Yamato Nadeshiko (The Wallflower)

Yamato Nadeshiko (The Wallflower) is a manga series written by Tomoko Hayakawa. Nippon Animation adapted part of the manga series into a twenty-five episode anime series. Yamato Nadeshiko is a common term used in Japan to describe the ideal beautiful woman. The story revolve around Sunako Nakahara, a girl called “ugly” by a boy, who happened to be the first and only person to whom she confessed her love because of this incident, she losses her sparks in life and change for the worst. She became reclusive and generally developed a fear of pretty boys of which she refers to as “dazzling creatures”. She became a lover of solitude, gore movies, anatomical dolls and objects that reflect the ugly side of life as she puts it. Sunako’s aunt who has a big concern to her and was the owner of a beautiful mansion ion where four very handsome students live, offers the guys free rent if they can transform niece, Sunako, into a “perfect lady” but if they fail, the rent goes triple. Due to these handsome boys confidence in knowing how to deal with women, they agree.

Before anything else I would like to introduce these four handsome guys. Kyouhei Takano, the most popular of the foursome. He is very loud and bossy when it comes to his needs. He was forced to leave home because all of the mobbing and harassment by his fans were taking a toll on his family. As the story goes he will have unsorted feelings for Sunako which he demonstrates by constantly provoking her rage. Next is Takenaga Oda comes from a very wealthy family and is quite serious in nature. He is the brain and logic of the group often trying out logical strategies to make Sunako become a lady. He has a love interest in “Noi” Kasahara, but his shyness gets in the way when he wants to express his feelings. Another is Yukinojo “Yuki” Toyama, he is shy but sweet and has a very loving nature. He is the most innocent of all the characters, often crying and becoming scared when he enters Sunako’s room. Last but not the least is Ranmaru Morii, the playboy of the group. Ranmaru comes from a wealthy family and is an only son. He is very extroverted and a lover of older women. He has a very sexy nature and extremely high self esteem.

Now that you know these four lovely men let’s back to the story. When the guys first meet Sunako, they begin to realize that their lovely living arrangements may soon be in jeopardy. Although the four are able to make Sunako physically attractive the difficult part is with her personality. Sunako has no intention in changing her tastes, her love for all things macabre (gruesome and horrifying content) is a difficult challenge that the boys must face. Eventually, Sunako will develop an especially mixed feelings about Kyouhei, and as the storyline progresses, their relationship becomes more solid and intimate. There’s a lot of adventure and funny moment in the story that the boys faced just to encourage Sunako to change but still they failed. The boys managed to convince Sunako’s aunt that her niece is indeed a lady befitting the mansion in which they live (and prevent the rent from skyrocketing to triple the required amount). However, in reality, Sunako has not changed considerably. In the last part of it you will see Sunako change her physical appearance in to a lovely lady and that is so exciting.

The story is a combination of comedy, drama and romance which can catch viewer’s different taste. It is composed of handsome boys, which I can say that this was made intended for male audiences. The series deals with the extravagant life of a group of bishounen characters who cause nose bleeds to girls where ever they go. It’s a shojo series with lots of sparkles and flowers that can be enjoyed by guys just as much as girls. The most interesting part is mixture of horror and comedy in the plot, it’s like Sadako meets the F4. The series is full of comical moments that will keep you laughing throughout the series, there are some jokes that require some knowledge of Japanese anime but I’m sure most of you will understand it. Hence it gives moral value and touching stories each episode despite its weird concept.

GetBackers

GetBackers is a manga series written by Yuya Aoki and illustrated by Rando Ayamine. The manga was adapted into an animated television series in 2002. The series tells the story of Ginji Amano and Ban Mido, a pair of super powered individuals known as the GetBackers. The duo operates a freelance repossession service, their job is to recover any lost or stolen item for a client with an “almost 100% success rate” for certain amount fee. The plot mostly revolves around their adventures, often complicated by the pair's convoluted, individual pasts and a mysterious place known as the Infinity Fortress.

