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-- Preamble --
This is a preliminary review. The series is still airing, and when I have finished watching, this review will be updated.

-- Story --
It's the love story between an innocent high-schooler and her older... what, exactly? Brother? Father figure? Family, friend. The relationship is hard to label, because he was looking after her when they were both young, and now as an adult he is still looking out for her. There is no blood relation, but the series doesn't really clearly define it besides having romantic feelings abound.

In any case, the pacing is very gentle and slow, especially regarding the relationship development. Now, a ... slowburn romance can be quite enjoyable, but this isn't even that. It feels like they get close to doing *something* and then BOOM. NOPE, no way and then go back 3 steps in the other direction. Instead of being a teasing story of miscommunications and pining, instead the viewer is simply left with frustrations at the lack of development to begin with.

Adding to that, the story is filled with pretty bog-standard tropes. But when something happens, it's pretty much forgotten a few episodes later, never to be referenced again.

Story: 4/10

-- Art --
Ah... The art. Where to begin? The good, the bad, or the oh my god what the hell did I just look at?

Okay, so maybe it isn't all that bad. However, the first 8 episodes have been riddled with the kind of animation issues that are indicative of a rushed, issue riddled production that has has a bad time™. Things like duplicated eyes, missing outlines, and what even seems to be the first draft of some scenes fill the episodes. Anatomy issues, lack of consistency in character heights and builds are also see throughout the show.

However, we can reasonably expect at least SOME of these issues to be fixed with the Blu-ray release in January 2024, so stay tuned.

Onto the good. The OP and the ED theme. They are animated really well and are the standouts in animation for the series. The art rating is purely for the OP and ED.

Art: 4/10

-- Sound --
The opening theme by Masayoshi Ooishi is a nice smooth bop, and the ending by Akari Kito (who voices Isaku) offers a light, peppy send-off at the end of the episode. Though, I couldn't help but think that the OP and ED could've been swapped and work even better. A bright and buzzy pop to get you in the mood, and a relaxing ED to chill out with after.

As for the BGM music and sound effects, I wouldn't really write home about it. There wasn't a very strong impression either way, which is neither good nor bad. There wasn't anything overly jarring or ear grating.

Sound: 7/10


-- Characters --
I believe I mentioned a lack of development causing frustration for viewers above? Well, here we can lay the blame mostly on Keiya. His thoughts are entirely hidden, and he barely gets more than a handful of lines. It's as if he's there for Isaku to drool over and occasionally swoon for but is otherwise a totally flat cardboard cutout.

When he does speak, his lines vary from overly possessive to saying certain things that are actually somewhat creepy or strange.

As for Isaku, could she be any more of a flower vase? Pretty looks and an empty head do not make for a good protagonist, especially not one we're supposed to be relating to. Kiss him, don't kiss him, kiss him, YES, NO, YES no-- Make up your mind, girl! Also, everything that is bad that can happen seems to happen to her, so that Keiya can swoop in and save her.

Additionally, when things happen, they never seem to affect the characters for more than a single episode. Keiya can use it as a reason to scold Isaku, and she can then dither about whether or not she can kiss Keiya. Win-win, right?

Unfortunately, as the episodes have continued on the characters have not really developed much at all. They are still flat and bland.

Characters: 3/10

-- Overall --
It's at a 'so bad it's good' level, currently. You may find the same enjoyment watching a train start to derail. Of course, there are some nice fanservice scenes (such at the roof scene) which are spread out like little crumbs to keep you coming back, like a stray cat.

Would I recommend this? Currently, no. This may change depending on how the story finishes. After it finished airing, I would still suggest waiting for the Blu-ray release instead. Simply to save your eyeballs.

Final Rating: 5/10

In terms of art style, the aesthetic is dreadful and bland. And the animation is incredibly basic. I suppose the 3D model resembles something from the 90's or 00's.

There is are no real characters to speak about. In addition, there is no story. Character development consists of a dancing blob. The dancing doesn't improve, so I guess there isn't any development. The blob doesn't learn from past mistakes, not exactly well-rounded.

Enjoyment? None. I'd rather watch Nami on repeat with my eyes held open by paperclips.

Overall, I suggest you avoid this anime. You will not get back these 30 seconds of your life. Why waste it ... on something so tragic?

-- Story --
The premise is that the 13 Squads of Soul Society need to make some merchandise to sell at the "real world" Jump Festival. Each squad has a short, ~1 minute segment. There is also a small introduction at the beginning.

Each part is self-contained, containing a gag or joke, and a funny product. The humor is not bad either.

Final Rating: 6

-- Art --
The art is fairly typical of the "old style" of Bleach anime. There isn't a lot of animated scenes, probably because it is a low budget short. However, it is not bad. They don't re-use any old footage that I ... noticed.

Final Rating: 7

-- Sound --
The sound was fairly non-existent, relying more on voices and jokes to carry it along. Some basic sound effects for humorous purposes, it was ok.

