No Game No Life Review

Basic Information:
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Ecchi, Fantasy
Episodes: 12

Synopsis: The show starts by introducing our two protagonists: Sora and Shiro. Although Sora and Shiro are both extremely intelligent (genius even), they are complete shut-ins that excel at gaming. Together, they are known as "blank" in the gaming world, and are often deemed unbeatable. However, one day, they are magically whisked into a fantasy world where everything ranging from wars to small disputes are settled with games. The plot then goes on outlining Sora and Shiro's adventure that led them from destitute nobodies to rapacious kings.

Review:
Intended Audience: Contrary to what many would think when they read the synopsis, this anime actually contains a fair amount of nudity and fanservice. Judging from that alone, the intended audience would be 15+. In addition, although the anime contains a considerable amount of battle scenes, they are merely entertaining, *not thrilling. You derive a lot of entertainment, fun, and amusement through the battle scene; with that said, people who normally watch action oriented thrillers might not enjoy this anime as much as one normally would. 

Aesthetics: Now, there are many aspects to an anime's aesthetics, and so are there many facets to each aspect. In all honesty, the anime has its own unique style of animation, so I can't really judge that. Some might find a penchant for the detailed orientation of the characters while some might find the colors a petulant annoyance. HOWEVER, the music for the anime is simply amazing. The opening and the OSTs sound like game music, and thus, fits the anime really well. 
Animation- (?/?)
Music- (9/10)

Plot: The plot itself is decent, but a tiny bit cliche. It talks about the rise of an underdog of humble origin that eventually becomes king through it's triumphant campaigns. But there are still interesting aspects to it with an occasional twist or two. (Trying not to give away any spoilers)  (7.5/10)

Battle Scenes: The reason I created a separate section for battle scenes is due to its commendable quality. I am utterly awed by the clever twists and turns within the battle scenes in the anime, it feels as if the author is always one step ahead of you. In addition, watching the crafty Sora and precocious Shiro gradually climb the hierarchy through clever but byzantine methods is extremely fun to watch. I reckon most people watched the anime neither for the fanservice nor the plot, but for the interesting battles. (9.5/10)

Back to business!

Alright everyone, school is starting!
This is from your (about to be) president of our club, it is the last 5 days of vacation! Is everyone excited for school? I know I am not... say goodbye to sleeping to 12 and watching anime all day. So school is starting and our (not yet ready) club is about to start activities too and that means we are back to blog new anime's. Lets rock! peace out!

Let justice be done through the heavens fall

Aldnoah.Zero Review

Basic Information
Genre: Action, Mecha, Sci-fi
Episodes: 12

Synopsis
In 1972, humanity found an alien hypergate on the moon. Using it, humans began to migrate to Mars. On Mars, the settling humans found a bunch of ancient technology which was really awesome. Thus, the settlers declared Mars as the Vers Empire and claimed all the technology, and secrets, for themselves. Then, they declared war on Earth in 1999. So some genius decided it was a good idea to fight on the moon, and it ended up exploding. Since the hypergate was destroyed, and, because the Mars bunch couldn't get back to Mars, they set up orbital space stations around Earth and declared a ceasefire. The anime begins 15 years later, when a Martian (Vers Empire) princess decides to head down to Earth to try to develop better peace relations. But, Murphy's Law kicked in big-time, and her convoy was attacked by terrorists. Thus the war resumes.



Let's just imagine that I'm really bad at writing reviews. Ok, bar imagine. I actually am. So let's get down to the point, or at least my opinion, since this is a review, and it's gonna be my opinion anyways.

Music
Normally, I probably wouldn't put this up first. It'd probably be something like "plot" or something like that. But, in all honesty, the music of this anime is pretty damn awesome. It complements the anime amazingly. I don't know how to say it otherwise other than, "I'm all in for the music alone".
(10 (+1) / 10) Hey, I have free rein on this, don't call me out.

Plot
Overall, the plot is... I have no idea how to rate plots. It's interesting, where the main character is similar to Lelouch from Code Geass as he's closer to the "brains over brawn" type characters. But regardless of how much brains he has, it's still a tad-farfetched to explain how a TRAINING mech can beat some super-advanced mech from Mars. But the plot and dialogue does a good job of explaining it. The plot's a tad dark with all the death and killing and blood and whatever involved, but it's not really going overboard. Overall, it's quite interesting, as I said before, and warrants a decent rating. (7.5/10)

Other Aesthetics
Haha, look mommy, "other aesthetics". Yeah, I should probably still put this section in here. The CG is actually really good, despite it being sorta obvious in its distinction between animated and CG graphics. Regardless, the action is good, and there are explosions. What more can you ask for? (9/10)

Hm, personally, I say go watch it, if only for the music and sound stuff. Personally, I'm not a fan of mecha anime, but this is quite worth watching.

