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(Note: for me, personal enjoyment is the most important factor in ranking an anime, which is why I give it more weight than other aspects.) Also Note: I have never played any of the Danganronpa games, but I still love the anime series. I think that's a sign it's a good quality show on its own.

Story 8/10

Danganronpa The Animation has an engaging story concept that instantly made me want to try watching it. Fifteen high school students gather at an esteemed academy and find themselves trapped there and under the control of an extremely annoying and honestly pretty creepy little robotic bear. The only ... way to escape Hope's Peak Academy, says the bear, is to kill a classmate and get away with it. If you are discovered as the one who killed your classmate, you will be executed at the weekly Classroom Trial. If you didn't kill anyone, you had better find out who did-- otherwise, if you convict the wrong suspect at the Classroom trial, the entire class except the actual murderer will be executed.

As far as story structure goes, the creators did well building the plot and setting up the main mystery and its conclusion. It's really impressive that they excellently sewed together so many elements into only thirteen episodes.

I do have to say that Danganronpa does not do so well if you are looking for a classical mystery story. While the underlying mystery of the "mastermind" at the academy is admirably presented, the small murder mysteries (usually one per episode) are less so. For one thing, they are rushed. For another, the average viewer probably cannot piece together the answer of who dunnit with the extremely limited information given. Instead of the VIEWER trying to figure out each episode's murder, Danganronpa is designed for viewers to watch the Classroom Trial play out and follow the thinking of the characters as THEY solve the mysery.

Personal Enjoyment (10/10): Why I Love Danganronpa

I love the "Death Game" genre of anime, where lots of people die off from enemy/monster attacks OR are forced to kill each other within the bounds of someone's effed up game scenario. Examples of this genre are Mirai Nikki (Future Diary), Bokurano (Ours), Btoom!, Deadman Wonderland, Death Parade, the Fate franchise (such as Fate/Zero), Gantz, Higashi no Eden (Eden of of the East), Magical Girl Raising Project, Mai-Hime, Jyuu Oh Sei (King of Beasts), Juuni Taisen (Twelve Warriors), Sword Art Online, and Ousama Game (King's Game). All but the last item are fascinating and thrilling series.

All that to say, Danganronpa is also a Death Game anime, and I believe it's one of the best in the genre. Why? Because the story has many orginal and entertaining twists, the characters are diverse but all of them likeable, the stylized animation is refreshing, the voice-acting is first-rate, and there is enough suspense and violence to keep me entertained but not disgusted. There is realistic mortality and abundant character death, but each character gets his or her own good moments, and there are a number of survivors at the end along with a positive message of hope over despair.

Animation 7/10

Studio Lerche has become successful and popular thanks to titles like Assassination Classroom and Classroom of the Elite. Danganronpa the Animation came out before any of those big titles, so I think of it as Studio Lerche's introduction into popular anime. They did a great job making the animation unique, stylized, and much more creative than the average anime of this level of budget. Since most of Danganronpa is dialogue, though, you won't see any particularly fantastic action scenes. No, the art isn't "stunning," but it's entertaining and anomalous in a positive way.

Some people are annoyed by the animation sequences of the executions, but I think they are interesting and, in a good way, creepy and weird. After all, scenes of kids dying should be creepy and unsettling. Another small thing that apparently pisses some people off is that the blood in Danganronpa is colored purple instead of red. I like that, though. It's imaginative and does a good job capturing the eyes.

Sound 8/10

The soundtrack for Danganronpa The Animation is more than satisfying. Granted, the opening song ("Never Say Never" by TKDz2b) is pretty silly, but it's catchy, and great for laughs. "Zetsubousei: Hero Chiryouyaku," which is the main ending theme, is excellent. The dramatic short peice of music used when a corpse is discovered fits perfectly and gives a sense of dark humor. The score used for classroom trials is interesting and fun to listen to. The other scores, which feature a lot of fast-paced tracks with heavy percussion, are also enjoyable and fit well with the anime's mood.

I'm writing this review for the sub and not the dub. I can't stand dubs. I much prefer to hear the voices of the Japanese seiyuu. Voice acting plays a big role in whether I like the show or not. In the case of Danganronpa, several of my favorite seiyuu have parts, and as usual they do a great
job. I've been a fan of Ishida Akira since I first heard him as Kaoru in Neon Genesis Evangelion. He plays Togami Byakuya in Dangronpa. I also admire the voices of Naegi, Kirigiri, and Fukawa; they are played by Ogata Megumi, Hikasa Yoko, and Sawashiro Miyuki, respectively.

Ogata Megumi is an older woman who does a great and convincing job of playing boys whose voices haven't changed yet. She is most famous for voicing Shinji in the Evangelion Franchise, Yuugi Mutou in Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Kurama in Yuu Yuu Hakusho. More recently, she played Itona Horibe in Assassination Classroom, Ayato Naoi in Angel Beats!, Tsubaki (the innkeeper wolf) in Konohana Kitan, and Cranberry in Magical Girl Raising Project. As Naegi, Ogata performs commendably with passion and skilled voice control.

You can look up the others yourself, but I just want to say two things. First, I love many of the roles played by Sawashiro Miyuki, and as Fukawa of split personalities she does a fantastic job. Second, Hikasa Yoko (Kirigiri) has a beautiful voice and you might be surprised at how many roles she's played.

Characters 9/10

A lot of people complain that fifteen (or sixteen really) is too many characters for a thirteen episode anime. However, I think that Studio Lerche does a great job with its large-cast anime like Danganronpa, Assassination Classroom, and Magical Girl Raising Project. There's not enough time for truly in-depth character development, but time spent on characterization is sufficient enough to give you a solid idea of what each character is supposed to be like.

Some characters were given more diverse emotions and character arcs than others; for instance, Asahina gets a lot of time and depth that characters like, for instance, Sayaka never got. However, I still hold that the makers should be appreciated for managing to develop the characters even as much as they did.

The characters are colorful and unforgettable, with sometimes funny but still superb character designs. I was especially happy that a few characters were included who challenge gender stereotypes. Sakura is a woman, but looks as muscular as a male weight lifter, and has an awesome scar on her face. Her voice sounds very husky and deeper than that of most female characters. On the flipside, there is Fujisaka, someone who seems at first to be a reserved and soft-spoken girl... but don't let looks and social mannerisms decieve you. Watch to find out her/his story of battling with her/his gender.

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The story, the enjoyment, the animation, the sound, and the characters all make Danganronpa The Animation a show that is worth your time.

I believe this is a sadly underrated anime. It certainly has its faults, but for me the positives outweigh the negatives by far. I've divided this review into the main points which were good and those that were not so good.

The good:

-The premise/idea of the story/ world building... (the Jin-Rou or human wolves is one of my favorite themes, the creativity seen in the order of the Ookami faith is good, the effect of the hassaku scent is interesting, the idea of mitsu and kamibito and how they have learned to exist in a human world is a fine concept, etc.)

