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Paripi Koumei, aka Ya Boy Kongming, is a story about Chinese tactician Zhuge Liang Kongming being reincarnated into modern day Japan and becoming an agent for up and coming singer Eiko Tsukimi, helping her overcome personal insecurities and realizing her dreams of improving and gaining renown. Outlandish this premise may sound, this anime adaptation is also one of the most phenomenally well produced works of Spring 2022. A treat equipped with quality original music and stunningly detailed visuals, it also proves to be a compelling story of growth and achievement in its own right.

Chinese language and history enthusiasts may find some interest in Kongming's use ... of Chinese proverbial knowledge as well as war tactics to either outwit Eiko's competition or to teach her how to overcome her weaknesses. There's some also (not so) subtle word/naming choices made in this series, like how the Kanji in Eiko Tsukimi's name shares two characters with the wife of Kongming in actual history. I am personally not an expert on these references, but it adds to the charm of the show knowing fine details like that exist.

As a production in general, the animation for characters and backgrounds is fluid and during moments where Eiko and other characters are performing, the animation in most cases faithfully follows what they're singing/playing on guitar. The backgrounds were not neglected either, as the city of Shibuya is captured beautifully in multiple lightings with a lot of detail to spare. Even more impressive is how various youtube singers voice the songs performed by the characters in this show. Most notably 96neko as Eiko's singing voice, made even more impressive that the song "Be Crazy For Me" is mostly ladled with English lyrics that are delivered with impeccable, while definitely Japanese-accented pronunciation. With all that considered, it's no wonder Eiko's voice captivated Kongming, leading him to work towards her victory. The music is very well done and a true highlight of the series.

Perhaps the only remote complaint I could scrounge up about Paripi Koumei is that it's not a non-stop action series, and flows more akin to a slice of life. Maybe an episode or two is slow paced inevitably because in many ways it's a story about everyday people dealing with personal insecurities while they dream about higher achievements. It's a relatable experience with a twist of fantasy, but the show is certainly quite exciting when Kongming demonstrates that his wartime cunning can be applied to bring victory without ruin or bloodshed, in the form of music that makes everyone happy. Truly this show made me happy as well, between the story, wit, and production values. I think there's something for everyone to appreciate in this masterpiece.

RikeiKoi is a romance comedy about two college students in a research club who want to scientifically prove their romantic attraction towards each other. In general it's a very lighthearted story with very straight-faced delivery of humor, but other science enthusiasts likely should appreciate the research the author did to include real-world scientific references in the story.

RikeiKoi's comedy is a bit less about shock value, and more "matter of fact" exposition. Rather than focusing primarily on moments of outstanding stupidity or clumsiness, the humor tends to explain situations in outrageously excessive detail. So for example, another romance comedy would specifically set the tone by ... lovers about to kiss being inconveniently interrupted by unforeseen disturbances. RikeiKoi plays this a bit differently where our main characters about to kiss are not only disturbed but specifically mention how this disturbance creates a suboptimal mood index for kissing. How much you enjoy this show will largely depend on how much you are entertained by this style of comedy.

Comedy set aside, the show has rather appealing presentation with a colorful while not too over the top art style that is easy on the eyes. With such a heavy focus on real-world science, most of the episodes devote a short segment of time explaining possibly obscure theories or vocabulary in a concise manner. While these segments could be argued as breaking the flow of the comedy, they are nonetheless informative and also help the viewer appreciate the methodology of our two science-type lovers, especially considering how often recurring many science terms are within the story. It's also somewhat impressive to study the detailed formulas and diagrams the characters use in their pursuit of quantifying love. Even if you aren't a data obsessed individual by nature, it should be apparent to the audience that the author put a lot of thought in the science, as silly as it may be.

Something I personally felt the RikeiKoi did well was present memorable characters. Aside from quality performances by both well-known voice actors as well as newer ones, every character had either an outstanding personality or catchphrase that I could identify them for. One could certainly argue that Yukimura exclaiming "never base decisions on supposition" gets predictable. I personally think it's this very predictability that lends itself to comedy that has the lightheartedness of a meme. It is both outrageous and refreshing how this character's ideals are given relevance repeatedly throughout the story in his pursuit to not only define love, but to in fact legitimately open up to his beloved Himuro.

