Itazura na kiss Anime review

Synonyms: Naughty Kiss, Teasing Kiss, Mischievous Kiss, Itazurana Kiss, It Started With A Kiss, Playful kiss

Type: TV

Episodes: 25

Status: Finished Airing

Aired: Apr 4, 2008 to Sep 27, 2008

Producers: Bandai Visual, TMS Entertainment, Trinity Sound

Genres: Comedy, Romance, Shoujo

Duration: 24 min. per episode

Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older

Shoujo romance can be a bit of an annoying genre for me. First it is dominated by bishounen love interests who often look more like girls and usually have aloof or abrasive personalities that make you wonder why the heroine fell in love with them in the first place. While at first glance, Itazura na Kiss may not seem to be any different (though with the relieving lack of bishies) it evolved before my very eyes into the most heartwarming romance I have seen to date. This Anime is so good that there ia a TV series both in Japanese and Korean based on the series, also follow the anime episode by episode.

The plot for Itazura na Kiss is no different than your standard shoujo romance. A plain and stupid, but cute girl Kotoko has fallen in love and secretly pined for school idol and uber smart Naoki Irie. She finally gathers to courage to write him a love confession letter but he flatly refuses to even accept or let alone read it stating that he doesn’t like "stupid" girls. Of course in a plot twist that can only happen in shoujo, Kotoko's house is destroyed due to faulty construction and she and her father are forced to move in with his old friend, who just happens to be Naoki's father! Hilarity and hijinks ensue.

Despite the fairly non groundbreaking premise the story remains quite funny. Kotoko tries desperately to get her feelings across despite Naoki being cold, uninterested, and mean to her. Though some of it walks to line of being unforgivable to my feminist brain, it never has some of the cruel or absolutely mean spirited feeling as I am accustomed to seeing in this genre. But what really sets Itazura's story apart is the eventual payoff to the romance. Yes I know this is going to be a shocking spoiler, but Kotoko and Naoki end up together! Omigosh really! Before some of you get upset at me for revealing that, but thats expected right?

What we get in Itazura is something we almost never see in romance; the AFTER in they lived happily ever after. Most romances evolve over the space of at most a year or two where in Itazura the years pass as we see our couple evolve and move on to each new stage of their life. The formulaic romance plot evolves into a bit of a slice of life over the last half of the series. But what is truly beautiful is seeing the characters and even the supporting characters grow and fine love and happiness themselves. It’s quite refreshing to see the spurned love rivals actually can be happy and not spend their lives pining away for an unattainable love. My only real gripe with this is that the extra romances themselves play out too similarly to the main storyline. I mean come on everyone does not fall in love the same way you know!

Kotoko makes for a very satisfying shoujo heroine. She has all the attributes that one would expect. She is cute but not overly beautiful, ditzy and clumsy, and not very bright. What she lacks in intelligence she makes up for in determination, hard work, and a singular focus on getting her man. This is where Itazura differs from a lot of shoujo. Our ordinary girl is not surrounded by a harem of pretty boys and while others vie for her love, too her credit her feelings for Naoki never waver. However as loveable and likeable as Kotoko is, you can’t help but wonder what it is she sees in Naoki who is so cold and mean to her. This is my main gripe usually with shoujo as I think it sets a bit of a bad role model for girls who thinks is ok to put up with this kind of thing. Even though she succeeds and manages to get her well deserved reward, you have to wonder why she bothered with him in the first place. Additionally, despite her pursuit of her man there is little else of substance about her. You don’t feel like she has any real dreams of her own beyond her relationship with Naoki. It also annoyed me a bit that even after becoming intimate she still referred to him as Irie-kun. All that being said, seeing Kotoko grow up and experience all the joy and happiness life has to offer brought a smile to my face and a few tears.

Our stoic and cold hearted love interest Naoki certainly isn’t the kind of guy I would fall for, but he has all of the attributes that young girls dream about. He is handsome (yet thankfully not a bishie), smart, the son of a company president, and of course admired by women and men alike. His is cold and aloof to everyone and while they at times touch on why this is they sadly never develop this part of his personality very well. He does make a lot of growth in his character over the course of the series, though annoyingly he often reverts back to his old ways in the following episode. But by the end of the series you feel as though he has become an acceptable human being. And to think it only took Kotoko 10 years to get that out of him!

