January 2020 – Angel’s Haven

Overlord

Posted on January 23, 2020 by leyano

Summary:
The story begins with Yggdrasil, a popular online game that is quietly shut down on its last day. Our protagonist Momonga decided to stay until the last moment in his beloved game and wait for the force logout. Unexpectedly, the server did not shut down and Momonga is stuck in his skeleton body and got transferred to another world. “The powerful Overlord” needs now to discover a new world and face the continuous challenges. Having no parents, friends, or place in society, this ordinary man strives to take over the new world the game has become.

Author: Maruyama Kugane

Artist: Miyama Fugin

Many people tend to be confused that the main character has been stuck in the game world he is playing in but the truth is that it is Experimented and Proven many times that he is instead Transported into a new fantasy Reality world where Yggdrasil players either don’t exist or uncommon to the point of being called legends that only exist hundred of years ago. The only thing he is “stuck” in is his skeleton game body when he was transported from his game virtual world to another fantasy reality world. Also another thing, he is not a kid or a teenager, but instead is a blue-collar salesman.

So after clearing that up, let’s start my review of the novel. I advise people to rate my review fairly with open-mindedness and after proper understanding of the series and not base on personal reasons, rashness or eccentric personal bias which seems to be quite common lately…

Story: 9/10
The novel’s story is quite dark, evil, brutal and despairing at times and the novel’s story is quite detailed and exciting to read which draws in the reader’s curiosity and interest in knowing more of the story, but sometimes it may be quite tedious to read the highly detailed descriptions and multiple dialogues of the story. But people who are interested more in how the story is developed would find this interesting. Some people who lacked the attention span, patience or interest in the story and wanted more actions and excitements immediately may find the novel’s start to be boring. But people who actually wanted to enjoy the story’s world and development would find that its story is quite interesting, attention to detail and descriptive with points of the story from a different perspective.

Many people who started reading and enjoyed the novel are there for the literature story in the first place. Some people may find the story to be developing quite slowly at times due to the story development but it comes with a lot of important plot points which might have otherwise caused confusion to the readers if some info points were lacking and skipped just to make the story faster.

Art: 9/10
The art quality is very good, as many people had said before that the novels are quite well done but this is something left for people’s personal taste and interests… But speaking it in general, the art is very detailed, beautiful. But all in all, it is something that is well done.

Character: 9/10
One of the main protagonist that you will never expect to see a lot in the story even till now. A skeleton as the main character with a blue-collar working salesman’s mentality behind it. The person is very logical, emotionless but interestingly funny at times, who does the most realistic and logical reactions and actions people should expect if they are transported into another world. Keeping up his act as an overlord outside but whining and shouting inside about tiring things and situations. He also never consider his powers to be overpowered since his skills are known in games and always think that there is someone such as players stronger than him out there.
The introductions of the many other side characters were also very unique and interesting too. They all have their own detailed designs, personalities, settings, and developments.
Sadly the only thing lacking in this novel is a strong enemy character that the main characters have to face and overcome… But it is actually fine, since story-wise, the story is actually still interesting and mainly draws the viewers to be more interested on how the process the MC used took over the places or even the world, the perspective and reactions of different people in the story which you normally won’t see in other stories at times, and also main point of the story that is expected of how the strong overlord crush the enemy in the end after the intended development for it along with the expectations and despair which altogether makes it something even more interesting and refreshing to see too, just like picking the fruits after it is ripe for the taking.
Also, it seems there are people rating down the series due to the mc not having a usable underpart? Well, he can actually do it if he wants to and after all, it’s also better for the mc to think logically than thinking using his lower body like some other pervert MCs which are annoying. Besides, it seems pointless for some people to even point this out to talk down a good series.

Enjoyment: 10/10
Well, the novel may not be a masterpiece for some people. But its story is great literature that is the most descriptive, well developed, highly rated and one of the higher quality light novels out there that is highly encouraged by many people to read it to understand their world even more. That is the novel’s purpose, as there are many people who enjoyed the novel are there for the literature story in the first place.

Also, there are points that mainly show how different it is from some more commonly known similar series of story settings.

Firstly, unlike the typical hero fantasy stories that are a dime of dozen out there already with almost Similar and Familiar stories and settings. Of course, a story from a villain’s perspective would perk people’s interest than the typical power from friendship troupes, where you always would expect certain people to survive in the end or just simply no one dying at all. With many things that are being quite common these days, this actually makes this novel more unique and stands out.

Secondly, in this world where pretty much everything was cliche, a different, darker virtual gaming world to another world story is actually more new and interesting to people comparing to the typical virtual game or reality to fantasy stories that are quite common out there like no game no life, log horizon, SAO, problem children, etc with similar familiar overlapping fantasy settings or even other different typical stories with a shiny hero or a dense innocent kind MCs, instead, a setting different from the typical familiar ones would be fresher one to see.

Finally, if people Do want to immerse themselves in settings, atmosphere, plots, and details of the story other than just immediate mindless action stories that are dozens out there, they would definitely welcome this novel. Given how much of a potential this novel’s story has, even till the latest volume I had read so far.

Overall: 9/10
Overall, the novel is quite an interesting and addicting read for a story, if the further story’s volume continues to be just as interesting to read, it will still easily continued to be rated 9 by me.

Webtoon

Who Made Me A Princess?

Posted on January 18, 2020 by leyano

Summary:

The beautiful Athanasia was killed at the hands of her own biological father, Claude de Alger Obelia, the cold-blooded emperor! It’s just a silly bedtime story… until one woman wakes up to suddenly find she’s become that unfortunate princess! She needs a plan to survive her doomed fate, and time is running out. Will she go with Plan A, live as quietly as possible without being noticed by the infamous emperor? Plan B, collect enough money to escape the palace? Or will she be stuck with plan C, sweet-talking her way into her father’s good graces?!

Author: Plutus

Artist: Spoon

I remember I used to think this was some kind of Lolicon stuff when Instagram showed me a Tappytoon advertisement but I am seriously so happy that it turned out to be different.

