Zíza

Well, it started out pretty sweet, too naive and I was like, damn, I'm not gonna be able to stand this girl. So sweet, so pink, so good-looking and all, it made me want to puke. But then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, the picture crunched and she still had her character and everything, but the atmosphere had changed. There was quite a bit of cruelty. Until I thought, even though I don't like her, sometimes this is too much. But I got through the ten episodes pretty quickly. I even watched it in an accounting lecture... :-D Enjoyed it, although it didn't end exactly how I thought it would (which surprised me – the only surprise of this series that left any impression :-D), still the ending... It can be even funnier for a Czech person when you realize that they keep yelling "Seyra!!" at her, the poor thing. Seyra this, Seyra that. But I thought Kaito-kun was a really cute, normal boy. He's not handsome, but he's got charisma and potential. I enjoyed looking at him when he was in the scene. Except for a few hiccups, it was a good, decent dorama. A better three stars.

It's quite a change from all the doramas I've seen lately, as it was set in a school setting and was generally more "childlike", if I that’s the word for it. Here we have a couple, two working people going through troubles with love, which they eventually overcome mainly through mutual support. It wouldn't be a Korean dorama if it weren't complicated by misunderstandings (but the couple tries to reduce those as much as possible and succeeds on the whole) and bad coincidences. But it also manages to be romantic, cheery, with a good feel and tears. All in all, it just makes for a pretty mediocre piece that I don't mind watching, even if it doesn't bring much new to the table. You can take away a good feeling from it and that's what counts :-) Moreover, the ending is so beautifully romantic, nothing too sweet, but absolutely romantic, so I was moved by its simplicity. A weaker 4 stars. I’d say: "Take a look and see if it’s your thing."

I've never been so taken by the very first episode. I fell in love with this anime at first sight and it's a selfish love; the opening, the ending, the animation – I love it all. So the facade of my beloved is beautiful, but what's it like on the inside? Even better! The eccentric Tatsumi Takeshi and his team of ETU warriors is just perfectly rendered for me. You can tell that the manga was drawn by someone who really knows football. I lived and died through all the games and practices and everything else with them. I cheered, really hard, and if someone would show me where, I would immediately go there to buy their jerseys and go to the games. It was exciting, thrilling, sad, and funny. All the characters have their own personalities, they all have their own goal in mind, and their own way of playing. At the same time, we also get to know the fans and reporters. In other words – we meet the football world, not just the game. Tsubaki, Sera, Gino, Akasaki, Dori, Mr. ETU, Kuro and the rest, this is my team and I love them. I'm sure it's clear that this review is completely subjective and crazy, but I stand by it; for me this was the best thing anime brought in the year 2010. And I wholeheartedly hope it doesn't just stay at these 26 episodes, because I want seconds. Instantly and immediately. I'm in love, and I'm hungry for more... ^^

I'm thinking hard about what I could point out about this series that caught my attention. I'll take a few minutes and think of something. Okay, maybe I won't. Maybe the soundtrack. But otherwise? We actually have the story summed up in the opening. It's long-winded, unnecessarily melodramatic, maybe romantic at times (but I've seen Taiwanese doramas that did it better). The acting performances lacked either performances or actors. :-D The first two or three episodes were okay, but then I got outrageously bored and realized that if I didn't pay attention for maybe ten or fifteen or twenty minutes, I wouldn't miss anything. That's not good. And a wedding full of flashbacks (I won't say whose) doesn't help. A weaker 2 stars. P.S.: Still, I rate positively the red thread idea, à la "we are meant to be" (the pictures were very nice ;-)) and when her heart was pounding, she didn't say what she always says: "Why is my heart pounding?", but "Blink!", fully aware of what it meant, which was quite cute :-)

At first you're not ecstatic about what a great series this is, but you don't dismiss it either, you just kind of keep on watching. Some things you enjoy, some things you don't enjoy so much. You can like Maya, you can like Bunmei too, if only he wasn't so boob-driven... Their friends aren't annoying and you can like them too. Then there's the vice principal and her faithful dog, they don't fall into the totally annoying category either with their character. Then there's the one who makes curries and other yummy things..., some might hate her because of her nature, like I do. We continue the plot at more of an episodic pace as we solve mysteries or fight creatures. But in the background, the mystery that Bunmei came up with from the future is still sort of lingering. About three episodes before the end, we finally learn a lot more, yet the creators could have skipped the mahou-fight and the outfits. It's just that, even if it sort of catches up, we still have one last episode to go, where even that last mystery hopefully gets a name. [BEWARE THERE MAY BE A MINI SPOILER!] I didn't really like the way it ended because I was rooting for the love between those two, you understand :-) Still, the full ending leaves a little bit of room and they could totally have ended up together in the end, at least that’s what I'll believe, and thus I liked the ending quite a bit :-D [END OF MINI SPOILER!] To go on about it: even though it's not a high quality series with the best script under the sun, I think you can pass the time quite pleasantly with this anime. Plus the opening and ending sequences were great (the ending more so, it was "live action" and I liked that). A better 3 stars.

