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A short manga from the same creator as Doubt. If you really enjoyed Doubt, you'll enjoy this. Personally, I love the iconic creepy big rabbit heads this mangaka has made his signature. And I admit that's a big part of what sucks me in to his work.

~Story~ (7)
Very much like we see in Doubt, Judge has a very slow pace/reveal that then shoves pretty much the entirety of the full story in at the end. Since the manga is so short, the slow pacing isn't terrible (if it were any longer, and I mean, like one volume longer, this would have been a problem).

The ... story structure itself is very reminiscent of old-time mystery novels that dump a BUT THEN! at the end detailing character motivations you could not possibly have known at all prior to that point. If that's your jam, then rock on for you! But if you prefer mystery/thrillers where you have a chance of guessing the ending before it happens, this will only frustrate you. This one is better than Doubt insofar as I think you can guess one of the big reveals (and the reveal is nowhere near as absurd), but you will not understand the true setup until near the end. And without that, you can't really guess what's going on.

For me, I actually really loved the concept of what was really happening and whom the whole judging was for. I think that was brilliant! And the idea of what was happening, even though you as the reader don't get to see most of it, was strong enough for me that I felt the overall structure was quite clever and liked it. But if you're someone who isn't taken with the ideas that something presents and prefers to see those ideas beat-by-beat, this may not be a good fit because, as others have pointed out, what is primarily focused on isn't that unique itself.

Story would have been a 8 for me given how much I love what the game setup really was, but the dialogue at the start is pretty sloppy. There's some mechanical exposition dump a la the "let me tell you what you should already know" variety. And some repetition at the start that, while certainly arguably realistic, doesn't add much. This improves by volume 3.

~Art~ (8)
So the art was solid, but, as seen with Doubt, this mangaka occasionally implies actions without actually drawing them. And that causes momentary confusion over what is happening.

Example: In volume 1 someone throws something that crashes right next to another character. But the throw itself isn't drawn and the item crashing by the other character lacks directional lines or motion blurring making it clear this item was just sailing through the air from a given direction. This issue is infrequent, but consistent throughout the manga.

~Character~ (6)
As others note, we aren't given a ton about the characters in the manner we expect, largely because what we expect isn't really what's happening. I understand this decisions, but agree that the character development could have been handled a bit differently to up the intrigue.

MINOR ALLUDED TO SPOILER NEXT PARAGRAPH
There are a few things done in this manga concerning female character interactions that make me incredibly happy though. There is an incident that manga and anime like to trot out just to make a male character look heroic and that really horribly puts female characters in positions of victimization. But in this case, it's actually a female character who steps in and helps out the other female character. THAT! Is incredibly refreshing!! Love to see ladies sticking up for ladies. The female character needing assistance is also not meek or immediately paralyzed by the situation. And, on top of that, the encounter is not drawn in such a way to be titillating (aka no ridiculous highlights on certain body parts, no blushing on behalf of the victim, no upshots, etc...). The characters of the females are not diminished in service of promoting a male character, nor is the reader meant to secretly (and grossly) be turned on by this. That is fantastic.

There are a few sexist assertions in the manga (e.g. the notion that females are more easy to control than males) that no one outright challenges (and usually the females support), which is "ARGH!" worthy. However, these seem to be presented more to underpin why certain characters judge the way they do and to hint out flaws in strategy. Annoying, but I don't get the sense that the author actually supports those viewpoints. Especially as there's a role-reversal in one of the reveals that made me cheer (it's a one-line panel, but was great to see something so unexpected and not typically portrayed in media).

~Enjoyment & Overall~ (5)
This one would certainly rank higher than Doubt for me, except for one thing:

ALLUDED TO SPOILER NEXT PARAGRAPH
This manga has a lot of discussion about "sins" and "redemption." While we come to understand what we thought the sins were are not the full picture, what dings this series for me is there is an implication made between being part of the LGBT community and being "sinful." That's very uncool. Now when there is a reveal about a character on this point, no other present character acts as though this is shameful. And the character in question is clearly one we are meant to like and sympathize with. So I get the sense again that the mangaka doesn't personally hold with the view that it is a sin. However, that being said, no character outright challenges that link, either. While it is an unfortunate reality right now that many would try to hide or encourage others to cover up their sexuality, I would still expect a story to make clear that that's not okay or how it should be. This does not. It more just accepts that reality and does little to challenge the tie between LGBT and sin. I can't get behind that.

Overall, I enjoyed it. It's short enough that if you start it and aren't super keen on it, you can speed through it to get to the end, which I think is satisfying. But again, if you don't like the old-school style murder mystery reveal of LET ME TELL YOU ALL THAT WAS WITH DETAILS ONLY I KNEW! then pass.

I initially started watching Fractale because the artwork attracted me. It seemed to be of high quality, and the characters appeared like they'd be fun and full of depth. Well, after having watched the show, those initial assumptions were far too optimistic. Unfortunately, what starts off as an interesting and intimate story about a boy, Clain, living in an intriguing environment quickly devolves into a scatter-brained comedy, then a brutal, shallow commentary on personal freedom, and then it just kinda...peters off into this ill-thought hodge-podge of half-baked ideas that are just barely touched-upon and then completely bypassed. So, let's look at where it goes wrong ... in a bit more depth.

**Warning: This review may contain mild spoilers. I'll try to keep the major ones out, but just a heads up!**

~Story~

And here we have our biggest issue. In the first few episodes, we're introduced to this futuristic society not unlike The Matrix, only these people are fully aware that they are living in a fantasy world. Essentially, the idea is that people exist inside a broader Utopian internet with personal avatars, called doppels, representing them in this pseudo-reality. However, what's immediately interesting as we find with our main character, Clain, is that not everyone uses a doppel. Clain, while he also exists in this fake Utopian world, doesn't use a false image to live through. He just wanders around as himself, going about this day-to-day life. His parents and pet dog, on the other hand, use doppels to interact with him, so they aren't really there. (Why a dog has a doppel, I'm not entirely sure. In fact, I'm not certain if the dog is a complete fabrication...the series never really discusses this.) This sets up an interesting issue dealing with how humanity no longer needs to really interact, even families don't actually live together anymore. Sadly, though this theme is presented early on, it's never really explored in-depth and ends up feeling like a side-note to the story. Sure, the series toys with the notion of people being friends, and ends up shallowly exploring the value of family through the relationships among the main three characters, but it never seriously looks at why a close family is desirable. And as you continue to watch the series, you'll come to realize that's the main problem: Ideas are presented, but no actual outcomes of a given behavior are ever really explored. Clain is obviously somewhat lonely, but it doesn't seem to affect him too badly. Family seems to be important, but why? The positives and negatives are never really expressed.

