Eden of the East [11 episodes] [R: 17+]

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Plot:
On November 22, 2010 ten missiles strike Japan. However, this unprecedented terrorist act, later to be known as "Careless Monday," does not result in any apparent victims, and is soon forgotten by almost everyone. Then, 3 months later... Saki Morimi is a young woman currently in the United States of America on her graduation trip. But just when she is in front of the White House, Washington DC, she gets into trouble, and only the unexpected intervention of one of her fellow countrymen saves her. However, this man, who introduces himself as Akira Takizawa, is a complete mystery. He appears to have lost his memory, is stark naked, except for the gun he holds in one hand, and the mobile phone he's holding in the other. A phone that is charged with 8,200,000,000 yen in digital cash. [Source: MAL]

Individual Ratings:
Art: 9/10
Higashi no Eden does a pretty good job of keeping its art up to par. Fluid movement as well as good background art keep the anime visually entertaining.

Plot: 6/10
The plot has its ups and downs. To get the bad things over with, the ending is pretty bleh. It leaves a lot of questions unanswered(which is okay because there are 2 more movies after the series), but doesn't give you enough incentive to finish off the movies. There are a lot of random moments that would fill up FLCL fans, but not much comedy either.

Character: 6/10
Like may other anime, Eden of the East has a ton of characters, but almost none of them get character development (like Angel Beats!). The main character, Saki, doesn't really go through anything worth mentioning. Probably the only character who was interesting was Takizawa. Since he erased his own memories, he's essentially on a quest to discover the motives of his past self.

Sound: 8/10
Nothing special here.

Enjoyment: 8/10
I felt like the creators could have done so much more for this anime; sadly, we are left with a bunch of half-baked characters and no ending. Still, the series was pretty fun to watch and I would recommend it for a marathoning session.

Overall Rating: 7.4/10

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

Toradora!

omg its the toradora peoplz

Hello I am robot. Today I review anime. Please read review with robot voice.

Summary:

This anime I am in fact reviewing is called Toradora. Main character, Ryuuji Taiga, has very scary physical appearance that comes from genes from paternal side of family. Unfortunately, daddy dead. He seeks relationship with Minori Kushieda. Friend of Minori, Taiga Aisaka, seeks relationship with Ryuuji's friend, Yuusaku Kitamura. Ryuuji and Taiga decide to help each other obtain permission from romantic interest to reproduce.

Individual Ratings:

Animation: 9/10

Plot: 7/10

Characters: 8/10

Music: 7/10

Enjoyment: 8/10

Opinions:

As I am an artificial intelligence and am incapable of making my own opinion, I have received a scan of Ernie's hippocampus and am now relaying the data received to you using the original dialect of Ernie.

Toradora is pretty much a standard romance. The only difference is the character relationships, which are actually quite complex. However, I feel that the anime does not have anything to distinguish it from others, and it feels very bland. The animation is pretty normal for a 21st century anime. That's pretty much all I have to say about it.

Overall Rating:

7.8/10

Black Lagoon (Both seasons)

Smoking like they don't even care.

Plot:

[It's very hard to describe the initial part without spoiling the first 2 episodes. Just a warning] 

Okajima Rokuro is just your average Japanese businessman. After months of doing nothing but sitting in his cubicle all day, his company finally grants him a break, which is actually business trip in disguise, since he has to deliver something to a client. However, his boat is hijacked by pirates looking for the disk. After being dragged onto their boat as a hostage (since they thought he might be worth something), they find out there is a helicopter after them. Using one of Rock's crazy ideas, they are able to escape, and Rock joins them as part of their band of mercenaries.

Individual Ratings:

Animation: 9/10

Plot: 8/10

Characters: 9/10

Music: 6/10

Enjoyment: 9/10

Opinions:

Black Lagoon is probably the most insane, crazy and mature action anime you will ever watch. The directors literally threw all human logic out the window before creating this series. The only thing I find bad is the music and the Japanese voice acting. In fact, this is probably the only series where I would rather watch the dubbed than the subbed. Why? Because of how hard the characters tried to speak in English. You will realize what I'm saying after hearing the garbled English in the opening. It's literally trash. Other than the opening, though, this anime is a definite must.

Overall Rating:

8.2/10

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

First Look: Seitokai Yakuindomo (Season 2)

[From now on, I will periodically be doing First Look posts on anime that have just started airing. They won't be posted often, as I only star 3-4 new anime every season.]

Seitokai Yakuindomo

Setting:

Takatoshi Tsuda started attending Osai Academy, which has recently been switched from an all-girls school to co-ed.

Opinions:

I literally fell in love with this anime within the first minute of the first episode. And the rest of it did not disappoint.

Basically, take your regular school comedy (Azumanga Daioh, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, etc.), take out all the jokes, and replace them with perverted ones. And I mean REALLY perverted ones. The product is Seitokai Yakuindomo.

I think this anime has a lot of potential. I haven't seen the first season*, but I can say that I'm sure this one will be a success.

Recommended for People who liked: The World God Only Knows, Great Teacher Onizuka, Steins;Gate

*You don't need to watch the first season to watch the second one.

Ouran High School Host Club

Sorry for not posting for a while. I was on vacation. I will post more often from now on.

All the members of the Ouran High School Host Club

Plot:

Haruhi Fujioka, an honor student studying to become a lawyer, wins a scholarship to the prestigious Ouran High School. However, after accidentally stumbling into the Host Club's room and breaking a vase, she must work as a male host herself in order to pay off her debt!

