Eden of the East

Eden of the east has an amazing story, it's well planned and presented and is definitely worth a watch if you're looking for a more sophisticated mystery story line.

I can be quite fussy with how my anime looks, at first I wasn't sure about watching this because it didn't look very detailed in the form of the art work. I soon forgot about my silly nitpicks a few episodes into the series when the story really got going.

Eden of the east starts when a very normal girl named Saki Morimi is visiting Washington and by a crazy turn of events ends up running from the police with a boy named Akira Takizawa. Takizawa finds himself naked, with a gun and a strange mobile phone outside the White House and he has no memory of his former life. From there he goes on the hunt for information about who he was before he erased his memory. It's hard to not give away parts of the story as there are so many twists and turns.

The story definitely kept me guessing and as the series went on I got more addicted and interested about what was going to happen. This was a very surprisingly good find for me and I would recommend it to anyone who likes a mystery.

There are also two Eden of the East movies which I very much look forward to watching now that I have seen the series.

What do you think?

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Clannad

I first watched Clannad three years ago, before I went to university. The different of characters create the perfect combination of 'slice of life' and fantasy genres. I loved this anime the first time I watched it so I was only too happy to watch it all over again to create a review.

Te anime centres around Tomoya Okazaki, a not so extraordinary  high school student who begins making friends when he decides to help Nagisa Furukawa reform the drama club at school. This friendship creates the base of the story and from there new characters enter.

As I mentioned there are a vast range of characters, all of which have their own little back story. I've criticised anime's before for  having potentially amazing characters yet not expanding on them enough. This is one reason I love this anime, although I would like to know more about some characters (eg Ryou and Kyou Fujibayashi) there is enough insight to keep me satisfied.

A particular favourite character and story line of mine is Fuko Ibuki's. I love a supernatural drama story but placed into this slice of life setting it was a nice little surprise. I hate ruining the story during reviews so I try not to give much away, but there is a superb mix of genres in this anime, including romance (which is always a nice little side story to keep our hearts racing and hoping.)

Another very easy watch and definitely one I would watch again on a rainy day to cheer myself up.

What do you think?

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Another

'Another' is a horror anime with an amazing story, creepy characters and so many twists and turns, guessing the end is almost impossible!

It's been a while since I watched a horror anime and when I saw pictures of 'Another' I had to watch it. initially it was the cute creepy girl with an eye patch by the name of Misaki Mai. Just the look of her character drew me in (that terrifying 'little girl' look always has me shaking in my boots).

When I started watching it wasn't only her character that was the main appeal of the series. a few of the characters are strange and the whole story kept you guessing throughout the series. I was sure I had the ending sussed so I was pretty surprised when I was wrong but I'm so glad I was because the pieces of the puzzle I failed to put together were fascinating.

I maybe would have liked the series to  be a bit scarier as a whole as that was what I was looking for before I started watching. Although I don't want this to be a negative criticism in any way as I think the series was flawless and it is definitely one I would watch again.

What do you think?

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Genei wo Kakeru Taiyou

This anime is one with quite a lot of depth to the story line, so I will try to explain the story as simply as possible.

The story revolves around a group of girls with the powers of the elemental tarot. They use these powers to defeat the Daemonia (Demons who use the Diablos tarot to trick humans into becoming their puppets through their weaknesses.) These girls are not only faced with the difficult task of killing these Daemonia but also an internal struggle to whether they really are saviours. There is no way to save the humans who have been taken over and they die along with the daemonia.

The concept of the girls powers reminded me a lot of Tokyo Mew Mew (as each girl seems to be bound to a single tarot like the girls in Tokyo Mew Mew are different animals) When I realised these stories were somewhat similar I was excited to watch this and Tokyo Mew Mew was one of the first Anime's I watched and remains one of my favourites.

