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Anime Review Chart with links to screencaps and full reviews.
_A_ _B_ _C_ _D_ _E_ _F_ _G_ _H_ _I_ _J_ _K_ _L_ _M_ _N_ _O_ _P_ _Q__R_ _S_ _T_ _U_ _V_ _W_ _X_ _Y_ _Z_
ANIME |
Grade
Genre |
Summary |
Pro |
Con |
Recommendations |
| 100 Stories (aka Requiem from Darkness) | A- Horror | Writer wants to collect 100 supernatural stories and becomes involved with a trio of mysterious avengers. | Scary! Character designs are interesting. Strong stories based on myths and legends delves into the darkness of humanity. | Last couple of episodes are weak and ambigous. Character designs are weird. | For adults and horror fans. Rated PG-13. |
| 3x3 Eyes | B Action | Boy be comes immortal after saving a girl from an extinct race; helps her in her quest to become human. | Lots of blood and a bit of romance. | Old style of animation. | For fans who like romance mixed with blood. PG-13 |
| A | |||||
| Ai Yori Aoshi | B- Harem-Romance | Boy's childhood fiance comes to claim him, but he has given up his inheritance. | Scenes between the two main characters are touching. | Harem anime with wimpy guy and ots of typically annoying females. Silly ecchi humor. | For couples who like comedy romance and don't mind typical annoying harem anime. PG |
| Air (Movie) | B+ Drama | Boy in search of the girl in the sky meets and helps a lonely sickly girl in a seaside town. | Animation; touching final scenes. | Need to know the background of the game. | For those who like romantic melodrama. G but may be too sad for young children. |
| Air (TV) | B Drama | Boy in search of the girl in the sky meets and helps several mysterious girls in a seaside town. | Animation; Touching final scenes; Creative method of story telling at the end. | Very slow paced in the first half of the series. Ambiguous ending and need to know the background from the original game. | For those who like romantic melodrama. G but may be too sad for young children. |
| Akagi | A- Competition | Boy genius mah-jong player's route to power in the Yakuza. | Character designs fit the atmosphere. Great anti-hero, absorbing mah-jong strategy. | Character designs are dark and ugly. Akagi looks like a bird. Last arc takes too long. | For fans of dark psychological drama, PG-13. |
| Allison and Lillia | B Action | ||||
| Angel Feather | C Shounen-Ai Fantasy | Saw it, can't remember it. Some guys are transported to another world. | nothing | Not memorable. | not recommended |
| Angelic Layer | B Competition | Girl learns to fight with a doll controlled by her mind in fighting doll competitions. | Some fights were interesting. By Clamp. | Typical plot, and characters. | Rated G, kids will find this more interesting than adults. |
| Antique Bakery | B+ Comedy | Man who was kidnapped as a boy opens a bakery with a devilish gay pastierre and a former boxer. | Amusing chars, pastries look delicious, and nice mystery element. | Little about actually how to make pastries or their history unlike Yakitate or Bartender. Less about baking than the chars. | PG13 for a bit of mature gay content. Not anyone who wants to be on a diet. |
| Asatte No Houkou | B+ drama | A young girls makes a wish to be an adult. A young woman makes a wish to start over. Their wishes come true and they find life is even more difficult. | Nice slice of life with a twist. Instead of going for the obvious comedy of switching places, the series is more of a drama. The female leads are good. | The man in the middle, brother of the girl and ex-lover of the woman, doesn't deserve either. He's a sullen bore who couldn't break up with his girlfriend properly and doesn't seem sorry enough. | G for all audiences. Good pick to watch with kids and learn how hard it is to be an adult. |
| Ayakashi | B+ Horror | Three tales of horror based on Japanese myths and legends. Also see "Mononoke" the sequel. | Stories were interesting but ony two were somewhat scary. | Could be scarier. Animation ranged from typical anime style to avant-garde psychedelic. | For horror fans and those interested in myths and legends. PG-13. |
| Ayashi No Ceres | B+ Magic Girl | Girl is the reincarnation of a celestial maiden. For some reason her family wants her dead. | Interesting plot and good mix of action and romance. | Contrived unrealistic situations. Mrs. Q is annoying and not funny. | Good choice for couples with elements to satisfy both men and women. PG-13. |
| Azumanga Daioh | B+ Comedy School life | A group of friends and their day-to-day school activities. | Nice warm humor and likeable characters. | Episodic, not much happens, can be boring after a while, | Recommended for all, but some might be bored. Rated G. |
| B | |||||
| Baccano! | B+ Action | Vampires, serial killers, mafia dons, and gangs all vye for control of a train. Funny, exciting, and mysterious events occur before, during, and after. | High energy, good animation and jazzy score. | Gets confusing because of the nonlinear story telling, | PG but has lots of bloody content. Fun for all, esp those who like Cowboy Bebop. |
| Bartender | B+ Drama | Tales of how alcohol and people are related. | Interesting origins of drinks and how to make the perfect drink and which drink is best for an occasion. | Stories are interesting but not riveting. | Rated PG, but for adults; children would be bored and you don't want to start them drinking early. |
| Basilisk | B+ Action | Two rival ninja clans are manipulated into killing each other. | Exciting action sequences and interesting techniques. | The main female lead is annoying and useless. Characterizations are rather typical. | PG-13 See also the movie Shinobi: Heart Under Blade for a better female lead. For action fans who like a bit of romance. |
| Berserk | A Action, Fantasy | The rise and fall of a man of destiny and those who support him. | Great characters, motivations, plot, action, medieval depictions, strategies, etc. | Covers only a small part of the manga and feels incomplete. | For adults only. Rated R. |
| Big O | B- Sci-Fi | Man with mecha defends city from other giant robots while searching for the reason why no one in the city remembers the past. | Interesting chars who ramble pseudo philosophy. Seems interesting but ending doesn't pay off. Lots of style little substance. | REALLY bad ending. High on the WTF's going on factor. HORRIBLE opening theme. | For mecha fans. PG13. |
| Black Blood Brothers | B Action | Vampire kills other vampires, but all he wants is a home for himself and his brother. They're aided by a Compromiser. | Mix of action, blood, comedy, drama. | Typical characters. Plot doesn't develop much. | For vampire fans. PG. |
| Blade of the Immortal | |||||
| Bleach | B Action | Boy becomes a soul reaper and fights hollows. | Some interesting techniques. Nice mix of comedy and action. | Starts off interesting but becomes another powerup anime with typical characters. | Typical shounen anime will appeal to boys. PG |
| Blood (Movie) | B Action | Vampire girl fights vampires for the military. | Some good action scenes and lots of blood. | Older style of animation; not much character development or plot. | For action and vampire fans.PG-13. |
| Blood+ | B Action | Unwilling vampire girl fights vampires for a government agency. | Some nice plot twists. | Slow paced, typical characters, interrupted fights, not enough conflict. | For vampire fans who have to watch anything to do with vampires. PG-13. |
| Blue Gender | B Action | Guy in cooler is awaken in order to fight giant bugs. | Some good characters and character development. | Not much plot, just a lot of shoot them up action. | For shoot 'em up action fans. PG-13 |
| Bokura Ga Ita | B+ Romance | ||||
| C | |||||
| Cardcaptor Sakura | A+ Magic Girl | Girl has to collect a number of magical cards before they wreak havoc. | Animation, music, char designs, char development; excellent mix of romance, comedy and action by Clamp. | Maybe a bit too sweet. | Great pick for the family. Rated G. |