RikeiKoi is a short and sweet romance comedy that I think the average science and math nerd should find especially interesting. And as a final note: Science-Type Fairy Tales are truly a victory for humanity and RikeiKoi should make more of them.

Boku-H is a perfect example of what ecchi harem shows are about, and in this review, I am here to explain why our standards of appreciation must be adjusted to account for what actually makes these types of shows enjoyable.

By the normal standards of grading entertainment, we usually define quality entertainment as intelligent in some way. Intelligent design for entertainment usually is produced through a well-thought out story and an interesting cast that has thought provoking development. Naturally, it is very easy to dismiss Boku-H as being a mediocre show when it does in fact have an uninspired story that feels rushed and ... confusing at its worst moments. Nobody is surprised by the usual boy meets fantasy girl who gets boy into sexy action packed adventures. I will be the first person to admit that the story is nothing special by any means.

The other point of appreciation for most entertainment also includes its physical quality, or essentially its sound and art. Boku-H again would be easily considered unremarkable for the most part in this area. The soundtrack, while not awful, is relatively shallow and repetitive. The animations are also not the most smooth, and heavily reliant on CG to fill in the gaps. This can be forgiven however given the nature of this particular show is ecchi. While the rest of the show looks unremarkable, the show does its job of providing appealing scenes featuring its female cast nude in various situations. If you are looking for an erotic anime, the nude scenes overall do not disappoint.

So far, it sounds like I'm saying that this show is overall a mediocre lump of fanservice. Well, you would almost be right. Because the thing I haven't yet explained is the REAL reason you should be watching this show. If not story and art quality, what have I not yet covered? Characters.

Yes, characters are the reason you should be watching these types of shows. Specifically, I highly recommend paying attention to Ryosuke Kaga. What usually defines ecchi harem shows are the main male character, because if we think for a moment logically, these shows very literally are centered around the adventures of our beloved main character. What I am basically trying to say is that above all, the single most important thing that makes or breaks an ecchi harem (or a hentai for that matter) is almost always the main male character. If he is likable and the artwork is passable, almost nothing else matters. A strong main character for these shows is the catalyst for viewers being able to relate to the humor and adventures created in these types of shows. And I will go so far to say that Ryosuke from Boku-H is easily one of the best main characters that exists for a show of this type.

Ryosuke has many qualities that should be used more in these types of shows, but aren't for some reason. He's openly perverted, does not come off as creepy when his childhood friend inherently acknowledges him as kind and trustworthy, is never afraid to say exactly what is on his mind, and he has the guts to say "size doesn't matter" to his relatively flat-chested love interest Lisara. In short, he's hilariously manly to an extreme. He is hammy at times, but ultimately comes off very likable due to his honesty and kindness. And best of all, he is voiced by Shimono Hiro, who once again succeeds at depicting manly hormonal teenage high school boys. Some of the dialogue that Ryosuke dares to say is extremely humorous, both in his shamelessness and the euphemisms he uses (get used to hearing the word "kingdom" for a while. You'll know soon enough what it means if you don't know already).

You might wonder why I haven't said anything about the female cast. It's because they don't matter. Yes I could argue that the female cast is objectively flawed, not particularly interesting, and just uninspired. On the other hand, it could be potentially because this female cast is flawed and so blatantly represents certain stereotypes and tropes that Ryosuke can so easily express his true manliness in the most hilarious way possible. Again, the actual source of entertainment from this genre of show originates almost exclusively from the main character. This is neither a good or bad thing, it just simply needs to be factored appropriately when one picks up these types of shows.

In general, when we pursue to immerse ourselves in entertainment, there are standards of quality that we use as a means of finding appreciation. I personally find it very strange that many people seem to believe that ecchi harems as a whole are somehow not legitimate entertainment when Japan still consistently is able to find a market for it. Naturally, if you choose to approach this show with the expectation of finding attachment to an intelligent storyline, you are obviously going to be disappointed. However, when I compare this show to what other ecchi harems generally offer, I believe that this show definitely stands out as one of the better ones by faithfully providing sexy humor and adventures to laugh at. It is by relating to the main character that we can appreciate the madness that is pretty faces catered to a sexual orientation. Boku-H does not disappoint here, providing what may be one of the best male protagonists in existence.

