8daze's Anime
take a look at 8daze's Manga| Favorite Series▲▼ | Rating▲▼ |
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Azumanga Daioh (TV) **Check my 'Seen All' and 'Seen Some' lists for slightly more objective comments. Maybe.** More than School Rumble, more than Excel Saga, more than The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, this show made me laugh. The way it manages to stay relatively true to life and yet be hilariously funny is a quality that not many shows can even come near. Brilliantly staying true to its roots as a four-panel comic strip, episodes were originally aired as 5 minute shorts before being combined into 26 episodes. The simple fact is, this is one of the shows that you can rave about all day, and yet still be at a loss for words to describe just how much it made you laugh. It also has a very high re-watch value, as you'll never be able to remember all the jokes after seeing the show just once. Bottomline? This show definitely is recommended, even if you're not big on the school life genre. |
Excellent |
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Best Student Council (TV) My reason for first watching this show was quite stupid. Basically, "A possessed puppet?!!" For this reason, I was understandably cynical during the first couple episodes, but after that, I fell totally in love. The premise, the characters, the jokes, they're all amusing and will pop into your head at the most random times. The fact that a plot starts to emerge during the second half of the show is just icing on the cake, and the ending is pure feel-goodness. Though the budget clearly wasn't high, if I had to point to a show that manages to pull itself up a notch just based on heart, this would be it. I end up with a silly grin on my face after every episode, no matter what mood I started it in or how often I've seen it. You can't ask much more from a show than that. |
Very good |
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Dear Brother (TV) Very much deserving of the title of "classic." Quite angsty and sad, especially towards the last arc. This show has a myriad cast of crazy-enough-to-be-real characters that you will love, then hate, then love twice as much. The situations are specific enough to make up a good plot, but generic enough for us all to relate to them -- painfully so, at times. This is the drama shoujo that really defines what it means to be a drama shoujo. Whether that's a good or bad thing is up to you to decide. I thought I was going to hate the ending. I loved the ending. |
Very good |
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Ghost Hunt (TV) Ghost Hunt is an excellent example of a show that could be very good, or just could be. Nothing immediately leaps out as exceptional (except, for me, the music, but I seem to be in the minority on this), but nor is anything bad. In other words, Ghost Hunt manages to be more than the sum of its parts. As such, it hits the mark that so many shows -- even some great ones -- have missed. It works. All of the aspects compliment each other, the show rarely drags, and it succeeds in what it set out to do. One of the better shows of late. Fingers crossed for a second season. |
Very good |
| Ghost Stories (TV) | Excellent |
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Lemon Angel Project (TV) This show, which could have all too easily ended up as a disaster, actually turns out to shockingly work. There is a plot in the background, centering around a supposedly dead character and some apparently evil music producers, but the main focus of the first half of the series has been auditions for the new music group. The characters drive this show, and it ends up being very entertaining to watch. I'm still a bit surprised that this is on my favorites list. I keep asking myself, "Why did I like that show?" The answer is that I just do. |
Very good |
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Lupin the 3rd (TV) You need only expect one thing from this anime: Great entertainment. |
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Maria Watches Over Us (TV) If you're looking for a series that is character-driven, this is the one. There are no evil bad guys to kill, no magical girls with cat ears, no morphing mecha. Just a group of girls in a Catholic school (who actually wear long skirts) who somehow manage to make you care. All the characters are individually interesting and well-developed, and you rarely see a throwaway character. A very well developed slice of life that, while slow-paced, is always enjoyable to watch. Just don't expect much of a plot and you'll be fine. |
Very good |
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(The) Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (TV) An almost instant cult hit among both American and Japanese otaku, Melancholy has become the most talked about show in recent memory. Something about it has gripped people's imaginations. I could write multiple essays about everything this show does right, but it's really much more fun to just watch it. |
Masterpiece |
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NANA (TV) This show captured my attention almost instantly. This is yet another show that makes you care about the characters, despite the fact that you've only seen them for five minutes. The animation is good, the OP and ED both excellent and perfectly fitting the show, and it's just downright interesting. It's easy to tell that the producers truly cared about the quality of the show they were creating. Each episode flows smoothly both individually and as part of the larger story. The timing is simply impeccable. Watch it, you won't regret it. (And even if you do, I'll never know.) |
Very good |
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Noir (TV) What can I say? I stumbled onto this show completely by accident when I'd only just begun to take an interest in anime, and I fell in love with it almost instantly. The music by Yuki Kajiura is wonderfully haunting, and it takes the show to a whole nother level. The animation and action are fast-paced and stylized, and the characters are interesting, though they take a bit of getting used to. As an added bonus to the girls-with-guns idea, this show actually has a plot, and a rather good one at that. It takes a few episodes and one admittedly repetitive flashback to get into it, but it is well worth the wait. Every so often you find a show that just inexplicably clicks with you. For me, Noir was one of those shows. As such, I don't expect everyone to like it as much as I do, but it is still an above average show. |
Masterpiece |
| Ouran High School Host Club (TV) | Excellent |
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R.O.D -The TV- R.O.D. is just an outright fun show that puts a unique twist on the action genre. The paper battles are well-choreographed and great fun to watch. The show also takes advantage of its 26 episode length to spend a lot of time on character development; a wise move since it means that by the time the main plot starts up, we really know and care about the characters (which was the one big weak point of Read or Die). The animation quality is not as high as that of the OVA, but it is strong enough to achieve its purposes. R.O.D. is both unique and fun, more than enough to make it worth the watch. |
Very good |
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Revolutionary Girl Utena (TV) A classic. Some people love it and think it's brilliant, some dislike it and just don't get it, usually because of the strange plot. While there is a lot of filler footage, and the Absolute Destiny Apocalypse song is painfully overplayed, the show has a unique feel to it. It has managed to set itself apart from other shows, and that helps to spur along the plot. Some episodes are pure and purposeful WTF? material (see the egg or cowbell episodes as an example), but have great moments of hilarity. With a disturbing amount of brother complexes, a villian you will absolutely loathe, and characters that are frequently ambiguous but always interesting, this show isn't one to miss. |
Masterpiece |
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School Rumble (TV) From the moment I saw Tenma climbing down the wall of the school with toilet plungers, I knew that School Rumble was going to make me laugh. I was right. Though it can be a bit hit or miss, School Rumble has amazingly managed to stay funny for 2 full seasons, with a third rumored to be coming soon. The animation is especially well done, and boosts the impact of the comedy even more. The show has some heart, too, with the end of episode 19 being one of my favorite scenes from any anime. A funny and engaging show. |
Very good |
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Serial Experiments Lain (TV) The first episode is called "Weird." Bingo. That's what Lain is, weird. But there's such depth to the show, even in (I might say especially in) the aspects that initially seem to be the most shallow. |
Excellent |