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Love Live! Superstar!! is the fourth entry in the Love Live franchise, and as such, I was expecting that they might have started to run out of ideas. Luckily, that turned out not to be the case. This is the first Love Live! series to get its main run as a prime time broadcast, and I really felt all the special care and little details that went into making this a success. While Love Live! has always been fairly solid, Superstar not only lives up to the standard, but perhaps even surpasses its predecessors.

Even though it is part of a franchise, it is worth mentioning ... that it's not necessary to have seen or finished any other Love Live! series to enjoy this one, as the setting is original. If you have seen any of the others the premise is more or less the same, but with a smaller main cast, prettier visuals, and it takes a more wholesome approach with less of the fanservicey humour.

I couldn't talk about this series without first mentioning the music, and it is both emotional and catchy. The opening (Start!! True Dreams) and ending (Miraiwa kaze no youni) themes are both instantly memorable, but the insert songs for the live performances are what really got my tears flowing. The visuals for the live performances are incredible too. Both the stages and outfits are cute with a lot of little details you'll need to pause to notice, the camera effects are magical, and they're all animated in a higher frame rate, which really brings the dancing to life.

And regarding visuals, the characters are cute and expressive and really captured my heart, but one other thing that really stood out was the highly detailed backgrounds. The character designs are lovely as always, but the backgrounds here take it further and really bring the places to life. This is the sort of series for which I love posting screencaps, just to show how charming it is.

As with other Love Live! series, the story revolves around a "school idol" club at a high school, but without giving too much away, the thematic focus of Superstar is confronting anxieties. As someone who has often felt anxious, this resonated with me deeply and made me feel encouraged to do my best. Nothing comes to our main characters easily, which makes it all the more satisfying when they do succeed, and when they fail but become even more determined to keep going.

Overall, this has been my favourite Love Live! series to date, and I recommend it very much whether you're a new fan or an old one.

The second half of Valvrave the Liberator is the depressing tale shattering every illusion set up by the first season. Here we the viewers are exposed to the worst aspects of human irrationality as the characters begin to realise that not everything they thought they knew and could believe in was true. And much more true to the real world than most stories, nothing ever quite goes as planned, but in the end, everyone's passion and devotion to their friends and their ideals drives the plot through its tragic twists.

Story -- While the basic story is ultimately interesting, eventually bringing together all of the elements ... that overthrew the old world order, its execution was too often atrocious. For example, the main Dorssian characters start to become more complicated than they originally seemed, but their motives are never revealed in a truly satisfying way. The true nature of the magius is also shown, but the ending leaves the problem of their existence unresolved in a major way that left me wanting more to this story.

Art/Sound -- Both are excellent. The music and voice acting captures the emotional aspects of the show, from the two sorrowful ending themes, "Soba ni Iruyo" and "Akai Memories wo Anata ni" to the feelings of desperation and vulnerability given to Shoko Sashinami by voice actress Masami Seto and the despair of L-Elf after losing his raison d'etre captured by voice actor Ryohei Kimura. Once again the character and machine designs are beautiful, with good quality animation.

Characters -- Some of the characters, such as Shoko, L-Elf -- and surprisingly, Marie -- get decent development, but there are some like Liselotte, Q-Vier and Yamada who remain something of a mystery to the very end. And then there are those like Haruto's father, who is maddeningly absurd in his complete disregard for social conventions -- a recurring problem with this series, when the characters are simply ... off, with nothing in particular behind it.

Overall, Valvrave was quite enjoyable, though the ending seemed sudden and rushed, and left many questions unanswered, much like the first season of Code Geass. However, this series nevertheless was definitely an exciting and emotional watch, and I think it shines through despite its shortcomings.

The first half of Kakumeiki Valvrave (Revolutionary Machine Valvrave), subtitled Valvrave the Liberator, functions primarily as a setup arc to introduce its large cast of characters, plus several giant robots. Rather than being "the system that exposes the world", this first season instead seems to demonstrate what happens when teenage fantasies go horribly wrong.

Set in a high school -- yes, it's one of these shows -- on a space colony in Earth orbit, the mostly adolescent characters find their world turned upside down when the love child of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, Dorssia, invades their country JIOR, which being based on perceptions ... of today's Japan, is run by pusillanimous wimps who are determined not to fight back. However, they have a secret ultimate weapon underneath the school, the Valvrave, which the otherwise passive Haruto Tokishima is the first of several students to take over and fight back against the Dorssian onslaught. As you might guess, the story has a rather camp feel to it, and sometimes goes into weird slice of life territory, reminiscent of screenwriter Ichiro Okouchi's previous work Code Geass. And similarly, it does take some rather dark turns later on, and has its unexpected moments. It's not brilliant, but it's captivating, to say the least. A warning for some people: there is a mostly off-screen rape, as well as some gore in this series.

