Saturday, December 31, 2016

Hanbun no Tsuki ga Nobura Sora Review

Hanbun no Tsuki ga Nobura Sora, aka. Looking up at the Half-Moon or Sky with the Rising Half-Moon is a light novel and manga adapted into a 6 episode anime. I recently watched this having gone through something like this recently I can deeply related. For something that is just 6 episodes long it packs quite a punch. Though it's not as popular as Clannad, Kanon, Air, or Ef: A Tale of Memories it gives you kind of the same feeling in just 6 episodes. Although there was a happy ending, there were a few unanswered questions in the anime that I have. Oh yeah and because I will be talking about the ending!

********************************SPOILER ALERT*********************************


Summary
Yuichi Ezaki is a 17 year old hospitalized due to hepatitis A. While at the hospital he sneaks over to meet Rika Akiba a fellow 17 year old suffering from a weakened heart valve the very condition that also affected her father and killed him. Unfortunately Rika's condition doesn't give her much longer to live. Yuichi can be a somewhat trouble maker but has befriended a nurse Akiko Tanizaki who acts much like an elder sister to him. Goro Natsume is a docter in charge of Rika's care and acts much like a father to her. He acts cold towards Yuichi but it is revealed his wife suffered from a similar condition and he didn't want Yuichi to experience the same thing. Yuichi and Rika fall in love and develop a strong relationship. With Rika's condition she will die if she does not recieve surgury but the chance of a successful surgury isn't very high! It's essentially Russian Roulette. Rika recieves surgury and lives but Goro forbids him from seeing her and tells him that it is not guarenteed that she'll live. Akiko and Goro have a conversation about Goro's wife and how she died. Akiko says that Rika's personality and happiness has changed for the better since she met Yuichi and that it would be better for her to stay this way than go back to what she was before. Yuichi sneaks into Rika's room and promises that he'll stay with her forever. In the last scene Yuichi and Rika share a kiss and the credits even show a picture of them getting married.

This is how an anime should end!

How it Could be Better
Although it was a happy ending, my question is what are Rika's chances of survival?  Did this make her healthier and cure her from the illness? I'm no medical expert but if you know about this condition feel free to answer in the comments. Two characters in particular that I dislike are Rika's mother and Akiko's friend, Misako. At one point Misako tries to seduce Yuichi in which they are caught and Akiko disciplines them both and makes Yuichi promise not to tell Rika. It seems Yuichi has either brushed it off or forgotten the whole incident. Rika's mother shows coldness and ignores Yuichi. I mean bond with the boy, he loves your daughter so he's essentially your family. She needs to understand Yuichi and Rika are special to each other. It seemed though that after she saw Yuichi and Rika talk to each other she understood and accepted Yuichi.

What I went through recently, was my 86 year old grandfather on the last few life of his alzheimers. He died with his family including all 4 of his children by his side. The difference is that Rika is just 17 and may have a chance to live with surgury whereas my grandfather was 86 and was going to die anyway. I feel the overall theme was to cherish life, no matter how little it may be. Personally, I go by that it's not how long you live but how you live. Overall, I liked this anime and this is kind of my idea of a good happy ending (kind of!).


My Conclusion
I'd give this anime 4/5 stars or a 8/10 score. I feel it gives you many difference emotions and feelings in just 6 episodes. I feel a kiss and a wedding is one of the best ways to end an anime and this one had both. Though there unanswered questions is where i draw the line. I do really wonder if Rika's chances of survival and living are increased and around how much longer she'll live. On the other hand I feel this anime teaches us an important lesson about life. For Yuichi and Rika, I wish them luck and hope this surgury changed Rika's health for the better so she can live a happy life with Yuichi.

Thursday, December 29, 2016

Endings Rant!

So I've seen quite a bit of anime that had so much potential to be great yet the writers f***ed it up with one thing! The Ending! I mean I think it's either because they underestimate how important the ending is or they intentionally want us to feel disappointed. Nevertheless I feel the ending is very important if not probably the most important thing in making a good story. The ending is where you will leave your audience and make a lasting impression on them. Depending on how you do it you can make your audience feel great and excited about a possible sequel, make them feel satisfied, or make them feel disappointed with what they've just watched and want the time they wasted watching the anime. Endings can either make it or break it for an anime. I feel the ending should give you a good feeling or answer any unanswered questions about a story. Personally, I like the happy ending theme but I will also settle for bittersweet endings or ones where we have to decide what happened. If the ending is not satisfactory, then the anime can never earn 5 stars from me! Now this is my opinion and it may differ from yours and that's absolutely fine! And since I will be talking about endings... (I mean do I really have to say it?)

