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Giovanni no shima is a beautiful film about dreams, hope and love. Taking place at an island called Shikotan in Northern Japan during the end of the 2nd World War, Giovanni no shima displays a unique milieu even for the most studious anime-watcher.

Siblings Junpei and Kanta are very young when the Red Army comes and takes control of their dear home island. But even on the hard times, when food is scarce and scary armed men watch every move they take, the two have something they can always rely on: their imagination. ‘The Galactic Railroad’ is their way to escape difficult situations, taking them far ... away where ever they dream to, even if it's only for a moment.

Soon they come to think that everything’s not that helpless after all. The culture the Russians brought with them is interesting, so different. As time passes the language sounds less and less strange in their ears. The fair-skinned kids they go to school with have become their friends. Maybe it’s possible to live along like that, in peace. Or is that only naivety of the youth? There are far bigger things happening and waiting to happen, things invisible, yet incomprehensible for Junpei and Kanta.

Giovanni no shima relies on simple character design but interesting enough for everyone to look clearly different and recognizable. The colours and views of the island are beautiful, but a little plain. However, the ‘Galactic Railroad’ colours up not only Junpei and Kanta’s life, but the film’s looks too. Like the film overall, those dreams of Junpei and Kanta are beautifully animated.

The voice acting is great. The children are really played by children, and the Russian characters by native speakers. We also hear some Korean in the film. All nationalities are shown to have both good sides and bad sides. The soundtrack is also beautiful, especially those few songs we hear sung by the children.

The story told in Giovanni no shima is heartwarming, but also tragic. It’s an epic story of survival and loss, but also love, family and friends. Even though the story is fictional, it teaches you a lot about history you might not have heard about before, and makes you think. This interesting piece is definitely worth watching.

First I want to say that "I Give to You" is the first BL manga I've own in a physical form. I bought it yesterday only 'cause it looked so beautiful, so it was a total random choise. I had never even heard about it. But it's a good thing it got stuck along.

Lets start about the first impression and the looks. The cover looked really nice, so that's what made me interested. After I looked inside the covers, I saw really beautiful art. I can't say no to pretty BL and it didn't look too "heavy stuff". That was enough for me. I hadn't ... even read the synopsis when I noticed I already had bought it.

The about the contents. I really like that the two main characters weren't so stereotypical. I mean, there wasn't a little girly uke or a huge scary seme. Well, it wasn't yaoi after all but you know what I mean. It toke time even to find out which one would be the dominating one and which the submissive one. I enjoyed that.

The story was good. Maybe not anything mindblowing but enjoyable. It still was refreshingly different. It didn't have all those typical scenes and story lines which occur in many BL mangas. I Give to You is only one book long series and I especially enjoy that kind of BLs.

I read this today around 1 am~3 am in the morning, so my opinion might change after I read it again. But this is what I feel at the moment. I'm glad I got to find such a good manga.

Robotica * Robotics is a short - only 10 minutes long OVA from the outstanding director Soubi Yamamoto.

For such a short anime, Robotica is really amazing. It looks very very beautiful, the characters are simple but interesting and it deals with really important things. "What is love?" is the question what the characters try to solve.

This OVA has only 3 characters. Two robots; Haru and Natsu and their new owner Masa-san. Natsu is afraid of being abandoned again. Haru and Natsu are trying to find out the meaning of love. What is it? And can robots love?

And a few more words about the art. I ... love the fresh and colorful look of Robotica * Robotics. Soubi Yamamoto has a very unique way of making anime. It's like colorful manga moving with lots of different textures and colors. I love the way it looks.

I find this OVA really amazing. It's really heartwarming and nice. Loved it~

Attention! This is my first review EVER! :) (And I also give you a warning about my limited English skills...)

If you love cute and innocent BL like I do, I totally recommend you to read this! Endou-kun no Kansatsu Nikki is short; only 5 chapters, but it's really delicate and sweet story of two school boys Endou and Tsuda.

This is the first manga I've read from Nojiko Hayakawa, and it really gave her(?) a good appearance in my mind. Her art is sketchy, rough but still soft at the same time; just perfect for shounen-ai! I find her art really beautiful. The panels are placed ... freely and it's easy to read.

The story is just like any other BL out there. It's nothing new, but Hayakawa's art makes it really refreshing and enjoyable. In my opinion the best thing in the manga is how Endou and Tsuda get more friendly with each other, 'cause in the beginning they're almost strangers.

The characters of this manga are really good and realistic. And 'cause Endou-kun no Kansatsu Nikki is a shounen-ai manga, so you don't need to worry about those many problems with the story lines and/or characters of yaoi series. I think shounen-ai mangas are easier for the artist to create (so they seldom get you disappointed) and also they're usually much more believable for the readers, if you know what I mean... Anyway, what I'm trying to say that the story of this manga is so simple (but not in a bad way) that it's hard to get disappointed.

I didn't hate anything about this manga. I still had really hard time to make up my mind what score a should give this manga. It's so close of being 9 instead of 8, so I probably change it after re-reading this to 9 (this kind of thing happens quite often).

If you have hard expectations or you are looking for something new, this manga might not be your cup of tea. It's just a gentle love story for those who love simple and adorable love between boys. BUT I still recommend you to read this manga; if you're only interested in yaoi, it's good for you to read some decent shounen-ai once in a while. And if you're more fond of shounen-ai you must read this for your own good! ;D