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"Angel Beats!" – a mix of huge amount of genres(action, comedy, drama, romance, supernatural, music, school and more) in a 13 ep series. Sounds bad doesn’t it? How can something that tries to mix so many genres in only 13 eps be any good? Surprisingly its not only good, but pretty damn amazing, although not by any means flawless.

Art 8+/10

The art of "Angel Beats!" is really good, the animation is fluid, both fighting scenes, and the concerts look outstanding. The art itself is also great, albeit it doesn’t reach the level of Kyoto Animation it comes quite close. Especially female characters look really nice ... and original, unfortunately males(excluding T.K.) are rather bland in their design, Backgrounds(which is the are usually treated as an afterthought) are really detailed and diverse.

Sound 9/10

While "Angel Beats!" doesn’t really belong to musical genre(only a few first episodes have music as one of the central themes), sound is very important in the series. Multiple songs played by the in-show band("Girls Dead Monster"), are truly a great feast for both your eyes and ears, the background music playing is remarkable as well, especially during the sad scenes. The opening and ending also deserves a mention – both being great. The voice acting is also really solid, especially memorable is Kanade's voice actress performance(Hanazawa Kana).

Story 9/10

What happens if you die? Well if you are Otonashi Yuzuru - the main hero of "Angel Beats!" you end up in a world consisting of a High School filled with NPCs (soulless puppets resembling humans), and after you graduate there you will be obliterated and disappear... Obviously not everyone is happy with that - a ragtag band under a strong willed girl – Yuri forms SSS(Afterlife Battlefront) fighting to defy their fate by using guns(against mysterious girl only known as Tenshi) and by... failing tests.
"Angel Beats!" plot consists of two parts(which are not separated, the transition from first to second is gradual and unnoticeable). The first part – is mostly comedy mixed with action and elements of music genre, while the second part is drama, action and a bit of romance. So if you are not a fan of comedy you shouldn’t drop the series, the drama part is really good. The biggest flaw of "Angel Beats!" Plot is the length of the series itself – the anime feels rushed in some parts, only a few characters get the screentime they deserve. The cast of the characters deserved better - we never learn about why they are here. Speaking of characters…

Characters 9+/10

The cast of "Angel Beats!" is probably one of its strongest points, the characters are really diverse, even the male lead which initially might seem like a boring cliche, ends up having really interesting past. It's impossible to tell why most of the characters are interesting but believe me: almost everyone will surprise you. The only problem is some of the original characters don’t have their backstory explained, or just don’t get enough screentime. "Angel Beats!" really should have been 24 ep. series.

Enjoyment 9+/10

I have enjoyed "Angel Beats!" immensely, especially the second, drama focused part. That doesn’t mean the first part is boring, far from it, the second part is just much more engaging( to me personally), almost everyone watching will end up marathoning the series after certain event.

Overall 9/10

I recommend this show to pretty much anyone, the mix of the genres ensures everyone will find something they enjoy, and the really likeable cast will keep you emotionally engaged. Almost all of "Angel Beats!" flaws are the result of the series being only 13 episodes long. "Angel Beats!" could have been a masterpiece well worthy of 10/10, but because of the length it ends up “only” amazing.

Mirai Nikki – A bloody psychological/supernatural thriller. Initially you will no doubt notice similarities between Mirai Nikki and the incredibly popular Death Note, but in the end its completely different.
Throwing middle-schoolers and deranged psychopaths(or in case of Yuno both at the same time) into a battle royale that will decide who will become the next god of time and space – Mirai Nikki is great series, but definitely not for everyone.

Art 7/10

The art of Mirai Nikki is decent, but by no means great. Animation is not always fluid, there are allot of undetailed objects, and characters are by no means pretty. However the art ... direction Mirai Nikki has taken fits the story very well. Its dark, its bloody and psychopaths look like psychopaths(but more on that in character section of this review). As the source material – the manga is not pretty(average at best), the anime adaptation actually improves the characters in my opinion, while staying faithful to the source material.

Sound 9/10

Mirai Nikki’s openings are truly great, especially the first one, they fit the anime perfectly, the animations might contain spoilers but in a way that you will not realise that you are seeing a spoiler. Ending songs, are decent as well once again first one being better. The OST is also very good, especially during the fights in the last part of the anime. Voice acting is splendid – especially Yuno, her seiyuu(Murata Tomosa) perfectly plays both her cute and innocent side as well as the bloody psychopath side, I was really surprised when I found out her voice actress only had one other role: a supporting character in Desetsu no Yuusha no Desetsu – after her amazing performance in Mirai Nikki I think we will be hearing her quite often. Other voice actors also did a solid job, but nothing groundbreaking there.

Story 8/10

Story in Mirai Nikki is hard to rate: While early on, and in the middle its really good, the last few episodes are a mess. It feels like Mirai Nikki didn’t realise its full potential, it could have been the next Death Note, The Future dairies that characters possess offer a great deal of tactical possibilities, yet most fights involve knifes, hatchets and guns and little thinking. The twists in the story are really unexpected, but not in a way “I haven’t thought of that!” more like “what? How is that even possible”, there are plenty of plot holes and inconsistencies(especially later on), that you will have to ignore if you want to enjoy the series... and about ending...let's just say it's ... mediocre although the studio didn't have much to work with - manga ending is arguably even worse..