Comedy is considered a tricky subject to grade, given humor can often be very subjective to individual experience and familiarity with the context in which humor is involved. Accessibility to humor is a hugely important issue when making a comedy, but it is for this reason that the Daily Lives of High School Boys (DLoHSB for short) is in fact a masterpiece of a comedy.

One of the best parts about this show is that you can quite literally start watching the series from any episode, and it will not hinder your viewing experience noticeably in any way. DLoHSB accomplishes this in the amazing execution ... of its characters and story. One might be quick to try to criticize this show for not having a traditional unidirectional developed plotline as well as uncoordinated or minimal significant character development, but this really isn't a fair way to grade the purpose of this show. DLoHSB isn't a story about someone's continuing quest for greatness, adventures in a fantasy world, or anything grand. As the title suggests, it is about the daily lives of high school boys (and to a lesser extent, girls and other related people as well), and it plays like a sit-com in format, with each episode dedicated to mini-plots that revolve around various themes. While there are a few main characters with defining characteristics, you do not need to watch the series in order to immediately understand everyone's purpose as each mini-plot unfolds. 98% of the humor is extremely self contained in each mini-plot, and the series manages to make fun of almost everything in daily life imaginable from girls, RPGs, food, hormones, fantasies, school festivals, summer vacation, part time jobs, and many more topics. DLoHSB has an exceptional story for a comedy due to its incredible flexibility.

While you wouldn't necessarily expect it from an episodic comedic series, the character development is actually a strong point for this series. While this format does not permit so much of the typical growth over time in relation to a struggle against an opposing common force, the development that does occur in each mini plot of the series is both concise and effective. Characters, both male and female, run into a variety of problems typical of adolecents, many that may or may not involve interacting with the opposite sex. While interactions are generally exaggerated a bit for comedic purposes, events that transpire still leave the impression of being reasonably realistic and down to earth, as characters come to new realizations about various things ranging from how to maintain friendships, quirks that may or may not exist between sexes, and overcoming inconveniences that plague daily life.

DLoHSB also features great voice acting and soundtrack to boot. The most commonly recurring of the characters, Hidenori, is voiced by Tomokazu Sugita, who is probably better known as Kyon. While he does not sound like an adolescent, his voice and Kenichi Suzumura's (voice of Yoshitake in this show) prove to be very versatile as Hidenori, Yoshitake, Tadakuni, and others get into shenanigans, many of which often parody tropes from the popular Dragon Quest series created by Square Enix. In general, all the voice actors of the series execute a variety of motions very effectively as the situation calls for it, and never does the voice acting sound unnecessarily bland. Combined with what seems to be deliberately cliche background music always ready to accompany the right situation, as well as a catchy and easy to follow ending theme, DLoHSB makes for a very enjoyable listening experience.

Probably the weakest point of this series is the art. The backgrounds in this show are a bit on the bland side most of the time, and as a slice of life type show, the series does not have a particularly huge animation budget, outside of a few comedic action scenes. This does not really detract from the viewing experience, because the purpose of this show is situational comedy. The fact that for instance several of the side characters are drawn without eyes is an excellent example of how this series executes itself brilliantly in a way that doesn't require a focus on high quality animation. As a whole however, character models are generally pleasing to look at, and while relatively simple special effects are used throughout the series, their execution for comedic purpose more than makes up for any lack of raw quality.

Probably the only remotely plausible reason I could think of for not enjoying this series is if you happened to be a pre-adolescent that actually has litte knowledge and ability to relate to common real life situations, but the vast majority of people should definitely live past adolescence at some point. DLoHSB suceeds in every possible way as a comedy in providing humor that is very accessible and easy to relate to. There are no real restrictions as to who can pick up this show and find something enjoyable from it. Even if you are a person that naturally searches for serious material, this show still can succeed to entertain you because of how effectively it can allow viewers to relate to all types of life experiences, serious ones included. And if you want something funny, look no further because often times, nothing is funnier than real life itself.

Sora no Otoshimono is an incredibly remarkable series. As an ecchi genre type show, it surpasses the vast majority of them in terms of almost everything imaginable. Besides having a lot of fanservice, it is remarkable in terms of production quality, comedy, story, and character development. All in all it is a show that in spite of (or maybe because of) how ecchi it is, it manages to be solidly entertaining in every important way you can imagine.

