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This was the first manga I ever read fully and it remains my all-time favourite. It deserves all its popularity and hype, and you will not be dissapointed if you read it! Honestly, I decided to start this one day and it was very hard to stop. Very very hard. I think I read this all in a day the first time I read it.

First things first, the story is incredible. The characters work so well together and the story takes a lot of risks but all of them work really well. The time jumps are great and mean the story doesn't sit around doing ... nothing at any point. Light is a character you can both love and hate, as you can see both that he is wrong in using the Death Note, but the reasons behind it - to start with - are pretty pure. L as well is my favourite character of all time and the two are perfect as both enemies and friends - which remains one of the complex and best relationships I have ever seen.

The characters are almost all enjoyable, though I can't say I liked Misa much - this might be just my opinion - yet the story does take a few turns that will have some people extremely upset. Death Note though is great in that it kept on creating brilliant new characters throughout, who are even better than some of the original characters!

The art is great, and each character is given their own 'look' as well. I liked how Light always wore something that suited his personality, considering how many different outfits he went through, and how this point applied to everyone else. The artwork for L as well made him stand out from every other character, which showed just how different he was from them. The shinigami also have some great artwork too as some are made to look like humans - only twisted - while others are made to look only like monsters.

This manga is well and truly a classic. It's not easy to create characters and a story that focuses so heavily on moralistic values and good and evil. Each plot twist is cleverly crafted and it always is made to feel fresh, especially when new characters are involved. If you have not already read this manga, do so now. If you have already, read it again. It is one of the best out there.

I wanted to enjoy this anime more than I did. It was a lot darker and would appeal to a lot more people than most animes in this genre would. I liked the artwork and how it vaired between the real world and the worlds the Witches lived in. The characters also were well done and the music was good too. But somehow, I just didn't enjoy it as much as I should.

It is a very good anime though. The story focuses on Madoka, but what annoyed me a little was the opening theme not only was way too upbeat considering the dark nature of ... this anime, but throughout it didn't really actually show anything really of what the story was. That may be just me but the ending theme was a much better representation of what this anime was actually about and how dark it was. The story doesn't hold back any punches after all, and it doesn't merely revert to a happy ending either, which I kind of liked, though some twists did get a little extreme.

Still, the characters were great, though you might change your mind about some of them as the series goes on. I changed my mind about several characters, and sometimes it wasn't in a good way, but that is kind of what made this anime so clever as well. Some characters though felt a little less developed and didn't really get enough time during the anime.

I can understand that the art won't be to everyone's tastes. While the real world's art follows most animes of this kind, the Witch's world and flashbacks use a much different style. I actually really liked this, as it adds to the dark tone and generally creepy feel that these moments are meant to create. The Witches are well designed too and each of their worlds are fantasy at its most surreal and best, with each one having its own different setting. It shows just how much time and effort went into the art.

This is a great anime and it does deserve to be watched. The dark tone it carries and the idea that 'everything is not as it seems' is probably a lot stronger here than you might expect. If you don't like the art though, it will probably be a lot harder to watch for you, and the story does go to some very dark places. I did really enjoy Madoka...I just wish I'd enjoyed it more.

Mai-Hime is one of the first animes I ever watched fully, and it still is one of my favourites. It follows Mai Tokiha as she and her brother Takumi go to Fuuka Academy and she finds out she's a Hime who can summon Elements and a Child to help her fight Orphans. Of course, this is where the problems start.

The story can seem a little confusing at first but it is good once you get into it. It slows down once or twice though and the ending seems slightly rushed, but it is pretty well paced otherwise. However, the cheery first few episodes do not ... really prepare you for the emotional rollercoaster that the rest of the series becomes. I did cry during this anime, which is rare for me.

While Mai-Hime has a large cast - and I mean huge! - many of them are well developed and you do start to care for many of them. There are a few characters that aren't so good, but there are many more that make up for this. The Himes are great character themselves, but there are a lot to keep track of! This can make things a little confusing at times. The relationships though between characters are well done though and great to watch.

The art and music both are great as well. The art is really nice to watch and the songs (especially Fairytale) are great. I have several of the songs on my mp3 and still listen to them a lot, which shows just how much I enjoyed the music. The art is also incredible in that each character looks unique, which is no mean feat, considering there are at least 20 different characters who all play an important role to the story.

The best thing about Mai-Hime though is that you will find a lot to love about the characters and their stories. Each one contributes something to the story and it makes the whole anime worth watching, just to see if they'll have a happy ending. It's a bit of an emotional journey getting there, but well worth it.

I decided to watch this on a whim, but at first was put off because I didn't really like ballet and it looked a bit too girly for me. I am so happy though that I watched it, and have watched it twice now! For all those not convinced, there is a lot going for Princess Tutu.

The story for starters is really touching and uses lots of ballet stories and music which adds a lot of depth to it. Ahiru especially is a such a great character, and as the series went on, I ended up caring about all the characters. The story never feels ... as though it is dragging along, but it doesn't seem to rush through either, though I did think the ending wasn't the best they could've done. Some people will not like how it ends, but mainly, you will want it to continue and see what happens next.

The art and music both are what makes this anime so much fun to watch. If you don't like ballet, you probably will be won over by how beautifully everything is shown in the ballet scenes. It really is that good :) The classical music used is perfect almost every time too and uses some of the best pieces of music that I know.

Anyway, the best thing about Princess Tutu is just how much I enjoyed it and how so many different people can watch it and love it. This has to be one of my all-time favourites and worth watching! If you're put off by the title, ballet or the girly look of the show, it really is an anime that you should watch, because chances are you will enjoy it too! :)