Anime

and

Manga

Reviews!

Check out: Video Game Reviews


I'm looking for help in reviewing some things just to give noobs some ideas of what to look for and such. I don't know anything about making tables here yet (which means I might wanna play around until I get good), but if you do you can post a review as a table.

But I want good reviews. I don't want "It was good." I want "it was well-written, the dialogue was real, the characters were well-developed, the plot was gripping. It was easy to get into..." types of comments and then an elaboration.
It was bad. "It lacked any content, it made little sense even a few episodes in, the dialogue was too predictable..." type comments and then elaboration. Remember that if it is a crack or an OVA it is bound to be short, so if you don't know about the original it can appear bad because it's more or less an inside joke for those who know the original.

There may be Spoilers!

Index:
~Manga~
[#Princess Ai]
[#Fruits Basket]
[#Yu-Gi-Oh! GX]
[#Death Note]
[#Rosario+Vampire]

~Anime~
[#Maze: the Megaburst Space]
[#Maze: the OVA]
[#Yuyu Hakusho]
[#Cardcaptors]
[#Avatar: the Last Airbender]
[#He is My Master?]
[#Magic Knight: Rayearth]
[#Rayearth]
[#Fruits Basket]
[#Dragon-half]
[#Case Closed]
[#Digimon]
[#Inuyasha]
[#Sailor Moon]

Manga Reviews

Princess Ai...

is a manga about a girl who wakes up on Earth with no memory of anything but her name, and that a small heart-shaped box holds a lot of importance. After a few mishaps she finds herself looking for answers in a college library with a book that tells her of her home land in another world. After singing along with a guitarist who was performing on a street corner for some change Ai becomes a singer/boarder line escort at Club Cupid. Ai makes it as a beautiful, captivating singer who lands a record deal and who must deal with the intruding record label, human life, and struggle to find out how and why she is on earth, and a humanoid with wings.

Princess Ai was written well with smooth, believable dialogue. It had its funny parts, serious parts, and poetic lyrics that can keep anybody amused and interested. On top of detailed characters, the situations were well-planned with excellent transitions. After the flow of the story is established it is easy to follow and re-readable.

Good points: Originality, beautiful artwork, humor
Bad points: Knowing it's a pseudo reality for the writer (bothers me)
~[wicked fae mage]~

Fruits Basket

Vol. 1-16
Tohru Honda has found herself living in a tent after the death of her mother. A family living near her, the Sohma family, took her in after they found her tent covered in a mudslide after a stormy evening. But the Sohmas have a secret: each one is possessed by a spirit of the Chinese Zodiac and "outsiders" aren't allowed to know. Because Tohru accepts them for who they are, she is allowed to know. Her love for all of them and for them to be happy drivers her to find a way to break the curse. Will she be able to find a way, or will she find that there is not way to break the curse?

Fruits Basket is a romance and comedy novel by Natsuki Takaya. It's a long series, but Volumes 1-16 have been enthralling, suspenseful and full of little quirks and giggles. Many of the guys look girly and a couple are cross dressers, but it all helps add personality to their character, and every character has a reason he/she does what he/she does.

I LOVE this manga! It's funny, uplifting, thought-provoking, and love filled. Thoru, Kyo, and Yuki are the center of a love triangle which is the bulk of the book along with the Zodiac curse. If you're looking for a bit of suspense, romance, and witty remakes, Fruits Basket is a good choice.

I would recommend this book to EVERYONE that's how much I love it!! <3
~[*Phoenix*]~




Yu-Gi-Oh GX Vol. 1-2

Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

follows Jaden Yuki's life as a Slifer Red Duelist at the Duel Academy. He encounters many battles throughout the first two mangas: some against friends, some against opponents Jaden's been dying to Duel. With Elemental Hero Terra Firma and Winged Kuriboh by his side, Jaden is a whirlwind that can't be stopped. But how did Jaden get these cards? Book 2 reveals the story behind Jaden's deck and his passion to duel.

I loved this manga from the first time I read it even though I jumped in during the middle of series. It's exciting duels, strong cards, and even stronger strategies, make me want to duel myself. GX has memorable characters with duels that make you want to yell and cheer for them. For me, GX is an addicting manga that can't be put down!

