Cute Anime Couples

One of the most standard parts in anime are the cute couples. Actually, maybe it's an unwritten rule that every anime have to have some sort of love story in there somewhere. But what makes a "cute couple"? Is it the cute moments where you just want to go "Awww"? Or is it the moments where you just KNOW they belong together? I asked some friends of mine who they thought were the most adorable and amazing Anime couples, and here are the results; including some of my own:

Daisuke and Riku
D.N.Angel
"I loved this romance because it actually developed and wasn't painfully obvious from episode one! To be honest, I thought Riku was going to e a jerk in the beginning, an obstacle for Daisuke to overcome in order to get to the woman he loves. But no, as the series progresses, Daisuke realizes that he is not in love with Risa, but her identical twin Riku (yeah big step there). But the realization of his love isn't about looks or him never being able to get Risa, it's because his personality and comfort zone are much closer to Riku. At the end of the series I found myself yelling at the computer screen, ordering Daisuke to kiss Riku or I would kill him. I believe he got the message."

Lawrence and Holo
Spice and Wolf
"I honestly loved the chemistry between Lawrence and Holo in Spice and Wolf. Granted I didn't see much of Spice and Wolf but, of what I did see, there were a few great scenes between the two where there was so much tension.... the notion that traveling companion falling in love has a lot of plausibility to it."

Hagi and Saya
Blood+
You have a girl who has lived a really long time, and a man who does anything to serve the girl. Throughout the series, their relationship begins to grow, as Saya starts regaining some memories, and we see Hagi recall some of his own. From those flashbacks, we understand how important they are to each other. Are they cute together? Not in the literal sense of the word, but they do have a very nice relationship. Did I mention Hagi steals a kiss from Saya in the very first episode?

Miroku and Sango
Inuyasha
"I like Miroku, he's my favorite character in that whole story. He never changes to the detriment to his character, but also to his aid. He has an ethical code to Sango of basically, 'At the end of the night, I'm still gonna be yours." It's..... twisted, but shows that he does want to put his feelings for her first. Like a shrine or special place set aside specifically for her. Sango is a very traumatized character, arguably the one with the most to lose in the whole series. Her entire clan is dead at the hands of demons, and her brother has one of the cursed shards in his body, and Naraku forces him to fight her. To save him she must kill Naraku. Because of her singular focus, she's unaware of Miroku's feeling for her until later in the series. Later on, she realizes that he likes her, but they both agree they can't afford the relationship right now. There is too much at stake for the both of them, at least until their (seemingly never ending) quest to kill Naraku is finished. Their relationship, both romantic and as traveling companions has something that sells it for me: AUTHENTICITY. Miroku is a lecherous douche cookie, and he shows that Many MANY time RIGHT IN FRONT OF SANGO. By all rights, she should completely forget his stupid ass, and to hell with his "devotion to her" when he's clearly planning to single handedly impregnate the other half of Feudal Japan. And yet his devotion to her, despite his failings, wins her over."

Zoro and Nami
One Piece
This is certainly one of thise couples that I might get in trouble for, but I can't help falling in love with this pair! They are probably a couple of the most mature member of the Straw Hat Pirates (Robin being another one. I haven't seen the two newer members yet). They have serious conversations about certain problems and situations, and are very funny at times. Mostly whenever Nami reminds Zoro of the debt he owes her for buying new swords. Ahh, blackmail at it's finest....

Meier and Charlotte
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
"This romance is beautiful, hated, and remarkable in my opinion. I think out of every anime couple that 'loves' each other this is the most amazing one that I've seen. It's tragic and forbidden, and it's slightly dangerous but it's still beautiful to see how much the two of these characters love and adore one another despite everything else. As an aside, the movie is beautiful and I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it."

Chrono and Rosette
Chrono Crusade
"They are a very good couple because while they are not over the top lovey through the series, their relationship is obvious and an important undertone throughout the series. They bring it to the point where their lives are literally linked, to which if one dies they both do. This is for a different reason, but I see it as another innuendo for their love for each other. Not to mention that the ending of the series was one of the most bittersweet and very heartwarming things I've ever seen in anime. I won't spoil the end though, I'll jst say it's adorable."

