SnowyMountain

says "Are you gonna shake my hand or am I gonna rip your heart out?!"

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My Anime & Manga Series Reviews

A list of the various anime and manga series that I have read or seen, even just one issue or episode and what I think of it.

  • 5 STARS: The best of the best; you HAVE to go and see/read it!
  • 4 STARS: Really, really good. One of the better ones!
  • 3 STARS: Mediocre to decent.
  • 2 STARS: Fair to Okay; if you got nothing else to do and want to kill some time...
  • 1 STAR: Didn't like it.
  • 0 STAR: Junk. You will regret it and agonize over the fact that you will never get back the time you wasted over this worthless crap...

List items

  • One of the most interesting series that I have read recently. It's sort of a cross between Harry Potter and Ranma 1/2. I'm a fan of the Negima?! Magister Magi Negi manga series but the other ones that they've come out with don't quite seem to be the same or the equal to the original. Rating: 4 and 1/2 Stars.

  • One of my favorite series; this one was the one that sparked my interest in Japanese anime and manga. Rumiko Takahashi was one of my favorite authors. Rating: 4 Stars.

  • Mainly I read this 'cause I liked his other series; Love Hina and Negima?! I understand that this was his first major work and I can definitely see the influences of his future work in it. It's OK but lacks the sort of polish that he developed through experience. This series seemed to be heavily based upon Oh My Goddess! by Kosuke Fujishima but not quite as compelling. Rating: 2 Stars.

  • Overly cutesy and romantic comedy anime series that I watched. The female lead was uninspiring and unrealistic though in my opinion which caused the series to suffer. Rating: 1 Star.

  • I've read some of the manga and it's alright. There is a lot of crude humor and fan service, I haven't formed an opinion yet as I'm still on the early books and I have to wait to borrow them. The plot line is still developing so I'm withholding my opinion til later.

  • Saw the anime series. It reminded me of some of the really old samurai revenge flicks and was a bit corny here and there. Kill Bill did it better. Rating: 2 Stars.

  • I first started to read the manga cause I was bored and lacked anything else. Usually I don't go for this sort of thing but I actually liked it when I read it. The main female lead is cute and I thought the battles were interesting enough to keep my attention. Rating: 3 Stars.

  • Way back when, I read Appleseed cause it was one of the few manga options available and became a fan of Masamune Shirow's art. I got lost and found it overly complex at times with lots of philosophical stuff thrown in but he does make some neat mecha and cute girls which is why I read it. Rating: 2 and 1/2 Stars.

  • Read the GN a while back. It didn't make that much of an impression as I cannot remember anything about it now. Rating: 2 Stars.

  • Up until recently, I never seen this series. I watched the live-action movie and wasn't overly awed with it, although out of curiosity I decided to watch the original animated version and I was definitely impressed. I think the American creators were clearly inspired by manga and anime because it embodies a lot of concepts of Eastern philosophy. Personally, I think the live-action movie was an abomination. The Director tried for too much, trying to compact as much as the storyline as he could into one movie which led to a very confusing and fast-moving story without any real character development or depth, which was the real heart of the Avatar saga. Rating: 4 and 1/2 Stars.

  • There's no dastardly villains, aliens, demonic beasts, ninjas, samurai, or anything else. It doesn't try for outrageous characters or complex storylines. It's just a bunch of comedy sketches depicting a group of ordinary high school girls. It's short and sweet and fairly simple, sort of like a collected version of your favorite comic strips from the newspaper like Garfield but that's what makes it work. Rating: 4 Stars.

  • I've seen a few episodes of the anime but I sort of lost interest in it. It didn't seem that great. Rating: 0 Stars.

  • A Batman in Japan story as told by a Japanese writer. It was decent. Rating: 2 Stars.

  • I have little to no idea about this series as it was one of the few ones that I have a hard time finding any copies available so the few manga I picked up was telling a very detailed and complex story that I wasn't sure what was going on. It's like walking in on the last 30 minutes of the movie and frustratingly trying to piece together everything that happened. I can't rate this one honestly.

  • Another series that I know very little about due the fact that I don't have access to most of it. From what little I have seen indicates that it relies more on pretty girls flashing their stuff over a plot line. Rating: 0 Stars.

  • A bit on the childish simplistic side, the series is more light hearted than other supernatural series with monsters who have taken over the world. It is a "Dark Age" where monstrous beings known as Vandels reign while the remnants of humanity struggle to survive in fortress cities and towns. Beet is an aspiring Buster who yearns to hunt down and destroy Vandels alongside his childhood heroes, the Zenon Warriors; the strongest and most powerful group of Busters alive. But his childish eagerness to see his heroes in action result in their doom when he is taken hostage by the Vandel Beltorze and Beet and Zenon Warriors are all badly wounded in exchange and are forced to impart their Saiga in Beet to save his life even as they sacrifice themselves to defeat Beltorze. Devastated at the loss of his heroes, Beet swears to end this "Dark Age" by destroying all of the Vandels. To aid him in his quest, he discovers that he possesses all of the powerful Saiga that each of the legendary Zenon Warriors wielded. The characters aren't bad and the interaction between them is fairly good as are the battles aren't bad either. Beet is a bit on the dim side, but over the course of the GNs, he seems to grow as he masters the various Saigas given to him. The art seems a bit crude and basic, but it's clean and able to easily follow the flow of the action. Probably the biggest downside however is that series seems stalled and in limbo just when it was starting to really get exciting due to the illness of one of the collaborators of this series for the past several years. Rating: 2 and 1/2 Stars.

