A Town Where You Live (Kimi no Iru Machi) Review

As you may know I watched and reviewed Suzuka and said I was going to watch another anime written by the same author, A Town Where You Live (Kimi no Iru Machi). Well I just finished it now so I am going to review it. A Town Where You live started as a manga written by Kouji Seo who you may know for Suzuka and Fuuka. It was then adapted into a 2013, 12-episode series by Gonzo as well as two different 2-episode OVA series. Like Suzuka, A Town Where You Live is a slice of life, romance, drama anime that focuses on Haruto Kirishima and the love triangle he is in with two different girls. I did like this better than Suzuka but it was kind of confusing as the story jumps back and forth quite a bit. While I thought the characters were okay they lacked development and did have their flaws. However, I do not regret watching this anime!

Summary
Haruto Kirishima live in the countryside and meets Yuzuki Eba, who came from Tokyo to live with her family. Their time together left him enamored with memories of that short period before she disappeared from his life and left him full of questions. Some time later, Haruto moves to Tokyo to live with his sister, in order to pursue a career as a cook. He really wishes to be with Yuzuki. Eba really the one for him or is it Asuka?

My Thoughts
While I did like this anime better than Suzuka there were still things it could work on. For one the plot is kind of confusing as the story keeps jumping back and forth. Also, there wasn't much character development. Other people didn't like the characters much but I thought they were okay! From what I do hear the manga is better and goes more in depth so I might read the manga as well.

My Conclusion
I would give this anime 4/5 stars or an 8/10 score. Overall, I liked it better than Suzuka but there are things that could be better. I would recommend this anime if you like slice of life, romance, or drama and can keep at the fast pace it goes at. I'm looking forward to watching a similar love-triangle 1980s romance, Kimagure Orange Road!

Fortune Arterial Review

I recently watched an anime known as Fortune Arterial so I will review it. Fortune Arterial was originally a manga and game made by August company. Now in my opinion anime based from August are pretty underrated and I've enjoyed the ones I watched and will be watching more. If you've read my previous Valentines Day posts (2017&2018) or My Endings Rant, many of August adapted anime are on there. Anyway let's get on with the actual anime. So after being made into a manga and game Fortune Arterial was then adapted into a 12-episode anime along with an extra OVA by Zexcs and Feel. Fortune Arterial is a romance, supernatural, vampire anime. Now I liked this anime but there are just a few ways it could be better. Overall I was satisfied with it. Oh yeah I will be talking about the ending a little bit so...

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

Summary
Kohei Hasekura, transfers to a prestigious public in the style of an English six-year school encompassing junior-high and high school students. The only way to get to the school is by boat as it is located on an island named Tamatsu Island off-shore from mainland Japan. After transferring he discovers one of the students, Sendo Erika, is in fact a vampire.

My Thoughts
I liked this anime and I feel the ending did satisfy me. It was an interesting story with good content and while I liked it there were some unanswered questions. To me it's not clear if Kohei and Erika become a couple but I think that's for the viewer to decide. To make myself happy I'd say Kohei and Erika are a couple. (Ok I admit I like them as a couple pretty much because Kohei looks like me and Erika is such a beautiful girl). Anyway another unanswered question is what would become of Erika being that she's a vampire.

My Conclusion

I would give this anime 4.5/5 stars or a 9/10 score. While there were some ways this anime could improve I was pretty satisfied with it. If you like supernatural, vampire, or romance then I would recommend Fortune Arterial for you. And I recommend watching the OVA too! Anyway the company August has made visual novels that become great and underrated romance anime and I really wished there were more anime from this company. You might know one known as A Good Librarian Like a Good Shepard (Daitoshokan no Hitsujikai). There are two more underrated anime from August I will review. One is Brighter than the Dawning Blue (Yoake Mae yori Ruriiro na/Crescent Love) which I already watched and plan to watch again as well and it had a great ending which I posted about in My Endings Rant. The other is HaniHani: Operation Sanctuary (Tsuki wa Higashi ni Hi wa Nishi ni: Operation Sanctuary) which I plan on watching and will do a review on it.