Ban possesses two special powers, the “Snake Bite” (his hands have a gripping power of 200kg) and the “Evil Eye” (anyone who looks into his eyes will be locked into a powerful and nightmarish hallucination). Ginji, on the other hand, has the ability to generate thousands of volts of electricity from his body. He was once the fearsome “Lightning Emperor” and the leader of a gang called The VOLTS in the Infinity Fortress. He received the title “Raitei” (literally, Lightning Emperor or Thunder Emperor) because of his ability.

They have some colleague like Hevn, she is the negotiator for the Getbackers, providing them with new, often dangerous, jobs. Even more ironic is that with the GetBacker’s money luck, they often end up getting no pay for any of Hevn’s dangerous jobs. And Natsumi, she was the GetBacker’s first client in the series and because of that Paul was introduced. He is the owner of the Honky Tonk, which is where the GetBackers often loiter and build up their tab. These people share good bonding to Ban and Ginji in their adventures and fights. Also adds happiness and excitement in the story.

Ban and Ginji claim a 100 percent success rate in returning lost or stolen property to its original owner. Their claims are put to the test in the series' first five episodes, as a high-school girl hires them to reclaim her precious handmade stuffed cat; a homeless man requests they rescue his daughter, who’s fallen into yakuza hands; and a wealthy businessman sends them to retrieve a stolen strongbox. The story became more intense when they encounter and fight against some equally talented freelance “transporters” who have been hired to defend the lockbox from the likes of Ginji and Ban. Among their enemies are “Dr. Jackal”, a quick-moving sadist who can manifest razor-sharp weapons out of his bare hands, and “Lady Poison”, a girl with phenomenal chemical weapons and a secret connection with Ban.

Then the next episode would then mainly revolve around the Mugenjou (Infinite Castle) and the battles that Ginji and Ban went through inside it, trying to solve its puzzle and mystery while at the same time saving the friends Ginji had there. A lot of philosophy about existence would surface later.

GetBackers is a lively, colorful series, with a lot of intense, graphic action and nicely animated motion, but the clear sense is that Ginji and Ban are both deeply tragic figures with a great deal of history. Ginji was once a feared gang leader, which leads to oblique flashbacks in which shadowy figures describe him as an “invincible being” and “the emperor of this limitless fortress”. Ban’s connection to Lady Poison, aka Himiko, spawned a complicated grudge that seems to stem from an even more complicated promise. Even the first meeting between Ginji and Ban is briefly hinted at in an explosive-looking scene that sets the stage for intense drama to come.

This anime is a composition of action, drama, romance and comedy. Also it shows good moral value and the importance of friendship. The story has lots of twist and turn that add to its spice.

Death Note

Death Note (Desu Nōto?) is a Japanese manga series created by writer Tsugumi Ohba and illustrator Takeshi Obata. The series focus on a high school student, Light Yagami, who discovers a supernatural notebook that allows him to kill anyone by writing the victim's name and picturing his face. The plot follows his attempt to create and lead a world cleansed of evil using the book, and the complex conflict between himself and those assailing him that results.

Light Yagami is an extremely intelligent young man who resents the crime and corruption in the world. His life change when he discovers a mysterious notebook, known as the "Death Note", lying on the ground. This notebook has a terrifying powers that can kill or control anyone whose name was written in it. The Death Note's instructions claim that if a humans name is written within it, that person shall die.

Death Notes all have rules written on the Note's first page. The basic rules are as follows:

* The human whose name is written in this note shall die.

* This note will not take effect unless the writer has the subject's face in their mind when writing his/her name. Therefore, people sharing the same name will not be affected.

* If the cause of death is written within 40 seconds of writing the subject's name, it will happen.

* If the cause of death is not specified, the subject will simply die of a heart attack.

* After writing the cause of death, the details of the death should be written in the next 6 minutes and 40 seconds (400 seconds).