  • This was a television series that I stumbled across not too long ago. I personally liked the first Ben 10 animated series the best while the others felt a bit uninspired and forced to me.

    The main issue that I had was that Ben 10 was very much a kid in the first series; an immature arrogant brat but a likeable one who every now and then, showed his inner qualities as a true hero. He grew up and grew kinda boring in the sequels in my opinion. I haven't seen the live action movies or comics so I won’t be commenting on them.

    The concept was fresh and exciting during the first series which helped. Even though there was a big storyline in the background, it managed to keep it cut into more manageable episodes for the audience to digest. I also liked how they didn’t have repeats of the same stale villains, episode after episode. The animation was fairly good, the effects were done extremely well, and I personally enjoyed many of the voice actors in it as they came across as realistic and personable characters.

    However, the quality of the storylines and animation seem to definitely go downhill after the first series. As I mentioned earlier, Ben seemed to grow up in the later series—but he also became a bit boring, lacking the same enthusiasm and vigor that I so enjoyed seeing in him in the first series. In addition, I didn’t like the successor aliens that he turned into as much. The sudden revelation that Ben (and his cousin Gwen) were part-alien felt like a weird twist to me and one not that well thought out as well as the other Plumber kids were hybrids. All in all, I felt like the storylines went in some pretty odd and bizarre directions after the first series that I stopped watching entirely.

    For the purposes of this review and rating however, this should only be considered for the first Ben 10 series.

    RATING: 4 STARS!!!!

  • Caught a few episodes, but I didn't find it interesting enough to try and keep looking. Rating: 1 Star.

  • I've seen an old anime series that was incomplete for some reason and caught the live action movie with Mark Hamil (Luke Skywalker). It was incredibly bloody and violent yet for some reason reminded me of the campy Godzilla with weird and grotesque monsters. Rating: 2 Stars.

  • This story takes place during late 19th Century England and a strange boy Ciel Phantomhive and the only competent member of his household, his butler Sebastian. It begins like a comedy but quickly descends into extreme creepiness. As it turns out, Sebastian is actually a demon and he is bound to serve Phantomhive. The gothic horror of this series might appeal to some, but I disliked it. I only read the first two GNs but I suspect that Phantomhive' bargain is that Sebastian will be able to take his soul in the end. While I am not particularly religious, I found it somewhat offensive that a child would be condemned in this manner. Phantomhive might be able to trick his way out of this bargain, but the fact that the fate of his soul hangs in the balance still overshadows the tone of this series, even during the brief moments of humorous comedy. Rating: 1 Star.

  • I read a few of the GN but I lost interest real quick. It's main selling factor seems to be lots of hot and insane girls along with lots of gun battles. I just couldn't bring myself to care about the characters; none of whom are all that heroic. Rating: 1 Star.

  • Eh. So-so was my opinion. It seems to be a sort of Japanese version of Highlander only with a revenge twist. I lost interest after a couple of issues of the manga. Rating: 1 and 1/2 Star.

  • I've read it but still find it a bit confusing. There seems to be quite a few plot holes that don't seem to make much sense to me but I find a lot of the characters compelling enough to keep an eye on the series. I have given up on the anime version though. Due to the fact that Japanese anime often catches up and surpasses the manga; the studios often come up with these "filler arcs" that are just freaking horrible in my opinion. Bleach is probably the prime example of this, although Naruto comes a close second too. One other thing I've noticed in the anime is that whenever Ichigo is about to perform some sort of heroic move, they have this jazzy song burst out. I grew it find it extremely annoying after a while. It's one of those aggravating tunes that get stuck in your head for days afterwards. Rating: 3 and 1/2 Stars.

  • I was a big fan of the original BGC anime series so I was thrilled when I heard that they were going to remake it. I found the 2040 series a joke however. It resembled the original but wasn't quite it either. The Grand Mal comic series was one of the best adaptations around; following in the footsteps of the original anime. I consider Adam Warren one of the best writers around! Rating: 4 and 1/2 Stars (for the original BGC!)

  • I've seen some of the anime and manga and didn't really care too much for either. For some reason though, neither the manga nor the anime resembled each other too much. Rating: 1 Star.

  • I tried to read the first GN of the manga but I found it boring and quit almost halfway. Rating: 1 Star.

