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Enjoyment / Overall :: 7

The plot was good, had twists that kept me watching, and the characters were all interesting. The problem is that none of the characters have any background and there were some plot holes that bugged me. The thing is, all of this could have easily been fixed with more episodes. This series could have been great had it been longer, but ultimately, it wasn’t, so there was some wasted potential.

Story :: 7.5

The premise of Innocent Venus is pretty cliché: the main characters are protecting Sana from an evil organization and we don’t know why. The first half the anime is a ... cat and mouse game. The organization is chasing them, Jo and Jin are on the run while trying to keep Sana safe. This part of the story was pretty interesting because we get to see cool fights, meet the characters, meet the bad guys, etc. Right around the half-way point things start changing because we start learning characters motives. This leads to a lot of action, it explains why Phantom is chasing Sana, etc. There are also a few good plot twists that keep you on your seat. Overall, I thought the story was interesting and had the potential to be really good.

The problem Innocent Venus has is it was too short. With only 12 episodes, they could have done some better planning. The second half seemed rushed because they just said characters motivations instead of showing us and they didn’t elaborate on anything. A lot was just said without any prior hint, which felt almost “cheap”. They could have dedicated an episode to flashback to previous events to make motives more clear, then another episode or 2 giving us some background information. At one point, a character tells us the truth behind something in a minute. If there were more episodes, that could have been an episode flashback (yes, there was enough information for an interesting episode).

Because they didn’t have more episodes, there were also a lot of plot holes and wasted potential. I can’t mention all of them because of spoilers, but some things could have had more detail like: Why are Jo and Jin together? Why are some characters close to each other? Also, another thing that was disappointing with the plot was the separation between Logos and Revenus wasn’t significant at all really…they could have used that more effectively.

Characters :: 7

For the most part, I liked the characters. They all have unique designs and personalities. Jo is an awesome fighter and doesn’t speak much. Jin is a good fighter, but he’s kind and caring towards Sana (wants to protect her). Sana starts off very attached to Jin and he’s all she talks about. She’s very kind, but can be a little annoying at times, not enough not to like her though.
The problem with the characters is they don’t receive much background information because it’s only 12 episodes. For this problem, there were a few solutions: 1. Make the show longer. 2. Simplify the plot to allow characterization. I think they should have made the show longer because the plot was good and the only suffered was because there was a lack of background information.

We don’t know why characters like Shiba and Renee were close. What happened in the past with them? There are other things like why Jo is with Jin, why did they join Phantom, where did they come from, etc. I don’t expect detailed background on all the characters, but when the main cast is only 3 characters and the background for one of them (Sana) could easily have done wonders for the plot, I think they could have easily added background information.

Animation :: 8.5

The animation wasn’t spectacular, but it was definitely good. All the characters have unique designs and the backgrounds were all nicely done with color’s and detail. The fight scenes were also animated well, with everyone moving fluidly. As for the mecha, I actually liked the designs of them. They seemed pretty original and looked cool. Not the best, but they did their part and worked well with the story. The biggest thing people will notice is that the mecha are all CGI. At first, it didn’t look that great, but as the show progressed, the CGI got better and I got used to looking at them. Overall, I thought the CGI was integrated quite well and they all moved smoothly.

Sound :: 7

I’ll start with the voice acting. I watched it subbed, not dubbed, so I’ll comment on the Japanese voice actors. Everyone’s voiced matched pretty good, I especially liked Jin, Sana, and Shiba’s voices. They seemed perfect for the roles they were playing. The only voice I didn’t really like was Jo’s voice. It fit pretty good, but I felt it was off a little. I can’t really explain it too well. Honestly, I didn’t listen to any of the openings or endings so I can’t comment on them…I just don’t like Japanese music very much…sorry…

I'm writing this review because a lot of the current reviews are complaining about the story being to short and some characters not getting enough screen time. Obviously, not everything is going to be resolved at the end of the anime because the manga has 45 chapters and the anime is only 12 episodes. That being said, I think the anime did a pretty good job in adapting the manga and you should read the manga after (or before) watching the anime.

