Yeah, y'know, someone once asked me, "Where do you come up with this shit?". The answer is: television, and various twisted anime that have left me scarred (in a less-bad way). =3 So, if you're wondering how I got so messed up and desensitized to certain things, here's a few good series to look into.

These are basically all the anime series I've watched in the last year or two that really left me feeling either the fuzzies or kind of traumatized (in a good way XD).

Prétear: Himeno Awayuki was a normal sixteen-year old girl until her father married a woman who happens to be rich. Since then, she has been perceived as an outcast by both her new stepsisters and her classmates. Later Himeno finds out from seven men called the Leafe Knights that she is something called Pretear, a girl who has the power to merge with and control the nature of the elemental-oriented powers from the Leafe Knights and stop an evil being called the Princess of Disaster. [Anime News Network]

Genres: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Magical girl, Romance, Shoujo

First episode :: Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3
[13 episodes]

Opinion: It's a cute fluffy (and, okay, cheesy) series with some deeper and darker stuff introduced toward the middle/end. Definitely a series to watch if you're in a down mood and need some cheerful entertainment.



Higurashi no Naku Koro ni: On one hot summer day in 1983, a transfer student named Maebara Keiichi comes to a peaceful rural village in Hinamizawa. There, he befriends his classmates Rena, Mion, Rika, and Satoko. Accepted as a full-fledged member of the "club," Keiichi and the gang plays all sorts of activities ranging from card and board games to hide-and-seek. People will remember that THIS was how playing used to be before the advent of video games. But just as Keiichi was beginning to be assimilated in simple rural life, he stumbles upon the dark history of Hinamizawa. Dam contruction project. Violent demonstrations. Kidnapping and extortion. ARM-AND-LEG DISMEMBERMENT MURDER. As Keiichi dives deeper into the mystery, he finds that his new found friends may not be all what they claim to be. [Anime News Network]

Genres: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Psychological

First episode :: Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3
[26 episodes]

Opinion: What can I say that the opening can't say better? CREEPY SERIES. I ended up loving all the main characters *and* being creeped out by them. Even when the animation's lacking, the drama-mystery story picks up the pace. Fantastic all around. But definitely *not* one to watch if you have a weak stomach. See, this series makes me feel (almost) less sadistic for what I did to Little Zakai and the senseis compared to what they did to their own characters (...over and over again...). o.o;



Death Note: Light Yagami (Or Raito) is an ace student with great aspects who's bored out of his mind. One day he finds the Death Note: a notebook held by a shinigami (Death God). with the Death Note in hand, Light decides to create a perfect world. A world without crime or criminals. However when criminals start dropping dead one by one, the authorites send the legendary detective L to track down the killer. [Anime News Network]

Genres: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Police, Psychological, Shounen, Supernatural

First episode :: Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3
Second episode :: Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3
[37 episodes, but still being released; I've seen up to episode 17 subbed]

Opinon: One hell of a mind-twister. And doesn't rely on Little Girl Creepiness (/Higurashi) to scare the audience, but the impressive intelligence (combined with the psychotic nature) of the main character.



The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya: On the first day of high school a beautiful girl named Haruhi Suzumiya introduces herself as having "no interest in ordinary humans". She asks for any aliens, time travelers, sliders or espers to join her. Watching her weird behaviour is Kyon, a boy who sits in front of Haruhi and is the only person who talks to her. Commenting on Haruhi's joining every club in school and then quitting, Kyon unwittingly gives Haruhi an idea to start her own after school club. Thereafter Kyon and several others find themselves literally dragged into the Save our world by Overloading it with fun Suzumiya Haruhi's Brigade (the S.O.S. Brigade for short). [Anime News Network]

Genres: Comedy, Supernatural

A note about episodes: They numbered the episodes very weirdly or something before airing them. Wiki has a guide which I would recommend following, or else you'll end up watching the series out of order: episode list.

First episode :: Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3
[14 episodes so far--still ongoing series...]

Opinion: Very weird but charming.



Ouran High School Host Club: ...Oh, man, the plot summary gives away a lot of the best parts of the first episode. T_T Okay, basically--at Ouran High School, there's a club where a bunch of playboys indulge the ladies of the school by acting out their fantasies. Which basically means taking a lot of shoujo cliches and putting them in a blender for teh_funneh. Enter Haruhi, a new student to Ouran who's far removed from reading shoujo and its ilk--and who's suddenly taken under the club's wings for grooming.

Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance, Shoujo, Slice of Life

First episode :: Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3
[26 episodes]

Opinion: Effing *hilarious*. Tamaki reminds me of Aviv. XDDD



Shakugan no Shana: Sakai Yuuji, a high school student who expected his normal life to last forever, is dead. When he was on his way home he witnessed a shocking view as the world suddenly froze: people were engulfed by blue flames and a monster resembling a large doll swallowed them. Just as the monster prepared to consume Yuuji, a sword-wielding girl in black attire with flaming red eyes and hair that burns like embers saved him from the monster. The girl called herself a "Flame Haze" who hunts the "Guze no Tomogara", creatures from another world. As Yuuji noticed a blue flame in his chest, she called him a "Torch", a temporary replacement, saying that the "real" Yuuji's existence had already ended. Unfazed, Yuuji befriended the strange girl, named her "Shana", and joined her fight against Tomogara and other Flame Hazes. [Anime News Network]

Genres: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance, Supernatural

First episode :: Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3
[24 episodes]

Opinion: First episode is *very* creepy. The description's kinda' spoilery, but eh well--it's a pretty damn good series, and the art ain't half bad. I absolutely love Shana. XD She reminds me of a female Inuyasha, LMAO.



Shoujo Kakumei Utena ("Revolutionary Girl Utena"): Just after Utena's parents died she was consoled by a prince who gave her a ring with a rose crest on it. Utena was so impressed by the Prince that she vowed to become one herself one day. A few years later Utena is attending Ohtori Academy where she gives all the teachers headaches because she dresses in a boy's uniform so she can be like the prince she met long ago. After Utena's friend is insulted by a member of the Student Council, Utena fights in a duel for her friend's honor. Utena's rose crest allows her to enter the dueling arena where Utena wins the duel and becomes engaged to the Rose Bride. Unknowingly, Utena is pulled into a series of duels with other members of the Student Council for the possession of the Rose Bride. As she becomes fond of Anthy, the Rose Bride, she must fight to keep her friend safe and to discover the horrifying secret behind Ohtori Academy. [Anime News Network]

Genres: Drama, Fantasy, Psychological, Shoujo

Episode 1 :: Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3

Opinion: The first episode has a very "typical cute shoujo" feel to it, but Pep warned me ahead of time to not let that deceive me. Turns out that it's a very twisted fairytale and really subverts the shoujo genre. Also--if you love symbolism/metaphor, you will very likely love the series by the time you hit the Black Rose Saga (which is the big point where I sat up and paid attention).



Other series I really like but am too lazy to summarize: Digimon (...duh...), Naruto, Bleach, Escaflowne (*HEART* this), Ayashi no Ceres, Rose of Versailles (though I have yet to finish it), Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell, Inuyasha, Sailor Moon (I lacked a Sailor Moon childhood, so youtube came to a very delayed rescue), Card Captor Sakura, D N Angel, Fruits Basket (*HEART* this), Full Metal Alchemist (haven't seen all of it yet, tho *sweatdrop*), Ranma (I'm not close to completing the series ;_;), Tenchi Muyo (I have yet to complete even one series ;__;), Read or Die, any Miyazaki movie, Record of Lodoss War (the first OVA series--I haven't seen the TV series), Wolf's Rain, and hack/SIGN. :D I've also looked a little into Oniisama E ("Brother Dear Brother"), but I'd only recommend it if you like over-the-top melodrama and seeing girls look and act *exactly* like bishies. O_o;; [Though I've gotta' say I got *so* many Ouran High School Host Club jokes after watching a few episodes of Oniisama E... XDD]

Animes I'm planning to watch: Serial Experiments Lain, The Twelve Kingdoms, Slayers, Spiral, Weiss Kreuz, and maybe Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo.

OMG, I'm watching Ouran High School Host Club and it's awesome! I love it! They're all so awesome! Like, the whole thing about commoner's coffee sounds exactly like something I'd say. And the little guy reminds me so much of Shiro it's crazy. I should get a picture of him to represent Shiro-kun. Maybe even a little avatar.

Yeah, remember the Voice Actors thread? I suggested that Honey sounded like Shiro. XDD Honey's the guy in Ouran High School Host Club. Dude, that anime is da shiz. =3

Omg, it is. I love the incestuous twins! They're so funny. And Haruki is so cute, especially when Tamaki flirts with her. So awesome. I love the relationship between Honey and Mori, it's totally what I want Shiro and Aviv to become.

Haha, uh... ^^;; No, you don't. Trust me.

Hey! If you're also a scary movie fan, Higurashi's a really good anime, and if you're a fan of mysteries and suspense, Death Note's definitely a good one.

I've been watching Pretear as well, and it's just as good as Ouran High. I love elemental powers and it's such an amazing show. I love little Shin!!! How they always need him to summon the shields and seals.

I know! He's like, one of the cutest little anime kids ever! (one of them XD)

Pretear's definitely one of my favorites. I've always loved it to bits and pieces. =33