Noragami Aragato: ANIME REVIEW

I literary waited for four hours on the net for the last episode of this anime's second season. I couldn't wait to see what would happen because it was one of the most intriguing anime I have ever seen this year. After the very good first season of Noragami in 2014, the Fall 2015 season brought us Noragami Aragato, and believe me or not, this is one of the rare cases where I found the second season better than the first. This won't be a standard review because most of you probably know about characters and animation of Noragami. If not, check out my review on the first season under THIS LINK. And now let me review this. Just for you, NORAGAMI ARAGOTO. 

Plot and Story Line

What else to say than PERFECT! I loved the story and the plot of the second season much more than of the first one. It was intriguing, inspiring, emotional, action-loaded etc. It was really awesome. 

First of all the plot. It kinda consists of two parts. It was really surprising for Bishamonten to kinda be in the center of the story, but I loved it. You finally get the answer for the question from the first season: Why does Bishamonten hate Yato so much? It was a story about the past, which they both want to overcome in one or the other way. Also it doesn't lack in action and epic fights. The fights between Bishamonten and Yato were so epic that I watched them over and over again. I think I don't overdo when I say they were one of the best fights I have ever seen. For all you action fans out there this is really an anime you should watch very soon.Some big swords, guns, awesome powers etc. I am sure you'll love it. Also, I have to mention how emotional the whole story is. It made me almost cry, almost. It is about trust, kindness, responsibility and family. 

The second half is more about Yato and his past. His relationship with Nora and his father. Yes, Yato's father is also introduced but more trough the shadows, you don't see him but you get a grasp at the end, and that is exactly what I'll talk about now.  

The 13th episode of Noragami Aragoto. 

The 12th episode was definitely the highlight of the season and than the cliff-hanger in the end...I nearly died waiting for the last, 13th episode. And then...nothing...kinda. I mean it was an end but an undefined one. I don't know. The 12th episode was a BANG!, and then a sudden silence in the 13th one. And what do you think is the worst thing that the last episode of a season could have? A sad ending, a sudden death..NO! It is a immense cliff-hanger. An undefined end. A story that has not finished. I don't know if I was sad or angry at that moment. I only knew that I wanted to...cry. Still I am an optimist, and so I believe always in the best to happen, which would be season 3 of Noragami. I really wish for that to happen and until the producers of Noragami (Dentsu) announce it...well I'll probably watch some more anime and write my reviews for you. 

Characters 

Aragato was definitely the season of character developments. "Aragato" when translated from Japanese means "Rough Style" and in my opinion it definitely fits the season as a name. Every character in this anime has been trough a rough past and definitely had it hard most of the time. If you have read some of my reviews before you've probably noticed how much I love and focus on character developments. I hate it when an anime does not have a single character development, especially for the mains. They get boring in time and change or a plot twist is always a good thing. Noragami Aragato hit the nail on the head when talked about characters. I loved it...What else to say! 

Conclusion

This is, as I said, one of the rare anime, that were not ruined or even just worsened in the second season. Noragami aragoto was epic, I loved it and I really don't know if there is anything I could put down. Animation, Plot, Story Line, Characters, everything is perfect, I highly recommend you to watch it. 

Your AnimeGirl <3 

Coming Up...Review on Arslan Senki (2015) 

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Coming Up-Winter 2016

This year was definitely a great year for all anime lovers out there. Just remember Gangsta, God Eater, Death Parade, One-Punch Man, Noragami Aragoto, Tokyo Ghoul II etc. There were so many! Sure thing, the hopes for 2016 to be awesome are set high because of the anime of 2015. But what will the year 2016 really be like? We don't know for sure, but I took a peak at the Winter Anime Season of 2016. 

From the thing I saw, there were a couple of anime that  are bringing something new and fresh to the new season. Again some Shounen and Slice of Life, Action Thrillers, Fantasy, Magic, Supernatural...Just as always. Some anime did catch my eye and as the AnimeGirl I thought why not share some info with you out there. In this post an overview on three anime from the WINTER SEASON 2016. Enjoy! 

