Guardian of the Sacred Spirit [26 episodes] [PG-13]

Plot:

After saving him once from drowning, Balsa the spear-wielder is tasked with defending Prince Chagum from the Chin-Yogo Emperor, who plans to kill him and extinguish the evil spirit residing within him.

Individual Ratings:

Art: 10/10

Guardian of the Sacred Spirit has some of the most astounding visuals you will ever see. The amount of work put into the scenery is incredible, especially since most of the scenes are outside. The character designs are better than most anime in my opinion; in fact, this is the first anime I've seen where they don't put too much work into making the female lead sexy. Balsa is muscular and strong, and doesn't strip to her underpants when she fights, which is a huge accomplishment for an action anime with a female lead. Also, the animation for the fight scenes are simply superb. The characters move realistically, and the style of their fighting was given much thought when the movements were choreographed.

Plot: 8/10

The plot is realistically paced towards the beginning, although there is a couple-month time skip near the end. The beginning is more fast-paced, the middle is kind of slow but allows for a lot of character development, and the last 5-6 episodes speed up again to fit in all of the source material.

Characters: 9/10

All the characters of the anime are realistic. Unlike mainstream shonen, the characters all have their ups and downs. Also, I really liked how Chagum wasn't a stuck-up brat like most princes - rather, he was actually quite admirable. Balsa is also an interesting character, with a harsh past and a realistic goal as a spear-wielder. The reason I give it a 9/10, however, is because there are also many characters who don't get any development, such as some of the government officials.

Sound: Unrated

Unfortunately, the speakers on my laptop broke, and of course I had to lose my headphones. I can't rate the sound on this one until I rewatch it, which will probably be a couple months from now.

Enjoyment: 10/10

I really enjoyed the pacing of the series, as well as the fighting scenes. The characters were interesting, and the serious mood of the show somehow blended well with the fact that there is NO human blood in this show. That's right, I didn't observe a single drop of blood, despite the fact that the anime is very mature and has action. Remember that this is a compliment.

Overall Rating:

9.3/10

Hunter X Hunter (2011)

Its the Hunter homies!

Plot:

Hunters are people who specialize in different things, such as capturing bad guys, fighting enemies, or even going on journeys to uncover secret treasures. Gon, the main character, sets out to become a hunter just like his father, making new friends (and rivals) on the way. Along the way of their hunter career, they will encounter countless enemies and allies that both help them get stronger.

Individual Ratings:

Animation: 8/10

Plot: 8/10

Characters: 9/10

Music: 7/10

Enjoyment: 9/10

Opinions:

I have long disliked long-running series, simply because I felt that the mangaka just tacks on new ideas whenever he runs out of material to work with (plus the goddamn fillers piss me off). Also, the anime producers tend to stretch out the battles so much that the characters literally hit each other every 5 minutes.

Hunter X Hunter is probably the only long-running anime I know that doesn't have as much of a problem as these. The only thing the mangaka added afterwards was the concept of Nen, which was actually completely relevant. Some of the battle music tracks are also incredible, plus the animation is standard.

Overall Rating:

8.2/10

Avatar: The Last Airbender (Cartoon)

STOP! IF YOU HAVE ANY COMPLAINTS, TAKE THEM OUTSIDE! I know Avatar: The Last Airbender is NOT an anime; it is an American cartoon. However, it is asian-styled and has many aspects that are present in some of the greatest anime shows of all time, which is why I am deciding to review it here.

I didn't want to put in a kiddy picture and scare you away,
 so here's a dramatic representation of Aang in Avatar form.

Plot:

[This is where I quote the opening lyrics word-for-word]

Before the story begins, there was a time of peace where the Avatar kept peace between the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation, and Air Temples. However, everything changed when the fire nation attacked. Only the Avatar, the master of all four elements, could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.

A hundred years passed and Katara and her brother Sokka discovered the new Avatar, an airbender named Aang. Although he is a skilled at airbending, he has yet to learn the other three elements before taking on the task of stopping the fire nation.

Individual Ratings:

Animation: 7/10

Plot: 8/10

Characters: 9/10

Music: 9/10

Enjoyment: 9/10

Opinions:

If I were ever to make a top anime list, I wouldn't include this American cartoon, since it technically isn't an anime. However, that didn't stop me from enjoying it completely. I enjoyed this series so much that I rewatched it 3+ times.