Characters are, well -- if you've seen other anime series, you probably know these characters, since they mostly follow established archetypes. And with so many of them vying for screen time, their backgrounds aren't explored much during this first season, though some complexity is hinted at. I found myself developing favourites, and loving to hate some of the others.

The art is fantastic, with character designs by D.Gray-man creator Katsura Hoshino, and cool mechanical designs for each of the robots. The attention to little details in many scenes, the crisp and clear animation, and exciting action sequences make this show a pleasure to watch.

Sound is excellent as well, with great voice acting performances from Yuichi Nakamura (Yamada "Thunder" Raizou), giving the character a sense of badassery; Aoi Yuuki (Akira), giving a true sense of her character's crippling anxiety; and Daisuke Ono (Cain), capturing the evil menace of this character. The music is great, too, with the first ending theme, "Boku ja nai" by Angela, as a ear worm that left me feeling especially emotional after the show, along with the exciting opening theme "Preserved Roses", the haunting second ending theme "Soba ni Iruyo", and great background music during some of the darker sequences.

Overall, while the story feels a bit like a slow start of something potentially great, the first half of Kakumeiki Valvrave has still been for me the most enjoyable anime of the Spring 2013 season. Even though some of the lines are often silly or melodramatic, making this show a bit of a guilty pleasure to talk about, it drew me in and became the one anime I was certain not to miss each and every week.

Tamako Market could best be described as like watching a 5 hour long advert for mochi. The shallow story never really allowed me to feel a connection with any of the characters, but was sure to tell us that mochi is, in fact, quite delicious, and something about the power of friendship and family. Special attention to Japanese culture is also given, through the introduction of foreigners who, despite having perfect (and never explained) Japanese language ability, are completely oblivious to aspects of life in Japan.

Character design is by Yukiko Horiguchi of Lucky Star and K-On! fame -- in fact, the characters look almost ... identical to those from K-On!, with the main character Tamako appearing deceptively like K-On's Mio with twin tails. And indeed, this is yet another installment of cute girls doing cute things. However, unlike K-On!, Tamako Market lacks any of the charm of similar shows, and is only memorable for a handful of things: an obnoxious talking bird who apparently is trying to be the second coming of Casanova, a beautiful florist voiced by Daisuke Ono, and -- oh yes, not least of all -- mochi and more mochi. It's mildly amusing, but don't expect too much.

Most of the character voices are bland, with a few exceptions, and the opening theme is utterly forgettable or even slightly annoying. In contrast to the dull sound, however, the artwork is beautiful -- one of the few redeeming aspects of this series.

I can't say I hated Tamako Market. It's pretty, occasionally funny, and depicts idealised life in a small shopping district with a bit of surrealism thrown in. But it felt like a lot of time to spend watching something that never managed to rise above mediocre.

Unlike many anime comedy series that try to be funny with randomness but come across mostly as weird, SoreMachi is the type that leaves you snorting juice up your nose laughing at the absurdity of it all. Behold, the anime equivalent of eating pure sugar, in all its hyperactive wonder!

Each episode consists of sketches about main character Arashiyama Hotori, a clumsy and completely clueless employee of a poorly-run "maid cafe" who loves mystery stories and tries (not always so successfully) to act as a detective, and her equally strange friends and acquaintances. The mood is set by silly rants by the narrator on some tangential ... topic at the beginning and end of the episodes. The stories themselves are mundane and aren't particularly memorable, even though they are often outlandish and deal with the paranormal, with the exception of the final episode, which is almost a little too profound and out of character for this series. But it is the insane antics of the characters have kept this series alive in my memory.

I enjoyed the art design, but the quality of the animation left a bit to be desired. Actually, a lot. It's as if they weren't even trying very hard. However, it is Shaft, though, so expect high levels of derp. Still, the expressions are priceless.

Voice acting really brings the characters to life, particularly that of Chiaki Omigawa, the voice of Hotori, who really makes her awkward and overly excited nature apparent. The music is pretty decent too, with a cover version of "Down Town" by Maaya Sakamoto as the opening theme, and the crazy ending theme "Maids Sanjou" with its obnoxious lyrics about things such as ... the fine Japanese tradition of "kancho".

In short, SoreMachi is glorious. You should definitely watch it.

Yama no Susume is a light and warm series of short episodes about cute girls doing cute things. Also, mountains.

There's really not all that much I can say about this series. The art style is beautiful and captures the essence of the locations well. If you know nothing about mountain climbing, it's even a little informative, and "peaked" (bad pun, I know!) my interest in trying it myself some time.

There's no action or drama here, just a cute story about a girl gaining confidence and making new friends. The characters come off as a little generic, but they fit in to the story well ... enough. There is a bit of the "moe" aesthetic here, but this isn't one of those otaku-pandering shows.

