Bimbougami Ga (Anime)

Sakura Ichiko is a 16 year old high school godess. She is the most popular, has plenty of money, a loyal butler, even a pair of enourmous....eyes. But there is a reason for this - she not only has an extraordinary amount of fortune energy, but is uncontrollably absorbing more from the people around her. In Order to counter this, the underworld has sent Momiji the Bimbougami (godess of misfortune) to steal the energy from Ichiko and return it to the rest of the world. But Ichiko isn't going to give up without a fight.

(Anime; 1 season, second slated for release, 12 episodes)

This is without a doubt the funniest anime series of all time. It is so mind numbingly random that one can't do anything but laugh at every episode. This humour comes from ludicrous characters (including a masochist inugami and a pervert black monk), outrageous parodies from practically every other anime series on the planet, and hilarious punch lines that often end in a time shattering punch.

The entertainment doesn't stop there. The story is great, building more and more depth with each episode. The characters are terrific and are as varied as a box of crayons. The animation and artistry are fantastic. There really isn't much that was wrong with this series so there isn't much point in dragging this review out.

Rating - 10/10

Mobile Suit Gundam Age (Anime)

To deal with Earth's expanding population, humanity has begun to branch out into space and develop colonies to live there. However one day, one colony is attacked by a mysterious enemy, known as UE (unknown enemy) wielding deadly and powerful mobile suits. This day was known as 'The day the angel fell'. Several years later, one of the survivors of the colony attack, Flit Asuno, has become the youngest mobile suit developer in his new colony. But then one day the UE returns and attacks Flit's colony. But Flit is prepared and pilots the mobile suit he has been developing just to fight the UE, with blue prints handed down from his dying mother. The Gundam Age.

(Anime; 1 season, 48 episodes, Finished)

Another fantastic addition to the Gundam franchise, and probably one of the most unique series. Starting with what must be said - the Gundam Age itself lives up to the expectations of its predecessors.  Its main hook is that it is able to use the 'Age system' to learn from its previous battles and create new parts and weaponry to fit the need. This is a fantastic idea, and gives the gundam unlimited potential as being one of the best in the series.

Moving on the the series itself, the story is probably the most unique aspect of the whole thing. It is divided into three parts and seems to be an adapted and condensed version of Gundam 0079, Gundam Zeta, Gundam ZZ and even has elements from Char's Counter Attack. The story is split into three arcs - the first being Flit Asuno's, then his son Asemu's and then his Grandson Kio. This leads to some great development as far as the world of the story goes, but on the plot side of things, it makes everything seem a little rushed. Also, there is a theme in all the Gundam series that war isn't always one side being bad or good, just two sides with different views that leads to war. This idea has been handed down since the first ever gundam series, but here in Gundam Age it takes a while for this theme to come to light. For the first two arcs in fact the UE is cast as more of a villain than any other series has to offer.

The rest of the series is good, but not great. The battle sequences are pretty awesome, but get a little repetitive given the story structure. The artistry and animation is good, not great. It could've been better than it is and there was room for improvement. The characters are about the same - no less than what you'd expect from a Gundam series.

A Great addition to the franchise, but that doesn't mean Mobile Suit Gundam Age doesn't have room to improve.

Rating - 7/10

Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate (Anime)

Oojima Yuuki is a student at Takafuji academy, where he spends his days as part of the Food research club - basically a club where he, his childhood friend Chisato, classmate Mifuyu and their friends devote their time to eating sweets and chatting all day. However, after a turn around in the  student council, elections begin, and one of the strongest candidates has said that they intend to disband all non profitable club. In order to counter this, Yuuki must run in the elections himself and win, little realising when he sets out what campaigning to be student council president is really all about.

(Anime; 1 season, 12 episodes, finished)

Probably the best way to describe this series is as a 'ying-yang' series- By this I mean that the story is divided into two very separate plots that run parallel and interact with each other. One half is a slice of life, romantic story with harem tendencies, as Yuuki tries to get elected whilst dealing with the girls around him (which include his presidency rival, childhood friend, mysterious sempai, and booze hitting teacher). The other half his is very dark, mystery series all about secret dealings, hidden agendas and evil attitudes from those who oppose and support Yuuki. These two different plots work brilliantly together and form a fantastic series to watch that sucks you in from the get go.

