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Shoujo Sect tries to be yuri/romance with hentai elements (or vice versa). Unfortunately it fails to meet the requirements of both genres. There isn’t a consistent plot, drama or good character development, so it can’t be called a romance anime. The erotic scenes are short and lack quality, so it is not even a proper hentai.

Plot: 3/10
The plot in any 99% of all hentai anime is stupid and awful. However, in most hentai the plot is usually simple. Shoujo Sect tries to make an exception. Its plot is probably about the love between two girls, which go to the same school and are childhood ... friends. Yes, I said “probably”, because the plot is very confusing. The supposed lead characters get the same screen time, as all the secondary characters, and the story ends up with narration from one of the third rate characters.

Characters: 3/10
The characters make the story confusing. There are just too many of them. Usually some random (and sometimes nameless!) girl appears, has sex with some other girl for one or two minutes and disappears never to be heard again. That happened to the sisters from the first episode and many others. This might be common and acceptable in hentai. Unfortunately, it hurts the story. Because of all these unimportant and nameless characters, the two main leads don’t get enough screen time and character development.
Anyways, Momoko has a very bland and indecisive personality. She randomly accepts and rejects love proposals. Handa is rather unpleasant. She sleeps with the whole school, shows her panties to her classmates and occasionally rapes them. After seeing all that, we are supposed to believe she actually loves somebody. Yeah, right.

Animation: 4/10
The animation is below average. The eyes, the hair and the anatomy of the girls are awful. That makes the sex scenes rather unpleasant. I also have to mention how the breasts of the same character constantly change form and shape. This is simply disturbing.

Sound: 6/10
The music has classical sound, which is awesome, but sometimes simply doesn’t fit. Using the Moonlight sonata for porn scene is an atrocity. Nonetheless, the music is the best part in Shoujo Sect.

Enjoyment: 4/10
After some unrelated events and some random ugly-looking sex, the story ends with everybody in love. I love happy endings, but I didn’t enjoy this one.

Overall: 4/10
Yuri, incest, exhibitionism and sexual extortion can create dramatic and intense plot for romance story or good hentai, but not in here. The poor character development, the bad animation and unpleasant sex scenes also ruin the experience. And they have no excuse with time constraints. 3 episodes of around 27 minutes make a full-sized movie, which is enough for creating better plot and characters. Anyways, give it a try. Some people seem to like it better than I do.

Story: 6/10
Well, the story has potential, but wasn’t explained well. I was rather confused at the end, so I had to watch it again. It had a lot of symbolism and references to the game of roulette. Even the prisoners are actually named after roulette slots (R,N,V stands for red, black and green… in French). It has a few plot twists, which will keep you entertained, though.

Characters: 4/10
The characters lack names and personalities. They only reveal small pieces of their background story, which wasn’t enough to care much for them.

Animation: 7/10
The characters looked a bit awkward and their movements appeared a bit stiff. At first ... I couldn’t realize it, but they were created with cel-shaded animation. Hand-draw and classic 3D were also used at some points, which was… confusing for my eyes. However, the backgrounds were detailed and futuristic.

Sound: 5/10
The cat sounds were totally fake (but funny). The music wasn’t that bad, but didn’t seem to fit with the story at some points. The voice acting was decent, but I have seen/heard better.

Enjoyment: 6/10
It was a good short story, which will leave you wondering. The ending didn’t make much sense, but is kind of poetic and symbolic.
--SPOILER WARNING--
The boy was most probably a government spy and knew the cat was carrying a virus. Thanks to him the humanity ends up infected in the end. It is a roulette game where the bets are human lives.
--END OF SPOILERS--

Overall: 6/10
It is a short animation with some good ideas. I suggest you give it a try, but there are better sci-fi animes out there.

Before starting, I should note that I am a fan of the TV series, but I will review the anime as a standalone piece. I will put myself in the shoes of someone, who has never heard of Supernatural and evaluate its merits and faults from there.

Story: 7/10
The story is simple and easy to follow. It is about Sam and Dean, two brothers who hunt demons and evil spirits. Most of the episodes are following the “monster of the week” formula… but there is a general plotline that advances slowly throughout the series. There is also a main villain and the Winchester brothers have a ... personal score to settle with him. Unfortunately, there are a few filler episodes with weak story and unoriginal enemies.

Characters: 9/10
The personalities and the interaction between the two brothers makes the difference between Supernatural and other similar TV and animated series. Sam and Dean are not perfect and flawless superheroes, they are normal persons. They can make mistakes, they can be paranoid, confused or angry and they always argue with each other. Because of that, they are a more realistic type of protagonists and the viewers can relate more to their problems and challenges.

Sound and animation: 8/10
The animation is decent, but not perfect. Some things bothered me, like the awkward looking faces… but if you deal with demons, your face will probably look strange too. There are also some good ideas, like the excessive use of black ink in every frame, which creates nice contrast and the camera movement during some of the action or driving sequences, which almost makes you feel the action. The music includes some nice and slow themes, which create mysterious atmosphere. The good sound effects (like the Impala’s engine) and the occasional scary noises enhance the whole experience and should also be praised.

