Guin Saga - Best Anime of 2009

The ancient kingdom of Parro has been invaded by the armies of Mongaul, and its king and queen have been slain. But the "twin pearls of Parro," the princess Rinda and the prince Remus, escape using a strange device hidden in the palace. Lost in the Forest of Rood, they are rescued from Mongaul soldiers by a strange leopard-headed man named Guin, who has no memories except for the word "Aurra."

Shin Mazinger Shogeki! Z-Hen

Developed from Japanium ore is the super energy, Photon Power. Seeking this energy is Dr. Hell, a madman craving world domination who along with his subordinates Baron Ashura and Count Brocken, commands the Machine Beasts excavated from Bardos Island (believed to be Rhodes) to attack the Photon Power Lab and take it for himself. Meeting the attack head on is our hero, the hot-blooded teenager Kouji Kabuto who pilots the super robot Mazinger Z, constructed by his grandfather Juzo and made from the strongest metal Chogokin Z. But in this battle between Dr. Hell and the Kabuto family, many legends surrounding the Mycenaean Civilization and Bardos Island, as well as the secrets of Mazinger Z remain shrouded in mystery.
Source: AnimeNewsNetwork.com

Hanada Shounen Shi

After being hit by a truck and getting 9 stitches in the back of his head, Hanada Ichiro, the local troublemaker in a small village, becomes able to see ghosts, all of whom want him to fulfill their unfinished business.
Source: AnimeNewsNetwork.com

07-Ghost

Set in a gothic fantasy world, this is the story of Teito Klein, an orphaned slave who became the top military academy student. However, an unexpected turn of events left him pursued by the forces of the Barsburg Empire. Now an escaping convict, Teito's sheltered by the church and it’s law of sanctuary. Here, he discovered many mysteries surrounding himself, the church, and the Empire itself. The fact that he might be connected to a dethroned king and the mystical stone of god, 'The Eye of Mikhael' made him the target of the empire more than ever. Fortunately the church is under the mythical 7 Ghost protection. But who are the Ghosts really. Will Teito be free from the military's clutch, And what of his said mission to uncover the history. And who is the military's Chief-of-Staff Ayanami exactly. Teito's future seems to have spiraled into an unexpectedly perilous path.
Source: AnimeNewsNetwork.com

Umi Monogatari ~Anata ga Ite Kureta Koto~

The story centers on Marin and Urin, two “pure” sisters who live alongside the fish in the sea, but yearn to be in the world beyond the water and above ground. One day, a beautiful ring falls in the middle of the sea, and Marin and Urin retrieve it. The two decide to leave their waterbound world for the first time to deliver the ring. After an arduous journey, they come across an isolated island where a high school girl named Kanon lives. The encounter between Marin and Kanon — the maiden of the sea and the maiden of the skies — awakens a hidden power as the world is threatened by an enveloping darkness.
Source: AnimeNewsNetwork.com

Negima Ala Alba

After the exhilarating school life, Negi Springfield has finally decided to form his own combat team under the disguise of a normal school club; so called the Ala Alba or White Wing. Supported by his classmates and advised by Evangeline A.K. McDowell, this team was aim to embark into the Magus world in search of Negi's father, Nagi Springfield...or anything that may relate to him.
Source: AnimeNewsNetwork.com

Natsu no Arashi

More info: AnimeNewsNetwork.com



Gaaawwr…… I know deep down in my gut that Natsu no Arashi is a brilliant anime. The animation is more than satisfactory. Making good use of vivid colors and lively environment. Nice character designs with fluid movements. Although the occasional drop in quality is slightly noticable.

Love the vocals too. Really matches the personality of each character well and expresses vocal emotions so effortlessly. Characters are more than solid. Something you can really get attached to as you watch on.

You have Hajime, a schoolboy who passionately chases after his dream of being a superhero like we all once did and of being Arashi’s man. Spontaneous and confident in everything that he does. He is slightly unique in that he is possessed by a female ghost, which is Arashi. Kind, caring, friendly and slightly clumsy. Arashi died 60 years ago and has been a ghost ever since. Upon finding someone who Arashi can "synch" with, she gains the ability to travel through time. An ability shared by other ghosts. The other characters in the anime are just as interesting as the leads. But I rather no spoil if for those who hasn’t watched this yet. Cause the characters really are Natsu no Arashi’s strongest and best aspect and I want to leave the satisfaction of exploring the characters to you viewers.