Any romance would not be complete without the supporting cast of "cockblockers". There always has to be girls and boys who spring out of the woodwork to try and derail our leads happy romance. Itazura is no different however thankfully we get a cast of supporting characters who break the mold a bit and never seem to outstay their welcome and know when to move on when they have been defeated. There are no real villains in the cast and you will end up liking every one of them and feel all the more happy when they find loves of their own.

Every heroine needs a cast of helpful supporters encourages her romantic struggle. The series has some good ones, the biggest cheerleader and most humorous being Naoki's own mother who actively supports Kotoko in wooing her son, scolds him when he is mean to her, and loves her as her own daughter. It is quite sweet. The cast gets quite large towards the end and sadly some favorites tend to fade away into obscurity but you don’t miss them too much because they all are so wonderful to watch.

The artwork and animation is quite good. As I mentioned most shoujo series seem to revolve around bishie male characters which we do not get in this series. All the guys look like men, at least the ones that are supposed to be manly. There is some inconsistency at times with the look overall, particularly Kotoko who sometimes looks a bit too childish. The art itself is a bit plain too, by design but the settings, backgrounds, color palette, and character designs are not going to really blow anyone away. The music score is outstanding however. I really loved the EN theme and the performance from Kotoko seiyuu Nana Mizuki who is a favorite of mine and is probably best known as the voice of Fate from Nanoha.

Itazuka na Kiss comes close to receiving a perfect score. From a pure enjoyment standpoint alone it surpasses it. This series rivals my love for series with developed post confession romances such as Clannad. While is has a few minor annoyances overall this is the best and most enjoyable romance series I have seen. If your love your romance that’s lite on the tragedy and gives you a heartwarming happy ending then this should be at the very top of your list.

Anime opening titles:

ef - a tale of melodies Anime review

English: ef - a tale of melodies

Synonyms: ef - a tale of memories second season

Type: TV

Episodes: 12 + 12

Status: Finished Airing

Aired: Oct 6, 2008 to Dec 22, 2008

Producers: Shaft, Sentai FilmworksL

Genres: Mystery, Drama, Romance, Seinen

Duration: 24 min. per episode

Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older

Well, ef - a tale of melodies is sequel of ef - a tale of memories.

I dint watch ef - a tale of memories. I directly started with tale of memories. I couldn't follow at the beginning because there was a huge network of relationships. So i suggest you to start with memories. I know it will be as amazing as melodies because i can surely say  that watching "ef- a tale of melodies" is not like watching a regular anime, but more like an artistic painting come to life. It really is a unique experience!

And the violin in the anime will definitely leave you in awe.

In a story set years in the past, Himura Yuu is a studious and diligent young man intent solely on maintaining his top academic position at Otowa Academy. One day, he meets a mysterious girl named Amamiya Yuuko, who, to his surprise, recognizes him. Memories of a distant childhood, memories rather left forgotten...meeting Yuuko again will force Yuu to confront the regrets and sorrows of their collective pasts and presents.

In the present, Kuze Shuuichi may seem like a womanizer, but upon closer inspection, is a man who would rather be left alone. Hayama Mizuki, however, is not the type of girl who would let him be, especially after hearing the beautiful sounds of his violin performance. As Mizuki attempts to become closer to him, Kuze attempts to push her away - the tale of their budding relationship is darkened with undertones of an imminent tragedy.

The story is not far away from being a masterpiece in my opinion. It was a lot times better than the story of the prequel "Ef - A Tale of Memories" due to the mysteric way of presenting real circumstances in everyday's life. A person who is condemned to die early and his desperate struggle to find a 'conclusion' for his life in order to experience a kind of fulfillment; and another person who has to reflect on his actions he made out of desperation and fear, which finally led to something even worse.. that is the kind of story I would definitely call a true drama. From the beginning up until the end there's no time to release one's mind. Just like in the prequel the recipient get bombed with extremely well reasoned dialogues, creating a thick and heavy atmosphere and encourage the viewer to reflect on the behavior and actions of the protagonists.

As it can be assumed when looking at the title, in "Ef - A Tale of Melodies" the sound/music plays a very important role. In my subjective interpretation, those "Melodies" are first based only on music, later the whole story building (including the end) gives this "Tale of Melodies" a new meaning, some kind of "life melody" with images as well as music. But this doesn't concern at this point.

The melancholic music of this anime, primarily composed by Tenmon is perfectly fitting into the story and underlines the atmosphere created by the plot. The fact that Kuze is musician and plays his violine makes me feel of the music as a firmly integrated part within the story - and that makes it even more fitting.

The opening is not one of my favorites, but that's not important at all. The ending music changes from episode to episode making the anime appear more dynamic. Something I've rarely seen before.

