her home planet, she's naked and excited to meet him. Yukinari is just confused and panicked. It seems that Miharu knows exactly what's going on. On Seiren, there are no men and Yukinari's presence creates havoc (particularly with her big sister, Maharu). When he finally returns to Earth, Miharu follows shortly thereafter and the story really begins. Miharu opens Yukinari to a whole new world, both literally and figuratively. She also eats everything, everywhere, every time she can.

The supporting cast includes a pervy upperclassman, his witchy sister, and personnel from Seiren running around Earth for various reasons. There are also some assassin-level servants, an adorable pet and a bevy of voluptuous confusing women. Both seasons are full of inappropriate jokes and slightly complicated plot twists.

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First off, let me just say that there is a high level of nudity. Probably some in every episode. It's all incidental or accidental, not necessarily sexual. Still, I certainly wouldn't watch this with a family member, but maybe a few friends. It really is hilarious. There are a few hearty laugh out loud moments that are completely worth watching the whole series. Yukinari is often is a situation not of his own making, but gets a sound kick in the face by Kirie. Kirie is set on sending every perverted guy she runs across TO HELL! There is nothing to match Miharu's hungry ditziness or Fukuyama's incredible perverted antics. I think Fukuyama's attitude is probably one of the funniest things in the whole series. It wouldn't be complete without him.

There is so much to say and so little space! It is actually a series that you can survive with only watching one episode at a time, but that doesn't mean you have to. Each episode is completely focused on shenanigans, and probably only half of them have any relation to the plot. I admit, it may not have needed all 24 episodes. The end was a little weird, but all good things must come to an end somehow. All in all, the whole series is pretty fun. Clearly, with a Top 5 rating, I liked it. So, go watch it. Seriously.

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Ready! Aim!: Brave 10

Fortune Arterial (Halloween 4)

Genre: Romance
Age Appropriate: Preteen/Teen
Emotional Response: Awww
Notable Features: vampires, high school, young love
Language: Japanese
Length: 1 season, 12 episodes
Overall Recommendation: Pretty Good

"I expect great things from him." - Iori

Ah, young love. Hasekura Kohei has been school hoping since he was younger. His father's job required a lot of moving around. Now that he's growing up a little, he's moved into Shuchika Academy in Shiomi City. He had previously lived there for 7 years ago, and has chose this as the place to come back to himself.
When he arrives he's greated by the VP of the student council, who seems to freak out as soon as they shake hands, and she runs off leaving Tsukasa (who happened to be walking by) in charge of Kohei.
Upon entering the dorm he's accidentally fallen on by Kanade, followed by her sister, Hina. They were childhood friends with Kohei when he was there last, so there are instant friends for him - happily forcing him into tea parties in his room.Erika is the VP, and avoids Kohei, somewhat. Her brother, Iori, is the President of the council and pulls pranks to get Kohei together with Erika - including switching the signs of the bath rooms, thus allowing Kohei to enter the bath while Erika is in there. (Oh No!) The first two episodes are really Kohei running around trying to apologized to Erika and managing to make things worse.

There rest of the supporting cast includes: Sei, the Treasurer, his little sister, Shiro, and Kuza Kiriha, a mysterious girl whom Kohei frequently attempts to include in activities. Also, Sister Amaike, who is in charge of the dorm and is notorious for meting out punishments with a frying pan. There is some sort of unspoken relationship with Iori there, but it's only ever hinted at. All together, under Iori's discerning eye, school events are the main stage for the story.

The shocking complication in the story is the presence of vampires! It turns out that Erika and Iori are vampires, and Sei and Shiro's family are servants to them. It's because of this that Kohei is on the student council, and part of the devious Iori's plan to throw Erika and Kohei together. The drama for the second half of the series is all about Erika's rebellion against her vampirism and her desire to be a normal girl - contrary to her mother's ideas.

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First, let me say, Shiro is ADORABLE. Her love for her rabbit, the swim tag game, and her little tea serving ways and just adorable. Sei, the incredibly over protective brother, is such a softie about her, despite his typical stuck up behavior. Iori frequently shows him self to be a prankster but as the show goes on you realize that it's all and act, and he's quite the manipulator. Kanade frequently says headsmacking things, and Hina is sweet and indulgent toward her. Tsukasa, though, seems to be pretty irrelevant past the first episode.

I liked it, but it wasn't that compelling. The love story was sweet, and very high school. It's one of the few times that I've seen an anime where the characters in high school seem to really be characters in high school, rather than mature characters in a high school setting. The whole vampire thing fits is weirdly, though it could probably be any reason to rebel and that's just the method the writers have chosen.

The minor positives: the school cook is an Iron Chef! Yukimaru is an escape artist rabbit pet that opens the way for Kohei and Erika a few times, Kanada obsessively smacks people with discipline stickers, and the end of each episode has a pretty poem. I would definitely watch it for free, but I might be interested in renting it if I were in the mood for watching cute vampire anime (like I just was). It was Pretty Good.

