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"I used to be an adventurer like you, then I took an arrow in the knee."

While searching for a new show to pick-up on MAL, I happened to stumble on to Log Horizon. Now I'm not one who randomly watches shows; I watch the same types, genres, etc. As soon as I read the description for Log Horizon, I thought to myself, it's just a copy of Sword Art Online. But even if it was, the show did have high scores and that definitely piqued my interest. I also took the time to read yaHzee's review ... of the show which made me decide to invest time in this series. And boy, did I enjoy it.

The story is great. It never felt rushed; just everything went nicely with the flow. There was no major drama or plot point that I felt was drawn out too long. Each little scenario built upon another to keep the story going. Be warned, there is a lot of politics in this show. Luckily for the good guys, they are able to solve it. Now if you like the idea where the main characters agonize over decisions and consequences, this may not work out for you. I don't mean to say they don't struggle with problems, but they sure do solve them quickly. In any case, I didn't complain about that as I'm not into plot points that tend to drag on.

Art and sound were good as well. The animation is good and clean and the locations and towns were beautiful. I had no complaints with the music; actually, I don't remember any music from any particular scene which stood out but I certainly didn't hate it. As for the intro and ending songs, they are definitely catchy if you give them a try.

Now let's talk about characters. This can sink a show or make it extremely enjoyable. I love that MAL lets you favorite characters you like; although, I would really like it if you can make a list of characters you hate. The nice thing was there really weren't any characters in the show that I hated. And this then brings us to our main character, Shiroe. To be honest, I really enjoy watching shoujo anime. And one of the biggest reasons is that the guys in shoujo anime aren't complete douches. Unfortunately, shounen anime are crowded with wimpy losers who believe in the power of friendship. I have really come to hate that. But Shiroe is different. He is intelligent and is the strategist in the show. He isn't one to charge in recklessly and does think through the problems the heroes come across. He is definitely in my list of great anime male characters. The other characters were great as well and I really enjoyed the interactions that occurred among them, especially when they strategize their next move. Other characters seemed unremarkable but did grow on you eventually, like the other guild masters who had their own roles to play. A win in my opinion.

And finally, the enjoyment. I've never played an MMORPG so I don't understand all of it. But I have played my fair share of RPGs at one time or another and yes, I am a Skyrim fanboy. One of the things that I loved in SAO was that when the boss fights would commence, everyone would fight together. But this wasn't often. In Log Horizon, it's all about the party and the fights are in groups. Heck, they even make an army and go all out on the enemy forces. This really made me want to play Log Horizon and get stuck in that world. The medieval world and it's game setting combined with the ingenuity of the modern man makes for some great ideas which this show is full of. I heartily recommend it.

Wow, where to begin? I watched this show as it was recommended by a friend as a horror show but this was too extreme. I usually tend to agree with the reviews of my peers on MAL but in this case I did not. I'm not going to spoil it for you but I must warn you of the EXTREME GORE this show is chock full of. It also has some well known voice actors that I like so that lulled me into a false sense of security. In my opinion, this show is extremely depraved. Don't know who ... came up with it but this has to be one of the most disturbing things I've ever seen. I don't recommend it and I'm going to do everything I possibly can to forget it. Think happy thoughts, think happy thoughts, think happy thoughts.

After finishing Kaichou wa Maid-sama and Special A, I was looking for another show that would give me the same flavor. I saw Skip Beat! in the list of recommendations so I thought to try it. Then I read the synopsis and kind of put it on the back-burner. The concept of a girl struggling for revenge and all that drama kind of switched off my interest. Yes, I passed judgement on this show prematurely. My mistake, because this show just blew me away. It was exactly what I was looking for and then some.

The story was great. ... The show does have drama, but the comedy does balance it out. As for the art, it wasn't anything outstanding but I'm not complaining. I never felt turned off by it and the characters designs were fine by me. Same thing with the sound. The music was okay and nothing really grabbed me but it wasn't bad. But what really makes this show great is the characters. Hey, it's shoujo, and the characters are predictable. You have the pretty boys, the plain girl, the rivals and what not. But the voice acting, especially for the main character, was fantastic. I was rooting for Kyoko from episode 1. She is such a likeable character that, in a way, was a breath of fresh air to me. I had just finished Maburaho and the hero in that show annoyed me to no end. But Kyoko on other hand, wasn't so static. She is a good girl but wants revenge. And that vengeful streak often rears up unexpectedly, that it had me laughing. There are tense moments in the show that build up and this kept me hooked, so that I watched episode after episode just to find out what happened next. The ending though, was a bit of a let down. I wanted more; some kind of closure to this wild ride but it just didn't properly appear to me. Nevertheless, all that led up to the ending was so enjoyable that I can definitely overlook the ending.

I don't buy a lot of anime. Why? Cause I'm a guy and I recently got married. I always wonder what my wife would think if she found out that I was watching all these girly shows. But this show is just too good that I'm going to buy it. Then I'll slip it in the DVD player and win her over to my side. Or...would it be that I've gone over to her side? Yup, I'll have to pick up a manly show as well just to even it out.

I don't have the time to write a paper on this show but I'll write what I can. Usually I procrastinate on doing this as I've noticed a lot of reviews are judged very harshly on MAL. With that being said, I'll say that this show really surprised me to point that I feel compelled to write a review. Now I'm a guy who enjoys anime but with a tad bit of romance thrown in. Been watching that a lot lately and I was reading the recommendations of others for another show when I came upon this gem. The story was ... great with good pacing; it didn't feel rushed but had a good gradual flow. The art quality isn't that great compared to others but I have no complaints. The sound was also okay, no songs that really stuck with me but the intro might be growing on me. The characters were great also, no wimpy men here. And I loved the heroine, strong yet insecure with an innocent charm. Overall I really enjoyed watching this show; I realized I had a dumb smile on my face every episode.

Being a guy, I'm reluctant to head into the territory of shojou anime as it is for gggiiirrrlllsss. But if more shojou are like this, then I'll definitely give them a try. Sick of the wimpy men on the boys side anyway and I think a lot of guys would agree with me. Now if you liked my review, please rate up. If you didn't, kiss my...wait, that would be just gay.

Finally, a romantic comedy done right. Even though I'm a guy, I have seen many romantic animes and this is probably one of the best. This is one of those feel good stories that leaves you with a smile upon your face. There is nothing new here or out of the ordinary but the ending is highly satisfying. So many animes start out strong but in the end they fizzle out. Luckily, this isn't one of them. The comedy is light without going over the top and the music is rather gentle, no pop stuff here. Give it a try, you'll love it. (You can ... also cry if you want to.)