Uta no Prince-sama Maji Love 2000% review

I’m glad to see that otome games are slowly getting a place in the English market. Also, there are more and more anime adaptions, like Uta Pri. And now, we even got a second season!

I must say, it’s one of the best adaptions I’ve ever seen<3 It’s even better than the first season, and it has lots of fanservice. It continues in the same style as the first season, every episode covering 1 guy. Also, Cecil joins them, yay!  Oh, and now that they’re going to become professionals, they have some hawt guys teach them- Mikaze Ai, Camus, Kotobuki Reiji and Kurosaki Ranmaru. The graphics are colourful, detailed and the music is great, as always. I hope they’ll focus more on one character and develop some romance.

I watched the first episodes and can’t wait for the next one, they’re definitely worth watching! The first episode starts in force, with a new song by STARISH, called “Maji Love 2000%”, so if you liked their first one, you’ll surely love it.

On another note, I just finished Amnesia (the anime) and now Haruka seems to have such an interesting personality, maybe because the nameless protagonist in Amnesia was very passive (well, of course she was, since she lost her memory).

All in all, Uta Pri Maji Love 2000% has everything it needs- bishies, graphics, music, *ahem* fanservice and likeable characters.

If you want to know more about the first season, I have a post

And now, here’s just a glimpse at this anime’s awesomeness~

2012 overview- anime, manga, games

First of all, I want to wish you a happy new year!

Well, this year was a good one. There have been some anime adaptions that I was looking forward to watch, like Btooom! and Code:Breaker. Also, this year we got the new PS Vita console, which is just too awesome.

And now a little overview for 2012~

~Notable anime that aired in 2012~

~Btooom! – is definitely one of my favourites this year. It has everything a good anime should have- likeable characters, a good storyline, nice graphics and  some plot twists here and there. And most important there isn’t even a second when you get bored. The main character, a NEET who is in top ten world players on the online game Btooom! is thrown on an island and forced to play the game in real life. If you like survival animes, this one’s for you. Also, if you liked Mirai Nikki, you’ll like Btooom! too.

~Chuunibyou demo koi ga shitai – it’s been a while since I had so much fun watching a comedy. This is one of those stories where you can emphasize with the characters because you’ve been through similar situations. The anime is about a guy who had ”eighth grader syndrome”(he thought he had super powers and such) enters high school and meets Rika, a girl who still has the ”syndrome”. The story isn’t only comedy, it gets serious at the end and is more deep than you think at first. I found it really cute and enjoyable.

~Another – one of the best horror animes i’ve ever seen. You can find a review here

~Inu x Boku SS – I don’t know if this one’s shonen or shoujo, but I think anyone can enjoy it. It’s about youkai who live together in a luxurious mansion, using the Secret Service- personal bodyguards who are, of course also youkai. The protagonist is Ririchiyo, a tsundere who doesn’t get along with people and her SS is Miketsukami, a fox youkai who does anything she says. It’s a cute love story, but it also has lots of action. If you like the anime, I suggest you read the manga too.

~Tasogare Otome x Amnesia – I cried a lot at the last episode T-T. You can read the review here

~Kuroko no Basket – it’s the best sports anime I’ve seen so far and I like how it doesn’t require to know how to play to enjoy it. I love how it makes you so curious who’ll win the match. Also, here’s the review.

~Hyouka – it’s a detective story, but not some exaggerated story. The protagonist doesn’t solve murder cases, or other serious things. He just solves everyday mysteries, like stolen objects, or what someone was thinking, or finding out who wrote a letter. Things like that. But the beauty of this anime consists in making any small thing look like an important matter. Also, the characters have some interesting personalities, like Oreki who ”conserves energy” (reminds me of myself :)) ), or Chitanda who is very curious.

~Kore wa Zombie desu ka? – I can’t believe I actually enjoyed this anime :)) .First, I thought it would be just another storyless harem. Well, it IS a storyless harem, but it’s an awesome comedy. The main character is a guy who is killed and becomes a zombie and somehow he gets to live with 3 girls- a loli with a chainsaw, a necromancer and a ninja. This anime is epic, really 😀

~Code:Breaker – it’s a great shonen which has a lot of potential, and the manga has 200+ chapters, too bad it ended at episode 13 (I’m hoping for a season 2…). Well, there are those people with special powers, and 6 of them work for the government – the code:breakers. Their job is to kill those who are evil. There’s lots of action and cute characters.

