Anime Reviews

Alternative Name: ×××ホリック
Years of Released: April 6, 2006 – September 28, 2006
Episodes: 23
Genre:  Supernatural, Horror, Psychological, Comedy
Favorite Characters : Watanuki
My Rating: PG-13
Grade: B+

Summary:  The series' plot focuses on Kimihiro Watanuki, a high school student plagued by yōkai and ayakashi, spirits with a strong attraction to him. The spirits are invisible to others and encounters with them are extremely troublesome. When he stumbles into a shop that grants wishes, however, events in his life promise to become more unusual. The shop is owned by Yūko Ichihara, a mysterious witch of many names and esoteric renown. For a price, she offers to grant Watanuki's wish to be rid of the spirits. The price, according to Yūko, must be of equal value and so, as payment, he temporarily becomes Yūko's part-time employee.

My review:  Well, where do I start? First of all, I'm a big fan of forklore and Japanese forklore in particular so I loved watching each new episode telling a new legend or revealing new character. I loved the overall dark and mysterious atmosphere of the series. However, I'm not the fan of the art and grasshopper long limbs. But in this case I could get over that fact. Nice watch.  


Recommend: Yes


Where to watch:     RUS Here                                    ENG Here

Alternative Name: The Agent of Death
Years of Released: 25 February 2006 – 12 August 2006
Episodes: 23
Genre:  Cyberpunk, Thriller, Suspense, Mystery, Supernatural, Psychological
Favorite Characters : Re-l
My Rating: PG-16
Grade: A++

Summary:  The story begins in a futuristic domed city called Romdeau, built to protect its citizens after a global ecological disaster thousands of years prior. In this utopia, humans and AutoReivs (androids) coexist peacefully under a total management system. A series of murders committed by robots and AutoReivs infected with the Cogito virus (which causes them to become self-aware) begins to threaten the delicate balance of Romdeau's social order. Behind the scenes, the government has been conducting secret experiments on a mysterious humanoid life form called a "Proxy." The Proxy beings (described as God-like and Immortal) are believed to hold the key to the survival of mankind.

My review:  I have been putting off watching this anime for a long time. It was one of those hard to get into and hard to get out ones for me. There are many things said about Ergo Proxy already so I won't be very original is I say that the story was well planned and thought through. Different unexpected plot twists let the mask of shallowness of the characters fade away, beautifully transforming their personalities, making them easy to understand. I will watch Ergo Proxy again and probably not just once, because it's one of those shows where the more you watch, the more you understand, see something you hadn't noticed, some new little detail that you missed. To make it short, great piece of art.            


Recommend: Highly recomended


Where to watch:                        RUS Here                                    ENG Here

Alternative Name: K Project
Years of Released: October 5, 2012 – December 28, 2012
Episodes: 13
Genre: Supernatural, Action
Favorite Characters : Kuro
My Rating: PG-13
Grade: B-

Summary: Yashiro Isana has lived a relatively ordinary, simple life. He lives in the technology-advanced Shizume City and attends Ashinaka High School, a notable high school that is located on an island just outside the areas. Yashiro is friendly with everyone. Nothing ever seems wrong about him, except perhaps his habit of forgetting where his school-issued PDA is. However, nothing normal has been happening since the recent murder of Tatara Totsuka, prominent member of the infamous HOMRA. No one knows who exactly killed him but the man responsible bears an uncanny, identical appearance to Yashiro. Seeking vengeance, the Red Clansmen of HOMRA set out to get Yashiro and kill him. Everyone suspects that Yashiro is the murderer. But whether he is guilty or not is unclear.

My review: Frankly, I practically made myself finish this one, hoping there will be some depth to the story or the characters but.. alas! The characters wouldn't go far from typical stereotypes, the story and the world was not very well explained either in my opinion. On the bright side, there were some really cool fight scenes, especially with the guy on the skateboard. That deserves a special praise. Would I watch it again? No. Will I watch the next season? Only if I'm bored out of my mind.

Recommend: No, there are much better series out there

Alternative Name: サイコパス
Years of Released: October 12, 2012 – March 22, 2013
Episodes: 23
Genre: Cyberpunk, Dystopian, Science fiction, Thriller
Favorite Characters : Kougami
My Rating: PG-13
Grade: A

Summary: Psycho-Pass is set in a future where it is possible to instantaneously measure a person's mental state, personality, and the probability that a person will commit crimes, all through a device installed on each citizen's body called a Psycho-Pass. When this probability, measured by the "Crime Coefficient" index, is too high in an individual, they are pursued and apprehended—with lethal force, if necessary.

My review: Great representation of cyberpunk. Although it is not my favorite genre but phycho-pass turned out to be a great watch for me. It was a rare case when I watched every episode with great interest and wanted to know how this all was going to end. The ending didn't dissapoint me either by the way. Very realistic and believable. The idea of having phycho-pass reminded me of "Minority Report" movie. I would watch it again.

