The story is very simplistic. Based on a rough Chinese style of government and architecture, all of the events in the anime happen in a fictional empire known as “Saikunkoku”. Although, you might as well call it Japan and China’s love child. It’s basically ancient China with Japanese influence mixed in. It has a governor, provinces, “great families”, ministers, and the rest of whole stereotypical Chinese Japanese government from long ago.

The main story focuses on a girl named Kō Shūre who is the “princess” of the Ko (or Kou) family. There are eight families and each is named after a color with Ko being Red (although a second Ko family, yellow, is a separate kanji: 紅for red and 黄, for yellow) and the emperor being Shi or purple. The drama comes from Shūre starting as the emperor’s consort which would be something like a wife to a monarch. The emperor being a lousy ruler and Shūre being a very smart girl from a high family (from a branch that is incredibly poor) would obviously make a good couple to prod the emperor (who apparently loves guys more than women) into doing his work.

The basic premise of the first arc is that Shūre is a daughter of someone who works in the imperial court (the library and doesn’t make much money but is very respectful posistion) in an estate that is broken down and in disrepair who works at the temple school and various odd jobs to make enough money. One of the sages come and offers 500 gold to become the emperor’s consort. The emperor is the result of a massive civil war and is very naive and wants to avoid working. She accepts and begins working in the palace, somewhere she wants to go as a real member of the government.

This is what you’ll see in most teasers from the anime but it gets much much more involved in this. The entire consort arc doesn’t last very long at all and the conclusion itself leads into bigger and better things. The drama mixes well with the comedy (often random and offbeat) while the Romance plays a thick role in helping the drama progress. The fantasy based world is well laid out and is perfect in many ways.

However, what isn’t perfect is the episode length. The first season, the one we’re reviewing, weighs in at 39 episodes. That’s about three seasons and some change worth of episodes. That’s fine and dandy and for the most part needed, however some arcs drag on and on. If you’re not a complete fan of drama the first few lighthearted arcs will still be able to tug you in but the final arcs may not hold you for the full ride.

For the start of the show I would say it’s fantastic. You’ve got a mix of comedy and drama that works out perfectly. The little quirks in each character’s behavior will drive you wild with affection for them. As each plot point moves forward and more is uncovered you’ll be drawn in close to each character’s depth. Even minor characters play a large role and you’ll know a good deal about each.

Towards the ending though you may start losing your ability to pay attention to each point. Like a good book that has gone a few pages too many you’ll want to see the conclusion of a story long before the final curtain is drawn and even then, this is a major spoiler, the love story isn’t finished. That’s right! There is a second season that awaits you which another 39 episodes before the story is finished.

Overall, if you’re a fan of drama and romance without minding fantasy atmospheres (who would) then this is a show for you. Comedy has a good place throughout the series, but it’s not a major focal point more than it’s something to keep the story light and fluffy. Not only that, but the majority of the comedy comes from overused jokes based on each character’s eccentric side. The father can’t make tea properly, one character is so wacky with his flute, and a certain uncle just loves his niece so much but doesn’t dare tell her that. It gets old fast and loses the humor, but it’s not annoying.

If you’re not there is still something for you. An epic somewhat lighthearted story that is very entertaining to watch. Some action is contained here and there but there is no focus. Even if romance isn’t your thing, the fantasy setting with light magic and some combat will still tug you in.

So in summary, Saiunkoku is brimming with vibrancy and depth. The story and the characters are laid out in a very colorful manner. The overall flow is very enjoyable although I would say it could be toned down a few episodes. Each episode is required to get the amount of depth that they have, but I think trimming some of the depth away to get through the main story faster wouldn’t be a downturn.

So for those of you who love drama anime I would highly suggest this. Those of you who love romance well I’ll suggest this as well. It’s one of the best drama shows you’ll find and shouldn’t be skipped. Fans of anything else – keep moving unless you’ve got an open mind for something that has the depth of a book without the reading.

Pictures!

Introduction

Great Teacher Onizuka is an anime about well, a teacher (Onizuka) (who is 22 years old) who seeks to be the best teacher out there. He’s a bōsōzoku member (a Japanese gang type thing that likes to modify cars) and is as close to a thug as you could imagine.

