It’s been a while since I’ve seen an anime this good and if you haven’t heard or seen of this then the pun in my tittle is perfect for this series. At only 13 eps I watched it in one setting which was easy to do as it was so engaging. It’s like a really messed up psychotic version of Alice in Wonderland but completely twisting the classic fairy tale to a violent and dangerous nightmare version.
The plot for Deadman is that a massive earthquake ravaged Japan’s mainland and destroyed most of Tokyo, sinking three-quarters of it into the ocean. Ten years later, the story shifts to Igarashi Ganta, a seemingly ordinary student attending Nagano Prefecture’s middle school. An escapee, a survivor of the great earthquake, Ganta has no memories of the tragedy and has lived a normal life. This all changes when a strange person covered in blood and crimson armour floats through his classroom windows. Grinning madly, the Red Man massacres Ganta’s entire class but instead of killing him, embeds a red crystal shard in Ganta’s chest. Within days of the massacre, Ganta is declared the sole suspect and, following a quick trial, is sentenced to life imprisonment in Deadman Wonderland, a massive theme park like prison. Arriving at the prison, Ganta is fitted with a special collar which monitors his location and life signs. Due to the heinous nature of Ganta’s ‘crime’, he has to live out his imprisonment under Deadman Wonderland’s ‘Death Sentence’. A lethal poison is constantly injected into his bloodstream through the collar, but it can be neutralized by consuming a peculiar candy-like medicine every three days. Additional candy can be earned through hard work or by purchasing it. In order to gather Cast Points, the prison’s currency, an inmate has to perform in the facility’s lethal games and survive. Fortunately for Ganta, he is aided by a mysterious girl named Shiro, who apparently knows Ganta, and is known by other prisoners as well. While trying to survive as an inmate on death row, Ganta becomes increasingly obsessed with the ‘Red Man’ and tries to find him so he could clear his name. In a bizarre twist, Ganta begins to develop the ability to manipulate his own blood, to the point of turning it into a weapon. Unbeknownst to him, Ganta has become one of the prison’s ‘Deadmen’, a segregated group of prisoners possessing the Branches of Sin which makes them capable of controlling their blood. After his ability is discovered, Ganta is forced to participate in brutal gladiatorial death matches, known as Carnival Corpse, whose anonymous spectators pay large amounts of money to watch. In his struggle he manages to befriend some of those he fought off in the arena, and with their help Ganta continues his quest to uncover the identity of the Red Man, why he turned into a Deadman and the dark secrets the prison authorities are hiding.

What I love about this series is that it’s defiantly for adults it’s a very harsh and violent world a true “ultraviolent” anime and there haven’t been that many recently. It is the very definition of aesthetic violence of the glamorization of chaos and exploitation of humanities darker side. It’s so many of the things I love in my escapist television, not a safe world of family values but a world where people are put through the most horrific extremes and how they can breakdown. I love the total breakdown of a characters world how they crumble emotionally and physically as well as spiritually. Seeing characters worlds turn and twist until they themselves have evolved into the terrifying products of their extreme situations. Deadman has this in abundance, no character is safe they are all messed up and grey area fighters, surviving by changing their very nature or allowing their true nature to shrine through. This prison is so harsh, I have a soft spot for shows based in prisons, and one of my fav TV shows of all time is Oz. But this is so much more than a prison, after all where else do you have a prison where the inmates also have to provide the entertainment for a theme park. It’s crazy they work the attractions, conveniences, maintenance and are the attractions. For example one episode features an extreme race but the kicker is that all the hazards and obstacles are in fact deadly and there a 99% chance you’ll die or be seriously injured by the end of the race. I mean some of the contestants are shot with arrows, sliced and diced or even doused in acid all for the entertainment of the crowd. It shows that as an audience people love watching people fail and get injured and we have a morbid fascination with death and violence. There’s a little bit of the social commentary and the idea people get pleasure from watching the fall of others but the public are not entirely aware that the shows they are watching do have a high fatality rate and you wonder what they would think of how much excitement and pleasure they got from watching people get tortured and killed.

The people in charge of this prison are also a mixed bag of corruption, insanity and way to into their job as prison guards. The warden, who is a one of those terrifying beauties, a real harsh kind of sexy and carries that attitude with her, she knows she is attractive but it’s a dangerous and mean sexy where she is not afraid to use the power she has to put people down. She loves her role as peace keeper and takes her job seriously not afraid to lash out and physically punish someone she thinks deserves a lashing. She doesn’t deal out sympathy as far as she’s concerned these people are prisoners and therefor property and has the respect and fear of those around her, never cross her she is vicious in her sense of justice. The prison owner has some social and psychological problems; he exists in his own childlike fantasy world and is happy to use the prisoners as his own playthings to experiment with and control. As if things weren’t dark and cruel enough there’s a whole other underground to this prison beyond the exploitation of human suffering for others entertainment and that’s the exploitation of people stuck in the system and their usefulness as guinea pigs in a world of experimentation. Under the prison is a world centred around the “branch of sin” a strange ability to control one’s own blood and use it as a weapon.

I have a huge passion for what I call blood magic’s and the idea you can manipulate your blood to be more than its intended purpose. I’ve always wanted that as a super power to expel your blood and then let it form a sword or a scythe. Think Abel’s power in Trinity Blood and give it to a bunch of crazed captive prisoners that are all either borderline psychotic or sociopathic or just plan crazy. Each blood sin is great, from forming blades to shooting projectiles this blood manipulation is original and beautiful as well as extremely deadly. I mean the blood swirls dramatically it flows and forms, its liquid sin to physical deadly sin. I love it from the majestic aesthetic to the deadly precision of these weapon users. Apart from a group most of these “branch of sin” characters embrace their power with fervour, they relish in using it and are so on the edge of sanity its terrifying to seeing how they switch and change through the personalities they’ve created for themselves to survive. But it gets worse these people are then forced to take part in a terrible game where they are pitted against each other in brutal fights for the entertainment of an anonymous audience. Unlike the audience in the theme park they are fully aware they are watching people kill and maim each other for their entertainment. These battles are pretty epic with some great shows of violence and lack of mercy with some keen killers who embrace this role they found.

But there’s a flip side for those who don’t embrace their powers or the fearful battle royal they have to take part in. They have formed a freedom group uncovering the conspiracy that placed them in Wonderland and now they are trying to find a way to escape and break free back to the world they know and love. It’s not easy this resistance group has to face the full wraith of their owners in a fight for survival and freedom and extra added danger from another group that work for the prison owner who have the unique ability to defuse the effect of the “branch of sin”. These people are even crazier than some of the more extreme sin users. Most notable the psycho monk who kills without discrimination and is madly in love with the leader of the resistance after he witnesses him lose his mind after watching his pregnant wife be slaughtered in the sin fights. Oh boy did he lose the plot and just went on a relentless killing spree with no sense of mercy or distinguishing between people so strong was his grief. He truly is psychotic but he had since reformed keeping the violent killer under wrap and not allowing this brutal nature to be released. Unfortunately crazy monk was so turned on by this show of violence he breaks down the walls to release the crazy killer so he can have the ultimate and most terrifying lover. It would be easy to think of this monk as a murdering sociopath but his problems are so deep rooted in the trauma of his youth you realise that even he is a victim of a cruel and punishing world.

Finally we have the issue of the “red man” himself and who he is, where is he hiding and how is Ganta going to take his revenge. Complicate this with his relationship with Shiro a friend from his past that is somehow connected to everything without really seeming to understand the seriousness of the world she lives in. Shiro seems like a complete innocent blind to all the cruelty and violence and only wants to stay friends with Ganta, protect him and look out for him. She seems to have a free range of the prison, is unknown to the prisoners and guards but somehow related to the “branch of sin” and this is shown in the fact she seems to have unlimited strength and regenerative powers. She goes from ditzy innocent to a precise killer with deadly power and an unforgiving nature. The worse part of falling for a greatly crafted series like this with so many questions, conflicts and conspiracies is that when it only has an incomplete ending and you don’t know what happens in the end. I hate no ending endings where you’re like but what happens next, you haven’t answered all the questions there’s so much more to tell and I’m only just starting. I hope to god there will be another series or they start translating the manga because this world is rich and dark and beautifully twisted that I want more.

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Arad Senki isn’t the most inspirational anime out there but for a bit of light hearted fun it’s worth a watch. It follows many anime that is RPG based and has a group of adventurers thrown together in a fantasy world that set off on a quest and have to battle an ancient evil at the end. We’ve seen the formula many a time in anime’s such as Ragnarok, Lodoss War and Star Ocean to name a few. And it’s a formula that always entertains because you know what you’re expecting therefore can’t really be disappointed. With Arad Senki there is defiantly more a focus on comedy than the more gritty tales like Lodoss War and Crystannia so it makes it just a very amusing and fun romp, imagine more Bakuretsu hunters where characters end up in stupid situations for a vast majority of the show before any real threat develops.

It’s not until the last part of the series that we really get a real sense of danger and a darker plot line that leads to our finale battle with the villain of the piece. While Arad Senki doesn’t have the heart or perfect balance of comedy, action, magic and dark villainy of the greats like Slayers it’s still has good points in the fact that its light fun and doesn’t take itself too seriously and it’s an interesting idea. The idea of a disease spreading demon possession through the inhabitants was interesting; the idea that part of your body is possessed by demon blood making you a stronger warrior but also the risk of turning fully into a demon was a good angle. In fact it’s a shame they didn’t explore this angle more but the series wanted to stay a little more light and fluffy than fully going with the demonic versus your humanity angle and therefore played it down a lot.

