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Tegami Bachi Reverse is the sequel to Tegami Bachi. You can find the review of Tegami Bachi here.

I love the first half of Tegami Bachi REVERSE but am quite disappointed with the second half. Though I think the ending was decent, I was hoping for a happier ending - Gauche, Sylvette, Lag and Niche live together happily ever after. To be frank, I'm not usually into "happily ever after" ending as I think it's too idealistic and unrealistic, but in the case of Tegami Bachi REVERSE, I feel for the characters a lot and hope for their happiness.

Story: (8/10) – Good
Lag's quest to recover Gauche's heart continues. After finding him and being attacked in return, he wakes up at Bee hive only to find that he has lost Gauche again. He must become stronger and a better Tegami Bachi in order to be able to take Gauche back the next time he finds him. Along with his loyal dingo and friend Niche, he has decided to make that dream come true and bring happiness back to Sylvette and Aria.

The second half of Tegami Bachi REVERSE is mostly anime original. The anime staff did put in quite a few manga scenes but somehow they didn't choose any of my favorite manga scenes. =.=!! These are some of the scenes I really like in the manga: (*Spoiler Alert! the scene where Zazie finally met his idol Jiggy Pepper and rode on the Iron Horse ^^ (picture), and the scene where Noir said "If I could, I want to become him (Gauche)." (v.v) (picture))

Characters: (8/10) – Good
It's the same cast of characters as Tegami Bachi, so why did I give a lower score this time round? The main reason is I don't like how the character, Noir developed. I can't quite put it into words but I like him much more in the manga. Even though, whether in the anime or manga, he's no longer Gauche, I prefer the way Noir conducts himself in the manga. Perhaps, if I didn't read the manga beforehand, I might like anime Noir better. On the other hand, I quite like Lag's development. Though it's also not as good as the manga, I think it's pretty good.


I was also hoping to see more of Zazie and Jiggy Pepper but sadly, they enjoyed less air time in the anime than in the manga and this is yet another reason why I much prefer the manga.


Art/Animation: (8/10) – Good
I mentioned it before and I shall say it again - I love the art style! It's really beautiful and lovely. The CG gaichuu is the only not so beautiful thing in the anime but I've already got used to it. The animation quality is quite inconsistent. There are some episodes with superb animation quality and some with pretty low quality animation.

Music: (9/10) – Very Good
I love the first Opening theme "Chiisana Mahou" by Stereo Pony! It's really nice and sweet. The second Opening theme "Yakusoku" by Suga Shikao is very different and took some time for me to get used to it. After getting used to it, I actually quite like it. The two Ending themes are pretty good too.

Enjoyment: (8/10) – Good
I thoroughly enjoyed the first half of Tegami Bachi REVERSE and though I'm quite disappointed with the second half, I quite enjoyed it too.

Overall: (8/10) – Good
Tegami Bachi and Tegami Bachi REVERSE are quite different from most shounen anime. It gave me a warm feeling while I was watching it. If you like a heartwarming and beautiful anime, watch it (or better still, read the manga!) and I'm sure you won't regret it!

This is my second time watching an anime about gambling. The first one was One Outs and I quite like it. As for Kaiji, I enjoyed the first half of the series as the mental games played were interesting. However, I don't feel the same about the second half of the series as it has a much darker theme and uses very extreme ways to showcase the ugly side of humans.

The second season of Kaiji has been confirmed and will start in April. Frankly, I'm surprised that Kaiji is getting a second season as even though the story is interesting, Kaiji does not seem to be the type of anime that will bring in the money for the animation company.

Story: (8/10) – Good
Kaiji is a bum with no real purpose in life. One day, a man called Endou, a debt collector, visited him and informed him about a loan which Kaiji had previously co-signed for a work-mate. Since the work-mate had disappeared, the burden to repay the loan was passed on to him. Kaiji obviously had no money to repay the loan and so Endou proposed a chance to Kaiji and it involved getting onto a gamble ship with others who were in the same position. In the ship, the debtors had to gamble with loaned money, and that would give them a chance to win money to clear their debts or fall into deeper debt. After some coercion, Kaiji accepted a position on the ship in order to clear his debt and make a bit of money as well.

In Kaiji, there are 2 kinds of people - the poor and debt-ridden ones, and the ones with too much money and free time. This anime basically shows how the poor ones struggle to win in the game of gamble set up by those who have too much money and free time. To win the game of gamble, the poor ones have to fight among themselves and engage one another in psychological battles. Though it's interesting to see how Kaiji crack his brain and try to outwit the others, at the same time, I also find it very disgusting to see the rich people toying with people's lives.

