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I picked this up because the manga hooked me and I couldn't find more of it.

I was disappointed and confused to say the least. The pacing is too fast. 13 episodes is too short for the story to properly unfold and to establish the characters as anyone you actually care about. Firiel and Rune get the most screen time, but never develop much. There's a lot of politics at play in this story, but there isn't a lot of time spent really establishing points of view or importance of different factions. The world building could use some work, too.

The animation is quite pretty, and ... the music is all right, but ultimately it isn't enough to make up for shallow characters and a rushed plot. I might try to track down the light novels and see if that helps.

This is a strange little anime about a family of mushrooms. There's no dialogue and very little to have to read, and very little is explained, so I think this is probably aimed at younger kids.

The family is made up of Nameko (regular mushroom), his mom (tall, regular mushroom) and dad (looks like a rock), his older brother (with the Kamina sun glasses), his little sister (who is a cat mushroom, but, yes she's his sister), his little brother (muscular mushroom), and his grandmother (looks like a pickled plum). This wasn't made clear in the first episode, and for some reason ... Crunchyroll has separated the OP/EDs from the episodes that introduce these characters, so it's a little confusing at first.

This is a cute, short slice-of-life anime. Nothing really major happens, but you get a really good idea of what daily life in an average family is like. Each family member gets their own featured time, so you get a better sense of what sort of person/mushroom each family member is. There's some humor - nothing that will have you rolling on the floor, but it's in keeping with the general tone of the stories and will make you chuckle.

The music is pretty much low-key atmospheric stuff. It's light and cute and sometimes used for emphasis in certain scenes.

Overall, I enjoyed watching this show. It was cute and would make a good palate-cleanser anime between heavier, darker stories if you need a break.

Because of its laid-back tempo, its lack of dialogue, and mild storytelling, this is a pretty good anime for kids to watch. Since there are cultural differences, I think it's a good way to introduce kids to how people might live in Japan - so maybe pair it up with a trip to the library.

I was really disappointed with this series. It felt like a gory eroge complete with stock moe characters (eyepatch emotionless girl, twin-tailed tsundere, loudmouth best friend, hot big-sister nurse, etc...). I kept expecting to see talk-sprites and text boxes at the bottom of the screen. Nothing really stood out and made me go "Wow, that was really spectacular" or "I wasn't expecting that!". Nothing really got resolved in the end, nor was the curse sufficiently explained. For all the hype and enthusiasm surrounding this show, I really had expected better.

Maybe if this anime had taken the time to ... properly set the mood, develop characters beyond two-dimensional stock characters, and explore the curse a little more thoroughly, it would have been better. As it is, though, it has a slow build up and a rushed, poorly-executed climax that killed off characters I didn't really care that much about, and there's a lot of blood thrown in just for the shock value. I don't mind blood in my anime, but there are more artful ways to employ shocking death scenes.

So, if you're a fan of Elfin Lied or When They Cry, you'll probably like this series. If you didn't like either of those, skip this one.

I have only seen this movie once. I cannot watch it again. That's not to say that it is a horrible movie, but it's hard to watch more than once. As a piece of art, it is certainly a masterpiece because ultimately it has the power to move the audience to tears and/or outrage.

The art is simple, which is part of what makes every expression so effective. By not distracting the audience with eye-catching outfits and making it as "normal" looking as possible, the barrier between yourself and the siblings, or perhaps your own children and the siblings ... in the movie, is removed and your guard against what you know is going to be a sad story is lowered.

I do recommend that anime fans watch this movie at least once because I feel like it accurately conveys the full potential of the medium to be art without being pretentious, but I don't recommend watching it for enjoyment. Also, I strongly recommend having a fresh box of tissue ready because you'll probably need it.

This is one of my favorite "brain off, happy on" anime series to watch after a long day. You don't have to think particularly hard to watch this anime, and you're always going to find something to laugh at - whether it's Miss Yukari's crazy driving or Osaka's random musings about Chiyo-chan's pigtails.

The art is somewhere between caricature and realistic, so don't expect to see any strange hair colors or over-the-top reactions. The art isn't particularly eye-popping, but there's enough distinctiveness and personality among each character that you don't really need a lot of flashy design.

The story is really easy to ... relate to, even if you're not in high school anymore. This series does skirt past pretty much all romantic storylines and goes straight for the comedy, so don't expect any lovey-dovey "first love/first kiss" stories. By the time the graduation episode came up, I felt quite attached to the girls and cried more at their graduation than I did at my own (then again, all it takes is one person to start crying....).

So, if you're looking for a funny light anime with no particular plot or aim but to be funny, check out Azumanga Daioh.

I really enjoyed this movie and have watched it several times since the first time I saw it a couple of years ago. The animation is smooth and crisp, and the story is a wonderfully fresh and creative take on an age-old coming-of-age tale. Of all of the Ghibli Studio films, I think this one is my favorite.