~some sequels this year : Natsume Yuujinchou season 4, Kimi to Boku 2, Hakuoki Reimeiroku (um, this is a prequel 😀 )

~other great anime this year that I’ve been too lazy to do a small review: Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun, Hiiro no Kakera, Arcana Famiglia, Sword Art Online, K, Zetsuen no Tempest, Say ”I love you”, and almost every winter season anime.

~notable things in 2012~

~First of all, I’m happy to see some interest in the otome gaming industry, and hopefully, we’ll even get some English game releases. There’s an English otome game called Dandelion,

made by a korean company, and hopefully they’ll release more otome games. Also, Aksys Games will release Hakuouki Bakumatsu Musouroku in English, which isn’t an otome game, but at least it’s from the same series as the Hakuouki otome games.

~Another thing is that this year there have been some otome games anime adaptions, like Hiiro no Kakera and Arcana Famiglia. Maybe this will make more companies release English otome games  :3

~The PS Vita hand-held console was released this year, and I have to tell you that it impressed me. And so, Sony is still my favourite console producer. And there are already many good games for it, like Persona 4 Golden, Shinobido 2, Dinasty Warriors Next, Gravity Rush, Ragnarok Odyssey and many more.

~Many of my favourite manga have been finally released in English, like Watashi ni xx Shinasai and some of Tokyopop’s titles have been re-released, like 07-Ghost and Loveless.

~things I’m looking forward to in 2013~

~Well, there are some sequels I can’t wait to watch, like Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai, Uta no Prince-sama, Kuroko no Basket, and of course, Hetalia!

~Animes that I’m looking forward to watch : Amnesia, Maoyu, Hakkenden, Cuticle Detective Inaba and many more.

~MMOs this year: the long-awaited Ragnarok Online 2!! also, Blade&Soul and Phantasy Star 2 (I hope I’ll have enough time T-T)

Well, that’s it for 2012’s overview and I hope you liked it!

Please continue to support me this year too!

Tasogare Otome x Amnesia – anime review

おはよ！I – I’m not crying!! It’s just that..something got in my eyes…It’s been a while since I saw such a touching anime T-T

The story is about a boy named Niiya Teiichi, whose school has been reconstructed and it has many stairs that lead to nowhere and unused chambers. There’s a ghost story about a girl called Kanoe Yuuko, who died in the school grounds and is buried there. It is said that she’s a ghost who haunts the school and she doesn’t remember who she is or how she died.

One day, Teiichi wanders in the old school building and meets Yuuko. Not everyone can see her- if someone is not aware of her existence, that person can’t see her. So, Teiichi can see her and is able to touch her. He finds her body inside the school and decides to find out how she died. They form a paranormal club, with Yuuko as the president. The other two members are Momoe Okonogi, a girl who can’t see Yuuko, and Kirie Kanoe, who’s a relative of Yuuko and who’s able to see her.

Tasogare Otome x Amnesia is not your average horror anime, it’s much more deeper than that- have you ever thought what it would be like if the protagonist fell in love with a ghost? It would surely be interesting. So this anime portrays this kind of romance, with a beautiful love story, combined with horror elements, resulting an anime that makes you want to see the next episode as fast as possible. Oh- and if you decide to watch it, don’t forget to get a big pack of tissues- you’ll need them T-T. I won’t spoil  you, so I’m not going to give you any details why^^ After all, that’s the fun of mystery animes.

The story is cute, with lots of romance, but without letting you forget that it’s a horror anime. The two main characters develop their personalities along the 12 episodes. I really enjoyed it and I think it was worth watching.

Kuroko no Basket – anime review

Who thought that I’d enjoy so much a sports anime? Well, since I haven’t seen one in a while, I thought that it would be nice to watch something different. So, I started watching Kuroko no Basket, and is now one of my favourite anime.

