Planetes Review

Overall Rating 8.0/10 - Good entry level literary fiction anime that can ajust you to this type of show

I recommend watching.

This is one of the easier to understand intellectual literary fiction anime. It is a good starting anime if you have never watched that kind of heavily philosophical and symbolist shows before.

It will give you plenty of easy-to-handle "intellectual debris" so you can practice to handle, analyze and understand it. Planetes gives you small and easy to understand philosophical and existentialist ideas mixed with into overall plot. After this show you will be able to take on intellectual juggernauts, such as Infinite Ryvius, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Ghost in the Shell, Serial Experiments Lain, Mawaru Penguindrum, Tatami Galaxy, Higurash  no Naku Koro ni and of course Umineko no Naku Koro ni and Code Geass

This show is about a so called half-section of a big space organization. The half section handles collection of space debris and is full of various misfits, each of them however is a very unique and interesting person with a story to tell. Their and other people stories as well as philosophy behind them is what this show is really about.

Show is mostly episodic so the stories are small enough and easy to digest. However each of these stories have and existential or philosophical idea to tell. The stories do well to illustrate these ideas.

Even id you are not the thinking type, but want something unusual, this show is very unique.

All in all I recommend this for pretty much everyone. It will make you smarter.

Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji: Hakairoku-hen Review

Overall Rating 3.0/10 - Pathetic sequel that lacks all that made the original good.

I do not recommend watching

This is a hollow shell of its rather brilliant predecessor. I gave the original 9, this one I condemn to 3

This one is stripped of all ingenious outside of the box thinking, creative solutions, existential and philosophical thinking. In fact it is stripped of all thinking all together.

By now it is just a show about gambling in a dirty underworld. Only what is on the tin and nothing beyond.

Kaiji too have changed, now he just gets himself in more trouble for no good reason. I cannot understand or relate to him in this second season. There is no winning in it.

A simple but telling detail is that in 1st season recruiters had to spend half episode to convince Kaiji to play these games. Kaiji was skeptical and did not trust them. A smart person would not trust these mafia goons and Kaiji was smart enough to consider these offers with critical thinking. You should learn this too, if you want to be smart.

Second begins with him begging them to play. That is a subtle hint to how second season is somewhat an inversion of the first.

So what happened. I do not remember him betting his brains and loosing then lousing them in the 1st season.

Gambling too became more of a dumb luck and chance than any meaningful tactics or strategy.

This is one of the more disappointing and ruined sequel that fails at everything, the original was good at.

A spoiler extra:

I remembered that someone said that Kaiji won at the end of 2 season so I decided to watch the very last episode after finishing just 5 of the season. I wanted to see him rich with lots of money, private island, yacht, mansion full or Thai and Japanese maid-prostitutes. To avoid spoiling even more I will just say that ending disappointed me.

Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji Review

Overall Rating 9.0/10 - Exceptional, both entertaining as well as deep and intellectual. 

I recommend watching.

'This is not a gambling cruise; this is a cruise of realization.'

A little bit from my life: After finishing this long metaphorical trip over the abyss, I finally realized that they no longer exchange Uni Degrees for cash and rich privileged existence as they promised me in the beginning. Life is as much of a fraud as these bastards, who organize these games. This show is like a metaphor of real life, one of the faucets of its puzzle.

This is a very relatable show, Kaiji is very relatable character, at lest to me. Second season ruined his relatability and I dropped it because of it, but here Kaiji makes a lot of sense. He is like me here, because of that I was unusually invested in this show and wished him to succeed and win big.

'You are doing it not because you hate it this luxury, but because you actually want to own all these luxuries.'

So Kaiji went on a gambling trip, not so much to pay back debts, so much is to win himself a lifestyle he always craved. There he encountered a lot of cheaters and frauds, however he managed to turn the game around with his crazy and ingenious tricks and plans. This guy is almost as smart as Lelouch is, Light does not even comes close to these two.

Games themselves only appear simple, for example Rock Paper Scissors on the Espoir, however extra rules the have make this simple game much more tricky and ambiguous. Suddenly a lot of outside of the box thinking can turn the game around completely. All of this is fun and interesting to watch to every person who enjoys thinking.

In fact this outside of the box thinking is the most dominant theme of the show, almost everything is solved with this kind of approach.

Some games are completely rigged, like walking the beam between the two high rise buildings on 20s floor I think. Even if you cross the gap and reach the other end, the wing gale from the inside of the building will blow you away to your certain death. The only way forward is he invisible glass stairway to the side of the beam. 

Form my life experience I often found that such metaphoric invisible stairways were often the only way forward for me.

And there are much more existentialist and philosophical metaphors in this show, then just that. Someone who can pay attention adn rad between the lines will be able to find a lot in this show.

All in all I can recommend this show for everyone smart enough to understand its sublime message. 

If you just like gambling and dirt, you can also watch its second season. However it is nothing but a hollow shell of its illustrious original.

Fate/Zero Review

Overall rating 8.0/10 - Very Good, no flaws. Awesome plot, story and characters.

I recommend watching.

Most of the darker shows that I rate high are not so much a simple entertainment as much a complex and relatable for me story, that meant to be read between the lines, and sometimes even between the lines of these 'between lines'.

Fate/Zero is not like that. It has its own depth too, but overall it is much more approachable and easy to watch and enjoy show.

Well we can expect this much from Urobutcher after all, he is the best director out there, after Goro Taniguchi of course.

So, story is intriguing and interesting to follow. Not sure about original /Stay Night, but here we have a real high stakes battle royale. They really fighting for it because a lot depends on the outcome of this battle. Grail that grants any wish, many of these characters have some lofty wishes.

Characters are very well written, each has their own values, way of thinking and a reason to seek grail. Some have very elaborate backstories as well.

Servants too are complex and have desires, agendas and will of their own; not always aligned with their masters. Because of that relationships in each pair are unique and full of their own dynamics..

I particularly like Gilgamesh. I wish I was as OP as he is so I could get away with being as much of an arsehole as he is. Gilgamesh is also a man of sophisticated and refined tastes, who is good at psychoanalysis and philosophical conversations. Much like me.

One thing about reading between the lines is final ending. You can only understand it if you can read between the lines and pay good attention to what is going on. However you can still enjoy this show without getting the ending.

All in all it is a well crafted entertainment that I can recommend it to pretty much anyone.

Ergo Proxy Review

Overall Rating 3.0/10 - Bad, conflict of values with the protagonist and director.

