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What happens when you combine my favorite genre (Slice of Life) with my favorite studio (Kyoto Animation)? You get Lucky Star.

Story: Normally when I score story in a Slice of Life show, I do it based on all the episodic stories combined. But what happens when a show does not have that and is just pure life and is random with no coherent order/story. That is why I left the score a blank.

But I would still like to talk about the content. Lucky Star plays off its humor through normal everyday conversations. Talking about the most random things and finding humor out of it ... is tricky. Personally, I found most conversations hilarious because I enjoy the idea of everyday situations being made fun at. This type of humor is not for everybody and thus why this show can be a hit or miss.

Another aspect of this show is its use of references. A good amount of conversations play off such references. And they can go anywhere from other anime to current events. It went as far as to use an old commercial. One of the keys to be able to enjoy this anime is to be able to know the references. Watching as much anime as I do, I got most of them easily.

Art/Animation: Technically speaking, this is not KyoAni's best work. But the style and design works really well for this type of story. There are times where I felt that they were being very lazy and yet there were times I was marveled at the level of detail. Of course it is nowhere near the level of their other works such as Haruhi.

Sound: Voice - Everyone plays there roles really well. I was particularly impressed with Hirano Aya (voice of Konata). KyoAni really utilized her vocal range and made great situations out of it.

Music - To me, this is probably the weakest aspect of the show. The OP is indeed catchy but it can only be appealing for so long. And the "different" ED each week was a hit or miss. The only great part about it was the appearance of Minoru Shiraishi. Having him sing for the last part of the series was brilliant. Listening to him was a blast.

Character: Perhaps the strongest aspect of the show. The cast of Lucky Star are great. The variety it has and the way they fit so well together really bring out the show. Whether you come to like this show or not, I believe there will be at least one character that you can't help but like. Rather than me telling you, I hope you go check out this show after reading this review and see for yourself.

Enjoyment = My score on MAL (it is subjectively rated)

Overall, this is a very enjoyable show. But it is for those who are into those kinds of humor. It is not something I would recommend to everybody. I believe this show is one of those shows where it is a hit or miss.

I watched this at AX earlier this month but didn't want to write a review till subs are out.

5 Centimeters per Second is Makoto Shinkai's latest work, and this one doesn't disappoint.

Story: Much like his other works, Voices of a Distant Star and The Place Promised in Our Early Days, the theme for this anime is "distance". Shinkai perhaps, have mastered story-telling of this theme. He crafted each episode so well with this theme that you can't help but be moved. Each episode uses the theme but each potrayed in a different way. The first episode being the physical distance between our characters. The ... second being the distance in feelings. And the third being the distance in time. This movie will bring you to tears or close to it because of how well its told.

Art/Animation: Be warned, the animation of this movie along with an hd encode may cause blindness, so come in with high expectations.
This movie has probably the most beautiful animation ever. The art direction and scenery in this movie will just blow you away. I have never been so impressed like this.

Sound: Tenmon never ceases to amaze. I never thought his work in The Place Promised in Our Early Days could be surpassed, but I was wrong. This movie would not be what it is if it wasnt for this awesome soundtrack. Each bgm is beautifully composed and works so well with the scenes. The theme song is just as good and fits the theme of this movie so well. Shinkai and Tenmon makes a great team.

Character: Don't be fooled by the score. The characters in this movie are great but everything else is the cause. Takaki, Akari, and the others don't have the appeal like other characters do but the story-telling is done so well that you will get attached.

Overall, this is, without a doubt, Shinkai's best work. He keeps getting better and better. I am so looking forward to his next work.

If you wish to see my spoilerish thoughts on this movie, check out this board in the forums.

This is the first time that I have ever felt an anime deserves full marks in all categories. Aria the Natural had everything I could want in an anime. Here\'s the breakdown...

Story: The reason why the plot is so good is that each episode has a unique story and it never gets tiring despite not having a running story. Neo-Venezia is a place meant to be explored and that is what we get thorugh the series as Akari and Co. meat new people and grow. Watching something like this is relaxig and just puts a smile on your face.

