Episodes: 3

Year: 2007

Status: Ongoing

5 centimeters per second Official Site

Review: 5 Centimeters per Second is part of a 3 episode story subtitles “a chain of short stories about love and their distance. This one is a the first part – “Okashou”. The story is about the relationship between two close friends – Shinohara Akari and Tono Takaki. During elementary school, these two shared special feelings for each other. Upon graduating from elementary school, the pair drifted apart as Akari had to transfer to another school. This episode traces the reunion between the two friends as Takaki and Akari finally meet each other after so many years.

The story itself is slow-moving but deeply touching. It is unique in its seriousness, depth and emotional insight that creator Shinkai Makoto brings out. Specially admirable in this series is the artwork right from the falling petals of cherry blossoms to the train going through the snowstorm. An amazing piece of work that I would highly recommend!

Episodes: 24

Year: 2005

Status: Complete

Subbed by: Oyasumi Fansubs (no longer existent)

Official Black Cat Site (Japanese)

Official Black Cat Site (USA)

Rating: Great

Review: Train Heartnet or otherwise known as “Black Cat” is an assassin working for an organisation of elite assassins known as “Chronos”. Chronos is an influential organisation of the underworld and its members claim that the existence of Chronos is essential for the balance of the world. Black Cat is an unsurpassed shooter as the thirteenth assassin of Chronos. However, an accidental meeting with a girl named Saya changed Heartnet’s view of things and he decides to leave Chronos to become a ‘sweeper’ (bounty hunter). However, Creed Diskenth – Train’s former partner in Chronos is obsessed with Train’s power and wants to be Train’s partner. Will Train be able to live his new life and shed his cold heart of an assassin? Will he able to take on Creed Diskenth and his past as they catch up to him in his new life?

Black Cat is an interesting mix of comedy, tragedy and action. The plot itself is very interesting as Train changed from being the heart-of-stone assassin to the laid-back bounty hunter. Despite Train’s drastic change, adventure and danger still follow him around – and the plot thickens as Creed goes to any length just to find Train!

Recommendations:

Black Lagoon I and II

Cowboy Bebop

Trigun

Weiss Kreuz

Episodes: 26

Year: 1999

Status: Completed

Cowboy Bebop Official Site (Japanese)

Rating: Awesome

Review: In the distant, or perhaps not-so-distant future, Spike Spiegel and Jet Black are interstellar bounty hunters based on their spaceship Bebop. In the course of their job, Spike and Jet often find themselves facing unpleasant dangers and unwelcome adventure! In their adventures, they meet their ‘crew’ and friends in the gorgeously deceptive Faye Valentine, Ed the amazing hacker and an intelligent dog Ein. In their pursuit of bounties, Spike, Jet and Faye find their pasts catching up to them and are forced to confront them.

Cowboy Bebop is as stylish and awesome as anime gets. Although set in the future, Cowboy Bebop maintains a sense of realism to itself. The story is immensely interesting and while each episode comes together in the bigger picture, most do just as well as being watched alone. Amidst the intriguing adventure and superb action, there is a great deal of character development and human drama, if you will, that really pushes this anime to the top. Another strong point is the music which is a mix of jazz (possibly the bebop style, not sure) and the blues singing style. All of these elements come together to make Cowboy Bebop an anime with class and subtlety. Now, how often do you see that happen? The style, sophistication, clever story and complex characterisation coupled with the perfect music makes Cowboy Bebop a rare yet superb piece of animation.

Looking for more anime like this one? Check out:

Trigun

Black Lagoon I and II

Episodes: 51

Year: 2003

Status: Complete

Subbed by: ANBU Fansubs, KickAssAnime Fansubs

Hagane no Renkinjutsushi Official Site (Japanese)

Rating: Awesome

Review: The law of alchemy states that in order to receive something, you must give up something of equal or greater value. Two brothers, Edward and Alphonse practiced alchemy in their childhood. However, when their beloved mother died, the two brothers set out to perform what is most forbidden in alchemy – bringing someone back to life. In doing so, the brothers violated the laws of alchemy and paid a heavy price. The elder brother Edward gained the nickname “full metal” since he had to have metal limbs to replace the ones he lost. Alphonse suffered even more as he was left with a soul but no body and hence was confined to the hollow metal body he was sealed in. Together, these brothers embark on a journey to bring back Alphonse’s body through alchemy. This anime follows their journey as they face numerous trials and powerful and yet do not give up in trying to reach their goal.

