Clannad

Genres: Comedy, Drama, Slice of Life, Romance

Summary:
Clannad follows high-school delinquent Tomoya Okazaki, who is always skipping class and has no goal in his life.  He decides to help a girl named Nagisa Furukawa revive the drama club, a good way to kill time.

Review:
Personal Opinions(replacing 'Introductory Notes')
The anime ended up not meeting my expectations.  It's a pretty popular anime, and I'd heard that it was sad.  I didn't end up crying, or even coming close to, but I did laugh a few times.  But mainly I'm upset about the girl the main character ended up with, although it was quite clear from the very beginning.  However, I'll try my best not to let this interfere with the review, even though reviews are completely subjective things anyway.

Story: 5/10
The story started out weak, and ended in a somewhat okay way.  I felt like the first episode was kind of boring, although I think that's mainly due to my biased opinion of the main 'heroine'.  I ended up leaving the anime for a few weeks before picking it up again at the third episode.  From there, the story became a lot better.  The next two story arcs, Fuko and Kotomi's arcs, were very interesting and full of drama.  The story arcs seemed to lead to a supernatural direction, and so I was dismayed when the rest of the anime never returned to any supernatural themes(besides stuff for comedic effect), much less answered my questions about the previous occurrences.  Of course, the anime was still interesting after that, but I felt it became more light-hearted and less dramatic.  But I did have more laughs.  I was also upset because of the ending.  They do a play at the end, and I'm unhappy because the anime didn't really answer what happened in the play, or at the end of it.  Besides, the play was kind of trashy in my opinion.  However, although I have numerous complaints, I did enjoy the story overall, mainly due to the characters.

Characters: 7/10
Most of the characters were pretty interesting.  At first, some of them seemed a bit too similar to each other, but throughout the story you see that they are all actually different it most ways.  I especially liked the easygoing and lazy but kind character of Okazaki.  I also liked the characters of Kyou and Tomoyo(not Tomoya, which is Okazaki's first name).  I didn't really like Nagisa or Ryou because both were absurdly child-like, despite being like sixteen/seventeen years old.  Nagisa especially, she was very gullible and way too reserved.  She was a big crybaby and had low self-esteem, and her personality just annoyed me a lot.  But usually the characters were enjoyable, which was good.

Art: 8/10
The art wasn't top notch or anything, but instead very simple, which I think suited the series more than a more realistic artistic style would.  The characters weren't ugly, which was good, and they looked normal enough.

Sound: 6/10
It was okay, I guess.  I liked the Dango Daikazoku stuff, it was cute.  But Nagisa's and all the other girls who were portrayed as kindergarteners had little girl voice acting, which was kind of annoying, but fitting.

Conclusion:
Final Notes:
Not that good of an anime in my opinion.  It wasn't as sad as I was expecting it to be, and it didn't really tug on any heartstrings.  Being a fan of Tomoyo and Kyou, I thoroughly enjoyed the OVAs where Okazaki ended up with the different girls, more so than I expected since they were more touching than the actual series itself.  Although I didn't like Clannad, I still have high hopes for Clannad: After Story due to it's very high ratings.
Overall Rating: 6/10

Other Information:
Source: Visual Novel
Length: 24 min/episode
Rating: Pg-13

Kimi No Na Wa (Your Name)

New review format.  Also going to be slightly more generous with my positive ratings and also harsher with my negative ratings.

Genre: Romance, Supernatural

Summary:
Mitsuha is a girl living in the small village of Itomori.  Although she is the daughter of the mayor and a shrine maiden, Mitsuha is bored with her life and longs to visit a big city, like Tokyo.  Taki is a boy living in Tokyo.  He works in an Italian restaurant and has a crush on one of his co-workers.  Taki aspires to be an architect when he grows up.

One day, Mitsuha finds herself in a dream where she has swapped bodies with Taki.  After leaving questions and notes in each other's phones, they dramatically impact their lives in search of an explanation to this mysterious phenomenon.

Review:
Introductory Notes:
Kimi No Na Wa, a.k.a Your Name, is the first anime movie I've watched that isn't part of a series(like the Naruto movies), and I'm happy to tell you that this movie was really great.  I wouldn't say it was the best thing I've ever watched, but it definitely deserves all the hype it got.  Yeah, I'm really late to this movie, the hype's already died. :(.

