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A true gem: Its unorthodox art style and experimental telling of the story - constantly blending alternative fantasy scenarios that allow us glimpses of the characters psyches - are an absolute joy. The realism in the portrayal of human doubt, worry, sex drive are all beautifully rendered in tiny details that let you guess, rather than be told. This realism and the tiny details that let you understand the inner worlds of the characters through glimpses make for a titillating read that feels rather sensual in nature without ever giving too much away.

The only complaint that someone may have from this story is that it ... could have been extended to a longer work. However, in my eyes that would only detract from its beauty. The way it is, it captures a moment in time for the two main characters. The rest, is rightfully left to the imagination. However if you fear that this has a vague ending, this is not the case. The story feels complete.

One of the reasons I loved Zetsuen no Tempest is the fact that there are no wishy-washy protagonists. All of the 4 main characters are individually strong and have their own skills to offer. Furthermore, the female characters are stronger (both physically and emotionally) than their male counterparts. As this is a huge departure from most standard anime fare, that in and of itself raises Zetsuen no Tempest in my esteem.

On top of this, Zetsuen no Tempest has an intriguing story-line with suspense as well as great art and graphics quality. The only thing that I could mention as a minus is the way ... humor is suddenly introduced around episode 10. Suddenly, the atmosphere changes from almost always serious and foreboding, to regular injections of humor. The problem is not the humor itself, but the fact that the material mostly has to do with breaking the 4th wall and a lot of inner monologues that keep pointing out the ridiculousness of the situation we see. When a lot of this has to do with how ridiculous it is that the world and the government is depending on teenagers (with their own teenage dramas) for saving, the immersion of the viewer is compromised.

Truly a masterpiece due to the wonderful animation style, which is incredibly unique. It is this style that makes the mind quickly drift into the tale and be absorbed in it, in a manner that it hasn't done so since childhood. Despite belonging in the horror genre, I would describe the experience of watching Monoke as incredibly relaxing - again, reiterating the feeling of reverting back to childhood and being told a unique tale. Figuring out the mysteries due to all the little things left untold, or inferred can be fun - or frustrating - depending on your temperament.

Anime that makes you roll around laughing out loud does not come by all that often. However in the span of 77 episodes, the ones that caused genuine laughter were maximum 10. The rest of the episodes were either simply pleasant to watch or slightly amusing. Many were downright boring. But these are not the only problems of Sket Dance...

Somehow, Sket Dance fails to get you emotionally involved with the characters. It is not that they are not likeable, they are. Yet they miss that certain quality that makes you really care what happens with them, that quality that makes it a joy to watch ... them go about their lives and interacting simply because they are great characters. Which I guess is the point: They are not in fact great characters, otherwise we'd care, otherwise just watching them talk would be fun. But it is not.

Most bizarrely, this series took a very sudden and totally unexpected turn to fanservice around the last 15 episodes or so, right after going through some of its funniest episodes. After 65 or so episodes with an absolute absence of fanservice the sudden gratuitous nudity and constant breast bounces were jarring and cheap.

I gave this anime a fair chance due to the high rating and glowing reviews. Having sat through 10 episodes of this, maybe I can save someone else the trouble.

I love good slice of life and I love good gag. This fails epically on both counts. It is too surreal and too absurd to be considered slice of life. It is not funny at all either.

Worse of all - and the reason why I stopped watching - the characters are completely dislikable. It renders the anime simply unwatchable because the end result is about as pleasant as hearing chalk squeak on a blackboard. This anime ... will waste your time with: Absurd, nonsensical non-storylines, which could be funny, if it wasn't so damned infuriating because the characters are not endearing, but disgusting.

The formula is this: A couple of characters are down on their luck. Nothing they do ever works out. Their wishes and actions are always frustrated. Sometimes by circumstance. Most often however, by the rest of the huge cast, who conspire to make their lives miserable. NOT my idea of fun.