Name: Devil Doll
Email: None
Url: None
Reviews: 216
Posts: 756
CAR/ForbinSpace Navigation Vehicle (domain is down) and the corresponding forum thread
Unfinished reviewing projects:- Twelve Kingdoms (watched 32 of 45 episodes so far)
- ef - a tale of memories (watched 1 of 12 episode so far, on hold but likely to be continued soon)
- Nana (watched 3 of 47 episodes so far, on hold)
It was in autumn 2000 when I happened to find my first mangas on some games fair in Germany. These were Silent Mobius vol.1 and Koukaku Kidoutai.
During summer of 2002, the German station VOX TV started to show animes - each monday after midnight, packages of about two hours each. The first complete series on air were Shin Seiki Evangelion, Silent Mobius and Lodoss Tou Senki (OAV) - and I got hooked.
IMHO good animes need solidly designed (and developing!) characters and a story line that makes it worth watching more than once. Consequently I prefer Drama, Romance and Thinking Anime (which will have to disappoint me a lot in order not to get at least a "Rent" rating) over Action, Comedy and Fanservice (which must be of outstanding quality to even get close to a "Buy" rating).
I will accept any weird presupposition of a story as long as it is then followed consistently by the narrator, and I am willing to invest a lot of thought and time into a story if it's worth that. (Which may even include translating a whole series to my native language if necessary - I've been an anime fansubber since 2003.) I am also quite forgiving about clichés and generic characters if they're used skillfully to tell an interesting story or if they are able to grow whereas I am less tolerant about illogical behavior of otherwise interesting characters.
I like the Japanese elements of animes a lot. Therefore I love certain peculiarities of the Japanese language (like the use of honorifics, or women talking in men's language), despite still not really knowing a lot about this language and culture. Consequently I much prefer subtitles to audio dubbing whose domestication frequently kills a lot of the cultural background - translating animes by yourself makes you even more aware of this aspect.
I may tolerate nudity (in romantic stories) and the use of weapons (in epic conflicts) as long as the storyline reasonably calls for it, but I strongly dislike the detailed and explicit visualization of violence and hentai. There must be a story and characters worth watching - I don't accept violence & perversion as the sole reason for an anime to exist (while they may be an appropriate ingredient for decent stories when used sparingly). I am aware of what I love and what I hate (and why this is so), and I'll tell you in my reviews without any compromise. Consequently, I will give "Avoid" ratings now and then.
I love numerical scores. In my reviews these would express the following: 10=outstanding, 9=very good, 8=good, 7=okay, 6=acceptable, lower values indicate different levels of annoyance. To get an overall score for a series, my category weights are:
- Art=10% (quality & details of paintings, faces, buildings; downgrades for overuse of SD),
- Animation=10% (movement, most importantly of walking characters, and use of CG elements etc.),
- Characters=30% (character development & consistency, not visualization),
- Music=20% (OP&ED song, BG music, most notably suspense themes; entries in my personal "Best of" collection cause a bonus here),
- Series Story=20% (story consistency & plausibility; series ending and unanswered questions go here),
- Episode Story=10% (excitement, direction style, proper use of cliffhangers etc.); for a movie, Series Story=30% and Episode Story not used.
I don't intent to research whether a show is actually available for buying/renting in any specific country - I just want to give appropriate scores according to my liking; so my overall ratings of "Buy" (82-100%), "Rent" (73-81%), "Watch" (50-72%) and "Avoid" (below 50%) actually are subranges of the score's possible percentage value.
Silent Dramas:
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Romance Dramas with Fantasy elements:
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If I happen to like a series I may write reviews for each individual episode. So far there have been:
- Aa! Megami-sama! TV (24+1 episodes): 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, (12.5), 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24.
- Ai Yori Aoshi (24 episodes): 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24.
- Ai Yori Aoshi ~Enishi~ (12 episodes): 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, trailer.
- Binbou Shimai Monogatari (10 episodes): 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10.
- Boys Be (13 episodes): 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13.
- Ginyuu Mokushiroku Meine Liebe (13 episodes): 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, ...
- Haibane Renmei (13 episodes): 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13.
- Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu (6 episodes): 01, 02, 03, 04, ...
- Kanon (13 episodes): 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13.
- Love Hina (24+1 episodes): 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, ..., 25.
- Love Hina Again (3 episodes): 01, 02, 03.
- Silent Mobius (26 episodes): 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, ..., manga ending.
- sola (TV) (13+2 episodes): 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13.
- Suzuka (26 episodes): 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26.
- To Heart 2 OVA (3 episodes): 01, 02, 03.
- Video Girl Ai (6 episodes): 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06.