In any event, Clain's life changes the day he meets Phryne, a priestess from the temple that oversees the Fractale System (the system allowing the fake Utopian internet). It's soon discovered that the temple is not what it seems, and that there are rebels fighting to destroy the Fractale System. Why? Well, the series does show and hedge at the temple brain-washing people, so that they don't ever question whether a family should live together or not, but that's about it. Yeah, brain-washing is bad, but you never get the sense of why this is really evil. The System does create a Utopia, after all.

And just why do the rebels think this is so wrong? Allegedly because it makes people dependent on the system. They can't live without it...sooo...that's total reason to gun down the old women of the temple and force other people to be free. No joke, the rebels actually shoot up old women. To be fair, the old ladies fight back and take some of the rebels down, but really, if you're trying to gain sympathy for your side, I'm not thinking filling the symbol for milk and cookies full of lead is a good way to go about it. And after the rebels do this, Clain recognizes that they are murders and doesn't necessarily like them, which is awesome and makes him not your typical anime boy...buuuut, sadly, Clain just later sorta dismisses this fact because these people become his friends. So what would have been a really interesting, deep personal dilemma (Should Clain really stand behind these people, even if they are actual terrorists?) turns into another run-of-the-mill "FRIENDSHIP AND LOVE OVERCOME ALL" anime band-aid. It also cheapens the initial scenario when another faction of the rebels turns out to be less moral and more harsh than the original party. So, really, remember this terrorists: It's okay just as long as there are bigger jerks out there. You'll seem angelic in comparison, which means you must not be all that bad.

The saddest thing is, by the end of the anime, the more evil faction, led by a character named Dias, actually seems a whole heck of a lot more logical to me. Sure, when he fist shows up, he and his group are malicious and cut-throat, but the actions they take in the end just make more sense. By that point, it's all out war, and the commands he makes are more strategic to his side winning with the fewest casualties. We're supposed to feel like he and his are still mostly evil, but that's just because they suggest killing some characters we've come to love, even though they are absolutely correct in that killing said characters would satisfactorily allow their side to reach their goals with a minimal fatality count. So I'm left feeling like the "good" side are a bunch of selfish morons, rather than that they are doing the right thing. After all, they're STILL gunning down grannies in the end, regardless, so really, at that point, shouldn't you be trying to end things to save the most people you can on your side?

I could go on and on about the story problems, so let me just conclude that the story creates many intriguing threads, but none of those threads is fully explored, explained, or evolved into anything meaningful. You get the idea behind several story concpets in that you can tell what the creators were going for, but they never actually show you what they meant to make you see. This counts for both emotional aspects of the story and logical ones. For example, we're never outright told why there are all these old ladies in the temple. We're given certain background information to infer why that's so, but they never actually tell you if that intuition is correct.

Also, I'm telling you upfront so you don't sit and wait and wait to figure this out: No, they will never tell you how the system actually came to be or how it works. Sad, considering the whole premise becomes finding the "key" that will allow the system to keep working. Well, they do find the key, but they NEVER explain why that key works or what it really does (they say why this particular key works, but not what the actual function of a key is). It's pretty frustrating, actually.

~Art~

The art is pretty fluid and nice, I feel. There are some inconsistencies, but it looks pretty good overall. There's one episode in particular featuring an area known as Xanadu that is especially well-done. Xanadu is a very rich environment, and it's apparent that great skill and time went into making the backgrounds there stand out. A lot of people have commented on how nice the backgrounds are overall. I think aside form Xanadu that they're nice, but nothing overly special or innovative. Pleasant, but nothing that makes us feel that that world is really special.

~Sound~

The opening theme from a sound perspective is nothing too special. Easy to overlook. The reason you'd watch that is for the visuals, as they actually spliced together some fun footage of actual math fractals. The ending theme rocks in that it's a poem by William Butler Yeats (LOVE Yeats). Very pretty and enjoyable to listen to, though there's nothing really to look at in the end animation. Just Nessa, one of the characters, sitting on a rock in the wind. Fits the song's sound, I suppose, but not inherently interesting to watch.

There's also another song within the show that keeps popping up. I very much like that song, which is good in that it did appear quite often. They never sing it all the way through, I don't think, but one line of it is repeated several times by various characters.

The voice acting and all else to do with sound was fine. Nessa's voice actress did a fabulous job, helping to make her character truly enjoyable. Everyone else either fit and did a fine job (though it didn't stand out as spectacular), or they were just not terrible enough to note.

~Character~

Here's another big problem. Personally, I HATED Clain. He's fine and interesting in the first few episodes, but he becomes very one-note and whiny as time progresses. It's like he was told "Your job is to be disgruntled and horribly possessive of Phryne, go." He does have an interesting quirk in that he loves "old" technology (modern tech to us is what they consider old), but that caveat ends up having absolutely no bearing on the plot, so it's kind of like, "Why do you keep reminding us constantly that he likes antiques? So what? He never uses that skill to do anything or make a point about the theme." I guess it was supposed to highlight a nostalgia for the "old" ways and show why they were more intimate and beneficial to humanity, but here again is an idea that's not really followed up on and that we're left to infer.

Phryne is a fine enough character, but the show decides to incorporate a dark trauma into her past that also has NO POINT. She never acts traumatized, not really, and the revelation of this dark event has virtually no impact on changing her character, nor those of anyone else around her. But every good lead needs some angst, right? Riiiiiiiiiiight? It also bugged the heck out of me that she kept getting called a tomboy simply because she actually GASP saves herself and doesn't care so much about taking off her clothes (not that she ever does this without good reason. There are only two times she gets fully nude and once is because she needs help cleaning a wound while the other is that she's swimming).