| Chaos Head | B Sci-Fi | An otaku has problems distinguishing reality from fantasy. A serial murderer seems to be stalking him. | Starts off with a promising plot, but once you know the twist, it fails to deliver. | Annoying wimpy useless main char, fan service, poor plot development. | PG13 for some ecchi scenes. |
| Chobits | B+ Comedy | Boy finds beautiful android girl with no memory and teaches her stuff while trying to find her origins. | Animation, char designs, touching subplots, good humor, likeable chars. | Some humor is forced; fan service. | Good pick for the family, mostly G but an early ep is PG-13. |
| Chrono Crusade | B Action | ||||
| Clamp Wonderland | B- Fantasy | Short movie based on Alice in Wonderland. | Fan service. Animation. | Fan service. No plot. | For Clamp fans. Rated PG-13 |
| Code Geass | B+ Action | In the future, the Empire of Britannia takes over Japan and renames it Area 11. Ex-Prince LeLouch wants vengeance against the royal family. He gets the power to achieve his goal when he is given the Geass by a mysterious girl. Meanwhile his best friend Suzaku wants to change the government from the inside. | LeLouch is an interesting anti-hero, | The Japanese and the British char designs are interchangeable looking Clamp characters. No one looks Asian or Caucasian which makes the conflict much less believable. | |
| Cooking Master Boy | B+ Competition | Boy trains to be a Master Chef in China. | The food looks great! Educational too. | Older animation; couple of annoying chars, silly plots. | For cooking fans.Rated G. |
| Cowboy Bebop(Movie) | B Sci-Fi | The bounty hunters go after a mad bomber. | Animation and music. | Not terribly memorable. Typical action plot. | Some fun during drinking. PG-13. |
| Cowby Bebop | B Sci-Fi | Bounty hunters cost more damage than what their bounties bring. | Animation and jazzy score. | Unoriginal plots and annoying characters. | Good pick to watch with friends. PG-13. |
| D | |||||
| Darker Than Black | B Action | The world is sealed under a fake sky . The stars represent "contractors" - humans who somehow develop special powers. Various countries gov agencies and syndicates vy with each other. | Starts off interesting with some good action and interesting concepts. | Typical characters. The gate, the stars, the contractor's powers, etc. are not explained. | Good pick to watch with friends. Don't bother to try to figure out the gate and stars, just watch for the action. PG-13. |
| Daughter of Twenty Faces | B Action | ||||
| Death Note | A Drama | Genius kid finds a shinigami's notebook and uses it to kill criminals to make a better world. | Great cat and mouse game as two geniuses try to out think each other. | Side chars are not that developed. | Not for action fans. More for the adult cerebral set. PG-13 |
| Dennou Coil | A- Sci-Fi | Virtual and reality come together, stealing the consciousness of children. | Good chars, interesting, original premise, exciting chase scenes. | Minor chars should get more screen time in the last arc. Techno babble can be confusing. | PG, great choice for family viewing. Young kids will like the cute chars, adults will like the tech premise. |
| Detective Academy Q | B+ Mystery | Group of kids solve crimes with their varying talents. | No one is as annoying as Conan's little friends. Some good mysteries and fewer eps means easier to watch than Conan. | No one is as smart as Conan. | Rated PG but a good choice to make even young kids smarter. |
| Detective Conan | B+ Mystery | Teenager forced to take a drug becomes a kid but retains his smarts to solve crimes. | Mysteries are always fun and educational. | Annoying side characters. | Rated PG but a good choice to make even young kids smarter. |
| DN Angel | B- Fantasy | Boy's alter ego is a supernatural thief of mysterious works of art. | Nice mix of romance and action suitable for children. Interesting legend of a couple's sacrifice for each other. | Just not very interesting. Rather slow paced and typical. | Kids will like this more. Rated G. |
| Doremi | B Magic Girl | Little girls become witchlings and have little adventures. | Amusingly cute and harmless. | Too cute for adults. | Strictly for kids under 10. Girls will love it. Rated G |
| E | |||||
| Earth Maiden Arjuna | B- Magic Girl | Girl reluctantly obtains powers to save the Earth from environmental distasters. | Interesting mix of animation, CGI, and live action. | Too much lecturing. Girl takes way too long to embrace her powers. | For Greenpeace fans. PG. |
| Elfen Lied | A- Action | Diclonius, mutant human, escapes from lab, kills lots of people, forgets her memory and is taken in by a boy and his cousin but still being pursued. | Animation, music, action with lots of blood and mutilations. | Weak male lead, ecchi humor and fan service. | Rated R for violence, recommended for action/blood/angst fans. |
| Ergo Proxy | B+ Sci-Fi | Detective hunts a monster. | Animation, plot, and lots of deep philosophy about man and machines. | Too many filler episodes that are too similar. Not everything is explained. Sometimes difficult to follow, | For the more intellectual anime fan. Rated PG-13. |
| F | |||||
| Fate Stay Night | B Action | Seven spirit servant warriors contract with humans in the fight for the Holy Grail. The winners get their wish granted. | Interesting mythology basis, servant special skills, a few good action scenes, and character designs. | The protagonist is a wimp. His chivalry to protect Saber, his servant, is nonsensical and chauvenistic. Borders on a harem anime. Too many interrupted fights. | PG. Couples may like this. Some fighting and some romantic elements. |
| Flame of Recca | B Action | Modern day boy learns he's from a ninja clan. | Some nice action. | Saw only a few eps. Amusing but typical. | PG If you like Naruto, HunterxHunter, this is in the same vein but not as good. |
| FLCL | C+ Comedy | Alien girl moves in with boy who then sprouts robots from his head. | A few deep soliloquies. | VERY loud and frenetic. High WTF is going on factor. | Teenagers and stoners will like this more. PG13 |
| Fruits Basket | B Romance | Homeless girl is taken in by a clan that changes into the Chinese zodiac animals. | A few good fables and moral tales. | LOTS of annoying characters. Old-looking plain animation. LOTS of cross dressing. LOTS of forced humor. | For comedy romance fans who have a high tolerance for annoying chars. Kids will like this more. Rated PG. |
| Full Metal Alchemist | A- Action | Two brothers commit a forbidden ritual to bring back their mother. One's soul is trapped in a suit of armor while the other loses an arm and leg. Older brother becomes a state alchemist and they search for the philosopher's stone to return to normal. | Complex plot takes many twists and turns. | Too much moralizing and angst over their situation. Character designs, and music are medicore. Humor could be better - mostly short Ed jokes. | Great family pick. Rated PG. |
| Full Metal Panic | B Action | Military nutcase boy protects hyper hgh school girl. | Works better as school life comedy. Nice mix of comedy, romance, action | The mecha action is not that interesting. | Good pick for couples. Rated PG. |
| Full Metal Panic - The 2nd Raid | B+ Action | Military nutcase boy has to cut ties with girl while confronting psycho terrorists. | Good mix of romance, comedy and action. Good char development compared to others. | Criminals are over the top. Ending is contrived. | Good pick for action fans and couples. Rated PG-13. |
| Full Metal Panic Fumoffu | A Comedy | Military nutcase boy tries to fit into school life. | It's still really funny! | A boy being hit by a fan can only be funny the first few times. | Recommended for all. Rated PG. |
