I am Zero!

~Spoilers!~

Now who thought Lelouch died in the first series? Guess what? WRONG! He's back in Code Geass R2!

A year after the Black Rebellion, Lelouch Lamperouge is a normal high school student attending Ashford Academy. He ditches school one day with his brother Rolo to go gamble rather than take his remedial gym class.

Upon playing a game of chess, he gets involved with an attack launched by the Black Knights. Lelouch is separated from his little brother and while searching from him, he comes across a woman with green hair, better known as C.C (or C2 in English dub). With a kiss, Lelouch's true memories return and he remembers his true identity as the former prince of the Brittanian empire and the leader of the Black Knights, Zero.

With his memories revived, he sets to make the world a better place, avenge the death of his mother, and find the whereabouts of his sister, Nunnally. With new challenges as the rivalry of former friend, Suzaku Kururugi and the origins of his fake brother, Rolo, it looks like Lelouch has a long way to go before his goals are accomplished.

This sequel is just as great as the original. With characters, old and new, epic fight scenes, tragedies, and huge plot twists, this anime just can't be beat. It's always kept me on my toes all the way to the very end.

Y'know what? I'm bored

Ugh I hate our stupid internet. I've been neglecting watching anime for the longest time cause Netflix doesn't work temporarily. Well I did see another anime but I haven't seen enough of it to do a review and I'm distracted with other stuff to catch up online. Homestuck is too addicting now so that's easily distracting me as well.

So y'know what? I'm doing sequel series to animes. Just for the heck of it and just in case no one has heard of them. So here is Clannad After Story.

So Clannad was my first post EVER in this blog so if you haven't seen it, see it now. Otherwise ~SPOILERS~

After Tomoya's confession to Nagisa, the two begin to date and build their relationship to stronger levels over time. As they finish school, they help friends and acquaintances go through their hardships as well as their own. However, with their love, Tomoya and Nagisa work together to be with one another and eventually start a family, even as fate has other plans in store for these two lovers.

Now what if this Illusionary World that we've seen? Why does the girl and her robot friend matter at all to anything? Why are they there?

Well these questions I can't answer now but will have to be figured on your own.

I've never seen an anime that has made me cry more than this series. A mixture of comedy, tragedy, and beauty combined to make a perfect sequel to a great anime series.

Blast of Wind

So school's going a little crazy due to finals coming up and my body decided to become sick now. So I'm stuck at home watching anime all day. This one seemed interesting so I added it to Netflix and began to watch it.

"Eyes as clear as the azure sky. That is the symbol of one called 'Contractor'. One who has been entrusted with the entire world's atmosphere by the Spirit King of the Wind, the Stigma of the Wind."

This anime, Kaze no Stigma, follows the black sheep of the Kannagi family, Kazuma.

Kazuma Kannagi was born to a family that possesses the power of fire magic. However, he was never able to control this magic. When he was beaten by his distant relative, Ayano Kannagi, for the sacred sword of his family that represents the family's heir, Enraiha, he was banished from the Kannagi household and left Japan.

Four years later, twenty-two year old Kazuma returns, changing his last name to Yagami and a powerful master of wind magic. He's also become a Contractor which gives him great power and allows him to heal any wounds he has, turning his amber eyes to azure. He reunites with his family under bad circumstances.

Upon his return, members of the Kannagi family are being mysteriously murdered by Wind Magic, leading the first suspicion straight to Kazuma Yagami. Now Kazuma has to work to find the real culprit and clear his name by following a series of adventures with Ayano.

This is a really cool anime I chose to add. Lots of action and bittersweet story line that keeps me hooked.

~Liz~

And now for something completely bizarre

I added this anime cause my friend Kelly said it was rather interesting. As it turns out it is... in its own way that is. I was a bit shocked with what I saw but got hooked so I'm watching this anime out of my instant like for it. Say hello to Demon King Daimao.

Orphan Akuto Sai transfers to Constant Magick Academy and dreams to be a part of his country's highest order of magicians and help make the world a better place as a high priest. That fate is changed when his aptitude tests predicts his future occupation to be the next Demon King.

As a result, his school life has turned into a living hell as he is resented and feared by his paranoid classmates. He is skeptical of this prediction and always tries to do the right thing and be just a normal, nice young man. However not everyone sees his nice side as his magic is very powerful and mostly uncontrollable as it results in great explosions.

Lucky for Akuto he isn't alone. He is instantly latched on by Hiroshi Miwa who calls him his "big brother", is watched by a green-haired android girl named Korone, adored by mysteriously powerful yet klutzy girl Keina Soga, resented by class representative and samurai Junko Hattori, and intrigued by the head of the girls' dorm Fujiko Eto. As he (tries to) goes through school life as a normal student, Akuto goes through many different challenges. Luckily Miss Eto supports him and wishes to help him go through school easier, but her intentions aren't what they seem. What are they? Is Akuto in fact the Demon King everyone fears?

This has got to be one of the most awkward animes I've ever seen. I got a little shocked by the unexpected nudity and panty shots I saw. There already has also been some extremely mature moments in this anime so definitely something your parents would not want to catch you watching. Why I still watch this? Story has gotten me hooked and it's just too funny.