Nessa is sweet and charming and undeniably the main reason most people who end up liking the show do. She's fun and energetic without being too annoying, and acts fairly realistically for an overly joyful 10-year-old. However, her character does seem to only serve that convenient anime purpose of reminding us all that love is key, and we should like each other, and blah blah LOVE! blah blah.

Grandmother Granite is a very enjoyable character who serves as a point of thematic contention in that she likes Nessa (a doppel, hence a product of the "evil" temple), but she still fights on the side of the rebels. That characteristic raises some interesting points about old world ideals versus new, and the blending possible therein. Unfortunately, she leaves the series early and disappears into the background, becoming yet another instance of a potentially thought-provoking notion being shoved to the side.

Unfortunately, the three most inherently interesting characters who had HUGE potential to really make us question the morals and themes of the show are given very, very little attention. These characters are Dias, the temple's arch priestess, and a person living in Xanadu. Dias is interesting as he's the more cut-throat, but LOGICAL of the rebels and serves as a foil to Sunda, the leader of the group we're meant to end up liking. But as Dias is not very developed, they miss out on a great opportunity to actually take advantage of that foil dynamic. Oh well. Similarly, the arch priestess at the end becomes somewhat of a foil for Phryne, and actually evidently has much more depth and intriguing background, but we never get to see it. Another hugely missed opportunity. The man in Xanadu is missed chance to deepen the themes of the show as he seems to be the one strong argument for why taking people out of the Fractale System is potentially quite terrible (he is horribly physically impaired, so he can only function normally inside the system using a doppel). But this character literally vanishes from the story. We never know what happens to him or even who he really was.

Like the story of the show, the characters are half-hearted at best and ill-conceived.

~Overall~

In conclusion, this show is a pretty big disappointment. It has the pieces to something greater, but it never follows through. And it's humor is terribly contrived. For example, a character ends up cross-dressing, but the reason for why is incredibly weak and illogical, so it's just an excuse to be silly at a point in the show when it's trying to get you to take the fighting seriously. As many have noted, the constant gag of calling Clain a pervert is irritating. So I certainly can't recommend this show based on story or humor. Further, more episodes wouldn't help save it as the show can't even pin down one character or story idea well. It's just full of terrible writing all around, and that can't be fixed with quantity.

From what I can gather, there are two types of people who will like this show:

1) You are a person who doesn't care so much about plot as you do about the main relationship between the characters. Everything else can be overlooked as long as you like those characters and are happy with their ending. If you're in this camp, watch until you meet Nessa, Phryne, and Clain. If you very much like all those three, then I think you'll be fine and end up enjoying the show. If you don't like one of those three, I'm not sure liking one or both of the other two a lot is going to be enough to save the show. You may still enjoy the show for one of the three, but I don't think you'll leave it thinking it was a good overall unless you like all of them.

2) You like a good explosion of hectic fighting and mayhem at the end of your show. If you're in this camp, and you can overlook weak characters and shallow plot, then you may still like the ending. There's plenty of fighting and chaos to be had (though it's nothing as grand or overly graphic as certain other animes. It doesn't glorify in the gore and torture). Sadly for you, you'll have to watch several boring episodes to get to that end. So if you can bear to watch that far, you may still leave contented. Or you could always just skip to the end. Really, they never explain much, so if you don't care about the characters, you'd not be missing a lot.

Otherwise, I'd say pass this one up. There are many other wonderful animes out there that tread similar themes. The difference being that those other animes fully explore said themes and do them, and their characters, justice.

Like many others, I had heard many good things about this movie prior to watching that had me looking forward to it. A friend of mine also heard good things, so she and her husband brought it for a watch. In retrospect, I think I might have enjoyed our running commentary more than the movie itself. And, welp, when you realize that you're MST 3000ing something to the point that you aren't really paying much attention to the film itself, it's never a good sign. So let's break down exactly why this movie is more fun to mock than to absorb.

************WARNING!! SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT ... ON***************

(I'm going to try to limit the spoilers as much as possible, but to assess certain aspects of the film, I will say some things that some people would consider spoilers)

~Story~

This has got to be the single most disappointing aspect of the film. The setup for the plot is actually really interesting: Mankind has somehow messed with plants so that they become intelligent, destroy the moon, and take over the Earth. That's intriguing by itself, but the fact that this takeover is enacted by plant dragons -- yep, fire-spewing vine dragons -- is really cool. I admit, I paused and thought, 'Wait, how can a dragon made of leaves spew fire and not burn itself to death?' But really, with how cool these dragons look, that's inconsequential. Unfortunately, while they start with these dragons, the movie quickly forgets about them. They pop up here and there, but aren't really in any way central to the plot or the forest itself, it seems.

So, anyway, then we move on to Agito, our hero, and his town. We learn a bit about the town, but not a whole heck of a lot. As someone else has pointed out, we do know that the forest is basically blackmailing the town's citizens into obedience. And that's major problem one of the story: Obviously, by the end of the film, we're supposed to share Agito's ideal that living with the forest is wonderful and far preferable to destroying it. But why? The forest people are complete jerkfaces. They actually tell the town early on that if they don't abide by their contract, they'll take all the water away. Excuse me? Isn't that a dictatorship? If the humans had something to hold over the plants, too, like they had some means to really hurt the plants if they broke the contract, then okay, that's co-existence. But from what I saw, Agito's town had nothing to use as a ace in the hole. If the humans screw up, the Zruids (forest people...things), rudely beat their sticks and go "Grrr! No water for you!" Which, yeah, that's another thing that bugged me. The Zruids just keep beating their sticks on the ground, like, "We're tough! ROAR!" Personally, if I tried talking to some dudes, and they kept beating their sticks to interrupt me, I'd grab one and start beating them with it. Seriously. Stick beating does not equal intimidating, it equals annoying.

As for other major problems... let me just say that there are so many abandoned and undeveloped plot threads that they'd be lucky to sew together one glove... or a handkerchief... a small one. The main antagonist mentions that he used to share the thinking of Agito's town, but he changed his mind. Why? All we get is, "I'm from the past." Okay. Sure. But seriously. How long did he live in the town before changing his opinion. What specifically was the impetus for doing so? Why does the forest enhance him if he's just going to turn around and try to destroy it? On that note: Why the crap does everyone act like getting enhanced is so terrible when they ultimately conclude that becoming one with the forest is wonderful? Uh, what? It's great to join with the forest, but OH NO! It's soooo horrible if you get enhanced, which leads you to becoming one with the forest. I had no idea that the people of the future would all be so bipolar. Bottom line here is that while we get interesting background info alluded to concerning the main antagonist, we don't actually get to see any of it. Oh, and why in the world does he have so many Rabans and where'd he get them? I thought the reveal for that one would be a juicy point of contention, but sadly, that detail is sidestepped entirely.