Naruto and Hinata
Naruto
Again, I might get shot for even thinking about putting this one on here, but these two seem to be at the top of a lot Anime Couple lists. And I can see why. You have shy Hinata, who wants to tell the guy she likes how she feels. And then you have Naruto, the guy who doesn't even notice anything and just wants to focus on his goals. It does make for a funny relationship they go through..... But you just want to yell at Hinata for not telling Naruto right out..... Or at Naruto for his own damn stupidity.

Rini and Peruru
Sailor Moon
"Why? Ahhhh..... young love."

Shiro and Saber
Fate/Stay Night
This relationship is certainly an interesting one. You have Saber who wants to fight and win the Grail War, and Shiro just wants to protect those he cares. But as the story progresses, Shiro starts developing feelings for Saber and actually want to use the Grail to try and keep her with him. In the end, Saber does admit her feelings to Shiro just in time for her to leave and return to where she came from. It's a relationship that just goes back and forth but ends up in good terms in the end.


Those are just ten of the many amazing and cutest couples in anime. I know there's even more, but it would take a very long time to talk about them all; and I don't really have that luxury. So, until next time, every story has some love in it we just have to enjoy; no matter the kind of relationship.

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xxxHolic Review (English)

"There are many unusual things in this world. Every day, events occur that cannot be explained. Bizarre phenomena that often go unnoticed because people close their eyes to what they don't understand. But the truth of the matter is, there are many unusual things in things in this world. And People.... People are the most mysterious of them all."

xxxHolic, a Supernatural/Comedy, is based off the manga by Clamp. The english manga is published by Del Ray Manga. The anime was produced by Production I.G. and is licensed by Funimation, having twenty four episodes. A spin off anime called xxxHolic: Kei is produced by Production I.G. as well and has thirteen episodes. This series has not been licensed in America yet.

Kimihiro Watanuki, a high school student, is plagued by yokai and ayakashi, spirits with a strong attraction to him. The spirits are invisible to others and encounters with them are extremely troublesome. When he stumbles into a shop that grants wishes, however, events in his life promise to become more unusual. The shop is owned by Yuko Ichihara, a mysterious witch of many names and esoteric renown. For a price, she offers to grant Watanuki's wish to be rid of the spirits. The price, according to Yuko, must be of equal value and so, as payment, he temporarily becomes Yuko's part-time employee. Watanuki's job consists of small errands dealing with the supernatural and household chores. His love interest, Himawari Kunogi, and "rival", Shizuka Domeki, occasionally join him in his work as per Yuko's request. The three become increasingly close despite Watanuki's annoyance with Domeki. Although Watanuki becomes happy with the new friendships he makes, he becomes concerned about Yuko, promising he will try and grant her wish.

This looks fairly well done with nice animation, however, this anime suffer from what I like to call "lazy animation syndrome". There are points where the animation and the look are as if the animators decided to cheat a bit or slack off with the series, and it shows on occasion. The style of the show, in some ways, reminds me of a Romance/Drama style. You can get it from the overall look, the music, and how the characters are portrayed.

The story doesn't quite have a distinct plot. You would think the plot was Watanuki trying to get his wish granted by Yuko, but it's actually mentioned very rarely throughout the series. Of course it's brought up a lot in the first episode, but then, I think, it's only talked about once in another episode; but only briefly. So, instead, there isn't a consistent plot; just one more mistake that didn't quite occur in the minds of the oriducers. And the last episode of this series is literally labeled: "Side Story: Reminiscence". Yeah...... I'm going to correct myself a little bit....... THERE IS NO PLOT!!!! It's pretty much a bait and switch here. You watch the first episode and think "This is gonna be a pretty awesome story. I might enjoy this", and then you keep watching it..... And watching it......... And watching it............. And watching it.................... And watching it..................... AND THERE IS NO STORY!!!! That is just a complete disappointment for people who want a story, who want a plot, who want.... SOMETHING to happen!!

I know what you're thinking, "What else is she about to say that will destroy my hopes in ever watching xxxHolic?" And, well, I can actually say that there are some pretty good redeeming qualities in this anime. Obviously, the look of the show is pretty and also can be dark at times. The use of color and design is used well and that is very noticeable.

The other redeeming quality is the cast. For a show that doesn't have a real story to it, the English cast balances it out with enjoyable characters and some actual character development. A couple to certainly mention are Todd Haberkorn as Watanuki (Soul Eater, Baccano!) and Colleenn Clinkenbeard as Yuko (One Piece, Trinity Blood). And, just like in Paranoia Agent, Carrie Savage seem to have some fun playing little Mokona. What is it with Carrie Savage and playing rather cute and very interesting characters?