Individual Ratings:

Animation: 8/10

Plot: 8/10

Characters: 10/10

Music: 7/10

Opinions:

I haven't watched many reverse harem, but you can tell from the get-go that OHSHC is amazing. It has a lot of great laughs that are memorable, and the animation is pretty good too. However, what the show really specializes in are the characters. The lolita Honey-senpai, the rough-looking Mori-senpai, etc. etc. All the characters are memorable in their own way, and through some flashbacks you can tell how they have evolved after meeting Tamaki.

Overall Rating:

8.3/10

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

Great Teacher Onizuka

Presenting...The Great Teacher Onizuka!

Plot:

After a girl agrees to go on a date with him, Onizuka, a former gang member, witnesses her teacher coming back to her and asking her to go back to him. Convinced that teachers have it made for them, he earns a teaching degree (barely) and starts teaching at a prestigious school after the chairman gives him an unlikely recommendation. While the other teachers teach the kids school material, Onizuka teaches them about life lessons, often using illegal and dangerous ways to do so.

Individual Ratings:

Animation: 8/10

Plot: 9/10

Characters: 10/10

Music: 8/10

Opinions:

After finishing this anime, you can immediately tell you have finished a masterpiece. Although the animation is a bit lacking even for its time, the characters are so likable that you'll eventually be sucked into the anime. It does a perfect job of balancing humor with other plot elements.

Overall Rating:

8.8/10

Steins;Gate

Okabe Rintarou, the main character.

Plot:

In the Future Gadgets Lab, Okabe Rintarou and his friends have created a time machine using their microwave. [NOTE: There really isn't anything else I can say without revealing key points of the story so... yeah]

Individual Ratings:

Animation: 10/10

Plot: 9/10

Characters: 10/10

Music: 10/10

Opinions:

This anime is truly a masterpiece. It has humor, romance, mystery, and is even a bit of a thriller. The first half of the series is mainly comedy; however, it eventually leads up to the first climax around episode 12-13. After that, it takes a dark turn, and that's where the good part starts. Some of the soundtracks from this anime are my favorites, including the opening song. And of course I watch it for Okabe. In fact, my favorite anime character used to be Lelouch until I met Okabe Rintaro.

Overall Rating:

9.8/10

Usagi Drop

The main characters of Usagi Drop, Rin (left) and Daikichi (right).

Plot:

After his grandfather dies, 30 year old and single Daikichi learns that he had an illegitimate child, Rin, who is 6 years old. After no one volunteers to take her in, Daikichi feels sorry for her and decides to let her live in his home.

Individual Ratings:

Animation: 9/10

Plot: 8/10

Characters: 8/10

Music: 7/10

Opinions:

Usagi Drop is one of those anime that really makes you feel good inside. The animation is sort of different, in the sense that everything is sort of light. It also really makes you laugh when you realize that Rin is Daikichi's aunt, and even acts like it (even though there is a 24-year difference). I recommend watching this anime after finishing a sad anime (like Clannad: AfterStory T~T) because it is small and fast, but memorable.

Samurai Champloo

Mugen, one of the main characters of Samurai Champloo.

Plot:

Fuu, who works in a tea shop, is saved from the harassment of the local authority's son by Jin and Mugen, who are both samurai. However, they both start to fight each other after realizing each other's skill. After saving them from being executed, Fuu convinces them to accompany her on a journey to find a mysterious man who smells of sunflowers.

Individual Ratings:

Animation:10/10

Plot: 9/10

Characters: 9/10

Music: 10/10

Opinions:

Samurai Champloo is one of Watanabe's 2 greatest works (the other being Cowboy Bebop, which I will review soon). For an anime from 2006, the animation is pretty good, plus some of the OST's from this are my favorites. The action and humor really go well, with some depressing moments as well.

Overall Rating:

9.5/10

Clannad + Clannad: AfterStory

Some of the female characters of Clannad. From left to right: Fuko, Kotomi, Kyou, Nagisa, Tomoyo.
(Click on square to see full-sized picture in case it doesn't show up)

Plot:

Okazaki Tomoya, a senior delinquent in high school, meets a sickly girl named Furukawa Nagisa, and they become friends. He finds that after spending time with her he becomes more open towards people and starts making new friends. 

Individual Ratings:

Animation: 10/10

Clannad is animated by Kyoto Animation, which has also animated other Key Visual Novels, including Air and Kanon. The characters from these series are almost always characterized by having huge, stereotypical anime eyes. I was glad that they slacked a bit on this part, as some of the female characters don't have that feature. The art is beautiful for the most part, and the animation is standard.

Plot: 8/10

The plot for Clannad is very diverse. It mostly focuses on 1 heroine for each arc in the first season, and the second season is split into 2 of the same side arcs and then one big arc involving Tomoya. The story is very much time-driven, as the characters are eventually forced to make decisions for their future in the second season.

Characters: 10/10
The characters aren't given a lot of background, but they all differ in personalities, which is obviously a key quality of a harem. You have your standard studious girl, a tsundere, a sickly girl, a shy girl, and that one guy friend. 

Music: 10/10
I have some of the tracks downloaded in my huge list of anime music, and they are pretty superb. the voice actors are also pretty enthusiastic and accomplish the job.

Enjoyment: 10/10
I really enjoyed this series because of the alternation between the sadder arcs and the more light-hearted ones. It's one of my favorite anime, and always will be!

Overall Rating:

9.6/10