There were additional rules written in the notebook which was done for some purpose to elaborate the story better. These rules often serve to clarify the more esoteric uses of the Death Note that the characters discover on their own. Official Death Notes contain over 40 pages of how to use it, consisting of both those written in the Notes and those shown in as eyecatchs.

Light is initially skeptical of the notebook's authenticity, but after experimenting with it, Light realizes that the Death Note is real. After meeting with the previous owner of the Death Note, a shinigami named Ryuk, Light seeks to become "the God of the New World" by passing his judgment on those he deems to be evil or who get in his way.

Soon, the number of inexplicable deaths of reported criminals catches the attention of the International Police Organization and a mysterious detective known only as "L". L quickly learns that the serial killer, dubbed by the public as "Kira" (Kira derived from the Japanese pronunciation of the word "killer"), is located in Japan. L also concludes that Kira can kill people without laying a finger on them. Light realizes that L will be his greatest nemesis, and a game of psychological cat and mouse between the two begins.

Light's father, Soichiro Yagami is a police officer who was assigned to lead the Kira investigation team. He becomes disappointed with the lack of police cooperation in Kira's case, eventually he join forces with L to form a special investigative team. After a test that L set-up, he suspected that Light is the one who called Kira. Soichiro didn't believe in it but he still insist to remain helpful in the team. To investigate Light further, L needs to reveal himself. The battle between Light and L became very intense. Lots of twist and turn happened between the two.

As the investigation goes by, a second Kira appears, Misa Amane. She is a girl with an immense crush on Kira, Misa is a popular idol in Japan. She is immature and tends to refer to herself in the third person in an attempt to be cute. Misa is completely devoted to Light, and she once said that she loved him at first sight. Light, however, only views her as an asset to his plans because of her Death Note and her Shinigami eyes (that she obtained at the cost of half of her remaining life span, twice). Misa devotes herself to Light because he killed her parents' murderer after several trials had failed to convict him. She also has same story with Light in having the notebook. It was fallen in her from nowhere, but obviously it was given by Shinigami. Rem is the Shinigami whose own Misa's Death Note. Similar to Ryuk, Rem possesses two Death Notes. However, she purposely gives one of them to Misa Amane. Rem inherited her second Death Note from Jealous, another shinigami who died when he saved Misa's life, and thought it only right to pass it on to Misa. Rem inherits Jealous' love for Misa as well and is prompt to defend Misa even at the cost of her life. Rem shows this when she states that she will kill Light if Misa dies before her time.

As there were two Kira now L lead to confusion a bit of time but manage because of his genius mind. He found out that Misa is the second Kira and tried to prove it. He ordered kidnapped Misa and tortured it to tell the truth. But with Light brilliant mind L fall in his trap. L knows that he will die in the game that's why he choose someone who will inherit his position. The two kids from the orphanage named Near and Mello became the candidate for L's successor. When L die because Light put a trap to Rem to kill L, the kids take over in the investigating team.

Mello was an orphan who grew up with Near in Watari's shelter for gifted children. Similar to L's fondness for sweets, he is often seen eating bars of chocolate. Although Mello is quite intelligent, he often lets his emotions get the better of him. Mello wears leather most of the time, unlike Near or L. He also appears to be less secluded in terms of his friends and hobbies, and seems to be fond of biking. While Near was a primary candidate to become L's successor and calls himself N during the course of his investigations. He shares a number of similarities with L. Much like how L plays with things such as sugar cubes and forks, Near is frequently shown playing with toys or his hair. Near also sits in an unusual manner similar to L, but with some slight differences. He offered to join forces with Mello to fight Kira, but Mello turned him down. Near then gained the support of the Government of the United States and formed the Secret Provision for Kira (SPK).

As the story meets its finale, Light falls in Near hands. Light might underestimate the kid capabilities. When Kira's identity almost reveal, police hunt Light but he is not capable of fighting because he is wounded. Ryuk decided to kill Light for he told Light in the beginning that he is the one who will take away Light's life in the future.