There are many, many other problems concerning the story, but the main point here is that nothing is really explored. There's no depth to any of it. This is obviously a film for which the creators had these great "intelligent themes" that they wanted to explore... and then they actually forgot to do so. The film is an idea, a rough-sketch, one of those that you think up with friends while stuffing your face with snacks over a board game where you say, "Hey, Fred! Wouldn't it be cool if blah and blah and blah happened?" "Yeah, man, that'd be wicked!" But it is not an actual "story." Or, to give you a better analogy, imagine that an adult tries to explain some highbrow philosophy to a ten-year-old, and then that ten-year-old writes a story based off of that explanation. That's what you get with this movie.

~Art~

I thought the art was rather nice. It flows well, and I think the CG actually complement the style nicely, which is something that is often not true. I did not, however, care one bit for the clothing. The outfits were ugly and seemed not to have any real thought behind them. How do the weird over-sleeves help the people of Agito's town? What function do they serve? You'd think people working outside farming all day would wear sleeveless shirts, not heavy over sleeve...things.

And why were they so against giving Tula pants? You'd think the decent thing to do once you find someone and bring them home would be to give them some pants, for crying out loud! But even when she gets "clothing," if you look closely, she's just wearing a shirt/dress thing over the hospital gown she was found in. Is a good pair of pants really so much to ask for? I really have to wonder if that didn't somehow factor in to her decision to leave Agito's town. After all, in Ragna, she at least got some pants.

~Sound~

A lot of people have pointed out how great the music was, and I guess it was nice, but honestly, aside from the opening sequence, I didn't notice any of it at all. So, that's why I'm not giving it higher than a 7. If it doesn't stand out to me, I can't say it's fantastic. I will give props to that opening, though. To be honest, that was probably the best part of the entire movie.

~Character~

There were characters? WOAH! In all seriousness, the characters in this film have as much personality as a cardboard cutout. There's no real life in any of them... except maybe the antagonist and the old town's lady (forgive me, as I can't recall either of their names at present). Though they weren't really developed, you got the sense that they were real characters with opinions, backgrounds, and ideals. They existed outside of what we saw, and that's really what makes a good character to me. If I really feel like a character exists outside the story, rather than that they only exist within the events that I"m seeing, then that's a good character. The movie Inception (which I just saw and HIGHLY RECOMMEND) didn't really develop many of its characters, yet, because they were given such attention in regards to each one's personal quirks and attitudes, I ended up liking this somewhat minor character named Arthur the best. I wanted to know more about him and loved watching him, even if he didn't have a ton of screen time. That's what Origins tried to do but failed miserably at.

And what the crap was up with the creepy forest girls? They were just sorta thrown in. Like, "A BOOGA BOOGA! We're the scary forest spokeswomen! WAHAHAHA!" I'm starting to suspect LSD might have figured heavily in to this production.

~Overall~

Eh, while this movie isn't horrible, though my review seems very much to signify that it is, it had so many unexplored ideas and details that it was very unsatisfying. If I had to describe it in a word, I'd say shallow. It was very, very shallow. Something pushed out at the last possible minute to meet a deadline. Should you avoid it at all costs? No, not at all. Is it worth watching, eeeehhhh, I'd say if you have free time to kill, and a good group of high-humored friends in a mocking mood, then yes, go for it! But really, there are many better movies to spend an afternoon watching.

May I just start by saying that I am a big time Miyazaki fan. I loved Totoro, Howl's Moving Castle, Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (haven't as of yet seen his other ones). So, for someone who very much enjoys previous Miyazaki endeavors, Ponyo in a word is: disappointing. Yes, it's obviously for little kids (why Miyazaki couldn't make another family film that we could all enjoy is a bafflement to me), but even for children, it'd be boring.

~Story~

So a little fish girl endowed with magical powers wants to become human to stay with a little boy she ... meets named Sosuke - a tale loosely based on the original telling of The Little Mermaid (there's even a reference to turning into sea foam). Seems straightforward, yes? Well, for the most part it is...expect at the climax when plot most matters.

Like the original Little Mermaid, a major, life-altering decision must be made concerning Ponyo's future. Unfortunately, this decision and how it's reached is built-up, vaguely explored, and then reached with absolutely no pay off whatsoever. It's akin to asking someone if they would rather wear a red shirt or a blue shirt, they pick the red one, and balloons and rainbows! Everyone is saved! YAY! Miraculously and with no explanation as to how that red shirt helps avert major disaster.

The main issue with the story is that it's very disjointed and wants so much for everyone to be happy and riding on unicorns that no real conflict or danger ever actually enters into the equation, even though dangerous scenarios that could be developed are constantly flirted with (ex: men being lost at sea, the deaths of thousands, the loss of land, the reversion of a person into sea foam etc...). These issues are mentioned with a melodramatic "GASP!" and then either ignored or solved in lightening fast speed a la the reasoning of a five-year-old. In short, it's patronizing, insulting both the intelligence of adults and children.

Heck! Even Totoro had more depth and plot and didn't treat the possible loss of a child in such a "light-hearted" fashion. Totoro introduced actual calculated conflict or, at the least, intriguing events in a timely fashion so that the story progressed at a pace that kept things interesting. Ponyo lags on and on and on and thinks about introducing conflict and then skirts away from it to continue to drag on and on and on.

~Art~

Eh, the art is mediocre. I know, I'm horrible for saying that, but the cutesy "let's draw so it looks like children did it" style is only entertaining for so long. Granted some of the sea creatures were done very well and were very interesting to look at, but personally, I couldn't shake the impression the entire film that the backgrounds and environments were flat. Instead of drawing them in a manner that suggests that they extend beyond the scene into a real, 3D atmosphere, they just felt like "here's a flat backdrop in front of a car lot, pretend it's real." Spirited Away's environments didn't feel this way, and were full of detail and life. Even the individual characters were bright and multi-dimensional. Ponyo just didn't achieve that. However, I will also concede that Ponyo as a fish was incredibly well-done and believable. Her fish-like face and eyes really made her character the most intriguing.