The series itself is based on a Korean game called Dungeon Fighter (which explains why so much of the cast and crew for this anime are Korean) that was renamed Arad Senki in Japan. The series based on an original web comic and has a very basic plot of Swordsman Baron travels the world of Arad to find a way to heal his demonic left arm. Accompanying him is Roxy, the ghost of a woman who unwillingly unleashed the evil that also caused Barons transformation. On their travel they get to know other fighters who accompany them and soon they call their group the “Party”.

The frustrating thing about this series for me is I like the darkness and a harsher storyline that really brings out the angst in the protagonists and this series just isn’t like that. I found I could skip scenes and not really pay attention because it just wouldn’t get dark enough for me. I don’t like too much comedy in anime unless it really is the surreal crazy of a series like Kemeko DX or a more situational comedy like Maria Holic. I love Slayers but they have a better balance of amusing situations and bizarre characters Arad is a bit of a poor copy really. Arad does rely a lot more on prate falls and slap stick, which I should have guessed from the “Slap up Party” part of the title.

There was one really good character that I really liked, Carpenshisu (many different places spell his name differently including various subbing groups) he looked cool and was the genius gunman of the series from another outer world of Arad. Unfortunately he was also the character that lost his entire cool in front of women and was reduced to an embarrassing failure of a Casanova and he was always falling over, rolling down hills and getting squashed, beat up and overlooked. He would do something amazing and cool and he really was awesome with his guns but they just kept ruining this cool façade and turning him into a pathetic idiot. That was very annoying to watch because I kept hoping they would make him less stupid and also expand on his storyline, he originally came to Arad from an outer world and when they returned to this amazing place he explained its history but not his own. We never found out why he left or what he left behind making him rather bland when he could have been so much more.

The other characters were not as well fleshed out, our main demon knight Baron was very laid back and didn’t seem to mind having a demon arm and it didn’t really cause him much trouble or lend him any really awesome powers, plus it never explained why only he could see Roxy’s ghost (who lived in his sword) and why none of the characters noticed him talking to the invisible friend. The girl fighter Ryunmei was cool but we never really got to see her have a proper brutal fight where she could go all out, the bad magician girl Ixia was just that, cute and mouthy but rather pants and then there was the warrior priest Jeda that may have been bisexual but we never really got to know his story he just turned up healed people, glowed, flexed muscles and then skipped off again. The villains were more interesting but then they always were with the usual handsome, talented and conflicted bishonen knight Irbek. He had some good angst and trying to do good but in the wrong way, clearly being manipulated while feeling guilty until he realised his mistakes and joined the good guys against the real enemy. He was one of the many clichés I feel were going on, I mean the angst bishie trying to protect his little sister from a demon virus is always going to go all self sacraficy and atone for his mistakes plus get the girl in the form of the trouble misunderstood daughter of a corrupted king, along with cherished side kick with blind loyalty because bishie knight is the only person not to overlook him and to understand that he is worth more than his appearance dictates.

In all the more I think about it the more clichéd I realise this series is, it doesn’t really hold any real emotional weight, the characters aren’t really that developed, the comedy is too slap stick for my liking and fights uninspiring and un-dramatic. The last few episodes at least pick up the pace and give us a creepy and evil villain bent on destroying the world but they don’t use all the characters well and some get left by the wayside in the final battle. In the end it’s a bit anti climatic and just goes back to the beginning as if nothing that traumatic happened and everyone is together, happy and on their little adventures again.

I liked the character designs for a bit but after a while they were just a mash up of costumes and character types I’d seen many a time and normally destroyed by all the stupid faces they pulled. I can’t say anything inspiring about the music apart from every now and again when something dramatic of scary was happening some of the scoring sounded like a tune I liked from the Casshern film. I can’t remember the opening themes they did nothing for me and the only song I really remember was the first ending theme because I like the old school computer game graphics they had on, little pixel people like in Final Fantasy 1 and 2 wandering around dungeons. The animation style was crisp and clear but nothing amazing, pretty run of the mill which I don’t mind unless there is nothing else to inspire me so by the fact that I was being uninspired by most of it means there wasn’t much I did like about the look and sound of the series.
Really if you just want a simple no brain watch of a series with a little plot to keep you entertained than this is good background viewing. If slap stick is your thing or you like RPG anime’s and just enjoying watching some adventurers travel about than it’s worth a little look but there is much better stuff out there like Bakuretsu Hunters (for comedy) and Crystannia (for excellent fantasy adventure fair). But alas sometimes the brain wants a simple show so it’s good to have some on back up.

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If you love Zombies as much as I do then you will love this great series that follows in the footsteps of the great Romero films and yet has all the quirks of a Japanese anime. This is like an anime version of Walking Dead only the protagonists are High School students. High school of the Dead is set in the present day, beginning as the world is struck by a deadly pandemic that turns humans into zombies, euphemistically referred to by the main characters as “Them” .The story follows a group of high school students, the high school’s nurse, and a young girl as they fight their way to safety through the deadly streets of Japan during a worldwide catastrophic event known as the “Outbreak”. The group sees Takashi Komuro as their leader, in the Anime and the Manga. The local group of survivors consists of six others and a small dog named Zeke, creating a team with one common goal: to survive, to survive by themselves. The authors used role-playing terminology to categorize the specific attributes each character brings to the group. Takashi Komuro serves mainly as the team leader. Rei Miyamoto, Saeko Busujima, and Kohta Hirano are considered fighters because of their exceptional skills with weapons; Saya Takagi described as the wizard due to her intelligence and deduction skills; Shizuka Marikawa assigned the role of priest as she is a licensed physician. The plot is initially concerned with survival and escape from the titular high school and zombies, but as the series proceeds it introduces the additional threats including: societal collapse, in the form of dangerous fellow survivors, technological attacks, using an Electromagnetic pulse bomb, and the possible decay of the characters’ own moral codes.

Now this isn’t a show for the young as the Zombie action is up there with the best violent, brutal and very gory. There’s all the Zombie action you could ever want, people being eaten alive right, left and centre. The Zombies themselves are great they look and act the part, the writers got all the lore in there, the way they react to sound, lack of pain and insatiable hunger. Of course once your bitten you turn into a Zombie there’s no exception to the rules which means some harsh decision right from the start for these characters. Everything you expect from the Zombie genre is here, swarming undead, very tense moments, suspense, zombie munching, bitten colleges, the breakdown of modern society, social concern being thrown away as well as the blurring of moral codes as basic survival takes centre. This is a series of at first escape, then doing anything to survive and then seeing the bigger picture of continued survival in a new world of madness and death. The series builds up very well to the final conclusion. The initial escape and bringing together of these characters, their need to survive no matter what and what they are going to do in this new world. As with most endings in the Zombie genre the end is really only the beginning as the series concludes on the characters setting out on their own mission into a new world now that they know who they are and what they’ll do to survive. Each episode is exciting and fun the resident evil movies could look to this series to see how old school zombie story telling still is great. I mean all the clichés are here; you know to expect head shots, the “he’s behind you” moment, daring rescues, sense of false security and blood blood blood.
What also makes this series so much fun is the evolution of weapons, at first these are just high school students fighting with wooden kendo swords, baseball bats and a broken mop. But as the series goes on they find weapons of increasingly destructive power so you get some amazing zombie kills. To steal a bit of Zombieland, “Zombie kill of the week goes to Kota from Japan for expertly turning a nail gun into a sniper rifle and consecutively getting head shouts”. Zombies are run over by various vehicles, beaten and shot at. Weapons range from a nail gun to sniper rifles, shot gun and of course swords (it wouldn’t be Japanese if there wasn’t a sword expert in the group. The series is also very well made its smooth and wonderfully edited with great scoring. It feels fresh and fast but sudden and shocking as well. Beautiful and brutal compare with the crisp and fluid style it’s got. Scenes of violence and be sharp and brutal but they also seem to flow with very good sweeping shots and great cinematography. This is shown during the escape from school as the animation acts like a camera speeding towards and away for our characters, chasing up to the zombies and in a fluid motion delivering our characters into the scene of violence and into battle. Even in battle like so much anime it’s very sleek and looks brilliant. There is nothing like watching an expert swiftly cut down and kill a group of zombies with grace and ease.

The characters all represent the normal clichés of girly and emotional, confident and smart, poised and deadly, the reluctant leader, ditzy and bouncy, weapon savvy and just plain cute. They aren’t too bad as stereotypes though, even being girly doesn’t mean your weak and being the ugly one doesn’t mean you are a loser. All the characters have their strength and they have their convictions, these are a confident and determined bunch and that is how they have survived. There’s also the romance aspect and the Japanese love of having one guy at the centre of all the female attention and which girl is he going to end up with. Now I can’t really talk about this series without mentioning the gratuitous amounts of fan service it has. In true anime fashion they have gone super crazy on the size of the girl’s breast and the amount of panty shots. I mean there’s a panty shot every few minutes and boobs are bouncing all over the place, I wouldn’t be surprized if you could actually take out a zombie with the swing on these breasts, I have no idea how these girls run, its plain insane. I mean the boobs are so big that the recoil from their guns makes there boobs bounce and jiggle like jelly. But it is rather amusing as you get all this amazing zombie action but you still have the girls wearing so very little as if it’s normal, I mean who fights zombies wearing nothing but a black thong and a white kitchen pinnie!!! And of course there’s very indulgent shots of these girls sleeping and prancing about in their underwear as well as group shower scenes and much fondling. I mean the school nurse wonders around naked and has boobs so big I haven’t worked out how she reaches the steering wheel of their jeep. If fan service really offends you then don’t watch it but if you can see the funny side and like me love zombies so much the fact that the girls leave nothing to the imagination and I now know the colour of each characters panties then go ahead treat yourself to this very indulgent and entertaining anime.

