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Kana-chan, Kana-chan~

Candy Boy is the sweet little story of two sisters living together in a dormitory and their usual lifestyle. But this slice of life anime comes with a twist: the two are romantically affected to each other. Although yuri incest is wincest, the fact stands that there are some that may be offended from the shoujo-ai and/or incest. If this combination works for you, then you'll have no problems enjoying this anime as much as I did.

As with many other anime in the slice of life genre, the story is given to us at the beginning of the anime, but not much of a ... change happens. Surely our yuri twins get closer and closer to each other in every single episode, and the romance aspect IS developed throughout the anime. We have a sweet relationship to begin with, and only a few possible characters that can affect the story one way or other. The whole imouto-san business, the twins' college entrance and dorm changing may be of interest to some, but keeping your expectations high in the story and expecting anything ground-breaking wouldn't be wise. That said, from the occasional change of moods and places, this straightforward story successfully gives what it promises.

As you go along the series, you will most probably find out that it contains many "still-pictures" that tend to be overly long and drawn out, but not that annoying; not since the art was never meant to be over the top. The character designs are cute enough to make the viewer like them instantenously. The clothes worn in the anime, which tend to bring up the "cute" aspect of the characters, may sometimes be fanservicey, but are presented as no big deal without much emphasis on them. Zettai Ryouiki fans will be delighted to see Yuki's knee-high socks completed with her mandatory skirt, much to our enjoyment.

Yet another area that a slice of life anime usually fails in is the BGM. Pretty much non-existant, or rather, unimportant is the BGM in slice of life anime, yet we would all be able to understand that something is wrong if BGM simply wasn't in the show or if it did not fit the mood at any given time. This can be compensated by the seiyuu, who play a big role in any speech-based anime, Candy Boy being one of those. None of the voices of any character is annoying or leaves us with a bored face for any reason whatsoever. A new sense of realizm was reached in the last episode as everybody started talking together about totally different things at the same time; a situation any viewer should be able to relate to.

Let me get this one thing straight; there are no boys in Candy Boy. None. If you can ever find one, please tell it to me so that I can start worshipping you. That said, do we even need boys in this anime? The two main characters, Kanade and Yukino, and the two supporting characters, Sakuya and Shizuku are interesting enough to fill out the whole anime. Although they are twins, Yuki fills in as the little sister with childish attitude role, and Kana acts more like a mature, older sister. Sakuya is there for the occasional comic relief that we all need sometimes, offered with her yuri tendancies for Kana. The imouto Shi-chan allows more of a story to develop, and is a blend between Yuki's cuteness and Kana's looks and personality. None of them being dull or plain annoying is yet another blessing.

The caution from before still holds true at this point; if you don't like yuri/shoujo-ai, then this series is not for you. I, as an avid fan of female relationships, knew fully well that I was going to enjoy this anime as much as I expected. The interactions between the twins are cute, and usually funny; those two adjectives are enough for me to be sold to an anime. The fact that Candy Boy isn't a straightforward ecchi/yuri but rather a cute love story only makes things better. As long as you have that bittersweet feeling of having completed the series after you're done with Candy Boy, then all is fine.

Candy Boy did (damn, where is my italics?) leave me with that bittersweet feeling of both accomplishment and sadness. There is not a single thing in the world that is perfect. As a rose comes with its thorns, Candy Boy may be coming with less-than-stellar story and easily-forgettable BGM, but that does not change the fact that we still like both of them.

"Saabisu saabisu. Saabisu saabisu. Saabisu saabisu."

Hayate no Gotoku OVA is a fanservice OVA (o rly?) for the Comedy/Romance anime Hayate no Gotoku, which is best known for its impossible-to-understand-all references and the beautiful and epic voices of Kugimiya Rie and Wakamoto Norio respectively. While seeming to be the obligatory beach episode, the viewers are sure to realize that this show is just mocking those generic episodes. The story doesn't even try to be unique at all, and how that whole beach and the island can be owned by Sanzenin family is anybody's guess. Going into a girl's room while she's changing, check. Getting stranded on ... an island, check. Team Rocket, ...erm, SPs blasting off again, check. Isumi getting lost, check. The important thing is that the producers know how many clichés they have in this OVA, and uses those for their advantage in a rather successful attempt to make viewers laugh. The story overall, because it wasn't all that different, got a 7 from me, which is what I would've give to the first season if I had reviewed it.