************************!!!!!!!!!!!!SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!!************************


Worst Possible Endings
There are many bad endings and it's so infuriating because many had so much potential to be great if they hadn't f***ed up the ending. I feel there is much more importance to the ending most think. I hate when the ending just slaps you in the face and makes you feel you wasted your life away watching the anime. Now some bad endings:
Clannad: After Story- Now many of you will disagree with me on this and that's fine. A slice of life romance between Tomoya and Nagisa. Nagisa dies during childbirth due to poor health. Their daughter Ushio then dies from the same disease that took her mother. Tomoya (almost forever alone) makes a wish which comes true which both Nagisa and Ushio live. Ouch my brain, slice of life? Time Travel? Wish coming true? Disney Much?
Happy Lesson- a cute harem anime with Chitose as the center who lives with 5 moms. Once love interest confesses her feelings to Chitose and find love only to not remember what happened.
School Days- Probably the most f***ed up anime. A boy named Mokoto falls in love with Katsura. He dates another girl named Saionji and sleeps with a bunch of other girls. Eventually he gets Mokoto. Katsura fins a murdered Makoto then lures Saionji and shows her the head and kills her.
Magikano- (Harem/erotic anime) Haruo is possessed by the demon king and his friends just turn back time with no recolection of what happened. Essentially they are doomed to repeat things no matter how many times.
Your Lie in April- I know this is supposed to be a tragedy but seriously, Why did Kaori have to die?
Kosei finally found true love and the strength to play piano only for his true love to die.
To Love-Ru- Rito accidentally confesses his love to multiple girls. Typical for a bad harem to have that. Like just pick one girl and get on with it.
Death Note- So Light Yagami manages to looses to Near's plan. After he defeats L. (I'm not into suspense, horror, or gory anime)
Wind: A Breath of Heart- Minamo confronts Makoto about her feelings but not in a good way. She asks him if he hates her and declares that no matter what she never stopped loving him. The anime then cuts after that. Like WTF that's how you end. Like have a sign that the two still love each other or something. This is yet another anime that had much potential to be great yet the ending f***ed it over.


Okay Endings that Could've been better
What I hate is when a show had so much potential to be great but then the writers just f*** it up with the ending. Like seriously! My cousins can write a better ending and they're 3 years and 8 months old respectively. My grandpa and grandma could write better endings and they're dead! They are not bad endings but they definitely could've been much better and I would give most of these shows a full 5 stars if they had much better endings. I feel sometimes the writers tried to be funny which the ending is probably the worst time to be funny. The ending should be good, NOT funny! I think endings should also focus on the main characters as they are the point of the story. Also many of these, the manga runs longer and ends better so I will probably read the mangas.
Ai Yori Aoshi- Kaoru's American friend Tina Foster is headed to America and has to leave the group. Now Kaoru and Aoi have built up quite a strong relationship and I would expect this romance to end with them, the main characters but it doesn't! It ends with an episode about Tina! Not a bad ending but the manga ended with Kaoru and Aoi getting married. You could't have just put a last scene with Kaoru and Aoi kissing or an engagement, or just a plain romantic scene? That would've made this anime soooo much better!
Toradora: Final scene of a tsundere anime, a lovely moment? No! Taiga headbutts Ryuuji for not saying he loves in a romantic enough situation. Really, that's the last scene to a good series? I mean come on do something better than that.
Love Chunibyo and other Delusions-Heart Throb- Do I really need to explain? Yuuta and Rikka were about to kiss when Yuuta's phone rang with news his cat has kittens. They then head home to check it out. Like really the worst possible time for that news to be delivered! On the bright side Yuuta and Rikka are an official couple as Yuuta declares he loves Rikka and she's the only one for him and Rikka probably feels the same. But really you had to to an almost kiss at the ending?
This Ugly Yet Beautiful World (Kono Minikuku mo Utsukushii Sekai)- Takeru stops Hikari from destroying the earth with his love. Hikari now lives in the stars with her sister Akari but plans to return. I really wanted this anime to end with Takeru and Hikari as well as Ryou and Akari being together again and it is one of the ones that had so much potential to be great.
Princess Tutu- I understand the whole concept of fate and free will but I really wanted Ahiru and Fakir to like end up as a couple. I mean all they went through and Ahiru looses her powers and remains a duck forever! You had Mytho and Rue end up as a couple but not Ahiru and Fakir who were really the ones who deserved it! Like f*** Mytho and Rue, ok that was a little harsh but still Ahiru and Fakir would've been a much better lovestory. Many of you will disagree with me on this and that's fine!
Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles- Thought not a tragedy it is disappointing with the fact that I know CLAMP knows how to make great endings from watching their other anime. Sakura and Syaoran continue their jouney to search for more feathers to return Sakura's memory. In the manga they confess their feelings and depart as Sakura returns to her kingdom. I wish Clamp would've at least had them kiss or an engagement or something and I know they can make better endings than that. With the new manga Tsubasa World Chronicles now in production, I will say this; Sakura and Syaoran had better get married! I mean of everything they've been through it is pretty freakin obvious they are in love and deserve each other. I repeat they better get married or I will go ballistic!
Mahoraba Heartful Days- I'm not going to explain this one much. It was happy but the manga ended much better and revealed more as Shiratori and Kozue get married.
Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu (Iriya's Sky, Summer of the UFOs)- Really wish Iriya and Asaba could stay together with each other on earth. I mean they were a pretty cute couple but Iriya just had to return to outer space. I know the writers probably wanted a bittersweet ending but this anime would've been better if Iriya and Asaba stayed together.


