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Time travel. A complex and risky theme to explore for any medium. Be it in movies, television or books. It can also make for the some of the most exciting and thought provoking stories ever devised. That being said, it can be very easy to get wrong. Most of the time it can get rather confusing and complex, with plot holes appearing all over the place and inconsistencies cropping up every so often. So when I sat down to watch the 2011 anime, Steins; Gate, I was a little concerned at how they would handle the subject matter. A show thats main plot device is ... the act of time travel itself, and the consequences that follow it.

The show takes place in Tokyo in the year 2010 and centers around Rintarou Okabe. A self proclaimed 'mad scientist' who often refers to himself by the name of Hououin Kyouma. He lives in a beat down little apartment in the Akihabara district where he dedicates his time to creating what he calls 'future gadgets' along with his fellow lab memebers. Mayuri Shiina, his happy and sometimes air headed friend, and also Hashida Itaru, the resident hacker and perverted otaku. Also known as Daru. Their prize experiment that they are currently working on is a modified microwave that they have been using to morph cut up pieces of a banana back into their original state. All be it covered in green goo. The real potential of this contraption is not revealed until Okabe witnesses a dreadful crime to which he then sends Daru a text message detailing what he just saw, only to then realize that after he did so, the event seemingly never never occurred and that the message he sent was received a full week before. At this point it would seem that Okabe has made a scientific breakthrough in the fact that the microwave, when connected to a phone, can send messages into the past.

This discovery helps Okabe in his fight against an evil organisation called SERN. An illusive entity that no one is sure actually exists. Further adding to the 'mad scientist' persona. I have seen many express their views on how they believe the first act of the show to be quite slow. As much as I can agree in a way, as nothing too exiting really happens during these first 9 or so episodes, I felt that the characterization was so good that I hardly noticed the lack of progression. After the 9th episode though, the show really comes into its own. With the story firing into overdrive with crippling revelations, small action sequences and downright tear worthy scenes making for some of the most gripping storytelling I've seen.

The actual act of time travel in this is handled extremely well. One particular part of the story features dozens of time jumps. Usually when this type of thing occurs I lose track of what is going on with so many different realities and scenarios happening all at the same time. In this however, I found all of the jumps to be simple enough in theory to always be able to follow what was going on at any one time without any confusion.

The only small setback in terms of story that I can comment on is the ending. I personally liked the ending quite a bit, however it still felt a bit like it was a little too convenient and well rounded. Although saying that it did fit together nicely and made sense in terms of the laws of time travel presented in this particular setting. I could feel this way because I'm not used to anime ending in the way I would like and it's a little weird for a show that was this tense and sometimes very dark to end in such a way. The overall story though is very well done, and is even better when you look at the characters.

Okabe, is one the most entertaining, charismatic and likable characters that I've seen in a show. He clicked instantly with me and I was on board from then on. His wit, charm and intellect make for an effortless watch. The supporting cast are also brilliant. Each one is written is such a way that you will find at least one that you can relate to. Plus the way each one of them plays off Okabe and each other gives the feeling that none of these are throw away characters put in for no reason. Everyone has a purpose. The variety here is top notch. You have Makise Kurisu (one of my personal favorites) the tsundere and rival scientist and of course Daru and Mayuri, plus a whole bunch of others who make their way into the story at various points.

The development of these characters is a bit of a weird area because there really isn't that much. This, however is not a problem at all, as we are given enough information and little snippets about their lives to keep a high level of interest. All of the charterers motivations and goals are made clear from the start or at least revealed later on in the story. This a very much 'in the moment show' with little need for tonnes of backstory, which I feel actually makes for an easier viewing experience.

I find the art style and animation of the show to be quite interesting. In the sense that it has a gritty realistic look to it that I wasn't expecting. Everything looked great but had this overhanging look of realism and not much of a fictional look to it. The colour palette is rather dull, but it works well for this setting. The opening animation is also one of the best I've seen.

The music, while good, I feel could have been played up a little more and used in more scenes. Alot of the time it felt like it was holding back with quite a minimalist feel. When it was used to full effect though it was marvelous. The opening theme 'Hacking To The Gate' is brilliant and was actually one of the first signs I had of the show being awesome. I finished the show a few weeks ago and i'm still humming the song from time to time. If you are interested the shows music was done by Jun Murakami and Takeshi Abo.

The dub for this show is also one of the best I have ever heard, with John Michael Tatum giving one of his best performances to date as our main character. Even all of the supporting cast were amazing. Not once did I feel that the show would be better subbed, although i'm sure that it is just as good.

