The Twelve Kingdoms (Juuni Kokki)

Description

Yoko Nakajima, an unhappy high school student, is one day suddenly faced with a strange man who swears allegiance to her. After a battle with demon-like beasts, he then takes her to another world along with two of her classmates. There, her appearance has changed and she can understand the language even though her classmates cannot. But their status as "Kaikyaku" (people who come from Earth) makes them hunted fugitives, so they wander the land of the 12 countries, simply trying to survive and to figure out the reason why they were brought to this world.

Fantasy, Adventure, Drama, Novel

Review

Story - 5 (Great)

For Twelve Kingdom, there isn't really one story. There are many stories that branch off of Yoko's story and converge as the episodes continue. So you can think of this anime having multiple stories that focus on different characters and situations besides the main character Yoko. Being able to view so many perspectives of the story will give you a better understanding of what's happening as well and how things came to be(which can lead to very good twists!). Even though it's 45 episodes long, it really is interesting enough to keep watching through.

I think sometimes certain stories were suddenly held on pause as it skipped to a new one (sometimes a completely stand alone story that doesn't contribute much to the main story at all).. which can sometimes be confusing or irritating for others if they want a one-goal kind of story to follow. But if you're patient and don't mind an anime that loves to philosophize and storytell about the many different ways a kingdom could be ruled, and how this mystical world works with it's magical kirins and the destiny they carry.. then this may be the anime for you.

I think it's one of those anime that can suck you into their world because it's so unique. Basically the story revolves around the existence of the twelve kingdoms, each having their own Kirin (a heavenly being). The kirin must chose a ruler to make their kingdom and people prosperous. Many problems arise when there is no ruler on the throne...

Personally I felt the story was kind of incomplete, making me think "what, that's it?" at the end. There were still a lot of unanswered questions and not all the kingdoms were explored. It definitely had a lot it could have continued on besides Yoko's story but it'd be incredibly long I guess ;p The ending was still okay though.

Music/Sound - 5 (Great)
I tried the english-dubbed for this anime as well and it's pretty good.

Art/Animation - 4 (Good)

Character - 5 (Great)

This is the greatest aspect of this anime. You really get a great sense of what the characters are like and they are all unique and different from each other. They all have their own problems that they must overcome and these trials are deeply explored. Individual character stories are shown to see why they were the way they are and how they suddenly changed. The story shifts from the main character Yoko, King En, Keiki, Enki, the servant girl Suzu, the spoiled princess Shouko, Rakushin, Kouya, and many more.. and each has a meaningful/interesting story to tell that can enrich the main story or the interactions between the other characters.

I think the best thing about this anime.. is that it really explores the negative and positive aspects of the human emotions. You see how some characters are affected by greed, perfection, jealousy, or ignorance.. and how some are able to redeem themselves. You really can gain a lot of insight and learn things from each of the characters themselves. Most likely, you'll end up with a favorite character.

Humor - 1 (Bad)

This anime definitely is more on the serious side of storytelling so don't be expecting to laugh so much. It rarely uses comedy, although sometimes they may say some things that make you smile or chuckle a bit. But humor is definitely not this anime's main focus.

Overall - 5 (Great)

I recommend this anime to people who are looking for a philosophical anime (lots of talking along with some action). If you like fantasy and kingdom stories then this is right up your ally.
-This is one of my favorite anime.^^

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

Description

When 17-year-old Makoto Konno gains the ability to, quite literally, "leap" backwards through time, she immediately sets about improving her grades and preventing personal mishaps. However, she soon realizes that changing the past isn't as simple as it seems, and eventually, will have to rely on her new powers to shape the future of herself and her friends.

Fantasy, Drama, School-Life

Review

Story - 5 (Great)

I thought the story was very well done. It kept me wanting to find out what would happen and interested the whole way through. It's amusing to see what happens to Makoto and those around her as she keeps trying to change things to the way she wants it to(for herself and her friends). It'll also start to make you wonder if what she does starts to have any consequences. The story has some good twists too.. the only thing I had a problem with was the ending solution, but I guess it can be overlooked considering how good everything else was. Besides some unanswered questions.. the ending was pretty decent and fulfilling.

Music/Sound - 5 (Great)

Art/Animation - 4 (Good)

Character - 4 (Good)

The character development was done pretty well for an hr 30min movie. You actually get a sense of what kind of person Makoto is because of her actions and the way she cherishes her friends so much. You also get to learn a bit about her two friends Kousuke and Chiaki and how she feels about them. The three characters have their own personalities that stand out and it's fun seeing them interact. If you compare Makoto from the beginning and the end, you can see that she probably became more mature from her experience.

Humor - 4 (Good)

This anime had a lot of humor in it and I thought it was pretty funny. Not the laugh out loud, can't stop kind.. but it has it's cute moments, and the friends always throwing sarcastic remarks towards each other, and not to mention how Makoto is constantly rolling around and bumping her head on things and appearing out of nowhere to scare people. Probably will get some smirks out of you at least ;p. It has a easy-going feeling and uses humor to appeal to the viewer a lot.