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Up Next: Dance in the Vampire Bund (Halloween 5)

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

Negima!?: Master Negi Magi

Genre: Comedy/Romance
Age Appropriate: Pre-teens/Teens
Emotional Response: Awww. How cute! Go get 'em, team!
Notable Features: cute girls, mages, vampire, 10 year old teacher
Language: English
Length: 2 seasons, 26 episodes
Overall Recommendation: Pretty Good :)

"...in a good way." - Matsu

Negi Springfield is an apprentice wizard sent to Mahora Academy to teach a class full of pre-teen girls (31, actually). He is working on his magic apprenticeship with the goal of finding his father, The Thousand Master! The twist? Negi Springfield is 10 years old. However, he IS a wizard. There is a prohibition on him showing his magic at school, but the series basically follows how much he doesn't succeed at this. In order to avoid the wrath of the Academy of Magic, Negi goes into "probationary contracts" with the students who discover that he's a wizard. Each contract comes with "Pactio cards," which determine the form that each girl will take when called upon. The drama twists more because the only way for the girls to enter into a probationary contract is by kissing Negi! It helps that most of his class think he's adorable.

The Academy of Magic keeps their eye on him with the help of two funny looking characters: Shichimi and Motsu. While they look like a cartoon cat and a badly drawn frog, they're surprisingly adept at popping up at just the wrong moment for Negi. As Negi doesn't willy-nilly show off his magic, his magic failures only really happen in emergency situations while fighting/saving girls from whatever villian is around. This leads to the unending line of girls that end up on Team Negi - who masquerade as the Chupa(cabra) Club.

The villains range from a vampire stuck on the island to and evil fairy who takes over minds. There is a desperate search for the pieces of a magical crystal, a mysterious baron and a shady professor friend who is obsessed with ramen. There is even a ferret-looking "fairy" companion with a dirty mind.
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First, two words: HARRY POTTER

Moving on:
I actually re-watched this one to write the review. That wasn't the best idea. There are some things you can watch over and over again and enjoy and some that just feel redundant. That aside, I really do like Negima!? It's sweet and innocent - certainly more innocent that Ouran High School Host Club! A lot of this series involved head-smacking situations and comments by the girls - who show a great range of stupidity to keen intelligence and compassion. If you can think of a "typical" stereotype tween - geek to popular girl - they are likely represented...in a good way. Seriously. There are so many little things for each girl that are entirely amusing that I can't actually write them all down and have this end up being a pointless review.

It starts a little slow. Usually, I'm wishing for more episodes, but this one is a little too drawn out. Or, maybe, this is just one not meant for immediate consumption. There is a certain amount of light dirty humor, but a lot of it would probably fly over a younger person's head - frequently either the overly dramatic narrator or the dirty little ermine. Key Note: The are hilarious references to pop culture that should be watched for (e.g. Rocky Horror Picture Show), if you can find them. The music is fun, though. The opening theme starts out sounding like an old school video game. I would say this is a great follow up to a serious drama anime. The best though? The writing on the wall. Literally. There is writing on walls, chalk boards, signs, floating in the air...etc, and it's always hilarious and bizarre. I enjoy watching Negima!? just for that! It's all just a bunch of cute. Not my favorite anime ever, but a nice diversion nonetheless.

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And now....: Neo Angelique Abyss

*SPECIAL NOTE: In an effort to be less crazy, I'm going to be more consistent. Reality being that I really can't watch that much anime at once with limited overlap. SO, I'll only be posting reviews Monday and Thursdays. 

Ouran High School Host Club

Genre: Comedy/Romance
Age Appropriate: Teens
Emotional Response: *giggles*
Notable Features: cute boys, cross-dressing, young love
Language: English
Length: 2 seasons, 26 episodes
Overall Recommendation: YAY!

"The Ouran High School Host Club is a place where the school's handomest boys, with too much time on their hands, entertain young ladies, who also have too much time on their hands." - Tamaki-senpai

Ouran High School Host Club features Haruhi Fujioka, a freshman entering Ouran Academy on scholarship (therefore a "commoner"). Haruhi, confused by this new world of rich kids, runs away to Music Room #3, in an effort to find somewhere quiet to study, and discovers the Ouran High School Host Club. The club members are completely confused by Haruhi's presence and somehow in their inquiry Haruhi accidentally break a Y8,000,000 vase! As such, Kyoya Otori - the clubs VP and money man - calculates Haruhi's debt and offers a job as the Host Club's "dog" (read: gopher), until the debt is paid. The "dog" however cannot be seen in the shorts and baggy sweatshirt that Haruhi is wearing and upon removing Haruhi's glasses, Tamaki - the President - falls madly in love with Haruhi's eyes. The Twins - Kaoru and Hikaru are immediately set to the task fo make-over and Haruhi comes out SO adorable tha the club insists that he be made into a host instead...BUT WAIT! During a costume change something strange happens! While changing into a new uniform, Haruhi gets walked in on and OH MY! He's a She!

And so begin the shenanigans of the Ouran High School Host Club....

