I'M NOT CRAZY!!

Finally! The next Studio Ghibli film has been released to America in theaters! I just went to see it today with my friends from the Anime and Manga club and all of us enjoyed it.

The Secret World of Arrietty is based on a novel series by Mary Norton called The Borrowers. In these novels, it follows the adventures of a group of small people about 10 cm tall who live in the floorboards of a human household. They survive off of going in the house at night and taking small items like sugar cubes and cookies so they can eat. Y'know, things humans won't miss if they're gone. Borrowers aren't meant to be seen by "human beans" as it sparks their curiosity negatively.

We begin with a 12-year-old boy named Sho (Shawn in English dub) who goes to live in the house his mother grew up in while he awaits for a heart operation. He's been told stories of Borrowers who have been believed to be seen by his grandparents much to the extent where they built a dollhouse just for the Borrowers with working lights and a stove.

Meanwhile, 14-year-old Arrietty lives in the floors of this house with her father and mother, Pod and Homily. She gets to experience her first borrowing with her father, but it turns for what seems to be the worse when Sho sees them. Arrietty's parents are sent into a panic and suggest moving out, yet Sho doesn't want to hurt them. Sho and Arrietty become the most unlikely pair of friends even as Sho's caretaker Haru (Hara in English) becomes suspicious of Sho's actions and the stories of the Borrowers.

When we went to the theater, I saw a lot of families with their kids so this is a very kid friendly movie. Yet if you enjoy Miyazaki's masterpieces, add this to your "must watch" list. The characters are funny and amazing while the artwork is breathtakingly beautiful. Everything's drawn to scale from a Borrower's point of view down to the details of the insects; it is just amazing! The friendship of Sho and Arrietty and how it develops really touches you and teaches that no friendship is ever too small and I really appreciate that a movie like this is being released in theaters because it's not everyday you get an animated (anime so no one goes Nazi on me) film these days. Another masterpiece by the great Hayao Miyazaki himself.

Definitely a movie you have to see if you're not doing anything this weekend or to purchase as a DVD if you wish to see it in its original Japanese format.

To Shamballa!

~SPOILERS!!~

After the completion of the first anime series, a movie for the continuation of Fullmetal Alchemist was released a year later. And thus, Fullmetal Alchemist: Conqueror of Shamballa premiered!

Two years have passed since Edward Elric was dragged from his world to ours in the year 1923 in Munich, Germany. All his powers involving alchemy are gone, yet he continues to research in the field of science as a rocket engineer with friend Alfons Heiderich, who coincidentally resembles Edward's younger brother while sharing the same name. Edward still has hopes on returning to his home where his family and friends are.

His average life on Earth turns around when he becomes involved in the Thule Society as they try to open a portal into Edward's world, believing it to be a utopia known as Shamballa.

While the Thule Society transports soldiers right into Edward's world, in the city of Liore where his brother Alphonse finally sees a chance to see his older brother again, yet still has memory loss after Edward sacrificed himself to bring Al back to life. Alphonse gets into contact with the homonculus Wrath to open the Gate of Alchemy to reunite with Edward just as Edward does the same on Earth as the Thule Society plans to launch a revolution in Germany.

In anime film history, I personally think that this is the best anime movie based off of a series. Unlike other anime movies based off the series, you don't have to guess what time in the anime it would take place; you know it's after the first series! It's just a thing I don't like to think about when I watch that stuff with other animes like Naruto or Bleach.

I love the returning characters and the new ones like Alfons Heiderich and the gypsy Noah. Some of the fighting scenes can be kinda graphic and a bit scary such as *spoiler* the deformed Gluttony when he's fighting Wrath *spoiler* but they're really good fight scenes. There are some pretty cool graphics too and I love the historical goodies they give us about Germany at the time. Overall, damn good movie.

I wanna be a human too!

And thus my ongoing reviewing continues with another anime film from Studio Ghibli called Ponyo.

Ponyo is based of Hans Christian Andersen's famous fairy tale The Little Mermaid with of course a Japanese twist.

Originally named Brunhilde (no clue why...), our title character is a goldfish who lives in an underwater castle with her father and wizard, Fujimoto, and her many little sisters. One day she sneaks away from her father to explore the human world. She is discovered by a 5-year-old boy named Sosuke who keeps her in a green bucket of water and gives her the name Ponyo and promises to love and protect her forever. Sosuke immediately notices that Ponyo isn't like any other fish; she can heal cuts instantly, has a love for ham and can talk!

Believing his daughter was kidnapped, Fujimoto takes back Ponyo, much to her dislike as she has a sudden interest to become a human like Sosuke. But as she tries to escape, she accidentally messes around with a huge amount of magic which makes the ocean overpowering with tsunamis and storms that throw the world out of its natural balance.

