Howl's Moving Castle

I had heard nothing but amazing reviews of this movie from almost everyone that I know, so now that I have been granted the magic of Netflix once again I decided that I should check it out. I have to say I wasn't disappointed.

The movie is set in a magical, yet easily identifiable land that is on the brink of war. We start with Sophie, an eighteen year old who takes up her father's hat shop after his death. One day when she goes to see her little sister Lettie she is accosted by two guards. A man steps in and saves her and with magic transports her to her sisters bakery. When Sophie returns to the hat shop, which is also her home, she is cursed by the witch of the waste who is after Howl's heart. Sophie is transformed into an old woman and decides to go to the north then burden anyone with her problems. As she goes further into the waste she rights a scarecrow which turns out to be enchanted by a witch. This scarecrow, which Sophie names Turnip head because of the vegetable that makes up his head, brings Howl's castle to her so she has somewhere to get out of the cold.  Sophie is scared at first, but remembering that Howl only eats the heart of pretty girls, goes inside and sits by the fire. She then meets Calcifer, a fire demon that is bound to Howl. Soon Sophie is cleaning the castle as well as taking care of Markl and finding out that Howl, though a powerful magician, is quite a coward. With Sophie's help he stands up to Madame Suliman, the King's official sorceress, but in the process of fighting off her henchmen gets into pretty bad trouble. Sophie, goes into Howl's childhood through his magic door and finds a way to help both Calcifer and Howl. I don't want to ruin the ending, but it is what you expect from a child's film, with a little twist. 

This is a movie that has to be seen more then one (or maybe just don't watch it for the first time at one in the morning) to get the full effect of the story. As I rewatched it a second time I started to notice little details here and there that made how we got the ending make so much more sense. Just to point out a few, all the colorful items in Howl's room and the cave that Sophie sees in her dream. Since he lost his heart as a child he still has childish desires, that is why he is selfish, only wants to be beautiful, and surrounds himself with toys and pretty things. I was more satisfied with the ending the second time (not that I didn't like it the first time or anything) The art work was absolutely amazing, I was blown away time and time again about how detailed and wonderful it was. I can't even praise the animation enough, everything was beautiful. 

*gif not mine credit to owner/marker*

I watched the English version so Howl's voice was Christian Bale and Calcifer was done by Billie Crystal. I don't know if I would have had a different reaction hearing the Japanese version, but there voices really drew me into the characters. I have always loved Christian Bale's voice, it is really beautiful when he isn't making it all raspy like in batman. I have always loved Billy Crystal and the fact that he was Calcifer made me love the character more then I already did. This being said, I can't help but feel that some of the scenes had a much bigger impact and seemed less...scripted...in the Japanese. I know it was supposed to be a children's movie, but at times I found myself going...really? As someone who watches a good deal of anime, both subbed and dubbed, it isn't as if I haven't had these moments before, but I might have to go find a subbed Japanese version to see if there is a major difference.     

*spoiler alert*

The ending, though wonderful and what is expected, has a really interesting aspect to it. I expected Turnip head to change back into a human and with a little of thought I could have figured out that he was the missing Prince. However I never saw coming that Sophie was his true love, yet she would be in love with Howl and Howl would be in love with her. My favorite line in the whole movie is when the Prince sees that Sophie is in love with Howl. "One thing you can always count on is that hearts change." I think this is a very powerful message and I really love it. I didn't see it coming, but thoroughly enjoyed it.  

Overall I give it a 4.8 out of 5. There was just some points at the awkward dialogue made me almost cringe. I am really excited to read the book that this was based on as well, though I hear that they are nothing like the movie. It is a really fun and great film with obvious messages and lessons to be learned. I recommend watching it.  

Inuyasha - Season 1

Though this is the first anime that I really got into and interested in, I have still yet to finish it. I get so far and then something comes up and I stop watching it. I am determined to completely finish it this time.