~Sound~

I can't really comment because aside from the obnoxiously catchy ending credits music, I don't recall any of the music. The English voice actors (I did see this in theaters) did great jobs according to the script.

~Character~

Here's another huge issue with Ponyo. The characters were all poorly defined and again so geared toward butterflies and fuzzy kittens that they acted unrealistically and contradictorily. What mother leaves two five-year-old in a flood out of The Old Testament alone? What mother takes in this little girl from nowhere and doesn't try to find her parents? Why is the cranky and mean old woman suddenly nice at the end? Why does she urge Sosuke not to go with Ponyo's dad? Why is Ponyo's dad so people-hating, and then suddenly begging for humans not to think ill of him? Why is he okay with Ponyo's ultimate fate? What the heck is he even doing anyway? Why's he there? What purpose does he serve really? Other than to be an annoying and totally inefficient obstacle to Ponyo's happiness?

~Overall~

In conclusion, Ponyo might have been an entirely charming short had it only lasted about ten minutes. As it is, it has no business spanning hours and drags pitifully. It's like the creators had fifty different ideas and instead of narrowing them down to go in one direction or the other, they just decided to try to "incorporate" them all. Ponyo could have been great, it really could have, had they ironed out the plot and characters, treated the story in a non-intelligence insulting way, picked a direction, and stuck with it. Come on! Even classic fairytales aren't 100% fluff. I really hope that Miyazaki's next film isn't such a let-down.

Welp, when I first started watching this show, I was like, "Oh cool! Bugs! That's awesome and original," but then, after watching past the second episode, I couldn't shake the impression that the bug aspect was really all this show had going for it. After finishing the show, I was sadly proven correct. But, let's break it down, shall we?

**WARNING! There are some slight SPOILERS from this point onwards. I'll try not to reveal anything hugely important, but to express my viewpoint on some issues, giving away tiny details is necessary.**

~Story~

Okay, as has been pointed out by two of the other reviewers, the story is ... incredibly confusing and convoluted. There are so many plot holes in it and unanswered questions that it's like falling down a trapdoor, hitting twenty some odd tree branches, and then proceeding into a large, black abyss of death and despair... Okay, so that might be a bit of an overreaction, but seriously, the story almost seems more like an afterthought than the purpose.

Here's an example of one of the many problems: Right from the get go we know that the main character Kakkou has destroyed the Mushi of one of the other main characters, Shiika. We see this within the first five minutes of the first episode. This acts as an interesting lead into the series, and does get the viewers hooked as the setting is uncertain and the context is unclear. Who are Shiika and Kakkou? And why did Kakkou destroy Shiika's Mushi? Unfortunately, the entire story is revealed in its entirety to the viewer... in, I believe, episode three. So all the mystery surrounding the story setup is gone very early on.

Also, we see that the two know each other, yet, when Kakkou and Shiika meet later in episode one or two, they somehow have no idea who the other person is. What? How does that make sense? We know that Kakkou remembers the girl from the opening, who looks EXACTLY the same as Shiika, yet, he has no clue the two are one and the same? Yes, Kakkou suffers from what I like to refer to as "Sailor Moon Syndrome." Oh, no! She's wearing a different outfit! I can't tell who this strange person I've surely never met before is! Even though she's the only person in the whole anime and probably all of Japan who has that hair color and style! At least Shiika has an excuse as she suffers largely from amnesia... which is something we aren't told until practically the end of the series. Would have been nice to have know that sooner. Also, her amnesia seems to be highly selective as she can still remember her family and goes home in an attempt to find them. Sadly, they are gone. Where? No one knows and the subject is never revisited. Maybe they all moved to Tahiti.

It just gets worse from there. Kakkou goes to school under the name Daisuke Kusuriya, allegedly to track down the head of the resistance, Ladybird. I could have sworn with the way that this was presented that they already knew who Ladybird was, otherwise, why else have Kakkou enroll in a specific school in a specific class? Yet, later on, it seems like they had no idea who Ladybird was.. or they just decided not to attack her. Why? Who the heck knows? Maybe they just knew that she was high school age and pulled the name of a high school out of a hat in the hopes that it would be the one she attends and happened to get lucky. Or they asked their magic eight ball for guidance. Yeah. That must be it.

Also, the resistance in and of itself doesn't make sense. It's only made up of four people, two of which are small children. Now, they imply that it was marginally bigger at some point, but I'm left thinking, "If this is the biggest threat to the SEPB (Kakkou's organization), how sad are they?" Further, Shiika manages to rescue everyone from a very dramatic situation, but we never actually get to see how. They're all stuck, with seemingly no hope, then bam! Next episode. Everyone's safe and happy thanks to Shiika. But do they show us how or even explain it? Nooooo. Really, it's just a huge tangle of a bunch of very vague ideas that are presented poorly and hastily.

To be fair, the series starts off with interesting story elements, like the Mushi, but its lack of proper explanation overshadows any enjoyment to be had from them. I personally wanted to know more about Keji's past and situation, as its briefly touched upon (oddly inappropriately as he just starts blathering on about his past to Kakkou at one point for no apparent reason), but that is never fully explored either.

~Art~

The art was fine. Some shots during the action were a bit shoddy and they make Keji's chin oddly elongated at points, but it was pretty nice for the most part.

~Sound~

Eh, the opening theme was okay. It was a bit slower and dreamy with the stereotypical "hope and love conquers all" theme. I watched it once or twice, then skipped it for the rest of the series. The ending I suffered through once. It was also slow and meh. Better than the opening but without the intriguing animation to warrant me watching it. The sound effects were okay and the voice acting was pretty good. The screaming was especially well done, I'll grant that.