Characters, what do I have to say? The protagonists both totally convinced me in their train of thought, in their actions and behavior - you can mean that the author himself experienced these cruel situations - and especially in their appearance. Kuze and Yuu are two very different human beings, both struggeling.. Yuu with his dreadful past, Kuze with his fearsome future. Both try to find a way out of desperation, but they have to learn that it's not possible to solve one's problems that easily. While Kuze slowly abandons everything around him, Yuu seems absent from the world itself unless he meets Yuuko. Remember, those two storylines take place in different times - Yuu's story in the past, Kuze's story in the present of the prequel "Ef - A Tale of Memories".

The development of those two characters influenced by feelings from other people and its outcome of finding strength and courage is the thing that makes me consider this anime as something 'real'.

"Miracles don't exist in this world. There are only coincidences, inevitabilities, and actions that people take. I'll just have to make this miracle into an inevitability."

Well, it's not something new at all, but it's just perfectly shown in this anime.

The side characters also play a very good role and round the whole thing up.

This anime is indeed a really great work of art. With some simple means it creates a terrific atmosphere which is absolutely necessary for this kind of story. The drawing is well-done, the animation authentic (especially the wind flowing through the hair and partially the movements), and the character design also really good. But the fact that makes this anime to something very special regarding the arts is the style of blending the images, using many different colors and shapes, implementing words and sentences from romanian languages and telling a parallel story besides the animation's story by using just these technical means. At this point it's pretty sad that some of those screens fade too fast so that the viewer has to pause the video in order to read what's written on the screen (and especially to think about the relation to the story).

Anime opening titles:

Hapi Mari Manga review

Warning: Recommended readers: 18 + as the manga is little smutty

Type: Manga

Volumes: Unknown

Chapters: Unknown

Status: Publishing

Published: Jan 8, 2009 to ?

Genres: Comedy, Romance, Josei

Authors: Enjouji, Maki (Story & Art)

Serialization: Petit Comic

Hapi Mari wasn’t a manga I wanted to read at first. I was bored and decided to just click on one random title in the romance section. Hapi Mari is basically about the dysfunctional marital life between Chiwa, an office lady, and Hokuto, the seemingly cold and socially aloof president of the company she works for. What’s that you say? The concept of Office lady plus mean cold guy has been done? Well, yes, it has been done, but Hapi Mari feels terribly refreshing. , I enjoyed how the author made the development of their relationship very realistic. 

Are you sick and tired of the usual typical plotlines, ie, seeing silly little high school girls with big buggy eyes and ridiculous pouty mouths who do nothing but worry over boys with great teeth and great hair who don’t give two shits about them?????

If you are, then look no further, because I bring to you in this review, Hapi Mari by Enjouji Maki!

Men - they're the root of Takanashi Chiwa's problems, which is why she never had the time nor the opportunity to have a boyfriend in her entire life. A full-time office lady and a part-time hostess, she works night and day to pay off her dad's debt from his failed business. One night at her part-time job, a high-class customer has her fired. Then the next day, she's called in to see the president - whom she had never even seen before in the office - only to find out she's to marry him! But what kind of guy is Mamiya Hokuto anyway? Will he become one of Chiwa's problems, or will he save her from them? And will this marriage even last?! 

Their marriage was a sham and Hokuto only wants to keep his power in the company while Chiwa wants to pay off her father’s debts. Her father’s business failed and the mother left, so Chiwa works as a host. Before you yawn and go ‘Oh no not another Ouran High School Host Club’, you only see Chiwa as a host for roughly two manga panels before

Hokuto proposes they get married. She dumps the job (as any normal person would do – oh wait, no, she got fired, sorry. But she’s never seen working at another host club so she must’ve turned over a new leaf. Hurray!). Anyway, the reason Chiwa was picked was because Hokuto’s grandpa knew her gran, who looked after him for some while (or summthing like that), and he wanted to repay the favour. At the same time, Chiwa could still work for the company and work off her father’s debts.

Well…Chiwa measures the odds… it seems ok, no strings attached… no compromises really, and Hokuto seems ok with it. Speaking about Hokuto… he seems sensible (or so she thought) so the two agree to the marriage. Then the problems come; Chiwa realises Hokuto is this giant tsundere. He’s hot as hell, but still acts like a big pompous ass to her half of the time.

Unfortunately, I’ve only Few. For so little, a lot goes on in every one. Unlike most manga heroines of shoujo, Chiwa is not a whiny little git and is reasonable, selfless and logical. She actually thinks ahead of things and think through.