The plot itself is really simple to a story everyone knows so I guess you can say it's predictable. But c'mon, Sosuke and Ponyo are the most adorable 5-year-olds in the universe! For Miyazaki, everything is bright and colorful throughout the whole entire film. I guess this was intended more for a younger audience but even though I'm a teenager I really enjoy this film a lot. The characters are cute and the animation is beautiful, including the underwater life that is shown. Another amazing film.

I DON'T COOK! I'M A SCARY AND POWERFUL FIRE DEMON!

The title is a quote from the next anime movie I'm reviewing. This is Howl's Moving Castle.

Another Studio Ghibli film, based off a fantasy novel made in 1986 by British author Diana Wynne Jones.

We follow Sophie Hatter, a young woman who doesn't see herself as pretty and spends most of her time making hats while her co-workers love to go out and have fun. While going out to visit her little sister, she comes across a young wizard who saves her after a mysterious attack by black blobs.

Later that night, a woman visits her shop, only to be the infamous Witch of the Waste and curse her, transforming 18-year-old Sophie into a 90-year-old woman. Trying to look for a way to lift the curse, Sophie leaves her home going into the Land of the Wastes. Along the way, she meets a cursed scarecrow with a turnip for a head (naming it Turnip-head) who finds her a place to stay: The mobile "castle" of the infamous wizard Howl who she later discovers is the same person who saved her earlier in the movie.

Upon entering the castle, Sophie meets the fire demon who helps move the castle, Calcifer (voiced by Billy Crystal in English [Mike from Monster's Inc]). He lets her stay as cleaning lady under the condition to help him break the spell between him and Howl; in return, Calcifer will break the curse on Sophie. As she lives with Howl and his 8-year-old apprentice Markl, she embarks on an adventure grander than she's ever dreamed even as the country plunges into a war.

Now if anyone's actually read the original book, the film doesn't follow the novel's original plot. While Jones didn't have any input in the movie, she enjoyed it and knew it was going to be different. Mixed with Hayao Miyazaki's style of animation, it displays a beautiful presentation of a world of magic combined with warfare similar to that of the World Wars. It's very bright and colorful but also has its dark moments too. The cast of characters are dynamic while facing their own conflicts. Another success by Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli.

Going on to anime movies~

So with nothing else to do and once again my lack to watch anime, I'll start doing anime movies. They'll be based off of popular animes or they'll be Studio Ghibli films that people probably haven't heard about.

For those who have no clue what Studio Ghibli is, it's pretty much what Disney is to us Americans. With the great Hayao Miyazaki making great anime films for years, it's hard for any otaku to not know any of the films. Let's start off with Spirited Away.

We begin our story with 10-year-old Chihiro Ogino who is unenthusiastic about moving with her parents. On their way to their new house, they get lost and end up exploring an abandoned amusement park. Chihiro wanders off as her parents begin eating at a buffet and discovers a bathhouse. She also finds a mysterious boy who warns her to leave before nightfall. But as she goes back to her parents, she finds that they have been transformed into pigs and she cannot escape as spirits enter the park.

Chihiro runs into the boy again, whose name is Haku, and he tells her that her family has been trapped in the spirit world and she must work at the bathhouse to be able to return to her world. Eventually, she is granted a job at the bathhouse by the witch Yubaba and is forced to change her name to Sen. She must endure many challenges in this coming of age film if she is to return to reality.

This is one of the earliest anime films I was exposed to when I was four. I freaked out when her parents turned into pigs because as a child it's really pretty scary! But the animation and story line are beautiful with the rich amount of Japanese culture. The characters are memorable and very lovable too. By far one of the best anime masterpieces of all time.

Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice

These were the ingredients chosen to-

Wait a second... This isn't the original!

This isn't fake. There is literally an anime version of the popular American cartoon, Powerpuff Girls. I heard about this a few years ago and saw a couple videos and started watching the anime, but never got around to finishing. Now my spark of interest for this anime has come back and here I am reviewing it! Say hello to Powerpuff Girls Z!

Powerpuff Girls Z is set in Tokyo City (New Townsville) where Professor Utonium and his son, Ken, live. By accident, Ken creates Chemical Z, a new form of the Professor's original substance, Chemical X. A sudden worldwide ecological disaster brings in Chemical Z as it is shot into a glacier in Tokyo City's bay and restoring the weather back to normal... That is of course with some after effects like, oh I don't know, rays of light and dark scattering about Tokyo City.

As a result, three 13-year-old girls (who in this Japanese spin-off are unrelated to each other) are hit by rays of light and turn into Powerpuff Girls Z! However, the rays of dark hit people as well and turn them into the villains you know and love such as Mojo Jojo, Sedusa, the Gangreen Gang, Princess Morbucks, and many others!

