Zíza

The best dorama from Korea in the last couple of years, or to be precise – the best story. And you just have to give those five stars, even if they're not completely flawless. It reminded me a lot of Painter of the Wind with my favorite Moon, but for all the seriousness it had, there was also romance and comedy. Only, world of wonders, it worked; it wasn't overdone, whiny, dull. It was really cute. Plus, the musical element is really well done (I've already downloaded the OST). The funniest part is rock in a historical dorama, which actually even fits. It’s surprising, but not discouraging. The pretty costumes outshine the pretty boys, and this time there were three of them and one of them, the evil school board president, was a total hottie. This is perhaps the only dorama where I sympathized with the bad guy and cheered for him. That actor just really caught my eye. It's beautiful to see them all act. Old familiar faces and new ones. Plus the ending, the very end, was priceless (plus with his beard Micky looked like a mafioso, yet still chic... :-D). With that said, I'd like to mention another big positive, which that is that none of the characters were overly reserved. Somehow all the characters felt real to me, with real personalities. You want a gender-bender? You want a story? You want people and not a bunch of personality traits? You want an attractive actress and actor? And you want it all at the same time? Go for this dorama.

Weird. This anime was recommended to me. So many times. Men, women, girls, boys – they've all said the same thing: "It's great, I haven't cried like this in a long time." Maybe a hard, rock-like thing has grown over my heart. Or maybe I just didn't fall into the lap of the creators (probably my bad). But I didn't cry. I wasn't moved. On the contrary, it bored me for quite some time. Out of the entire nine episodes, there were very few moments that really stuck with me. The tenth and eleventh episodes were kind of better overall, and the twelfth... okay for a while, I had to laugh for a while. The only thing I was really curious about wasn't answered until the 12th episode, and that was after the credits, and I still found it so misleading... Actually, those are the only two characters I really liked in the whole series. Reading through the reviews, a lot of viewers sympathize with Chihiro. I couldn't care less about her. And since I didn't care about someone like Chihiro, it's obvious why ef: a tale of memories. can't reach me, why I can't like it any more than 3 stars. I liked the second storyline a bit more; it's true that while I was a little annoyed by both of the people involved, then I started to like Miyamura more and I was rooting for her because Kei seemed like a spoiled kid who selfishly goes after what he wants and doesn't mind hurting people (when it comes to sports, that doesn't bother me, but in human relationships...). But I admit – the animation was really good, it felt like I was watching one long AMV. I can definitely recommend it, because I know there are a lot of people who really liked it a lot. I liked it, too; but not a lot. I don't need to see it again. And if I had a memory that would forget things after 13 hours, I wouldn't regret it... Anyway, the verdict is: recommended.

You know Great Teacher Onizuka, Gokusen? A revolutionary teacher comes to school who believes in his students and fights for them against injustice and the rest of the teachers. Just a fairy tale to have a good time with. But now imagine you’re in a school where every teacher is trying to understand you, not put you down, to understand why you did what you did. Yoichi is exactly that kind of school. It's actually a pretty serious show, dealing with issues ranging from family problems to bullying to smoking marijuana. Yoshimori is a totally likable guy who gets carried away at times, but he's still a reasonable teacher and knows what he's talking about. The way he handled the bullying still amazes me now. I definitely recommend this series. It's not a high school comedy. It feels pretty realistic even. There's actually truth behind the cliché, which perhaps has to be conveyed through cliché. But that's okay, because you'll get something out of it. And the best thing is that a school like this really exists.

A story I've seen so many times in live-action form, I decided to see it in animated form. Here, for example, unlike the Japanese live-action version, Makino occasionally annoyed me because she didn't have exactly the personality I required – probably my fault. People just can't behave the way you expect. But she did nail the cool moments (like when she punched Tsukasa’s mother). I liked the opening sequence. The classical music really fit in here and there. But why on earth did it take so long for those two to get together? It was a little tiresome how they kept stalling on the relationship. But still, a quality story with a few clichés thrown in. What bothered me was the low picture quality, but unfortunately I couldn't find anything better online; well, I can hardly blame the anime for that, right? I have to admit – I prefer the live-action version, so I'd recommend that rather than this (every time I heard Dōmyōji 's "Urusai!" I thought of MatsuJun ^^). But Makino and Dōmyōji have great dubbers here. I really liked Makino's voice a lot.

