Fifteen Blog Post- Ghost Hunt (2006)

In the eyes of the esteemed anime fans, Ghost Hunt is considered one of the very best anime releases around. I wonder why until i watched it.....

The Expressions/Thoughts:
Ghost Hunt is one of the few animes in which the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The story follows and is told from the perspective of Mai, a high school student who lives on her own after the death of her parents, and her coincidental encounter with Naru (nicknamed for his narcissism), the president of SPR (Shibuya Psychic Research), and so Mai becomes Naru's part-time assistant. SPR deals with supernatural mysteries "worthy" of Naru's attention, and each case is covered in about a 3 - 5 episode arc. Not only does it deal with the mysteries of each case (some sentimental, some horrific), it pays close attention to the mysteries behind each character. If you are a fan of suspense, romance, or horror, this anime will have you glued to your seat.

Plot: The plotline of Ghost Hunt is very solid. Each case builds with increasing intensity, and it really draws you in to the story. There are many subtleties to the plot that are easily missed. The only downside is that, at the end, you will most likely feel a bit unsatisfied. Ghost Hunt is based off a novel series by the same writer of Twelve Kingdoms. And the series ends without covering all of the material. Hopefully, there will be a second season to answer these questions.

Animation: The animation again is solid but average. It is done well enough to let you enjoy the story without anything too flashy or distracting. The mood that the animation creates is excellent.

Music: Many people dislike the opening because there is no real song or lyrics to speak of, and yet it adds to the spooky feel of the anime. And honestly, how many openings with character flashes and special effects do we need? The ending theme is beautiful and great. The insert songs do justice in providing that eerie feeling in the anime.

Characters: The characters again are excellent. Each character's personality is very well-defined and you will feel a strong attachment to each one. Even minor characters throughout the arcs are well-developed. Again, the only downside is that since the anime ends without covering all the material in the books, much is missing. (Again, hope for a second season!)

Overall, Ghost Hunt is fun, amusing, eerie, and completely enjoyable. There are very few animes I would give a perfect score to, but this is one of them. It is very unique and intriguing. It has the mystery of XXXholic with the suspense of Monster. 10/10.

Information to interested viewers:
* Anime series of episodes : 25
* Manga chapters : -
* Author : -
*Genre : Drama - Mystery
* Watch Online : Email to prishlc@hotmail.com for episode links

Fourteen Blog Post - Great Teacher Onizuka/GTO (1999)

After nearly 3 year since I last saw this, it's about time I finally write something about one of my all-time favourite shows: GTO.

The Expressions/Thoughts :
Story (9/10) - I first heard about this show after coming across the Tokyopop Manga and after 26 volumes, I was eager to see how the anime compared. With the exception at the end (otherwise it would've been a 10/10) the anime is faithful to the Manga. Again with any animated adaptation, some killer gags were left out, but the essence of the jokes and humour was there.

Art (10/10) - This is one area I was thoroughly impressed with. GTO is a visually driven story and the anime had to be top-notch. It was! The Onizuka's trademark facial expressions from the manga always got a laugh from me and it was great to see that it was faithfully preserved here. It's hard to imagine it's nearly 8 years old, but the quality has and will stand the test of time.

Characters (10/10) - Some of the most original. What you might consider to be real villains are really very human characters and after finding more about their backgrounds, you eventually understand why they are what they are. Of course, nothing can compare to a manga's effort in character position, but this comes as close as it can get.

Voice Acting (Jap 10/10) - I felt that the acting by the main actors was great, but was 'partially' let down in a way by efforts of some of the peripheral characters. Bear in mind that this is the only fault I found with it.

Music (10/10) - Enjoyable trademark themes here. The opening credits were great. Onizuka's theme always got my neck hairs on end. I could say it's almost as characteristic as the Imperial March for Darth Vader.

Overall (9/10) - All I can say is that after 43 episodes, I was saddened to see the end of one of anime's greatest shows. Apart from the gripes above, I was just DYING to give this my first 10 star rating. For that, truly something special must have happened. This is as close it comes. However, if someone were to ask me for the most balanced recommendation I can think up of, I'd say watch this. There can be no higher praise than that from a cynic like me.

