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arashileonhart

  • Los Angeles, CA
  • Joined Mar 4, 2011
  • 38 / M
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Honey and Clover

Mar 7, 2011

Nomiya loves Yamada.  Yamada loves Mayama.  Mayama loves Rika.  Rika has a history with Hanamoto-sensei.  Hanamoto’s cousin Hagu has just moved into town.  Takemoto loves Hagu.  Hagu loves Morita.  Morita loves money.  Welcome to Honey and Clover. Although a love story at first glance, Hachimitsu to Kurobaa—Hachikuro for short—is both more and less than such a simple description.  Taking place in an art college attended by the main characters, the series is less soap-opera than its romantic-flow chart would suggest and more... See full review

9/10 story
10/10 animation
8/10 sound
10/10 characters
10/10 overall

Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works Movie

Feb 21, 2013

As a precursor, I would warn people that this review is from an irredeemable player of the visual novel.  FSN is based on a visual novel that I adore and as such my review comes from a fan that has the original source to compare it to. Fate/stay night is the story of the Holy Grail War, a secret competition held between magicians to obtain a device that will grant them any wish.  Magicians summon Servants, spirits of heroic beings from myth and history, to do battle against other magicians in the hopes of attaining the Grail.  Shirou Emiya, an amateur magus with no knowledge of the Grail is... See full review

6/10 story
7/10 animation
9/10 sound
6/10 characters
6/10 overall

The Familiar of Zero: Knight of the Twin Moons

Mar 10, 2011

It both got better and got worse.  Somewhere, there’s a physics law that was just broken.  Right here, there is an anime fan that was broken. Futatsuki no Kishi—translated as Knight of the Twin Moons—is the follow-up to the first season of Zero no Tsukaima.  Like its source material, it picks up soon after Saito has refused a chance to return to his world to save his tsundere master Louise from certain death and partially revolves around the what now? aspect such a choice leaves him in.  Considering the nature of the first arc, the story really could have ended there... See full review

7/10 story
8/10 animation
6/10 sound
5/10 characters
6/10 overall

The Familiar of Zero

Mar 10, 2011

You would think J.K. Rowling would have sued by now. Following in the footsteps of their success with the adaptation Shakugan no Shana, J.C. Staff has picked up Zero no Tsukaima, a similar love-hate fantasy rom-com that should surprise nobody with the directions it takes.  Louise might as well be a more violent Shana, and Saito a more action-oriented Yuji.  To top it off, they’re voiced by the exact same seiyuu in Japanese! Zero no Tsukaima takes place in an alternate-universe Europe where there are two moons, magicians, and no technology to speak of.  Set at... See full review

4/10 story
8/10 animation
5/10 sound
6/10 characters
5/10 overall

Ouran High School Host Club

Mar 10, 2011

“Reverse harem!” Easily described as such, Ouran High School Host Club still manages to break its seemingly stereotypical story and characterization to achieve something beyond the typical romantic comedy story.  Taking place at prestigious Ouran Academy, scholarship student Haruhi Fujioka is drawn into the world of the Host Club: a group of the school’s most beautiful and upper-class boys that entertain the female population with their wiles.  Though annoyed at first with the Host Club’s antics, Haruhi slowly learns to open up to the other members while delving... See full review

8/10 story
10/10 animation
8/10 sound
9/10 characters
9/10 overall

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

Mar 10, 2011

Reversing on the realistic and psycho-analytical mecha series of the 90s and 2000s—ironically caused by Studio Gainax itself, with the release of Neon Genesis Evangelion—Studio Gainax has come up with Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, roughly translated as “Pierce the Heavens Lotus Face.” In the far future, mankind has been regulated to underground cities by monsters in giant mecha called Gunmen.  Two young boys, boastful Kamina and shy sidekick Simon, discover a way to the surface with a newly-dug up mecha they dub Lagann.  And thus, from humble beginnings starts a... See full review

6/10 story
8/10 animation
8/10 sound
9/10 characters
8/10 overall

Honey and Clover II

Mar 7, 2011

The continuation of Honey and Clover, directed now by Tatsuyuki Nagai, who gets right down to business: the climax of the relationships between the characters is almost immediately dealt with.  While Mayama confronts Rika with her desire to push everyone away, Yamada is attacked with a surprise confession from Nomiya.  Meanwhile, Hagu experiences a life-changing event that forces Takemoto and Morita to take action… With subtle character design changes and musical shifts, Honey and Clover II is still at heart the same story simply ramped up to its inevitable conclusion. ... See full review

9/10 story
10/10 animation
8/10 sound
10/10 characters
10/10 overall

Fate/stay night

Mar 7, 2011

As a precursor, I would warn people that this review is from an irredeemable player of the visual novel.  FSN is based on a visual novel that I adore and as such my review comes from a fan that has the original source to compare it to. Fate/stay night is the story of the Holy Grail War, a secret competition held between magicians to obtain a device that will grant them any wish.  Magicians summon Servants, spirits of heroic beings from myth and history, to do battle against other magicians in the hopes of attaining the Grail.  Shirou Emiya, an amateur magus with no knowledge of the... See full review

8/10 story
6/10 animation
9/10 sound
8/10 characters
7/10 overall

Macross Frontier

Mar 7, 2011

For the 25th anniversary of the original Macross—known in the states as Robotech—we are given the product of Macross Frontier. Set in 2059, nearly fifty years after the original, Macross F tells the story of the fleet group Frontier as they make their way toward the center of the Milky Way Galaxy in hopes of finding a suitable planet to colonize. Macross F follows the story of three teenagers: Alto Saotome, a former kabuki actor with dreams of flying in a non-colony ship habitat, Ranka Lee, a waitress with dreams of becoming an idol singer, and Sheryl Nome, a... See full review

7/10 story
8/10 animation
10/10 sound
10/10 characters
8/10 overall