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Seen all▲▼
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Rating▲▼
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Comment▲▼
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| 5 Centimeters Per Second (movie) |
Good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/FiveCentimetersperSecond.jpg |
| Ah! My Goddess (TV) |
Decent |
Ah! My Goddess is the story about a young male college student, Keiichi, who through various odd circumstances ends up living with a goddess, Belldandy. There are some nice openings here to tell an entertaining tale, and for the most part Ah! My Goddess does this. There is not much in the way of storyline worth speaking about, but the character development is satisfactory. An annoyance of the series comes in the form of a 'happy little couple' routine, involving excessive coquetting. Appended to the end of nearly every such scene, one particularly agitating event that reoccurs throughout the series proceeds something like
[Close up shot of Keiichi]
Keiichi: "Berudandi ..."
[Close up shot of Belldandy]
Belldandy: "Keiichisan ..."
[Uncomfortable pause]
at which point the scene ends. Things begin to become somewhat more lively as an obviously forced action in the script brings in two additional characters, Belldandy's older and young sisters (also goddesses), who end up living with Keiichi and Belldandy. The attempted humor in Ah! My Goddess does succeed in lightening up the series (not that it needs it) and is at times marginally amusing, although more often than not only comes out as lame. The ending of Ah! My Goddess is fairly weak, so in the end the series merely makes decent entertainment.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/AhMyGoddess.jpg |
| Ah! My Goddess: Flights of Fancy (TV) |
Decent |
Ah! My Goddess: Everyone Has Wings is a simple continuation of the original Ah! My Goddess series, featuring the same attractive character design, the same general plots, and the same overall feel. There is no global storyline to be found. The episodes contain more of the demon Marller and less of Keiichi's classmate Sayoko and Keiichi's sister Megumi. Besides these slight variations, nothing else is changed.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/AhMyGoddess.jpg |
| Air (TV) |
Very good |
Air offers a poignant story about a young girl named Misuzu who by fate is destined to die early in life and suffer through her last days. The innocence and pureheartedness of this girl is what brings me to become concerned and care for the character. Air deals with dealt with two relationships: one between Misuzu and her aunt Haruko, and the other between Misuzu and the young traveller Yukito. Both are well done, provoking emotions of various nature. I commend the decision of keeping the delicate friendship of Misuzu and Yukito just that, rather than degrading it as seen in the Air movie. Also featured is some quite beautiful visual artistry, with lush, colorful backgrounds and graphically appealing characters sustained throughout the series.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/Air.jpg |
| Air (movie) |
Weak |
The TV series Air certainly contains some flaws, but it also holds strengths that cause those flaws to be worth overlooking. On the other hand, the Air movie takes these strengths and throws most of them out. It removes some minor flaws as well (such as the annoying dog who is played by an annoying voice actor), but this does not really make up for the error. The relationships from the TV series are made crude and distasteful, and the story is stripped of its powerful, moving features.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/Air.jpg |
| Air In Summer (special) |
Good |
The Air Summer Special focuses on the part of Air's story that takes place in the distant past. This aspect of Air is not at the core of what makes Air a good series, however the special does provide a certain amount of entertainment value.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/Air.jpg |
| Aishiteruze Baby (TV) |
Not really good |
The TV series Aishiteruze Baby is not particularly impressive in any respect. The story is somewhat weak, coming to no clear conclusion. Apart from the cute little girl who might appeal to more feminine viewers, the characters have no particular attractive points, and the series fails in any attempts made to provoke viewers to develop concern for the outcomes of the characters. The whole relationship between the main character, Kippei, and a girl at his high school named Kokoro, is quite shallow and unsatisfactory. As for Kippei's affiliation with the his 5-year old cousin Yuzuyu, there was nice potential for development in storyline and depth of poignancy, but unfortunately the series only took a halfhearted turn in that direction. One point of annoyance of the main character, Kippei, is how he makes incredibly stupid decisions, digging himself into holes continually. In these situations it is difficult to even watch him, and in this aspect Kippei bears great resemblance to Yamato, the main character of the tv series Suzuka. There is something a bit odd in the character animation, reminding me of Chobits, but rather than giving them a look of mild mental retardation, the animators of Aishiteruze Baby managed to bestow the male characters with quite girlish features, and the characters in general all appear to have a slight facial deformation, and their bodies are unnaturally recessed. |
| Akira (movie) |
Good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/Akira.jpg |
| Arashi no Yoru ni (movie) |
Decent |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/OneStormyNight.jpg |
| Azumanga Daioh (TV) |
Good |
Azumanga Daioh is a casual series that works well as simple entertainment. It follows no real storyline, but achieves its goal in containing clean, random humor. One of the main characters (Chiyo) is quite annoying, but this does not stop Azumanga Daioh from fulfilling its entertainment role.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/AzumangaDaioh.jpg |
| Azumanga Daioh - The Very Short Movie |
So-so |
'The Very Short Movie' is simply a 5 minute extension of Azumanga Daioh. Nothing more need be said. |
| Azumanga Web Daioh (ONA) |
So-so |
Azumanga Web Daioh is an 4 minute extension of Azumanga Daioh featuring footage taken with Chiyo's new video camera, which is jacked by Tomo. |
| Baccano! (TV) |
Very good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/Baccano.jpg |
| BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad (TV) |
So-so |
|
| Berserk (TV 1997) |
Good |
Berserk is an intriguing tale about a man with big ambitions, and the people who follow him. The premise of the anime, as well as its characters, are simple and plain, but are quite a refreshing break from the usual generic material. The characters are never forced, and neither is most of the plot. However, Berserk has a few negative points. The most conspicuous of these points is the laziness of the animators. While the character design itself is good, the animation is incredibly low in quality, at times even pushing the work onto the backdrop creators. Often, the picture will be a still that is simply panned or zoomed, while sounds of apparent actions taking place can be heard. Nearly every animation is a short loop of less than ten frames. Although in most cases subpar animation is acceptable when offset by a respectable storyline, Berserk takes the animation shortcuts a bit too far, and it simply looks sloppy, regretably to the point of detracting from enjoyability of the anime. The other fault of Berserk is its 'ending', which is so sudden and jarring that it got me scrambling frantically for a missing next episode. The main character, Guts, is left in a hopeless predicament, and the viewer is left with clue of how Guts is supposed to overcome the situation. This would be fine if it was understood that in the end he was not meant to free himself from the predicament, but the first episode is chronologically placed after all of the other episodes, and in that episode Guts is alive and well. |
| Black Lagoon (TV) |
Very good |
Black Lagoon initially appears promising in the setup of the first episode or two, but in the end never delivers. The series is narrated by a Japanese business man who is captured by a mercenary crew, but the main character of the story really seems to be the sole female in the crew. The members of the crew make an attempt to seem badass and cool (in reality it is the anime production team that attempts to infuse this quality into the mercenary crew), but none of them totally succeed, and on occasion merely look stupid with their heavily accented swear words borrowed from English, and the number of words they borrow from English in general (a Japanese watching this might think otherwise). Nothing big actually ends up happening in Black Lagoon, which just follows the daily activities and jobs of the mercenary crew.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/BlackLagoon.jpg |
| Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage (TV) |
Very good |
Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage much resembles that of Black Lagoon in style, although there are fewer action scenes. More effort was put into the storyline, and to some extent, this strategy works. The ending of the series does not feel quite conclusive, but at least the main character, 'Rock,' does come to new level of understanding about himself and his new way of life. As with its sequel, The Second Barrage suffers from an overuse of English, which has now been extended to a few scenes where whole lines and sentences are spoken in English. Every character manages to have absolutely terrible pronunciation so that any 'coolness' intended is instantly converted to lameness. To further confuse matters, the characters often switch back to Japanese, seemingly to allow viewers to understand what is being said once it is apparent that the character is meant to be speaking English. One positive point of The Second Barrage is the expansion of the role of Balalaika, who is one of the more intriguing characters introduced in Black Lagoon who for the most part remains behind the scenes in the first series, appearing only occasionally for a scene or two. The Second Barrage, while somewhat flawed, is a nice addition and an improvement to the first series, albeit still wanting of an additional sequel to tie up loose ends and lay down a solid conclusion.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/BlackLagoon.jpg |