Recommend: Absolutely

Alternative Name: Hotarubi no Mori e

Years of Released: September 17, 2011
Episodes: 44 minutes
Genre: Romance, Supernatural
Favorite Characters : Gin, Hotaru
My Rating: G
Grade: A+

Summary: The  story of a six-year-old girl named Hotaru Takegawa, who gets lost in a forest inhabited by a yamagami, or mountain spirit, as well as youkai. She is found by a mask-wearing, human-like entity named Gin, who informs Hotaru that he will disappear forever if he is touched by a human. Gin then leads Hotaru out of the forest.Hotaru returns to visit Gin in the forest over the next few days and they become friends despite the limitations on their interactions. Although at summer's end she must leave Gin to return to the city and her studies, Hotaru promises to return to visit him every summer holiday. As the years go by, Gin hardly ages while Hotaru physically matures and grows closer to his apparent age. Upon reaching adolescence Hotaru begins to struggle with their budding romance and their uncertain future together, while Gin wishes he could touch and hold the young woman that Hotaru has become. When Hotaru reaches high school, Gin takes her on a date to a festival in the forest hosted by the spirits. The night ends in tragedy when Gin mistakenly touches a young boy who sneaked into the spirit festival, though before he disappears, he and Hotaru embrace and confess their love for one another.

My review: That was a great short film. I loved every minute of it. It was one of those rare cases when I actually almost cried in the end. I consider Hotarubi no Mori e is one of the best romance anime out there. Touching and bittersweet.

Recommend: Recomended

Alternative Name: Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun, The Monster Sitting Beside Me
Years of Released: October 2, 2012 – December 25, 2012
Episodes: 13
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Favorite Characters : Kenji
My Rating: PG
Grade: B+

Summary: My Little Monster focuses on the relationship between Shizuku Mizutani, who has absolutely no interests except in studying and her plans for the future, and a boy named Haru Yoshida, who sits next to Shizuku in class but rarely attends school. After Shizuku is tasked with delivering class printouts to Haru's home, she meets Haru, who immediately greets her as a friend, starting their new relationship.

My review:
Sweet little story. There are many of those out there and for me My Little Monster doesn't stand out much from the rest of similar shoujo anime. But I'm not implying it in a bad way, God forbid. Those types of shows deserve to exist. And I do enjoy watching them from time to time, when I need to relax and just enjoy the sweet romance without over thinking about deep storyline twists and deep meanings behind them. Nice watch.



Recommend: Recomended

Alternative Name: Kuroko's Basketball, The Basketball which Kuroko Plays
Years of Released: April 7, 2012 – September 22, 2012
Episodes: 25
Genre:  Sports, Comedy, Drama
Favorite Characters : Kuroko
My Rating: PG
Grade: B+

Summary: The basketball team of Teikō Middle School rose to distinction by demolishing all competition. The regulars of the team became known as the "Generation of Miracles". After graduating from middle school, these five stars went to different high schools with top basketball teams. However, a fact few know is that there was another player in the "Generation of Miracles": a phantom sixth man. This mysterious player is now a freshman at Seirin High, a new school with a powerful, if little-known, team. Now, Kuroko Tetsuya, the sixth member of the "Generation of Miracles", and Kagami Taiga, a naturally talented player who spent most of middle school in the US, are aiming to bring Seirin to the top of Japan, taking on Kuroko's former teammates one by one.

My review:
Nice show. Of course I didn't expect it to beat the awesomeness of such basketball classic as Slam Dunk. But nevertheless, Kuroko no Basuke is a worthy anime show. Fresh and new. 



Recommend: Yes

Alternative Name: アナザー
Years of Released: January 10, 2012 – March 27, 2012
Episodes: 12
Genre:  Horror, Mystery
Favorite Characters : none
My Rating: R
Grade: B

Summary:  In 1972, Misaki, a popular student of Yomiyama North Middle School's class 3-3, suddenly died partway through the school year. Devastated by the unexpected loss, the students and teachers behaved like Misaki was still alive, leading to a strange presence on the graduation photo. In Spring 1998, 15-year-old Kōichi Sakakibara transfers into Yomiyama's class 3-3, where he meets the peculiar Mei Misaki, who is seemingly ignored by her classmates. The class is soon caught up in a strange epidemic, where its students and their relatives are caught up in mysterious deaths. Learning these deaths have something to do with the Misaki of 1972, it is up to Kōichi and Mei to discover the cause of these mysterious deaths and figure out how to stop it before it puts an end to them.

My review:
The beginnig of the series was wery promissing and I was excited to find out the truth until the very end but... was very dissapoined. I guess I expected something more mind blowing. Oh, well. I still think this is a great watch. Amazingly done.



Recommend: Yes

Alternative Name: ParaKiss
Years of Released: October 13, 2005 – December 29, 2005
Episodes: 12
Genre:  Drama, Romance
Favorite Characters : Miwako
My Rating: PG-16
Grade: A

Summary:  Yukari is a pretty-faced high school senior that studies dutifully for her university entrance exams. She cannot find meaning in her repetitive life and feels that she has not truly lived at all. As a student at a prestigious high school, she begins with a snobbish attitude towards the fashion design students. After she is scouted by Arashi and "kidnapped" by Isabella, her attitude towards them begins to change to one of admiration for the students' passion and drive.

My review:
Actually this one turned out much better than I thought. I should've expected it from Ai Yazawa's work, creator of Nana. Great, realistic story about finding out who you are, about finding your goals and dreams, and about love of course. I also loved it because it reminded me a lot about the time I wisited Tokyo with its glamor, great fashion, beautiful people. Great show.




Recommend: Highly recomended