Ochiba Anime: Anime Reviews (2024)

Rating: 36 pts
Highest Points: Story, Music
Lowest Points: Art

Review
I'd say that beyond a doubt, Hana Yori Dango qualifies as one of the best shoujo anime *ever*. The story is probably one of the most realistic shoujo stories I've seen in a while. Unlike shows like Marmalade Boy, where everything has a genki sugar frosting, Hana Yori Dango goes deep. Not as deep as shows like Oniisama E, but quite far enough to keep it from being a cute series. It's a true series. An therein lies its strength. If you've found yourself deeply dissapointed by an aparent lack in serious shoujo anime, this one is for you.

Tsukushi is our main character. Her family is dirt poor, and somewhat crude. And she manages to get into a super rich school, where everyone's aparenlty a stuck up jerk. If you're an anime fan that's ever been severly out of place in society, or led a particularly rough life, I think you'll really apreciate knowing Tsukushi. I identified with her the instant I first heard her voice. It's a mellow, realistic voice.Bringing me to the fact that the voice acting in this series is very well done. Let me say that I have *no* *problem* with the average genki anime girl's voice. But those voices aren't realistic. The voice acting in this series is superb, and down to earth.

The art, I'll confess, isn't the greatest. It's a lot better than many series get though. And it's different. It's style is individualistic, and easy to recognise. I hear a lot of comments on the color scheme. It's wonderful. Most anime really doesn't focus on animating in a specific range of colors, shamefully, it's one of the few artistic techniques that anime hasn't utilized. Which gives Hana Yori Dango an unique artistic toutch. The colors themselves are pale yellows, goldens, brown-greens, and grey blues. They remind me more than a bit of the large photos that my old French book used to display of the palace of Versailles (I think it was).

The music is very toutching. Most shoujo series do use orchestral music for the emotional impact. But HanaDan is one of the few that has succeeded in having truly classical-esque music. The music itself stands alone, which can't even really be said for the music of Shoujo Kakumei Utena, which boasts one of the most modern soundtracks to come around in years.

The music, combined with the colors, create such an atmospere for the series. It's amazing. THIS will be one of those rare series that creeps into your life, gets into your mind, and never leaves you. It's one to see, for sure.

Rating: 37 pts
Highest Points: Story
Lowest Points: Art, Music, Overall

Review
Review: I have to admit, in spite of the recommendations and gerenal high scores, I was relutant o try this one. It seemed to me like it's be just another cute but klutzy girl falls in love with the most popular guy with the bad personality., a basic girl + boy + complications = story. And I was wrong.

I won't go into the plot in great detail- there are other reviews for that. Tsukushi is pressured by her family into going to an expensive school, which is pretty much run by 4 boys who are the rich, good looking and can be pretty nasty. Friendships are more about politics than actually liking each other and no-one wants to stand up to the 4-F gang.

Tsukushi not only yells at them, she fly kicks the leader in the face.

And basically, that's it. That's what makes this a great series. A heroine that is not irritating, that's tough but not irrationally violent, that stands up for herself and is strong emotionally. She's not perfect, and we can see the times when she just wants to give in and opt for the quiet life, but she doesn't. I don't know if I'd call hr my favourite anime heroine, but she might be the best.

Art

Lovely, in sepia-tinted photgraph kind of way. It's nice and it blends together well. There's no jerky, awkward shifting from cute to moody scenes. Tsukushi's sense of isolation is shown, but the stylised, symbollic moments are not overdone to the point where they drown out any sense of reality.

Music- It goes well with the series and that's probablythe best thing you can say about an anime. It might not have you singing along like Gravitation, but it works within the anime.

Overall

Well, it's really good. Surprisingly so. I'd recommend it to anyone, especially someone who has just watched a whiney, irrational, super-violent, klutzy, emotional or all of the above traditional shoujo heroine. Tsukushi is worthy of respect, and without the benfits of magical powers, alien ancestory or a really big robot.

Rating: 36 pts
Highest Points: Story, Music
Lowest Points: Art

Review
I believe that Hana Yori Dango is one of the best shoujo anime for fans to see. Whether you are new to the genre or are a seasoned viewer, this series can give you fresh perspective on not only anime in general, but on just how talented mangaka are at portraying the emotions of teenage girls.

Some anime can give you the feeling of culture shock - an abundance of Japanes jokes or references to obscure anime titles. Hana Yori Dango, however, avoids this completely, inviting the viewer to share in experiences and feelings that almost every adolescent can identify with. We are faced with characters that are real, who portray both the wealthy and the poor aspects of all societies.

Lately, anime has been awe-inspiring mainly for artwork, but has lacked somewhat in what the genre knows how to do best - tell a great story. In Hana Yori Dango, the art is far from state-of-the-art. We, as viewers, are not treated to computer animation or graphics, and even the color scheme is worlds-away from other contemporary series. But although HanaDan lacks a saucer-eyed heroine and a color scheme spanning the rainbow, these characteristics only add to the series down-to-earth quality.

The characters in the series are radically different that the typical shoujo-fare bubblegum-sweet characters. Each one, including Tsukushi, the heroine, and her love interests, have near-fatal flaws that provide depth to their characterizations. Tsukushi is strong for others but cannot come to terms with her own feelings. Rui, her crush, is mature but mysterious. Doumyouji, another love interest, cares deeply for her yet lacks consistent maturity. Though these characters vary superficially from the very poor to the very rich, the viewer is absorbed more in their interactions than in their social status.

