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If there was one word I would use to describe HoriMiya, it would be 'shallow'. Aside from the flashy art and sound, everything lacks depth. The show throws in a lot of characters, but all of them are given a surface-level treatment including the two main characters, The character development doesn't go beyond what you already see in the first episode. Most importantly everything just 'happens', there is no build up into it. For example in it you will see that Miyamura makes a habit of coming to Hori's house almost everyday. This is a very important part of the story as the romance between ... the couple kicks off from here, yet we are not shown anything, what they were thinking to themselves, that led to this. There are so many questions about the characters of Hori and Miyamura that are not addressed. In short, the characters are not relatable to the point that even the main characters seem like side characters. Aside from 5-6 minutes the rest of the show just feel like fillers. There is not intensity to be honest.

The production quality, however, is pretty good. For people who are not very serious about plots and character developments and are satisfied with scratching the surface, they may find HoriMiya pretty appealing. The voice actors and the animators did a descent job. The story and the characters let this anime down.

Wow! Owari no Seraph (Seraph of the End) is really an amazing anime. When I tell you amazing, I mean it. I have watched about 400 anime shows for the last 4 years. I have dropped about 60 because the story was either boring or cliche or below mediocre. For the last few weeks, I was going through a crisis period in my otaku career. All the shows I was choosing to watch were so boring and uninteresting that I was starting to lose hope in finding a good, satisfying anime that had an actual original and interesting story.

The problem was that I was picking ... shows based on MAL ratings and synopsis. And I learnt this the hard way that these are very very misleading and sometimes they can even lead you to the path of retiring from your otaku career.

Owari no Seraph has a rating of 7.5 in MAL. So, I was not expecting much when I started watching it. But, after I had finished the first episode, I knew that it was not your typical anime. The oil-painted background was a refreshing break from the typical artstyle. The sound was good. But, when in the ep 2, the anime started a school setting all on a sudden, I got really skeptic. Here we go... the cliche school, shounen garbage. Thank God that the school arc lasted for only a couple or 3 episode and it was not a focal point of the story setting. Yay! The story got more enjoyable and suspenseful with every episode and now I am writing this post before watching the final episode of season 1.

I appreciated the anime so much that I couln't help myself from writing something in praise of this amazing show.

Thanks for bearing with me.

I will tell you my honest feelings. After watching about 4 episodes, I felt like dropping the series. Because I couldn't see where the story was heading. Also I had some misunderstanding about the relationship of Tsukasa and Hiroki. At first I thought it was gay romance. But, as the story went I really understood their bonding. I don't want to spoil, but lets put it this way. There are many other people who has the same feeling and it's not due to romance.

The biggest plus point this show deserves is that it has a unique, interesting and original story which is a rare thing ... in anime because after you watch about 4-5 hundred shows you don't really see a new and unique story that much. Most of the animes out there are repackaging of old stories and tropes.

This show gets better with each episode. Stay put for at least half of the series, then you will really get to understand the world and setting that the story is grounded in. Until that you won't really appreciate it.

As I said in the beginning I was planning to drop this show, but after I have finished watching it I will give it a solid 8. Very good anime. Want to see more animes like this.

Yeah, I have to agree with others that the art department was a downer. But, how many shows with fantastic art quality did we not drop because the story was cliche? I will tell you of one anime that I was watching just before this show -- Fire Force. I watched that show up to 12 episodes of the total 24 of the first season. The art was good, the audio was great, but the story was shit. You could tell how unoriginal it was. I had to drop it. A lame story is the worst thing you want in an anime. Compared to that Pet is much greater show. You just have to be patient for the 5-6 episodes. Slowly understand the setting of the world, identify the main characters from a few distractions in the first 1 or 2 episodes. Then when you get a grip in the story, you will start wanting to watch more of this show. And the pleasure will increase gradually with each episode. And when you reached the final episode you will wish for a second season while knowing that the ending was great in itself.

The review will be in three parts. In the last part I will comment on the Fansub that I watched.

A. Story, Character & Enjoyment

What moved me the most in this beautiful philosophical thought provoking thriller was it's focus on Human ethics - what it mean's to be human and how this ethic transcends all subjectivity.

Look at Mr. Inuyashiki. An old man who was shunned by his family, ignored by them despite all the struggles he went through for them. When he wanted his family's support the most and wanted their sympathy and love, they just acted as if he never existed. This heart-tearing moments are ... the defining points for this series. I don't want to spoil the story for you, but this very man was then gifted with all the powers and this made him more humane.

