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Time to get a better look at one of the anime of 2011 that ended up being unexpectedly good. Now I am aware of the cover of this show having over a dozen girls on it and the idea connected with this is a giant harem. Luckily, I never managed to connect the two and took a look at the show anyways. What I primarily expected/hoped for was a GOOD music moe anime. After all, one of the most popular anime which incorporate these two parts is K-ON!, a show that pretty much revolves around a group of high school girls ... screwing around in a club room ._______. which just wasn't my cup of tea (get it? cuz all they did was drink tea? q-q). With this, let's dive into the world of idols with The iDOLM@STER.

In my opinion, there are three things that help generalize a show on if it is good or not. First the audience must feel welcome in the setting: this pretty much is how interesting our surroundings are, the animation/sound, and/or the characters in it. Second we need to get emotionally/mentally invested; we need to be stimulated in some way so that we do not get bored. This could mean making us laugh from a gag, get intellectually invested from a deeper meaning, cry from an emotional scene, or just give you an adrenalin rush from watching an amazing fight scene. The third is if the show can follow through with the rules that they create for themselves in the plot; in other words, if you are a show about music, DO NOT stray from music so far that we are watching something completely irrelevant. All of these must be kept in mind when reading what I am about to present and we will see by the end how good the show actually is.

So The iDOLM@STER revolves around 12 musical idols and their climb to fame. We are taken through their struggles with the business and all of the personal problems that they each have to overcome, whether it has to do with issues they have involving work or problems at home.

Animation: The animation behind iDOLM@STER is very well done. Everything looks fluid and in place, not to mention that the concert scenes are incredibly well designed and show every little detail. For 2011, this is amazingly well done animation and the only complaint that I have about it is that the incredibly detailed animation of the characters on stage did not carry on off stage. This lack of detail could be due to either not having the budget to support it or to make the concert scenes more effective. Now there is something that might turn off some, which is the moe. iDOLM@STER is a show which uses the moe style, but this isn't a bad thing if it is done well and doesn't distract the viewer and personally, I had no qualms with the style even though some might. I bestow a 9.5 on iDOLM@STER for animation and the only way I could see it being better is if it was consistently detailed.

Sound: So did you know that this show is about music? Well as you can expect, the music is done quite well considering that's the shows genre. It was very nice to hear a different ending theme every episode done by the character that the episode revolves around. Also, the background soundtrack was well done and very fitting. Both the OPs are good (the first is better in my opinion) and are performed in a concert at some time in the show. However, I can only consider putting one or two songs from the show on my iPod. As far as the dub goes, I feel that if the dub was not outstanding or horrible, then there isn't much point in talking about it. All the VAs performed well, but other than Asami Imai (who played Chihaya and did a great job), I didn't feel like looking into any of the other cast. They were pretty average, they fit the characters but weren't outstanding to me. I give the show an 8.5 in sound, I only wish that they would have had more memorable pieces for a music anime.

Characters: iDOLM@STER handles its episodes by having a different character for the main focus for almost every episode, which leads to having a massive main cast. By having such a large cast, everyone will have several favorites that they hope to see as the central point in an episode. Having a show that provides everyone is great and all but what about all the characters that you don't like? Well your gonna be outa luck because most characters only get one episode so if you only like a couple characters and hate the rest then you better hope that one of the characters that you like is one of the big three that get more than one episode. I give the characters an 8 since I luckily liked most of the cast.

Plot: Well damn, this is the one part that people really do not want a show to be poor in and there you go... iDOLM@STER goes and gives you only a slightly above average story. As I said earlier, the show deals with different characters each episode and due to this, sometimes goes off track and doesn't focus on the musical aspect of the show in any way. I actually think that they could have cut almost ten of the episodes out and it wouldn't have made the enjoyment or plot any worse but probably better. Yes everyone wants their favorite idol to get an episode but why couldn't those episodes have stuck to the genre of music? Now I'm not saying that every episode needs a concert but they could have shown more on the struggles with work. I will give plot a 6 because despite irrelevant episodes deriving from the focal point of being an idol, some of the character arcs were very well done, sadly they do not make up for the rest of the show to upgrade its score anymore.

Enjoyment: The show was pretty enjoyable. The final episodes of the first and second half of the show are great and the other episodes on the individual characters were somewhat entertaining as well. iDOLM@STER was a 7.5 in my eyes as far as entertainment goes.

Okay, so now to get back to the three points that decide if a show is good or not. Firstly, the show brings you into the world of these idols incredibly well with the first episode. The styling of how it was done plus the animation and music drew me in instantly. As for how well it played with my emotions; it played with them to the extent that the show needed to. The final episodes of each half had me in anticipation of what would happen next and left me wanting more. As far as how well it stuck with the rules it set... ugh, not so well. It stuck with the rule of giving each character an episode but that isn't what the first episode presented, which was the idea of the business behind being an idol and what it meant to them. So how good is iDOLM@STER? Well the show is pretty good, not fully meeting each of the three points shows that it could have been better.