The story follows fifteen year old Kagome, who up until her most recent birthday is a normal teenage girl. When her cat wanders onto the building that holds hidden well on the shrine grounds that are also her home, Kagome is grabbed by a centipede monster and dragged into the well. She comes out in a new land many years in the past and is soon fighting the centipede monster again who says she posses the Sacred Jewel of the Four Souls. After the jewel is ripped from her body, Kagome has no choice but to release Inuyasha. Inuyasha, a half demon sealed fifty years ago for attempting to steal the jewel, reluctantly joins with Kagome to find all the shards that had shattered throughout Japan after Kagome shatters it with an arrow. Now there are a lot of episodes in this anime so I am going to break it down by season.

Inuyasha is the main male character in the anime (obviously since it is named after him) and a rather rough character at first. He is half demon, half human and wants to use the Sacred Jewel to turn into a full demon. Very early into the season though you learn Inuyasha kind of had a crappy life. He was excluded and ridiculed as a child because he was part demon, his brother Sesshomaru wants to kill him because he is half human and the woman he loved sealed him to a tree for fifty years. Not exactly the best life a guy could have. It gets worse when said love of his life comes back from the dead, but I'll deal with that a little later. Inuyasha also has a caring and sweet side that we get to see when Kagome is in danger. Inuyasha also gains possession of Tessaiga, a powerful sword made out of the fang of his father, which he can use because he wishes to protect humans, unlike his brother Sesshomaru.

Kagome is the main female lead and it is safe to say that the series could have just as easily been named Kagome as it could have been named Inuyasha. Kagome is the reincarnation of Kikyo, Inuyasha's first love and a powerful priestess. Now, at times Kagome can be your typical anime girl, annoying always screaming for Inuyasha ect. but that isn't all the time which makes her a lot easier to stand. You have to admire the way she deals with the whole Inuyasha, Kikyo thing even if she won't admit to herself that she is in love with him. As many people have pointed out, the series could have easily been called Kagome because we follow her and know more about her then we do Inuyasha. 

Shippo is a young fox demon who joins the party after Inuyasha saves him from the Thunder Brothers who killed Shippo's father. Inuyasha and Shippo don't get along very well, but Kagome took a quick liking to him because he was so cute and made Inuyasha let him join them. Shippo most of the time is comic relief, he has little fighting ability and at times gets kind of annoying. I love Shippo, don't get me wrong, he is funny and at times very insightful, but like all little kids he gets in my nerves sometimes. 

Miroku, a Buddhist monk, comes into the series as another person looking for the sacred jewel. Though he is a good man at heart he has a lecherous streak and doesn't miss an opportunity to touch a pretty girls butt. He doesn't agree to join Inuyasha and the others until he see Kagome pick up a tainted piece of the sacred jewel and purify it immediately. It is from Miroku that we first hear about Naraku, a powerful demon who is collecting the jewel fragments himself. Miroku needs to find and kill Naraku to lift a curse that has been put on his family causing there to be a tunnel in their right hand that will suck everything into it. If Miroku can not kill Naraku in time he himself will be sucked into the wind tunnel. He uses this as an excuse to ask any beautiful woman he sees to bear his children.    

Sango and Kirara (pronounce Kilala) round out the party that travel with Inuyasha and. We don't met her until the 24th episode of the series. Sango comes from a special village of demon slayers and Kirara, though a demon, is her helper and pet. Sango is actually sent to kill Inuyasha because she believes he destroyed her village. This news comes after her younger brother, Kohaku, was possessed by a demon to kill their father and attempt to kill her. Kohaku is killed by palace guards leaving Sango alone besides for Kirara. After finding out that Naraku is behind the destruction of her village she joins Inuyasha's party reluctantly, but soon is drawn in my their friendship and warmth. 

