Shoujo Kakumei Utena is a well done and thoughtful anime series which will leave to stunned, moved, enlightened, or at the very least confused. I really think that the creators tried there best to keep the viewer off balance and confused. You never know what will happen next because you never really know what just happened and when you finial find out what did really happen you say to yourself oh yeah I get it now damn I need to see that again. That is why this series has an excellent replay value, because once you have finished the last episode you say to yourself ok now I am going to watch it again and I am going to understand what’s happening, and you watch it and still don’t get all of it.

Aishiteruze Baby is an original, clever, emotional, and gripping anime. The show does well to not only weave one episode in with others, but it also has something that many anime series over look, good transitions. The show maybe slow to start and slow to get going and slow to finish but for this kind of subject matter it is well suited. The show seems to focus on character development and not plot development allowing the writing to shine though. Much of the emotions that are felt by the characters are easy to relate to and that is where its strength lies. There is of course the draw back that the voice acting can not really carry the dialog, but they do it well enough to convey the emotions behind it.

The presentation of the show was I think well rounded and very well done. From beginning to end you could feel that the show took you on a ride and did a good job of entertaining you on the way. The show is a very entertaining and even though it is slow at time and can often become annoyingly slow it still manages to keep you entertain and glued to your seat. Of the few time I did laugh in the show it was mostly during a scene that Yumi was in playing the fish out of water role. For the most part the show does not rely on comic relief to help it, it instead allow the character development and interaction to be the focus of the plot and show. The show may seem to be a bit of a soap opera but to me it isn’t.

Gantz my not be the best series I have in the last year but that is not to say it wasn’t enjoyable. The story was quite original and it felt new and fresh. The themes that the show tackles like suicide, being a pervert, obsessive compulsive disorder and a myriad of human short comings with out actual trying to say that they are wrong or having a moral is a big plus in my book. The story sort of says well they are just humans so ____-it I am not going to fix them. As for humor what can I say there is some black humor, it mostly has to do with the perverted main character and his adolescent minds almost debilitating obsession with the opposite sex. That begin said the show and series was a nice watch not really worth a second run through but nice the first time.

I am conflicted as to whether or not this is an original series, because I have a feeling of déjà vu when watching some episodes. Although there are no tangible examples that I can give, it may seem familiar to some of you as well. That begin said this story itself, its themes, and plot twist are new and fresh and are a joy to watch and follow. There is some humor but I can not really say that it was a big enough part of the series to mention. The show is a joy to watch and it has some replay value. The sorrow and internal conflict that is present in the series may leave you a little down after watching, this is though in my opinion a sign that the series is excellent.