-The voice acting ... is good and features a variety of seiyuu that I LOVE, including Kobayashi Yuu (who I think does a god job playing pre-teen boys), Katou Emiri (who I enjoyed most for playing Kyubey in Madoka Magica), Okamoto Nobuhiko (who does some crazy characters like Rin from Blue Exorcist and Karma from Assassination Classroom), Gotou Yuuko (who played Madoka's mom and also Asahina from Haruhi Suzumiya), and Fujiwara Keijuu (who's been in too many anime for me to pick out a favorite.)

-The OST is astounding. The opening song and ending song are both beautiful, catchy, and pretty easy to sing along with. The scores and instrumentals used throughout the anime are also some of my favorites.

-A strong-willed main female lead (Kushinada Nemuru), capable of fighting and killing but actually "good" at heart with a strong sense of duty.

The bad:

-The animation would have been fine if this were a 2005ish anime, but it was in fact made in 2010, so naturally people expected better and more detailed art by this time. It's not hideous or anything-- I think it's got cute character designs-- but it's cheap.

-A main male lead (Kuzumi) who is not convincing as a 16 year-old boy and grates on the nerves of many viewers. He's not very bright (can't understand the "mystery" unless it's clearly spelled out), he gets scared very easily, he rarely makes any effort at self-defense, and he's just kind of "delicate." I don't really mind characters like this because I like lead males with a sense of vulnerability to them, but this show went a little overboard with it. However, if you watch the anime thinking of Kuzumi as a 10-13 year-old boy raised in the city his whole life, his character is a LOT more believable and understandable.

-Insufficient discussion/fleshing out of psychology, the act of killing, and how Kushinada could be construed as sociopathic.

I was expecting some good dark humor. And in a sense, because of the atrocious animation, disgusting dubbing, and unrealistic-absurdist type violence, it was so terrible it was a little bit funny. But the subject matter itself isn't funny at all. There are people who are turned on by violence and that's something it's about time we as a culture had a talk about. It's a part of human nature that most people are too afraid to talk about. But even worse than being afraid of it is pointing it out and mocking it. Making it into a joke. I can't appreciate it. That's really ... all I have to say.

Log Horizon is the story of a gamer named Shiroe and his friends after they are pulled into another world: a fantasy world that closely resembles the highly popular MMORPG, "Elder Tale." For this review, I've chosen not to follow the trope of comparing it to Sword Art Online (or any other anime for that matter). As I watched, I wrote down my chief thoughts on the show as pros and cons. Since this is a MAL review, I've tried to rearrange the original bullet points into the following categories: Story (and Structure), Art, Sound, Character, and Personal Enjoyment.

Story and Structuring

-Plot feels weak ... early on. They should make a bigger point of the fact that the main characters are seeking meaning in their lives here in this new world. People seeking meaning, coming together, and creating things is the premise.
-Plot lacks sense of danger/epic feel because you just respawn when you die.
-Not many hints or foreshadowing to majot events, emphasis on shock surprise.
-The show is far too afraid to use character death. There are close calls, but in season one no major characters die. The characters are too strong, again making the show less epic than it could be with "mortal" characters.
-I felt that the fluff and goofy material in episodes 21-23 was a drag. Little of it was amusing. The plot came to a standstill. It's poor structuring to use 3 whole episodes of mostly fluff right before the two finale episodes. And of the two final episodes, the first was exceptionally boring.
-However, on occasion the feels really hit home. Even things that are frequently portrayed in anime are done in such a way to still feel sad/emotional. Example, Minori falling in love with Shiroe and being hurt by seeing him with Akatsuki.

Art

-Animation looks rather cheap to me, but I am no artist, so please watch and judge for yourself. I also think sometimes, a few things are drawn just plain badly. Like the horses and some of the monsters.
-I was sad to see that the action sequences were only average quality. Nothing really “awesome.”
-Personal pet peeve: The characters have boring-looking eyes for being in an anime?
-There were certain scenes where things were implied to have happened, but they were not animated, and that felt cheap. Example Akatsuki and Shiroe dancing.

Sound

-The voice acting is pretty good. My favorites were: Kuno Misaki as Serara (who also played Niko in Kiznaiver), Nakata Jouji as Nyanta (he's had many roles but in my opinion was most memorable as Kotomine Kirei in the Fate series), Kakihara Tetsuya as Rundellhous (who apparently speaks English and German as well as Japanese), Daiki Yamashita as Touya (who later voiced Midorya in Boku no Hero Academia), Takahiro Sakurai as Krusty (he's been in tons of anime but I loved him most as Suzaku from Code Geass), and Nobuhiko Okamoto as side character Karashin (Rin from Ao no Exorcist).

-Catchy opening, "Database" by Man with a Mission (featuring Takuma)
-Catchy and pretty sounding ending song, "Your Song" by Yun*chi.
-I noticed some scores that used woodwinds or flutes and those were pretty.
-There are some good music scores for battle sequences, and a few that I noticed incorporated a little metal-- always a plus.

Character

-Player Killer villains are not as evil because they're not really killing people.
-None of the characters seem very interested in finding out why they are trapped in game world, at least not at first. The level of disinterest is not believable for characters who were snatched away from the world they love.
-We have a very intelligent main character who is "good" without being preachy or cocky (well, sometimes he's a little arrogant, but that's anime guys for you).
-MC also has a "villainous" side, using deceit in his Crescent Moon plan.
-One of the three main characters is a girl who is rarely sexually objectified... except by Henrietta, but that's arguably not sexual at all.
-Main characters are college aged rather than high school, an unusual plus.
-Nyanta is a hilarious character especially since I mostly know his seiyuu Nakata Jouji for playing villainous characters, and suddenly here he's meowing.
-In addition to college aged main characters, there's also a team of young characters that are fun and relatable (Minori, Rudy, Isuzu, Tohya).
-The addition of another good female character, Lenessia, was a good move.

Personal Enjoyment

Below are several points that I thought needed to be said— they don't quite fit the other categories so I put them under Personal Enjoyment.
-Log Horizon is an "intelligent" anime-- think of the Crescent Moon plan with all the strategy, principles of budgeting and economics, and business negotiations.
-Sometimes there are interesting questions of morality. Such as Shiroe forming an oligarchy, taking control of the city because he believes he's the best suited to govern, versus democracy, raising the question of Shiroe being "evil".
-Eventually the secrets of the world start to be explained (ep 14)
-There's a nice variety of animal-people present including Shouryuu who is adorable in my opinion.
-I love most everything about the World lore. Examples are below.

*Warning: Spoilers are Below*
NPCs are human: that is a fascinating idea. Incorporating real moves into fights along with commands: another good idea. The system of food and taste in the Log Horizon world. It's interesting that the world is a copy of the real world at half the scale. I like that they mention there are "several hundred thousand" players from other countries also trapped in game world. The function of the main Guild Building, with guilds unable to form or disband without being in the building, is creative. Another plus: the ability to invent modern things like steam engines. One of the best elements: a sort of "science" behind "souls" exists in this world, all the stuff about anima and psyche, and it's awesome. Finally, there is the awesome possibility of creating new magic like Shiroe did.

Overall

While nothing astounding, Log Horizon is enjoyable and certainly deserves a place among anime of the "Transported to fantasy world / game world" genre. This isn't the best anime to watch high or drunk, since then it would be difficult to appreciate the intelligence of the main character and his plans. On the downside, the plot's a bit weak and poorly structured. On the plus side, the world lore is fascinating, and the characters are unforgettable.

