Aikatsu!

Anime: Aikatsu!
Episodes: 50 @ 24 minutes per episode
Producers: Sunrise, TV Tokyo, Bandai Visual & Dentsu


Synopsis: Ichigo Hoshimiya is a regular, ordinary middle school girl. But when her best friend, Aoi, invites her to join the idol training academy, Starlight Academy, her whole world is turned upside down. As she encounters all kinds of rivals and learns what it takes to be an idol, she uses her Aikatsu Cards to challenge countless auditions. 

Story: Well, what can I say? The story starts off with Ichigo and Aoi. They see Kanzaki Mizuki's concert and get inspired. They decide to both go to Starlight Academy, the idol school. There, they make friends and have fun doing their 'idol activities'. 

Art: When they first showed the artwork for the dancing on stage scenes, I wasn't too pleased. I mean, it looks like something out of a PSP game for crying out loud!! >< The animation for the rest of the show was beautiful and well done, they could have done a little better job for the stage scenes. But, meh, I got used to it. :3

Sound: I LOVED the music! The music really fit well with the show, being so happy-go-lucky. Though, it was really repetitive during the beginning when the only song they would play was the first song. (Don't remember the title, will look later...) 

Character: The character development felt just right. They didn't rush it or drag it out too long. They really rounded out all the main characters really well. (Course it was 50 episodes, so they did have the time!!)

Enjoyment: Even though this was made for little kids, I don't care. I would watch it faithfully every week. And every time, I would feel happy, better, even if I was having a bad day or something. It was a cheerful little pick-me-up! I really did enjoy this anime. 

Overall: I'm happy with this anime. Everything just clicked. It was in the right spot. :)

Vampire Knight

Anime: Vampire Knight
Episodes: 13 @ 24 mins per episode
Producers: Aniplex, Studio Deen, Viz Media & NAS

Synopsis: Cross Academy is an elite boarding school with two separate, isolated classes: the Day Class and the Night Class. On the surface, Yuuki Cross and Zero Kiryuu are prefects of the academy, and attempt to keep order between the students as classes rotate in the evenings. As the night class is full of utterly gorgeous elites, this can sometimes prove to be a bit difficult. It is completely necessary, however, as those "elites" are actually vampires. Yuuki and Zero act as guardians, protecting the secrets of the Night Class and the safety of the ignorant day class.

As the adopted daughter of the academy's chairman, Yuuki takes her job with a serious and energetic attitude. It also allows her to interact with her secret crush and savior, the night class' dorm president, Kaname Kuran. Zero, on the other hand, has a deep-rooted hatred against vampires, and at times, does not hesitate to kill.

Can vampires and humans co-exist, even in the strict setup of the Cross Academy? Only time will tell.

Story: So basically humans and vampires co-exist at this academy. Zero's story is that him and his family was attacked, and everyone except for him (and his brother) died at the hands of this vampire. So, now he has a deep hatred for them, and will not hestitate to kill one. Except, of course, when Yuuki decides to get in his way. 

Now, Yuuki... We don't know anything about Yuuki's history. All that we know, is that when she was younger (about 5 years old), she was wandering in the snow and a rouge vampire wanted to suck her blood, and attacked her. Luckily, she was saved by Kaname Kuran, a pureblood vampire. Because Kaname saved her, Yuuki now thinks she owes her life to Kaname, and falls in love with him.  

I really do believe that the story was thought out, but it wasn't planned very well. Everything about this anime just felt way too rushed. 

Art: The art was... well, shitty. It started out pretty good, I loved the animation in the very first couple of episodes, but about episode 8... It started going downhill. The scenes weren't very focused, the eyes were weird... Frick, I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. 

Sound: I loved the music! The OP/ED was dark and classic, both giving off that creepy feel. I feel that the music was basically the high point of the anime for me. 

Character: Meh. It honestly felt like they didn't put any time to give any character development at all. Everything was "Here's this character, and this one, oh and her too." I mean, they gave some development to Zero, but that was so late in the series, that I don't think it mattered anymore. Same with Yuuki. Absolutely no development until the last minute. Shame. 

Enjoyment: I really didn't enjoy it. It was bland, nothing too terribly exciting. 

Overall: I was disappointed. I was looking forward to watching this, because it was one of my favorite manga. I was happy to have it get an animation. But, I saw lack of quality animation, horrible voice actors (sorry, they didn't do anything for me), and a lack of development. I'm sorry to say that I don't think I will be watching this anime again anytime soon. 

 

Candy☆Boy

Anime: Candy☆Boy

Episodes: 7 @ 15 mins per episode

 Producers: AIC, Half H.P. Studio

 

Synopsis:  Twin sisters, Yukino and Kanade Sakurai, room together in the dorms at their high school, enjoying school life with their friends and one another. One day, Sakuya Kamiyama, an underclassman, seeks out Yukino, while Kanade learns from a friend that Sakuya has admired Yukino for a very long time. This innocent revelation sets into motion a chain of events that eventually lead to Yukino expressing her feelings for her sister. (Source: Myanimelist.com)

                                                              This anime is underrated. Here's my review. 

Story: Like the synopsis says, it's a love story between two sisters. But it's not ecchi or anything like that. It's the farthest thing from ecchi. It's innocent, cute, loving, sweet and meaningful. It just shows, at least to me, that love is important in anyone's life, and how we should all enjoy the beauty of love. (God, doesn't that sound cheesy?) Cheesiness aside, this anime is about relationships and the bonds between them.

Art: The art is very sweet, perfect for the story. The backgrounds and scenery were gorgeous as well.

Sound: Eh, the sound was okay. The music was okay, not really my taste, and for some reason, it didn't seem to fit the anime too well either. :/ But, meh, that's just my opinion.

Character: The characters went together very well, even though this anime was short. The character development went right along, and was pieced together well. (Sorry if I am repeating myself. ^^')

Enjoyment: I very much enjoyed this anime. It hit all the right spots with me and made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It was a very cute anime, and I'm sure that I will re-watch it time and again. 

Overall: I enjoyed it. It's ALMOST a masterpiece, though it could work on a few music additions. But, it's lovely, warm and brilliant. And I thoroughly enjoyed it. :)