Final Rating: 5

-- Character --
The characters acted quite silly and not like their usual selves from the main anime. There is no character development whatsoever. But then, it is a gag short, and is not to be serious. They still have good dynamics with each other.

Final Rating: 6

-- Enjoyment --
Some sections were quite funny, and some were a bit "meh". But the jokes were good and it was enjoyable even for something so short.

Final rating: 6

-- Overall --

Don't worry about watching this if you haven't already watched the first series to the end. The movies are not essential. But if you haven't watched the first series, you won't understand many of the jokes, such as Hinamori's "Glasses Cookies".

Should you watch this?
Well, if you enjoyed the main anime, yes. But it's not essential. You're not really missing anything amazing or special. It's ultimately just a few somewhat cheap jokes and advertising the Jump Festival of 2008.

Final Rating: 7

Story (5)
Story is pretty generic but not bad comedy! it's pretty funny when it tries but often it's a bit of a bore.

Art (8)
Probably the strong point of this series. The art and animation is pretty good. Not amazing but, the studio is competent and it looks nice.

Sound (8)
Sound is pretty good so far. OP theme is ok. Ending theme forgettable. Music is nice enough and thematic for the scenes.

Characters (3)
... So lets see, we have: 1 money obsessed mercenary, 1 yandere noble girl, 1 loli mage, 1 clumsy mage, 1 casual military guy and 1 competent military assistant. Plus the ex guard captain.
And let us not forget the main character, who seems to be there less than the rest of the cast for some reason, I guess because he can kill everything in one hit!
The characters are pretty flat, not much character development occurring so far. (except for the snobby noble guy lol) the main character sits and whines about how weak he is and seeming oblivious to everything.

Enjoyment (7)
Despite it's many flaws this is surprisingly enjoyable. Don't expect anything complex, nerve wracking, intense, or impressive.

Overall (6)
This is an easy anime to watch on the downtime from the more serious, heavy anime of the season. The anime you watch as a lighthearted break. I don't expect much from it but, it's only 4 episodes in so you never know.

Pre-face

After watching the first series of shorts and finding them enjoyable, I decided to watch the second series. It wasn't too hard to find them, as the creator placed it on youtube for all to see!

[Story] [5/10]

Each of the three episodes are self contained, with a simple storyline. There is action, comedy, etc... It is all very good. It could be said, there is less story, as there is no dialogue now.

[Art] [7/10]

... Much improved from the first, the style is still quite different from the usual anime style. It's good though. The animation is good.

[Sound] [7/10]

Featuring a voiced OP from Furukawa Momoko which is very nice. It fits with the jazzy feel. Some BGM was reused from the first series. But it's used in the right place, so it's fine. The rest is good. No ED here, pretty normal.

There is no voiced dialogue! But it doesn't really need it. Everything is really self explanatory.

[Character] [5/10]

Dark Side Cat is a sneaky lil troublemaker in this, maybe a little more so than than the previous series. There aren't so many incidental characters anymore, so the focus is on mainly Dark Side Cat.

[Enjoyment] [7/10]

Each episode was short and had just enough content. Well, it's a short! It was still very cute and sweet.

[Overall] [7/10]

A fun series of anime shorts. Too bad there aren't a few more! I could watch dozens of these little shorts. Very easy to watch.

I hadn't even heard of this series before now. And, considering it's only 6 short episodes, hardly surprising, right? I needed a show with a black cat for an Anime Challenge though, and this fit the bill. And that was that.

[Story] [6/10]

Cats fighting (?) evil! CATching mice and causing trouble. Not much else to say about this, it feels like it could go on for a long time, with many many short episodes. It's fun, light, and episodic!

[Art] [7/10]
The art reminds me of western animation. It's very stylised, and not at all like the typical Japanese anime art. but it's solid and fun.

[Sound] [6/10]
...
The sound is kinda jazzy. I like that! There isn't a lot of variety though. The OP theme wasn't sung, but it was very CATchy. There is no ED theme. For a 6 minute short, I think thats fine. It doesn't need an OP AND an ED.

The voice actors did a good job with voices. No complaints there.

[Character] [6/10]

Since it's a short, there wasn't a lot of development. But the characters were nice and sweet. Dark Side Cat a cross between a hero and a villain. He doesn't care about anyone, or at least thats how he seems. But when he does something it always ends up being a GOOD thing for them.

[Enjoyment] [7/10]

It was fun, each episode was short and self contained. I liked the little references to stuff like Cony-san in episode 02, or gundam "pigdam" in episode 03 XD

[Overall] [7/10]

A fun series of anime shorts. Too bad there aren't a few more! I could watch dozens of these little shorts. Very easy to watch.

Hi, I'm not very good at writing reviews, but I hope this can help someone decide whether they wish to watch this anime or not. Thanks for reading.

Story ~ 7/10

The story is based off the Gamecube/PS2/PS3 game "Tales of Symphonia". The story is split into three OVA series. (Tethealla-hen, Sekai Tougou-hen)
In the first part, the characters are introduced and the journey begins. In the first part, is is the standard "Hero on a journey to save the world".