Blind boy Hirose moves in with his wacky uncle way out in the sticks and attends a school full of beautiful loli girls who all give him the suffix "sama" and are all ridiculously fond of him for no reason. There is an air of mystery in the village. The show does a decent job of giving some suspense and leaving you to wonder what the hell is wrong with this screwed up village. Also in this show, if you stick around long enough, there are some psychological elements such as Hirose's blindness.

Ridiculous sexual moments that would probably never happen ensue between blind ... boy and all the girls while the plot creeps very slowly along. All the girls' high-pitched voices could crack glass. Same goes for the spirit-girl Otoha-san, who appears just long enough to give Otoha-Hirose shippers fan service, and then disappears. Conveniently, only the main character can see her.

What else? The show wins points for having a good soundtrack. The beautiful music helps make up for the general stupidity of the show. Speaking of the sound, I'm a big fan of Koshimizu Ami, voice of MC Hirose, so that's a plus. Here Koshimizu has to play a male, and doesn't do a great job trying to sound masculine, but her voice is wonderful to hear regardless.

At times, H20 can be surprisingly sad. Granted, I would be more moved if the heartbroken crying were not so ridiculously high-pitched. The friendship between Hinata and Hayami is endearing, even touching, once they make up. Hinata's secret backstory was surprising and interesting though it deserved more than one episode of development.

Footprints loses major points for the utterly nonsensical eighth episode. It really wasn't that funny. It was an obvious filler too. And the spirit girl disappears without her purpose ever being explained. The general structure of the plot is a mess, lacking direction at the most key moments, and suddenly moving in a new direction without any warning at other times. For example, the anime seemed resolved of drama after episode 7, only to be followed by a filler, and then suddenly delving into the relationship between Hirose and Hayami, which hadn't been a very strong element before.

Beginning the last third of the series, we are suddenly and without ceremony told "the secret" of the village, though not with nearly enough detail. I'd even say it's easy to miss. And it's only stated after all the major drama is resolved. leaving only school rom-com tropes and not-very-amusing nonsense fill the show where good content could have been, though there are some sort of sad moments or interesting bits of character development here and there.

I guess this is one of those sort of cute anime to watch when bored. There are some funny ecchi moments, a satisfying romance, and warm-fuzzy themes of friendship mixed with realistic hardships suffered by the characters and a little element of mystery at least early on. Finally, in the last two or three episodes or so, things get interesting again, touching on themes of grief, loss, rage, violence, suicide, and mental breakdowns, which are disturbing but important to talk about in media.

Note: this anime might annoy people who want a clear, definite ending. The ending is vague in this anime. I would say it's up to fan interpretation.

Production and Popularity

Devil Survivor 2 is a 2013 thirteen episode anime based on the 2012 video game by Atlus for the Nintendo DS. Genres and themes include action, fantasy, supernatural, demons, friendship, free will, apocalypse scenario, and in an indirect way, survival game. The anime was created by Studio Bridge, known for being the studio of the ever popular series Fairy Tale. Fifty thousand users on myanimelist.net have ranked Devil Survivor 2 at 7.05, with reviewers giving it a fair mix of votes from 3 to 10. While few people have rated it on Crunchyroll, the average is four out of five stars. In contrast, ... on IMDb, users have only rated it 6.4 out of 10.

As you can see, the popularity of the show is not great, and opinions on it differ significantly. To start with, Devil Survivor is based on a game, so the average viewer who hasn't played the game may not appreciate it as much. On the other hand, some of those who did play the game and reviewed the anime online seem to be unsatisfied with the adaptation. Other complaints were that the show was too similar to the classic Neon Genesis Evangelion and lacked originality. For me, these reasons either don't apply or are not enough to make me dislike the show. I have never played the games, so I was not expecting a perfect adaptation. I found the anime perfectly understandable without having to play the game. In addition, I liked the similarities to Evangelion and I felt that Devil Survivor had just enough originality to make it not seem like a rip-off.

Story and Structure

I thought the story was excellent. Saving the world from demons or otherworldly invaders might be unoriginal, but there were enough other elements to it to make it good, such as the story of Mono Ureu, the Anguished One, the friendships between the characters, the character of Yamato and his ultimate goals, and the "magic application" system on the phones. More than being a story about saving the world, it was the story of a boy who believes in free will (Hibiki), a man who believes that might makes right (Yamato), and a being who has developed human thoughts and emotions when he was not programmed to do so (Mono Ureu). How do the three of them interact, what is their relationship, what makes them enemies, and what could make them friends?

The story structure was well-done too, divided into _ days. Episode 1 covers Sunday, episodes 2-4 cover Monday, episodes 5-6 cover Tuesday, episodes 7-8 cover Wednesday, episode 9 Thursday, episode 10 Friday, episode 11 Saturday, and episodes 12-13 Sunday. Major plot points can be thought of as each major battle: the first Septentrion in episode 1, the second Septentrion in episode 4, the third in episode 6, fourth in 8, the battle with Lugh after the sixth Septentrion in 10, and each of the three major battles in 11, 12, and 13. This structure is n0t quite as effective as the 1-3-6-8-10-12 structure, but it is used without problems here because of the number of battles that need to be shown (there needs to be time for Yamato's fights with Mono Ureu and Hibiki after the seven Septentrions).

Art

I am not an artist and don't know a lot about animation, but for me, the art was enjoyable. The character designs in particular I liked. Hibiki's rabbit hoody is kind of unforgettable, and even minor characters, such as Tico, were memorable in design. At first I thought the character design for the Anguished One had elements that were overused for his character type, such as stripes and white hair, but it grew on me over time, and it turned out he was much less of a stereotypical character than I had initially assumed. The fantasy battles were amazing to watch. When CG is used, it is mostly used well, and does appear too jarring. A lot of thought must have gone into the designs for all the demons, not to mention the Septentrions and their attacks. I love mythological creatures and animals, so I loved seeing Suzaku the Phoenix, Byakku the white tiger, and Yamato's lion demon (who was strangely named Ceberus).

Sound: Seiyuu, Songs, and Scores

Devil Survivor 2 had a fantastic cast. Famous seiyuu Hiroshi Kamiya played main character Hibiki Kuze. He has played various unforgettable roles such as Yato in Norigami, Levi in Shingeki no Kyoujin, Araragi in the monogatari series, Nozomu in Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei, and more. He plays any character well, even the idealistic and sometimes naive Hibiki. Daichi is played by Nobuhiko Okamoto, now known for voicing Rin in Blue Exorcist. Various other talented seiyuu appeared. A favorite of main is Ami Koshimizu, voice of Kallen in Gode Geass and Ryuuko in Kill la Kill, playing Hinako in this series.

I enjoyed the opening and ending themes as well as the scores in this anime. Ending song "Be" by Song Riders was a special favorite that always moved me emotionally. On YouTube, the only OST available for Devil Survivor 2 is the OST for the game and not the anime. So it's hard to say much about the scores used in the series. If memory serves me, I believe they were beautiful and appropriate.