  • This is one of the most realistic giant robot mangas I have ever read. In all of the other series I've seen, the enormous robot just runs around, ignoring whatever is around him during his battles. This one however doesn't and shows the effects of this robot stumbling around causing landslides and entire roadways to flex and shatter under it's tread. In addition, the alien invaders are pretty sneaky here in that they don't show up and invade with their superior technology but rather insinuate themselves economically into Earth and giving us their "technology" before staging their overthrow and humanity discovers that their technology is booby trapped and under their control. The hero was at first eager to fight with the robot and then appalled when he realized how dangerous his giant robo was. He went through some deep soul searching before reluctantly deciding to use it to fight. I am eagerly awaiting the Conclusion to this series and Dark Horse has to get on the ball and start printing it! Rating: 5 Stars!

  • Another TV series that I originally thought was too cutesy but despite myself, I found that I watched most of it. I prefer the original Japanese version as the English one was too "kid-ified". Rating: 4 Stars.

  • Sequel to the original.

  • I didn't think too much of the premise after I caught a few episodes. However the manga is much more compelling and it's an interesting modern day detective mysteries. Rating: 3 and 1/2 Stars.

  • Another manga series that I wasn't too sure about when I first read the synopsis, but it turned out to be surprisingly decent. Boy wishes to be the "macho of men" but the evil genie twists it so that he becomes the "most womanly of women" and now spends her time trying to find a way to undo her "curse" as the most beautiful and attractive female on campus despite her obsession with martial arts, fighting, and her foul mouth. Rating: 3 and 1/2 Stars.

  • Read a few manga here and there. It's alright but not spectacular. Rating: 2 Stars.

  • Mainly I've watched the anime series. It gets a bit repetitive at times; Ryo Saeba getting involved with his beautiful clients and his assistant Kaori beating the crap outta him for his perverted behavior. But he still manages to pull off the cool and suave hero most of the time and I like him surprisingly. He has an interesting supporting cast with a rival/enemy Umibozu and a sneaky female police detective who uses her feminine charms to trick Saeba into helping on her more difficult cases. Rating: 3 and 1/2 Stars.

  • An odd series involving a trio of kids who are part of an insanely wealthy school and have taken it upon themselves to aid and assist any females in distress. Strangely enough, it's funny enough to captivate my interest and was short enough that it doesn't grow repetitive. It also has a few spin-offs such as Duklyon: CLAMP School Defenders and Man of Many Faces. Rating: 2 and 1/2 Stars.

  • I've only started reading this series and it seems like it might be pretty good. There is a definite dark vibe to it, but not so much that it grosses you out. It takes place in an alternate world where female warriors known as "Claymores" hunt down fearsome beasts known as "yoma". To equalize themselves with their prey, the Claymores are forced to undergo horrific surgery which literally implants yoma organs within them, granting them a measure of strength, speed, and other strange abilities. But it comes at a fearsome price as the more and more they use their powers to destroy these monsters, the stronger their own monstrous nature begins to take them over. Each Claymore lives with the knowledge that one day, their bodies will betray them and then, they too will have to be hunted down and destroyed for the good of humanity. Despite the tragic nature of these heroines, they continue to fight for the sake of the human race, struggling to maintain their humanity against the monsters within themselves. It's a fascinating idea and a solid concept, even more so as several Claymores are beginning to question the very nature of the "Organization" that hunts down these yomas and directs them and they begin to realize a very dark and sinister plot lurking in the background. The art is fairly good and the storyline seems to falter here and there but it continues to fascinate the reader with new twists and turns. It is definitely worth a read. Rating: 4 and 1/2 Stars.

  • Saw a few anime episodes. I didn't much care for it. Rating: 1 Star.

  • I've read most of the first GN and stopped as I found it a bit too bloody and graphic for my tastes. The idea of an innocent man being brainwashed into a ruthless and inhuman assassin for a criminal organization was a bit too much to take. Rating: 1/2 Star.

  • Mainly I played the video game a bunch of times. I have seen a cartoon based on it but after watching most of one episode, I found it too 'kid-ified' for my tastes. Rating: 3 and 1/2 Stars for the Video Game and 1 Star for the TV series.

  • A friend of mine tried to interest me in this but I didn't find it very compelling, it was a bit too dark and depressing for me. Rating: 1 Star.

  • I have seen a couple of the animated videos but they weren't that spectacular in my opinion. Rating: 1 Star. However, a friend showed me a couple of comic books based on them by the American comic writer/artist Adam Warren that totally blew me away! He has since become one of my favorite writers and I try and pick up whatever I can find that he scribes (even if I'm not a fan of the series). I recommend "A Plague of Angels" which remains one of my favorite stories along with "Sim Hell", "Fatal But Not Serious", "Start the Violence", and "Run From the Future" which I unabashedly credit him with 4 and 1/2 Stars!