Overall Steins; Gate is a wonderfully written fleshed out science fiction story with a great sense of style and dark comedy. The art is great, the sound is good, the dub is incredible and each episode left me wanting more, to which it certainly delivered. It is for this reason that I am going to give it a 10/10. There is no such thing as a perfect anime with no flaws, however, the very small issues I had with this show were very nit picky and close to non-existent and did not change the amount of joy I experienced watching this show.

Akame Ga Kill! is a show that I have had on my list for some time now. Since it aired in fact, but for some reason or another, I never got around to watching it. Over the past year or so the show seems to have grown very popular and now has an established fan base that swear that this is one of the greatest shows ever. So, naturally I sat down and watched all 24 episodes of the show over a few days and thought I would do a review of it.

The setting of this show is your pretty run of the mill fantasy ... setting with monsters and magical elements. Not much detail is given on the world in which the show is set, instead preferring to jump straight into the action and the characters. The show revolves around a group of assassins called Night Raid, who are part of a revolutionary group that are trying to overthrow a tyrannical and greedy minister who has managed to take advantage of a young and impressionable emperor to essentially rule over the land from the sidelines through fear and violence. Each member of this group has what is known as an Imperial Arms. These are weapons that possess incredible magical properties, such as a sword that inflicts a deadly toxin on whoever it cuts killing them almost instantly with no known antidote to save them. Over the course of the show we see the group taking out various important figures and groups which contribute to the evil deeds causing the empire to fall into disarray. The show progresses in this fashion for the majority of the run time.

Early on we are introduced to our main character. Now contrary to what the title of the show might entail, the dark haired, red eyed assassin, Akame, is not the main character. Instead we are given a young man by the name of Tatsumi, who has set out on a mission to make a name for himself to earn money for his village. Through a series of events that transpire during the opening episodes of the series, he ends up joining Night Raid on their mission against the empire. Although for the most part he works well in the show and has some pretty cool and epic scenes, I couldn't help but think that he was bland and a little uninteresting. He is not given much backstory or development, or at least not enough to make me care about him as much as I probably should have. The supporting characters I find to be much more interesting, likable and entertaining. Each offering something different from comedic to adorably awkward personalities. Akame in particular is arguably the best character in the show with the coolest action sequences, emotional back stories and funny scenes. It makes me wonder why she isn't the main driving force for the show, as it would have benefited immensely from it. Unlike Tatsumi, I was more invested in the support characters and whether or not they will survive each battle they are thrown into, which leads me onto my next point.

Akame Ga Kill! is violent and bloody. Any and all characters have the potential to be killed at any given moment without warning. Something I was rather interested in as it would make for an interesting experience knowing that no one was safe. Although this was the case, I found that if you just kill a bunch of characters without first giving time for the audience to grow attached to said characters, then their deaths seemed to end up feeling a bit forced into the story for the sake of it. By the end of the show it ends up feeling like characters are just dying all the time in stupid ways for no reason. For example a certain character who had been very powerful for the majority of the series, gets killed for letting their guard down against the weakest villain they had fought against. This, in my opinion completely conflicted with the way the character had been like up until this point and made me question what all the struggle was for in the first place. I did however find that some of the other characters that were killed later in the series were handled slightly better.

I also find that their is a small issue in how the show balances its serious and emotional scenes with its comic relief. The constant jumping between the two felt out of place and a little weird at times. Luckily I found this didn't really affect my overall enjoyment of the show.

One of the main plot points that I found to be very interesting was the clash between Night Raid and their enemy counterparts, The Jaegers. Two groups with conflicting senses of morality. Exploring the perception of different characters ideas of right and wrong, with neither group being inherently evil or good. They just happened to be fighting on different sides of a war doing what they believed to be right. I enjoyed this to the point that it got me thinking what I would have done in the same situation. Definitely one of the stronger themes explored in the story.

The animation is where the show excels. It is excellent, with some truly beautiful shots and action sequences that keep you on the edge of your seat until they reach their conclusion. All of the different locations are unique of one another and are a joy to look at. The character designs are also very good and are instantly recognizable making each one easy to remember due to the sheer amount of variation presented.

The show features a brilliant soundtrack composed by Taku Iwasaki who has worked on other projects such as Gurren Lagann and Soul Eater. Each piece is masterfully crafted and although each one isn't really that easy to remember or to differentiate from another, they capture the atmosphere and tone of the show perfectly. The two opening and ending songs fit the shows feel as well. The second OP 'Liar Mask' being my personal favorite.

Overall, despite its flaws, I found Akame Ga Kill! to be rather enjoyable from start to finish. The animation and sound that contribute to some of the best actions scenes that I have seen recently, help the show stand up against its plot, which I felt could have been handled better as it was lacking in certain areas, such as tone plus the balancing issues and character development. It is definitely worth a watch for those who love action with epic fight scenes and are not looking for a super in depth story. For this reason I am going to give it a 7/10.