Now before I give you my final verdict, I'd like to give you a viewing recommendation. I suggest that you only watch episodes 1, 3-6, 10-14, and 19-25. What this will do is skip unimportant episodes to the plot and keep some of the best developmental points. After watching these episodes, then you should watch the remaining like they are an extension of the show. That way you will be able to watch for the story and true main characters first and if you liked it and want to see the remaining characters you can watch them as if they were an extra. Overall the show receives a 7.9.

Key is the original creator of Angel Beats! and are also remembered for creating Air, Kanon, Clannad, and last fall season's Little Busters, so it should come as no surprise that this is quite a dramatic show. However, just because Key has done well in the past in the drama department, does Angel Beats meet our expectations? I personally enjoyed this show quite a bit when I first watched it and it set its place in my favorites for quite a while; however, after rewatching it a year later I came to see that my long time favorite had quite a few flaws. With ... this in mind, let's dive into a break down of Angel Beats.

Animation: the animation looks fantastic during some of the scenes in the show when they show landscapes or dramatic close ups and also shines during the Girls Dead Monster concerts. Sadly, the amazing animation for those specific scenes are not seen throughout the show. This isn't necessarily a bad thing and may just reflect on a lack of cash to blow on animation and design, but some of the character designs are not to my liking. For instance, Otonashi, our main protagonist, has a bulky neck, small head, and large eyes (the large eyes are pretty much a trademark of Key and moe). Things like this seemed very distracting. The show receives an 8.5 for poor character designs and lack of consistently great animation.

Music: Some of Angel Beats strongest scenes overall are the concerts, which happened to have very good music in them, especially this show is not part of the music genre. As far as the opening and ending theme, they were very well done and fit perfectly. Music is definitely a strong point of this show, and deserves a 9.5 and only does not get a 10 because even though the background music fit, none of it will end up on my iPod.

Plot: the plot is the major lacking point of this show. Angel Beats presents an amazing idea by setting its story in a pergatory for young souls. Although, a setting does not make a show. Even though the shows very powerful flashbacks to the lives of some of our characters, the other time spent in the show felt like all filler. Now some will point out that the show was suppose to be 26 episodes but knowing that, does the show look any different to you? Is the plot or character development any different? No, the show should be judged by what it is; a 13 episode, under-developed drama. If they were limited to 13 episodes, they should not have chosen to go with several episodes of filler and should not have thrown in so many different plot points and tries to accomplish them all in such a short amount of time. The underdevelopment made the show seem very rushed, and so I bestow the show with a 4 in plot.

Enjoyment: even though the plot was bad, the show was very enjoyable. The characters were easy to relate to and the idea presented was magnificent. I only wish that it would have gotten 24-26 episodes so that we could have gotten more development. My enjoyment can be rated as an 8.5

Overall I would have to say this is a pretty good show and is worth a watch, especially of you are a Key fan because it's good to get a full spectrum of their work. To everyone else, I would say this show is worth checking out but isnt a masterpiece do don't have to high of expectations. Overall I will give this show a 7.9

If you are looking for an anime that has the guts to use a different aproach to animation style and uses crude humor (and a ton of it) then look no further. If you are looking for a show with the comedy of K-ON! or the drama of Clannad then you couldn't have drifted farther away from your destination. Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt is a roller coaster of spoofs and dirty jokes all for your enjoyment, so with that lets get on with the review!

Story: Well, to put it plainly, there isn't much of one. The story is about two ... angels, the sex crazed Panty and the sugar addict Stocking, trying to collect an unknown amount of Heaven's coins so that they can return to Heaven. The story is pretty episodic, there aren't that many connections from episode to episode. Although, near the end the episodes do seem to connect but only about two of them with a little flashback to previous episodes. The story is definitely one of Panty & Stocking's weak points, so I'll give it a 7/10

Art: The art is extremely bold. I haven't seen any anime with its style before (not to say there aren't any, just none that I have ever seen before). It does remind my of American styled cartoons quite a bit, although no American cartoons that have this kind of humor ever turn out nearly as funny. There is one episode however where they completely change the animation style, mostly for the purpose of making fun of other styles but I still found the inconsistency to be annoying. For that inconsistency I can't give this section a 10/10, but it still lands a 9/10

Sound: Loved the soundtrack. The intro is only 33 seconds long but it is still good and I really liked the outro. All of the background music was very good and I found myself downloading the soundtrack after seeing just a few episodes. For the great background music, intro, and outro, I will give sound a 10/10