Story: 9/10
The story plot isn’t exactly a new one but nevertheless, I enjoy it greatly as I am a fan of Isekai plots. Furthermore, you never know what happens and the interplay of the different characters adds more to the suspense.
Moreover, I also like the fact that romance is not in the spotlight of this story.

Art: 10/10
I would even give an 11 if it was possible. I find these images so beautiful, I really really love the appearances of the characters. The clothing is very detailed, much to my pleasure. And oh my God, the royal bloodline’s jewel eyes hit differently. These are just out of the world. If they were real, I would probably think I died and landed in heaven somehow.
The appearances are what made me read this series in the first place. I even read some parts repeatedly, just to savor the drawings with my eyes.

Characters: 9/10
The characters are great!
Each character has a meaning and therefore none of them feels as if they’re not needed for the story.
I am especially enamored by Claude, Lucas, and Felix. Those are my men.
I also like Athy very much; the girl is too adorable for her own good.

Enjoyment: 10/10
Obsession. Maybe that’s what I feel with this manhwa.
As I started reading this, I did not expect that I would read the whole season 1 (chapter 1-46) in one night; I literally absorbed this until I caught up to the current chapter back then.
Now I am patiently waiting for new chapters.
There was a Christmas break (2019) and I suffered so much because every chapter feels like a cliffhanger to me.

Overall Rating: 10/10
If you like Isekai, Fantasy, and Shoujo – this is the manhwa to go.
I highly recommend it.

Romance.

Kamisama Hajimemashita (Nice to Meet You, God)

Posted on January 18, 2020 by leyano

Image result for kamisama hajimemashita"

Summary:
Momozono Nanami’s dad, a man with a penchant for gambling, disappeared after accumulating a huge amount of debt. Thus, she was chased out of her house by the debt collectors. When she met a timid man being chased by a dog, he told her that he’d give her his house. She believed his persuasive talk, but when she went to his house… it turned out to be a shrine. Moreover, a guy with fox ears appeared, which made Nanami even more confused. What will become of homeless and confused Nanami?

Author: Suzuki Julietta

I’m so angry at myself for starting this manga while it’s still ongoing. I initially enjoyed the anime adaptation and figured I’d finish off the story with the manga. I’m kicking myself so hard for that, but, at the same time, I feel like there’d be something important missing in my life if I hadn’t read it. It’s not often I get that attached to a story.

What makes KH so amazing is that it keeps all the GOOD elements of a typical shoujo manga but doesn’t overdo them, and also has other amazing things added to it. I don’t get why this is so underrated: this is obviously a masterpiece.

Story: 10/10
None of the many synopses I read for this do justice. In the beginning, I thought this was just a light-hearted story consisting of several funny and heartwarming arcs. And I loved this for that. Even though there were some unoriginal plot elements, the mangaka just added this unique something to them that kept me from being bothered by that.

As the story developed I realized that in fact, most arcs and just simple revelations within them all were put there foreshadowing so many things for the bigger plot/arc that is shown later on in the manga. It becomes slightly more serious, but just very slightly. It’s just amazing how the mangaka wove all those little plot elements together.

The romance is slow, but not frustrating in a bad way or dragging. There’s always chemistry between the two MCs and the romance of other characters is well developed and cute as well.

All of the subplots are fun to read and heartwarming as well, I was never bored reading any of them.

Art: 10/10
I don’t know for others, but I personally really love this art style. It doesn’t have characters drawn so unrealistically beautiful, but they definitely don’t look ugly. I’m not sure what you call them exactly, but the art when showing a very funny situation is very well drawn too. I laugh every time at them. Last but not least, the character designs are really well done.

Additionally, the art is always consistent throughout the chapters, if not improved subtly but greatly.

Characters: 9/10
I agree that on the surface the characters seem pretty bland, but I promise they’re not. Yup, there is a cheery high school girl who stumbles upon a fantasy world and gains powers, she meets a yokai boy, everybody comes to like her, etc. The yokai boy isn’t very friendly, is powerful. But seriously, they’re not the usual type of characters in any manga. I actually like Nanami a lot (she’s the female MC), which is a miracle for me really.

Nanami IS weak, she’s just a high school girl after all. But she knows this and tries hard at all times to be independent, and though she doesn’t always succeed, readers can come to like her for how down to earth, strong, caring and brave she is. Also, she’s not very intelligent, no, but she’s not ignorant. She’s not a little kid.

All the characters in KH are all lovable, and even they are antagonists. There’s only a very thin line between good and evil, which I love. Everyone’s feelings seem real, and they’re very well developed.

Enjoyment: 10/10
Full points, of course. This is one of my favorite mangas or possibly my favorite out of all, and I re-read this many times. It has a slice of life feeling (which I usually find boring… I know, I know, I’m just a very picky reader) but it’s not boring or anything thanks to the fantasy elements and quirky characters.

So, I give an overall score of 10/10. What is there not to like of KH? None, really.

Horror.

Another

Posted on January 18, 2020 by leyano

Summary:
26 years ago, in a third-year classroom of a middle school, there was a student named Misaki. As an honors student who was also good at sports, the charming girl was popular with her classmates. When she suddenly died, her classmates decided to carry on as if she was still alive until graduation. Then, in the spring of 1998, a boy named Kouichi Sakakibara transfers to that classroom, and he grows suspicious of the fearful atmosphere in that classroom. In particular, there is a beautiful, aloof girl named Misaki Mei who wears an eyepatch and is always alone drawing pictures.

Author: Ayatsuji Yukito

Artist: Kiyohara Hiro

Another was one of those series that had me waiting eagerly for Mondays to arrive and wishing that the weekend would end sooner. For twelve weeks, it was my priority above all else to watch this amazing series and to be honest, I’m already awaiting the release of the OVA in May. If I had to say what makes it so incredible, I would cite the short series length, the clever plot with a brilliant resolution, and outstanding animation as the main contributing factors, although the promise of blood will probably be enough for most people to decide whether this show is for them or not. Although the violence means that this is not for the faint of heart (or weak of stomach), I would nevertheless wholeheartedly recommend watching it, as it is well worth your time.