Story: 9/10
The story was excellent.  It was entertaining watching them help each other with their lives, and the plot-twists were big and surprising.  The story began simple, kind of like a 'slice of life' anime with a supernatural twist.  But as the story progressed, it became deeper and more mysterious, and got slightly confusing at times.  The story wasn't completely without plot-holes, but it was still very enjoyable.  I would of liked it if the ending had a bit more content, but I think the movie ended perfectly anyway.

Characters: 8/10
The characters, at first, seemed a bit plain.  Mitsuha was a girl who disliked living in a small, boring village and Taki was a generic high school guy.  But you eventually realize that there's a lot more to the characters, especially when they switch bodies.  Of course since this is a movie, you won't know the characters that well, but the characters are still enjoyable (even the side characters!).

Art: 10/10
The movie's animation was absurdly amazing.  The scenes depicting the comet took my breath away, they were so beautiful.  Amazing is like the only word I have to describe the animation, it was that good.
The story was set in two different locations, Tokyo and Itomori.  Both were depicted beautifully, the sun reflecting off of Tokyo's buildings, and the beautiful 'underworld' place as well as nature in Itomori.  The art was just really good.

Sound: 9/10
None of the music seemed out of place at all, and the voice acting seemed to suit the characters unexpectedly well.  Although the english dubbed version of the movie sounds bad, then again, what anime actually has proper english dubbing XD.

Conclusion:
Final Notes:
Wonderful story and absurdly beautiful animations.  There isn't really anything bad about this anime!  The only reason why it isn't 10/10 is because the story didn't resonate strongly enough with me to make me cry or wasn't funny enough to make me laugh my stomach out.  Many other viewers of this movie cried, but not me.  Still one of the best anime I've watched, and it's not like a lot of anime make me cry anyway.
Overall Rating: 9/10

Other Information:
Source: Original
Story by: Makoto Shinkai
Length: 1 hr, 46 min
Rating: Pg-13
Info from MyAnimeList

Psycho-Pass

Genre: Psychological, Mystery

Summary:
Japan is ruled by a completely impartial and automated system called the Sibyl System.  The Sibyl System can foretell your talents and flaws, and decide for you what kind of lifestyle you should live.  The Sibyl System can also determine your potential as a criminal, called your Crime Coefficient or Psycho-Pass.  Some people with high crime coefficients are assigned jobs as Enforcers and work under the careful supervision of Inspectors.  Inspectors and Enforcers work to keep society safe and capture people with high crime coefficients.  The story follows Inspector Akane Tsunemori, the newest inspector to join the force.  Akane and her colleagues work together to uncover the mystery of multiple different serial killings, seemingly having connections with each other.  And what is the Sibyl System, really?

What I liked:
Psycho-Pass is an excellent anime.  I love how it deals with human ideas on a seemingly utopian society, and whether a life that has been practically decided for you every step of the way is the way someone should live.  It has many interesting philosophies, and I love philosophies.
Another thing I liked about this anime is it's mystery factor.  It's quite interesting watching the characters figure out who a killer is, or what their plan is.  There wasn't that much mystery most of the time, but when there was it built suspense and I couldn't stop watching.
The characters were also interesting.  They had backstories that helped you understand the character better, and each of them had a different way of thinking.  The character, especially the main character, changes throughout the anime as different events unfold, and she becomes less naive and more resilient, but she still holds some of her ideals close to heart.
Anyways, I thought this was a great anime.  It had an interesting storyline, although it was slow at some parts, and has lots of thought provoking ideas.
Season two of the anime was especially good.  It had a lot of mystery in it, and it managed to tie up all of the problems described quite nicely.  The ending was very exciting and interesting, and I definitely recommend this anime.

What I disliked:
The anime was a lot more gory than I would've expected.  The main weapons in the series, called Dominators, would blow a person to bits and pieces, and most of the time blood would splatter everywhere.  The first few episodes of the anime definitely got straight into action, but some parts were somewhat slow moving.