Best Endings
I believe a good ending is one that raps up the series very well and gives you a great feeling about what you just watched. Also two characters we want to become a couple should become one in the end or a already formed couple should end it with a cute moment, kiss. engagement, wedding, or something. Plus if it is a harem/reverse harem anime, have some type of obvious sign of which love interest will be with the main character (engagement, wedding, kiss etc.). Good endings don't necesassirly have to be happy as some can be tragic though, something is learned from the series and there may be a happy twist to it too. Most of the ones with great endings also tend to be the underrated anime too that I think more people should watch and as well ship the couples.
Angel Beats- Otonashi wants to live with Angel in the afterlife. However it can't happen because Angel fell in love with a man who donated his heart to her. Angel finds out it is Otonashi's heart in her and her soul would resolve if Otonashi confesses his feelings. Otonashi confesses his feelings and Angel consends to her new life. Angel says thank you and disappears. Though not happy it is beautiful ending.
Plastic Memories- Isla and Tsukasa spend one last time together before Isla's time expires. Tsukasa returns 9 months later to meet his new Giftia. Not a happy ending but it teaches us how we must accept death and tragedies and whatever life will through at us.
Shakugan no Shana- There are mixed opinions about the ending to this but I thought is was a great ending for an anime with a tsundere lead female. Yuji and Shana kiss and Yuji becomes a real existence and no longer a torch. Life returns to normal in Misaki City. Yuji and Shana then head to Xanadu together. While some may consider it tragic as everyone will forget Yuji and Shana I find it kind of happy as Yuji and Shana are now together and reunited. They will probably spend the eternity with the one they love the most so it seems it's a happy ending for them as well.
Grave of the Fireflies- I did like this even though physically it was a tragic ending. Setsuko dies of malnutrition and her brother Seita cremates her body. Seita then dies as well. In the final scene, Seita and Setsuko are seen healthy, well dressed, and happy sitting in the night looking at the modern city of Kobe. I thought the last scene was kind of a bittersweet ending as it probably shows Seita and Setsuko's ghosts or spirits or something after they died and because both died they can now be together in heaven.
The Familiar of Zero (Zero no Tsukaima)- Saito and Louise get married and return to Saito's world together! Great way to end an anime especially this tsundere theme too. Though Saito did steal a jet and might get in trouble in his world plus will they ever see their friends from Louise's time again?
Golden Time- Banri and Koko meet and recall their promises: that as long as they remember one another, they will stay together. Banri then gives Koko a ring which she accepts. The anime ends with Banri and Koko by each other's side and sharing a kiss with Koko wearing the ring Banri gave her. While some wanted Banri and his childhood friend Linda together I support Banri and Koko. I believe the lesson in this anime is that friends come and friends go. Childhood friends won't always end up together and you may find someone new who is truly the one for you. Overall this is probably one of the best romance anime's I've seen and I think now Banri and Koko are probably going to get married and life their lives together. Great way to end.
Brighter than the Dawning Blue (Yoake Mae yori Ruriiro na: Crescent Love)- Probably one of the best ending's I've seen. Tatsuya and Feena get married and finally bring peace between the earth and moon. What a great way to end this star-crossed lovers themed anime! Even though it is cliche it is a great anime because of the way it ends. Kind of strange though that Tatsuya and Feena look the same they did a few years earlier.
Gift: Eternal Rainbow- Not going to get into much detail with this harem, romance anime. Haruhiko and Riko share a romantic kiss in the last scene. This is a great way to end a harem as Riko was the childhood friend and the love interest the anime started on and the last scene shows that she will be the one who ends up with Haruhiko.
Lamune- Kenji wakes from his comatose and reunites with Nanami. The credits show Kenji recovering from his accident and checking out of the hospital. The final scene shows Kenji and Nanami sitting on a beach together. This is a very underrated anime and the childhood friends end up together. Plus the almost tragedy that happened was kind of a good fit because it definetly brought the characters close together.
Hani Hani: Operation Sanctuary (Tsuki was Higashi ni Hi was Nishi ni: Operation Sanctuary)- Naoki and his childhood friend and caretaker Honami get married. Great way to end as Honami was probably the one who deserved Naoki.
Nanatsuiro Drops- Masaharu fullfills his promise to continue to love Sumomo even if his memories are lost. The two share a kiss.
Mysterious Girlfriend X (Nazo no Kanojo X)- Urabe and Tsubaki visit Tsubaki's mother's grave. They then exchange drool and realize they share each other's feelings or something. They then walk off together with Tsubaki narrating about his first girlfriend, Urabe and how they now have a deep bond together.
Dragon Crisis!- Ryuji declares he loves Rose and then the two kiss to perform the lover's engage and defeat Onyx. They then return to their school life with Ryuji and Rose hold each other's hands and becoming an official couple.
Happiness!- Another underrated magical girl romance series. Haruhi kisses Yuma and the Yuma seals away the monsters. Yuma transfers to the magic section and is with Haruhi. In a nutshell Yuma and Haruhi are now together and an official couple.
Mermaid Melody- With the villains defeated, Kaito and Luchia share another romantic moment with a kiss. I'm guessing they will be getting married as well.
Cardcaptor Sakura- One of CLAMP's good endings. At the end of the second movie Sakura confesses her feelings toward Syaoran thinking Syaoran has forgotten her. Syaoran then replies he loves her too. The town is restored and Sakura leaps across the clock tower with her "I love you" confession into Syaoran's arms. The movie cuts to the credits but a movie poster released shows Sakura made the jump. The manga ends with Sakura confessing her feelings as Syaoran is moving away. Two years later as Sakura is heading to school she meets Syaoran who's moved back. She then tells him they'd be "together forever." I'm looking forward to the new Clear Card Arc and show to see where Sakura and Syaoran go next with their relationship and the cover shows Sakura and Syaoran holding hands and smiling so this should be interesting.
Chobits- Another one of Clamps good endings. Now I'm just going to use a sentence or two. Freya subsides and disapears which leaves Chii and Hideki to return to their normal lives and live together happily ever after.
Kobato- Fujimoto meets Kobato at his old estate. Her memory is restored by the konpeito Fujimoto gives to her. Kobato and Fujimoto then embrace and all the lives Kobato touched are reviewed.
A Bridge to Starry Skies (Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi)- A great ending to a harem romance anime. Kazuma confesses his feelings to Ui and Ui reciprocates. The final scene shows Ui and Kazuma sharing a kiss under the milky way. What made this harem good is that it was clear who would end up with Kazuma especially in the end.
Inuyasha- With the main villain Narauku defeated. Sango and Miroku and get married and have 3 children. Kagome manages to return to the Feudal Era and marries Inuyasha there is a recap of what happened and how life has changed. The final scene shows Inuyasha and Kagome standing on a hill together.