Character: (7/10) – Fairly Good
Initially, Kaiji seemed like a very average person but as the series progressed, he surprised me with his analytical skills. There are many other characters in this series but their main purpose was to support and develop the main character Kaiji. Though Kaiji is an interesting character, I don't find him very appealing. I think he cries too much throughout the anime.


Art/Animation: (6/10) – Fair
The art style is not my cup of tea but it's bearable enough for me to complete Kaiji.

Music: (8/10) – Good
Kaiji has a cool and upbeat Opening theme - "Mirai wa Bokura no Te no Naka" by Kaiji with Redbourn Cherries and the Ending theme "Make inu tachi no requiem" by Hakuryuu has a complete different feel. Though both themes are completely different, they suit the mood of the anime well.

Enjoyment: (6/10) – Fair
I have mixed feelings about this series. Though the characters are not appealing to me and the rich people are very detestable, I still managed to complete the 26 episodes. I tried watching Akagi (an anime about mahjong and it's by the same mangaka) before and I dropped it after 2 episodes. I think this is because the first half of Kaiji was interesting and though I found the events which happened in the second half of the series distasteful, I still decided to finish it. I'm not sure what the second season will be like but I'll watch the first couple of episodes to see if I like it.

Overall: (7/10) – Fairly Good
I know of many people who love this series, and even though I don't share their sentiments, I do have to agree that Kaiji is an original and interesting anime.

Marineford Arc has ended and this means the end of the war between the Whitebeard Pirates and Marine. Both Impel Down and Marineford Arcs are about saving Ace and it was an emotional roller-coaster ride watching both arcs. There were times I was thrilled, there were times I laughed and there were many times I cried. One Piece has many heart-wrenching scenes so far (Chopper's past, Robin's past, Going Merry's funeral and etc) and Impel Down and Marineford Arcs have added more to the list.

In the earlier arcs of One Piece, no matter what happened or how strong the final enemy was, Luffy could win. However, starting from the Water 7 Arc, things started to change. Luffy began to face enemies who he could not defeat, no matter how hard he tried. For example, in the Thriller Bark Arc, Luffy needed the powers of the shadows to fight on equal level with Oars and Moria. However, even that was not enough and at the very end, the entire Strawhat crew had to combine their powers, and only with that, Luffy finally and barely defeated Moria. At Sabaody Archipelago, Luffy and his nakama finally learned about the limits to their powers and were utterly defeated.


Things didn't really change much for Luffy in the Impel Down and Marineford Arcs. In Impel Down Arc, Luffy was defeated by Magellan and he survived only because of Bon-chan's determination to save him and his own will to live. In Marineford Arc, among all the big shots in the pirate and marine world, Luffy was only a rookie and his powers was nothing compared to the others. However, his determination to save Ace was greater than anyone else's and that itself kept Luffy going. He tried all he could to save Ace and finally, he did it! The reunion was a touching, but sadly a short one. Luffy risked his life to save Ace but in the end, it was Ace who saved Luffy from Akainu's magma fist. It was a very emotional scene and my tears couldn't stop. This scene also marked the lowest point in Luffy's life and he completely broke down!


It may seem like a waste of Luffy's effort to save Ace as in the end, Ace died. However, that's certainly not the case. Though Ace's no longer around, Luffy, Whitebeard and Ace's nakama did manage to answer the one question Ace had in his heart for a very long time. That itself save Ace.

The anime did a pretty good job with the Marineford Arc. However, I think there were a little too many Buggy, Boa Hancock and Iva-chan's filler scenes. Some of the filler scenes were quite funny but most of it (especially Boa Hancock's) were irritating and disruptive to the flow.

The Marineford war was a very chaotic one and many people died. I was crying buckets throughout the entire arc. Everything from Ace's birth story to Whitebeard's death was just too sad. Though Ace's death will definitely be a push for Luffy's growth, I still hope for him to be alive. RIP Ace! RIP Oars Junior! RIP Whitebeard! Whitebeard's death scene was especially epic and his death was definitely one of the most manly ones I've seen so far in any anime. Whitebeard is really a very admirable character! I really hate Blackbeard for not only killing Whitebeard in such a cowardly way, but also for stealing Whitebeard's devil fruit power. I hope Luffy can kick Blackbeard's a** one day!!


Anyway, I think everyone's wondering why Blackbeard can have 2 devil fruit powers since it had been clearly mentioned before that every one can only have 1 devil fruit power. Though this has not been explained yet, some clues were given. First, in the Jaya Arc, when Luffy and Zoro first met Blackbeard, they said "it's not he, it's they" about Blackbeard. Also, in the Marineford Arc, Marco said "Blackbeard's body is fundamentally different from ordinary people's". From these 2 clues, my guess is that Blackbeard is made up of 2 or more persons and hence he can take in 2 devil fruit powers. This is just my guess and I hope that Oda sensei can reveal the reason soon.