Information to interested viewers:
* Anime series of episodes : 43
* Manga chapters : -
* Author : -
* Genre : Life - Drama - Comedy
* Watch Online : Email to prishlc@hotmail.com for episode links

Thirteen Blog Post - Gakuen Alice (2004)

The Expressions/Thoughts
Genre= humour
Suitable for all ages
I first watch this anime, I thought it would be boring because it was unrealistic for a girl of 10 to just run away from home just to be her best friend. But, when the school session started, that's when the momentum begun. It's more of a little girl who speaks out her mind without thinking of it's consequences facing a whole bunch of students who dislikes and looks down on her Alice's ability. The problem here is to have them all approve of her at the first week in school. It's a rather hilarious movie so I suggest you all watch despite the uninteresting beginning.

The best word that fits for Gakuen Alice is "fun". I really, truly, ridiculously had LOADS of fun with this anime. The humour is really cute and very funny. I love this anime~There are a number of flaws that I can point out, but with all due flaws, they are just a drop in the bucket compared to how much I enjoyed this anime. I wish there were more romance aspects. A number of topics and problems arised, and through the end, they weren't brought up again, especially the solutions. For example, not a lot of emphasis was put in Mikan's background even when she's the protagonist. They touched upon it, but the conclusion they gave was nowhere near this topic. That's how much I enjoyed Gakuen Alice, the usually patient me couldn't wait for the releases. It was actually one of those rare anime where I would frown when the commercial clips showed because it indicated the half-way point. "It's already halfway?", I would say. The timing was a bit flawed as well, each episode was not heavy in content, most episodes were humour-based (which is perfectly okay, because I LOVED it). Lastly, Mikan's character herself; though she's cute, likeable, and possesses the typical "never-give-up" character fit for a protagonist, I wasn't charmed by her reactions and behaviour. She never really did say what I hoped she would. But like I said before, my level enjoyment outweighed any possible flaw. I loved the humour played out. Hard to name a favourite part, but the adventures with Mr. Bear is notable. Another great thing about Gakuen Alice is watching the supernatural abilities (Alice) they come up with, there are Alice's such as making everyone laugh at your jokes, producing rain, creating spirits, and there are even more silly ones.Another charming thing is that all characters are very likeable. Each character is truly identifiable and unique. You won't have trouble giving each one a description. Gakuen Alice is very rewatchable (it's very difficult to simply sneak peaks). I absolutely enjoyed this anime. It's hilariously funny. I do not regret giving this its full score. For indepth storyline, anime fans should catch the manga, but many are still waiting for season 2 to release to makeup the full plot of this anime. Keep waiting! :p

Information to interested viewers:
* Anime series of episodes : 26
* Manga chapters : Chapter 87 ongoing
* Author : Higuchi Tachibana
* Genre : Shoujo - Magic - Fantasy - Comedy
* Watch Online : Email to prishlc@hotmail.com for episode links

Twelveth Blog Post - Peach Girl (2005)

To be frank, i did not know there is a Peach Girl anime series. My first knowledge of this anime was a Taiwan drama serial but i was not a least interested in catching it due to the poor casts. Recently i search over youtube of several fan videos of best romance anime, and decided to watch it. Surprisingly, it is watchable and the plot kinda captured my interest. It took me 2days to finish this series.

The Expressions/Thoughts :