~Conclusion~

So, overall, I really didn't much care for the series. It really bored the heck outta me, to be honest, which is why I rated it so low. Even with all the story issues, it would have gotten a 5 out of me had the pacing not been so terrible. Even the action scenes were aggravating because they were constantly broken up with dramatic introspections and overly dramatic dialogue. I will give the ending some credit as it did some things that were unexpected, but for a series that placed so much emphasis on the ending, it failed to deliver. I found myself not caring about any of the characters aside from Keji and his assistant, and even then, I didn't grow too attached as they remained largely underdeveloped. If the show had been limited to 6 episodes and they'd focused more on the plot and ironing out the story, it would have been decent, possibly even really good. Alas, it was not so. With how many great anime there are out there, I recommend not wasting your life and time on this one.

A story about a group of people locked together in a strange place being killed off one-by-one: sounds fun, right? Well, that is if you're a horror buff. Even though this plot has been done to death (hehe, look at the puns a rollin'!) "Doubt" brings some new charm and perspective to the table with its telling.

First off, the most enjoyable and engaging part of this manga to me was the cell-phone based game that frames the overall story. The game deals with a group of rabbits who are being murdered one-by-one by a wolf hiding amongst them. So what do these little critters do? ... Why, pick a rabbit they suspect is the wolf and kill it, of course! If the rabbits pick wisely, they all live (yay!), if not, then they've just murdered one of their own (whoopsie!) and are still at risk of dying themselves (boo!). It's really sort of like the card game Mafia, but with demented looking bunnies. Call me morbid, but I wish that this cell-game depicted in the manga really existed. It sounds like fun to me.

Anyway, this cell game becomes the framework for the twisted game in which the characters of the manga find themselves. They, like the bunnies, are slowly being murdered and have to try to discover the wolf among them before it's too late. Unfortunately, the "wolf", at least who towards the end you think is the wolf, was painfully apparent to me from the get go. However, it turns out that there's a big twist at the end so that this foregone conclusion isn't quite what you're led to expect. That's a good thing, right? Wrong! The actual truth about the wolf as revealed in the last two chapters was so far-fetched and out there that I would have far preferred the obvious wolf to the actual one. I can't and won't give specifics because that would spoil it, but I will say the ending adds an element of the supernatural world a la JJ Abrams style that is hard to swallow (no disrespect to Mr. Abrams, I love you and "Lost" rocks!). And sadly, the issues extend beyond that.

There are so many twists by the end of the story that you get the impression that the artist/author put a ton of ideas in a hat, picked them out one-by-one, and played one twist out until the height of tension was found only to shout "BUT THEN...*insert random twist*". Some of the twists worked for the story and kept it from being boring. However, there were some that not only didn't seem to have a place and were hard to swallow, but that actually left you wondering what the point of them was, slapping a hand to your cheek, and saying an underwhelmed "Uh Huh". It gave the overall impression that the author was saying, "Hey! Look at how witty I am!" rather than trying to formulate a cohesive and entertaining plot.

As for characters, well, I thought they were all decent. Some more development would have been nice, but they all served their purpose. It really did play out like a horror movie in this fashion (you know, you've got a group of people, they all have their own issues, but those issues are largely irrelevant because they're all going to die anyway). I will say that I did ultimately feel that Mitsuki was done well and was highly intriguing in certain parts. Hajime was also a forerunner for good character, but then a certain hastily tacked on twist involving him ruined him for me. Especially because said twist didn't seem to serve any purpose other than being there for added shock value.

The art fit the style, and I noticed that the way the clothing wrinkled was particularly well done. Also, the numerous shots of the gosh darn creepy rabbit suit heads maintained a frightening tone and will ensure that you never look at bunnies the same way again. They were a great signature to the story. I want a poster...maybe not in my bedroom though. Waking up to those freaky rabbit heads looking at me would only inspire some acid trippy nightmares. The one downside to the art was that there were a few scenes drawn in such a way that it was difficult at first to figure out the action and what was happening. Also, there seem to be points in which action is implied rather than shown. For example, there's a scene in which three characters are together in a room, then abruptly, one of them is gone. It's implied that this character walked away, however, there's no panel actually showing this action, so it was somewhat confusing. *POOF* Now you see 'em, now you don't.

Overall, it was a very enjoyable series...until the end completely destroyed it and made me laugh at how ridiculous it was. So, if you like suspense, horror, are a patient person (some of the story does seem rather drawn out at points), and are willing to stretch your imagination to accept unlikely plot twists at the end, you'll enjoy this manga. Basically, if you have the time, give it a go. If your time is precious and you value endings that make perfect sense, I'd try something else.

I've noticed that the vast majority of the reviews for this series are absolutely glowing, which is the reason I decided to give my input. After having watched it (save for that mysterious 7th DVD-only episode), I thought I'd write a review so that people with my tastes might get a little more perspective on the series.

~Story~

The story is actually fairly interesting and has a good foundation: a merchant happens upon the incarnation of a wolf God while conducting business in a small town. He promises to escort the wolf home to the north and off they go on medieval merchant inspired adventures. It's ... original and intriguing, but the execution of the main ideas leaves something to be desired.

From the very start, I feel like we the viewers are left with gaps in the overall story. Horo, the wolf, never really explains how exactly she came to be the wheat God for the village in which she and Lawrence, the merchant, meet. It is somewhat implied, but this is never fully explored. Okay. No big deal. The story is still interesting. However, the gaps in info. don't end there. I'd personally like to know why in the world and how in the world she is connected to wheat. She's a wolf, so how did she become so reliant upon wheat? And can that connection ever be broken? Sadly, this is something that is pretty much ignored. The ending of the series is also very open-ended and ambiguous. Now, maybe there's a second season in the works, but it still seemed like a rather random and unsatifactory ending to me. It sort of tied up some overarching themes and concluded the final subarc, but it just felt unfinished to me because it failed to progress the main plot.

Another thing that I felt was unsatisfactory was how they presented the various economic nuances and dilemmas of the protagonists. It was very difficult for me to figure out what was going on whenever they started talking about debts wrought by miscalculated contracts and the inner workings of bartering businesses. I felt like my confusion could have easily been cleared up had they bothered to add a sentence or two explaining the situation in layman's terms. For example, the movie "The Producers", which also deals with understanding how an economic risk works, I understood because of the scene in which Bloom explains how their scheme could scam the system. For "Spice and Wolf", there was no such equivalent explanation scene. They tried to explain things but did it in a fashion that presumes that the viewer already grasps the basic situation. Hece, confusion.