| Full Moon wo Sagashite | B Magic Girl | Girl dreams of singing but has a throat tumor. Two shinigami help her with her dream. | Has a good strong touching last few eps, but takes too long to get there. | Mediocre music. Boring after a few eps. | Good pick for kids. Adults can watch the first few and last few eps.Rated G. |
| Fushigi Yuugi | B+ Magic Girl | Modern day girls gets sucked into a book of Chinese legend. Her friend follows but ends up being her enemy. Both seek their 7 warriors to defeat the other and return home. | Absorbing plot and interesting characters. Solid score and animation. | The most annoying main character ever! Humor is rather forced. | Recommended for all even though it's rated PG-13 for some sexual implications. |
| G | |||||
| Gai Rei Zero | B Action | Group of demon hunters keep the city safe. A super powerful demon appears and takes one of their own. | Promising start with a WTF surprise. Good animation and touching character relationships. | Ultimately a typical action series. Annoying indecisive main character. Really, if someone possessed by a demon is trying to kill you and others, doesn't matter who they used to be! | PG. Something to kill the time. Not bad, but not great. For fans of demon killing anime. |
| Gankutsuou | B+ Sci-Fi | A sci-fi retelling of the Count of Monte Cristo from the view of the younger generation. | Fascinating animation. Good side characters and subplots. Nice mix of action, drama, angst. | The boy's devotion to the Count is not believable. | Recommended for all. Rated PG. |
|
B Comedy | What goes on in an Otaku club. | Some laughs and some amusing chars and situations. Not much Otaku char development. | Not much happens. | PG13 for sexual innuendo and fan service. For Otaku who like to make fun of themselves. |
| Ghost Hunt | B+ Horror | A group of ghost hunters with varying talents investigate paranormal cases. | A few good scary stories. Interesting to learn paranomal terminology. | Episodic so some story arcs are better than others. | Good light horror for older kids. Rated PG |
| Gokinjo Monogatari |
B+ Comedy | Hyper fashion girl's adventures in love, school, and career. Same creator as Paradise Kiss which is sort of a sequel to this. | Good humor and romance, likeable engaging chars, fun fashion designs. | Older style of animation and design. The chars look like they're from the 1970s. | Saw only 6 eps. Rated PG. Good choice for the kids. Women and girls will like this more. |
| Grave of the Fireflies (movie) | A Drama | Japan post WWII seen through the eyes of a young boy and his sister. | Realistic and touching. Get two boxes of tissues ready. | May be too depressing for some. | Recommended for all, may be too distressing for young children. Rated PG13. |
| Gravitation | B- Shounen-Ai | Boy wants to be a rock star. Falls for a romance writer. | Strong angsty secondary lead. | Bad music and very annoying main character and side characters. | For shounen-ai fans. PG-13 |
| Great Teacher Onizuka | B+ Comedy | Ex-gang member becomes a teacher to a class of dilinquents. | It's still really funny, if you like perverted humor. | Same formula followed in each arc. Ugly deformed reactions. | Recommended to those who don't mid lots of perverted jokes and panty shots. PG13 |
| Gun Grave | B Action | Two friends join a mafia like organization. One tries to take over, the other gets frozen and revives to stop him. | Good action and interesting plot. | The transformations into monsters are pretty silly. "Big Daddy" enough said. | For action fans and fans of mafia movies. PG-13 |
| Gunslinger Girls | B+ Drama | Young girls are brainwashed into killing machines but suffer repercussions. | Animation, music, angst. | Not much of a plot, nothing resolved. | Recommended for those who don't need a plot and just like girls with guns. PG-13. |
| Gun X Sword | B Action | Man who can call upon a mecha from space searches for the man with a claw hand who killed his fiance. Girl joins him in her search for her brother. | Nice relationship between the two main chars. Some good actions scenes. | Main char is just not that interesting. Other chars are very typical. | For action-mecha fans. PG-13. |
| H | |||||
| HackSign | B- Sci-Fi | Player of virtual on-line game logs in but can't log out. | Excellent score. Interesting premise. | VERY slow paced. High on the WTF factor. | For those who actually want to watch all the series, play all the games to find out WTF is going on. PG. |
| Haibane Renmei | B Drama | ||||
| Hana Yori Dango | A- Romance | Poor girl in elite school gets bullied. Main bully falls for her but cannot express his feelings well. | Strong lead characters. Good love triangle, and char development. Strong score. Excellent mix of romance, comedy, drama. | Some contrived situations. One annoying minor character. | Recommended for all romantics. Rated PG. |
| Harukanaru Toki No Naka De | B Magic Girl | Girl and male friends gets transported to world where they need to collect allies and defeat the demon clan. | Animation and char designs. | A Fushigi Yugi ripoff with less interesting, albeit less annoying, characters. Red, blue, green hair are fine but blondes are demons. | Kids will like this more. Rated PG. |
| Hataraki Man | B+ | Hardworking reporter sacrifices her love life for her career. | Good interesting characters, esp the lead. Learn about how a magazine goes from idea to print. | Episodes are more individual character sketches than a full story. | PG with a bit of sexual implications. Watch it with your daughter. Inspire her to work hard and forget about men! |
| Hellsing(TV reviewed only) | B Horror | The Hellsing organization uses Alucard to hunt other vampires. | Good action and strong lead female Integra. OVA series is supposed to be better. | Incomplete story, unresolved plots. Weak secondary female lead Victoria - not enough is done with her. | For vampire fans who have to watch anything to do with vampires. PG-13. |
| Higurashi no Naku Koro ni | A- Horror | Residents of a small village go mad and kill each other. | Interesting style of storytelling where events are repeated with alternate paths. Complicated mystery and involving plot. | Sometimes difficult to follow and not much is explained. At its worst it's a harem anime with mediocre char designs. Second season explains more | Recommended for adults only. Very violent torture scenes. Rated R. |
| Hikaru No Go | A- Competition | Boy learns to play Go and aspires to be a professional. | Strong score, good likable chars and char development. Actually makes Go interesting. | Nothing but Go. | Recommended for all. Rated G. |
| His and Her Circumstances (aka Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou, or Kare Kano) | B+ Romance | Model students find out that neither is really a model student as they pretend. | Very good mix of romance, humor and angst. Touching thoughts and feelings. Good likable strong lead chars and char development. | Way too much reviewing in every episode and mutiple review episodes. Too many still shots. Only covers small part of the manga and leaves viewer wanting more. | Recommended for all, just fast forward through all the reviewing. Rated PG. |
| Honey and Clover | A- Romance | Art students contemplate love and life. | Animation, music. Involving and touching love triangles. Deep thoughts on life and love. Genuine relationships. Nostalgic feel. | Starts off very slow. Humor is rather forced, | A must see for romantics. Rated G. |
| Hunter x Hunter(TV and OVA) | B+ Competition | Boy enters the Hunter exams to find his father. | Some good action and strategy and likable characters. Hunter exam and Greed Island arcs were interesting and original. | Unresolved issues, mediocre score. Lead char has few if any flaws. | Recommended for kids and analytical action fans. Rated PG. |
| I | |||||