To be honest in the case of this Anime, it took me a few episodes to really get into it and get excited for what was to come in the next episode, but as more and more character backgrounds were revealed I really began to enjoy the series. Although in the case of the character Luna I didn't feel so attached to her, I found her a bit creepy in all honesty and therefore don't think some events had the affect they were meant to on me.

It takes about half of the series for all of the characters to be developed but as the series is only 13 episodes this didn't feel excessive or dragged out. After the first half the story really moves on and the excitement begins. I really liked that a whole half of the series was dedicated to a big plot line as in some Anime's I find the real story only starts two or three episodes towards the end.

If you like Tokyo Mew Mew or Card Captors then I think you will really like this anime.

What do you think?

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Goshusho-sama Ninomiya-kun (Good luck Ninomiya-kun)

I watched this anime years ago and loved it, but forgot what it was called. So when I was looking for  a new anime to watch I was surprised when I realised I recognised the story!

Our main character is Shungo, a seemingly normal high school student. One day his sister sends Mayu to live with him. Mayu is a Succubus, meaning she a the incredible power of being irresistible to men, and could kill them with just a kiss. However Mayu is hopeless when it comes to her power, she has no idea how to control it, and to make matters worse she has a terrible phobia of men (androphobia). Mayu was sent to live with Shungo to help her overcome her fear and gain some power over her Succubus powers. How could living with a boy help you ask? well not only does she have to live with him but she also has to sleep and bathe with him while her brother and Shungo's sister make them participate in explicit 'tests'

Another key character is Reika, a hard headed girl who also ends up living with Sungo and becoming his maid. There are many twists to this story. not only a love triangle but it appears that these thee have met before and their relationships go deeper than even they are aware of.

Once I started watching this I couldn't stop and ended up watching every episode in one go. I love the love triangle story and there are some funny scenes concerning that awkward teenage sexual tension everyone has experienced (although maybe not so explicit haha). Other than having that 'slice of life' element I love an anime with air of magic or darkness, and this has both.

What do you think?

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Heaven's Memo Pad

When I read the description I could not wait to jump into this anime. Reclusive teens who have an important job just seemed like a dream I would have had when I was a bit younger (even now at 21). This anime has all of the right elements to make any lover glued to their screen until all 12 episodes are through.

Alice is a NEET detective and one of our main characters. Her social skills are limited and she has no need for leaving her room. She spends her time wearing cute teddy bear pyjamas, surrounded by her stuffed animals and many computer screens. Her unhealthy diet contains Doctor Pepper and Ramen, she also REALLY hates bathing! She upholds that perfect cute anime character while not making the anime too uguu.

She is the leader of the NEET detectives (NEET is an acronym for 'Not in Education, Employment or Training) and uses her crew of dropouts to dig up the secrets of the dead and discover the unknown. I read about NEETs in NEO magazine and discovered that the concept of the story in this anime creates that dream world not only for teenagers but for the likes of me also (people who have just finished university and have found there are no jobs for them to go into).

Our other main character is Narumi Fujishima, a reclusive teen who never bothers to make friends due to moving school often, however when he finds himself recruited as Alice's new assistant he is introduced to a world full of characters not so different from himself.

I don't want to give away too much of the story for people who have not yet watched this anime but in my opinion there is a character for everyone's taste.

Alice - the reclusive brainy girl who hides away watching over her detectives.

Narumi - the new kid who finds his way into danger and begins making close bonds he never thought he would.

Soichiro Hinamura - also known as The Fourth is a gang leader who likes to talk with his fists when it comes to detective work.

Min - The strong willed, big breasted, independent women that holds the group together from the comfort of her Ramen shop.

There are many more characters, and all of them have amazing personalities which demand their own back story, sadly this is not done in the series. There are also hints of a possible love story developing  and the series ends with room for another. However I have found no evidence that another series will be made and as the anime aired in 2011 it seems like a long time to wait for another.

Heaven's Memo Pad is due to come out on DVD in the UK on 28th October, all I can do is buy the series and watch it over and over while praying for another to be made!

"It's the only NEET thing to do"
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