I have so many mixed feelings about Kikyo. In the first season I truly do feel bad for her, however since I know what happens in later seasons I have grown to really hate her. It isn't because she comes in between Kagome and Inuyasha because that is typical in anime, but how many times are they going to kill her, but not really kill her. It gets old. Because I seem to be the only one who has addressed this I am going to keep a running count of how many times she "dies" and tally it all up in the end. First season we have her first death 50 years ago, when she falls off the cliff after she is brought back from the dead so that's two. I feel for her and technically she did have Inuyasha's heart first so I don't blame him for being torn, but after a while I just want her to die already. I am sure there will be more on this in other seasons so I will stop for now. 

Sesshomaru is the first villain we are introduced to in the series. He is Inuyasha's full demon half brother. Sesshomaru hates that Inuyasha is half human and that he associates with humans (first Kikyo and now Kagome). He also hates that his brother was left with Tessagia, the powerful sword made from their fathers fang. All this leads to Sesshomaru on a few occasions trying to kill his brother. Now I have to say that I have a mad crush on Sesshomaru, I don't even care that he is a semi-bad guy (kind of like Byakuya is Bleach, but that is a whole other anime). Sesshomaru has a loyal vassal, Jaken, who we really don't know much about in the first season expect his is annoying and everyone likes beating the crap out of him, including Sesshomaru. The become more important in latter seasons, almost as a parallel story line at parts, but they are rather limited in this season.

We are not introduced to the main villain of the series until episode 16, when we first hear of an evil and powerful demon who will do nothing to get the jewel fragments, Naraku. We also learn that he is the one who turned Inuyasha and Kikyo against one another as well as killing Kikyo. I was also impressed about how much we got to know the villain in just the first season. Usually in an anime they would leave the Naraku was actually Onigumo thing for a few more seasons. On a side note, why did they decide to make all of the villians in this anime hot (I know they are cartoons, but still).

My favorite episode this season has to be episode 13 when Inuyasha becomes human for the night. The fact that he has such an obvious handicap makes him more likable and I personally think he looks better with the black hair. Inuyasha tries not to make a big deal out of it, but becoming human one night every month really has to remind him just how he isn't quite demon or human. Also he seems to be much more straight forward with Kagome about how he feels when he is human though he is beat to hell and doesn't remember it later. I like when the main character has some sort of weak spot that he really can't do anything about. Even with this handicap he tries to fight and save Kagome and it is really a turning point in the series with how we see Inuyasha.

I like that in this anime it addresses the fact that Kagome has to balance saving feudal Japan, collecting the jewel shards, and her school work. In so many anime the fact that characters are in school is completely forgotten or ignored as the real plot line unfolds. Most of the action takes place in the school (like Boys Over Flowers) yet you don't see a single teacher or adult figure. Now I know that school systems are different outside of America, but the fact that these kids run rampant with no adults stepping in is so far fetched. However, this anime brings up the fact that Kagome is missing so much school and has tests she needs to study for. I like that though it isn't prominent all the time they don't forget about it. Also if I could get one of those spiritual necklaces that is one Inuyasha for most of the people I know that would be wonderful.    

Now I first watched this anime in English, but after watching it with subtitles (on Hulu if you would like to start watching it :) I don't know which one I like better. Inuyasha in the original is more dog like by growling and such and I really like that. However the first voice of Inuyasha and all the characters I was introduced to was the American voice actors so I am torn. Either way it is really amazing, but it is split about half and half between which voice actor I like better, the original or the American dubber.

This season gets a 4.8 out of 5. It gets such a high rating because my mom likes it and my mom really doesn'y like a lot of the anime that I watch. She thinks Bleach and Fullmetal Alchemist are too dark, but she would stil and watch Inuyasha with me. If it gets Mom's approval it has to get high marks. It isn't a perfect 5 out of 5 because, well, I know it gets better. Stupid reason, yes. Do I care, no. 

Special A

I am kind of on an anime kick right now so I am going back and rewatching all the series that I started, but never got around to finishing. One of these anime's is Special A

I honestly don't remember how I came across this anime, but it is rather entertaining and light hearted. It is centered around the seven members of the S.A. or Special A class. These are the top seven academic students in a prestigious academy who have there own greenhouse class room, uniforms and special privileges. All of these students except for Hikari are children of rich parents. However this difference in status doesn't bother them and they are all very close. Hikari only enrolled in this specific academy so that she could beat Kei Takishima who since they first met has always made Hikari number two. We follow the characters through a school year of being part of the Special A as well many changes in feelings and relationships along the way.