Characters

Once again, the characters were enjoyable and well done in this anime for the most part. At first, some development is lacking, such as working out the character of Nitta, but she eventually gets her time. This is a short series with quite a few characters, so Devil Survivor 2 naturally doesn't develop them as much as shows with fewer characters or more episodes, but given the restrictions, the show does an excellent job.

The three main characters to consider end up being Hibiki, the humanist, Yamato, the power-driven, and Ureu Mono, the questioner. How these characters interact and play out during the show was entertaining and thought-provoking for me. I felt that although Hibiki is characterized as the "good guy," the other two were not demonized or anything, and it's possible to enjoy the show while agreeing with them more than wih Hibiki if that's the way of your personal values.

Enjoyment

As usual, enjoyment is the most important element for me in rating an anime series. I enjoyed nearly every moment of Devil Survivor 2. One specific thing I liked was the theme that to be human is to question, and that the continued questioning will lead to mental and emotional anguish. I believe life is very much like that, so Ureu Mono was my favorite character. I also liked that Hibiki had strong friendships in the anime without there being canon romance, so you can either pick a shipping or consider them platonic friends. My inner yaoi fangirl enjoyed some thoughts of Hibiki and Daichi, but when I take the story seriously I feel that no romance is really needed. It might make for a good fanfiction though.

Production and Popularity

Girlish Number is a slice-of-life anime about careers in the world of Japanese voice actresses (seiyuu). It started as a light novel by Wataru Watari, with illustrations by QP:flapper and Yamcha. A manga version was created around the same time by Yuuki Doomoto. The twelve-episode anime aired from October to December 2016. It was created by Studio Diomedea, which has made many all-girl anime and several Ecchi anime. I know them for animating Akuma no Riddle (Spring 2014) and Mayoiga (Spring 2016).

Since it's such a recent anime, Girlish Number has few votes on IMDb and even fewer on Crunchyroll. Viewers have begun ... ranking it on myanimelist.com, however. There, as of February 2017, nearly fifteen thousand viewers have given it an overall rating of 7.07 out of 10. This may not seem like the most promising number, but it doesn't surprise me. As will be discussed later, fans had issues with Girlish Number because many of them couldn't understand the heroine.

Story: Structure and Execution

Major plot points in the story are the acquisition of a lead role in episode 1, struggling with performance in episode 3, the swimsuit fiasco in episode 6, arrival of the rookie Nanami and the resulting change in episode 9, and Chitose's admittance of her situation and the resolution in episodes 11 and 12. The pattern of 1-3-6-9-11-12 does occur sometimes in anime, but the better structure for 12 episodes is usually 1-3-6-8-10-12 with 12 as a single-episode resolution.

The story of Chitose's personal journey could have been delivered adequately in half the number of episodes, but since there four or five other main heroines, there was enough material for twelve. Though the other girls have their own mini-plots, the main story of Girlish Number is undoubtedly the journey of Chitose as she takes her first lead role as an anime seiyuu. The story was a classic tale about pride, humility, and finding yourself, but I thought the creators did a reasonable job making it original.

Art: Overall and Character Designs

As I sometimes like to note in my reviews, I am not an artist, so my ideas of good art are mostly based on whether I enjoyed it. I thought the animation of Girlish Number was perfectly adequate, though nothing stunning. To be honest, I am a little tired of the common look of anime in the last few years (very colorful and moe with super sparkley eyes), and I would have liked to see something more stylized. For the most part, I liked the character designs, and was glad they weren't forced into the usual cookie-cutter personalities and body types of anime girls. I especially liked the design of Koto Katakura, the seiyuu with the Kansai dialect. Character expressions were alright but a little limited and/or redundant between characters.

Sound

Lead seiyuu Sayaka Senbongi, Kaede Hondo, Yui Ishikawa, Eri Suzuki, Saori Oonishi, and Amina Satoo are all relatively new voice actresses who have so far mostly played supporting characters. Then again, some have already started making names for themselves. Senbongi (voice of Chitose) played Mumei in Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress. Ishikawa (voice of Katakura) played Mikasa in Shingeki no Kyoujin (Attack on Titan). Oonishi (voice of Shibasaki) has had more roles than most of the others and is known for playing Aiz Wallenstein in Is It Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Of all of them, I was most impressed with Senbongi (Chitose) and Suzuki (Momoko). For being mostly new talent, the voice acting was great.

I was not particularly impressed with the music in Girlish number, though it's difficult to say for sure since the OST has not been released. Opening theme "Bloom" by the seiyuu of Girlish Number was performed well as far as I could tell, but it's not a style of music I like. It was pretty much the same for the ending theme "Ima wa Mijikashi Yumemi yo Otome." No information is available on the composer and none of the musical scores I heard really stuck out at me as amazing.

Characters

Overall, characterization was good in Girlish Number. I was expecting the characters to be more cookie-cutter and steroetyped, but they were actually fairly original. Katakura, "the girl with the Kansai Accent," was fairly modest and cutely sensitive about her age rather than being loud and humorous like many "Kansai Accent" characters. Yae, the rather timid girl, ended up showing her true colors as an amazingly loyal and genuine friend to Chitose despite getting little care from her in return. Shibasaki, with her family problems and issues "getting into" promotion activities, felt very real, like you would expect a real girl to be as she develops her career as a seiyuu. Though a little over-the-top, Kuzu was an unforgettable character and supplied much needed comic relief.

You can't discuss the characters in Girlish Number without saying something about the heroine, Chitose Karasuma. You don't have to get very far into the series before noticing that she has a big head and gets ahead of herself easily with her endless confidence. Girlish Number is largely the story of Chitose as she comes to realize that her over-confidence is hurting her and those around her, and that she isn't putting as much effort forward as she needs to in order to be successful. Many vocal fans on Crunchyroll and Gogoanime seem to hate Chitose, saying she's a useless bitch, worthless, devoid of talent, and most of all, has an annoying personality. I felt the opposite, however.

While Chitose obviously had character flaws such as believing too strongly in her own talent, she also had positive traits such as undying courage, and I don't think confidence in itself is a negative trait. It is really refreshing to have a female protagonist who is confident and courageous. Furthermore, I find the hate against Chitose's personality somewhat hypocritical for anime fans. Leading male protagonists are often airheaded and cocky, and rely on their perceived "talent" even when they have none. I have seen very few people dislike protagonists like this who are male. Since Chitose is female, people aren't used to a confident character, or a character who's a little too cocky. Chitose's personality made the show for me and I hope that others can try getting used to a female lead who isn't timid, weak, or overly modest.

Enjoyment

To be honest, my enjoyment of Girlish number was somewhat reduced by the male fans in the comments who trash-talked Chitose endlessly. Even so, however, I still enjoyed the short series. As mentioned above, my favorite part of the series was having a lead female character who was outspoken, proud, and brave. Naturally, she was a little TOO proud, but she is able to eventually learn to be a little more humble. On the flipside, I also enjoyed watching the aloof and more culturally appropriate Shibasaki, who worries, for example, about securing a good marriage after being made to appear in a revealing swimsuit to increase sales on the anime she acts in. I liked Yae and how loyal she was to Chitose, and I thought her voice was adorable. All in all, for a slice of life anime, Girlish number was enjoyable and better than average.