The series features different sterotypical character types which the boys play off of when they are meeting with their lovely female clients. They are, as follows: Tamaki Soua (The Princely Type), Kyoya Otori (The Cool Type), Mitskune Honenozuka (Boy Lolita), Takashi Morinozuka (The Strong, Silent Type), The Twins - Kauro and Hikaru Hitachiin (Mischevious Type), and Haruhi Fujioka (The Natural). They all have their parts to play in the club and each character gets specific attention, primarily as related to Haruhi. The supporting cast (Renge- the manager and resident Otaku girl, Ranka - Haruhi's Dad, The Lobelia Girls - from a nearby academy) add a little extra fun to each episode. It is Tamaki's goal of making every girl happy that leads them into many early adventures, and expands as the boys progress through high school.

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*Swoon* Oh, the boys of the Ouran High School Host Club. I think I have a girl-crush on half of them - none more so than Mori-senpai. Go figure. They all have their own appeal to any girl. Honey-senpai IS adorable, in a snuggly little brother kind of way. Otori-senpai is super cool and manipulative - great for girls who enjoy guys with a cool aptitude for being in powerful, behind the scenes roles. Mori-senpai, a brooding silent type who is the constant companion to Honey-senpai, and actually has the most inconveniently distracting poses. The Hitachiin Twins are cute and mischevios, like 5 year olds who've realized that they can have more fun as young adults, but they play up their taboo homosexual tendencies to a T, and therefore feel less accessible as girl-crush material for me. Tamaki, while pretty, actually is kind of a moron. Haruhi is a cute, young lady who somehow gains the respect/heart of each club member. This group of hilarity really opens up some warm-hearted joy and giggles.

Like most anime comedy series, OHHC begins as something funny, with no pressure to have a deep meaning. It was a mix of making me laugh and making me giggle like a 13 year old. I adore this anime. It was a great break from the previous entries which were really serious, and somewhat horrifying. Bit by bit, the story edges toward coming-of-age and teen drama, but it never loses it's innocence. Even in the end, there is no major, stressful emotions invokes, and it works. The purpose of the Teen rating is actually for some of the homosexuality references that may be more appropriate for teens. I hesitate to write more, because I'll start giving things away. SO! I recommend this whole-heartedly to any girl (or guy!) looking for something fun, stress-free and giggly. Super Highly Recommended. I've even considered it for Top 5, but we'll see.

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Next!: Negima!?: Master Negi Magi

Elfen Lied

Genre: Action/Drama
Age Appropriate: Older teens+/Adults
Emotional Response: Wow, look at all that blood.
Notable Features: Blood, psychic killer, clueless teens
Language: English
Length: 1 season, 12 epoisodes
Overall Recommendation: WTF

"Nyu?" - Nyu/Lucy

Elfen Lied opens with a mysterious woman in a serial killer/Silence of the Lambs situation. She's naked with a creepy helmet, somehow supposedly protection for others. When guards enter, as she telepathically begins bending the bars on her prison, she begins telepathically ripping them apart. Blood everywhere, bones visibile, head popping off and hearst exploding out of chests is pretty common as she makes her escape out whatever facility she's been held in. Guards attempt to stop her, and fail miserable (hence the telepathic dismemberment) and she gets out of the prison with a little mysterious help with last door. At some point she removes her helmet and we see a young woman with pink hair, and pink, discerning eyes. As she leaves she's shot in the head by a sniper, but apparently misses the vital shot, and she jumps into the sea.

Next, we see Kohta and Yuka - young college Freshman - meeting up at a station and walking together to what will be Kohta's house, a former traditional Japanese restaurant owned by Yuka's family. This ends up being the home-base of sorts for the easier storylines. When Yuka and Kohta visit the beach they happen upon a mysterious girl, who says nothing but "Nyu," and bright eyes, and pink hair. The take pity on her situation and bring her home. At this point, we realize she's the deadly girl from the beginning and drama ensues, and it seems that she's lost her memory.

There is a mad scientist or two, a mercenary/military bad guy, a young homeless girl, another young girl like "Nyu" (a "diclonius") and an adorable dog!  Between certain characters' bizarre memory loss, a strange romantic obsession between the mains and breaking through brainwashing with the girls, this series has a lot of complicated situations, if not a complicated storyline.
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First off, let me say that while there are some nude girl scenes, they are in general not in any sexual nature - usually during a bad situation or a comedic situation. My primary focus on the Older Teen/Adult rating was the high level of outrageously bloody, disturbing violence and dismemberment in scenes where Nyu becomes her other self. I, personally, prefer implied beheadings than looking at a head psychically popped off and floating around with bright red blood pouring out of the bottom. Maybe that's just me?

At some points I felt that the story was going kind of slow, and with the two storylines taking so long to converge, it seems somewhat disjointed. While I certainly see the appeal to some audiences, this series was not for me. Unlike HOTD, this didn't pull me in at the end, making me see the anime series light, as it were. The ridiculous grotesque bodies really give it the WTF rating, but it is a whole different type of messed up from Rin. I personally wouldn't recommend it to mini-geek girls like me, and definitely don't recommend it for anytime after the sun goes down. In the end, the best part of the series (and it is a seriously awesome part) is the opening theme "Lilium."
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Next time on....: Ouran High School Host Club