I still don't know exactly how I feel about Hikari, she is cute and bubbly, but I think at times it was over done. I know that anime characters are supposed to stand out because of their characteristics, but they really played up how oblivious she was about Kei's feeling until the last couple episodes. Even when she does finally realize she is still so reserved about it until the very end that I found it a little bit annoying. I loved that she was all about hard work and deteremination, but there is a point where too much of a good thing becomes annoying and I felt this way about Hikari sometimes. That being said, I think her and Kei's relationship is adorable and I am glad about how that turned out. 

I really liked Kei as a lead male. Like most anime leading men he was quite and hard to get along with, but the fact that we got into his head and it was obvious that from the beginning that he liked Hikari made me warm up to him quickly. The episode when he is sick has to be one of my favorites even if Hikari's idiotic tendencies makes me rather upset in this episode. The fact that he doesn't just work to protect Hikari, but all of his friends also makes him likable even though he is rather run of the mill when it comes to anime guys. On a complete side not, I had an issue with how they drew his eyes. I don't know what it was, but they were just weird to me. 

Akira and Tadashi were the voices of reason really in this anime, when they weren't having their own. Tadashi, though usually portrayed as a idiot who only wants to eat, multiple times throughout the series shows that he understands a lot more then what everyone gives him credit for. He is happy go lucky and a loyal friend, even if he is preoccupied with food. Akira is the reason to Hikari's wildness. She loves cooking for the group and usually keeps her head, but I also really loved the arc about her character because it made the anime not just about Hikari and Kei, but about the whole group. I really love the two of them as a couple, they are precious.

Rounding out the seven are Jun and Megumi, twin brother and sister, and Ryuu. Ryuu, who isn't related to the siblings takes care of them while their parents are out on tour and becomes a big brother, protector, and idol to Jun and Megumi. He also has a weird ability to make animals love him and he likes them in return, which causes quite a bit of jealousy with Jun and Megumi. Jun is a quite and rather shy boy until it is discovered that he has a split personality. A playboy that comes out when he is kissed by a girl, and his regular calm self. This play boy Jun causes many problems, but in the end gets him and Sakura, and outside character introduced to the group first as a marriage interview for Kei, together. I personally don't really like this couple, but I guess it could have been worst. Megumi has to be the most eccentric of the group because she doesn't speak (well until later in the series) but writes everything down in a sketch book to save her voice. Megumi, when she does sing, has almost destructive power unless listened to from far away. Megumi ends up in a relationship with Yahiro, who had been a villain for a few episodes, and they have to be my favorite couple in the series. There is just something about this "bad guy" who isn't bad after all taking care of Megumi that makes me into a gooey mess. 

Overall it was a fun and cute anime, but the ending kind of disappointed me. I wanted to see a shift in Hikari and Kei, but it was as if nothing changed. I guess that is what they both wanted, but I didn't want a kiss and then the end, I wanted something more. Just a little bit more. Due to this lack luster ending I give it a 4 out of 5. I will probably read the manga to see the ending they present, which is probably more hard fought. This is a fun anime to watch and just be happy, nothing really more though. 

Skip Beat Anime

With the drama coming out I wanted to get a feel for the story before diving in so I went and watched the anime version of Skip Beat. I absolutely adored it, until the very end. How they thought that was a good place to end it is beyond me, but I will rant about that later. 