To sum things up, xxxHolic is an enjoyable anime with a good amount of screw ups, but with some little fun parts to make up for it. If you're the kind of person who wants to watch something fun then it's certainly one to watch. But, since I'm more into stories and actual plot, I don't really recommend this anime. But there's some hope for the story lovers! There's still the spin off show, xxxHolic: Kei! Maybe it'll be ten times better then its predecessor......... Please let it be better........

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Hourou Musuko (Wandering Son)

Hourou Musuko (Wandering Son)

Hourou Musuko (Wandering Son) is an eleven episode Drama/Slice of Life anime based off the manga by Takako Shimura and published by Enterbrain. The anime is from AIC Classic and premiered in Japan in January 14th of this year and is currently finishing it's run.

Shuichi Nitori is a young, effeminate boy who has just entered middle school. Yoshino Takasuki is a tall, boyish girl in the same class. Both of them have know each other since elementary school, and became fast friends when they learned of each others desire to be the opposite gender. Nitori tends to cross dress while he's around town or at home, while Takasuki has short hair and begins to wear more boys clothes. Both children begin taking the first steps toward who they truly desire to be.

When it comes to the look of the anime, it looks as if you're watching a moving color pencil drawing in a sketch book. There is a lot of white, making the other colors rather faded. It's certainly a rare look for an anime, considering what I have seen before. I don't really know any other anime that have this same look so it's a good change of pace when it comes to the look and animation. At the same time, however, although the look is unique it's really hard to focus on what's really taking [place with so much white and faded colors.

The story itself takes a little bit to get into and really understand, and can even be a bit confusing some times. This series starts on the first day of middle school which, if you have read the manga, is wrong. The manga starts with our main characters in elementary school. So, this means, there will be some parts you don't quite understand at first. Unless you have read the manga then you'll get lost after ten minutes of the first episode. Don't worry too much though, parts of the series do get explained with dialogue and few flashbacks. Also, the story can be a little slow at times; making it seem like forever before something really major happens. This isn't a real bad thing, considering this is a slice of life anime, but it can sometimes be agonizing wondering when the story will really get going.

The characters, from what I've seen, are fairly well developed. The two main characters, Nitori and Takasuki show more development then the other characters, however there is one other character that has some development involved. Saori Chiba, a classmate, has a decent amount of development. She has has a crush on Nitori for a long time, yet she is the person who encourages him to cross dress. Kind of a conflicting situation within herself. The one character that kind of bugs me is Makoto Ariga, another boy in the class who wants to be a girl. I didn't even know that he wanted to be a girl too till I read something online, and THEN I saw it on the show. This character is just not defined clearly in the first couple episodes. He does become more developed later on when he ends up taking on the major role in the class's gender bender play.

The main theme of this anime, as I stated before, is gender identity. This is certainly a topic you almost never see come up on TV these days, let alone an anime series! Sure, maybe there's bits of messaging in some shows, but never has a show been completely been about gender identity (at least from what I've seen). The way Wandering Son portrays this theme is rather well done. It not only shows how the two main characters deal with finding their own place and becoming who they are, but it shows how other people are effected as well. For example, Nitori's older sister beats him whenever she catches him cross dressing. Then there's Chiba's love for Nitori, the boy. This anime breaks down barriers and starts to show us what the life of a transgender person is like, especially a child's life.

In the end, Hourou Musuko is a groundbreaking and unique anime from beginning to end; from story to style and animation. It brings to light, a modern day issue and brings it back to it's origins of childhood when a person believes they are someone else; because that's when most transgender people begin to think that way. It tells the story if the individual as well as those around them, showing the torment as well as the triumph they feel once they get to be who they are. So, again, I'm going to ask this question of all of you:

"What are little girls really made of?"

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Paranoia Agent (English Dub)

He attacks you when you're alone, when you're most vulnerable, and emotionally cornered. There's no way to escape him, and he can't be caught. When you see his golden roller blades and hear his bent golden bat in the distance you know he's coming. You can run, but there's no way you can hide from him. He is.... Lil Slugger.