Ecchi just doesn't appeal me, I usually skip half the scenes because they really don't give me anything and don’t say anything, but here the ecchi element (which was overdone at times, like when Takashi was shooting and the huge weight Rei carries on his chest was shaking and deforming) had zombies along with it. And there's always an appetite for taking down a zombie. The awful character of the school doctor needed to die, I wish they'd killed her... On the other hand, Hirano's excellent obsession with guns... Nice opening, an ending that was always changing... The bit of action, when it was just hacking and chopping and there wasn't much time for panties and boobs... Add it all up and we get a rating of three incomplete stars. I would have liked more carnage. The beginning was quite promising, it got going, picked up speed, and looked like a decent ride, only it slowed down after the halfway point and got a bit talky in its pacing, which isn't really the way to go in the zombie/ecchi genre. The last episode finally promised some action (the title was “All Dead's Attack"), but we get a sentimental send-off rather than lots of blood splatter. And even the panties I only saw maybe twice... :-D

I read the manga before the anime was even confirmed, so I knew exactly what I was getting into and what to expect. What I got was exactly what I thought it would be – a laid-back shōjo anime that's great for relaxing, nothing challenging, yet it's not boring and not so prosaic as to offend. I like how the anime ends, because it feels like a "real" ending, while the manga goes on and on and it's not so rosy (but on the other hand there are a few more kawai~ scenes :-D). Maybe I could compare it a bit to Skip Beat!, since we have a strong heroine there too. Some episodes were weaker, some were excellent (like the last one). Just an enjoyable watch. All in all, a weak 4 stars, but with a recommendation for days when you don't want to burden yourself, just relax and smile a bit at the screen (if you're a big cynic, it'll be a slightly different smile than the one I mean :-D).

I liked this Hotaru a lot more than the previous one. Buchō and Hotaru are such a beautifully matched duo, they give off a lovely warm feeling. I laughed, Hotaru annoyed me at times with her temper, I drooled over Seno (:-D). It's nice to see two adults acting like little kids sometimes. Anyway – I'm taking away a warm feeling from this dorama like I haven't in a long time. I'm still grinning about it now :-) No matter how it ended, no matter how much Hotaru messed up in her personal life, I really liked it. And I definitely recommend watching it! ^^

When I first looked at this series on FilmBooster, I was already two episodes in, so I figured I was watching the wrong one because I didn't see the couple pictured here anywhere. But don't worry, they showed up :-D Although I would have preferred to know more about them... We have a lot of characters, a lot of girls and guys, and they're all unique, they all have their own personality that's definitely not checked off with three traits and an ability. They're all beautifully complicated, which works wonderfully against the utterly simple, almost static artwork. I really liked the mixing of the cartoony with the real, I didn't think it was hammered in as it is sometimes. The series is very good at capturing a certain mood, a feeling, and interpreting it in a way that you just have to feel it. Even though it's a cartoon from the end of the last century, I absolutely – as I'm sure is clear by now – loved it. Never mind the opening sequence, it's average; I didn't need to hear it. But the ending somehow mysteriously started to appeal to me, more and more with each episode. Especially towards the end. What could bother you is the fact that the whole 16th episode is a summary of what has happened so far, and it could happen in the next, upcoming episodes, that a chunk of the episode could give us such a summary again. I admit it – I skipped it. I will definitely continue with the story, or open the manga, because these human! beings are interesting to me. A better 4 stars.

A slightly below average anime that you’re never sure is going anywhere, and definitely ends up going nowhere. Both the opening and ending sequences left nothing in me, I listened to it once and that was enough. The series is full of bishi, but there are a few (literal) bishōnen in here as well. The main bishi Yuki suffers terribly, but loves everyone. Everyone loves him too, because he’s the one who suffers (for them, for everyone – am I the only one who was put in mind of Jesus?). It kind of runs along, doesn't impress, maybe surprises you occasionally when it manages to catch your eye. The drawing is kind of pointy, but it doesn't matter, it all kind of contributes to the whole thing. If you like bishōnen and characters that are over-the-top; in fact, if you like seeing stereotypes in a storyline, this is the anime for you. I’d say a better 2 stars.