Two high quality seasons do the series justice, with a third as of now currently in the making. Generally, the way the series progresses is through ... a mostly episodic format. Each season would start by introducing characters, engaging them in comedic situations, and later expanding upon the story in detail. The only problem with this format is that it is initially misleading for those who want to judge the series immediately upon watching a single episode, but as a whole the series is able to offer incredibly well-rounded entertainment as a result.

Now one of the fundamental problems with this movie is the episodic nature of mixed comedy and drama lends itself to awkward execution for a standalone production that is meant to run for over 90 minutes. Sora no Otoshimono does not have a plot that is told continuously from start to end. There are breaks in between action due to the comedic nature of the series, and story arcs are fairly brief. The brief nature of these story arcs isn't necessarily a bad thing, but for this movie it creates a situation where a lot of time is wasted simply trying to overextend the plot so that it fits in a 90 minute time window.

The first 40 minutes of the movie go into the introduction of Hiyori Kazane, a character who was briefly seen late into the second season of the series. Through flashbacks and reused footage of the previous two seasons, we see from her perspective how she has held constant romantic interest in Tomoki. Understandably, this recap of previous events is somewhat helpful for viewers who have not seen the first two seasons. However, it also comes off as redundant as in each flashback from different episodes over the course of 40 minutes, essentially the same thing happens. While Tomoki and his friends are up to some shenanigans, Hiyori is watching from the sidelines, narrating how she wants to have fun with Tomoki, but is scared to say anything to Tomoki or much less look him in the eye.

As the character of focus in this movie, Hiyori proves to be a rather uninteresting character. She can be summed up as being a bad case of Yamato Nadeshiko, or in other words an ideal, soft spoken, and submissive Japanese woman. If there is anything entertaining about this personality, Hiyori's naivety around Tomoki's perverted schemes comes off as comedic, but as a character she exhibits very little development or enlightenment to strengthen any interest in her.

The movie does have some good things going for it in spite of its glaring fundamental problems. The best part about this movie is that like the seasons before it, it maintains high production quality. Animation for this show is top notch especially during the few high action scenes. Voice acting for each of the familiar characters is appropriately executed. And even though Hiyori exhibits poor characterization and development, Hikasa Youko, who is probably known better for many strong-willed female roles, does an excellent job delivering her soft-spoken nature.

All in all, Sora no Otoshimono, or at least the part of the story in this series that was chosen I do not feel lends itself to being able to support a full feature length movie by design. While the series maintains a solid story, it does so in bits and pieces with comedy scattered in between, and it is not set up to normally maintain an extended plot arc. As such, most of the movie watching experience may feel largely like a waste of time when half the length of the feature is occupied by flashbacks involving reused footage with commentary from Hiyori. This production in this way fails to maintain what made the seasons before it so entertaining, by losing the ability to jump and flow readily from comedy to drama to maintain viewer interest. The level of freshness and energy that the TV series could maintain for episode duration simply could not be accomplished for this movie.

To be fair, the execution problems the movie has are not uncommon for a lot of movie adaptations for other popular series, due to the nature of movies picking up at a place somewhere in the middle of the story. If you can accept that in your viewing experience, you can at least appreciate that this movie does have amazing production quality to redeem itself.

Out of all shows that have been presented in Fall 2010, it seems there is no show like Panty and Stocking which has so decisively split viewer opinions into clear cut groups that either believe it's the best thing that's ever happened since sliced bread, or have banished it to the depths of utter disdain. The question I ask right now and will answer in this review is if one or even both sides are justified.

First thing that one should wonder is what this show was trying to accomplish. I'm not a fan of Gainax, and thus I am not extremely acquainted with their ... works. However it's pretty apparent that Gainax was trying to do something that would be different. What they have isn't a complicated or redeeming story. Far from it. The two main characters Panty and Stocking are impulsive and obsessed with sex and sweets respectively. That's all there is to the main characters, and that never changes throughout the show. The most development you ever see from the story or characters is in the priest Garterbelt, who is given a moderately interesting backstory in one episode complete with some decent use of dramatic and comedic elements. Outside of that, the show cannot be praised for its plot and characters alone. For the most part, the show progresses episodically more or less simply because there is a lack of a cohesive plot.