  • I've seen the first Dominion series and the anime, neither of which I particularly liked but this one actually grabbed my attention. It's got some real amusing characters such as the Puma Sisters and Leona Ozaki herself. I'm hoping that the title of Conflict 1 means that there will be a Conflict 2 in the works! Rating: 5 Stars!

  • I got briefly addicted to the Dragonball Z series. The anime seemed to draw things out far too much for my tastes and I tended to just fast forward through repetitive scenes to get to the action sequences. The original Dragonball series was so-so and lame in the early parts. The exception was the Piccolo Saga which I thought was of the best ones. I did think the DBZ series was pretty good right up until the Freeza Saga. I think they could have ended right there, in fact I wish they did because after that with the Cell Saga and the Buu storylines, it just seemed extremely repetitive and boring. It seemed that they were just retelling the same story with different characters and I couldn't muster enough interest to care about watching the Dragonball GT sequel. Rating: 3 Stars.

  • It wasn't that great. It seemed awfully derivative of the Power Rangers. About the one amusing thing is the Defenders' "mysterious" leader who appears every now and then is actually the head kid detective from the CLAMP School Detectives series, just wearing a pair of mirror sunglasses as a disguise. And you have to read the original series to get the joke. Rating: 1 Star.

  • I read the manga which was alright. The main character has an interesting gimmick for a power that kept my interest. If it had gone on for too long, then I might have gotten bored or found it too repetitive. Rating: 2 Stars.

  • Usually I don't go for sports manga but this one got my attention and I actually liked it a lot; the anime was not quite as good though. The characters are interesting and unusual enough to keep me laughing at their comedic antics. Sena Kobayakawa has been bullied all his life and was made into an errand boy ever since elementary school. In high school however, he falls under the attention of an even bigger predator, Yoichi Hiruma who is the Captain and Co-Founder of the Devil Bats Football Team. He immediately realizes that Sena is a world class sprinter and recruits him by force as his team's star running back. In order to protect Sena's identity (and prevent the other school clubs from trying to co-opt his star player), Hiruma dubs him "Eyeshield 21". The devilish and manipulative Hiruma aside, Sena quickly falls in love with playing football and begins to grow into his role at first hiding behind his identity of Eyeshield, he finally unmasks himself to step onto the field as a hero in his own right. The football games are exciting and brilliantly crafted, keeping the reader on the edge of their seat as the Devil Bats struggle against opponent after opponent for come from behind victories using unexpected and unanticipated plays. If you're not a football fan when you first start reading this series ... you will be one after you're finished. Rating: 4 and 1/2 Stars (manga).

  • A friend of a friend claimed that this series was hysterical but I didn't see it. I saw the first anime episode and found it so horrible that I couldn't bring myself to finish watching it. Rating: 0 Stars.

  • I will admit that Mai Shiranui is one of my favorite video game characters for her daring outfits which was why I watched the OAVs and the Movie. She doesn't get quite as much screen time as I hoped and in a surprisingly disappointing way, she often turns into the cute and helpless damsel in distress that needs rescuing. The first OAV "Legend of the Hungry Wolf" was almost distressingly predictable. It's a classic father gets killed by jealous rival in a dishonorable fashion and his son(s) swears revenge. The main character Terry Bogard is a bit of a cookie cutter hero; noble, stoic, handsome, and a bit shy around the ladies and his villain, Geese Howard was a carbon copy of a classic villain. The second OAV "The New Battle" was in my opinion; a lot better. The main villain in this one, Wolfgang Krauser has charisma that was noticeably lacking in Geese. Yeah, he was a bad guy, but there was a sense of nobility in him. Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture builds on the first two OAVs, it's a bit repetitive here and there but it has some good parts but I found it inferior to "New Battle". Rating: 2 Stars (for Legend of the Hungry Wolf), 4 Stars (for New Battle) and 3 and 1/2 Stars (for the Motion Picture).

  • I've read quite a few of the manga and also seen the anime. The anime was surprisingly better in my opinion. Rating: 2 and 1/2 Stars.

  • Alright but not spectacular. It's a bit supernatural and romantic comedy that involves the Sohma Clan, a family cursed to take on the bodies of animals from the Chinese Zodiac. Then one day, they meet a charmingly sweet girl Tohru Honda who has been living in a small tent as she couldn't stand living with her distant and difficult relatives after her mother's death. Taking pity of her, a group of the Sohmas make her their live-in housekeeper as she refuses to take charity. Accepting of their strange curse, several of the Sohmas befriend her and two of them; Yuki (the Rat) and Kyo (the Cat) who are long-time rivals become even more bitterly opposed when they realize that they have both fallen in love with her. In the end, she helps break the Sohma Family Curse at last. Rating: 2 Stars.

  • I found myself liking the interaction between Sagara and Kaname quite a bit but I found the plot a bit forced at times as it tries to switch back and forth between ordinary high school life and military operations. Rating: 2 and 1/2 Stars.