Story - (8)

As you know, Deadman Wonderland is about Ganta, a boy who is framed for the murder of his friends and sent ... to a privately owned prison. Shortly after arriving in Deadman Wonderland, Ganta discovers he can use his blood as a weapon. He is then sent to G-Block (where all the other Deadmen are) and the story begins.

Since the anime is only 12 episodes, we only get to see the first arc, which is fine. In terms of plot, we don't get to see the start of the main storyline. The first half of the anime is getting introduced to Deadman Wonderland and the second half Ganta teams up with Owl. Most of the questions that are introduced such as the Mother Goose System, the Red Man, and Makina (lady in charge of the prison guard) trying to discover what's going on, while explored, aren't resolved. This leaves people with the sense that the plot was cheap and incomplete, but there are 45 manga chapters and the anime only got to chapter 20.

note: if you want to read the manga, don't start on chapter 20 because the anime left out a chunk of main characters and some events happen in a different order.

Characters - (7)

Character wise, Deadman Wonderland was just okay. 12 epiosdes wasn't enough time to introduce everyone, so they left out some pretty important characters. I don't really mind that because we are already introduced to a lot of characters and more would just give less screen time all around (and they were irrelevant to the Owl arc). Even though they left out some characters, the only two characters to receive a decent amount of screen time are Ganta and Shiro. If you want more info on Crow, Hummingbird, etc. read the manga, they get a lot more development. The other problem people have with the characters is that a lot of them are introduced, then die in an episode or two, which leaves no impact on the audience. While this is somewhat true, it shouldn't stop you from enjoying the main cast.

Ganta → after 12 episodes, he showed a little bit of growth. He starts off as shy and wimpy. He needs Shiro to protect him in the prison. He's just average intelligence, overall a pretty normal character. He does notice how weak he is and tries to get stronger, so he's not useless the entire time. He cares for Shiro and hates the Red Man.

Shiro → She's lived at Deadman Wonderland Prison her whole life and she's shrouded in mystery as to why. She is pretty dumb, but saves Ganta a lot. We get to know more about her past and why she's in DW and can basically do whatever she wants, but I'll let you watch that.

Art / Animation - (8)

It's pretty dark in the depths of the prison and the scenes that are mysterious. The prison itself is very bright and shiny, which fits the show because Deadman Wonderland Prison needs to give the appearance of being a nice prison. The character designs were faithful to the manga and looked good, with the exception of Crow, I thought Crow looked better in the manga, might just be me though. Animation wise, everything seemed pretty fluid, I didn't notice any poor animation.

Sound - (8)

The opening and ending were pretty good, but I don't really listen to them (sorry). Background music was also fitting. Acting wise, I thought Ganta and Shiro's voices were perfect and really fit them. Everyone else didn't really have a whole lot of lines, but they did a good job. The only voice I didn't like was Toto Sakigami's voice...he sounded kinda like a woman, but he's really only introduced so I don't really care.

Overall - (8)

It's does a good job of introducing us to the manga, even though some characters were ignored and events were re-ordered. The door is still open for a second season, which I hope it gets because the real story was just beginning. If you want a gory show with plenty of death, Deadman Wonderland is for you. After you finish the anime (or before if you want) you should also go read the manga. In my opinion, it's better, but the anime version is worth a try.

You have a summary of Princess Lover, so I won't bother telling you that. I won't post any spoilers, so don't worry.

Overall 7
Princess Lover started off very good. It had a serious with light humor tone, with all the ecchi-ness included; but, then went way downhill in the second half which really hurt it overall.

Story 6
If I was only rating the first 6 or so episodes, this show would be a 9 because it was very enjoyable. It's very obvious who Teppi likes right from the start (Charlotte) and they have a lot of nice romantic moments. So why did ... I give the story a 6? In the second half of Princess Lover, this show fails.....very hard. The last episodes were pretty bad. They bring in special ops and the story tries way to hard to be funny causing it not to be very funny. The story tries to be serious, but overall just can't be taken seriously. The only plus to the story in the last arc is that Teppi weeds girls out with a kiss. That's the only good thing.