Animation: The world of Aria is absolutely ... beautiful. The town of Neo-Venezia is presented in such detail that it makes me wish that I was there. And the sceneries are a sight to see and in an anime like Aria, we get to see them in many aspects, whether it is in the morning, evening, night etc. The only thing i wish for is a HD version of Aria, but still gets full marks none the less.

Sound: OP, ED, BGM, it\'s absolutely incredible. The music fits in so well and is something that just relaxes you. Words alone cant describe how much i love this kind of music. It\'s pure bliss~

Character: This is perhaps the best aspect of Aria. Each character is not only unique but is extremely likable. There is a wide range of personalities yet they go so well together. And their chibi face form is hilarious. Each have there own style and goes well with their personality.

Overall, to me, not only is this the best slice of life, it is the best anime out there. It is just perfect. While this type of anime is not for everyone, Aria the Natural was everything i could ask for. Hopefully you can see the magic of Aria like I did if you ever check this out and become a fan too.

Makoto Shinkai's first feature-lengthed work - The Place Promised in Our Early Days.

Story: Just like Voices in a Distant Star and 5 Centimeters Per Second, this is a story about 2 people and their distances. Unlike Voices where their distance is that of time and space, Place Promised is about their distance across dimensions/dreams/reality. What I like about this concept is how well Shinkai presented it. Sayuri (our heroine) is physically in the world, but spiritually trapped in another. It is very touching to see Hiroki (our hero) search for Sayuri knowing that she is very close yet at the same time very far away ... from him. While the whole together->separation->search part of the story exciting to watch, the sci-fi/war part felt a little boring. I can understand having that part in the story since we are dealing with the concept dimensions, but it felt a little out of place and it took away from the whole experience.

Animation: This is one of the stronger points in this movie. The animation is absolutely gorgeous. There are two things that make this movie incredibly beautiful. The first is the background and the use of colors. The background really speaks to you with its detail and vibrant colors. You can really feel the depth and it is really moving. The other part of the animation that makes it gorgeous is the lighting effects. It is carefully used to emphasize those "key" moments in the movie. It really gives you one of those "whoa" moments where it pushes you back into your seat.

Sound: Tenmon is a genius. In order to bring out the emotions of a movie, the BGM is key and Tenmon delivers. The BGM is beautiful and fun to listen to. Also, the score played by Hiroki and Sayuri on the violin is incredible. The only thing lacking in the sound department is an amazing theme song. Kimi no Koe feels a little weak in comparison to the BGM and it failed to capture my attention.

Character: There is nothing really special about the main characters. You can say that they're normal. But perhaps thats the appeal of it. Watching these kids grow and become more resolve is an enriching experience. There is nothing special about the supporting characters as well.

Overall, it was a very good movie and an excellent follow up to Voices. I am definitely looking forward to finishing up 5cm per Second.

Story: In a world where a being known as The Third rule the land, we have our heroine, Hanoka. Hanoka, as a Jack-of-all-Trades travels the desert land with her tank doing various jobs. Somewhere along the way, she meets a mysterious man named Ikus. We then get to see their travels together and the interaction with the people they meet along with The Third. During the travels we start to learn more about Hanoka and many of the other people they meet and the mystery behind Ikus starts to unravel.

Fairly simple concept, but the story telling is well done. It is as if you were ... reading a book. What I like about the story is the interaction between the characters. You get to learn much more about the world through the interaction between the characters. Furthermore, while some people might not like it, we have this narrator that narrates the thoughts of the characters and explains the situations at hand. The narration allows you to learn more about each character and how they fell and why they act like the way they do.

Animation: I had a lot of mix feeling when deciding whether to give animation a 7 or 8. Overall, the animation was solid and there was a lot of detail. However, there were a few episodes that took a huge nose dive in the animation. Apparently it was because some other group of people worked on the animation for those episodes, but it was too big of change. It really stopped the nice flow that the anime had and at times I felt really disgusted. Think Yoake Mae Yori Ruri Iro Na bad for those who have watched or heard about it. The reason I gave it an 8 however, was because of the awesome use of colors and fighting sequences. I was in awe watching some of the fights.