Teiko Middle School’s basketball club was famous for having 5 genius players, who were called ”Kiseki no Sedai” (”Generation on Miracles”), the best 5 basketball players in Japan. It was rumoured that there was a 6th member, acknowledged by the Kiseki no Sedai.

Seirin High is a newly founded high school, and the members of the basketball club are trying to recruit more members. Kagami Taiga, a red-haired guy who is very tall applies for the club. Another person applies, but no one notices him- that’s Kuroko Tetsuya, the protagonist, whose presence is never noticed. When the other members find out that he’s from Teiko Middle School, they discover that the ”mysterious 6th” really exists. Even though they’re a new team, they enter the Interhigh for the second time, and work hard to win.

Kuroko Tetsuya is a blue-haired guy who has little presence, which is a useful thing in basketball games. He can use ”misdirection”, making the players from the other team focus on someone else. He is good at passing, and he’s known as the 6th member of Kiseki no Sedai. Kuroko said to Kagami-  ”I am a supporting actor, a shadow. But a shadow will become darker if the light is stronger and it will make the white of the light stand out. As the shadow of the main actor, I will make you, the light, the number one in Japan.”. He has a calm and straightforward personality, contrasting Kagami’s, who is fiery and bashful.

Kagami Taiga is very ambitious and wants to become the number one basketball player in Japan. His dream is to surpass Kiseki no Sedai. Kuroko supports him, being his ”shadow”.

While participating in the Interhigh tournament, they meet a lot of experienced players, and even Kiseki no Sedai members, such as Kise Ryouta (who’s a model and adds the suffix ”-chi” to the names of the persons he acknowledges) and Midorima Shintaro (who is obsessed with the zodiac, and always has lucky items with him).

All the characters have unique personalities and the basketball games are pretty intense. It’s definitely an anime that you must see, even if sports isn’t your favourite genre. I think Kuroko no Basket has everything a great anime must have- pleasant characters, an awesome protagonist, lots of action and good graphics. And of course, lots of cliffhangers.

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai anime review

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai is that kind of anime where you laugh a lot and enjoy watching it to the fullest. It’s one of the few (if not the only one) harem anime about friendship.

The storyline is simple, without twisted plots and complicated action, but the simplicity is what makes it such a good anime.

The main character is Kodaka, a guy who is often mistaken with a deliquent because of his blond hair. Actually, he’s a nice person who just wants to make friends. When he moves to Japan, on his first day of school, he sees a girl talking alone in the classroom. That girl is Yozora, who who was talking to her imaginary friend. Finding out that Kodaka doesn’t have any friends either, she makes a club for making friends, the first two members being the two of them. Soon, the most popular girl in school, Sena, joins the club. Even though everyone loves her, she doesn’t actually have any friends. She and Yozora don’t get along, resulting some hilarious situations. The club expands, and an unusual cast of characters join- a little nun, Kodaka’s sister (who cosplays as a vampire character all the time), a genius girl who’s obsessed with bl mecha, and a boy who looks just like a girl.

What’s so good about this anime? Well, it is really funny, I personally laughed at all the episodes. The graphics are nice, and it’s the kind of anime that you’ll definitely enjoy. Of course, it also has the classic trip to the beach, that is present in almost all the harems. I had a lot of fun watching it, and I don’t usually watch this genre. I recommend Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai to everyone who likes comedies or who wants to watch something different.

 

Another~ anime review

What happens when you move from Tokyo  to live with your grandparents and aunt? And what if your new classmates are acting weird and they’re keeping something from you? Well, that’s what the protagonist from ”Another” experiences when he moves to Yomiyama because of his father’s work.

Sakakibara Kouichi misses his first day of school, being hospitalized. There, he is visited by three classmates who ask him insistently if he has ever been to Yomiyama before. After that, he meets a girl with black hair and and eyepatch, wearing the school uniform. She is called Misaki Mei and she’s just soo~ adorable. On his first day attending school, Kouichi sees her in the classroom, but everyone is acting like she isn’t there. His classmates feel uneasy in his presence, and that’s not all- there’s a girl who is the ”leader of countermeasures”. Whenever he tries to ask about Misaki Mei, everyone changes the subject. And there are those strange rumours about 9th grade class 3, the one he is in. 26 years ago, an honor student named Misaki died, but everyone loved that student so much, that after that unfortunate event, everyone was acting as if nothing had happened. Even the teachers agreed with that. And in the coming years, the class was under a curse, students and relatives of them dying each month. Kouichi has to figure out what’s that all about, why his classmates act so weird towards him and who’s the mysterious Misaki Mei, who’s always alone.