Overall - 5 (Great)
I really recommend everyone to try watching this! It's great.. and you may learn something from it :) and it's just a fun easy-going anime to watch.

How I Rate my Reviews

These are my own personal opinions/thoughts on the material that I'm reviewing.. so keep that in mind. You might not have similar tastes as me so take these ratings as just a different perspective if they don't coincide with yours. If your tastes are similar to mine ^^ then hopefully my reviews will be helpful in finding movies/anime you'd enjoy too! And I Try NOT to include Any or Too much SPOILERS


Story

I'm going to grade the Overall story. So if a show is great in the beginning but gets bad towards the end.. or has a very un-fulfilling ending, the score might go down. I'm going to grade the story as a whole. For it to have at least a good rating, it has to have what every story needs.. beginning, middle, ending with a climax and resolution. It needs to have a specific goal.. what is it that they are trying to accomplish? If it doesn't have those basic elements, it will be graded on the low scale.

5 - Excellent story and memorable. Either it was very interesting, great twists, or just had a great way of sucking you into the story and wanting to find out more. Climatic and fulfilling ending (even if it doesn't answer all questions, it should at least fit and have a good wrap up). Usually has morals and lessons that can be learned.
4 - Good story that can be memorable. Like rating 5 but not as fulfilling. There may be many answers left unanswered even with a thoroughly told story. Moral, lessons, or messages can be learned from this kind of story.
3 - Average story. It has the basic elements of any decent story. It doesn't really grab the viewers attention right away but it might towards the middle or end. It's more of a roller-coaster ride, where at times you'll be interested and into it and at other times in the show it'll slow down and get boring. Just doesn't have enough elements in the story to pull the viewers into the story but still good enough to watch and get enjoyment out of it.
2 - Below average Story. A very slow build up.. sometimes leaving the viewer confused as if there really is a story and where it's going. Or the story does not seem to build up and is not consistent. Is not very attention grabbing at all and feels random.
1 - Bad Story. Basically it has no story. It could also be confusing and random with no real goal.


Music/Sound

This will be on voice acting, sound effects and music overall. But it'll probably be graded mostly on the overall feeling and put together of the atmosphere and voice acting. How well they go together. How good the music sounds too and if they are used well to give the right moods for the moment.

5 - excellent
4 - good
3 - average
2 - below average
1 - bad


Art/Animation

Basically I'm going to rate according to how the graphics appeal to me.. simply, if it looks good enough to watch then it'll get a good rating. If the graphics look really screwy or makes me want to tear my eyes out.. then it'll get a bad rating.

5 - Excellent art/animation. Eye candy.
4 - Good art/animation. Better than average, has smooth graphics and feeling to it that is enjoyable.
3 - Average art/animation. Decent enough graphics to enjoy. May be good but have a few annoying/bad aspects.
2 - Below Average art/animation. Just graphics that aren't up to date and don't look good to me.. can be watchable but graphics may be a huge negative aspect to enjoyment.
1 - Bad art/animation. Like stick figures, choppy.. basically doesn't look like much effort was put into it and may be hard to watch.


Character

This is graded separately from the story. How well the characters are developed themselves.. whether you get to know more about the characters backgrounds or how well they are portrayed from the rest of the characters.

5 - Excellent character development. Character is usually the main focus and they stand out. Character's personalities are explored deeply and their backgrounds are explored to enrich the story further. You can sometimes get more out of the characters themselves than just the story. Memorable. Will learn morals/lessons from the characters.
4 - Good character development. Characters stand out from each other and become unique in their own backgrounds and personalities. This enriches the story further. May learn morals/lessons from the characters.
3 - Average character development. Character backgrounds are known but not thoroughly or deeply. You know enough about the characters to get through the story but not more.
2 - Very little character development. There is little focus on the characters and more focus on other aspects. May have many answers that aren't answered about the characters.
1 - No character development at all or not focused on character background. The characters don't seem consistent and don't stand out in any way.


Humor
This will be graded on how much comedy is used and how effective it was. I will include what kind of humor is used too. This score will tell you if it's a more comedy/laid back kind or a more serious genre.

5 - Excellent comedy. Humor is abundant and is used very well, an important focus. (usually makes me laugh out loud nonstop)
4 - Good comedy. There is a moderate use of humor that is thrown in every other scene. Which can be amusing and makes you snicker a few times.
3 - Average comedy. It's a mix of being serious and humorous. Sometimes it's funny and sometimes its not.
2 - Some comedy. It's not the main focus though, and laughs aren't that often.
1 - Not funny at all or it leans more towards being serious.


Overall Rating

This is a score independent from the rest of the grading. Just my overall opinion if it's worth watching or not.

5 - Excellent! I really recommend you watch it. You'll most likely enjoy it.
4 - Good! Recommended. If you're looking for something good to watch.
3 - Decent. You may want to try it. It might be good.
2 - Meh. not very good, but if you have nothing else to do.
1 - Horrible... I recommend you Don't watch it.