There are a lot of great things about this show, so I'll start with the negatives: the animation is obviously lacking in some places. I feel like in some scenes, the animators used a relatively low framerate, resulting in characters walking awkwardly at times. However, that is pretty much the only bad thing about this show (plus, once you get into it, you don't even notice it).

Now comes the good part. The show does a great job of fitting in a more episodic structure while still having the main plot as the core of everything. The show is meant to appeal to children, which means that there will be some funny moments. However, what really stood out to me was the fluid action scenes. There aren't any ninjas just running at each other or people punching. Also, although the main character DOES have an OP power, he is still inexperienced and unable to control it. This allows for character development in terms of fighting.

Overall Rating:

8.4/10

The World God Only Knows

Keima, the God of Conquest

Plot:

Keima Katsuragi is known all over the internet as the God of Conquest. He can master any dating sim faster than anyone else, and cute computer-generated girls have no choice but to fall under his spell. However, in real life, Keima is simply known as a strange geek. He is always playing dating sims, even in school. One day, he accidentally accepts a contract to help a naive demon hunter, Elsie. He must make girls fall in love with him in order to catch the demons lurking in their hearts.

Individual Ratings:

Animation: 9/10

Plot: 7/10

Characters: 10/10

Music: 8/10

Opinions:

The World God Only Knows is an amazing show. It has a cool, collected main character that everyone likes (most of the time). It has some of the best ways to make people laugh. And there's romance in every episode, for you romantics. The art is standard for a modern show. There isn't much else to say, but I can guarantee that most people will like the show.

Overall Rating:

8.5/10

hue hue hue

Blue Exorcist

The characters of Blue Exorcist.

Plot:

Rin Okumura has always been called the son of a devil by people, because of his violent and rash nature. One day, his home is under attack, and he finds out that he is the son of Satan. After his father dies after being possessed by Satan, Rin is sent to an Exorcist Cram School, where he finds out that his younger brother is one of his teachers. Together with his new friends, he works toward his goal of defeating Satan.

Individual Ratings:

Animation: 8/10

Plot: 6/10

Characters: 7/10

Music: 7/10

Opinions:

The show had a good premise. The son of Satan wants revenge after his human father dies. However, I feel like it was ruined immediately after the show turned into a school life comedy. There was some action while they were in school, even though some of it didn't make sense. Also, there was almost no character development, with the characters staying almost stationary throughout. The animation is okay for a show from 2011, but sometimes you can see the laziness in places where they might have thought you wouldn't look.

Overall Rating:

7.0/10

Romeo X Juliet

Hey guess what Romeo's on the left and Juliet's on the right bet you wouldn't have guessed that.

Plot:

In Neo Verona, the Montague family killed everyone in the Capulet family except for their daughter, Juliet, 14 years before the story starts. Now, Juliet lives hidden from others and pretending to be a boy, not knowing her real identity. By a twist of fate, she meets Romeo, the son of the Montague family, and they both fall in love at first sight.

Individual Ratings:

Animation: 8/10

Plot: 6/10

Characters: 8/10

Music: 7/10

Opinions:

First of all, since this anime is very loosely (emphasis on loosely) based on the Shakespeare play, you can pretty much guess what is going to happen at the end. I'm just going to leave that there. Also, I feel like they introduced a lot of unnecessary stuff at the end (a big tree, floating island, creepy plant girl, etc. etc.) that made the plot go flop. The only similarity this has with the Shakespearean play is the character names and the ending. 

And just in case you're wondering, yes, Romeo and Juliet do act retarded at the end, just like in the play.

Overall Rating:

7.3/10

Madoka Magica

The main characters of Madoka Magica.

Plot:

Madoka Kaname has a seemingly comfortable life, with a great family and friends. However, one night, she has a strange dream, and the next day she meets a strange being known as Kyubey, who offers her a deal: she can be granted any wish she wants if she becomes a magical girl and fights witches.

Individual Ratings: 

Animation: 10/10

Plot: 8/10

Characters: 7/10

Music: 9/10

Opinions:

Madoka Magica is probably best known for its fighting sequences, with the unique animation of the witches. Even if you don't like how all the characters are girls, or the fact that the main character is the whiniest chick in the history of anime, you should still watch it because of the action. When you start the series, you might think that its all pink and fluffy. That's where you're wrong. After episode 3, the series takes a darker turn, and that's is when everything starts to fall apart. Also, this is probably the only magical girl anime where the main character becomes a magical girl in the last episode.

Overall Rating:

8.5/10