Overall, I have reacted more to this anime than any other that I have seen. I have cried because of what the main character has done, because of what has been done to her, and also because of how much I can see myself in the story itself. I have laughed, too, occasionally, because the series doesn't lack some memorable lighter moments. But, most importantly, when I walked away from the last episode, I missed the characters. I had become attached to the story, but I knew that it had an epic quality which meant that it was almost never-ending.

I think even the creator of the series felt the same way - the manga, which the anime is based on, is still running if I'm not mistaken.

Rating: 37 pts
Highest Points: Story, Overall, Music
Lowest Points: Art

Review
Rating: 10- One of the best I have seen
Highest Points: Music, Story, Overall
Lowest: Art-but it's still really good.

Hana Yori Dango
Hana Yori Dango also called Boys Before Flowers. Before I jump into my review, I 'd like to first discuss the points that make an anime appealing. The story, an interesting sounding story will be one of the first things that makes you choose an anime. Art work also make anime appealing to fans. I also believe music plays a big factor in an anime, too. If the right music is used you will feel the characters sadness, their happiness, or the tension that is being built around certain events. Hana Yori Dango has these characteristics that make up a good anime.

*sigh* I was hooked on this story from the very first episode. From the opening song actually, which I absolutely LOVE. I can listen to it over and over again. The opening sequence, where everyone is dancing, is great! There is a lot of music used throughout this anime. There is a boy who plays the violin, Rui is his name, and his music makes you feel the emotions that he does not express other wise. There are other music used ,too, for other characters in this anime. This anime really uses music to make the watcher feel what is going on. There is some ominous music for when something bad is going to happen that just make you sit on the edge of your seat. There are character theme music that fits each character perfectly.

In the first episode your are introduced to a girl named Tsukushi Makino. She is listening to a trio of girls talk about a new watch that they had gotten. The girls were ewwing and awing at how much it cost. Tsukushi is thinking that she only need to last for 3 more years, til she graduates and can leave that school.

You also get introduced to a group of boys called to F4 (the flowery 4) one of the boys is antagonizing a cleaner boy for getting dust on his shoe. At this point you discover the F4 are the 4 richest boys in the school, and what they say goes. Students and teachers have been chased out of the school because they did something to make the F4 mad. The members of the F4 are Tsukasa Doumijogi, Hanazawa Rui, Nishikado Sojiro, and Mimasaka Akira. After they are finished with the cleaner boy, the F4 go jumping away, knocking of the cleaner boys garbage can. All but one, Hanazawa Rui, he stops and sets it upright. Here is where you notice Tsukushi's interest in Rui.

Later that day Tsukushi is talking with a girl, and they are discussing the F4 and the fear that they make the students in the school feel. And how friendship seems superficial in the Eito school. As they are talking the girl ends up tumbling down the stairs, and landed on top of Tsukasa Doumijogi, her foot in his face. Instantly the girl begins to cry, because she knows that she is about to be chased from the school. She begins to apologies to Doumijogi, but he will not accept her apology. Tsukushi speaks up at this point, protesting that her friend apologized and was sorry. Doumijogi makes fun of Tsukushis' defense of her friend.. calling it a "cheap show of friendship". This ticks Tsukushi off, and causes her to do something rash. And as a result the next day SHE receives a red tag in her locker. The Red Tag is a symbol of the F4 scorn and their way of telling you to leave the school. The red tag also gives the other students in the school permission to terrorize the receiver of the tag.

Now is when all Tsukushi's troubles begin. She gets things thrown on her, she is chased, her school desk disappears. But Tsukushi is also stubborn, and refused to let some rich kids make her leave. So after a day of being beaten up, she decides to declare war on the F4. This story is so good because there is comedy thrown in with the struggles of Tsukushi's character. This anime makes you cheer for the poor girl , because she doesn't take things lying down. She fights back.

Watching you discover her love for Rui, as they develop a friendship. But she knows she has no chance because of the beautiful childhood friend, Shizuka, that Rui loves. Slowly she becomes, kind of, part of the F4's group, but her struggles in the school never really go away, because of Doumijogi and petty jealousies of other school mates.

I found Hana Yori Dango to be very entertaining, and moving at the same time. This is an anime that everyone should try. The lowest points it gets in my book it the art, but that is mostly because the anime is drawn to look very life like. All I ask it that you watch at least four episodes. I feel this is a wonderful story, that is worth giving a try.

Rating: 32 pts
Highest Points: Story
Lowest Points: Art

Review
this series is fabulous and one of my favourites if you are into girl power, lots of cute guys (!) and somewhat of a dawson's creek (but a hundreed times better) storyline this is for you!! makino is an ordinary girl who is forced to attend a prestigious school because of her mother's hopes that one day she will marry a rich guy so that her fmaily will no longer have to live the lifestyle of a poor personeverything is gone into a disarray when she is picked on and bullyed by the four richest guys in the schoolthe F4 what makes matters worse is that she is in love with one of them!! and another one of them likes her!!aaaarrrggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh what will happen when all emotions collide?? well whatever comes aboutit sure as hell aint gonna be boring!