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Watching Non Non Biyori is like playing the game Animal Crossing. It depicts a quiet, countryside life, has an amazing and relaxing soundtrack, beautiful scenery with calming sounds of nature, cute characters, and just enough humorous dialogue to keep you laughing. However, if you watch it when you're tired, it'll probably relax you so much you'll drift off to sleep.

It's a strange feeling when I think that a series would've done better if it were a different genre. I've only ever felt that way about one anime, and it's this one: Gatchaman Crowds. It had a lot of good points going for it, from it's unique art to the lovable characters, but there were a few things that kept me from enjoying it to it's fullest potential. Namely, the storyline.

Right from the beginning, Gatchaman Crowds starts off on a unique foot with the eccentric main character, Hajime, obsessing over her planners. Shortly after, she meets a very tall, god like fellow who bestows ... upon her the powers of a Gatchaman: "the wings that protect the planet." It wastes no time jumping into the action after that, when Hajime witnesses her senpai Sugane fighting a "Mess". It grabbed my attention right from the start, however, the story only went downhill from there. Without revealing any spoilers, there was a plot point involving the "Mess" that made absolutely no sense whatsoever that was never explained or brought up again. The rest of the episodes had high and low points, with the last few being quite good, which is why I'm giving the story a six instead of a five.

The character designs and backdrops were cleverly done. Although the art was fairly simple, it was unique and featured vibrant colors and quickly caught my eye. I really started to appreciate the art when we saw areas like Hajime's room and the way the characters constantly changed clothing and appearance.

Along with the messy (puns are good) story, the characters are the reason why I feel that this anime would do better as an episodic action anime with slice of life moments thrown in here and there. Although in no way unique, the characters had excellent designs and were all lovable in their own ways. There are many people who said that there was no character development, but I disagree completely. By the ending, almost all the characters had their viewpoint changed in some way thanks to Hajime. My favorite parts of this anime were the simple sections where the characters were just interacting. Moments like Hajime's collage group, seeing how they acted inside their own homes, and just having them lounging around at base were all heart warming to me. I would much rather have more character interaction moments like these than watch more of the poorly executed storyline.

There isn't much to say about the OST, except for the fact that it was fantastic. The OP and ED weren't anything special, but were both catchy. What really got me was the background music during the actual episodes: a lot of fast paced, technoish beats during the action sequences really spiced up the scenes for me. "Gatchamaaaaaaan!"

From what I've seen, this anime has received mostly positive reviews with some being in the middle. In no way do I disagree with the relatively good ratings it's received. However, the meh story and quite a few boring episodes in the middle of the anime brought the score down for this show, which easily could have been an eight or even nine.

As a huge fan of the twisted survival game theme for anime/manga, I thought Btooom! would be the perfect anime for me. In some ways it was, but in other ways it started to let me down. However, there is no doubt that Btooom! was a highly entertaining watch that, even with it's flaws, was ultimately worth the watch.

Story: 8/10
Like I said, I'm biased towards this anime's story; I love the plots where humans are pitted against each other in a twisted game that tests their desire to survive as well as their sanity. I feel like this setup, while becoming less and less original, ... is a great storyline for a horror/psychological anime.

Art: 9/10
There's no doubt that Btooom! is extremely well animated. Each of the character's designs fits their personalities, from the cute child psycho to the relatively ordinary NEET protagonist with a big heart. The only problem I had was sometimes the body-to-face proportions looked a little strange to me, mostly with Himiko. Her head was kind of a weird shape, but that could just be me. Either way, it's nothing to complain about.

Sound: 8/10
There isn't too much to say here. I really loved the OP (up until the last episode, where it was changed), and never really listened to the ED. The voice actors did a good job, and you could start to see in their voices when their mental state began to deteriorate.

Character: 9/10
This is where I think Btooom! really excels. I think all of the characters were likable or detestable, as needed, in their own way. My personal favorite would be Kira, who I think had a great background and was extremely disappointed when he didn't get more appearances later on in the anime. Even though he's a deranged sociopath, he still has that intrigue about him that makes you want to know more about him. I think when an anime makes a few of the "villains" likeable, they've done an excellent job of crafting their characters.
Himiko was a bit annoying at first; she seemed to exist simply for Ryouta to save. However, her back story (while not original in the least) was believeable and she started to redeem herself towards the very end. Speaking of Ryouta, I think he was a fantastic protagonist -- he wasn't wimpy, but he also wasn't a brutal killing machine. He had a sense of morals, but he wasn't like "NO I CAN NEVER KILL AT ALL!" which can be annoying in these kind of stories. Of course, the way he always managed to dodge BIMs simply because he was the main character was aggravating, but that doesn't really have anything to do with his character.