I do not recommend watching, if you share my values and world view.

I once said that Samurai Champloo has a female protagonist that is combination of all qualities, men hate in women.

Well this show beats Champloo on that one. Lil is the worst anime character ever created, at least from what I have seen.

That is partly because she is very unambiguously written. There is no room for interpretation of her character's motivation. 

For example for Himari and Penguin-hat in Peguindrum is less clear: it could be that Himari is a simply a victim for mysterious neural parasite hat, that makes Kan and Sho do stuff for her to get their sister back, or it could be that Penguin-hat is simply an act by Himari to sneakily get what she wants. Regardless Himari is very different with and without that hat.

Back to Lil and Ergo Proxy. Lil is a privileged girl that has everything person could dream of in the world she lives on. I wish I had all that for myself. However wanting this for yourself and appreciating a person who has it is two different things. Especially if that person is female. Kaiji for example wants to be rich and own a Merc, but cuts tires and steals badges from other people's Mercs out of spite, that makes a lot of sense to me.

Instead of enjoying what she got, Lil 'suffers' from boredom. Because of that she gets herself involved with all sort of trouble, complete the opposite of what I would have done in her place. Her privilege prevents her from suffering any consequences from actions she takes, which makes her even more emboldened to just do whatever she pleases at any given moment.

These boredom driven actions and motivation, as well as lack of consequences makes her so completely reprehensible and abhorrent in my eyes.

Not even her saving male protagonist could redeem her character, since that also was done out of boredom.

I also seen another female character before I dropped, a diver one. That one is also very unlikable. Shows is full of reprehensible females.

Since Lil takes so much screen time, it is hard to judge or watch the show while completely ignoring her.

World of Ergo Proxy is a sort of totalitarian futuristic dystopia, without anything likable going for it. Kind of techno North Korea. It has a hint of some bigger idea in the plot. 

I dropped the show before this could get to any reasonable development or resolution, therefore I gave it 3 as average. Good plot resolution could have lifted it 5 while bad drag all the way to 1. Unlikable characters cuts the remainder of the score.

You do not want to see a spoiled rich privileged female on a privilege trip after all.

Accel World Review

Overall rating 5.5/10 - Mixture of good and bad things.

Possibly watchable, has interesting but flawed premise.

Unlike some other shows that get 5 or 6 from me, this one is not plain average, but rather a conflicting combination of things I love and hate.

At times I think it is awesome, the other times I want to drop. I watched it a while ago and might not remember everything well.

Main male protagonist is on Shinji level hard to relate. I cannot understand self-hating, but this character has a lot of it. 

Also why pick pig avatar when you can be anything awesome online. I pick awesome characters such Ragnarok Online Assassin here, Leluoch or Gilgamesh in other places. Other times I used Sasuke, Alukard, Kain from Legacy of Kain, Prince from Prince of Persia. In WoW I played as OP Warlock and decently powered Warrior instead of pathetically weak Paladin or Mage.

One good thing is that other characters treat him more or less well, as far as I remember.

Main female character is actually rather nice. I do not like snow or princesses, however I do like girls dressed in black as well as thongs, stockings, garterbelts. Because of that I will call her Kuro-chan. They sometimes depict her with butterfly wings which looks nice.

Kuro-chan reminds me of someone I know and has plenty of good and likable qualities. She is almost perfect, there was something off but I do not remember what exactly. If I remember correctly, she is too controlling of the main character, and I do not like that in women.

There is another female in the story, of whom I also have a conflicting opinion. I wish she could just drop thusndere and be dandere instead. I like doing what I want with girls, so she got that one right.

Story is also mixed. Overall premise is rather dubious: fight to the last man standing until some truth from developer of Accel World is revealed. It does piques curiosity but does not make you invested in the cause. Here I do not share Kuro-chan's enthusiasm to uncover author's intentions. Individual battles however is rather interesting.

Steins;Gate Review

Overall rating 8.0/10 - Very Good, fun with scientific bend, not too deep.

I recommend watching.

This one is rather interesting and curios anime. It has scientific flair to it, even though a lot of the things they say contradict facts.

It is about self-proclaimed mad scientist Hounin Kyoma (Okabe Rintaro) and his associates. He invents various weird tech devices he calls 'future gadgets'.

One of them is a microwave that sends emails into past. Hounin uses it to change present. He indents to make things better however some of these d-mails lead to unexpected consequences and story gets much faster from there on. (I will not spoil it any further here.)

Hounin himself is rather interesting and likable guy. He reminds me of one of my friends. He is not so much mad as much as he is smart and does a good job inventing things. Even if not all of them work as intended.

Daru is nice and relatively relatable tech geek/otaku. I think many can relate to him here, to the level even me.

Mayushi is nice, gentle and likable girl. 'gel-banas' 'Mayushi agrees'

Christina (Makisu Kurisu) - she is presented as smart and capable as Hourin. However I think she mostly complains about stuff that does anything useful. I am not into tsunderes. Her name reminds me of Christina I know, she is not like this one which is probably for the best.

There are also Moeka who fakes being dandere and 'Part time warrior' genki girl.

There is also unlikable girl Ferris, whom Daru likes for inexplicable reason and a strange dude that wants to be girl which is hard to relate.

All in all it is rather unusual and curios show that I can recommend. It is one of the better ones.

Bofuri Review

Overall rating 8.0 - Very Good - Fun and thoroughly enjoyable

I recommend watching.

This one is another wholesome entertaining show that that is very enjoyable.

This one is one of the better and likable isekai, especially compare to stuff like Konosuba or Re:zero, that mostly laughs at, or even hate gamers.

This about the girl that puts all her stats in defense, which makes her a typical MMORPG tank. Which makes it plausible that she end up becoming a leader of a guild.

Maple herself is very nice and likable person. She is often mocked for being stupid, but she is actually rather witty and able to come up with unorthodox solutions to problems and advance further. She also willing and able to endure pain and hardship which I found very likable in girls.

Other characters are mostly likable, some more so, some less, but nothing really unlikable.

Story is simple but actually makes sense, it does a reasonable job of emulating actual progression in MMORPGs. It is fun too.

Overall I would recommend this show to anyone. One of the good anime to start your journey.

Serial Experiemnts Lain Review

Overall rating 8.9/10 - Exceptional, Deep and Profound with minor flaws.

I recommend watching.

'Present Day, Present Time'

This show was aired in 1996, but what it depicts all the more relevant in modern world. 