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I ended up watching this anime in one sitting so intrigued by how it was going to play out. I had seen the character designs and opening sequence and it was nothing I was interested, not my thing at all looked like a high school love drama. It looked all sweet and innocent and it was a romance so of no interest at all, just a big no no in terms of everything I normally like in a drama. Turns out this is a great example of never judge a book by its cover. The basic plot follows Makoto Ito rides the train to and from school every day. However, at the beginning of his second term, he falls in love with a beautiful girl that also rides the train. Unfortunately, she barely knows of his existence. Her name is Kotonoha Katsura, and though they attend the same school, they are not in the same class. In an attempt to catch her eye, Makoto enlists the aid of a close female friend of his: Sekai Saionji. She helps him, despite the fact that she–unbeknownst to Makoto–is in love with him. Thus the three are bound in a love triangle of life changing proportions. Yep it sounds like a boring love school drama but don’t be fooled there’s something underneath this little school life story.

It starts out all innocent and sweet you find out Makoto has a crush on a girl, Katsura, and his friend (Sekai) helps him get his girl. You soon learn that Sekai has feelings for Makoto too and she tries not to act on them instead offering special training to Makoto on how to seduce his new girlfriend. This is never a good idea playing couple and getting carried away is never going to end well and as things heat up between Makoto and Sekai their training session become something more and Makoto starts having feeling for Sekai preferring her to Katsura who is too shy and reserved to do anything more than a kiss on the cheek. It could have stayed this way but the anime is very good at slowly making things get more complicated and before you know it things have got out of hand and you wonder where the sweet little love triangle has gone. You feel bad for Katsura but Sekai is a nice girl so you’re pleased when Makoto chooses her but instead of doing the right thing he still continues to string Katsura along. This not only confuses the other characters who don’t know who Makoto is really dating but you start getting the feeling that Makoto isn’t as innocent as you first thought. Turns out he’s a real pig but he does it so subtly it’s not until towards the end you realise that he’s actually not as nice as everyone thinks he is and he is in fact a pervert. Once he’s had a taste of sex he seems to just go with where ever he can get it, his feeling for Sekai are based on the fact that he could sleep with her and once he works out that other girls like him he can have sex with anyone he wants.
It doesn’t help that this school has some right bitchy and slutty girls in it and by the last 3 eps you can rest assured that no one is looking innocent and this isn’t a nice little love story. Makoto isn’t all lost and confused he’s just playing all these girls and using their feelings and insecurities to sleep with them with no remorse or consideration for anyone’s feelings. It no wonder things get out of hand by the end he’s juggling about 5 girls, got one pregnant and broken Katsura’s heart and turned her into a zombie wondering around talking to herself as if she’s still dating Makoto. I’m not entirely sure if this series is aimed at girls or boys, there’s a lot of fan service and panty shots galore but I would be a bit disturbed being a guy watching this as it makes a very good tale of caution to all men who cheat. Be careful of breaking girl’s hearts they may turn out to be far scarier than you initially thought. I couldn’t wait to see Makoto get what he deserved from being such a two timing letch and was hooked on every ep slowly watching this drama get more adult and that feeling of something sinister lurking beneath the surface. It came in the last 10 mins of the last episode. It’s only a 12 episode series so it doesn’t get slow and you do get sucked in and then you witness a rather disturbing last ep. I wasn’t entirely sure what was going to happen but not quite the ending I saw. I thought maybe suicide not the bloodshed and rather deranged behaviour of girls who have been used. It was a little shocking but defiantly worth the wait as it leaves a rather bad taste in your mouth at the end. It’s not the most disturbing thing I’ve seen in anime but compared to the rest of the series it defiantly counts are a rather horrific ending. So yes this anime is great well worth a look as it prove two rules:
1: Never judge a book (or in this case a series) by its cover.
2:Don’t cheat you have no idea how someone will react till it’s too late and there’s no going back!!

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Just finished watching this which I enjoyed immensely because it was a bit odd. The plot follows Mikado Ryūgamine is a young man who longs for the exciting life of the big city. At the invitation of his childhood friend Kida Masaomi, he transfers to a school in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. Masaomi warns him about people he doesn’t want to cross in the city: a violent man dressed like a bartender, an information merchant, and a mysterious gang called “Dollars.” And to top it off, Mikado witnesses an urban legend on his first day in the city: the “Black Rider,” the supposedly headless driver of a black motorcycle. The narrative follows all of the characters equally, showing how their lives intersect, creating a greater plotline from what each character knows about a common incident.

At first it’s hard to tell what the plot is really I mean it’s made up of characters that seem to have nothing in common apart from they live in Ikebukuro and how in fact all their lives are inter-linked. Sounds normal enough if it wasn’t for the fact that no one in this series is normal. I mean this is a real genre hybrid at first I didn’t know if it was a high school drama, a supernatural show, a show about hidden powers, gang warfare, romance or mystery but in truth it’s a mix of all these. It’s rather confusing at first but once you sit back and accept all these things and that it’s just how it is you can enjoy it so much more. I had no idea where this series was going to go the first half seemed to be about the nature of the very supernatural character Celty, a Dulahan fairy (headless rider) from Ireland that travels to Japan to get back her stolen head. Needless to say she soon discovers there are more important things than getting her head like where and how she belongs in this modern society and her true feelings. The second half is where the real plot kicks in as it turns out that there is so much more to the three main protagonists as their secrets and alternate lives are revealed and how it affects their new life. I like the animation style of this series plus the character designs there a little more lined and sketchy which gives it an interesting edge. The scoring also helps with how surreal and odd this series is it really adds another layer as it matches the tones as well as the unfamiliar and strange aspects of the series.

There’s a great cast of characters who all get equal screen time and time to tell their stories and how they fit into the bigger picture. Although don’t expect to know everything about them some things are left unexplained which adds to the mystery of the setting. You don’t need to know everything about a person to know where they stand and how they feel. This series is really about humanity, what it means to be human, how we feel about others, what we do to protect and keep others safe. How our different ideals and thoughts affect those around us, if you hide something to protect someone you could end up hurting them more. What is it we really desire, what are our fears and why we react the way we do and what are we truly looking for in life, what’s our place where do we truly call home. The show is full of these questions it’s about finding ones place and feelings and discovering what truly matter whether your human or not in the case of Durarara. The show has a mix of supernatural mysteries and the misunderstandings of youth strongly combined to complement each other and really make you think. You get very invested in the lives of these characters and want their safety and happiness to be confirmed. The main characters all go on a journey of self-awareness and discovery with the help of older characters who have found their place and have come to understand themselves. It’s actually quite beautiful and sad at times watching the conflicting emotions and trials of these characters and you do want the best for them.

That’s not to say this series is all drama and emotional back story having a supernatural element also means the fair share of odd goings on and hidden dangers, ranging from a mysterious slasher, hacking their way through the local population to Celty herself who rides a black motor bike wielding a scythe cutting down foes and protecting allies. There’s a fair bit of action as Celty uses her powers freely against those that oppose her and yet she herself is quite a gently and caring person that doesn’t really want to hurt anyone unless they harm her friends. There’s also the amazing character of Shizuo Heiwajima who is my fav character and not just cause he’s hot, tall with blonde hair, it because while being calm and peaceful most of the time he has a very short fuse. He berates himself as someone who hates violence but unfortunately has the temper of a volcano and once he is angered he is a bit mental. Once in a rage and that’s very often he displays superhuman strength and is known as the strongest man in Ikebukuro. He has the ability to bring out unlimited strength and while his weapons of choice are normally vending machines and road signs he is also brilliant in a hand to hand brawl. One of the most amazing scenes in the series is when people are being transformed into slaves of a sword that wants to love humans but can only do so by cutting them. This sword decides it loves Shizou so sends all its victims to attack him and show him its love. What ensues is a brawl between Shizou and about a hundred possessed people which is a brilliant fight scene, he runs across heads, punches people across town, picks up the entire mod at one point and just gets stronger and stronger during the fight, it’s awesome!!!!

But yes this series has a bit of everything from high drama, to supernatural mysteries, romance, horror, fight scenes and gang warfare. The gang storyline is very important to the series as they way that our protagonists are tied to the different gangs but that’s something I won’t spoil you have to watch to find out how good if a bit weird this series is!!!!

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1 – Mai Hime/Otome – I love these series I normally stay away from all girl anime’s but there are a few that slip through because they are brilliant so worth watching. The Mai series is one of these great exceptions to my rule. For a start the characters are really interesting it has a good mix of female characters that represent many different types of female attitudes and character types. It’s easy to relate to at least one female character and they are all strong in there different ways no silly bimbo types or wilting flowers. These are strong girls with morals, ambitions and strength of character so it’s quite nice to see such positive portrayals of femininity. But apart from the great characters this series is also brilliant for action scenes. The fights are great as each girl has unique and amazing powers. Not only do they have a power but an original weapon and a secret beast they can summon. This means battles are amazing and there is no lack of action going on. By Otome they also have the transformation sequences which are brilliant adding the extra awesomeness of amazing costume designs to the already grand mix of weapons and abilities. The plot for Mai Hime is about Mai Tokiha is an ordinary high-school girl who has recently transferred to the Fuka Academy with her younger brother, Takumi. However, a routine boat ride and a chance encounter with a mysterious young girl changes everything. Mai discovers that she and some of her classmates possess the powers of HiME and must battle against mysterious creatures called Orphans and an ominous organization called the Searrs Foundation. Along the way she must face her own demons and understand what it means to love.

