CrazyAce01

Story (4.5/10) Gosick is perhaps one of the most overhyped anime I’ve watched.  I came in with high expectations, and left with a bad taste in my mouth. This is a large bone to pick, so bear with me. Gosick watches like a bad parody of Sherlock Holmes. Our protagonist, Kazuya Kujo, acts the role of Watson, the inquisitive but competent fellow that asks all the questions so that Victorique, our Holmes, will go out of her way to explain the mystery. In traditional Sherlockian fashion, Kujo bumbles along, finding clues and hints that relate to the mystery, and at the end, after a little... See full review

Story (6.5/10) You’ve just been transported from our time to the beginning of the American Revolution. It just so happens your favorite video game was a pretty historically accurate play-through of the revolution, so you have specific knowledge of the outcome of the various events including battles, betrayals, and the deaths of major figures. As a patriotic American, you decide to embark on a quest to ensure the streamlined establishment of the United States. Oh, and it just so happens that in this alternate timeline, George Washington and all his generals are smoking hot babes. Replace George with... See full review

Story (2/10) Attempting to create a dramatic atmosphere with creepy music and occasional psychobabble about murder and God, Zombie-Loan is Death Note’s retarded third cousin that the family keeps hush-hush. Frequent, boring shots at comedy mesh together with the so-called action like a block of granite and a zucchini, and make about as much sense. Imagine chibi comedy randomly popping up in a bad Death Note parody every five minutes, and you’ll have the mental image. Zombie-Loan doesn’t deserve to be in the same dimension as Death Note, let alone the same paragraph, but I’m man... See full review

Story (7.5/10) I don’t really like slice of life anime. They tend to bore me. I’ve already got my real life, after all. Hyouka disabused me of this notion. It is full to the brim with an enrapturing charm that sucked me in with each episode. Kyoto Animation’s handprint is evident - the main character, Hōtarō Oreki, immediately reminded me of Haruhi Suzumiya’s protagonist, Kyon. He narrates and chronicles the adventures of the Classics Club with sharp and entertaining wit, propelling us forward in each story. There are numerous parallels between the two, but rather than a... See full review

Story (7.3/10) Accel World started off with a serious bang. It couldn’t quite continue that bang through the entire 24 episodes, but it was certainly something to watch. Accel adheres to a standard shonen formula. Initially, Haruyuki, our protagonist, is more or less a loser, besides the fact that he is pretty good at video games. He is quickly thrust into a virtual world, an act-or-die realm of shifting allegiances, furious battles, and complex history. If you've watched any anime or read any manga, you'll know that this is extremely typical stuff. It relies on this pattern to generate tension and... See full review

Story: 4/10 Never have I watched an anime with such promise develop into something so decidedly mediocre. The first two episodes were amazing, my mind was blown - and then the writers shrugged, turned around, and walked away without bothering to do anything interesting. That is the sad truth of Guilty Crown: a lack of solid direction and stable plot can ruin a show despite extremely high production values. As crazy as it is, the following has become anime cliché: a mysterious young girl is going to serve as a catalyst for (the end of the world/’evolution’ of mankind) and it’s up... See full review

Story:  8/10 Bokurano was a big surprise.  Stumbling across this anime by accident, I very curious  after hearing it referred to as a lesser-known diamond in the rough.  Needless to say, a combination of excellent storytelling and masterful character development has instantly made this anime one of my favorites. The story in Bokurano shines in its unflinching realism.  This is the key factor which makes the anime stand out.  There are no unexplained powerups.  There are no crazy people running around and killing people at random – when people die... See full review

Story (6.9/10)  Hellsing is an interesting mix of excellent and terrible.  There were some things I loved, and yet others that I hated.  The characters really made the story, with the plot being a generic action movie standard, albeit with vampires. However, considering the characters, this means the story jumped between jaw-dropping awesome sauce and boring crud – and I’ll get to more of that later on. The setting of the whole anime was actually quite fascinating.  The action centers on the Hellsing organization, a secret vampire-fighting force run by the... See full review

Story (7.9/10) This 27-episode anime was rather uninteresting for the first third.  I feared that I had been trapped by my self-indulgence into yet another meaningless, drivel-driven shonen, and then this anime suddenly leaped up beyond all my expectations.  While settling into a small rut towards the end, the story surpassed many of my predictions and made for the best shonen and mecha I have seen in quite some time.  While not escaping the drawbacks of the shonen genre entirely, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann did a great job of defying them in a meaningful way.  It has certainly... See full review

Story (9.5/10) Ah, the mindfuck genre – visual poetry, or acid trip? Philosophical ramblings, or mindless sludge? As it turns out, Serial Experiments Lain enthralled me – rarely have I resonated so well with the philosophy of any work of art. This anime was an incredible psychological journey: a rare experience. Like the best poems, Lain has an interesting message – many, many interesting messages – yet truly excels in its method of delivery. Lain is excellent at mentally steering the viewer yet allowing for vast personal interpretation, an ingenious technique that evades... See full review

Story (5/10)   Sky Crawlers leaps into action right out of the gate with a heart-pounding dogfight. Mesmerized by the dramatic battle and excited for more, I was let down by the abrupt, lengthy lull in plot. The movie lives up to its name – the story crawls along at a snail’s pace. While giving the viewer a few interesting tidbits to chew over here and there, it moves so slowly and gives so little in return for attention that it becomes laborious to stay focused.   Centering on a small airfield with only a few pilots, the plot slowly limps towards a hazy destination. The story... See full review