There is a lot more to the story, but it centers on a class full of delinquents who drove several other teachers insane. Onizuka being the glorious thug type guy seems like the perfect disposable teacher and is hired to take care of them. The only problem, of course, is that Onizuka doesn’t give up so easily.

Review

GTO is one of the better shows that exist in Japan for lots of reasons. The main reason being that it lacks most stereotypical anime clichés and is completely devoid of any moe type characters and instead focuses purely on the dramatically plot. There are a lot of character advancement going on in this anime and it happens perfectly with action filled scenes and great humor.

Actually, to be honest, GTO is one of my absolute favorite shows. It could stand above other anime based solely on how awesome Onizuka is as a teacher. His ideals, ability to teach, and physical badassery add together for an entertaining experience unlike any others.

Some anime, like Nadesico, really get me going when they end. GTO is one of these where I just feel sad and disappointed when there are no more episodes to watch. I will often go back and rewatch GTO to experience everything all over again.

With all of the praise, I might as well go over what the anime is actually about. Onizuka wants to be the greatest teacher out there. He’s also kind of like a gang member (but doesn’t have the hilarious curl roll) so this goal is obviously more difficult for him then being a guy riding around on a motorcycle beating people up.

His first adventure involves him being part of a public school full of punks. Throughout a quick adventure involving an attempted blackmail of him, he changes the attitude of everyone through his gang skills. The next day they’re doing all of their chores and paying attention in class.

He’s then picked up by a private school (since he missed getting his license) and assigned to a classful of intelligent students who ruin every teacher they get. The rest of the anime focuses on this and how he wins over the entire class.

Actually, know what, I’m not even worthy to review this anime. That’s how good it is, to be honest; I probably shouldn’t even write a single word about it. However, I will just say go watch it.

Rating

Score: 9.5/10 (Amazing)

Pros:

• Enjoyable story full of drama and passion.
• Lack of the majority of anime clichés and unique storyline.
• Onizuka being completely badass.

Cons:

• May not be for everyone, since it doesn’t involve robots or some kind of stupid moe plotline.
• The ending and most of the series doesn’t follow the manga’s which is much better.

Introduction

Ouran High School Host Club (Ouran for short) follows the lives of several members of a high society in a school for the privileged. The members run a Host Club, or basically a club that sits around and entertains women. They pay to sit around and watch the guys drink tea with them, basically. There is a lot more, but I’m going to just do you a favor. If you want to read on and spoil the first episode then go ahead. If not then I’ll give you the rating upfront and you decide if you want to watch it or not.

Rating: 5/10

Review

Alright, I’m going to warn you. I’m going to spoil the first episode. This is a big deal ya know. That’s part of the charm of the anime is that the first episode is really interactive. Alright, if you still want to read…

The anime follows around Haruhi Fujioka, a member of the Ouran High Host Club. Haruhi starts at episode one as a guy. You can’t really tell, but “he” is a girl who just wears slacks and a polo shirt. As the first episode progresses you eventually come to find out that Haruhi is indeed a girl. At the end, for those who don’t catch on to it, the secret is reveled to everyone.

There isn’t much to say about the plot of Ouran. The storyline follows the general school calendar system that most anime follow with. There is spring when they go to the beach and winter when they stay inside and hang out. Episode to episode you pretty much have different storylines going. Some storylines continue for multiple episodes, but overall there is no major plot past abunch of super rich kids having fun.

Oh and Haruhi is pretty middle-class. This means that she lives an alright life, but she has no room excess spending. This means that she is distanced from the Host Club’s group of people. I thought this was a pretty decent way to establish character with Haruhi.

Most of the anime focuses on fleshing out the back story of each character. There isn’t much past that. It’s entertaining, but there isn’t much action. It’s to be expected of a drama targeted at girls.

The only problem I found with the anime was a character named “Honey” who is something like 17 with “growth problems” or in other words looks like a kid. He’s really annoying and rarely adds anything interesting to the story. Don’t worry though, rarely you see anything too ecchi in this series.

