amuru-81105

Poignant and stirring at times when heart-wrenching details of the loss suffered by Anya, Loid and Yor before becoming who they are in the series. Beautifully written script full of unexpected twists and turns.

Goji is extremely talented but lacks self esteem. Kitagawa is extremely beautiful but is also kind and empathic. Throw into the mix their respective obsessions and you have a heart warming tale, sure to make you laugh, and nod sagely at the deeper undercurrent of two kindred souls learning to see that which lovely and wonderfull in each other.

What is the world to do with those different and more powerful than itself? Much much more powerful.

Apparently not a lot; the world is often times oblivious to those who possess such "gifts" and they are seldom even mentioned let alone known.

Just who and what are those gifted such? I'm not telling; suffice to say there are always generic "bad guys" who are extremely secretive and seek to exploit these persons for "greater" good.

Hence begins a heart-warming tale of Sana, and her encounter with the outside world. There's only one little problem; she's never been "outside" and never experienced real contact with others outside her "family" of researchers.

Thus, this adorable little girl, who has almost omnipotent power, fortuitously meets an elderly gentleman who hates crooked stuff, and goes on to offer her adoption into his family as his second granddaughter. The first being another lovely young child called Sanae (!). Mr Zorouku then starts to treat Sana as his own, combining his gruff and taciturn demeanour with a warm loving heart.

Thus awakens in Sana feelings foreign to her; acceptance, belonging and expectation. She saw tough love at work and she begins to care and love the old man deeply and see Sanae as her own big sister.

Enjoy the childish banter and exchanges as one would expect from a young child and rejoice vicariously as we see Sana grow as a person and learns responsibility.

Chortle as you see her tremble in the presence of Zorouku and runs to cling him because she both fears his discipline but loves him dearly at the same time!

Enjoy!

A warm and interesting slice of life that begins innocuously recording how our protagonist selfishly uses his power "possession" to get what he wants in a world were these powers are rarely manifested in the adolescent.

The story unfolds; gradually letting us see how disgruntled he becomes when he finds out he is not alone.

He slowly begins to change and become others-centred when the predicament of being special opens his eyes to concomitant problems. He comes out of his shell and finds purpose in "recruiting" the special ones so that they could assimilate better into human society.

Suddenly, he suffers an acute loss in his life and his life spirals downwards as he loses hope in a future. He struggles with the ache in his heart and just loses all focus on life. Just at his lowest point he was administered tough love which jolted him back to more lofty ideals.

And suddenly he finds a way to right the wrong, and discovers a move set in place by an unknown benefactor to preserve his kind and boy is it big; much much bigger than he ever expected.

He also learns bitterly that there is great demand for special ones like him and there are those who would stoop to exploit these skills for Machevellian means.

Then finally, does he discover his actual place and purpose in this miasma and how he and only he could remedy the dire straits he and his kind find themselves in.

A pleasure to watch; getting one's heart shredded again and again but hope floats atop the waves and triumphs in the end, though no sappy love story here to warm the cockles of your heart.

A thumbs up; great watch!

A slow burning romance; where an older man falls in love with his little sister's best friend.

I watched it out of curiosity as I wondered what he would possibly see and desire I n her; and was pleasantly surprised that the answer is "a lot"; enough to want spending a life time investing!

While Ishika is obviously an immature girl, she has that one trait Ryo desperately needed; some one to give him "tough love" and tell it as it is. She instantly sweeps away all that is superfluous in his cool persona and insists that he be a truthful person at all times.

Her strength helps him drop his facade and look deeply into himself to set his priorities right; knowing his selfish actions have far reaching consequences. In that aspect he is like a kid trapped in a man's body as he creates layers of sophistication to hide his insecurities.

And that rivets his heart to hers.

She in turns sees the effect of her being herself on him and how he had opened up and show his vulnerable side and gains confidence to see herself as a woman worthy of him. And to meekly ask him to wait for her, which he agrees.

Her best friend Rio is such a dear but because of her love for her big brother is somewhat pushy in trying to "fix" Ishika and him, but she backs off and allows her best friend to grow at her own pace. Ishika takes this time to carefully sort out her feelings, as a rival to Roy's attention enters the equation.