Momoko is (Hyper) Blossom and the ecstatic leader of the team with a yo-yo for her weapon. She has a great love for sweets and snacks and her constant crushes on various boys.

Miyako is (Rolling) Bubbles and is very happy and "bubbly" yet a complete ditz. Her choice of weapon is a giant bubble wand. She's very oblivious to the many boys who have crushes on her yet is aware of her adoration for fashion and cute clothes.

And last but not least is Kaoru or (Powered) Buttercup. Unlike the other two, she's a total tomboy and favors sports over "girly" things. She's very reluctant to be a part of the team due to the fact her transformation forces her to wear a skirt, yet she wields a giant hammer for her weapon.

So as you can probably analyze from all of this, the Japanese took the original American cartoon and turned it into a magical girl anime. And damn did they do a helluva good job!

It's very bright and colorful and it's quite hilarious, including their version of Mojo. Though my only downside for this is the English dub they made that's only aired in the Philippines. Honestly, it sucks. So if you really want to check this out, go for the Japanese because it's so much better. I really enjoy this anime and hope others will too!

~Liz~

God... I was so obsessed with this

When I started gaining my interests in manga and anime as a young girl, I used to read Shonen Jump. A manga called One Piece caught my attention one day when I was seven, so I began to read it and never stopped. When I heard the anime was gonna be released on TV I just had to watch it.

It starts off with a small prologue of the execution of Gold Roger, a man who was known as the King of the Pirates. Just before his death, he announces that his treasure, the One Piece, is up for anyone's taking. Thus began the Great Pirate Era as numerous pirates set out to the Grand Line for Gold Roger's treasure.

Twenty years later, a young 17-year-old pirate named Monkey D. Luffy sets out on his journey in search for the One Piece. Ten years prior to his adventure, he was inspired by the pirate "Red-Haired" Shanks to start off his own crew and one day become the next King of the Pirates. However, at that same time, he accidentally ate what's known as a Devil Fruit which allows his body to stretch in outrageous ways, but takes away his ability to swim.

It doesn't matter to him though as he slowly builds up his crew such as bounty hunter swordsman, Roronoa Zoro, navigator and thief, Nami, and many other interesting characters. Along the way however, he faces many enemies such as Buggy the Clown, the Black Cat Pirates, and many others including the Marines who eventually put a bounty on Luffy's head. Yet Luffy won't stop until he gets to the Grand Line and becomes the King of the Pirates.

Okay, I know this sounds like a cool anime, but here's the truth: It goes nowhere fast! The original Japanese is STILL running with over 500 episodes! I mean, at first it's okay, you can get through most of the extra filler stuff that gets a bit annoying, but after a while I got bored with it and was kind of an on-and-off status with it for a small time. Then after a while I thought, "This has turned into such a boring show." I still like some of the characters like Zoro and Sanji but everyone else gets really annoying. I'm still surprised I have friends who actually still like it. But I guess it depends on preferences in anime. It's not totally bad since there is a good intended story line with great characters, but it's slow in delivering the actual story. Just my opinion.

~Liz~

Okay this is actually better

Out of all the "mainstream" animes I've seen, this is actually a better one. Thought I haven't watched it in over a year or something and still have yet to catch up.... But anyway! Here's Bleach.

Ichigo Kurosaki is just your normal 15-year-old high school student, but with the ability to see ghosts. He's had this ability for many years and up till now, none of them have posed a threat. That changes the night he meets Rukia Kuchiki, a Soul Reaper who balances the flow of souls between the human world and the afterlife. She's arrived in search of a dangerous type of soul called a Hollow which she does find as it's attacking Ichigo's family. During the battle, Rukia gets severely injured while protecting Ichigo and tries to give him half of her spiritual pressure so he can defeat the Hollow. But in the process, Ichigo accidentally takes almost all of it and turns into a Soul Reaper and letting him be able to kill the Hollow easily.

The next day, everything is back to normal and it seems Ichigo won't see Rukia again... Well, that is until she arrives at his school as a new student. Because of her lack of spiritual pressure thanks to Ichigo, she's stuck on the human world to recover her lost powers. In the meantime, Ichigo must take over her role as a Soul Reaper, killing Hollows and guiding souls to the afterlife, the Soul Society.

Throughout the story, Ichigo and Rukia face different threats as well as close friends gain spiritual powers because of them. Uryu Ishida as the last Quincy, Orihime Inoue with her hair barrettes that act as a shield and health to her friends, and Yasutora "Chad" Sado with his powerful, armored arms. Slowly they begin to face threats such as the Soul Society with concerns of Rukia not returning and the betrayal of other Soul Reapers who crave for power and destruction.