Gosick Review

I will be reviewing Gosick which I finished recently. Gosick started out as a manga series written by Kazuki Sakuraba. It was then adapted into a 24-episode anime series by Bones (Studio). Gosick is primarily a detective, historical drama, romance anime. I thought it was pretty cute and romantic but also got pretty dark and serious at times to. This is kind of like My Story too were I want to balance the action, romance, and comedy.

Summary
Kazuya Kujo, is a foreign student at Saint Marguerite Academy, a luxurious boarding school in the European country of Sauville. He is from Japan and because of his appearance, his peers often given the nickname "Black Reaper" based on a urban legend of a traveler who brings death in the spring. One day Kujo visits the school's library searching for ghost stories. There he finds a beautiful doll-like girl, Victorique de Blois, whose complex and imaginative foresight allows her to predict their futures, now intertwined. With more mysteries developing, Victorique and Kujo, bound by fate and their unique skills, now must rely on each other.

My Thoughts
I liked this anime as it was interesting and always had a way of keeping my attention. It had a pretty good balance of romance, comedy, and mystery. It was a pretty cute anime as well as you realize Victorique cares for Kazuya despite how she acts on the outside.

Comparison to My Story
As you probably know, I'm writing My Own Story. Since Victorique is somewhat of a tsundere she's quite a bit like Nina Moriko, the tsundere in My Story. Both act somewhat harsh towards their love interest and pretend not to like him at first but start to show sweetness and eventually fall in love him. Like many tsunderes Victorique acts in denial at first but comes to sense of her own feelings. Nina is no different, she argues with Taro Hachuu quite a bit at first but the two shows romantic feelings for each other later and realize how much they truly need one another as well.

Nina Moriko

Victorique de Blois

My Conclusion
I would give this anime 4.5/5 stars or a 9/10 score. It was an interesting anime with the right amounts of romance, comedy, and mystery and I was always looking forward to watching the next episode. I would highly recommend this anime if you like detective, historical-fiction, or romance. I'm really looking forward to watching a similar series with romance, mystery, and fantasy, Nishi no Yoki Majo: Astraea Testament (The Good Witch of the West).

Ao no Exorcist (Blue Exorcist) Review

I just finished a rather popular anime series known as Ao no Exorcist (Blue Exorcist) so as you all guessed, I'm going to review it. Ao no Exorcist was originally a manga written by Kazue Kato and adapted into an 25 episode + OVA 2011 anime series. There was also a movie in 2012 made after the series. After the second manga came out there was 12 episode + 2 OVA 2017 anime series. While there are a few kinks, I overall liked the series and am using this as inspiration for My Story. Mainly a few of these characters are very much like my characters.

Summary
Rin Okumura looks like an ordinary boy but one day he encounters a boy who has been possessed by a demon. In the struggle he not only awakens powers within him, but learns that he is the son of Satan! Rin decides to fight against his parentage and joins the True Cross Order as an exorcist. Now, he must attend True Cross Academy and begin special exorcist training with his new comrades all while keeping his identity a secret.

My Thoughts
I liked this anime and enjoyed watching it. I will discuss some kinks that it had though. For one, there were areas which this anime was kind of lacking. Also, a few characters were pretty annoying and unlikable but they didn't ruin the story much. On the other hand I enjoyed this action, fantasy anime. It was pretty exciting and I was looking forward to watching the next episode every time I watched it.

Comparison to My Story
There are many ways this anime ties into My Story and how they compare. For one, Rin and Yukio Okumura are both motivated by their father's death to take on their journey of fighting demons and eventually defeating Satan. In my story, Takeshi and Taro Hachuu are also motivated by their father's death to take on their journey to defeat their enemies and prove their innocence. Rin Okumura must keep his demon self a secret and control his powers as with the characters in my story who have to keep their animal identities secret and control their powers as well. Takeshi Hachuu and Yukio have pretty similar personalities. Both are usually mature, professional, wise, and intelligent. Taro and Rin are a lot a like too! Both are kind of immature, bad tempered, and get in trouble a lot but strive to reach their goals plus they kind of look alike as well.

Rin Okumura

Taro Hachuu

The difference is Takeshi and Taro take on their adventure outside of school with friends (aka. love interests/S.O.) Annabelle "Angel" Ahrimo, Nina Moriko, and Nina's owl Sova in a smaller group. Occasionally their cousin Masami Kobayashi joins too. For Rin and Yukio it's part of school and they have a larger group of friends. Both Rin and Yukio's parents are deceased, while only Takeshi and Taro's dad is deceased and they still have their mom.

