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Minami-ke is a slice of life comedy, and stars the three sisters Haruka, Kana and Chiaki.

Story
Since this is a slice of life, it’s a bit obvious how the story goes. We see the daily lives of the sisters and their friends, with a different focus in each episode. Nothing special happens really. Still I really liked how the story was presented, and many characters were involved in various ways, and lead to a lot of hilarious moments. The writers (probably the mangaka as well) made great use of the huge amount of side-characters, without it feeling unnatural. That’s what I loved the most. Each episode ... was unique, and about different persons each time. I also had trouble thinking what would happen next, in other words it was a very unpredictable show. And of course, and most importantly, it’s funny.

Art
Overall I’d say this show is very good looking. The colours used are great, and the show has a very soft feeling. Character designs are great too. The only thing I didn’t like, was that in some shots the characters’ noses looked a bit weird. They disappeared and it looked ridiculous. Thankfully it didn’t happen too often. Otherwise the animation is very consistent, and it maintains the calm atmosphere of the plot in a nice manner.

Sound
Good background music, quite good opening and ending, sound effects in place, and good voicing. What else is there to say?

Character
The three main characters, the sisters, are just great. They compliment each other in a really nice way, and they are hilarious. That aside, what I think is the best about this show, are all the supporting characters. There are so many, each of them unique, and they all get enough screen time to shine. The character designers must be geniuses (props to the mangaka as well, for making such great characters). The characters are the best thing about this show, in my opinion (I mean, Hosaka and Mako-chan are remarkable characters, they alone are almost enough to justify a 10 for characters!).

Enjoyment
Of course I enjoyed it, it was funny as hell. The episodes were all enjoyable, and I think I’m gonna rewatch this, as my first series. But still Minami-ke lacked something for me to give it top grade in this category.

Overall
All in all a very funny show, totally unpredictable and one of the better shows of 2007. Just go watch it.

Guess I’m gonna watch Okawari soon…

This is the second Aria season, based on the slice of life manga Aria, which, on a side note, has finished publishing in Japan.

Story
The plot is quite similar to the first season, but now the individual stories are even better. Some of the episodes were pure brilliance, while the rest were really, really good. There is even some character development, and some unexpected twists. I also think that the episodes were well planned, with build-up and a sort of climax. Not much action, though, only the regular lives of the undines on Aqua. The sci-fi element worked well, as always.

Art
The animation is really lovely. The ... panorama-views look really good, and the backgrounds do as well. I liked the character designs a lot, but I think the animation could have been better. Specially facial expressions could have been more detailed, though, their funny faces are really hilarious. Still the animation fits the general feel nicely. I also have to mention the uniforms, they look splendid.

Sound
As brilliant as in the first season. Background music is simply superb, always fitting well with the situation. I didn't like the OP and ED as much as those in season one, though, but I can forgive that, since the OP and ED in Aria the Animation was ridiculously good. The same seyiu, and I have no complaints in that department.

Character
Lovely characters, nothing less to be said. They all have a special place in my heart (embarrassing remarks aren’t allowed, eh?). But seriously, all of them are really special. Akari, Aika and Alice all could fight for a place among my favourite characters. Alicia is also lovely, as well as Akira and Athena. But, there should have been a few more recurring side characters, though. Athena could have gotten some more screen time too, hence the 9.

Enjoyment
This was one of few shows I really didn’t want to end. I tried to save episodes for later, so that I could enjoy the life on Aqua a bit longer. Even though I spent almost a month on the 26 episodes, it feels like the episodes just flew by. I just loved this. What’s really the best, is that there’s no tension, so I didn’t get stressed out when watching. You can just sit back and watch.

Overall
I have to say this show is brilliant. 26 episodes of slice of life heaven is just ingenious. Everyone should watch this, unless you are too impatient of course. It was almost a bit sad when I finished it. Thankfully there are also an OVA and another season. Yay for Aria.

This is the sequel of Maria-sama ga Miteru, about the all-girl-school Lillian academy and its students.

Story
It continues straight of from where the first season ended, with pretty much separate episodes about the different girls. This time even more of the girls get their back stories explained, and there is quite a bit drama in this as well. Every episode was good and the last three specially. The last episode is perhaps one of the best final episodes I’ve ever seen. The show really played on some of my heartstrings all the way, and it was really well made.