~Liz~

Would you kill someone you love because of love?

So with adding more anime to my Netflix Instant Queue, I found this rather interesting anime that sparked my interest. Here's Ga-rei: Zero.

It starts off with the Japanese Ministry of Defense's Paranormal Disaster Countermeasure Headquarters who work to rid Japan of dangerous evil demons who wish to bring about destruction. However, this is upset when one of their workers, katana user Yomi Isayama, kills PDCH operatives. Why she has done this? No one really knows, but it doesn't matter since now she has to be killed for her crime. That's where close friend and "little sister" Kagura Tsuchimiya comes in when she is faced to kill her "older sister".

By episode three, the suspense stops you when it goes into a few episodes of flashbacks where Kagura, as a shy and sad young girl who is taken under Yomi's foster family's care when her father was busy against paranormal forces after her mother's death. Over time, the girls bond and become sisters and agents of the Supernatural Disaster Countermeasures Division (SDCD).

Now Yomi's mysterious actions break their sisterly bond and the "sisters" become enemies. What will become of them?

This anime is actually a prequel to a manga simply known as Ga-rei. So if anyone has read Ga-rei you probably have a good idea of what happens in this anime.

Ga-rei: Zero is by far one of the greatest combinations of horror, action, tragedy and comedy I've seen. It a bit graphic and bloody and contains some nudity so if that isn't your cup of tea, sorry. Really great and tragic story line that I immediately love.

~Liz~

This is so weird... But why do I love it so much?!

Yeaaah. I don't think I should explain the title. Hahaha. As weird as this anime is as I've seen, it's actually pretty good. So here's Baka and Test.

Fumizuki Academy divides all the students based on their grades. At the beginning of school, the students take an entrance exam determining what class they'll be in. The higher the grades, the higher the class and the better the benefits. Therefore, Class A with the smartest students are in a learning environment with air conditioning, laptops and a snack bar while Class F, "the bottom of the barrel", get drafty windows, kindergarten tables that easily break and... well you get the jist of what they get.

Fumizuki Academy also has something special where their students can summon Avatars or Summoned Beings. Theses Avatars are used for battles among students where they fight to obtain the best classroom facilities. Health and strength of Avatars is based on test scores on the supervising teacher's subject (Math, History, etc.), so because Class A is filled with prodigies, they have stronger Avatars compared to the lower classes with Class F being the weakest. They lose health points when hit by an opponent, and if the score reaches to zero then the student is disqualified and sent to a remedial class. However, they can gain back points before it reaches to zero with a supplemental exam before returning to battle.

Baka and Test focuses on student Akihisa Yoshii who after the placement test, was sent to Class F. He pitches an idea with his classmates to fight against the higher classes with a Summoned Being War to get more privileges and hopefully get the academy to not divide students based on grades. Along with him are classmates Mizuki Himeji (who is really smart but got ill during the exam and had to leave, resulting in a zero and her placement in Class F), class representative Yuji Sakamoto, bishonen (cute boy) Hideyoshi Kinoshita, perverted Tsuchiya Kouta (nicknamed Muttsuri), and tomboyish Minami Shimada.

I found this anime on Netflix and figured it'd be good so I added it and began to watch it. It's very very silly while it has an actual plot line. It also includes *cough cough* yuri and yaoi referencing *cough cough* so if you're iffy about that, don't say I didn't warn you. But this is a really good anime, so watch it!

~Liz~

Who The Hell Do You Think We Are?!

God, I've heard of this anime SO long ago. Seventh grade to be exact. When I became friends with my BFFL Kelly, she loved and still loves this anime. She even has two plushies of one of the main characters. So here's Gurren Lagann.

In a fictional future, the Earth is ruled by the Spiral King, Lordgenome, and huge robots called Gunmen who're piloted by Beastmen, who're a part of Lordgenome's army. As a result, humans are forced to live in underground villages without contact to the surface world or other villages without being killed by the Gunmen.

The story begins in Giha villages and focuses around two orphaned boys named Simon and Kamina. Simon is a digger who helps his village expand underground because of frequent earthquakes, one of which that took the lives of his parents. Simon sees Kamina as his "older brother" who's an ecstatic delinquent who dreams of seeing the surface as he did when he was younger. Kamina lets Simon join in his gang, Team Gurren, to achieve his vision.

One day, Simon digs up a drill-shaped key and later finds the face of what looks like a Gunman. Not too long afterwards, a Gunman crashes down into the village and begins to attack who's followed by a beautiful young girl named Yoko who attempts to fight against the Gunman. Simon uses the drill-shaped key called a Core Drill to turn on the Gunman that Kamina names Lagann to destroy the other Gunman and break through to the surface world.

Upon coming up to the surface, Kamina and Simon learn from Yoko that the Gunmen attack the humans living there every day. Eventually Kamina hijacks another Gunman naming it Gurren, combining it with Lagann, creating Gurren Lagann. Their actions inspire the rest of the humans to take a stand and fight back against Lordgenome and his army.