But...

The ending though.

Code Geass Review

Basic Information:
Genre: Action, mystery, mecha, school, science
Episodes: 25 (With a second season)

Synopsis: The plot revolves around a young, intelligent high school boy named Lelouch. The story takes place in a futuristic world where Brittania has taken over Japan. The Brittania (Brittania, not Britain) live lavish lives where they exploit the Japanese in any means possible, producing a stark social hierarchical system in which the royal Brittanians rule the lowly Japanese. One day, Lelouch, a royal Brittanian student, gains the power of geass. When looking someone in the eye, he has the power to issue one absolute command to the person, but it can only work once on each person. (Once you've issued a command to someone, you cannot issue another to the person for the rest of eternity) After Lelouch realized he had such power, he embarks on the journey to revive Japan with this power as he eventually finds more and more about the history of Brittania, the collusion behind the Brittanian government, and the history of his family.

Review:
Intended Audience: Due to the ubiquitous presence of blood, gore, and occasional ecchi scenes, I would estimate that the intended audience would be 15+. People who love a sophisticated, complicated, and intricate plot will love this anime because it has a multitude of plots, subplots, and complications which are all based on the long-winded history carefully fabricated by the producers of the anime.

Aestheics: The anime has an opening soundtrack that doesn't seem to jump out at the audience. However, Code Geass has memorable in-anime music that is far unique to other anime. Despite these unique in-anime music, the anime is poorly animated with inproportional bodies when compared to the contemporary anime we watch today.
Music: 8/10
Animation: 5/10

Plot: Code Geass has a thrilling plot based upon the extensive history of the world inside the anime. There are a multitude of mind-blowing scenes that will keep the audience always on guard, prepared to watch episode after episode. (9.5/10)

More Authors!

Hello all,

Since we hope to expand our blog by increasing the amount of reviews and information we have, we are absolutely open to accepting more writers that hope to write for the blog.
If you aspire to become part of the writing community, please contact us with one of the following methods:

(1) Comment on this post (and tell me your email address)
(2) Email japanimaniax@gmail.com or matthew.wang.rox@gmail.com your email address and why you want to be a writer for the blog.

Thank you!

Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo Review

Basic Information:
Genre: Comedy, Romance, School, Ecchi
Episodes: 24

Synopsis: 
Sakurasou is a dorm of the high school associated with Suimei University of Arts which holds all the problem children at the school. After being kicked out of the school dormitory for keeping a stray cat, Kanda Sorata moves into Sakurasou. During the start of the year, Mashiro Shiina- a cute girl who happens to be a world famous artist, also moves into Sakurasou. It turns out that Mashiro cannot take care of herself, and Sorata is left with Mashiro-duty, the job of taking care of Mashiro. This anime exhibits their daily lives and their mental growth.

Review:

Intended audience: 
With a romance comedy story and some occasional ecchi scenes, this anime would be most suitable for 13+. Although there are some ecchi scenes, the ecchi scenes do not overshadow the romantic plot, and the way the author integrates them into the plot actually progresses into the realms of solid storytelling, with the themes of failure and realism. The story touches on the huge gap between geniuses and commoners, and explores the relationship between these polar-opposite characters Sorata and Mashiro. People 13+ and up would most likely understand the relationship.

Aesthetics:
The art was the KILLER aspect of Sakurasou, using mainly bright and warm colors. All of the characters were drawn nicely and the animation was basically flawless. Some of the girls made you wish they were real, and even the drawings Mashiro drew were drawn nicely. The OPs/EDs of Sakurasou are not only good, but also portray the mood of the entire anime. (9.5/10)

Plot:
The anime has an interesting plot, which touches on the problematic of overcoming your own jealousy. At first, the anime is more humor based, and during the end, it becomes more serious. There are tense situations when the characters try to overcome the problems, but nevertheless, the plot was pretty good. The anime does not cover the whole story, and it continues in the light novel series. The anime intrigues the viewers and it makes you want to watch the next episode after you've finished one. (8.5/10)

Ao no Exorcist Review

Basic information:
Genre: Action, thriller, magic, fantasy, supernatural
Episodes: 25 episodes + movie (No second season so far)

Synopsis: The plot tells the tale of Rin, a rash teenager that was deemed a problem child in his early days due to his violently volatile actions or behaviors (he was the stark opposite of his younger brother). Why was that? Because Rin was actually the spawn of Satan, with his demonic powers sealed inside a legendary sword. After a big demonic invasion, Rin is forced to abandon his *family as he runs off, his supposed father unleashing the powers of the sword which gave Rin more power while they were escaping. The story follows Rin's thrilling adventure of slaying demons as he learns more about his power, his capabilities, and the truth behind his family background.

