Anime

Tsukuyomi ~ Moon Phase*

Unyaa... Nya nya... Nyaaau... Neko mimi mode x10. One guy goes to this old castle in Germany, finding a cute girl on the roof of the castle. He, as a failed photographer (his pictures don't sell well), takes pictures of this girl. Later, when he goes back to Japan, the girl is not there in the picture. With his friends, he goes back to the catle, looking for the girl. Then, this Hazuki... erm... a cute vampire sucks the blood of this guy to make him her slave. But this guy seems to resist the magic and doesn't seem to become a vampire himself. But, he helps Hazuki destroy this magical ball so that she can go out from this castle. The kekkai surrounding the castle goes away, and where is Hazuki? He goes home, only to find Hazuki there! The animation is suprisingly TOO GOOD/EXCELLENT for this genre of anime (moe-lolicon, comedy & vampire). And the opening and ending songs are just unique and different from other anime. Also NICE soundtracks. :Some screenshots for you!: End of season comment: Very well done anime. They've combined nekomimi, loli and vampire very well. Very nice animation too. This one will be my favourite forever. Nya!

Gankutsuou*

Based on Count of Monte Cristo Novel by Alexander Dumas. The story is set in the future mainly in Luna (city on the moon) and Futuristic Paris. About these two guys, come to Luna to have some travelling experience and to know the world outside the beloved Paris, stumbled upon this nice/cool guy (looks like vampire), then they become friends. Later this guy want to come to Paris, with the real intention of revenge on one guy who turns out to be the father of one of the guys who traveled to Luna. My main attention is not drawn to the storyline though, but to the animation (even though the storyline is VERY GOOD, another strength of this anime). The drawing/animation style employed in this anime is really unique/amazing/weird/artistic/etc. I never come across any animation style like this. But one of my friend just can't stand it (it'll make you dizzy watching the clothes. Weird fabrics. I like to have one.). The soundtracks are also good and set the mood of anime very well. The anime also combines some 3D CGIs with traditonal 2D drawings, and it is WELL MADE (EXCELLENT animation). Really worth watching. End of season comment: Artistically very well done anime. This is a very respectable anime in term of experimentation with new way of doing anime. The storyline is also very well done, though those who dislike slow storyline will probably hate this anime. The soundtracks are very well composed, and fit the anime very well, and feel very French for me. A very recommended anime to watch for those who like artistic anime and slow storyline (and some opera-like acting).

Genshiken*

Otakus out there. You definitely must watch this. Anime about daily life of otakus. You'll feel somewhat familiar with the characters in the anime (in term of their enthusiasm in anime and manga). You can familiarise yourself with common terms used by otakus. Hey, this anime also got NICE/GOOD animation too. The soundtracks, plus the opening and ending themes give the feeling of otakuness (especially the opening song). Great anime for you this season. (I tried hard to eliminate the males from the pictures^_*).

School Rumble*

I can't write anymore. I'm suffocated. I can't stand this anime. It's just too much. Please! I don't want to open my eyes, or else my stomach will burst. Please don't make anymore jokes. Nooooo! That's all for my comments on this anime. Ijou! GOOD animation (suitable for this type of anime). 'STUPID' soundtracks & OP/ED themes (I mean in the sense that even listening to the soundtracks tells me that the joke is coming so that I can prepare for it). (See. I'm trying to get as many girls as possible in here ^_^). End of season comment: Well made anime. Every single episode is so fun to watch. And the ending was also good. Really worth watching.

Gakuen Alice*

Mikan-chan goes to Alice Elite School to be with her close friend. It turns out to be not just an ordinary elite school, it is for those with Alice, a power that only some people have it, a special power. ...and then the cuteness begins... Eh?

Rozen Maiden

Dolls. Kawaii dolls. Lots of dolls. Cursed dolls. Dolls looking for masters. Dolls fighting each other. The anime is basically about this one guy, living with her older sister (kawaii), who doesn't want to go to school, and keeps locking himself inside his room. He seems to like to buy ancient/antique dools/things that fill up his whole room. Then he gets this one big package, which contains one cute dool (kawaii). Somehow the doll comes to live, asking the guy to wear this ring, where he will be the source of her power. Nice ring. I'd like to have one. She should have given me that. The animation is GOOD and the characters are plain cute^_^. Recommended for those who love kawaii things. The music somehow typical of anime from Bee Train studio but this one is not from Bee Train though, but the music is still by Ali Project.