Given that the show is really not aiming to please its audience with traditional story elements, the main option remaining is clearly humor. Probably one of the biggest factors in creating split opinions among viewers (aside from the deliberately shallow plot) is the decision of the show to choose crude and vulgar humor as its primary form of entertainment. Now please do not take this the wrong way. Crude and vulgar humor alone doesn't ruin a show, but at the same time, there is in fact a right way to do it so that it actually is entertaining. The way I see it, P&S both fails and succeeds simultaneously in this department.

The way P&S fails at humor comes down to how at least half the time, the jokes have nothing to do with anything in the plot. The perfect example of this is Panty's Engrish profanity. You should be ashamed of yourself if you find it funny, because it really doesn't serve any purpose and has no relevance to anything that actually happens. A lot of extremely brief references to pop culture all around the world are made throughout the series, and they might as well not exist since again, virtually none of them have any relevance to anything that happens as Panty and Stocking are destroying things, indulging in worldly desires, playing volleyball, showing off as idols, etc.

On the good half of humor however, some of the show's mini plots do in fact turn out to be truly entertaining and original. Part of the originality comes through the amazing production alone. By itself, the concept of sperm soldiers on a mission to enter the womb might only raise brows at best (given that particular concept has definitely been done at least once by Family Guy as I recall, and only god knows what South Park hasn't covered), but it's the imagination of the developers that truly brings such a concept and a few others to life with vibrant colors, eye catching motions/effects, and sweated detail where it counts. P&S's art style is a bit unusual, comparable more to that of western animation as opposed to what is commonly used in anime. The almost bouncy object designs however work perfectly for this series, which tries its best to be unafraid of venturing into dangerous territory that no other group (besides Gainax presumably) would dare lay eyes upon. It's fair to say that the times that P&S does come up with something original, it is genuinely well presented.

Towards the latter half of the series, while P&S never truly abandons trying to come up with more and more of these good and bad mini-plots, an attempt to create an actual plot direction occurs, but this is extremely brief and intermittent. This isn't to say that there was any extra legitimate plot or character development. However post-introduction of the demon sisters, the quality of action scenes goes from decent to astounding during several interactions between the conflicting angels and demons. Again, the plot and characters really can't be praised for much, but it's at least apparent that Gainax is trying, and it shows in how detailed and well scripted some of the fights become.

All in all, I feel the biggest problem with P&S is consistency. What I believe Gainax was trying to accomplish was anything but a simple task. Being "different" especially in a day and age where there are uncountable records for every original concept that has ever existed is a tall order. Was Gainax trying to be funny? Were they in the end actually trying to make a new kind of story? Or were they just trolling everyone? It doesn't seem far off that they were probably going for a combination of all three, and that resulted in sacrifices in certain areas, or times where they simply just ran out of really good ideas.

All in all, P&S does have its moments, both good and bad, and generally it will be easy for most people to focus on either the good things or the bad things, but not both. To its credit though, it is different. Ultimately I would personally look towards American sitcoms, probably South Park in particular if you're looking for something actually funny. Otherwise it is up to you to decide where your tastes lie when considering this show.

Ore no Imouto is an uncommon example of a show that has fantastic production, but abominable execution. The concept is fairly original, featuring a younger sister who has a problem fitting in society as a high achieving student who is also balancing a hobby for collecting and playing imouto-themed eroge. While the show is beautiful with its detailed character/background designs, unique EDs for each episode, and decent voice acting, the show amounts to being almost completely worthless and an insult to the representation of otaku culture and the associated stigmas.

Let's start off with the single worst thing about this show: Kirino. Kirino is many ... things. She is a high achieving middle school student, a model, and an obsessive anime/eroge fan. However above all, she is selfish, stubborn, and blatantly insensitive. The latter qualities are something you usually give to either a villain, or anti-heroic character. Kirino unfortunately is neither of those. She is the heroine of the plot, and for the large part is never reprimanded for her flaws. It says little about the other characters of the story - especially her brother - when people around Kirino basically enable her unhealthy obsessions over imouto-themed eroge. For almost the entire series, Kirino is a bitch to her brother Kyousuke, who ends up becoming Kirino's bitch, slaving away to ensure Kirino gets everything she wants to feed her anime and eroge obsessions. Is Kirino ever grateful? Not really. Up to the very last episode, she's still the same insensitive brat who wants to have her cake and eat it too, and she never truly apologizes for any of the illogically horrible things she does to her older brother.