| Ichigo Mashimaro | B+ Comedy | Little girls hang out with an older sister. | Touching and funny in a gentle way. The older sister is a good mellow chain-smoking character. | Amusing but at least one of the girls will get on your nerves. | If you like Azumanga Daioh you'll like this. Kids will like this more. Rated G. |
| Inuyasha | A- Action | Modern day girl falls into a well and hooks up with a half demon dog to find the shards of a jewel. | Good mix of romance, comedy and action. Good strong likable chars. | Long anime which loses interest after first couple of seasons. Main plotline unresolved. | Recommended for all. Rated PG. |
| Itazura Na Kiss | B | ||||
| J | |||||
| Jigoku Shoujo | B Horror | Girl from hell exacts revenge for those willing to enter into a contract. Those desperate enough agree to go to hell when they die and in return their enemy goes to hell immediately. | Some scary scenes of going to hell. The latter half and last few eps that develop Hell Girl's past and motivation are more interesting. | Repetitive stories. Some poor soul is bullied until he/she contacts Hell Girl. Not much is done to develop the bully's side. | PG Light horror. Kids over 10 won't be scared much. |
| Junjou Romantica | B- Shounen-Ai | ||||
| Jubei-chan, Ninja Girl | B- Comedy | Modern day girl inherits the lovely eyepatch and powers of a powerful ninja. | Okay attempt at a parody. Some amusing life lessons. | Ecchi humor, just not that funny. | For parody or ecchi fans. Rated PG13. |
| Jyu Sei Oh | B+ Sci-Fi | Twins are imprisoned on a planets and only one lives to fight and survive. | Animation has good feel for different planet. Strong smart male lead. | Too short, suffers from abrupt jumps in story. | For action fans. Rated PG. |
| K | |||||
| Kaiji | A- Competition | Loser ends up gambling for his life. | Who knew rock paper scissors can be so strategic? | Chars are purposely drawn ugly with use of heavy lines. | PG-13. Best for adults. |
| Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne | B- | PG, for kids and preteen girls. | |||
| Kanon | B- Harem | Boy returns to town, lives with cousin, meets several mysterious girls with secrets. | Starts off fairly interesting; secrets are implausible though interesting. | Below average animation. Typical annoying harem characters. Slow paced and chars/plot are not well developed. | For those who like romantic melodrama. Rated G. |
| Kara no Kyoukai - the Garden of Sinners | |||||
| Karas | |||||
| Kaze No Stigma | B Action | Boy with no powers from the fire clan returns from exile with wind powers. | Nice mix of action, humor and romance. | Very typical anime chars. How the main char received his power is never explained. | PG Good choice for family viewing. |
| Kiba | B- Action | Boy from another world is raised here then returns there. Learns to fight with spirits among warring nations. | Some good political intrigue. Saw about 15 eps and stopped from lack of interest. | Uninteresting lead character; typical side characters. | Typical shounen anime will appeal to boys. PG |
| Kikoushi Enma | C+ Horror | ||||
| Kikaider | C+ Drama | Android wants to be a real boy but suffers from violent rages when controlled by the enemy. | Dark elements provide interesting twists. | Retro style of animation incongruous with some dark material. Char designs are uninspired. Mediocre action scenes. | PG-13. For those who like violence with cutesy looking characters. |
| Kino's Travels | A Fantasy | Fables centering on humanity/inhumanity. | Absorbing stories with twists at the end. Like Twilight Zone. | Kino is unemotional and does not get involved. Some stories are a bit too similar or drag on a bit long. | A MUST SEE for all, but younger children may not understand the lessons. PG. |
| Kotetsu Sangokushi | B- Action | Loosely based on Romance of the Three Kingdoms. A band of warriors seek the Sovereign Seal to end war between countries. | Koumei's manipulations and motives have some nice twists. | Typical characters. Shounen-ai between teacher and disciple. Guys look like gals. | For shounen-ai fans. Rated PG-13 for some blood and violence. |
| Kurenai | B- | ||||
| Kurozuka | B Sci-Fi | Guy gets turned into a vampire by a beautiful mysterious woman. They're (sort of) together for centuries while avoiding a crazu cult who wants the secret to immortality. | Excellent animation, cool character designs. Great use of color. | Confusing disjointed story thanks to flaskbacks and jump forwards. Worse dysfunctional relationship ever. It's supposed to be a love story, but they're rarely together. | PG-13 for blood and some mature scenes. Watch it while drunk and you won't care about any plot. |
| Kyou Kara Maou | B- Shounen-Ai | Modern day boy gets flushed down toilet and finds he's the demon king of another world and accidentally gets engaged to a guy. | It has its moments and the animation is good and the chars are likable. | Just not terribly interesting or funny. Not much plot. | For shounen-ai fans, bi-shounen fans. Kids will like this more. PG |
| L | |||||
| Lain | B Sci-Fi | Strange things happen, like email from the dead. Girl finds she has more than an aptitude for computers. | Starts off very interesting. Has a good tense atmosphere. | Often don't know what's going on. Loose plot threads. | For those who like WTF is going-on type anime. Rated PG-13. |
| Lament of the Lamb (OVA) | B Horror | Boy moves in with older sister and learns of the family illness (vampirism). | Tense and stark atmosphere. | Covers only a small part of the manga and leaves you wanting more. | For horror/vampire fans. PG-13 |
| Le Chevalier D’Eon | B+ Horror | Young man pursues his sister's killers and finds conspiracies among the French court. | Stunning animation, nice twists at the end. | Slow paced, chars not that interesting. | For fans of French history. PG |
| Legend of Basara | B+ Fantasy | Girl replaces her brother as the child of destiny. Rallies her people and finds allies against the Red King who happens to be her love interest. | Good mix of action and romance, interesting strategies. | Covers only a smart part of the manga and leaves you wanting more. | Good pick for couples. Rated PG. |
| Legendz | B Comedy | Boy finds hamster like creature which turns into a white dragon and fights bad guys. | Has a sort of charm. Somewhat amusing. Saw about 8 eps. | Sketchy animation. No real plot. | Kids will like this more. Rated G. |
| Library Wars (Toshokan Sensō) | A- Action, Comedy, Romance | Tall girl in Library Defense forces has a love-hate relationship with her short superior. Her unit defends libraries from evil gov agents. | Good distinctive characters esp male and female leads. Excellent mix of action, comedy, romance. | Premise doesn't make much sense. Military forces used to attack and defend libraries? | G - Recommended for all ages and gender. |
| Love Hina | B- Harem | Boy studies to get into college while acting as the manager of a dormitory for women. | Has its funny moments. Watched 8 eps could not take any more. | The usual cast of annoying personalities in harem anime with weak male lead and hyper women. | For fans of ecchi comedy. PG13 |
| Loveless | B- Shounen-Ai | Boy is partnered with his dead brother's fighter. | Nice animation and interesting fighting concept of fighting with words and in pairs with one partner as the sacrifice taking the damage. | Loose plot threads. Not much of a plot. Unbelievable relationship between the two male leads. Mediocre fight scenes. | For shounen-ai fans. PG-13 |
| Lovely Complex | A- Comedy Romance | Tall girl likes short guy who is also a good friend. They have lots in common but he can't get over the height difference. | Hilarious and inspiring tale of overcoming obstacles in love with patience, persistence, and a right cross. | Risa and Ohtani's fights can get old pretty quickly. | Great choice for the whole family. Rated G. |
| M | |||||
