Review | Anime | Vampire Knight

VAMPIRE KNIGHT : The prestigious Cross Academy offers a
special Night Class to certain students of the academy. The Night Class is
unique because it is inhabited entirely by vampires, unbeknownst to the Day
Class students. To keep peace and reasonable distance between the vampires and
humans, prefects Yuuki and her best friend Zero are hired, and work to ensure
that Day Class students never discover the Night Class students are vampires,
and most importantly, that the vampires don't lose control of their urges to
feed on human blood.

While attending an anime con last year, my friend and I sat down for a 3-episode preview of Vampire Knight, which had just been released in Japan the week before. Along with Monochrome Factor, Vampire Knight was added to my list of animes to check out.

Vampire Knight sports the common "haunting Gothic elegance" element throughout, and plenty of beautiful vampires that make Edward Cullen look like a convenience store clerk. Yuuki is fortunate enough to have the strongest of the vampires, Kuran Kaname, as one of her dearest friends. Yuuki has had a crush on Kaname ever since he saved her life from a rogue vampire - which are know as "Level E Vampires" - when she was a child. It is unclear whether her crush is an actual romantic crush or more of an academic sisterly crush, but because Yuuki is a prefect responsible for keeping the screaming fangirls at bay whenever Kaname emerges from his dormitory with his Night Class classmates, it makes it that much harder to stare at him.

Naturally, Yuuki's orders to not bombard the Night Class gentlemen go in one fangirl ear and out the other as they trample her to get to the sparkly vampires (no thanks to Aido Hanabusa, who just fuels their fangirl fury with his witless charm as he waves and flirts.) Fortunately, there to intervene when Yuuki loses control is another good friend, Zero Kiryuu, who was taken in by Yuuki's family when he was orphaned by a Level E vampire. Zero's cold personality and frozen glare is powerful enough to stop even screaming fangirls dead in their tracks, and send them running back to their dorms. Zero's disposition is so cold, even Yuuki, whom he considers his best friend, has trouble getting through to him. It doesn't help that Yuuki's belief that not all vampires are evil clashes with Zero's firm reckoning that all vampires, regardless, are scumbags.

Vampire Knight is the definition when the question of the closest anime version of Twilight comes up. The only difference? Vampire Knight is actually good. Too much bloodsucking, perhaps, but it's watchable. The artwork of Vampire Knight is very unique and recognizable, and in turn assists tell the story in a great way. It's playing with fire if you intend on making an anime and don't use the right animation. Many believe the animation style of an anime is irrelevant to the series, but this is not the case. In order to tell the story properly, your animation must match the story in many ways, otherwise the viewer tunes out. Vampire Knight successfully harnessed the right animation style for their anime, thus creating a brand new smash hit in the anime community.

Parents should know there's plenty of blood (naturally, where there are vampires, there's blood) and violence, courtesy of the Level E vampires. Once you finish season one, you should move straight along to Vampire Knight: Guilty, the second season of Vampire Knight, which a lot bloodier as we near the completion of the series. Yuuki's blood is like a drug to vampires, which can smell her a mile away, and Kaname's willing to do anything to prevent her blood from being taken, and is not above resorting to violence.

Vampire Knight is a must if you're trying to stay in the anime loop, because where there's an anime fan, there's probably a Vampire Knight fan somewhere in there. Enjoy, and don't go out at night.

Overall Rating:
/ 5

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Review | Anime| Honey and Clover

HONEY AND CLOVER : Yuta Takemoto, Shinobu Morita and Takumi Mayama are three
college men who live in the same apartment complex within walking distance of
the art college they all attend. When their teacher, Shuji Hanamoto, returns
from out of town with his cousin's daughter Hagumi, the tiny college girl
'Hagu', through her cultivating artwork and exceptional kindness, begins to
change lives of the people around her.

I don't have to tell you this series has made a major dent in the anime industry. One of the most well-known romance animes in the anime community, Honey and Clover's simplicity and pace is sure not to disappoint.

Though the story is slowly paced at the beginning and plot is unclear around the same time, once we meet short kid Hagu-chan, things become more and more vivid. Hagu is constantly chased by the directors of art galleries looking to post her art in their festivals and galleries; it eventually gets to the point where Hagu's attempts to meet the constant demand for artwork results on becoming physically and emotionally weak. However, Mr. Hanamoto (Shuu-chan, as she refers to him) is always willing to dedicate his time and is never too busy for Hagu. This begins to bother Hagu, who feels he should spend more time on what makes him happy. Also willing to help Hagu is Takemoto, who has grown a great fondness for Hagu and her work.