Admirably, their classmate Tumasa displays more maturity in being honest with his feelings than does Ryo; putting Ryo to shame!

Warming and realistic; a work that explores the struggles of young adults and the "faces" they create to survive the real world. And how truthfulness triumphs in the end despite the apparently insurmountable age gap.

Beautifully crafted story filled with bloodshed and loss; anger and hopelessness brims within you the viewer as you realise that all that is good and precious about this series is simply pawns exploited by a deceitful tyrant!

Still, at such loss Hope still barely survives and thrives in pain the end.

Have your heart wrenched and torn asunder as nearly each and every meritorious character leaves us!

A haunting experience; seeing the surreal beauty of the main protagonist, battle hardened and powerful, shed bitter tears reaptedly to prop up the selfish dreams of a dying aristocracy!

What would you do when a beautiful mysteriously impish and poised girl teases you mercilessly? She keeps dropping loaded hints that she likes you and how do you respond? You try to get the better of her by parrying her onslaught with; wait for it; attempts at teasing her back!

So opens this delightful balm for the soul; young love blossoming between a girl mature for her age, capable, smart and a bumbling kindhearted boy. The bloke is too oblivious to the fact that she likes him and interprets her teasing as sadism!

Chuckle along with these two innocents who find strength within themselves when it matters most!

Wish our tyke had mustered the courage to kiss his beautiful love interest at the end but good things come at the right time!

Enjoy fun and warmth as he learns what it means to be a msn!

What happens when something awakens inside two disparate people of different gifts? What happens when curiosity becomes admiration and finally blooms into an aching that only being with the object of interest can soothe?

A heart-warming tale of two honest young teens who discover the stirrings of young love as they struggle to improve the lot Fate has brought upon them; she being true to her gift on the track and he to his gift of writing.

Cry with these two lovers as they see distance separate them as well as rivals who threaten to rob that spark between them from amongst their closest friends.

But thus is any blossoming love; to grow it needs nurture and commitment, and often times adversity and challenge.

Unsullied and refreshingly pure, a beautiful love story between two bashful young people!

Join them for a beautiful ride!

Enter the world of men devoid of these Godly attributes. See loathing, deprecation and despair. Note how each person responds to evil circumstances beyond what each can bear. Study how being devoid of these God-given attributes rises in the human mind grotesqueness and miasma.

That is Fruits Basket.

A series with an overarching spiritual overture; an analysis of the Bigger Picture and an assessment of True Wealth.

Witness the tragedies suffered by a lonely girl, who was orphaned while in her formative years but had tasted of that True Wealth and was blessed in having abundance of Faith, Hope and Love. She is by no means superlative in other aspects of her life that society value; athletic prowess, mental acumen and the such. But she is gifted with empathy.

While she struggles to overcome the evil circumstances she often found herself in she often drew strength from the loving relationship she had had with her late mother.

Unbeknownst to her and certainly not by subterfuge, the fruit of that relationship imparts Faith, Hope and love in others too.

One by one, she becomes the panacea to the broken people around her, causing them to feel acceptance and forgiveness from the horrible burden of guilt, hopelessness and self-loathing each feels.

And what ugliness we see that can possess the human spirit devoid of the God-given traits. And to compound the hideousness of it all, the Soma family had every physical comfort one could desire but was bankrupt in natural affections.

We see how each member struggles with the crushing weight of purposelessness and often times oppressive guilt, panned off on them by those who should have valued them the most.

How each copes at once brings guffaws (one cross-dresses, one punches up others who refuse their affections, one develops a histrionic personality) and tears as we are acquainted with their unique circumstances.

Can one girl change this miserable clan of possessed people doomed to an endless cycle of servitude to spirits restless for restitution?

Yes, ever so gently and without fanfare.

A masterpiece of entertainment with the sceptre of realism reminding us poignantly that we are all children of God and we are only human if we learn to see and value ourselves through His eyes!

Enjoy; a definite Must See!

A boiling miasma of punks and delinquents passing off as high school students, as egos are easily bruised and feathers singed!