Why the Ending is Important
The ending is important because it is where you leave a lasting impression on the audience and answer any unanswered questions. I believe lasting impressions are even more important the first impressions so the ending is probably the most important episode in an anime series. It ticks me off whenever a good series that had so much potential ends up having its ending f*** it up. The ending will also make me decide whether to watch the series again or recommend it to someone else. For anime I review, if the ending is not satisfactory it won't earn 5 stars from me.

My Idea of a Good Ending
Another example of a great ending
I feel the best idea of a good ending is to again answer questions or make something like a couple official. With romance anime the best way to end is having a romantic final scene with a kiss, proposal, wedding, or look into the future with the main couple. The point is to have some sign to show it is official. Bittersweet or tragic endings may work too as they can show how on character has affected the others life but it would be also great to have some glimmer of hope or happiness like the two meeting in heaven or something. With harem anime the best way to end is to end with showing who will officially be a couple with the main character and it should be the one who obviously is the best for him and stands out much like in the ones I mentioned above. With action or adventure I'd like to see the main villain finally get defeated so they others can now live their lives. Another problem is that many writers feel they need to make the ending funny. However, the ending should really be GOOD NOT FUNNY!

This is how an anime should end
Inuyasha and Kagome are now official

Unfortunately after seeing so many bad endings, I have now restored to looking up the anime and reading the script so I won't feel like I wasted my time. I will now even watch the last episode to spoil it for myself and see if the ending will satisfy me enough but at least I won't waste my time anymore. Now keep in mind your opinion may differ from mine and that's absolutely fine. We are all entitled to our own opinions and preferences.

Tuesday, December 27, 2016

3x3 Eyes Review

3x3 Eyes is an older anime than ran in the 1990s. This anime is just a 7 episode OVA series but the first four are 30 minutes and last three are 45 minutes so it fills up pretty well. In my opinion, 3x3 Eyes is a good romance, adventure, action, and fantasy series but not great of course. It is very comparable with other fantasy like Inuyasha and Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles two series than inspired me to write my own story. The content can be rather graphic at times with quite a bit of blood, about as much as Akira but this anime does give you the emotional feels.


Summary
The anime follows the adventures of Pai, the last remaining Sanjiyan Unkara, and her new Wu and partner Yakumo Fujii. They both want to find a way to make Pai human. Yakumo was made immortal when he was wounded and Pai opened her third eye to absorb his soul. This restored his body but also tied him to her as an undead servent. If Pai dies then Yakumo will die as well. Along their journey they will encounter many allies and enemies. Pai also has a split personality, Sanjiyan. Sanjiyan is distinguishable by her visible third eye and cold, serious, rigid, stoic state. As Pai and Yakumo spend more time together anyone can guess what happens next.


Comparison to other Anime
3x3 Eyes shares many similarities with other fantasy romance anime like Inuyasha and Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles. For one Pai wants to become human while Inuyasha wants to become full demon though remember's he wanted to become human in the end. Pai and Yakumo set out to search for a stolen artifact, while Inuyasha and his gang search for the fragments of the Shikon Jewel, and the Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles gang search for feathers in order to restore princess Sakura's memory. Yakumo in the last 3 episodes also plans to restore Pai's memory too. The main difference between 3x3 eyes and the other two series is that 3x3 Eyes ran for just 7 episodes compared to 52 that Tsubasa ran for and 193 with Inuyasha.


How it Could be Better
There's not much I could say that could make this anime better because that would just spoil and ruin the whole point of the series. I really wish the series had run longer too. This really seemed like an interesting anime that I was getting into and it was rather compelling to watch. With a 40 volume manga I kind of expected more to be released. I think if it were made longer it would be up with anime like Inuyasha and Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles in popularity. I will probably read the manga to see what happens next and can only wish Pai and Yakumo luck and hope for the happy ending they deserve.



My Conclusion
I'd actually give this OVA series 4/5 stars or 8/10 which is pretty high considering it is just 7 episodes. 3x3 Eyes has the rather compelling nature of Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles and Inuyasha and the action and adventure of those two as well. Not only that the romance is clearly visible to the viewers but like in most series the characters themselves may not know their own feelings. On the other hand 7 episodes is not a good amount of time to fit the content into. The character design of Yakumo kind of got to me. While this is a little flaw I will talk about it. Yakumo was designed with closed eyes kind of like Brock from Pokemon. Why this bothered me? I'd like to know a characters eye color and see it and I think closed eyes are great for comedic relief characters but not so much for main characters.

Itsudatte My Santa Review

Now because this anime is only 2 episodes I won't make this review long. However it was actually better than I thought it would be. It's not the best and has it's flaws but it is actually fairly good as a matter of fact. I kind of wish this was longer but I guess this is all the writers could come up with now considering the manga is only 1 volume.

Summary
Santa is a lonely boy who hates Christmas and spends it alone because he was born on December 24th and named Santa. He was often teased because of this. Mai is a student at the Santa Claus Academy who meets Santa to spend time with him and change his view. Things then take off from there.


How it Could be Better
So it was good overall but when an anime is only 2 episodes long and the manga is only 1 volume, you can't really fit much into it. There was actually slight previews in the ending for future episodes but of course the future episodes don't really happen. This anime is good but is kind of cheesy and has it's flaws.