Hokuto is a bit of a turd nearer the start, but as you read on, you realise he is actually quite the giant softie but too stubborn to show it. He is also husband material.

My god. After you read this, you will seriously wish your future husband, should be like Hokuto (but only when he’s nice!).

I gotta say. I like this this story. The art was fine - it is clean, the expressions are great, and I can follow who is saying what! More importantly though, I like the two main characters.

It isn't particularly deep, and so far, I really like where it is going. It is a little bit smutty, and I suspect that it may get a bit smuttier in the future, but in way that is part of its charm. Ultimately, this is a romantic comedy. I have only read the first three volumes (as it is all I could find. Woe!), but it has been humerous and well paced. Speaking of pace - it is fast paced! gets to the point quickly (they are married in the first chapter!). Despite the lightness of it all, it is quite moving in parts (Chiwa wears her heart on her sleeve) and it is quite sexy in places too!

It is light, and sweet, and I can't wait for it to continue! 

School Rumble Anime review

Type: TV

Episodes: 26+26

Status: Finished Airing

Aired: Oct 5, 2004 to Mar 29, 2005

Producers: TV Tokyo, Starchild Records, FUNimation EntertainmentL, Studio Comet

Genres: Comedy, Romance, School, Shounen

Duration: 23 min. per episode

Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older

This review is for the entire School Rumble series.That includes both seasons and all of the OVAs. I don’t believe in dividing up series by seasons and I firmly believe series should be treated as a whole and therefore rated and reviewed, and judged in the same manner.

My opinion about School Rumble... It is basically the story of a love triangle. The hyper, slow-witted, dense and yet extremely nice and lovable character Tsukamoto Tenma is in love with her strange and seemingly dull classmate Karasuma Oji and at the same time the misunderstood delinquent Harima Kenji is madly in love with Tsukamoto Tenma to the point that he has been transformed into a new man because of it.

The series best fits in the comedy genre and anytime you feel the story is about to take a serious turn, it swings back to its comedic nature faster than you can blink. I honestly died out of laughing in some particular scenes.

Tsukamoto Tenma is an ordinary 2nd year high school student who has fallen in love with one of her classmates, Karasuma Ooji. However, currently she is unable to confess her feelings to him. To make things worse, she found out that Karasuma is transferring to another school in a year. On the other hand, Tenma's other classmate, Harima Kenji (who is a delinquent) is also in love with Tenma. Not being able to confess his feelings, Harima gets depressed day by day.

The characters are probably the best part of this series. While there is really only three or four main characters, on numerous occasions, the series turns its attention to some of the backgrounds characters and lets the viewers get to know them better through some interesting side stories. Tsukamoto Tenma is extremely cute and lovable, Harima Kenji is a brooding delinquent you will love to root for, and Karasuma Oji is the character you will love to hate. The background characters such as Tsukamoto Tenma’s sister, Yakumo (quiet, reserved, and gorgeous girl that almost all men fall in love with at first sight) , Sawachika Eri (the seemingly shallow rich blonde girl sought after by many guys), Suou Mikoto (the athletic and cool tomboy that seems to be good at just about everything), Takano Akira (the quiet, calm, and mysterious girl that seems to know everything) are also very well developed and quite entertaining to watch. There is a character type to suit any viewer’s tastes.

The story itself and the way it’s developed are both very interesting. However, I did find it quite irritating at times where I felt the story should perhaps take a more serious turn. The show is a comedy and above all else it should be funny and in that area there is definitely no shortcomings. The show is absolutely hilarious. However, while it is a comedy, its subject matter is not, and I would have found it quite refreshing if the writers had not shied away from including some serious elements as a complement to the comedy. Instead, they chose to completely slam on the breaks and put it in reverse whenever there was even the slightest danger of any serious development. The only part where things get even in the least bit serious is in the final two-episode OVA where they attempt to conclude the story.

Another area where this show suffered a bit had to do with filler episodes. There are not too many filler episodes and some of the fillers even contribute a little bit to the story. But, fillers are still fillers. While they are not abused to extremes as with some other shows such as Bleach, their presence still adds some annoyance for the viewer.

ATTENTION: The next paragraph talks about the ending. While I will not include any specifics about what happens at the end of the series, I will talk about the style and quality of the ending. If you feel this might spoil things for you, skip over the next paragraph.