One thing you are sure to notice is the difference between the character designs between the first season and this OVA. Although you probably know it already, this is because it's J.C. Staff animating this OVA (and the second season that'll be following in April.) While it may take a few episodes for us to adapt to this drawing style, it surely won't get in the way of those great parodies to come. Anyway, the drawing didn't particularly bother me and will continue to be in the standards of a 2009 anime. Maria and Hinagiku-san are as lovely as ever, and have surely didn't even lose a speck of their beauty. The animation seems even more light-hearted now, with the new choice of sharper coloring. Not trying to be awesome or the best in the world, the art is certain to be befitting and cute. 8/10.

When you talk of sound, you talk about two things, the BGM and the voice actors. Talking broadly, you wouldn't even notice all the small background noises in a normal slice of life anime (slice of life meaning no action or supernatural thingies involved,) while you are sure to miss it if you ever decide to watch an anime silently. Hayate no Gotoku OVA, while bringing no new and unexpected additions to the BGM, it certainly does not allow you to miss the natural and the usual sound of a slice of life anime. Besides, anything too catchy or exciting would just kill the mood.

When we come to voice actors, that's where Hayate no Gotoku excels. Two of my all time favourite seiyuu Wakamoto Norio and Kugimiya Rie filling in with their awesome voices, I was sure to like the voice acting, and I surely did. Tanaka Rie, with the voice acting of Maria-san, is always a nice addition to any anime. I am sure that there are other good talents in the show, but none of them seem to be as rememberable as those three. What I want would be a little more of Wakamoto Norio, but any more of the epicness that is his voice would be incomprehensible by any human being and could cause major disorders in the brain. 8/10

There was NO character development in the OVA, which is fine, considering it is just a reminder that HnG2 is coming at full speed in april. The characters, however, were already well developed from the past season. Other than introducing a new Sister-san, whom we anime watchers can not know anything about her at this point, nothing interesting about the characters happens. Then again, we get the re-introduction of all the characters from the original series, just in case of a memory disorder due to unknown reasons. You couldn't have just forgotten Hayate no Gotoku, right? Right?!? *insert yandere pic here* Yeah, Nice Beach. 8/10

The main aspect, the selling point of this anime is, as 99% of you will agree, the comedy. Due to many references and Nagi-ojou-sama's cute tsundere'ness, it is impossible to NOT enjoy this pillar of fabulous jokes. I, for one, am a sucker for heavy comedy anime, because my enjoyment from an anime usually comes from how much I laugh. If Wakamoto Norio's opening sequence wasn't enough to make you laugh out loud, I don't know what will. Female viewers (or those who find it excessive) might be turned down from the fanservicey content of this OVA, but using that fact to generate more comedy is pure genius. As a healthy male who does not mind such services and jokes derived from it, the OVA really got me in enjoyment. 10/10

Summing things up, this OVA is an excellent re-introduction of the characters that you've surely not forgotten (!) with the usage of fanservice and parody. Serving as a bridge with the first and the second seasons, it is pretty normal for it to contain no character and story development and just better than average soundtrack. It is, however, an OVA that will bring a smile to your face when seeing the superman-esque Hayate, lovely Maria-san and cute Sanzenin Nagi ojou-sama again, accompanied by the famous voice actings (yeah, I worship them) of Wakamoto Norio and Kugimiya Rie. Satisfaction? Guaranteed! 8/10

"Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryu...Kuzu Ryusen!"

