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Before I truly start with this review I must say that Char Aznable is one of my favorite characters in all of fiction and before I watched the last two episodes, I was ready to tear this show to shreds because of it’s awful portrait of the Char Aznable character, fortunately the last two episodes were so good that the show went from a 4 to a 7.

Story and Characters:
MS Gundam:The Origin is the tale of the beginning of the One Year War and the rise of “the Red Comet” Char Aznable from his childhood till mere minutes before the beginning of the ... Original Mobile Suit Gundam. When it comes to the first objective of the anime, which is to show the start of the One Year War, it definitely accomplished this objective. There were so many things to cover, like the creation of the mobile suits and the murder of Zeon Deikum, and the anime was able to show us those events eventhought there were some flaws (like the terrible portrait of Zeon Deikum and Ramba). The objective in which the anime completely fail(at least in the first 4 episodes) was to show us the story of Casval Deikum and how he became the smart and fearsome Char Aznable that all the old school UC Gundam fans love. Honestly, the Casval/Chars that I saw in the first four episodes was not the real Char, he was a absolute garbage of a character, a dumb and egocentrict kid, and stupid psychopath teenager that had absolutely nothing to do we the Chars I know. So many of his decision made no fucking sense (like talking trash to Kycilia Zabi or beating the crap of some random guy in a bar). But it wasn’t only the character, the events surrounding Casval were also not interesting at all, I was more entertaint everytime the anime was focused in the Zabi family instead of Casval. And also, the way he stole the Char Aznable name was way too convenient. Thank god that in episode 5 and 6 we finally got the true Char Aznable even if his change was almost out of nowhere. The scene where he earns his nickname of “The Red Comet” was really well done.

Animation and Art
Just like Gundam Unicorn, the art and animation of The Origin is top tier, by far the best of Studio Sunrise. Man, if tell could just remake the entire OG Gundam anime with this quality...

Soundtrack and Sound
The soundtrack is ok, nothing special but I had no problem with it. The sound on the other hand was amazing, the sound of the mobile suits, the explosions and everything else was top tier.

Score
Overall this anime barely got the 7 score, the last two episode saved the Origin from becoming the worst Gundam anime from the Universal Century. If you are new to the Gundam franchise you are probably going to enjoy this more than I did, but for an old school UC Gundam fan like me, this like watching the Prequels of Star Wars combined with a little bit of A New Hope.

Well, I just saw the imposible, I never thought I would see a better anime movie drama than Your Name, I also never thought that I would see a anime movie that would give me the same feeling of hope and achivement that Shawshank Redemption gave me, but I just did. Wolf Children is not only a masterpiece as an anime, but as a movie in general.

Story and characters
Wolf Children is the story of Hana and her two werewolf kids and all the hardships that they have to endure. On one hand we have Hana who has to raise her two werewolf ... kids on her own and on the other, we have the kids (Yuki and Ame) who have to deal with the difficulties of living as werewolf in the human society and to figure out which path they want to take in their life.

Now, this movie is not for everyone, the story doesn’t have any grand or spectacular event and it is very slow and mundane, but you know what? That is exactly what it needs to be to tell it’s story! This movie is about the love of a mother and how much is she able to endure to properly raise her children. But it is also about finding one’s path in life, about finding out who you really are and embrace your true self with all your strength. While the first theme is perfectly and brutally represented by Hana and every action she takes since becoming a single mother, the other theme is perfectly represented by Yuki and Ame as they grow up and begin discovering what they want to do.

In terms of the story that this movie wanted to tell, it is perfect. In terms of the character development and progression of Hana and her kids, this movie is magnificent. And when it comes to the themes and the message that this movie wanted to get across, this movie delivered. In terms of the emotions that this movie makes you feel, it will make you sad and desperate (you could cry), but it will sometimes make you feel happy and even hopeful which is what this movie made me feel like.

Art and Animation
This is gorgeous looking film, the animation was also perfect for the type of story it wanted to tell. Of course Your Name still beats it in this department but this movie still has some of the best looking scenarios have ever seen in any anime.

Music and Sound
The soundtrack was beautiful and perfect for each moment. The sound was even more impressive, the sound of the wind, of the animals, weather, the nature in general was so well done. It made feel like I was watching a live action movie filmed in mountains.

Overall
This movie is an easy 10/10, in might even be my new favorite anime movie of all time, I am going to watch a couple of more times to decided, but for now this was enought, more than enought to give the perfect score and put in on a pedestal as one of the best movies I have ever seen.