| Magic Knight Rayearth | B Magic Girl | Three modern day girls are summoned to another world to help save it from destruction. | Some interesting quest elements and plot twist. First season is stronger than second season. | Not much conflict among characters. Typical quest type anime. Typical characters. | Better for younger audience. Rated G. |
| Massugu Ni Ikou |
B+ | Adventures of a sweet loyal dog. | Touching, sweet, engaging chars and stories. | Rather slow paced. | Rated G -good choice for kids and dog lover. |
| Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumi | B+ Fantasy | A self-centered girl is really the center of the universe! She wants to meet psychics, time-travelers and aliens. | Original plot and concepts; interesting lead characters. | Story is shown out of order which can be confusing. | Recommended for all. Rated PG. |
| Melody of Oblivion | B Action | Boy and his motocycle travel around to fight Monsters, and Monster union agents in mecha suits. | Sort of a cross between RahXephon and Kino's Travels. Tense score punctuates the action and weird atmosphere. Disturbingly interesting at times. | Lots of unnecessary super ecchi fan service especially in the first few and last few eps. Suffers from WTF factor toward the end. Mediocre char designs. | PG-13. Intersting mix of sci-fi, fantasy, action, adventure if you can get over the almost soft porn and if you find Evangelion not confusing. |
| Mermaid Forest | Boy who became immortal after eating mermaid flesh seeks a cure to return to normal. | The story arcs (usually 2 eps) are pretty much the same over and over. | |||
| Mermaid Melody Pich Pichi Pitch | B- Romance | A mermaid princess goes in search of the landlubber boy from her past. | Some nice romance. | Bad music, which is really bad for an anime centering around songs as attacks. | Younger kids will like the mix of music and romance. Rated G. |
| Millennium Actress (movie) | B+ Fantasy | Journalist interviews a retired movie actress who recalls her life. | Interesting story framing and shifting from reality to movie life. | The big questions are not answered. | Rated G. Viewable by all. Recommended for romantics. By same creator as Paranoia Agent and Perfect Blue. |
| Mokke | B+ | ||||
| Mononoke | B+ Horror | Sequel to Ayakashi's third arc. Medicine seller goes around exorcising mononoke. | Amazingly detailed and coloful visuals. Interesting stories each with a bit of a twist. | Endings to each story arc suffers somewhat from the WFT factor. | PG. Light horror, but situations and plot are more for adults. |
| Monster | A Mystery | Brain surgeon saves serial killer then goes hunting for him and finds various conspiracies. | Complex plot and characters. Great characterizations even for minor characters. | Takes a while to get where it's going. First part is much like the Fugitive. | For more intellectual adults. PG-13 |
| Massugu ni Ikou | B+ | ||||
| Melody of Oblivion | B SciFi-Fantasy | ||||
| Mermaid Forest | B Drama | ||||
| Mushishi | A- Horror | A man travels around to exorcise mushi (sort of like plant spirits). | Animation and sound are excellent. Stories are a bit scary and interesting. Nice ethereal feel. | Kind of depressing. | If you like Kino's Travels, you should like this as well. PG. |
| Nana | A Romance | Two very different women named Nana become roommates and go through the ups and downs of life and love. | Strong music, songs, animation, characters. Excellent characterizaions and char development. Very heart felt, dramatic and good touch of humor. | K Nana starts off a bit annoying. | For all, especially romantics. PG-13 |
| Narutaru | B+ Action | Girl finds a strange star shaped creature then gets attacked by kids with similar creatures. | Interesting angsty secondary chars. Strong female lead. Creatures are creepy looking. Tense atmosphere. | Covers only a small part of the manga and leaves you hanging. | For those who like violence against cute characters. PG13 |
| Naruto | B- to A+ Action | Follows the adventures of a young ninja on his path to becoming the greatest ninja of his village. First few story arcs deserve A+ but later fillers are B- at best. | Strongly developed characters with distinct personalities, even the minor characters. Some great strategic planning and fights. | Lead character is annoying. Animation is crappy at times. | PG. Some blood and swearing. Recommended for everyone! |
| Natsume Yuujinchou | B+ | ||||
| Nausicaa (movie) | A- Action | Girl leads her people against the enemy and saves the environment. | Strong female lead. Best Miyazaki movie in terms of plot and lead character. | Starts to drag toward the end. Older anime, not Miyazaki's best in terms of animation.. | Rated G, recommended for both children and adults. |
| Neon Genesis Evangelion | B+ Sci-Fi | Reluctant boy pilots mecha like EVA against mecha like Angels to save the world. | Action, strategy and plot are interesting. Strong score. Original concepts; nice plot twists. | ALL chars are annoying! Loose plot threads. Maybe difficult to follow over complicated plot. Ambiguous ending. Annoying fan service. | One of the most famous anime. Should see it just to say it's over-rated. PG13 |
| Ninja Gaiden OVA | C Action | Saw it, can't remember anything. | |||
| Ninja Scroll | C+ Action | A ninja girl is the key to bringing back her clan. Samurai guy protects her. | Action is okay. | No one gets any char development. There's no scroll. | Rated PG13 for action fans only. See the movie instead. |
| Ninja Scroll (movie) | A- Action | Rogue samurai and ninja girl investigates a village's mysterious plague and discoveries a conspiracy. | Strong and interesting lead characters. Good bloody action. | Bad guys don't get any character development. There's no scroll. | Rated R for violence and rape; recommended for action fans. |
| Nodame Cantabile | A- Competition | A perfectionist, perfect composer/pianist/violinist boy finds messy, weird but talented girl interesting. | Good mix of comedy romance, drama. Info on instruments, classical music, musicians and competitions. And you can't go wrong with all the great classical pieces throughout. | Nodame is too unrealistic and the ending seems forced. | All aspiring classical musicians and composers should watch this! Rated PG with a few ecchi implications. |
| O | |||||
| Ocean Waves (movie) | B Drama | Girl from city moves to small village and gets boy involved in her problems | Nice gentle nostalgic feel. Good characterizations. | Slow paced; Not much happens. | For fans of melodrama. PG |
| Oh! Edo Rocket | B+ Comedy | Girl/beast from space wants to return to the moon. Denizens of a slum, including a fireworks expert, try to build a rocket. Meanwhile another girl/beast kills people. | Fun anachronistic humor and parody elements. Good opening and ending themes and score. | Rather frenetic and often silly. Minor chars are drawn weirdly. | Rated PG for slight violence. Overall, good family fun. |
| One Outs | A- Competition | A street gambler, expert in the One Outs game, becomes a profession pitcher. The treacherous owner of the team tries to break their One Outs contract. | The strategy and ways of cheating in baseball is very absorbing. Touya is a super cool and intelligent character. The owner is ridiculously greedy and stupid and pretty amusing. | Don't expect any character development. Everyone other than Touya is a minor character. For those already interested in baseball. Novices may find it less interesting. | PG - For baseball fans or competition anime fans. Younger audiences will find it boring. Lots of talk and analysis. |
| One Piece | B- Action | Rubber-limbed boy wants to be a pirate and find the ultimate treasure. | Annoying weird character designs and boring fights. | ||
