Due to certain reasons, I had lost my incentive to update this blog, but I fortunately regained my excitement without a problem. This may be due to my summer vacation, which gave me the time and opportunity to watch new anime series and rewatch some of my older favorites, so at the present I am filled with the will to share with you some of the gems I have managed to discover so far. I hope you will enjoy my subjective reviews of these, and I hope it will be useful for those who do not know about anime/manga as much.
What would you do if you were able to see spirits? Natsume Takashi is a young boy who has been able to see them ever since he was a little child, which has caused him much suffering. After inheriting a magic book from his grandmother, a book containing the names of the spirits defeated by her, he is determined to return them all and to dissolve the book. As opposed to many anime series with spirits I have watched in the past (Ayakashi Ayashi, Ghost Hunt, Ghost Stories etc.), Natsume Yuujinchou is mostly a heartwarming series, focusing more on feelings, wishes, hopes. It may lack grand fighting sequences or melodramatic scenes, but the honest reactions and feelings each character projects will make them grow on you, for sure. It was a great series to watch, and I definitely do not regret choosing to watch it until the end.
3. Ghost Hunt
Some people may like this series, some may not – it is simply that type of anime. Ghost Hunt is a series that follows the members of Shibuya Psychic Research, a company that researches supernatural occurrences. Some are false alarms, some involve some quite nasty monsters, but each and every time SPR will definitely find the truth. Separated into arcs, each arc depicts a different case. It is a type of whodunit story, if I may say so, only the suspects are spirits, and the ones who find the culprit, people with some kind of supernatural ability. One of the good things about this series is how detailed it is. This ghost anime encompasses a wide range of subjects related to supernatural phenomena, from the Western classification of supernatural abilities, to Eastern curses and spirits (and the best is, they explain each and every one of them!). Another great asset of the series is its characters, with engaging personalities and amusing interactions with each other. A narcissist genius, a quiet Onmyouji, a clumsy school girl, a coquettish shrine maiden, a monk playing the guitar in a rock band, an Australian priest and a TV star who can see spirits – there is bound to be quite a lot of noise. I wholeheartedly recommend this anime series to all fans out there, for it will keep you on the edge of your seats for a whole 24 episodes, I guarantee it!
Hakushaku to Yousei is the story of Lydia Carlton, a fairy doctor living in the Scotland of the nineteenth century. Although she can communicate with fairies, no one believes her.However, Edgar is in dire need of a person with knowledge of the fairy lore, and so becomes her employer after saving her, but it seems that the secrets that follow him, the supposed Blue Knight’s Earl, are not few in number. It is a wonderful fantasy anime, but I have to say that it was the romantic element that won me over, because the relationship between Edgar and Lydia is absolutely adorable. Also, the references to the fey lore and mythology are quite detailed and well-depicted, which may appeal to many fans.
5. East of Eden
What would you do if you had a do-it-all phone charged with 10 billion yen at your disposal and had to save Japan with it? Set in alternate modern-day Japan, East of Eden follows Saki Morimi as she encounters Akira Takizawa, a man who is a complete mystery. As they slowly find out more and more about Akira’s lost past and the events that led to his loss of memory, they also get closer to each other and to people around them. Is Akira in fact a really cruel person, or did he have a reason for what he did? The suspence and mystery are perfectly delivered, and I truly think that anyone would enjoy this little game of guess-who-did-it. It also shows quite interestingly that the line between scruples and lack of it is fine, indeed.
Itazura na Kiss is a great series to watch for fans of romantic comedies. When she confessed to Naoki Irie, the genius of class A, Aihara Kotoko, from the “stupid” class F, never dreamed that she would end up living in the same house as him the very first day. This series basically follows as she tries to capture his heart, while going through various funny and embarrassing situations together with her friends. Will she manage to melt the heart of the cold genius? This story is quite unusual for an anime series, because not only does it truthfully depicts Kotoko’s attempts to persevere, but also the way their relationship develops several years later. All characters are truthful to themselves, the story lets you understand the thoughts of each of its characters – sooner or later, you become part of the story, living everything alongside them. I believe this makes a great romantic and honest love story, with all of its dramatic and comedic moments, and it’s the reason why I wholeheartedly recommend Itazura na Kiss to anyone who might be looking for an amusing way to pass time.