SEL is about the world in the era of the internet. In fact SEL predicted many on the current internet phenomena back when internet was still a novelty.

This shows showcases new ways of life that became possible with such new technology. Complex online life with different online identities, Alienation IRL, identity theft. In this show Knights of the Southern Calculus troll people just like Anon IRL, they organize raids too. You can see how world is transformed by this new tech in all its glory and all its horror.

One of the main plots is multiple identities of Lain. In show IRL Lain, who is very introverted and quiet, is occasionally confronted with a rather different online persona of herself, Lain of the Wired.

IRL Lain did not created Lain of the Wired, it was created behind her back by some trolls for unknown reason. Perhaps, as trolls they thought it was funny. As show progresses, IRL Lain is increasingly challenged by people who think that she and Lain of the Wired are the same person.

I do get a feeling sometimes that may be someone is impersonating me somewhere out there for their own selfish ends. That would be really bad if that was indeed the case.

For example my friends say that my younger brother and I look same. Not even our mother could tell one from another from voice from a phone call. I do wonder if this guy is stealing my identity... =/

Eventually IRL Lain decides to take on then whole Lain of the Wired thing and get to the bottom of it. With that she delves deeper and deeper in the Wired herself.

Girls und Panzer Review

Overall rating 8.0/10 - Very Good, fun and thoroughly enjoyable entertainment.

I recommend watching.

Here is perhaps first simply  good and wholesome show I am reviewing. It is not stellar brilliant like Code Geass or anything like that, but it is nice and thoroughly enjoyable entertainment.

It has a nice cast of very likable girls, good and intriguing plot and battles on tanks.

This show puts great attention to details. All tanks are accurate real life historical models such as M4 Sherman, T-34, StuG III  or Panzer IV. They are carefully replicated very much resemble their real life counterparts. They even researched many obscure models and added them as well. All terminology and methods of operating tanks are also carefully recreated.

Protagonist school Oorai uses tanks from all over the world, while their opponents are themed after each particular country and uses only their tanks. All WWII favorites are in: Germany, USSR, USA, UK and Italy.

Cast is both diverse and very likable. There are plenty of girls for every possible taste and interest. Each tank has a dedicated team, often united by common interests, that operates it.

The protagonist school is an underdog of the tournament and have to use use cunning tactics to win against their better equipped and trained opponents. Miho's tactics are as crazy as they are smart and battels are very fun to follow.

All in all it is a good show to watch or recommend to any newcomer.

Mawaru Penguindrum Review

Overall rating 6.0/10 - Deep and philosophical but with very unlikable female characters.

Consider watching if you like to think and do not mind unlikable girls.

This one is somewhat the opposite of Sora no Otoshimono. Main female characters are rather unlikable, but everything else is actually good.

This show is from creator of Revolutionary Girl Utena and has plenty philosophical dialogues and other food for thoughts. Just like Revolutionary Girl Utena is it often hard to understand and will confuse a person who does not like to think. However, unlike Revolutionary Girl Utena, it has another reason to watch, that is if you sympathetic with the main trio.

Like Revolutionary Girl Utena it also covers topics related to love. However unlike the Tatamy Galaxy, where protagonist found happiness when he embraced love, this show is not love affirming at all. 

Instead it depicts the opposite, that love and bonds could drag you into some heavy misadventures as you try to save your loved ones. People like con doctor, who likes to say electrifying, can exploit and use you through that. These bonds can ruin your life and bury your happiness and ambitions. 

Because Himari got sick, or more like hijacked by the Penguin-hat girl, her brothers end up going miles in order to save her. That get them to see variety of troubled people and relationships. Each of these people and situations are different and interesting in their own way and therefore a good reason to watch the show.

There is for example a story of Ringo who wants to supplant Momoka, who died but left behind her diary, and become love interest of Tabuki. She is doing it by closely following Momoka's diary.

Then there is that drill haired rich girl who got interested in Kan and tries to win him by shooting him with some sort of mind altering red pills. Remember that red-pilled stuff online, if you want to know if it will work, watch here.

Then there is some conspiracy, Takakura's dad got involved himself in, he tries to use Kan to fulfil their aims.

Of course, if you are sympathetic with the main trio and their cause you might want to watch it for that reason as well.

Things other people do not notice

I generally notice things other people overlook. I judge things and people based on these.

Some of these things, others do not notice, are very important to me. They are deciding factor.

Girls Bravo Review

Overall Rating 6.0/10 - Good with some flaws

I recommend watching

Like with other shows like this, this one is about the cute likable girl. In this case Miharu.

I can't say for all men, but I find Miharu very cute, likable, adorable and sexy. Waifu/wife material. ( I watched it long ago, so I fight not remember everything properly. I do not have the same memory device with me as Featherine does.)

She is from Seiren, where men is 10% of population and women the remaining 90%. So it is like dating in Russia there. Except in Russia most girls are like Miharu's older sister Maharu and none are like Miharu herself. So I ran away from there before they caught me and can write this review now.

That said I do wonder on what kind of moon girls like Miharu can be found?

This is one of the shows that you watch for the main character, not for the story, idea or something comparably lofty.

Show is mostly episodic and each episode revolves around main characters doing something particular. Story wise it is a slice of life. It is not very original, but at the same time, neither too weird, nor too violent. 

Miharu is particularly nice and gentle. No wonder that even dudes with allergy on girls can be close to her.

To sum it up if you like Miharu or girls like her you should watch this show. There is not much more to say.

Goblin Slayer Review

 Overall rating 5.0/10 - Mixed Feelings

You should watch depend on your opinion on its issues.

Mixed feelings is mostly because of the characters. Goblin Slayer himself as well as priestess are nice and likable. If two of them would travel together like Clare and Raki from Claymore I would have given this show 7, 8 may be. 

However here we also have busybody elf girl and her two overly cheerful companions. Elf girl, cow girl, guild girl and later older second priestess steal too much of a show from two good characters. Elf girl and her companions ruin solemn and serious atmosphere of the show and reduce it to a gimmick show.

First episode, for above mentioned reasons, was the best one. The elf company was not introduced yet and whole tone was much more gritty and serious. Goblin Slayer showed above all intelligence, expertise, skill and cunning. The whole show had more serious grounded feel to it. Episode 1 by itself deserves score 8.

From episode 2 this started to dissipate into something lesser. Elf and the team introduced and they talk no stop to the point where not only priestess but even Mamon of Shininess, I mean Goblin Slayer, himself barely noticeable. 

Side characters would not be a problem f they were likable, but they are not. 