My Conclusion
So I'd give this anime 3.5/5 stars or 7/10. It is decent but has it's flaws. Being only 2 episodes I can't really put it in the same category as a regular anime too. There was a pretty big cliffhanger about what the characters will face in the future so I can only wish them good luck.

Toradora Review

So it's actually been about 2 years since I have watched this anime so I don't remember it completely but I do know many of the major parts very well. I will try and make this a quick summary. This has been considered a great romance anime series by many and personally I thought it was good but not great. There were a few key points this anime could improve on which I will point out. I've become a fan of the tsundere theme of this anime with Taiga, our little tsundere character. Note the main thing I will be complaining about is the ending so:

********************************SPOILER ALERT*********************************


Summary
Ryuuji Takasu is a second-year high school student who everyone perceives as a delinquent due to his sanpaku eyes, despite his gentle personality. He is best friends with Yusaku Kitamura and has a crush on Minori Kushieda a pretty, cheerful airhead who's captain of the girls softball club. Minori is best friends with Taiga Aisaka who may look small, cute, angelic, and beautiful yet she has a fierce personality quick to snap at anyone. Hense her nickname Palm-Top Tiger and obviously she's the tsundere. However, Taiga lives next door to Ryuuji and has a crush on Yusaku. Ryuuji and Taiga decide to make arrangements to set one another up with their crush. However things change throughout the series and it's anyone's guess what happens.

If you do not want this to be spoiled don't read this other than that go ahead. The ending scene though was were it kind of turned me off. Ryuuji finds Taiga hiding in a locker in the classroom. He tells her he loves her and Taiga becomes flustered and headbutts Ryuuji because he said it so anticlimatically. Guess she still had some tsundere left in her then. Like really this is how you end an anime by having one lover headbutt the other?


How it Could be Better
Again because I'm gonna complain about the ending don't read this if you don't want this to be spoiled other than that go ahead. So the last scene you decide to have Taiga headbutt Ryuuji after such a good anime? I know maybe you tried to be funny or something but the ending isn't exactly the best time to be funny. The ending should be good not funny! If anything the ending should give viewers a warm and happy feeling about what they've just watched


My Conclusion
I would give this anime 4/5 stars or 8/10 it was good but could be better. Like every good show it has it's flaws. I'm still kind of fond of the tsundere theme to it and like the tsundere's in other anime as well. Yuyuko Takemiya who wrote the Manga for Toradora also wrote Golden Time, which was much better in my opinion. I think Golden Time ended much better and gave me great lasting feeling about the show overall and I will be reviewing it in the future. Now keep in mind, your opinions may differ from mine and that's absolutely fine.



Monday, December 26, 2016

Ai Yori Aoshi Review

Ai Yori Aoshi a romance harem manga and anime written by Kou Fumizuki. Now this is probably one of the better harem romances I've seen but there are still ones that are better. There are some ecchi scenes but this anime has some rather sad moments and many heart-touching moments that are nothing less than compelling. What turned me off though was the ending. It is disappointing because anime had so much potential to be great. I don't want to give away spoilers but because this is a rant I will give a:

********************************SPOILER ALERT********************************


Summary
Kaoru Hanabishi is a college student who lives alone. One day he meets a beautiful girl named Aoi Sakuraba in the train station and takes her back to his apartment. It turns out the address she was looking for and was in his neighborhood and Kaoru and Koi are actually childhood friends shown from one of her photos. Aoi is Kaoru's betrothed fiancee who's come to Tokyo to marry him. Her revelation reveals the truth about Kaoru's past and why he left the Hanibishi family.

There are several other girls in this series but from the start it is obvious Aoi is the true right one for Kaoru and who can blame her?  Her kind caring personality with her looks and the fact that she and Kaoru knew each other as children makes them the perfect couple and Aoi the perfect wife. Hell I'd give anything to find a beautiful girl who cares and loves me as much  as she does and I'd return the same.


There are certain things though that really pissed me off. Generally my least favorite type of anime character is anyone who's a heartless, psychotic, a**hole who deserves to rot in hell and there's a couple of them in this series. Kaoru was abused and mistreated by the Hanabishi clan because of his mother and father's relationship. Kaoru's father died when he was very young. He was beaten when his heartless, senseless, pathetic excuse for a human being grandfather burned his dead mother's mementos. Personally I'd seek revenge and beat the s*** outta the old f***er. Later Kaoru's half-brother tries to marry Aoi to gain control over the Hanabishi Zaibatsu. Kaoru and Aoi confron Aoi's father a man who I despise with a burning passion in my heart. Kaoru gives ownership to his half-brother. Meanwhile he pleads with Aoi's father about his past and that Aoi's is essentially the only family he has left. Reluctantly her father lets Aoi and Kaoru be together but doesn't forgive Kaoru. Aoi's father only did it to make Aoi happy. Like f***ing hell give Kaoru a break you stupid protective old geezer! He's lost his parents, faced abuse, has no one but Aoi left and you're gonna take that away from. Hell I wouldn't blame Kaoru if he committed suicide or goes on a murder rampage because of it. You people essentially betrayed him. He deserves her more than anything still that can't get through your heartless thick skull. Personally, these two heartless, pathetic excuses for human beings, living creatures nonetheless make me want to jump through the screen and beat the old geezer's a** to a pulp then knock their old a**es out. Pick on someone who can fight back rather than an innocent young boy. Okay I went off on a tangent there didn't mean to and kind of went a little far!


