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I try keep my reviews short & sweet without spoilers. This is for anyone on the fence as to whether or not to watch this show. So the question you're probably asking is; is this show worth my time? The answer being; fans of the romance, drama and/or great animation will definitely find their time well spent on this anime. Below I will expand on my thoughts as to why I believe so.

Story & Character (7)

"Why am I crying?"

Taki & Mitsuha questioned themselves. A mutual feeling I often asked myself during the show as well. The genius that is Makota Shinkai is brought to the ... table once again, and in a collaboration of amazing art, sound & story we are lead on a roller coaster ride of emotions. I felt movies always suffered through a lack of character development, or were too short for us to actually feel a connection with its characters, but Kimi No Na Wa proves me wrong.

I felt the story, though generic in the whole body swap freaky friday occurrence, there is a slight twist in the fact nobody remembers what they did in the body they've swapped into. Which leads to a few awkward yet hilarious moments as well as the characters figuring out how to eventually communicate with each other upon swapping, I felt this was well paced and not rushed. Kimi No Na Wa does well to realize it is a movie with limited time, and doesn't shift its focus off Taki or Mitsuha, though additional characters are introduced, Kimi No Na Wa doesn't try to do too much and make a mess of things. Something I've often witnessed in movies without a series.

One thing I really want to mention is if you ever felt frustrated with a male MC not taking the reins, or being too shy to do anything to the babes you see in every anime you tend to watch. Do not fear, because Taki does everything any young man would do upon swapping into a woman's body. I salute him and his teenage hormones.

Art & Sound (9)

I will touch on this only briefly, as I believe the animation in this was unreal. I watched it on Blu-Ray and paid for it on amazon. It would definitely be something I'd show someone who was trying to get into anime just to showcase how eye-catching anime can be when done right. As for sounds, I felt the voice acting was great and felt it was never out of place nor cheesy. One thing I cannot stand is forced lines or characters just saying each others names over and over again while cueing the dramatic music. That does just not do it for me, I'm glad Kimi No Na Wa doesn't take this route but instead draws on the relativity of how we instead are always looking for someone, someone we feel who is out there, we are fated to meet, but just haven't met yet. Feelings of hope to eventually meet this person and the emptiness of still being alone intertwined into one big roller coaster ride which feels purposely crafted by Shinkai Makoto to tug on the heart strings of the audience who might've once felt the pain of lost love.

Overall (8) -

Overall, an enjoyable experience I would recommend to anyone who is a fan of the genre. Even if you aren't I would still say give this movie a shot. Tip-Top animation complimented by great voice acting and music, the heartwarming story of Kimi No na Wa will have you laughing in your seat and without revealing too much possibly shedding a tear at the frustration of how sometimes communication gets lost or confused, and we never get to really say the things we want to say. So we just need to take that step back and ask the questions which are important. I loved this movie and hope you will too. Thanks for reading.

"If you put your hopes in anything, they will be betrayed. Promises will go unfulfilled and faith will let you down"

Story & Art (7)

Looking at several reviews, I think rating this a 1 is either reaching for attention or just extreme bias. For lovers of the post-apocalyptic genre, it is likely you will thoroughly enjoy this anime up until about halfway whereby the anime rapidly shifts its focus to the characters as opposed to the world surrounding them. I felt the last episodes were a bit of a push as I felt the dilemmas were often forced and as much as the characters were interesting ... at times, I wanted to learn more about the world and how it came to be that way. The art style was nothing special, but sort of reminded me of Kill La Kill, it felt refreshing but it was not groundbreaking to the point I felt it affected the story in any positive or negative way.


I can't help but feel the above quote only foreshadows what could've otherwise been a great anime. Like most hyped anime, (looking at you SAO) they tend to start off with strong and present themselves as a possible gem in the genre, but as the anime progresses we resort to Mommy & Daddy filler nonsense and in this case it's hearing the word Darling more times than you'd care to. Take a shot for every time you hear Darling or Hiro emotionally cry out Zero Two and make sure you have the ambulance standing by for alcohol poisoning.

Character & Sound (6)

In the latter half of the show, the focus goes from the world surrounding the characters to focusing more on the characters. I feel it does this well, with the exception of some forced scenes between Hiro & Zero Two I feel the struggle of understanding human emotion has some relativity to it. Darling in the FranXX tries to tug on the heart strings of the audience, as to how well it does it, is down to the individual watching more than anything. Feelings of unrequited love, confusion and jealousy and emotions often shared by everyone going through life are highlighted in this show by characters not fully understanding what is happening to them. I felt the voice acting was nothing special, but it wasn't bad either. I felt every character did well to represent their current emotions or show their passion in combat. I did want to punch Hiro in the face a few times though. But that's just me.