Quality of fights and strategy also fell. Fights were more and more gimmicky then cunning and skill based.

Overall after fantastic episode 1 it diminished and have never recovered

Megapost of Best Anime Openings

My treasury houses on the finest, be that soundtracks, anime or anime openings.

Lo and behold true masterpieces. May be that will fix your mongrel tastes.

Songs that did not get separate blog posts, but who nonetheless deserve to be called among the best are all collected here. Enjoy.

Speed Racer - this is one of the earliest anime in history of anime. It has very dynamic opening.

Lucky Star - iconic show has equally iconic opening.

K-On! - The famous anime about music has openings that has good songs (played by the protagonist band) and truly represent all that is cute and moe

K-On!! - sequel of the above continues its famous traditions with two more openings.

and

K-On has a good soundtrack in general. I made a separate article only about songs of the secondary band of this show, Death Devil. There are much more songs from the main band, HTT (Houkago Teatime).

Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji - I made a separate article about its soundtrack, but not about its opening. The opening is different in style and feel to the rest of the OST, but good in its own way.

Fate/Zero

Overlord has awesome openings.

First Season of Overlord also has a good ending, but I will not link it here as this article is too large already.

Revolutionary Girl Utena

Higurashi - the very first opening is great for setting the mood for this mysterious story.

Another - This song is more straightforward solution for the horror anime, but it is good.

Claymore - this video is both OP and ED. Claymore OST is possibly the best OP and ED of them all

Mugen no Ryvius

DearS

Melancholy of Haruhi - The iconic Hare Hare Yukai. This song is good not matter what you think of the anime itself.

Elfen Lied

Excel Saga

Angel Beats

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

Hand Maid May

Demon Slayer - I often criticize this anime, but its opening is great.

Baccano - has iconic jazz inspired opening songs with one of the best idea for an opening.

Drifters - a very unusual take on opening.

Hellsing - a very iconic opening. 

Watamote

Darker than Black

Nichijou

Girls und Panzer

Gochiusa - we will never forget our coffee bunnies.

KanColle

Gundam SEED

Black Butler

ID-0

Dolls Frontline

Dolls Frontline has good OST as well

Anima Yell

Beatless

Bofuri

Suisei no Gargantia

High School Fleet

Hitori Bocchi Maru Maru no Seikatsu

Hinako Note

Shiki

Planetes

Sengoku Basara

Urara Meirochou

Yama no Susume Season 3

Chobits

Strike Witches

Strike Witches 2

Saint Seiya the Lost Canvas

Sword Art Online

It got me thinking if I should choose anime based on how good the opening is. Most are from anime I actually like. Only few exceptions. 

On Moe Anime

 

I personally like moe.

Moe is sexy and feminine. I like moe blobs and I find them likable. They are soft, squishy and gentle.

This makes them attractive.

We need more moe anime.

More on it here

Thoughts on Shonen Anime

I do not think there is any genre that I changed my mind on.

It is more of an individual anime that does not appeal to me for one or another reason.

Say Shonen original big three are Naruto, Bleach and One Piece all have their own differences that make me say like Naruto more over One Piece. 

Naruto has better characters with more psychological depth. I can relate to Nagato a lot, he is one of the main characters with a lot of back story that is very relatable. I can relate partly relate to Sasuke, Itachi, Garra and Shikamaru as well. In contract in OP there are few relatable characters. Closest to me is probably Mihawk or Sabo how he was during the flashback ark. We hardly ever see Mhawk in the show.

Action mechanics are also better in Naruto. Ninjitsu has some logic in them: it is made up but does feels like battles are won by skill, cunning and better use of the mechanics rather than by just guts alone. Guts feel too arbitrary, just author decided that way that is why MC won. In Naruto Kishimoto does a good job to make it look like it is because winner is better at nunjitsu. You can believe you will win too if you ninjitsu like Madara.

So they all are not made equal.

I think Fairly Tail, FMAB, SNK, MHA, Boruto and Demon Slayer could be counted as modern shounen. I too do not like them for different individual reasons.

Then on the other hand shounen is for younger demographics that I am currently in so may be I grew up out if it. Only nostalgia keeps me attached to Naruto, UFO Robo Grendizer and Speed Racer. However I would still re-watch these from time to time. I do not think they are bad or no longer for me.

Problems with isekai genre

Problem with isekai is that people who do not play MMOs write them. Editors probably told them do isekai because people are into MMOs nowadays. So they do it.

They get only loose idea what MMOs are and then go from that. They might even hate they have to do isekai to begin with.

The results sometimes often are underwhelming. However they sell because isekai label

May be they even convert every poor script into isekai to guarantee sales.

All most guarantee sale franchises or genres end up devolving into cesspits of mess and fail. Because <people will buy it anyway> principle. 

In video games EA sports are good example of such mess. EA sports make company billions yet have graphics from stone age that would not change ever since forever. Because sports fans would buy it anyway.

In other genres that does not fly. Other fans are hell a lot more picky. They even game EA the Golden Turd anti-award for exploiting this principle.

Umineko no Naku Koro ni VN Analysis and Review

Overall Rating 9.5 - Near Masterpiece (Code Geass already has Masterpiece)

I whole heartedly recommend if you are smart enough to understand it.

This is the most '7-dimensional chess' type of show out there. Can also be described with 2deep4u and similar expressions.

Ryukishi07 is the most successful IRL troll. Almost a testament of true might of Anon of /b.

<If you understand what is going on, you laugh with the witches.> - ThorLL 

"Black tea is best enjoyed with your fellow monsters." May be that is why I am here.

I, as a sorcerer of theatergoing, demand blood. In my other capacities I demand other things.

I will review and analyze the anime together with visual novels without making comparison between two.

This is a very unconventional show, that makes you not only think outside of the box, but even outside of the box in which the original box is located. If such stretches of intellect are too hard for you, you should probably turn back now while you still can, before I started turning chessboard around and twisting it allover the place.

For the rest of you, you are in for a rare treat. You will hardly find anything this deep elsewhere, even if you search for it eternally like Bern for the fragments.

On the surface it is a mystery novel, just like Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. However this one does not have a detective who will give you a straightforward answer of who killed them. There are just hits, many. However you have to figure it out yourself. 

I will rule out the so called ShKanonTrice theory from VN Ep7 since it is an obvious lie. Even short story about maid at the very beginning of episode 7 hints to that conclusion. Decalogue of Knox and 20 wedges also forbid the culprit to be a servant. 

