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Deadman Wonderland is a twelve (12) episode series that was left open ended so that there is the possibility that another season of it could be in the making. The title of this anime seduced me into watching it with the element of confusion channelling me forward.

STORY 7/10
Deadman Wonderland is a theme park that not only serves as entertainment to the public but also doubles as a prison for criminals in society. It is the only privately owned prison in Japan. It is here that the fourteen (14) year old Igarashi Ganta is placed after he is charged with the crime of murdering everyone in ... his class brutally. At first, the prison appears to be an ordinary one but as Ganta begins to learn more about the prison daily and continue his quest in finding the ‘Red Man’, he realises that there is more to this prison and himself that meets the eye.

ART 9/10
This anime was dark and gruesome and the artwork reflected such. The depiction of the amusement park was a stark contrast from the horror that was taking place inside. The prison itself gave off an ominous atmosphere which contributed to the intense mystery of the story.

SOUND 9/10
The opening score provided the key to the dismal atmosphere of the anime and the music included in the story played on one’s mental because even though kaleidoscope music was used it was the irony of the situation in which it was used. The ending piece was sad, reflecting Ganta’s major emotional state.

CHARACTER 8/10
The characters were pretty diverse with some of them surprising you completely! Each character added a different edge to the anime, contributing to the story and keeping the audience guessing as to the true nature or intentions of some of them.

ENJOYMENT 8/10
The mystery of the anime kept me intrigued because of the journey that is undertaken with the main character Ganta; empathising with him and also wanting to know more about why he was made to suffer for a crime that he did not commit. I was highly impressed with the amount of violence and gore in this series, so much so, that even some of it had to be censored! However, I was disappointed that the story shifted focus after episode six which annoyed me a little but realised that the ending was open thereby leaving the possibility that there would be another season in the future to tie up loose ends.

OVERALL 8/10
This anime is definitely worth the watch, that is, if you can stomach all the gore and violence that comes along with it. You can’t help but feel for the main character Ganta and hope that he gets vindicated. The only thing that ruined it for me was the change in the arc where the focus shifted from Ganta to another character Nagi, but nevertheless, a breath of fresh air in the anime universe.

Another Gundam series which turned out to be quite interesting and entertaining.


STORY 8/10

The story is set in the years 2307-2308 AD of the Gregorian calendar. The series opens with an exhibition of the military showing off their newest model to prospective buyers. Their display is interrupted by the arrival of a Gundam who completely destroys the model and in the process, makes the world aware of their organisation known as Celestial Being. This opening sequence gripped me from inception so I was hooked. The action sequences and the dramatic elements were combined efficiently to make the series a successful one.


ART 8/10

The gundams were quite ... detailed and reflected the meister’s personality. The general scenery was reminiscent of a futuristic setting which illustrated how advanced the times were and how even further advanced Celestial Being was.


SOUND 8/10

The music in this series was awesome, the opening songs were absolutely fantastic, both of them. I did not pay much attention to the ending songs but they were pretty good too from what I did listen. Even the music in the anime was tasteful.


CHARACTER 9/10

One of the main protagonists, Setsuna F. Seiei, is the youngest of the Meisters in Celestial Being. His entire existence is devoted to his Gundam and to making a difference in the world with his Gundam. The other Meisters are Lockon Stratos, who is the sensitive guy, Allelujah Haptism who had some personal issues which he was trying to deal with, and Tieria Erde, who appeared to be devoid of any type of human emotion.Then there was princess of Kazakhistan, Marina Ismael did not serve much of a purpose in the series. She was really just a nuisance, not doing anything proactive to progress her country. Then there was Saji and Louise who had their own side story plus all the other characters that made the series quite a success.


ENJOYMENT 9/10

This series was action from episode one (1) and continued on as it progressed. Each episode added on to the story and each of the characters developed with each episode. The action sequences were fantastic and you can identify with each of the characters and what they had to deal with.


OVERALL 9/10

This first season of Gundamm 00 was excellent, great story, vibrant characters, superb blend of drama and action sequences. I highly recommend this series.

A fantasy based anime series which focused on the interactions between different people participating in an online game. These people live vicariously through this game which presents a mystery from the moment the series begins. One of the characters, known as Tsubasa, is unable to log out of the game, a phenomenon which is strange because that has never happened in ‘The World’ before, the setting for the online game.