I would recommend it to everyone who likes the Yu-Gi-Oh! mangas, and everyone who likes the card game.
~[*Phoenix*]~

Death Note

Vol. 1-2
A Death Note, dropped from the hands of Ryuk, is picked up by a high school honor student, Light Yagami. Light, in an attempt to rid the world of evil and create a peaceful world free from evil, takes it upon himself to write the names of criminals in the Death Note. As international police notice what is going on, they call in L, a legendary detective that has solved unthinkable cased on his own. With resources like his father's files, who happens to be the captain of task force, Light becomes Kira, a "god" passing righteous judgment on the criminals of the world.

I never really had an interest in this book until one of my friends pestered me into reading it. I was actually really gripped by the storyline, and I found myself not wanting to put it down. With two geniuses, Light and L, I found that their thinking stretched my own thinking. It can be graphic at occasion, but it also had humorous comedy by Ryuk, the Shinigami (God of Death) that dropped the Death Note. He may have been a comic relief, but the manga never lost its seriousness.

I'm not sure how I would recommend it to, but if you like Bleach or Naruto, you should check out Death Note. :0]
~[*Phoenix*]~

Rosario+Vampire

Vol. 1-2
Tsukune cannot get accepted to any school until his parents find a flier for Yokai Academy. Before the first day even can begin, he gets run over by Moka who takes a bite out of Tsukune. Why? Because she's a vampire! Yokai Academy is a school for monsters! Tsukune lands himself in trouble more than once, but faithful Moka pulls him out every time.

There are parts of these books that are a bit perverted, but it's all in all a good manga. Tsukune loves Moka, but can't get the chance to tell her because every time he does someone, or something, gets in the way. Rosario+Vampire has a ton of different monsters form the classic vampires and werewolves to lizardmen and mermaids. All in all a fun read.

I would recommend this book to anyone who's a fan of monsters (Duh!). :0]
~[*Phoenix*]~

Anime Reviews

Maze: the Megaburst Space...

is about a girl who has a strange dream and wakes up with her house in another dimension. She finds four very interesting things after meeting Princess Mill, who she saved when her house landed on the princess' pursuers. Maze finds that she is in the middle of a war over control of the world, that she can use magic known as phantom light power as an illuminator (mage, wizard etc), Princess Mill can summon a robotic armor known as Demi armor named Dulger that she can pilot, and lastly and most strange of all...she becomes a very lecherous man at night who isn't the social butterfly, but who is much better at piloting the demi armor and using magic than his woman other half. After a few interesting mishaps they meet up with a group of characters who vow to help both Mazes (everybody falls in love with one of the two Mazes at one point or another) and who want to end the war.

Maze: the OVA...

takes the same characters that are in the actual series and plays out two episodes that are solely for comedy and as a preview for the anime which was to come out a short while after the OVA. There is no storyline behind the OVA to be found because they took an excerpt from the manga and animated it. The only happenings are they group arrives in a kingdom and they get kidnapped by the King who has sold Maze and sealed the phantom light power inside of all who can use it with a sphere in his castle. The group tries to get out of underground passages that are a labyrinth in the form of a quiz show (like jeopardy) by answering questions about the series against Romulos, a guardian dragon.

The voices are all fit for the characters and the animation great for being in the mid-90's. The anime itself with a storyline is difficult to understand at first considering the complexities that I'm leaving out. The OVA is cooky, funny and more or less a fanservice, so it lives up to what it is intended. I would recommend both.

Good points: Originality, humor, lovable characters
Bad points: Man Maze wasn't given a personality until the finish of the actual series, the taboo relationships can be seen as a downside (doesn't bother me personally), the OVA lacks a plot because it was only an advertisement
~[wicked fae mage]~

Yuyu Hakusho...

starts off in the most unique manner I've ever seen (so that'll prove entertaining for those of you who hate boring and cliche). The main character starts off dead as he puts together the events of his day, finally realizing that even though he's a delinquent he saved a young boy's life, killing himself. Because of the uniqueness of his case, Yuske is given a second chance with incredible powers, and missions to track down and slay demons that are attempting to invade the human world in the first season, ending with the Four Saint Beasts (which are a legend in China) and staring into a kidnapped ice apparition named Yukina and her rescue. Though the first season, Genkai, Yuske's psychic teacher (who he affectionately calls grandma and hag); Botan, Yuske's grim reaper (who can't be grim because she says bingo) and detective informant; Koenma, the prince of spirit world; Kuwabara, Yuske's rival; Kurama, a stray demon with a human heart; Hiei, a fire demon with a condescending attitude toward most humans; and Keiko, Yuske's crush all make very powerful influences on Yuske's character development.