Story: 9/10

Have you heard of Tantalus? (No, a knowledge of Greek mythology is not essential to watch Another, I am simply at my wits’ end with trying to describe the story without giving anything away). Tantalus was a man condemned by the gods to eternity in the underworld, immersed to the neck in a pool of water which he could not drink from, and underneath a tree laden with fruit which he could not reach, no matter how hard he tried. Now, if this is not too swift and broad a leap, this is how the storyline of Another will make you feel; every time you seem to be tantalizingly close to the answer, a new development occurs, and you have to start all over again. This series never goes where you expect it to, but it manages this without being a particularly complicated story, which is quite an achievement. I’ve read and watched many mystery stories, and I have found that nothing ruins the story more than confusion caused by an overloaded storyline and a huge ensemble of characters. Here, it is simple: one tightly-written, carefully thought out a storyline involving a relatively small number of characters, which proves surprisingly durable as a twelve-episode series, having avoided the trap of the same cliff-hanger ending every time; they always manage to throw in a new and interesting variation. The resolution of the storyline was amazing; it managed to bring all the strands of information which we had gleaned and wrap everything up in a style which was paced exactly right; fast, but not hurried or rushed. I certainly didn’t see the final twist coming- not many people did- but it was masterful. It was also the most emotional moment of the series; even those of you who have laughed like maniacs throughout the entire series will suddenly become somber during the final five minutes. Being mindful of the strict limits on what I can actually say about its specifics, I shall merely say that it was a perfect ending to a brilliant series.

Art: 10/10

The art is simply beautiful. This might actually be quite near the top in terms of the best series I have ever seen art-wise. The characters aren’t that different from any other series, but the backgrounds are amazingly well defined; they really are just bliss to watch. The art mostly depicts death, lots and lots of death, with some dismemberment and impending doom thrown in. In almost every scene, there’s a sense of decay, everything looks decrepit and rusty, the buildings look deserted, and there’s the gratuitous use of deep, dark reds wherever possible. If it’s outdoors, there are crows perched on the roofs, looking hungry. If it’s indoors, like the hospital, then the lights are dim and flickering occasionally (and for the provision of information to those who have watched the hospital scenes and noticed the missing fourth floor, it’s because four in Japanese is either ‘shi’ or ‘yon’, depending on the context, and ‘shi’ can also mean ‘death’, so they tend to avoid using four when numbering things, like we do with thirteen. Right, fun fact session over). The use of dolls, often missing limbs, is prevalent (whether they’re scary or hilarious just depends on the viewer) and appears to have more significance to the storyline than I originally thought. And every so often, in case you haven’t got the message, there’s a split-second image of a blood-stained knife which is lying on the floor. I mean, what could possibly happen next? (This was intentionally ironic. For those of you who don’t get irony, just assume that this means it was hilarious). To sum up, the art sets up the atmosphere perfectly.

Sound: 10/10

Of course, we can’t leave out the sound, as this is key (bad musical pun; I apologize) to the aforementioned atmosphere. From the start, the music creates a sense of eeriness, from simple melodies to electronic effects and string sections. As difficult as it is to describe, I would like you to imagine a full orchestra having a psychedelic freakout (think of that section of A Day in the Life) with a hair-raising selection of electronic hums and whines added, and then multiply that by about ten. That’s about what it’s like (or as best as I can put it into words). The music never quite goes away, unlike in other, lighter series; it drops right down to a few notes on a piano, but still gives you the sense that something’s always just about to happen. The opening has some weird and unsettling vocal melodies going on, creating tension, stress, and suspense. But after a few episodes, I’ll express a preference for the ending theme; it proves that strong vocals and a few chords on a piano are more effective than the aural blitzkrieg which we are usually subjected to, and it brings a sense of peace and serenity to the end of the episode. Basically, the soundtrack works perfectly with what’s on-screen.

Characters: 8/10

Now, the characters; obviously, we know very little about any of them right up until the end, otherwise it wouldn’t be a mystery, would it? They’re all quite weird and unusual, and they’re all either ruthlessly blunt or very obviously trying to avoid certain topics of conversation. As you can imagine, this makes the dialogue quite awkward. Kouichi Sakakibara, our horror story-loving main character, seems to have more than half a clue what’s going on, which makes a nice change from the average clueless/in denial character in the horror genre. Although it cannot be denied that he is of that genus most favored by scriptwriters lacking inspiration, the transfer student, he does actually get some background as to why he transferred. Mei Misaki develops a bit from the ‘weird loner’ presented in the first episode to someone who is frustrated by their situation and yet cannot change it. While near-silent and emotionless girls seem to be very common at the moment, I can promise that there is more to Mei than being a mere tribute to consumer demand. If you have watched only a few episodes, she might seem a bizarre person, but she becomes more understandable as the series progresses. Izumi Akazawa, the class representative, is blunt to the point of being rude, but is quite the deceiver and manipulator behind the scenes, as it later turns out. Reiko, who was at first glance a stereotypical ‘ridiculously youthful, kind and caring female relative’, turns out to have quite a temper, and appears to have a few secrets. In a sentence: don’t judge them too soon.

Overall: 9/10

If you are still with me (and it’s quite likely if you are indeed reading this sentence), I recommend you go and watch Another now. It’s only a few hours out of your spare time and you really have nothing to lose except a night’s sleep if you are easily scared. If you are going to watch it, I can recommend watching it at midnight, it’s surprisingly good fun (if your idea of ‘fun’ is the same as mine, that is). Personally, I reckon that from a fairly dull season, Another will come to shine as easily the best new release this season, and possibly one of the better of the year.

Historical.