| Blood+ (TV) |
So-so |
Blood+ is a long series. It could easily have been compacted into 26 or even possibly 13 episodes, but instead it is watered down into a sequence of 50 whole episodes. What makes things worse is that information crucial to the storyline is occasionally spinkled into one or two short scenes within an episode, so that in order to experience the story in full, viewers must pay close attention throughout the entire length of the series, even though for a large portion of it, almost nothing is happening at all. Blood+ also features evil monsters mutated from humans, induced by an artificially manufactured chemical, which is always a risky type of concept to introduce, and in Blood+ never actually ends up being done quite right. The main character, Saya, as well as a few of the lesser characters, often tend to make dumb and quite infuriating decisions, at times to the point where it is difficult to watch them. The only character who is entirely likeable is Saya's unwavering protector ('chevalier'), Haji, who retains composure, utter calmness, and silence while selflessly attending to Saya's every need. The ending of Blood+ is quite a letdown and anticlimactic, choosing to salvage a happy ending out of the mess, yet leaves the viewer quite unsatisfied. |
| Bokura ga Ita (TV) |
So-so |
|
| Broken Down Film (movie) |
Weak |
Broken Down Film is a 5-minute experimental film by Tezuka Osamu mimicking the style of animation of old American cartoons. Evaluated as normal animation, this film is complete garbage. However, entertainment was most likely not Tezuka's intention for this film. |
| Canary (OAV) |
Bad |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/Canary.jpg |
| Cannon Fodder (movie) |
So-so |
Cannon Fodder is one of three peculiar short movies comprising the collective that is dubbed Memories. It is probably the weakest of the collection. Cannon Fodder appears to be a satire on mankind, but does not really get a message across clearly, and is not particularly entertaining or amusing. Cannon Fodder's one redeeming value may its unusual animated style, but this hardly provides enough reason to watch it. |
| Canvas - Sepia-iro no Motif (OAV) |
Bad |
Canvas is a mediocre OVA at best. A weak script, minimal character development, and little emotional involvement all add up to form an anime that dribbles with inferiority. A few absolutely pointess and random scenes of nudity further tarnish the anime. The animation itself is attractive, although in being Canvas' only positive element, inevitably fails in raising the overall quality of the anime by a substantial amount.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/Canvas.jpg |
| Canvas 2 - Niji Iro no Sketch (TV) |
So-so |
Canvas 2 is more of a retake on the original Canvas OVA rather than a continuation, and only loosely borrows a few themes from the OVA. The animation, like that of its predecessor, is nice. The story starts out more promising than that of the Canvas OVA, but soon reveals itself to be unsatisfactory in a major respect. The drive of the story is in essence the struggles of the two main characters, Hiroki and his niece Ellse, each attempting to cope with their respective issues in their lives. The difficulty arising is that the the series fails to present these problems in a fashion that would cause viewers to relate to or even care about these problems, and in end these problems seem quite trivial (Hiroki's 'inability' to paint, Ellse's 'inability' to use red in her paintings), completely destroying the impact and effect of the series ending. In the background, the anime deals with the relationship between Hiroki and Ellse, as well as the relationship between Hiroki and his fellow colleague, Kiri. On reflection, the series would have been better off focusing solely this aspect of the story. There are several too many minor characters which, lacking in distinctiveness, only serve to clutter the series.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/Canvas2.jpg |
| Castle in the Sky (movie) |
Decent |
Castle in the Sky is a Miyazaki Hayao anime, and as such, features quite nice visuals, particularly in the animation itself, which is characteristically smooth and detailed. The storyline is also easily recognizable as a Miyazaki work, although it does not contain symbolic and metaphorical-like elements found in his anime Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke. Castle in the Sky is one of Miyazaki's best anime, but it is of overall solid quality that you can expect from Miyazaki. Not being a big fan of Miyazaki's works, I was not completely thrilled with the storyline or character development of Castle in the Sky. For me, the characters do not end up being very likeable, and like in most Miyazaki works, the story feels a bit too random. It flows somewhat unnaturally, and there is no comprehensible reason for a large portion of the sequence of events of the anime. It is nearly impossible for me relate these events to experience in the real world, which to a certain extent is necessary when shaping and creating a imaginary environment, but when taken to the level exhibited by most of Miyazaki's works, dulls the anime and causes it to become less satisfying to watch. |
| (The) Cat Returns (movie) |
Decent |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/CatReturns.jpg |
| Chibits (special) |
Weak |
Chibits is a inconsequential episode/special that, if anything, weakens the story of Chobits. Notable achievements include a feeble effort at humor and placement of the most irritating character in Chobits (Sumomo) as the main role in the special.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/Chobits.jpg |
| Chobits (TV) |
Very good |
Chobits takes place in a slightly futuristic world where persocons, computers with personality and bodies of humanlike functionality, are commonplace. Not exactly the most original idea to begin with, but Chobits works with this notion in a suitable manner. The series holds its share of annoyances and faults. Sumomo, who is a miniature sized persocon, is a particularly irritating character, partially due to her/its ridiculous speech patterns and pronounciation. One mildly disturbing feature of the character art is the characters' eyes, which are placed so far apart from each other that all of the characters in the series appear slightly mentally retarded. The main character's utterance of the nonsensical word 'chi' becomes quite agitating by the twentieth or so time. (It so happens that this character, also a persocon, is named 'Chi' by her owner after the only 'word' she pronounces for the first three or four episodes. This phenomenon of spewing out a single unintelligible sound repeatedly might not be as annoying to Japanese, as inferred from the fact that it occurs in several other anime. Or it just might be a dumb idea that a few people thought was genius.) The story also sidetracks a few times pointlessly, telling the tales of minor characters, presumably to touch on other aspects of the problems and difficulties arising from the existance of persocons and their introduction into society, although in the end not accomplishing anything by it. As noted before, the idea of humanlike robots is not a unique notion. In order to turn it into a strength, it must at least be approached from a unique and engaging direction. Chobits does not really succeed in this, so it must win its viewers purely at the emotional level, rather than the intellectual (i.e., originality and the like). After having expounded deeply the flaws of the series, I must point out that Chobits fields some good points. Even though the setting and universe of Chobits is not original, it still gives off a slightly different atmosphere with a distinct yet subtle flavor. The story also feels as if it is building up to something quite large. Unfortunately, the effects of that something are not really shown in the end. Finally, the main character and his persocon form a relationship, that is admittedly melodramatic, but still captivating and effective. Certain sections of Chobits are mildly hilarious, although a fair amount is composed of indecent humor.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/Chobits.jpg |
| Chobits (OAV) |
Weak |
A pointless recap of the episodes of the series. If you have already watched Chobits, then there is nothing new here. If you have not watched Chobits, then watching the OVA will give you a watered down and less effective version of the TV series.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/Chobits.jpg |
| Chrono Crusade (TV) |
Very good |
Chrno Crusade is a decent TV series about a girl, Rosette, and her colleague, Chrno (who is a demon with whom she has made a pact, making her his master), fighting 'evil', which comes in the form of different 'bad' demons, evil spirits, and other such paraphernalia. As might be inferred from the previous statement by an astute reader, Chrno Crusade carries a stereotypical 'good versus evil' setting and storyline, in this case the good being the Catholic church, and the bad being a certain alliance of demons. In this series, the characters do not see God as actually good or bad exactly, but more as a big bully who wants to do things his own way. Rather than perceive this as sacrilegious, it can be more accurately viewed as a naive (mis)understanding of the workings/plans of God. The relationship between Rosette and Chrno is developed satisfactorily, as intimate friends rather than a trifling couple of lovers. But the real gold in this TV series is the aspect of the storyline dealing with whole notion of supernatural or spiritual events ridiculously outweighing the trifling affairs of mankind. In Chrno Crusade, humans and the world are not the center of the universe, but merely a small crevasse off to the side which happens to be caught in the crossfire of a supernatural battle of epic proportions. This is a very fresh and welcoming viewpoint which I would say is certainly the strong point of Chrno Crusade (and could have been expanded upon to a greater extent).