Yes, this is an anime with big giant fighting robots... And girls with big boobs. I already love the story line and all the characters are just awesome. The only thing you have to worry about probably is the female in this anime with huge breasts. But another great anime to see. Watch it now.

~Liz~

Apples!

So with my day off from school due to coughs and sneezes, I've chosen to finally catch up on some anime. Today I watched and finished an anime called Spice and Wolf.

Set in a historical European setting, Spice and Wolf revolves around main character, Kraft Lawrence. Lawrence is a 25 year old merchant who travels to different villages selling various goods so he'll get enough money to one day own a shop of his own. One night while he's in the town of Pasloe, he finds a young girl in his wagon named Holo who has the ears and tail of a wolf. Holo is a 600 plus years old pagan wolf-deity who is the town's goddess of harvest and has kept it blessed with good harvests of wheat for many years. Although she has a responsibility to this town, she really wishes to go back to her homeland in the north called Yoitsu because she believes everyone's forgotten about her, and she wants to see how the world outside of Pasloe has change in the past centuries. She manages to make a deal with Lawrence and ends up traveling with him. As they travel, Holo helps Lawrence increase his profits as a merchant, but also attracts negative attention from the Church because of her real nature.

Another great anime that made some friends of mine happy for watching. I looked online and saw that there's a second series so I may check that out as well. But anyway this is a great fantasy anime with a nice hint of romance between Holo and Lawrence. There's some slight nudity but it really isn't that bad. Another great anime to see.

~Liz~

Jan Ken Pon!

So some time ago my friend Travis told me to watch this anime called Nichijou. He gave me some hard drives with all the episodes available. And now that my brain is slowly settling so I actually have time to watch anime, I've taken an interest in Nichijou.

This anime is a slice of life anime where it follows the lives of high school students. It mainly follows three girls named Yukko, Mio, and Mai, three friends who have bizarre events happen to them every day at school, and an 8 year old Professor with her robot, Nano.

Yukko, Mio and Mai go to high school and have strange things happen to them that's oddly normal such as one of their classmates pulling guns out of thin air and the richest boy coming to school on a goat with his butler. Depsite these bizarre characters and situations that happen daily, they live life "normally" as they go through their lives as high schoolers.

Meanwhile, an eight year old scientist, known as Professor, lives at home without going to school living with her robot Nano and a stray cat she picked up she named Sakamoto who wears a red handkerchief that allows him to talk. Despite her intelligence, Professor still acts like the child she is which even includes adding bizarre functions to Nano without her noticing such as having missiles shoot out and having openings in her arms that pop out log cakes much to Nano's dislike when she wishes to be able to go to school normally especially without the wind-up key on her back.

This is by far one of the most random animes I've seen since Fooly Cooly, and THAT was random beyond belief. But it's a really really good anime to watch and is really funny with awesome characters to love. It's only available in Japanese with subs so if you like dubs better you'll just have to wait, but the original Japanese is really good and I still recommend it.

~Liz~

I put a jet pack engine at the bottom of your chair

So this is my first anime review since.. well since I started school. With my hetic schedule and amount of homework I get, by the time I get home I can't think straight. So I've been lagging on my anime watching for a while. But thanks to my three day weekend, I've been finally able to catch up on D. Gray-man, start two new animes, and finish Higurashi Kai. One of the new animes I got hooked on and am almost finished with is an anime called Angel Beats! (Exclamation mark included in title)

This anime is set in a high school that acts as a Purgatory (A state in the afterlife before going to Heaven. Look it up because it's too complicated to talk about.), where the students who've died and come here learn to give up on worldly attachments they had when they were alive before passing on to the next after life or reincarnation. The injury or cause of death is gone, but in this world, people can still feel pain and other feelings they had when they were alive, including death, but since they're already in the afterlife, they'll just wake up again some time later with their injuries gone.

The story revolves around the main protagonist Otonashi, a boy who lost his memories of his life before dying. Upon waking up in the afterlife, he meets a girl named Yuri and is invited to join the Afterlife Battlefront, an organization founded by Yuri where a group of students fight against God because of their cruel experiences when they were alive. Their only enemy is the student council president named Angel, a girl who possesses supernatural powers and fights against the SSS. It is believed that if one follows Angel and behave like a normal student, you'll eventually pass on. But if you're able to fulfill your dreams in the afterlife, you'll be able to pass on as well.

This is a really great anime to watch, and if you like Clannad and Air TV, you'll definitely love Angel Beats! Beautiful animation, great fight scenes, fun characters, tons of comic relief and of course character back stories that'll jerk tears out of your eyes. Recommend everyone to watch it now!

~Liz~

By Any Other Name Would Smell As Sweet

If no one has gotten the title, this next anime is related to Shakespeare. This anime is called Romeo x Juliet. Obviously it's based off the famous Shakespearean play, but trust me when I say that it's really great.