Gosick

Posted on January 18, 2020 by leyano

Summary:
Gosick takes place in 1924 in a small, made-up European country of Sauville. The story centers on Kazuya Kujo, the third son of a Japanese Imperial soldier, who is a transfer student to St. Marguerite Academy, where urban legends and horror stories are all the rage. There he meets Victorique, a mysterious yet beautiful and brilliant girl who never comes to class and spends her days reading the entire content of the library or solving mysteries that even detectives can’t solve. The series mostly focuses on Kazuya and Victorique getting involved in different mystery cases and their struggle to solve them, at the same time forming important bonds with different people.

Author: Sakuraba Kazuki

Artist: Amano Sakuya

Gosick received a lot of hype before it aired, and many people looked forward to the airing of this “masterpiece” novel. Will Studio Bones do it justice?
I would like to mention that I have not read the novel and thus I am only reviewing the anime version.

Story: 9/10
I am a sucker for detective/mystery anime. The first episode, however, did not meet up to my expectations. It introduced the characters all right, and I did enjoy the little mystery they had. However, being a fan of detective anime/stories, such as Detective Conan, I found the case pretty simple and repetitive in many shows.
But, my views changed by the second episode. One cannot help but admire Victorique’s detective skills, and the two part episode (2 and 3) proved to be entertaining. It was also suspenseful in a way since viewers are left with cliff hangers at the end of the second episode.
It might be far too early to judge the overall story, but I give it a 9/10 at the moment, and we will see how the whole series unfolds, though I have really high expectations at the moment.

Art: 10/10
I’m not surprised at the rating I give the artwork. Studio Bones generally produces eye-catching art style, and Gosick did do justice in that. The character designs are interesting (though many say that Victorique resembles Shinku from Rozen Maiden. But that was the author’s style, not the studio’s. Besides, it suits her!) The opening and ending have very beautiful artwork, and the style is somewhat different than what is IN the show, but still captivating. I give it a 10/10.

Sound: 9/10
The music accompanying the series is both mysterious and captivating. It actually draws the viewers in, and sets an overall mood for the show. The opening and ending songs (Opening by Yoshiki*lisa and Ending by Lisa Komine) are very catchy. The intro is amusingly happy and hyper at the beginning, then at the chorus very enjoyable to the ears. I think it was very well done! As for the ending, many fans rave that it is better than the opening. I personally prefer the opening, though the ending is nothing short of masterpiece. I give the sound a 9/10 only because the music in the show is somewhat repetitive.

Character: 8/10
It is a bit too early to judge the characters of the show, so I cannot truthfully rate them. First, let us take Victorique, the main female protagonist. What I adore about her is the fact that she is not only a good detective that puts a pipe in her mouth whenever sleuthing (Sherlock Holmes?) but the fact that after those moments she is a girl in the end. Her random antics (barrel roll! I’m so bored!) keep the viewer entertained, and intrigued by her inner personality. And viewers still wonder what sentimental value her “gold necklace” has. Was it her mothers? (I somewhat believe she had a relation to the villain in a way?)
Next is Kujou, the main male protagonist. He is quickly introduced, and for some reason is attached to Victorique from the moment he set eyes on her. What I enjoy is his somewhat “split” personality (one moment provides the comic relief, another moment he is deadly serious). However, the fact that he is the “third son and tries to surpass his brothers” is somewhat cliche? I don’t know, maybe it’s just me, but this is present in other anime too. But, Kujou proves to be a promising character and “sidekick” to Victorique.
Other minor characters are also appealing in their own way (a hyperactive teacher?) but some somehow have weird character designs (the Detective and his “drill” hair).
I give the characters and 8/10 at the moment since no further information is given about them, and we are only on the third episode, aren’t we?

Enjoyment: 9/10
Gosick happens to be entertaining, and viewers sleuth alongside the characters, wondering what will happen next. Some cannot wait for the next episode to come, while others are patient enough to think about the mystery during the one week period of time. 9/10.

Overall: 9/10
Gosick looks like a very promising anime, and the fact that it is being produced by Studio Bones only makes it more appealing. Detective/mystery genre fans will not only enjoy Victorique’s sleuthing with Kujou but also her “cute” personality while not being serious.

Harem.

Nisekoi (False Love)

Posted on January 18, 2020 by leyano

Summary:
Their families are currently at war because of business rivalry: the boy’s family are yakuza while the girl’s family are gangsters. The leaders of both groups would like to get along, because if the war is not stopped, there will surely be many casualties. The problem is that their underlings won’t listen to them, so they decided on something that will make them cooperate. They want Ichijou and Kirisaki to become lovers, so that their families will come to an understanding with each other. Will the two of them become official lovers and make their families get along? Or will their families continue to fight and create many troubles along with it?

Author: Komi Naoshi

First impression: I hadn’t laughed that much since Seto no Hanayome. This manga is really hilarious, and by what is seen on its One Shot it will get more active as the story keeps moving forward.

Story: 9/10

Is some sort of reversed Romeo and Juliet story style, since here two rival families, a yakuza and a gangster one, leaders’ want to settle a peace treatment by joining their respective heirs; a guy and a girl than can’t see each other without beginning a ruckus… but that somehow managed to maintain the masquerade to prevent a war between the families.

Art: 10/10

I can’t give it a 10, but it’s really good quality and fits perfectly the story.

Characters: 10/10

The chemistry between them is awesome… Raku and Chitoge suits each other.

Enjoyment: 10/10

What do I say… I’m still laughing.

Overall: 10/10

This is a great manga that you surely will enjoy.

Fantasy.

Fairy Tail

Posted on January 18, 2020 by leyano

Summary:
In the mystical land of Fiore, magic exists as an essential part of everyday life. Countless magic guilds lie at the core of all magical activity, and serve as venues for like-minded mages to band together and take on job requests. Among them, Fairy Tail stands out from the rest as a place of strength, spirit, and family.

Lucy Heartfilia is a young mage searching for celestial gate keys, and her dream is to become a full-fledged wizard by joining this famous guild. In her search, she runs into Natsu Dragneel and his partner Happy, who are on a quest to find Natsu’s foster father, the dragon Igneel.