| Ookiku Furikabutte | A- Competition | A HS pitcher with perfect control but no confidence gets the support of his new team including a super-analytical catcher. | Great baseball analysis, wonderful characters. | Many chars look too similar. Some may find the lead char too wimpy. | PG (a couple of references to masturbation) great pick for all, baseball fans or not. |
| Oran HS Host Club | B+ Comedy | Girl is mistaken for a boy and becomes part of a Host Club to entertain girls. | Main female lead is different and understated. Some okay parody moments but generally over the top humor. | Usual cast of annoying characters. Some forced humor. Not much on plot. | For bishounen fans, fans of comedy-parody. PG. |
| Otogizoushi | B- Fantasy | First half: girl takes brother's place to retrieve magical items to save the capital. Second half: girl tries to find brother who disappearedd. Same chars in different eras. | Starts strong. Good score and char designs. | Slow paced, annoying side chars; medicore action and plot. | Fans of historical anime might want to check this out. PG. |
| P | |||||
| Pandalian | B- Comedy | Adventures of a panda family and friends. | Pandas are always cute. | Plots/chars are amusing but not terribly interesting or exciting. | Strictly for very young kids. Rated G. |
| Paprika (movie) | B+ Mystery | ||||
| Paradise Kiss | B+ Romance | Girl drops out of school to become a model for fashion students. | Beautiful art and animation. Solid score, interesting chars and char development. | Too short. Another annoying suppoting char. Needs more romantic conflict and more designs. | Recommended for romantics and those interested in fashion design. PG13 |
| Paranoia Agent | B+ Horror | Boy with bat attacks people. Or does he? More strange things happen. | Good mix of drama, comedy, parody, action, horror, psychological, etc. | More of an anthology rather than a complete single story. High on the WTF's going on ending. | Most will find this interesting. PG13. By same creator as Perfect Blue and Millenium Actress. |
| Perfect Blue (movie) | B+ Mystery | Ex-singer turned actress is stalked by a serial killer | Pyschologically tense. Good twists. | Rates rather high on the WTF is going on factor. | By same creator of Paranoia Agent and Millenium Actress. |
| Petshop of Horrors | B+ Horror | People adopt special animals from a mysterious store. Breaking pet care rules have serious consequences. | A rare serious horror anime anthology with moral lessons. | First story of the series is best, but rest are more typical. | PG13 scary enough for horror fans and not too scary for the weak-hearted. Good Halloween pick. |
| Please Save My Earth (OVA) | B+ Drama | Girl has dreams of living on the moon and meets others like her. | Interesting plot and good mix of action and drama. | Old style of animation. Covers a small part of the manga and leaves you wanting more. | For those who don't mind incomplete series. PG. |
| Piano No Mori | B+ | ||||
| Pokemon | B Competition | Boy and friends and their pocket monsters travel and compete and help others. | The first season was actually quite good and some of the Pokemon are really cute. | Repetitive plots follow the same formula. | Rated G for kids and adults who are really kids at heart. |
| Portrait of Cossette | B+ Horror | Portrait of girl haunts a boy who runs an antique shop. | Beautiful and haunting animation. | Not much plot and it's often not clear what's going on. | For horror fans and fans of atmospheric animation. PG13 |
| Princess Mononoke | B+ Action | Boy goes in search of a cure for a curse. Nature is being detroyedd by man. | Animation is excellent as expected of a Miyazaki movie. The villains are the most interesting. | Title character is the least interesting. | Good pick for the entire family. G. |
| Prince of Tennis | B+ Competition | Genius boy tennis player's path to glory. | Tennis analysis and trick shots are cool. | Typical competition anime. Lead character is not terribly interesting since he's already a genius there's little growth. | For tennis fans or those who are interested in learning about tennis. Rated G. |
| Princess Nine | B+ Competition | An all girls HS baseball team struggles to prove themselves. | Typical but heartfelt chars. Predictable but still amusing sports comedy. | Mediocre animation, typical characters and plot. | Good family pic especially to get young girls into sports. G |
| Princess Tutu | A- Fantasy | Duck turns into a princess to save a prince while being manipulated by a dead author. | Excellent animation, music. Complicated plot, original and creative framing of a story within a story within a story. | Character designs and a few parts are too cutesy. | G. Good pic for the entire family. |
| Q | |||||
| R | |||||
| RahXephon | B Sci-Fi | Aliens isolate Tokyo from the rest of the world. Boy is the only one able to pilot a special mecha to fight the enemy. | Soft art and non-annoying characters. Interesting premise of time differential. | An obvious ripoff of Evangelion, but characters feel muted. Romance, action are medicore. Suffers from WTF is going on factor. | Watch it to compare to Evangelion and join the debate. Rated PG13. |
| Ranma | B+ Comedy | Boy and his father fall into a cursed pond.Boy tirns into a girl, father turns into a panda whenever doused with cold water. | Comedy is good even if repetitive. Interesting characters. Love-hate relationship between the male and female leads is funny. | Repetitive plots follow the same formula. Long series with no resolution. | Good pick for entire family. Rated PG for amine type nudity. |
| Ray | B Drama | Girl with x-ray eyes perform miraculous surgeries on bizarre cases. | Medical cases are interesting. | Continuing storyline of Ray''s background doesn't develep well. Average animation/score. | Rated PG. For those who like medical dramas. |
| Rec | B Romance | Girl aspiring to be a voice actress moves in with boy who works in advertising. | Interesting insight on the trials of becoming a seiyuu. | Very short episodes for very short series. Not much happens. | For those who like a little comedy and melodrama romance. PG13. |
| Red Garden | B Drama | Dead girls returned to life to fight until they die again. | Good characters. Nice mix of drama and action. Pace is somewhat suspenseful. | Girls break into sad angsty song, but not very good singing. Typical mix of personalities. The secret tome and its past is not explained or developed well. Starts off interesting but fails to deliver. | PG13. For those who like a bit of horror and action. |
| Reign | B Sci-Fi | Sci-fi fantasy version of the life of Alexander the Great. | Relatively faithful to historical events. | Ugly character designs. | If you can get past the char designs, it's actually interesting, sort of a political myth. PG13 |
| Rideback | B Action | Ex-ballet dancer finds freedom on a super mech-motocycle. | Some good action particularly the race sequences. Good animation. | Non-interesting characters. Military plot not well developed. | PG but contains blood and violence. Not for younger kids who might find this boring anyway. Good for couples. A bit of dance and action. |
| Romeo x Juliet | B Romance | Sci-fi fantasy version of Romeo and Juliet but with environmental lessons. | It's still a good love story. | Typical anime chars. The two leads are just too good to be true. | PG Good way to introduce kids to a classic. Watchable by the whole family. |
| Rozen Maiden | B Competition | Boy contracts with a doll to fight other dolls. | Some nice touching scenes as the dolls deal with their need to fight despite their unwillingness and their master comes out from his shell. | Another fight anime this time with dolls instead of spirits or monsters. Harem type anime with typical assortment of personalities. | A nice mix of comedy, action, and angst. Rated PG. |
| Rurouni Kenshin | |||||
| S | |||||