STORY 6/10

In the real world, a character collapses apparently from being the victim of an attack and this appears to be the reason why Tsubasa cannot log out of ‘The World’. The series focuses on ... trying to figure out who Tsubasa is in the real world so as to be able to save the person as well as the effects of Tsubasa’s continued existence in ‘The World’; the way in which he has an impact on all of the characters he encounters and wonders if his existence was foretold, since he is supposed to set forth in motion events that would bring stability in ‘The World’.


ART 6/10

Due the fact that the series was about an online game, the characters were drawn as such to reflect that feel as well as the setting, which gave it the added touch of game play graphics. The artwork with regard to the characters, reflected the mood that each of them possessed throughout the anime.


SOUND 6/10

Since the general mood of this anime was melancholy it was reflected in the music. Both the opening song and ending song channelled that sadness thereby making it an extension of the universal atmosphere of the anime.


CHARACTER 6/10

Each of the characters possessed a unique quality and ability. Tsubasa’s character stood out since the series was focused on him and also because this character was mostly sad all of the time since they could not figure out the reason that he was unable to logout of the game. His presence influenced the general atmosphere of the anime as well as the mood of the other characters.


ENJOYMENT 6/10

The anime started off as a mystery which was a plus for me since I like figuring out what will happen next but there were a bit of plot twists and turns which left me wondering exactly what direction it was taking. A few things were not clearly explained so that had me a bit perplexed at times. The final arc of the anime was rushed and I was not satisfied about the way in which it ended.


OVERALL 6/10

In summation, this series was slow and the story presented a few discrepancies which were not cleared up at all. It appeared that as they hit the halfway mark, many concepts kept changing. It could have been better had they a more cohesive story and not have tried to be too mysterious about certain elements.

Black Cat is a typical anime whereby the protagonist is usually someone who starts off being part of an organization, is the best at what he is or does and usually is a loner partly because childhood experiences helped to shape the nature of his character and what drives his goals and ambitions. The anime comprises of twenty three (23) episodes and it was not particularly a striking anime. In the opening episode, the anime displayed lots of promise and potential but as the series progressed, it started to fall apart based on storyline, plot and the development of the characters in the series.


STORY ... 7/10

The story focuses on the life of Train Hartnett, a former assassin of Chronos and the manner in which he transforms from a cold blooded assassin into someone living with a purpose. The story was not bad, just needed a few loose ends clearly up sometimes and some characters needed a bit more depth in them especially some of the supporting characters. Characters were thrown in and out of the story and there was no one with whom one can truly identify with. Also, the quick progression of the story saw characters changing sides from one episode to the next. Nevertheless, it made for some entertaining watching.


ART 7/10

The artwork and setting reflected the mood of the anime since most of the action took place at night. This was due in part possibly to the name of the anime so the animation reflected this. The characters were well drawn and Train features did contain cat-like features.


SOUND 9/10

The music was excellent. The opening song was mellow yet spirited and the ending song was cute. The musical numbers in the anime were reflective of the mood at any one particular moment in time and even Saya’s song was melodic and peaceful.


CHARACTER 7/10

The characters had some unique qualities and the way they were drawn as well as their attire also reflected such. Train’s character went through changes in the anime but there was no other significant development with regard to the other characters in the series.


ENJOYMENT 7/10

Even though there were a few inconsistencies in the story at times, I did enjoy the series since the characters, although not anything especially special, were quite entertaining and there were times when it there was some suspense as to what was going to take place next so it was because of this that I found it quite okay.


OVERALL 7/10


The anime had potential but it was too rushed. The story, although interesting and engaging at times was not developed to a point where there could be justifications for some of the actions of some characters that took place in the anime itself. Otherwise, this series was pretty okay but you need not watch till the last episode although if you do watch, you’ll understand why it was not necessary.

This anime could be classed under several different genres; adventure, action, science fiction and drama. The quality of the animation itself was absolutely excellent with its display of brilliant colours, vivid characters and scenery. The anime comprised of twenty six (26) episodes taking it to a full season.