The tea party at the end of ep 7 tells you what really happened.

Despite many fans writing plenty of their own theories on culprit, as far as I seen and remember none of them manage to arrive to this rather obvious answer: Eva.

You can figure it out right after the first twilight in the first episode. After 6 people were just killed most of those who remained are concerned about safety as they try to pull out guns to defend themselves. Even if you are seasoned killer you would be concerned if something like 6 simultaneous murders happened on the cut-off island with just 18 people on it. 

There was just one person who was more concerned with not being blamed for the whole thing then with her own safety. Cousins talked to her in the parlor. I mean how much more obvious you need this game to spell this out for you.

Most importantly, Eva pretty much the only one who had motivation to do it. 'Why do it' thing. Krauss and Natsuhi already have control of the island, there was no reason for them to do anything since they already have everything and nothing to gain from mass murder. Rudolf and Rosa did not want to be a successor ot Kinzo. They just needed money. Kyrie is also not too aggressive or ambitious to pull anything on her own. Same with Natsuhi, even if she despised Krauss she did not have enough guts or ability to slaughter everyone. Both she and Kyrie are outsiders in the family so it would be double hard for them to pull anything out without husbands support.

So Krauss could easily cut a deal that all of them would be happy with. Kraus will be the successor and keep the island, money will be split. Everyone would be happy, except for Eva.

Eva always wanted to supplant Krauss and be named successor. She married early, got Hideyoshi into Ushiromia family rather than join his family, the way women normally should do. She gave birth to George earlier than Natsuhi to Jessika and put a lot of effort into raising him a worthy successor. Finally she trained heavily in marital arts, not a suitable hobby for a woman tbh. All to no effect. Krauss was still successor. 

So when Kinzo died, gold was found everyone else agreed to the final settlement that put final nail int the coffin of Eva's mad dream, she snapped, gone berserk and killed them all. Because that was the only way for her to be Kinzo's only successor. She succeeded, see episode 4 of VN to see how it all went. How no one believed she did not killed them, because she did.

This is the only theory that holds water, other then the one where it was done by Battler, Ryukishi07 or the one where aliens from Trafalmador kidnapped them all to display them in their zoo together with protagonist of Slaughterhouse 5 and that fashion model.

That leads us to the second truth of this sojourn. There is no truth at all. Like a Schrodinger cat: you cannot know if it is dead or alive without opening the box. Since island is destroyed by explosion and all the evidence is buried by this explosion there is no longer any way to find out what happened there. From there on any theory is as good as any other and nothing can ever be proven. Red truth is impossible. Period.

Then the third truth. If author of the story does not give the answer, and sometimes even if he gives, then the story ends up just like a Schrodinger cat's box, there will never be an answer. There can only be a subjective truth from there on, or an infinite multitude of truths if you look at it from a different angle. Ryukishi07 made just that and now enjoys looking at how you all try to discern what a truth is when there is no one single truth here at all. 

By now it is no longer a story but a gameboard to flex logical muscles, just like these debates between Beato and Battler in metaworld. Any story can become something like that but this is probably the first time when someone done it deliberately, and then illustrated the whole process within the same story.

In fact the story even depicts the whole process: characters in the Meta World take turns in making up their own stories in Chiru. Episode 5 told by Lambda, 7 by Bern, 6 and 8 by Battler. All of them just make up their own stuff, often not compliant with original story.

Forth truth: the whole thing is a made up story and did not happen at all. No one killed anyone and Ryukishi07 just made the whole thing up. Then he is the only culprit. He also got away with so many murders. That makes him a golden which or a golden sorcerer. That also leads us to the question of Ryukishi07 gender. After all how you can reasonably expect someone who writes this king of out of the box stories and uses pseudonym Ryukishi07 to be 100% honest about own identity.

Epilogue. There is one other kind of story in there. Beato's love story. Beato's long and futile attempts to make Battler love her. She even asked Virgilia for help. May be it is a metaphor of a story trying to appeal to reader. Or, may be, an author hope for someone to understand and love him/her. Beato even let him destroy herself in the end of episode 4, to satisfy him, his views. She is very accommodating in that regard. 

I do wonder if answering 'What do I think of Beato after it all' question from a personal perspective matters in any way in particular or not. What such an answer could lead to... I can somehow tell that author wants to know but they should not be expecting a simple answer for something like thaaaaat from someone like me. Whahahaha...

Final Epilogue. Somehow I can relate to this family a lot more than to other families in fiction, not in the good way though. Does that mean that my relatives are as upper class as Ushiromiyas or that they are as insane and cruel as them. Probably both. I wonder if this family is relatable for anyone else.

Gintama Review

Overall Rating 8.5/10 - Great Comedy

I recommend watching.

Since ancient times, Kings employed court jesters to entertain themselves, their retainers and guests. Jesters would do funny non-sensual things and be laughed at. Some of them even reached some prominence and influence in the government. Modern comedy is a continuation of this esteemed tradition.

In that sense Gintama is an entertainment, worthy of any King, no less. Unlike some other shows that fail at being funny.

It begins kind of serious, with alternative history Bakumatsu era where aliens, instead of the Americans opened up Japan to the Galaxy instead of the world. If it continued that way it would have just failed quietly like many other shows.

Fortunately for us all, creators soon gave up on that and decided to just go full insane combined idiocy mode. So we got the Gintama, that is loved throughout the world.

Gintama has many episodes, sometimes it kind of tries to get back to being serious again. Unfortunately that started to happen way too often in recent times. Making new arks unfunny.

However when it is at its maximum idiocy, almost nothing can come close. 2 episodes of Bentendo Owee and Yamazaki infiltrates Joishishi are some of the best examples of 1st class comedy.

If you like Zucker Brothers movies (Naked Gun, Police Squad, Aeroplane, Hot Shots), Shaolin Soccer, Nichijou or Excel Saga you should watch this.

Guilty Crown Review

Overall rating 1.0/10 - Affront to everything good and likable.

Do not watch no matter what.

This is the only show I gave 1 out of 10. It is just that bad.

It tries to be the next Code Geass and fails. It is to Code Geass as Robot Chicken Star Wars is to the original Star Wars. Except that Robot Chicken is funny and this thing is not.

Most failing shows manage not to fail in one or other aspect, just by sheer coincidence. However this one does not fail to fail in absolutely everything.

Plot tries to incorporate the same plot twists as Code Geass. However, Code Geass managed to justify these plot twists with good writing that made these actions logical steps to take in given situation. In Guilty Crown every plot development raises the same question of 'why even bother to do it'. 