The second season is centered around the Togoro brothers who are forcing Yuske and Kuwabara to fight in the dark tournament--accompanied by the controversial demon pair Kurama and Hiei, and a mysterious masked fighter. They are fighting for the fate of the human race in the tournament composed of demons and started by greedy businessmen who bet on all of the fights. The odds are stacked against team Urameshi as the tournament committee continuously fixes matches against them and makes inappropriate calls (which a dedicated walking rule book of an announcer girl objects to and gets demoted for) and the team tries to overcome their personal trials and trials as a team.

The third season continues with the end of the second season's surprise. Sakio revealed his plan to create a portal to allow all demons to enter the human world, but his plans did not die with him. A powerful psychic has begun the portal and as a side effect hundreds of humans have developed psychic powers from seemingly nowhere--some of them being assets to the heroes, others being obstacles that need overcome. Many twists and dark secrets are revealed toward the ending as the ultimate judge of character becomes the most moving plot device with many more tears on my behalf.

The fourth season continues right off the bat from the third season's climatic happenings. With everything awry, everything continues unfurling into new territory and keeping the guessing and suspense that it had always presented. The ending does give closure, the appropriate first to last episode's title befitting.

Overall, the suspense build is wonderful. The plots are intricate, but they can be followed when you catch on. The characters are all lovable and some are easy to relate to. There is a lot of humor in the anime, everything from Kuwabara and Hiei's headbutting to the cruel ironies that the team faces. It is quite likable for an anime involving fighting and martial arts because unlike other shows not all of the characters are super powered. Not all of the characters will live. Not all of the characters have instant recovery, and sometimes even the good guys get hurt and lose, dying a few times even. The sad parts did make me cry, but the funny parts have been so funny that I've cried too. I do say that this anime does not fail to disappoint as it finishes...except that you'll want more even when it's done!

The voices should peg as familiar for Dragon Ball Z fans including Justin Cook, Christopher Sabat and Linda Young who played Goku, Vegeta and Freiza (in the same order listed) along with John Burgmeier who voices Shigure from Fruits Basket. The voice actors all fit the characters' personalities and are well chosen. Their emotions are carried for the most part, a few slip ups here and there but nothing to shake a stick sideways at.

Good points: Excellent storyline, originality, humor balanced with drama, ironic twists keep you guessing, unpredictability (good and evil don't predictably win or lose)
Bad points: Honestly the bad point to me is that it ended. I really didn't dislike the anime in any way.
~[wicked fae mage]~

Cardcaptors...

is one of the more entertaining shojou anime in my opinion. It's broken into three seasons and two movies. The first season starts with Sakura Avalon (Note that all names are different whether it be only their first names are different or how the Chinese--Li is Chinese--families have the same first name and different last name. Li's name would make Li technically his last name, Showron or Syoaran his first...Rika=Rita, Naoko=Nikki, Chiharu=Chelsea, Tomoya=Madison...). She is the average ten year old fourth grade girl. Until she hears a noise in her father's study and goes to investigate. She finds the Clowbook, unwittingly breaking the seal and opening the book. She took out the top card, staring at the picture on the card. After she speaks the card's name "The Windy" a whirlwind is summoned, releasing all of the cards but Windy. Immediately afterward, a winged stuffed animal flies from the book, eventually deciding to name Sakura a "Cardcaptor".

Over the first season, Sakura learns to immediately claim the cards by writing her name on them, that each card has a weakness and that with the support of her friends she can do anything. The first season introducing Madison, her best friend; Rita, Nikki, Chelsea and Zackary, some of her not magical friends who seem to be brought into the path of the Clowcards; Li Showron, a direct descendant of Clow Reed--the creator of the cards and fellow cardcaptor; Meilin Rae, a martial artist who is infatuated with Li and is a self-proclaimed cardcaptor; and most importantly Kero (shortened from Keroburos) the guardian of the seal and Sakura's consort...with several supporting characters like her father, her brother, her brother's best friend and their teachers. Sakura and Li overcome many obstacles in the first season, eventually learning to work together instead of compete for the cards.