Story: The story is your classic samurai story. But the important thing is that it is the anime that made samurai anime popular. Based on the Meiji era, the story is divided into 3 main parts. The first part is sort of like an introduction to series, going in an episodic nature and introducing new characters every few episodes. The second part is where the plot thickens and Kenshin actually starts to fight against his opponents. The episodic nature is left alone and instead we have a flowing story. The last part is all fillers, so you don't have to watch them. I ... did watch them for the sake of seeing more of our Hitokiri, but that of course is your decision.
9/10

Art: The most important thing while rating the art is to remember when it was animated. For an anime made in 1996, the animation quality is superb. Of course, you can't compare them to new productions, but RuroKen won't make you think that you are wasting your time. Characters are well drawn, sword fights and special moves are awesome. Background is detailed (for an anime from '96 anyway.) I think I have seen a few (only a few) scenes where the background was dull and discolored, but that doesn't mean the quality is bad. OP and ED sequences were pretty well drawn, but of course you can see that ED sequence was worse than the OP.
10/10

Sound: I can't really recall how was the BGM, mainly because I was 7 years old when I watched it ^^ But I still can remember some of it, and that few things I remember tells me that soundtrack was great. Iwasaki Taku's BGM always amazes me. Even 12 years ago, he made great BGMs, and he continues to make great BGMs. Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, anyone? One thing I remember is that the first OP is awesome. It holds a special place in my heart as it's the first anime song I've ever downloaded. I still listen to it. I can't really talk about the Voice Actors as I've only seen the first 15 episodes in Japanese, but Kenshin's voice is great. And how that voice can come from a girl is yet another mystery.
8/10

Characters: Kenshin is one of my favourite characters. He is so awesome that all of the other characters seem dull. Don't get me wrong, all of the characters are explained in-depth and they all have their places in the story, but Kenshin is way above them. Not too overpowered like Alucard (from Hellsing), but he gives a feeling that he is unbeatable. Along with his friends and rivals, Kenshin alone would make watching the anime worthwhile.
10/10

Enjoyment: Hell yea! This IS a shounen anime, so if you like shounen, there is no way you won't enjoy it. All of my friends who watched the series have taken an interest in swords, and one of them actually bought a katana (as an accessory of course, not to use it.) Although the blood can scare some little kids, there is a reason for this to be rated PG-13. All of the 95 episodes are worth your time, and if you are a boy, you'll like every second of it.
10/10

Overall: My favourite anime... What can I say? It's nostalgic to write a review for it. One of the greatest anime of all the time. It is a classic and remain a classic. Don't be scared of the number of episodes, the first part may seem a little slow, but you won't understand how fast the second part finished. Wanting more, you'll move on to the OVAs, I guarantee you. May your swords stay sharp!
10/10

"Rito~"

Story: Well, the story isn't better than your average ecchi/harem/comedy anime. The protagonist always gets into "misunderstandable positions" with the girls whom all seem to feel something to the protagonist. All the space business doesn't help either. If you ever expect something more than this, to-LOVE-Ru is not for you.
7/10

Art: The art is what I'd call typical for your average ecchi anime. It's not bad, but it's not ultra high quality of course. I found no reason to make it high quality when all the fans of harem would watch it unless it has seems like it's from 1990s. Don't ask me how those ripped ... off clothes are replaced.
7/10

Sound: saikou no chansu Now is the time! minogasanai- Oops sorry about that. I must say that the OP and ED of to-LOVE-Ru is pretty catchy. Especially after you watch them over and over again "for various reasons." Though I like the OP more, the ED isn't unbearable or anything. For background music, I can't really decide. It surely isn't the type I'd download buy, but it doesn't have any moments that I feel the loss of background music. The seiyuu cast is good too. It's my first time listening to Tomatsu Haruka, but her voice as Lala is really cute ^^ And Rito is of course voiced by a girl.
9/10

Characters: I must say that none of the characters can be classified as unique (well, maybe Lala's dad, but you get the point.) BUT, even though they are not unique, they are not rip-offs (not counting our usual extremely lucky "but-i-love-both-of-them" Rito of course.) The girls are all lovely as expected. Aside from the main interests, there are many funny (and somehow unique) side characters in the show, all being aliens. Ranging from cute little to absolutely perverted monsters, they will manage to make you laugh quite a few times.
7/10

Enjoyment: Comedic aspect of to-LOVE-Ru can always be noticed. There weren't any comedic moments that seemes "dull" to me, but that of course depends on how much you like ecchi. I take that back, you may find it funny even if you don't like it that much.This anime is much more than being extremely ecchi version of a certain anime made with absolutely nothing in mind.
9/10

Overall: If you like ecchi/harem/comedy genres and laugh out loud when the protagonist goes on a series of misunderstandings just to get hit by the girl he loves, this is the anime for you. A daily of ecchi keeps doctors away.
8/10

"Hannin wa...Omae da!"