If main protagonist can simply defeat everything in one simple attack then why not just do it and roll the credits. The way show delays this from happing is completely hamfisted with unnecessary intermediate steps is completely appalling. Other actions like freeing some dude from prison or not letting Shuu join the Undertaker without training, despite needing his power to win the war. What training is for, if his power works perfectly well without it.

Characters are completely unlikable:

Shuu is probably the original simp, who only joins the Undertaker only because of Inori, despite the fact that she does not even likes him. 

All the girls are snarky, bullish and unlikable. They all like a guy named Guy, yes creators failed to come up with more original name for this character. He is the only reason they are in the Undertaker, no seriously.

The only good thing in the show is art, if I remember correctly. Which is a shame. A lot of talented artists work and budget is wasted on this appalling plot.

Neon Genesis Evangelion Review

Overall rating 2.5/10 Awful

I do not recommend watching it.

So many people praise it like it is next best thing since sliced bread, I can't quite understand that. This show is painful to watch.

It is about the guy who somehow hates himself, believes he is worthless and deserve to suffer. 

I cannot relate to any of that. 

That is why it is painful to watch what other characters subject him to, even more painful is the fact that he believes he deserves it.

Shinji's dad looks like a worst kind of scum to me, Rei is also problematic in many ways. I dropped before seeing Asuka, which is probably for the best.

I am not a psychiatrist, but I think Shinji's mental condition is called Inferiority Complex. I have Avoidant Personality Disorder and possibly Autism but not Inferiority Complex.

I am not sure but I might have liked that show more if character with Inferiority Complex was a girl instead.

I am not sure if I should recommend this show even to people with Inferiority Complex.

And if you have children and like this show then I pity your children.

Black Lagoon Review

Overall Rating 9,0/10 Exceptional

I recommend it.

Many like Black Lagoon for its wild shootouts and badass characters, but I would not have given it 9 if it was just that. This show is much more than just that.

Black Lagoon is about sadder, derker side or reality. About a world of unlucky misfits who are trying to survive in the underworld of Roanapur. It is a world that lives by its onw peculiar rules that balances intersts of several diffrent criminal organisations that make money trading in weapons, drugs, people and other things illegal in normal society. The Lagoon company is part of this economy, working as Roanapur's analog of FedEx.

"Use your head if you want to survive."

Careless hotshots do not last too long there. Sometimes they die quickly however an occasionally gifted one manages to go down in full blaze and glory, plunging the entire town into chaos as they fight a desperate fight they could not win.

"Sh#t out of luck."

Everyone in the main cast ended up in Roanapur because their original lives did not worked out well. Rock escaped abusive boss and bad corporate culture of his original work. Benny hacked something he should not and now FBI wants him behind bars and mafia dead. You can only guess what Dutch done to end up there, as for Revy ... once you see her you will get a pretty clear idea.

"Somehow we ended up in the middle of the shootout, but may be we can take advantage of the fact that they are too busy killing each other and make our way out. I by one do not feel like drinking while catching bullets in the back."

These guys, much like Kaiji from Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji want to survive and get ahead in live, despite of what fate throws at them. Their motivations and way of thinking makes them way more relatable than characters of many other shows. 

They are bewildered by they past grudges, bad experiences and heavy emotions. That make their actions more nuanced and they make much more sence compare to characters of something like Samurai Champloo for example.

Show has plenty of references to various past conflicts and events to explain actions of certain characters. That makes it more grounded in reality. As are references to bribing the police or CIA involvement, disguised as "Rip-off chirch".

It is very philosophical too as main characters trying to make sence of the world and contemplate their own lives as they try to reconcile their own desires with what is going on around them. They often come out as nihilistic, however they can look rather life affirming for a disillusioned, cynical person such as myself.

Well Revy is not much or a waifu material, but I find her very relatable as a person. Tragic life experiences from the past made me about as nihilistic as her. That monologue from the sub in episodes 4 and 5 is a good example of this kind of thinking.

Last but no the least it is one of the best sorce of epic quotes out there. I probably should not spoil this any more then I did already, but couple of them are there in this review. Also they are best in the context of the situation.

I often criticize second seasons, but here it is as good as the original. That applies to The Second Barrage only.

That does not apply to Robeta's Blood Trial. This unfortunate disappointment completely ruined Robeta's character to me, from perfect version of the Violet Evergarden she was turned into a psycho instead. Such a shame.

Sora no Otoshimono Review

Overall Rating 5.0/10 - Average, mixture of good and bad.

Consider watching for Ikaros, but best is just getting her pictures separately from the show.

The one good thing about this anime is Ikaros. And bad is pretty much everything else.

If instead they made a show where Ikaros and Sakurai travel the world and fight leather clad Demonoids or something. Like Raki and Clare in Claymore. I might have given it 7 or 8. However we got this instead.

If it is not clear enough, Ikaros is very cute and likeable girl. She is pretty, quiet, well behaved and willing to do anything to please her master. A perfect girl, if only all of them were like her the world would be heaven itself.

For that reason alone, I might have recommended this show, much like I did with Another, simply because Mei Misaki is cute. 

However, I cannot recommend Sora no Otoshimono, since, unfortunately, Ikaros does not get enough screen time. And when she does gets screen time, show do not present her in the right way.

Story driven by unlikable mean purple-head, who comes up with most 'activities' and an even more unlikable 'killer-chop' brown-head who gets too much screen time and love from creators. It does not even get better when another angeloid is introduced, snarky Nymph.

While some episodes are fun, most are weird and makes you feel uncomfortable. Ikaros does not get enough screen time to compensate for show's faults.

Sure, shy timid silent girl like Ikaros makes it hard to make a narrative, but Claymore did manage just that. Even Darker than Black managed with Yin.

Revolutionary Girl Utena Review

Overall Rating 9.0 - Exceptional

Literary Fiction type of show. I recommend for thinking viewer.

Absolute Fate Apocalypse - Zettai Unmei Mokushiroku (Modified Version)

Pravda vítězí - Truth Prevails

This is more of an analysis that a review, but I feel I need to write it here.

This is more than just a show. It elaborates on what traits and qualities appeals to the opposite gender. That is what makes attracts people in the opposite gender and how Akio and Anthy exploit it. How you can exploit it as well. It is however discreet requires you read between the lines to get most out of it.

It will tell you about about the big lie that you need to overcome in order to obtain love. However you have to be listen carefully to its discreet message in order to understand it. This anime ahs a lot of wisdom to share with those who can listen.