Enjoyment - (7)

Overall, I enjoyed this show. For lovers of the post-apocalptic genre I would definitely recommend giving this a shot. You might feel frustrated when the focus shifts from the world to the characters, but the anime does a good enough job of developing these characters prior for us to care enough about them to carry on watching up until the end to see ultimately what happens. I give this a strong 7. Thanks for reading my review.

Story & Art -

The amount of times I had to close this book based off the "Oh hell no reactions" before turning over to the next page was more than once. Ibitsu does very well in building tension ultimately resulting in a climax of horror which is often unexpected it its delivery. We knows its coming, its just we don't know the method in which it will happen. To me, I found this refreshing and exciting. Thus supplementing the thrill and horror this story gives us as the reader. Though the art style might come across simplistic for some, I never found myself feeling this ... way in scenes of pure horror which did very well to express the evil that is Ibitsu.

Character & Enjoyment -

As you'd expect, horror usually suffers from a lack of character development. However due to the generic brother sister going to school scenario its not like we aren't able to read between the lines and find some sort of relativity to the characters which are being introduced in this story that we see throughout anime and manga. This is just your everyday boy who goes to school who is now affected by this supernatural being. Though cliche in a sense, it does not take away from the contrast of how a normal life is being now plunged into the supernatural.

Overall -

Unlike most horrors, I never found myself thinking there was forced stupidity to land these characters into their dire predicaments except for one scene but I shall not spoil. I found myself often feeling helpless alongside the characters, which only piqued my enjoyment of this story. I highly recommend Ibitsu to anyone who enjoys the horror genre. It is definitely worth your time for lovers of the genre and am likely to read it again to see if there is anything I missed. Thanks for reading my review.

Underrated, Unpredictable and Unfortunate.

There are the 3 words that come to mind when watching Brynhildr in the Darkness, Below I will explain my thoughts, opinions and why I think Brynhildr is an anime worth your time. This review will contain as little spoilers as possible. First off, this show is not Elfen Lied. For the sake of being fair, and not setting a bar of expectation I will not be comparing the two.

Expectations have caused this anime to be somewhat underrated and really; a hidden gem. The dark story is a big contrast to harem Murakami shares with his group of female companions known ... as ‘Witches’. The only drawback to being surrounded by these lovely ladies is that for whatever reason, they were brought back from the brink of death now with unique powers. The trade-off is, they must take a pill to ward off the death inside them, otherwise they will melt and die in the most grotesque why you can imagine.

In a way the shenanigans seen in your everyday generic harem/ecchi anime is comic relief from the evil been enacted upon the witches who Murakami, a normal highschool student has befriended. Though this anime can be looked at as a harem and ecchi I felt they were simply a distraction to the main draw of Brynhildr in the Darkness, which is the story. I cannot help but feel everytime the story starts to go well, and the characters are finally enjoying themselves we are thrown often back into the harsh reality of the witches’ lives that Murakami is wrapped up in. Due to the unpredictability we are often left feeling uneasy and how these witches lives’ hang by a thread, or should I say a pill! Due to this, we take enjoyment in seeing them develop their bonds and in essence, having a break from the reality that haunts them.

It is unfortunate that we were only given 12 episodes, with such interesting characters and a story with so many characters involved in it I come away from finishing Brynhildr just wanting to know more about the characters in it! There are too many unanswered questions! Why were these innocent girls made witches? What is their backstory? How did they die in their previous lives? Who will Murakami choose as his woman? Will Kazumi get laid? Can we get to see these witches live out a daily life and make a total mess out of it? Much like the kick ass opening OST of this anime, which gives off this crazy mysterious aura and build up, there are so many things that are left a complete mystery. I shall now take to the manga and look for my answers.

In conclusion, this anime looks great, sounds great and has the potential to be great. I felt the voice acting (JAP) was well represented for each individual characters personality and the mood at the time. If you’re into Mystery anime, or into anime where innocent person gets pulled into a world unbeknown to him then you are definitely missing out. Thanks for reading!

Don't let appearances fool you on this one, you'll be missing out. Big time.

'm a guy and from the appearance of this show it should be the kind of thing that would be sheer torture to sit through. The box is very pink looking and it belongs to a sub-genre referred to as "Magical-Girls".

This show should be awful and un-watchable, the sort of thing a guy would run from watching.

Now the reality of this series is that is is genuinely AMAZING. Buy this series, do it now, you will not be sorry. To anyone that enjoys skilful story telling, gorgeous animation and wonderful music, you ... will love this. There is intelligence and depth to spare in it's characters and the themes explored here. Almost every episode comes with a "LOST" type twist/revelation, though unlike that live-action series when the twists and revelations come they are GENUINE and MEANINGFUL and actually have an emotional resonance with the viewer.

The last third of the series becomes awesomely cosmic and mind-bending and the manner in which the story is resolved both happy and bitter-sweet. When you watch the series through a second time (knowing the ending/outcome) you will notice numerous hints and touches layered into the narrative that you didn't catch the first time.