Production and Popularity

The second season continues the story of Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade works, based on the 2010 movie of the same name and the 2006 Fate/Stay Night series. These were all based on the original FSN Visual novel by Type Moon. The animation studio was again Ufotable. Compared to the first season, which was rated 8.41 by 175 thousand voters, the second season is even more overwhelmingly popular, 8.71 by 230 thousand voters. Although relatively few people bothered to rate FSN:UBW on IMDb or Crunchyroll, the average is still 8.1 out of 10, and 4.5 stars out of 5, respectively. Genres and themes include ... action, fantasy, supernatural, thriller, psychological, personal value systems, loyalty, friendship, and battle royale.

Story Structure

As usual in my reviews, I want to note the story composition used, as someone interested in the structure of good storytelling in media. The plot can be interpreted several ways. If the story of the Holy Grail War, the action, is thought of as the central plot, the structure is as follows. Major plot points are the fight with Caster in episode 1, seeing the fate of Illya in episode 3, defeating Caster in episode 5, Archer's past, fighting Archer, and Archer's fate in episodes 7-9, and the final battle stretched over episodes 11 and 12. Season one used a 1-3-6-8-10-12 plot point format, and season two is similar if you think of it as 1-3-5-7-9-12. A lot of things happens from 6 to 9 that are part of the same "Arc" of the revealing of Archer's past, his intentions, and his fight with Shirou. That accounts for the slight difference in story structure.

The plot can also be thought of as the story of Shirou's personal journey. That journey had three parts in season one and four parts in season two. The climaxes for Shirou are confessing to Rin in episode 1, having his ideals challenged by Rin in episode 4, reaffirming his ideals in the fight with Archer by episode 8 or 9, and becoming a hero and survivor of the Holy Grail War in episode 12. This 1-4-9-12 structure is excellently designed for showing the progress of Shirou's character. The epilogue, episode 13, is also important, as it discusses his future with Rin. Later on, I will discuss Shirou's personal journey in more detail. My only complaints about the story were a) that it was somewhat predictable, and b) that it echoed anime where characters had similar journeys as Shirou, such Sayaka in Madoka Magica and Akane in Psycho-Pass.

Art Overall

Please see my review of the first season for more detail on my thoughts of the art. As with season one, FSN:UBW delivers a high-quality experience for the senses. It's beautiful and colorful. The animation of the fight scenes is excellent, though I personally would have liked to see some more realistic, rather than explosive and fantastical, battles. The character designs are unforgettable, but it seems to me that more thought is put into the colors and powers of the characters than to their individual expressions. The range of expression is somewhat limited.

Sound: Acting, Songs, and OST

FSN:UBW features the voices of Kana Ueda as Rin, Noriaki Sugiyama as Shirou, and Junichi Suwabe as Archer, among others. The performances were more than satisfactory, though nothing truly unforgettable. Please see my review of the first season of FSN:UBW for more information on the seiyuu. The popular voice actor Hiroshi Kamiya makes a minor appearance as Shinji Matou. Even with such a small role, he does an impressive job.

Once again, the soundtrack was memorable. Opening theme "Brave Shine" by Aimer is even better than season one's opening in my opinion. Aimer has since become known in the anime industry for performing various other songs, such as the ED for Zankyou no Terror, Koutetsujou Kabaneri, and one of the many ending songs in Bleach. Ending theme "Ring your Bell" by Yuki Kajiura was just as great. Ms. Kajiura is a singer/song-writer who has performed music in anime such as Pandora Hearts, Madoka Magica, Fate/Zero, and Boku Dake ga Inai Machi ("Erased"). "Ring your Bell is an upbeat and inspiring song.

The OST for FSN:UWB 2nd Season was again composed by Hideyuki Fukasawa. The 24 tracks in the OST II are beautiful. A few of them seem to lack originality, but all of them are high quality nonetheless. Memorable tracks include "Illyasviel von Einzbern," a pretty and somewhat creepy melody, "Ideal/Betrayal," and "This Illusion," used for discussions and flashbacks of Archer's past, "Excalibur," an epic, thematic score, and "Emiya UBW," the exciting, upbeat, yet emotional theme for Shirou once he has come to terms with his conflicts. While I watched the actual anime, very few of these stuck out of me, but whenever I listen to the OST II, I am always impressed. (A short piece that I did notice while watching was "Fictional Heroic Spirit," used for the Assassin character who guards Caster's temple.)

Characters Overall

Virtually FSN:UBW characters are memorable, and in the second season, some of the one-dimensional ones receive their much-needed attention. And example is Caster, who didn't have much of a personality in the first season, but who showed her true values and intentions (largely through flashbacks) in the second installment. Some characters where expanded on, but not enough, such as Saber (I wanted to know more about her thoughts and personal journey) and Assassin (I would have liked at least half an episode about him). Once again, Saber's outstanding morality and chivalry make her admirable to lovers of classic heroes, while rough and rugged Archer gives fans a more human hero with a dark side. Archer gets a lot of development in the second season and I think the series did a great job with him.

As with the first season, I believe Rin and Shirou are rare and much-needed types of protagonists in anime. Shirou represents the selfless yet deeply flawed hero-to-be, and Rin is a breath of fresh air as a strong, talented, and outspoken female hero. For more detail on these characters, please see my review of FSN:UBW Season One.

Enjoyment and Notes on Shirou's Story

My enjoyment of FSN:UBW 2nd Season was higher than what I experienced in the first season, which is why I rated the first season 7 (good) and the second season 8 (very good). I found some events predictable, and I thought that other things weren't made clear enough. I was also disappointed not to see more about Saber's personal journey, and to be honest I wanted a little more romance between Shirou and Rin. There was much less discussion of the truth of what the Holy Grail really is, and the ending for the over-powered villain seemed a little too convenient. The thing I enjoyed most about the series was the story of Shirou’s personal journey, which is discussed below. (As spoiler-free as possible.)

Among vocal fans on crunchyroll and gogoanime, Shirou is far from being the most well-liked character. Complaints about him are that he is too soft-hearted, that his stubbornness makes him stupid, and that he is too much of a dreamy idealist. Though it may not be the fan favorite, I believe it is meaningful to have heroes like this (every now and then) in anime, because whether they admit it or not, many people have been through the same mental stages as Shirou. If Shirou was annoying to me, it's because he reminded me too much of myself. I'll bet I'm not the only one who thinks this.

His is a classic story. Without much else to base his unsteady identity on, Shirou devotes himself to his values, which are idealistic and not really feasible in the real world, and which tend to break a person in the end. He wishes to save everybody even at the expense of himself and his soul. While Shirou is the idealistic child, Archer is like the disillusioned adult, and that's why he is more popular. Nobody likes to remember how stupid they were when thought like Shirou. We prefer to think of ourselves as Archers, stuck in an unfair system, and betrayed by our values until we become skeptical, regret-filled, and emotionally distant characters. For some people, the journey ends there. And in indeed, even in the series, we are certainly not guaranteed a happy future for Archer. But note the significance of the conclusion Shirou draws in his fight with Archer.