My-Otome’s story takes place in the distant future on the planet Earl, colonized by immigrants from Earth centuries ago. “Old technology” has survived in the form of Nano machines that allow female virgins to take the role of Meister Otome’s – bodyguards, attendants and warriors that serve the royalty of various kingdoms. Arika Yumemiya has come to Wind bloom Kingdom in search of her mother, whom Arika knows was an Otome. On her arrival she meets the top Coral Otome student, Nina Wáng, and Windbloom’s heir to the throne, Mashiro Blan de Windbloom. The series follows Arika’s progress as a student at Garderobe Academy and the machinations of those desiring the destructive power of the old technology for themselves. Some of the characters have been reincarnated into the new universe and thus the series are linked by some shared themes and story arcs. Another great aspect of the show is the great score by Yuki kajiura most famous for the scoring of the Hack/Sign anime. A beautiful and haunting soundtrack a mix between operetta and fantasy infused dance music. These series also being predominantly female characters have a Yuri couple and some slashy undertones but the main couple have an interesting relationship and it’s nice to see the relationship progress.

It’s not so black and white and this relationship as with many have a lot of tragedy and difficulties to overcome, love isn’t so easily gained and being in love isn’t all roses for these girls giving birth to as much grief as it brings happiness. I love this series because of this mix of strong female characters, honest portrayals of love and heartbreak mixed with genuine drama, action and battle.

2 – Card Captor Sakura – Ah CCS Clamp’s little magical girl series that is so good. You all know I love Clamp though I prefer the dark stuff but CCS is brilliant. Cardcaptor Sakura begins when ten-year-old fourth grader Sakura Kinomoto accidentally releases a set of magical cards called Clow Cards from the Clow Book, created and named after half-English, half-Chinese sorcerer Clow Reed. Each card has its own personality and characteristics and can assume alternate forms when activated. The guardian Beast of the Seal Cerberus emerges from the book and tells her it is now her responsibility to retrieve the missing cards. As she finds each card, she battles its magical personification and defeats it to seal it away. Cerberus acts as her guide, while her best friend and cousin Tomoyo Daidouji films her exploits and provides her with battle costumes. Sakura’s older brother Touya Kinomoto watches over her, while pretending that he is unaware of what is going on.

The fact is I like Sakura and her clumsy giddy little self, she’s honest and sweet and good natured. She has surrounded herself with good friends and has a good family so everything seems so sweet and innocent. What makes me like little this magical girl series above all others (and it’s not a genre I normally go for) is that underneath its sweet exterior is a far more adult and intriguing world. CCS at its driving force is about love and how it concurs and prevails in all its forms which means that this series is full of relationships not normally represents. I mean there’s Sakura’s best friend with her lesbian crush on Sakura, one of Sakura’s school friend is secretly engaged to her teacher, there’s another age difference couple, reincarnated love and then there is Touya and Yuki.

This is the reason I love this series it makes it very obvious that Sakura’s brother is in a relationship with his best Friend Yuki and as the series progresses so does how much these two people mean to each other. Their relationship is beautiful what Touya gives up not to lose Yuki is amazing and touching and it also has the extra bonus of the truth behind Yuki and sharing his soul with the beautiful Yue. Nothing like a cute bishie guy that transforms into a hot bishie angel to make me a happy fan girl.

Oh I could fan girl about this yaoi paring all day it was one of my first ever yaoi pairings and it was lovely but then CCS make relationships beautiful and touching. Sakura’s growing understanding of her own feelings and her relationship with Syaoran is a lovely journey to watch. It also helps that the series is also touching and fun, the Clow cards are interesting and while the first half concentrates on collecting them the second is on transforming them. Therefor some interesting episodes, battles and magically powers. Also with all magical girl shows there’s plenty of outfit changes and a great running joke about the costume changes and the magical staff spell casting ritual that all these shows need. Good thing Sakura twirls the baton at school.

3 – The Vision of Escaflowne – a beautiful fantasy series and a classic of the genre. The series focuses on the heroine, Hitomi Kanzaki, and her adventures after she is transported to the world of Gaea, a mysterious planet where she can see Earth and its moon in the sky. On Gaea, Earth is known as the Mystic Moon. Hitomi’s latent psychic powers are enhanced on Gaea and she quickly becomes embroiled in the conflicts between the Zaibach Empire and the several peaceful countries that surround it. The conflicts are brought about by the Zaibach Empire’s quest to revive the legendary power from the ancient city of Atlantis. As the series progresses, many of the characters’ pasts and motivations, as well as the history of Atlantis and the true nature of the planet Gaea, are revealed.

This is fantasy at its best an amazing world a strong heroin, beautiful bishonen, war and battles, fantasy creatures, conflicts and conspiracies between kingdoms and an epic journey of self-discovery. Of course being a shoujo this also has a great romance and a love triangle. It’s pretty obvious who Hitomi is going to end up with but it’s wonderful to see how this romance unfolds. Now as a slash fan there are very few hetro couples I like and they have to be convincing and also something more than the average romance, I like a little tragedy and hardship and coming to terms with the bigger picture while being tested by new feelings. As you guessed this series has all this mixed in with the battles and action of an epic fantasy series. Also this series has the beautiful bishonen Allen Shezar who is a fav for me.

When I first got into anime this was one of the first series I watched and Allen was one of the first anime crushes I ever had. Tall blue eyed, long blonde hair, a swordsman, honourable, chivalrous, strong and brilliant in battle he was perfect and boy did I love him, between him and Hotohori from Fushigi Yuugi I was in bishie heaven. Of course the worth of this series is not based on how hot one of the characters is but it helps. The worth is in Hitomi’s voyage of discovery both of self and the world and its battles. It has been many years since I’ve watched the show but it has stuck with me as one of the best and very few fantasies over the last 15 years have ever matched it.

4 – Fushigi Yuugi – the first ever fantasy bishonen harem based anime I ever watched and still one of the best. In all the years since I’ve watched this no other series has had the depth of character, beautiful bishonen and amazing story telling. I watched all 42 episodes in one go as I was so obsessed with this series. The plot centres on Middle-school student Miaka Yūki is under a lot of pressure to pass the entrance exam for the competitive Jonan Academy. Her friends do not believe she will get in, but she is determined to because her best friend, Yui Hongo, has applied for the same school and she wants them both to go to the school together. While at the library one day, Miaka and Yui encounter a strange book known as The Universe of the Four Gods. As a result of reading this book, they are then transported into the novel’s universe. However, Yui is transported back to the real world almost immediately. Inside the novel Miaka discovers that she is the Priestess of Suzaku and destined to gather the seven Celestial Warriors of the god Suzaku in order to summon Suzaku and obtain three wishes. She falls in love with the Celestial Warrior Tamahome, who eventually reciprocates and Miaka’s desire to use a wish to enter the high school of her choice begins to shift towards finding a way to be with Tamahome. Yui, who is also drawn into the book when she was trying to help Miaka to come back to the real world, becomes the Priestess of Seiryuu, working against Miaka out of jealousy over Tamahome and revenge for the humiliation and pain she had suffered when she first came to the book world. The series describes the various trials that teenagers Miaka and Yui face, both quest-driven and personal. Feeling betrayed, the two oppose one another as priestesses, bringing together their own respective warriors and vying for the chance to be granted three wishes by the gods whom they hope to summon.

This is one of those one girl surrounded by many hot guys and as the series goes on you wonder which she will get together with as they all fall in love with her. There is really only one couple and that is Miaka and Tamahome and god is their romance epic I mean these two go through more ups and down and personal tragedy and testing then I’ve ever seen. One thing about this series is that buy the end I had learnt my first Japanese and that was “doshite” which mean “why?” as Miaka seems to say it all the time, ever episode sometimes many times over going “doshite Tamahome, doshite?”. Ok so if you take out the epic roller-coaster ride of a relationship in this series you all have the epic journey of Miaka as she tries to find her guardians and help save this world. There are so many things to love about this series apart from the bishonen quota, it is tragic as hell OMG do these characters go through hardships and trials no one is safe from personal upset and horrific events. I mean this series isn’t afraid to go dark to expose the weaknesses in humanity, the pain of love and loss, the horrible things a person can go through and how hard life can be. It has issues ranging from rape to poverty and family tragedy. This is one series that needs to be watched with a box of tissues I cried so much as its not afraid to kill off characters and by the end I was a gibbering mess cause well the death toll was higher than anything I was used to. The series is based around the old Chinese mythology of the 4 gods, Miaka having the power of Suzaku the phoenix. Through the series the other 3 gods are discovered as well as all the priestess and there powers. It wouldn’t be a fantasy series without discovering magical powers and how to use them, also the abilities of each bishonen and their weapons. This means that there are also amazing fights utilizing these weapons and abilities. Now for what made me truly fall for this series, my first ever anime crush and one of my fav bishonen archetypes, Hotohori.

How I love this man, tall elegant, very feminine with long flowing hair and beautiful eyes, he is also an emperor with dignity, humanity, honest and honourable, kind and beautiful plus an expert swordsman with strength and passion. I never got why Miaka turned him down for Tamahome he is so much more everything but it did leave the door open for my first ever slash pairing as its revealed that one of the women in the series is in fact a man that entered the emperor’s harem because he is in love with Hotohori. This is an interesting relationship and is also a big draw for me as these are both very beautiful and strong men trying to find a way to deal with their feelings. This series is pretty epic and engaging and even after writing this review I think I may have to re watch it now!!!