DIVINE GATE is a action, fantasy, Sci-Fi anime that is produced by a well known Production Studio-PIERROT. The same producers of three of my favorite anime Naruto, Tokyo Ghoul and Akatsuki no Yona. I really can't wait to see this anime. Starting on January 8th, the so called "Divine Gate" will open and the living world, the heavens and the underworld will be connected ushering an area of chaos where desires and conflict interact. To stop the chaos the World Council is formed, and as peace is restored again the Gate becomes just an urban legend. Boys and girls who are deemed fit are gathered  by the World Council and have only one goal. To reach the Gate, of course for their personal objectives. The one that reaches it has the right to remake the world. But what lies beyond the Gate, what is it exactly? 

I am very excited about this anime, and therefore put it as first in this post. It is an action loaded anime with a great animation. The idea of the plot is in my opinion great and from the trailer on YT and the PV on MAL I could see some drama and awesome powers and weapons too. The characters also look good and promise good background stories. So in short, I can't wait to see some action, some drama and a good start in the New Year.  

HAI TO GENSOU NO GRIMGAR is an action, drama, adventure and fantasy anime that will start airing on January 11th. I read the synopsis of this anime and it kinda sounded familiar. Let's see if you can grasp it too. The main protagonist of the anime, Haruhiro, suddenly wakes up in darkness not knowing where he is. The others around him where in a same situation. The only thing they knew were their own names. When the darkness lifted they all realized what their world actually looked like. They were trapped in some kind of...Video Game. In order to survive, Haruhiro formed a party with the others, started learning fighting skills and as a soldier in the reserve force he took his first step into the world of Grimgar. 

Sword Art Online... Sorry I mean Hai to Gensou no Grimgar, is a Toho Company production, a not so well known producer (Another, Akira), still the videos I saw promise an awesome animation. From the picture on the right you can clearly see that we'll have another kind of God Eater animation, which is different but very interesting to look at. But let's be serious, why? Why another SAO. Changing only the weapon style doesn't make it another anime. Still, I am not the type of person that judges a book by its cover. I know SAO is SAO, but I'll give HTGNG a chance too. And don't they dare to ruin the action with another romance. 

AJIN is planed to be a 13-episode-long anime that will start airing on January 16th. It is a dark adventure, horror, mystery, seinen and supernatural anime produced by Polygon Pictures. So what is it about now?

The story is set in a world where creatures called Ajin exist. They are actually humans that cannot die. They firstly appeared on a battlefield in Africa seventeen years ago. Today, more Ajins exist hidden within human society. And as a new and special species that is wanted for experimental and research purposes the government wants to generously pay everyone who manages to catch one of these. 

Our main protagonist in this story is Nagai Kei, an ordinary high school student who is waiting for his summer holiday. But this summer will be everything than ordinary. The first thing that caught my attention was the animation. It is exact the same as the one of God Eater. I tried to find if they had a common producer  but I couldn't find details. However, I am sure that it will be another "Boom" in the world of horror and mystery anime just like Tokyo Ghoul. We shall see...

These are the three anime I really am looking forward to in the season of Winter 2016. There are some other names like: Boku dake ga Inai Machi, Dagashi Kashi, Musaigen no Phantom World, Dimension W, Schwarzmarken, Norn 9 and much more. I hope this won't be the last post in beautiful 2015, if yes...AnimeGirl wishes you a HAPPY NEW YEAR and YEAR FULL OF NEW, GOOD and ENTERTAINING ANIME! 

 Your AnimeGirl <3 

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Rokka no Yuusha/ Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers: ANIME REVIEW

A mystery, action, magic, fantasy anime. A ranking of #921 on MAL. A Pony Canyon Production (The producers of "Attack of Titan", "Fairy Tail", "Clannad"...). I really was optimistic about this anime and was looking forward to watching it. Now guess? 

Yes, I didn't like it. I was so disappointed. True it wasn't that bad, but when you have high expectations, even the slightest bad can change your opinion completely.  This time, a review on a rather new anime, ROKKA NO YUUSHA. 

 Plot and Story Line 

This is again one of the stories based on an old legend, with a bit magic and a couple of heroes. Tough it differs a bit and has it's special taste. Now, off to the plot! 