I'm not a visual artist but I've been a musician many years ago. Consequently visual effects are less important to me (but can make a good anime great) while music has a significant impact on my rating of an anime. Drama requires appropriate suspense music in crucial scenes, and touching scenes need music able to touch my heart as well. Several of my favourite animes stand out for their music:
- Favorite Opening Theme: Ima Soko ni Iru Boku
- Favorite Ending Theme: Alien Nine
- Best pair of Opening/Ending Themes: Rumbling Hearts
- Favorite Instrumental Themes: "Dark Chii Theme" from Chobits, "The Race" from Aa! Megami-sama! TV
- Largest number of outstanding Instrumental Themes (drama): Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu, Silent Mobius
- Largest number of outstanding Instrumental Themes (romance): Love Hina, Boys Be
- Best complete soundtrack: Jin-Roh, Cossette no Shouzou, sola (TV)
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| Title | Rating | Synopsis | |
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Tenjho Tenge |
Rent |
Nagi Souichirou and best friend, Bob, are both tough street fighters, but when they transfer to a new high school, they get their a**es kicked by the local gangs. They find out that their new high school is dedicated to refounding the martial arts, and combat ability is rated higher than academic skills. And what is with the cute Natsume Aya, who has decided to become his girlfriend (without even bothering to ask him)? But Souichirou is a glutton for punishment, with a fighting spirit that cannot be kept down for long. |
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Tenjho Tenge: Ultimate Fight |
Buy |
The 24th episode of the original Tenjou Tenge series left many issues unresolved. Maya and her dojo team agree to meet Mitsuomi and his enforcers at an arena in one months time. Continuing the story from the 24th episode, Maya, Aya, Souichiro and the others are now preparing for the coming battle. And Aya decides to confront her sister, Maya as to her feelings for the blond-haired Souichiro. |
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| 5 | |||
| 5 Centimeters per Second | Watch | See Byousoku 5 Centimeter | |
| A | |||
| A Kite | Rent | See Kite | |
| A Traveller's Diary | Rent | See Aru Tabibito no Nikki | |
| A Wind Named Amnesia | Avoid | See Kaze no na wa Amunejia | |
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Aa! Megami-sama - Sorezore no Tsubasa |
Watch | "A year has passed since Belldandy made her contract with Keiichi. The goddesses who have stirred people's hearts around the world are coming down to earth once again. After overcoming many hardships and coming to understand their feelings for each other, a new trial befalls Belldandy and Keichi. Their contract may cease to exist." | |
![]() Aa! Megami-sama - Sorezore no Tsubasa OVA |
Buy |
Keiichi, the goddesses, and the Motor Club go on a retreat to Keiichi's grandfather's old place. There, they encounter a beautiful shinentai who is determined to make Keiichi keep the promise his grandfather had made to her. Then into the future, Peorth is wrapping up her current mission on Earth and decides to get Keiichi to say he loves Belldandy (using the Japanese word "suki"). Urd gets involved and with Peorth, the job begins to get K1 to confess, only with humorous results. |
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Aa! Megami-sama! (2005) OVA |
Buy | After the attack by the Lord of Terror in episode 24 of Aa! Megami-sama! TV, the goddesses find themselves without their normal power supply from Yggdrasil since the Yggdrasil system is down. The three have to use alternate (and much weaker) means to resupply themselves with energy -- Urd with sake, Belldandy with sleep, and Skuld with ice cream. As such, Urd reverts to grade-school age where she meets a young boy. She teaches him the joys of taking risks and he falls for her. Belldandy sleeps but sends her chibi-form out and about with Keiichi. Skuld turns into a young woman, where she learns that Keiichi isn't all that bad. | |
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Aa! Megami-sama! OVA |
Rent | The infamous tale of "loser" college student Morisato Keiichi who one day, instead of getting take-out delivered, wound up with the goddess Belldandy instead! Now that his wish that she stay with him forever has been granted, will he survive Belldandy's two sisters Urd and Skuld? | |
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Aa! Megami-sama! TV |
Rent | Morisato Keiichi is an unlucky college guy. He has no luck scoring a date with the rich and popular Sayoko. He has bad luck in nearly everything he does. One evening while stuck at the male boarding house that he shares with his auto club senpais, he happens to make a call which gets connected to the heavens and to Belldandy. There, this goddess doesn't wait to announce she's coming for a personal visit, and she arrives via a mirror behind Keiichi. He is startled by her sudden appearance and doesn't believe she's real, nor that she can grant wishes. But he makes a wish -- for a girl like her to be by his side forever. His wish is granted and Belldandy is now contracted to stay with Keiichi on Earth for the rest of his life. | |
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Aa! Megami-sama: Chichai tte Koto wa Benri da Ne |
Rent | Short episodes featuring the adventures of superdeformed Urd, Skuld, and Belldandy, and their friend Gan-chan the rat. | |
![]() AA! Megami-sama: Tatakau Tsubasa |
Buy |
An attack in the heavens takes out several of the Shinzoku (heavenly beings) and forces the valkyrie (combat squad) goddess Lind down to Earth to look for a powerful creature that has been stolen -- an Angel Eater. Despite Lind's efforts to protect Belldandy, Urd, Peorth, Skuld, and Keiichi, the creature still manages to do its thing and Lind suspects the Mazoku (demonic beings) are behind the attack. Can the goddesses defeat this creature before it takes all of their angels? |
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| Aa! My Goddess TV 2 | Watch | See Aa! Megami-sama - Sorezore no Tsubasa | |
| Adventures of the Mini-Goddesses | Rent | See Aa! Megami-sama: Chichai tte Koto wa Benri da Ne | |
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