Level E

Me and my wife were bored... we are picky with our anime. So we thought this anime might be worth trying, if not, than no problem. Well, just to tell you, we haven't laughed like that in a while... You very rarely see an anime that can make you laugh your pants off one minute and the next be biting your nails off, worrying what is going to happen next.

A truly wonderful anime...

The manga is superior to the anime.

As a fan of the original manga who read it many years ago, I concede that this may be a bit of my own nostalgia talking. Even though I enjoyed the anime, as well as some of the details that were changed (like the presentation of the prince's diary in the first arc, for example), I still believe that the manga is superior in the following areas:

Pacing
This is especially evident in the last arc, which was stretched from one manga chapter into two episodes, which made the original snappy, immensely fun comedic tour-de-force a little more plodding and sloppy.

Comedic timing
For a series that runs mostly on comedy, this is one area that was essential for the anime to get right... and they kind of pulled it off. There are more jokes in the manga though, and they're timed better. The anime, in contrasts, generally feels like it's trying too hard and being too obvious when it comes to the funny bits.You think Captain Kraft in the anime was funny? You should see him in the manga, where he's way more awesome IMHO. His slapstick moments are executed with more skill and subtlety, compared to the somewhat forced feeling you get from him in the anime.

Art and character expressions
The animation in this show is incredibly sloppy, with somewhat rough line art and tacky CGI. (The opening is one of the best openings I've ever seen in my life, though.) Togashi's art in the original, in contrast, is always well-done, in stark contrast to some of his latter series *coughcough*HunterXHunter*cough*. Character expressions are far more detailed and varied and realistic, and the style just has a unique flair to it, a raw, emotionally powerful quality, that is completely lost in translation. If you're fans of the prince, he's more attractive in the manga and is drawn in a wider variety of outfits.

I do think that Level E, in either incarnations (but especially the manga), is a genre-busting masterpiece. It is a completely unique work of art that is the result of Yoshihiro Togashi, blessed his twisted soul, trying to amuse himself and himself only, and not any specific demographic or genre audience. Remember how in Bakuman they define two kinds of successful mangaka, one of which is the type that draws whatever they damn well please, and it turns out to be hugely popular anyway? Togashi is most definitely that kind of mangaka. You want a serious, dramatic alien-hunting story? You can shove it, have some children in sentai suits and a hot alien teacher instead. The way the genre and style just bounces all over the place, without a single unifying driving plot or theme, is probably partly why the manga only lasted 16 chapters. Because it reads exactly as what it is: a piece that the mangaka made just to please himself. "Audiences won't stand for something like that? Who cares? As long as I'm having fun, it's all good." (I will say that this is one of the things that the anime tried to remedy - by tying in the rest of the story arcs into the princess's plot, it tried to give the entire story a coherence that I don't think is absolutely necessary and maybe even seems a little forced, since the original story arcs were meant to stand alone by themselves and have little to no relevance to each other. Which is not necessarily a bad thing.)

I rather like that kind of attitude to storytelling, you know? I don't care that Level E's not polished or coherent. It's pure, unadulterated fun. The humor in it is the very best kind there is - the kind that relies on your audience's intelligence and dares to twist your mind into convoluted knots for the pay off, instead of mere slapstick. What other anime out there uses up entire episodes as the set up for the punchline?

For that reason, it's rather sad that we probably won't be getting more of Level E. Heck, I'd count it a miracle if he managed to finish even HunterXHunter. Yoshihiro Togashi's inventiveness is something that I will never tire of, and I'm glad that at least with this anime, more people were able to enjoy a work that has been neglected by the general public for many years.

If you enjoyed the anime, you should definitely read the manga. Even if the general plotline is the same, the details and the way the story is executed is different enough to warrant it. Just to get more of the prince and princess, if nothing else. There is one manga-only chapter that has not been animated. It covers their honeymoon and even mentions the child that they have together. And you know that with two people like that, their honeymoon will definitely be something worth looking at.