Shirou acknowledged that most of what Archer said was true. However, the thing that re-inspired him to keep going with values was the memory that he has known all along he would be walking into a living hell. From early childhood, Shirou walks through figurative hell, fully knowing what it is, and still looking for people to save. Archer simply forgot that he had committed to such a fate from the beginning; he got caught up in the hypocrisy of having to kill people to save other people. Shirou was made aware of the "save many at the cost of the few" problem, and he decides to continue regardless. "Even if that life is that of a machine," he says, "even if that life is dripping with hypocrisy, I'll keep striving to be Seigi no Mikata (ally/hero of justice)."

Very few people have the determination to stick to their values even knowing that it will result in intense, possibly lifelong, suffering. This is what makes Shirou an incredible person. Certainly, there are those who simply consider him foolish, and I think so myself sometimes, but anyone who once swore themselves to their values will see the honor and courage in trying to stick to those values regardless of the outcome.

Production, Acclaim, Genre, etc.

Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works (first season) is a twelve-episode anime that aired from October to December 2014. It was created by studio Ufotable, famous for fantasy anime such as Tales of Symphonia, Kara no Kyoukai, and various installments of the Fate series. FSN:UBW is a newer adaptation of the 2010 movie Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works and the 2006 series Fate/Stay Night. These, in turn, were adaptations of the original visual novel/ Windows game by Type Moon.

The Fate franchise is widely popular. A hundred and seventy-five thousand users on myanimelist.net have rated this series for an average of 8.41, making ... it nearly as popular as such classic series as Madoka Magica, Code Geass, and Death Note. Its rating is higher than that of newly hyped anime such as Akame ga Kill. Genres and themes for FSN:UBW include fantasy, suspense, battle royale, friendship, action, and part psychological thriller. To fully appreciate FSN:UBW, you will have to watch the second season, but this review will focus solely on the first season of twelve episodes.

Story: Execution and Structure

The story in FSN:UBW was well-planned and well-executed. It succeeds in being a captivating fantasy and a suspenseful, exciting battle royale. Even if you're not into fantasy or competitive battles, it's possible to just enjoy the story of Shirou's personal journey along with that of Archer. It can be quite thought-provoking and has a psychological element. The story will force you to think about what your values are, whether or not you live them out, and whether they are feasible or unrealistic. FSN:UBW can also be enjoyed as the second half of the story of Fate/Zero.

As a writer, I'm interested in story composition, and would like to discuss that here. Interpretations of the story structure of FSN's first season may differ, but I look at it from the perspective that Shirou's personal journey is the main "plot." From that perspective, there are three major plot points: summoning Saber in episode 1, beginning his conflict with Archer in episode 7, and, in episode 12, losing something dear to him partly as a result of his insistence on his ideals. The three plot point structure of Shirou's journey is a great way to develop his character, and can be thought of as 1) becoming someone with the potential to be a hero, 2) conflict with someone challenging his heroic ideals, and 3) seeing the consequences of being too much of a selfless person.

(Now, if action is the main driving plot, then the story's biggest points are probably fighting Berserker in episode 3, fighting Rin and Rider in episode 6, fighting Rider in episode 8, fighting Caster's Master in episode 10, and finally, being attacked by Caster in episode 12. The 3-6-8-10-12 pattern is excellent design for an action show with a lot of fighting. It makes it so there is room for both character development and action, and it tries to get viewers hooked with the important third episode.)

Art: Overall and Character Designs

FSN:UBW is a beautiful, colorful treat for the eyes. The vivid coloring makes almost any screenshot worthy of being a wallpaper. The studio kept the same basic animation style as the 2010 movie, the relatively modern style of somewhat realistic body proportions but classic anime facial features of large, sparkling eyes and tiny noses. The detail and picture quality were improved compared to the 2010 movie. Unlike in the movie, some CG is used for effects, such as the wisps of air around Saber's invisible sword, the disappearing and reappearing of Heroic Spirits, and some of the colorful, special attacks of the characters. Importantly, however, CG is not overused, and for the most part it blends in well. The fight scenes look amazing, and although they are fantasy battles rather than techniques used in a real fighting form, they still look well-referenced. I would have liked more realism personally.

The character designs keep to the originals by Takashi Takeuchi from what I can tell. They are certainly memorable, though to me they seem somewhat plain and simple once you take away the almost blindingly bright colors. For example, Rin's red outfit really fit her personality, and helps viewers develop an image of what she's like, but without that, would she still be properly expressive? I would have liked to see more details and differences in the faces and expressions of the characters. I have no complaints about the overall design though. Lancer, a popular character among fans, has a particularly appealing character design for me, and he is one of the characters whose expressions are more pronounced. I have always been a fan of Saber, and she wouldn't be the same without that design.

Sound: Acting, Music, and Scores

Though there was nothing that struck me as amazing or unforgettable, the voice acting in FSN:UBW is still pretty good. The same voices used in the 2010 movie are used in the 2014 adaptation. Rin's seiyuu Kana Ueda played the lead character in Maria Sama ga Miteru, Shigofumi, and Kashimashi Girl Meets Girl. Noriaki Sugiyama, voice of Shirou Emiya, is famous for voices in the Naruto series, though he hasn't had many lead roles in other anime. Junichi Suwabe plays Archer, is widely known for playing Dandy in Space Dandy, and has side roles in many excellent anime including Bungou Stray Dogs, Danganrompa 3, Kiznaiver, High School of the Dead, and Black Butler. Among the main characters' seiyuu, I believe Suwabe's performance was probably the best. The widely popular seiyuu Hiroshi Kamiya makes a minor appearance as Shinji Matou. Even with such a small role, he makes himself memorable.

FSN's opening theme, "Ideal White," was performed by Ayano Mashiro with lyrics by Meg Rock and music composition by Carlos K. At first, the song didn't stick out at me, but after listening to it a few times, it started to become the very sound of FSN for me. It's quite suitable for an action-fantasy anime and has a positive feel to it. The lyrics are interesting, and I see them as Shirou's own thoughts. The band Kalafina performed the first ending theme, "Believe," with composition and lyrics created by Yuki Kajiura. Kalafina is known for performing songs for anime such as Madoka Magica and Kara no Kyoukai. The song is memorable and pleasant to listen to, especially if you enjoyed hearing the band in Madoka Magica.

The OST for FNS:UBW was composed by Hideyuki Fukasawa. (There is an OST II for season 2.) The music didn't stick out at me as much as with some anime, but whenever I listen to the OST, I am always impressed with it. It could be that the music scores matched the scenes and emotions so perfectly that they escaped my notice while I watched. One of my favorite things about the music is that electric guitar is often used in addition to orchestra. The track "Archer" is one of my favorites, an exciting and mysterious rhythm building up steadily. "Two Hearts" and "Far Away from You" are other tracks that touch me; they are beautifully orchestrated, emotional melodies, with "Far Away" having more of an emotional climax.

Characters: General, Rin, and Shirou

Almost all of the characters in FSN:UBW are memorable, though many of them are underdeveloped or one-dimensional. The chivalry, loyalty, and courage of Saber make her an appealing character for anyone who admires knights and classic, good-hearted heroes. In contrast, the rough and rugged Archer appeals to those who like their heroes with a dark and unpredictable side. I felt that several of the minor characters in FSN:UBW deserved more attention than they got. The best example is Taiga Fujimura, Shirou's legal guardian and older-sister-figure. She was funny, spirited, cheery, well-designed, and a great contrast to the angsty, gloomy, or angry teenagers in the house. Another underdeveloped character is the Assassin servant that guards Caster's temple. He had an interesting character concept, but only gets significant screen time in one or two episodes of the first season.