Story: "So here we are with another detective story" is what I'd like to say, but that would be a lie. Not all detective stories have an uberly powerful demon came from hell in search of mysteries because it has eaten all of the mysteries in hell. The story progresses in episodic nature, slowly developing in the way, and finally climaxing in the last few episodes. The ending wasn't the best i imagined (left many open doors,) but it allows a continuation for the series, so it's fine by me.
10/10

Art: Have you noticed how black, gray and white were the primary colors ... in Death Note. Do you remember how well it went with the theme. Well, Neuro offers the exact opposite choice of coloring and still ends up being as wonderful as DN. It is colorful enough to slow down my computer on the "eating" scenes. Note that they are both made by Madhouse. Other than colors, the characters are well and uniquely (that a word?) drawn. What you would expect from Madhouse.
10/10

Sound: One sad thing about Neuro is that it's OST didn't really appeal me. Sure, it's not all bad, but I don't recall any piece of OST from the anime, which doesn't usually happen. Well, I also didn't notice any lack of music, so it's all well. Seiyuu cast is mid-strong, not the best, but good. Neuro's seiyuu (Takehito Koyasu) is also one of my favourite seiyuus. OP is good, but as usual, ED is definitely not good.
7/10

Characters: Neuro, Neuro, Neuro. He solely can be the reason to watch this anime. Only one word can describe him: unique. Matsuei Yuusei (the mangaka) really hit the jackpot with Neuro, he is simply awesome. On to the other "sidekicks," your average "living" hair Akane-chan, the oh-so-badass Godai, and your "typical" high school girl whom father is dead and is allied with a mystery-eating demon from hell, Katsuragi Yoko. Oh, wait.
10/10

Enjoyment: Every once in a while, there comes an anime which leaves me in despair because it has finished and I can't see anymore of it. It continues until I sleep. Well, Neuro is one of them. My first reaction to the last episode was "wow." But then, on a second thought, it became "Wait a min. Did Neuro just end. Noooooooo! T_T Neuroooooo!" Seriously, we need a second season. It managed to get me laugh quite a few of times, and it was able get serious when it needed to be. I don't usually watch episodic animes, but this exception proved to be fairly entertaining.
10/10

Overall: As a fan of detective stories and have seen/read many things about them, I can say that this is one of my favourites. Artisticly drawn with an interesting plot and unique characters, Neuro will never disappoint you. Go watch it, even if it's just to get a glimpse of Neuro's personality.
10/10

"Just who do you think I am!"

Story:Well, the story is a drill. You will hear "My drill is a drill that will pierce through heavens!", or something like that anyway. And it pretty much sums up the whole story. It starts slowly at first, then gets faster and climaxes at the end of the story. You may also think of it as our protagoists start at the lower part of the drill, and make their way to the higher end of it. Only negative thing I can think of it is that it's too simple. The perfect shounen anime where the enemies are strong, you ... get stronger, then the enemies get stronger and bigger, and you have to get bigger and stronger as well. In the end the Gunman's name has 5 words and the ultimade move has 6 words which they just can't seem to fit them in 10 seconds. Saying the move takes like 15 seconds minimum.
9/10

Art: The art is...epic. The characters are well drawn and have smooth colors. I still don't know how the hell were they able to find Nia's eyes. Yoko provides fanservice till the end of the anime and it pleases male viewers of course ^^ The most amazing thing about art is how it goes more "brutal" as the fight gets tougher. You get to see more black lines, drawings get rougher. But it all seems so natural that it's scary. Speed, strenght and all those screams fit together with the art, perfectly.
10/10

Sound: I usually recognise the sound in the anime, but this time I don't recall anything about music except for the opening. I rewatched the last episode and then understood why. The action is soo good that the music gets shadowed by it. Of course TTGL wouldn't been as successful as this if the music was crappy, but you can't really feel it like the sound of Bleach or earlier episodes of Naruto. Giving it 9 for the sake of keeping the overall 10, should've been 8.
9/10

