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Personally, I always enjoy reverse harem animes, and this one was no exception. Quite the opposite in fact, because KamiAso exceeded my expectations in so many ways I was pleasantly surprised, because although it's not evident in the first few episodes, it's a reverse harem anime with an actual plotline to it, and what's more, with each episode I found myself getting more and more hooked on it.

So first of all let's talk about this story, because seeing this kind of anime have a definitive plotline is actually rather rare, because if you look at others such as UtaPri or Starry Sky the links between ... each episode are either very very vague, or non-existent - of course we have things like Kiniro no Corda, but even then the plotline is still rather vague and only exists to facilitate the harem nature of the anime. At first, you think that 'oh this is just another otome game-based anime, it'll be the same as all the others' because you see how each episode looks at a different romantic interest... but that's not the case later on. After a bit it does change, and the characters are developed a lot more (which I will get on to). The ending was what really got to me, because I found myself crying at it! It really was a great ending, but so emotional, and the way I felt when this series ended is not something that happens often - I genuinely felt kinda depressed that it was over, because I had enjoyed it that much.

I actually kinda want to talk about the ending but I'll try my best not to put in any major spoilers:

To be honest I really did not see the ending coming, due to the way they had sort of focused on each of the characters at some point, I thought that the issue leading to the climax had been done with, but I was wrong. And that is something I actually liked, because it managed to catch me off guard and create one of the most epic battle scenes; it makes you feel so excited and emotional at the same time, it's brilliant.

Now moving on to characters. Usually these characters in this genre of anime are just your average stock characters - usually defined by hair colour. However although this may be the case at some times, it's not the case overall. Yes, each character's personality may be based on that of a stock character one finds in reverse harems, however they also have a lot more depth to them.

I'll explain what I mean with a couple of examples [there may be some very minor spoilers here, sorry!]

Firstly, we have Apollon. He's the Greek god of the sun: up beat, always happy, energetic type of character (think Ittoki Otoya or Hihara Kazuki - that type). But in actual fact, despite his overly cheery exterior, Apollon has his own issues and pain to deal with. When we finally see what has been weighing Apollon down, we are able to appreciate the fact that he isn't just your average overenthusiastic student council president; he uses this exterior to cover up and bury his true feelings and the ghosts of his past. In a way it does relate to a lot of people, people who try hard not to show how they feel because they don't want to worry others, or because they want to trick themselves into thinking they're okay. The fact that Apollon's character was one which explored these emotions is something that really did get me even further hooked on to this anime.

Secondly, let's take a look at Balder, because he is the other character I can look at in a lot of detail [of course I can talk about the others but that would take too long]. Balder is the Nordic god of light, and he has this ‘curse’ on him which draws people to him and keeps any kind of harm (including rain) away. At first, he seems to be the calm, kind, level-headed one... but then we find out that there is more to him than that - I won't say any more about that because I don't want to ruin the suspense when you watch it. I think his character just goes to show how no matter how nice people can seem on the surface and no matter how hard they try to brush off everything that bothers them, it all just piles up inside until you reach that limit. It just kind of goes to show how although you can keep trying to fake a smile, eventually if you keep it all bottled up you will end up doing things you regret.

Now, as well the story and the characters [which are the most important things to judge an anime by] the animation was really good, all the characters looked great - and yes, by that I do mean the males, despite being animated, were rather attractive - and the music was really good too.

Overall, I have to say this is the best reverse harem I have seen to date - and even if reverse harem isn't your thing, I recommend KamiAso just because of how good the story and character development is.

I think that there's something about Sugar Sugar Rune which both makes you think, keeps you hooked, and let's you enjoy the show all at once.

Now, at first I thought this would just be an anime I wouldn't get too hooked on and that I could watch maybe 2 episodes a week, but boy was I wrong there - I got so hooked that I finished all 51 episodes in about 3 days!

The animation, I have to say, could have been a lot better - one of the reasons I had been a bit reluctant to watch it at first was because the animation didn't ... particularly appeal to me, but once I got used to it after a few episodes I began to appreciate the story for what it was.

