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a lot of these reviews are based on personal taste and it kinda rubbed me the wrong way so here i am.

the short of it is that i enjoyed reading this. it's mature, but not gritty; fun, but not dismissive. i recommend it to anyone with a strong stomach and a mature mind. keep reading for a more in-depth review.

quick background to help explain my reasoning: i grew up reading trashy and harmful bl with every toxic trope you can imagine and enjoyed it. as i matured, i started to see those faults and my tastes have changed accordingly, HOWEVER, i can appreciate unsavory plots ... and events (i.e. rape) without condoning it and distinguishing it as fiction as opposed to reality.

onto the review: there's nothing about this story that is in any way groundbreaking, nor is it paced particularly well. that aside, the characters are believable, the main couple is interesting and, while still problematic, fairly well-written. overall, i enjoyed reading it and i found the characters endearing.

as for the more unsavory aspects, i see them less as "coming out of left field" or an arbitrary means to an end -the catalyst for the relationship, and more as a grounding point. it serves to add consequence to an otherwise consequence-free setting. it is a little like "fridging" or lazy character development, but it IS some much-needed character development; namely for Asaichi. it serves to give him a period of reflection and become believably vulnerable. the subsequent relationship also does not immediately "flourish". while rushed, it at least MAKES SENSE in the context of the narrative.

i'll keep this as brief as possible.

first, i love this mangaka. as with most of her work, her plots ans heroines are refreshing takes on old cliches. that said, i was rather disappointed with this one. there was a lot of build up for a very anticlimactic ending.

the art is really pretty, the characters are interesting (albeit a bit underdeveloped), and the story is lacking. my verdict: a nice smutty romance that doesn't quite deliver.

Not worth your time.

While the art is very pretty and well done, the plots and characters are pathetic. There is next to zero character development (even for a compilation of one-shots). Every story feels incredibly hasty and sloppy, not to mention generic as well as predictable. There are many sappy, smutty shoujo manga far better than this, so take it from me and skip this one.

Being that this is an OVA to a game title, I treat it as such: a supplement to the game.

It's definitely not for the faint of heart as it contains very graphic (though censored) scenes of rape, sex, and sodomy. The mature content aside, the story is compelling and has good character development (although compressed to due to time constraints).

If you want hardcore BL/yaoi, Enzai doesn't disappoint (believe me). The story is also enjoyable.

This OVA only does well as a supplement to the game (as it is based on the game's "good" ending and as such can be seen as a spoiler of sorts).

First of all, i've not finished the manga...

The story holds fairly true to the manga, with some details swapped around. The animation is good quality and easy to look at, which is great considering the delay of adaptation. Each character that makes an appearance has been given a good amount of depth and the story unravels quite nicely. Tohru's personality has been preserved very well which makes for enjoyable exchanges throughout the series.

It does seem rushed at some points and lagging at other, though obviously due to time constraints. It doesn't leave things off horribly at the end, so it does well as an anime ... on its own without comparison to the manga. It's enjoyable and definitely a must-watch for those who haven't seen it. But be warned, it's not intended to be a feel-good series as its depth does reach hard-to-bear situations on a very cynical, though not pessimistic level.

You'll either love it or not, but it needs to be understood before one decides.

A oneshot about pirates. More of a romance that an adventure, it's definitely a read for fans of Matsuri Hino. The pirates are believable and lovable, there's plenty of piracy in this volume to contrast the shojo-ness and it's fun to read. It's not for someone looking to find a pirate tale, rather for a shojo-fan looking for something a little different. It's not a common theme in shojo, so it's a refreshing new story that's re-readable.

okay okay okaaaay!
an actual review...

Honestly, it progresses a little too fast. Which makes some of it hard to follow. The story is pretty interesting at first but tries to hard (or not hard enough) to draw in the audience. Tomoya's personality is conflicting and inconsistent which makes things a bit confusing and make him out to be too sensitive.

The story stops being realistic at some point and drops you into the future where it seems events SHOULD have explained the situation, leaving most of it to your own imagination. It's not too well written and definitely leaves a lot of questions to be answered.

If ... you've got nothing else to do or are just curious, watch it and see what you make of it yourself. But it doesn't get my recommendation.

The long-awaited anime-adaptation of the manga...

It begins with a brief introduction into Ritsuka's life as a new transfer student. He seems a suicidal and mentally bored kid at first glance, but the story drags the audience into his dark past: amnesia and the murder of his elder brother. The estranged relationship with Soubi is the typical seme-uke one, with a twist of masochism.

Ritsuka is forced into the world of Septimal Moon by Soubi, as they become closer as friends and even more. The addition of characters is very natural as they each show up with their own purpose, save for Sleepless who seem to have ... been neglected.

The content of shonen ai is rather tame as kisses seem to be the extreme, with hints of sex placed throughout.

Character development is very well done, as shown by the changes in personality and attitude through each episode.

Overall, a dark and heavy series for die-hard fans of yaoi, shonen-ai, BL, conspiracies, and cynicism.

This is an anime for fans of anime (yes, i know, who am i talking to anyway?), in that it isn't an anime you'll absolutely fawn over. It's enjoyable to watch, though limited in its time-frame. The characters are definitely lovable, they have human personalities and are probably the main attraction. The series definitely has its share of bishounen and bishojo, but it sometimes gets in the way of the storyline. The voice acting's pretty good, though i recommend watching it in Japanese best. After watching this series, you'll probably want to pick up the manga afterwards.

An anthology of shojo stories, it revolves around the idea of the YumeKira Dream Shoppe. It makes great use of the idea of "wishes coming true".

The first story focuses the wish of being human, the second: the ability to talk, the third: turning back time, and the fourth: changing yourself.

A sweet-collection of pure-love stories that introduces fresh, relatable characters in every day settings. Intended for girls, the content is mainly unrealistic yet attractive and adorable nonetheless. Not the most well-thought out thought, but enjoyable to the last page.

If you ever thought of a wish for true love, you'll relate to this story. It's like cotton-candy ... to shojo manga!