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I have tried to be as fair as possible when reviewing this anime. I have rated it lowly because of the lack of story and originality to the anime and although I personally did not enjoy it I have made some recommendations to animes of a similar genre which I think are more enjoyable to watch.

Story: There is no use in dressing this up as anything other than what it is, Boku no Pico is shota porn so if that's what you're into then this one is for you. There's no real story to it, there are a couple of very short ... scenes to string together the sex scenes but thats about it. If you're looking for something with substance this one is probably not for you & as a yaoi fan you might be happier with something like Sensitive Pornograph as there's more story in there to flesh out the sex scenes.

Art & Sound: There's nothing really wrong with these, it's been animated well so I wouldn't say anything against it on that front.

Character: It's too short to do any development, so the characters are fairly bland. There's no definitive personally traits to them, quite simply it's two little boys who 'experiment' with one another.

Overall enjoyment: Personally speaking, I am not a shota fan. I like yaoi but watching this made me feel dirty on the inside. There are things out there which are more disturbing than this, but because it had no real story to it, it just felt like a flagrant excuse for porn. What I would say is that if you're a yaoi fan who wants to see some simple sex scenes with a little story, then try Sensitive Pornograph instead. If you like younger boys but want something with more story than this has to offer, I'd suggest Enzai which I actually found quite enjoyable to watch.

I just want to open this one by saying I am completely biased. I was ADDICTED to MCoG when I was a kid and as soon as it came out on DVD I bought the boxset and watched every episode back to back. (Severely annoying several of my friends in the process.)

If you didn't catch this one back in the 80's then it might not hold the same magical charm for you that it holds for a lot of 80's kids, however with a remake on the horizon I think its long over due for a comeback. I will admit here and ... now that I have never watched the Japanese language version, so I can't speak for that one but I think MCoG still has it's place in the world.

The series has one long running story arc so it's not really possible to watch it out of order if you are completely unfamiliar with it. However, for a kids show the story arc is well developed and much more than you would expect.

The show was an early experiment in 'edutainment' each episode ended with the voice over guy giving you some interesting facts about south america or whatever the theme of the episode was. I almost enjoyed those bits as much as the main show itself.

The voice acting wasn't brilliant on the part of the kids, but since they were actually voiced by children I think we can forgive it of them.

I would recommend this show to anyone who wants to watch some good old fashioned adventure, anyone who likes long story arcs or anyone who just fancies watching it. It's a great piece of nostalgia & with a remake right around the corner its always good to see where things started.

I'll end this review here before I start signing the theme tune...

As anime's go this one is never going to go down in history as the greatest love story ever told. Nor is it going to be notorious for breaking tabboo's or showing some shockingly graphic scenes.

That doesn't mean to say though that you won't enjoy watching it anyway. If you're into yaoi, Ikoku Irokoi Romantan is a nice, short OVA that can provide you with a little boy love fix.

The story isn't groundbreaking but it's enjoyable to watch, the characters are a little bit predictable but I couldn't help but like them anyway. There are some quite unrealistic ... scenes in it which might leave you thinking; Oh that would never happen!

But the point of this anime isn't to bring shocking realism to a gay love story. The point is that it's a fantasy. There are a couple of hot scenes if you're into your boy smut & there are some quite funny moments as well as a little action thrown in for good measure.

I don't think non-yaoi fans would like it all that much but for anyone who wants to watch themselves a non-heavy and fun boy-love anime, then give Ikoku Irokoi Romantan a go.

My very first anime experience, (aside from mass market dubbed kids cartoons in the 80's) was the Devilman OVAs; The Birth & Demon Bird. I have never fallen out of love with these & as of this writing, they remain at the top of my favourites list.

When I found out about Amon I knew I had to watch it. As a pre-existing fan of the series I knew the characters & backgrounds but if you haven't seen the OVA's there's very little chance you're going to fully understand what's happening.

The plot is quite simple, however its almost completely buried beneath the ... extreme violence & questions. i.e Who the hell is that? What's exactly is happening here? & What the hell? - Where all questions I repeatedly asked myself throughout the watching.

I'm quite desensitised to animated violence but there are several scenes which made me think; ok, that's going way too far.

The art & sound I can't really fault as there's nothing wrong with them and as long as you've have seen the OVA's you know who the characters are (well most of them) but there has been an obvious passage of time between installments and there is little explanation given to who new characters are & what they're doing there.

I was disappointed that I couldn't enjoy this as much as I wanted to. It feels as though it was only half way done when it finished & that there was supposed to be another installment.

I would not recommend this OVA if you haven't seen the originals. If you are already a Devilman fan then you might enjoy this as a small side piece to the overall saga but you also might find yourself annoyed at the almost lack of respect shown to the characters.

I have just a few seconds ago finished watching Ai no Kusabi, but I think I will remain breathless for quite a while.

I was expecting a not too heavy yaoi story involving hot boys in chains, but I got so much more. The story is pretty intense to sit through but its worth it. It has characters whom you actually feel for and a story that fits the old adage of leaving you wanting more.

By the end I was quite taken aback at how good the story was, don't mistake it for a shallow or superficial anime, at its core this ... is one of the best love stories I've ever seen. Regardless of gender, genre, live action/animation, the story has enough integrity to hold its own as a love story.

The art is very earlier nineties style so its a bit nostalgic but if thats not your thing, try to see past it for the sake of the story.

It's a little slow starting but give it a chance, there are some very hot scenes in this short anime & I'd recommend it to anyone who's willing to watch it.

I am now looking forward to seeing the remake when it comes out.