There are quite a few technical terms used that can leave newcomers to the series feeling confused.

Additionally, much of the backstory and other scenes are left out, leading ... to possible confusion for newcomers.

Art ~ 7/10

The art is alright, but nothing incredibly amazing.

Sound ~ 7/10

I can't really remember much of the BG music, not memorable at all.
However, the OP and ED themes are both excellent. The OP theme may sound like gibberish, but it is probably the 'Angelic' language mentioned in the game.

Characters ~ 8/10

The characters from the game are very deep, but not much time is spent developing them in this anime. Also, there is a lot of backstory that isn't included and so some aspects may be confusing.

Enjoyment ~ 7/10

I enjoyed this anime as a companion to the games, but I don't feel that it stands very well by itself.

Overall ~ 7/10

I think that this anime is best for people who have already played the games. With the recent HD re-release for PS3, Tales of Symphonia Chronicles, the game is far more accessible than before.

So, I'd recommend to play the game first, and if you liked the game, then you may also like this anime.

I like Togainu no Chi. I've played the game. I've read the different iterations of the manga. And now, I've watched the anime.

I really wish I hadn't.

[Story] [3/10]

The story was, well, a joke. A twisted, convoluted fusion of each different path from the game, yet at the same time not following any actual path at all!

My other gripe was the lack of BL. The game was BL. Aka, Boys Love. Yaoi. Etc. To remove it is like having Final Fantasy 7 without Cloud or Sephiroth. Like 'Tales of' games without Apple Gels. It just isn't right!

And to add insult to injury, they left Arbitro ... and his creepy shota perverseness in. Why? To make gay people look like creepy paedophiles?
Seems legit.

[Art] [3/10]

I've seen many comments on the art style. It's a bit of a 'love it' or 'hate it' thing.

Personally, the art style didn't bother me.

However, the static scenes with only moving faces, odd camera angles and panning shots, and the lack of any sort of dynamics or anything interesting in the fight scenes turned me right off. There were also scenes were they seemed to have gotten very lazy.

[Sound] [7/10]

Nothing too offensive, thankfully. A different song each ED. I particularly liked 'Still' (which was from the original game) and 'Honed Moon', which was by the same artist.

The BGM was alright, but mostly forgettable.

[Character] [3/10]

Now, don't get me wrong. I love each and every one of the characters. But this rendition of them made them flat. Like cardboard cutouts. No development, barely any background at all. No depth whatsoever. Which is a real shame.

[Enjoyment] [4/10]

As someone who has played the game, read the manga, etc, I was able to somewhat enjoy this. However, those new to the series most likely will turn up their noses and walk away, and if I was a newcomer to Togainu no Chi, I would probably do that myself. (Go off and play the game more likely).

[Overall] [5/10]

Overall, I'd say this is an anime 'For Fans'. Not that good for people who are looking for anything worthwhile to watch.

Some spoilers...

Story: [8/10]

Interesting plot, a girl loses her house but is given a new house by a mysterious man and becomes the new Earth God of a shrine. Needless t say it doesn't start perfectly but things turn out alright in the end!

Art: [8/10]

Not much to say, the art was nice and well animated, with nice backgrounds and textures.

... Sound: [7/10]

The OP theme was really catchy, after a couple episodes I found myself humming along! The ED theme was not so catchy but still was pretty good.

SE, some of them were fairly generic. BGM, nothing really stood out as bad, but nothing stood out as extremely good either. It was okay.

Character: [8/10]

Decent enough cast, not extremely unique but not bland either, just right.

Tomoe, a Fox Demon, at first unwillingly bound to Nanami and very cold and unfriendly, but eventually warms up to her...

Nanami, just a regular schoolgirl whose father was neck-deep in debts. Eventually kicked out of her house, then because the Earth God of the shrine.

Mizuki, a snake familiar who originally was an enemy but soon became a friend.

Kurama, a pop-star crow demon!

Enjoyment: [8/10]

I enjoy anime with Youkai and Japanese mythology in them, so I won't deny that did boost my enjoyment levels a bit~

Overall: [8/10]

If you like romance, supernatural themes, Youkai, with a Slice of Life on the side, then this is the anime for you!

Nothing too complex, there a few sad moments but over an easy and happy anime to watch and just enjoy without having to pick everything apart to figure it out. ;)

Story:

A fairly generic, 'delinquent type boy meets timid, shy girl', storyline. Not much content, but then, it was a single 20 minute OVA. [6/10]

Art:

Art was in a shojo sort of style, large eyes and very cute animation. [7/10]

Sound:

... Nothing that really stood out as good or bad, just standard stuff really. [6/10]

Character:

The female lead was somewhat annoying with how timid she was, and had a rather flat personality...

None of the others really stood out much either. [5/10]

Enjoyment:

Not a lot, really... There were a few cute scenes but nothing incredible. [6/10]

Overall:

Short, sweet, and cute, but nothing amazing or outstanding. [6/10]