Daisuke Niwa lives in an ordinary town, goes to an ordinary school, and is a pretty ordinary guy. He even has a crush on a beautiful girl in his class, Risa Harada. However, one day, when he was thinking about Risa (who had rejected his love), he suddenly feels pain all over his body, and collapses. When he wakes up, he realizes that his face morphed into the face of Dark Mousy, a famous thief that had mysteriously disappeared 40 years ago. His mother and his grandfather tell him that the Niwa family has always been the host of Dark Mousy, and that their job is to steal the cursed artwork of the the Hikari family, and purify them.
So now, it is finally Daisuke Niwa's turn to be Dark Mousy!

Okay, on with the review.

The storyline was amazing, and had totally blew me away. All of the characters were well developed, and most of them were likable. With a full developed plot, and great characters, you have a good all-around anime.
The music is great. Every song helps the viewer understand the anime more, and has an overall 'feel' of the anime. The opening, I must say, is great in both English and it's original Japanese version. It draws you in with ease. The music is thrilling at thrilling moments, and sad at sad moments, just like it should be.
The animation is okay, I guess. Everything is fluid and smooth, and okay to look at, but not exactly 'wow' or 'spectacular'.

Overall, this anime is great, and definitely an anime for an Anime Newbie to see. I recommend it to all.

Yuji Sekai is like any normal high school kid out there. He has friends, a loving mother, and teachers that may not be so nice. On that fateful day in his hometown of Misaki City, the city around him froze in red. When he is about to be attacked my a monster, a girl with flaming eyes and burning hair comes to his rescue by killing the monster with her sword, the Nietono no Shana.
Puzzled, and thankful that she had saved him, Yuji Sekai learns from the sword-wielding girl that he is not human, but a Torch, a temporary replacement for a human who has been eaten by a monster. Torches, however, do not last forever, and once it goes out, the person's existence is wiped out, as well as any memories of it from the people it knew. However, Yuji Sekai is different from any other Torch. He is a Mystes, a Torch that posses a "treasure" inside of him. These treasures vary in ability, power, and value.
The girl calls herself a "Flame Haze" and proclaims that her mission is to keep the balance between our world and the Crimson World in tact by defeating Denizens and their helpers the Rinne, which are both trying to upset the balance by killing many innocent people.
He names the girl "Shana" after her sword. With this new name, Shana feels somewhat attached to this Mystes. However, she later finds out what treasure he has, and her new mission is to defend Yuji Sekai from the Denizens, who would try to take this treasure away from him, and disrupt the balance of the world with its incredible power.

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Now on with the review! Shakugan no Shana was pretty amazing, with well-developed characters. Who could ever forget the appealing Chanter of Elegies, Margery Daw, or Alastor, the Lord of the Crimson Realm who posses Shana. And who cannot like the wonderful, clear and smooth animation? The music was okay in my opinion. The plot I think has some plot holes in them, and needs further detail. For example, where is Yuji's father, and who was the previous Flaming-Eyed, Burning Hair Hunter? Well, I believe Shakugan no Shana Second (the second season, following directly afterwards), was made to explain most the first series.

All in all, Shakugan no Shana was a joy to watch, with interesting characters and an action/romance-filled plot one bound to capture the viewer's interest in just a matter of episodes.

Kaze no Stigma. The Stigma of the Wind.

In this world, there exsist familes that can control the elements: earth, wind, and fire. Demons seek to destroy this world, but of course, they are stopped by the mighty element-controlling familes, such as the Kannagi, the most powerful En-Jutsushi (fire-user) clan known in the entire world. However, there are people with greater power, who are known solely as Contractors, who have signed a contract with the Spirit Lords of the Elements, and are only identified by the azure eyes they have when they activate their power.

After a four year disapearance, Kazuma Yagami returned to his real home in Tokyo, back to the Kannagi Residence. In actuality, he is Kazuma Kannagi, the boy who was born to take over as the clan head, but could not control fire itself. Now he mysterious returns, with an unknown reason, and with a new ability: to control the wind, otherwise known as Fu-Jutsu.