Upon being tricked by a man, Lucy falls under an abduction attempt, only to be saved by Natsu. To her shock, he reveals that he is a member of Fairy Tail and invites her to join them. There, Lucy meets the guild’s strange members, such as the ice wizard Gray Fullbuster and magic swordswoman Erza Scarlet. Together as a family, they battle the forces of evil, help those in need, and gain new friends, all the while enjoying the never-ending adventure that is Fairy Tail.

Author: Mashima Hiro

Fairy Tail itself is one of my favorite series. I will try not to compare the anime too much with the manga since this a review for the ANIME, but I must note that the fairy tail MANGA is my favorite shounen manga, and I have been following that series for years, also before the anime show started.

Why people should watch Fairy Tail? well if you like the shounen genre, it would really be a waste if you don’t! Fairy Tail has all the good shounen points, amazing characters, amazing fights, comedy, and best of all; no long explanations during every fight and every attack (I am referring to the big top 3 here).

Story: 9/10

The Story in Fairy Tail is amusing, but there indeed is not very much plot going on here. Most of the things happening seem rather random. But the story is set up on a group of people in a mage guild named Fairy Tail, where the series main topic probably is the friendship between them. With a story like this, not having any special plot actually works. Instead of plot, we have fun and interesting small arcs all the time, which never makes Fairy Tail boring! And we all have to remember that Fairy Tail is still on-going, and there is a lot of unanswered questions yet to figure out, so it is possible for a deeper plot to pop up in the end!

Art: 9/10

Here I must compare a little to the Manga (Sorry). The manga has AMAZING art, however, the animation in the manga is not near as good. This is also the main reason why I won’t give this anime an overall score on 10. To be honest, when I watched the first episode of Fairy Tail in 2009, I have been looking forward to it to air the whole day, and I was a little disappointed when I watched it. worse was it, that from episode 2 and on to episode 15-20, the animation keeps being bad, well, the little animation there were! Fairy Tail, both in openings/endings and in the episodes themself like to use A LOT of non-moving pictures, which is a shame because fairy tail haves potential to have some really kick-ass scenes.
The fights lack a little too compared to the manga, or just other shounen series, because of the BLOOD censor (which annoys me greatly! We can not show blood in the anime, but naked girls is no problem!)

However, the anime still manages to have some good fights, where the Erza arc was animated pretty good, and so some of the other big fights.

Also, a lot of people have been talking about Fairy Tail being a rip-off or copy from One Piece. that is definitely not true! Yes, the art is somewhat similar and yes both series are a lot about their “Nakama” for real, its two very different stories. Try sitting down and read shojo, I can find over 10 stories with different mangakas, but with similar art and story. Fairy Tail and One Piece are NOT the same, Fairy Tail is NOT a rip-off, DON’T compare them, seriously.

Sound: 10/10

Fairy Tail has without a doubt the most EPIC soundtracks! It makes you go “hell yeah, go fairy tail” every time the main theme for their fighting scenes plays, and it makes you cry when the sad themes are played during sad scenes.

Fairy Tail also have an amazing Voice Acting cast (In Japanese) with some of the very popular seiyuu’s, like Happy’s voice actor Kugimiya Rie (Alphonse, Taiga, Shana, Louise, etc) and Lucy’s voice actor Hirano Aya (Suzumiya Haruhi, Izumi Konata, etc) and my own favorites, Natsu and Gray’s voice actors Kakihara Tetsuya (Simon, Amaimon, etc) and Nakamura Yuuichi (Tomoya, Greed, Gai, Ikuto, etc) and there are a lot more amazing voice actors, but that would be too much to list here now. Go check out for yourself!

Character: 10/10

There are a lot of characters in Fairy Tail, it should be possible to at least find a few you would like. To me, all the characters are very likable, I especially like our Main hero Natsu, because he seems bold, but he actually isn’t stupid or slow or dense like other typical shounen heroes are. Also with our characters, fairy tail manages to create some interesting relationships between our characters, both deep friendship, but also romantic ones, which usually is really rare in shounen. I’m sure that there haven’t been lots of girls, watching series like Bleach, One Piece or Naruto and just wishing for some romantic relationships to happen. Well, I will say that Fairy Tail manages to give you – maybe not fully canon – but surely lots of romantic possible relationship.

Enjoyment: 10/10

Unless you really have a problem with half-naked girls and breasts, which you really cannot escape from in Fairy tail however much I wish for it, it should not be possible for anyone to not enjoy this anime! It is just hilarious and funny but still has its good and serious moments, and even some complicated relationships between some of our characters, and Fairy Tail manage to surprise me lots of times too!

I will recommend this anime to all people who like shounen, or like a fun anime with lots of comedy.
There might be some girls, like myself, who doesn’t find the fan service rather interesting (Yes – boobs, huge boobs and LOTS of them) but I myself just learned to look over it, since most of the times, this fanservice is involved with something funny, which really just makes you laugh of it anyway. For guys who like this kind of fan service.. so many more reasons for you to watch it!

All in all. Wanna watch a funny, interesting and good anime? Watch Fairy Tail.

And if you like Fairy Tail, I would really recommend reading the Manga too. But that would mostly be because of the fact that the art is awesome, and manga contains blood, which makes the fighting scenes look a little more badass, and characters like Gray, is often drawn very hot and cool in the manga, where he gets less epic moments in the Anime. Other than that, the Anime and Manga are pretty much the same, I’m surprised to have watched 119 episodes of Fairy Tail, and there haven’t been any massive fillers yet. I will believe there have been all in all 10 episodes out of the 119 which have contained fillers, and that was not BAD fillers, and it wasn’t 10 episodes in a row, so it made an annoying filler arc. Also, the Fairy Tail anime likes to animate some of the many Fairy Tail Special/Extra/Omakes chapters and put them into the series or create some amazing hilarious OVA episodes out of them.

Ecchi.

