Pandora Hearts

Reviewed by kuro-hime


Synopsis :

Oz Bezarius, heir to one of the duke houses, has just turned 15. His life is rich and carefree, darkened only by the constant absense of his father. At his coming-of-age ceremony, however, everything changes. For no reason that he can discern, he's cast into a prison known as the "Abyss", only to be saved by a "chain" known as Alice, the bloodstained black rabbit. IT is unknown why he was cast into Abyss, how does Alice factor it all, and what does the organization known as "Pandora" wants with him?

Storyline :

The anime starts out with a hell lot of questions. And it does not get solved until later on in the anime. So, if you don't questions and mysteries, then, this your thing. But the plot is pretty good and I like the way it slowly unravels. The pacing is pretty good. It answers the questions that you been wondering and then, it tosses new questions only to be answered later on. However, I did not like the way they ended the season. They left the main question unanswered, just when you figure out the rest.

Music :

The Opening Song, Parallel Hearts by Fiction Junction is pretty good as it fits the theme of the show. The background music is spectacular and you know trouble is coming when the background music is played. Yuki Kajiura did a very good job in making those lovely background music.

Animation :

The art is average and nice. However, it's not consistant at times. The studio handled it pretty well. But at times, I think the characters look slightly distorted and unproportional. But overall, the art was pretty good.

Characters :


OZ BEZARIUS
He's the main character of this anime. He's a kind person. He has alot of secrets and darkness in him. But still, he manages to put on a smile and pretend to be happy. He is stronger than he thinks he is. And in the beginning of the series, he was pathetic.



GILBERT NIGHTRAY
He used to be Oz's servant until he got adopted by the noble Nightray family. He is a very loyal servant and when, Oz returned from the Abyss. He immediately went to serve Oz as his servant. Eventhough, he is now good with guns and smokes, he is still the same servant boy he used to be. Sometimes, he is a little dramatic because he will do anything for Oz. In a way, that's a little annoying but I think his voice actor did a good job in portraying him.



ALICE THE CHAIN
She's the chain that saved Oz. And maybe even potential patner for Oz. She's a very lively, stubborn person. She eats alot of meat. And the amount that she can eat will scare you. Even so, she has her own deep dark secrets.



VINCENT NIGHTRAY
He is Gilbert's brother and honestly, he is a little crazy. Obviously, he has some of his own skeleton in a closet. But he is quite an interesting character to watch because of his craziness. He is alittle mysterious and there's something about him you just want to know.



SHARON REINSWORTH
She's the granddaughter of Duke Reinsworth. She's a kind hearted, sweet girl but if you get on her wrong side, she can and will hurt you. She's a polite and sweet girl like how any noblemen daughter is like.



XERXES BREAK
He is also a little crazy and wacked. He is Lady Sharon's servant however, he doesn't act as a servant sometimes. Lady Sharon sees him as an older brother compared to a servant. His character is quite peculiar and funny. And he too has his own dirty little secrets.

REVIEW :

This anime is a shonen anime with a tinge of gothic and fantasy. It sligtly reminds me of Kuroshitsuji but this storyline is better than Kuroshitsuji. I like the plot and it slowly reveals itself and answering the questions it threw at you during the first episode. The music was good and it fitted the anime feel. It helped to make the anime more real.

Only thing I hate about this anime is the character development because it's a little slow and sometimes, the characters are portrayed as retarded and pathetic. But later on, the characters became more lovable. Oh, I hate the ending too. The season just ended without any closure. IT did not answer the main final important question that has been lingering in our heads as we watch the series.

There better be a season 2 or many Pandora Hearts fans will not be happy or satisfied. However, I rate this anime 3 stars and I think that it'll get a better rating from me if it ended more nicely and not so sudden.

Twilight Saga : New Moon

Reviewed by kuro-hime



How can we not review the movie that has been the talk of the year? *smirks*

SYNOPSIS :

It's Bella Birthday when she got a papercut in the Cullen's house. Due to that, Edward fears for her safety and so, he and his family leaves Forks. Bella was in depression for a while until she found Jacob Black and they became best friends. Then, she found out that he is a werewolf. Later, Edward thought Bella is dead and so, he wanted to commit suicide by going to the Volturi. Somehow, Bella saves him. When Edward comes back to the picture, Jacob wants to be in the picture and so, a love triangle begins. Vampire Vs Werewolf. Whatever would happen next?


REVIEW :

It was a good thing Catherine Hardwicke did not direct New Moon. Chris Weitz added some action into this movie. Overall, this movie was MUCH MORE better than Twilight. It had more drama and more action. It felt more real. The movie had much more better special effects which I liked. The fight scenes are much better.

Kirsten Stewart acting skills is much better here. She is so believable when she was being depressed. You could really feel the drama and it really felt real. Taylor Lautner also made the movie come alive. His lines in the movie were really sarcastic that really made this movie more real. He really acted quite well as Jacob Black. Robert Pattinson on the other hand, his acting was better compared to Twilight but he still looked like a constipated person to me.