Shank's very cool entrance marked the end of the Marineford war. Frankly, when I first read it in the manga, my first thought was... Why didn't he arrive earlier? But well, even if he did arrive earlier, I doubt he could do much to prevent Ace and Whitebeard's deaths. His reunion with Buggy was funny and I also like the scene when Shanks picked up the strawhat.


I personally really like the Marineford arc even though it made me cry a lot. I have nothing but praise for Oda sensei's storytelling. I also love the way he has developed Luffy's character so far. I'm glad he did not just give Luffy some random power-up to defeat the enemies just because Luffy's the main character. In the past few arcs, Luffy has more losses than wins, but I'm sure the losses will help to strengthen Luffy more. The next arc will be about Luffy and Ace's past. I can't wait for it! I need to prepare tissues for it too.

**Warning! I'm a Jellal fan so my review may be full of bias, though I don't think so. =P

Oración Seis Arc has ended! It was a pretty good arc with lots of action and the return of Jellal ♥.

I think that Oración Seis Arc is quite similar to Tower of Heaven Arc as it's also about stopping the bad guys from activating a super duper powerful evil magic. Oración Seis Arc has more battles and among all the battles, I like the ones between Gray/Lyon and Racer (it's nice to see Gray and Lyon fighting alongside each other), Lucy and Angel (2 new Zodiac keys were being introduced), and Natsu and Zero (Natsu's finishing move was really badass!). Disappointingly, even though Jellal has finally returned to his kind self, he was weakened right from the start by his own self-destructive magic. Since this arc looks like it will be the last arc for Jellal, I was hoping to see more of Jellal in action but as usual, the focus was on Natsu and friends. (v.v) (*Spoiler Alert! The next arc will be about Mystogan and though he looks like Jellal, he's not Jellal. His name is also Jellal but he's from another parallel world. Disappointingly, though the next arc is about Mystogan, he has very little air time. =.=)


The ending was a sad one for me. I couldn't stop crying when Jellal was taken away and Natsu and friends started to fight the soldiers to bring him back. I cried even harder when he turned around and said, "It was the color of your hair" to Erza.


Oración Seis Arc also introduced a new Dragon Slayer, Wendy and her cat, Charle. Wendy is the Sky Dragon Slayer and her power is healing. When she was first introduced, I had the feeling that she would join Fairy Tail. However, I quickly dismissed the idea as I thought it was not honorable to just leave one guild and join another, and Wendy did not seem like that sort of person. The end of the Oración Seis Arc showed the real form of her guild and frankly, I was quite surprised. I'm glad that she has joined Fairy Tail as she will finally reunite with (*Spoiler Alert! the Jellal she met years ago!)


All in all, I enjoyed watching Oración Seis Arc. I was hoping for more Jellal action but too bad, it was not meant to be. I find Jellal to be a very cool but yet pitiable character. (*Spoiler Alert! Since the real Zeref has appeared in the manga, I wonder who was the one who possessed Jellal and turned him into an evil boy when he was young. Ultear's brainwashing?) I really hate Ultear for manipulating him. I hope for his return to the story one day but I highly doubt so. Hopefully he won't be killed or tortured by the new council.

The Arrancar Arc is finally OVER!! The animation of the Arrancar Arc started in 10th Jan 2007 (Episode 110) and it finally ended on 22nd Feb 2011 (Episode 310). It took 201 episodes and more than 4 freaking years to finish the Arrancar Arc! =.= Well... among the 201 episodes, there are many fillers. Personally, I quite enjoyed the Zanpakutou Arc but I can't say the same for the Amagai Arc and the random filler episodes.

Enough about fillers and let's talk about the Arrancar Arc. Initially, I really liked it as it seemed interesting, especially with the introduction of new characters like Espada and Vizard. However, things began to go downhill after Orihime was "kidnapped" and the "save the damsel (first, it was Rukia, and this time round, Orihime) in distress" saga began all over again! It's cool to see Ichigo, friends and Shinigami fighting the Espada, but... I always wonder... why was Ichigo the ONLY ONE who experienced ridiculous power-ups?! Chad and Ishida did power-up but that was because they trained. As for Ichigo, he always get to power-up during battles. =.= When he suddenly powered-up and beat Kenpachi and Byakuya, I wasn't very happy and in this Arrancar Arc, he did it again and defeated my 2 most favorite Espada, Ulquiorra and Grimmjow! In the end, I really don't see the point of Kubo sensei introducing the Espada.