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/ChronoCrusade.jpg |
| CLAMP in Wonderland (OAV) |
Not really good |
|
| CLAMP in Wonderland 2 (OAV) |
So-so |
|
| Clannad (TV) |
So-so |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/Clannad.jpg |
| Claymore (TV) |
Decent |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/Claymore.jpg |
| Clover (special) |
So-so |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/Clover.jpg |
| Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion (TV) |
Good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/CodeGeass.jpg |
| Comedy (OAV) |
So-so |
Comedy is a ten minute OVA about a mysterious man who is entranced by literature, and a small child who offers a rare book in return for his cooperation in defending her small village against British attack; because of the OVA's length, this is all there is to it. While Comedy is overall well done, there is no real distinguishing feature of this OVA that would merit the acclaim of its viewers. (It should be noted that the title of this anime is not connected to the popular definition of the English word. Viewers should not expect humor.) |
| Cowboy Bebop (TV) |
Excellent |
Cowboy Bebop is one of the few anime that I have rated 'excellent', and for a good reason. The character development in Cowboy Bebop is by far the deepest and most successful that I have seen in any anime series. All of the main characters of Cowboy Bebop are meticulously built up layer by layer into complex, multi-dimensional entities who seem very nearly human (when working with animation rather than live footage and actors, this is certainly not a given). They each have intricate pasts, and various involved, long-lasting issues. Unlike many anime and works from storytelling media in general, nothing truely feels fake or forced to fit the agenda of the writers, but flows quite naturally, giving a great sense of realism and believability (one exception to this might be the initial assemblage of the main characters, but this does not actually bother me). In addition, each one of the characters is very likeable (particularly Spike Spiegel), despite the fact that they are neither flat nor simple characters. The ending of Cowboy Bebop is also of top quality, building up a climax and then delivering, for a satisfying and moving conclusion. If a weakness of the series were required to be named, it would have to be the insufficient buildup in storyline (I would also be in favor of toning down Edward a bit, but this is a minor concern). The episodes are for the most part independent of each other. Although there is an underlying sequence of events (i.e., the struggle for power in the leadership positions of the syndicate), placing more stress on this aspect would certainly not be detrimental to the series. Of course, part of the superb character development comes from observing the characters work their way through diverse situations, which may be more difficult to set up when given additional structure and backbone to the story, but I am not entirely convinced that it would be impossible to accomplish while still leaving the depth of the characters intact.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/CowboyBebop.jpg |
| Cowboy Bebop: The Movie |
Excellent |
Cowboy Bebop: The Movie is well done, with high quality animation, the same likeable characters from series, and a decent plot. Having said that, basically anything that follows up the Cowboy Bebop TV series is bound to be a letdown, and the movie is no exception.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/CowboyBebop.jpg |
| Crest of the Stars (TV) |
So-so |
Crest of the Stars is an anime series about a race of genetically modified humans called Abh who wish to obtain absolute control all known space (as well as traffic through space) and thereby maintain peace, stemming from the sheer inability of other races and empires to wage war in space. The main character, Jinto, is a resident of a planet recently taken over by the Abh, and by various circumstances is to begin education at an Abh academy. He is taken there by Lafiel, one of the Abh nobility, who is in training to join the Abh military. The story is moderately interesting, although it could have done with a broader scale picture of the Abh conquest and methodology, as well an in-depth look at Abh battle tactics. Instead, the anime focuses on the journey of Jinto and Lafiel as they make their way to the Abh capital. The voice for Jinto is fairly high pitched and somewhat unappealing, causing him to give of the impression of a weakling or frail being (his character animation may also contribute to this effect). Lafiel appears as a slightly arrogant person, the Klingon type who cares much about 'honor', and is slow to admit shortcomings and mistakes, although these traits may just be common among the Abh. There is no one in the series who is really that likeable, and the animation is just average. There are no outstanding characteristics in the series, so Crest of the Stars ends up being only so-so. |
| D.C. ~Da Capo~ (TV) |
Bad |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/DaCapo.jpg |
| Darker than Black (TV) |
Very good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/DarkerThanBlack.jpg |
| Death Note (live-action movie) |
Awful |
|
| Death Note (TV) |
Very good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/DeathNote.jpg |
| Death Note: The Last Name (live-action movie) |
Awful |
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| ef: a tale of memories (TV) |
Decent |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/EF.jpg |
| El Hazard: The Alternative World (TV) |
Not really good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/ElHazard.jpg |
| El-Hazard 2: The Magnificent World (OAV) |
Not really good |
El Hazard 2 is a simple continuation of El Hazard, with the purpose of tying up some loose ends, as well as offering a second dose of the El Hazard world for anyone who did not get enough from the first OVA. Unfortunately, El Hazard 2 ends up being more ridiculous than El Hazard, and does not succeed in wrapping up any details, but merely leaves them open for the TV series to take on. More concisely, El Hazard 2 is a pointless sequel to an already somewhat weak anime.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/ElHazard.jpg |
| El-Hazard: The Magnificent World (OAV) |
Not really good |
The main problem with El Hazard is that it is too random and incohesive. Not only do the main characters possess arbitrary super powers, but they also obtain these powers suddenly and with no apparent reason. The storyline also takes a few mystifying and spontaneous twists that never end up being explained. In addition, the story contains such ridiculous elements as an evil bug empire attempting to take dominion over the territory of the humans. An anime that is fairly exaggerated or has a low believability factor may in some cases still be quite good, but in the case of El Hazard, the eccentricities are taken a few notches too far. The whole story, in retrospect, is ridiculous and haphazardly pieced together. A few of the characters have some potential, but having been placed in such a ludicrous setting, really stand no chance of developing positively.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/ElHazard.jpg |
| Elfen Lied (TV) |
Excellent |
Elfen Lied is an intriguing tale that centers around Diclonii, rare humans with an unusual mutation that bestows them with immense strength, mobility, and agility, the source of which is inperceptible to the normal human. Although the concept may appear stupid at first glance, it is well implemented, and avoids taking any similarity in style or impression of say an American comic and other such fantastical based genres. None of the characters come off as annoying or irritating, but are all likeable in some way, no small feat for an anime. The animation and visual art in general are all superb, in particular the backdrops, which are absolutely stunning. Elfen Lied, like Chobits, has a character who repeats the same nonsensical phrase again and again, but here it is not carried on for nearly as long, and is easily forgivable given Elfen Lied's numerous strong points.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/ElfenLied.jpg |
| Elfen Lied (OAV) |
Good |
The Elfen Lied OVA is anti-climactic when viewed after finishing the Elfen Lied series, and does not contribute any substantial information not obtained in the series.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/ElfenLied.jpg |
| Emma: A Victorian Romance (TV) |
Decent |
As might be inferred by the title, Emma: A Victorian Romance is a romance story that takes place during the Victorian Era in England. In essence, the story entails a member of the gentry class falling in love with a maid, and the discrepency between the two classes causes the couple hardship. The series does not offer a particularly compelling storyline. Many of the interactions between characters are underdeveloped, and the events of the series do basically nothing to provoke sympathy for the main characters' situation. The visual artistry is of fairly high quality, but this is about the only positive point of the series. |
| Ergo Proxy (TV) |
Very good |
Ergo Proxy starts out fairly strong, setting itself up to at least appear as if it will be more intelligent and deep than the usual anime. But it slowly digs itself into a hole, working up to a ending of such colossal proportions that it will not possibly be able to deliver. The series makes a commendable effort, but inevitably Ergy Proxy finishes unsatisfactorily. While on the surface Ergo Proxy appears quite philosophical, in reality turns out to be a somewhat shallow. The series focuses on creatures of immense power, Proxies, which inherently makes for a narratively attractive anime, at least when executed properly, but the nearly human mannerisms and actions of the main Proxy character, as well as his coupling with an unlikable main human character hold back the series' potential. In fact, the saving grace of the series is one of the side characters, Pino, whose simple innocence and and charm give the anime a subtle allure that the main characters fail to provide. The animation of Ergo Proxy is of very high quality, and the action scenes are made quite dramatic by the graphic art and positioning of the viewpoints.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/ErgoProxy.jpg |
| Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone (movie) |
|
|
| (The) Familiar of Zero (TV) |
Decent |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/ZerosFamiliar.jpg |
| Fate/stay night (TV) |
Good |
Fate/Stay Night bears resemblance to the anime series Mai Hime and Shakugan Shana in a few major respects. In all three of the anime, there is this notion of a master and his pet/servant, who is bound to him in some way. In Fate/Stay Night, there are masters and servants. In Mai Hime, there are mistresses and mythical inanimate helpers bestowed with various persona. Shakugan Shana has a slightly different relationship, where the master and servant (this time a special object, such as a pendant or tome) are somehow fused together as a single entity. Fate/Stay Night and Mai Hime have this idea of a tournament where the different masters and servants battle each other until only one pair is left, while Shakugan Shana is more of an ongoing free-for-all battle of masters and servants with actual objectives separate from simple competition. In the end, all three anime give off the same sort of feel. Fate/Stay Night puts forth a decent storyline, although offering a slightly weak ending. Some of the characters a fairly likeable, and none come off as particularly annoying. I feel that the series could have done with a broader view of the tournament happenings as a whole, rather than focusing on the battles of a single master-servant pair, to give it a less chaotic sequence of events in the storyline. I was also a bit disappointed that Matou Sakura, a character introduced early on in the series, did not play a larger role and become an important key at the end of the series.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/Fate-StayNight.jpg |
| FLCL (OAV) |
Good |
FLCL ('Furi Kuri') is one of the oddest stories around in anime, involving aliens, weird robot factories, and people who use nori as fake eyebrows. It often reverts to a fast paced comical, bizzare style, and the OVA as a whole is of fairly ridiculous nature. The animation is quite good, as is the visual art in general. The storyline has some good points, but it was not as completely developed as I would have liked. True, revealing absolutely everything in a story makes it boring and flat, but FLCL could have stood a bit more information sprinkled in here and there. By the end, FLCL leaves the viewer with too much guesswork, and as a result is not completely satisfying. The relationship between the main character, Naota, and the two female characters in the OVA is not exactly disturbing, but is somewhat uncomfortable; FLCL could have done without it in the story.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/FLCL.jpg |
| Fruits Basket (TV 1/2001) |
Very good |
Fruits Basket tells the story of a young girl named Touru, who tries to get by in life after her mother dies in a car accident. She ends up involved with the strange family Souma. In the series, viewers are introduced to a fairly ridiculous idea, namely, people transforming into various animals when hugged by one of the opposite sex, which is used to drive an enormous amount of the plot (a similar occurance can be found in the series Midori Days, where the right hand of the main character, Seiji, inexplicably transforms overnight into a young girl named Midori). Fortunately, Fruits Basket avoids ending up becoming extremely stupid extremely fast, but instead works out decently. This anomaly is ever so slightly bothersome, however, the strong point of the series greatly overshadows it. This strong point turns out to be the character of Touru. Her pure and utterly selfless nature revealed little by little throughout the series is inevitably both moving and enchanting. A small portion of the development of Touru can be perceived as forced, but can easily be overlooked. Clean humor is sprinkled into the series, and at times succeeds in generating amusement. The storyline of Fruits Basket is somewhat weak, as the episodes for the most part merely portray the daily events in Touru's life. The ending feels inconclusive, so is also a bit unsatisfying.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/FruitsBasket.jpg |
| Full Metal Panic! (TV) |
Very good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/FullMetalPanic.jpg |
| Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid (TV) |
Very good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/FullMetalPanic.jpg |
| Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid (OAV) |
Good |
This OVA is of much lighter material than that of the series, and contains a few laughs in higher concentration than usual. It does nothing to close the loose ends of the series, but if anything only adds to the hints at further releases of sequels down the road.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/FullMetalPanic.jpg |
| Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu (TV) |
Very good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/FullMetalPanic.jpg |
| Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight! (TV) |
Weak |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/ManabiStraight.jpg |
| Galaxy Angel (TV) |
Not really good |
Galaxy Angel is designed as an extremely easygoing, light series a bit similar to that of Love Hina (minus the cheesy couple relationship). The 'storyline' is scattered and erratic, and the episodes are essentially independent of each other. With goofy episode plots, little story development, and average animation, the only possible allure of this anime would be the characters. Unforunately, the character development is quite shallow, leaving Galaxy Angel as only fit to serve as casual entertainment. Nearly every character is annoying in some way, with the most baffling being the one missile guidance chip complete with a vioce emulation system, all crammed into a stuffed animal. This character, named 'Normad,' is quite irritating and serves no purpose.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/GalaxyAngel.jpg |
| Galaxy Angel A (TV) |
Not really good |
Galaxy Angel A, the sequel of Galaxy Angel Z, is nearly identical to Galaxy Angel Z in every way, and the episodes, like in Galaxy Angel Z, end just as unsatisfactorily.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/GalaxyAngel.jpg |
| Galaxy Angel Z (TV) |
Not really good |
Galaxy Angel Z is just another ordinary anime series sequel: all of the same characters, all of the same plot styles, all of the same tone and mood. Unfortunately, Galaxy Angel Z manages to be even less organized and more chaotic than Galaxy Angel. Many of the episodes do not even 'wrap up', but are left dangling with an unsolvable predicament.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/GalaxyAngel.jpg |
| Genshiken (TV) |
Decent |
Genshiken is an anime series following the happenings of a Japanese university club, The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture, whose name is contracted into Genshiken (similar to an acronym in English). The club is actually involved with all things related to manga and anime. The character animation and backdrops in Genshiken is fairly attractive, and turns out to be the anime's best point. None of the characters turn out to be very likeable, and because the events occuring in each episode are basically independent of each other, there is no real storyline. The ending is not really an ending either, but rather a breakpoint for the series of events that take place throughout Genshiken.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/GalaxyAngel.jpg |
| Genshiken (OAV) |
Decent |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/Genshiken.jpg |
| Genshiken 2 (TV) |
So-so |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/Genshiken.jpg |
| Ghost in the Shell (movie) |
Excellent |
Ghost in the Shell is quite a powerful anime with one of the most involved and fast-paced storylines in a movie, both anime and film, mainly due to its radical deviation from the ordinary. Set in the near future, Ghost in the Shell introduces and plays with the possible ambiguities and complexities arising from technological developments in the integration of mechanical and biological organisms. Humans can be modified to the point at which distinguishing between man and machine is no longer trivial. Further complicating the matter, the network known presently as the Internet has been expanded and developed to such a degree that with certain mechanical implants it is possible to connect the mind directly to this network. At the heart of Ghost in the Shell is the notion of what it means for a human to inhabit a physical body, and the idea that a human 'soul' can be displaced by programs allowing a body to function independently from the soul, and allowing for the possibility of a person to remotely control multiple bodies simultaneously. This remarkably intriguing concept is what makes Ghost in the Shell such a good movie. The main other stength of the anime is the atmosphere developed through the course of the story, which bears a strong similarity to that of the movie Bladerunner. Although character development in Ghost in the Shell is not at the level of say Grave of the Fireflies, none of the characters come across as weak, either. Finally, animation and 3D effects in Ghost in the Shell are quite spectacular, a true treat for the eyes. The discrepency between the appearance of the computer graphics and the 2D animation, most often the culprit for awkward and goofy presentation seen all too often in anime, is nearly inperceptible here, and the two blend together almost seemlessly. With this powerful lineup of distinct aspects that make up the anime, Ghost in the Shell is without a doubt a consummate masterpiece. |
| Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (movie) |
Good |
Ghost in the Shell is one of the highest quality and most innovative anime films around. So as to be expected, its sequel, Innocence, does not live up to the name of the original. With many of the intriguing concepts in the first movie worn out, the storywriters needed to come up with something good. Unfortunately, they only achieved decent. A decision was also made to focus on the character Batou, who, not really standing out from the first movie as being at all likeable, charismatic, or even mysterious, was probably not the best choice as a main character. The ending of Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence is unsatisfying at best, exhibiting a bit of an anticlimax. The graphics (a considerable portion of the movie being computer generated) are as high quality as in the first film, although the sole purpose of certain scenes appear to be to flaunt the work of the excessively funded computer generated graphics team, which prove slightly wanting and hollow despite their budget. Rather than blend in with the normal animation, some of the computer generated graphics can be easily distinguished from it. While not necessarily a negative point, there is something displeasing about the two visual styles being so distinct from each other in a single work, and they could have been combined with more subtlety had the computer generated graphics been toned down and less ostentatious. Overall, this Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence is a disappointment when considered relative to its prequel, but is still a film of fair quality. |
| (The) Girl Who Leapt Through Time (movie) |
Very good |
A Girl Who Runs through Time is one of those standard anime set in a highschool. I am unsure as to why schools are such a popular setting for so many anime, other than possibly to provide a place concrete and familiar enough that a teenaged audience can more easily imagine the idealized romance to be realistic. Or it may just be a setting that writers cheaply fall back to when they wish to exclude complications arising from the responsibilities and problems that come from being a contributing member of society. Indeed, I occasionally sense a tinge of nostalgia emanting from anime, hints of a longing for younger days of the writers and creative staff showing through. Whatever the reason, this anime follows the trend, yet manages to offer a respectable story, at the very least offering a fair amount of entertainment. This, not surprisingly, is due to the element of time travel, which could have ended in absolute catastrophe due to the subject matter, but is actually dealt with tastefully. There are several different interpretations of time travel. The scheme that appears to be used in this anime is not the most commonly seen, but is quite a bit more interesting than the popular interpretation of time travel. In this scheme, the current instance of reality is destroyed during the time travel, and a new one is created. The only difference between the two realities is a difference in the time parameter, and the fact that the time traveller retains their original state. This in itself is not particularly interesting, but becomes more fascinating when multiple time travellers are considered. Although the idea is not fully explored by the anime, the mere presence of this phenomenon gives the anime an slightly intriguing nature. The visual art is very high quality, with appealing backdrops and slick character animation, as might be expected of an anime movie with its respective budget. The color palette and saturation, as well as light effects, is characteristic of newer anime that make greater use of computer aid, and frankly, just looks superior to the older anime of the pencil and paper days.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/GirlWhoRunsthroughTime.jpg |
| Girls Bravo (TV) |
Not really good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/GirlsBravo.jpg |
| Golden Boy (OAV) |
Very good |
Golden Boy is a curious OVA. The anime focuses on a certain young man Kintarou, who travels around on a bicycle, stopping every now and then to take on odd jobs with the intention of 'learning about the world.' In each episode, Kintarou comes across a different young woman who at first holds something against him, perhaps due to his numerous peculiarities, but by the end of the episode he succeeds in charming the hearts of these women, albeit unintentionally. The style of this OVA resembles that of Great Teacher Onizuka, due to the similiarities between Kintarou and the main character of Great Teacher Onizuka, Eikichi, particularly their innovative ways of approaching problems, and life itself. Golden Boy frequently employs sexually suggestive scenes, presumably intended as a form of mild titillation that, although not detracting severely from the anime, achieves little, if any purpose. (It may be that these scenes help to set the tone and atmosphere of the OVA, but they are certainly not necessary, and could most likely be replaced with more appropriate content while still accomplishing the desired effect.)
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/GoldenBoy.jpg |
| Grave of the Fireflies (movie) |
Excellent |
Grave of the Fireflies is a film whose sole purpose is to provoke emotions of sadness and melancholy caused by empathy and care for the main characters. And it accomplishes this goal quite effectively. A young boy and his baby sister become orphaned due to the war, and move in with his aunt, who relentlessly abuses the boy verbally to the point where he runs away, taking his sister with him, and together they attempt to live on their own. They are left with absolutely nothing, and the boy is perpetually stricken with grief and sorrow because of his inability to provide adequately for his sister, who becomes weaker day by day due to malnourishment and unsanitary living conditions. At long last, the sister dies, having suffered to the end, and the boy is left completely alone. Finally, the boy dies as well, his death unannounced and unnoticed by anyone. The strength and force of this film comes to a large extent from the close relationship between the boy and his sister. The fraternal love exhibited by this anime is quite moving. It many time more effective than a paltry sexually driven 'love relationship' that is so overused, and all too often trvial as well as artificial and shallow. The visual art in in the film is quite good, and adds nicely to the already powerful story. Altogether, Grave of the Fireflies is of very high quality, and contains no notable weaknesses. It is among the best feature-length anime films available. |
| GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka (TV) |
Very good |
Great Teacher Onizuka is a strange anime. The whole series revolves around one Eikichi Onizuka, a former yakuza who becomes a high school teacher and deals with no ordinary troublemaking class. Eikichi employs quite unusual and novel techniques to solve each successive problem with which he is presented. The draw of this anime comes mainly from the sheer curiousity of how Eikichi will handle the situation, as well as partly from the attraction to the characters and concern for their situations. The anime contains a fair amount of humor, and significantly lightens up the series. Great Teacher Onizuka is simply a collection of relatively independent events that each provide new insights on the extraordinary character of Eikichi. It generally progresses towards vague goal in which Eikichi succeeds in stealing the hearts of his entire class, but in truth there is no real storyline, nor a conclusive ending. The anime focuses entirely on character development, rather than story. The animation style, particularly in facial characteristics, is at first unattractive, and even ugly. But after becoming accustomed to the style, I was no longer bothered by it.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/GreatTeacherOnizuka.jpg |
| GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka (live-action TV) |
Decent |
|
| Gungrave (TV) |
Very good |
About the first half of Gungrave is quite well done, laying down the foundation allowing for a excellent storyline and potentially an excellent ending. Unfortunately, somewhere along the line, the series degrades into a boring standoff between a new syndicate boss Harry McDowel (holding power over the entire city) and the resurrected body of his former friend, Brandon Heat, whom he betrayed. The last few episodes merely contain battles between Brandon and Harry's assistants, one at a time, reminding me painfully of eliminating 'bosses' at each level of your run-of-the-mill side-scroller arcade game. The anime takes the easy way out, ending it without a solid conclusion episode, but simply killing off more main characters and cutting out with a weak final statement by one of the main characters remaining. The other major weakness of Gungrave has to do with the decision to delve into the realm of zombies, and integrate them into the story in a major way. Rather than being weaker and less adaptive than their live counterparts, the zombies in Gungrave somehow attain to an essentially indestructible level, swallowing entire clips of assault rifles with no noticable loss in ability and combat effectiveness. The animation and background art in Gungrave is of quite high quality, and is definately a strong point for the anime.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/Gungrave.jpg |
| Gunslinger Girl (TV) |
Excellent |
