Soulsavior42 review:

Saki (咲)
Animation: 8/10
Story: 8/10
Music: 10/10
Action: 10/10
Overall: 9/10
Length: 25 Episodes
Themes: Mahjong, Tournament, Yuri
Highlights:
Awesome Factor – Being able to see the “Tile-Slam” 2 times in one series by the president almost got me off.
Battle Factor  – So imagine Dragonball Z, an all girl cast, no powering up, they don’t sound like they are constipated….and its Mahjong
Insanity Factor – This is only series you’ll ever watch that will get you excited about something as boring and complicated as Mahjong.
Yuri Factor – VERY BLATENT, Its your choice if you like it or not.
Brief Summary
Miyanaga Saki is a first year high school girl whose family would get angry if she won the family mahjong games. But losing would also have its consequences. Because of this she develops a new way of playing that allows her to stay on the thin line between winning and losing, the +/- zero score, an almost impossible score. In a game that relies mainly on luck, the +/- zero score is harder than winning, but Saki can achieve this every time. Having always hated the game, her friend from middle school, Suga Kyotoro, forces her to play in the schools mahjong club. Her developed skill and superhuman luck has made her a worthy mahjong opponent, even to the middle schools national mahjong champion. (AnimeNewsNetwork)
When I first read this summary and looked at some pictures on ANN last year right before Spring Anime season, I laughed, quite hard actually. I mean who honestly would make a series about Mahjong, especially with big series like Full Metal Alchemist, Dragon Ball Kai, Canaan, and a few others to compete with. Well apparently Pony Canyon does. Picking this series  as a complete joke at the beginning of Spring season as “filler” between watching some of the bigger more anticipated series I wasn’t expecting much at all, I mean it’s just loli’s playing Mahjong right? Well I was wrong, very wrong.
After the first episode of Saki I was hooked, no doubt. Not because of the loli’s, or the very blatant laced yuri scenes between Nodoka and Saki, but because of the Mahjong, which mind you I had no knowledge of Japanese style Mahjong before watching episode 1.  Luckily MakiMaki subbers were kind enough to add in basic rules of Mahjong throughout the episode to keep us un-educated viewers in the know.  Now the next few episodes follow the basic structure of promises, crazy “how did Saki pull that off moments” during friendly games between her club members, and mild fan service till around episode 6 where the club has finally gotten to the prefectural qualifiers for the Japan National Mahjong Tournament.  This is where the series kicks it into high gear and leaves you behind in the dust trying to catch up introducing a slew of new characters from each competing school, the main players being Ryuumonbuchi, Kiyosumi, Tsuguru, and Kazekoshi with their respective players. This is about as far as I go story wise since it would ruin the matches and the final outcome of the tournament. On to the technical’s.
Animation
After picking up Saki you’ll notice that the producing company spared no expense in above average animation quality and sleek CG Mahjong tables, tiles and other random “battle” effects. The largest problem throughout the series was the reuse of certain animations towards the end of the series, the biggest being most of just placing tiles on the table and maybe a few facial expressions. Though this may be a fault for most people and a chance to deduct points from the score which I did, but I mean there are only so many angles that you can animate of 4 people playing Mahjong, you’re eventually going to have to reuse something and for the most part Saki did a good job at keeping very recognizable scenes out of the recycle bin.
Story
This is the make or break point for Saki as with most series since without a story I mean, what do you have? well nothing.  Sadly the actual overall story is pretty thin and not really explained that well except that the audience knows that Saki and Nodoka have a promise to go to nationals together which we are reminded of way to many times during the series, followed by the typical embarrassing yuri-esque moment.  Aside from some small hints of Saki having a sister who has disowned herself from the family and Saki’s anterior motive for going to nationals is to make up with her sister by beating her in Mahjong, that’s all you get for a main plot. For everything in-between you get small back stories on the rest of the “main” members of each team in the finals of the tournament. Towards the end of the series I came to find myself rooting for the other schools over Saki and Nodoka, thus being somewhat disappointed when I remembered the series was actually about Saki and not about Momoko the stealth Mahjong player.
The largest problem I found in Saki was the blatant yuri pairings from each competing school, and how much they emphasized it especially in the final few episodes of the series. Now nothing ever “happens” between said pairings, nor is it ever officially confirmed during throughout the series since it could be played off as they are just really good friends, and good friends meaning they want to hop on each other the second they get alone. This aspect of Saki can get very tiring and boring, most of the time I found myself screaming in my head, GIVE ME MORE MAHJONG!!!
Music
Well Aside from the fact that Saki had some of the best OP/ED’s along with a very well put together OST throughout the series, full of energy and awesome themes. Maybe I wish they had the OST cd for sale earlier than Oct 12? Yeah it was that good.
Action
Tile Slam should be all I have to say for those who have seen the series. For those who haven’t well here’s the run down of what you can expect. Awesomeness, topped with a side of Awesome. All sillyness aside, the best way I can begin to explain the action is ask you a question. Have you ever been playing a game, doesn’t matter what type and whenever you laid down that winning card and imagined lighting hitting the table and awing everyone your playing against? Well that’s what happens in almost every match throughout Saki, each player has their own “moves” even though the game stays like it should all the action takes place purely for viewer entertainment and in the players imagination I should say. So when a big wave of wind shoots across the table or water rises from the ground it’s just that imaginary feeling of pressure, or being overwhelmed since a player is doing good in the match.  I love this type of action as it doesn’t lead to long drawn explanations and useless banter and well I think along those lines when I used to play games that are similar like CCG games and what not.
Overall
This series is great, hands down one of the best series of the year and definitely on my top 10 of personal favorites.  Keep in mind that if you have no interest in Mahjong, Loli’s, Yuri, or over the top action scenes then this isn’t the series for you, if you enjoy any one of those pick it up and give it a shot, you won’t be disappointed.