The story is set in, let's say, ancient times. The temples and backgrounds do kinda look like the towns of the Maya or the Incas. I loved the setting for this anime. In such old times, legend were a normal thing. On one of those legends is our anime based on. It's been told that when the Demon God awakens from the depths of darkness, the Goddess of Fate will select six heroes and bequeath them with the power to save the world. One of those heroes is also our main protagonist Adlet, that claims to be the strongest man in the world. He is a skillful fighter with a little trick here and there. He has a very unique fighting style but gets locked away after getting into a fight with the strongest warriors of the kingdom. What a will, I would say. 

While being in custody one night, the time to choose the new generation of the Brave Six came. He was one of the lucky ones to get a blossom tattoo on his hand along with the princess of the kingdom whom he's met some time ago. They start they journey together and hit it off with each other right from the beginning. Their first goal is to find the other four Braves and then draw into the battle against the Demon God together. 

Finally united the Braves realize something very unnatural. There are seven of them. One is a fake. One is the enemy. And they have to figure out who that one is. 
The anime is interesting in the beginning, but as episodes go on it becomes kinda boring. It does keep you on tenterhooks and you can't wait to hear who the "Seventh" one is but I found it rather boring. At some time in the anime I even gave up guessing who the fake is. All their theories become stupid, and the "magic-action-fantasy" anime becomes just a stupid and boring wannabe Sherlock Holmes. Don't think it's a spoiler now, but even the final theory about who the fake is, is so dull and it doesn't make any sense. It really gave the show the final blow to the self-destruction. 
There have been some bright moments, and by that, I mean the rare but good action and fight scenes. I was so looking forward to the fight with the Demon God but the whole Sherlock Holmes act, ruined the story that the anime was actually about in the beginning. You get the feeling that the makers wanted to solve the problem about the seventh very quickly, but got lost in doing so, and forgot what they actually wanted to do. Please! 
Now there is one more segment of the story that kinda brightened it up a little. It's the relationship development between Adlet and Fremy. From hatred to love and trough a deep character development. A side story about self-acceptance and finding a place you belong. Now is there something better. True it also got annoying by the time just as every other part of the story. 
On the whole, the story is good, I can't deny. But it got boring in time. It was not as good as I expected and the whole guessing who the fake is part put the main story and the very intriguing legend part into the shadow.  

Characters 

There is a whole bunch of unique and interesting characters in the story. There was a supporting character that reminded me with his behavior and looks of the baby-diary-holder from Mirai Nikki. I hate creepy Kids, they are the worst. But let's say a few words about the mains, shall we?

Adlet Mayer is the self-proclaimed strongest man in the world, but to be honest he is not far from that. A very skillful fighter and optimist. You probably know that optimism that gets really annoying by the time. He is a fighter with a big heart for everyone. He is also skillful with his words knowing how to convince everyone and even his enemy. He is the kind of character that wants to get to everyone's heart and get to know their life story. And while mentioning it, Adlet has a very interesting past too. He learned that life is not as beautiful as everybody thinks it is and that you have to fight. The thing I didn't like about him, and that's why he annoyed me, was his perfection. I hate perfect characters and I'll always do. I truly have some serious complexes (JK). 

Fremy Speeddraw, is definitely my favorite character in this show. It is really hard to talk about characters when you don'r want to spoil the most interesting parts about them. Although her story is a cliche "Let's move on from the past" it still gets your attention especially in the end when things get complicated and she has to decide-past or future. Fremy was haunted by her past that she is not ashamed of and that's what I like the most about her. Even though she realized that her choices haven't been always the right ones, she moves on. That needs some respect. Fremy, an introvert character that you don't see in every anime. 

 Animetion and Style 

Ah, 2015. What a beautiful year full of awesome animation. Just remember Gangsta and God Eater, then Noragami Aragoto, and don't forget Death Parade and Tokyo Ghoul (A). They all share a beautiful and detailed animation and style, and let me now ask you! What on Earth happened to Rokka no Yuusha. The animation is so poor in colors and details. The style is on a 2006 level, and Code Geass is even better than this being from 2006. There are some beautiful views, but they are very rare. And besides, the only interesting character looks are the ones from Fremy and princess Nashetania (and I am really not sure about the second one because it lines with a cliche look). I expected a better job here, but okay...

Conclusion

On the whole the anime Rokka no Yuusha is not bad, but it also isn't that good. I really expected it to be better especially because of the legend and heroes stuff but I was disappointed in the end. There are some good parts, no denying. So in short now. If you like mystery and anime where there is, let's say, a case to be solved Rokka no Yuusha would be an awesome recommendation for you. But if you want a good legend and an adventure don't watch this. Instead try Akatsuki no Yona or No Game No Life, that would be way better.