High School DxD

Posted on January 18, 2020 by leyano

Summary:
High school student Issei Hyoudou is your run-of-the-mill pervert who does nothing productive with his life, peeping on women and dreaming of having his own harem one day. Things seem to be looking up for Issei when a beautiful girl asks him out on a date, although she turns out to be a fallen angel who brutally kills him! However, he gets a second chance at life when beautiful senior student Rias Gremory, who is a top-class devil, revives him as her servant, recruiting Issei into the ranks of the school’s Occult Research club. Slowly adjusting to his new life, Issei must train and fight in order to survive in the violent world of angels and devils. Each new adventure leads to many hilarious (and risqué) moments with his new comrades, all the while keeping his new life a secret from his friends and family in High School DxD!

Author: Ishibumi Ichiei

Artist: Mishima Hiroji

Oppai, the man we all love oppai, they’re round, good looking, have a nipple in the middle. Man, but what about big oppai? Maybe oppai every single episode? Welp, you got it! And that’s Highschool DxD for ya, oppai or in English term, tits, boobs, melons, bozangas, milk-makers, I COULD GO ON ALL DAY. This show is a pretty weird example of fanservice, you got it everywhere! Hell, some episodes nearly feel like filler episodes till the end of the episodes that continue the story. I came out of this show with no pants and a wet dick, but for now, let’s get to the review. Shall we?

Story: 6/10
So we start off with Issei, a typical pervert who peeks on girls with his pals at high-school. One day he meets this girl and goes out on a date with her, and well Issei gets killed by this bi- I mean girl and she turns out to be a, “fallen angel” DUN DUN DUUUUUN! So in Issei’s final seconds, he thinks about a girl called Rias who he saw earlier ago, and he ends up summoning her cause she’s a demon! DUN DUUUUUUUUN. And this is where our adventure begins. This story goes on until episode 6 with filler, fanservice and the plot is kind of messy at times and hell at times I was wondering, “Am I watching anime or softcore hentai?” There are many oppais and a lot of shit going on, you just get confused. One moment Issei progresses the story by learning something another second he’s being a pervert and there’s oppais everywhere.

Art: 6/10
There’s not much to say about the art, it doesn’t look half bad, the colors look nice, the animation is smooth. Overall it’s ok, not much to say but it fits the show. A little more detail can be put in but it’s ok, overall.

Sound: 8/10
For a show filled with fanservice, the music is really well done! The opening is a very nice and calm tune showing you what to expect in this show. The ending is this great and upbeat tune kind of like you’re watching a play and you’re about to leave and they put this Upbeat song, this is probably what it would be. Songs go from slow and beautiful tones to Epic and Mighty tunes pumping up your heart! The sound quality is overall well done and good as hell.

Character: 6/10
There are 3 main characters that we are focused on. First, you got Issei, typical pervert, At times I like Issei at times I hate him, he usually does everything wrong that just makes me wanna kick his ass until he realizes he’s an idiot. At times he could actually be pretty humorous and make some jokes. Then you got Rias, she’s a pretty good character, she usually does whats best for Issei and sure she only changes a bit at the end of the series but you just can’t help but like her. Then you got Asia, your cliched character who falls in love with the MC, will get jealous if someone tries to do anything romantic with him and the usual cliches. Her backstory is pretty explainable itself but she’s too generic. The character developments aren’t really strong and feel meh like they aren’t trying.

Enjoyment: 8/10
Without the humor, fanservice, filler and oppai this show would be pretty boring, so I give props for that stuff being there, overall this show will hook you from the start and you’ll probably watch it till the end.

Overall: 7//10
This show is enjoyable and pretty good overall. I have no problem with fanservice so I was able to watch this at ease. If you have a problem with fanservice or overall hate it. Stay from this show like its poop. If not you’ll easily enjoy this show, if you go through this show without fapping once, you’re tough enough to be in the weenies club. Cause there’s a LOT of fappable content, so make sure you have some lotion ready before watching this.

Drama.

Clannad

Posted on January 18, 2020 by leyano

Summary:
Clannad is set in a high-school located in a Japanese town. Tomoya Okazaki is a third-year student who doesn’t take his studies seriously. Always late for class, he’s seen as a delinquent by the rest of his classmates who are busy preparing for their entrance examinations. Needless to say, he doesn’t have too many close friends either. Tomoya seems not to mind too–until he meets a few other girls from his school. Though he doesn’t care much about them at first, he soon opens his heart to them as they get to know each other better. Clannad is a romantic youth drama that’s likely to be more down-to-earth than Key’s other works. But like Kanon and Air, Clannad’s story is expected to be another touching and heart-breaking weeper. Based off the game of the same name.

Author: Key

Artist: Juri Misaki

I was randomly looking around for a new anime to watch, but at the time I was watching a lot of action animes and never considered to watch any romance/drama animes. I joined a chat on an anime site and asked for a recommendation. Someone mentioned Clannad and a lot of people supported the suggestion. In any case: I started to watch Clannad.

Art: 10/10

The first thing I noticed about Clannad was the art, it is probably one of the best elements in Clannad. I would often pause the anime for a minute just to watch the surroundings. I concluded that the sunsets were the most beautiful. Why? Because the orange glow it emitted was just stunning. Never before had I seen anything similar in an anime. Well, we do get other animes from Kyoto Animation, like Air or Haruhi Suzumiya. But I still found Clannad’s art more charming than any other anime. The character art is also brilliant and can resemble Haruhi Suzumiya, Kanon and even Lucky Star. A huge element which Kyoto Animation used was torn, you could for example often see Sunohara cry out of pleasure, pain or by being fooled by Okazaki. I can’t find anything bad about the art in Clannad and therefore:

Sound: 10/10

Another good thing about Clannad is the sound. From excellent voice actors like Yuichi Nakamura, Mai Nakahara, Ryō Hirohashi and Daisuke Sakaguchi too amazing situational music. Clannad soundtrack covers everything in a perfect manner: from spirited and happy moments too melancholy and sad moments. Jun Maeda, Magome Togoshi, and Shinji Orito who are the geniuses behind the music also made soundtracks for Air.
There are also soundtracks that fit each character. For example, you have Sunohara which has uplifting and spirited music that fits his personality. Nor in the sound can i find any flaws, and therefore:

Character: 10/10

One thing I simply loved about Clannad was the characters. How they were presented, their development and everything else about them. Each character had their past and views about things thoroughly explained throughout the anime, which was a first for me. And while watching Clannad, I felt like I was bonding with each character. Which made After Story a heart breaker, but let’s save that for later.