Little Napoleons and Cretins with brawn for brains lug it out in a dog-eat-dog world!

Suddenly a beautiful demon maid appears and hands over a green-haired baby to Oga, who is the baddest of them all; and settles in his house as his "wife"! She brings foreboding apocalyptic commands from the Demon Lord!

Hormones are raging and wolf whistles hit a discordant pitch as Oga desperately tries to adjust to being the new human "father" to the Demon Lord's youngest son Beelzebub!

As he initially loathes the job, his caring nature is exposed as he protects and teach his ward about being a good demon (!!) and in the process tames a beautiful virago who falls hopelessly and deeply in love with him! How? By her being mistaken for an impossibly young bespectacled mother with a child (her baby brother) who frequents a park for parents with children! There she sees Oga risking limb and life to fend for the crawling demon-child!

Shenanigans unroll by the second and eventually he ends up saving his school, his friends and the world!

Goofy stuff with fantastic fight sequences that will keep one on tether-hooks!

Sudden comedy and ludicrousness would spring on you unexpectedly following a sanguinary battle to the death; and you find yourself guffawing till your bladder barely holds on!

Enough evil for you to cringe; but one wonders if the Demon Lord is just an overpowered, spoilt, capricious hedonist!

Hehe! A must see for those who embrace Stoicism and is given to taciturnity!

A word of caution; best seen with an empty bladder and a paper bag nearby to ease hyperventilation! You have been warned!

A tense and action packed series about the various types of supernatural creatures of the Philippines and their aspirations living amongst humans.

While plot progression could be more focused on the angst and trials of life amongst the slum people, the odiousness of those who shamelessly and cruelly exploit them is clearly shown. Brilliantly at that.

Focus on the precious few still sticking to their principles and hope for a better world is heartwarming.

With so much gore, misery and exasperation, this hope shines forth as a beacon; our heroine the lakan bravely fights her own personal demons, a fractured family and overcomes.

Way to go!

Looking forward to more lore from the Philippines translating into anime!

Talk about judging a book by its cover; or a person by his (or her) race, rank and title!

A lovely tale of a smart, beautiful and shrewd demon, who looks and behaves every inch like a doting wife! She genuinely cares for the world at large and is brilliant at navigating the politics and subterfuge of corrupt rulers.

Enter Hero, who is never named but is conveniently overpowered and a tad naive. When it comes to ladies; he is used to adoring looks by the opposite sex for his exploits. Suddenly he falls head over heels with his supposed arch foe! He sees beyond her looks and is enthralled by her perspicacity, sagacity, generosity and vision for a better world. Truly a gem of a person! (Watch him risk his life fighting her dark side!)

Thus begins a heart-warming tale of trust and sacrifice.

You'll be chucking inwardly at times and feel stirrings of righteous indignation the next!

Enjoy!

This anime is to pander to demented people with twisted desires of domination, sadism and sex.

Interested?

If you are normal, exit now.

If you continue even out of curiosity; remember therapy is pretty expensive!

Just when you thought old was pah!

A true classic with many hidden truism about actual life.

Stick around till the end; you'll find yourself laughing hysterically one moment and feel righteous indignation well up the next, or tears brimming after that.

All in a day's work for GTO or Great Teacher Onizuka as he is called; blowing away the chaff and picking up only the grains of truth in bold, humorous and at times impish ways. Always quick to praise and support the down-trodden. Darn if I didn't pick up a nugget or two of his timeless wisdom!

Unreservedly superlative; simply one of the best storylines of all times, executed in a style all its own!

See it! That's an order!

Seldom have I seen such organic and believable characters; I teared seeing Mia's forlorn face light up on seeing Sakuta return for her at the train station when it suddenly dawned on him how lonely, petrified and hungry she must have felt being invisible to the majority of people there!

Still, I can't help but chuckle at how easily she shifts to "pretend" mode to appear poised and composed when inside she is a quivering wreck of confusion and fear! She still manages a snide remark which Sakuta easily deflects with quick-witted repartees bordering on the scandalous!