The story is more understood and appreciated with the contrasting of the other main character - Shishigami Hiro, a high school kid. Mr. Inuyashiki (58) and Hiro represent the two sides of the human nature. Mr. Inuyashiki personifies the the innate good and morality that defines the human greatness as a species, whereas Hiro represents the dark side of the same human being that thrives on hate and selfishness.

I like these animes where the philosophical questions of ethics and life are asked in such unique ways that compels the viewer to think hard and seriously. It puts the viewer in the position of a judge and lets him decide how he should behave in such defining moments of human life.

For example - we all want to be on the side of good. But, there ARE times when our emotion of vengeance and hatred gets the better of us. Throughout the series you will find yourself siding with Shishigami Hiro and even cheer him. That's because he isn't something that is outside of the human nature. Rather, what he represents IS part of our very nature that we must strive hard to overcome. Although we may fail at times, we should not give up and try our best till the end because there WILL come a chance when you can repent for the bad things you have done.

Inuyashiki is a series where at regular intervals you will see the world in a very different way and have to decide which path you will take. I know it's the characters in the story that are doing all the things. But, the story and the characters are so engaging that you won't be able to separate yourself from the world portrayed in the series. It sucks you in and makes you a part of that world. This is for me what makes me want to keep on watching good animes.

Don't bother with the low ratings. Most the people who rated this series low just don't have the taste to think deeply, philosophically. You won't get the taste unless you try. You have to stop for a moment, close your eyes, put yourself on the shoes of these characters. A good story makes this easier for you. It doesn't let you get distracted or bored.

Art & Sound

The art is overall good, but at times the movements 3D models seem to robotic. I guess this is unavoidable when using 3D models. You can't cut yourself any slack and that's not always possible. Character designs where good also. I like the way they drew the girls, they were very beautiful and pleasure to the eye. LOL.

As for the music and sound, GOD it was a mind-blower. The OP was supreme!!! I became a fan of "Man with a mission" rock band just after this one song. HIT ME ON THE GROUND! HIT ME ON THE GROUND! The ED was great, the sounds were great overall. I have no complaints.

Anyways, I highly recommend this anime. It is a very good one if you want to someone to animes. It's concise and to the point. Every moment is enjoyable. It's thrilling, it will keep you on the role until you finish it.

FANSUBS:

I watched MTBB's subs. The translations were improvised at many places for the good. Their video quality was good. The only problem I had was that the lyrics got stuck during the OP while using MPC-HC. But, I have to say the way they designed the subs during the OP was pro class. I'm talking about the fonts they used and how the words seemed to be dancing with the beat. Man! I think the subs were creating some pressure to the MPC-HC as it kept getting stuck, so I switched to VLC player. But in VLC it had another problem in other places. I mean sub translation of sentences in the pictures kept bouncing - I mean the sub. This didn't happen in MPC-HC. But if ignored these two things, then the sub was superb, specially because they translated many pictures where you wouldn't under the story without understanding them and they put the translation with such care that they seem part of the original video. I would recommend this fansub if asked.

Overall it was a great experience. I thank the director, the producer and all the staff for this wonderful anime.

From the start to the end, this manga was thrilling, it was superb. Time flew in lightspeed as I dove more and more into the "Holyland" - the world in the night streets, the world of thugs, gangs and street fight. I read a quite a few good long mangas and in the most cases the mangaka had a hard time finishing the manga in style. But, this mangaka is different. He delivered till the end.

The story is the most attractive part of the manga. Its fictitous but it's totally realistic. Because the Mangaka (author) went through similar stages as the protagonist which he revealed ... in the ending volume of the manga.

The story involves so much around street fighting that at some point I wondered why didn't the mangaka just titled it as "street fighting"? But, in the last volumes I understood that these fights were just part of a bigger picture, the "Holyland", the land where the protagonist discovered his meaning for life, found friends, rivals and found his path in life.

The mangaka is a martial artist himeslf and as it appears from his writings in the manga itself, he is a former street fighter himself. If not so, then at least he got to fight with different types of martial artist: Boxing, Karate, Kickboxing, Wrestling, Judo, Kenpo, Kendo. He gives so much detail about different moves and techniques which is in itself a great attraction point of manga.