This anime was funny as hell and always had me thinking about how an episode would end. The mischievous plan of the bakameno-prince were deathnote like and the last episode was the best of all!!

I was suckered in at the first episode with a simple story, laughing my heart out. It did not disappoint at all further along the series. Instead I loved it!

Young highschooler, Yukitata has moved away from home to gain some independance from his family. However when he arrives at his flat he finds that a mysterious stranger is already there. An amniesiac pretty boy who claims to be an alien. Now, this alien price is no ordinary pretty boy; he takes a strange delight in watching people panic and squirm.

This trait of the Prince's, to manipulate those around him for his own amusement, is what makes this series good. Without the Prince this series would have nothing to show for itself. The Prince is smart, charismatic and sometimes cruel. Yet somehow isn't cold. When he gets screamed at he feigns innocence or just talks back with such wit, that the character attacking him looks stupid.

Yukitaka is great in that both he and the Prince playoff each other very well. Yukitaka often falls for the Prince's tricks, even though he is always very on guard around him. Unfortunately, Yukitaka dissappears for a while after episode 3 and this is when things start to go down hill.

Without Yukitaka reigning in the Prince, the Prince's manipulative ways begin to get tiresome. While there are some good episodes such as the 4th episode, most of them feel of a lesser quality than the first 3 until Yukitaka returns. They are still enjoyable and fairly funny but not as good as the first 3.

The music sounds nice, though it does get a bit repetitive.

The animation is smooth, though the animators do experiment alot thoughout the series. The character designs are pretty but only stand out now, in the 90s they would have looked the same as everything else.

Something to keep in mind while watching this show is that it is based off of a very, very short manga. WHich means there wasn't much material to work with. Which is what gives it its very disjointed and jerky feel. The author hadn't been drawing manga long; so probably founf it difficult to create a large connected story.

If you want to laugh so hard you cry then this series is for you. At times sweet and endearing but then Level-E twists it all around!

The Prince of Dogura is one of the most refreshingly likeable yet hateable character I've ever come across. His consistent ruthlessness in tormenting his subordinates with multi episode plots is truly Machiavellian.

This show is different.
Not sure where to begin, but this show is all about charisma. The plot line is not continuous but every episode was thoughtfully done. The whole whole series can be summed up in one phrase, "Betcha didn't see that coming!" Every episode starts out misleading, usually with a dark or gloomy mystery or murder. At the climax the story is always turned upside down with a feeling it was all done in fun.

On the downside, the show does touch on some serious subjects such as murder and kidnapping then plays them off light-heartedly. This may be upsetting or disturbing to some people but it is not graphic in anyway. Some of the episodes were a bit distasteful so I did not watch each episode the day it was released. I found I had to 'prepare' myself beforehand to watch an episode since I never knew what was coming.

The characters are all done well. Even characters that only show up once. The main characters help glue everything together. The music is fitting and the animation is good. Sci-fi fans should love this as well as people who like mysteries. Everyone is not going to like this show, but everyone should watch this at least once even if just to see how a different way to do things can be done anime. This show and Beelzebub are my top two pics for best new series of 2011 so far.

lol i think the storyline is so crazy
but its pretty funny :D
i mean i love it :D
especially the first episode with the baseball guy
there was also creepy stories that i thought was real
I WAS LIKE WHERE IS THE PRINCE TO SAVE THAT GURL
FROM BEING EATEN

Watched 5 episodes

Biased off of the main picture for "Level E" I though "Great, another geeky anime for all those alien otaku" Boy, was I wrong. This is one of the funniest animes I have seen in a good few years, and I've watched ALOT of anime. It flows very nicely and the characters are well developed. At some points the story appears to fall into a cliche pattern only to surprise you with the weirdest turn of events and have you falling on the floor laughing. I'd rank this in my top ten out of the hundreds of animes that I've watched. Give it a try, you won't regret it!