The only thing I didn't like about this series was the sound. The music was bland and forgettable, and the voice acting was silly, though not atypical for the slice of life genre.

While not a masterpiece, Yama no Susume does enough with the less than 45 minutes total to make it worth the time spent watching.

Though not by any means amazing, Sasami-san@Ganbaranai certainly is an enjoyable, but quite strange series. While I find it difficult to categorize it into any particular genre, it could probably be best described as a comedic thriller.

The first episode is a bit of a trip through madness, showing the main character, Sasami Tsukuyomi, spying on her pervert brother from home before the world inexplicably turns to chocolate, with three strange girls, the Yagami sisters, bringing things back to normal in a very over the top way. However, the first episode doesn't quite capture the true essence of this series, which reveals important details with each ... episode that explain what the viewer has seen previously.

The underlying theme is Sasami's desire to escape from supernatural obligation and live a more ordinary life. The story itself is fairly weak and felt a little a random or directionless at times, with events often resolved with deus ex machina plot elements, but the characters are enjoyable and developed pretty well. There is a fair amount (though not overwhelming) of "ecchi" humour, as well as references to Shinto mythology and Japanese internet culture here, which some people will love, while others might feel lost watching this.

Beyond all that, the art style is beautiful, with a very watercolour sort of design that sets it apart from most contemporary anime, along with character designs that really bring out the personality of each of the characters. The music is quite good, too, with a catchy opening theme by ZAQ, and the background music, while it isn't memorable, sets the mood well. The ending theme is mostly played for laughs, with off-key singing and commentary by various characters throughout almost the entirety of the series.

Overall, I think that Sasami-san@Ganbaranai is a good watch, though not for everyone. If you're willing to overlook the aimless storyline and can appreciate the otaku elements though, you'll probably enjoy this series too.

This anime, probably more appropriately titled "Those Who Strip Elves", is not horrible or unwatchable. It's just bad. While some of the recurring gags are actually funny, the story is completely contrived and repetitive, and the characters are rather unlikeable. Add annoying opening and closing songs, and the eye cancer that is late '90s anime design, and the end result is the kind of series that one watches because they're bored and have nothing better to see.

The positives here are cartoony violence and seeing the inept characters deal with bizarre situations before they strip the female elf of the week. I don't really care for ... elves, but if you're into that kind of thing, well, there's plenty of elf nudity to satisfy your desires, as well. If this all doesn't appeal to you though, then don't even bother with this series.

When I said I was planning to watch this show, my friends told me not to; that it wasn't any good. While I did find it enjoyable overall and don't think I wasted my time, it certainly had its share of flaws. If you're interested in a story that revolves around the nature of money and the meaning of future though, this might be for you.

The thing I found most irritating was the characters, particularly the protagonist, Kimimaro Yoga, who was just incredibly cliche in his role as a naive university student who never really accomplished anything important, and has strong feelings about what's ... right and wrong, who of course was unexpectedly paired up with a hot-tempered, scantily-clad cliche female character, Msyu. Of course, Kimimaro is the only person who is like this in his world, as many of the supporting characters were incredibly selfish with no obvious reason for their behaviour.

The story involves Kimimaro being drawn into a secret parallel world of money, promising the possibility of riches in the outside world in exchange for his future as collateral. Of course, being the cliche male anime protagonist, he tries to refuse, but ends up getting drawn in anyway. In this world, he is paired up with an "asset", Msyu, to do battles (or "deals" in the series' terminology) in order to take money from the opponent, which I found highly predictable in outcome and lacking in explanation. Of course, Kimimaro is the only person who cares about the feelings of his "asset", which everyone else merely regards as property, in accordance with his cliche personality.

Now, what's interesting about this story is how it explores the manipulative nature of money in reality; what sort of effect it has on people's lives, both positive and negative; and how the very wealthy behind the scenes inadvertently affect others through their actions. In this series, the outcome of the deals can produce serious negative changes in the life of the loser (particularly if they lose everything) as reality of their life in the outside world suddenly shifts to a different one, where things their money influenced simply vanish. This is not explained very well in the series, but will probably make sense to anyone familiar with the Many Worlds Hypothesis.

The other aspect it explores is the nature of the future. Kimimaro is seeking stability in his life and doesn't want to deal with an uncertain future, but after watching the antagonist wreak havoc on the world for the nominal goal of stability, his views on what the future really is begin to change.

Beyond that, the artwork is lovely although some of the scenes are dizzying in orientation. I found the opening and ending themes somewhat bland, but this is highly subjective and you might love them, and otherwise the soundtrack is fairly decent. There are some random amusing moments in the series, such as side character Jennifer Satou's (the IMF woman who's name is rarely mentioned) love of junk food or Msyu's lack of understanding of humans, which did make it more enjoyable. Overall, it could have been better, but I still liked it.