Story: 10/10

Clannad’s story is separated into several arcs. You have the very beginning of the anime were the main characters and some secondary characters are presented and also some relationships start to the spin-off. Then you have the Fuko Ibuki arc, the Kotomi Ichinose arc and after that Clannad keeps building the relationship between the characters. You often get a harem to feel in Clannad, although it is not presented on an “ecchi” basis which we often witness in comedy/romance animes. Well, you have Sunohara of course, but the protagonist, Okazaki, isn’t really the ecchi type. Of course, there are a few moments, but it is not the main basis of Clannad’s humor. I think affected the story in an excellent way.

Enjoyment: 10/10

Clannad’s humor is just flawless. It’s not too ecchi and you never seem to get tired of Sunoharas stupidity or Okazaki’s pranks. You also have Kyou’s anger and Tomoyo’s grown-up personality and her desire to be a student council president. These are of course just examples. But there are also sad parts in Clannad which I think we’re done really well. And it was all supported by excellent music.

Overall Rating: 10/10

What can I say? I loved everything about Clannad, and it is by far my favorite anime. I can recommend this anime to everyone, it is really worth taking a look at. Even if you don’t like romance/drama/humor as much!

Action.

One Piece

Posted on January 18, 2020 by leyano

Summary:

Gol D. Roger, a man referred to as the “Pirate King,” is set to be executed by the World Government. But just before his demise, he confirms the existence of a great treasure, One Piece, located somewhere within the vast ocean known as the Grand Line. Announcing that One Piece can be claimed by anyone worthy enough to reach it, the Pirate King is executed and the Great Age of Pirates begins.

Twenty-two years later, a young man by the name of Monkey D. Luffy is ready to embark on his own adventure, searching for One Piece and striving to become the new Pirate King. Armed with just a straw hat, a small boat, and an elastic body, he sets out on a fantastic journey to gather his own crew and a worthy ship that will take them across the Grand Line to claim the greatest status on the high seas.

Author: Eiichiro Oda

Frequently categorized with both Bleach and Naruto as one of the Shonen Big Three, One Piece is a romantic tale of pirates, treasures …talking reindeer, panties, flying skeletons, Takoyaki selling Octopuses, and oceans roaming with Sea Monsters the size of which can take down fleets of ships. Crazy enough for you? This is the world of One Piece.

Being categorized with Bleach and Naruto, on the surface this might strike an unfamiliar reader as another generic uncreative Shonen series; but truthfully, comparing One Piece to Bleach and Naruto would be like comparing Disney World to an elementary school playground. If these three series are the big three, then One Piece would be the boss sitting on a lavish chair smoking a cigarette, while Bleach and Naruto would be the two henchmen standing side by side of the boss and nodding at everything he says.

Story: 10/10

Set during the Golden Age of Pirates, the story follows Monkey D Luffy as he sets sail with his crew to conquer the sea which is inhabited by formidable pirates who all aim to become the Pirate King, the Grand Line and claim the treasures of ‘One Piece’ left by the late Pirate King, Gol D Roger.

Of course the goal of being Pirate King really is just a loose objective set forward that eventually throws Luffy and his shipmates into a giant boiling pot full of problems and adventures. What’s special about this story is that it takes the most run-of-the-mill concepts and turns it into something fantastic and exciting. The concept of traveling from drastically different locations after locations is filled with endlessly creative characters and creatures that sets it apart from ever being dull, as opposed to say, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle where traveling to new worlds is a borefest and you can only hope the next world is interesting, and well if it’s not …have fun reading an entire arc on that filled with recycled characters.

The main plot device used in One Piece are the Devil Fruits, which grant anyone that eats them inhuman powers though at the deadly price of sinking like an anchor in the water; here the strange irony being that this is a series about pirates constantly on water. What makes this concept actually interesting is that every fruit has a different power and no two powers are the same, and Oda’s endless imagination to come up with strange and hilarious powers. Above that, what makes this concept better than say, Bankai’s or Kekkei Genkai’s, is that you never know how two powers match up, so the weakest Devil Fruit powers in the current arc could very well be the key factor to winning a battle in the next, in that way, none of the characters ever seem so overpowered that they can completely destroy the other characters and it certainly adds an air of suspension and excitement to the battles that you wouldn’t find in something like Sasuke vs. Konohamaru.

The story of One Piece may be simple and often straight out silly at times, but if you read deep enough, you’ll realize that oftentimes the stories are much deeper and well-crafted than you would think they are, from the spark of a rebellion through misunderstandings to the questioning of an unfair God, One Piece can often surprise you through the story. One of the great things about One Piece when it comes to the story is that it’s unpredictable, you never know where a fight is going, what’s going to happen to the characters, who’s going to win and who’s going to turn out to be a good guy and who’s going to be a bad guy, it’s this element that makes everything that happens so intriguing and an extremely fun read.

Another well-done part of the story is that the stories of the characters are all intertwined so that it doesn’t seem like the only thing holding all these characters together is through the main protagonist, the main antagonist of one arc may very well know the supporting ally of the next, and that just contributes to a more interesting read. Another strong point of the story is that Oda isn’t afraid to bring back old characters, be it enemies or comical side characters and villains, they aren’t just cut out of the story once their arc is over, they come back, some as allies and friends, this, in a sense, really fleshes out the One Piece world and makes the reader feel that the world does not revolve around The Straw Hat Pirates, but instead, the pirates of the Grand Line, all in all, it adds a sense of dimension to the story and makes it feel not as linear as it could be in the hands of a less skilled mangaka.