This is a story of a witch, who stole the prince from all other women of the world. Her name is Anthy Himemiya. 

In a way she is like a metaphor to anime itself, that managed to attract so many people, turning them into otaku who pick waifus instead of chasing girls. However there is more to it then just that.

That happened because Anthy understood what qualities make men like women. Because of that knowledge she managed to become a Rose Bride and now men fight for control over her. Now she enjoys attention of all men, who all want to have her.

She also endures hatred and envy of all women, who can't bear see men prefer her to them. Other women cannot understand why men want Anthy. They think that they are better, more mature and sexier than Anthy and deserve attention way more than she does. They bully Anthy over that. They also fight in duels over her hoping to win and supplant her.

However they could not win, either in duels or in romance. Nanami, Kozue, Wakaba, Juri all failed. They do not have timidness and kindness, girliness if you like, that is needed to attract men.

Because none of the other girls managed to understand how men think. None of them managed to realize that it is not Rose Bride's status that grants her all this attention but the above-mentioned personality traits. These traits attract men and allow Anthy to be a Rose Bride. 

Men like this kind of innocent girls. Saionji, Miki, Touga, even Akio are all like that. Even I myself once fought and won a IRL witch like that and then lost her somehow sometime later.

Anthy can skillfully exploit that. For example she acted just like Miki's sister used to when she was younger. That made Miki fight Utena over Anthy. 

Kozue wanted Miki back but just could not understand what it takes, so she failed.

Anthy often looks like a victim in the story. However in reality she is not truly innocent. She feigns innocence, timidness and kindness to win men, discreetly looking for the best suitor and eventually finding one in Utena of all people.

Akio is the only one who knows that Anthy is faking innocence. Because of that he is not completely enamored with her, but instead watches melancholically Anthy's fate.

Akio, he is male equivalent of Anthy. A man whom all the women want and men want to be like him. He is the proverbial prince Dias, the 'prince-charming' of all girls' dreams.

This show lets you see inside his mind. This is not a fairy tale and Akio is not out there to 'make every girl a princess', as this show puts it. Instead he uses his charm for his selfish ends. Among other things he seeks a girl he would deem perfect for himself.

Akio plays 'End of the World' role both for himself and Anthy, to find a perfect suitors for themselves. I mean of course they are not content to just play perfect suitors for all this other people. They wish to find happiness for themselves, not just grant it to others. There is nothing wrong with that.

Other people may be love them, but this felling in itself is selfish. Just because you love does not mean you can be satisfy your suitor. Their 'victims' are not that innocent themselves.

Akio wants to find a truly innocent and naive girl and notices that in Utena. He decides to take her for himself, in some way he leads her towards himself and almost gets what he wants. That girly version of Utena in the very last ark is perhaps what his idea of perfect girl is. One of the times when she is female uniform. Pure, innocent, willing to please, unspoiled - a perfect girl.

Akio almost gets her, but in the end Utena rejects Akio in the end and says Anthy's 'prince' instead. 

Show does ask you if her becoming a prince herself was such a good idea? She choose that, you do not have to.

Anthy would make a good gf or wife, if she did not abandoned Akio at the end of it all and stopped being a Rose Bride.

Utena as well, if she chose the path of Akio's princess at the penultimate episode, but she picked up a sword.

Among other things it is also a story about what is it like to actually be an attractive person, whom everyone wants. Naruto for example is the opposite, trying to win affection of girls, peers and his superiors. 

Akio and Anthy have more than enough of this. They have love of everyone around them, but that does not make them happy, in some ways they even struggle with all this affection.

This show also shows that different perfect 'princes' deep inside are not such a nice people. After all life is not a fairy tale and the more perfect the prince is the more he wants from a girl in return. 

I know cause I am an evil prince myself and expect a lot from any girlfriend wannabe. It that regard I can actually relate to Akio. Any girl who wants to be mine has to be prepared for a lot of sacrifices. Sacrifices from her for my sake.

This is not a fairy tale, however one can learn something important from it all.

Time and history only goes forward. Anime, moe and kawaii cannot be defeated, you can only learn from it and become one. Go full anime.

Code Geass Review

Overall rating 10 Masterpiece - Greatest Anime of all Times.

Both a Literary Fiction type and a normal entertainment at the same time. I wholeheartedly recommend you watch it.

There are plenty of good anime, there are many great anime. There are few outstanding ones, that manage to go beyond entertainment and manage to predict future or advance human understanding to a new level. 

The good examples are Revolutionary Girl Utena, that managed to explain love and delve deep into human psychology. Serial Experiments Lain managed to predict how internet will change life and humanity.

However there is only one anime that managed to go beyond even that. That is Code Geass, a true masterpiece and a greatest artistic achievement of mankind.

It is a story about a man who took on the world itself. He fought against the world he did not approved and won. 

Fate is not kind to everyone. Sometimes it takes away what one treasures, other times refuses to grant them what they seek. Some resign to their fate. Yes others fight against it. This story is a acclamation of such approach to life. A glimmer of hope for those like him.

Protagonist is not some sort of paragon of virtue, who only does good. However that makes him all the more relatable. He is driven by his own wishes, desires and, peculiar to him, sense of justice. In a way he ends up forcing these upon the world.

This is a story of Lelouch vi Brittania, prince who was abandoned to certain death, yet managed to survive and come back with vengeance.

As for entertainment value, this show has everything one looks for in anime:

Elaborate plot with plenty of cliffhangers, challenging opponents and situations. Every other episode Lelouch comes from near death to triumph, then back to near death the and back to triumph again. 

However no matter how crazy plot turns every now and then, it all makes sense from logic of the story. There is never a moment when you would ask 'why even do this?'

Good and diverse cast of characters. All of them a very well written and do not feel like just another simple stereotype. Each have their own, backstory, reasons to fight, judgement and way of doing things. They all very well fleshed out and believable.

Actually powerful opponents that make battles as full of intrigue as match between national teams of Germany and Brazil. Lelouch sure has supernatural powers but he is not the only one.

Battles themselves are won not by some luck , willpower or determination, but by cunning and elaborate strategies, that border between genius and insane. Plans are one the level or even better than 1st season of Gyakkyou Burai Kaiji

It has better mechas than Gundam. Even better than UFO Robo Grendizer. Great attention to details of design and functionality.

Art style is, of course, a subjective topic, but show is beautiful and well drawn. Once again great attention to details, insignia and overall cohesiveness of design.