Your AnimeGirl <3  

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HAPPY WORLD OTAKU DAY!

It's the 15th of December my dear readers and anime fellows and I hope you all know what that means. Today is the day of all you anime and manga addicts that live in this crazy and colorful world. AnimeGirl wishes you a Happy World Otaku Day, and as addition I spent some time to draw something cute. I hope you like this drawing on the left ( Yes, I do draw a lot, especially in class). Being World Otaku Day I didn't care about my English book, that needs to be read until tomorrow. I spent my whole afternoon watching Noragami Aragoto which is by the way awesome. Can't wait to write a review on the second season. Episode 12/13 will arrive on Friday and I'm truly looking forward to watching it. I hope you also had a nice Otaku day and if Yes, tell me how you spent it! One more time, HAPPY WORLD OTAKU DAY and be safe! 

Your AnimeGirl <3 

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Barbie Fashionistas Swappin' Styles Hollywood Divas

Barbie Fashionistas Swappin' Styles Hollywood Divas 

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Still waiting...

The Pierrot Studios produced, in my opinion, a few of the greatest anime ever. "Naruto" and "Bleach" are enough to say but also "Tokyo Ghoul", "Kingdom", "Beelzebub"... In the Fall 2014 season they released one of my favorite anime. AKATSUKI NO YONA or YONA OF THE DAWN.

Now, the anime ends with the 47 chapter of the manga. And although I am reading the still airing manga (currently on chapter 108) I want more of the anime. And I am 100% sure that I am not the only one! 
And now comes the bad news. There is still no announcement for season two. Nothing! Pierrot is really keeping us on tenterhooks here! While others are celebrating about the new seasons of their favorite anime I have to sit here reading the manga that has some pages still written in Japanese. "Not for use", pff...This story about a princess that goes trough one of the greatest character developments really deserves a second season. It has so many unanswered questions, so many secrets, so many things and fights that are yet to come. This can't just end like this. The last 13 Naruto episodes for example are nothing but fillers (Now this deserves a blog post).Instead of making all those Naruto fillers, why not make a new Yona season? But nooo...


There is a great website called When Will that instantly shares the announcements to new TV premiers. Anime too. Akatsuki no Yona is currently on the 7th place of the "Most Anticipated" anime releases while the first three are, as follows: Tokyo Ghoul, Sword Art Online and High School DxD.    

I hope Pierrot will make up their mind soon, because I don't want to wait much longer. College, adulthood and other crazy stuff is coming so...I think you get what I am trying to say.  

-Your AnimeGirl- 

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Ao Haru Ride/ Blue Spring Ride: ANIME REVIEW

First of all I want to say that it was You who choose this anime to be my next review. In a google+ poll 133 voted and this anime won with 59% of all votes.  I actually never liked romance movies nor romance anime. I always thought that they were boring. Yet, one day I was feeling like I could watch a romance anime (i think it comes with the years) and I decided it to be a manga based anime that has a MAL rating of 7,95. From the makers of "Attack on Titan", "Psycho-Pass" and "Guilty Crown" came in July, 2014 my first romance anime: "Ao Haru Ride". 

Plot and Story Line

It's the first time that the MAL community rated an anime exactly as I did. I gave it an 8 (well 7,95 is close). The story is funny, cute, romantic and realistic. I never believed that I would say this one day, but I really enjoyed this romance. I loved it. Now let's get this started...

To the plot.

It's a fantastic story that, as I believe, happened to most of us at least once in a similar way. There is that cute and nice girl in the middle school called Futaba Yoshioka. She is very popular among the guys in her class and they really like her, but the girls don't. "Jealous girlies". She was alone most of the time, until that one rainy day when she met Kou Tanaka in a shrine where both of them tried to find shelter from the rain. Of curse that event was followed by a couple of other cute and precious memories and they even made plans  for meeting at the Summer Festival. Unfortunately Kou never showed up and literary 

disappeared  afterwards. 