The rest of this series measures up superbly. The artistry and animation is fantastic to the point of gorgeous to watch. The characters are all thoroughly enjoyable for a number of reasons - one including the fact that some of the non major characters seem to have some sort of flaw to them (e.g. having a propeller in their head) that no one seems to notice except for Yuuki. This leads to some great humour, as to the random antics of several other characters. There is a down side here though, and that is that most of the characters become interesting background very quickly, and the story only focuses on 3 or 4 of the main ones during each episode. Also the setting for the story - Takafuji academy - is a little too detailed: the rules about elections, student hierarchy and different council offices are some many and so diverse that it often becomes hard to understand who the bad guys are and who is following the rules.

Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate is the ideal companion for anyone who loves mystery anime, but with a light hearted tone.

Rating - 7.5/10

Tari Tari (Anime)

The story of five friends in their last year of high school - Wakana Sakai who used to love music but lost that love when her mother died, Konatsu Miyamoto whose energy is matched by a desire to sing, Sawa Okita who dreams of being a horse rider in spite of her parents disapproval, Taichi Takana who works harder at badminton than his lessons, and Wien who has returned from being in Austria for 12 years. They band together to help each other out and keep each other going, as they form the vocal choir 'and sometimes badminton' club.

(Anime; 1 Season, 13 episodes, Finished)

Honestly I am pretty confused by this series. There is plenty going for it, but some other very odd moments that come as more of a surprise than anything else. The premise for the series is about how they are all 'too young to be adults, but don't consider themselves children anymore' - this statement has absolutely NOTHING to do with this series, and makes no sense what so ever. The real story is rather relaxed, nothing overly exciting in itself, but still a great story full of heart warming, tear jerking and side splitting-ly funny moments. Another surprise from the series is the ending - just because it comes so suddenly, and you are begging it not to finish (13 Episodes is far too short). The artwork and animation is reminiscent of Hanasaku Iroha and is fun to watch because of its realistic feel. That characters are great, each really unique and fun to follow as they do their stuff. The story is also riddled with the characters going into singing routines, which are fantastic; if there is not other reason for watching the series, then one should at least try to get hold of the music somewhere.
In spite of its confusing issues, Tari Tari is probably one of the best anime series of the season.

Rating - 9/10

Koko no Naka ni Hitori no Imouto ga Iru (Anime)

On the day of his fathers funeral, a mysterious voice speaks to Kamagurou Shougo. She says she is his little sister, and that she has come to marry him. But then she disappears, and Shougo moves on to inherit his fathers company. The final step in this process is to attend the prestigious miryuuin high school, and find a woman to be his wife. After meeting many people on his first day, he returns home and receives a phone call - the mysterious sister says that she was among the people he met today, and that she still intends to marry him.

(Anime: 1 season, 12 episodes, Finished)

Ok, let's face it. This is another harem anime, based entirely around fan service scenes and one guy being surrounded by pretty girls. Its not like this is anything new. However, this series does stand out of the pack for one specific reason - in all harem anime, the main protagonist never actually picks one of the pretty girls. There are many different reasons; either he doesn't notice any of their feelings (e.g. Infinite Stratos), he is paying more attention to one girl than all the others (e.g. To-Love-Ru) or he just doesn't care for some reason (e.g. Sora no Otoshimono). But with Koko no Naka ni, the protagonist has a Very real reason for not picking a girl because he might accidentally pick his little sister, which is a scary concept. This leads into quite a well thought out story, with a good bit of humorous mystery involved, and which really draws you into the plot because you want to find out who the sister is.

But after that, its just a dumb harem anime. The characters are...well...sluts mostly, who aren't ashamed throw everything they've got (literally) at the main male character. The artistry and animation isn't awful, but it could've been better. For example everything looks quite pink for some reason, and the artists could've dialled that back a bit.

All in All, another typical harem anime, but at least Koko no Naka ni Hitori no Imouta ga Iru has a decent story that keeps it entertaining.

Rating - 4/10

Oda Nobuna no Yabou (Anime)

Sagara Yoshiharu woke up to find he hand been flung back in time to the Sengoku/Waring states period. Not only that, but because of the declining life rate, rules about women becoming Daimyo have changed, and he discovers that his favourite General, Oda Nobunaga, is in fact Oda Nobuna, a young girl who dreams of conquering Japan. When Yoshiharu finds out that he is meant to walk beside her and take the place of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, he decides to use his future knowledge of events to help change history, and save her from danger.