~Art~

As has been pointed out by the other reviews, the artwork for the series really is high-calibre, especially in relation to the backgrounds and buildings. So, why didn't this section get a 10 out 0f 10 from me? Two reasons: 1. the way they drew noses for straight-on headshots was pretty shoddy at times by using only a bent line to indicate the nose, 2. they often drew Lawrence in such a way that it looked like he had a double chin. Yes, yes, nit-picky, I know, but the double-chin thing in particular really bothered me and they did it consistently throughout the series. I think they were trying to make it look more realistic (your chin does do weird things when you clench your jaw and/or lower your head) but it just came off looking awkward.

~Sound~

The sound of the series was superb both in the sound effects department and openings and endings department. There was one scene in particular which I was impressed by because they included realistic sounds mimicking how someone's bare feet would sound running on stone. The openning theme is slow and methodic, fits the show well, and was so enjoyable that I only skipped it for one episode. The ending theme is cutesy...and weird. But not uncharming.

~Character~

This is the section in which I deviate most strongly from what the other reviews have said. Horo is a nice enough character, but I found myself usually more annoyed by her than engrossed. There were just a couple of things that she did that really grated on my nerves, and had she been a real acquaintance of mine, I would have smacked her. For example, the scene in which she uses Lawerence's money to buy apples, hits him when he tries to eat one, and when he points out that she bought them with his money so he's entitled, she claims, "I can get money whenever I need it." I would have kicked any friend who did that to me off the cart. I don't find such behavior endearing or cute, but selfish and bratty.

She also had the tendecy to always act superior and constantly say "I am Horo the wise!" Aside from scamming a merchant, concocting one plan, and determining the validity of one or two things, she doesn't really do anything "wise." In fact, when it comes to relationships and helping Lawrence out of tight situations, she's pretty useless. Or at least, that's how it seemd to me. Her arrogance just bugged me. Oh! And as I just stated, she scams this one merchant and that reeeeeaaallly bothered me considering said merchant had done nothing wrong and originally offered Lawrence a really good price for his wares. The merchant takes it in stride, but that doesn't make conning honest business men out of their money any more right. Okay, so it's the game of merchanting to get the most money you can, but that doesn't mean that every merchant should sink to the corrupt system's level.

Other than Horo, my main beef with the characters is that they weren't very dynamic or developed. They're realistic enough but all rather flat and forgettable.

~Miscellaneous~

Two other things to note: 1. the dialogue at times is somewhat nonsensical and doesn't flow particulatly well, 2. there should have been more Horo in wolf form action. I gotta say that Horo in wolf form was awesome. I liked her in wolf form (for all the things I dislike about her otherwise), and I really wish they'd focused more on that.

Overall, it's not a bad series, not at all, but it's not fantastic either. It's decent and seems like it's more of a work in progress waiting for some more touching up. Hopefully, people interested in watching it will take the time to read all the reviews and compare their lists with the users who left them to determine whether or not it's for them. Then again, if you've got time to burn anyway, giving it a chance won't be detrimental.

I remember watching the first episode of this thinking: "There's no way they can end this in three episodes unless Godzilla abruptly and spontaneously appears on the horizon." I believe I was correct in this assumption. As has been stated in the other reviews for the show, three episodes were not enough to really develop this into anything other than a sort of character template. The series really seems to be more of a test teaser for a greater, extended series rather than a series in its own right. However, I did actually enjoy that which was presented and was most disappointed and distressed that ... those in charge of this production didn't decide to make this into a 26 episode series, which it easily could have been.

~Story~

The basic premise, while it is true it's not particularly unique, was still intriguing. It pulled me in and allowed for enough of an interesting setup so that I at least had some notion of how everything was structured and possibly ended. Again, it's highly unfortunate that they didn't develop this into something more as I would have highly enjoyed it if these three episodes are any indication of the direction it could have gone in.

~Art~

I highly suspect that someone involved with the production of Saiyuki was in on this. The character designs are very similar; the similar style especially being made apparent with Toki's design. This suspicion is strengthened by the fact that the show actually has a blatant Saiyuki reference in it when one of the characters plays as Gojyo in a fighting game. As such, you can expect that sort of animation. For example, the hair is a bit spikey and sort of clumpy, the fingers are elongated and bony, the chins are emphasized, and in some shots, the characters look a little anorexic. While I do like aspects of that style, the aforementioned bony fingers and narrow/starved faces bother me.

Unrelated to overall style, I really appreciated that the creators took the trouble to design multiple outfits for the characters so that they actually seemed like real people getting dressed everyday. It bothers me how in some anime the characters only seem to have one outfit to their wardrobe, so taking the time to individualize the characters here, especially given how easy it would have been not to considering the series' lack of length, was a really nice touch.

~Sound~

Nothing really stood out about the sound. The voices fit the characters and I enjoyed the opening theme but there was nothing gripping about it.

~Character~

This is the main reason I'm bummed that the show wasn't fully fleshed out and made longer. It's true that two of the main guys are a bit similar in philosophy and attitude, but I felt that they were both strong and individual enough to be interesting. The snippets of the characters backgrounds that we get allow the viewer to make educated guesses about what motivates them and why they may want the money. At least, they were enough for me to go off of. I've no idea if my suspicions are correct, but they sound reasonable. I liked all the characters and frankly wanted to know more.

All in all, if you have absolutely nothing to do and are in the mood to ruminate over an interesting concept, then I'd recommend this. However, if your time is precious or you're not a person who appreciates hearing and sharing interesting ideas (emphasis on the idea, not story), then I'd say look for something else.

As an aside, it really bugged me also when the main characters were waving their gun around in a FULL restaurant and no one, not a SINGLE PERSON, noticed or cared. To my knowledge, Japan has not been overrun by zombies, so you'd imagine that someone would at least say: "Hey! They've got a gun! Maybe I should call the cops and/or alert someone and/or leave."

I can safely say that this is one of the more origianl series that I've had the fortune of seeing. Edgy, dark, and tantilizingly mysterious this series will grip your mind and emotions and squeeze them violently before letting them go. That being said, this is definetly more of an "accquired tase."