Music:
I liked almost every song that was played in this anime.  OP 1 was 'Abnormalize' by TK from Ling Tosite Sigure.  OP 2 was 'Out of Control' by Nothing's Carved in Stone.  The music was nice, but I didn't like the singing, which was in English.  OP 3 was 'Enigmatic Feeling', also by Ling Tosite Sigure.  They're pretty similar and I liked this one too.  I'm no expert on music, but these themes were very upbeat and exciting, while also giving off a ghostly feeling.  The three EDs were all EGOIST songs, and up till now I hadn't truly appreciated EGOIST's music.  I'd liked 'My Dearest' from Guilty Crown, but I hadn't paid EGOIST much attention till now. I loved all three of the EDs, 'Namae no nai Kaibutsu', 'All Alone with You' and 'Fallen'.
Frequently throughout the anime I heard music by Beethoven and stuff.  I think I heard Ode to Joy when somebody was dying.

Graphics:
Loved the Dominator animations.  It had pretty decent graphics I guess.

Conclusion:
Watch the anime it's good.  Especially season 2.


Rating: 7 out of 10

Akame ga Kill!

Hi there!  This is my first time reviewing an anime.  I don't think I'm very good, and I don't really know how to review the anime's music and visuals.  Still, I hope you enjoy!

Summary:

A boy named Tatsumi journeys to the Capital to join the military and receive funds to support his village, which has suffered under heavy taxation.  However, upon discovering how corrupted the people there were, Tatsumi joins a guild of assassins, called Night Raid, who work for the Revolutionary Army, an army intent on overthrowing Prime Minister Onest, the source of the corruption, and creating a better country to live in.  The assassins of Night Raid are devoted to the cause and kill any of their targets without hesitation, knowing that they were corrupted.  They use special weapons called Imperial Arms, which all have special powers better suited for different people.  Akame ga Kill explores darker elements within the show, such as death and gore.

Things I Liked:

The main protagonists were each unique in their own way and they were all nice(usually) people.  Each assassin in the guild loved their comrades and protected and trusted each other with their lives.  The main antagonists, I didn't like as much.  A few of them were good people but they were misled, the rest were just sadistic killers and purely evil.  This anime had a lot of cool fight scenes, especially since the character's weapons had special powers.  Each of the weapons and their powers were very different and unique, and all very useful in their own way.  For example, a weapon in the shape of a gigantic pair of scissors, able to cut absolutely anything in the world, or a laser gun whose power increases the more the user is in danger.  

Another thing I liked(sort of) was that some of the protagonists died, which makes the anime a lot more realistic.  Something I hate is when someone survives(happily and healthily as if nothing happened) after suffering immense blood loss, a hundred slices across the abdomen(*cough* Bleach *cough*), or a serious injury that shouldn't be possible to heal from.  This anime has character's die after they suffer damage enough to kill them, which makes it a lot more realistic.

The opening theme and ending themes were pretty nice.

Things I Disliked

Something I didn't really like was the strange character's and personalities, although this is something that happens in quite a few anime, so I won't complain too much.  But sometimes, the crazy qualities of the characters bother me, especially since this anime explores a darker theme.  In an anime that is mainly about chopping off heads, you just don't expect exaggerated childish personalities.  For example, one of the characters eats absurd amounts of meat.  Similarly, I don't like it how whenever they aren't fighting, the anime just adds a bunch of bad jokes into the story and the overall theme for the anime suddenly changes to a childish, happy theme.  

I also dislike how a large majority of the antagonists are just merely evil and twisted killers with boring pasts, or no past at all.  I like it better when the antagonists have a reason for being they way they are.  

Another thing that I disliked was that it seemed like the character's personalities were just thought up on the spot.  It was like they thought "This person's going to be silent and super skilled!  This one is going to be loud and talkative and nice!  This one's going to be a tsundere!".  There was almost no character development in the anime.  This also leads to another thing I disliked.  In the anime, a large majority of the characters are killed off, which makes sense, since they were in a situation where people should die, but I honestly think the anime went a bit overboard with the killing.  Basically every single protagonist was killed off, except for one of them, just so that the "good guys" could win.  Or at least beat the "bad guys".  I also think they tried to make some of the deaths sad, but due to the lack of character development, the audience doesn't really know the character, or any of the characters for that matter, well enough to be sad about a certain character's death.

Conclusion:
I thought this anime was pretty cool, you should definitely try watching it sometime!  It's kind of gory though.