It’s been a while since I saw such a good horror anime. Watch it only if you like this genre because it has lots of blood and the atmosphere is what you expect from a good horror anime. I personally love Another, it has a catching story and there were moments when there was a silent moment, and the next second an image with a creepy doll popped on the screen 😀 All in all, it’s a great anime- good graphics, good plot and a cast of original characters.

The World God Only Knows anime review

An original view of dating sim games, with original and funny turns of events, and lots of cute moments. The World God Only Knows, or Kami Nomi Zo Shiru Sekai follows the story of Katsuragi Keima, who loves girls- not real girls, but characters from dating sims. He is also known as the God of Conquest – the one who can conquer any girl.

Keima is very smart, but he isn’t good at sports and his drawing skills are beyond zero. He isn’t intrested in real life, so he always has his ”PFP” with him. He can even play 6 games at a time. One day, he gets a message from a demon called Elsie, who needs help from the great God of Conquest. But she doesn’t know that he can win the hearts of dating sim characters, not real girls. So, they end up making a contract, and they have to catch ”loose souls”, who reside in the gaps from a girl’s heart. To catch them, Keima has to fill those gaps and make them fall in love with him. Easier said than done. In real life, he is known as ”Otamegane”, and doesn’t interact with other people.

Even though he thinks that real girls aren’t perfect, like the ones in games, and they are plain, he has to try to capture them, or else he and Elsie will die. However, those girls aren’t plain, and there are a few stereotypes- a tsundere, a pop idol, a sporty girl, and many others. Elsie lives with Keima and his mother, and goes to the same school as him. Using his skills from dating sims, he tries to conquer the girls, so that Elsie can catch the loose souls. Along the way, they meet other demons and Keima has to have many difficult situations. When he almost conquers a girl, he says ”I can see the ending!”

In my opinion, it’s a great anime, with a lot of potential, which perfectly combines comedy with a catching storyline. The protagonist has a unique personality, which contrasts with Elsie’s cheerfulness, thus resulting an awesome mix of comedy, romance and a little action, which makes Kami Nomi Zo Shiru Sekai an anime that anyone can enjoy.

Darker Than Black~ anime review

Darker Than Black is one of those anime with lots of action, a catching storyline and a main character that you’ll definitely love.

There are 2 seasons and an OVA. In the first season, the story takes place in Japan, and it revolves around the ”Hell’s Gate”, and impenetrable field that appeared in Tokyo. People with great abilities appeared, known as ”contractors”. In exchange for those powers, they become rational persons, losing their emotions, and they pay a ”price”, which varies from contractor to contractor. Agencies called ”Syndicates”,that try to uncover the secrets of the Gate have appeared, and contractors work for them. One of those contractors is Hei, and he works together with Huang, Yin and Mao. He is one of the most powerful ones, and he is called ”The Black Reaper”. Even though contractors think rationally, Hei doesn’t always make the most advantageous decisions, and considers other people’s lives. He eats a lot, and when he has a job to do, he uses the alias Li Shengshun, and says he’s a Chinese transfer student. Hei has a sister, called Bai, who disappeared, and in the first season he searches for her. Every cotractor has a corresponding star, which has a code, and Hei’s code is BK-201. First, it was his sister’s, but after she went missing, he became a contractor. He can control electricity, and he’s also good in hand-to-hand combat. He wears a black bullet-proof coat and a white mask, with a purple lightning symbol over the right eye. His weapon is a knife with a metal wire. The fighting scenes are epic, there’s a lot of action. Yin is a doll, so she first is emotionless, but she begins to display emotions, and she cares a lot for Hei. Since she is a doll, she is able to use observation spirits. In the first season, there are 25 episodes,  plus an OVA episode 26.