My Conclusion
I would give this anime 4/5 stars or an 8/10 score. I liked this anime and it was a exciting series that I had a hard time not watching. Like I mentioned, this has also given my inspiration for My Story. I'm very excited to watch a similar series called Sousei no Onmyouji (Twin Star Exorcists).

Kekkaishi Review

I recently finished watching this anime Kekkaishi so as you all guessed, I'm going to review it! Kekkaishi started as a 35 volume 2003 manga written by Yellow Tanabe. It was then adapted into a 2006 anime series with 52 episodes. Kekkaishi is a shounen manga with themes of adventure, fantasy, and comedy. While I did somewhat like the series, there was little character development and a little bit disappointing at the end. Of course like every good series or story it does have its flaws. However, I do not regret watching this anime one bit so lets dive into it. Oh yeah! I will be talking about the ending a little bit so...

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

Summary
Yoshimori Sumimura comes from a long line of "Kekkaishi," individuals who have supernatural abilities and can destroy evil creautes called Ayakashi that venture into the human realm. Ayakashi are demons that look to feast on power emanating from the land of Karasumori, which is where Yoshimori's high school is located. Yoshimori must fight to protect his school and hometown. Yoshimori's childhood friend and neighbor, Tokine Yukimura, joins him in this righteous battle. Despite the fact that they are from rival clans, these two are a team. Together the two must giht the evil that is closing in, as the Ayakashi attack in waves, looking to claim the land as their own, and a shadowy organization looks on, ready to pounce when the time is right...

My Thoughts
So this is mostly my opinion, if yours is different that is fine! I did like the series but there's quite a few things I would change. Like I mentioned, there wasn't much good character development other than that of Yoshimori and most episodes before the end are basically the same thing over again. Although, I did look forward to watching each episode especially towards the end. If anything I would like there to be more character development and especially more subplots such as the relationship between Yoshimori and Tokine which would make the anime much better. Oh yeah Yoshimori is younger and shorter than Tokine which if you've read my other posts, is something I usually like seeing in an anime couple, but they weren't exactly "official". I will read the manga to see if there is more development.

Negatives
So lets the negatives out of the way first. Some of the characters were pretty annoying or unlikable in way so I'd either change them or remove them from the story completely. Like Yoshimori's granddad who constantly berates and belittles Yoshimori but not either of his brothers no matter how hard he tries. Even if it means defeating a major nemesis. There is Yoshimori's older brother which while there are some things I don't like about him, I think I would keep him the same. There are other characters I would change but I can't mention all of them. Lastly, like I mentioned before, there isn't much character development which is one thing I would definitely improve on. For one thing I would've liked for Yoshimori and Tokine to become an "official" couple as I mentioned before. Also, there isn't much plot development other than towards the end which is also kind of disappointing.

Positives
Because I explained the flaws with this series, now lets talk about the positives. For one thing, this series is exciting and I was looking forward to watching each episode, especially towards the end. I did like the concept of this anime and thought it was pretty good. It is definitely an attention grabber and keeps you wanting to come back. Overall, I do not regret watching this anime and I think if adventure and fantasy are your kind of thing, then you should watch it.

My Conclusion
I would give Kekkaishi 4/5 stars or an 8/10 score. While it is a good show and I like the concept it does have some major flaws and things that it could improve on, mainly character development. I do look forward to watching similar anime and I like the idea to have a good balance between action, comedy, and romance which is why many of the most popular series are like this, including my story. Some similar anime that I look forward to watching are Ao no Exorcist (Blue Exorcist) and Sousei no Onmyouji (Twin Star Exorcist). I especially am excited about watching the latter.

RDG: Red Data Girl Review

I recently finished this anime RDG: Red Data Girl so I will do a review on it. Red Data Girl aka RDG was a novel and manga written by Noriko Ogiwara and adapted into a 12 episode anime series by PA Works. RDG combines themes of fantasy, magic, supernatural, and romance. The story is about 15 year old Izumiko Suzuhara, who was raised in the mountains and tries to live an ordinary life. Accompanies by Miyuki Sagara who's sent to be her servant and protector. I liked RDG as it was very interesting and exciting with the event as well as uncovering deep secrets. However, most of the major events in the plot happen towards the end of the series but it was overall a good anime.