So the ending was what kind of pissed me off because I was honestly expecting much more. Between Aoi and Kaoru becoming accepted by their and the ending there's plenty of heartwarming romantic moments which built things up for me but they do this ending. Essentially Tina Foster, one of Kaoru's American friends is leaving and everyone will miss her. I won't give anything away but I will say the ending should freaking end on the main character's not a supporting character and if you want to focus on the other's do it in the middle of the freaking anime. I mean 37 episodes and you wait till now! If you end an anime ending it with like the main focus couple kissing in a romantic setting or something or a wedding between them or something that shows the future. Now don't get me wrong it was still a happy ending because Kaoru and Aoi are together and it seems they will be married in the future! I did hear the Manga ends much better though so I will read that.

How it Could be Better
Well tell ya this, fix the damn ending! Again the ending should end with the two main characters rather than Tina. It would've been so much better if the writers of this anime had ended it with Kaoru and Aoi kissing under the stars or something or at least a picture of the two getting married. I mean this is an anime that had so many heart touchy moments and it made me feel it would end well but it didn't. This had so much potential to be great and possibly one of the best romance anime's I've seen but you just had to screw it up with the ending. This is not the only anime that had potential to be great but the writers f***ed up the ending too. I think the ending is very important, if not the most important part of an anime because that will leave a lasting impression. I will do another rambling ran about that but my cousin could write a better ending and he's 3.


My Conclusion
I would give this anime 4/5 stars or a 8/10 score. What messed it up? Do I need to repeat myself? The ending. Other than that the heartfelt moments and emotions did do it justice but the ending though is where the anime lost points and my satisfaction. If the ending were better then this anime would be getting a perfect score. Also I despise the characters of Kaoru's Grandad and Aoi's father for obvious reasons. At least in Clannad Nagisa family fully accepts Tomoya and takes him in as one of their own. Next, I will be reviewing some other anime I know had potential if the writers hadn't f**ed the ending. Later I will be reviewing great anime because the ending was just as great, if not better than the story itself. Some examples are below of the best ending anime!



Saturday, December 24, 2016

To Love-Ru Review

I will now be reviewing To Love-Ru. I was actually kind of interested in seeing what this anime would be like. Even though I knew it would have ecchi and fanservice I thought it might have an actual story. But later in the series it seemed the writers decided to stop writing and just do a bunch of dumb scripts. This is first off one of my first harem anime's I've have watched. Generally I don't like the harem genre very much unless it has emphasis on one girl and she is the one the series ends on. This anime is pretty big piece of crap, not as much as DearS but still pretty bad.

Summary
Rito Yuki is a shy clumsy High School student having trouble confessing his love to his crush, Haruna Sairenji. One day at his house he gets a visit from Lala an devil-tailed alien girl a runaway princess from the planet Deviluke. Lala has runaway because she doesn't want to marry the man her father chose for her and decides to marry Rito instead. Now these are just To Love-Ru and Motto To-Love Ru. I will now be finishing the first two off there and what I will state is that this is a harem anime so there are multiple girls.


There are sequels known as To Love-Ru Darkness which is pretty much the biggest joke I've seen in the anime world. There's pretty much no story or plot in the sequels as they just shift around. Lala's sisters Nana and Momo move in and they also like Rito too. There's more alien girls and earthling girls and it's just hard to keep track of them all. Lala doesn't appear much which is a shame because she probably was the main focus love interest of the anime. Hell some people might even forget she is in here.


How it Could be Better
Perhaps, less fanservice or ecchi, okay I know thats the main point of this series but it is simply too much. It doesn't have somewhat of story just a bunch of cheesey things put together to make an anime. I mean only people who are into this kind of stuff would probably enjoy it! Other than that this is a s*** show but I don't how to make it any less s***y. I mean in most anime they use these really f***ing overused fanservice scenes that it's not even funny anymore.

My Conclusion
I'd give this anime a 1.5/5 stars or 3/10 score. It started off okay but when it went into the Darkness series things started to really go downhill. I'd only recommend this if you are someone who likes porn or fanservice. I wish I could unwatch this!

DearS Review

So it's been about a year since I watched this and I can't remember much of it and I will say I am glad I don't remember because this was probably the biggest piece of s*** anime I've ever seen. I mean it's just fan service, harem, annoying a** characters, and just the worst voice acting as far as I remember. The whole thing didn't even have a good plot to follow and the characters are just s***. Sorry about my language but I really F***in hate this anime. Plus I'm not the only one who hates this, my friends and other folks online hated this too. Because it's been a year I will just give a quick run-through.

Summary
So humanity has managed to make contact with extraterrestrial life. These humanoid aliens crashed into Tokyo and were nicknamed DearS. Takeya Ikuhara is a temperamental 17 year-old with a strong dislike for DearS because he believes aliens are fake, worthless beings planning to take over the earth. On his way home he discovers a homeless DearS named Ren. Reluctantly he takes her to his apartment to stay. Ren grows on Takeya while Takeya tries to dissociate himself from her and that's where I'll end.

How Could it be Better?
Now because I can't remember much of the actual "story". I can't say much about how to make this anime better and don't know if it even stands a chance of being good. I will say that probably put less fan service, ecchi, or hentai or whatever, have less annoying characters, and better voice acting. I mean most of these characters make me want to stab my eyes with hot needles then shove two more needles down my ears. There's pretty much too many of these f***ing overused lewd or "awkward" scenes that it's not even funny anymore! And that's not just with DearS but many other anime as well. Like find something new to do! The school teacher apparently is a busty perv with a shouta complex, the two main DearS are fairly clueless and annoying. Takeya is a pretty big jerk and not very nice either.