~Story~

The plot synposis does not in the least do this anime justice. I get the impression that most people who just look at the plot summary provided here will perceive the anime as being something radically different from what it actually is, not to mention it really over-simplifies matters. Let me say that the ... intricate story really drives the anime. You don't really know exactly what's going on until the very end, which keeps things exciting but can also be very aggravating. The plot, backstory, and characters themselves are all revealed bit by bit rather than all at once. Certain aspects are given in a straight-forward fashion such as Kazmatsuri's backstory but most everything dealing directly with the main conflict is shrouded in mystery. The show's tagline: "Whose side are you on?" is rather befuddling in that you don't have any concept of the true motivations and natures of the two warring sides until the very end of the anime. While everything seems to boil down to the explosive and twist filled ending, this anime is not one that I found to be end-enduring; in other words, you didn't keep watching solely due to the anticipation of some profound conclusion like you do when watching Witch Hunter Robin. The anime itself was entertaining and each episode self-sustaining.

A word of caution: this anime is extremely saturated with symbolism. As such, those with analytical perferences may enjoy it more than those who don't like to delve too deeply into metaphors or philosophy. However, the anime is still rewarding for the latter category...until the end that is. The ending is very in your face symbolic/deeper meaning, and if you're not willing to try and puzzle out what certain things mean in the grand scheme of things, you will feel cheated. I myself initially thought the ending was a total creative cop-out the first time I saw it. After spending hours scouring fan forums, reading the interpretations of fellow fans, and also reading essays on the Epic of Gilgamesh on which the show derives its name and borrows some narrative and thematical elements, I now greatly respect and appreciate the ending. So, if you are unwilling to read up on the Epic of Gilgamesh and discuss the ins and outs of the metaphors snuggled in the ending, I'd warn you to bypass this anime or else risk great disappointment.

~Art~

The art style was what originally drew me to the series because its so different from anything currently out there. I will admit that it takes some getting used to. The majority of the production is filled with dark, cool color schemes and shies away from pastels and vibrant colors with the excpetion of the color red, which is used liberally to emphasis emotion, passion, violence, and character associations. The character designs are all very distinctive, strong, and unique. They too take some getting used to what with the clumped, sharp looking hair, deep, penetrating eyes, and large lips. The one character who looks incredibly and immediately awesome in the given style is that of The Countess. I am of the opinion that the entire style was implemented just for her character.

My one beef with the art of the show is that some of the action sequences are a bit sketchy. It almost seems like certain enouncters are more implied rather than shown, which can be irritating. The degree to which the action sequences are developed fluctuates greatly with some being gorgeously choreographed and others seeming hasty and incomplete.

~Sound~

From sound effects, to background noises, to in episode music, this anime excels in its ability to sate musical desire. The only bit of music in the series that I would not call high caliber would be the ending theme. My roomie and I had a good laugh at the long standing joke that I could sing just as well as the ending theme singer, and let me just make this painfully clear: I can't sing. At all. It's akin to hearing a cat get run over at high speeds on a mile trek of broken glass. That being said, the ending theme did grow on me. Wether this was due to the immense pleasure I got out of caterwalling along with it each time it played or due to a genuine enjoyment of it, I can't really say. In any event, I recommend joyfully belting out the ending theme each time you get to it for all your neighbors to "enjoy."

~Character~

I don't really feel like commenting much on this one. I will tell you that I liked each and every character in the series. Especially Kazmatsuri. At first glance, he's a cold-hearted jerkface. But after you get to know him...he's cold-hearted jerkface. The main reason I love him is specifically for one scene towards the end of the anime. I won't tell you what happens, but look for the episode in which the kids go demand answers from him at his home. My roomie and I about died laughing because of something he does after they leave ( I suppose the humor or lack there of is purely subjective, though, but at least his action is unexpected). Look for it!

All in all, this is a delightfully wonderful series. Not for the faint of heart or young of age, mind you. It does get a wee bit violent and generally deals with things in a more mature manner. (It's nowehere near Akira, Elfen Lied, or Hellsing standards though. Meh. I'm venturing it'd be in the PG-13ish range...ish. Some scenes are gorey.). It's not for lovers of things light and fluffy although it does have some preciously fluff filled moments. But, if you're in for something original and you've got a desire to go all english essay and analysis happy, I'd say go and get this. Now! DO IT NOW!

Oh dear God, here comes the train wreck! Ironically, Gantz unfolds after a fatal train wreck kills two of the main characters. It sounds intriguing, yes, but it is really a reflection of the utter barf that is this series.

First and foremost, this series has so much profanity that it's akin to listenning to a teenager who has just discoverd the F-word for two hours. The over the top violence makes your stomach roil. Seriously, it's traumatizing. And finally, there's the nudity and boderline porn. Strick that, I'm going to go ahead and just call it porn because for someone who has never seen a ... "true" porno, this would likely register as one in his mind.

The actual story appears at first glance to be quite interesting. The recently deceased are resurrected by a mysterious being known as Gantz and forced to partake in a high-stakes game of life and death. This interesting concept is completely and sadly butchered beyond all recognition into something utterly pointless and terrible. The "games" in which the characters partake are never fully explained and seem to meerly be the whims of the oddity that is Gantz. Gantz himself is never ever explained.

As far as the characters go, all of them, save Katou are utterly despicable or totally obnoxious. He is the only one that seems to have a moral weight. His blind adherence to his code of ethics ultimatly makes him act stupidly and is garaunteed to make you want to throttle something. So he too, at first glance seeming cool, turns out to be annoying. However, I am embarassed to admit that I was strangly attracted to the character of Nishi, probably because he's such a smart-aleck and very ambiguous when you first meet him. He has way more knowledge than anyone else, but rather than sharing it, he's a malicious, back-stabbing, punk. It does make him interesting.

I will give it points for its unique take on gun design and the element of the suits. The guns, already bizarre in appearance, are peculiar in that there's a delay after firing them. I've never seen something like this before, so the show does get originality points there. The suits that the characters wear to enhance their muscle-strength, agility, and speed have an intriguing appearance and do add a further level of uniquessness.

All in all, if you like mindless violence, sex, aren't turned off by cursing or ambiguity, and enjoy a dash of the utterly bizarre, I guess you'd find some enjoyment here. Personally, I think it was a bunch of depraved trash.