But what ultimately makes the story of One Piece so grand and exciting is thanks to two major components: 1) the emotional depth, and 2), Oda’s masterful storytelling. The emotional depth in this series is amazing and can oftentimes leave one speechless, from the simple departure of a character to join the Straw Hats to the rescue of a friend in need, it’s not emotionally complex …it’s just plain raw emotion of wanting to be loved or the sadness of losing a friend yet it achieves such a level of pure emotion and excitement that the likes of Bleach and Naruto can only dream of achieving. Now the second component that makes One Piece great is how Oda tells the story, he can build up the story to the point where you can feel the urgency, the sense of despair, and the feeling of something great happening. He creates cliffhangers, yet never makes it irritatingly frustrating, he inserts flashbacks, yet they never feel out of place or annoying to read, and the way he builds up the fights is just, for the lack of better worlds, epic. People say Gurren Lagann is exciting, well I’d like to see those TTGL fans have a taste of what it feels as the Straw Hats infiltrate Enies Lobby or when The Eleven Supernovas gather at Sabaody Archipelago.

Combine this with the perfect blend of humor (this manga is absolutely hilarious) and the sheer creativity of Oda and you got yourself an adventure of unequaled proportions.

Art: 10/10

The bad thing with the art is that Oda’s action sequences are so fast-paced and ambitious that it often times becomes muddled and a bit too messy; it gets hard to tell what’s happening in these fight scenes and it takes a bit of imagination to understand what Oda is trying to do with these fight scenes, or else they come off rather cheesy at times, such as Luffy’s Gomu Gomu no Gatling or Zoro’s Kiki Kyūtōryū: Ashura.

The good on the other hand outweigh the bad of the art through the creative character designs that Oda just never seems to run out of, even if it’s a character that appears in one panel and may never show up again, the utmost attention is given to his/her design so they never appear out of place compared to the other crazy designs he gives his characters. From the Okama Mr. 2 to the CP9 crew, the characters are all so different in appearance, size, and demeanor, it’s hard to imagine how Oda keeps up. The sheer variability of the Straw Hat crew itself is a primary example of what a creative mangaka Oda is, as opposed to the recycled designs of his peers, Kishimoto and Kubo. Be it skeleton, reindeer, cyborg or witch, anyone and everyone is a likely candidate for the Straw Hat crew.

Aside from character designs, Oda really make the scenes feel cinematic and exciting, the tension and the sheer majestic and romantic quality of the adventure of the Straw Hats would never be fantastic without Oda’s use of great art, from the crew getting ready to bombard Arlong Park to the storming of Enies Lobby, the examples go on. In short, Oda really knows how to pump you up through his art.

Lastly, the exaggerated expressions sometimes are just downright hilarious. I swear I laughed my ass off for at least five minutes when Enel made that huge WTF face after confronting Luffy.

Character: 10/10

This is where One Piece is particularly strong in, and where this series shine at its greatest. One Piece’s cast is colorful, hilarious, and unpredictable. Currently, the Straw Hat crew consists of a rubber man, a pirate hunting pirate, a thief, a long nosed sniper, a womanizing cook, a transforming reindeer, a “witch”, a cyborg that doesn’t wear pants, and a walking skeleton.

Yep.

Each character is unique, and when you throw a bunch like them together, the chemistry and interaction between the Straw Hat crew is comedic gold. And while they are almost always fooling around, each Straw Hat member has their own back stories that truly make them much deeper than what they appear to be at first. Brook is not just a joke character for variety, Nami is not just there to act like the straight man, Luffy isn’t always a senseless fool, and Robin isn’t just there to act like a damsel in distress (okay maybe she is …kidding). The thing that needs to be pointed out is that the Straw Hat crew is a complex cast that is often much deeper than meets the eye.

Outside the crew, both the friends the Straw Hat meet and the villains they confront are so freshly colorful and original, it never gets boring. The Shichibukai are just a perfect example of the variety of the One Piece cast, as well as CP9 and of course, Baroque Works. I would say it’s pretty hard to find another cast so distinctive and creative as One Piece’s. Of course the Devil Fruits certainly help in bringing the characters to life.

Like previously mentioned, a strong point of the characters is how connected they are. The connections between characters are complex and can get pretty surprising sometimes. Who may appear as an old man could very well be friends with the former Pirate King and that whale that you saw at that mountain? Oh he’s related to a guy you’ll meet up with in a couple of hundred chapters. Some authors pull this kind of stuff out of nowhere (see: Kishimoto), but Oda plans out these kind of relations so intricately and carefully, you can’t help but be impressed.

Are there weak points to the characters? Certainly, there’s a storyline that seems awfully repeated for the female crew-members of the Straw Hats, but the scale of the story is so big, that in the end, it doesn’t matter that much and that one little slip-up never seemed like a big deal to begin with.

Enjoyment: 10/10

This is the most enjoyable manga I have ever read. It’s an absolute pleasure to read. Are there dull parts? At the beginning of every arc, there is always some exposition to be done, but once things enter full swing (and that is rather fast), damn, the chapters fly by in the hundreds, this is crack in manga form. If you want to know, I have spent entire days reading One Piece, that is how addicting this stuff is. With One Piece breaking records in sales in Japan, I think it speaks for itself when it comes to enjoyment.

Overall: 10/10

One Piece is my favorite manga. Period. The story is such a grand and epic adventure, with each arc topping the previous; the characters are so tear-inducingly hilarious, and the art is so cinematic and exciting, One Piece is without the doubt, the greatest Shonen manga I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading, and I doubt it will be topped anytime soon, if ever, as my favorite manga series. Cheers to Oda for creating this Shonen masterpiece, and may he continue to keep on going, One Piece is a manga that I love and hope to read for many many many years to come.

Yohohoho a pirate’s life for me~

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