Yes, the title "Holyland" and the cover picture given in the MAL made me thinking that this might be a mediocre manga at first. But hell was I wrong!

The art is just beautiful. This is a martial art manga and it is everything about good art. Otherwise you can't bring out the feeling in a fighting. The mangaka did an excellent job with the art.

The characters are the most interesting part. There are so many of them and each one has an intersting and thrilling part to play in the story. Specially the opponents in the street fights.

I enjoyed this manga so much and the more the manga advanced the more enjoyable it became. And the finishing was just great. Although I was getting gloomy for such a good manga to end but the end was satisfying and definitely unique. The mangaka made the manga unpredictable till the very last chapter. It was damn a happy ending, but not your cliche happy ending. It was the real deal. The last chapter really brings out the significance of the title "Holyland". Oh! It was just awsome.

I am a very picky reader. I dropped more mangas than I finished. So, for me to go on and on about this manga made myself realize how great the manga was!

Thank you, Mori Kouji sensei for this great work! It was a real honor to be part of the holyland. Although I was in my room staring at my laptop, but my conscience was definitely roaming the night streets. I was with Kamishiro Yuu! I, definitely, was there!

I wouldn't have tried this anime if Tomokazu Sugita from Gintama was not voicing the protagonist. Well, that's the only good part of the anime and the rest is heta-sugiru (japaneses for "crap").

The story has neither head nor tail i.e. it's meaningless. Well, I understand that the makers are trying to make a love commedy. But, that's not how you do it. I mean too much time wasting and the pace is way too slow.

The art adds to the crappiness and background music is crap incarnate.

Enjoyment: Well, there were some funny, commedy parts.

Overall: I gave it a 4 because somehow I watched 12 episodes before ... I reached my limit and dropped it. I give it 4 because it somehow managed to make me watch almost half of the episodes.

|| Character - 6 ||
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One of the first animes I saw was "The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya" and believe me, I hated it. Well, the story was fine but the character with the bitchy personality called Haruhi Suzumiya pissed me off. Ever since, I hated everything about the Haruhi Suzumiya franchise. 1 year have passed since then. I kept watching many anime and eventually became a fan of 2 awsome voice actors - Sugita Tomokazu (Kyon) and Ouno Daisuke (Koizumi). When I learned that both of them were main characters of Haruhi Suzumiya series, I couldn't but watch the anime out of respect for them.
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I ... didn't make a wrong decision. Factually speaking, Kyon (Sugita Tomokazu) is the point of view character of this anime. The whole story is what he narrated, from what he saw and experienced. Although the title may suggest the anime is all about Haruhi, she is only for making up the background. For example, Attack on Titans (Shingeki no Kyojin) is set on the setting where the story revolves around the Titans. When actually they are only for backgrond purpose. If you think of the anime this way, you may be able to suppress your irritation for the "kuso ama" Haruhi and even enjoy it!
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Think of this anime titled as The Monologue of Kyon and you will be fine.
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|| Story - 6 ||
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The story is totally bizarre. The bizarrity is hard to overlook, but do try. Think of it as Kyon is writing a novel using his fantasy and reading out loud.
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|| Art - 7 ||
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The art is your typical Kyoto studios and great.
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|| Sound - 8 ||
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Voice acting has become for me the most important factor for judging any anime. This anime is one of the best if you ONLY consider voice acting. I may be a Haruhi hater from head to toe, but I admit the voice her, Hirano Aya, is one hell of an actress. Needless to praise Tomokazu Sugita or Ouno Daisuke, they rule the anime universe.
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The background and OST were fine, but the OPs and EDs were BAD.
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|| Enjoyment - 6 ||
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It's very hard to enjoy an anime where a character with a bitchy personality runs wild. But, if you follow the TIPs I mentioned, like thinking the anime is about Kyon or Kyon is writing a fantasy novel, it is possible to extract some enjoyment out of it.
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|| Overall - 7||
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If you are not a fan of Tomokazu Sugita or Ouno Daisuku, I don't think you can keep up with this anime. The chances are high that you might be irritated to death. and curse anyone who ever said anything good about this.

Well, from the synopsis the anime seemed a decent one. It's only natural to expect a great anime. But, to realize a good plot idea into a good anime requires many other things to be good.

