Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai

I will admit that loosing someone close to you is not an easy thing, especially at a young age. It leaves a scar that is very hard to heal, and the memories of that person will most likely haunt a person for a while. It's even harder loosing a person your own age, especially when you're all at an extremely young age. Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai, or AnoHana looks back on the death among a group of friends, and how one summer, it changes their lives forever.

Our story follows Yadomi Jinta, a normal truant high school student who seemingly does nothing. However, the ghost of his childhood friend, Honma Meiko, or Menma appears in front of him, asking him to fulfill her ast wish she she can go to heaven and be reborn. Jinta gathers all of his other childhood friends who were close to Menma in order to help her. However, they have all gone their separate ways, and getting them together might take a little bit more work than he had anticipated.

The story was almost set up for drama, and perhaps a bit of tear jerking parts. Menma was probably around the age of seven to ten when she died, and it just is a good drama story, even though it was rather depressing. Although I am not that fond of straight drama, but this anime was the acceptable type because it was profound, and it deals with a subject that eventually will hit all of us. The execution of the story was also well done, even though some parts made me want to facepalm, such as the end. Also, the story could almost be told in two parts: the presnet day and the past, and sometimes, that line becomes very blurred.  The story is very drama heavy, so those looking for the action, this one is not for you.

The characters were the strongest point of this anime, due it being character driven drama. Jinta is our main protagonist who just bums around his house, truanting from school until the ghost of his childhood friend, Menma, comes and visits him. Jinta's other friends, Anjou Naruko, Hisakawa Tetsudo, Matsuyuki Atsumu, and Tsurmi Chiriko, all have gone their separate ways, but yet, have not really changed that much from when they were kids. The characters all have distinct personalities, such and Anjou's tsundere character and Tsurimi's library girl like character. The characters' interactions were what really made this anime work, and you could actually feel some of the tension between them while they were trying to figure out Menma's wish.

The art for the series also very well done. The back grounds were vibrant and colorful and the characters were well designed. Perosnally, I think Menma was the best designed character due tot he fact she had white hair and for the fact that it was simple. Each characters' art work had a different vibe about them, however, they all still emulated the theme of loss and memories.

Overall, for any drama loving person, or even those that are just looking for any tear jerking anime, this one is the one for you. It had its ups and downs, but overall, this series was well rounded and generally down to earth.

Shining Hearts: Shiawase no Pan

Bread is a staple of life for most parts of the world. It can feed many, it can give us energy in order to carry out everyday tasks, and it can even make someones day. However, baking the bread might become a coping mechanism into order to deal with certain illnesses, such as lost memories. In the case of Shining Hearts: Shiwase no Pan, bread and the making of it becomes an escape for Rick and his fellow companions in the bread shop.

The story was proposed to be about Kaguya, a young girl who washed up on shore with no memories, and Rick and his fellow companions find her and take her in. They go about their regular duties, keeping an eye on Kaguya, making bread for her, and those in the community. However, as it turns out, Kaguya is no the first person to wash up on shore with no memories, and the quest to find the answers begins.

Sounds epic, right? Wrong. The story is actually more about Rick and his companions, Airy, Neris, and Amile, making bread for those around them, and when it seems there is any break through behind the characters or the story, they just go back to making bread. If they stuck more to the mystery to why so many people washed up on shore, with no memories, then this anime would be epic. Instead, they brush off that and just focus on making people happy with bread. 

The characters were very weak for an nime that tried to focus on the characters. Rick had so much potential to be a great "harem lead," but they pushed him to the side, and when he could have shone, they didn't really do anything with it. The girls at the shop were so bland that they didn't even have a stereotype such as a tsundere or library girl, they were just there. Kaguya was proposed to be the center piece of the anime, but she was relegated to a minor roe. Xiao Mei was almost this shows saving grace, but she was pushed to the side once again.

The art and music was the best part of this anime to be honest. The art was fluid, and the characters were artistically distinguishable, but only artistically. The backgrounds were also well designed, and everything was vibrant in color. The opening theme was slow, and made me feel like the theme of lost memories could be prevalent, but it was also mello and relaxing. The end theme was actually pretty good, even though it was about baking bread. It had an upbeat tune, and very, very catchy.

Overall, I say avoid this anime like the plague unless you just want to watch making bread and them making people happy. It has a lot of potential, but the execution of it is poor. I do realize it is based off a game, but even then, they could have done a lot more with this anime.  

Ao no Exorcist

The belief of demons exists universally through almost every culture and many, if not all religions. They are portrayed as trouble makers, and they even portray straying from the path of righteousness. There has also has been a need to get rid of, or exercise, these demons by people called exorcists. Ao no Exorcist incorporates both of these devices, and sometimes, the line between good and evil is hardly distinguishable.

Our story follows Okumura Rin, the son of a priest and an exorcist, and his twin brother Yukio. However, it turns that out that Rin is the bastard son of Satan himself. But when Rin finds this out, he does not join Satan, but rather decides to become an exorcist in order to defeat Satan in order to live up to his adoptive father's expectations. After deciding to become an exorcist, he then goes to a school for exorcists and while there, strange events one after another happen, and Rin discovers the truth behind what it means to be an exorcist.