But still it will not get a fat-5. The pacing of the anime felt somewhat slow. I’m not talking about episode 1 cause it was a "preview" episode of sort about the future and also gives the viewers a good idea of what to expect from the series. Instead, I’m talking about episode 2 to 8. How these episodes lacked the punch to keep me entertained. Despite having give the characters excellent depth with sufficient scenes of their past and exploring their personalities, it still managed to feel somewhat boring. They should have script a juicier plot in between mid series to give the viewers something to bite on to. Or at least made full use of the depth character had to play a more captivating plot.

If they pushed up Kanako and Yayoi’s story 2 to 3 episodes early. Now that would have been perfect. Unfortunately, having a big gap of excitement in mid series drops this down to a good solid 4-Stars. Still, loved the beautifully laid ending they had in episode 12.




Sneaky little trick here, using silhouettes of the female characters to give what seem like a naked pose to make sure no one could resist skipping the opening theme. I fell for it every single episode. :p


Belly button fetish is oh-so-apparent as a belly button shot appears multiple times every single episode. -.-"


Kenshiro made an "appearance" too. Lol! and so did Takumi and his Ae86


Look ma.. No eyes! Scary stuff... Lol!


The last time I saw a stumpy nose was from Hajime no Ippo.


Episode 13 = Fanservice aaaallll the way



Natsu no Arashi
Rating: 4-Stars
Torrents: Shinji

Asura Cryin

So, we have Tomo. Your everyday kid with the exception of having a ghost friend, Misao, But hey... Everyone has a ghost friend once in his or her life right? Lol. Anyway, he just started high school and encounter's a strange senior claiming to be a friend of his elder brother. Tomo is then given a metal suitcase which he later founds out contains an Asura Machina. What is an Asura Machina? That's where you have to watch the anime to find out.
More info: AnimeNewsNetwork



The nicely animated mech battles made sure that Asura Cryin didn’t drop from being borderline entertaining. Where there weren’t any mechs, there was moe. Thankfully, there are numerous battles scenes throughout the first series, strategically gapped between episodes to make sure the moe didn’t suffocate its viewers. Despite having nothing we haven't heard/seen of, the blend of Demons and Mechs manages to feel fresh.



Asura Cryin gives off the feeling that it's trying to avoid being labeled harem, which to me succeeded. And instead, tries to woo viewers with scenes of nice mech battles. I would comment about the characters too but the only characters I remember are Misao and Shuri.

If there were any truth behind love at first sight, it probably happened when I first saw Misao. She is like a perfect balance between Tsundere and Moe. Lol!


The new definition of Cool. Chick with lots of guns.
And Shuri... Well she just kicks azz... Hard! Could probably be worthy of Snark's bride. -.-"

Pretty much cruised through the first 10 episodes without anything interesting worthy of mentioning or blogging about other than the battles. It was the last 2 episodes which at least felt like it tried to pull a stunner. It felt so as it added the much needed touch of drama to the series. And with it also comes the feeling that I didn’t sit through 10 episodes of moderation for nothing.

Although doubting why an anime of Asura Cryin's caliber needed a 2nd season, I will still watch season 2. If the cards are played right, like it did so in the last 2 episodes of season 1, it will definitely be able to crank out an anime which could cause some "huh-hah" around the blogosphere. And frankly, I enjoyed both the mechs and the moes.


Ahh.. The perks of being a spectral apparition meaning you can pop up from a boiling pot. -.-"


Must have took a while to remember how to spell your name




It seems to be fate I cannot escape. Yet another anime with uniforms and tentacles... Like the last 2 animes I reviewed. -.-"


Moe at the wrong place at the wrong time. This screenshot happened right smack in the middle of an exciting adrenalin inducing combat scene. WTF?!


Love at first sight... -.-" OmG! I NEED TO GET OUT MORE!





Asura Cryin
Rating: 4-Stars
Torrents: Chihiro