The story follows young Juliet, a citizen of Neo Verona who masquerades as a boy called Odin for an unknown reason and fights against nobles abusing their power by becoming a masked Robin Hood character known as "The Red Whirlwind". While attending a ball with a friend, she meets Romeo who she falls in love with at first sight. Her sixteenth birthday approaches, and it is revealed that Juliet is really Juliet Fiammatta Ars De Capulet, the last surviving member of the Capulet family that was massacred in a bloody coup d'état led by the house of Montague, which makes Juliet remember the night 14 years ago when she saw her parents murdered in front of her eyes. This only makes it worse when she finds out that the boy she fell in love with is Romeo Candore De Montague. While trying to lead a rebellion against Leontes Montague, head of the Montague family and prince of Neo Verona, Juliet faces challenges of her identity as The Red Whirlwind, keeping her real identity as a Capulet a secret, and trying to manage her love for her Romeo. What will become of these star-crossed lovers?

I haven't watched the entire series and I feel like I should have before making a review, but I like the series enough to do so. This anime version of the famous play is by far the best version out of all the versions of Romeo and Juliet I have seen. It even includes references to other Shakespearean plays and other characters from his plays. Even William Shakespeare is a character for a little comic relief as he's a procrastinating playwright. With a great combination of drama, fantasy and romance, this anime is by far one of the best ones I've seen so far.

~Liz~

Language of Flowers

My sister was told to watch this anime some time back and I got myself hooked on it as well. Its name is Shuffle! (The exclamation mark is part of the title).

This story is set in a fictional universe in which humans live in peace with gods(have slightly pointed ears) and demons(very pointed ears). Both races are equally kind and for ten years, people have been immigrating between worlds.

The series focuses around seventeen year old high school student, Rin Tsuchimi who attends the multi-racial high school National Verbena Academy. Eight years ago he lost his parents to a car accident that also took the mother of his friend, Kaede Fuyou. Around the same time after he began living with Kaede, he met two mysterious girls at different times by the names of Lisianthus (Sia for short) and Nerine who accompanied their fathers during business meetings. After becoming lost in the human world, Rin befriended them and made them happy.

Eight years later, Sia and Nerine transfer to his school, and Rin becomes a marriage candidate for both of them while other girls he knows seek him as well for a potential boyfriend. Who will Rin choose: Sia, the princess of the Realm of the Gods, Nerine, the princess of the Realm of the Demons, Kaede, Rin's childhood friend, or even Asa, the energetic "Shocking Shigure"?

Watch and find out!

I used the title because there are a lot of allusions to flowers in this anime. Anyway...

This anime is kinda for more mature audiences cause there is some nudity. But if you're able to get past that, the story's really good. Another good recommendation.

~Liz~

Chiiiiiii

I added another anime to Netflix that I thought would be good, and I got completely hooked on it. Name of anime: Chobits.

Centered around the life of Hideki Motosuwa, he is a held back student trying to qualify to be in a university by studying at a prep school in Tokyo. He dreams of having a persecom: a computer in the form of a person (hence name). He didn't think his dream would be granted when he finds a persecom in the form of a beautiful girl with long blonde hair lying with a pile of garbage bags. After carrying her home and turning her on, she instantly adores Hideki and can only say the word "chi" which becomes her name. After trying to have her analyzed twice and having six persecoms crash in the attempt, it is confirmed that Chi is a custom-built persecom. It was even suggested that Chi could be one of the Chobits: a type of persecom that is able to have its own free will and possess emotions. Though it's a possibility, it's only a rumor.

As the series progresses, Hideki teaches Chi many words, concepts, and different behaviors. As this happens, Chi slowly begins having mysterious functions come out and even starts developing feelings for Hideki that she's not supposed to have. Even Hideki slowly starts having feeling for Chi as well despite the experiences his friends had with persecoms. Could Chi be one of the Chobits?

This anime is a very cute romantic comedy and of course very hilarious. Really want anyone who has read this to definitely watch this anime.

~Liz~

And I'm Back!

So for the first anime review in forever on here, I've chosen the anime Soul Eater which I've been recommended to watch by many people.

Set in the fictional city of Death City, a school exists to protect the world against evil souls called kishin and witches that have a taste for bringing destruction to the world. This school is known as the Death Weapon Meister Academy, or the DWMA for short and was created by the grim reaper, Death. This anime follows three of the students and their weapon partners: Maka Albarn with her scythe Soul Eater, Black Star with his shadow weapon Tsubaki, and Death the Kid with his twin guns Liz and Patty. The goal of all meisters is for their weapons to absorb 99 kishin souls and the soul of one witch so the weapons will have the power to become a death scythe, a weapon able to be used by a grim reaper. As these meisters work to make their weapons death scythes, they also work to fight against forces who wish for anarchy and world destruction.

I love this anime cause it's both funny and serious at the same time, so even if during a really important fight there is still some comedic relief. The characters are really great both in and out of action. I even got my sister hooked on it too because it's pretty easy to follow even if you're in the middle of the series. So like all my other friends that told me so, I tell you to go watch it!

~Liz~

I will not stop walking

I think this will be my last review for a while since I'm kinda out of animes to review. I promise I'll watch as much anime as I can and make a new post as soon as possible. But now I'll do a review on an anime called D.Gray-man.