Gunslinger Girl is quite beautiful, featuring elegant character design, detailed animation and backdrops, and carefully chosen color palettes that strike just the right balance of color, yet are both vivid and vibrant. The visual art is all around of very high quality, and is quite satisfying to simply look at. Furthermore, it lacks nothing in its storytelling aspect. The storyline itself is not complex or involved, but it does quite well in supporting the development of the characters and significantly augmenting the impact of the series in an auxiliary role. The strength of Gunslinger Girl, aside from its visuals, lies within its simplicty of overall plot that still manages to deliver a moving story. The style of the narrative is calculating and deliberate, producing a serious atmosphere that lends itself well to the anime. There are two main points that give Gunslinger Girl its emotive power. First, the series is oddly tragic in a subtle and muted fashion, quite distinct from the more common obvious attempts to evoke pity or sadness. Secondly, the series does not introduce interactions between characters related to physical attraction, but only works with real emotional bonds. The delicate relationships between the gunslinger girls and their caretakers nearly resemble that of father and daughter or brother and sister, which have a much greater capacity and potential to generate a poignant story, and are even further charged by the instability and vulnerability of the gunslinger girls. The only real weak side of the series is the occasional irritation provoked by the very instability and adolescence of the gunslinger girls that increases the series' emotional effect. This is to a certain extent unavoidable, and can easily be overlooked.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/GunslingerGirl.jpg |
| .hack//GIFT (OAV) |
Bad |
.hack//GIFT is a typical unimpressive attempt at a spinoff from .hack//SIGN. Nothing good stands out about it. The animation of this OVA, unlike that of the series and the other OVAs, employs a caricatural design. There is some effort made at humor, although it fails miserably.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/HackSign.jpg |
| .hack//Intermezzo (OAV) |
Bad |
.hack//Intermezzo is just another bland OVA: a haphazardly thown together storyline with no distinguishing features. Since none of the characters of .hack//SIGN were well developed and likeable to begin with, this leaves .hack//Intermezzo with nothing at all.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/HackSign.jpg |
| .hack//Liminality (OAV) |
Not really good |
.hack//Liminality is a four episode OVA that uses the .hack//SIGN universe. The story carries similarities to that of .hack//SIGN, but takes place in the real world. Since the storyline of .hack//SIGN was itself only decent, it should come as no surprise that .hack//Liminality is nothing special. Added to the fact that no real reason to care about the characters in the story is given, you simply end up with a thoroughly mediocre anime.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/HackSign.jpg |
| .hack//SIGN (TV) |
Decent |
.hack//SIGN has two main good points. First, the scenery and backdrops of .hack//SIGN, although by the end somewhat tedious, are on the whole fairly attractive. This is an anime that I enjoyed simply looking at (as opposed to watching). The second strong point of .hack//SIGN is its interesting concepts. Here, I am not speaking about the ridiculous notion that a player could become unable to logout of the game and thus be trapped in the virtual world, or that a program would rebel from its maker and act independently from its programmed behavior. Rather, the interesting concepts of .hack//SIGN have to do with the extent to which the social structure and infrastructure inside a game world could at some point develop into a complex entity rivaling that of the real world. .hack//SIGN does not develop the concepts as fully as I would have liked or in the direction I would have liked, but this point is still worth noting.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/HackSign.jpg |
| .hack//Unison (OAV) |
Bad |
.hack//Unison is, if possible, even worse than its predecessor OVA, .hack//Intermezzo. Basically all there is to be said is that this OVA has absolutely nothing going for it.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/HackSign.jpg |
| Haibane Renmei (TV) |
Decent |
Haibane Renmei is a slow, carefully planned allegory saturated with metaphors, crafted as a more philosophical anime than most. The story is in no way exciting or dramatic, but the peculiar setting and circumstances should be enough to keep the attention of most viewers. Haibane Renmei gives off the aura of an anime such as Kino's Journey, with a slight sense of mystery in the background, aiming to strike primarily at the intellectual level. Unfortunately, none of the characters in the series are particularly likeable, and the anime does nothing to generate concern from viewers, such that they are never brought into the story, but left uninvolved and apathetic.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/HaibaneRenmei.jpg |
| Hellsing (TV) |
Good |
Hellsing is a series about vampires, which alone might be enough to deter some viewers. However, Hellsing does not take the comic book approach of portraying supernatural and mythical characters, nor does it resemble the stereotypical western portrayal of vampires. What this series succeeds in is creating a vampire character named Alucard who wields truely immense power, rather than merely possessing superficial abilities that make him into a human with a one-dimensional superpower tacked on. In addition, the series does not attempt to emanate a 'badass' image for the vampire as in such American movies as Blade or Underworld. Instead, Hellsing manages to craft a genuinely likeable character with a touch of mysteriousness giving Alucard a bit more depth. There are several other characters in Hellsing who have their own merits, but Alucard is by far Hellsing's strongest character. In terms of storyline, the series is decent, but there is room for improvement. The idea of exterminating lesser quality vampires and artificially created vampires could be molded into a solid story if performed carefully, but Hellsing does not quite manage to get the job done. Unfortunately, the conclusion of the series is fairly weak. Hellsing tries to introduce an ultimate enemy leading up to a final battle, but this style of ending is all too often trite and anticlimactic, which is precisely the case in this anime.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/Hellsing.jpg |
| Honey and Clover (TV) |
Decent |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/HoneyandClover.jpg |
| Honey and Clover II (TV) |
Decent |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/HoneyandClover.jpg |
| Howl's Moving Castle (movie) |
Good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/HowlsMovingCastle.jpg |
| I''s (OAV) |
Weak |
The I"s OVA storyline, if it can be called that, is so chaotic and obviously forced that it has absolutely no effect whatsoever. Throughout the anime, there is little reason why any of the events are occuring, and rather than building up different elements to form a moving narrative, the anime only succeeds in causing these elements to clash with each other. The animation is satisfactory, yet not particularly impressive. In summary, I"s is a good example of what not to do in an OVA, or storybased visual media form in general. |
| I''s Pure (OAV) |
Decent |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/IsPure.jpg |
| INTERSTELLA 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem (movie) |
Decent |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/Interstella5555.jpg |
| Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu (OAV) |
Good |
|
| Itsudatte My Santa! (OAV) |
Not really good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/MySanta.jpg |
| Jumping (movie) |
Not really good |
This 'movie' is labeled a Tezuka instrumental, and as such is unlikely to have been created for entertainment purposes, yet I rate for its entertainment value, since there is no other reason why it would be watched. The entire length of the animation shows a person hopping over and over again from a first-person perspective, each time taking a higher and longer leap. The animation is nice, however, it is nothing else offer. In the end, it is not particularly entertaining to watch. |
| Jyu-Oh-Sei (TV) |
Very good |
|
| Kaiba (TV) |
Very good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/Kaiba.jpg |
| Kakurenbo - Hide & Seek (movie) |
So-so |
|
| Kamichu! (TV) |
Decent |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/Kamichuu.jpg |
| Kanon (TV 1/2002) |
Decent |
|
| Kanon (TV 2/2006) |
Good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/Kamichuu.jpg |
| Kanon Kazahana (special) |
So-so |
|
| Karas (OAV) |
Good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/Karas.jpg |
| Karin (TV) |
So-so |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/Karin.jpg |
| Kimagure Orange Road (TV) |
Decent |
|
| Kimagure Orange Road (OAV) |
Decent |
|
| Kimagure Orange Road: The Movie |
Decent |
|
| Kino's Journey (TV) |
Good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/KinosTravels.jpg |
| Kino's Travels: Life Goes On (movie) |
Decent |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/KinosTravels.jpg |
| Koi Kaze (TV) |
Good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/LoveFever.jpg |
| Kurenai (TV) |
Decent |
|
| Kyo no Gononi (OAV) |
So-so |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/TodayinClass5-2.jpg |
| Labyrinth (movie) |
So-so |
|
| Lamune (TV) |
So-so |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/Lamune.jpg |
| Looking Up At The Half-Moon (TV) |
Not really good |
