Review No. 7: Say 'I love you'

 Description: Yamato's life collides with Mei's when she kicks him down a flight of stairs. Yamato declares that he's her boyfriend after a few days of friendship. This anime depicts the rough journey of their relationship and the life lessons Mei learns as time goes on.

 What I think about it: It was fluffy and short but filled with a depth of meaning that escapes many of the different genres today. I got annoyed at the kind of monotonous content in places but for the most part I enjoyed taking in this slice of Mei's life.  If you're looking for something to look at on a rainy day, I'd definitely recommend this.

Character Analysis: For the purpose of not giving spoilers I'm going to keep this as short and simple as I can. It will also only feature the two main characters.

 Yamato- I can't remember his last name so, yeah. He is the most popular boy in school; kind and attentive to the needs of others. Mei catches his attention as soon as he meets her. I think his character was kinda cliche. On the other hand, the voice actor for him was Takahiro Sakurai, the same guy who voice Yuri Shibuya in Kyo Kara Maoh. And I love me some Yuri.

Mei- She is the most antisocial girl I've seen in anime so far. My experience is somewhat limited so........take that as you will. She was bullied as a kid and her entire class turned against  her. She believes that she doesn't need friends because people always betray each other as soon as they can no longer make use of you. Such a messed up kid.........and I can see a part of myself in her......is that bad?

Music: Soft and soothing, the opening and ending really puts us in the mood for this anime. I really didn't notice the background music but then again, I never do.

Possible Pairings: Well, all (most) of the pairings are confirmed in this anime......so there's really nothing I can give you on this one.

Conclusion: 3.5/5 stars. I enjoyed this anime while it lasted and I don't see myself revisiting this world any time soon.

Review No. 6: Kyo Kara Maoh Seasons I, II and III

  Description: Yuuri Shibuya is a normal high school student. One day, he gets sucked down a toilet bowl and into another world where he is the Maoh (Demon King).  Sounds weird, I know. This series follows the adventures that surround Yuuri and his new friends in this world.

What I thought about it: First of all it was way too long!! I marathoned the entire thing and it took a long while to watch it and there was no conclusive ending. That makes great fanfiction material but seriously!! There's no ending!
                                        Other than that tiny detail, I did enjoy the series. It was action packed and each episode ended with something that kept me hooked enough to continue watching the thing. It was awesome!!

Character Analysis:

-Yuuri Shibuya

  His character is very simplistic. He's naive and oblivious and he claims he's completely straight even though we all know that he's not. He has a set of morals that a set in stone and he doesn't compromise them for anything (or at least he tries not to). I really loved him from the very beginning and he never disappointed me as the series continued (unless you count his stubbornness to acknowledge Wolfram as his fiance). I'm really trying not to give any spoilers so these things are gonna be vague.

Wolfram von Bielefeld: 
 Yuuri's accidental fiance. There is probably only one thing you should know about him. He's hopelessly in love with Yuuri. Everyone can see it except Yuuri. And he has a jealous streak a mile wide. He has a fiery personality, his element is also fire, and he's supportive of Yuuri through almost everything. Of course, he masks his support by calling Yuuri a Wimp every once in a while (or all the time). I really liked him throughout the series and I kept hoping that his relationship with Yuuri would progress more and more.

Gwendal von Voltaire: 
 He's really strict and tough looking but he's a big softie inside. I adored him and his serious frown lines. These few lines are not enough to explain him, I know. But there is nothing else I can say without giving away details of the show, you know.

Conrad Weller:

 Yuuri's godfather. He's Yuuri's personal bodyguard and friend. Conrad is almost always smiling, it's really creepy sometimes because we can never tell what he's thinking. He's a cool character.

Gunter von Christ:
 He's Yuuri's tutor in all things related to the Demon Kingdom. He can be a bubblehead at times but he's amazing with the sword. He's probably the most perverted in the series (behind Murata that is).

Ken Murata aka The Great Sage:

 He is probably my favorite character from this series. He's just so wicked with his little knowing smirk. And he's manipulative and perverted. He's just awesome, got it. I love his character and he's so cute with his glasses! (ok, I admit it, I have a glasses fetish).

Okay, I think that's really all of them I can describe without ruining anything for those of you who haven't seen it yet.

Possible Pairings:

 All of them are BL again.

 Yuuri/Wolfram

 Gunter/Gwendal

 Murata/Shinou 

 Murata/Shouri

 I didn't include Shinou or Shouri in the character analysis because they come later in the series and are vital to the plot, so yeah.

 Conclusion: 5/5 Stars. I absolutely love this series and I intend to watch it again some day.

 Please leave any comments you have. What should I review next? Did you like Kyo Kara Maoh?

Anime Review # 5: Free! Iwatobi Swim Club

Description: There were once four friends; Rin, Makoto, Haruka and Nagisa, who all swam in a relay together. The four friends parted after the race and they were separated for years. In their boring high school life their friend, Rin returns but something is different. He's no longer the boy they thought they knew, now he's Haruka's rival and he's determined to beat him in a race.

What I think about it:  Abs galore. That is the first thing I thought when I saw this. It looks really shallow in pictures and posters and stuff but it really isn't. It deals with friendship and the problems that can come from misunderstandings. It's short, only 12 episodes with 2 specials but a lot happens emotion-wise in those 12 episodes. We dip into their lives and I don't think I wanted to leave, judging by the amount of fanfiction I read after.
                                     I enjoyed the fact that this anime does not have any sort of whirlwind romance, although the pairings are hinted at if you look close enough. It's mostly BL (boys' love) so if you're not comfortable with that then just watch it like a normal-no-romance-anime. I'll put a section for possible pairing somewhere in this post so keep reading if you want to see that. Or, you could just skip to it.

Characters:

Haruka Nanase- 

 His face is almost always blank (emotionless) but viewers can tell (or at least I could) that he feels a lot under that mask. He loves water and I'm sure that he would live in it if he could. I really like him even though he's so passive most of the time.
 Check out my english translation of his character song. He has two but I've only translated one. Let me know if you'd like for me to translate the other on in the comments below.

Rin Matsuoka- 

 

 Haru's rival. He is arrogant, competitive and aggressive. I love him anyways. He really quite a softie deep, deep, deep, deeeeeeep down inside.

 I haven't translated his character song yet but I'm working on it.

Makoto Tachibana-

 He's the 'mother hen' of the group. The wonderful best friend that understands Haru like he's the back of his own hand. He's completely lovable. <3
 Here's one of his english translated character songs. I haven't translated the second one yet. Another work in progress.

Nagisa Hazuki-

 He's the cute one who comes up with crazy plans and makes everyone else follow him. He manipulates Rei a lot and well, he's just too adorable for words!!!

Rei Ryugazaki-

 The last member of the swim team. He's calculating and depends on logic a little too much. He lets himself be manipulated by Nagisa. He loves beautiful things and shies away from things that he considers not beautiful. And the Glasses!!!! Need I say more? He's a cutie!

Possible pairings: 
Rin/Haruka- This one is my favorite.

Makoto/Haruka

Rei/Nagisa

Makoto/Nagisa

Makoto/Rei

Which ship do you like? Leave your comments. If you don't like BL then keep your thoughts to yourself and save yourself some energy.

Conclusion: 5/5 stars. This is definitely a favorite. I'll revisit it again some time in the future.