Chocolat is an extremely extroverted, loud, cheery girl who isn't afraid to stand up for what she believes in. Although this can get kind of annoying sometimes I feel like she really did have the necessary qualities to become the hero. Vanilla is the opposite of Chocolat in terms of personality; she is much more introverted, quiet and, in my opinion, a lot kinder and has a lot more awareness for other people's feelings, and that's one of the reasons I quite liked Vanilla.

Now if we take a deeper look into both the characters and the story, I find that there is a lot more to be gained from this anime than first meets the eye. Although it's a shoujo anime, I find that the contest between Chocolat and Vanilla to collect the hearts of boys, not to mention all the other witches and wizards who are there also collecting hearts, can have some slightly darker interpretations. The fact that they are able to manpulate the feelings of these humans just for their own personal gain seems kind of sinister and cruel in its own way, because emotions are not there to be manipulated like that and then taken away - I don't know if I'm able to explain it correctly but to me it just seemed immoral in a way because they make people fall in love with them and then take that feeling away from them.

For a cynic like me that also exposes one of the fatal flaws of human nature, and that is how easily people can let their emotions get manipulated like that in the face of a pretty girl/boy. Yet another thing that I feel this anime has exposed is how people take things at face value without looking any deeper - what I mean to say is that the way they gain these hearts is through appearance only and not by their true nature. Although there are occurances when it is their true selves able to get a heart, the majority of the time they will put on some form of act in order to make these hearts come out, which is why those who come to the human world become idols of some sort so that they are in the spotlight. I find this to be rather annoying, because the idea of falling for someone based on appearance makes no sense [actually the idea of falling for someone itself makes no sense but that's a different discussion].

[A few spoilers in the next paragraph - just a warning]

Now if we look at Vanilla's character a bit more, I think she sort of shows how if you're someone who is always too shy to talk about your own feelings, it can eat you up from the inside. I think that when her own heart turns black is a great way to show this, because she turns from being the sweetest person ever to one of the most cold hearted. It's sort of a warning in a way, for letting us know that we shouldn't keep our own emotions in and not talk about things because it can have consequences - and I don't mean consequences as in our heart turns black and we turn evil, I mean consequences as in emotional drainage and depression etc.

Chocolat is another character I feel can be analysed quite deeply too. She's someone who says everything on her mind, quite the opposite of Vanilla, and that's something I admire her for. However her ignorace at her surroundings, especially at the feelings of the people around her, did annoy me quite a bit, however I think it's because that sort of reminded me of myself that I still kept rooting for her. Her single mindedness to win, and her loyalty to her friends, as well as seeing how she descovered her own feelings just makes you identify with her no matter who you are really.

The fact that this anime gave me so much out of it, you know after I got past the disappointing animation quality, says quite a lot. There aren't many animes, let alone Shoujo animes, which let you explore the characters so much and see them properly on a deeper level.

Fairy Tail will forever be one of my most favourite animes of all time.

In the Kingdom of Fiore we have our beloved Fairy Tail filled with crazy mages doing crazy things in their tavern-like guild. Everything about this anime appealed to me - the story, the characters, the music (enough so that I got all 4 OSTs), the art.

From the very first episode in which Natsu and Lucy meet and kick ass together I fell in love with this anime and came to know of the genius that is Mashima Hiro-sama. The thing about Fairy Tail is that it doesn't just have one main character ... - okay so Lucy and Natsu do have slightly more prominence but there is a focus on the other main members of the guild too, such as Erza, Gray, Wendy etc.

Another thing which really gets you into this anime is all the ships - yeah so you find shipping everywhere, but in Fairy Tail there are just some ships which you NEED in your life, my personal OTP being GaLe. I think it just gives you more of an enjoyment as a whole with the anime because you sort of get involved a bit more.

The way the guild members all stick together and back each other up shows the true power of friends (or nakama if you will) and it can sometimes remind you that you yourself are not alone. There is a lot more to Fairy Tail than just a world of magic filled with insane mages - it shows you how in life there's nothing you can't accomplish if you set your mind to it. This much evident in the character of Natsu himself because I have never seen a character who is a thick skulled, stubborn and insanely kickass as Natsu before.

