To Aru Kagaku no Railgun

Description

The To Aru Kagaku no Railgun side story is based on Kamachi's original story set in Academy City, a city where about 80% of its 230,000 citizens are students. The story deals with the adventures of Misaka Mikoto, one of the Level 5 psychics in the To Aru Majutsu no Index light novels.

Action, Comedy, Science Fiction, Shoujo-Ai, Supernatural

24 episodes + 2 special (season 1)

Misaka's Superpower! Level5

Review

Story - 3 (Average)
The story takes place in Academy City where a majority of the students study to acquire their paranormal powers (they become known as Espers). Everyone has a special power of their own and they are graded on the scale of Level 1(being the weakest) - Level 5 (strongest). The main character, Misaka, is a pretty famous person in the school as she is one of the few Level 5 being able to manipulate electric current and blasting it at a high velocity which is the reason why she's acquired the nickname Railgun. The other support main character is her partner Shirai who works for an organization called Judgement, which works odd jobs in solving citizen problems to solving larger cases that are a threat to the city.

The story flow is more of a roller coaster as it switches from the everyday lives of the girl and their friends to the more exciting bit of solving cases that threat the safety of the City. The fighting scenes can be pretty cool and interesting to watch as you want to see what everyone's power is and the many ways they can manipulate it. As you get further, the story also starts to build up for the main focus in which they try to stop a serious threat... the typical end of the world kind (except in this case, the end of their city instead lol).

If you really love the characters though (as I did) then you'll mostly be hooked the whole way through.

Music/Sound - 5 (Great)
The introduction songs are great :D and so are the ending songs. Even though Shirai's voice sounds a bit weird at first.. it does seem to fit her personality. ;p

Art/Animation - 5 (Great)
The graphics look really nice, smooth, and shiny. Love it!


Character - 5 (Great)
I think they did a really good job on developing the characters. You get to learn a lot about the four friends Misaki, Shirai, Uiharu, and Saten where you'll obtain a very good sense of what they are all like, how they would probably act, or what they believe is important. Even some of the minor characters have their spotlight for one episode so you can know a bit about them too. I really enjoyed this anime because of the characters :) .. you can feel that the four friends are very close. I love the Misaka-Shirai pair too lol (yes there is yuri.. but it's not serious, as it seems to be used more for comedy than an actual romance). Oh and this anime's main cast is full of girls.. there is only one minor guy that doesn't even appear much.

Humor - 5 (Great)
I thought the comedy was very good, it made me laugh and smile a lot as I watched. Especially how Misaka is constantly fighting off Shirai's perverted advances lol. Saten and Uiharu also have funny quirks of their own, in that Saten is oddly always having to check that her friend wears her underwear everyday. Misaka seems like such a serious person and yet she loves cute/childish things. The character reactions are also incredibly funny since they use a lot of exaggerated looks and noises. I'll have to say that the most comedic character in this anime would have to be Shirai :P she is such a panther! I think Misaka puts up with Shirai because she knows that despite her perverseness, Shirai has many other good qualities that make her a great friend. So she probably just accepts Shirai the way she is, warts and all lol.

Misaka compliments Shirai.. which encourages her

Shirai unexpectedly hops onto Misaka's lap making a ruckus

Overall - 4 (Good)
It's a good anime to watch if you like to watch supernatural powers and some fight scenes! Mostly if you're interested in watching about the lives of a group of girls getting close and having fun. If you're a yuri fan you'd probably like this too. Most likely, if you enjoy the comedy in the first episode then you'll end up enjoying the series!

Love Hina + Love Hina Again + X'mas&Spring Specials

Description

Keitaro Urashima is trying for the 3rd time to get into Tokyo University, the most prestigious University in Japan. Why? Because of a promise he made to a girl when they were both children. But that was long ago, and he has forgotten who the girl was. His parents who only see him as loafer, are constantly nagging him. So when his grandmother invites him to visit her home, the Hinata apartments, he figures he can crash there.

Comedy, Ecchi, Harem, Love-Romance, School-Life

Love Hina - 25 episodes + 2 special episodes
Love Hina Again - 3

Review

Story - 2 (Below Average)
Overall the story is about Keitaro trying to get into Tokyo University to fulfill his promise to a childhood love. After constantly failing his exams, he suddenly ends up being a manager at the Hinata Apartments.. but the trouble is, is that it's strictly an all women's dorm! So the story jumps around relating to Keitaro and his crazy encounters with the women who live there. For instance, he's always getting beat up by one of the tenants Naru Narusegawa for being so perverted and clumsy, wacked around by a serious swordswoman who has men phobia, and a carefree girl who likes to attack him with missiles and other contraptions. As Keitaro tries to survive at the inn, he continues to try and pass his exams and to confess his love to the person he likes. If you're one of those people who wants a goal-oriented story, this anime may get on your nerves since it can be so random and the characters can be so indecisive lol. The point of the story can get lost as you encounter such ridiculous and random events.

Love Hina Again has somewhat of a similar story relating to a promise Keitaro has to fulfill. Everything is pretty much similar to the series but with even More Ecchiness.

I just gave the story a below average rating because it almost feels like the story isn't important and isn't always the main focus.... (Keitaro trying to fulfill his promise but he doesn't even remember who it is! yet they keep bringing it up, and another goal would be confessing his love). Sometimes the story may hook you because you want to find out who the mystery lover really is.. but overall it's the characters and comedy that make the story instead.

Music/Sound - 5 (Great)

Art/Animation - 4/5 (Good/Great)
The Love Hina series as good graphics. It seems like they improved the graphics for Love Hina Again though. But overall :) both are nice to watch.

Character - 4 (Good)
You'll get to know a bit about every character who lives at the Hinata Apartments. They all have their own stereotypes and they pretty much remain consistent through the series. Although some characters may change a little because of what they have learned from previous episodes.. but they all still have their same quirks and such. There are several episodes that focus on developing one character's personality and background too (so it's like.. there's no real story but just about getting to know that certain character). Since the characters are all so different, it's fun to see them all interact and cause chaos for each other. Although you don't get to deeply learn about each character, you know enough about them to enjoy the anime :)

Humor - 5 (Great)
This is the best about Love Hina. The comedy in this anime is absolutely hilarious. I've laughed out loud many times when I watched through.. mostly because of just how bizarre and random some of the encounters were and how the characters react. Some characters are just so amusing as well.. like Mutsumi who is constantly daydreaming and absent-minded that everyone has to worry about her or the aunt who hates being called old. Everyone is just so silly. Although, some of the humor can be repetitive (like Keitaro always being beat up and blasted around) it can still be funny because you expect it and the character themselves expect it! ;p. Most likely.. If you were to watch this, you must be open-minded to the randomness and absurdity or you may not enjoy it. It's not supposed to make sense lol. The humor is really exaggerated as well, like people getting punched all the way to the stars or bouncing around on the walls and such. Character expressions/sounds are funny too.

Overall - 3 (Decent)
If you're looking for pure comedy with harem/ecchi humor (one guy surrounded by many girls) and don't mind random craziness, then you may have fun laughing along with this series. It's not going to be an anime that hooks you unless your sense of humor matches. Just a fun one to watch if you want something easy-going and funny on your free time.