Art
Looked a little better than season one, but ... still wasn’t super. Character designs were good, and the characters looked cute. The design for Yumi is just great. Still I felt something lacked.

Sound
OP and ED are the same as the first season, and they didn’t please me that much. Background music consisted of classical themes, and they contribute much to the general feel of the anime. It isn’t music I usually like, though. Voicing was good, with starring many good actors.

Character
Characters are the same as in season one, plus a few new ones. The old ones are great (many of who get episodes dedicated to them, many nice back stories). I also got my dose of Sachiko x Yumi, who got some nice moments. I liked the new characters, especially Noriko, and the characters remain as Maria-sama’s best field, and that’s good, since the show is pretty much a character drama.

Enjoyment
It was a nice watch, not as good as the first season though. The series still had plenty of humour and drama, and I liked it very much. But I didn’t quite enjoy it as much as I’d liked to.

Overall
I’d put this behind season one by a little margin, but it still was a really good show. The only major con is that it’s a little too alike too the first season, but I guess that was the intention, they aired relatively short after one another. If you have watched Maria-sama ga Miteru, pick this up, since it’s more of the same really.

Story
The plot was really weak, just an excuse to get some girls in maidoutfits at a perverted guys mansion. The reason they moved out was just silly, and in every episode they had some sort of contest, and that irritated me a lot. I also disliked the fact, that the storyline took some too unlikely turns. Other than that, you can say that this is very shounen, with fast pace and high intensity. At least I wasn't bored.

Art
The animation was okay I guess, but nothing more. I didn't really like how the characters were drawn.

Sound
I found the soundtrack lame, with cheesy background songs. Opening ... theme was mediocre as well, but the ending was kinda good. There were some good voiceactors here, at least.

Character
The characters weren't that good, to be honest. Yoshitaka is the kind of male character that gets on my nerves, with his behavior. Izumi was okay, and Mitsuki too, but she was too much into the contest she came up with all the time. Anna-chan I liked a bit, because she was funny, and she spiced up the series. As for the side-characters, they were either lame, perverted, bland or boring. Meh, most of the characters were there just to let the creators make some more ecchi-moments. And what's up with having an alligator almost as a main character?

Enjoyment
The show entertained me, at the least. It was a funny and brainless watch.

Overall
This is the first show i rate as a 5, but there were simply too many things that irritated me to give it anything higher. But it was a bit entertaining nevertheless, so if you're looking for something easy to watch, watch this.

5 / 10

I was a bit unsure about to watch this or not, since it is a shoujo, but I found out that it's okay for guys to watch too. It's not typical shoujo either.

Story
A lot of girls in a religious school, and their relationships. This could have resulted in something mediocre, but I think that it was excellently executed in Maria-sama. Many episodes were single standing, telling about the past or the present of the girl, and when there were follow-up episodes, I just had to watch on. Great story, almost bordering to slice of life, but it's a bit too dramatic to be considered that. ... I also liked the Yamayurikai (kind of student council), which was quite unique.

Art
This is maybe the shows weakest point (at least in my eyes), not that it affected me too much. There's mostly boring colours, and the animation don't seem too detailed. Character designs were good though

Sound
Background music consisted mostly of classical, a bit too classical for me, but it worked well. It fit well into the general mood of this anime. Neither opening or ending themes were that good either. But the voice actors were great.

Character
This is a very character-driven anime, so thankfully the characters were good, and the relationships were interesting. I liked all of them, but there could have been a bit more focus on Sachiko and Yumi, which were my favourites. But the support characters were good as well, so the result turned out great. The relationship between Sachiko and Yumi is the most important, and they are also the most interesting (and funny)

Enjoyment
Yeah, well, I loved this series. Something abut it all made me love it. I got pulled into the story and the relationships, and enjoyed every episode. Since it's aimed for girls, there wasn't any fanservice or moe-characters, which I found refreshing.

Overall
A truly great anime. Felt very refreshing, with great story and characters. A recommended watch (unless you're only into action).