The first movie takes place between the first and second season. It opens with the capture of the arrow card, continuing to Li and Meilin mentioning their return home to Hong Kong for spring break. Sakura wins a prize in a raffle which lands her, Madison, Julian and Tori in Hong Kong on vacation. There, they meet a spirit who is hard-headed, determined and extremely powerful...and after the late Clow Reed...not accepting his death.

The second season starts with Sakura and Li tracking down and chasing the Snow card, sealing it and saving the town from doom. It ends with what is called "The Final Judgment" and Sakura's recurring dream. Sakura and Li as the two candidates to be masters of the Clow Cards find themselves against Keroburos' opposite, Yue, the second guardian of the Clow Cards. Li is put to the test of defeating Yue first. The rules of the test: use all of the Clow Cards in your possession to try defeating Yue (Doing the math there are only two cards not under the protection of Yue and Keroburos and they are Light and Dark...both of which Sakura has...and Li only has about ten cards...so in theory you only have a 50% chance of the cards you use not being turned against you.) Li impulsively jumps right to The Time Card which takes most of his magical powers...and is under Yue's protection. After Li fails, Yue confiscates all of Li's Clow Cards and calls Sakura to take her test (She has about 42 cards including all of the elements).

She runs from Yue since he is still Julian to her (Yue borrows Julian's body to transform). She jumps immediately to the idea of restraining Yue so she doesn't have to hurt him, summoning The Wood Card who is under Yue's protection as well. Yue explains that everybody would forget the cards and everything that has happened since their appearance on earth. Sakura sees a day without love and without the Clow Cards. Seeing something so sad empowers her to break free from The Wood Card's vines. She manages to transform the Clow Key into her Star Staff and use The Windy Card to restrain Yue, earning her the title Master of the Clow Cards (as well as Yue and Keroburos).

In season three, a strange occurance comes from out of nowhere. With everybody in danger, Sakura tries to summon her staff to use her magic and the Clow Cards...to no avail. Facing death by drowning in a cyclone she comes up with a new incantation to summon her staff. After a bit of critical thinking when The Fiery Card floats uselessly to the ground (instead of showing off her super powers--which she likes to do) Sakura realized that The Clow Book became The Sakura Book, her staff became her inner star...and that maybe the Clow Cards need to be Sakura Cards... She changes The Fiery Card into a Sakura Card (or Star Card) and watches Fiery evaporate all of the water and reverse the storm...though she nearly faints afterward.

With some discussion with Li and Madison, Sakura begins to see that all 52 cards need to become hers for her to use them. And with the arrival of a new exchange student and his older sister, more strange things begin happening which forces Sakura to change more and more cards into Star Cards. But, can she actually transform all of the cards before they lose their magic and manage not to kill herself from trying to do more than she can handle?

The second movie takes place a few months after the third season. Li had told Sakura of his feelings toward her and Sakura couldn't bring herself to answer him. Everyday she looks yearningly at the card she created, The Hope Card, in hopes of seeing him again. Oddly enough while she and Madison are walking she senses a Clow Card....even though there were only 52 of them...and she had them all...right? After a phone call with Eli, she is told of Clow Reed's Yin and yang balancing. He created his Clow Cards with a positive purpose and positive energy...and needed to balance that. So he created The Void Card with as much negative energy as all 52 Clow Cards had positive energy. Sakura learns that the only way to defeat the card is to turn it into a Star Card after giving up the feeling that means the most to the person with the most magical power. To make matters worse, The Void Card keeps stealing Sakura's Star Cards so she has her friends back. Could Sakura really give up her unvoiced love for Li to save the rest of the world?

It's a very cute anime. The bonds formed and the lessons learned are invaluable. Overall, the story is strong and continuing smoothly with strengthened relationships and strengthening powers. I recommend it for anybody who likes a simple story and a fast-paced show.

Though I wish the original voice actors were used in the movie. I don't dislike the voice actors from Digimon (which most of them are from Digimon) but I'm used to the voices that were in the three seasons of the show and the first movie.