Mai Hime*

New anime that I think worth watching. Hime stands for 'Highly Advanced Materialing Equipment. Mai is on the way tranfering to a new school on a ferry with his brother. Mai points out that she can see this one star beside the moon, which his brother can't seem to see. Then, his brother ask her instead if she could see one object floating on the water some distance from the ferry. It turns out to be a small mysterious girl holding one weird looking sword. Thanks to Mai, the girl is saved by Mai's quick CPR. In the middle of the night, something happenes. One girl with guns is looking for the girl whom Mai saved ealier. Then these two girls fight each other. Explosions here and there in the ferry, and then the ferry is split into two. Mai, letting her brother to escape first is left alone on the ferry. Finding a way to escape, she is caught again in between the fight. The girl with sword is already collapsed, and the other girl tries to shoot the girl to end the battle. Then Mai goes in between the girls trying to save the one with the sword, and something weird happens. She manages to stop the bullets with these rings of fire out of nowhere... GOOD animation. GOOD soundtracks (by Kajiura Yuki). End of season comment: Not really a serious anime, though it was damn serious towards the end of the season. But, the ending was GOOD. Not a sad ending. Though the animation is not outstanding, the anime is really worth watching. Not really mecha a anime (though the Childs are for sure mecha). Good mix of fun moments with sad storyline.

Utakata*

I watched this anime only in the end of the season, because I thought this anime was not to my liking. I was wrong. This is a very well made anime. Superficially it looks like just a typical mahou shoujo/magical girl anime. But this is not a typical mahou shoujo anime .The plots/storyline is very well writen. Very well animated. The soundtracks and the OP/ED songs are excellent, and the OP/ED animation are also very well made. Quite phylosophical to be a normal mahou shoujo anime. It also has some elements of yuri/yaoi suggestions, but not to the extent of yuri/yaoi anime. This is one of the best anime for year 2004. Shouldn't be missed by any anime lovers.

MADLAX*

If you've watched NOIR and Avenger (from Bee Train Studio), maybe you'll like this one (I said maybe because some people who watched NOIR said that this anime is mere crap. I'd rather feel that the person watched NOIR just for the actions not the underlying twisting storyline and the legend of NOIR). If in NOIR you're presented with the legendary assasins, NOIR, here you're presented with an assasin with no real identity MADLAX. Yes. Lots of cool poses and absurd stunts, just like in NOIR, you'll enjoy it. But, I'm also concerned about the storyline. In this anime, you'll get to know the true nature of MADLAX, the mystery of the Elies alphabets, the secret of Elies incantations, and the difference between TRUE and FAKE world they are living in. Throughout the story, you'll see what happened in the last 12 years revealed bit by bit, making you wanting to know more and more. I think you should learn Japanese a little bit because I really like the story because of some cool words/phrases that's been repeated many times in the story. VERY GOOD animation, detailed background, but I think the character design for NOIR is way better. EXCELLENT soundtracks (as expected from Yuki Kajiura).

Elfen Lied*

Pronounced as 'el-fern leet', this anime is highly recommended. Blood splattered everywhere. People are killed so easily. Headless corpses. Amputated limbs. The works of new generation of humanity, the Diclonius. With extra large pineal body. With vectors or extra unseen hands. Used to kill people. Lots of them. Invincible. Secret projects. More Dicloniuses. Bloody forgotten past of one man. Love story between a Diclonius and normal human. Must watch. VERY GOOD animation. VERY NICE opening theme. VERY INSPIRING soundtracks.

Happy Lesson Final OVA*

The continuation of Happy Lesson and Happy Lesson Advance. These 3 OVA series are must-watch for those who love the Happy Lesson anime. I myself watch the Final first, then the Advance, and then the original TV series. If you like Sister Princess type of anime, you'll love this. GOOD animation. AVERAGE soundtracks. (The picture beside is not from the final though. It's just plain cute).

Aishiteruze Baby*

Or 'I love you baby', is about this guy, called Kippei that have to take care of his young cousin, abandoned by her mother. The story revolves around how he becomes a lot more responsible and dependable, apart from being a guy popular among girls in his school, and about this young girl Yuzuyu trying to cope with living away from her mother's care. But Yuzuyu is kind of cute though:). Oni oni oni oni giri. This anime genre is shoujo, if you hate shoujo kind of anime, keep away from this anime, but please consider watching one episode^_^ though. Anime of the year for me. The animation is GOOD, and the soundtracks is just AVERAGE (but I really love the opening and ending themes).

Midori no Hibi

Literally translated as Midori's days, the story is about Seiji, a young powerful delinquent in his area, well known as akuma no migi te, one day wakes up in the morning, to find this young girl Midori on his right hand! The story goes on how they live together everyday, having lots of trouble trying to keep the secret. Very amusing anime, lots of unexpected jokes. For me, the animation is just GOOD, with AVERAGE soundtracks. [Links: Midori no Hibi manga here.]