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After I had read Omoide Emanon's description, I was positive that it would be an experience out of the ordinary. Having finished it, it left me with a feeling hard to describe, the closest one being pure awe.

The story starts off on a cruiser en route to the southernmost of Japan. Sitting cuddled in a blanket against the cold outer wall of the ship, an ordinary male high school student soon finds himself in the company of the not-so-ordinary titular character Emanon: a beautiful young woman with long, lustrous hair, a wave of freckles sprinkled across her nose and a memory as massive as the ... Earth itself.

One thing leads to another and the two end up in the cruiser's diner, where Emanon offers to tell her unbelievable story, having noticed the huge amount of sci-fi books in the student's bag and feeling that he bears a resemblance to someone dear she knew long ago. He happily lends her his ear and becomes subject to an amazing tale; as it happens, Emanon possesses the memory of life itself; it has been passed on from mother to daughter since the first single-cell organism was born in the vast ocean of three billion years ago.

Omoide Emanon consists only of one single volume, but it packs more of a punch than most longer manga I've read. The story is original and mind-boggling, the art consistent in its detailed excellence and Emanon herself is one of the most charismatic and attractive characters I have come across in manga/anime. It rendered me speechless - in a good way.

I can imagine that reading Omoide Emanon is very much like watching the Earth from orbit: to be enveloped in the inescapable knowledge that your own meager existence is but an insignificant, infinitely ephemeral moment in the history of the universe and be taken aback by the awe-inspiring beauty of it all.

The first season of Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu (Nogizaka Haruka's Secret) was a quite enjoyable little romance anime. One day, by accident, the very ordinary guy Ayase Yuuto finds out about the titular secret of the shy, ladylike school idol Nogizaka Haruka, the secret being the fact that she's an otaku. Having been ostracized in her previous school due to her otakudom being exposed, she naturally becomes afraid of the same thing happening again. But being the nice guy he is, Yuuto swears not to reveal this fact to anyone. One thing leads to another and they eventually fall in love, though neither of them ... consider themselves an official couple by the end of the series.

It goes without saying that one expected at least some development of the two main characters in this second season, Purezza. Problem is, there is none to be had. The reason being that Purezza possesses nothing resembling a real plot. But let's go over the good stuff first - don't worry, it won't take long.

The somewhat unknown studio Diomedea is behind the rudder for this anime, just like they were with the prequel. Purezza's animation is - while not original or impressive in any way - crisp, clean and consistent.

The opening animation should also be complimented; it shows a browsing through a magazine starring the show's characters and is pretty detailed and well-designed. As for the opening song, it couldn't be more forgettable; just your standard j-pop fare, albeit a little more rocky than usual. The same applies to the ED and the BGM, with them both being non-descript to the point of absurdity, but not really grating.

As I mentioned, this anime is devoid of an overarching plot. The major reason as to why this is the case is because Purezza spends most of its running time focusing on its plethora of minor characters (most of them girls, with almost all moe stereotypes covered) and their relationships with Yuuto, more often than not putting them in indecent situations with him (of course). What once was a cute, semi-innocent romance has completely deteriorated into a generic ecchi-harem.

There's even one particular scene with Yuuto applying "erotic, sexy massage" to three girls, resulting in moaning that would make your average hentai blush with embarrassment. I found myself becoming increasingly irritated with Yuuto as the episodes went on and he degenerated into a simple tool with an uncanny resemblance of School Days' Itou Makoto, fooling around with - and getting used by - about every female character around.

Not having read the manga, I don't know if this is the case, but it does feel jarringly obvious that this season is riddled with fillers. And with it being 12 episodes short, it goes without saying that it's unacceptable.

Consequently, the time Haruka and Yuuto get to spend alone is reduced to a select few occasions. And with them both being annoyingly shy and indecisive, their relationship is never given a real chance to progress. Add to this the fact that the scarce romantic events between the two are generally interrupted by the Nogizaka family's obtrusive maid team or some other random (un)supporting character(s) and you have a recipe for disaster.