The plot line revolves are Sho Fuwa, Ren Tsuruga, and the lead female Kyoko Mogami. Kyoko was Sho's childhood friend and is madly in love with him. She quits school after middle school and moves with Sho to Tokyo so that he can pursue his singing career while Kyoko works many part time jobs to pay for the apartment that they live in. Kyoko soon finds out however that Sho is just using her as a maid and has no feelings for her at all. Kyoko swears to get revenge, but there is no way to do that except to enter Showbiz herself. Through her strong will and frightening atmoshere when it comes to Sho Kyoko makes it into the LME company which is the rival of Sho's and also where Sho'd rival Ren is the main star. Ren takes a disliking to Kyoko when he finds out she is only acting for revenge, but as the story progress becomes a mentor to her and soon the two are helping one another with their acting roles and personal lives, though Kyoko, being younger and always seeming to get on Ren's bad side, is more sneaky about it then Ren is.

I love Kyoko. I love her so much! I love that she has this dark side, yet can still be light and airy when she is truly touched. I never found her annoying like I have with a lot of other anime lead females and I was able to relate to her because her character wasn't one sided. Her personalty switches so rapidly that it is comical, yet I know people who's mood changes just as fast so it isn't quite in the realm of fasntasy. I loved that she just didn't sit around bitching or waiting for someone to save her, but for the most part took her life into her own hands, but still could admit when she was wrong. Her character was one that you could easily laugh at as well as love.  

Kanae Kotonami is the other female that is prominante in the series and also becomes likable in her own right. After an initial triumphs over Kyoko she is also sent to the Love Me section. Though she wants nothing to do with Kyoko she is soon drawn in by her character and they become unlikely friends. I like that there is a rather serious and calm character to mellow out Kyoko's extremes, but Kanae still had out bursts of her own. The two characters balanced each other out wonderfully.

Ren Tsuruga is probably one of the few male anime leads that made me love him without me even noticing. I didn't even realized I liked him until things were so unresolved in the end. It isn't that you hate him while the chow is progressing, but it is such a gradual progression from him just being a character to you actually liking him that I didn't even notice it. He isn't really all that different then the other lead males, but there was just something in this story line that made me really care for him, at times more then I cared about Kyoko. Maybe it was because he was so guarded and reserved or maybe because he was rather mean to Kyoko, but really it was for her own good. I can't really describe it, but I really liked his character.

Sho Fuwa, unfortunately, is not really in the series all that much, but from the few times we see him his personality becomes clear. He is childish and selfish and you can't help but grow to hate him as much as Kyoko does because we follow her through out most of the show. My favorite episodes of the series, however, where when Sho and Kyoko interacted at his promo shoot. It let the watcher get into his head and see exactly what was going on, not just what Kyoko thought about him. I wish he would have been in the series more often, but then again it was cut off rather abruptly. 

Overall it gets a 3 out of 5. It would have been so much higher is not for the ending. They built up so much tension that was never resolved and left to many lose ends that I literally felt like punching a wall. They followed the manga so closely, which is still ongoing, but ended before resolving all the problems that were introduced. Even the romances, or budding romances, were ignored. It made me so upset that I am not reading the manga to see what happens because they ended in the middle of a story arch. I don't know why I was so surprised though, the manga is usually always better then the anime, but ending in the middle of a story arch....really. It is worth a watch and is fun, but just be ready for a disappointing ending. 

Avatar: The Last Airbender - Book One Water

So after hear everyone rave about this anime, even my best friend who usually doesn't like this sort of stuff, I finally sat down and started to watch it. I can say that it pulled me in quickly and now that I am done with the first book I am excited to move on to see what happens next. A quick run down goes like this...the fire nation is trying to take over all the other nations (water, earth and air). The war between the nations has been going on for almost 100 years and the air nation has already fallen to the fire benders. The avatar is the only person who has any chance of bringing the fire nation down, but he has been missing since the war started. We join the story as the Avatar, Aang, is rediscovered in an ice berg by Katara and her brother Sokka. Soon they set off to get Aang masters so Aang can bend all the elements and fulfill his destiny. 