Cyberpunk has always been on of my favorite genre in any source of enterteiment. When it come to anime there have been a couple of great cyberpunk stories like Steins;gate, Ghost in the Shell, Macross, Serial Experiments Lain and of course, the incredible Mobile Suit Gundam. And after watching Psycho Pass I can safefully say that I can add this anime to the previous list, Gen Urobuchi wrote another fantastic story.

A. Story and characters
When I describe character I usually write about their caracteristic and development but this time I think it is more important to describe what this characters represent in relation to the concepts ... that this anime is trying to deal with.
Psycho Pass story deals with bout the concepts of order and free will. In a futuristic society where the life of every citizen is determined by an all omnipotent system ( The Sybil System), people are put to prision without having commited any crime just because the system qualifies that person as a potential criminal. The order and safety in the society might be high but freedom has been reduce to almost nothing. The three most important characters in the story represent an specific type of thinking in relation to the Sybil Sistem. Makishima represents freedom in its most extreme way. The wish to escape from the system an allow every single human being do whatever they one, even if its something morally incorrect. Makishima fights against the system considering that its existence has make people forget what it means to truly be alive and take responsibility for their own actions. He might be the antagonist and he might have done some truly awful things, however one can somehow understand Makishima’s point of view. The society in Psycho Pass is completly twisted and definitly requires some changes. On the other hand, Kougami represents justice in its most simple way: the bad guy must die as soon as possible. It is the same way of thinking as Saito Hajime from Rurouni Kenshin, the justice of the Shinsengumi (Aku Soku Zan). Kougami doesn’t necessary agree with the Sybil System but he is just using it to erased evil from society as fast a possible. Because of their opposing idiologies, Kougami and Makishima have one of the best rivalries in anime history. Makishima tries to destroy the system, while Kougami is trying to kill Makishima before he continues to deliver more harm to society. Now we get to Akane which represents hope and possibily. Throughout the series, Akane is constantly viewed by the other characters as someone who isn’t qualify to be an inspector, but she is consider someone who actually understand the true meaning of justice and what the job of an inspector and an enforcer should be. Even Kougami says that the society needs more inspectors like Akane. Also, Akane is by far the most human character in the series and she acts like her freedom wasn’t as limited as it actually is. In the world of Psycho Pass, nobody needs to worry about their future because the Sybil System make those decisions for them, but Akane still worries about her life and wants to find out her place in society. Ultimately, Akane represents the possibility of a better future in this twisted society.

B. Animation, soundtrack and sound
The animation is really good for it’s time, nothing groundbreaking but it was very well done. The sound was also really good, nothing to complain. The soundtrack fit perfectly with the themes of the series. As always, I.G. Production does a great job adaption another cyberpunk story.

C. Score
There were a couple of episodes that were a bit slow, also sometimes there was way to much exposition and lets not forgot all those philosophical quotes, sometimes those make sense will some other times it felt like Urobuchi just wanted that his chacracters sound smart. Because of this, the anime deservers an 8, is not perfect but it still an incredible anime that deals with it’s concepts in an effective way. I highly recommended Psycho Pass not only to fans of the cyberpunk genre but to anybody that enjoys a great story.

[Before we get into the review I have to clarify that a score of 7 for me is very positive, it means that the anime is very good or great and it is definitly worth your time]

A. Some personal thoughts about the anime
I gonna be brutally honest, I hated the first two episodes of this anime, I thought it was just another anime with pretty visuals and sound but with a very mediocre protagonist which at the begining just was another Rei Ayanami copy. However, as the series when on it got a little better, then it got good, and after I saw episodes ... 7, 8 and 9 I knew that I was wrong about this anime, this is indeed a very damm good anime that had a bad start but got so much better in later episodes.

B. Story and characters
The entire plot centers around Violet Evergardeen and her journey in discovering the meaning of love, that was the objective of the series, the one thing that couldn’t go wrong. After watching the entire anime I truly believe that the series did it’s job fairly well. The character progression of Violet was done in a realistic way and it made me change the opinion I had about her at the begining of the series. Violet was a great protagonist that had to learn how to live peacefully after been treated like a weapon for her entire life, and her transition from expressionless doll to a caring and kind girl was definitly a very enjoyable story. Apart from Violet, the rest of the characters were not that great, the Major Gilbert was a really good character and probably the second best character in the entire series.

C. Art, animation and sound
Do I really need to comment about this? Ok, the art is incredible, this and the last work of Ufotable are probably the best animation and art in the entire anime industry at the moment. I hope other studios, besides Kyoto Animation and Ufotable, are able to reach this amazing level of animation, art and sound.