Paranoia Agent is an original anime from the late, great, Satoshi Kon. This mystery/Psychological/Horror is thirteen episodes long and originally aired in 2004. It was produced by Madhouse Studios and was licensed by Geneon, though they went under a few years ago, and Paranoia Agent has yet to be relicensed. So, if you ever want to watch it, you're only chance is used DVD's or online streaming sites.

Tuukiko Sagi, a shy character designer who created the immensely popular pink dog Maromi, finds herself under pressure to repeat her success. As she walks home that night, she is attacked by an elementary school boy on inline skates. Two police detectives, Keiichi Ikari and Mitsuhiro Maniwa, are assigned to the case. They suspect that Tsukiko is lying about the attack, until they receive word of a second victim. Soon the attacker, dubbed Lil Slugger, is blamed for a series of street assaults in Tokyo. None of the victims can recall the boy's face and only three distinct details are left in their memories: golden inline skates, a baseball cap, and the weapon: a bent golden baseball bat. Ikari and Maniwa set out to track down the perpetrator and out an end to his crimes, but it's not going to be easy.

First off, I am going to mention this. I first saw this series in 2004 on Adult Swim, when I was about thirteen/fourteen years old. After watching the first episode, I couldn't fall asleep for days because I had evil visions of Lil Slugger in my head. So, I never finished the show. I finally watched it all the way through last year with some friends and I completely fell in love with it! It's funny how your idea of something can change after watching it again.

The look of the series is almost flawless. The animation is good and the scenes are put well together. The only real complaint I have is some of the distorted faces some of the characters make. It doesn't seem to look very well with the intentional look and style of the series. The story itself is almost flawless as well. For the first six or seven episodes, it revolves around six people and their attacks: Tsukiko Sagi, Akio Kawazu, Yuichi Taira, Harumi Chono, Taeko Hirukawa, and Makoto Kozuka. If you have seen this series before then you already know why I didn't mention Shogo Ushiyama and Masami Hirukawa. For those who haven't, well, I'm not planning on spoiling it too much for you.

As far as voice acting goes, it's pretty much flawless. You find the English voice actors matched with characters extremely well, and it's rare for someone to find a bad role. In other words, you have a harder time picking a favorite character based on the voice. Sam Riegal (Fate/Stay Night, Prince of Tennis) as Lil Slugger/Makoto Kozuka is the right amount of creepy/silly needed for the two, very different, roles. Mostly certainly credit goes to Carrie Savage for her role as Maromi (Vampire Knight, Baccano!). It's cute and adorable mixed with just the right amount of creepy, making this a very odd stuffed toy that could probably kill you in your sleep.

One of the genre's in this series is Psychological, so where does that really come in? To put it simply, it's human coping skills. People are backed into little emotional corners due to personal problems in each victim's life. For instance, Tsukiko Sagi is stuck due to the amounting pressure to repeat her success after Maromi became super popular. She ended up as a victim of stress and paranoia, and, as a result, so appears Lil Slugger. There's real way to explain it without really spoiling it, so I'll just go ahead and say it. Lil Slugger isn't a real person. It's just something that was created to put blame on instead of claiming blame for your own actions. Again, coping skills. The question then becomes this, where did Lil Slugger really come from?

Now I said that this series is almost flawless.... Almost. Back to what I said about the story. It's good for the first six or seven episodes, and then, to an extent, it kind of goes downhill. For a few episodes, it's all just fillers. One of them is about three people who met online trying to commit suicide together, another about all the workers for the Maromi TV show getting killed off, and last about some gossiping women telling stories about Lil Slugger. It would be fine if these stories weren't right in a row, one right after the other. I can understand some time needs to go by to help develop the main characters in the show, like the detectives and Tsukiko Sagi, but three fillers is kind of overdoing it a bit. Granted, the are fun to watch. After Episode 10, the real story kind of kicks back in with Detective Ikari's wife Misae. Once that episode goes through, the story finally reaches it's climax and slowly comes down to it's end result of everything going back to normal.... For everyone but Maniwa any way.

In the end, Paranoia Agent is almost completely flawless in every angle. From story, to animation, to it's characters; this anime is certainly one that will get you to start thinking about what's real and what really isn't. Or, if not that, give you nightmares of Lil Slugger for a few days.

Here's the first ten minutes of the first episode if you are interested in watching:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zgjbn74mL6Q

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