Good Points- the show is cute, has its funny moments, its sad moments, moments with cognitive thinking, the portrayal of relationships and how important they are to people and a lot of action while keeping a simple and fast-paced story.
Bad Points- the second movie didn't use the same voice actors which made me force myself to sit through it to know what happens, the third season ends on a low note which always makes me cry.
~[wicked fae mage]

Avatar: the Last Airbender...

follows a world filled with elementalists dubbed benders. The four elements of fire, earth, water and air live in their own nation, each having different customs. The avatar is the sole person in the world who can use all four elements and who is reincarnated into the following nation being the spiritual teacher for the following avatar. The avatar is the peacekeeper that inspires people and who keeps people from being too powerful.

Avatar started with the story of an avatar disappearing when the world needed him, when the fire nation used the power of a comet to power up their benders to destroy the airbenders, the avatar (Aang) inadvertently escaped from this. A hunderd years later two water nation teens (Katara and Sakka) discover the avatar encased in ice.

The fire prince, Zuko (disgraced and banished from his father's nation has been charged with the task of finding the avatar and returning home with him in order to restore his honor) has been searching for the avatar with the help of his eccentric tea loving uncle, Iro. Seeing the flying bican, Appa, Zuko invades the water nation's southern tribe's village, forcing the avatar to flee, Katara and Sakka quickly following him.

The avatar and his friends' ultimate destination in the first season is the north pole so Aang and Katara can further their water bending abilities. On their journey they inspire and save many people who make other appearances later in the series.

Prince Zuko is put in several interesting predicaments in the first season. All of the trials make him question himself and remember his honor, despite what his wise uncle had been trying to teach him.

After the fire nation's attack on the northern water tribe, most of the survivors head south to rejoin their separated tribe. Aang and his friends continue to help Aang master the elements, earth following water. A return to the earth kingdom results in an addition to the group, a blind earth bender named Toph who "sees" with vibrations and hears well enough to see.

Prince Zuko and Iro relocate themselves to the earth kingdom with new names and a new outlook on life. That changes when Zuko's bossy, scary sister shows up, shaking up the already chaotic show.

The third season begins on the down note for the Avatar and his friends. The realization of the comet's coming getting closer starts to get to Aang. A smaller invasion begins after the discovery of "the day of black sun", a day when a solar eclipse blocks out the sun for eight minutes, disabling all fire bending, thus enabling the Avatar and his allies an advantage over the Fire Lord.

With the failed invasion Aang realizes that he will need a firebending teacher, and his one hope (a rogue army officer of the fire nation) went missing...they can't name any willing firebenders. The unexpected appearance of Prince Zuko and his offer to teach Aang firebending sends the group for a loop. After some convincing, Zuko and Aang search for the purity of firebending with the sun warriors' ancient civilization, them learning the Dance of the Dragon form of firebending after being judged worthy by the mighty dragons.

Aang comes to regret his being the avatar even more when Zuko tells him that he will have to kill the Fire Lord. That goes against everything he was taught by the monks who raised him...life is sacred. All life.

A few days before the comet arrives, Aang goes missing. The rest of the group finds themselves assuming major roles in the war while Aang is missing. They would be there for the avatar, their friend no matter what it took.

Overall, the show was wonderful. It never ceased to be entertaining and there are always lessons to be learned. Both General Iro and Aang's past lives leave bits of wisdom to consider. Shades of grey make life interesting and more believable. Cookie cutter characters aren't found here.

Good points-The show has a variety of characters, each of them with a different personality. Their personalities coincide with their elemental heritage, and all of the characters are left with room to grow. There are high and low moments for everybody. The good and bad characters are depicted in shades of grey and not just black and white.
Bad points-The show has a few predictable moments.
~[wicked fae mage]

He is My Master?...

is a comedy that focuses on gags, lolita complexes and dirty tricks. Yoshitaka is a fourteen-year-old millionaire orphan. Having problems with the original staff who refused to listen to him, he fired them and decided to live freely, without supervision. This presents the problem of nobody to cook and clean for him, so reluctantly he puts up a hiring sign for live-in maids.

Izumi and Mitsuki ran away from home for the sake of their pet, Pochi. They notice the sign for live-in-maids and decide to take a look. At first, they decide to not take the job, but giving the things broken by Izumi and the debt she now owes Yoshitaka, they reluctantly accept, putting up with his perverse outfits, perverse actions, gags, peeping Tom tendencies and obsessive picture taking of Izumi that would be impossible for him to have taken (which Izumi doesn't know about, but Mitsuki does and makes a website using his photos).