Art 8
The art was very good, epically for a harem anime. Everything was pretty fluent and looked fine, but there were some distortions in some scenes that weren't really the focus of the shot which, if you noticed them, made the art seem not as good (animators got lazy/ budget issues). It never happened on the main focus of the scene though

** not included in the rating** I would wait for the uncensored version to watch this show, in the censored version they censor things that are already censored.

Sound 8
The OP/ Ed were pretty good and the characters voices were all done well. Nothing to really say here, no complaints and nothing to really say that was especially amazing.

Character 7
One downfall to the characters is even thought Teppi, Charlotte, Seika, Yuu, and Sylvia are the main characters, only Teppi and Charlotte get any real screen time. The others are are there, but don't do a whole lot until the end.

Teppi >> an okay harem lead. had some funny moments and wanted to save everyone. But he turned into one of those "talk it out" characters to the main "villains"
Charlotte >> A lot of people didn't like her, but I liked her. She's a typical pink haired harem character who is very clingy to Teppi. SHe isn't very smart, but she was the funniest. (sex jokes about Teppi's .......)

Enjoyment 7
As I've already stated, the series started off really good and was very promising, but then went way downhill in the second half which really hurt my enjoyment.

Overall ~ 7

This show could have been really good , but suffered from severe pacing problems and one dimensional characters. The overall action in the show wasn't very good because Layfon never showed his true abilities so you never felt that feeling of excitement in a battle. The comedy was pretty good and mostly revolved around Feli kicking Layfon. I wish they had straightened out the pacing problems and made the filth monsters or people stronger so Layfon would show what he could really do.

Story ~ 6

The story for Chrome Shelled Regios is nothing out of the ordinary. People live in traveling domes and ... fight filth monsters, you have a summary. There are some major problems with how everything unfolds in the pacing department. (No spoilers don't worry). The beginning of the story was done pretty well and the middle is fun to watch, but in the end it's disapointment after disapointment. They get you excited about something that is about to happen for a couple of episodes, then something happens causing the exciting event to suck or not even happen. Then in the ending arc, Chrome Shelled Regios suffers from major pacing problems.

The last arc was handled awfully. They speed through important information and then take forever to accomplish something. The last episode should have be done in two or three episodes, but is crammed into one leaving a lot of "What? How/ why did that happen moments." and a dissatisfying episode. And a lot of information just isn;t relevent to the plot at all. But maybe a second season will fix that.

There were some positives though. The inter platoon matches were fun to watch and Feli kicking Layfon was funny.

Art ~ 7

The scenery was done pretty good and the CG'ing wasn't bad (not great, but average). The overall art gets better as the series goes on especially the filth monsters. This is just my preference, but I didn't like the character designs. Mostly how they put solid lines for the edge of shadows on the characters faces and I didn't really like the type of eyes they used. Just my opinion though, you might like it.

Sound ~ 8

The openings and endings were good and the background music was very good. All the characters' voices matched too, no complaints there. I didn't give this a 9 or a 10 because it lacked something that made me go "wow".

Characters ~ 6

The characters in Chrome Shelled Regios were ok. At the end of the series, I looked back on how the characters changed, and I realized........ that they didn't. Layfon still won't show his true abilities and tries to protect everyone on his own, Nina was still trying to stop depending on Layfon, but can't and Feli still likes Layfon, but kicks him after everything.

I thought the characters were one dimensional and predictable. And they didn't develop at all throughout the series. But, Feli kicking Layfon and Layfon protecting everyone does keep you interested for the whole series.

Recommended?

I would recommend you give this show a try to see if you like it, and if you have any doughts, don't expect it to get any better. I mostly pointed out the negitive parts of the series but don't worry, there was some good stuff to keep you watching.