Finished playing Final Fantasy V

Finished playing Final Fantasy V (1992, Square, SNES) on 9/09/2016.
Hours: 70

The four elemental crystals that keep the planet's forces in harmony are in danger after one of them was destroyed. And so four heroes are brought together by faith – Bartz, Galuf, Lenna and Faris team up to save the remainder of the crystals from meeting the same fate.

I've played this game before quite a few years ago but I've forgotten how good it is. There is just so much comedy in this title as opposed to past installments, and I've enjoyed every bit of it. And characters show so much more emotion through a couple new sprite animations that previous Final Fantasies did not have.
Also there's the great character job system coming back from the first game with many more options and improvements, such as being able to change to whatever job you want, whenever you want so as to master all of them and ultimately be able to mix and match abilities. This type of customization allowed for numerous strategies against bosses that would otherwise be nearly impossible to defeat. I'm lookin at you, Omega.
The soundtrack is great as well, quite lively compared to previous ones.
I just wish this game had a fat Chocobo. Item storage is a very helpful thing.

8/10 - A very good game with a lively cast of characters. I really think Square was trying to stay away from the usual seriousness that previous Final Fantasy games had with their characters and you can really see this with Bartz personality. But that's not to say that these are not complex characters just because they're interactions tend to be comical half the time.

Finished watching Guin Saga

Finished watching Guin Saga (2009, Satelight, 26 episodes) on 7/09/2016.

Based on a light novel, this show follows the adventure of two young twins, Rinda and Remus, heirs to the throne of an invaded kingdom, and Guin, a leopard-headed warrior who's origins are unknown even to himself. Along the way the three are captured and team up with two other prisoners, a mercenary named Istovan and a monkey girl named Sunii to make their escape.

What attracted me to this show was the fact that Final Fantasy series' composer, Uematsu Nobuo composed the entirety of the soundtrack for this show.

PLOT - Guin is my favorite character and the sole reason why I kept watching. I wanted to know where he came from, why he is leopard-headed. His character is also very awesome. He's cool and composed and always wins even after getting thrown around like a rag-doll. But the plot seems to take a while to pick up decent speed and eventually towards mid-season it picks up, but for some reason Guin and the twins aren't exactly the main characters anymore as the show ceases to follow their tracks and focuses on more political characters that only mildly interest me. Regardless, all the characters in this show have very interesting personalities, although I did find myself rolling my eyes a lot at those traits, but nonetheless they were interesting and sometimes even made me giggle at how unexpected they became sometimes.

ARTWORK - The animation and art quality for this show are both amazing and beautiful. I loved watching the fight scenes with Guin. They were very exciting.

MUSIC - Like I've mentioned, this soundtrack is composed by Uematsu Nobuo. However, it was nothing like his Final Fantasy compositions. I think he tried to go for something different with this show. Unfortunately the vast majority of the soundtrack didn't quite stick with me. But I'm not saying it was terrible, it just wasn't as catchy as what I've come to expect from his work.

7/10 - It's an interesting show with great quality and interesting characters, but the plot can get so dull sometimes. I admit falling asleep to an episode or two. There is a continuation but as of yet a second season hasn't been announced.

Finished watching .hack//sign

Finished watching .hack//sign (2002, Bee Train, 24 episodes) on 7/09/2016.

Tsukasa is the virtual avatar of a teenager playing an online video game called The World. However, as other players in the game come to find out, Tsukasa seems to be online continuously and has abilities that aren't part of the original code of the game which he uses to mess around with other players. A small group of players like Bear, Mimiru, BT and Subaru, among others become interested in catching Tsukasa to understand what his abilities are all about and what their secret is.

This was quite the popular show back then. I remember watching it and being mesmerized by its mysterious and laid back tone and soundtrack. It was almost lulling, in a pleasant way. Years passed and I finally decided to sit down for the whole season, and I gotta say I'm not impressed. It actually left me a bit confused. I should also mention I never played the games so maybe I'm missing something there.

PLOT - The show's plot seems to advance at a sluggish pace and there's a lot of unnecessary talking and not that much action going on. The show also seems to be very stingy when it comes to Tsukasa's exposition. Everything is shown in vague flashbacks that give you as many answers as it does questions.

ARTWORK - The animation and art quality varies randomly throughout the show but for the most part feels kind of rushed. Then again, there isn't much to animate as most of the shots are characters just standing around talking or plotting about Tsukasa. Sometimes their mouths aren't even in the shots.

MUSIC - The soundtrack has beautiful, catchy melodies but the ones with singing have lyrics that make no sense whatsoever. Notably the opening theme, I mean, what does "How come I must know the direction of relieving?" even mean? It doesn't sound right is what it is.

6.5/10 - Meh, this show's alright if you even just watch a small number of episodes out of order like I did back then. Otherwise you're not missing much. Also, what the hell happened to Sora?

Finished watching xxxHolic Rou & Adayume

Finished watching xxxHolic Rou & Adayume (2010, Production I.G, 2 OVAs) on 5/28/2016.

Ten years have passed and now Yuko must say goodbye. She leaves Watanuki in charge of her wish-granting shop to continue her work. Nothing that a well-trained witch apprentice with years of experience can't handle. But the hope of seeing Yuko again drives Watanuki's will.

8.5/10 - Rou was a very interesting show. The way it started and the case Watanuki solved. The way it ended also left me with exciting questions. If you've been keeping up with my anime reviews you should know that I love Production I.G's work and this one's no different. I've become really fond of the xxxHolic series and just love to watch each new installment in the series. I even go for other of CLAMP's work just for the xxxHolic cameos. Needless to say, Rou was an amazing experience with that deliciously elegant art quality that the series is known for.

Finished watching Kobato

Finished watching Kobato (2009, Madhouse, 24 epi.) on 5/26/2016.

Kobato is an innocent, kind-hearted young girl on a mission to fill up her glass bottle with kompeito hard-candies. But these candies aren't just regular ones, they appear inside her bottle everytime she heals a broken heart, a not-so-easy task. But with her she carries Ioryogi-san, a fire-breathing, quick-tempered, stuff animal doll who guides Kobato through her ordeal.

7/10 - Very nice. This show has a lot of heart and Kobato is sure to tug at your emotions when her personality is challenged by the harsh realities that life presents. But the show doesn't let you stay down for too long as Kobato picks herself right up with her silly ideas which are often literally burned down by Ioryogi's fire breath. Ioryogi is my favorite character, his temper amuses me and for a stuffed doll his facial expressions are epic! The story is based on the CLAMP manga by the same name, but I haven't read it yet so I can't say how it compares. Even so, I enjoyed this show nonetheless. The art quality was good and so was the animation. The production doesn't feel rushed or anything. Nothing that you wouldn't expect from Madhouse.