A few episodes into it, Anna decides to be a maid as well, serving Izumi, her one true love. Pochi, their alligator who loves pretty women and has other weird tendencies becomes a major part of the story, including why they stay with the perverse Yoshitaka.

In the end of the series, Yoshitaka wins the ultimate contest, and his cousin reveals Yoshitaka's motivations of love for Izumi, which granted isn't pure, but is love and dedication. Yoshitaka doesn't deny it and quickly says that he isn't ready to settle down and have a family, which (as most things in the series go) Izumi never agreed to.

And, most characters are in love with either Izumi and Mitsuki (who is more devious than maybe even Yoshitaka), including their father who has an infatuation with pretty girls.

In all honesty, I laughed until I cried.

Good points: The show has a lot of humor, its ups and downs, a unique cast of characters and a lighthearted mood
Bad points: I watched a subtitled version instead of the dubbed version so I had to keep pausing it to read, there are loli complex moments and incest jokes which get a bit creepy ><;
~[wicked fae mage]

Magic Knight: Rayearth

is a fantasy/adventure anime that teaches all of the lessons of strength, courage, conviction, the strength of will and many other lessons that are taken to heart.

Three girls from separate middle schools, Hikaru, Umi and Fuu are visiting the Tokyo Tower on a fieldtrip. The entire tower lights up, starting from the floor and the three girls find themselves falling. They are rescued and taken to Clef, the high priest who calls them Magic Knights and explains the reasons they are summoned. Long story short, kindapped princess can't pray for the world and that's what she needs to do or the world will end.

With evil against them, Hikaru is the only one who manages to learn her magic before Clef shoos them, sending them to safety in the Forest of Silence (and to anybody who has ever played an RPG, what does silence do to magic?) where they are to meet with a weapons artisan.

Escudo, the sacred mineral of the world, allows them to have weapons crafted for them (and here is the original meaning of soulbound xD), later they find that nobody but the owner of the weapons can evey so much as touch them. Hikaru's sword burns all but her, Umi's sword turns into water and Fuu's sword becomes too heavy to lift, each representhing the girls' magic capacity.

The girls meet a lot of different characters with strong will power, turning two of them from evil to good and making one switch sides pick the right side.

After gaining their weapons, and Hikaru learning fire and lightning magic, Umi learning water magic and Fuu learning healing, support and wind magic, they are sent to find Runegods: Rayearth (resembles a wolf on fire), Windam (giant green bird) and Selece (a hydra).

Upon completing the requirements of being Magic Knights, the girls storm the temple to free the princess...only to find the ugly truth. They must kill the princess and the high priest in order to save the world. But, the reason is because she fell in love.

The leave the world, crying, knowing that it wasn't right, but it had to be done.

In season two, the girls feel so guilty that their depression becomes obvious to all around them. They are simultaneously resummoned to Cephiro, which is impossible since there is no pillar (nobody replaced the princess) to have summoned them.

They learn that you don't have to be from Cephiro in order to become its pilar. And only those with strong will power can be the pillar. Most of the citizens of Cephiro have been gathered into the castle, for their safety and for the hope that one of them is the new pilar that can save the crumbling world.

Three different countries begin to invade. Autozam, Fahren, and Chizeta have very different cultures. Autozam is a mecha based country, Fahren is a Chinese-like country and Chizeta are very Arabian. Each knight is captured by a different country, learning of the desires of their leaders to use being the pillar to help others.

A haunting presence of a girl who looks like Hikaru and who has her magic and a rune god is doing evil's bidding. She was created from Hikaru's strong will and her inability to forgive herself. She wants to destroy everything like her mother taught her, and she stands in the way on several occasions, including interfering with Hikaru's beloved, Lantis.

The only person who doen't change his mind about becoming the pillar is Eagle of Autozam. At the end of the series, he and Hikaru run into the crown room simultaneously, the room which kills anybody who isn't a worthy pillar. Miraculously, they both survive. Later, Hikaru becomes the pillar, eliminating the pillar system, allowing more freedom for the citizens of all of the countries, leaving them inspired, and allowing the girls to return to Cephiro as they please.