Enjoyment: Well, Panty & Stocking was a strange and fun ride, so it is easy to say that I enjoyed the anime. However, it wasn't an anime that I could blow through all at once. I really tried to pace myself a little when watching this anime so that I could spread out the comedy because when there isn't much of a story to follow, it's hard to go through a whole anime in one day. This has to be one of the only anime with extensive amounts of parody episodes and a filler here and there that I enjoyed. My enjoyment of the show comes out to a 9/10

Overall: When looking at it from an overall perspective, the anime is pretty damn good but if you do not enjoy a great deal of trashy jokes then I would stay away from this anime. Also, if you watch the first episode and find that you don't like how it is, then I would drop it if I were you because each episode has the same feel to it as the previous one so unless you have a change of heart and suddenly start to like crude jokes, just save your time and drop the anime. For the amazing music and art, combined with my enjoyment for the show, the overall rating will land at a 9/10

Tasogare Otome x Amnesia has a good take on the Romance genre, with the coupling between that of Teiichi, the average high school student, and Kanoe Yuuko, a ghost. Not only does the show have an interesting take on romance but it also shows how easy it is for people to trick themselves into being scared of what is not really there, which has to be what will overall separate this anime from the others.

Story: The story is what I said before, that of a romance between a normal high school boy and a ghost with the addition of human fear. The ... story progressed very well and I didn't really notice any filler, or at least didn't mind any that they threw in. It was fleshed out well and ended perfectly. The only thing that I did not care for was that at some points they seemed to back track because of a condition that you will learn that Yuuko has, but this was somewhat necessary to express the seriousness of her disorder. Only because the story does not go above and beyond will I leave this section with a 9/10

Art: Nothing special in this area. The artwork was consistent but it didn't seem to stand out as original. Not only that but I have seen better from a lot of other anime that I have watched from this year that stood above this one. Of course, it may just be my own favoritism towards certain styles. I will nail this section with an 8/10

Sound: This section stood out very well. Several points in the anime did I have to pause so that I could search for the songs used. The intro was great and the ending was good too, not only that but the background music was very noticeable and well done, which is why I will give sound a 9/10

Enjoyment: I enjoyed the anime a good amount. I didn't just burn through every episode in one day however. I watched the first couple episodes then came back to see the rest another day. At no part however did I force myself to move on, I chose to because I enjoyed it and wanted to see what the next episode had in store for our favorite ghost. I'll land this section with an 8/10

Overall: Well to get an overall look at the story, it performs all of the listed genres well, but when factoring in my personal enjoyment and preference in animation, its overall rating seems to suffer. I believe that many people could find this anime to be a 9/10 and some even a 10/10, so I recommend that you check it out but as for me, I'm going to give it an 8/10

Sankarea is an interesting take on the genre of ecchi romance. It dares to do something different by adding the main character, Chihiro's, zombie fetish, which may be strange but is original. The show is a little better than your average ecchi romance and I would put its importance on your "Plan to Watch" section a little above those that you want to watch because you are bored but no above those that you definitely should watch.

Story: The story of Sankarea revolves around Chihiro, a high schooler that has a strange infatuation with zombies. As I said before, pretty original. ... The show brought up what it needed to and I don't think that there was more that needed to be added. At times it seemed a little slow, and at first I thought that they were avoiding the goals that they set forth but eventually Sankarea got around to them. It finishes strong and was pretty enjoyable, but since some episodes included a little filler here and there I will give it an 8/10

Art: The art was very nice, nothing original but I really liked its look. It was consistent and had no problems. However, I have seen better. The character design was very nice as well. Since it doesn't go above and beyond though, I will give it 9/10

Sound: Nothing noticeably good in this section, the intro and outro were good but nothing too special. As far as the background music, nothing that I can quite remember. I'm gonna stick this section with a 7/10

Enjoyment: Although parts of my review might seem like I thought of this series as an average anime, that is not how I feel. I enjoyed the anime at all times even when some episodes were slow, I kept moving forward without break out of enjoyment and wondering what would happen next. Although I cannot ignore that some of the aspects of the show were not to my liking. I'm going to put this at an 8/10

Overall: The anime was well done, could have been better but still well done. By how it ended I would expect to see a season two if the show does well enough. It was a good addition to the list of 2012 anime and the show has made me interested enough to look into the manga. As I said earlier, put this show above shows that you just want to watch in your free time. This show is not a waste of time like some other shows end up being but it is not going to make it into one of the anime that I look back on and say that I really enjoyed a ton despite not being a favorite unless they improve with the second season, which is definitely a possibility. For this section I will give the first season a solid 8/10