Review:
Intended Audience: I would say the intended audience would probably be 13+, because it does contain some blood and gore. Otherwise, this anime can be comparable to anime such as Bleach in terms of intended audience.

Aesthetics: The music wasn't too good compared the music of other anime, the animation is pretty decent though. The colors of the animation really jump out, which is great in fighting scenes where explosions of blue fire can be seen emanating from Rin's scintillating body.
Music: 4/10
Animation: 9.5/10

Plot: The anime has a decent plot, not a lot of great plot elements. It follows a pretty standard plot where a hero attempts to save the world from being overrun by demons. 7/10

Fighting scenes: I wanted to set this as a separate category because the fighting scenes of Ao no Exorcist truly stand out and can be an amazing experience for action-lovers out there. Lot's of color, lots of sound, and you can feel the adrenaline rush inside of you when Rin transforms into his demonic form.
Fighting scenes: 9/10

Oda Nobuna No Yabu Review

Basic Information:
Genre: Action, Comedy, Adventure, Ecchi, Harem, Historical, Romance
Episodes: 12 (no second season)
Note: Oda Nobuna No Yabu has a light novel that continues the story after the anime, so presumably there is going to be a second season.

Synopsis: 
The story is about a 17 year old high schooler Sagara Yoshiharu going back in time to the sengoku period. He meets Oda Nobuna and serves her as a substitute of Kinoshita Tokichiro who was killed by a stray bullet. All the samurai lords are girls, and the soldiers are all men. Yoshiharu, called Saru (which means monkey) by Nobuna, promises to help Nobuna to achieve her dream. Nobuna is influenced by western culture and wants to unite and conquer Japan to strengthen it to stand on equal footing with the western countries. Through many battles, sieges, betrayals and allegiances. Nobuna finally became a serious force to reckon with. Throughout the war, her feelings for yoshiharu becomes deeper and more intimate. Finally she openly admits that she like Yoshiharu.

Review:
The age group for watching this anime would be 13~18 for there are some ecchi scenes. This anime is more centered on playing with the idea of an alternate history. So whoever likes history, and altering it slightly this anime would be quite entertaining. The girls as warlords are a bonus. The historical content of this anime is quite accurate, and the war scenes and battle scenes are well done. With quite high budget animations. If you like a funny romantic anime series based on history of Japan this anime is perfect for you. Based on the age group or personal tastes the ecchi scenes can be good and bad. Often more than not though the war scenes are more interesting while between the small battles scenes there are scenes of girl warlords trying to win Yoshiharu's heart.

Aesthetics:
Aired in 2012 so a very recent anime, with very good music that fit with the battle scenes. A very good opening with good scenes of each of the advisors of Nobuna. Featuring each of their different styles. The thing that stood out most for me is still the historical style of the anime, which is portrayed very skillfully in the anime. (7/10)

Plot:
The plot is well made, since it follows the original history of Japan in the Sengoku era. Although with small twists in the history, for Yoshiharu is there influencing and stopping many tragedies from happening. Which makes predicting what will happen after very hard. The tense situation, near disastrous battles, along with hot and or cute girls make this anime very enjoyable to watch. (8/10)

Nodame Cantabile Review

Basic Information:

Genre: Music, Comedy, Romance, School

Episodes: 12 (~45 minutes/episode)

Note: Nodame Cantabile also has an anime and a manga. (Not included in this review)

Synoposis: The story centers around Nodame, a young eccentric women characterized by odd habits (like never cleaning her room) that holds a lot of potential in music and her upperclassmen, Chiaki, a handsome young man extremely talented in the field of music. The story takes place in a prestigious music school in Japan, due to the fact that Chiaki was traumatized by both ships and planes when he was a child, he cannot leave to study in better schools in Europe (although he could). The entire plot revolves around Chiaki's attempts to make the best he can out of what he has in Japan and his interactions with Nodame along with other fellow characters that makes the drama a comedic, romantic experience.

Review:

The intended audience for this drama would be 13+ and any adult of any age would still probably enjoy this drama. There are generally no age restrictions since there are no obscene material in the drama, but audiences of older age (13+) would probably enjoy or understand it more.