My Conclusion
I'd give this anime 0.5/5 stars or a 1/10 score. I'd give it a zero or below but I felt generous. This is simply just fan service with a rather cheesy plot, annoying characters, and almost no actual story. Aliens and humans together isn't bad because other shows like Teen Titans (Robin + Starfire), Iriya no Sora UFO no Natsu (Naoyuki + Kana), and Waiting in the Summer (Kaito + Ichika) have a human-alien couples which are pretty romantic and cute and you feel sad whenever they are in pain. These shows are way better with more emotional and better moments, better characters, better acting, and better overall in every way. DearS on the other hand is just plain cheesy with nothing real emotional to back it up. I really just want to unwatch this if I can. This is a pathetic excuse for an anime case closed!


Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Myself; Yourself Review

So will now be conducting my first review and not a good review either. It's not a bad anime though but I think it could of been better and it had an effect on me. I have split emotions about this anime part of me wants to unwatch this and forget about it, another part of me thinks of ways it could be better, and the third part accepts it how it is. But this is a series I DON'T TALK ABOUT so my feelings are mostly negative. Oh yeah there will be spoilers in this review so a big

****************************!!!!!SPOILER ALERT!!!!!*****************************


Summary
Sana Hidaka is now moving back to his hometown where things have changed for the worse. His childhood friend Nanaka Yatsushiro who was once a bright, sweet, and caring has now changed to a cold dark demeanor. She first slaps him for not recognizing her. Sana had also neglected to write letters like he said he would. It is later revealed an arson which killed her parents and scarred her emotionally has given her post-traumatic amnesia. Sana's best friend, Shusuke Wakatsuki and his twin sister Shuri Wakatsuki are accused of being incest lovers.




Shusuke and Shuri's father is unhappy about this and threatens to send Shuri to London. The two then runaway or elope refusing to be separated. Obviously people will think they have eloped but they eventually return in the end. My conclusion is that people shouldn't jump to conclusions, maybe they are close as brother and sister and not lovers. Also parents should stay more out of their kids lives as they become older. They've already lived their lives made their mistakes did their decisions now they should just let their kids live their lives as they want it. If brother and sister want to be closer together so be it.
A great song about this kind of thing called Second Chance by Shinedown


Later it is revealed that Nanaka's mother had been unfaithful to her husband and had cheated on him with Nanaka's violin teacher who was her real biological father. Nanaka's father who had been angered by this first beat his wife then immolated her body, killed himself, and then set the house on fire. Nanaka escapes with her violin and never plays it till the events of the story. She is then taken in by her aunt and uncle so she won't remember what happened. Nanaka can't recall exactly what happened but her memory is jolted later. Unable to cope she tries to kill herself by cutting herself in the bathtub until Sana saves her. Sana then reveals he had also cut himself from being bullied and depressed in his new hometown.

Ten years later, Sana gives Nanaka "the ring" (the actual seen is not shown, GRRRRR) just before a violin concert. She then performs on stage with all her friends and family watching including Shusuke and Shuri. The anime then ends


My Conclusion
Okay I have gotten so sick of people neglecting, abusing, abandoning, or committing some other horrible crime just because a kid isn't blood-related. I understand a father's anger that his wife had been unfaithful but that is not a f***in excuse to beat your wife, kill her, kill yourself, set the house on fire, and scar your daughter for life. I was at my punching bag for an hour after the anime ended unleashing my anger pretending that punching bad was him. If it were me I'd be out of the relationship but I'd still be her "father". He is a horrible excuse for human being let alone a father and he brought this to his daughter who was innocent the whole damn time. It wouldn't matter if a kid was biologically mine or not because it would be my responsibility to care for them. After all I believe a true parent is the one who raised the kid, not the one who brought them into the world. Kids are innocent for the sins of their parents and would you trust someone like that raising a kid?


Its not just this story it's other child abuse cases like Ame Deal, Tesslynn O'Cull, Colton Turner, Lily Lynette, and Sylvia Likens (Gertrude Baniszewski should've gotten the death penalty, burn in hell that bitch). Just cause your child isn't blood-related does that still mean you're allowed to f***in mistreat them, neglect, abuse, abandon, or even kill them? Obviously not! I'm not one to walk out on parenting either. I plan on taking care of all kids I bring into the world but I'll take care of non blood ones if I have to and treat them as my own. I'm not saying all non-biological parents or caretakers are bad because there are ones who are loving and caring

I may not understand as much as others because I was raised by two biological parents and just those two. My sister is adopted and gets treated as if she were one of us and she is one of us.

How it can be better?
I'd rather have many of the events spread out because they were all crammed into the last few episodes. Also, there should have been more romance scenes as well especially the proposal.

My Score
I'd give this 2/5 stars or a 4/10 score. It's not real bad but it's not good either. I think there are a lot of ways this can be improved. This anime was supposed to feel sad but it mad me disappointed, angry and upset at the characters and writers as I'm sick of hearing people do bad things just cause their kids aren't theirs by blood (I know getting upset at the characters is silly but). I was however cheered up after watching Happiness! (One of my underrated anime I will be reviewing) and Chivalry of a Failed Knight. Two that had much better couples and much better endings and were much better overall. There's others that are better than this out there so if you should watch this or not depends on how strong your heart is. I will be writing a future story somewhat partly based off of this but my way with much LESS heartless parents! For the record this is an anime I DON'T TALK ABOUT. Now my opinion may differ from yours and that absolutely fine!