| Samurai Champloo | A- Comedy | Girl goes in search of her father accompanied by two renegades. | Anachronisms are smart and funny. Excellent use of music and good animation. | Fight scenes often occur at night making difficult to see. Not much character development. | Much like Cowboy Bebop with more likable chars. PG13. Excellent mix of comedy and action. |
| Samurai Deeper Kyo | B- Action | Bounty hunter girl teams pursues killer and mistakes medicine man for him. Turns out guy has two souls in one. | Premise is interesting, execution is poor. Lots of historical names are used so it's interesting to try to match them up with real history. | Poor action scenes. Annoying characters. Mediocre, boring development of plot. Main female char does nothing. | PG. For fans of the manga only. |
| Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei | A- Comedy | Suicidal teacher somehow ends up helping his students. | First few eps are absolutely hilarious. The personalities are strong caricatures but feel original. Lots of inside humor. | Starts off strong but humor becomes a bit tired by the end. Need to stop video all the time to get all the jokes. | PG for some ecchi scenes, but good family fun overall. |
| School Days | B+ Romance | Actually a black comedy and parody but you may not realize it until the end. | |||
| Scrapped Princess | A- Fantasy | Princess is cast away at birth after a prophecy predicts she will destroy the world. She is saved but now has to avoid the King's forces. | Good plot with twists. Characters are well developed and are generally liable. Excellent animation and Celtic score. | Lead character can be annoying. | Good pic for the family. PG. |
| Seirei No Moribito | A Fantasy | Balsa, a female spearwielder, becomes the bodyguard to a prince whose father wants him dead. He carries the egg of a water spirit within him which will kill him when it hatches. | Beautiful animation, complicated real characters, great character and plot development. Touching, funny, exciting, everything you can ask for. | If you're in hiding, why use your real name? | Rated G. Wonderful choice for family viewing. |
| Shaman King | B Competition | Boy summons spirit to fight against other spirits to become the Shaman King. | |||
| Shigurui | A- Drama | Feud between two members of a dojo results in blood and tragedy. | Beautifully and bloodily animated. Exciting and painful fight scenes. Distinctive characters. | Daughter of the dojo starts off with a strong personality, but becomes another useless female. Her descent and recovery from madness is poorly executed. | R, not for the screamish. Explicit sex and violence. |
| Shingetsuten Tsukihime | B Drama | Boy can see red lines of death. Joins forces with a vampire girl to hunt other vampires. | Animation and music. Interesting premise. | Storyline is not well developed. Starts off interesting but fails to deliver. | For vampire fans. PG13. |
| Shinigami no Ballad | B Drama | Girl god of death tries to help those about to die. | Good animation, nice gentle feel, some touching stories. | Started out fairly interesting but very low key and slow paced. | Rated PG but a good choice to discuss death with young children. |
| Shion no Ou | B Mystery, Competition | Girl prodigy shogi player is a result of a family tragedy. She competes as someone admid threats of death. | Nice mix of characters, competition and mystery. | Pales in comparison to Hikaru no Go. Shogi is not explained well. Mystery element is ultimately disappointing. | PG. Kids will like this better. Some violence, not for younger kids. |
| Shonan Junai |
B+ Comedy | Prequel to Great Teacher Onizuka. Two horny guys try to get girls. | |||
| Sin in the Rain | C Drama | Detective finds traumatized girl. | Premise was interesting. Saw only 1 OVA ep. | Saw it can't remember anything except the lead char was annoying. | PG13. Only if you really have nothing else to watch. |
| Skip Beat | B+ Comedy | Unattractive girl gets a makeover in order to become an idol in order to get revenge on the guy who dumped her. | Fun, crazy lovable characters and premise. Learn about acting. | Rather over the top, especially in use of deformed faces. | PG, fun for the whole family. |
| Snow Queen | B+ | Based on Hans Christian Anderson's wonderful tales. Gerta sets out to find Hans who's been taken by the Snow Queen, and meets various people and have adventures on the way. | Beautiful animation good char designs, heartwarming stories. | Not much action and fairly slow paced. | Saw 13 eps so far. Rated G. Nice life lessons for the whole family. |
| Speed Grapher | B+ Drama | Photographer who can kill with his camera protects a girl who activated his power from super powered fetishists. | Likable and interesting lead characters. Relationship between the leads is well developed. | Starts off interesting but becomes a monster of the week series with some silly looking monsters. | For action fans and fetishists, adults only R. |
| Spirited Away | A- Fantasy | Girl works for a witch in order to save her parents who were turned into pigs. | Beautiful and interesting animation and music. | Not much of a plot and ending is too rushed. | Excellent choice for the family. Rated G. |
| Sukisyo | C+ Shounen-Ai | Boy with split personality - his normal side has no recollection of his friend. | Loss of memory plots are always kind of interesting. | Silly stupid shounen-ai humor. Annoying characters. | For shounen-ai fans only. PG. |
| Sunabouza(aka Desert Punk) | B- Comedy | Boy with arsenal and smarts is a mercenary for hire. | Some interesting strategies. Saw 8 eps and stopped from lack of interest. | Silly stupid ecchi humor. | For teenage boys. PG13. |
Sword for Truth
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B Action | Samurai guy fights warring ninja clans and tries to save a princess. | Good fight scenes with lots of blood. | Not a lot of plot; older style animation. | R for violence; for action-blood fans |
| T | |||||
| Tactics | B Fantasy | Writer and exorcist frees a powerful Tengu who helps him out along with his other companions. | Starts off with some interesting cases, sort of light horror. | Silly humor. Annoying side chars. Continuing plotline of an organization who wants to capture the Tengu is weak. | Nice mix of horror-comedy, more for kids. PG |
| Tales of Phantasia | C+ Fantasy | Modern day boy and girl are summoned to save another world. | Has potential in the plot and characters. | Based on a game and it shows. Too short for any plot or character development. | For those who have played the game only. |
| Tenpo Ibun Ayakashi Akashi | B Action | Team of oddballs slay and eat demons in historical Japan. Main char kills by drawing out a demon's true name. | The words and their definitions are fascinating. Historical setting makes it somewhat educational. | Episodic, scenarios are just okay. Mostly it's just fighting demons. | PG. For action fans. |
| Tetsuya, Legendary Gambler | B+ Competition | Man learns how to cheat in mah-jong. Only 2 eps reviewed. | Cheating in mah-jong can be interesting. | Looks like it's all about cheating in mah-jong. | For fans of Akagi and mah-jong fanatics. PG |
| Texhnolyze | B+ Sci-Fi | Guy loses arm and leg. Replaced by mechanical parts. Destined to destroy the world. | Animation, score, absorbing plot. | Dark and depressing. Suffers from the what's going on syndrome. | Not for those who already suffer from depression. Rated R. |
| Tokko | B- Action | Guy joins secret force to fight against monsters. | Sort of interesting at times. A few interesting chars. | Standard fare. Nothing special about the chars, plot, action. | Typical shounen anime will appeal to boys. PG |
| Toshokan Sensou (Library Wars) | A- Comedy, Romance | Libraries train their own Defense forces when a militant media group confiscates questionable books. Tall girl becomes the first task force member and has a love/hate relationship with her superior. | Like Lovely Complex crossed with Full Metal Panic. Good romantic comedy and well developed chars. | Premise is rather ridiculous. Killing each other over books? Scheduled battles? | PG - Fun for the whole family! Educational, too, you can talk about censorship. |