Plot: The plot is pretty humorous, as it focuses on the social interactions between the students in the music academy. There are a few scenes that are exaggerated for comedic effect, however, the drama lacks real dilemmas that would make the audience sweat over the plotlines. If you like lighthearted dramas, you will like Nodame Cantabile. 

(6~9/10 depending on personal tastes)

Personally, I would give it a 8/10 for I have a fair tolerance for comedic lightheartedness.

Aesthetics: As Nodame Cantabile is an drama centered around music, the classical music played in the drama are superb with classical pieces like Chopin's Fantasie Impromptu, Etude Op.10 No4, or Paganini/Liszt's Campanella. (9/10)

If you do not like classical music (I know some that despise it), you will not find the aesthetics of the drama enjoyable. (1/10)

Infinite Stratos Series (S1) Review

Picture featuring the 5 main female characters.

Basic Information:
Genre:  Romance, Action, Mecha, Harem, School, Comedy
Episodes: 12 Episodes (There is a second season)

Authors Comment: Hai Guyz, so I expected a harem/ecchi anime with a mecha as a side theme, not one of those hardcore gundam anime . It's exactly what I got. In fact how well done the mecha was really impressed me. The mecha suits called IS (Infinite Stratos) are badass designs. Every single IS the main characters own is a unique one, each with their own specialty and advantages. The weapons range from light sabers to high-powered guns, etc, it's pretty epic! Recognize it if it's good, that's what I say. And the fights you don't get hurt either as long as you have your energy shield. Perfect setup for mecha ecchi setting right there.

STORY

The anime has a frivolous plot that doesn't seem to concern the main point of the anime, however, the setting is important. Ichika, your typical dense harem male lead character, is the only male in the world to possess the ability to pilot IS machinese, and is thus, the only male enrolled in the prestigious all-girls school called IS Academy. He feels dense, he feels out of place, it's natural, but girls aren't shy about him. The most important plot points in Infinite Stratos is how Ichika befriended each main girl to add to his harem.This is very important, and you will probably remember it because every time a new girl is introduced, the anime will spend 1~2 episodes introducing them dedicate a course of (sometimes embarassing) events that make them trust and love Ichika. And the girls will sometimes fight IS battles wth one another over what the other wants with Ichika. Mecha fights, kawaii moments, fanservice, friendships, and laughs are guaranteed! Just a note that the last 3 episodes are when the plot actually advances, but as I have previously mentioned, the story is definitely not something you should pay a lot of attention to. The anime is more geared toward delivering fanservice to the audience.
Story/Plot: 2/10
Fanservice: 9/10

Characters

Time to talk about characters. The girls are given stereotypical traits/personality represented by the country they're from. This may seem stupid and effortless, but is actually a perfect blend. I found the cliche harem enjoyable and the girls attracted me. Because this counts as those "cliche" harems , I would say that Character Development plays a really minor role and people should disregard it. I like the girls' attitudes, how they love Ichika, and don't want that to change. Ichika is a dense, but a typical character with moderately rational thinking.

Aesthetics
The art was well done. The cute girls, awesome machinery, all are present. The only sad thing to me was that the fights did not happen that often, because I have to admit that the fights were animated really good. It was a feast for my eyes seeing the IS zooming about field, furthermore the fights/attacks were very colorful and enjoyable. 8.5/10

Sound:

I'll be straight with you, this is an all-star cast. All are famous VAs that have also done other famous roles. The voice-acting is simply magnificent! The opening song STRAIGHT JET and ending song SUPER∞STREAM were really cute and good and fits the atmosphere of the series. 9/10

Ano Hi Mita Hana Review

Basic Information:
Genre: Drama, Slice of life, Supernatural, Psychological, Romance, Tragedy
Episodes: 11 (no second season)

Synopsis:  Ano Hi Mita Hana, or Ano Hi for short, is about a group of friends who try to get past their feelings of longing of Menma/Honma. Menma died when they were still kids, yet she was still visible as a ghost to the leader of their previous group: Yadomi/Jinta. After she died the group of close knit friends began to drift apart. With an empty hole in their hearts they tried to find something to fill it. Jinta became a neet, Popo traveled around the world, Naruko became friends with slutty girls at school, Chiriko focused on studying and Atsumu relieved his stress through cross dressing as Menma. Jinta wanted to help Menma pass on so he tried to get the group of friends back together to make Menma's wish come true. The first wish of Menma's was not the answer to help her pass on. Though through the effort of helping Menma make her wish come true the group of 5 friends realized that they were all helping Menma pass on with selfish thoughts,  through this process Menma finally had her wish come true. Which was something she had promised Jinta's dead mom before she died.

