D Gray Man (PG)

D. Gray Man
Storyline ****
Graphics *****
Character Structure ****
Soundtrack *****
Entertainment ****


I almost feel like I'm giving this one a bit too much credit but I thought this anime was really impressive. The end of the 'series' wound down in a slow way but if you disregard that, this was a great anime.

This anime spans 103 episodes so if someone decides to watch this, a little bit of time investment is necessary. It consists of two seasons (episodes 1-51 and then 52-103) and often features cliffhangers at the end of episodes. I ended up watching this in about a week thanks to those cliffhangers.

The world of D. Gray Man is set in a fantasy world where exorcists destroy monsters called 'akumas'. These akumas are evolving machines that feed on humans created by the Millennium Earl. The story follows the adventure of a young fifteen year old Allen Walker who is an exorcist able to see through the human guises of the akuma. He ends up joining the Black Order which is an organization full of exorcists to stop the Millennium Earl. Allen groups up with other exorcists like Lenalee Lee, Yu Kanda, and Levi (and others) to gather innocence which can be made into weapons to fight against the akuma.

The story moved along great for the most part. I was definitely excited to watch each new episode... until the second season. The story goes a bit stale there and I'm not here to spoil it so I'll do my best to bring up examples from other animes and games. Dragon Ball, for example, when Goku 'died' and you had the watch the story unfold without him while watching him train in heaven. That story arc grew stale. In Final Fantasy VII during the part when Cloud comes back from the Mako Stream and he's a big blubbering mess so you have to play as Cid to progress the storyline. That part of the story was also stale. Either way, the point is that you take the protagonist away and advance the storyline without the character. The story often grows stale. I personally absolutely abhor splitting characters up like that. I feel as though I'm watching two animes at that point.

As stale as the second season may have been, it was still awesome as far as the story went. There were many exciting parts and unexpected events that seemed to unfold at just the right moments. However, because the anime caught up to the manga too quickly, the show had to end on a cliffhanger. There is still no news that there will be a continuation of the story through another season or show.

But moving on... the anime itself was definitely shonen style. There were lots of action scenes with great amounts of variation. Basically, it avoided using the same 'finishing move' to defeat each enemy (*cough* Pokemon *cough*). It wasn't too hectic either and because the art was so clear and crisp, it didn't hurt to watch it for a long period of time. Needless to say, I was extremely impressed with the art of the show. It was very obvious that time and effort went in to make the anime look good. If you can't take my word for it that the show looked great, go check deviant art. Many people replicate the art just because it is that good.

Let me discuss the soundtrack a little. I loved the soundtrack for this anime so much that I'm out looking to get the full ost online. I love classical and I love gypsy style music better known as Romani music. Each song played in very memorable scenes in the show so I imagine it's hard for someone to not fall in love with the music. The songs are so memorable that I have even gotten sheet music to play on my piano. Even if someone doesn't watch the show, I think they would enjoy just listening to the ost. It's just that good.

The last two topics to finish this entry would be the character structures and entertainment. The characters are very dynamic. The diversity of character personalities is something I look for in animes and D Gray Man did not disappoint. I feel that for entertainment industries, it's better when you can 'stereotype' characters. This allows the viewer to familiarize themselves with the characters faster and even sympathize with them faster. It also helped that there was a sob story for each character as well. This allowed me to grow to like even Arystar Krory who I tried very hard not to like (the vampire image was RUINED). The main characters played well with the tertiary characters who also had their own background stories and definitive personalities. This is yet another animes that did well in allowing the viewer to immerse themselves in the world of the show by providing adequate backgrounds to all characters and providing enough characters with enough screen time that various people could relate to.

I gave D Gray man four stars for entertainment because even despite the second season, the show was entertaining. I may have dreaded watching the episodes knowing it's going to switch back and forth between protagonist and the rest of the crew but that isn't to say that the scenes involved in switching back and forth wasn't entertaining. As I've mentioned above, I watched many episodes in one sitting and did it gladly. I feel that this anime really didn't disappoint and is well worth the investment in time required to watch the show.

Rosario + Vampire (PG14)

Rosario + Vampire

Storyline ***
Graphic Style ****
Character Structure ***
Soundtrack ***
Entertainment ***

Rosario + Vampire (we'll just call it "Rosario") was a decent moe Anime. Cute girls of all types, the dimwitted guy, and school setting all work together to make a cliché but enjoyable Anime for both guys and girls.

The story is about a boy named Tsukune Aono who gets accepted into a private school full of demons disguised as humans. Of course, he doesn't know it's a school of demons at first. He quickly befriends Moka Akashiya, a bright and cheerful vampire with a taste for only Tsukune's blood. The two eventually work out a pact to keep Tsukune's human identity a secret, for if the school finds out that the's not a demon, he will be killed. The story goes on to reveal both characters' strengths and weaknesses as well as their real personalities. They meet more friends like the succubus Kurumu, the witch Yukari, and the ice woman demon (yuki-onna) Mizore. And when the characters are in a pinch, Tsukune often finds himself accidentally taking off the cross rosario around Moka's neck to reveal the sealed, true form of Moka Akashiya who is ruthless, cold, and powerful.

Though the story progresses smoothly, I know I was caught at times wondering why a few of the episodes were necessary. The first 'season' spans only thirteen episodes and one would think that within thirteen episodes, each episode would greatly impact the storyline overall. While there were character progression in the episodes, I feel they could have been intertwined into a better plot development.

It's also necessary to point out that this isn't a cliffhanger Anime. The end of most of the episodes are the end of that particular mini-story and you aren't waiting to finish a scene by watching another episode. I really appreciated this because I tend to end up watching a full season in one sitting thanks to cliffhangers. This Anime let me take breaks and come back to it the next day. It was an easy going Anime.