Enjoyment: 8/10
Supernatural has interesting heroes (and villains) and manages to create a scary and tense atmosphere, through good use of sound effects and music. There are a few great and very dramatic episodes with some interesting plot twists. The ending is above the average. It leaves the story open, but also gives some sense of completion. What hurt the whole experience is the lower quality of the stories created especially for the anime. I also expected Supernatural to be a bit darker and scarier.

Overall: 8/10
If you are not familiar with the series, the flashbacks in the beginning would be confusing and meaningless. However, little by little the background story and the important details are explained. Basically, Supernatural feels more or less complete on its own and watching the TV series before starting the anime is not an absolute must. It may even have a negative effect, as some fans of the TV series hate the anime, because “it is not exactly the same”. You can be smart and ignore them. Supernatural is a great series for any fan of the mystery/horror anime.

This movie is basically a remake of the Benizakura story arc (episodes 58-61) of the series Gintama. For those who are unfamiliar with it, Gintama is a comedy series set in an alternate universe, where Japan is taken over by aliens. It follows the adventures of Sakata Gintoki - former samurai, who is always broke. He works as a “yorozuya” (something like a mercenary) together with two teenagers and does various tasks to make a living. The series are more like a parody of popular anime series and characters. The whole concept of mixing samurai, space technology, aliens and comedy may sound strange, but ... Gintama is really funny and original. However, the Benizakura arc is probably the most action-packed in the whole series. So even those, who don’t like comedy with sci-fi elements, will enjoy the spectacular sword fights.

The Benizakura story itself is kept unchanged. Katsura, leader of anti-government faction, has disappeared. Some believe he has fallen victim to a murderer, who targets samurai on the streets of Edo. Gintoki wants to look for his missing friend, but is given a job. He has to find a stolen sword, the Benizakura. While he is searching for it, Kagura and Shinpachi are looking for Katsura. They all face some dangerous enemies and eventually discover a conspiracy aiming to overthrow the government.

The differences with the TV episodes are not that great. They have re-used about 85% of the existing material. Most of the scenes, the fights and the dialogue are identical. In the movie, they have improved some small animation details, like sword reflections and effects. Some pieces of the background music and some camera angles have also been changed. There are also about 10 minutes of original footage in the movie, with some additional scenes (and some new jokes).

The overall enjoyment for Gintama fans would be 10/10… even though it is just the old episodes pasted together with some minor cosmetic changes. The Benizakura arc is awesome and watching it again never gets old. Those, who haven’t seen the series, can still watch the movie and enjoy it. The story is easy to follow and the action is good. Some may notice that the characters’ background and motivation need more explanation (which is covered in the TV episodes). Also some things (like Elizabeth) in the crazy Gintama world might seem confusing. Anyways, the movie is good, but “newcomers” would probably rate it around 8/10.

Mai-Hime is an average show. The first 13 episodes are especially boring and pointless. They are probably supposed to introduce and develop the characters. Indeed in almost every episode a new “Hime” girl appears… but there is no real character development. There are no flashbacks, important dialogue or meaningful interaction between the characters, which would reveal their personality and motives. They will just keep introducing new characters, while you will keep forgetting the already existing ones.

I don’t mind watching high school themed anime. However, Mai-Hime doesn’t show interesting themes, like growing up and making friends. It shows clichéd themes and settings (school festivals, beach ... episode, cooking exam, maid outfits) and clichéd characters (sick younger brother/sister, psychopathic little girls, cross-dressing characters and more). It never gets personal or emotional. Instead, it shows forced humor, stupid fanservice moments and some random monsters popping from time to time.

Past episode 13 follows a supposedly darker part of the story, with violence, drama and two generic villainous organizations with mysterious goals, pulling the strings from the shadows. It is revealed that all “Hime” girls should fight each other or world will end… but here is one fight every two episodes and the fights are unimpressive. The story still drags a lot until episode 24. I am not even sure if Mai (the main character) actually defeated anyone by that time. Unfortunately the big story twist is nothing special. The way too happy ending is absurd, decreases the overall quality of the anime and actually destroys the darker atmosphere they were trying to establish. Or maybe they weren’t going for dark atmosphere at all? There is no blood, gore or explicit nudity.

What makes Mai-Hime a mediocre show is the lack of focus. Is it an action anime, or a tragedy? Is it horror/angst or a comedy? I would say it is closer to a soap opera, with all those tears and artificially created drama, but that’s just me. With weak characters, plot and ending, watching this anime is a boring experience. Even more frustration is caused by the fact that the important story points weren’t actually explained. Well, you might actually give it a try. It has “Zords” (from the Power Rangers franchise), girls in school uniforms, and some “yuri”.