Last, but not the least, good female cast. Code Geass has the best female character of all times, CC. The way she supports Lelouch throughout his journey and saves him from all possible dangers is very commendable. She has nice personality and an interesting backstory of her own. She is actually much more nice, loving and caring the she gives herself credit for. You grow to like her more and more as you learn more about her.

It has more physical fanservice too if you are more into it.

To top it all up, it is very philosophical. Characters argue and comment about every possible philosophical topic. Most prominent of them all is search for happiness, to which several monologues are dedicated.

To sum it all up, Code Geass is definitely a masterpiece you should watch. 

For better results, watch it after watching several simpler, but good shows, such as Girls und Panzer. That way you can better prepare yourself to this grandest of all delights.

Another Review

Overall Rating: 7 Good

I recommend you watch it.

As a horror story it would be an understatement to say that this anime has significant flaws. The whole story about cursed class where people dying one by one because of an extra person makes little sense. As it develops it gets even more dubious and pointless. If I were judging, it by this metric, I would have given it 4.

However, this show has one redeeming quality and that is Mei Misaki. Mei Misaki is calm, somewhat shy girl with troubled past who struggles with it. She often avoids people and prefers solitude.

I find her really cute and watching her is really interesting and pleasant. She is my type of girl. There is plenty of screen time for her since she is the main heroine.

The way she is ostracized by the rest of her classmates makes her all the more endearing in my eyes.

This is the anime that somewhat converted me from person who only watches for the plot and ideas to a person who, nowadays more and more, watches for nice and pleasant characters.

Samurai Champloo Review

Overall rating 3.0/10 - Mediocre to Annoying with few redeeming qualities

Do not watch.

Whole deepness of this show is vastly overrated, it has nothing beyond its drab ascetics and unlikable characters. It is what sophism is to actual philosophy.

Despite that, this is one of those shows that some people will recommend as if it is next best thing since sliced bread. I do not feel this way. I tried to understand what it even is and that is what I have come up with.

This is basically a Girls Bravo but for female viewers. 

Guys Bravo if you like.

In Girls Bravo a guy, who has a combination of all qualities, females do not like in men, manages to get himself a nice, likable and sexy girl Miharu from a literal moon.

In Samurai Champloo a female, who is a combination of all quality's men hate in women, hangs out with two handsome badasses with Katanas.

Show has some rudimental plot about looking for a samurai that reeks of sunflowers but forgets about it almost immediately. Instead, we get mix match of episodic stories unconnected both story wise as well as stylistically. They range from Mugen and Jin cutting down the entire towns full of mobsters over some stuff to a literal eating contest competition. Show can't quite decide if it is a slice of life or an action. 

It is ugly and rude simply for the sake of being ugly and rude. As if the show deliberately tries to be as disgusting as possible. Tatami Galaxy for example ugly but it is not rude. Unlike something like Gintama it does not tries to be funny and is not.

It is called Samurai Champloo because not even creators themselves could tell what it is about. Samurai because of dudes with katanas aspect and Champloo because it is some sort of mess.

However female viewers might find this show entertaining because of "handsome badasses with Katanas" aspect. In that case I can also recommend you Cowboy Bebop, which has a whiter space cowboy Mugen, but no Jin. Well, any shoujou/josei will work for you, unless you actually have refined taste.

For guys there is no point in watching it at all, unless you want to pick some traits from Mugen and Jin so that girls like you more. Usui from Kaichou wa Maid Sama is another good example of what makes girls crazy.

Hidden Gems of Anime

My treasury houses only the finest of the finest anime. Here they are with a little annotation to each of the. Watch them and you will improve your mongrel taste into slightly more evolved mongrel taste. 

However, visit my AniList for full list.

Space Captain Herlock

I think this was big back in the days, it influenced the industry in many ways.

.hack//Sign

This is the original isekai from before isekai were cool. A good one at that.

Claymore

Very good show better than Berserk I would say. Good plot, nice girls. A perfect blend if CGDCT with Berserk brutality.

5 cm per Second

The best and only romance anime, that could touch even my ice-cold heart.

Portrait de la Petit Cossette

Artistic and creative. Deeply psychological

Darker than Black

Unusual action story gets better in the second half. Yin is best girl but there is much more to it than just her.

DearS

BDSM romance anime. I mean not hentai/porn but actual romance.

Elfen Lied

Really good and actually psychologically deep and profound. Will resonate well with people who had traumatic experiences.

Girls und Panzer

All round good and fun, cute girls, compelling plot, tank battles. Easy to watch.

Girls Bravo

Original harem slice of life. Home of actually likable girl Miharu, that IRL girls should strive to imitate.

Hellsing Ultimate

Hellsing Ultimate. Brutal over the top badass vampire action.

Infinite Ryvius

People compare it to Lord of the Flies. That and they also have to fight against society that tries to destroy their spaceship.

El Cazador de la Bruja

Awesome story about two likable girls. It has lots of action and original plot.

Jigoku Shoujo

Send your abusers to hell here. Traditional Japanese aesthetics and feel as well. Sober and solemn mood.

Hitori Bocchi no Marumaru Seikatsu

Next Watamote or better Komi-san. Nice and compelling story about a girl who struggles to talk to anyone but wants to make friends.

Planetes

Philosophical and existentialist. Has a lot of existentialists thoughts illustrated by the crew of Space Debris collection department.

Serial Experiments Lain

A story about how internet changed society. There is even an imageboard named after it. That is how impactful it is.

Sora no Woto

Interesting both artistically and thematically. Existentialist too. About war, peace and just everyday life. A little bit of everything.

Arabian Nights: Sindbad no Bouken

Old but gold. Good thematically, good music and art. interesting plot. I do not see why people rank it so low.

UFO Robo Grendizer

May be old style but a much better mecha show than Gundam or Mazinger.

Mushishi

Kind of relaxed, eerie and traditionally Japanese at the same time. Good to just relax watching it.

Accel World

Flawed but curious enough experience, but it has great potential as well if done slightly better. I can see the big idea behind it.

Excel Saga

The original anime comedy that is actually funny. Was fun before Gintama even became a thing.

Hand Maid May

Awesome harem anime. Protagonist is IT expert who actually built all these girls and sent them back in time to his past self. Rare harem anime steals plot from Terminator 2 movie.

Bondage Game - Shinsou no Reijou-tachi

And finally, the one about treating women properly.

Check my anime list and your taste in anime will improve a billion light years.