It was also easy for the eyes. It wasn't too flashy or too high paced. I also felt that the art was beautiful and cute. Men may find the women to be well drawn and well endowed (unless you're into the under-developed, in which case you have Yukari). Women may find the characters to be cute and lovable. It's not drawn to be all that sexual and it wasn't drawn to be a sappy romance Anime. I think the art style appeals to both genders quite well.

Couple the well done graphics with well done soundtrack and you have a decent Anime. The mood shifts often in each episode and whatever music they pair with the scene compliments each mood without a drastic change.

Speaking of mood shifts, I'd like to explain why there is such drastic mood shifts. The characters all have a very wide range of personalities. Even the characters on the side have very definitive personalities. Though the problems presented in each episode vary from trivial to life threatening, there's always a character to lighten the mood or make things serious.

Overall, Rosario was very well done. The comedy within it made it very entertaining even if the serious moments are too ridiculous to like. Each characters' personalities nearly guarantees that you will have a favorite character (I love Mizore). Each episode, even if not necessary to the storyline, is short and to the point. This Anime is just a nice 'feel-good' Anime to watch once in awhile when you're bored. The series as a whole is short and it really doesn't require you to invest a lot of time. I'd recommend this Anime to anyone who's stuck waiting between new episode releases of other Animes they may be currently watching.

Watch out for a "Rosario + Vampire Capu2" review, coming soon!

Akikan! Review (PG14)

Akikan! 
Storyline **
Graphic Style **
Character Structure *
Soundtrack ***
Entertainment *


What can I say about this sad excuse for an Anime? Not much. This kind of Anime is why I believe that Japan is just running out of ideas. Let me try to sum it up what this is about in a simple sentence: Soda cans made of steel or aluminum fight to prove their superiority while learning about sex.

It's ridiculous. You take the standard "loser boy somehow ends up living with amazingly hot girl" storyline and just drive it in the mud and puke on it. "Akikan!" literally means "empty can" and in this story, a perverted high school boy named Daichi Kakeru comes into ownership of a melon soda can by buying her out of a vending machine. Upon drinking the can, she turns into a 'hot girl' clueless about the real world. Despite being clueless about the real world, she can somehow figure out what some perverted things mean sometimes and other times, she doesn't know what in the world she's talking about.

The episodes generally run without much linear storyline and lacks a great amount of character buildup. Kakeru, for example, end up going on dates with his classmate and Melon (his can). All other characters tend to be forced in. Yell, another soda can, is forced into the storyline to become Melon's rival and later friend. The show decided also to throw in a grape soda can in the form of a super-cute chibi, a super-busty lady with no real role in the storyline, her boss who is a governmental worker overseeing the cans fighting whilst sexually harassing Daichi, and some lesbian witch who randomly pops in during episodes to sexually harass Yell's owner.

The way the characters were drawn in the Anime served to be painful. The highlights and shadows seemed to be drawn on without much thought. The hair had no flow and no real shape to them. The clothes didn't make sense after the cans go 'in uniform'. Special effects were mundane and boring. It looks like someone who is new to photoshop and the pen tool decided to make an Anime. And while it may have taken them forever, the quality still sucks. However, I'm not going to say it's the worst I've seen. I can't think off the top of my head the worst drawn Anime, but with today's technology and resources available to present a 12-episode Anime, it should have been executed better.

It wasn't entertaining either. Whether it was because the storyline wasn't quite linear or because the graphics sucked or because the characters sucked, I don't know. It could be all three. This anime got boring real quick. The sexual puns couldn't even be considered amusing. People who made this tried too hard and failed.

I really can't say much for this Anime. I really can't. The only thing that it has going for it is its soundtrack and even that gets old after awhile. The soundtrack is limited and because the situations are so predictable, even the good music becomes old after you predict its coming in specific events.

I just suggest you refrain from this Anime. No action lover would like it and no romance lover would like it. This wouldn't even appeal to ecchi lovers. Like I said, this Anime tried and failed. Best kick this one to the curb, folks.

Welcome to Jade's Anime Reviews

I'm a bit of an Anime enthusiast and I know for a fact that I tend to run around  trying to find good Animes to watch when I've been watching one for a very long time. For example... I've only recently started watching Bleach since the beginning of the year and I'm on episode 175. That amounts to an average of about two episodes per day, which isn't a lot, until you factor in days when I have other things to do. I sometimes sit down to watch ten episodes at a time.

Long story short, I watch Anime quite often and I often put other old or new Animes in my queue list. I'm watching Animes that I've watched when I was younger and I'm watching Animes that I know I won't be a big fan of.

Speaking of which, what do I look for in Anime? This is something you should know so you know how I review Animes I watch. I'm a sappy love story kind of girl. This means that I like Shoujo. I dislike action sequences and violent gore. This means I usually avoid Shounen. However, I will watch both Shoujo and Shounen Anime for the sake of reviewing them and I will do my best not to be so biased. However, please note that I will stop watching if anything too sexual comes up. I don't mind watching a bishi ramble about his looks, but I will be a bit grossed out if he starts making out with another bishi. I don't mind romance but I do mind hentai.

When I review Anime, unless it is a long series (eg Bleach), I will review upon finishing the last episode. I will give it a rating by US TV standard (Y, G, PG, 14, MA). I will also give it stars on overall storyline, anime graphic style, character structure, soundtrack, and general entertainment. One star being below expectation to five star being above expectation. I will also be ranting awhile about the Anime afterwards.

Hope you find the Anime Reviews useful.