(Anime: 1 season, 12 episodes, Finished)

All right, lets be fair, this is another of those anime series where all the Sengoku generals are girl, like we haven't seen that about a thousand times already. However, this series does stand out from the pack for several reasons. The first one being that they actually bother to come up with an excuse as to why they are girls (it doesn't just happen) and not every character is female, but some remain male to keep things fresh. And this series isn't all about fan service (not that there isn't any at all) - they actually have a decent story and a sensible plot that is enjoyable to watch and see it progress. The animation and artistry also stand out as being exceptional, offering a much greater level of entertainment for each episode. The characters aren't bad, although most of them are secondary character who only have a few lines per episode. The main character Yoshiharu is impressive, rather than the generic weak characters who usually find themselves in this situation. There is plenty of action, comedy, scenes of being bad-ass and even a little romance all the way through, so there is something for everybody in here.

So for anyone who is bored of generic Sengoku Harem stories, Or loves them and is looking to see another, then Oda Nobuna no Yabou is the best series for you.

Rating - 8/10

Chouyaku Hyakuninisshu: Uta Koi (Anime)

In the 13th century, Fujiwara no Teika was commissioned to compile one hundred poems to decorate the walls of an important estate. Fujiwara no Teika chose some of the best poems from the past years, but almost half of the poems he chose were love poems. And every poem has a history, a meaning, and a story to tell.

(Anime: 1 season, 13 episodes, Finished)

For anyone who loved Chihayafuru, then you will love this series, because it is roughly the story behind where those poems came from. It only covers the Love related poems, but each episode will contain one or two stories about how those poems came to be, in some fantastic and really touching stories. There isn't an over riding plot or theme from this series, just some interesting pieces of poetic history, filled with comedic moments, heart warming romance, and even some tragic stories. The artistry and animation are fantastic, hard to describe but very memorable. Although there seems to be a lot more emphasis put into the female character designs than the male, but that is sort of the point. Probably the one minor hiccup is that there is a large amount of old Japanese cultural facts in this series (from long before the sengoku era) so there is a quite a bit of that which seems strange, but probably only because of the gap in times and cultures.

All around, Uta Koi is one of the best companions for any romance anime lovers.

Rating - 9/10

Phi Brain; Kami no Puzzle (Anime)

Daimon Kaito is a student attending school in a world where puzzles are the norm. Kaito cares only about solving puzzles and spends his days with his childhood friend Nonoha, who just wants him to put down the sudoku. But one day, after solving a dangerous puzzle, Kaito obtains the ring of Orpheus - a powerful relic that pushes the wearers brain power to extremes. With this, Kaito has become a phi brain candidate - one of a few chosen individuals who has the potential to unlock the Puzzle of God and obtain an ancient treasure that is said to be mankind's greatest knowledge.

(Anime; 2 Seasons, 25 episodes, Finished)

This is quite an unusual series, but a lot of fun. Anybody who loves doing the sudoku in the paper of playing with puzzle blocks as a kid will love this show. Most of the action is derived from the characters trying to solve huge puzzles while risking their lives. This leads to some unforgettable action sequences, but there is a flaw with this plan - unless you already know how the puzzle works normally, you have to guess what is going on and you can't tell who is actually winning. There is an explanation of how the puzzles work, but these are often gone over far to fast and you end up having to go back and pause to read the rules. The artistry and animation aren't too bad, but there is something about them that looks more like coloured in manga than an anime (Actually the series as a whole probably would have done better as a manga 1st). The characters - here is the real problem with the series. 1st of all the main characters aren't really likeable, all they care about is puzzles and you spend more time noticing the people watching than the heroes. Adding to this are some very weak villains - most of the major villains spend their time obsessing over Kaito to a degree that is borderline gay stalking (and I mean literally on the knife edge border). The story is pretty good though, with a good deal of mystery and twists turning up everywhere to keep it fresh.

Phi Brain may not be everyones cup of tea, but for anyone looking for something a bit different, there is no better choice.