The story's premise is a unique one, if not partially controversial among the Christian community. The son of Satan in the Christian community would of course be put to death immediately, but in the story line, he is portrayed as a hero. Personally, I liked the unique spin on the whole issue, and they handled the the ostracizing of Rin from the community very well. The story also held my attention for all of the twenty-five episodes, and I wish there was a second season to expand on the story.

The characters were enjoyable to watch because in some ways, most people can relate to Rin in the fact that he was not accepted by the community, and he had a perfect little brother that everyone adored. By the end of the story, the ones you would be expecting to root for, the church, ended up to be the jerks who wanted to ruin everything, and somehow, they made Satan sympathetic, and weird as that sounds, they managed to do it in a way that made sense. The students at the school were also relatable, and they were there for their own purposes, though I wish they could have been expanded. One character I wish they gave more attention to is Mephisto, the schools head. He looks like he has an interesting background, and a story to tell.

Theart for this series was well done in my mind. The transformation that Rin under goes when he goes into the blue flame more is awesome, though sometimes his ears stays a bit pointy while as a human. The character designs were each distinguishable, and the back grounds and sceneries were well done.

Overall, I wish this anime was a bit longer, or a second season focusing more on the other characters, and definitely Yukio. Granted,, there is a movie coming out, I doubt that will do the justice I need. Other than that, this anime was amazing in my eyes. I honestly could not stop watching it, and although some stuff was not clearly explained, the other parts of this anime were done well enough to where I can forgive that.

Upotte!!

Although guns might not be the most modern invention, they have been the most crucial to modern warfare. They can take down armies with out them, and even armies that have guns, the ones with the more powerful guns win. Now, imagine of the most used guns of a country were made into girls. You have to wonder how would they act, if they would all be aggressive since the nature of using a gun usually is, or how relaxed would they be. Upotte answers that question, and even provides some insight on the specs of the gun.

The story for Upotte!! is almost slice of life, except the girls are going to a school for assault riffles, and the after school activities revolving around target practice and the such. There is the arc of the tag team battles, which revolves around teams of two going out and trying to win the competition and the arc with the school trip. Both arcs were surperb, but I wish they went a bit further with the anime story wise, so we could meet more of the guns of the world.

The characters were the highlight of this anime, due to the fact they were all assault riffles, such as the M16A1 from America, whom they called Ichiroku (Lit. one, six) and F.N.C or Funko, from Belgium. Also in the main cast was SIG550, or Shigu, from Switzerland, and L85A1, or Eru, from England. True, there are other guns in the cast, such as the M14 and the AK47, but these guns don't play as big of a role in the anime as the four main guns. These girls have distinct personalities based on not only how the gun works, but also where they come from as well. For example, the M16 tires out quickly on cleaning duty due to the fact she has a three round burst, and she has to keep her self in order due to the fact that if the M16 has the slightest little problem, it will jam, but also she is loud mouthed like the stereo types for America. The L85 gets sick a lot due to the fact it is not a sturdy gun and the magazine will fall out sometimes.

The art for this anime was actually pretty good. It had some elements of the moe-blobstyle, but also the girls had well defined features. The guns that the girls were able to with draw looked very similar to the real life guns to even the point they were identifiable. The girls them selfs were drawn a bit rounded and shapely but for this anime it worked.

Overall, I liked this anime due the Hetalia like nature of it, although it was bishounsn but rather girls. Although it was aimed at military otaku as well those fans of moe. I recomend this to everyone and I will be the first to admit thatI learned a bit about guns from this anime, such as the M16 has a three round burst and the SIG550 was a long distance assault riffle. It's a good, comedical way to learn about guns and how they work.

Also would like to thank my gun fanatic friend for watching this with me :D

Holy Knight

Many of you have figured out that vampires are now a huge trend in the literary world, from anime to manga, to even novels. Some are very blatant about the fact that the work is about vampires, and the other is just very subtle, or it pushes it on to you last minute. Holy Knight is the latter example, but it pulls it off decently.

Our story is a bit unclear from the beginning, but Mizumura Shinta is an ordinary student, but one day, he meets Kishimoto Lilith, a Romanian half-vampire, half human girl, who he bumps into on day while walking to school with his child hood friend, Chizuru. Lilith makes obvious advances on Shinta, such as wanting to have sex with him, and even to the point that she wants to have his children, due to the fact he has a special bloodline of vampire hunters. 

The story for this OVA is not that good, but it had the potential to be a great story. I think they could have easily made this OVA longer, or even into a full anime T.V series, but I think the OVA was supposed to be for fans of the manga, who already know the story, or perhaps even get people to buy and read the manga. It might have worked, because I might pick up the manga just to figure out what happens next with Chizuru and Lilith, and if Shinta and Lilith ever get together. 