STORY 8/10

The story centred around two young children, Lavi and Claus, who are orphans living together and making a living flying their plane which they believed belonged to their fathers. They do jobs taking important documents to various people when the need arises. It is during one of their assignments that they encounter another plane under attack and ... go to investigate. This action will change the rest of their lives. The pilot was transporting a package, in the form of a little girl and was ambushed by the enemy who wanted the child for their own reasons. He begs them to take care of the child and dies. They now have to drop off the child to the rendezvous point and they will get their reward. It is here that they meet the mysterious captain of the infamous ship named Alex who relieves them of the child. Believing that foul play is involved, they decide to go after the ship in order to save the child. By doing this, they get caught up in a series of events that have the future of the world at stake, which they inevitably take part in to return the place to the peace and stability which it has once known and enjoyed.


ART 8/10

It was a joy watching this anime because of so many different things, the animation being one of them. The colour combinations made for an incredible setting and excellent character drawings created beautiful scenery that was captivating.


SOUND 8/10

The opening song was techno based but suited the rhythm of the series which was fast paced throughout. The musical scores throughout the series that highlighted vital parts were more classical based but the speed of the pieces were either fast or slow depending on the action of the scene.



CHARACTER 9/10

The characters in the series were well rounded and fully developed which added to the advancement of the story and made it worth watching. The main characters, Lavi and Claus went through the most changes but it was because each of the characters in the series was given time to interact with each other and the audience could have identified with what each of them were going through, made them all the more real and excellent to watch.

ENJOYMENT 9/10

The series was well written and the characters were also very well developed. There were plenty of pleasant surprises which added to the enjoyable experience of watching the anime.
This anime illustrated that even in times of crisis, the smallest person has a very huge impact on the outcome of any battle; no one should be taken for granted.


OVERALL 8/10

An excellent series, worthy of re-watching and action packed with wonderful twists. A thrilling adventure richly blended with those sentimental moments to give the series a humane touch.

The Sacred Blacksmith is a short series, only twelve (12) episodes which was a bit reminiscent of an RPG game albeit an incomplete one. A production of FUNimation Entertainment, this series could have been much, much better than it was.

STORY 3/10
The story takes place in the Independent Trade Cities of Housman, where we meet the main character Cecily Cambell, a young, obnoxious, naïve girl who has decided to become a knight and continue her father’s bloodline even though she has no type of skills or talent. She is entrusted with protecting the demon sword of the village and has a virulent relationship with Luke ... Ainsworth, the blacksmith. Together they must also protect the city from the threat of Valbanill.

ART 8/10
The artwork in this anime was lucid and colourful. The setting and the characters were reminiscent of an RPG game. Because of the different blend of colours, it made watching the anime easy on the eyes but dull on the brains due to lack of story progression. Nevertheless, the art was a positive highlight of the series.

SOUND 5/10
The musical scores in the anime were pretty mediocre and the woman’s voice in the opening piece gravitated towards the annoying side especially towards the end of the tune. The ending song was pretty cute, even the images were adorable. In this area, there was nothing that made it stand out.

CHARACTER 4/10
The characters in this anime were typical of most animes, the annoying girl, the apathetic guy, the cute whiny child and the whimsical girl. None of these characters grow or display any change from the beginning of the series until the end and this was largely as a result of there being no real progression with regard to the story and hence the characters were unable to display any sort of transformation.

ENJOYMENT 3/10
The first episode displayed some promise but as the series progressed, the action and story development was limited to the first three episodes. Other characters entered into the mix that did nothing in advancing the plot but only served to kill a couple of episodes. The series lacked depth, a really good story and proper character development as well as proper closure.

OVERALL 3/10
This series did not have much going for it, only the brilliant artwork. The story was lost before it was ever found and the characters did not progress either. This series would have worked if they had stuck to the original story which they had started with in the first episode but they went off track by introducing other characters whose presence did not serve any vital purpose in the anime. If you are looking for light entertainment with little or no type of brain activity, then this anime is for you but I would personally not recommend that you waste time with this one even though the animation is pretty nifty and the first episode provides the genjitsu for you to continue watching on further.

Skimming through anime series as I usually do to watch, I decided to watch this after reading the brief synopsis of it, not to mention that with a name like this, I thought it was going to be an excellent series. However, just as looks can be deceiving, the same can be applied to the names because although the name oozed awesomeness, the series itself was a total disappointment.

STORY 3/10
The story follows a young apathetic man named Akira who is blackmailed into participating into a tournament to defeat a drug lord and stop the spread of drugs in Toshima. There was no actual fighting in ... this tournament which was supposed to be a focal part of the anime thereby it defeated the entire purpose and was uninteresting and dull.