Aang is the avatar so obviously he is the main character, but there is a lot of growth in his character through out the first book. When we first meet Aang he is only a fun loving boy of twelve who wants nothing but see the world and explore all the fun it possess. However as soon as he sees what the fire nation has been doing in his absence he starts to embrace his destiny slowly and works towards mastering the elements. Aang is lovable as well as someone that your heart goes out to. It is a lot of responsibility for a twelve year old to handle. 

Katara is the heroine in this anime and sometimes it feels as if she is the main character. Katara is the voice of reason and logic from the beginning as well as the only water bender left on the South Pole. As she tries to protect Aang she also has to grow up herself. She is so engrossed by learning to water bend and use her power that on more then a few occasions it gets the group into trouble. Sometimes I found myself a little upset with Katara, but then I had to remember that she is only a kid as well and even though she acts much older she is still subject to childish impulses. 

Sokko is usually used as the comical relief in this series, but he also does so much more. Unlike in many other cartoons where he would only be there for laughs Sokka is very important to the story. He is not a bender like most of the other characters that they encounter, yet he fights and holds his own when he needs to. The relationship between him and Yue was adorable. I knew what was going to happen because I saw the live action version *shakes head* but I still felt sad when Yue and Sokka kissed for the last time. Sokka quickly became one of my favorite characters because while Katara and Aang are all high hopes and ambitions, Sokka is grounded and practical.

Zuko, though he is seen as the bad guy for most of this season, is by far the character that develops the most. I have a hard time deciding whether he or Sokka is my favorite character in this first season. He has a wonderful heart and great passion, but he is torn between his loyalty and love for his father and doing what he thinks is right. Though this is only the first season, by the last episodes you can see that he is really confused about what he should do with his mission to capture the avatar.

Now a little time has to be given to tree very special characters. Iroh, Appa, and Momo really are important secondary characters even though two of them are animals. Iroh is just plan badass, there is no more to say then that. When you first meet him you think he is just a sweet old man, but as the season progresses you learn just how wise, powerful, and smart he is. He is the reason Zuko is half that man he is and will become. Appa is Aang's animal guide and kind of badass. He is all cute and flying until the Bato of the Water Tribe episode where he fights the bounty hunters beast. You can't watch this and not love Appa. The same goes for Momo who is comic relief. He is just so freaking cute! 

Now usually I pick my favorite and least favorite of a season, but I can honestly say that there are none that stand out from the pack as really good or really bad. Now don't take that the wrong way, I mean they are all awesome that there are none that I this is much better or worse then all the rest.

Overall I think that this is a rather deep show for what is supposed to be a child's cartoon. Watching it as a nineteen year old it deals with deep issues and though you can watch it for pure entertainment you can also learn a lot from it. This is probably the reason it is still so popular with a wide range of ages and they are making another series (which I am super excited for!) It is much like a Disney movie in the sense that there is a lot of things that is thrown in for the older audience and I love when they do that. This gets a 4.9 out of 5. 

Psychic Dectective Yakumo

I actually stumbled upon this anime by pure chance a long time ago, almost two years I think. I watched the first few episodes, but then got side tracked by other things and never finished. I recently ran across something about it on my tumblr and decided that I should finally finish it since there is only 13 episodes.

I am a big fan of anything that has to do with the paranormal, which is odd because I am a giant baby when it comes to scary things. What really struck me about this show was that Yakumo couldn't fight the spirits only talk with them. The main story revolves around Yakumo's parentage and the events leading up to his birth. We find out early on that as a child Yakumo was almost killed by his mother. As the anime progresses we find out that his father was a man that kidnapped his mother and held her captive. There are a lot of other interesting developments in the case as well as how Yakumo and the other characters are connected. 

The dynamic between all the characters is really complex and interesting, which gives the series another layer of mystery other then the base story line. They are all connected by unknown connections or by new relationships, which is a very Buddhist principle, the red string of fate. Due to my History of Japanese Art class I have learned a lot about Buddhism and I feel like I understood a lot more of this anime, especially Isshin, because of it. There was a lot of depth to this anime which I really liked. 