  • Didn't like it too much at first but it's slowly growing on me. Rating: 3 and 1/2 Stars.

  • I'm not a fan of the title or the storyline which is a bit confusing at times but that's alright. Mainly I read it for the awesome action sequences. If John Woo wrote comics; it would read like Geobreeders. Insane stunts, over the top action sequences, and exploding cars, boats, tanks, helicopters, and even a ferris wheel. The anime tries to follow the manga but seems to fall short. Rating: 3 Stars.

  • Read a few of the manga. Not one of the better series though. Rating: 1/2 Stars.

  • I read it 'cause of Masamune Shirow. It's very complex and sometimes confusing with some philosophical questions about the nature of life and existence. I got lost in some of these debates but it was still enjoyable. Rating: 2 Stars.

  • An incredibly intricate plot and story that unfolds over years and has hot babes in there too, what's not to love? One of my current faves. Rating: 4 and 1/2 Stars!

  • Also known as Great Teacher Onizuka. One of the more interesting series I have read. The main character is a motorcycle thug and gangster who "reforms" to become a teacher. The Principal of the only school willing to hire him decides to use his talents as the teacher of a class of juvenile delinquents who have a rep for driving their homeroom teachers into early retirement. This brat pack meet their match in Onizuka and he grows on many of them to the point where they help save his job on several occasions. Rating: 3 and 1/2 Stars.

  • This is done by the same guy who did the Bubblegum Crisis design work and he also writes/draws Cannon God Exaxxion. This is why I have given up for the most part American comics because they don't show stuff like people getting their heads blown off, losing limbs due to shotgun blasts, or in Rally Vincent's case shooting off her opponent's thumbs to prevent them from cocking their guns. You just don't see that shit in American comics. Sure, it's violent and sometimes graphic, but it feels like "this could happen". Rating: 3 Stars.

  • It's a bit corny here and there but it somehow transcends that. The main message is to believe in yourself and to never give up and the characters hold onto that despite everything. The funny moments are hysterical which is balanced out with tragic moments that make you want to cry. Oh, and Yoko in a bikini is not to be missed. Rating: 4 Stars.

  • A strange series that is a cross between Fight Club and Kill Bill with a PG Rating. An eccentric all-girl's academy sponsors a "sword club" where female sword-pairs duel for honor and also money. A young girl Hayate is forced to attend when her twin sister is injured and is in danger of losing her slot. Then she discovers that her old orphanage is in danger of foreclosing and in desperation, she quickly signs up to become one of those swordswomen in order to earn enough cash to save her beloved orphanage. It's not too shocking but Hayate is a bright and optimistic youngster who partners up with Ayana; a cynical but experienced swordswoman who has lost her duel-partner and wants to be left alone. Despite her desires, she finds herself drawn into helping her naive young partner. It's an odd series but there is a quirky appeal to it along with moments of genuine humor and heart. Rating: 3 Stars.

  • Ehh. I don't care too much for vampires, plus Alucard (which is one of the lamest attempt to keep the main character's identity a secret) seems to have a gun fetish which he uses to blow away monsters and demons and other assorted creatures of the night and he has to use huge, OVERSIZED guns to do it with too. It just seemed like a combination of the worst of horror and action movies combined. Rating: 1/2 Star.

  • I read the first GN and I think I might have flipped through a few more but it's all blurring together. While I have to applaud the fact that manga taps a lot of unusual genres, I think they were pushing it for this series and it shows. It's a story about a Japanese board game known as Go. If you're a Go enthusiast, you might find it cool, but if you're someone like me who has no idea how to play it; it's difficult to work up the desire to read or care about a guy playing it, even if you do throw in a ghost who has unfinished business as a go player as a supporting character. Rating: 0 Stars.

  • Didn't really care too much for it. I also could not find a lot of the volumes so I had no idea what was going on. But from what little I did see didn't really inspire me to bother. Rating: 1/2 Star.

  • Mainly I read this 'cause Rumiko Takahashi wrote Ranma 1/2; one of my favorite series. However I found that it was a bit more horror-laden for my tastes. I had a hard time believing that such a comedic writer could also do some damn creepy scenes too, but she's surprisingly a versatile scribe. This story however is a mix between horror and comedy; and while some might find it good, I simply couldn't reconcile with the switching back and forth between comedy and horror bits and I gave it up. Rating: 2 Stars.

  • It's so-so. After reading the first GN, I got the feeling that I had read it before. It seems pretty formulaic; the main character is hopelessly in love with his female rival and although he isn't interested in his family's sacred mission: he will prove to be the deciding factor and the most powerful user of their family's sacred bloodline. You know that he's succeed overcoming incredible odds and his female rival will swoon over him. It's been done before ... and done better too. Rating: 2 Stars.

  • Decent. Rating: 2 Stars.