There are admittedly a few laughs to be had while watching Purezza, but they are always followed by ten or so minutes of painful facepalming. By the end of this season, it felt like Haruka and Yuuto had gotten at most a couple of centimeters closer to each other (not that I gave a damn about their relationship at this point). It also felt like my brain had been thoroughly decomposed.

I could continue ranting about the worthlessness of this anime and perhaps mention the episode in which Yuuto works as a butler for a loli ojou-sama voiced by Kugimiya Rie, but I'll leave it at this. Purezza is a prime example of what's wrong with the anime industry of today, replacing plot with moe pandering and excessive fan service.

Needless to say, this second season of Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu was a complete trainwreck and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone expecting a decent romance anime. And if you're in it for the ecchi, there are also better picks than this one. Thusly, we're left with a series that is simply bad and useless. With competent writing, this story could've been told well within 12 episodes, instead of dragging on for 24+, considering that the manga isn't even finished and that a third season is hinted at after the horrible ending.

The only purity found in this anime lies in its complete and utter shittiness. Do not watch.

Night on the Galactic Railroad, or Ginga Tetsudou no Yoru, may be based on a children's book, but it's definitely a movie anyone can enjoy. To be completely honest, I think I would've been seriously scared had I watched this when I was younger - it's quite creepy at times. Almost all characters in NotGR are cats with human proportions for some reason. I don't know if this was the case in the original book, but I never felt like it mattered, actually. Judging from the synopsis, it was because the animators were lazy, and that may've been the case for all I know.

The story ... starts off on an Italian-esque countryside, on the day of the so called Centaurus Festival. We are introduced to the movie's main character, a blue cat named Giovanni, who apparently is being bullied because of his father's line of work (smuggler) and is living together with his sister and sickly mother. When the night of the festival draws near, he is once again ostracized by the other kids - or should I say kittens? - and runs up on a hill from which he gazes up on the starry sky with awe. Suddenly, a flash of light appears and with it a magnificient train, which he boards together with his only friend Campanella, who was following him up the hill. Together they embark on a compelling journey as the train moves across the Milky Way.

The first thirty or so minutes of the movie are horribly slow, but after the characters have boarded the train, the pacing is screwed up a notch or two.

With the movie being made in 1985, it's no surprise that its animation is dated. Especially the characters look very simple, without much detail to them. On the other hand, the sceneries the two cats encounter during their journey are highly imaginitive; a walnut-littered excavation site of some kind of gigantic dinosaur skeleton; an immense field of corn with an unsuspended pendulum swinging in the blue sky above. And the like. I don't want to spoil too much, but there are some really interesting vistas to be seen. Night on the Galactic Railroad might not be as technically competent as contemporary Ghibli movies, but it certainly has got heart.

Cats and even some humans board the train and disappear into thin air as suddenly as they came, lending the movie an even more mysterious atmosphere. There aren't any deep personalities to be found here, though, but I doesn't matter - it's the journey and the journey alone that is the core of this movie and it's interesting enough.

Night on the Galactic Railroad features mostly classical music. Among the tracks we find the New World Sympony and Halleluja Chorus for example. Looking at the latter of those two, it's not too surprising that there are some Christian elements incorporated into the story more or less obviously, like it or not. Putting that aside, the music fits the mood most of the time, but there are some creepy, more ambient tunes that seem sort of misplaced in their context. Which in a way only serves to make the atmosphere even more creepy.

So, to summarize, this movie was quite a trip. It's very slow-paced in the beginning, but if you get past the first boring thirty minutes, you're in for an experience unlike any other.

Before watching Aria the Origination, you have to have watched the prequels - The Animation, The Natural and The OVA: Arietta - otherwise you will be doing yourself - but more importantly this series - a great disservice. Because Origination, being the grand finale of the franchise, demands that you as a viewer has formed bonds to the setting and characters of the Aria universe; if you haven't, you will automatically disarm the bomb of emotion that is this third and last season of Aria.

