Silver Spoon - 銀の匙 - Gin no Saji - Season Two

Silver Spoon 2 is a continuation of the story of Yugo Hachiken's life at an agricultural school.

The second season appears to be addressing the relationships between friends, classmates, and the animals they care for.  Season one did revolve around Hachiken's relationship with his friend Baccon, but this season addresses his developing relationship with the horse Melron.  It's pretty fun to watch Yugo struggle with his dislikes and likes of horses and farm life in general; that is one of the features that makes Silver Spoon so enduring.

It's a great anime to start off the 2014, the year of the horse!  Enjoy!

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Wake Up, Girls! - 七人のアイドル - Shichi-nin no Idol (Film)

Wake Up Girls is a short anime movie about the creation of an idol group.  The young group consists of 7 young girls who want to change their lives and a talent agency that is pinning all of their hopes on the future of the group.

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Nagi no Asukara - A Lull in the Sea - 凪のあすから

Nagi no Asukara is a breathtaking anime, due to one of it's surreal locations, under the sea.

A Lull in the Sea is about some high school friends that experience a rare event that threatens to pull them all apart forever.  Will they find each other again?  Will they be able to grow up with their families and those that they love?  

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Folktales from Japan - Furusato Saisei Nippon No Mukashi Banashi - ふるさと再生 日本の昔ばなし

Folktales from Japan are traditional short stories that paint a very colorful picture of the Japanese Heritage.  Each episode consists of three folktales illustrated in a more traditional style.  

The folktales have wonderful narrators that make you feel as if you are listening to your grandma or grandpa telling a story.  If you feel like watching a short story, I would definitely recommend giving the folktales a try.  I give Folktales from Japan a 4 out of 5 for Hebel House's colorful retake on traditional Japanese stories and storytelling. 

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Murder Princess - マーダー·プリンセス

Murder Princess is a short 6 episode anime about a country that experiences a coup de tas.  During this event the rulings families princess escapes and literally falls into another strange adventure which changes not only her life, but the fate of her entire country. 

Artistically, there are some really great character designs in this story, which are super fun.  I believe the story could have been fleshed out more, but for such a short series I think the director did fairly well.
 I give Murder Princess a 3.5 out of 5.

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Aru Tabibito No Nikki Anime Shinden - The Diary Of Tortov Roddle - 或る旅人の日記

Aru Tabibito No Nikki is a breath of fresh air in the anime world.  Completely different from other anime in both visuals and storytelling.  It is extremely artistic, relaxing and challenging to watch all at the same time.

Aru Tabibito No Nikki Anime Shinden is strange and beautiful.  The animes are dreamlike, yet complete mini stories. If you are looking for something different to watch, this may be a good anime for you.

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Pale Cocoon - ペイル・コクーン

Pale Cocoon is an eerie short anime consisting of only one episode.  It takes place in a modern era after the world has died.  Many people have given up the hope of seeing such beautiful, colorful things the world had to offer.  Until one day...  

Pale Cocoon's anime style and coloring is really well executed and is very beautiful.  Although it's story is short, it's so well executed that it's complete and leaves you yearning to know more.  It's not surprising to find out that it won the 'Best Screenplay' award at the Sapporo International Short Film Festival.

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Date A Live - デート・ア・ライブ - Dēto A Raibu

Date A Live is just now heading into it's second season.  The story follows a young man, Shido Itsuka, and his sister, Kotori Itsuka, as they try to save a group of young women who have immense power capable of destroying the world itself. 

The character designs are really well thought out and the coloring compliments the designs well.  The artwork and FX is consistent throughout the anime. The story line is still vague, but we will have to see how it develops in the second season.

I give Date A Live a 3.5 out of 5 at this time.

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Hunter X Hunter (Recent Addition) - ハンターハンター

Hunter Hunter is an ongoing series released in 2011.  It's basically the story of a young man who becomes a 'Hunter' to learn more and to meet his long absent father who is also a hunter.  He meets some great friends a long the way and they end up having some crazy adventures together.

To date, 111 episodes have been released and the story can be so far broken into roughly six parts. 1) Gon (The main protagonist in the story) leaves home to become a hunter. 2) Gon goes to find his friend Killa 3) Gon and Killa learn how to pass the secret Hunter exam. 4) Kurapika's hunt for the Phantom Troupe, A.K.A. the Spiders. 5) The pursuit and completion of Greed Island. 6) The battle with the Chimera Ants.

After these story lines the anime turns to movies to complete the story. The first movie, Phantom Rouge, has been released and explores Kurapika's journey to reclaim his kinsman's red eyes.

The last movie, The Last Mission, has just been released in Japan.

Artistically speaking, Hunter Hunter is interesting to me because it's not always consistent.  However, the story is interesting, the characters are endearing and the character designs are solid.

I would recommend Hunter Hunter with a 4 out of 5.

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Silver Spoon - 銀の匙 - Gin no Saji

Silver Spoon is a fun anime about a young high school student who leaves his family and home to study at a rural farm school.  Since he is from the city everything he encounters is new and strange.

The relationships portrayed in Silver Spoon are rich and meaningful as is the entire plot line.  The artwork is well done and has some nice design touches for an anime that is so heavily grounded in reality.  

With only 11 episodes the first season is just a bit short, but they did tie up the first instalment neatly. 

I give Silver Spoon a 4.5 because of the story is really well thought out.  I'm looking forward to seeing season 2.

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Gingitsune - Silver Fox - ぎんぎつね

Gingitsune is an anime about a family who lives and takes care of a Japanese Shrine.  Shrine families are really interesting because there is always one member who can see the shrine herald.  The herald is an animal messenger for the gods.  Ging is a large silver fox who looks after the shrine in this anime.

I particularly liked this anime because I personally didn't know anything regarding the differences between Japanese Temple and Shrine culture.  I feel a little better informed now, so I can enjoy shrines and temples all the more when I visit Japan next.

Gingitsune's story is very simple but it's heartwarming and acts as a nice companion to the shrine and temple life being shown.

The artwork and animation is good but nothing groundbreaking.

I give Gingitsune a 4 out of 5 for its originality in displaying educational/ cultural ideas while keeping the viewers interest.  The story writers also did a good job completing the first instalment of this story.

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