Something deserves to be said about the main heroes, Rin Tohsaka and Shirou Emiya. Although the situation does seem to be slowly improving in some genres, anime in general has few strong, leading female protagonists, and the ones that exist are often disliked as stubborn "bitches" by the male fanbase, showing the ever-present problem of sexism. For that reason, it's a breath of fresh air to have a spirited, free-thinking heroine like Rin. For most of the series, she is a superior mage compared to male protagonist Shirou, and she never backs away from a fight. Her values system makes her seem cold-hearted, but she adjusts them as the series goes on to make room for words and actions that show her human heart. It's also refreshing that Tohsaka is designed and regarded in the show as a beautiful person, without needing huge jelly-boobs or revealing clothes—fan services that are sickeningly common in modern anime.

The male hero, Shirou Emiya, is a bit unusual in some ways compared to lead characters in many (but not all) anime series. He is reasonably humble, rarely needing to act "manly" to prove himself. Though he starts off skeptical and misjudging of Saber because of her gender, Shirou comes to accept and respect her soon enough, relying on her strength. Throughout the season, it is suggested that Shirou is driven first and foremost by his values, which are shown to be unrealistically idealistic in some cases. It's rare to see a protagonist so driven by pure intentions, with the flaw of not being able to accept that his values might be flawed. This stubbornness gives him an air of strength and determination, though it also shows he still very much a child at heart. I have encountered few anime with a hero like Shirou, who strives for an ideal, and shows courage and determination even in the light of weakness or lack of ability.

Enjoyment

Watching FSN:UBW was certainly a treat for the eyes, and in some ways a breath of fresh air, but in other ways, I found myself a bit disappointed, or even bored. While the battles are colorful and explosive, they don't have any quality of realism that makes me feel suspense. The Holy Grail War is supposed to be a Battle Royale, but all the characters seemed to me to be slow in making their moves and following through. Once I got a sense of Shirou's character, the direction of the story became quite predictable, at least in season one. There were only one or two twists that truly surprised me. In addition, I used to be a lot like Shirou, and watching his character's journey with its many mistakes (like my own) was a bit painful. That doesn't make the show any less awesome; it just interfered with my personal enjoyment somewhat.

I liked season two, the second half of FSN:UBW much better, and I definitely recommend continuing the story whether you already know it from the movie or whether you're a brand new fan.

Opening Information

A chronically bored Shinigami (God of Death) intentionally drops a "Death Note" in the human world. The notebook is found and kept by Light Yagami, an extremely prideful boy but an excellent student. He quickly discovers that if you write a person's name in the Death Note while picturing their face, the person will die of a heart attack. Light sets out to make the world a better place by killing dangerous criminals whose names are publicly broadcast. Not everyone agrees with Light's sense of justice, however. The mysterious world-class detective known as L considers the increasing criminal deaths to be cases of murder. ... L and a small team of Japanese police try to discover the miracle-killer's identity. An intense psychological war begins between the two main minds of the series: Light Yagami and the eccentric detective L.

Production and Acclaim

Death Note was extremely popular in its day and many fans now consider it an anime classic on par with Neon Genesis Evangelion and Revolutionary Girl Utena. Almost 750,000 users on myanimelist.net rated Death Note for an average of 8.71 out of 10. On IMDb, over 120,000 users rated the series for an average of 9 out of 10. The website Anime News Network listed Death Note as number two on the list of Top 10 Most Popular anime series. The Japanese website mantan-web.jp reports that over 30 million copies of the Death Note manga have been printed. Death Note started out as a manga written by Tsugumi Ohba and drawn by Takeshi Obata, who also worked together on the fairly popular manga Bakuman. The anime adaptation was created by studio Madhouse and directed by Tetsuro Araki, who was involved in directing many other anime and was the series director for Aoi Bungaku Series, High School of the Dead, and Attack on Titan. The thirty-seven episode anime aired in the U.S. once a week from October 2007 to July 2008.

Genre/ Attitude

Although Death Note could fit into several genres including supernatural, suspense, and crime drama, it is widely hailed as a psychological thriller. Within the psychological genre, it's common to see anti-heroes as protagonists, villains equally matched with heroes, tension, conflict, quick pacing, and plots where the fate of the world is at stake. Dark themes are often present, but characters "battle" with their wits more than with physical strength, magical abilities, or weapons. The mind-states of the characters are often more important, in this genre, than the execution of actual plot events. However, as with any type of thriller, the story should still be exciting. Perhaps most importantly, a psychological thriller is designed to make viewers think. I almost consider Death Note the standard against which to measure other psychological-genre anime.

Art: Style, Techniques, and Characters

Studio Madhouse created many works including the popular series Hunter x Hunter, One Punch Man, Hellsing Ultimate, Tokyo Ghoul, and No Game No Life. Some of my personal favorite Madhouse anime are Monster, Paranoia Agent, Parasyte: The Maxim, and the film Wolf Children. The animation style in Death Note is fairly "mature," rather than "cute," much more realistic than anime of its day, and less vivid and colorful compared to anime of today. Viewers might love or hate the style; it's completely up to personal preference. However, even if you dislike the style, you'll have to admit that the animators did a great job bringing it to life.

You may notice that the art in Death Note uses some excellent cinematics. Often, the mood, lighting, and color of a scene are reflective of Light's thoughts and feelings. A ray of sunlight sometimes appears, for example, when he has an idea or becomes inspired. Coloring may be dimmer when he is bored in the first few episodes. Background images and dialogue will be more negative when Light is thinking of the corruption of the world. Another tool used is the animation for when Light and L are thinking hard or battling each other’s' wits. The background goes dark, and the hair and eyes of the characters become brightly colorful. Light's hair and eyes turn red while L's color is blue. The first time this technique is used is in episode nine at the University entrance ceremony.

Death Note sometimes uses dramatic contrast in scenes, like in episode three. Over a span of 45 seconds, the scene keeps switching between images of dying criminals and images of Light happily going about his school day. The contrast between the dark scenes and Light's happy scenes clearly gives the idea to viewers that something just isn't right. I also want to note that Death Note isn't "boring" with its character designs. Light and most of the police and detectives may have very similar, somewhat bland designs, but other characters are stunning in their originality, all the more so thanks to the "standard" set by Light. The character animation for L, for example, is unforgettable; his design is part of what made him such an iconic character in 2000s anime. Misa deviates from the standard even more than L with her beautiful blond hair, thin, petite body, large eyes, and "sexy" outfits. The designs for the Shinigami never cease to amaze me, containing just the right amount of creepiness.