Sound: This is probably the weakest aspect of the anime with the exception of the few bad animation episodes. I really didn't get attached to any of the songs. After the first few episodes I would just skip the op and ed songs. While I wasn't to fond of the songs, I thought the BGM was well done. It really made the anime more exciting.

Character: Would it be enough if I said that Hanoka was also the most badass sword-wielding heroine of 2006 and that the tank talked? This anime has a really interesting cast of characters. Not one person seemed to be normal, but thats a good thing. I loved diving into each character and learn more about them. Each character is just very unique.

Overall: It was a very good anime. The interesting cast of characters and the great story-telling made it a very fun ride.

From the creator of Perfect Blue comes Tokyo Godfathers.

Story: This story is about 3 homeless people (a washed-up father/husband, a homo, and a runaway teen) during the Christmas Holidays. The story gets going when they find an abandoned baby at a dump site. Even though one of them wants to raise the baby himself, they knew that they couldn't, so they go on a search for the baby's parents. As this search goes on, they start to learn about each others past's and we see how it ties into the present.

While it may seem like a pretty straight forward concept, Kon Satoshi manages to fully ... utilize it by putting all these twists and turn that keeps the movie exciting. What makes the story so special is how Satoshi manages to portray the homeless urban hood and how he cleverly ties everyone's pasts together. So if a funny, compelling, heart-filled story is what you're searching for, then look no further than this.

Animation: For a movie made in 2003, the animation is very solid. Style-wise, there is nothing spectacular about it. It doesn't differentiate itself from other anime like Mind Game or Dead Leaves does, however, what makes it so appealing is all the detail it has when presenting urban Tokyo. A lot of work must have been done to try to represent the homeless.

Sound: There really isn't much to say about this. There weren't really anything that gave a huge impression; however, all I can say is that the music really fit the movie. Its one of the reason why movie stayed exciting

Character: Probably the best aspect of the movie was the characters. The first thing I want to point out is the realism. While they may be "weird" characters, their situations are really similar to society today. I can see a teenager running away from home. I can see a washed-up husband/father becoming homeless. Another fascinating thing about the characters is the growth that they go through. Because of this baby, we see the subtle growth of each character and the bonds between them becoming tighter.

Overall: This was a surprisingly good movie. It is a great addition to a Christmas holiday collection. I haven't been glued to a movie like this in a while. Now I am definitely looking forward to his latest work Paprika.

---The review contains spoilers---


Story: Very original concept. We have this so called god that gathers together an alien, time traveler, esper, and a "normal human" to form a club. But this "god" doesn't know that she has gathered all these strange people. And ironically enough, the purpose of the club is to find aliens, time travelers, and espers and have fun with them. The purpose of the club members is to keep this god entertained so that she won't destroy the world. What I like about this concept is that not only is it unique, it allow many possibilities in how the story is ... told. The author makes full use of everyones special abilities.

Animation: All credit goes to Kyoto Animation for really using this concept to its potential. What so great about the animation is all the detail it has. Each story is uniquely portrayed and really shows what the author had intended. KyoAni also cleverly implanted all these subtle actions that reflects the actions in other episodes so when you rewatch this you will be like "oh I see why she had this reaction" in case you missed it the first time.

Sound: Two words: Hirano Aya. She sings the opening, ending, the two insert song, and is the heroine in the anime. Each song is very catchy and fun to listen to. You wouldn't believe all these songs were sang by the same person, but Hirano Aya has a huge vocal range. Voice acting is also really well done. Each voice really fits their character.

Character: Probably the best thing about this show the very unique cast of characters. It is really very rare for me to be able to like all the characters (even Itsuki). Each character appeals to you in its own way. But the biggest factor is the subtle change and growth of the characters. I had a great time evaluating the characters at the beginning of the series with them at the end. KyoAni really know how to do their stuff.

Replay Value: Moderately High. With such details, you would need to watch it over to catch all the details. Furthermore, the way KyoAni set up the episode order, at least one more watch is in order.

Overall: This was a great experience. It rare these days for a show to really overwhelm you. I have never enjoyed an anime this much and I look forward to the second season.