5 –Magic Users Club – A comedy magical girl series that amuses and entertains. The plot starts as an enormous cylindrical alien spaceship named “the Bell” by humans descended upon Earth one day. Military forces attacked this entity but their attempts were in vain, as the Bell easily vaporized all human technology. The Bell sent out robotic probes to explore and analyse human civilization and, since the probes didn’t cause any harm, people soon adapted and went about their everyday lives. A group of high school students at Kitanohashi High School’s “Magic User’s Club” attempt to combat the alien menace using magic.

The MUC is made up of three lovely magical girls a very stupid an amusing male leader and the brilliant second in command bishonen. This series is simple fun it is a comedy that doesn’t take itself too seriously and that makes it magic. It’s more of the mayhem and mischief kinda of series with magic through in to add to the crazy fun. It also has the romance angle and why anyone would fancy the main guy is beyond me especially his incredible hot male friend; this is one time when I reject the yaoi relationship as it’s just not sexy!!!!! Aburatsubo is extremely feminine, completely gay, flirtatious, long red hair and is also a nice guy. I do love a good bishie helps me when choosing a series but sometimes I like to watch something silly. This series is just a bit of fun magic, it makes you smile and entertains you don’t need to think too much just sit back and enjoy knowing that it’s not going to through tragedy and epicness at you. Even a fan like me needs a time out from the more in-depth and intense series and this is a great entertaining gem.

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1 – Getbackers - this has to one of the best action anime’s out there, you soon work out that my fav shonen anime’s are all based on people with powers and weird weapons fighting each other. There’s normally no explanation to why these people have super powers and weird abilities or strange weapons but boy is it fun to watch them fight each other. Getbackers get the prize for the best because I love the character designs. I mean there are loads of interesting characters with wonderful abilities Dr jackal is one of my fav’s, he’s neither good nor bad but more on the dark side I mean he seems to manipulate knives that live in his blood and has no problem for violence.

The series tells the story of Ginji Amano and Ban Mido, a pair of super powered individuals known as the “GetBackers”. The duo operates a freelance repossession service out of one of the seedier areas of Shinjuku, Tokyo. For a fee, they will recover any lost or stolen item for a client with “a 100% success rate”. The GetBackers’ job often leads them into bizarre and dangerous situations in order to “get back what shouldn’t be gone”. Their targets range from lost video games to misplaced components of an atomic bomb. The plot mostly revolves around their adventures, often complicated by the pair’s convoluted, individual pasts and a mysterious place known as the Infinity Fortress. Through their misadventures they encounter old friends, new rivals, enemies and new allies. Soon discovering a great conspiracy within the fortress. It’s worth noting that while I love this anime it has one of those stupid none ending endings so you have to read the manga to see how the story ends. But even so it has some truly brilliant battles and while it starts of silly you soon discover just how messed up some of these characters are, all with hidden pasts and buckets of angst and I do love an angsting bishie. And yes these are both men!!!

It also has the very feminine male character that I love, the type of guy that can pass as a female yet is truly deadly and not to underestimate based on looks. Kazuki is my fav character ultimate girly bishie that has a sworn protected/best friend in Jubei which makes a lovely yaoi pairing. It is the great action and intense battle that drive this series and it looks brilliant, I have so much fun watching it!!!

2 – HunterxHunter – ah the series that naruto clearly ripped off since its older and in my opinion so much better. Twelve years prior to the start of the story, Ging Freecss left his infant son, Gon, with Gon’s aunt Mito on Whale Island. Gon, raised believing both his parents were dead, finds out from Ging’s apprentice, Kite, that his father is still alive and has since become an accomplished “Hunter”. Hunters are licensed, elite members of humanity who are capable of tracking down secret treasure, rare beasts, or even other individuals. Gon leaves his home to follow in his father’s footsteps as a Hunter by taking the “Hunter Examination”, a series of brutal tests involving skill, survival, and teamwork. Prior to and during the exam, Gon meets and befriends three of the other applicants: Kurapika, the last remaining member of the Kurta clan who wishes to become a Hunter in order to avenge his slain people; Leorio, a prospective physician who claims to desire to become rich; and Killua Zoldyck, who fled his life as a member of a notorious assassin family. These 4 enter the hunter exams together and the story follows their trials to become hunters and then their duties as hunters. The series is great because like so many battle based series they don’t spend 3 eps on one fight they get down to it in one ep making battles intense and harsh. The series doesn’t waste too much time on fillers and works to tell the story as we learn more about the past of these characters. The anime finished before the manga so again you have to read the manga to know what happens next but it does complete each story arc bringing you closer to the characters and the past and futures they face.

My fav character is of course our angsting pretty bishonen Kurapika. I love him he is all beauty and grace and hidden power drowning in so much angst. He truly has an awful past and I’m so sure it’s much of his storyline that got ripped off by naruto. I mean his whole clan gets slaughters so he’s the last survivor now out for revenge, when he get agitated or powers up his eyes glow red and he unlocks his true power. He really does give himself so much crap and just lets revenge and guilt torture him and has a hard time truly opening up. Like all good bishies he can pass as a girl and I do enjoy slashing him with Leorio. The other great character is the violent psycho clown that I’m sure is a bit of a paedophile, he makes a great villain. The battles are great with an interesting array of abilities and weapons and I love the pacing of this series it just gets down to it!!!!

3 – Bleach – God I love this show so much so that I have hollow ichigo’s mask tattooed on my back. Ichigo Kurosaki is a teenager gifted with the ability to see spirits. His life is drastically changed by the sudden appearance of a Soul Reaper —one who governs the flow of souls between the human world and the afterlife—named Rukia Kuchiki, who arrives in search of a Hollow, a dangerous lost soul. When Rukia is severely wounded defending Ichigo from the Hollow, she attempts to transfer half of her reiatsuenergy to Ichigo so that he can defeat the Hollow. However, Ichigo takes almost all of her energy, transforming into a Soul Reaper and allowing him to defeat the Hollow with ease. With her powers diminished, Rukia is left stranded in the human world until she can recover her strength. In the meantime, Ichigo must take over Rukia’s role as a Soul Reaper, battling Hollows and guiding souls to the afterlife realm known as the Soul Society. The story follows Ichigo as well as his human friends that develop strange powers and their battles. Also thrown into the mix are the other members of soul society other shinigamis and all their conflicts, conspiracies, ambitions and corruption. I love shinigami lore so anything based on this is a must for me but this series is also just brilliant all the powers and weapons you could ever wish for plus some of the best battles I have ever seen in anime history. I really don’t know where to begin there are great character designs and from a series that’s now over 200 eps you know there’s gonna be loads of great characters, wonderful back stories, complications and contradictions, fights to the death and omg how brilliant are these fights. Every time I think they can’t get better a character levels up, unlocks a new ability, evolves their weapon or just loses the plot. Ichigo is a great protagonist and I don’t normally like the leads as they are a bit too honest and pure but he has such a great stubborn and arrogant streak. I love how flawed these characters are and how grey some of the show is not so black and white in terms of who is good or bad or what is best for humanity and the spirit world. It is very epic as you would guess from a 200 plus series but it’s very addictive watching.

Among my fav things is the very sexy Aburai Renji a shinigami with long red hair and tattoos who is as stubborn and arrogant as Ichigo and Ishida uryu the Last Quincy our angsting bishie with an interesting past and back story who is arrogant in a different way generally thinking he is better but not so violent and outwardly hostile. If you’re not watching this series THEN WHY NOT!!!!!! It is one of the best action series ever and really hasn’t put a foot wrong.

4 – Flame of Recca – Another great old school battle series, basically I have a thing for any series that has a tournament in it and FoR is another great example. It was one of the first anime’s I watched 15 years ago before I really knew the difference in genres and style all I knew is that I loved the fighting and the arrogant I’m better than the protagonist bishie in FoR its one Tokiya Mikagami.

Flame of Recca follows the story of a teenage boy named Recca Hanabishi, who is interested in ninja and claims to be one himself. He often gets into fights because he made it publicly known that the person who manages to defeat him will earn his services as a loyal ninja. Despite this, he eventually pledges his loyalty and services as a ninja to Yanagi Sakoshita, a girl with the innate ability to heal any wound/injury, because of her kindness and compassion. Recca soon discovers that he possesses the innate ability to control/manipulate flames, and eventually learns that he is actually the son of the sixth generation leader of the Hokage, a ninja clan that was wiped out by Oda Nobunaga in 1576, roughly 400 years before the series’ present day. The Hokage ninjas wielded mystical objects called madōgu which are referred to as “psychic devices” or “elemental weapons” in the English versions of the series. Madōgu grant their users special abilities, such as allowing their users to manipulate certain elements (as in the case of the Fūjin, which allows its wielder to manipulate the element of wind) and enhancing their user’s strength/skills (as in the case of the Dosei no Wa, which increases its user’s physical strength and the Idaten, which increases its user’s running speed). Oda Nobunaga had invaded the Hokage in 1576 for the purpose of acquiring these weapons, and the series’ main antagonist, Kōran Mori, is searching for a madōgu that will grant him eternal life. Recca and his friends become entangled in Mori’s quest for eternal life as he initially attempts to kidnap Yanagi, believing that her healing powers will help him achieve immortality. This leads them to join the Ura Butō Satsujin, a tournament wherein the warriors that wield madōgu gather to battle each other. After successfully winning the tournament, Recca and his teammates discover that Mori was on his way to acquire the Tendō Jigoku, a madōgu said to grant its user eternal life, and once again attempt to stop him. I know the series is old school but it doesn’t change the fact that as a childhood fav it will always be in the top selection for me.