| Tokyo Marble Chocolate | |||||
| Trapp Family | B Drama | Like the Sound of Music, based on the Von Trapp family. | Saw three eps. Has a nice gentleness, but not inclined to watch more. | Old style of animation. Music not as good as the movie with Julie Andrews. | Kids will like this. Rated G. |
| Trigun | A- Action | Goofy expert gunslinger travels around helping people. Two insurance girls follow his trail of destruction. | Great main characters, action, music. Plot develops in second half. Last few eps are the most gripping in any anime. Excellent mix of comedy, drama, action. | Some eps are just bad. Some char designs are just hideously silly looking. | Recommended for all. PG13 second half. PG first half. |
| Trinity Blood | B- Sci-Fi | Priest from the Catholic Church hunts renegade vampires. | Animation and music. | Some really badly plotted episodes. Ridiculous transformation scenes. Recycled chars. Starts off raher interesting but too much filler and doesn't go anywhere interesting. | Fans of Hellsing and Trigun might find this interesting to check out as a failed mix of both. PG 13 |
| Tsubasa Chronicles | B Fantasy | Girl loses memory. Boy searches for the feathers that represent her memories in alternate universes. | Animation and music. | Just not terribly interesting or exciting. Chars are stilted and dialogue contrived. | For Clamp fans and kids who will like the sweet romance. Rated G. |
| Tsubasa Chronicles Movie | B Fantasy | Girl loses memory. Boy searches for feather in a country that communicates with birds. | Animation and music. | Just not terribly interesting or exciting. | Rated G. Kids will like this more, especially girls will like the Li-Sakura moments. |
| U | |||||
| V | |||||
| Vampire Knight | B- | School antics with vampires at night and humans during the day. Reverse harem with human girl surrounded by hot male humans and vampires. | Things did seem to get more interesting by the end of the first season. Maybe re-reviewed after second season. | Saw about half of it, too bored to continue. Typical mix of harem personalities. | PG, kids especially preteens-teens will like the romance more. |
| Victorian Romance Emma | B+ Romance | A man of wealth falls for a maid in the 1800s. | Animation is detailed and locales are true to the 1800s. Second season is better than first season. Hans and Eleanor are more interesting than the lead chars. | Very slow paced. Lead female has no emotions. No chemistry between Will and Emma. | For romance fans who don't mind slow pacing. Rated G. |
| Violinist Hamelin | B | Stills low budget | |||
| Vision of Escaflowne | A Fantasy | Girl from Earth is transported to another world where countries fight against a powerful empire. | Amazing intense score, suspenseful pacing, likeable characters. | Weak attempts at humor. Characters have disturbingly long noses. | Great choice for the whole family. PG but there are a few scenes of intense blood and violence |
| Voices of a Distant Star | B Sci-Fi | ||||
| W | |||||
| Wallflower (Yamato Nadeshiko Shich Henge) | B+ Comedy | Ugly, gloomy, horror fixated girl moves in with four beautiful boys who must transform her into a lady or face paying rent to her aunt. | Good original lead female. Some good silly humor and romance. | The usual cast of harem characters. Lead female is not ugly at all, of course. | PG for some horror movie type scenes. Good choice for the family especially in discussing outer and inner beauty. |
| Welcome to the NHK | B+ Comedy | ||||
| Wolf and Spice | B | A traveling merchant befriends a wolf spirit in charge of the harvest. | Educational for both kids and adults, like Economics 101. | Slow moving, bordering on boring. | PG. Kids may find it cute but the heavy lessons in barter may put them to sleep. |
| Wolf's Rain | B- Drama | Pack of wolves who can appear human search for paradise. | Interesting premise and setting. Wolves have their individual personalities. | Starts off strong but fails to deliver. Suffers from a WTF ending. | PG13 for blood and violence. For those who don't WTF endings. Ok mix of action and drama. |
| Witch Hunter Robin | B- Drama | Girl with fire powers becomes a witch hunter and then gets hunted herself. | Starts out fairly interesting. Nice semi-realistic char designs. | Very very slow paced. Rushed crappy ending. | For those who don't mind the pacing, it's an okay mix of horror, action, drama. PG13 |
| W-Wish | C+ Mystery | Boy loses memory in accident. Lives with his sister who doesn't want him to remember. | Interesting premise and ending. | Annoying characters. Very short episodes for a short anime. Not much happens. | Similar to Kanon. Rated PG13 for some ecchi humor. |
| X | |||||
| X/1999 | B+ Fantasy | Boy will decide the fate of the earth as two factions vy for his attention. | Beautiful animation and char designs by Clamp. Good characters and insights. A few nice twists. | Not really much plot and it's often not clear what's going on. | For Clamp fans and those who like angst with some action. Rated PG-13 |
| XXXholic Movie | B+ Fantasy | Boy who can see spirits works for a witch. He goes to an auction at a mansion and weird/bad things happen. | Good animation and lead characters. Slightly spooky. | Predictable plot, not terribly exciting. | PG good pick for the family. |
| XXXholic (TV) | B fantasy | Boy who sees spirits works for a witch who can grant people's desires at a price. | Some episodes are better than others. Overall, sort of interesting. | Episodic. Forced humor. | Light horror and some moral lessons for the family. PG |
| Y | |||||
| Yakitate! Japan | A Competition | Boy with solar hands competes to be the greatest bread maker. | Hilarious parody of competition anime and hilarious without being a parody. Great memorable chars and delicous bread. Educational as well. | Last arc was rushed. No real ending. | Recommended for ALL! Rated G. |
| Yawara | B Competition | Girl who's a judo expert just wants to be normal. | Quite amusing and judo techniques were interesting. | Long anime. Older style of animation. Saw 10 eps and felt it covered same material over and over. | Kids will like this more. Rated G. |
| Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou | B- Drama | Female android travels around. | Nice gentle nostalgic feel. | Very slow paced. No plot. | Rated G. |
| Yu Yu Hakusho | B+ Competition | Boy dies but allowed to live again in return for being a ghost detective. | Good funny interesting chars and fights. | Starts off interesting but becomes a powerup anime. | Typical shounen anime will appeal to boys. PG13 (swearing and blood) |
| Yu-Gi-Oh | B Competition | Boy shares body with the soul of a long dead pharaoh who is the ultimate game player. | First couple of arcs actually have some interesting card strategy but then the rules become inconsistent and nonsensical. | It's all about playing a card game and the rules change. | PG. Kids love the repetition and cool monster names. Strong theme of friendship. |
| Yu-Gi-Oh S1 | B+ Competition | Boy shares body with the soul of a long dead pharaoh who is the ultimate game player. | It's about playing interesting and different mind games. | Char designs and animation are not as good as the revamped series. | PG-13. Not for kids. The games are really interesting, but violence is for older kids only. |
| Z | |||||
| Zombie Loan | B- Horror | Dead teenagers make deal to become bounty hunters of other zombies in return for life. | Some amusing interaction between characters. Hunt for zombies and some individual episode plotlines are pretty good. | Typical characters. Episodic. Mediocre fight scenes. | PG some blood and violence. Light horror - okay for kids. |
| *currently watching | |||||