The story of this anime makes an overt attempt to be poignant at first and charming by the end, but in reality it just turns out somewhat lame and not particularly engaging. The actions of both of the main characters of the series would aggravate many viewers, and their temperaments are rather disagreeable. Not much story development can be accomplished in six episodes, and so the likeability of the characters in a short series such as this one is paramount. As such, the series is for the most part a failure.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/LookingupattheHalf-Moon.jpg |
| Love Hina (TV) |
Not really good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/LoveHina.jpg |
| Love Hina Again (OAV) |
So-so |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/LoveHina.jpg |
| Love Hina Spring Special - I Wish Your Dream |
Not really good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/LoveHina.jpg |
| Love Hina X'mas Special - Silent Eve |
Not really good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/LoveHina.jpg |
| Lovely Complex (TV) |
Decent |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/LovelyComplex.jpg |
| Lucky Star (TV) |
Good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/LuckyStar.jpg |
| Lunar Legend Tsukihime (TV) |
Good |
Lunar Legend Moon Princess at first appears quite promising, hinting at a few twists and hidden developments to come in later episodes. Unfortunately, in the end it does not deliver, and finishes as only a mere mediocre love story. This is one of the few anime series that actually could have done with more episodes, and would have been better off expanding on some of the more interesting concepts that are given only a cursory glance (such as an explanation behind the unusual ability of Shiki's eyes, Shiki's family history, the situation the two breeds of vampire, and the enigmatic 'mage' Shiki speaks with after he flees the hospital). The redeeming factor of Lunar Legend Moon Princess is undoubtably the beautiful visual artwork displayed throughout the series. The elegant character designs and intricate backdrops are among the best I have seen, and this series is quite a pleasure to behold.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/LunarLegendMoonPrincess.jpg |
| Magnetic Rose (movie) |
Decent |
|
| Mahoraba ~Heartful days~ (TV) |
Weak |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/Mahoraba.jpg |
| Mahoromatic - Automatic Maiden (TV) |
Not really good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/Mahoromatic.jpg |
| Mahoromatic: Something More Beautiful (TV) |
Not really good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/Mahoromatic.jpg |
| Mahoromatic: Summer Special |
Not really good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/Mahoromatic.jpg |
| (The) Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (TV) |
Very good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/MelancholyofHaruhiSuzumiya.jpg |
| Memories (movie) |
So-so |
|
| Metropolis (movie) |
So-so |
|
| Midori Days (TV) |
Very good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/MidoriDays.jpg |
| Minami-ke (TV) |
Not really good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/MinamiFamily.jpg |
| Momo: The Girl God of Death (TV) |
So-so |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/ShinigamiBallad.jpg |
| Mushi-Shi (TV) |
Very good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/Mushishi.jpg |
| My Neighbor Totoro (movie) |
Very good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/MyNeighborTotoro.jpg |
| My-HiME (TV) |
So-so |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/MaiHime.jpg |
| Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (movie) |
Decent |
|
| Neo-Tokyo (movie) |
So-so |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/Neo-Tokyo.jpg |
| Neon Genesis Evangelion (TV) |
Excellent |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/NeonGenesisEvangelion.jpg |
| Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth (movie) |
So-so |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/NeonGenesisEvangelion.jpg |
| Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion (movie) |
Good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/NeonGenesisEvangelion.jpg |
| New Kimagure Orange Road: Summer's Beginning (movie) |
Not really good |
|
| Noir (TV) |
Good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/Noir.jpg |
| Ocean Waves (movie) |
Good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/OceanWaves.jpg |
| Oh My Goddess! (OAV) |
So-so |
|
| On Your Mark (movie) |
Decent |
On Your Mark is a music video for a song by the same title, composed and performed by Chage and Aska. The animation in this six minute 'movie' is quite high quality, and the animation tells a nice little story for the time allotted, given that there is no dialogue (due to the fact that it is a music video). |
| (The) Order to Stop Construction (movie) |
Decent |
|
| Otaku no Video (OAV) |
Not really good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/OtakuVideo.jpg |
| Ouran High School Host Club (TV) |
Good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/OuranHighSchoolHostClub.jpg |
| Outlaw Star (TV) |
Good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/OutlawStar.jpg |
| Pani Poni Dash! (TV) |
Decent |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/PaniPoniDash.jpg |
| Paprika (movie) |
Very good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/Paprika.jpg |
| Paranoia Agent (TV) |
Good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/ParanoiaAgent.jpg |
| Perfect Blue (movie) |
Good |
|
| (The) Place Promised in Our Early Days (movie) |
Decent |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/PlacePromisedinOurEarlyDays.jpg |
| Planetes (TV) |
Good |
|
| Please Teacher! (TV) |
So-so |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/PleaseTeacher.jpg |
| Please Teacher! (OAV) |
So-so |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/PleaseTeacher.jpg |
| Please Twins! (TV) |
Decent |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/PleaseTwins.jpg |
| Please Twins! (OAV) |
So-so |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/PleaseTwins.jpg |
| Princess Mononoke (movie) |
Good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/PrincessMononoke.jpg |
| RahXephon (TV) |
Very good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/RahXephon.jpg |
| RahXephon (OAV) |
Good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/RahXephon.jpg |
| RahXephon: Pluralitas Concentio (movie) |
Decent |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/RahXephon.jpg |
| Read or Die (OAV) |
Decent |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/ReadorDie.jpg |
| REC (TV) |
So-so |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/REC.jpg |
| Refrain Blue (OAV) |
Bad |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/RefrainBlue.jpg |
| Rozen Maiden (TV) |
So-so |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/RozenMaiden.jpg |
| Rumbling Hearts (TV) |
Good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/EternityYouDesire.jpg |
| Running Man (movie) |
So-so |
|
| Rurouni Kenshin (TV 1996) |
So-so |
|
| Rurouni Kenshin: Reflection (OAV) |
Not really good |
|
| Rurouni Kenshin: The Motion Picture |
Not really good |
|
| Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal (OAV) |
Excellent |
|
| SaiKano: Another Love Song (OAV) |
Decent |
|
| Samurai 7 (TV) |
So-so |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/Samurai7.jpg |
| Samurai Champloo (TV) |
Very good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/SamuraiChamploo.jpg |
| Sayonara Zetsubou-sensei (TV) |
Decent |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/SoLongMrDespair.jpg |
| School Rumble (TV) |
Decent |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/SchoolRumble.jpg |
| School Rumble: 2nd Semester (TV) |
Decent |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/SchoolRumble.jpg |
| School Rumble: Extra Class (OAV) |
Decent |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/SchoolRumble.jpg |
| Scrapped Princess (TV) |
Very good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/ScrappedPrincess.jpg |
| Serial Experiments Lain (TV) |
Decent |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/SerialExperimentsLain.jpg |
| Shakugan no Shana (TV) |
Good |
|
| Shakugan no Shana SP: Koi to Onsen no Kōgai Gakushū! (OAV) |
Decent |
|
| She and Her Cat (OAV) |
So-so |
|
| She, The Ultimate Weapon (TV) |
Decent |
|
| Shuffle! (TV) |
Decent |
|
| Sola (TV) |
Decent |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/Sola.jpg |
| Speed Grapher (TV) |
So-so |
|
| Spice and Wolf (TV) |
So-so |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/WolfandSpice.jpg |
| Spirited Away (movie) |
Good |
|
| Stink Bomb (movie) |
Decent |
|
| Strawberry Marshmallow (TV) |
Decent |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/StrawberryMarshmallow.jpg |
| Strawberry Marshmallow (OAV) |
Decent |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/StrawberryMarshmallow.jpg |
| Suzuka (TV) |
Not really good |
Suzuka is a TV series with a few major issues. While the storyline is not exactly bad, it is certainly nothing better than decent. The ending of Suzuka is actually quite unsatisfying and anticlimactic. But the greatest problem of this TV series is its lack of believability. One example of this occurs around two-thirds of the way through the series, when the scriptwriters clumsily force a fight between two characters who had been going out with each other, and the feelings of girl in this relationship, Honoka, toward the main character, Yamato, change so suddenly (twice) that the effect is quite jarring. Throughout the series, Yamato makes such stuborn and infuriating decisions so as to be impossible to ignore, and the overwhelming feeling I developed while watching this series was that of sheer irritation towards him. The main female character, Suzuka, continually proves herself to be quite a jerk, and just the fact that Yamato persists in chasing after her is extremely agitating, especially since there is another girl (Honoka) he does not dislike who abosolutely adores him. Between Yamato's idiocy, Suzuka's unlikeability, and Honoka's fickleness, there is not much to enjoy about the characters themselves. One good point of the series is that the character animation is fairly nice, with its own pleasant style. But all in all, this TV series is quite a letdown.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/Suzuka.jpg |