D.Gray-man follows 15-year-old Allen Walker, an exorcist for an organization of other exorcists called the Black Order. His left arm can transform into a huge, monstrous claw that destroys Akuma(Japanese for demon), evolving machines that kill humans and are controlled by a man known as the Millennium Earl. The Black Order's goal is to stop this Millennium Earl and recover pieces of Innocence, a substance which gives exorcists their ability to destroy Akuma. To prevent them from doing so, the Earl works with the Noah Family, who are superhuman descendants of Noah(the man who built the huge ark) and are able to destroy the Innocence. As the story progresses, both the Black Order and the Millennium Earl with the Noah Family search for a powerful piece of Innocence known as the Heart, which assures victory to the side that finds it.

This anime is pretty long and there are some fillers which are actually pretty funny, but the story and characters are really great. It's kinda like Naruto or Bleach in which it's pretty lengthy but it's really good to watch.

~Liz~

When the Cicadas Cry

For my next anime review, it will be on an anime called Higurashi no Naku Koro ni or When They Cry in English dub.

Set in a fictional village of Hinamizawa in June 1983, Keiichi Maebara moves there and befriends his classmates Rena Ryugu, Mion Sonozaki, Rika Furude, and Satoko Houjou. As he hangs out with them in their after school activities, he sees Hinamizawa as a peaceful rural village. That is until the annual Watanagashi(Cotton-Drifting) Festival passes, in which the villagers pay their respects to their local god, Oyashiro-sama.

He finds out that each year at the night of the festival, a person dies and another person goes missing. Eventually, Keiichi's drawn into the strange mysteries of the Watanagashi Festival, Oyashiro-sama, and the mysterious pasts of his new friends.

Now there are different story arcs in this series where different scenarios of these events occur. Now why this happens is further explain in the sequel series Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai where it focuses around the character Rika Furude and a mysterious spirit named Hanyuu, and it explains why different story arcs occur.

Unlike most of the other animes I've reviewed, this anime is very brutal and violent, showing very graphic violence. I only had one scene out of the entire series make me flinch, but if you're very squeamish with blood and violence in anime then you may wanna steer clear of this anime.

Despite the violence displayed, the plot's great to follow and keeps you wanting to watch more.

~Liz~

Pastaaaaa

So I have a couple animes I can still do reviews on before I need to get watching more anime again. So for today's review, it's on Hetalia: Axis Powers.

The entire series and its sequel series, World Series, shows comedic interpretations of political and historical events, mostly on World War II. The countries are represented by stereotyped anthropomorphic characters and its main characters are the same countries that were a part of the Axis Powers and the Allies of WWII: Italy, Germany, Japan, America, England, France, Russia, and China. All historical, political, and military interaction between countries is represented as social and/or romantic interaction between characters.

The thing with this series is that fact that each episode is literally five minutes long and can probably irritate someone, but despite this, Hetalia is a very hilarious anime to get hooked on. It has some mature themes such as France trying to be romantic with other characters but the stereotyping is funny as well.

For anyone who's in need of a good laugh, I recommend Hetalia.

~Liz~

Welcome Poor Man to Our World of Beauty~!

So I feel like I should watch more anime so I can have more reviews on here and to kill some time other than drawing on my tablet. So anyway here's my review on the anime, Ouran High School Host Club.

This series starts off with scholar student, Haruhi Fujioka looking for a place to study. However, Haruhi happens to come across a club with six male students where they gather female clients to entertain, or to put it in short a host club. In their first meeting, Haruhi accidentally knocks over and breaks an 8 million yen vase(Roughly 80 thousand dollars in US dollars) and now has to work for the host club to pay off the debt. However, here's the shocker. Haruhi is a girl mistaken as a male student for her short hair and attire. Despite the fact that she's female, the host club keeps her real gender a secret and no one's able to tell. As the story progresses, Haruhi learns more about the members of the host club.

Tamaki Suoh, the "king" of the host club, is a second year narcissitic princely type who entertains clients with his etiquette and flattery.

Kyoya Ootori, the vice president, is a second year like Tamaki and is the secretive and intelligent "cool" type who's the real mastermind, planning vacations and even making magazines with the pictures of the hosts.

Twins Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin are first year mischevious young men who constantly play around with their classmates, Haruhi especially. In the host club, they use acts of "forbidden brotherly love" to attract their clients (Unclear if they're bi or not).

Mitsukuni "Hunny" Haninozuka is a third year student despite his childish appearance which attracts many clients. Although he has a great love for cake and his stuffed bunny, Usa-chan, he has legendary fighting skills.

Takashi "Mori" Morinozuka is a tall and silent type third year student who's protective of his cousin, Hunny-senpai. Much like his cousin, Mori-senpai is skilled in fighting, taking a specialty in kendo.

And, of course, new member Haruhi Fujioka is the intelligent, "natural" type who doesn't come from a rich family like the rest of the hosts but got in Ouran through a scholarship.

I think that was longer than I intended.. Hahahaha.

This is a very popular shojo manga that lots of girls get hooked on. With a decent amount of comedic relief, I highly recommend it.

~Liz~

Simply One Hell of a Butler

For my next review, it is on the widely known anime, Black Butler(more commonly known as Kuroshitsuji).