Characters 8+/10

If you thought the story was a mixed bag, then just wait until you read about characters. On one hand we have Yukkiteru – the male lead. He is beyond pathetic with absolutely no redeeming qualities. Its fine if male lead is a weak coward, but he is intelligent, but Yukkiteru is not only weak, cowardly, easy trusting but also incredibly stupid. I guess you could blame it on the fact that he is a middle schooler. But without Yuno he probably couldn’t even tie his shoe laces. Also when you think he has progressed he will go back to his old useless self the next episode. Now the other lead – Yuno Gasai is completely different, she is an amazing character – incredibly strong in a fight, smart and obsessed with Yukkiteru. She kills without a second thought, and when someone or something gets in the way of their relationship she wont think twice about murdering said threat. You don’t see murderous 14 year old psychopaths as main characters often. The rest of the cast is also great (apart from the “trio of friends from school”, they will definitely piss you off), almost all of the characters have at least a slight mental disorder which is definitely cool.

Enjoyment 9+/10

This is where Mirai Nikki succeeds, an almost flawless victory in fact. Every single episode ends in a way that you will immediately want to watch next one, there are no fillers(maybe half of 2 episodes). I have really enjoyed the series, even with the plot holes and inconsistencies in the story, however if you are the type of person that really gets annoyed when something doesn’t make much sense or you hate Deus ex Machina (not to be mistaken with the character from this series) then it might not be the best anime for you. There is also plenty of gore - this obviously is a good thing for some and bad for others, none of the gore feels forced and I think it fits the atmosphere of the show perfectly so it is a plus.

Overall 8+/10

I was torn between 8 and 9, mostly because Mirai Nikki has many flaws Its going to be 8+. I enjoyed Mirai Nikki immensely, but I can see why people might rate this show 7/10 or even 6/10, it's nevertheless worth watching.

English is not my first language, so grammar nazis please spare me

What would happen if a dullahan, straight out of irish mythology landed in modern Tokyo(!) and tried to live a normal life(!!?) in its downtown district –Ikebukuro? One thing for sure Durarara!! definitely has an orginal story.

Art 8/10:

Art of the Durarara!! Is incredibly solid, the animation is fluid, the characters look great, even our headless heroine doesn’t seem out of place. Ikebukuro looks incredibly realistic, the crowds on the streets, the lights, it really seems real, and that’s the artstyle Durarara!! Creators chose – characters look like normal people(that doesn’t mean they are ... boring, more like believable), no bright flashing colours during the fights. And I have to say, even thought one of the characters doesn’t have a head, another one has superhuman strength it seems very realistic, thanks to the artstyle

Sound 8/10:

Durarara!!’s openings and endings are very good – the first opening is truly a masterpiece, the first ending became a meme(but mostly due to animation). The second opening was solid, and 2nd ending has a great song. The OST was by comprasion quite medicore, the music repeated itself very often, and none of the tracks were truly memorable. The voice acting was great – especially Shizuo and Izaya. Its also worth noting that the Eng Dub of this anime is actually GREAT. I actually liked English Celty more than Japanese one, rest of the characters are either equal or only slightly worse than orginal. Trust me if you want to watch an eng dub, Durarara!! Is a great one to pick.

Characters 9/10:

This is definitely the strongest point of Durarara!! The cast of characters is HUGE – and that can be a downside for some people(it was for me). Even the characters that might seem like boring clichés(the shy,weak,quiet male protagonist and his loud, outgoing, strong friend) have their own secrets. Because of the storytelling style of Durarara!!(more on that in story part), the “bad guys” have allot of screentime and are well developed with their own motivations, heck some people will no doubt disagree if I told them who I consider the villain in the story. Some of the more memorable/unique characters are: Shizuo- the bodyguard that dresses like a bartender, has superhuman strength (throwing vending machines like a boss), who hates violence, but always ends up fighting, Izaya: the intelligent, but slightly crazy information broker who just loves watching peoples reaction to crazy situations( the famous cellphone jumping scene), loves pissing off Shizuo. And ofcourse Celty, a female dullahan that actually has quite sweet personality, and that’s just three characters of Durarara!!’s massive cast(albeit those 3 are definitely the most interesting ones)

Story 8/10

Only 8? Let me explain. While the story is incredibly orginal, and well.. good, it’s the storytelling and the massive cast that lowered the score from 9(for me). Durara!! Essentialy follows 4 or more character groups at the same time, eventually merging them really late in the series. I always personaly hated that kind of storytelling – there will always be 1-2 characters you care about/like much more than the others, which makes me stop paying attention to other character arcs, and just wishing I could watch my favourite characters again. This might be a plus for some people but it was a minus for me. This also affected the enjoyment score. The ending leaves allot of questions unanserwed ( but offers some closure) – there is definitely room for season two(which hasn’t been announced yet, WHY?)

Enjoyment 8/10:

I enjoyed watching Durarara!!. It didn’t have me hooked like the shows that I rated higher, but I enjoyed every single ep. I watched. While the storytelling style choice didn’t fit my preferences, I still liked the show quite a bit. The unique story and solid art,sound and animation made the experience of watching this anime really nice one.

Overall 8/10:

Durarara!! Is very solid and has an unique story, aswell as a huge character cast(everyone is bound to find at least a few characters they will like). It’s a show I can recommend to almost everybody, from yaoi fangirls to boys raised on watching Dragonball. I can see why some people will rate this show higher, it can definitely get a 9 if you like Durarara!!’s storytelling and shows that have allot of characters