In the second season, called ”Darker Than Black- Gemini of the Meteor”, after the events in season 1, Hei and Yin ran away from the Syndicate, but Yin disappears. Because of that, Hei starts drinking, lets his hair grow longer and he’s unshaved. He is now in Russia, where he tries to find doctor Pavlichenko and his son, Shion Pavlichenko. But he meets his sister Suou,but he loses his powers as a contractor, and Suou becomes one. Her ability is materializing a sniper. Hei finds out where Yin is- she is held captive to prevent a disaster, because of her ability to kill contractors. The story focuses a little too much on Suou, but the main character remains Hei, of course. I won’t tell you how it ends, and I hope I didn’t spoil you too much~

There’s also an OVA, called ”Darker Than Black Gaiden”, and the action takes place before the events in the second season. Hei and Yin go to Okinawa, saying that they’re in their honeymoon. They get to know each other better. The OVA is really sweet, and there are the events before Yin’s disappearance.

If you like anime with lots of high quality action, Darker Than Black is essential to watch. If I had to give it a score, I’d give it a 10/10.

 

Kimi ni Todoke anime review

Kuronuma Sawako is a nice girl, who looks just like the ghost from the horror movie ”The Ring”, being dubbed ”Sadako”. Even though she is silent, she actually wants to make friends and make ”a good deed per day”. But whenever she tries speaking with someone, they run, saying that whoever looks into her eyes more than 3 seconds will be cursed. But she doesn’t give up, hoping that maybe, one day she will make a friend.

In her first day of school, she meets Kazehaya Shota, who is very popular, and shows him the way to school. He doesn’t run and tells her ”thank you”. It was the first time someone spoke to her normally and smiled at her. So, she begins to admire him for being such a good person, treating everyone nice and being so friendy and cheerful. In class, no one wants to have the seat near Sawako’s, but Kazehaya takes that seat. Two girls, Yano and Yoshida take the seats near her, and they become her friends. Seeing that Kazehaya treats Sawako nicely, some fangirls start spreading bad rumours about her, and since she doesn’t know how to react, that leads to a lot of misunderstandings. But she doesn’t give up, and tries to learn to express herself, and to understand her feelings towards Kazehaya. With his help, she makes more friends and people are no longer afraid of her. There are lots of hilarious situations, like when Sawako tries to smile, but it ends up being a creepy smile, or when she says how much she admires Kazehaya and he hears her. There are also a lot of sweet moments and lots of blushing. It’s a shoujo anime after all. And not any kind of shoujo, it’s that kind of ”pure” shoujo<3 Ah, haven’t seen one in a while (I’ve been watching too much yaoi lately~). Kimi ni Todoke has a heartwarming story, not only about love, but also about friendship and the importance of making oneself clear so that there won’t be misunderstandings. It’s definitely one of the animes that a shoujo fan must see.

Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto anime review

Since I haven’t seen a historical anime in a while, I decided to start the new year with one. So, I decided to watch Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto, and today I finished it. It has a lot of history, political affairs and war, with some supernatural elements, making it a great anime.

Once again, we see the strong samurai spirit, the strong will of a samurai. The action takes place in the Bakumatsu era, in the final years of the Shogunate. The main character, Youjiro Akizuki is the ”Eternal Assasin”, the one whose destiny is to seal ”The Lord’s Head”, an object that appears in time of war. For that purpose, he wields the legendary Moontear Sword. On his journey to find the Lord’s Head, he meets the Yuyama theater troupe, whose members seek revenge on the one who killed their families. Youjiro joins them, helping them and trying to accomplish his task. Ibaragi Soutetsu, the playwright of the Yuyama troupe is an intelligent man who wants to change the country, and he wants to obtain the Lord’s Head. A character that you just have to love is Kanna Sakyounosuke, an English man who became  Katsu Kaishu’s bodyguard. He’s a talented fighter who uses two guns. His mother left him when he was little, and he keeps her photo in a pocket-watch. Later is the series, important historical figures, like Hijikata Toshizo and Souji Okita of the Shinsengumi appear in the story. Personally, I love  the anime and I’m glad that I chose it to be the first one I watch in the new year.