One of my more favorite animes out of the mainstream category because it does manage to hold a plot all throughout it's long span of episodes. It does contain arcs within the important plot with mainly fillers, but these are actually quite hilarious. But if you're focused on the main plot, Wikipedia has a list of all the arcs so you know which ones to avoid to keep on the plot, but I have heard that some of the filler arcs are really good. It's still an ongoing series with a current whole new plot (Probably because the creator doesn't want to give up on the series) that I hear has some totally random moments.

But anyway, Bleach is a really great anime full of action and very comedic moments with memorable characters you grow to love.

~Liz~

Dattebayo!

I'm not really particular into doing "mainstream" animes cause I'll assume everyone's heard of them. But I might as well just do a post anyway on the ever popular anime, Naruto.

Twelve years ago, the Nine-Tailed Fox Demon attacked the ninja village of Konohagakure and killed many people. The village's fourth leader or Fourth Hokage sacrificed his own life to save the village a sealed the demon inside a newborn baby named Naruto Uzumaki.

Already at age 12, Naruto has been the victim of neglect for years as no one has ever told him of the demon dwelling inside him as a decree by the Third Hokage for no one to ever mention the attack of the fox demon; not even to Naruto. However, thanks to a rebel ninja, he is now aware of who he truly is.

Nevertheless, he still goes about his life as a normal and over-eager graduate of the village's Ninja Academy. Assigned with his rival, Sasuke Uchiha and crush, Sakura Haruno in a ninja team, they work with their sensei to accomplish tasks, whether they be doing chores or escorting someone to another village.

All seems easy and peaceful at first, but everything slowly turns for the worst as criminal ninjas and criminal organizations seek world domination.

Okay I know this sounds like a completely cliche anime right? Honestly I was obsessed with it at one point but let's face it; it's so much to digest! Not only is it 400+ episodes with it STILL continuing with its sequel, Naruto: Shippuden but a decent portion of it is just fillers which are so annoying! Very few of them are even enjoyable. The actual original series itself is 135 episodes plus 85 episodes with random crap. I've barely even bothered with Shippuden cause it's just SO much to catch up on along with trying to avoid the fillers. And plus my friends who actually like this series and are up to date with it pretty much spoil everything so it's just turned to the point of this: What's the point?

While I admit it was a good series to start off on watching anime, it's kinda overrated after a while. I dunno, maybe I'll get back to it but I highly doubt it.

~Liz~

Better Explanation

I talked a bit about Higurashi Kai when I made an earlier post about Higurashi no Naku koro ni, but I think this deserves a better explanation. And also...

~Spoilers~

Higurashi Kai is like the previous series but with a twist.

This sequel series focuses on Rika Furude and a spirit entity that follows her around named Hanyuu. She's been travelling through countless numbers of worlds that follow the same plot with the Watanagashi festival which slightly different results but always end with the deaths of herself and the people of Hinamizawa.

The last results with Keiichi's remembrance of a previous world have changed things though. Rika for the first time has been given hope to stopping this never ending cycle of death and sadness. With new worlds gives new chances to prevent the events of the Watanagashi festival from happening and move on to a peaceful life past June 1983.

This sequel is actually more violent than the original and gives more details as to previous events and other stuff that was never mentioned before. Other than the blood and violence, I give this anime a perfect ten for a great series to watch.

~Liz~

My First Movie Review!

So out of even more boredom and my lack of catching up on anime, I'll do an anime movie review. Here's Hetalia: Axis Powers: Paint it White!

In Iceland's first appearance, he's trying to find out how to get more tourists to help out in his economy, but notices a strange green mist in the air. This mist is really an alien threat to the entire world.

Through America's alien friend, Tony, the World 8 (which has members of the Allies and Axis powers plus Canada) learns that this new threat are what's called Pictonians who are a race of basically white blob-like aliens with antennas on their heads who change the land and the people into one of them, making the world "completely boring and white!" At first, no one's able to get along (as usual) and try to thwart off the aliens by their own means.

However all the nations slowly realize that the Pictonians are stronger than they thought and can't take them out by normal ways of battle. One by one, the nations and their cities become great masses of white from South Italy (Romano) to Greece, with the exclusion of Liechtenstein and Switzerland as they are in a zone of permanent neutrality that the aliens can't get into.

Now the former Allies and Axis Powers are the only nations left to save the world from alien takeover. They're forced to set aside their differences for the sake of the world and everything. Can they accomplish this? And will Italy finally be of some use to the others?

Like the series, it's all very hilarious. Although it is supposed to be a semi-serious plot, it can't be helped because... Well it's Hetalia! Comedy is to be seen around every corner no matter what given situation. The movie also presents recaps of popular scenes of different episodes of Hetalia: Axis Powers such as France asking to marry England and the discovery of Nikujaga. A great film based off a great series that must be watched!

~Liz~

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~

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~