While Takemoto is getting plenty of attention from the girl he likes, Mayama is starving. Mayama has fallen in love with his employer, Rika Harada, which could not be a more complicated catch; Not only is Rika many years older, but she has lost her husband in a car accident that severely crippled and scarred her. She is now somewhat detached, refusing to get close to anyone, which puts Mayama in a bigger pinch. His obsession with Rika goes so far, he begins to stalk her. Though his friends try to tell him it's stalking, he refuses to admit it. He has even set his ring tone to "Moon River" because he heard Rika humming it once day to herself. This reels in plenty of teasing from the eccentric Shinobu Morita, who is infamous for rolling into Takemoto's apartment seemingly half-dead, his pocket seams bursting from the wads of money in his pocket, which nobody has any clue where he got.

Also in a love pinch is Ayumi Yamada, who is popular in the ceramics department of the college, especially with the boys, who call her 'Iron Lady' because of her constant thrasing of her male friends, specifically Mayama, who she has fallen head-over-heels for. She is almost always seen crying over Mayama, because she feels s if he is too busy staring at Rika to notice her, and most of the time she's right.

From the middle of the series all into the second season, the characters begin to understand themselves better and reflect on their futures. Some even go on journeys of self-discovery. In the middle of this dreamy slice of life is Hagu-chan, who despite being confused about self-discovery herself, knows that she has good friends in these oddball college students, so she's never alone.

While there is nothing overly inappropriate for children in this show, it would probably not hold a young child's attention because of the complexity and pace of the episodes. If a child does express interest in seeing this anime, there are a few incidents where characters become drunk and characters smoke, there are a few references to a woman being naked (it's a joke made over the telephone and no women are actually seen naked), and two girls cry hysterically in an exaggerated manner when they see a woman's beautiful body parts and they complain theirs aren't as beautiful. A man stalking his love interest is also referenced and the characters in question are later seen in bed together.

Sick of fantasy anime? Honey and Clover is about as close to reality as you can come, the only difference? Unlike actual life, it's actually worth watching. A definite must-watch from us.

Overall Rating:
/ 5

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Review | Anime | Love Hina

LOVE HINA : As a little child, Keitaro Urashima makes a promise with a
little girl that the two will get into Tokyo University when they grow up and
they can be together. When the girl moves away, they renew that promise before
she leaves, and Keitaro remembers the promise all the way into his college
years, even though he does not remember the little girl's name or even what she
looks like. Keitaro moves into his Grandma Hina's Hinata Inn while she is away
to study to enter Tokyo University. However, he is unaware that Hinata has been
turned into a girls' dormitory. His aunt eventually saves him from being
clobbered by the female occupants for being in their dormitory, and much to
their dismay, Keitaro is made the manager of Hinata in order to have a place to
stay and to keep Hinata from shutting down. Keitaro must now convince the
occupants that he is a reliable person and earn their trust.

If I had to describe Love Hina in the fewest words, I would pretty much say Tenchi Muyo in reverse. A boy in a house full of girls that despise him rather than love him, and the boy tries to get along with them only to be pummeled in his attempts. Though this show isn't necessarily inappropriate for kids I wouldn't say you should let a kid watch it by themselves. Poor Keitaro can't win for losing as the girls' trust in him is consistently reset by the fact that he is always in the wrong place at the wrong time. His body reacts quicker than his brain does, and for that reason, he's barging into the girls' hot spring to share good news with fellow Tokyo U. hopeful Naru. Only after seeing the toweled female occupants and being literally kicked out of the building does he realize that he's made quite a mistake.

There is some profanity involved in the show, and some accidental groping coming from dim light bulb Keitaro when trying to apologize for a faulty action or to trying to lend a helping hand in some way. Nothing over-the-top ever happens in the show, however, even though Keitaro himself states that his fantasies about girls blur his mind. We see these fantasies occasionally but there are no inappropriate fantasies, simply visions of receiving simple praise from a girl or committing an act that makes him attractive towards girls in the daydreams.