Rating - 6.5/10

Rinne no Lagrange (Anime)

Madoka is an energetic girl, and the only member of her school's Jersey Club - a club devoted to helping anyone any time. One day a mysterious girl called Lan asks Madoka for help - by piloting a Robot. With this Madoka is thrown into a new life where she must pilot one of three legendary robots known as Vox that destroyed the earth 200000 years ago, and have to power to do so again.

(Anime; 2 Seasons, 12 episodes, Finished)

This is a pretty average series - its good but not great, its not terrible but has a lot going against it. The Animation is impressive and in a lot of places does some unique twists, and when it comes to the robot battles the style of the series really stands out. But at times it can be a little too 'sparkly' and those moments are obvious because they don't really fit with whats going on. The story is pretty good, but it gets wrapped up in its own mythology and spends a lot of time ignoring anything resembling plot. The first season left things really open so a second was much called for. But again the second season suffered from the same problems - starting with some big idea and then ignoring it because of all the mystery surrounding the Vox. This lack of plot or overall drive isn't helped by the characters - they are fun and great to watch, but none of them have any sense of ambition story wise. Most of the time they are just there to make funny lines. Also, there is some underlying joke that the three main female characters are 'more than just friends', this leads to some good jokes, but otherwise just seems silly.

So there you have it, Rinne no Lagrange is a fun watch but nothing spectacular.

Rating - 5/10

Accel World (Anime)

In the future, everyone is equipped with a built in connection device - like having a computer built into your brain. Arita Haruyuki has spent his whole life being picked on and abused at school. His best friends haven't been able to help him, and the only comfort he takes is from playing video games. That is until the beauty of the school, Kuroyukihime, asks to meet him and offers him a link to a special programme called 'Accel World'. Part of this programme is that it can speed up your brain and exist as though time has stopped around you. But the main aim of this programme is a massive multiplayer fighting game, where victory is decided by how long you can survive.

(Anime: 1 Season, 24 episodes, finished)

This was quite an exciting series, but with a couple of flaws. The main one being that at the beginning of the story, there is a whole concept set up about how the aim of the game is to reach level 10, but no ones wants to for various reasons (not going to give that away just yet). This gets basically ignored for the rest of the series. They touch upon it occasionally but when they do you think 'oh yeah that what they were doing'. After they cover this point, the story just divulges into a couple of character building arcs. It even goes off on a tangent during a really important moment and has 2 episodes of pointless side tracking (I HATE when that happens). So the story and plot line could use some refining.

Apart from that, this series was pretty enjoyable. The fight scenes and animation were really spectacular, and there is a lot of depth and detail given to the game world that fits in a way that makes sense without having to be explained. The characters a fun, but the main one Haruyuki seems to be drawn like a chibi character for the whole time (Kind of Like Tomoki from Sora no Otoshimono) This results in him standing out, and generally he can't be taken seriously just because he is at odds with all the normally drawn characters who never go chibi.

All in all, some fine tuning needed, but in the end Accel World is a great show.

Rating - 8/10

Hagure Yuusha no Estetica (Anime)

Ousawa Akatsuki has defeated the evil demon lord, and returns home to his own dimension. With his return, he is enrolled into Babylon academy - a school and training facility for all those who have returned from a different dimension and learned magic. But Akatsuki has brought along a friend - the daughter of the Demon lord he defeated, whom he has been charged with protecting. Now she lives with him as his 'sister', and every day step deeper into the mystery and danger of Babylon academy.

(Anime: 1 Season, 12 episodes, Finished)

The above description may sound a little odd, and thats because the story really is. It takes place after the main character has finished his adventures in a different world, and ends before he starts new adventures. It almost feels as though the series covers the middle boring arc of a long running story, and the introduction and ending are never covered. No matter what else the series may have going for it, this over riding feeling of inadequacy results in a lot of frustration - we aren't shown what we really want from the story.

The rest of the series doesn't stand out much either. There is probably more focus on fan service than story - considering that the main character spends most of his time stealing the underwear of girls while they're wearing them. That may be a great trick, but If all you're looking for is plenty of boobs and no story, you may as well just buy a porno. There are some hints at a harem or a love triangle forming, but again this is glossed over as a 'maybe this is happening' kind of feel. The same can be said about the mystery in this series - it feels like there is some over riding plot going on, but it is rarely touched upon. The animation is pretty basic, nothing very exciting, and the same for the characters.