Yakumo is a rather fun hero in this anime because he acts as if he doesn't like anybody which leads to a lot of fun dialogue. He is a lot like a cat, but Harika finds little bits, like the fact that he is ticklish, that make him more human. He is also very dark and even though he appears to always be in control you can never really tell. With everything that he faces it is easy to believe that sometimes he gives into his hate and despair. The inner turmoil that he faces by not being able to do anything but talk to the spirits is another interesting part of this series. He wasn't the normal happy go lucky main character really was a nice change. 

Haruka is the normal heroine in an anime, cute, a little ditsy, but caring and sweet. She is the first person not scared of Yakumo's red eye that let's him see spirits, which is a first for Yakumo. I was really upset that she never really took on the situation herself besides in the episode in the cabin. She always needed pushed or proded by someone to go to Yakumo's side which really made me mad. Even in the very end she needed Gotou to tell her to go to Yakumo. I liked Karuka, but like most females in anime I think she needed a little common sense knocked into her. 

Now another thing that I really like about is that the police aren't depicted as idiots and are actually a big part of this anime. Gotou and Ishii completely believe in Yakumo as well as help him with his own personal issues while Yakumo helps with investigations. They worked through all the cases and really were apart of the series instead of side characters to push the plot forward. Gotou, his wife, and Nao was the most adorable thing in this series. Nao in general is just super cute. 

The ending was sad, but a good ending for an anime about death and the spirits of the dead. I would have like Yakumo and Haruka at least hug at the end, but saying that he would protect her was enough I guess. I wish that it wouldn't be left open but with the manga ongoing I guess they left it open so they could make a second series if they wished. Overall it is a really interesting series and I will probably look into the manga when it is finished. I try not to start a manga that is ongoing so I don't forget what is going on or forget what is going on. Rating of 4.2 out of 5

Ouran High Host Club

Ouran High Host Club is one or the weirdest, childish, ridiculous, and absolutely amazing animes and mangas I have watched and or read. If you want something serious this is not for you. It is also aimed towards girls, but I think guys could watch it just for the amazing ridiculousness of it. I love the heroine Haruhi Fujioka because she isn't your typical heroine. She is strong and smart, but she also has strong opinions and a strong love for fancy tuna. She also says what's on her mind even if it isn't exactly what goes with what the "rich kids" think. Now Haruhi is mistaken for a male the first time she meets the club and Tamaki Suoh, the club king, makes her join the club as its dog. The club after the first episode finds out she is a female, but want her to stay with the club. Haruhi hides the fact that she is a female from everyone because if she is found out she would no longer be able to be a host. Of course many members of the club fall head over heels for her as well as a few students who find out the truth. 

 

The Hitachiin twins have to be the most ridiculous, but also I have to say my favorites. It might just be me personally because I usually have a special place for twins. The Weasley twins were my favorite characters in the Harry Potter books and movies (And I got to meet them!) Hikaru and Kaoru aren't just your average mischievous twins however, their characters are actually developed, more so in the manga, but the anime does an alright job as well. They become two separate characters and you fall in love with them.

I especially love Honey and Mori sempi. They are the wisest as well as the most entertaining of the group. Honey with his stuffed bunny Usa-chan instantly became my brother's girlfriend and my brother from the first episode. He is just too adorable not to love as well as Usa-chan. If they were all real characters however I would either date Mori or Kyouya. Mori takes care of Honey and is the strong and silent type while, Kyouya is the brains of the operation and unlike the rest of the characters is serious and mature. And then there is Tamaki...you can't really sum him up, but you will either love him or hate him.

You fall in love with all the the hosts and the weird people that enter their club. You learn about why each member acts the way they do and how being rich does not mean that you have a happy ever after. Though it is cute and sweet, but it also deals with deeper issues. Now the manga is a lot better and deeper then the anime and the ending is a lot better. You can tell that the anime needed a way to tie up the series, but the ending of the anime was not what I wanted it to be.

Overall I would give it four out of five stars and recommend it :) I don't know if they can make a live action version, but they should defiantly try.