Time passed and Futaba is now a high school student with a complete different attitude and personality. She had enough of being alone all the time and now she gave up her cuteness and femininity so the girls don't become jealous again. Tomboyish  and with a disheveled look she encounters the only guy she ever loved, again. Now with a life turned upside down she tries to find her place where she belongs to. 

With a set plot, let's discuss. The Story Line.  

Where does the strength of Ao Haru Ride lie? In my opinion it is the background story of Kou. As always, Rule No.1. "NO SPOILERS", but I'll tell you this. The whole first season was mainly focused of Futaba trying to reach the old Kou. All the flashbacks that were woven into the present story were amazing. The makers created an intriguing story in the past, that affects the present, which is also a great love story on its own. So you basically get two parallel story lines in the past that meet in the present. I've always loved

 retrospection.   

The second thing that made me love this anime is the diversity of the mini story lines in the show. It doesn't talk about Futaba's and Kou's relationship alone. There are tons of others, for instance my favorite side story line, the relationship between Kou and his older brother Youichi. And there are many more. I just hope that the makers will soon announce a second season, but for now it doesn't look like that. The manga finished airing in February, 2015, so I'll still keep my fingers crossed. 

And now, let's just focus on the main story line. The core, let's say. The romance between Kou and Futaba. I hate the romance genre because it is full of cliches and "I expected that to happen" situations.  But I'll probably give anime romances a chance. Maybe Clanned, but let's talk about that later. Kou and Futaba. It's not just a silly teenage relationship. It goes from that cute kids love to a serious love, and it's so good. There are so many moments where you have to say: "Awwww!". You just have to. It's somehow more realistic and it's not because I am AnimeGirl that caused me love this anime-relationships. They are always so undefined yet clear. They are so cute, and I love cute things. Too bad anime is not real, even love would be much easier. 

As a conclusion, Ao Haru Ride is a fascinating story with an intriguing plot that will keep you on tenterhooks until the last second. There are no plot holes and the story is also smooth without any unnecessary and stupid plot twists. There are always new mini stories that appear, but they slowly make their way into the show. They always appear at the right time to keep you interested till the end. 

Characters

Guys, I could really go on talking about the characters the whole night. They are all so special and interesting in their own way. I give it a 10 for uniqueness. But, as always, here are the main two characters of Ao Haru Ride.

Futaba Yoshioka. You have no idea how much this girl reminds me of my-self. I kinda was in a very similar situation at Middle School too. That's so unbelievable. The only difference is that in middle school I tried to hide my true self, while in high school I did the exact opposite. That's why I was happy when Futaba realized that it's not worth being someone else if there are people who accept you exactly how you are. Also I see myself in the always optimistic and happy-go-lucky person that always wants to break trough the walls that people build around their selves. I loved Futaba and her power and willpower. She is definitely one of my favorite anime characters and probably that is why I have her on my cover photo on Facebook. 

Kou Tanaka or later in the story Kou Mabuchi is the most interesting character in the whole story. I always wanted to know more about him, and luckily the anime reveals his life story, which is believe me or not on e of the best background stories I've ever seen. By the way, I love cats too. He is one of the cool guys acting emotionless while being very sensible and full of emotions on the inside. I love this type of characters because they are always so full of surprises. Funny, he is telling Futaba the whole time how she shouldn't act while doing the same thing. I think that people do that sometimes unconsciously, just as Kou. All the things that happened to him built a wall around him so that nobody can't enter. Nobody can see the real Kou. It never gets boring with this kind of people, believe me. 

Animation

Well, maybe the story isn't, but the animation definitely is a "As expected" since the makers of Ao Haru Ride are also the makers of the anime "Psycho-Pass" and "Guilty Crown" (Check out both of the reviews on my blog). And I hope you have seen the animation of those two. The word BRILLIANT is not enough to describe the stuff that your eyes see when you watch this. I love it, and since I've always found bad animation extremely repelling I was glad that this story came with the animation and style it deserves. 

The idea that I liked the most in Ao Haru Ride is the way they put that watercolor effect in the flashback scenes. Awesome!

Conclusion

If you want to change my opinion about something you really have to have good arguments to convince me. Ao Haru Ride for example really convinced me that romance anime are not bad at all. I loved it. Animation, Story, Plot, Characters. Everything is in its right place. I would really give it a try if you haven't already watched it. 

Your AnimeGirl <3 

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