Plot: In the wake of her older brother's death, Teru Kurebayashi finds comfort in the text messages she receives from Daisy, someone she can only contact through the cellphone she received from her brother. After Teru accidentally breaks a school window, she has to work for the school janitor, the ill-tempered Tasuku Kurosaki. But when she is targeted for her cell phone and Kurosaki keeps helping her, she begins to wonder if there is a link between Kurosaki and her beloved Daisy... (A-)
Characters: A
Art: B
Objectionable Content: Profanity, innuendo, fan service, suggestive themes, blood
Other: This manga is by the same mangaka as "Beast Master". It's more the type of story that fits Beast Master's cover (XD). There are points where the story drags a bit, but overall, the story is good, and there are plenty of laughs.
Overall Score: B+
Plot: Mai Tokiha and her sickly younger brother, Takumi, are on their way to their new school, the elite Fuuka academy, when Mai saves a girl who'd nearly drowned. Later, a battle aboard their boat almost sinks it, and Mai finds the girl she'd saved and a masked stranger duking it out using strange powers and weapons. After miraculously making it to the school, Takumi is attacked by a monster called an "orphan", and when Mai has to fight it to save him, she finds out that she also has powers, as well as a dragonlike bio-mechanical ally called a "child". She is one of the HiME -- along with the girl she saved, Mikoto, and the stranger from the boat, Natsuki -- and the duty of a HiME is to risk the thing most precious to her and fight the "orphans". (A-)
Characters: A variety of different personalities, well developed (A)
Art & Animation: A-
Voice Acting: A
Music: Yuki Kajiura. 'Nuff said. (A)
Objectionable Content: Profanity, fanservice/ecchi elements, suggestive themes
Other: Excluding the needless fanservice, I found this to be an interesting watch with lots of twists and turns. I will, however, deduct points for a pairing that comes out at the end. (By now you must know I am NOT a yaoi/yuri fan.) And I will forewarn you that this is one of those series where the beginning is fun, then it gets dead-serious in the middle.
There is also a manga (however, I haven't read it).
Overall Score: B+
Plot: Sword Art Online -- an enormously popular virtual-reality MMORPG -- has just gone live, and thousands rush out to buy the Nervegear hardware that allows the player to immerse all his senses in the virtual world. A player named Kirito tested the beta version of SAO and is excited for the official release. However, he and the other players are shocked when they find that there is no logout option. The creator of SAO tells them that to win, they must clear all 100 floors and defeat the boss. Here's the catch: if they die in the game, they will die in the real world, as well... (A-)
Characters: Interesting. (A)
Art & Animation: A
Voice Acting: A
Music: A
Objectionable Content: Profanity, suggestive material
Other: It's basically .hack, except all the players are trapped rather than just one or a handful. However, it does have its own appeal in the psychology of the players as they learn to live in SAO, and Kirito, who tries to put his experience in the beta test to use by helping other players.
Overall Score: A
Plot: Haruhi Fujioka is a scholarship student attending the prestigious Ouran Academy. Looking for a quiet place to study, she goes to (what she thinks is) an unused music room and finds the Host Club. She accidently breaks an expensive vase, and to pay it off, the Host Club's, leader, Tamaki Suoh, forces her to work for the club -- not realizing that she is a girl. (B)
Characters: A
Art & Animation: A-
Voice Acting: The dub is excellent. (A)
Music: B
Objectionable Content: Profanity, sexual references
Other: The anime itself is hilarious. However, there are episodes and parts that I skip because I dislike moe/yaoi/yuri -- whatever name you give gayness (as you may already know). This is my personal opinion, and it is not my intention to offend anyone.
There is also an Ouran manga, but I haven't read much of it.
Overall Score: B
Plot: Yuiko Kubozuka loves animals, but they don't share the attraction (because she smothers them with love). One rainy day when she is hunting down a cat, she finds a strange injured boy. The next day, that same boy shows up in her class. His name is Leo Aoi, and he has a face that scares the socks off of his classmates. But Yuiko quickly realizes that Leo is actually very sweet and innocent. However, she also quickly finds that when he is threatened, he loses it and attacks people with the ferocity of a wild animal. Leo hates that part of himself. And somehow, Yuiko is the only one who can tame him... (B)
Characters: Quirky and fun; they make the manga. (A)
Art: B
Objectionable Content: Blood, mild profanity, some suggestive elements
Other: When I first saw this manga in stores, its cover made me lose interest. To my surprise, it was actually very cute -- and, for the most part, very innocent!
Overall Score: B+
