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I devour the five continents and swallow the three seas. But my body has neither wings, hands, nor feet and thus is powerless against the sky. I am world's serpent and my name is....Jormungand!!

Quite an opening to an anime that follows the escapades of an arms dealer and her bodyguards as they travel the world while trafficking illegal weapons, scuffling with the competition, and avoiding the law. Jormungand is an anime that tells the story of the young woman Koko Hekmatyr, an arms dealer, and her crew of bodyguards. Specifically, the anime focuses on Koko and her newest recruit, the child soldier, Johnathan Mar who ... is referred to as Jonah by the group. The story is mostly straightforward with each episode (or group of episodes) focusing on a mission that Koko's team has undertaken. As one would expect from an action anime of this sort, lots of fast-paced gun fights and chases are involved. This run-and-gun style of storytelling causes somewhat of a lack of an overall plot. This anime relies more on the characters and their own pasts to tell a story and this somewhat unique style of storytelling works well with this anime.

The Good:

The animation for Jormungand is very well done, especially the attention to detail when animating the weapons and vehicles used throughout the series. My hat goes of to White Fox (which is the same studio that provided animation for Steins;Gate - another great series). It's also not surprising that the physical combat sequences were nicely animation, especially the bodily movements and reactions of the characters. Speaking of the characters, many of them are peculiar yet intriguing in their own way. Many of the characters have equally interesting back stories (the remainder of the characters whose back stories were not featured in the first season will most likely be featured in the upcoming second season). This focus on detail leads to fairly intense actions scenes which help to move the anime along at a good pace.

The Bad:

The music of Jormungand is one of the few aspects which I didn't enjoy. Sure, the opening theme is catchy and there were a few tracks which were well done, but those tracks were few and far between. Most of the music is too bland to be featured in a high-action anime such as Jormungand. Hopefully, this is corrected in the upcoming second season. Another aspect that was somewhat poorly handled was the multitude of specific names and titles used throughout the series when referring to weapons, vehicles, or locations. This could easily cause some confusion when attempting to follow along with plot. However, it's not really an issue if viewers pay attention during the "negotiation" scenes. The dialogue is somewhat heavy, so I recommend that viewers pay close attention to each scene.

Overall, Jormungand is unique action anime which should be given credit for what it has tried to accomplish in a field of anime that has been dominated by super-powered teenagers with spirit blades, ramen-loving ninja, and elastic pirates. It's nothing revolutionary when it comes to the genre of action anime, but it's definitely a well done series that delivers lots of action given the constraints of nonfiction themes and facts that it attempts to work with. I would recommend Jormungand to all viewers who enjoy action anime or who are looking for a unique series in general.

Story: 7/10

Art: 8/10

Sound: 6/10

Character: 9/10

Enjoyment: 8/10

Overall: 7/10

Seeing as how this is my first review, I'd like to welcome feedback from anyone who would want to give some.

Hyouka is somewhat unique story that follows Houtarou Oreki throughout his very average day-to-day life. He's a simple guy who more than anything hates to waste energy if it's not absolutely necessary. If this is so, then what makes this story interesting? You could say the answer to that question would be a bit of curiosity. No, not the curiosity of the main character himself, but instead, that of the others around him. In particular, the leading lady of this story, Eru Chitanda. Her ... consistent thirst for discovering the unknown leads her to "motivate" Houtarou into solving all of the mysteries surrounding the main characters no matter how insignificant they may be. Sometimes it's difficult to escape a gaze so alluring, so magnificent.

The content is presented in a very meticulous manner, as would be expected of a mystery series. However, this is not your conventional mystery series. Hyouka is structured in a way that the author attempts to keep viewers guessing until the very end, but with most of the smaller mysteries, this is not the case. Instead, viewers can easily follow the logic as the characters begin to put together the pieces and come to the correct conclusion almost before the characters themselves. Some have argued that the series is boring because these less significant mysteries are trivial and simple. However, I believe that these mysteries are some of the more interesting aspects of the series because they allow for the characters (and overall themes of the series) to develop. It's a formula used throughout the series. It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it's definitely worth a taste.

The animators and writers deserve even more praise for the characters that they've created. Each is unique in their own way and their personal stories unfold at an appropriate pace as the series progresses. Their personalities complement each other as they all play their own role in the group. One thing this series does well is to keep you guessing about what the main characters' fates will be until the finale. The plot, as previously mentioned, moves at a somewhat slow pace (mirroring the personality of the main character) but each episode's time is used wisely to build the mysteries, the theories behind these mysteries, and most importantly the anticipation felt by the viewers.

The music is well-done and used accordingly with each given scenario. It's exactly the type of score you would expect to hear in an anime that presents itself as a mystery series. The music is very reminiscent of what you would hear in a James Bond movie as Agent Bond is cracking the all-important code and gets down to the bottom of everything. Some of the tracks however are very plain sounding and only detract from the mood that the producers are attempting to set. Finally, I'd like to discuss the amazing art work of this series. As expected of Kyoto Animation, Hyouka is a visual masterpiece which spares no expense when the matter in discussion happens to be the art. It's definitely one of the high points of this series.

Overall, I would brand Hyouka as a somewhat unconventional mystery series that incorporates hint of romance and comedy into a uniquely presented plot. While Hyouka might turn away viewers in fear that it's nothing more than a mediocre mystery series, I still would recommend it to all viewers who are looking for something new. In specific a story that focuses less on mysteries of moment and more so on the mysteries surrounding the characters themselves. Hyouka wasn't exactly what I expected it to be by the time I finished the series and that's the main reason why I'd like to recommend this anime to all viewers.

Story: 8/10

Art: 10/10

Sound: 7/10

Characters: 7/10

Enjoyment: 9/10

Overall: 8/10