After the death of his parents that burned down his home, Ciel Phantomhive became a sacrifice for a cult and his hate for the torturers caught the attention of a demon named Sebastian. Ciel formed a contract with Sebastian escaping the torturers, making Sebastian his butler. Now Ciel seeks revenge on those who killed his parents, disgraced the Phantomhive name, and tortured him in exchange for his own soul.

This anime caught my attention thanks to my friends obsessed with it and its obvious popularity it has grown in the past couple years. I swear I go onto DeviantART and see tons of cosplay from this anime. But anyway, this anime is a bit scary, but has a great story line and, of course, plenty of comedic relief. If you haven't seen this yet, check it out now and see what you're missing out on.

~Liz~

Ten-Thousand Miles to See You

So for my first anime review in forever I'm writing about an anime called Mushishi.

In this anime, there are ghostlike creatures called Mushi who possess various supernatural powers. They aren't exactly evil, but are said to be trying to survive like us humans. Certain people are able to see Mushi and can even interact with them though sometimes leading to unimaginable consequences.

The main character, Ginko, is a Mushi master (Translated from Mushishi, the title, and is sometimes translated as Bug master), and travels across Japan researching Mushi and aiding to people suffering from them. He began attracting Mushi at a young age when he encountered a Mushi that caused his hair to turn white, turn his eyes green, and lose one eye. He never stays in one place for too long cause he'll attract too many Mushi and endanger others.

While there is no overall story plot, this is a very beautiful anime and is really good to get hooked on. I completely reccomend it for anyone.

~Liz~

Who are you calling a pipsqueak midget?!

So while I wait for my new Yosemite photos being uploaded to Facebook, I'll do another review on Fullmetal Alchemist.

Alchemy is the science of understanding matter, breaking it down, and then reconstructing it into something else. It can even turn lead into gold. However, it's not an all powerful science. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That's what the Elric brother, Edward and Alphonse, learned the night they attempted to bring their mother back from the dead.

Born in a small town of Resembool in the country Amestris, Edward and his younger brother, Alphonse, live with their mother and developed an aptitude for alchemy at a young age. Their father, Hohenheim, left home for an unknown reason when they were little and their mother, Trisha Elric, died years later of a terminal illness.

Distressed by their mother's death, Edward and Alphonse began researching human transmutation, an forbidden alchemy where one attempts to create or modify a human being. After a year of training alchemy, they attempt to bring their mother back, but this attempt failed. Not only what they created wasn't human, but Edward lost his left leg while Alphonse lost his entire body. Desperate to save the only family he had left, Edward sacrificed his right arm, putting Alphonse's soul into a suit of armor.

Some days later, a state alchemist named Roy Mustang visited the brothers, discovering their attempt at human transmutation. Impressed by how Edward was able to survive, he suggests to him to become a state alchemist to help him and Alphonse recover their bodies. The next day, close family friends Winry Rockbell and her grandmother Pinako replace Edward's arm and leg with automail, a type of prosthetic limb. After a year of therapy, Edward becomes the youngest state alchemist ever.

After becoming a state alchemist, Edward and Alphonse leave their home to search for the Philosopher's Stone(For Harry Potter fans, yes it's the same thing as the Sorcerer's Stone), a legendary substance that ignores the laws of alchemy, making the brothers able to bring their normal bodies back.

Another mainstream anime that's really great. A mix of comedy, action and some drama, this anime has broken another scale of anime rating.

Now, there are actually two Fullmetal Alchemist series: Fullmetal Alchemist and FMA: Brotherhood. Here's the difference of the two so you know which ones you're watching.

The original Fullmetal Alchemist series follows the manga until about halfway through the series where it begins to run on a totally different story and it ends with a movie called Fullmetal Alchemist: Conqueror of Shamballa. In FMA: Brotherhood, it follows all of the manga and this summer there is going to be a release of a movie called Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos. I still have yet to finish Brotherhood but so far it's really good and the original anime series is really great to watch too.

~Liz~

I am God!

So my ongoing streak of posts continues with Death Note.

This series follows Light Yagami (Literally his name is Light), a very intelligent high school student who hates the world of crimes and corruptions he lives in. One day he discovers a mysterious notebook labeled "Death Note" lying in the grass on his school campus. Inside he finds instructions for it that say if he writes a person's name in it then that person will die and a few various other rules. Curious and bored, Light takes the Death Note home and experiments it on a couple criminals. Realizing it actually works he begins killing more criminals until he meets the previous owner of the Death Note, a shinigami (God of death[not to be confused with the soul reapers from Bleach]) named Ryuk, who purposely dropped the Death Note to Earth out of boredom. Light plans to become a hero to rid the world of criminals and anyone who gets in his way to create a clean utopia. He gains popular support throughout Japan under the name Kira as he continues killing criminals.

However, his plan backfires when the killings come to an excess and catch the attention of the International Police Organization and a mysterious detective known as "L". With L's intelligence, they get closer and closer to Kira even to the extent where they put cameras in the suspect's home. Will Light be caught and arrested or is he just a step ahead of the police and L?