Good points: the series has good morals, a good mix of different story elements, a good cast of character with believable situations (magic aside, naturally)
Bad points: I was forced to watch the subbed version and hate that, the story can get hard to follow with so much hapepning at once.
~[wicked fae mage]

Rayearth...

uses a lot of the same characters as the original. The situations are different and some of the good characters are inherintly evil immediately.

Cephiro is trying to invade earth. It is their princess' will to do so, so they must obey. Dark magics are stirred within Hikaru, Umi and Fuu who merge their souls with deities in order to kill the invaders.

Much to their horror, they are the only three citizens of earth left because of a wish they all made, wanting to be togeter forever. Clef, the high priest decided to put them to a test to decide the fate of both worlds.

The story is hard to follow, but apparently, there is a happy ending.

Good points: The story is original, a drving one with characters you know and love, it is dubbed.
Bad points: The story is so complex you won't get any of it if you even blink, as well as the evil citizens who were good...that bothers me... But the punchline is something about illusions.
~[wicked fae mage]

Fruits Basket...

follows Toru, a young girl who is living out of a tent. The "prince"(Yuki Sohma) of her class finds her and arranges for her to live with him and his cousin Shigure (who is perverse and appears to have a loli complex). A short while after she moves in she finds out about the curse that was placed on their family...each member turns into a member of the chinese zodiac (and the cat) when they are touched by a not cursed person of the opposite gender.

Interesting events unfold as Toru meets and helps more and more members of the Sohma family accept their faults. She eventually meets Akito, the head of the Sohma family, and the bearer of the curse, invoking jealousy since the Sohma family come to be closer to her than anybody else...and naturally the talk at school begins with all of the attractive Sohma family members and Toru getting close.

Over all it was an entertaining anime. It had its funny moments and its sad moments paired with romance and misunderstandings. Very recomended.

Good points: It had unique characters who in no way appeared to be perfect. The plot was compelling and the ending an enjoyable one.
Bad points: It leaves out a lot of details from the mangas and only has 26 episodes...the shows with 26 episodes piss me off for some reason...mostly because that is the usual episode count for shorter anime.
~[wicked fae mage]

Dragon-half

is a mock of Dungeons and Dragons. It begins with a dragon anthro, Mink, who is in love with a dragon slayer. Mink is thrown for a loop when several assassains are sent after her, thus being forced to fight them, one of them being her beloved.

Lufa, her best friend suggests the people potion which will turn Mink into a human, enabling her to be with her beloved. They set off to fly to the location...finding themselves short on funds. Conveniently, a brutal martial arts tournament offering just enough money for the three of them and a pet (Pia is a dwarf girl who joins them along with Mappy, her pet fairy mouse) to fly.

Mink is put against several strong opponents, including somebody who impaled his brain in the previous episode, surviving only because his brain is "very, very, very compact" as well as a demon king's son. After being infuriated by the demon, she knocks him into the lava, winning the tournament.

This anime is hilarious. I wish they had continued making it past its two episode life.

Good points: the humor, the characters, the ridiculous pranks and gags, the bad luck Mink seems to bring with herself no matter where she goes
Bad points: it can get to the point of not making sense which can confuse anybody
~[wicked fae mage]

Case Closed

follows an aspiring detective, Jimmy. Jimmy solves a murder case on the first episode with his hyper-observant abilities, ending with him seeing too much and being slipped a drug by two thugs.

The drug has a weird effect, instead of poisoning Jimmy, Jimmy is reverted to the form of a child. Seeking the help of a scientist, Jimmy is given several gadgets meant to help him in bringing down this organization...first needing to make his girlfriend Rachael's father into a well-renouned detective (neither of them know that Conan is Jimmy in his child form)...

Case solving usually ends with Conan knocking Richard (Rachael's father) unconscious and changing his voice to sound like Richard's to explain how everything was done and who had done it.

As the series progresses, somehow, the closer they get to the organization responsible for Jimmy's condition, the further they get from any progress.

It is a very entertaining anime with thrills, comedy, romance, suspense, drama...and who doesn't love impossible murder cases?

Good points: The anime is nowhere near dead with its continuing cases even today with over 400 episodes and still counting, the cases really make you think, the comedy, romance and drama are all gripping and the suspense keeps you on edge
Bad points: I dislike how the organization conveniently keeps in the shadows no matter what goes down.