  • Freaking epic. This was one series that never got old. I'm pretty sure that this one inspired Afro Samurai and Kill Bill; which were pale imitations of the real deal of a revenge seeking warrior. Rating: 5 Stars!

  • One of the early works of the guy who does Negima?! and pretty much cemented his rep as a manga artist and writer. It's pretty good and edging towards greatness here and there. A lot of his future characters were definitely drawn from this story and it's a lot more polished than his first work A.I. Love You. Love Hina is pretty funny and borders on hilarious at times; although it sometimes feels a bit contrived, which is why I think it's good but not great. I also watched the first anime episode and it was one of those series that was based on the manga and quite frankly, it seemed that the manga was a lot better. Rating: 4 Stars.

  • I understand that Lupin himself was based on a European creation of a gentleman thief but I've only seen the Japanese version. Lupin III is the grandson of the original Lupin (that European gentleman thief) and he follows in his legendary grandfather's footsteps as the greatest thief in the world. I've seen mainly the movies and as a result, it's difficult to give it an accurate rating as some movies were excellent while some were truly terrible. Still; Lupin, Fujiko, and Inspector Zenigata are so much fun that I've added them to another list of mine of "Interesting Anime & Manga Characters", the most of ANY series that I've seen which should say something about them. I recommend that you at least watch "The Castle of Cagliostro" and "The Fuma Conspiracy". I consider both of them as 5 Stars.

  • This was Rumiko Takahashi's first major work and that one that apparently made her reputation as a manga writer and artist. I can see a lot of her future characters in here but the story retains a unique feel to it. Instead of the supernatural and magic; alien super-science is often the cause of the wackiness of Urusei Yatsura. About the most interesting thing in my opinion is the presence of a prototype for Ranma Saotome who was introduced as a supporting character as Ryuunosuke Fujinami who appears to be a handsome boy but is actually a very attractive girl who was raised solely by her father after the death of her mother. Having no idea of how to raise a daughter, he simply raised her as a man. But she's just an incidental character with the real focus being the lecherous Ataru Moroboshi and his accidental alien fiancee known as Lum. The stories are a bit dated at times and there is a large cast of characters in the background so it's hard to just jump in the middle of the story and try and follow what's going on, who is in love with who, and their complex relationships. It's pretty good in my opinion, in the vein of Ranma 1/2 but not quite up to that level of slapstick comedy. The anime and movies vary in quality; some of them being very good to excellent to mediocre to terrible. Most of the movies aren't so much comedies as science fiction stories; some of them a bit on the odd and strange side while others are obviously more catered to appeal to fans of the series. Rating: 3 and 1/2 Stars.

  • Seen the anime, it was amusing but not fantastic. Rating: 2 and 1/2 Stars.

  • Not sure what this series was entirely about; I only got to see parts of the comic and all I understood was this psychic girl was being pursued by some huge criminal organization with their own psychics. I can't honestly give a rating on this one, sorry.

  • A rather amusing romantic comedy done by Rumiko Takahashi. Shockingly enough; there are no aliens, magical beings, curses, or other strange and wacky things lurking around. Instead, it is about a cast of characters living in a run-down boarding house called 'Maison Ikkoku' and the trials of a beautiful young widow who is struggling to move on past the death of her husband and a rather directionless young tenant who falls hopelessly in love with her. It's a manga soap opera but manages to keep you involved in these characters because you actually care about what happens to them. About the one thing that some might find annoying is the slow pacing but it's quite good. Rating: 4 Stars.

  • A spin-off of the CLAMP School Detectives. We find out that one of the trio of kid detectives moonlights as a "gentleman thief" known as 20 Masks. He is compelled by his mothers (yeah, his father married twins and neither of whom quite remembers which one of them gave birth anymore so they decided logically that he belongs to both of them!) to steal objects and items that catch their fancy. Apparently, they did the same thing to his father too! If you think about, they're terrible mothers, but they're more adorably dim and they love our hapless thief to death. As 20 Masks, he is pursued by his justice loving teenage neighbor who is unaware that the kid next door is actually the mysterious thief and somehow has the authority to order actual police officers around. Of course, considering his personality, he just may intimidate them into going along with him. The concept is incredulous at times and the characters cheerfully ignore common sense, but the frantic pace doesn't leave you time to consider the improbabilities. There is a nice little suplot involving his budding relationship with a young girl and they actually have a epilogue where the two getting married as adults. Although they do leave it open as to whether or not he's still 20 Masks in the future. Rating: 3 Stars.

  • Decent but not great. Rating: 2 and 1/2 Stars.

  • I've only seen Kamen Rider Kuuga and some episodes from some of the later ones as well. This sentai series is a classic in Japan and they reinvent it every couple of years to keep it fresh. It seems to follow a pretty formulaic story where Kamen Rider faces a monster of the week. Rating: 2 and 1/2 Stars.