Hagane no Renkinjutsushi is a wonderful mix of a compelling plot, great action with a dark emotional side to it as the two brothers battle their fate. The anime’s core lies at their desire to restore their childhood lives which was so happy and content – before they broke the laws of alchemy. The action in this series is great – especially when it gets up to the fight between the Fire alchemist and Edward. Despite the story’s dark and serious nature, there are moments of comic relief provided by many of the characters. Immensely absorbing and original – this anime goes down as one of my all-time favourites!

Recommendations: Naruto, Bleach

Episodes: Season I 26, Season II 12

Year: Season I 2005, Season II 2006

Status: Complete, Recently Licensed by Viz Media

Official Honey and Clover Site (Japanese)

Rating: Awesome

Reviews: The setting is an art college and the story revolves around Takemoto, Mayama, Morita and Yamada who are all art students in Tokyo. Their personal lives and friendship is forever changed by the introduction of Hanamoto Hagumi – cousin of their sensei and close friend, Hanamoto Shuuji. Hagumi or Hagu-chan is a shy, petite, pretty girl with almost child-like features, but an immense amount of artistic talent. As she become friends with everyone, crushes and love triangles slowly emerge. As the story develops we see a range of situations and emotions that the characters go through as they try to understand themselves and others.

Before we plunge into why this anime is a must-watch classic, I’d like to make clear that the review here pertains to both seasons of the anime. While some opinions on the anime differ from the first season to the second, my review here encompasses the entire series in its completeness.

Honey and Clover is a first-class piece of storytelling. The first season introduces the characters and their lives and has a good mix of humour and drama as we get acquainted with the group and their relationships. The story really shines in its character development which is done steadily and realistically with great attention to detail. I personally felt like that the series had its viewers emotionally invested in it right from the beginning – sharing Yamada’s frustration and pain with Mayama, Takemoto’s dilemmas, and Mayama’s own with Rika. The second season, taking on a more serious and dramatic tone delves head on into the drama and emotional issues developed by its predecessor. Honey and Clover maintains a bittersweet quality to its story throughout, perhaps bringing it emotionally closer to reality than your average romance story. And thats just it, the story isn’t just about love and romance – but more about these characters finding themselves as well.

The music in Honey and Clover is worth mentioning since it really brought to life much of the story. Apart from YUKI’s music in the series (which I shall not say anything more about), the music in the series was good. I especially liked an insert song provided by the J-pop band “Spitz”. Perhaps my only complaint with the series, if I were to have one, is that Hagu was drawn too much to look like a child. I’m not quite sure if this is a real criticism since that’s one of her characteristics – but she really did look five, and I thought perhaps that was a bit much.

Honey and Clover makes it to my list of “The Best Anime of All Time” and is brilliant enough to be considered a classic in the anime world. It is an anime to which I will return over and over again through the years, and will be moved to tears every time.

Liked Honey and Clover? Then you might you like:

Nana: Like Honey and Clover, Nana has many of the same things that make it a great anime to watch: especially good music, deep character development and a storyline that follows the trials of love and relationship of Komatsu Nana and Osaki Nana.

Bokura ga Ita: Contains many of the same slice-of-life elements as Honey and Clover as well as a strong focus on romance and relationships. In addition to this, it keeps with the bittersweet/sad climaxes throughout.
Nodame Cantabile: While Nodame is much more lighthearted in nature, it is similar to Honey and Clover in dealing with life in Music school and Nodame’s feelings for Chiaki.

Paradise Kiss: Another high school drama about Yukari’s transformation from being a studious high schooler to walking the high road of fashion.