Enjoyment: 9/10
Btooom! is definitely worth watching simply for the enjoyment factor. No, it may not have an incredibly complex plot or huge mindfucks, but if you were to watch this anime after it had finished airing, it would be the kind of anime that you marathon. It's action-packed plot and interesting characters make each episode go by quickly, so even if you don't enjoy it, it should be a quick watch and is at least worth a chance.

Overall: 7/10
Based on my ratings for other factors, I should be giving this anime an 8 or 9. However, I have to give it a 7 simply for the ending. Throughout the second half of Btooom!, the focus shifted slightly to a romantic one. There was still action, but more of the time was spent with Ryouta and Himiko's relationship than badass bomb fighting. The ending was extremely disappointing in the fact that it had more focus on romance and wasn't really any unexpected twists at all; although based on the ending, I think there is high hope for a second season.
Overall, Btooom! is a great watch if you're looking for a survival anime with a world that sucks you in and keeps you on the edge of your seat, even if it is a little predictable at times.

When I began to watch Uta No Prince Sama, or UtaPri, I didn't go in with high expectations. I've read all of the negative reviews, but I figured since I was simply looking for something light-hearted and fun I'd enjoy it well enough. Surprisingly, it surpassed my expectations in some ways.

Sound: 10/10
Obviously, one of the most important parts of this anime was the music, considering it's placed in an academy for idols and composers. This was my absolute FAVORITE thing about UtaPri -- each song touched me in some way, and I found myself listening to "1000% Love" multiple times, and humming along each time. ... If you take anything away from this anime at all, it will be the music. The voice acting was also well done.

Characters: 8/10
This is where most people's problem with UtaPri lies, in my opinion. Haruka, our main heroine, was clearly supposed to be cute. Everything about her was designed that way, from her voice, her klutziness, the number of times she stutters, etc. Many people had a problem with her oddly colored eyes, but I didn't mind them. I figured that Haruka could use the extra flair, because she certainly wasn't memorable. I don't think they failed on making her "cute", per say, but she was ultimately forgettable, even a little aggravating at times. However, she's easily overlooked because of the other cast. The boys were all interesting to me in some way, and even though their personalities were certainly stereotypical and not unique in the slightest, I enjoyed all of them respectively. It was very annoying how all of these boys instantly fell in love with Haruka and were clambering over themselves to introduce themselves to her, but it's a fact that can be overlooked, because frankly that type of thing is in the majority of harems/reverse harems.

Story: 7/10
While decent, the story was nothing special. Typical boarding school reverse harem setting, with the added interest of being a school for idols and composers. If they didn't add that last bit, then honestly the anime would be a lot worse. However, the setting worked out for the better, although it's nothing unique.

Art: 10/10
This one is a given. Being a fan of bishies and shoujo style art, I automatically fell in love with the art style in UtaPri. It uses many bright colors and has an overall happy feel to it. Two words - eye candy. If you're a fan of bishies, then you'll absolutely love the art.

Enjoyment: 9/10
I feel like this needs some explaining. For me personally, I enjoyed UtaPri very much. It wasn't anything special or even attention grabbing, but it was heart warming and entertaining. Although I'm giving this anime an 8 because of it's flaws such as a forgettable main character (often a problem in shoujos), the relative lack of creativity, and the fact that all of the guys instantly loved Haruka, I'm giving it a 9 for enjoyment because it's a quick, light-hearted series that I finished easily in two days. Whether you enjoy UtaPri or not really depends on the type of anime you normally like and how seriously you take it.

If you're looking for something fresh and unique, with a strong heroine and dramatic scenes, then you've come to the wrong anime. However, if you can not take it so seriously, turn off your brain for a bit and let yourself ENJOY the fantastic music and fun characters, then I can surely say that you will like UtaPri.