And that would be so incredibly sad.

Once again we return to Aqua, the planet which prior to human terraforming went by ... the name of Mars. Upon the surface of this ocean-clad planet, we find the city of Neo-Venezia, an almost perfect replica of the presently (Aria takes place in the 24th century) submerged Venice on Earth. In this old, yet new, city, the gondoliers are without exeptions female, are called Undines and work for one out of three companies: Aria, Himeya or Orange Planet. The Aria series revolve around the daily lives of the Undines Akari, Aika and Alice -- them practicing rowing the gondola, the people they meet, the places they visit, but most importanly their hopes and dreams, of which the wish to become a Prima Undine, the very elite amongst the Undine, is the ultimate goal.

The main plot moved along at a leisurely pace during the first two seasons. They were more or less episodic series, and while the seasons changed from spring to winter and from winter to spring, the characters didn't develop that much and you couldn't really feel that the main story was actually moving forward. Don't get me wrong now -- I really liked both the Animation and the Natural -- but when juxtapositioned with the Origination, the lack of character development becomes quite evident.

Luckily enough, the things the previous seasons lacked are abundant and overflowing in the Origination.

The absolutely most impressive thing story-wise is that nothing unpredictable happens. Despite this - or maybe thanks to this - the directors have polished the unfolding events to perfection. While the first few episodes aren't that exceptional (hence the 9 to the story), what comes afterwards makes up for that thousandfold. From episode 5 onwards, this is the single most emotional anime - or any production, for that matter - I've ever watched. I was almost constantly crying until I found it astounding that my tear glands could even produce any more liquid.

Yes, for almost three hours.

Apart from seeing the three main characters finally making their dreams come true, we also get to witness the birth of Aria company, a beautiful story in its own right. As if that wasn't enough, we are also provided with tear-jerking flashbacks to the times when the Undine trio first met their senpais/seniors. The "Origination" in the title is not there just for show.

HAL Film Maker - and of course the manga's original creator - deserve enormous amounts of credit for making the setting trustworthy. I have yet to visit Venice myself (will change this fact next year), but judging from the footage I've seen, they've really paid attention to detail when creating Neo-Venezia -- buildings, islands, shops and traditions from Earth's Venice are all present, something that gives Aria its own, unique atmosphere. The use of colours is also skillfully handled, making the city and it's inhabitants - and of course the water - feel full of life. I was particularily impressed by how the animators made all the strong emotions show on the characters' faces so realistically... with such purity. Aria the Origination might not be an example of cutting-edge animation technology, but on the other hand -- it proves that an anime doesn't have to boast with tons of flashy effects to excel in this department. And it does look considerably better than it's predecessors.

Musically, we have the mandatory slow, comforting opening song that may not be as great as the previous ones, but it's definitely anything but bad. The ending theme, Kin no Nami Sen no Nami, is a much more powerful ballad that fits perfectly with the ebullient emotions the characters - and most likely the viewer - go through during the episodes. Background music was not memorable for me (it almost never is), but I have a hard time imagining that it was anything but stellar during the crucial scenes, considering the impact they left on me. Sound effects were also deftly handled -- the gentle splash of an oar cutting through the water, the cries of the seagulls, the bustling sounds of a crowded marketplace. It was all great. Voice acting? Phenomenal. You can really feel that the voice actresses have captured the essence of their characters perfectly after sticking with them for 50+ episodes.

That aside, Aria's greatest strength has always been it's wonderful cast of characters and the interactions between them. We have the happy-go-lucky Akari, around whom miracles always seem to occur. She loves Aqua more than anyone else and always describes the beauty of nature and life with exquisite words. Words which are more often than not interrupted with the more down-to-earth Aika's trademark line, "Embarrassing remarks are NOT allowed!", which in turn is countered by a "You're very nosy." from the youngest of the three, Alice.