I would tell anyone to watch this ASAP, the only down-side to getting it is that you will no longer be able to knock "Magical-Girl" shows any more.

So here's another one of my short reviews. The animation in this production is fantastic, bright vivid colours that catch your eye from the very start. If you liked Sword Art Online, you'll probably like this. People who hated SAO, I'd recommend to stay away. The main character is extremely OP and is incapable of dying. Besides that, I find the characters in this anime somewhat enjoyable, the story line seemed a bit clouded at first, however as the anime progressed I felt there was more momentum. Hopefully there will be a second season to elaborate on the gaps in the plot but in all ... honesty I was so caught up in the moment I didn't really care. If you take this anime for it's positives rather than it's negatives you'll find it's a pretty down right awesome experience.

Overall, this anime was enjoyable for me, I found myself watching several episodes before looking at my watch and realising it was 3AM. If you want to watch an anime that has to do with pretty girls, school life, magic and a pretty decent storyline without having boobs shoved in your face every 2nd episode. Then this is the one for you. If you're looking for something with an in depth storyline and plot twists.. then it really isn't. Unless they start revealing some of our answered questions in the 2nd season, I will wait with anticipation. Until then, this anime gets a thumbs up from me!

Here's my quick review of Psycho Pass.

Do you ever watch an anime and after the last episode is done you don't know what to do next with your life? Psycho Pass is one of those animes, so long story short, should you watch it? Yes. Most definitely YES.

To be honest it's been a while since an anime has roped me in enough to leave me with a uncontrollable urge to watch the next episode despite being 3am in the morning and having work the next day. Oh and you can quit comparing this to Death Note, besides both shows having anti-heroes, there is ... no similarity. Take Psycho Pass as it is and you'll be very impressed by the great storyline and several plot twists. The voice acting was great, I watched it in Sub however, the reason for this being is because there is a second season out and I didn't want to wait. There were times the voice acting was so good and so full of emotion I couldn't help but sympathise with the characters. Oh and speaking of the characters? Awesome. Granted there is a room for character development in some, however characters like Makishima Shogo leave an imprint in you even after the series. I would compare Makishima's genius, malice and performance close to the Joker in the Dark Knight. A puppet master to set the stage for anarchy. Brilliant. So in conclusion, in terms of enjoyment, this gets a massive thumbs up from me! I felt every episode contributed to the story, and if not the story, finding out more about the characters I was so eager to understand more. I bought the blu-ray edition for £40 and even though it was on the expensive side it was worth every buck. This get's a 9 from me.

I wanted something lighthearted to watch (storyline-wise) and I got what I wanted.

Granted, this story line doesn't have the most amazing story line, it's more like boobs, boobs, action, and then more boobs. So yes my fellow ecchi lovers if you are a bit of a pervert then you will be rewinding and re-watching some of the scenes in this anime over, and over, and over again. Sometimes I wonder if the director thought how far can I go until I make this a hentai? Anyway, like I said, the story isn't amazing.

Needless to say this anime starts off with a bang. All hell ... has broken loose and even though it's a bit odd how this whole thing started, we don't care because there's hot chicks running around and dudes bashing up zombies. The fight scenes were awesome, between the slow-motion, the awesome sound track and bouncy boobies it's no wonder 22 minutes per episode went by so fast.

In some places this anime made me laugh, and unexpectedly so. I cannot reveal as to which parts, but people who have already viewed this anime will know what I'm talking about. I loved the characters and in a way I'm kind of glad the MALE protagonist for this first time in an ecchi seemed to have made his mind up on which female he liked! And it was also finally a female character that I actually liked!

Overall, this series isn't something you'd watch for it's plot or deep storyline, i'm so sick of people reviewing this like "Yeah it's got zero plot" as if they were comparing it to something like Angel Beats or Another. (both great animes Go watch them by the way)

So if you want to see sexy chicks in skimpy clothing fighting off zombies and laugh at just the sheer ridiculousness of some of the generic (yet funny) characters in this anime. Then go and watch HSoTD.

Angel Beats is one of my favorites. There is a mixture of action, comedy, and a little bit of romance. It is absolutely hilarious as well absolutely heartbreaking, if you want your emotions to go on a roller coaster ride, then this is the anime for you.

This is more than just an anime to me, in a way it showed me how much I take the life I have for granted, I would next expect to cry over a "cartoon" as some people would label it, but I did. I literally could not help myself, from the beautiful animations, dialogue, and the ending. I am ... trying my best to write this review without spoiling anything. However, for such a short series, this anime hosts a huge story which keeps you guessing throughout. It is quite an abstract anime and kept me guessing as to whether or not it was actually the afterlife or just a PC game.

This anime intrigued me deeply, made me laugh, made me cry, and made me also realize I should try harder not to take the things I already have for granted.

I highly recommend watching this anime.