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It's not every day you come across a piece of media so inspired, so transcendent, that you're left awestruck.

In a dark sea of edginess and filth, Gushing stands as a shining beacon of wholesomeness and fun in the ecchi world. Only once in a generation does humanity get an author who can so masterfully elevate a genre to a higher paradigm of artistry, the way Akihiro Ononaka has done here. The heart of this show is an idea so pure and simple, it rivals the discovery of fire itself. A Saturday morning cartoon, but instead of monster of the week, it's fetish of the week. ...

That alone would be enough to make this masterwork an instant classic, and yet it gets even better as you discover the profound story-telling and thought-provoking characters. The emotional journey of Utena, the Hero of the story, is as captivating as it is relatable. Her conviction to achieve her desires is an inspiration, and the boundless love she has for those around her is heart-warming.

There is no need for me to tell you that this show is a gift from heaven, as that is plainly obvious. But I will leave you with one piece of sage wisdom. I hear the ultra-gushing version is gonna have extra moaning.

I don't normally write reviews, but given this is my favorite anime I figured I'd give it a shot. I started watching this anime because I wanted a yurified yurifest with some yuri on top, which, to my great satisfaction, i got. However what I wasn't expecting is a touching(and at times heartbreaking) love story that most people who watch this anime seem to over-look. Basically, you have three girl schools, which means three harems, two of which have their own love story, and one of which is for hilarity, comic relief, and general epic-ness. During the more Slice-of-lifey parts of the series, the characters ... of the three schools hang out and interact together, but as far as love goes, most romance stays inside it's own school harem.

Story: 7/10. This is a very character driven story, and as such there are very few outside influences that actually drive the story forward themselves. Of course, this is a love story, so that hardly comes as a surprise. Many of the events come across as cliche' and sometimes down right cheesy. While there are many moments that are truly touching(I've been brought to tears on multiple occasions), there are others that just make you want to gag. Luckily, these points aren't nearly common enough to totally ruin the enjoyment of the series as a whole, and the rest of this series make that barf worth swallowing.(This being a character driven story, i'll cover that in the "characters" portion)

Art: 5/10. This isn't to say the art itself was poor, there are some truly spectacular scenes on Astraea. However, for the majority of a 26 episode series to take place in the same locations, the same forest, the same dormitories, the same everything, is just tedious. The lush hill-top Citadel and mansions, surrounded by forest and lake, are beautiful for the first half or so of the anime, but when you start noticing these backgrounds becoming used and reused through-out the series, they start to become old and tired. There are certain points every episode or two when new locations will be introduced and provide a refreshing change, but for the most part, you better get used to those trees and hallways.

Sound: 9/10. Hands down, as far as openings go, this anime has two of the best I've ever heard. Both of them are amazing both in terms of music and accompanying animation, and serves the mood of this anime perfectly. Unfortunately, the music played during the anime itself lets this category down slightly. As if this wasn't a big enough problem, the "orchestra-ish" music, while in all honesty is somewhat enjoyable on it's own, only serves to add to the "cheesy soap-opera" feel this series has at times, especially when played during the already nearly unbearable corny moments.

Characters: 10/10. This is where Strawberry Panic truly shines. One of the greatest casts I've seen in a yuri, and in anime in general. With three schools, each with their own unique "onee-sama" character, love interest, "love interest's best friend", and a fair amount of other, equally awesome cast members, there is no shortage of characters to fall in love with. By the end of the series, you would have to be heart-less to not feel a sense of attachment to the majority of them. Most anime with large casts become annoying and tedious to follow, but the characters in Strawberry Panic are all so unique and interesting, that the large-cast-harem theme was handled perfectly. When this series ended, I was almost as sad about missing the characters themselves as I was that the anime was over. The only gripe I can come up with is that certain characters, such as Chiyo, fall into generic anime arch-typesy, though this is hardly noticeable in the diverse cast SP offers.

Enjoyment: 10/10. What can I say? Anime that I enjoyed as much as this one are few and far between. I laughed , I cried, I am head-over-heels in love with 90% of the characters.

Overall: 9/10. On my list, I gave it a 10 as well as a comfy spot on my favorites list, but I want this review to be as un-biased as possible, and i cannot ignore it's flaws. I leave you with this: If you want a realistic, true to life romance-drama that addresses the difficulties of life, angst and love, search else where. Search FAR FAR AWAY, because you're not even in the ballpark, kid. If you want a sweet, touching, heart-warming love story about an all-girls school, my friend, you've come to the right place.