Enough said; a must watch to experience the beauty of love, honesty and good old-fashioned humour bouncing off each of the characters as they strive to overcome "Puberty Syndrome" in all its bizarre and logic-defying forms.

In such a world, friendship and loyalty shines forth as a beacon as Sakuta is unwillingly dragged into a deranged world where a suppressed desire can turn a normal high school girl into Laplace's Demon!

A notable quote from Sakuta to Mai's little sister who had body-switched with Mai; "My Mai wouldn't think twice of wrapping her legs around me; I mean my face!" to which she gesticulates heavenward saying." My God, elder sister! What do you see in this pervert?"

Hehe!

Hehe! What a goofy show!

Even wondered what would happen if prudes ruled the world? Stoicism and a total abhorrence of salaciousness!

Ever felt guilty sharing a dirty joke? Here's a world gone "right" without wiggle room for the odd jab in the side and snicker for a "jock" joke. While I think stealing undergarments is a crime and a fetish, I found myself snickering and suppressing laughing out loud at the antics of frustrated young man (and women) dying for a little zest and sprite in their lives!

Enjoy people!

Nothing; except the trappings of first love and all it's bittersweet blossomings!

Enter a super shy girl burdened with feelings of hurt and being used and betrayed by others; who is suddenly faced with the advances of the most popular and attractive boy in the school. He goes out of his way to help her remove layer after layer of self-imprecation and chastisement till she finally sees his pure intentions; wanting to love her for herself. He is at once supremely self-confident and approachable, but suddenly experiences jealousy and misunderstanding like all forming relationships.

He learns to appreciate honesty and humility and she learns honesty and assertiveness! And boy are the two smitten with each other!

Still, they take the arduous and painful journey of slowly exposing their vulnerabilities to each other learning trust and true friendship.

And the audience is treated to a beautiful coming of age tale of supreme courage and growth; Mei having metamorphosized into a loving and caring person, despite all her fears and learning to say "I love you" to the one she adores.

And we see Yamato learn the difficult but satisfying lesson of having to love such a person and loving and helping her grow out of her shell!

"Kawaii" people, "kawaii"! The sexual innuendoes are just adorable without being scurrilous; met by flaming cheeks and averted eyes!

Enjoy!

A heart-warming tale of discovery and maturation; of finding one's self and calling.

As a vocalist myself there were many moments when the music made me have chills because of the beauty and earnestness in which it was belted out; so a resounding kudos for wonderful vocals and music.

The story was quite straightforward and highlights how being truthful wins in the end; for Fuuka and. Yuu personally; and also more importantly for Koyuki too. That beautiful crooner had a hard painful lesson dealt to her; but she turned the bitterness of unrequited love into renditions that touched the heart. Also, she learned the truth about real love; about expecting only mutual reciprocacity and ultimately came away a better, happier person, knowing she now had closure from the one she loved unilaterally.

A wonderful animation to appreciate the freedom and bonds true love brings to the ones involved!

An excellent premise ruined by poor character development and pacing; slow and laborious initially and breakneck at the end.

Too little is answered; if Neko was unsealed how does she lose her memories at the end?

What actually is Valkayria and Neko; true witches or gifted humans?

What are the aliens? Who are all the girls who are made witches? What makes them attain the various powers they posses?

What actually happened to Neko during the 10 years that passed?

See what I mean?

If you are still inspired to see this series; you are truly a connoisseur of the genre, painstakingly separating the chaff from the wheat!

And this series, my friend is just that; chaff.

A computer programmer is mysteriously transported into a game-like world where he learns first hand what it's like to live in the world he and his colleagues have created.

Hence, he arrives with potential for greatness and uses his powers in a kind, heart-warming fashion; defending the helpless, protecting the weak and yes; rescuing pretty damsels in distress. Very soon; he ends up with a retinue of emancipated slaves, demi-humans, reincarnated Japanese prepubescent little girls and clones! Talk about a teenager's.oversexed sensual fantasy come true! But just one minute; the master rebuffs all advancements by an over-enthusiastic Lolicon and remains chaste in favour of a; wait for it; female soldier!!