Review:
Intended Audience: With a heart warming story and with slips of comedy scenes this anime is suitable for all age groups, adults will reminisce their childhood, while teenagers and children will realize how valuable friendship is. If you like a heartwarming and sad anime that does not end with a tragedy you will like this. Although some people might think the reason for Menma staying on with Jinta is a bit strange, the overall animation and soundtracks really makes the audience cry for each of the characters. The audience would be sad for their suffering, you really feel sorry and pity them. For without Menma in their lives they live aimlessly not being able to move on. For me the ending was particularly moving, and I will not spoil it for the readers of this blog, but if you are able to sympathize with the characters you would find this anime particularly moving. On a special note this anime has no fan service, so if you want to see this anime for the girls you will be sorely disappointed.

Aesthetics:
This anime was aired on 2011 with decent graphics and very moving sound tracks, but only if you pair it up with the anime. With the soundtrack itself, I start to think of the characters and reminisce about the happy days when Menma stayed with Jinta. For me what stands out most in this anime is how each character is portrayed as having some way to fill the hole in their hearts. It is fused with each character giving them very distinguished personalities. (9/10)

Plot:
The plot is simple and easy to understand, the anime does not show you the characters behavior a lot in an instance, instead it gradually shows with short flashbacks and strange occurrences plus behaviors. The audience will be on the edge of their seats waiting for more, though it is near the very end. Not much "thirst for more" kind of feeling but more of the "I want to see why" feeling. (8/10)

Introduction

Hello, and welcome to Animaniaxe!

We are a group of otakus that aim to bring you the best experience through adept recommendations, reviews, and analysis of anime, manga, and drama! Although there may be a sparse amount of posts since we are just starting out, we will eventually start to fill this blog up with interesting blog posts and we hope you will grow to become passionate for anime, manga, and drama!

Have a nice day, :D

Sources Help

Hello, fellow readers.

Many of you might inquire, where exactly can I stream anime, watch drama, or read manga for free? I was troubled with this exact problem when I first started on my path to enlightenment with Japanese-cultured entertainment. A very convenient and superb solution to this problem is Droidbender. Droidbender is a developer that develops these applications for free (on the android phone that is). On these applications, you can download countless episodes as long as you have enough storage on your phone, all available for free. Furthermore, you can then import these files onto your computer to store or watch it! I highly recommend these applications because from personal use, I can guarantee user satisfaction. Feel free to commend if you guys know other good applications or websites where you can get access to anime/drama/manga!

Here are the download links for the applications:
Animania: http://apps.animeplus.tv/animania.php
Dramania: http://apps.animeplus.tv/dramania.php
Mangania: http://apps.animeplus.tv/mangania.php

Mirai Nikki Review

Basic Information:
Genre: Horror, Romance, Action, Mystery, Thriller, Supernatural.
Episodes: 26 Episodes (No second season)

Synopsis: The story centers around an introverted weak-minded character named Amano Yukiteru. At first, Yukiteru has problems socializing with others and thus, spends most of his excess time typing mundane diary entries on his phone on insipid events he witnesses throughout the day. Due to his introverted qualities, he has no friends at school and thus, he conjures, or he assumes he conjures (will be elaborated upon later) imaginary friends, one of them is a "God" named Deus. However, one day, he realizes that the diary on his phone has suddenly became a *future diary. In short, words appear on his diary that foresee what is going to happen in the near future. Surprised and startled, Yukiteru soon discovers that Deus' is actually the ultimate creator of the world, as he finds himself stuck in a death game with 11 other future-diary holders as they battle for Deus' throne for the position of being the next "God".

Review
Intended Audience: Due to the fact that there is blood and gore, 15+ certainly goes without saying. This anime would be an amazing experience if you like action, mystery, and thriller (a bit of horror) plotlines mixed with supernatural elements. Some people may attribute this anime to the Hunger Games or Battle Royale due to the fact that they are both death games.However, I'd like to point out that this anime is actually quite different from them. Mirai Nikki has a more mystique atmosphere mixed with elements of emotional betrayal, tear-jerking tragedies, and obscure conspiracies. Furthermore, I'd like to note that the anime contains a minuscule dose of fan-service that might spice up or degenerate your experience depending on your personal tastes.

Aesthetics: As this Anime aired in 2012, the animation quality is decent. The music is slightly above average, although it's not surprisingly good nor bad, it fits the atmosphere of the anime perfectly. I felt that one of the elements that made Mirai Nikki stand out was it's accurate portrayal of a person on the brim of dementia. (8.5/10)

Plot: What makes this anime shine is the plot. It has an abundance of generic plot twists that always keep the audience hungry for more of the anime. Enough said. (9/10)