Summary
Izumiko Suzuhara, a 15-year-old girl, has been raised in a deep mountain shrine and is extremely sheltered and painfully shy. She has a tendency to destroy any electronic device simply by touching it but, she still wants to change her life. Izumiko starts by cutting her bangs shocking both her classmates and protectors. Her guardian, Yukimasa Sagara, forces his son, Miyuki, to come to the mountain shrine and become Izumiko's lifelong servant and protector. Unfortunately, Izumiko and Miyuki cannot stand each other. They've known each other since they were children and Miyuki bullied her. He doesn't understand what is special about Izumiko.

My Thoughts
I personally thought RDG was pretty good anime series with its magical, supernatural, and romance themes. It was a rather exciting anime to watch with some good character development. Miyuki can be a pretty big jerk at times but does change towards the end of the anime. Both Miyuki and Izumiko grow closer to one another despite not liking each other at first. The major events of the series happen at the end of the anime but I think everyone should still watch the full series. Overall, I liked this supernatural style anime.

Conclusion
I would give this anime a 4/5 stars or a 8/10 score. It was a good series to watch for those who like fantasy, magic, supernatural, or romance anime as it had elements of all four genres. Like I said, the major events happen at the end in the last episodes but do watch the full series. Red Data Girl is one of those anime that starts off calm and tranquil but gets more exciting later in the series.

Haiyore! Nyaruko-san (Nyaruko: Crawling with Love) Review

I'm going to review the most recent anime I finished which is Haiyore! Nyaruko-san aka Nyaruko: Crawling with Love. While it's not exactly like my style and similar to To Love-Ru (one of my earlier views and an anime I don't talk about), it was actually kind of better than expected. But because of the content this anime is not for kids. Nyaruko: Crawling with love was originally adapted into a light novel and then two different short OVA series: Haiyore! Nyaruko-san and Haiyore! Nyaruko: Remember My Mr. Lovecraft. Later two different mangas and finally two full anime adaptations seasons: the original Nyaruko: Crawling with Love and Nyaruko: Crawling with Love W and final 28 minute OVA Haiyore: Nyaruko-san F to finish it off. The story revolves are Mahiro Yasaka and his interactions and relationships with Nyaruko an alien girl who suddenly shows up at his door as well as fellow aliens Cthuko and Hastur. I kind of did enjoy this sci-fi romantic comedy harem despite it being similar to one of those anime I don't talk about and having some things I don't like.

Summary
High school student Mahiro Yasaka is one day attacked by a dangerous monster. Suddenly a silver-haired girl named Nyaruko appears, a shape-shifting diety Nyarlathotep from H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos, sent by the Space Defence Agency to Earth. After rescuing him, the lovecraftian diety falls madly in love with Mahiro and moves into his house, much to his dismay. Soon two others join them: Cthuko, a red-haired girl obsessed with Nyaruko, and Hastur, a young boy easily mistaken for a beautiful girl. The three eccentric aliens protect Mahiro as well as make his life a living hell.

This is Hastur and for the record HE is a boy

My Thoughts
Despite this anime being similar to other anime that I didn't really like, I actually liked this one more than I thought I would. While the characters can be a little annoying, they're pretty entertaining in their own way. I kind of liked the couple of Nyaruko x Mahiro as well and they did have a pretty decent lovestory. The final OVA F was a pretty good one to finish off the series and strongly recommend watching it if you watch this series. Just be ready for some awkward scenes though.

My Conclusion
I would probably give this anime a 4/5 star rating or an 8/10 score. It was above average but I won't say that it's the best especially when there are other anime with a similar story but have a better way of showing it with more emotion. If you're a fan of romantic comedy, sci-fi, or harem then I recommend this to you. This anime is for older audiences so this is NOT FOR KIDS! Also Urusei Yatsura (Those Obnoxious Aliens) was a popular anime that was similar and if you enjoyed that then you'll probably like Nyaruko: Crawling with Love too.