Sound: Voice Acting, Songs, and Scores

I can't say enough about the voice acting in Death Note. The extremely talented seiyuu Mamoru Miyano plays Light Yagami. He is rarely typecast, playing such variable roles as Okabe in Steins;Gate, Kiba in Wolf's Rain, Tamaki in Ouran High School Host Club, Dazai in Bungou Stray dogs, and Tsukiyama in Tokyo Ghoul. Miyano is able to play both villains and charming young men, and Light, of course, can be said to be both. L's seiyuu, Kappei Yamaguchi, has almost 300 acting credits on IMDb and does an excellent job portraying the frank, intelligent, and emotionally distant L. Keiji Fujiwara, who plays the side character police detective Aizawa, is one of my personal favorite seiyuu largely due to his role as Axel in the Kingdom Hearts series (Japanese version). Maaya Sakamoto, voice of Miss Takano in later episodes, is another talented favorite. If you're familiar with The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiyah, note that Haruhi and Misa Amane have the same seiyuu, Aya Hirano.

Surprisingly, when I say I love the voice acting, I'm not only talking about the original Japanese version. Death Note is one of the extremely rare anime whose English Dub I can sit through and take seriously. Since many of the most important lines in Death Note are "thoughts" rather than characters' animated words, it was possible to deliver the best translation without worrying about matching words to lips. Naturally, it's not all perfect—you may have heard of the disaster of the English voice actor's "potato chip" line—but it's far better than most dubs. I think the voice actor who takes the cake is unmistakably Alessandro Juliani, the English voice of L, who played the part perfectly.

In addition to the voice acting, I absolutely love the music in Death Note. I was not particularly impressed with either of the two opening themes, but the first ending theme, "Alumina" by Nightmare, quickly became a favorite of mine. The three original soundtracks for the anime were composed by Yoshihisa Hirano and Hideki Tanuichi. Death Note would not be Death Note without its unforgettable, dramatic music. There is a variety of style from melodies of soft electric guitar and piano, to fast piano and percussion, and to violin and cello with some Latin operatic vocals.

Popular tracks from Death Note OST 1 are "Low of Solipsism," used when Kira is killing people, the mysterious and thoughtful "Light's theme," and the exciting and interesting "L's theme." Death Note OST 2 features the score, "Himitsu" (meaning secret), which plays frequently in the anime and has a powerful element of mystery and cunning. The themes for Near and Mello appear in the third OST. I love practically all the music used in Death Note, and overall my favorite is Light's theme. At the moment, however, my favorite is the score "Rem," the theme of one of the most underrated and misunderstood characters in the Death Note series. It is a sad, thoughtful piece that also gives the theme of being driven by some power under the surface; it is perfect for Shinigami Rem.

Characters: Main and Side

As with many psychological anime, the main focus is on the minds of the two lead characters and their similarities and differences as each comes to know the mind of the other. Light and L are our two stars, and the series did an excellent job of writing and designing them. Light shows the symptoms of a narcissist and a "socially acceptable sociopath," who believes his own values are absolute, uses people as tools while appearing charming and successful in society, and having an incredible scheming and problem-solving mind and intellect. His seeming perfection from the outside is contrasted with his childish trait of not being able to tolerate losing, and the sad trait of never being able to love others.

L is similar: highly self-confidence, driven by a sense of justice, obsessed with mind games, and in some ways, a bit childish. However, while Light exemplifies sociopathic traits of social popularity, charm, and manipulation, L is socially withdrawn, frank to the point of being rude, and otherwise careless of social norms. Though both Light and L believe in "justice," Light's definition is his subjective will, while L believes in the power of existing criminal justice systems. Fans usually love both L and Light because of their similarities, but they will still usually pick one or the other as the favorite, depending on the values and perceptions of the fans.

All of the characters in Death Note are memorable, in my opinion, and even though L and Light are the main focus, plenty of other characters get their own time in the spotlight and some great development. While Misa is not a particularly popular character (because she's just plain annoying), she is essential to the story, and realistic (there are many girls who think like her). She is also interesting if you consider what changes in her admiration after she loses her memories, and the love she holds onto throughout several experiences of memory loss. Nobody can forget the characters of Ryuuk, our bored and goofy Shinigami, Soichiro Yagami, our consistently morally upstanding police detective, and Matsuda, our brash and sometimes airheaded young detective.

A good number of fans dislike Near and Mello, but I find them interesting and unique, and they are best understood and appreciated if you can refrain from comparing everything about them to L. Despite his great intellect and scheming ability not too far below that of Light, Mello is a far more human character, with the struggles of a teenager such as jealousy, rivalry, impatience, and stubborn pride. Near is fascinating to me considering that he lacks the drive of justice seen in L, but still has the brains and motivation to go against Light. His reasons may never be entirely understood. Near also shows even less emotion than Light or L, also putting him in the running for a "socially acceptable sociopath." Also keep in mind that Near and Mello only receive half the number of episodes' time compared to L and Light, so naturally there may be gaps in their character development.

Story: Structure and Themes

The story of Death Note is, in my opinion, a classic, and while many fans dislike its conclusion, they still love the first two-thirds of the series. Pacing is always excellent in Death Note, never so fast that viewers become lost, and never wasting time with fillers and superfluous information. Its fast pace is what makes the series a thriller. Death Note is well suited for a serial episode format or a chapter novel format where each episode builds on the last and it's difficult to categorize episodes into specific "arcs." This makes for a story that flows well. The major plot points are Light and L facing off in episode 2, Light and L getting to the point of meeting each other in episodes 8-10, Misa's capture and resulting events in episodes 15-17, the victory of Kira in episode 25, and the finale in episodes 36-37. It is possible, therefore, to think of Death Note as having four books: 1-8, 9-16, 17-25, and 26-37. As a writer, I just wanted to mention that unique story structure.

There are many themes in Death Note, including corruption, power, death, crime and criminal justice systems, narcissism, pride, identity, "sin," family, bullying, sacrifice, rivalries, relationships, revenge, "karma," games, loss, peoples' thoughts in private versus in public, changing the world, definitions of good and evil, the nature of humans, and the various philosophies of individual characters. So many topics come up for discussion in Death Note that a whole book (or more) could be written about them. This is truly a thought-provoking anime, especially if you are new to the psychological genre.

Enjoyment

When I give my overall rating on an anime, the most important factor for me is personal enjoyment. That's because I'm more of a consumer than a critic at heart. Death Note holds a special place in my heart as the first anime I ever watched all the way through. I enjoyed every bit of it and agree with fans that consider it a classic of 2000s anime. Because I'm such a fan of everything Death Note, it's hard to pick out specific things I liked about the series; I liked it all. For the purposes of a good review, however, I will note a few things.

I liked the inclusion of the supernatural element: information about the habits and evolution of Shinigami and their alternate world in the mythos of Death Note. I'm a bit of an L fan girl (or was as a teenager) so naturally I find his odd habits adorable, such as his posture and his love of sweets. I can empathize with Misa to a certain degree because in the past I have been about equally obsessive over a lover, and I know how easy it is to fall apart and let your identity become wrapped up in another person. I love the protectiveness and "love" that Rem has for Misa. I hated Mello at first, but became thoroughly impressed with him thanks to what he did in the very end to help Near. Most of all, I love the timeless debate over the cycle of violence, and whether it's justifiable to kill criminals.

If you're looking for a classic 2000s anime whose popularity lives on even a decade later, look no further than Death Note.