Also its great I mean ninja superpowers, cool characters, amazing weapons, great battles, a hot bishonen and a great storyline sometimes classics really are more awesome then some of the new series (cough naruto cough).

5 – Yu Yu Hakashu – last but not least another great tournament based battle anime from the same team that brought me HunterxHunter, both manga’s are by the same person so of course both are brilliant. YuYu Hakusho follows Yusuke Urameshi, a street-brawling delinquent who, in an uncharacteristic act of altruism, is hit by a car and killed in an attempt to save a young boy by pushing him out of the way. His ghost is greeted by Botan, a woman who introduces herself as the pilot of the River Styx, who ferries souls to the “Underworld” where they may be judged for the afterlife. Botan informs Yusuke that his act had caught even the Underworld by surprise and that there was not yet a place made for him in either heaven or hell. Thus Koenma, son of the Underworld’s ruler King Enma, offers Yusuke a chance to return to his body through a series of tests. Yusuke succeeds with the help of his friend Keiko. After returning to life, Koenma grants Yusuke the title of “Underworld Detective”, charging him with investigating supernatural activity within the human world. Soon Yusuke is off on his first case, retrieving three treasures stolen from the Underworld by a gang of demons: Hiei, Kurama and Goki. Yusuke collects the three treasures with the aid of his new technique, the “Rei Gun”, a shot of aura energy fired mentally from his index finger.[2][4] He then travels to the mountains in search of the aged, female martial artist Genkai. Together with his rival Kazuma Kuwabara, Yusuke fights through a tournament organized by Genkai to find her successor. Yusuke uses the competition as a cover to search for Rando, a demon who steals the techniques of martial arts masters and kills them. Yusuke defeats Rando in the final round of the tournament and trains with Genkai for several months, gaining more mastery over his aura. Yusuke is then sent to Maze Castle in the Underworld where Kuwabara and the newly reformed Kurama and Hiei assist him in defeating the Four Beasts, a quartet of demons attempting to blackmail Koenma into removing the barrier keeping them out of the human world. After this the series follows the various arcs of the manga and our team ends up involved in the dark and dangerous Tournament. The series itself is based around 3 huge tournament themed arcs and is very focused on the battles. It can take a few episodes for each fight and does have the very clichéd fight battle. Hero starts winning a bit, gets cocky, badie shows true strength, hero gets knocked back, badie reveals why he is in this fight and a bit of back story before trying to beat hero, hero finds new hidden strength and makes a comeback defeating bad guy. Every character gets their fair share of wins and losses and it’s always exciting to see what happens. I love the intense battles the interrelationships between the competitors and the fact that sometimes things aren’t black and white and friends and enemies aren’t set in stone or easy to judge too quickly.

My fav character is unsurprisingly our beautiful bishie Kurama with his past coming back to haunt him and his beauty and skill not one to be underestimated. He generally is the strongest in the group and while soft spoken and well-mannered he is level headed, kind and deadly. Kurama is one of the few characters that can set aside is humanity and use the demon inside to get things done that none of the other characters would ever have the guts and ability to do. Did I mention he was beautiful to he use a rose whip and demon plants adding to the feminine appearance but when he transform to his true demon form you get a very sexy 7ft silver haired Kitsuna compete with tail and ears and a violent rather sadistic streak which is brilliant. Plus he and Hiei clearly have a very close relationship so there’s my lovely yaoi fan girl all satisfied. I love that even in the most violent brutal anime’s filled with fights, death, blood and battle I still find a way to slash them nothing like violent bishies to make a happy fan girl of me.

Of course I could have made this list a top 10 easily as a fan of the old school as well a new battle/tournament/arena style amine’s so other great recommendations if you want powers, abilities, weapons, fights and action are: Saint Seiya, Mar, DBZ, Law of Ueki, Black cat, Tokyo Underground and Hitman reborn!!!

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I have just finished watching the new series of FMA and what can I say truly amazing I loved it I really didn’t want it to end. Now I loved the original series I thought it was great and was in love with the character Roy Mustang. The basic plot is that of 2 brothers whose mother dies so they break the biggest taboo in their world, Human transmutation. Basically set in a world that is a cross between early 20th century Europe mixed with Alchemy, this is not magic this is the more scientific and practical implication of magic the true art know as Alchemy, there are some that know Alchemy. These two brothers after the loss of their mother decide to use Alchemy to bring her back from the dead. Alchemy works by equivalent exchange you need to give something of equal value to get something back, i.e. turning a lump of mud into a rock statue. So the brothers collect all the things that make up a human body and try to transmute it back into their mother. Unfortunately human transmutation isn’t as cut and dry as normal alchemy and in the process of trying to recreate their mother Al loses his body and Ed loses his arm. Making it worse the thing that is created is such a twisted and unrecognizable thing that it soon dies and is nothing like their mother. Ed in a fit of desperation affixes his brother soul to a suit of armour as to not lose him altogether and in the process sacrifices his leg as toll for the alchemy to save his brothers soul. After this event they are visited by Colonel Roy Mustang hearing about two very young but talented alchemists that he wants to recruit them. After what he sees of them he gives them a choice, wallow in the horrific fate they have dealt to themselves or move forward. Ed decided to take up the colonel’s words he becomes a State Alchemist working for the military. State Alchemists see themselves as the dogs of the military being bound to be used as human weapons whenever their skills are required but in exchange they are highly paid and have high positions meaning access to research and policies above the regular army. Ed becomes a state alchemist in order to find a way to get his and Al’s body back. Ed has auto mails, a mechanical limp, to replace his missing arm and leg and thus is named the Full Metal Alchemist. All state alchemists are given a name according to their ability; Roy is the Flame alchemist because of his expert and deadly use of flame alchemy.

There is so much more plot to the series as the brothers get involved in a conspiracy that runs so deep and is so very twisted in the very history of the military and the country’s history. While Ed and Al try to get their bodies Roy is trying to rise throughout the ranks to become the highest ranked person in this country and change it from within. Both discover more than they would ever have imagined hiding in the undercurrents of their society and work to achieve their goals as well as saving this country from its terrible fate. The series has a lot of characters all very important, they represent different races and cultures different sides of this war and conspiracy, enemies, heroes, outsiders drawn into the chaos, individuals on their own missions caught up in the bigger picture and those that just want to stay out of it even if fate has other plans. This is one of the great things about this series all the character have their parts to play big and small but they all get given the time and investment to complete their journeys. All characters get equal screen time, story focus and character development, they all get the chance to tell their story and how it impacts the bigger picture. All these characters are brought together, inspired and changed by meeting Ed and seeing his determination and conviction. Ed in turn is also inspired by seeing these same qualities in Roy Mustang and while he is on his own journey very much wants to see the country Roy will build at the end of his journey. I was so happy to see that each story line was given equal respect and that all characters were given the time to develop. The original had a lot more focus on just Ed and Al and since I was such a Roy fan was really interested in his journey especially considering how important he is. This series is helped very much by the fact that Roy is in fact a very important part not just because he is trying to change and save the country and has eyes on the future but he is also an essential part of the bigger conspiracy and the behind the scenes darkness that threatens to destroy the country, the big bad also has plans for him.

For a 64 episode series it amazed me how quickly all the events were set in motion. Ed is already a state alchemist, he and Al working together to finish a job given to him by the Colonel. Ed is already a strong a focused person who cares deeply for people, Al is also very much a strong and caring person both brother sharing a strong bond, a deep fondness showing they are not just tied by fate and blood but also genuinely care and respect each other. There are no standalone episodes, no story so far eps and no filler eps its pure storyline start to finish. This makes the series very epic and very hard to stop watching if you need to go to work. It’s very intense and has a much darker tone than the original. I for one prefer the darker more gritty feel of this series, how much harsher they play it. Not just the fact that they really show you how much hell these characters have been through and go through but also the inner turmoil and pain they are going through. The series is more violent and doesn’t hold back on the horrific nature of war, human experimentation, revenge, mutation and sacrifice. But it’s not just visually harsher and more violent the mental strain and despair within the human soul is also very apparent. And it’s not just the human characters that get this harsher tone but the villains the homunculus have a far more tortured existence and representation. The Homunculus are made, they were created by their “father” to help him achieve his ultimate goal. Each one is named after a seven deadly sin and represent an emotion “father” threw away in order to gain perfection and rise above humanity. Homunculi believe they are far superior to humans and have their own set of morals and way of living. They are also far more the monsters in the series, not just physically but also in terms of the crimes they commit. A good example is Envy and his true form, a giant green almost lizard that has all the humans he consume twisting in agony over his skin making him every bit the monster on the outside as he is on the inside. But what truly tortures these homunculus is the fact that they are also jealous of humanity that think they are above us and yet part of them yearns to like us and that hurts them in ways that physical pain can’t.

The series is just brilliant never slowing down, showing the true strength of the bonds between people and how strong humans can really be. It also expose how corrupt and dangerous we are as a race. We are both easily manipulated and heroic and this series shows the best and worst of humanity. The action is amazing both fight scenes and the way alchemy is used. For such a large and intricately woven story it is very interesting and follows well never getting too complicated or trying to be too intelligent. It is so worth watching truly one of the best series that has come out in recent years.