I was most impressed by Liza, an emancipated slave who is loyal, smart and brilliant at martial arts. She is also taciturn and is the mother-figure for the two demi-human girls Pochi and Tama. Now that is one sexy lady; instead of the dolt of a love interest that is our lady soldier, Zena!

Still, enjoy people, this series for its light-hearted fun; just leave behind too much cognition and enjoy!

Risqué, scurrilous and outright outrageous at most times as we vicariously relive the adventures of two teenagers who experiment and find themselves at times driven almost unstoppable with want and lust! He he! How often do their escapades end in disaster and embarrassment!

I am no prude and though I come from a conservative Asian background I think there is wisdom in exploration when there are prearranged mutually decided limits beyond which one does not go, which I believe Izumi and Aoi appear to have settled upon.

While there are really goofy moments, there are moments of vulnerability and tenderness where Aoi invites Izumi to experience her physical side of intimacy. Notably, insisting Izumi doffs her undergarments in a narrow alleyway and coaxes him to touch her intimately between her legs...

I only complain that there should have been more direction and depth in their relationship instead of finally settling on competition between the busty discipline officer and Aoi. I feel if Izumi and Aoi really loved each other they should stand by each other and strengthen each other to resist all other temptations outside of their relationship, as it is obvious that Aoi is a supremely gifted and dedicated person. (Ahem) and Izumi can tease her all he wants in a suggestive and physically intimate manner and finally if mutual, consummate his relationship with his beautiful and talented girlfriend who clearly adores him!

Being a guardian melts the rigid and adventurous heart of.a brave and stoic young man; himself barely into manhood. Warm, vulnerable and piercing grey eyes and a genuine winsome smile makes Dale adopt a shunned demon girl. He soon realises fate had brought him a gentle, loving and obedient child on the brink of starvation. And connect they do; becoming her protector and the prime object of her affection; as she instinctively is drawn to his kindness and care. A wholesome delight to see her grow out of her self-castigation and bloom to be the sweetest and most cherubic little girl, far more mature than her 8 years old. Yet despite her intelligence, industry and unintended popularity; she remains an earnest and sincere friend to all, granted the rare ability to see the good in others!

I doubt if anyone can see this series and come away stoic and unmoved.

Celebrate the beauty of a quite and humble spirit as is Latina!

A man's fantasy of having a dominating female aside; it does.portray the awkwardness of being in such compromising situations pretty well. Still, there isn't much character development as there are 4 sets of couples involved over 12 episodes. Would have liked to see more realism from the ladies though; having the hots for guys about 7 years younger to them? The guys handled themselves pretty well though; despite SNAFUs. Anyway, they are only high school kids right? Fun for the laughs if you aren't too cerebral; and if physical slap stick is your thing. The sensuality was good but could have been managed more subtly and more romantically!

A beautiful beautiful tale of love between two apparently unevenly yoked prople! Princess Nike is good, kind, strong and quick to unleash wind that can cut through steel bars! And oh yes; very pretty to boot. King Livius is a precociously superlative monarch who conquered the world in 3 years through shrewdness and an iron will! But wait; he is just a kid! Still; the more lasting and precious traits of each shine through as he tries his usual brusqueness on her and she shows her moral compass and strength of character even in the face of personal safety. I admire Liviius' ability to judge character; his harshness eventually mellowing when he realises the inner beauty and fortitude of his wife...And what vocals for Nike! Enough to stop and force tears from the eyes! Enjoy the goofy situations which give us chuckles but still warms the heart when we realise this series is about the hidden things of the heart and mind, the yearnings and the bliss of discovering one's soulmate! Touché! I'd recommend this series for anyone waiting to feel warm and fuzzy all over!

What makes a girl feminine? Driving heavy tanks apparently. A clash of wills, where kindness and prowess unites resulting in the genius that is our coy and self deprecating protagonist! Still, I will be first to say that the mixture of ludicrousness and bonhomie is a winning combination! A wonderful watch, though in this series the question as to why Japan needs teenage girls to fight simulated tank battles is still not answered. Also, what's up with the gargantuan ships with whole towns and landscape on them? Looking forward for the next romp; where I'm sure all would be elucidated! Panzer vor!