The beginning still sounded kind of promising. The girl was acting pretty logical. Well, but then it went to the flowers. Boring, boring. The twist(s) were like a fist in the eye, plus the ending is so bland (which remains hidden in the flood of all the stupidity). So actually, I'd give a star or so for the series, but since there was that cutie-pie X-D Chun Wu, I'm adding one more. I don't recommend it to guys at all (unless you like the singer from the Taiwanese band S.H.E.); to girls only if they like Chun Wu. The rest of them should shout what Inoue shouted: "I’m outta here!" ^^

I'll admit without torture that there are scenes that are entertaining. But only every once in a while. What’s more, they are totally overshadowed by characters I absolutely hate. Sorry, but that cow Kanon deserves a few slaps and bullying in the style of Life. She and Elsie are definitely not the kind of female characters I'm into. Not just her, all those poor little ladies with broken hearts (or whatever) are just boring empty bubbles. Keima's speeches about how divine the world of gaming and its heroines are can occasionally put a smile on my face, but it's just not enough to make me like it. This anime, although it has pretty nice graphics on the whole, just didn't appeal to me, and that's because of all the repulsive characters and episodic story. The uninteresting opening sequence doesn't help much either. But I liked the last episode, Keima was giving it a lot there :-D (that's the only episode I could recommend, the rest is a waste of time).

Once again, an anime where greyness reigns supreme, illuminated only by the bold color and unique smell of blood. And even then it showed nothing interesting, nothing to get excited about. The characters are obvious, eminently readable, and mostly boring. It's so predictable thus far that I'm not even really enjoying watching it. Of course, occasionally there’s a flash of mystery in the back – why did they pick Akira? Who is Shiki (a type who would fit any Japanese gothic band) and why is he doing what he's doing? And those are about the only two questions I'd be interested in answering, but that I'd insist on finding out? Not in the least. After the 4 episodes I've watched, I'd be satisfied with just one more where the answer is given. What a pity, right? A weak 2 stars.

Well I liked it so much in this anime that "the couple" got together over the course of four episodes. Just no beating around the bush. You guys have feelings for each other? Why beat yourself up for it, deny it, torture yourself, when it's so easy – just say it? Then there's the first opening sequence and the ending sequence at the pool girl, which I really liked. Some of the girl characters were pretty good, others I didn't have much use for (for example, I wanted to bury Sae somewhere, these four episodes were a bit of an ordeal for me), but otherwise it was pretty good. The best part was the ending with Morishima anyway, the way they played adults... :-D Oh, and sorry about the content. There's also Nanasaki Ai, she's the pool girl with the catchy ending :-D They're a decent 3 stars ^^ If you're sick of it always taking a couple forever to get together, this is for you. It's actually almost like a string of OVAs :-))) Only the last episode killed it xD

The beginning alone told me I was about to watch a total piece of crap. And the beginning didn't lie. I've liked Milla since the moment I saw her in The Fifth Element and even in Resident Evil, she's great... but I hated her here. The only thing less appealing was the director, the way he was sitting there with the "real" doctor, the way he talked, the faces he made... a disaster. What was it about? Why was it supposed to be so frightening? Do you believe in a close encounter of the fourth kind? Yeah, well, then maybe you would be scared. The son was a little shit from the looks of it, at least he had about three exits and two lines, all of which was him actually hating his mother the whole time. It's just so horribly scene-chewing. It doesn’t make sense. It's just a bad movie and I got nothing out of it. Except for a nauseated feeling. I apologize to all the fans, but this is a completely unnecessary movie. Would I recommend it? Not a chance. Could anyone like it? Yes, I know people who might. Are you one of them? If so, for God's sake, explain to me what you like about it! :-D

Have you also noticed that the more attractive yōkai are the good ones and the uglier variants are the bad ones? This anime has one big upside, and that's just the amazing variety of Japanese mythology it plays with, and it does play with it quite nicely. But I don't find it engaging enough to watch every episode. The characters don't engage me so much that I want to know how they'll turn out, what they'll discover, or who they'll eventually trade saliva with. Is the manga better? I can't find any real pros in this one, no dizzying cons either. It's kind of a grey middle ground. But I like the yōkai form of Riku, yet I’m not interested in watching to the finish even for his eyes. Maybe someday, if I’m desperate... If you like supernatural beings, this series is the one for you. Btw, I called it quits at the 17th episode.