As for the "war" over at the real world, I thought it was pretty interesting too but in the end, the "war" didn't feel like a war. A war should be chaotic but this felt like a systematic battle game. Though the "war" wasn't like a war, I was happy to see the shikai and bankai of some of the Shinigami like Gin, Hisagi, Soi Fon, Kyouraku and etc. Another part I liked was when the Vizard joined in the war. They were really cool and how I wish they could get more air time and development. However, I'm very disappointed with the fact that the anime left out this scene (below) during the Vizard entrance scene. I had been looking forward to it since I first read it and the anime staff just had to leave it out. =.=


Though I'm glad that the Arrancar Arc has finally ended, I'm not quite happy with the ending itself. Why was it that only the bad guys die and all the good guys (no matter how severely injured) survive? Quoting Kyouraku "Getting caught up in style and throwing away victory is something for the lower ranks to do. Captains can't even think about doing such a carefree thing. Don't try to be a good guy. It doesn't matter who owes who. From the instant they enter into a war, both sides are evil." I especially like the last sentence. I totally agree with it and since both sides are evil, both sides should suffer damage. Unjustly, only the Arrancar side suffered damage.

Towards the end of the Arrancar Arc, the reason behind Gin's action was finally explained but very soon after the explanation, Gin died! Gin is a great character and it's sad that he only had that little air time. Speaking of deaths, the ways some of the Espada (in particular, Starrk and Halibel) died were really pathetic. Starrk was the Primera Espada and though his powers was quite unique, it didn't seem very powerful. As for Halibel, the moment she was killed off by Aizen, my only thought was, "this whole "war" is damn meaningless!". Aizen is one of the most overpowered villain I've seen and he went through almost as much evolution as Ichigo. Even though he's ultra super-duper powerful, in the end, he still lost to Ichigo. Yes, it happened at the cost of Ichigo's shinigami power but I don't feel any pity for Ichigo as (*Spoiler Alert! in the manga, he has already regained it back!)


If you read the manga, I'm sure you know that currently, the anime has already caught up with the manga. The manga is only 16 chapters ahead. If you read the manga, I'm sure you also know how much content there is in 1 chapter. I usually finish 1 chapter in less than 3 minutes and I think that says it all. Since the anime is catching up with the manga, and the manga is progressing at turtle speed, this means we can expect at least a year of fillers! Are you excited about it? I'm certainly not! Naruto Shippuden just finished its marathon of boring fillers and it's Bleach's turn now. Sigh...

Anyway, sorry to turn this into a rant post. I didn't intend for it to happen but somehow it just happened.

I just watched the Live Action Movie of Beck and it was really disappointing! However, it did bring back good memories of me watching Beck anime a few years ago. I remembered how crazy I was over it and how my music play list was repeatedly playing the Beck soundtrack.

After watching the Beck movie, I immediately watched Beck anime again. Though it's not my first time watching it, watching it again gave me a new form of excitement and enjoyment.

Story: (8/10) – Good
Tanaka Yukio, better known by his nickname Koyuki, is a 14 year old who feels disconnected from life in general. Through the act of saving a mismatched dog, he meets guitarist Minami Ryuusuke, and becomes involved in Ryuusuke's new band Beck. Koyuki's life starts to change as the band struggles towards fame.

What I really like about Beck is how it realistically portrays the obstacles and problems faced by a band. However, I do feel that the story is a little too lopsided as it focuses too much on Koyuki.

Characters: (8/10) – Good
I like all the band members of Beck, but sadly, too much attention is paid to Koyuki and the other band members hardly went through any character development (in particular Taira and Sakurai).

The band members of Beck:

Koyuki - I didn't really like him initially as he was timid and indecisive. However, as the series progresses, he matured a lot.


Ryuusuke - He's pretty cool but his short-temperament makes him look uncool at times.


Chiba - I like his straight-forwardness!


Taira - He looks cool and he's probably the most mature member.


Sakurai - He's very plain looking and he's also given the least attention. (poor thing!)


Art/Animation: (7/10) – Fairly Good
I tried reading the manga before but I couldn't get into it as the art wasn't to my liking. The characters look much better in the anime than in the manga! The animation, in general is not too bad. I think the animation of the band members playing the instrument is pretty well-done.

Music: (10/10) – Great
Music is the source of life for this anime and it's the main reason why I like Beck. Most of the songs are in English and even though bad pronunciation is a problem, the quality of the voice and tune more than makes up for it. Other than the songs performed in the anime, I also like the Opening theme "Hit in the USA" by Beat Crusaders. It's really sad that Beat Crusaders has already broken up! Enjoyment: (9/10) – Very Good
The part about Koyuki dealing with his relationship problems is a little draggy but other than that, I had a good time watching the anime. I especially like those scenes when the band is performing.

Overall: (9/10) – Very Good
Good story + Great music = WIN! It's a must watch if you enjoy rock-punk music!