Characters: Totally unique. Really! It's not a joke! Kamina is every men's idol, able to overcome everything by brute force and fighting spirit. Simon starts as the little "wannabe Kamina", but really evolves during the series. He adopts Kamina's signature sentence, "just who do you think I am!" I first thought that Yoko is included beause you can't make a shounen anime without a beautiful girl, but she really becomes important. Even that forehead guy and all the people Kamina and Simon meets get important. Even if Kamina was the only single character in the anime, I'd still give this a 10.
10/10

Enjoyment: What can someone give this part anything besides 10 out of 10? The amazing fight scenes keep you interested and makes you want more. The anime never ceases to make you laugh. I mean, they always use the same move. But when mechas get bigger, the moves get bigger, and so does their name. In the end you can't do anything but laugh at that stupid name XD
10/10

Overall: This is your perfect shounen anime. It was nice taking a break from Bleach (already dropped Naruto-they were getting crappy anyway) and watching this anime. Girls, stay away unless you really like mecha. Boys, I don't care if you are 9 or 39 years old, watch this. You'll like it. Now, who was the company that made this?
10/10

Note: I may have been comparing this too much with Hayate no Gotoku. This review is from a man who has watched it first, I would probably have given this a higher rating if I had watched this first.

Story: Your basic maid/butler story. Ren and Mihato have ran from their home and looking for a job, and all of a sudden, they find themselves working as butler/maid for the ultra-rich Kuonji family. Based on an Eroge, it contains scenes that shows relationships between Ren and all those sisters. I like how they gave enough attention to all of the chars.
7/10

Art: Not very good, and the ... scenes where they "tried" to make comedic moments were sometimes not-so-well drawn. Despite that, I think they've found amusing ways to censor nudity^^ Average drawing+ good ways to censoring = Not the best, but not the worst either.
7/10

Sound: Definitely not good. The seiyuu cast usually lacks emotions. You all know the scenes where something strange happens and a character changes their voice to mark some entertaining remark. Well, it just doesn't happen right in this anime. This may just be because I'm watching Lucky Star again (which has an awesome seiyuu cast,) but they really aren't the best. Background music was average. OP wasn't that bad, but I certainly didn't wait for it to finish. The ED wasn't so bad too, mainly because I listened to it every episode (due to various reasons >_> guess why ^^)
5/10

Characters: The Kuonji family were unique in my opinion, and they really provided me a reason to watch this anime (other than ecchi.) What I didn't like was that the others didn't have good backgrounds. Ren's background is the same as Hayate's, Mihato acts too much like Maria-san (calm looking but can be very dangerous,) and also the cooking scenes where she cuts various animals and we see blood is too much like psycho Kaede (Shuffle!)
8/10

Enjoyment: As a healthy young man, I enjoyed watching the ecchi moments. I didn't realise that I like this anime until it finished (which really left an empty hole in my heart.) I think I liked watching one episode a day, it was about the right amount for my daily ecchi needs.
9/10

Overall: Please, do not ask me how I got 8 for overall while I have two 7s and a 5. Lets call it being a man. Ecchi gave me enough reason to watch, the Kounji sisters made it interesting enough, and the end made me want for more (and made me want for its eroge - not translated yet unfortunately.) My advice would be to watch this before Hayate no Gotoku or other animes that have very powerful seiyuu cast.
8/10

Diving straight into the review.

Story: If I was to rate this OVA just from its own story, I would give it 2 because of its simplicity. But don't forget that you need at least 14 episode of background information from the normal DTB (best viewed after some time has passed after you finish DTB, good for some quick laughs.) This OVA is more of a side story to the original Darker than BLACK. A contractor was killed and supposedly his corpse or his belongings are hidden under the sakura tree. Centering around Mayu Otsuka, this provides a good deal of laugh and makes you remember ... those good ol' times with DTB.
8/10

Art: Excellent art, neatly done and no details were missed. Everyone is well drawn and the background always mean something, they don't just stand there. On a side note, I really like how they draw the eyes (especially Yin's.) The same quality as the original DTB, maybe even better. Although I found it strange that there was no blood in the perverted contractor scene, it's not like some other anime that the blood is black and disappears in the very next scene.
10/10