What was this show trying to accomplish? Was this meant to be a comedy? I didn't find it particularly funny when Kirino was kicking Kyosuke in the balls or ordering him to get run over by a truck for the sake of research. Was this meant to be a slice of life drama? Again what kind of a character would be ordering her older brother to get run over by a truck for crying out loud? Was this a tale of fantasy? Maybe, because I sure as hell doubt that humans in the real world value villainous characters who get to have their cake and eat it too. And yes, I do mean it when I say Kirino is villainous. She deliberately goes out of her way to be cruel to people who help her, and she absolutely insists on having her way at all costs.

Does this show even do anything good? Actually the first few episodes do manage to get your attention. See, the concept for this show was actually decently original. There is a good number of people who would be able to relate to Kirino's problems of finding acceptance in her unusual hobbies. Furthermore AIC is big on production values and they do a fairly impressive job of detailing some of the trips to Akihabara, conventions, cosplay contests, and a few other things. The unique EDs (and OP animations) don't hurt either. This show really did have the framework set up to be something great. But it's a huge insult to anime fans how despicable of a character Kirino is. Why does Kirino resent her brother so much? Is it because she doesn't interact with him much? Heck I have a younger sister who I interact with on an infrequent basis, and she likes anime. But she has no reason to disdain me to the irrational extent Kirino does. And I consider myself a pretty strong anime fan, but Kirino is beyond obsessed in her collection of anime merchandise that takes up an entire closet space, and she is never grateful for all the trouble her brother goes to to add to that gigantic collection.

If there is a lesson to be learned from this show, it is not one about social acceptance. More importantly, the main character of a story has to be appealing. In the end, Ore no Imouto makes many promises, but keeps none of them. By far the disappointment of Fall 2010, it is easily one of the worst shows AIC has produced by far.

Sora no Otoshimono: Forte is the second season of the series of Sora no Otoshimono. Likewise, it's highly recommended you watch the first season before watching this show, as the story in Forte basically picks up immediately after where season one ends.

For those who don't know what this show is about, it's obviously an ecchi comedy at heart, but do not let this discourage your hopes of finding the foundations of good characters and story. Sora no Otoshimono has proven last year that the ecchi comedy genre when directed well is one that can create a very endearing story and truly likable cast ... of characters, and Forte as of this year continues with the same excellent direction that its prequel managed to execute successfully. All in all what you have in this series is amazingly epic and genuinely funny comedy, and an interesting story to round things out.

The story in Forte I feel isn't quite as consistent in quality as it was in the previous season. A few of the episodes exist mainly for the purpose of random (but usually funny) comedy, and don't really contribute very much to the plot. It is also worth knowing that the final two episodes are anime original content, and had weaker character development than some of the other episodes. However, the way Forte introduces the new characters of the series, mainly Astrea and Chaos, was truly a highlight of the series. Generally when Forte shows the viewer in which way the story is headed, it is clear, to the point, and captures emotions during both internal and external conflict beautifully. A point of focus is the fact the Angeloids, normally an emotionless object of servitude towards their master, are changed through Tomoki's kindness and equal level treatment towards them, which in turn develops their emotions for Tomoki, and raises some intrapersonal questions about what rights an Angeloid has under her master.

Speaking of characters, the characters are generally very good in this show. The three Angeloids, like other classical trios, are endearing individually and together with their varying levels of intelligence, combat abilities, and emotions. The duo Mikako and Suguta are both cunning, yet contrast each other brilliantly with their evil and good qualities respectively, although Suguta gets extra points for promoting the advancement of the story in a number of episodes. The character I enjoyed least personally was Sohara, who didn't feature too much development, and for the most part was just a stereotypical tsundere osananajimi who beats up Tomoki periodically.

Speaking of Tomoki, a lot of people complain about the protagonist Tomoki being too perverted, but I believe that the show would not be nearly as entertaining without a deliberately flawed protagonist like him. Tomoki is honest in more than one way, and while his honesty is something that his friends can rely on, his blatantly honest acceptance of his perversions as a hormonal teenager is also a refreshing concept in light of the "perfect" but boring and ultra lame protagonists that typically accompany your usual harem anime. This type of personality opens up a lot of opportunities for extremely creative and risque comedy.