This is a pretty mainstream anime, so it's very popular among many anime fans. It's actually a really good series to watch with its many twists and turns. On my broken scale of awesomeness, this anime's around a sixteen. It's a great anime to watch if you have just begun watching it or you need something a little scary and thrilling to watch.

~Liz~

I hereby accept the terms of your contract!

For my next review, I've chosen the series Code Geass.

This series is set in an alternate universe where the world is split up by three empires, the Holy Britannian Empire, the Chinese Federation, and the Euro Universe. It takes place after Britannia's conquest of Japan with their new weapons called Knightmare Frames (basically giant Transformers you can control). Britannia successfully took over Japan, taking away its citizen's rights, freedom, and their country's name, renaming it Area 11 and referring Japanese as Elevens.

Seven years later, the story focuses on its main character, Lelouch Lamperouge, or previously known as Lelouch vi Britania, who was exiled by his father, Charles zi Britania, after the murder of his mother that left his sister, Nunnally, blind and crippled. While ditching school and accidentally getting himself in a battle between anti-government terrorists and the Britannian Army in a ghetto, his life is saved by a mysterious girl named C.C (C2 in the English dub) and she makes a contract with him giving him a power called Geass, which allows him to make a person follow any order with eye contact.

With his new power and intellect, he becomes the leader of a resistance group called the Black Knights disguised as a man known as Zero. With the Black Knights, he sets out to get revenge for the murder of his mother and to create a world where Nunnally can live in safety and happiness.

Full of action, drama, and a hint of comedy, I rate this anime a fifteen out of ten. It's a bit bloody and scary at times, but the storyline's worth watching this anime. There may be some parts here and there for a mature audience but it's not that bad. Totally recommend it.

~Liz~

Get away from my ramen!

Let's see. Boring summer day, blistering hot outside, nothing to do.... Let's do another anime review!

In this anime called Air TV, it follows Yukito Kunisaki, a travelling puppeteer in search for the "girl in the sky", a story told to him by his late mother. As he goes into a small seaside town, he meets a young girl named Misuzu Kamio. Misuzu's sincere yet clumsy and is very eager to befriend Yukito. She constantly attempts to play with him until he eventually follows her home for a chance to eat. After persuading her aunt and foster mother, Haruko, Yukito is allowed to stay with them.

As he lives with them, he learns that Misuzu suffers a mysterious illness she has whenever she gets too close to someone. Is she the "girl in the sky" Yukito has been looking for and can he do something to save her?

A combination of funny, cute, sad, and just plain beautiful, it's a great anime that'll grab anyone's attention. There is also a movie, but I recommend the actual series before the movie because it explains some more details and introduces really fun characters such as Kano Kirishima and Minagi Tohno. This anime has to be at the top of my recommendation list of animes.

~Liz~

I have no time for ordinary humans!

For my next review (after a day), I chose The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.

Haruhi Suzumiya, the title character, has been an outcast ever since middle school. When she was in the 6th grade realizing she was just one person in a sea of people after going to a baseball game, she sets out to make her life as interesting as it can be including the want to befriend espers, aliens, and time travelers. Little does she know that she has the power to alter reality to her liking.

When she starts high school, she forms a club called the SOS Brigade and "recruits" Kyon(narrator of the anime), Yuki Nagato, Mikuru Asahina, and Itsuki Koizumi. The purpose of the SOS Brigade is to investigate mysterious phenomenon.

Told from Kyon's point of view, he's the only one that knows that Yuki, Mikuru, and Itsuki aren't exactly normal humans. It's revealed to him that Yuki is an alien, Mikuru is a time traveler, and Itsuki is an esper. They've been sent to join the SOS Brigade to observe Haruhi to maintain her ability to alter reality.

I've been told that there was a re-broadcast of this series and it's about 14 episodes longer than the original anime. I still have to check that out but I really recommend the original series first. It's very funny and humorous and of course a very popular anime seen just about everywhere on the Internet. If you haven't seen it yet, look for it now!

~Liz~

Timotei~

I haven't done a review in a while so I thought I'd do one. I saw this anime a long time ago but it's really good. It's called Lucky Star.

Lucky Star follows the lives of four Japanese girls and their lives as high schoolers. As the story progresses and they go through their second and third years, it also begins to follow the lives of their underclassmen friends. It's a very humorous anime just about normal teenagers going through life. While these teens have normal lives, they're great characters to like and laugh with.

The main cast includes Konata Izumi, Kagami Hiiragi, Tsukasa Hiiragi, and Miyuki Takara.

Konata is the representation of an otaku and is childish but a good-natured leader among her friends. Despite her laziness of being occupied with games, manga, and/or anime, she's very intelligent and athletic, but doesn't join any school clubs because then she'll "miss her prime time anime shows".

Kagami and Tsukasa are fraternal twins with obvious different looks and of course with different personalities.

Kagami is an intelligent girl who studies hard for her excellent grades. She is known as a stereotypical tsukkomi, so she's the smarter and more reasonable character and usually criticizes the others for their mistakes and exaggerations. However, she can be shy and emotional at times which makes her appear as a tsundere character as well.