This is where the show lost the most points from me. While, I did not know the specifics of the ending, I had a very close guess formed by the second or third episode of the first season regarding how the show would conclude. I knew I was in for at least a bit of a letdown at the end simply based on the nature of the show and how it completely shied away from getting even slightly serious. The ending doesn’t really leave you hanging which is good. However, I did not get the ending I wanted and I am fairly certain most people who have watched the series in the past and those who will watch it in the future have felt and will feel the same way I do about this. It will not catch you off guard. You will know it is coming fairly early in the series. But it is still a letdown. Perhaps, an alternate ending episode might have remedied this.

The two places this series lost marks from me were the filler episodes and the ending. Without the fillers and with the correct ending this show would have scored full marks

Anime opening titiles:

Peach girl Anime review

Type: TV

Episodes: 25

Status: Finished Airing

Aired: Jan 8, 2005 to Jun 25, 2005

Producers: TV Tokyo, Nomad, Marvelous Entertainment, FUNimation EntertainmentL, Studio Comet

Genres: Romance, Shoujo, Slice of Life

Duration: 24 min. per episode

Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older

Well.. Peach girl... to say about it....

Oh gosh. so many switches of the girl protagonist between the two guys >.< That was horrible. Every episode I just kept wondering How is it darn allowed for the girl to switch her love interest every time she gets hurt and the first one who comes to sooth her broken heart suddenly becomes her love interest !?!?!

Peach Girl is a high school love triangle (square?) story that probably wouldn't surprise most people. It's enjoyable enough if you like the genre anyway, so I'd suggest it to people who like this sort of thing but I wouldn't say you'd have to rush out to get your hands on it. 

Peach Girl is about an average high school girl, Momo Adachi, who everyone thinks is a beach bunny / slut because of her tanned skin. The actual reason she is so tanned is because she was on the swim team and tans very easily. She likes a boy, Toji, who she heard only likes non-tanned girls. This causes her to question who she is and have low self esteem. She spends a lot of time trying to remake herself into the girl she believes he wants. However, she has a friend, Sae, who likes to go behind Momo's back and make her life terrible, mostly by trying to take Toji away from her. All the while there's another boy, Kairi, who is in love with Momo. 

Bear with us here -- this is a first impression that will undoubtedly be updated as the series progresses. Unfortunately, the first impression is the most important one, and for all intents and purposes, Peach Girl has blown it.

After the first few seconds where you witness a girl getting groped on the street because she more or less looks like she takes cash for it. She is introduced as, Momo. Our Momo, has a little dilemma, she has tanned skin she hates and orange bleached hair all because she is a swimmer. Our orange haired girl loves a boy, Touji (who according to her "sources" hates tans and bleached hair) and has a psychotic best friend with sociopath tendencies who makes her life as complicated as she possibly can. It doesn’t end there though, there’s also Kairi, the popular guy in school who adds him wisdom and pervertness to the show and gives us a few laughs in between, because he’s the only one that gives any sort of humor in this one. Talk about a tough load to carry.

I think the whole plot in this anime revolves around the fact that Momo is tanned and has bleached hair, so take that way and you’ve got nothing at all original. At all.

Momo is actually an ok lead girl, she stands up for herself and aside from her questionable taste in guy’s, I think she has potential. Though watching the back and forth she had going made me wonder if she felt like she was time traveling in her own life to try and change how things turned out. That’s a better story then she just couldn’t make up her mind. I think she got the short end of the stick seeing as she isn’t the only swimmer but she’s the only one with bleached hair and tanned skin.

Sae has serious self esteem issues. She is infuriating to watch and at some points I wish someone would beat her. Not to death of course because then they wouldn’t be able to beat her again. She is the worst friend anyone could ever have. Well maybe not the worst since she never actually killed anyone. Fine, worst shy of murder. “That filthy mouth of yours spills out venom like nobody’s business.” That's our Sae. But thanks to her Momo sees what type of people are actually around her.

Touji, oh Touji, it’s too bad you didn’t have a brain in that head of yours, you could have done great things. It’s not his fault though, he’s just a gullible, nice guy who believes anyone but his girlfriend. His role was horrible and anyone would have looked like an ignoramus on it, through it, around it. You get what I mean.

Kairi is the glass half full of the show, most of the time. He’s what make the last half more or less watchable. Guy with a questionable past and undefined future. He's the comfort and the pain but he's the only one that sees through Sae's facade. Making him the smartest person in a dumb class.

The animation was average to below average. The characters looks stiff and sometimes act that way too, very two dimensional. I found it hard to get into because the dudes look like chicks, but you get used to it and eventually move on. The sceneries aren't memorable and I have definitely seen better, just look at Clannad. Oh how I miss thee...