The way this anime can keep you hooked on for 175 episodes (and more now the new season has started) says quite a lot because with each arc it just gets better and the story has so many directions in which it can go you will definitely get caught off guard!

It's true that Shugo Chara is your average Shojou anime with it's group of child heroes and their transformations as well as some romance added into the mix... but Shugo Chara was the first anime series I ever watched and the feeling I got from it was different to other Shojou animes... I don't know how to explain it, but watching Shugo Chara reminded me how it felt to hope, how it felt to try and enjoy life.

The first thing I really liked about the show was Amu herself - she's a 10 year old with sass and I really liked that. I mean ... okay, when she immediately fell for Tadase I was kinda annoyed but then I remembered that she was only 10. That's a thing about this show - you forget that they're just elementary school kids. Amu is actually really mature for her age and that's why I sort of looked up to her in a sense, despite me being 7 years older than her, because of the way she tries her hardest in life, how she gets along with her friends and family, how she goes through everything.

The second thing I really liked about the show was Ikuto. Tsukiyomi Ikuto was definitely my first anime crush - I shipped him and Amu from the first episode! As well as the Amuto shipping feels, however, Ikuto's character has quite a lot of depth, especially considering the fact that this is a Shojou anime aimed at a younger demographic, and it's because of him I think that I was able to enjoy this anime so much. The way he took the burden of everything on himself, the way he felt trapped by Easter... it just helped me identify with him and the way he and Amu interacted just put a smile on my face.

The Chara's themselves were another thing which I really liked about the show - so it seems to be a sort of recurring Shojou theme to have little mascot-type characters but the Charas are just... I don't know how to describe it but personally I was able to identify with both Yoru and Miki in a way and I have no idea why! The fact that the Charas are born through a person's desire to change themselves is actually a rather brilliant idea, because I think it sort of shows how if you have that wanting to change and better yourself within you, you'll be able to.

It's an anime which gives you hope and puts a smile on your face while telling you that you can change if you really want to, that the world has a happier side to it. That's why it's always going to be one of my favourite animes.

AnoHana was the anime which made me smile, laugh, think, cry, and appreciate life.

The story itself is about the Super Peace Busters who were a group of friends in the past, but they went their seperate ways after Menma died. Now Jintan is a slacker who refuses to go to school, Anaru goes to Jinta's school and is rather popular, Tsuruko and Yukiatsu are in a private school and don't really talk to the others, and Poppo is travelling around to different places, while Menma's ghost suddenly appears around Jinta.

The only other anime which has made me feel the same way as AnoHana is probably ... Angel Beats because of the way that also looks at life. At first, it makes you smile and you enjoy it, and at the end it makes you cry so much and you still enjoy it fully.

The way Menma came back and brought all her friends together was, for lack of a better word, kinda beautiful... it gave me hope to see how friends who had drifted back could come together again and be as close as they had before. It shows the problems within friendships, the way they argue, the way they can betray, as well as the way they can reconcile, the way they can support each other...

It's also quite nostalgic in the sense that it brings you back to the days when you were maybe about 8-10 years old and you found the world just fascinating, when you wanted to climb trees and ride bikes and run around all day (okay so we still like doing that stuff but it was different back then). It reminds you of the times when you were a child who wanted to be an adventurer, an explorer, a traveler, an astronaut... it brings you back to your childhood dreams and hopes and outlooks on life.

If I had to describe this anime in one word it would be beautiful. In all honesty, I think everyone should watch this anime because it really is beautiful, not just because of it's amazing animation but because it lets you appreciate life for what it's worth. Personally, I think Menma's messages at the end especially, it made me appreciate my friends more than I already did, it let me see the beauty surrounding them all. I guess it sort of helped change my outlook on some things... it made me realise what some things are worth...

So if you're looking for an anime that will change your life, AnoHana is what you need.