The other part of what makes the series of Sora no Otoshimono exceptional is the general production quality. Forte follows the footsteps of its predecessor appropriately in this way, so it generally should be agreed that the art and sound quality of Forte are simply outstanding. Figures and backgrounds are detailed and colorful, voice acting for every character fits and contributes to the comedy well, and animations are fluid in many different types of scenes, ranging from the opening sequence (two of them!), snowball fights, chibi comedy shenanigans, showdowns in the sky between Angeloids, and of course ending sequence that is unique to each episode. Forte reuses some of the soundtrack that was present in season one, although a few new themes can be heard in the background to suit each important or comedic moment as it happens. In each ED, a different classic Japanese J-pop/rock song is remixed to accompany its paired animation. Anyone who has listened to a lot of old J-rock/pop might get a kick out of that.

While a few of the episodes might be mildly not up to expectations of fans of the series, they can be overlooked in light of how many exceptional things this show does. Generally speaking this show does a lot of things really really well in spite of (or because of?) being an ecchi comedy. This is not to say that this show ever slacked on being a legitimately fun ecchi comedy on top of their solid production and story. If you watched season one, it's pretty hard to miss an exceptionally epic concept like the flying panties. I'll leave it to you to decide, but I believe Forte does no worse in coming up with at least one idea that is equally, if not more amazing than flying panties. For me, becoming a fan of the series was inevitable, given how much I enjoyed it.

Ganbare Goemon, known in the USA as Legend of the Mystical Ninja is a pretty nice example of a video game series that transitioned well into an anime adaptation. Granted, the video game series itself is not well known in the USA and likewise, it's understandable why this gem from the past has mostly faded into obscurity for the English speaking world. If you're a person like me who is lucky enough to have experienced playing Legend of the Mystical Ninja for the SNES or any related titles in the series, you will definitely appreciate what this anime has to offer.

Starting with the story, ... it mostly progresses in an episodic fashion as Tsukasa, Goemon, and friends thwart the evil efforts of the villains from the game world. Each episode usually has a mini-plot focusing on one particular aspect of daily life in Japan, an idea from the villains as to how they can mess up that aspect of life to harass innocent bystanders, and a finale featuring a mecha-style battle between Goemon Impact (Goemon's trusty friend and super robot) and a different themed robot that the villains summon based on the type of rage they collect from the people of Japan. While this particular structure can't exactly be called original, the way this show explores and pokes fun at various parts of Japanese daily life and culture is something fresh and entertaining almost every episode. Through the course of 23 episodes, a wide variety of ideas ranging from video games, the Edo period, amusement parks, Christmas, Valentines Day, the magnet train, and even space exploration are covered. Given that, this show manages to cover a lot of interesting ideas.

While one may have suspicions from the fact that this show is G-rated, I don't think this really detracts from the entertainment of this show unless you're expecting fights with blood spilling everywhere. Ganbare Goemon captures a more lighthearted, heartwarming, and sometimes even educational tone. The show is usually amusing, although the good guys, including the young protagonist Tsukasa have their personal character flaws, and almost every episode, a happy solution is achieved where the good guys overcome a personal problem or insecurity which leads to a happy ending each episode. While this is obviously a good appeal for children, I'm a 20 year old college student and I consider this good storytelling. I'm not calling it the best plot ever, but I do believe the show generally carries a good message that everyone can get something out of.

Which brings me to the characters. These aren't the most complete and developed characters you have ever seen, but all of them are enjoyable in their own right and serve a purpose. Tsukasa is an ordinary boy in grade school who by chance ends up becoming friends with Goemon and company. He has a romantic interest by the name of Asuka, and a rich, confident, and snobby rival named Nobouru. A common recurring device in Ganbare Goemon is Nobouru trying to win over the innocent Asuka with his wealth and connections, while trying to demean Tsukasa, who of course becomes jealous, but then Tsukasa makes more progress in winning Asuka back when Nobouru chickens out in the presence of villains from the game world. While the constant use of this device can be considered somewhat annoying, Ganbare Goemon actually does manage to develop this relationship pretty well and expand on the flaws of jealousy in general.