The soundtrack is below average, with the same music being repeated throughout various scenes in the episodes. The OP is catchy but even that loses it’s charm. The ED is much better, maybe because it’s less upbeat and more harmonized. The English voice adaptation makes Touji sound like he' high sometimes because of his inability to show emotion in his voice. That's harsh I know but still. Sae's voice if on for more than five minutes at a time will cause your ears to bleed. Hmm, they didn't put that in the label. Other voices were fitting and not too bland or out there.

Had the show been better I probably would have picked up the manga for it. My mind couldn’t take anymore Momo+Touji+Sae+Kairi idealistic drama.

Sometimes I think this one should have been called, “Lets Break Up So We Can Get Back Together?” I’m not exactly sure what kept me watching then. Or what drew me in to re-watch the ending years after. Maybe it's because in the end the right guy gets the girl, the guy you liked or wanted to get the girl all along. It’s not because of the (unoriginal) plot or character development, since most of them don’t grow and actually become selfish and immature as time passes. There's something that keeps you interested to see WTF will happen next. Either way, my rating from back then and the rating now are much different, after I have watched many more anime.

Oh Momo, when will you learn.

Anime opening titles:

Suzuka anime review

Type: TV

Episodes: 26

Status: Finished Airing

Aired: Jul 7, 2005 to Dec 29, 2005

Producers: Marvelous Entertainment, FUNimation EntertainmentL

Genres: Drama, Romance, Sports

Duration: 23 min. per episode

Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older

I have to say after seeing the whole series even though a lot of people said it sucked..it kinda left an impression on me. 

The general audience should be the one that likes romance, drama, and/or "slice of life" anime. Or simply someone who just wants to give it a try. So if you're looking for something funny with a bit of fanservice and a couple of action, I suggest you try other anime's out there. I recommend this anime to those who watches realistic anime under the romance-drama genre. Oh, sports anime fans may have a little something to enjoy here. 

Akitsuki Yamato moved to Tokyo for a change of pace. Upon his first day at his new high school, Yamato passed by the track and field club practicing, only to witness something that would take his breath away. The image of a beautiful girl leaping over a raised bar would be embedded in his mind forever. After returning to his residence, an all-female boarding house/public bath owned by his aunt, Yamato is surprised to see that his new neighbor is none other than the girl who caused his heart to skip a beat. She is Asahina Suzuka, an aspiring high jumper and the prettiest girl Yamato has ever seen. 

Over time, Yamato can't help but fall more and more in love with Suzuka. He even goes as far as to join the track and field club just to be closer to her. Still, Suzuka does not warm up to Yamato so easily. Are the two just friends or is there something more than that underneath it all?

Even though the premise seems to come directly from Love Hina, this is hardly a harem anime (like anime with a lot of girls who all want this one guy, such as the titles Love Hina, or vice versa). The anime revolves around the relationship between Yamato and Suzuka. 

Throughout the anime, you are guided by the narration of Yamato (lead male character, who's far less wimpy than Love Hina's Keitaro XD) The character interactions and development is done very well and very realistically. (I could almost relate to Suzuka) 

The narration by Yamato really provides some great insight into what goes on in the mind of a guy who has a crush on a girl. I was giggling everytime Yamato tries not to make a fool of himself everytime he's with Suzuka. XD There aren't any other interesting characters because there are quite a few. Although I find the supporting characters very useful especially towards to developing relationship between Yamato and Suzuka. 

And Miss Suzuka here, our main lead female character, is my favorite character in the series. XD She's simple, nice with a cool attitude. I wonder why most of the people who decided to watch this, hated her guts. I mean, ok, she tends to be bitchy and bossy but she has her reasons.

Honoka, the second main heroine of the “Suzuka” is a caring, kind and cute girl who had a crush on Yamato for a long time.

What I liked the most about “Suzuka” is that every character behaves naturally. The way their feelings for each other were developing was almost life-like. Yes, it’s of course not perfect, but it definitely was great to not see in “Suzuka” any standard and over-used romantic clichés and exaggerating. And I must mention one more thing: usually, a main hero’s friend in this kind of show is an air-headed fool who thinks only about girls and tries to give stupid advices. But Yasunobu is nothing like that; he is calm and seems lot more mature than Yamato. In fact, in general all supporting characters were well-made.