All in all a sub standard series - needed to start 20 episodes earlier and keep running for another 40.

Rating - 3/10

Natsuyuki Rendevous (Anime, 2012)

Hazuki has fallen in love. He has fallen for the owner of a flower shop, and decides to start working there so that he can get closer to her. There are just two thing standing between him and romance. First that the owner, Rokka, is a widow. The second, that her dead husband is a ghost, living int he flower shop that only Hazuki can see. Now Hazuki has to contend with an obsessive spirit getting in the way of his feelings before he can be with Rokka.

(Anime: 1 season, 11 episodes, Finished)

This is a really......interesting romance story. By far one of the most unique as far as romance in anime goes, and that is staying a lot. The artistry is simply beautiful: gorgeous settings and flowers purvey the entire series, and it is a treat simply to watch the gorgeous series even without paying attention to the story. The characters are pretty interesting as well, and the editing and story are entertaining.

Unfortunately this series is not without its set backs. The biggest is that a lot of the episodes are taken up by long winded, seemingly rambling monologues and memory flashes, and these can get pretty boring after a while, and force you to think carefully about what the meaning of the words are as they have some part to play in the story. Actually Natsuyuki Rendevous would probably fit more as a film or OVA series than running for 11 episodes, especially since the story is wrapped up about as neatly and quickly.

This is a good series for fans of something gentle and unusual, and a let down for people who expect more from it.

Rating - 5/10

Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita (Anime, 2012)

In a post apocalyptic future, humanity has begun to decline (the title translates as literally humanity has declined), and a new breed of humanity known as fairies have begun to expand. The fairies are small, smily faced, with technology far outstripping mankind at its highest point, and eccentric natures that often leads to outrageous happenings. The Story revolves around an unnamed girl, who works as a mediator between the two races and is often is contact with the fairies. This proves to be more a curse than a job however, because the fairies nature often ropes her into bizarre events.

(Anime: 1 Season, 12 episodes, finished)

I'm honestly not sure how to rate this series. On the one hand, it is a rather fun show. The story is peppered with ludicrous gags and the dialogue and voice acting all match up to create hilarious and thoroughly entertaining stories. The artistry is pretty unique as well, it isn't quite the norm with anime but not far from it.

On the other hand, the timeline of the plot can get really confusing. In the classic Japanese post apocalypse way, the story jumps around from present, to past, to future, its all over the place and this can make it very difficult to follow what is going on. The main character and the fairies are pretty entertaining, but the rest just don't stand out very much. And there is no overriding theme or object so the plot just rambles on in 6 2 episode arcs.

Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita will either tickle your funny bone all day long or leave you thoroughly head ached.

Rating - 6.5/10

La Storia della Arcana Famiglia (Anime, 2012)

On the island of Regalo, a mafia like organisations, known as the Arcana Family oversees and protects the entire town. Each of the leading members has a contract with a Taro card, that allows them to use special powers known as Arcana abilities. One day the 'Papa' of the family announces an upcoming tournament, where those with Arcana abilities may fight to determine who will be the next family head. To the winner he also promises the hand of his daughter, Felicita. She has no desire to be married, but her close friends and fellow family members, Nova and Liberta, are determined to help her and set her free.

(Anime: 1 Season, 12 episodes, Finished)

So right off the bat, just saying it for a fact, this is a gyaku harem anime - meaning the story revolves around the girl Felicita and everyone else she interacts with are boys. Fortunately she only really spends time with the two friends, and there isn't any real sense of a harem going on. Unfortunately this has resulted in a very slow paced story that spends most of the time aimlessly going from one short story to the next, without any sort of over all focus, until about episode 10.

This would be fine if there was something else worth watching in this anime, but overall it wasn't very satisfying. True there were some clever uses of Italian mafia ideas (kind of makes you feel as though you are watching a Japanese version of The Godfather). But the artistry isn't very original, and the animation is the same. The character's aren't particularly clever either, but the real let down of this whole series is that the story just pans out into nothing - no real changes happen and in the end the story reverts back to where it started, basically making the whole series a complete waste of time.

If conventional gyaku harem series are you're thing, then by all mines give La Storia Della Arcana Famiglia a go, just don't get your hopes up.

Rating - 4/10