When I found out they had made an anime to Togainu no chi I was over the moon, couldn’t wait to watch it, bouncing off the walls. It’s based on a BL game and while I haven’t played the game because I have no idea how to get an English patch for a Japanese game I do have all the SG’s (screen grabs). This means I know all the characters and all the possible pairings and endings. It’s one violent and explicit yaoi game so I was very looking forward to watching it play out in anime. While the characters still look great and have good voice actors for them the rest of the anime was a bit of a let-down. The basic story is that Akira, the number one street fighter, is framed for a murder he didn’t commit. While his sentencing is being completed he is visited by a mysterious woman who gives him the option of rooting in prison or taking up a tag going to a district called Toshima and participating in the Igra game. Toshima is a violent and deadly district sealed off from the normal world that has its own set of rules. Igra is a game in which you collect tags from opponents, the tags are similar to cards and you have to try and get a royal flush so that you can challenge ll Re and gain the position of drug lord. Everyone is given 5 random tags and you basically have to fight people for them in the hope you opponent has a tag that will get you closer to making it to a royal flush. This leads to violent battles and a lot of bloodshed and death. Add to the mix a drug called Line that gives you super strength while turning you mad you get a great gritty and harsh environment. So far so good was nice knowing the plot behind the game and images I’d collected from it and it was a world and plot that appeals to my violent aesthetic.

But things start going wrong, for a BL game that has a lot of sex scenes between the bishonen the anime is barely recognisable as even a shonen ai show. There’s only 2 openly gay scenes in it, one is a guy escaping with love bits on his chest while a naked guy gets out of bed screaming bastard and dripping blood, obviously he literally got screwed so the escaping guy could steal his tags and the other is from the only openly gay character as he enters a room full of naked boys and starts stripping. The only gay character is a creep a really freaky pervert that while being the ruler of Toshima also has a large BDSM fetish and even has his own pretty boy gimp that acts like a dog following him about. Now while I love my yaoi and especially the dark side not so into creepy rapist BDSM perverts. As for the rest of the bishonen you have Akira who is our main protagonist and from the SG’s has about 8 pairing options so I was interested to see how they were going to show all his possible romances and see who he was going to get together with during the series. Unfortunately they play down the BL element there’s only really 2 options for a romance but mostly just strong friendships and then definite hate based relationships. I was so upset about the playing down of the BL elements, I mean you can slash the series but it’s based on a Yaoi game so come on at least let the guys have a hug maybe a kiss or at least put the possibility of a relationship into it.

The majority of the series concentrates on the drug Line and its affects and this is where the yaoi fan girl gets a bit happier because the relationship between Akira and his best friend Keisuke really intensifies. Poor Keisuke he worries so much about Akira he follows him into this crazy mess even joining the Igra even though by nature he is a timid, shy and genuinely nice guy. His gentleness and caring nature though cause him to get into trouble and Akira snaps at him saying he’s useless and in the way so Keisuke runs off. Its here when Akira realises how much he’s taken their friendship for granted and realises he wants to stay together with Keisuke, protect him and escape together. Unfortunately misguided Keisuke decided that he needs to be stronger if he wants to stay with Akira so takes Line and becomes a brutal monster convinced Akira hates him. So Keisuke tries to kill Akira and poor Akira has to fight his best friend. Thrown into the mix is the next important plot line of something weird about Akira’s blood and if a Line user tastes it they react violently resulting in poisoning. So yes you get it, as Akira is trying to convince Keisuke’s how important he is to him and how he truly wants to be with the man he was before the Line and that he wants to escape together and all other romantic and slash friendly conversations Keisuke accidently get some of Akira’s blood in him. Akira pretty much gets the fright of his life thinking he’s lost the most important person to him but luckily their strong bond is enough to help Keisuke resist death and come out alive and well. But do they hug no, this is where they were supposed to hug or kiss but instead they just smile at each other. So fan girl was happy then she was sad again and to make matters worse the last 5 eps start to make no sense at all.
You get the feeling that there was a lot more back story to the characters that we never really find out so things get confusing. If this had stayed a street fight with drug abuse storyline things would have been fine but no it had to get weird. There’s a military experiment, superpowers, perfect soldiers and mind wipes that all get revealed and dealt with so quickly there’s no time to work out what the hell happened. Just as I was getting used to another plot line about a brother seeking revenge on his older brother for killing his mates it all goes tits up in plot, why the hell did they have to bring in secrete government weapons made human. We get a cryptic guy that flies about talking about his blood and saying how to overcome your fear. Rin was an interesting character small cute boy deadly in a fight but bounced about happily, turns out he has a grudge to settle with his older hot sword wielding badass of a brother Shiki. But do we get to know the details no, why did Shiki kill their friends, how did Rin get to Toshima, why is Shiki working for pervert man delivering drugs and killing everyone in his path, what is the fear born within him he is trying to control, why did he turn into a super soldier after biting Nichole the floating weapon man, why why why. So many questions no answers and a mess really. What’s with Nichole I get he doesn’t have emotions he’s a living weapon so why is he hiding out in Toshima, it turns out his blood is the base of Line so why is he supplying it to pervert. At the end Nichole ended up in a big fight with Shiki, but why was he giving Shiki briefcases of Line, then he asks him to bite him and take his blood to pass a trial, what bloody trial and only for him to go you failed now let’s fight aahhhh!!!!! Not making sense anymore just making me confused. It’s hard to perv on all you pretty boys when nothing is making sense. In the end military, some other secret company no one thought to mention earlier and they guys who framed Akira and got him into this mess all turn up and a war breaks out, WTF!!! Why are planes bombing perverts castle, who the hell are the secret company that want the super weapon why are a load of people with guns shooting everyone, where is the plot!!
So yeah to make matters worse as our main guys plan to leave Toshima and get out of the mess when Shiki turns up all super powered and decided he wants to kill Akira and just to kick the yaoi fan girl in me he bloody well kills Keisuke. Keisuke who has gotten over his addiction to Line, survived madness and had Akira pretty much confess to him tries to save Akira and gets chopped down. I was not happy what was the point in killing the love interest, it was a very loving and beautiful farewell, and these two guys really did love each other and finally got to admit it in their own way but still No!!!!!! Akira goes a little mental luckily Rin turns up to tell him Keisuke wouldn’t want him to die but rather live on and they all escape. I’m sorry but this whole Keisuke would want you to live on, no thanks I’d rather have Akira get his revenge on Shik,i dying and then at least he wouldn’t have to live without the man he loves and instead be reunited with Keisuke in their next life (I’m a reincarnation fan). No even though Toshima is a war zone and their seems to be a battle between super human weapons Akira makes it out back to normal society and gets a job. It’s very anticlimactic, we hear that back in Toshima a new version of line is being sold on the streets, so does that mean pervert and his goons lived and his place wasn’t destroyed by all those bombs, what happened to Nichole the human weapon or poor Keisuke’s body come on people a bit more answers rather than this wet boring ending. At least after the credits we get a bit more though by this point I was all upset and mad and therefore not really paying that much attention to Akira’s speech on the meaning of life, what it means to live, what Keisuke taught him and all that jazz but he somehow as gained a sword and he makes his way back to Toshima to fight Shiki so maybe he still does get his revenge and reunites with Keisuke but we won’t know. So any way if you’re expecting a shonen ai series like Loveless, Yami No Matsuei or Sukisyo then be disappointed and then very confused. But if you don’t mind watching pretty boys kill each over than knock yourself out but this won’t be going down as a favourite and it had so much potential to do so!!!!

Please dont forget to check out Let Zoe Spoil You on facebook, i have images from all revied show’s as well as my screen grabs from the Togainu no chi game as well!!!

Dark Shoujo is my fav anime genre since its created for girls who like the darker side of things and therefore deals with more matured themes, love stories tend to be more twisted and tragic and bishonen haunted and tortures.

1 – Death Note – if you haven’t seen this, then why not!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It’s one the best Anime’s ever made and to me just the perfect mix of all the things I love. Death Note is so good I have tattoos based on it that’s how great t2 – X/1999 – Classic dark Clamp at its very best and this anime did it justice. I am a huge Clamp fan have every anime and manga they have produced. I do prefer their dark stuff such as Tokyo Babylon and X. X itself takes place 10 years after Tokyo Babylon and includes the key characters but in a much bigger affair, the end of the world. The story is of two sides the Dragons of heaven and the Dragons of Earth, one side believing that humanity should not continue as they have abused the planets and their rights to be the dominant species and one side believes there is still hope for humanity. Now for any series which is counting down till the end of the world and the fight for the apocalypse you can imagine the darkness and pain that flows throughout this series. There is a host of interesting but tortured characters and nothing is set in stone. So many relationships, feuds, misunderstanding, hatred, love and need. I personally since being a fan of TB was very invested in the relationship between Seishirou and Subaru, these two men have the most tortured and messed up relationship and it’s the most romantic tragedy I’ve seen played out. Their relationship was cursed from the start and only destruction was ever going to redeem them. he iconography is for this series. The series is a rather complex game of cat and mouse between too intelligent and brilliant characters, Kira and L. Kira is our anti-hero, is he a visionary, is he a murderer, is he justice or is he a god. L is our hero, mad, brilliant and eccentric. To describe in full the entire goings on this series is quite difficult as it has all the twists and turns you expect of a great murder mystery thriller, even Sherlock Homes himself would have found this difficult to solve. Once you add the supernatural element into the mix it takes on a whole new level of excitement and danger. The basic plot is that a shinigami (a Japanese death god a bit like a grim reaper) is bored of just ferrying dead human souls and wants to mix it up a bit, so he “accidently” drops his Death note into the world of the living where it’s found by Light a son of a detective. He too is training to be a great detective but is sickened by the world and the amount of criminals that get away with their crimes. He discovers the Death Note has the power to kill the person whose name is written in it and so begins a twisted tale as he takes on the role of Kira punishing those he believes are guilty. But soon there are so many unexplained counts of seemingly natural deaths amongst the criminal population that the government decides that it no coincident and L is called in to solve the case of Kira. It’s a battle of wits between the two each trying to escape the other made only worse by the fact that Light’s father and therefore himself end up on L’s team where he is trying to stay one step ahead of the game. Throughout the series things only get more complicated and intense, the uses, rules and tricks of the death note are explored. Another death note is uncovered, L and Light form a strange friendship and respect for each other, Shinigami get involved and the very question of is it all right for one man to play god with the lives of humans even if they are criminals.