  • Goofy. Beginning life as an online strip, it suffers from the unprofessionalism of its creators and artists. I particularly hate it when they have those badly drawn crude sketches or stick figures, but I have to admit that Largo is easily the most outrageous and insane characters that I have seen in quite a while. I also credit him with introducing me to L33t speak. Rating: 3 and 1/2 Stars.

  • Life sucks. It's boring and predictable and ordinary according to Haruhi Suzumiya. She desperately seeks the extraordinary and to accomplish her mission; she creates her own little club to seek out time travelers, aliens, and psychics to liven things up. Of course, what she doesn't know is that her little club actually is composed of time travelers, aliens, and psychics who have taken it upon themselves to keep an eye on her. Because Haruhi seems to possess the power to reshape and remake the universe to her own liking. So they have to keep her entertained ... or else. I've read the manga and even the a few of the light novels that it was based upon and some of the anime. I thought the manga adaptation was the best of the lot; the light novels weren't bad, but they sometimes went in a lot more detail than I wanted; and the anime was OK for the most part. However, I did find the narration to be overly wordy in some episodes, you're left listening to Kyon talking on and on and since he tends to complain, it gets a bit tiring. Rating: 3 Stars (Manga & Anime).

  • I was briefly addicted to Gundam Wing when it was out on Cartoon Network. You had to watch it religiously or else you would quickly get confused as characters would switch sides or loyalties at the drop of a hat. Rating: 4 Stars.

  • I wandered into a Japanimation store that was playing subtitled episodes of the series and walked out with an empty wallet and a box set of DVDs. Naruto grabbed me right from the get go and has managed to keep a tight grip on me since. The thing that killed my love for this show was was the "filler arcs" of the TV series. I sort of lost interest in the show after the Time Skip but I still watch an occasional episode when I can. Rating: 4 and 1/2 Stars.

  • It's decent. Unlike a lot of the shojo series which I can't stand, this one doesn't try for absurd romantic entanglements. The main character Hana--a female is forced (somewhat against her will) to become a member of her high school's field hockey team. Unlike the rest of her female classmates who seethe with jealousy over the fact that her new club consists of the hottest (and richest) boys on campus, Hana couldn't care less. Hana is also not very feminine and her hobbies are eating and sleeping. In fact, the only reason why she worked so hard to get into this prestigious and exclusive high school is because it's a block away from her house so she can sleep in 'til the last minute. Surprisingly not very athletic and terrified of getting hit by the ball awake, she possesses amazing physical skills and is a master goalkeeper when she is asleep which is how she attracted the Club President's attention. The plots are not horribly complex and much of the humor comes from the interactions between her and the various members of the club. There seems to be an attraction between her and the Club President but neither of them seems to willing to admit it. Rating: 3 Stars.

  • A friend showed me the first episode and I had to admit that I was intrigued with it. Evangelion is a mystery wrapped in an enigma and lost in a dark maze. There is a lot of stuff in each episode and an intricate background story, but it's like it barely scratches the surface and leaves you pondering things afterwards. While it first appears to be a simple giant robot vs. monsters story, it quickly becomes clear that there is something else going on as the robots are actually monstrous biological creations and the monsters are actually avenging angels from heaven. Rating: 4 Stars.

  • An odd series that I stumbled onto. It steals--er "borrows" concepts from every possible source. It was through a crossover between this series and Gold Digger that I got interested into GD. However, the quality of writing suffers; sometimes it's excellent but sometimes it stinks. Rating: 2 and 1/2 Stars.

  • I remember dimly seeing the movie a long time ago. It wasn't spectacular although I do remember a graphic rape scene. Basically, a Japanese samurai (I think) finds himself facing a bunch of monstrous and bizarre warriors accompanied by a ninja girl whom he falls in love with. Rating: 2 Stars.

  • One of the those sweet romantic comedies. Boy meets Girl. Girl's two sisters move in. Boy risks getting blasted by lightning if his girlfriend gets mad 'cause she's an actual Goddess. It's ridiculous on the premise but the author makes it work. I consider it a classic and apparently everyone agrees with me 'cause it keeps being printed and recreated in anime format every couple of years. Rating: 4 Stars.

  • I read perhaps the first dozen or so GNs before I started to lose interest. It starts off kinda slow and it just seems a bit too juvenile for me. Younger kids might like it though. Rating: 2 Stars.

  • Read the first GN but I didn't like it. It seemed like a bad imitation of "Naruto", only not quite as compelling. I also thought the design of the main character looked fairly stupid; the half white-half black hair seemed really dumb. Perhaps not too surprisingly considering the story and the art resembles the "Naruto" series, it was done by the writer/artist's younger brother. It just seems like he's trying to follow in his brother's footsteps and failing at that. Rating: 0 Stars.

  • Yes! I admit it! I actually watched some of this! I feel so ashamed but thee was nothing else on TV so I just sat there and watched one of the movies. I feel so ashamed! This show was just too juvenile for me, I swear I thought I could feel me brain starting to rot. Rating: 0 Stars.

