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I started watching Arata Kangatari as soon as it began airing and being pretty interested in it, I also started reading manga. I am happy that this part of the show was totally along the manga storyline, which I find quite enjoyable. There are few bad parts of the series, but nothing extravagantly bad, I believe.

STORY: Story is pretty much cliche, which I find to be one of the "bad parts". It is a typical shounen "I wanna save the world" storyline, so nothing new. Some powers do seem refreshing and there is some character growth (I believe especially when it comes to Kannagi), ... but overall the idea is pretty much already used up in countless of similar shows which air every season. I do like the setting and the intersection of two worlds (even though this is deja vu also), so I can't say that I am a total hater of the storyline. It is not refreshing or innovative, but it is not boring either.

ART & SOUND: I gave high marks for both of these themes. Arata Kangatari has a typical bishounen art, I believe, so it isn't hard on the eyes. Body proportions, scenery, weapon and fight scenes are pretty much well done and manga is drawn nicely. It is not really Pikaso's artwork, but I don't find any great faults when it comes to art style. Sound is pretty good as well, imho. I really loved the opening scene (which is rare, I tend to skip them a lot).

CHARACTER: If I had to choose, I would say that characters are my favorite parts of this series. There are some really dull characters, but majority of them is quite enjoyable and easy to relate to (hence the mark 9, not 10). The dull characters are the main pair, Arata and Kadowaki. Arata does grow as the series progress and when he peels out of his whiny skin, he becomes interesting as well. Kadowaki, on the other hand, hasn't witnessed so much character growth so far. I have to bring to light Kannagi, Kugura and Yataka though, as they are really interesting in my opinion. Especially Kugura, whose story is seen in manga, because he depicts real problems that everyday human can relate to, insecurities and complexes. Another very interesting part when it comes to characters is Kannagi-Yataka relationship, as it is comedic and encouraging in the same time.

ENJOYMENT: When it comes to enjoyment, I gave it 8/10. The mark is pretty high, mostly because Arata Kangatari can get your adrenaline high in some moments and it is quite enjoyable. On the other hand, there is nothing new, therefore it didn't receive 9 or 10. Storyline can become repetitive and main ideas fall into the cliche category, which can become nerve wrecking sometimes. But as the series progress, you can really get to like characters and forgive most of the storyline faults for both storylines (Earth and Amawakuni).