1. Voice Acting
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Recently, I have been paying a lot of attention to voice acting. I even picked this anime because it had Ouno Daisuke voicing the protagonist.
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From the very start I noticed the voice acting was lacking in quality at times. Of course, Ouno-san did a perfect job. His voice acting complemented the many lackings in the script and scenario. Koyama Rikiya (Kannagi Genma), Fukuyama Jun (Serizawa) were supporting ... characters, but they lived up to their names. Fujimura Ayumi (Kannagi Ayano) did a great job. Ohara Sayaka (Tachibana Kirika) didn't disappoint, as well.
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But, this is all to be expected. The problem is that these characters had about 60% of screen time. The rest of the time, you could tell the voices were scripted. I don't blame the actors, rather the director because he did a very poor job. Although it bothered me at the beginning, after finishing the anime I thought, "Well, it's not that bad."
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2. Script and Dialogues
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The anime is a mess in these regards. Example: The anime started with a very serious, dark tone and out of the blue, the characters were behaving all-cheery and light hearted. (Ayano's reaction to Kazuma after he apperntly killed 2 of her relatives). That completely ruins the mood.
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3. Story
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In a nutshell, good start but poor ending. The whole story can be divided into 3 arcs. Kazuma dealing with the Kannagi clan, Kazuma dealing with Ayano, Kazuma dealing with his past. The mid-part of the story where Kazuma dealt with Ayano is of light tone. So, there is nothing to say about it. But, the last arc had an extremely poor ending. A mentally snapped Kazuma raged with the urge of vengance is suddenly calmed down with a few words by Ayano. It's so pooly scripted that almost to the point where you get embarrassed at the mess. Well, see it for yourself.
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4. Art
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What the hell were the producers thinking, showing so many panty shots in the middle of extreme and tensed situations!? It is just, how you Americans say, a turn off!
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5. Conclusion
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Well, judging everything, I agree with the MAL rating which is a rare case because MAL ratings are in most cases shit numbers. The anime is not great but it's good.

[FOREWORD
I have watched over 209 anime series of 2,252 episodes. I rated them all. But, after watching Gintama for 117 episodes, I decided to minus 1 from all of thoses entries, except for some. Otherwise, I won't to justice to Gintama.]

This is one of those anime you never get bored of watching. Not a single episode of this very long series (206 episodes) was boring for a moment. This is the biggest point. You sit to watch it, and without realizing hours passes away. An anime can't be so attractive unless it has many different points of interest. Gintama has that. It may be labeled ... a comedy, but it has serious actions too. Each episode has something new. That's what makes this anime great.

Story - 10/10

It doesn't have a plot in the actual sense. Its mostly episodic. But sometimes there are arcs which expands 3-4 episodes. The odd jobs (Gintoki, Shinpachi, Kagura) are hired by people. Sometimes the Shinsengumi (Special Police Squad) are in the spotlight, at other times, its Katsura or other characters. The story of this anime is actually the everyday events and happenings. These events are like short stories. Anyway, the story is absolutely awesome.

Art - 7/10

The art is good as it is. It's not eye-catching but it's perfect for the series and it's theme.

Sound - 10/10

The anime has an excellent OST. Comedy doesn't work without capable background sounds. This anime excels in this area. The openings and endings are great. Voice acting was so classy! The sound is one of the reason why this anime is a masterpiece.

Characters - 10/10

Characters are the strongest part of this anime. So, many characters. All of them has good development. It's because of these characters, you never get tired. The odd jobs team (Gintoki, Shinpachi, Kagura), Shinsengumi (Kondo, Hijikata, Sogo, Yamazaki), Katsura & Elizabeth, Hasegawa MADAO (MAttaku DAme na Otoko) and so many others. Everyone is funny, interesting.

Enjoyment - 10/10

Overall - 10/10

A masterpiece in its genre.

Messed-up Story. Amazing visuals.
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Imagine you wanted to cook something nice. You bought all the good things that you could find in the supermarket. Then, you used all the fine ingredients, the sweet ones, the sour ones, the spicy ones. Whatever you had in front of you, you just poured them into the cooking pan. Charlotte is like the dish that you just cooked.

The story has potentials but they were never exploited. Too many convenience, contradiction. A complete mess of good things. But, it is a mess.

Story - 5/10

The only good thing about this anime was its great art. Its very soothing to watch.

Art - ... 10/10

The rest of the points (Sound, Character, Enjoyment) are all average (7/10)

Overall - 8/10. [According to my current rating approach. I should lower the scores.]