ART 8/10
The drawings were very detailed and the background animation was crisp and clean. The colours used depicted the mood of the anime, which was ominous and full of emptiness. The character movements were fluid and the camera angles and shots were picturesque. The costuming of the characters also reflected their personalities as well.

SOUND 9/10
The musical pieces in this anime were mostly rock but there were well placed in the scenes, which were a reflection of the action taking place at that moment. The opening song was not all that bad but the musical numbers within the anime itself were excellent. The voices of the characters were also very clear and audible.

CHARACTER 3/10
There was no significant development of any of the characters in this series. Shiki was an underutilised character although he had some excellent lines. Nevertheless, there were no noteworthy changes or effects in any of the characters from the beginning of the series till the end.

ENJOYMENT 4/10
At the start of the series, it displayed some potential as being a really good one but as it progressed, the realisation hit that that potential was just an illusion. There were moments that I wondered why was I still watching this anime and then it hit me. It was only because of Shiki and his awesome lines since there was no development of plot.

OVERALL 5/10
Honestly, I do not know if the writers believed that they were going to make it to twenty four episodes and hence did nothing to progress the nonexistent story since there were no fights in a tournament that was supposed to be about fighting. The best character in the series, Shiki, was not given enough screen time to display his skills which appeared to be colossal. Akira was just as weak as Keisuke because his skill level was as near to a rabbit compared with Shiki. This series was totally uninteresting and not worth wasting four hours of your life to watch even though Shiki’s appearances and lines is the only highlight of the entire series.

Being an adventurous anime watcher, I decided to embark on taking on anime that appeared to be interesting from reading a summary of it. At first I did not realize that it was an old anime but I decided not to let that deter me from giving it a go.

STORY - 5/10
The story begins with the discovery of the Solo ship and the giant mecha Ideon by the Logo Dau. At the same time this discovery was happening, the younger daughter of the most important person in the Buff Clan happens to crash on the same planet that the discovery is made. Fate is ... what pits her and Jordan Bes together supposedly in the hope of uniting the both clans. The Buff Clan is looking for the legendary Ide as well, which is said to possess limitless powers and they attack the Logo Dau when they realize that they have found it. It is during this raucous that the Logo Dau is forced to use the Solo Ship as well as fight using the Ideon which is how they referred to the giant mecha. From this point onwards, an endless battle begins between the Logo Dau and the Buff Clan, fighting to take control of the Ideon, which grew stronger with every battle fought, thereby causing all efforts made by the Buff Clan to obtain it futile.

ART – 5/10
Giving consideration to the time the anime was released, which was in 1981, for people of that time it would have been fantastic. But, given the time span and the quality of anime that is done now, it’s a little too grainy with not so much detailing given to characters and the setting of the anime. Nevertheless, the costumes of the Buff Clan were original and tastefully done.

SOUND – 3/10
The sound effects in this anime were pretty awful. It didn’t have much musical pieces and the audio was really bad in some episodes. There was even an episode where it appeared that there were other voices besides the anime characters that could be heard in the background, which killed it for me.

CHARACTER – 3/10
Wow. Where do I begin. Most of the characters in this anime were static throughout the course of the series. Yuuki Cosmo is the only memorable character in this series that happened to be a well rounded, well developed character. The main pilot of the Ideon, he displayed courage, spirit, a high level of maturity in such a short amount of time and the ability to make important battle decisions, make him stand out in the series as the most extraordinary character. Also, there were lots of characters who did not last even two episodes well until they died so it did not make much sense to even want to get acquainted with them.

ENJOYMENT - 4/10
With regards to my personal satisfaction in watching this anime, I struggled to get through it. At times it would be very engaging but then at times it became a bit repetitious because of the realization that the battles between the Buff Clan and the Logo Dau were pointless because no matter what tactics or measures the Buff Clan employed, they would never be able to defeat the Ideon simply because it was the source of limitless power and it got stronger and stronger with every battle fought. The ending was rushed and did not give any explanation about the people of the Sixth Civilization, who was the ones to create the Solo Ship and the Ideon, the purpose for which they did it, and it lacked any true closure.

OVERALL – 4/10
After listing everything above, I gave this anime a rating of 5 simply because I believe that the story did not develop at all. There were too many battles that did not make much sense. No explanation was given why the people of the Sixth Civilization created the Ideon and the Solo Ship; too many characters came and died almost instantaneously and the other characters that were involved in the anime could have been developed more.