The art for this anime was superb, I will admit. each character was well drawn, and of course the lingerie on Lilith was well drawn.The backgrounds were well drawn, and it was colorful where it should have been, and dark where it should be. Of course, the boobs on the chicks were big as ever, since this was an ecchi OVA, and that's the main selling point.  The only character design I saw as weird was the exercise instructor that Chizuru was doing a work out to.

The anime characters creates more questions than it answers in my mind. Lilith, a half-vampire, half-human, wants to have a vampire hunter's babies, and my only question is what was she thinking? I don't think going up to someone saying that you want to have their babies is a great pick up technique, but hey, in this situation it almost worked. Also along those lines, since Lilith is Romanian, why is her last name a Japanese one (Kishimoto)? Another question that the anime created was about his child hood friend, Chizuru, who is shown to heal unreasonable fast, and that is never explained. Otherwise, for the OVA, you can get a basic grasp of how the characters are supposed to work, but I'm hoping for a full T.V. series to fully explain the characters.

This anime has left me with the impression that if I ever made a drinking game of how many times this anime made me derp, then I'd honestly be dead. Not because I have crappy alcohol tolerance, but because seriously, this anime made no sense at all. I enjoyed it for what it was worth, but I'm hoping that this is just a pilot series, and the real T.V. series is coming later. 

Anta Nante Okotowari

On my shoujou manga reading spree, I came across a shoujou manga that was only four chapters, perfect for my short attention span. The plot was eye catching, and the length perfect, but once I started reading it, I couldn't stop, and it left me craving more. Yes, thats right, this manga's name was Anta Nante Okotowari.

The plot for this manga was a simple one. Yui has a huge brother complex, and at the wedding, she meets a boy crying.She later moves intp an all guys dorm, where she meetd the boy again, but he is the dorm head, and his name is Naruse Kaoru. As ber adventures progress in the dorm, so does Kaoru's and Yui's relationship.

The story for this one was dimple: a girl moving into a guys dorm to get over the crush on her brother and the adventures that ensue there after. True, this manga is short, and that does not allow for many adventures in the dorm, but for the four chapters that were done, it was amusing, and funny at times, and a bit heart warming and touching at others. The story could have easily been slower paced, or perhaps longer, but I think I would still be fine with that fact.

The characters did not have much time to develop, but for such a short manga, they developed nicely. Our heroine, Yui, has a huge brother complex, and Kaoru has, presumably, a sister complex, and these add up nicely, and eventually,they can learn to accept each others differences. The rest of the dorm in the story is not really introduced, except for the dorm assistant head, Mika, who has a crush on Yui. The characters were funny, and they had their own quirks, which I found very pleasing.

The art for this series was nothing special. It was clean and fluid like manga art should be, and each character was distinguishable, but that's probably dueto the fact there was only two main characters you needed to keep up with. The back grounds were also well drawn, and over all, the art for this series was pleasing.

Honstly, I wish that this manga had been longer. It could have been expanded to include more characters, and more humour in general. Kaoru and Yui had a chance to be some of the best characters in manga out there, but since it was so short, that potential was not achieved. But overall, I liked this manga.

Peter Pan Syndrome

I bet that everyone has had dreams of flying at some point in their lives. The thrill of being able to soar above the population below has long enchanted writers and even with the invention of the airplane, it seems that it is a popular topic through literature. Manga is no different, and Peter Pan Syndrome follows the thrills of a girl who has the ability to fly.

Our story follows Hasumi Kohaku, a girl who can fly at night, or when it is raining or snowing, or just plain over cast. She moves into town to find her mother who dissapeared when she was very young and her search leads to  her meeting Tachibana Yuuro, a young arrogant boy who is supposed to be next hospital head, though her using her flying abilities to save his life. Will she find her mother, and her happiness in this town or was moving there all in vain?

The story for this has a simple beginning because it is something that we have all have seen before: a young girl in search of a missing parent. The addition of the super power was a nice addition, I'll admit, but of course in shoujo manga, there is the romance part of it. The story does take a somewhat dark turn, but not overly dark, and it still fits with the theme of shoujo manga. 


The characters were sort of well developed for a ten chapter manga, but I felt like the manga could have been a bit longer to fully explain the events that happened in the past, and still held my attention. Kohaku was yur typical shoujou heroine, even though she could fly, although about mid way through the series, you realize that she has a rather dark past. Yuuro is our typical love interest that acts a bit cold towards to the heroine at first, but gradually warms up to her. Eventually, we meet Touko, who is a potentional love rival for Kohaku. Yuuro's brother, Kyouri, really doesn't really do anything for the story in particular, he just acts as a foil for Yuuro.

The art work for this manga was decent and personally eye pleasing. The characters were well drawn in that shoujou fashion everyone either loves or hates. Yes, that does mean the eyes take up abOut half the face, and every boy is a pretty boy. All characters I cod tell apart from the others, even in black and white.

Overall, for such a short manga, it was well done. I liked the characters, and personally, I hope for sequels to tell the story after the end. J
My only complaint about this manga is just the fact the end seemed a bit off, and there was some room tO definitely continue the story.