Rating

Score: 5/10

Special Score: BOOOOONUS 2 points for having a decent ending for a drama anime that actually is entertaining.

Pros:

• Funny moments.
• Wacky antics.
• Entertaining story with great visuals.
• An ending that isn’t open or just out of nowhere.
• Makes you feel good when watching it for the most part, except on the boring episodes.

Cons:

• Honey is really annoying and is the worst character in the whole series but gets a ton of screentime.
• Another crossdressing anime, it’s not like there isn’t enough of them!!
• Episodes are hit and miss.

Introduction

Genshiken follows an after college club called Genshiken: Contemporary Visual Culture Research Organization or Gendai Shikaku Bunka Kenkyūkai in Japanese. The club, in reality, is an otaku club where members watch anime, build models, and do various other otaku things after school.

The story follows their adventures they deal with various Otaku issues while a non-Otaku attempts to adjust to their society in an attempt to win a boys love.

Review

Genshiken is an extremely well done anime. You ask how in the world can an anime about otakus be any good. Well, I don’t know either, but it’s very well done. The story is well thought out and the progression is extremely well paced.

Basically you have a typical college club, but instead of drawing manga or doing other college club type things, they just goof around. The anime has two key plotlines. One is the very cute Kasuga attempting to fit in with the otakus in an attempt to win the love Kosaka, an extremely “KAWAIIIIIII” guy who is a major otaku. The other is following the general things Genshiken does which are often times random but always related to anime, models, manga, video games, etc.

Genshiken has the somewhat unique ability to keep you watching even though there, well, isn’t much going on. No matter how you analyze it, it just follows people hanging around talking about anime and doing otaku related things. You want to keep watching even though all your watching is two people discuss model building. Truly amazing.

I want to say that Genshiken was too short in a way. Twelve episodes didn’t feel like enough, but I asked myself what else could they have done to keep it interesting? There really isn’t much you can do to make an anime following the lives of nerds interesting.

There are a few more downfalls. The anime isn’t too true of a portrayal of otakus and their culture. You see a lot of the fascination with eroge (Hentai Games) and erotic Doujinshi but you don’t really get into the stereotypical looks of an otaku. The overly nerdy looking person who no girl would ever set eyes on that you see in a lot of anime. This isn’t really THAT big of an issue, considering if you look at the major hub for Otaku activity, Akihabara, you will see that really isn’t very true of a stereotype. You do though, wonder why all of the characters are well drawn and fashionable.

When I said few, I really meant one and by one I mean not really. There just isn’t much to complain about. It’s a very true look at otaku life in Japan! Oh well, other then if you don’t like anime you will not like Genshiken, or even get some of the jokes.

There is some really good artwork in Genshiken. The anime is fluid and well drawn and the music is well placed. Genshiken takes a more serious approach to the art-style, often lacking the stereotypical anime emotions more facial expression. That doesn’t mean you won’t find some sweat drops or extremely cartoony scenes.

Oh, while I’d love to review Kujibiki Unbalance in the same review, I can’t. It’s going to be an actual serious anime upcoming sometime in October. Basically Kujibiki Unbalance is the mega-stereotypical anime that Genshiken watches. It includes most everything “major” inside of anime. Childhood promises, aliens, swimsuit scenes out of nowhere, combat, etc. It was made into an OVA and will soon be released as a real series (taking away some of the ridiculous character models in the process that is kind of its charm).

One last thing, the English dub is done VERY well. The voices actuall fit and it’s not painful to listen to it. Even the Kujibiki Unbalance voices for the most part are well done. So if you don’t like reading subtitles while people speak in some kind of strange language then pick up the DVDs and watch the dub. Not that, a real otaku wouldn’t want to hear it in it’s original Japanese version.

Rating

Score: 8/10

Pros:

• Well thought out storyline Interesting plot. A slice of life anime that doesn’t put you to sleep.
• Great visuals, musics, opening, ending, and artwork.
• English dub is well done, so be sure to pick up the DVDs!

Cons:

• People not in Japan who want to be otakus.
• If you don’t like anime then you probably won’t really care or even understand this anime.