Each character has a unique, strong personality and although there are many cliched moments through-out the show where you can probably predict what will happen next, that doesn't prevent the show from being enjoyable though; as to see how the characters in question will deal with each situation keeps you the viewer going and wanting to see more- the show also has moments and reactions which are quiet surprising.

This all good, but one of the main flaws of the series is a lack of those things which make you “feel” the show more: good music, animation and graphic. The animation of the show is quite poor: sport sequences look rather bad due to low budget (not sure, but I got a feeling that it IS a low-budget anime) and the whole visual style of the show is simple. I took a look at the manga and I think that black and white pages look much better. And the soundtrack is uninspired and mediocre. There are some nice tunes (like the second ending), but that’s just not enough for me. I can’t say anything about the opening because I couldn’t bring myself to listen to it even for a single time.

Still, all these flaws didn’t ruin the entertainment. The last 6-7 episodes of the show were very interesting and breathtaking; I was completely in to the story. I think that “Suzuka is a great example of how romantic anime should be made in terms of character development and depiction difficulties of their relationships.

Anime opening titles:

Kare Kano Anime review

English: His and Her Circumstances

Synonyms: Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou, Karekano

Type: TV

Episodes: 26

Status: Finished Airing

Aired: Oct 2, 1998 to Mar 26, 1999

Producers: Gainax, J.C. Staff, The Right Stuf InternationalL

Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance, School, Shoujo, Slice of Life

Duration: 24 min. per episode

Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older

Ok. I head a lot about this anime and I finally decided to see. I couldnt find subbed anime, so instead I watched english dubbed. The english voices were really annoying (I dont why i felt that way but i did.)

So i couldn't really connect with the anime. I just lost interest towards the end. Anime was incomplete and I dint even continue Manga but hey... I will not let it hinder the review though.

Miyazawa Yukino is the perfect student. Kind, intelligent, pretty and modest, it's unbelievable that such a person could exist. Little did everyone know Yukino's perfection was just a facade. An act to fulfill her desire for praise and admiration. Her life took a turn however, as a newcomer to their school Arima Soichiro topped the exam rankings. Arima is more then just intelligent, he's also kind, handsome and modest, an unbelievable person who can actually exist. Even worse luck, Arima found out Yukino's secret, blackmailing her to help him out. Their odd relationship soon develops into friendship and eventually into love. But can their love prevail through the many problems that come their way?

At first glance, Kare Kano is your average high school romance story. Thankfully, the odd personalities of the two leading characters break the idea of this just being another romance story. Kare Kano does contain the usual shoujo romance story elements when it comes to the trials for our main couple (jealous outsiders, temporary separation). But originality is able to come through with the way the leading characters handle their problems, often ending in a comedic resolve to their troubles. Besides the usual love trials, Kare Kano also features a number of interesting side stories about the support characters, so if you’re not a fan of the main couple, fear not, there are other amusing couples in the series as well. Unfortunately, Kare Kano’s story takes a nosedive with the lack of an ending. The last few episodes continue to build the plot up, but the series simply ends before anything can come out of the previous events. This is one of the greatest annoyances when it comes to Kare Kano, especially if one is not a manga reader. 

The animation is more or less quite poor in Kare Kano. Taking into account this show is from 1998, anyone can easily see the budget was definitely not allocated to producing good animation. The first half of the show had its moments, the animation in this part of the series were acceptable. One of the techniques that the producers used was to cut out still images directly from the manga, which can be both a good and bad thing. Obviously this saves the producer a lot on cost of actual animation and some may think it is quite cheap of them. But I would think majority of people feel the black and white manga images added to the atmosphere of the show, especially in the moments they were used (which were when things became more serious). The second half of Kare Kano was when the animation began to lose its charm. More still images were constantly being used. Episode 19 of Kare Kano had the entire episode made up of cardboard cut outs, which were stuck on sticks and moved around (like a puppet show). The last five episodes were horrendous, a lot more of the manga pictures were being used, but rather then adding to the atmosphere, it just made the entire show feel cheap. The final episode barely had any animation at all, simply still images. Thats where I really got irritated!

Perhaps Kare Kano’s strongest point would be the characters. The leading couple is two somewhat eccentric two faced people (particularly the female) who pretty much break out of the stereotypical shoujo couple. The leading female, Yukino is an absolute riot to watch. You will witness her stressing over the smallest of things, unbelievable for someone who at first glance seemed to be the most perfect person you could find anywhere. Supporting characters such as Asaba and Tsubasa are also equally enjoying to watch as their odd personalities fit in perfectly with Kare Kano’s quirkiness. Character development is very thorough in Kare Kano, with even Yukino’s parents having screen time to develop their back stories. The only negative feature when it comes to the characters is that even towards the end of the show the characters are constantly built up with development, only to have the show end before anything could happen. 

