Free! Iwatobi Swim Club

The series follows Haruka, a boy who used to swim competitively in elementary with three guys Makoto, Rin and Nagisa. Haruka hasn’t swum competitively in years even though Makoto encourages him. Things begin to change when Haruka and Makoto are reunited with Nagisa, who just enrolled at their high school. Nagisa insists that they should re-form their old swimming relay team, but the plan hits a snag when they learn that they need a fourth member to start the club. Luckily Nagisa meets Ren a track athlete who he convinces to join the swim team. The team run into Rin who has changed drastically since they were all in elementary. Rin is now attending an elite rival school and wants nothing more than to beat Haruka at the swim relay. To have a chance at competing legitimately the squad will have to go through some rigorous training. Will Haruka and friends overcome the odds and succeed as the Iwatobi High School swim team?

 

I was so glad this anime had finally come out. I’d been looking forward to it for some time. After all the years of fan service for guys, all the big boobs, panty shots and unnecessary angles up skirts. It was about time an anime came out with nothing but fan service for the ladies. Throughout the show the guys are hardly ever fully dressed. They are muscled beyond belief for high school guys and thank god for that! It was a pretty much eye candy the whole show. 

 

Now as for story it’s very basic and not very deep but it’s a fun show. There’s a lot of comedy thrown in and each boy covers a basic type. Haruka is the quiet and brooding, Rin is the angst filled one, Makoto is the encouraging and nurturing type, Nagisa is full of energy and always happy and lastly Rei is the book worm complete with glasses. The series is very light hearted with a few deeper moments thrown in. The animation is well done with its pretty background and handsome boys. 

If you enjoy slice of life, comedy or sport animes I believe you’d enjoy this series. Its only 12 episodes long so it won’t take much time and there is talk of a season two.  So hopefully in the near future we’ll see more of these handsome boys.

Wolf Children

Hana, a young college student meets a strange young man and falls in love with him. Turns out the man is the last of his kind, he can turn into a wolf at will. The two move in together and start a family. They have two kids a little girl named Yuki, she is very wild and full of energy and a little boy named Ame, he is timid and mellow. The father dies in an accident while Ame is still a baby, leaving Hana to figure out how to raise two wolf children on her own. After a few issues arise living in the city she decides to move out to the country so the children can have plenty of room to roam without being noticed. 

 

Beautiful, that is the word that comes to mind when I think of this wonderful movie. The story is touching, the mother has to figure out how to care for her children without the help of the man she loves. Her loneliness is shown in beautiful ways, and even though she is lonely the love she has for her children shines through. The trials and tribulations of her predicament make for a story that works for all ages. It has moments of sweetness and moments of comedy all blended together beautifully. 

The animation of the characters is simply done, much like Summer Wars and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. While the character animation is simple the rest of the animation is breath taking. The scene in which Hana discovers her lover’s true form is full of stars and it’s beautiful. The mountains and the rest of the backgrounds are striking and a nice contrast with the simple character design. The world created for this movie is amazing; it is one of the best I’ve seen.  

 

Overall I highly recommend this movie; it works for kids as well as adults. I plan to add the blu-ray to my collection as soon as possible. So make sure you add this movie to your must watch list.

Brave 10

A ninja named Saizo runs into Isanami when she is attacked by assassins. He saves her becoming her reluctant bodyguard while she makes her way to meet Sanada; the man she was told to find when her shrine came under attack. Sanada is gathering ten warriors together and wishes for Saizo and Isanami to join them. Soon after Isanami's strange power comes to light and a prophecy is revealed.

 
Average is the word that comes to mind with this anime series. The animation is average nothing grand, the character designs are standard. The story is average as well; Saizou the main warrior is at first badass yet as the series progresses he becomes useless and needs help in battles.  The young woman Isanami, is a priestess whose shrine is destroyed and is the lone survivor. During the whole series she clings to Saizou and is very childish. She has a great power and yet always needs rescued. There was nothing new or out of the ordinary with the series, it was all very typical and conventional. Though that's not to say I didn't enjoy the show. I did have fun watching a new anime, the first one I've seen in awhile. So while its average its not a bad series.

 
I also found the series had some decent comic relief; I would laugh out loud at some points. The relationships between the ten warriors are not well constructed but they are funny. The fights are fun to watch as well, though nothing new. The series doesn’t lack for action with a fight happening on a regular basis, so you won’t find any filler. Overall I wouldn't call this a must watch series but if you have some free time and want to watch an anime without much of a commitment then this would be a good pick. It’s only 12 episodes and an easy watch so enjoy the simple plot and have a few laughs.