Overall, this was a pretty enjoyable movie. It didn't suck as bad as I thought it would. The drama & intensecity was there. However, I felt that this movie could have been better. I would rate this movie 3 stars.

Sola

Reviewed by kuro-hime



This anime came out in the year 2007 but I'm reviewing it anyway.

Synopsis :
The story starts with Yorito Morimiya, the main character, walking around taking pictures of the rising sun. Then, he found a girl named, Matsuri Shihou. She seems to have a big secret which is that she is a Yaka. Yaka is immortal with a certain powers and they can't go under the sun or they will die.
He protects Matsuri from a man who is hunting her. But soon, he realises that his older sickly sister, Aono hates her. And he wants to know why she is doing her best to get rid of Matsuri.

Soon, more unknown secrets are revealed. At the end of the series, Matsuri & Yorito died while Aono lived with a purer heart.

Storyline :
The first 5 episodes are quite boring because it consists of worthless conversations. But as the story progresses, this anime showed had more depth & it became more interesting. There were many secrets in the anime that you were waiting to be revealed. Then at the end of the series, it gives you 180 degree turn that you never expected. The ending was a nice closure to the series and it even gives you a feel good melanchony feeling. So the storyline was quite good and interesting but it would have been better if the first 5 episodes weren't so boring.

Music :
The Opening and Ending song is very nice as it fits the anime completely. The background songs for this anime were not bad as it complimented the anime.

Animation :
The animation is handle very well by Nomad Studio. The animation is neat and clean. I think the art was very good, better off compared to alot of anime. I liked the art alot.

Characters :



YORITO MORIMIYA
He loves to take pictures of the sky and the clouds. He has a very kindhearted person. He loves his older sister and he even buys her plushies for her. Unfortunately, he isn't real and he dies at the end of the series.



MATSURI SHIHOU
She is a Yaka. She is the reason of Aono & Yorito secrets and suffering. She is a very nice person who is a little lonely. She came back searching for Aono & Yorito to set things right with them and to expose the secret to Yorito.



AONO MORIMIYA
She is also a Yaka. Her heart is slightly filled with grief and anger. She loves her younger brother alot. Sometimes, she acts a little cold and mean. She keeps secrets from Yorito and hates Matsuri. She is actually a caring person. She is just doing her best to carry on with life.

Awards :
This anime was voted the best anime for the year 2007 because it was touching and sweet.

Review :
Overall, this is a very nice anime because the anime has good pacing and timing. It's touching and funny at times. Eventhough it has only 13 episodes, this anime is worth watching. This anime won't make you cry buckets but enough to make you sniffle and be touched.
I rate it 3 and a half stars. If the first 5 episodes weren't so boring, I would give it a higher rating.

Uglies Trilogy

Reviewed by Kuro-hime



There's actually four books in this series but the forth book, Extras has actually nothing to do with the main character.So I'm not reviewing that forth book.

SYNOPSIS :

Since it's trilogy, it's obviously a long story. So long story cut short, I'll summarise this trilogy. The story sets in a sci-fi futuristic world where things are a little different. Their technology is really advance. It's so advance that at the age of 16, every human goes into an operation for becoming pretty (as pretty as a supermodel). So, if you haven't gone through the operation, you are known as uglies. And obviously, after the pretty making operation, you'll be known as a pretty.

A pretty life is really fun. All you do is party and have fun. Nothing else. But there's a catch. Being pretty will strip you of your will, dignity and identity. Not only that, you'll be stupid too. So, the main character which is Tally Youngblood has only one job in this whole trilogy. That job is to rebel. She's the symbol of humanity & mankind.

Character Development :

In the whole Trilogy, you'll get to see alot of growth in Tally's character. But soon or later, you'll get to guess her next move. Because as much as she change, there's one thing that will never change, her stubborness and her believe in the right and wrong. You'll get to know her more throughout the trilogy because it's written in her point of view. You'll enjoy her thoughts and you will feel and share her happiness and sadness. And by the end of the trilogy, you'll want more and you'll have grown to love her.

Writing Style :

Scott Westerfeld has a very unique writing style. His writing is simple and yet so strong. From his writings, it's obvious that he loves his main character which is Tally Youngblood. The author also questions alot things in this trilogy that made me think such as beauty - Is it only skin deep?, The environment - Are we being good to the only planet we live in? (His trilogy is set in the future where they hate our burning of fosils and wars.),Technology - Are these changes for the better?, last but not least, humanity - Do we have a right to strip others of their will?

Review :

This is a very good trilogy to read. I hardly read sci-fi but this sci-fi is just different from the rest. It asks alot of questions and yet it's entertaining. It has alot of adventure, trouble, secrets, conspiracy and even romance. And the best of all, it's set in the future. Maybe, our future will look like what is written in the trilogy or maybe not.
None the less, this is a very intriguing read. You will wanna pick up that book and just read it over and over again. (Well, I know I did. I read this trilogy 5 times already.) And you know you want more eventhough it already ended. So I rate it a 4 and a half stars!