The sound in Kare Kano is one of its stronger points. The opening and ending have catchy pop songs that some may or may not like depending on their taste in music. There are also a number of enjoyable piano tunes in Kare Kano. All in all, the background music fitted well to the mood in this anime. A good pat on the back for the Japanese voice actors of Kare Kano as well. The VA for Yukino (the leading female) did a wonderful job in bringing out Yukino’s two faced personality, as did the VA for Arima (the leading male). If anything, the only complaint I have for the Japanese VAs was the one for the supporting character Tsubasa. I only felt her voice did not feel right. 

Overall, despite its obvious flaws Kare Kano still manages to be a favourite amongst the shoujo lovers for its interesting array of characters and somewhat unique storyline for the main couple. If you aren’t normally fond of stereotypical high school love stories, try giving Kare Kano a try. It’s recommended though to continue with the manga after watching the anime if you want to see how the story ends, since you won’t find any ending from here. So yeah, If you like comedy, romance, weird characters and high school settings then Kare Kano will probably be for you.

Anime opening titles:

Kyou, Koi wo Hajimemasu manga review

Warning: Recommended readers: above 18 as there are sexual situations

English: Today, I'll start our love

Synonyms: 3, 2, 1 ... Liebe!

Type: Manga

Volumes: 15

Chapters: 97

Status: Finished

Published: Nov 24, 2008 to Nov 20, 2011

Genres: Romance, School, Shoujo

Authors: Minami, Kanan (Story & Art)

Serialization: Shoujo Comic

I accidentally stumbled upon this manga and I really liked it in the first two chapters itself.

And then I realized  that it's really rather popular and I've heard a lot about it too. If you are trying to read shoujo romance with a bad guy and a good girl, you have to try this... but its little beyond the sugar coating level of other shoujo mangas. (Hope you understand what I mean)

Tsubaki is a girl who loves making her younger sister’s hair pretty every morning, but she doesn’t think that kind of style suits herself! The day of her High School Beginning Ceremony, after she failed in being the top student (who usually makes the ceremony speech), she finds herself sitting next to the actual top student of the first years, the worst rude guy ever, Kyouta.

She ends up cutting his hair on purpose because of the bad things he says to her. Kyouta demands that Tsubaki pay him back with her body, but Tsubaki fixes his hair instead – making it even shorter!

After that, Kyouta unexpectedly kisses Tsubaki and swears that he’ll take all her firsts.

Tsubaki Hibino looks like a very strong heroine for a shoujo manga but later she turns to be like the typical same old ones. She has a very nice fashion sense. She always makes the hair of all the girls on the screen but she never made herself look cute before she met Kyouta.

Regarding Hibino, the Character devolpment is poor but the other way Tsubaki Kyouta character is well developed.

Tsubaki Kyouta is an a**hole to start with but the kindness is revealed later, He takes interest in Tsubaki hibino since she cuts his hair and also because they have the same name (may be). His past was later revealed and then the character becomes likable. He has a very bad attitude towards girls and has a deep interest in astronomy.

 As the series goes on, you see the relationship between the two progress and watch the development of true feelings. It's all very heartwarming and "kyaaa~~!" inducing like your everyday shojo.

The story itself isn't exactly farfetched or stupid, it's just very conventional: the plot is all relatively predictable and nothing really along the lines of breakthrough creativity. That's not to say a series needs to be a breakthrough to be successful and interesting, just pointing out that if you're looking for a series with fresh ideas and unexpected plot twists this manga probably isn't the one for you. Drama it has (oh boy does it...), but the drama is predictable.

The art style is actually pretty good. Of course this all depends on your opinion (I for one have some weird standards for art), but I find the art style to be at least a bit above average. She does clothing rather well, and I enjoy the way she draws hair. The hands bother me a tiny bit mainly for proportion and shape reasons, but in general she does a good job with hands as well

Overall, this manga isn't a bad series. Sure it's on the predictable side, the leading protagonist can at times get on your nerves, but it's a nice story of teenage love and one that is more realistic than some: it's a bit mature.

 Therefore, for anyone who wants a shojo to read, isn't looking for a highly unpredictable and can deal with maturity in manga, this is really enjoyable ^_^.

By the way there is OVA of 2 episodes and its pretty good too.