7. Kobato
Some may find this story childish. “How can a being, a human being at that, be so naive?” Nevertheless, I find it quite endearing. Kobato, the original manga created by Clamp, is the story of a girl who, in order to go to “that place”, has to gather konpeito by “healing” the people with hurting hearts. She is clumsy, naive to the point of stupidity, but is wholeheartedly kind and energetic, which makes her endearing, knowingly or not, to all the people she encounters. There is some kind of harmony in the series, a harmony that only Kobato, with her endearing innocence and unlimited amount of love, is able to create among the characters. It will make you feel like going out on the streets and hugging the nearest person – this is the type of series Kobato is.
Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 is one of the most heartbreaking anime series I have ever seen (even more so than the Titanic movie itself). It is the story of a pair of siblings who are at a robot convention on the Odaiba artificial island when an 8.0 earthquake strikes Japan. With the help of a motorcycle delivery woman named Mari, Mirai and her brother, Yuuki, strive to go back home to their parents. It is heartbreaking how realistic this story is – the despair of losing someone one loves, the despair of losing one’s home, the terror of another earthquake that may take even more lives, all of them are felt to some extent by all characters in the series. What would you do if you lost your parents? What would you feel if you lost your child? These types of feelings are sincerely described in this series, and it shows just how powerless against the force of nature we are. However, there is always some kind of light at the end of the darkness – because they are humans, after all.
9. Toradora!
Toradora! is perhaps one of the most “creepily adorable” anime I have ever watched. Why would anyone consider the violent and foul-mouthed Taiga Aisaka “cute”? Why would anyone find the scary delinquent Ryuuji Takasu “adorable”? The answer is: probably anyone who has watched Toradora!, actually, because that is not all there is to them. Perhaps the reason why I love this series so much is the complexity of each character’s personality, for none of them is two-dimensional. They love, they struggle, they change their minds; but more so than a great love story, I believe this is a deep story of growing up. It is not the philosophical kind of deep, but Toradora! is deep in its own way, treating many of the questions and dilemmas adolescents ask themselves as they grow up. But most importantly, forget this review – go and watch it for yourself. You’ll be in for a wonderful worthwhile experience.
10. Lovely Complex
If you have had enough of tall boys and short girls in every anime you have watched, then look no further. Lovely Complex is the story of a tall girl, Koizumi Risa, and a shorter then average boy, Otani Atsushi, who are always bickering for this reason and considered a comedic duo by their teachers and classmates. What happens when that TALL girl falls in love with that SHORT boy? Well, there are bound to be quite a few embarrassing situations. This is a wonderful romantic comedy, one of its good point being the way it depicts in a realistic manner both Risa’s frustration, her uneasiness with the situation, and Otani slowly and unknowingly falling in love with her. Another great point of the anime is its typically Japanese humour – who can resist a fit of laughter caused by some wonderful lines delivered in an Osakan accent? I certainly cannot!
11. Tantei Gakuen Q
This anime series is a detective one, quite closely resembling Detective Conan in this respect. The story follows Kyuu, a young boy with great logic and reasoning skills, as he learns to become a good detective. Together with his friends in Class Q, he solves different cases of murder and mysteries. I have to say that, being an Hercule Poirot-fan, I have enjoyed this series a whole lot, mainly because of the pleasure of seeing a difficult mystery unraveled. In fact, the main attraction is the way alibis are torn to pieces only to reach the true culprit, so if you’re a detective-stories-fan or simply a mystery-maniac, you won’t be disappointed, for sure!
12. The Place Promised in Our Early Days
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