D. Enjoyment and score
This anime was quite a ride, I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy it. However, the first half of the anime was not even near to be as good as the second half and that affects the score. Is impossible for me to give this anime a higher score than a 7 because of the first half, but I have to clarify that between all the animes that I gave a 7 score, this one is at the top of the list. Violet Evergardeen was truly a great anime and fulfill it’s objective.

“Lets take back our symbol”

20th Century Boys is the masterpiece of Naoki Urasawa ( yes I think is even better than Monster), it has one of the greatest stories ever told in any work of fiction and an almost perfect cast of characters. One of the reasons that I love this manga is that I have always like stories about adults dealing with problems that have a connection with their childhood, and this manga has probably the best of this type of story since Stephen King’s “It”.

A. Story
This manga has a very dark, brutal, mature and realistic story. It will show you what ... could happen if humankind makes all the worst possible decisions it could make. It will also show you how much can corruption ruin the world but it will also show you that even in the worst circunstances, some people will always continue fighting for a better future, as hopeless as this battle could be.
The premise is that cult/political party is slowly rising in bout power and popularity in Japan, the leader of the group is man who always wears a mask and only goes by the name “Friend”. An adult called Endou Kenji starts to investigate this cult and realise that certain events that are currently happening (involving the cult of Friend) have a conection with events of his childhood. So now Kenji and the rest of his childhood friends have to investigate and recall their childhood days to understand whats going on and prevent a possible catastrophe.

B. Characters
The characters in 20th Century Boys are very real, don’t expect to see your classic shonen protagonist that has a dream that wants to acomplish. No, Endou Kenji is not that sort of protagonist. He is just your normal kind of unsuccessful adult who only wants to continue living in peace but is force to face a unknown treat that tries to destroy his eveyday life. Kenji has a great character progression, at the begining he will just try to do things for himself, then he will fight to protect his family, his friends and to discover the true behind his childhood days. Kenji is a hero, he might not look like one at all in the begining but when his character stars to change, you will truly look at him as someone inspiring, eventhought it was never his intention to inspire someone. However, when I think about 20th Century Boy, the first word that pops in my mind is “Friend”. Friend is simple the best manga antagonist I have ever seen. I consider Friend to be by far the most evil character in any manga or anime, even Johan Liebert looks like an angel if you compare him to Friend. The things that Friend plans and is able to do in the manga should be consider the work of the devil himself, of someone who truly despise humankind. One of the most important aspects of Friend and the entire story is his identity, the manga will constantly tease you with reveling Friend face and identity and I guarantee you that once you figure it out who Friend truly is, it will blow your mind. Other incredible characters of this manga are the friends of Kenji, specially Otcho, Donkey and Yoshitsune, those 3 are some of the best secondary characters you will ever see in any anime or manga. Yukiji, Manjome and “God” are also really great characters.

C. Art
As always, Naoki Urasawa’s art is great, is not the greatest manga art you will ever see but it is perfect for this type of story. It perfectly capture all the depressing, mundane , dark but also realistic aspects of this story.

D. Enjoyment

This story was on hell of a ride, is my second favorite manga of all time. If you like realistic and dark stories, you should give a chance to 20th Century Boys, it is a true masterpiece in storytelling and character development.

War is hell on earth. Any legit reason to start a war will pale in comparison with the amount of human lives that will be lost in the war. There will be no true winners, only pain and tragedy. If there is an anime that was able to perfectly represent the cruelty of war is Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam. Before watching this series you MUST watch the first Gundam ( I highly recommed to watch the movie trilogy instead of the series). This anime is a masterpeace, the greatest work of Yoshiyuki Tomino and probably the greatest anime I have ever seen. This ... was also a great source of inspiration for many more famous works ( like Code Geass and Evangelion).