Sound: I always liked the opening, and the fact that they didn't replace it with something irrelevant or annoying is just a plus. I like how they play with the background sounds, but it didn't feel really special to me. Good quality music, able to set the mood, and doesn't stand out, so it's good.
8/10

Characters: A pack of unique characters always does the job in here. Although nothing (except for some doujin-love) is explained about characters, you should've watched the anime before going to this, so no problem with that. SPOILER: I find it rather sad how that love scene was lost because of that so-called cure of allergy.END SPOILER
10/10

Enjoyment: Like I said before, this was a good way for quick laugh. Contractors don't dream and aren't allergic to pollen! I really had some great time watching this OVA. I'm kind of relieved that this OVA didn't contain any relation to the actual progress of the plot. I seem to like the side-stories of the action anime that contain a good amount of laugh.
10/10

Overall: For all of us who have missed DTB, we got what we deserved. An OVA that is just like another episode of DTB, with some comedy aspect in it. It's just like the feeling that I got from Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid OVA. When you miss a serious anime, it's best to remember it with it's funny moments. It's better for you to watch a comedy-based episode rather than a serious one. Watch it.
9/10

Erm...So i have now re-watched it for second time...This is my first time doing something like that. Raki ☆ Suta!

Story: Most common mistake people make is that they say Lucky Star doesn't have a story. It has! "The daily lives of 4 high school girls." Understood? Good. Can't say much here, because of the randomness of "slice of life" genre. Still, I like how the story progress, except for the first few episodes which people usually don't understand what the series is about - which is director's fault. *shrugs* He got fired after the first four episodes anyway. If you think this story is ... bad, wait 'till you see Mars of Destruction.
8/10

Art: Yeah, I know that the art is nothing compared to KyoAni's usual productions, but is far better than them in one aspect, cuteness. Anyone who have watched the series can tell that how cute Konata is. Most of the scenes aren't really detailed, you usually see the upper parts of the characters, but that doesn't change how well cuteness goes with Miyuki's 'ultimade moe-ness', Konata's children-like personality and Tsukasa's 'little sister-ish' figure. BTW, background is detailed, proof (was) here, now destroyed with the absence of BBCodes.
8/10

Sound: This one varies a lot, depending on how many animes you've seen. The OP is catchy, and goes with the cuteness of the anime. The different endings were a good addition to anime, but if you haven't heard the songs before, you may think that a single ending theme would be better. And for the second part of the EDs, Shiraishi Minoru does awesome job. You still may not know some of the songs sung by him, but just watching him is entertaining too. I love how KyoAni toys with their own songs. The sound effects and OST isn't really obvious, but I can say that how it goes with the flow and is "cute" really enhances the dialogues. Especially when Kona-chan is about to start saying a funny comment about Kagami, the way music stops right before it and you can guess it coming.
8/10

Characters: Probably you can't learn their personalities in just one episode, but as the time goes on, you learn more and more about their personality. Even in the second half of the anime where they introduce new characters, no character gets more screentime than another. If they do, well, KyoAni is sure to make a joke about them! They are so unique and easy to remember. OK, not really unique (Kagami as you typical tsundere and Miyuki as you typical moe) but they are unique in their own ways. No wait! According to Shiraishi, Kagami isn't tsundere! Oh well, I don't care about what he thinks. Kagami is tsundere.
9/10

Enjoyment: What can someone give this part anything besides 10 out of 10? Great jokes, mainly based Suzumiya Haruhi and everyday problems of the world and Japan. Again, if you haven't watched Haruhi yet, you won't be able to get even the half of the jokes. That said, if you have watched it, you'll probably love the jokes. Azumanga Daioh is pretty much the same as Lucky Star, both having jokes based on pure randomness. School Rumble is more romance oriented, but still on par with them. If I had to pick one of them, it'd definitely be Lucky Star.
10/10

Overall: This series is a definitely a must-see for someone who has some anime knowledge and interested in slice of life/comedy genre. Lucky Star is a win or lose situation. Either you hate it, or you love it. If you like it, it will probably certainly be one of your favourite animes. If you don't like the slice of life/comedy genre and don't have fun finding all those references, I suggest that you don't watch it. Be sure to watch Haruhi beforehand, if you are going to watch Lucky Star.
10/10