| Tales of the Street Corner (movie) |
Decent |
|
| Tenchi Muyo! (OAV 1/1992) |
Not really good |
|
| Tenchi Muyo! Ryo Ohki (OAV 3/2003) |
Not really good |
|
| Tenchi Muyo! Ryo Ohki: Final Confrontations (OAV) |
Not really good |
|
| Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki (OAV 2/1994) |
Not really good |
|
| Tenchi Muyo! The Night Before The Carnival (OAV) |
Not really good |
|
| Tokyo Godfathers (movie) |
Decent |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/TokyoGodfathers.jpg |
| Tokyo Marble Chocolate (OAV) |
So-so |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/TokyoMarbleChocolate.jpg |
| Trigun (TV) |
Very good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/Trigun.jpg |
| True Tears (TV) |
Decent |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/TrueTears.jpg |
| (The) Twelve Kingdoms (TV) |
Decent |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/TwelveKingdoms.jpg |
| Usagi-chan de Cue!! (OAV) |
Bad |
Usagi-chan de Cue is a short OVA that does not even try to hide the fact that its sole purpose is to visually appeal to male viewers through risqué shots of female characters. Although it does not contain material that would normally be considered as pornographic, it might as well, seeing as the OVA is otherwise utterly pointless. Nearly every aspect of this anime can best be described as simply horrible.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/ItsMyRabbitandItsCue.jpg |
| Vandread (TV) |
So-so |
Vandread is a slightly peculiar series using an odd plot element of segregation of males and females to different planets in some kind of attempt to create a fresh perspective on interactions between the two sexes, although without much success. There are also a few phenomena occurring throughout the series that are key to the story, yet are never explained, leaving it fairly unsatisfying. The characters are stereotypical, and lack depth. The performances of most of the characters are so exaggerated as to be a bit irritating, and none of the characters really have much to offer. The series leads directly into the next season, Vandread: The Second Stage, and as such concludes abruptly with no ending to speak of. Vandread ultimately fails to come up with anything novel, and the overwhelming impression given is simply that of blandness, for lack of a better word. While the animation itself is not particularly poor, there are quite a few scenes utilizing computer generated imagery that is quite horrendous, to such a degree that it is a mystery why these scenes were not traditionally animated. |
| Vandread Integral (OAV) |
Bad |
The OVA Vandread Taidouhen is actually a shortened version of the TV series Vandread, containing only a few scenes not from the series, none of which add anything of value to the anime. Even though the Vandread story is not particularly complex or involved, Vandread Taidouhen would most likely be difficult to follow for viewers who have not watched the TV series, due to its short length. As a recap, it is worthless, the simplest reason being that the original series is not of high enough quality to even merit a recap. |
| Vandread Turbulence (OAV) |
Bad |
Vandread Turbulence is basically a recap of Vandread: The Second Stage, and like Vandread Taidouhen, it is nothing worth speaking about, much less actually watching. |
| Vandread: The Second Stage (TV) |
Not really good |
Vandread: The Second Stage is a simple continuation of the Vandread, exhibiting most of the same characteristics of the original series. One minor improvement of Vandread: The Second Stage is its redone computer animation, which, while not particularly adding anything of value to the series, no longer substantially detracts from it. As the story develops from Vandread, it remains marginally acceptable. The protagonists' mechanical foes take on a certain resemblance to the Beast from the real-time strategy game Homeworld: Cataclysm, although lacking the eerie and sinister qualities of the Beast. The ending of Vandread: The Second Stage is just weak, failing to present a strong conclusion, and artificially bringing the story to a close. |
| Video Girl Ai (OAV) |
Decent |
Video Girl Ai is a six episode OVA bearing some resemblance to the OVA I''s Pure. However, Video Girl Ai delivers a superior ending to I''s Pure, which is essentially anticlimactic and disappointing. The ending of Video Girl Ai is slightly lame, blowing the situation out of proportion and topping it off with unoriginal conclusion, but it is satisfactory, and gets the job done. Video Girl Ai makes use of a slightly ridiculous device to drive the story, namely, a girl who somehow emerges out of a television screen when her video is played in the corresponding VCR, and her life is interwoven to the state of that VCR and video tape. (Similar devices are used in the anime Midori Days and Fruits Basket, and just like these anime, Video Girl Ai is not notably degraded by the installation of such bizzare elements, and can be easily overlooked.) The animation of Video Girl Ai is somewhat weak, using washed out and lifeless color palettes, although this is true of many of the anime of its time. |
| Voices of a Distant Star (OAV) |
So-so |
Voices of a Distant Star is a short OVA with fairly nice animation, but not much else. It is too short to have any real effect. The topic of 'love' in the realm of adolescent or teen-aged individuals is difficult to execute correctly to begin with, so for an anime of this length, failure is inevitable. When this category of story is poorly executed, the result is simply a corny and overly sentimental mess, and this is exactly what this OVA turns out to be. |
| Welcome to the NHK (TV) |
Good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/WelcometotheNHK.jpg |
| When They Cry - Higurashi (TV) |
Very good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/WhentheCicadasCry.jpg |
| When They Cry - Kai (TV) |
Decent |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/WhentheCicadasCry.jpg |
| Whisper of the Heart (movie) |
Decent |
|
| A Wind Named Amnesia (movie) |
So-so |
A Wind Named Amnesia looks and feels like an 80s era American film, with a distinct dystopic cityscape atmosphere akin to say Terminator, Demolition Man, or Escape from New York. This notion of a chaotic and thinly scattered mankind living throughout the expansive ruins of past civilization would have to be the strong point of A Wind Named Amnesia, but the storyline is not quite as powerfully developed. Although meant to give deep insight into the true nature of man, most of the scenes in the movie only traverse material that has been tread by others many times in the past, yet does not provide a unique enough twist in viewpoint to justify the repetition. The character development in A Wind Named Amnesia is not particularly good, and I walked away not caring one way or another what happened to the characters of the story. |
| Witch Hunter Robin (TV) |
Very good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/WitchHunterRobin.jpg |
| Wolf's Rain (TV) |
Decent |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/WolfsRain.jpg |
| Wolf's Rain (OAV) |
So-so |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/WolfsRain.jpg |
| X (TV) |
Decent |
X is an interesting series with a fair number of quirks. The first and most obvious is the character animation style, particularly in the eyes and eyelashes, which are extremely exaggerated, even in male characters. I do not find this animation style very pleasing, but it is worth noting. The second important point of X is the number of main characters that are introduced. It goes a bit overboard, ending with about thirteen characters who could be considered main characters. In this attempt, which from the start was doomed to failure, gives up much in the process, as developing so many characters in a 26 episode series prevents a more in-depth development of any one character. In the end, you are left with a shallow knowledge of each of the characters, who are given artificial distinguishing features simply so that each of them can even be told apart from each other. The storyline of X is quite epic, but is a bit unsatisfactory due to the fact that the main structure of the story, i.e., the Dragons of Earth and Dragons of Heaven, is never explained, but only shrugged off as some kind of mysterious workings of fate.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/X.jpg |
| X OAV |
Bad |
X OVA is basically a preview of the TV series with a few extra scenes, but it is nearly impossible to understand because many events are referenced or hinted at which occur in the series, but nothing is given with which to make sense of this information, since, the events can mostly only be understood in the context of their surrounding scenes and previous episodes.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/X.jpg |
| xxxHOLiC (TV) |
Good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/xxxHolic.jpg |
| xxxHOLiC the Movie: A Midsummer Night's Dream |
Good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/xxxHolic.jpg |
| Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou (OAV) |
Not really good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/YokohamaShoppingLog.jpg |
| Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou: Quiet Country Cafe (OAV) |
Not really good |
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp251/charcompchart/YokohamaShoppingLog.jpg |