Digimon

begins with seven kids brought into a whole new world, a digital world, with digital creatures named digimon. Each person has their own unique crest that they begin searching for, something that represents them and their partner digimon...the keys to them saving the digital world.

Going through several trials, the digidestined manage to get back home to earth to find Myodismon's full invasion on the city where they live, bringing up the rumor of an eighth digidestined.

The eighth child bearing the crest of light is Kari, Tai's younger sister, her partner digimon is Gatomon (even though it should be Salamon since Gatomon is the only champion digimon who de-digivolves only a handful of times compared to the others who are mostly in their baby, in-training and rookie forms).

With the help of the prophecy given to the digidestined as well as Matt and TK's dad, the kids manage to take out Venomyodismon before he can destroy the real world, but the children are forced back into the digital world to clean up the mess there.

In the digital world, four dark masters or mega-leveled digimon are pulling the strings (one of them quite literally as he is a puppetmaster). One by one, all of the dark masters are destroyed, leaving the negative energy that was creating chaos. With their inner stars, the digidestined defeat the evil and are sent home to earth.

Season two takes place a few years later, focusing mostly on Kari and TK, the original digidestined's youngest, and three new kids. TK and Kari keep their original symbols of hope and light, though Davis takes Courage and Friendship, Cody takes Widsom and Reliability and Yolei takes Love and Sincerity. They are charged with freeing the digimon from the digimon emperor, later revealed (as bad a plotline as it was) as the crest of kindness and a nineth original digidestined.

I haven't watched past season two, nor do I plan to. But I liked the series and do recommend it.

Good points: The show has good values and an original plot with great characters
Bad points: There are a few predictable plot devices that counteract the previous season, and the third season kills the show
~[wicked fae mage]

Inuyasha

follows Kagome (despite the title character), a teenage girl (I should add all of the adjectives but I'll save that for later) who ends up in the past with a demi-demon (fun to say) named Inuyasha. She is the reincarnation of a priestess who guarded a sacred jewel which grants wishes (which naturally only seem to hurt and not help).

After the accidental shattering of the sacred jewel, she and Inuyasha (who she has control over by now with the magic words 'sit, boy!') are forced to find them. Along the way they find Shippou, a fox demon; Miroku, a monk; and Sango, a demon slayer.

There are plenty more minor characters that appear often, yet none of them really help the story.

Naraku is found out to be the cause of a lot of pain and peril, yet he seems to be uncatchable and invinsible, despite being only half-demon like Inuyasha who is commonly nearly killed during fights (though Inuyasha's not as useless as Kagome).

If you like really long, drawn out anime that aren't going anywhere any time soon, this is for you.

Good points: It balances romance, action, adventure, the occult and some interesting plot twists well at first.
Bad points: After the second season the show was a chore to watch. Honestly, I would not be beating a dead horse. It goes pretty much nowhere storywise. After a few major developments that's all you get. Plus, Kagome is such a bad character. She is utterly useless aside from being able to see the jewel, even while it's inside of somebody. She is also annoying, whiny and not worthy of being an anime charcter since even the bad guy of the series has redeeming qualities.
~[wicked fae mage]

Sailor Moon

is the girl power anime. Its themse of friendship and inner strength are still strong and the characters unique and believable.

(I've only ever seen what was airred in the USA, save one hilarious episode in a much later season.)

The show follows Serena, a gluttonous crybaby who couldn't be on time without some sort of magic involved (that is actually a reference to one episode). She aquires the power to transform into Sailor Moon and is charged with finding the Moon Princess wby a talking cat named Luna.

She gains other Sailor Scouts, Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter all little by little, all of them being unique individuals with their own personalities and powers...and Artemis, another talking cat.

The sailor scouts all fight evil and attempt to finish anything they are asked to do by destiny. Eventually the remaining planets (save earth) are found as sailor scouts, as well as Serena's daughters from the future and her future husband (not a sailor scout, but a big help)...

Some of the evils they fought are the hunters of crystals, the negaverse, the death tree and the jewels (named by me, but if you watch the show you'll get the point).

Girl power and awesomeness for sure!

Good points: The show has good values, a good story and even a lesson at the end (plus the theme song is so catchy!)
Bad points: While they eventually get somewhere, some of the human rituals the girls do can seem frivalous.
~[wicked fae mage]