While the comedy moments admittedly are highly repetitive, I actually enjoyed them as well, knowing that I would miss them after finishing the series. Other than that, character interactions are simply beautiful. Over the course of the Aria series, the girls' friendship deepens considerably with all the happy and sad moments they go through together. They gradually realize that becoming a Prima Undine also means that their next to worryless days spent practicing together will come to and end -- that a full schedule means little time to spend with each other. Akari also has to come to terms with the fact that she alone will be shouldering the fate of the two-man Aria company, together with her future apprentice, and thereby say goodbye to the happy years spent with her beloved senior Alicia.

But life goes on and having less time to spend with the people you hold dear only makes you treasure and enjoy these precious moments even more.

I could go on writing forever, but I have to stop sometime, right?

Aria the Origination is undoubtedly the single most important anime I've ever watched. It made me cry rivers while smiling and actually provided me with a new outlook on life, neither of which any other man-made production ever has succeeded in doing.

I tried my best, but it was fruitless; words aren't enough for me to describe how much I love this incredible series. You just have to watch it yourself (unless you're a heartless bastard, of course).

My only 10 I've ever given without hesitating will be awarded Aria the Origination.

REC only spans ten episodes (counting the DVD special) and those episodes aren't even full-length, yet it manages to be more heartwarming and entertaining than many longer series. It isn't groundbreaking at all, but if you don't hate predictable romance anime, it is a perfect way to cheer you up when you're feeling a little down.

Onda Aka is a rookie voice actress who one day encounters the salary man Matsumaru Fumihiko, who's been stood up by his date, in front of the cinema. Long story short, Aka makes Matsumaru watch the movie together with her and the flames of love are ignited. Later the same ... night, Aka's apartment catches fire and she is taken in by Matsumaru. Romantic events ensue, but when waking up the next day, neither of them regards themselves as a real couple. Incidentally, they end up working together with the marketing of Matsumaru's latest invention: a leaf-shaped crisp. Aka is - of course - voicing the product's mascot, Neko-ki - a tree with a cat's head.

The focal point of the story is, not surprisingly, the development of the two main characters' relationship and how it is affected by Aka's rise in popularity; is it right for her to prioritize her career even though it leads to her not being able to spend time with Matsumaru? Though the story is far from original, I still really cared about Aka and Matsumaru. Because REC is, unlike most other anime belonging in this genre, not full of unnecessary melodrama or supernatural elements - it is realistic, and that makes it so much more engaging.

Animation studio SHAFT, of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei and ef - a tale of memories fame, is responsible for the animation. REC's visuals don't impress at all, but they suffice; Aka is heart-wrenchingly cute and Matsumaru is... well... ordinary. Backgrounds and the like are good as well.

The seiyuu (voice actors) did a great job with all the characters, including the minor ones, enhancing the warm atmosphere of the anime greatly. Music was always fitting though far from memorable. The opening wasn't my cup of tea, but, then again, I couldn't care less.

To summarize, REC isn't the most innovative romance anime around, but it's realistic approach to the genre makes it refreshing and the chemistry between the characters (who are the series' greatest strength) is wonderful and Aka and Matsumaru's feelings toward each other feel genuine. I would not have complained had it been longer, but it's shortness may also be a strength; it never got even close to boring, even though I watched it all in one sitting.

A highly recommended anime to all romance fans.

This is a comedy/satire anime and the jokes are generally based on the problems and absurdities of society and humanity as a whole. It's full of references to the anime industry: both to series, producers, voice actors, character stereotypes etc. To understand many of the jokes, you have to have watched a lot of different animes and know your terminology, otherwise you will instead of laughing end up with a question mark on your face. A lot of jabs are also aimed at recent and old happenings in Japan and are thusly hard to understand for viewers without a profound knowledge of Japanese culture and ... history. This is not that big of an issue, and of course not a flaw of the show, but it deserves to be mentioned as it might affect your viewing experience. It should also be noted that the the comedy in Zoku often ventures into the completely absurd, even more so than in the first season.

