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Ah, Sword Art Online...you had so much potential. I don't think there's a single one of us who read the synopsis for this series and said, "That sounds boring." Indeed, if it had been crafted better, this could have been one of the best anime of 2012. Instead I feel it is a colossal waste.

Story - 3/10 - After things get going, the first few episodes of the series are basically comprised of filler, which is never a good sign. Kirito undertakes side quests that may as well be marked by a bright yellow exclamation point for how generic and dull ... they are. Most of the characters he meets are relatively interesting, until you realize that they never appear beyond the episode of their introduction. What should be a time for gathering comrades and developing characters instead becomes a crazy, disjointed path that leaves the viewer wondering. Time lapses are used frequently between episodes, because somehow there were even more trivial events which couldn't be shown on screen.

Season 1 redeems itself pretty well in the latter half in my opinion, which is when the series is at its best. A cohesive story follows, and we're not meandering between useless might-as-well-be-NPC's anymore. The ending of season 1 was truly satisfying, and if I could rate the entire series based on that, it would probably get about an 8. Unfortunately however, we got a second season, and it never really takes flight (pun intended). All of the momentum from season 1 is lost as the badass Kirito is transformed into a brooding weakling with a one-track mind, fighting a villain who is cartoonishly laughable in his demeanor and stupidity. Yawn.

Characters - 2/10 - It's a harsh score, but honestly, Kirito and Asuna were the only interesting characters in the entire series, and they both got gutted by the time season 2 came around. It's not that the supporting cast is unlikeable, but you're never given any time to get to know them. The ones you do get to know are usually annoying or irrational.

Art 5/10 & Sound 7/10 - I'll preface this as always by saying that I am not a big art/sound guy. I rate primarily on the other factors. The animation was solid, but certainly not breathtaking. It did a pretty good job of making you feel like you are in a generic fantasy world, which I think is what they were going for, actually, since it's an MMO. The soundtrack itself is quite good, but the music never seemed to accent the dramatic moments in the series.

Enjoyment - 5/10 - I liked it mostly because of the premise being very unique, and the fact that it had some nice high points. Though it may not seem like it, my score reflects optimism. I will certainly be checking out the manga in hopes that this is just another anime series which can't echo its print version faithfully.

Overall - 4/10 - Given all 25 episodes to the first arc, I think this could have been a great series. Action fans won't be disappointed (at first), and there's enough here for lovers of both anime and MMOs to grab onto. Still, Sword Art Online is predictable, cliched, bland, and lacking any real depth. It begins with a seductive whisper, but ends with a night of friendzone disappointment.

Perfect Blue is a visionary tale which any true anime fan should add to their to-watch list immediately. It was produced in 1997, which makes me wonder why I'd never heard of it before, but it's withstood the test of time very well. The art, predictably, is a bit dated, but it does not detract from the enjoyment for me at all.

This anime is basically a psychological thriller, and should never be viewed by children under any circumstances. It contains violence, exploitation, and sexual abuse. I've seen a lot of disturbing anime, but this is definitely near the top, with scenes ... that made me want to throw up, punch my monitor, or simply look away. The beauty of Perfect Blue, though, is that you can never being yourself to look away.

The plot starts out innocently enough, but quickly becomes quite confusing. The main character is a pop idol-turned-actress with delusions of being a killer, starring in a drama series about a killer who has delusions of being a pop idol-turned-actress, who stars in a...AHHH! Nevermind, suffice to say you will have no idea what the hell is going on until the final scene. Even now, I am still thinking back to what was fantasy and what was reality. Plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing.

Complaints: The craziness level was a bit much, even for me, but such ambition definitely deserves praise. My biggest problem was with the very very last scene before the credits roll, which seems so out-of-place with the events leading up to it. It pulled me right out of the immersion. I'm going to pretend that scene never existed and give this outstanding work a 9.

Kaiji was a very interesting series for me, in that I found it to be so incredibly hit-or-miss, it's difficult to review.

First, there are many pros. The art is the first thing you will notice, but don't let the cover fool you; this anime is pretty well-drawn. The style fits, and you won't even notice anything unusual after 5-10 minutes of watching. The music and ambient sounds are some of the best I've come across, as well as most (but definitely not all) of the voice acting. This comes across to give the series a very creepy and believable atmosphere.

The story is ... basically what you would expect. It's probably the reason you want to watch Kaiji, if you're a fan of Battle Royale or Shadow Star Narutaru-type tragidrama. It also has many elements of a mystery or puzzle-solving anime that were rather enjoyable to unravel. As for shock value, there are a few disturbing moments, but it's not nearly as shocking as I had hoped, so I was let down in that department. Still, I found it very enjoyable for its premise, and I was not disappointed by the gambles or the characters and the way they handle their adversity.

Now, the cons. The BIG cons. First, every arc is way too long. The reason for this is mostly the narrator, who will start to annoy you right around the second episode. Rather than allow you, the viewer, to grasp Kaiji's situations with your own eyes, heart, and common sense, he will explain everything for you in the most obvious and melodramatic way possible, using similes and metaphors that will remind you of bad 40's radio programs. Oh, and each of these bad metaphors is displayed onscreen as a literal interpretation (Kaiji leaping across an imaginary crevice to overcome his fears, for example), to make you feel even more condescended. Subtlety is something that was mastered by series like Evangelion and Higurashi, and it is most certainly not present here.

Secondly, the crying. There is way too much crying. I don't mind the dialogue, but it just always happens to be accompanied by crying, even when the situation doesn't call for tears. There's even happy crying! This may seem minor, but combined with the cheesy narrator and long anticlimactic story arcs, it's very distracting and only serves to lessen my interest in what happens.

So, there you have it. I love gambling, tragedy, and dialogue, so of course I enjoyed this series. In certain moments I was feeling true fear out of sympathy for the characters, and excitement for what was to come. Unfortunately, the number of times I had to look away or do something else because I was bored/annoyed took some points away from what really could have been one of my favorite animes. I don't see how anyone can give this a 10, since the narrator alone drags it down to 8 for me. I think most "normal" anime fans should probably avoid it, and go try Monster or Higurashi instead.