The characters in Goemon's group include Goemon himself, an idealistic and confident sort of character, fat and somewhat lazy Ebisumaru, strong and uptight kunoichi Yae, Goemon's girlfriend Omitsu who easily becomes jealous, perverted but creative inventor old man Monishiri (who happens to be Omitsu's grandfather), and Monishiri's robot Sasuke who is strongly righteous and devoted to completing whatever missions he's assigned. While again these aren't exactly the most complete and developed characters ever seen, most of them (except Yae, who is pretty consistently a "perfect" character) exhibit some kind of flaw or insecurity that gets addressed at some point during the show when the villains cause the citizens of Japan to become upset over the very thing that each character is insecure with. In this way, most of the characters in this show exhibit good quality development. Except for the villains who obviously are meant to be evil and general douchebags.

Given that this show aired before the beginning of the recent millennium, the art style can be called old, or dated if you will. But as a fan of Legend of the Mystical Ninja for the SNES, I found the art style very appropriate and true to my expectations of what the characters should actually look like. The animation isn't truly spectacular, but the drawings are always consistent and clear and well colored. Generally speaking the art quality is aesthetically pleasing, and does what it's supposed to do. Not once did I feel the art quality dropped during any of the episodes, even as they introduced new ideas and themes to work around.

The sound effects aren't the most varied in the universe. However the voice acting in my opinion was exceptional. Especially the English voice acting. After watching this show both English subbed and dubbed, I believe the English voice acting is more clear, concise, fitting, and gets across the general idea of the show very effectively. All the voice actors generally fit their role perfectly, and never once did I ever find the voice acting dull or unbearable to listen to. If only for the sake of watching a good English dub, Legend of the Mystical Ninja does not disappoint here.

As a fun adventure, reflection of culture, insight into common flaws and insecurities we can see in our own lives, and a tribute to an underrated but amazing video game series, Legend of the Mystical Ninja does its job very well. All in all, this is a show that both children and grownups alike should find decent enjoyment in.

Please check out this show or any of the related Ganbare Goemon video games. If you haven't already gotten into this wonderful series made by Konami, you've missed out on a lot, but it's not too late to get started!

Shuffle! is a generic romance harem story, featuring most of what is generally accepted to be good and unfortunately bad about its type of show. For those who have never seen a show of this genre, it's probably a good place to start to accumulate a background on the common traits of these types of shows. Besides that it's a pretty unexceptional show, and a rather poor adaptation of its related visual novel (having experienced both, I will immediately tell you the visual novel is by far superior).

Starting with whats good, this show is not particularly animated most of the time being more on ... the lines of slice of life (although there are a few notable exceptions). That being said it's mostly an aesthetically pleasing show with well drawn characters, and of course, it can't really hurt to have a lot of beautiful girls in the main cast can it? A few dramatic moments here and there did get some good visual emphasis as well. The voice actors (both English and Japanese) are pretty well chosen for the most part, and fans of the visual novel can at least appreciate the reuse of the same Japanese actors. Being based on an eroge, this show does present some obvious nudity, but for the most part it's not overdone, and it's usually humorous, so it generally shouldn't detract from your viewing experience much, if it even does.

The visual novel doesn't necessarily have the best plot ever, and unfortunately one of the problems with this show is trying too hard to fit too much all at once. Besides the fact that obviously Rin is only supposed to end up with one of the girls, the way Shuffle! attempts to translate all the routes into some kind of relevant single story ends up leaving our main protagonist Rin a very weak and indecisive man. This above all else is the single biggest flaw of Shuffle! the anime, a horrible main protagonist who is never willing to commit to anything, leaving many many people hanging and feeling desperate. This alone makes most of the characters (namely the girls and Rin) have seemingly shallow motivations, and is a primary reason why the visual novel is superior, since there is no indecision on Rin's part when you as the player make all the important choices.

For the most part the show generally tries to cut and paste stuff that happened from the visual novel into the show. To be fair though, a few things like Kaede's background and maybe to a lesser extent Sia's as well do get directed in a more interesting way than the visual novel presents. So for the sake of saying whether or not the anime does anything to separate itself from the visual novel, there is something to consider.

All in all Shuffle! is a fairly average show. It's mostly okay, a few good moments here and there, and unfortunately the show is held back by a lame protagonist, who as a result makes much of the plot a lot more lame than it should be. If you're still curious about learning what the romantic harem genre has to offer, this show is definitely one to consider looking into.