The "story" revolves around a high-school class full of different, crazy students and their mentally unstable techer: Itoshiki Nozomu, Zetsubou Sensei. He sees everything in a negative light and always falls into despair when he thinks about all the everyday trials one has to face and endure. Together with his students and many other wacky characters, he drives all the issues to their extreme and the end result is often hilarious. Some reoccuring jokes, like panty shots, become annoying after a while, but the diversity is still very good.

Often, there are so many things on-screen that you have to pause to see them all, since the pacing is very high. This is one of the few actual flaws this anime has. There are very few new characters introduced, but there isn't a really a pressing need for any, because the cast is already big enough. This also prevents Zoku from taking up too much time with character introductions, which was the major problem of the first season.

Zoku sports the same innovative aestethics as the first season and the quality of art and animation hasn't improved noticably. It's hard to describe the visual style accurately, but it's generally simple and 2D-ish, with some interesting special effects. Throughout the series, there are however many different art styles utilized, enhancing the relative "drama" and sheer randomness of particular scenes.

The BGM is used nicely, and while not being particularily memorable, it does a great job of helping the jokes hit home. As for the OPs and EDs, they're all great and suit the series perfectly. Kuusou Runba is undoubtedly one of the best OPs I've ever had the pleasure to hear and it fits the intro flawlessly.

To summarize, Zoku is an excellent second season that surpasses the first season in all ways possible. While the episodes differ in terms of qualitative - and understandable - jokes, they're generally ingeniously executed and highly entertaining. However, this series does demand that you as a spectator has a decent knowledge of the anime industry and Japanese culture; if you don't, you will miss out on a lot of the fun. So if you for this - or some other - reason didn't like the first season, there's no reason for you to bother trying this. And vice versa, of course.

Jigoku Shoujo Futakomori, being the direct sequel to Jigoku Shoujo, offers more of the same but does everything much better.

The story centers around a website called Jigoku Tsuushin (Hotline to Hell), which can only be visited at midnight. If you type in a person that you hate's name and your hate is fierce enough, the red-eyed, black-clad Enma Ai will appear before you and offer you a straw doll. If you pull off the red string attached to the doll, your antagonist will be sent immediately to hell (after being punished for his/her sins if she/he has any). However, by doing this, you automatically ... condemn you own soul, and when you die, you will be going to a hot place as well.

The first and second series are similar in many ways; the first 10-15 episodes are strongly episodic and introduce new characters all the time, most of which you will never see again after that particular episode. All the stories are, naturally, dramatic and sad, showing the worst traits that mankind is equipped with. In the first series, the episodes followed a chronologic formula: first a couple of scenes showing the conflict between two persons, then the victim visiting Jigoku Tsuushin, receiving the straw doll and then pulling the string. Aftar that, the culprit receives his/her punishment and is ferried to hell by Enma Ai.

It became a bit repetitive and annoying after a while. In Futakomori, the scenarios are much more varied, presenting different points of view on the conflicts and many twists and turns. We also get much more information on the three demons accompanying Ai, helping her with investigating the conflicts: during what eras they lived, what they were back then, why they couldn't die in peace and how their pasts affect their present actions. Those four, Ai included, are all very intriguing characters, and the more you know about them, the more you like them.

New to the series is a little girl called Kikuri, who apparently lives together with Ai and often shows up in the middle of the conflicts, causing mischief. She is rather evil and her big blue eyes are, simply put, scary. I didn't really like her, but she has her moments.

There are not many new melodies in the music deparment; almost all music is recycled from the first season and is still going strong, enhancing the sad and violent scenes wonderfully. As for the art, it's great as well and Ai is as beautiful as ever.

Around episode 20, the story starts getting really interesting. I will not spoil anything, but the ending is great and I can't wait to see what happens in Mitsuganae, the third season.

Jigoku Shoujo Futakomori beats its predecessor in all categories, sports great visuals, fitting music, excellent characters and a dark, twisted sense of humour. The only thing I can complain about is that Hajime and Tsugumi from the first season got next to no screentime at all, which is a bit sad since I liked them a lot. Apart from that, this is one of the best animes I've ever seen. Highly recommended, especially if you thought the first season had potential but was too repetitive.