A. The Characters and Story
Between the many types of great anime protagonist there are those young, naive but gutsy protagonist that have to learn everything from the beginning that will slowly develop to achive their dream or objective. Some great examples are Okabe Rintarou, Edward Elric, Monkey D. Luffy and many many more. Kamile Bidan fall into this category but with a brilliant twist, he is not only very inmature, clueless and naive at the beginning, but he is also a very annoying and hateful character. Seriously, you will wish to see this kid dead as soon as he appears for tye first time . But the brilliances of this protagonist is how the events of Zeta Gundam force him to slowly change as the war goes on. Kamille sees his family, his friend and other people that he knows die, he is also force to kill many human beings himself. War changes him, but for the better. He become more intelligent, more tolerant, he starts thinking more about other people and the future of humakind after the end of the war, instead of feeding his own ego like he was doing at the beginning of the series. Until we get to the end of the series were I am sure that you will really like Kamile Bidan as a protagonist. He has one of the greatest character developments of any anime protagonist in history. Another fantastic character is Chars Aznable (or should a I call him Quattro Bajeena in this series?), in the first Gundam he became the greatest anime antagonist I have ever seen, but in Zeta Gundam he has a completly different role, been the mentor of the protagonist and becoming a true leader that can change the future for the better. The mentor - protege relationship between Chars and Kamille has to been one of the greatest in anime history. Chars was incredible in 0079 Gundam but in Zeta is were he solidifies his position as the greatest character of the entire franchise. A great pilot and warrior but an even better politician, leader, mentor, philosopher and friend. There are many other great characters like Scirocco, Bright Noa and Haman Karn, but I rather stop here and let you guys discover this incredible cast of characters by yourself.
I am not going to say much about the plot of Zeta Gundam cause it will spoil the end of the original Gundam, so I will just say that it is a story about the cruelty of war, how corrupted a militar or political faction can become, and how people are able to understand each other even in the worst possible situation. Is a true war drama.

2. Animation, art and soundtrack
If we compare it with today’s animation, then of course it sucks. But, for it’s time Zeta Gundam had a very good animation and art. After the success of the first Gundam series, Sunrise had more money to spend on this proyect and I think they did a great job. The design of the mobile suits (mechas) are some of my favorites. The soundtrack is nothing special (except for an ost called riders in the sky which is amazing), but I think it was alright for this series.
3. Enjoyment and score
For me to give a series a perfect score is not enough for it to be perfect, in needs to have something that makes it especial. Zeta Gundam is a perfect and especial series with a fantastic story, incredible character development and progression and it is simple the best war drama in anime history. I enjoyed every second of it. It deserves the perfect score.

A. Something you need to know before watching the anime:
Is really hard to write an objective review about your favorite anime. As much as I love Rurouni Kenshin and it will always be my favorite anime, I have to admit that it is not a perfect anime. However, this wasn't the fault of the characters, or the story or the animation, it is all the fault of the FILLER EPISODES and the studio that decided to not continue the story of the manga, which is the best part of the story in my opinion. The Rurouni Kenshin anime should have been a masterpiece, like ... the manga actually is, but it was ruined by useless filler episodes. If you have never seen this anime I HIGHLY recommend that you stop watching after the end of the Kyoto Arc and then go and read the manga, if you do that then I am sure you will enjoy the story.

B. The Characters
Kenshin Himura is the best protagonist of any anime I have ever seen. He is not your typical young shounen protagonist that has a dream that he wants to accomplish, Kenshin is an adult that has lived a very dangerous, tragic and cruel life filled with mistakes that he will never forget, his past will comeback to haunt him, no matter what he does. His past also taught him how he should live his life, you could say that from chapter one his personality is already fully develop. So, what do you with a protgonist that already learn from his mistakes and is so good at almost everything he does? Well, force him to face even more difficult situations that will test If he truly is as good as everyone think he is. There will always be a harder goal to acomplish, a more difficult situation, a stronger opponent, a more bloddy and brutal war. Makoto Shishio is one of the greatest antagonist in anime story, he is smart, fearless and has a very twisted way of seeing life. However, the brilliant twist in his character is that his actions are very justified and if you really think about it, he was kind of right in wanting to do what he did. I could write more that a hundred pagres describing Kenshin and the rest of the characters of this anime. So I will just stop here and let you find out about them yourself.

C. Art and Soundtrack
The art is no unique at all, it is very common if you compare it with other animes of it's time. But that doesn't mean that it is bad, a more flashy art and animation wouldn't have been the best for the type of anime that Rurouni Kenshin is. It was perfect for the show. The Soundtrack is great, each ost is perfect for each moment. It is not the best soundtrack in anime history but it was good enough for this anime.

D. Score
I gave it a 8 just because the filler tainted the series. If you only watch until the end of the Kyoto Arc, then the anime is a 10 out of 10 without question, but if you watch it all, then it doesn't deserves the perfect score. However, this is still the anime that I have enjoyed the most, even with it's flaws. If you love animes with a dark, realistic and human story, then I recommed you watch and read Rurouni Kenshin, it is some of the best that anime and manga has to offer.