Overall - 6.7

Animation - 6.0

Sound - 7.0

Story - 6.0

Character - 6.0

Value - 8.0

Enjoyment - 7.0

Plot : Love Quadrangle...coincidence...misunderstanding...break-up...realization...relationship restored...blackmailing...misunderstanding (again)...break-up (again)...realization (again)...relationship restored (again)...and...what’s next? Well, simply return to square one. Then...rinse and repeat...yup, that’s Peach Girl in a nutshell. It’s soap opera at its hardest core. It’s an outrageously melodramatic shoujo. It has more twists and turns than driving up the hill. It’s as insubstantial as the nonsensical Hollywood celebrities’ news from California. Nonetheless, this anime is not without merit. For one, it’s bloody entertaining. Secondly, it’s damn addictive. Like anime of its kind such as Hana Yori Dango and Marmalade Boy, the plot will never stay still. The twists, turns, and misunderstandings will come one after another; and as a result, viewers will never be able to predict whether who will end up with whom until the very end. It is true that Peach Girl’s characters are not complex or 3-D; however, that does not make the show becomes less enjoyable. Revolving around Momo, Toji, Sae, and Kairi, Peach Girl is a high school melodrama executed in a refreshing manner. Momo is a character who is easy to empathize with. She’s caring, sincere, and above all, she is sensitive and vulnerable; nevertheless, she often got misunderstood to be a ‘bad girl’ because of her tanned skin. That, combined with her blunt and passionate personality which caused her to use her heart instead of her head when it comes to dealing with things, makes it more unlikely for people to be doubtful that their impression of her is erroneous. However, these qualities do not stop the viewers from caring for her. In fact, she is the first person whom I bonded with in this series. In the beginning, Momo was misunderstood by the whole class because of Sae’s accusation. Though Momo was indeed angry, she did not say the truth to others to break Sae’s face. Furthermore, on a later occasion when Momo found out that Sae was being harassed, she immediately rushed to help Sae despite the fact that Sae had been mean to her before. Regardless of her look and her personality, Momo is a very likeable heroine. Actually, she reminded me of Makino from Hana Yori Dango. Both Momo and her have so much in common. Touji is amazingly idiotic that his actions often made me rolled my eyes in disbelief. In fact, the stupidest scene this anime has to offer revolves around Sae and him. In this incident, Sae who wanted to ‘steal’ Touji from Momo asked him whether he knows how to kiss a girl. After Touji admitted that he was rather inexperienced, Sae suggested that he should practice his ‘kissing’ with her. Well, to my surprise, he actually did so. What a dumb jackass. In any case, it is impossible for me to root for him. Sae is indeed an important character. Yes, she is so insincere and manipulative that it’s hard for anyone not to hate her (the most hated anime character ever in my path of anime) ; nonetheless, had Sae not been so malicious, this anime wouldn’t have been so engrossing. Kairi is my favorite character in the series. He is the first person who ‘knew’ the true Momo that is hidden inside. One of my favorite scenes in the series was when he came to visit Momo during the swimming tournament. Kairi knew that Momo was cheated and bullied; however, he also realized that it is impossible to do anything about it at that moment. Thus, he simply gave Momo a hug which gave her much morale and courage: the things she needed most at that moment. His plans to avenge Sae are also excellent. Kairi does have some stupid moments. Rest assured, however, nothing he did is as idiotic as Touji’s. There are a few interesting side characters; the most memorable is likely to be Kairi's brother who has a hardcore playboy attitude. Combining these characters with the constantly unpredictable plot...and you have one hell of a roller coaster ride.I almost feel guilty that I am unable to betray my own rating scheme so that I can give Peach Girl a higher rating. Because of its many twists and cliffhangers, Peach Girl is one of the (not so many) anime which I couldn’t stop watching. Despite its addictiveness, however, I cannot deny that this is an insubstantial series. And because of this, Peach Girl would certainly not be suitable for everyone’s tastes. If you are not a fan of shoujo melodramatic romance, it is unlikely that you will find this anime to be appealing. Nevertheless, if you are a fan of the aforementioned genre, you are almost guaranteed to be pleased. I certainly was, and I recommend it. Peach Girl is certainly one of the most engaging idealistic romance anime of its time.

Animation: The animation of Peach Girl is halfway between average and above average for 2005 standard, which would be a six and a half if I were to rate it. Because of my personal bias to this genre, I initially contemplated to do a rounding up to make a seven in this category. However, there is one CGI scene in which the movement is not fluid, namely the scene when the train was running. Because of it, I decided to round the score down to a six instead.

Sound: The OP/ED are decent, as well as the voice acting.

Value: I recommend this if you are a fan of romance genre. Furthermore, if you liked this, I highly recommend Hana Yori Dango (Boys Over Flowers). Actually, I must say that these two anime do share some considerable similarities. I also recommend Marmalade Boy if you enjoy this. Like Peach Girl and Hana Yori Dango, Marmalade Boy is also full of love triangles and twists…though in my opinion HYD is the most appealing (and apparently the most well received) of these three.

Information to interested viewers:

* Anime series of episodes : 25

* Manga chapters : -

* Author : -

* Genre : Drama - Life - Romance

* Watch Online : Email to prishlc@hotmail.com for episode links