Note: I'm using the characters' names from the American release of the video game in this review.

This one-episode OVA is an introduction to the world of the PS2 RPG that goes by the same name. I liked the game and played it before watching this, therefore I fully realized the incoherence of the story and the plain worthlessness of this anime.

Ar Tonelico is a massive tower, reaching from the bottomless depths below the continent known as the Wings of Horus up into the skies high above. Lyner Barsett is out on a mission in his airship, but the electromagnetical disturbances around the tower, known as ... the Blastline, causes the machinery to go haywire and he crashes on the Wings of Horus, a world previously unknown to him.

Soon he encounters the Reyvateil (a female capable of crafting songs and use them like magic) Aurica Nestmile and together they visit various areas of the world, ultimately trying to fix Lyner's airship so that he can go back to where he came from. After about ten minutes, someone pressed the fast forward button, and suddenly Aurica had fallen in love with Lyner and they were, together with the mechanic Krushe, riding in the airship towards the top of the tower. Randomly tossing in scenes from the latter half of the game isn't a very clever thing to do.

You don't really get any information at all about the characters' backgrunds, feelings et cetera. So if you don't know their personalities from playing the game, you will probably find them, simply put, uninteresting and boring.

Sure, the aesthetics are fair and the music as well, but it doesn't save Ar Tonelico from being a selection of scenes from a video game rather than a real anime. It's purpose - to make people buy the game - fails as well, because of the dumb execution. If correctly made, it would contain more thourough character introductions, be a bit longer and above all have a coherent storyline, preferrably consisting of the first maybe 40 minutes of the game.

If I hadn't played the game before watching this, I would have enjoyed it even less than I did. This anime adaption of Ar Tonelico is nothing but a badly made commercial, honestly.

This OVA links together the first and second season of the series and introduces the new members of the otaku circle known as Genshiken. It goes without saying that it's almost mandatory to have watched the first season prior to the OVA and while it isn't a catastrophe to skip it and just watch Genshiken 2 right away, I wouldn't recommend doing that. Not only because this is a direct continuation of the story. Moreso because it is pretty darn good; these three episodes are among the best entertainment that the series as a whole has to offer.

Genshiken follows the daily lives of the members ... of a university-based club consisting mainly of otaku. They watch anime and read manga (Kujibiki Unbalance-related doujinshi mainly), play hentai games, put together Gundam models and visit the big fair known as ComiFes twice a year. Genshiken does not offer a quasi-philosophical storyline full of twists and riddles. There are some serious moments, but all in all we're talking pure, awesome comedy.

New to the club is Ogiue Chika. For some reason, she jumped out the window from the university's manga club and the chairman suggested that she'd join Genshiken instead. The first thing she says when she enters the club room is that she absolutely hates otaku. However, it is soon revealed that her secret passion is drawing and reading yaoi and it's hard for her not to imagine indecent scenes starring the male members of the club. Every time her secret passion is talked about, she gets flustered and starts blathering incoherently in her Touhoku accent. Ogiue alone makes Genshiken OVA (and season two) worth watching. I love her.

Another new member is Manabu Kuchiki. He made an apperance in the first season, but for some reason, he didn't join Genshiken. Kuchi, as he wants to be called, is one of the most crazy and whimsical characters I've ever encountered. In real life, I would hate him. However, together with Ogiue he adds a batch of randomness that the first season lacked and I can't help but love his frequent and crazy outbursts.

Genshiken OVA isn't impressive audiovisually. The art and animation are decent but far from marvelous. This being a comedy anime, it doesn't matter that much, in my opinion. Same goes for the music: it fits the mood and is rather enjoyable.

Genshiken's main strength is the characters and the two new members of the group add a lot of humour of the kind that the first season was lacking. The OVA is a great introduction to the second season and offers some of the best laughs I've ever experienced watching anime. Wathcing these three episodes of pure awesomness is an hour well spent.