However, this shall not be a happy reunion. There has been a killer on the loose recently, killing Kannagi family members, as well as their serving families. All the evidence point out that they damage was caused by none other than a Fu-Jutsushi, and suspect number one is Kazuma Kannagi. Ayano Kannagi, the girl who took Kazuma's right to be clan head after a battle four years ago, suspects this as well, and willing to go as far as kill him. However, Ren Kannagi believes that his big brother, Kazuma, is innocent.

How will Kazuma Yagami prove his innocence to his own family, the very one who rejected him?

Now is the time for the review. Relax, that story plot isn't the only one in this anime series of 24 episodes so far. I believe there are 5 plots and 3 very funny filler episodes. Overall, I think that the storyline is pretty basic compared to other animes that have already been done. I believe that this anime could have gone the extra mile, adding more character development, better plot devices, twists and turns, and more explainations and details about Kazuma's mysterious past. There are a few plot holes in the story as well, never even revealed of what is going to happen next. The music was pretty bland in my opinon, and it really didn't excite me to watch the series itself.

The characters are developed, but I feel that they could be 'expanded' more. Kazuma Kannagi, the man who is as calm as the wind that he can control, but yet, we still do not know why he has this personality whatsoever. Ayano Kannagi, the girl who has a personality of the fire she posesses and controls along with her magical family heirloom sword Enriha, is the average tsundere character. I think she needs more development as well. Ren Kannagi, the loving little brother of Kazuma, is also someone I believe needs more character development. Other than the somewhat lack in character development, all of the charater are fine in my book. The art is okay, and the animation during battles are crystal clear and easy to understand.

Is it the best anime ever? Not really. It does has it faults, but is certainly not horrible. But I do believe that this anime is very intriguing and is one that is a pleasure to watch, so I definetely recommend it to all. I personally hope that a second season would come out, to lessen the confusion about the ending, and 'stretch' out the characters more.

Code Geass: a few words to describe it? A new anime, with a distinctive, never-before-seen plot.

We are given a world, in which a mega country known solely as The Holy Empire of Brittania rules the entire world with an iron fist. The year is 2010 a.t.b. Japan has been already stripped of it's power, and renamed Area 11, as well as their rights, and their names as 'Japanese, and are given the name, 'Elevens'. Brittania continues to try to take over new countries using a robot weapon called the Knightmare Frames. With this, war and discrimination are a common sight in this world. Lelouch vi Brittania, along with his dear younger sister, Nunnally vi Britannia, leave the Royal Family, after their father's bleak response to their mother's assassination right before their eyes, and Nunnally's injuries (as well as blindness) from the same incident. They take the surname of 'Lamperouge', and a few years later, attend Ashford Academy. On one day, fate came rushing in the form of a mysterious girl named C.C. (pronounced C2) who gives him the power of Geass. With this Geass, he has absolute power over anyone, ranging from erasing memories to dying. With this new power he was blessed with, Lelouch Lamprouge now seeks revenge from his father's cruelty, the cause of his mother's death, and to make a peaceful world for him and his little sister Nunnally to live in, in the guise of Zero.

Well, what can I say about this anime? I have heard a lot of this anime before, and as a matter of curiosity, I decided to check it out. And to that, I must thank my curiosity, since Code Geass is one of the best animes I have seen so far. The plot is well developed, with twists and turns to keep the viewer interested and willing to watch the series until the very end. And thankfully, they aren't too many twists that would make the view confused. The characters are also well developed, and you have a feel for what the characters' emotions are, whether they be as Loyal and Good natured Suzuaku Kururugi, Talented and Sassy Kallen Stadtfield, Innocent and Sweet Nunnally, or Genius and Dark Lelouch. There are tragic, comedic, romantic, and many dramatic moment in this anime, enough to entertain viewers until they are on the edge of their seat.

The animation? Pretty good, seeing as this is a 2008 Anime, meaning it is pretty recent. The marvelous and well-known CLAMP were the character designers for this anime. The animation is superb and clear, but they also carry CLAMP's noodle-esque people, if you know what I mean. The music is beyond fantastic, and as a note, the first opening was absolutely delightful.

And with that short note, I will restate this claim: I recommend you to see this anime. It's cool, fresh, critically acclaimed, and able to make you an absolute addict to it in a matter of episodes.