Full series download(torrent batch – English subtitles):
[Underwater-Mahjong] Saki – 01-25 [TV]

Saki – Wikipedia

Thanks to Soul for the review!

Kamichu!

Animation: 9/10

Story: 9/10

Music: 7/10

Action: 7/10

Overall: 8/10

Length: 16 Episodes

Themes: Fantasy, Slice of life, Coming of Age, Comedy, A little bit of romance
Original Air Date: June 2005

 Is it possible to become a god overnight? Well, in 1980’s Hiroshima, Hitotsubashi Yurie does just that. Unsure of what kind of god she has become or even what her powers are exactly, she has a lot to learn! Her friends Mitsue and Matsuri dub her “Kamichu” – a combination of Kami (god) and chuugakusei (middle school student). If life is not busy enough for Yurie being a god, she also has to balance everyday things. Do you think a god can get out of midterm exams? You’re mistaken. Not to mention she has an interest in the president of the calligraphy club, Ninomiya Kenji. Unfortunately he doesn’t seem to notice much of anything! Luckily Yurie has great friends and a supportive family by her side, and even has the help of other Shinto gods to guide her. Hey, gods need a little help sometimes, too!

Animation/Art:
The animation was very fluid and flowing, and really nice on the eyes. At times it was very detailed. For example, when they characters talked, their mouths didn’t just open and close. Each sound was visible, and as realistic as possible. Though the drawings as a whole were rounded and soft, they worked very well for this type of anime. The colors used were very soft, and were consistent with the cute/calm theme. The best part is that quality didn’t go down as the anime progressed. It remained as consistently eye appealing throughout! The opening animation was very well done, but I can’t say the same for the ending theme. Though it was still cute to look at, I wanted more detail!

Music:
While the majority of the soundtrack was pretty average, the music was fitting for the series. There were a lot of calming themes, especially during scenes when the characters were just hanging out. Even the action scenes had music with a calmer tone, but that wasn’t a bad thing! The opening song was pretty catchy, and it grew on me. Very upbeats, and once again, fitting for the series. The ending theme was catchy, and cute, but I almost expected more from it. It does not contrast the opening theme at all, and I was hoping for something a little calmer that reflected the background theme, or even just the main theme of the anime. Even so, as a whole, the music was ear candy.

Action:
There wasn’t TOO much action, but there was enough to keep you interested. There is not much I can say without spoiling some scenes. The “action” sequences were well placed, and didn’t go overboard, but I still wish I saw a little more Kamichu-ing along the way.

Overall:
Great series, and definitely worth a watch! It doesn’t take itself too seriously, and that’s what I like about it. It remained a slice of life type of story, but incorporated the fantasy element very well. The characters were believable despite their situations being full of things that just wouldn’t happen for real. Besides, there is no way anyone should think this series isn’t full of impossible happenings. As much fun as I had watching this, there were also some very touching moments that made me tear up a little (because I’m a sap!). The story was refreshing and familiar, and a nice break from much of the anime that is being shown now. There were good messages about friendship, family, courage, responsibility, love, and growing up. Give it a watch! ChuChuChuuuu~!

Title: 5 Centimeters Per Second (Byousoku Go Senchimetoru)
Directed by: Makoto Shinkai (She and Her Cat, Voices of a Distant Star)
Total # eps: 3 short segments to a single movie (about and hour long all together)
Opening Theme: None
End Themes: “One more time, one more chance” – Masayoshi Yamazaki
Genre(s): Slice of life
The Story:
Tohno Takaki and Shinohara Akari are very close friends in elementary school, but one day Akari tells him she must move far from Tokyo with a tearful goodbye. They keep in touch through letters, and one day middle school age Tohno sets out to visit Akari at the crisp beginning of spring. Unfortunately, a steady snow begins to fall and all sorts of things get in the way. The trains are delayed, and Tohno begins to feel a heavy heart. Will Akari still be waiting for him at the station even though he is hours late?
The rest of the story shows Tohno and Akari as they grow up, and grow apart. It mostly revolves around Tohno’s interactions with others, and his view on the world around him. His heart always seems heavy, he’s always writing messages to someone, and he always seems to be looking out into space. Will he ever meet Akari again?

Did you know that cherry blossoms fall at five centimeters per second?

My Thoughts: Makoto Shinkai blew me away with this one. He didn’t need to prove that he’s an amazing storyteller or animator, but he did so just in case! There are such subtle details in the storytelling and the visuals, that it had me in a trance through the duration of the film. It was poignant and relatable. Though this particular work didn’t contain the usual fantasy aspect that Makoto Shinkai usually throws in, there was still something magical about it. Some parts felt so real that I actually shed some tears. We’re all like drifting cherry blossoms. We drift together, and we drift apart, we lose touch, and we stick together. How will things end up when we stop drifting is a mystery…

Story: 5
Visuals/Animation: 5 -
The details and colors were breathtaking. The backgrounds were spacious and looked almost real at times. The characters drawings were fun to watch, and their movement was fluid. Everything was so smooth. The visuals weren’t just eye candy, they were the whole candy store!
Entertainment Value: 4.5 -
The visuals hooked you, the story was fantastic, but it had it’s slow moments.
Characters: 5 -
They were realistic and likable.
Music: 5 -
Fitting and tremendously beautiful; especially the piano arrangements.
Overall: 4.9 -
Watch this. Even if you don’t like anime, watch it for it’s beautiful artwork and storytelling. It’s not what you would expect, and to deny yourself a Makoto Shinkai work would just be plain wrong!

P.S Thanks to DJ for his review format :]