I'm pleased with the outcome of this show very much. It's not an anime based around fantasy or sci-fi, it's down-to-earth, save on the signature anime expressions and the unrealistic beatings Keitaro receives from a female he literally rubs the wrong way. A good one for fans of romantic comedy.

Overall Rating:
/ 5

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Audio:

First Season Opening Theme : Sakura Saku

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Review | Anime | Ouran High School Host Club

OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB : The ultra-prestigious Ouran High School's popular Host Club is a group of boys who make profit through the charming and casual entertainment of girls who attend the school. When Haruhi Fujioka accidentally breaks an expensive auction piece owned by the Host Club, the Club president makes Haruhi join the Club and become a server to pay off her debt. Because of Haruhi's short hair and boyish clothing, they mistake her for a boy, and therefore finally make her a host after acknowledging her skills. When the other Club members finally do find out her secret, they allow her to remain a host under the condition that she never reveals her true gender to the girls they cater to.

Despite the main cast being mostly boys, this is very much a shojo anime. It's very dizty and glittery, and the cast's males are very clean and pretty and not very masculine at all. People who can get put off easily by things that are a little too perfect and prim may not enjoy this anime right away. My favorite part of the episodes are probably the different crazy faces the characters frequently put on. Any person that's familiar with the art of anime is aware that animes usually always include their characters making strangely unnatural facial expressions and bodily movements, and has come to expect it from any anime they look into. Ouran Host Club's characters are seen to make such expressions usually in response to something Haruhi does, or to something that they find "common" or generally repulsive to their status in society, since Ouran High School is where the children of very rich families are sent, while Haruhi comes from a lower middle-class family accepted through scholarship.

I would really say that this isn't a show for young kids to watch. There are some implications throughout the show of homosexuality, usually coming from the Host Club, however, so far nothing confirming this has happened, besides the members occasionally behaving flirtatiously towards each other. Twin brothers Hikaru and Kaoru may also be something to watch out for. The members of the Club each have their own charm tactics to add variety to their selection of hosts for customers to choose from. Those who request Hikaru and Kaoru as hosts are most likely doing it to be wooed by the twins' "Brotherly Love" manipulation, in which Hikaru and Kaoru react with each other in an incestuous manner though nothing extreme ever happens. The customers seem to find this tactic adorable. As a gesture to make the Club's president jealous, the twins also flirt with Haruhi on a daily basis.

I can't remember where exactly I found out about Ouran Host Club, but if the issues I've discussed above are things you're against, this would probably be a show to avoid, because some of the subjects listed are a huge involvement in the series. But if you enjoy anime's signature physical expressions, this may be one to check out.

Overall Rating:
/ 5

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Review | Anime | Chobits

CHOBITS : Hideki Motosuwa moves from the country into an apartment in the city to attend cram school. Hideki desperately wants a Persocon, a life-sized female robot super computer, to call his own, but they are too costly for him to consider one. One day while walking home, Hideki discovers a Persocon by the dumpsters, wrapped up and abandoned. Hideki takes the Persocon home and activates it. Completely unaware of everything around her, the Persocon only says "chii", so Hideki decides to name her "Chii". Hideki, excited to finally own a Persocon, raises and teaches Chii in his free time, and realizes the ups and downs of owning a super computer with too little "super".

Before watching this series, I'd be seeing countless pictures of Chii floating around, and finally said, "I've seen so much of this show, it HAS to be good. Let's check it out." The series only lasts 26 episodes (plus a special 27th episode), so I was a little more encouraged since it wasn't nightmarishly long like some anime series tend to get.

I liked this show, not bad. I don't think there's enough in it to have so many pictures of it, but I guess since Chii is so cute and beautiful, who can help themselves?

The good thing about the show is that it isn't slow, it's nice and clean without having to reserve 3 episodes for the same subject. However, the show is definitely NOT for children. There is a large amount of unsuitable material in the show, and I don't mean a couple of over-the-top cleavages here and there, at times it can get almost borderline hentai. Despite that, the actual scenes with the material in question don't last horribly long, so it's pretty much in and out of there quickly. I still really wouldn't let kids watch this show, even though Chii looks like a cutesy, friendly character. And she is, it's just Hideki I'm a little worried about.

This is a pretty good show, I'd recommend it, but I'd still make sure to warn them about any Hideki fantasy scenes.

Overall Rating:
/ 5

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Audio:
Opening theme : Let Me Be With You
Ending theme : Ningyo Hime
Dark Chii

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