Tsukasa is very different from her older sibling. She's depicted as loving, friendly, good-natured but clumsy person or an airhead. While she's good in cooking, she doesn't do well in studying or athletics. She often asks Kagami for help on homework though it doesn't help much.

Miyuki is a beautiful, smart and well-mannered girl from a wealthy family. She's shown as a stereotypical meganekko, or a glasses-wearing girl. Her classmates often look to her for help on their studies, and she's been known to give long and highly-detailed explanations on many matters.

On a scale of one to ten for this anime, I think I broke the scale on rating this anime. It's a very great anime to get attached to.

~Liz~

Weirdest Anime in the Universe

If someone were to ask me that, my answer would definently be FLCL (Fooly Cooly).

FLCL follows Naota Nandaba's coming of age. He's a 12-year-old boy who lives in the suburb of Mabase where "nothing amazing ever happens" and now has a new building called Medical Mechanica. That is until he's run over by a mysterious woman on her Vespa scooter and then hit in the head by an electric bass guitar. Later he's shocked to find that the same woman, Haruko Haruhara (who's also an alien), in his home and now a maid at his home. Since then, Naota's been having robots come out of his head and gets stuck in a three-way battle with Haruko, Medical Mechanica, and a commander believing Medical Mechanica is out to conquer the galaxy.

To be honest, this anime is really messed up filled with pure chaos but a lot of comedic moments that seem to drag people into watching this show. I've had three friends and my dad tell me to watch it and I honestly don't regret it. The only downside is the fact that the entire series is only six episodes long. But it's worth the two hours. It's a pretty good anime to get hooked on for its comedy. As weird as this anime may be, I recommend it.

~Liz~

A Rice Ball in a Fruits Basket

About a week ago I finished another shoujo anime series called Fruits Basket.

It focuses around orphaned high school student Tohru Honda who after being found living in a tent by classmate Yuki Sohma, is offered to stay with him and his cousin, Shigure in exchange for housekeeping. When Tohru begins living with them and meets another cousin named Kyo, she discovers that the Sohmas have a secret. Thirteen members of the Sohma family are cursed by animals of the Chinese zodiac and whenever they are hugged or under a great deal of stress they turn into whatever animal they're cursed by. When she finds out, Tohru promises not to tell and is allowed to keep living with them.

As the story progresses, she meets more members of the Sohma family with the curse and learn of their lives and what struggles they have to go through living with the curse. Her large positive influence will impact the lives of the Sohmas forever.

It's a great anime with really fun characters and a good story. Another great recommendation.

~Liz~

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's a magical girl!

Because I have nothing better to do with myself from noon until my mom gets home I finished watching an anime series known as Puella Magi Madoka Magica or Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica in Japanese.

Anime plots with magical girls are super popular. Case in point: Sailor Moon or Tokyo Mew Mew. They're young girls with superhuman abilities that fight evil and protect the Earth from any kind of destruction. Simple but easily popular.

In this particular anime, magical girls fight witches which are evil creatures born from darkness and cause many murders and suicides. A creature known as an Incubator will grant a girl one wish of anything their heart desires and in exchange, the chosen girl becomes a magical girl and fights witches.

This anime revolves around 14-year-old Madoka Kaname and her friend Sayaka Miki meet an Incubator named Kyubey who tries to make them magical girls, but another magical girl (and new transfer student) Homura Akemi tries to prevent Kyubey from doing so. Along the way, Madoka and Sayaka befriend a third year student named Mami Tomoe who is also a magical girl. While deciding what to wish for, Madoka and Sayaka slowly learn the pros and cons of becoming a magical girl and its consequences.

This is a fairly new anime just released this year, but it's very good. It may be a bit girly, but the characters are amazing along with the storyline. With great fight scenes and animation to go with it, Puella Magi Madoka Magica is an anime I'd recommend to anyone who'll be interested.

~Liz~

Dango Daikazoku~

As by the title of this blog, I've started writing anime reviews.

For those who don't know, anime is a type of Japanese animation that's super popular and comes in many genres and types. Each time I finish an anime or are really into it (depending on how long the series may be), I'll do a review on it.

For my first review I've chosen the anime Clannad.

Clannad revolves around a third year high school delinquent named Tomoya Okazaki. In the beginning of his year, he meets Nagisa Furukawa, a student repeating her last year of high school due to being sick too much the previous year. Her goal is to join the drama club since she was unable to the last year. Unfortunately, the drama club was disbanded after the remaining members graduated. Because Tomoya has a lot of free time, he works with Nagisa to help revive the drama club. During this time period, he meets and hangs out with other girls in his school, and helps them with their own individual problems.

The title of this particular post is the title of the song in the credits which translates to The Big Dango Family. It's a pretty cute song with adorable animation during the credits. Nagisa Furukawa is a fan of The Big Dango Family and sings the song and draws them all over a poster for reviving the drama club.


Overall this 24 episode anime is very sweet with a good storyline. It's also sad at some times but has some comedic relief and great characters people grow to love. I completely recommend it to anyone.

~Liz~