  • I read the first couple of GNs and lost interest. I just could not stand the main character. He comes off as an arrogant jerk who beats up even more arrogant jerks. Not to mention that hitting the ball back and forth between panels got kinda boring and repetitive after a bit. Big deal. Who cares how they do it? Not to mention that they started creating these "special attacks" seemed just too unbelievable and over the top. Rating: 1 Star.

  • The first movie wasn't bad. I liked how they hinted that A-ko was the daughter of Superman and Wonder Woman. The sequels went off in weird directions and not the good sort of weird. Rating: 3 Stars (for the 1st Movie) and 1 Star for the sequels.

  • I have only seen perhaps 2 of the GNs but it's looking interesting. A young boy wants to become a hero and is tricked into working for a criminal organization. However, he seems to discover that the heroes he so admires and looks up to; aren't quite the paragons of virtue he thought. It reminds me of Spider-Man in a sense; where the good guy is often maligned and treated like dirt in the press. If the storyline continues, I might have to upgrade the rating but it's looking intriguing so far. Rating: 3 Stars.

  • This is an odd and intriguing one where a genius detective is terrified to go outside and relies on his "Watson", a beautiful young policewoman who does the legwork by investigates crimes in the real world, using her observational skills and cellphone to pass on info to her boss. I think it might predate Tony Shalhoub's Monk character. I thought it was a fascinating idea but I couldn't find too much of the series as it wasn't too popular, so I missed quite a bit of the storylines. I have to admit that had I read a bit more, I might have found it more compelling and it might have gotten a much higher rating. Rating: 2 and 1/2 Stars.

  • I flipped through this as again, Rumiko Takahashi wrote it. However, it seems like another supernatural/ghost story that I didn't care too much for. Like Inu-Yasha, it seemed like an odd mix of humor and horror. While Inu-Yasha leaned more towards the horror, RIN-NE leans more towards humor side. But the combination is lacking, neither of the genres meshes too well together, leaving the resulting manga falling flat in my opinion. Rating: 1 Star.

  • The adaption of Robotech into a cartoon probably cemented my interest in anime when I was a kid. It wasn't the first one I saw, but this one left the biggest impression. The Robotech saga was the first cosmic soap opera that I saw and personally as a kid, I liked it more for the action sequences and the transforming jets and stuff and thought the rest of the stuff with the characters were a bit on the boring side. However, when I saw it again on videotape as an adult, I could appreciate it a bit more. The first part of this series; the Macross Saga was in my opinion, the best of the them all. The other two parts; the Robotech Masters and the Invid Invasion failed to really inspire me at all as I didn't really like the characters all that much. Rating: 3 Stars.

  • I read a few of the books, it's fairly amusing here and there. Vampire w/ Multiple Personality Disorder: one is a cute and innocent babe while the other is a murderous blood sucking fiend which is hell on her boyfriend. One personality adores him while the other seems to want to rip his face off for getting too familiar with her "other" personality. Usually, mixing comedy and the supernatural genres don't seem to work too well, but the author manages to pull it off by giving the whole high school vibe; sort of like a darker version of Hogwarts from Harry Potter. Rating: 3 and 1/2 Stars.

  • Another series that I caught on TV and watched. The first parts were a little bit of the slow side and focusing more of character development but I have to admit that it was really the Kyoto Arc that was the best and most interesting part of the series. However, I feel that the rest of the series was a bit on the lame side. If you do feel like watching it, I'd suggest stopping after the Kyoto Arc. I have to admit that I liked the main character, Himura Kenshin quite a bit. The time period has always struck me as a very intriguing period in Japan's history and the series shows the trials and tribulations of Japan's cultural upheavals taking place with characters struggling to make sense of their new country and none more so than Kenshin who has forsaken his bloody path as a warrior and striving for peace instead. Rating: 3 Stars.

  • The Saber Marionette J anime was one of the more interesting series I've seen. Robot babes are the only women on an alien planet after the space colonists crash land on the planet and the only survivors are men. Their only solution is to clone themselves, resulting in an all-male society. The J series was the best one of the entire franchise; the sequels were pale attempts to continue what was otherwise a successful series that had a tragic conclusion and finale. However in trying to rewrite it that way, it just seems like they screwed up the ending and cheapened the Marionettes' courageous sacrifice where they should have let well enough alone. Rating: 4 Stars. The succeeding series Saber Marionette J Again and Saber Marionette J to X I consider as 1 Star.

  • Ugh. I caught bit and pieces of the TV series and was horrified. The manga was a bit better but it gets repetitive after a bit. I expect that it was the sailor suited outfits that really got to me; the whole concept was a bit stupid. Card Captor Sakura I think managed to escape that whole trap because she kept changing outfits week to week and that story had a definite beginning, middle, and ending; unlike Sailor Moon which seemed to be telling the same story over and over again with slightly different characters. Rating: 1 and 1/2 Stars.