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Ayashi no Ceres (2000)
A very, very interesting anime! (CONTAINS SPOILERS)
One day after I finished watching this anime, I really think it's worth being praised. The story is about a girl who is the descendant of a Tennyo (a heavenly creature) and turns 16 years old. From that age on, the Tennyo (Ceres) can fully take control of her body. In that way, she can accomplish her task, which is to retrieve her hogoromo, the only way to get back to heaven. The sad thing is that the one who stole the hogoromo is her twin brother who is the vessel of the man who stole it in the first place. Therefore, he is in grave danger and their family tries to eliminate the girl (Aya) to save the boy (Aki) as they always did throughout the centuries to save the male vessels and the family as a whole. Many people get involved into this, all having different motives, like Touya, a mysterious man with no memory and Yuuhi a boy who wants to protect Aya.
The series are really violent, the animation is very good, the music is superb! (I didn't like the second ending theme, though) And the characters are really well developed. Yes, I truly liked this one. I explain why in the text that follows...
(SPOILERS FOLLOW) (SPOILERS FOLLOW) (SPOILERS FOLLOW)
The series managed to keep my full attention, throughout all of the 24 episodes. There was some good ideas in them, like the love triangle between Aya, Touya and Yuuhi. The effort to create a new, better race of humans (like in Neon genesis Evangelion) and themes about human relations. Even though most of the people thought that the themes were too much, I must disagree. Well, ok. Maybe they were too many. But even so, I don't think that they over-did it and the result was not just a confusing series.
The human relationships theme was really accurate, and I really think that this is a triumph of the author of the series (Yuu Watase). I think that she (She is a woman, I think) captivated all the anxiety, fears and thoughts that the characters experience very efficiently, and sincere. Which brings us to the romance of the series...
I think that the love triangle, was rather successful. This was definitely helped by the fact that the author is a woman, and the romance of the series depicts that. Aya's thoughts were very well portrayed. The pain she was feeling, the confusion in having to choose one of the two rivals, the weakness when it comes to matters of the heart... I didn't like the way the love triangle ended. I didn't also like like the way that Yuuhi faded from the plot after episode 14. This is probably because I had probably a hard time in relating to the deadly-mysterious-Touya in opposition to the always-good-Yuuhi, but actually this is life! And I think that because all of the characters had something to be ashamed of (Ceres, Aya, Touya etc.) this is why the only one you can really be fond to is Yuuhi. And the fact that you cannot attach to the characters is, in my opinion, the greatest weakness of the series, even though I approve the way it was finally delivered. As for the ending... Well I think that it was really realistic, the way it was done.
To sum up, this is one of the best, and most complete anime I have ever seen... A true gem.
MahoRomatic (2001)
To me, nothing more than a life experience...
I would say that I am new in the world of anime. The only ones I really watched was Love Hina, Love Hina Again and Excel Saga just before I began watching Mahoromatic.
Being a production of one of the most known and praised anime studios of Japan, studio Gainax (Neon Genesis Evangelion), it really is a masterpiece of animation. The characters are incredibly drawn, the music is amazing... But the really amazing in the series is the plot.
It begins as Mahoro, the ultimate combat robot of an organization that has as a purpose to defend Earth from invading aliens, is coming to an end. It is therefore given the opportunity to either live as a warrior for 40 more days, or get all of her combat capabilities removed and live for 398 days. She chooses the second option and wishes to work as a maid for Suguru-kun, a 14-year orphan. But nothing always is at it seems and none can escape their past...
Mahoromatic begins as a comedy but towards the end it becomes more and more serious. I wouldn't like to spoil the fun by revealing any other details of the plot. As for the ending... well... it was a life experience to me...
This is an adult anime, given the fact that a lot of nudity and violence occurs. But this is not really what it's all about. The plot really is a treatise on life with a lot of philosophical questions arising, especially towards the end. I was really amazed by the characters, considering their cuteness (Ka...Kawaiiii....), their simplicity and their truly humanitarian views towards life. Even though one might seem that the approach is simplistic, it is really through this simplicity that this anime reveals all of it's virtues.
It's an amazing, an incredible piece of work, a masterpiece in my opinion. And it is such a masterpiece, that I really cannot describe my feelings when I saw the last two episodes. All I can hope for is for more. Please, Gainax... if someone of you is reading this... please... give us some more!
Extremely funny, extremely humane, extremely entertaining, extremely sentimental, extremely touching. Simply the best anime I've seen.
Love Hina Again (2002)
A very good sequel to an incredible tv-series...
Two years after the creation of Love-Hina (the first real anime I have ever seen) Love Hina comes to remind us of the best elements of Love Hina. Incredible animation, beautiful music, an interesting plot and of course a lot of laughs!
The story begins at Toudai, the famous university that Keitaro and Naru kept trying for them to be accepted as students. But on the first day Keitaro breaks his leg (with a little help of his friends...) causing him to loose 3 months. After a visit to his home, he decides to follow Seta in archeological site excavations, leaving Naru troubled about his actions. The reason is that (yes) nothing really happened between them all this time (in other words, they are still not a couple...). Things get really complicated when Keitaro's little sister comes in search of her brother. But she is not really his sister and her views of Keitaro are rather ...complicated. This, of course, makes life difficult in Hinata Inn, especially for Naru...
Love Hina is a very good continuation of Love Hina, even though Keitaro is not really the main character but the character that Naru and Kanako fight for (and yes, I know how this sounds...). It's theme is rather a bit more sexual than the original series and to be honest this was a bit of alienating for me in the first place, but I guess it won't bother most of the people. I strongly recommend the series for the funs of Love Hina! They will just love it!