The added layer of social commentary is brilliant I love tales that ask those types of questions, we all feel at some point that criminals get away with things they shouldn’t, their punishments don’t always fit the crimes, many get away with murder literary and a lot of the time the prison system doesn’t work but do they still have any rights whose place is it to judge then. You can neither agree nor disagree with Kira but his god complex is a little too far and as with anyone that gains that kind of power it can corrupt you. I personally am an L fan he is just a bit weird and out there a completely unique individual so intelligent yet socially un at ease. There are a host of interesting characters that get involved in this and the series has a great look. The character designs are great and the world is a dark and scary place. Also helping the series is the fact that the opening and closing themes are done by my two fav j-rock bands, the beautiful and awesome visual kei band Nightmare and the greatest metal band out there Maximum the Hormone (I love this band have all their albums and they are just awesome!!!!!). I also love the use of the shinigami lore, I’m a big fan of this very Japanese mythology and this series has some great designs for the Shinigami’s. As with any show that features two attractive males of equal standing that have such a twisted and close relationship you can also slash this series but for once I was so involved with the storyline and how they out wit and manipulate each other I had no time for yaoi thoughts. This for me is very rare but this series is just too good, real edge of your seat, can’t stop watching and very intelligent.

Also not worthy is there are also 3 films based on the death note franchise the first 2 follow the manga and are a more condensed version of the anime. They miss out from a lot of the major characters and they change the ending to fit this but they hold the spirit of Death note perfectly both in tone, intelligence, suspense and the relationship of L and kira. They play out that beautiful cat and mouse game and are cast well. The graphics for the shinigami are a little too CGI but you forgive it for the fact that it’s still good and capture the essence of Death Note. The 3rd film is L change the world which is the tale of L and his last case after the incidents of Death Note and while no longer containing the supernatural element it is a good thriller and interesting film worth being part of the death note verse.

2 – X/1999 – Classic dark Clamp at its very best and this anime did it justice. I am a huge Clamp fan have every anime and manga they have produced. I do prefer their dark stuff such as Tokyo Babylon and X. X itself takes place 10 years after Tokyo Babylon and includes the key characters but in a much bigger affair, the end of the world. The story is of two sides the Dragons of heaven and the Dragons of Earth, one side believing that humanity should not continue as they have abused the planets and their rights to be the dominant species and one side believes there is still hope for humanity. Now for any series which is counting down till the end of the world and the fight for the apocalypse you can imagine the darkness and pain that flows throughout this series. There is a host of interesting but tortured characters and nothing is set in stone. So many relationships, feuds, misunderstanding, hatred, love and need. I personally since being a fan of TB was very invested in the relationship between Seishirou and Subaru, these two men have the most tortured and messed up relationship and it’s the most romantic tragedy I’ve seen played out. Their relationship was cursed from the start and only destruction was ever going to redeem them.

They’re not the only characters that go through so much pain the series is full of doom and gloom but in the most beautiful way you can possibly imagine. How to explain the plot, well it starts with 3 friends Fuuma, Kamui and Kotori, they find out Fuuma and Kamui find out that destiny is cruel and they are placed on opposite sides of this war as the leaders of their respective groups of Dragons. Each dragon has a special ability all come with powers based on various spiritual, religious and mythological teaching of Japan. This queues some amazing battles as mystic magic’s do battle. The one interesting this is how set in eastern spirituality this series is based and Christianity is not seen as a saving factor western religion has not place in this apocalypse.

Apart from amazing character designs in true Clamp fashion you have beautiful costumes, fantastic battles, social commentary, the exploration of eastern religion and mythology and human drama exposed and intensified by the desperate situation these characters are in. One thing I admire about Clamp is they have never feared taboo subject matter and always display this in the relationships of characters; you will find gay, lesbian, transgendered, incest and age gaps. Clamp believes love is love no matter age, race or gender and this power that makes their character fight and carry the burden of their fates. Clamp is also very strong on the theme of destiny and fate and has some of the strongest iconography of any studio out there. You will see the use of all their symbols and design traits throughout this series as well as other typical Clamp icons such as characters with one eye. If you want to see clamp at their best this is the place to start you can’t get any more intense than the apocalypse and you won’t find many series more beautiful or tragic than X.

3 – Gensomaden Saiyuki – This is a great series that been going on for years and yet they still haven’t made it west. This is another retelling of a very famous and popular Chinese tale of a priest and his companions travelling west to solve a mystery that is plaguing their home. If you’ve ever heard of Monkey you’ll know the story and if you’ve ever seen Dragon Ball now you know where that story comes from. The Buddhist monk Sanzo keeper of holy scroll hears a plea for help and releases Goku the Monkey king from his prison in the mountain. Goku who has forgotten his past life is taken in by Sanzo and the two are tasked with a mission. The mission involves a strange phenomenon that is changing the normal race of Youkai into murdering animals. Once Youkai and Humans got along but now something is upsetting this balance and Youkai are going made. Add to the team Gyojo, all round ladies’ man but also what is considered a child of taboo. And Hakkai mild mannered healer and Gyojo’s best friend after he rescued him. What makes me love this series is that it’s basically beautiful boy angst fest and I won’t deny that it is a yaoi fan dream. Four hot guys travelling together forming very close relationships while angsting like you would never believe. I mean Sanzo comes from an abused past, witnessing the murder of his ,master and then man that raised him, Goku was involved in the great war of heaven and imprisoned into the mountains for going against the gods, Gyojo is half Youkai after his mother had an affair with a human and then his Older full blood brother kills her and tries to kill him and Hakkai was in love with a woman that turned out to be his sister but they decided to run away and live as lover till she was kidnapped causing Hakkai to go mad and kill 1000 Youkai to get to her for her to commit suicide in front of him. The travel and try to get over their pasts but it haunts them, there’s a lot of ran in this series to make sure we all remember how depressed these guys are. They however form friendships and well put their lives on the line for each other to fight berserk Youkai and try to solve what is causing their world to go crazy. Along with more hidden secretes from their past and a whole other life they all lead together in heaven many years that cost them their lives before being reincarnated into this story.

As I said you can slash this series, me it’s all about Gyojo and Hakkai, ever since Gyojo found Hakkai dying in the road they have been close plus the line from Gyojo “you’re the only man I’ve ever taken to my bed” which I like to read into lots. Other interesting things about the series are unique character designs that can be explained as droopy eyed bishonen and a very interesting editing style. A lot of layering it used, screen halving and colour filters. Also flash backs using a TV static look and for the time slight cgi on certain scenes. Another great thing is the songs used as all four of the male voice actors are also singers they released a lot of albums and songs for this series as well as the openings. Also of interesting note is the fact that our heroes that if you remember contain a monk are all chain smokers, heavy drinkers and gamblers and sanzo’s weapon of choice is a gun so not your typical monk plus with all the killing, incest and homoerotic not your normal bunch of hero’s. The series itself is a lot of fun sometimes light heard and funny sometimes violent and battle filled and then there is the crushing angst and personal drama, me for one loves a tortures bishonen.

4 – Kuroshitsuji – As I have already reviewed this series in the past I’ll let you just go back and ready why its amazing and you should be watching it!!!!!!!



5 – Xxxholic – Yes another Clamp but as I said they are my fav studio out there because they do cater for both my sense of aestheticism, themes and characterisations. XXX is a mix of social commentary and supernatural mystery. It is based on a young boy called Watanuki and his ability to see the spirit world. This ability causes him all kinds of problems including the crushing wait of responsibility as ghosts are asking him to help them finish their unfinished business. He one day ends up and the house of the time witch (a nice little cross over with the tusbasa verse) Yūko Ichihara, a witch who owns a wish-granting shop. Watanuki requests to have his ability to see spirits removed and as payment, Yūko hires him to work in the shop, resulting in his encounter with various supernatural encounters. It’s through these encounters that we see such things such as humanities desire and greed and how many supernatural being pray on these things. What starts out as a fun almost detective story soon gets darker and Clamp more mature themes start to play out, fate and destiny are a big part as Yuko explains that the person Watanuki believe he loves isn’t what he thinks, one person will bring him tragedy and one person that he doesn’t suspect will bring protection and love. The other protagonist of the series is Doumeki and school friend of Watanuki that he does not like and can barely get on with. Doumeki though cares strongly for Watanuki and even though he is a man of little words and is often stern and cold has sacrificed more of himself than Watanuki knows to protect him. These boys are bound by fate and now blood as the things in the dark get more dangerous and aggressive. I like this series because I like how Japanese mythology and spiritual beliefs are played out, it’s interesting to a westerner to see the array of spirits and magic’s that both guard and infect the human world and what happens when you are aware of how human actions can affect this supernatural world. This series also makes sure we understand that greed and desire as well as sadness can be targets of supernatural involvement and people can be abused and abuse these supernatural factors.

This series still has a very clam feel to it buts it’s the first to have a different style, while much of the iconography is the same as well as motifs both visually and thematically the character designs are different. They are longer and world has more angles but is also full of darkness as well as beauty and tragic love. I am very much looking forward to seeing where this series will go and the journey of the main characters as their destiny plays out.