9 / 10

Story
This is a romantic comedy, with some harem elements. I was therefore quite surprised that the show actually had a little deep story, some episodes in. It definitely didn’t turn out as a regular harem, etc. Most of the episodes were pretty random, but they all lead to the ending, which I thought was quite neat. The comedy was most prominent, but it also had a slice of drama, and a bit of irregular romance. But at one time it was a bit ridiculous, with succubuses popping out from every corner. Although, it didn’t affect the story as a whole.

Art
The animation was clean and looked ... nice, but in my opinion it wasn’t really top notch. It was as good as it was needed, to make this into a decent series.

Sound
The OP wasn’t particularly memorable to me, but the ED was a bit catchy. Background music wasn’t that prominent, but it worked out quite well. The music built well upon the comedy, though.

Character
I thought the characters were likable, very likable indeed. Shungo wasn’t the typical guy in a harem-anime, and Mayu was just hilarious. Reika was a bit too tsundere for me, but it worked out fine with her. The side-characters fitted in nicely, as well, and there weren’t any characters I disliked in the end.

Enjoyment
This show was really entertaining, and really funny, and I finished it in quite short time.

Overall
It was a good series, non-typical harem, and very funny. I wouldn’t really mind if there was a second series, and I guess most persons would like this anime. Watch it and enjoy.

Story
The story is unique, in my book. I mean, who thinks of making a slice of life on Mars. That's just really original and awesome. The episodes are slowpaced and deal with the daily lives of the undines, small discoveries, new friends and so on, all of it executed in a fine manner. Still, it was a little too slow sometimes.

Animation
Overall I thought it was good. Nice colours, and good character designs. And the many shots of Aqua were nice. But I still got a feeling it wasn't perfect. I guess it could have been more detailed, specially the people and their faces. But it ... was pleasant still.

Sound
This is just great, there is some soothing background music nearly all the time, and it gets you really relaxed. The opening and ending themes are also nice songs, that I never skipped. There are also a lot of insert songs, and when the undine Athena sings, it's just lovely. The voiceactors are great too.

Character
I liked the characters. No doubt about it. The undines were especially great, they were so diverse, and not to forget; funny. My favourite is Akari, the heroine, there are so many things about her that are memorable, and how she behaves with the other undines is hilarious. Aika and Alice are really funny as well, and the three fairies. I must say that the sidecharacters are good too, heck even the cats, even though I found them a bit irritating at first.

Enjoyment
Due to the show's slow pace, it took some time for me to get into it. But when I did, I liked it a lot. It's really relaxing to watch, with no action or drama, and such. Compared to most of the western media, this is really refreshing.

Overall
A very good show, about daily life. Not much happening, but still great. If you want something different, watch this, and you're in for something good.

9 / 10

Story:
The story is nothing short of amazing, so well done and with lots of consistency. It develops nicely through the 6 volumes, with a nice ending. Very few things to pick on, but I guess it isn't for nothing this is considered a great work of art. Nonetheless the progress is a bit slow in the middle (specially volume 3), but it isn't enough to do anything about the greater feeling that the story has. Also, I have some mixed feelings about the position of the bikes in the story, it seems kinda a bit too important.

Art:
Nothing bad about this. The art pleased me all ... the way through, both in the actionscenes and when it was more slowpaced. Characterdesign was also really cool, and panoramic views totally awesome.

Character:
The characters are really well done, with the title character topping it all (no spoilers, but he was really cool). Kei and Kaori are well done, moreso than in the anime I imagine. Most of the others were devolped in a great manner, with a good bunch of mysteries and intrigues. But I must say that the protagonist, Kaneda, got on my nerves some times, though many male protagonists are like that. I can't really explain, but I didn't like him as much as the rest of the characters.

Enjoyment:
Enjoyment is really important, and that's where Akira is the best. I finished it in about 5 days I think, it was really thrilling, and I couldn't wait untill the end, so that I could discover how it all ended. Nothing less than highly entertaining, and I enjoyed every second I was reading it. I just had to read a bit more and a bit more. On the other hand, it didn't feel to long either, thus making it almost perfect.

Overall:
I discovered it on a whim, and I'm happy I did. It's the best manga I've read, by far, and I recommend it to everyone. It was really great.