Plot: It's the eleventh year of the Meiji era. Kaoru Kamiya is in pursuit of a man calling himself "Hitokiri Battousai", who uses her father's sword style to kill. A wandering samurai named Kenshin Himura helps her defeat the murderer. Much to Kaoru's surprise, Kenshin is actually the legendary assassin, "Hitokiri Battousai". He has sworn never to kill again and now uses his sword to protect as atonement for the lives he took during the Revolution. His vow will prove difficult to keep, as enemies from his past come back to haunt him...(A)
Characters: Interesting and well-developed (A)
Art & Animation: A-
Voice Acting: Original Japanese: C- / Dub: A-
Music: B+
Objectionable Content: Blood, profanity
Other: I watched the edited version on Toonami on and off, but I liked what I saw. I've only read a few volumes of the manga.
Being a historically-based anime/manga, prepare to be flooded with facts. It may be difficult to keep track of all the politics going on throughout the series.
Overall Score: B+
Plot: At the end of the 22nd century, wars have all but destroyed the planet, and everyone but the military and the well-to-do live in poverty. Kotobuki is an orphan who is looking to get off of her path of thievery; Raimon is a military man who is in love with Kotobuki. The two of them soon find themselves traveling together as they search for the legendary "Tsubasa", which is said to grant wishes... (A-)
Characters: B+
Art: B+
Objectionable Content: Explicit material, strong profanity
Other: Since I enjoyed "Fruits Basket" (for the most part), I wanted to try "Tsubasa". Promising story, entertaining characters -- ruined by explicit sex between the unwed "hero" and "heroine" of the story. I was sorely disappointed and stopped reading after the second omnibus/Big volume.
Overall Score: D+ (This score is a result of the above comment ^.)
Plot: Misaki Ayuzawa lives in a single-parent home with her mother and little sister. The house is in disrepair, and there isn't much money coming in, so she gets a job at a maid cafe. When Misaki's not working at Maid Latte, she's working as student council president. To run the formerly notorious all-boys school, she has to lay down the law and enforce it with an iron fist -- so the last thing she wants is for anyone to find out about her job! When her classmate, Takumi Usui, sees her in her maid uniform, Misaki fears for the reputation she worked so hard to build...! (B)
Characters: Quirky and over-the-top (A-)
Art & Animation: B
Voice Acting: A
Music: B
Objectionable Content: Fan service, profanity, suggestive themes
Other: It's a fun watch overall -- something you can sit down and laugh at when you need to chill. As with many shojo series, it seems, there are some gay gags.
I have not read the manga.
Overall Score: B+
Plot: It's been five years since Yomiko Readman's disappearance. Three sisters who have the ability to manipulate paper become bodyguards for a young author named Nenene Sumieregawa (who is also Yomiko's best friend) after an incident at a press conference. The sisters, Michelle, Maggie and Anita, stay at Nenene's place and cause all kinds of trouble for her. As they deal with minor threats along the way, they stumble onto something much more dangerous...(A-)
Characters: A
Art & Animation: A-
Voice Acting: Original Japanese - A (I've only seen one episode in the dub a LONG time ago...)
Music: B+
Objectionable Content: Blood, suggestive themes, profanity (a few episodes contain explicit material or nudity)
Other: Definitely watch the "Read or Die" movie FIRST. You might as well be completely lost if you've never seen it, because a lot carries over into the series.
The characters are interesting and so are the plot twists, but some episodes (the ones with the really bad stuff) are downright WEIRD.
Overall Score: B+
Plot: Humanity has spread into space, bringing with it amazing technologies -- and, unfortunately, crime. When larger threats arise, the GOTT (Galactic Organization of Trade and Tariffs) sends super-powered secret agents called ES members to take care of business. As two low-level agents named Eclaire and Lumiere complete jobs for the GOTT, they start to realize that the GOTT isn't as upstanding as it claims... (A-)
Characters: A
Art & Animation: A-
Voice Acting: Original Japanese - B / Dub - A-
Music: B+
Objectionable Content: Nudity, blood, fan service, profanity
Other: "Kiddy Grade" lays down tantalizing plot hints, builds up to a great climax with lots of unexpected twists, and goes out with a bang.
While the opening and ending credits misleadingly present the series as yuri, there is no romantic relationship between the main characters.
Overall Score: B+