My Tastes, Likes, and Dislikes

This will be about what I generally find entertaining and good. First thing, I'm not into physiological or gore, horror, or graphic anime or other stuff. I am however into action and adventure as well as slice of life and drama. I will also relate to other things sometimes in my personal life as well. Personally I will be going over a few things.

Anime I Like
Studio Ghibli
I like Studio Ghibli movies with my favorite being: 1. Spirited Away, 2. Princess Mononoke, 3. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, 4. Castle in the Sky, 5. Grave of the Fireflies, and 6. My Neighbor Totoro.
While Spirited Away is my favorite and often considered the best. Princess Mononoke and Nausica of the Valley of the Wind are a close 2nd and 3rd and they both catch my interest as I am a Ecology and Conservation major and both movies have environmental themes. In Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind it portrays how we must not let our greed get the best of us and how we should take care of the planet in a future post apocalyptic setting. In general animals fight and kill just to stay alive, while humans fight and kill for more, mainly power and money. If we let our greed take over then we may just be fighting and killing just to stay alive.


Princess Mononoke on the other hand takes place in the past during the Feudal Era in Japan. We see a battle between man and the forest particularly the Forest Gods. Both movies show that if we keep messing with mother nature and pushing her she may eventually strike back. The movies often reflect the impact of humans on the planet.


One thing I like and my sister likes about these films are their strong female roles. Females such as San and Nausicaa in particular are strong, independent Princess Warriors who can both hold their and don't need a man to protect them. Yet they still remain faithful to their loved ones.


Grave of the Fireflies particularly was heart-wrenching as many can agree with me. It teaches us no matter which country it is, war is sad for the victims and anyone who suffers. Setsuko and Seita are brother and sister struggling to survive during the firebombing of Kobe, Japan during WWII.

It's kind of a shame Hayao Miyazaki retired and the studio had to shut down. I do have some slight hope that his son Goro may be able to take his place. Goro on the other hand has already directed two films and a show. The first is Tales of Earthsea which didn't fare to well but I didn't think it was that bad, I actually kind of liked it. The second is From Up on Poppy Hill which good pretty good Reviews.

Other Anime, Movies, and Shows
Now I love any anime, movie, or show that can combine action, romance, and/or comedy and have a good balance of each. This would be stuff like Inuyasha, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles, Sword Art Online, Shakugan no Shana, The Hunger Games, Divergent, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Legend of Korra, and Teen Titans. I like it when comedy and serious moments can be balanced out perfectly. It is good when it can also contain romance and at least a decent amount of romantic scenes. I may like it more or less depending how it ends.


Now I do watch anime that are mainly romance anime such as Clannad, Waiting in the Summer, Love Chunibyo & Other Delusions, Golden Time, Ah My Goddess, Lovely Complex etc. I am however rather picky about how an anime ends which I will be talking about later in another post. The hopelessly romantic guy getting a good looking girl is something that always gets my hopes up as I feel I am a lot like that guy. Examples: Ah My Goodess, Lovely Complex (I'm kind of on the short side), Venus to Mamoru, etc.


What I don't like in Anime
Personally I despise fanservice, hentai, and ecchi as they have little to none touchy feely moments or themes. There are exceptions though. I also may not like an anime because of its ending and may swear off for good.


Harem Genre
I've seen plenty of Harem Anime and usually I probably don't like it. I wish there were more anime with actual 1 on 1 couples than multiple girls/boys to the same person and I'm sick of the onii-chan/onee-chan brother-sister complex. But its the society I was raised and grew up in that your romance should be one at a time and one on one with a special someone. I might see it different if I grew up in a harem environment. The problem is when a guy doesn't choose the certain girl he wants to be with and either friendzones them all or marries them all. It is also infuriating when there are so many love interests/boys/girls that it's is next to impossible to keep track of them all.


Now that being said there are exceptions and harem anime that I actually like because:
1.) The guy/girl picks and ends up with a certain love interest and right person in the end.
2.) One love interest obviously stands out from the rest in a better way.
3.) The anime has a good or bittersweet ending
4.) Plenty of romantic scenes and moments
Now that being said, I will review some harem that I thought were good because of this.

Tropes & Cliches
Now I'm fine with most cliches and tropes as long as they make the anime good but these are just too much for me. 
  1. Sexual Tropes- Like I mentioned I hate fanservice, hentai, and ecchi and wish I can unsee what I did see. That being said can we have no more of the falling into awkward positions scenes? I mean really come on that's really getting old people. These stupid f***ing overused fanservice, ecchi, falling into awkward positions scenes aren't even funny anymore. I do find nutshots funny though and sometimes I'll find comments about breasts or whatever funny but can we not get too much into this?
  2. Sexual Character- Do I even need to mention. Also why do some teachers in school look like women who are too young to teach and have that younger male complex? I mean that's getting annoying.
  3. Too Many Characters-Like I mentioned in my harem it is difficult to keep track of many characters. Now it is okay if it is a long anime series and all the minor characters appear at different times.
  4. The tsundere stays tsundere and doesn't change-This one, how do I put this? By the term tsundere that characters starts off mean then becomes nice. Now I've seen more modern tsunderes who do become nicer but still have their mean streak and continue to have their devilish side till the end. Some have moments and phases of nice and mean while others are just plain mean
Now other tropes I'm fine with as the anime itself is good and has a good ending.

Now with all that being said I hope you find my reviews useful and enjoy it as well as the stories I will be posting in the future.