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Anime

Rumbling Hearts
Betrayal's a bitch.  Haruka is a shy, quiet girl who has a crush on her schoolmate Takayuki.  Lucky for Haruka, her best friend Mitsuki is a childhood friend of Takayuki and is willing to play matchmaker. In time, Haruka and Takayuki hit it off and begin actively seeing each other.  One day, as Takayuki was heading out on a scheduled date with Haruka, he gets side tracked when he meets up Mitsuki at a shopping district.  After some shopping which includes buying a ring for Mitsuki, Takayuki realizes he's late and rushes towards the meeting place where Haruka is waiting. To his horror, a terrible accident has occurred at the meeting spot and finds that Haruka was hit.  She fell into a coma which left her relationship and Takayuki in chaos.  Eventually Haruka wakes up only wanting to see Takayuki; unbeknownst to Haruka, it's been three years since the accident where Mitsuki and Takayuki have now fallen in love.  Fearing her fragile mind can't take the time difference, Haruka's doctor wants Takayuki to act like it is still three years ago and to comfort Haruka as she convalesces.  Can Takayuki take care of his former girlfriend and hide his relationship with Mitsuki, or will old feelings resurface and destroy his long time relationship forever?

Characters

Takayuki Narumi: A nice guy who falls in love with Haruka. After the accident, he falls into a deep depression. Since he was late to the date, he believes the accident is his fault. It's only through Mitsuki's kindness and love that allows him to pull out of his misery. Now, with his lost love returning, will he be able to handle being able to lie to Haruka and keep a relationship with Mitsuki without once again falling apart?
Haruka Suzumiya: Timid girl with a crush; she falls into a three year coma after a terrible accident while waiting for Takayuki. Suffering from antegrade amnesia after waking, her doctor fears her fragile psyche may suffer from the truth. So she insists that everyone around Haruka make her believe it's still three years ago and that she was out only a couple of days. But as time goes by, will she notice her emaciated body and longer hair or will someone breakdown and tell her the truth? When she realizes the situation, how will her damaged mind react to the events that occurred during her coma?
Mitsuki Hayase: Once a promising swimmer, she gave up her chance of becoming pro in order to take care of her friend Takayuki. Mitsuki felt deep guilt for Haruka's accident and feels responsible for her best friend's depression. But as she comforts Takayuki, her deep seeded crush for him emerges which eventually leads to a relationship despite Takayuki's damaged relationship for Haruka. Now that Haruka is awake, will she trust Takayuki to stay with her or will she be able to let go if Takayuki falls back in love with his lost first girlfriend?
Akane Suzumiya: Haruka's little sister, she treated Takayuki like a bigger brother and idolized Mitsuki for her swimming talent (being a swimmer herself). When she first heard Mitsuki was taking care of Takayuki, she marveled at Mitsuki's kindness. But when she saw that Mitsuki's actions were more than benevolent, Akane felt betrayed for her sister and banned both Takayuki and Mitsuki from seeing Haruka in the hospital.  Now with Haruka awake and wanting to see her friends, can Akane suppress her hatred of Mitsuki for the sake of her sister or will she erupt and reveal everything to Haruka despite the possible damage it may cause to her health?
Shinji Taira: Best friend of Takayuki, they drifted apart after the accident. When Haruka awakes however, he returns to aid Takayuki with his problems. But will he selflessly help Takayuki or will his secret crush on Mitsaki force him to aid in the destruction of his best friend's long lasting relationship?
Ayu Daikuuji and Mayu Tamano: Two waitresses who work at the Sky Temple, the restaurant where Takayuki is employed. Young and brash, they constantly hound Takayuki giving him many headaches. They act as the comedy relief in an otherwise serious drama.

Why I like it:  Betrayal's a bitch. This sentence says it all; what will you do if you had lost your love but her best friend professes her love to you? What will you do if your lost love returns? Who will you betray, your girlfriend of three years or the girl you thought you lost forever? This anime is innovative mainly for one reason: realistic emotional situations. In a media where mechas, magical girls, and harem comedies dominate, it's refreshing to see a story that relies on character development and how they interact it each other. If Rumbling Hearts was a live action show it would easily be placed in a prime-time spot on American television. The anime is very adult; it utilizes mature and emotional conversation when conveying feelings and ideas between characters. When Mitsuki is angry at Takayuki she expresses it in a very realistic and heartfelt way instead of the obligatory punting Takayuki to an impossibly far distance, which seems the norm in most romantic comedies. These interactions help in getting further invested in the characters and the actions they do. A viewer will feel it more when a painful emotion is affecting a main character.

As an adult drama, Rumbling Hearts utilizes love scenes. I actually find these scenes unique because they do something other anime don't do in their love scenes, they make it emotional. They opt out showing the hardcore stuff of hentai/yaoi and the weird comedic scenes of the less graphic anime to show love scenes more attuned to a drama seen on HBO or Showtime. Rumbling Hearts also doesn't make the scenes gratuitous. All the love scenes portray a relevant point within the plot and affect relationships between characters. For instance, the first love scene between Haruka and Takayuki represents where their relationship solidifies which makes the accident later in the anime all the more tragic. Also the love scene between Takayuki and Mitsuki denotes how and when Takayuki drifted from Haruka which sets the framework for the story later. The veteran voice actors are very good at conveying the feelings shown by the characters which is good for the dubbers who feared bad voice acting might ruin the story. The art itself is fairly average, but the story deftly makes you forget it as one becomes further invested in the characters.

My verdict:  A very innovative anime that shows that anime are more than just sci-fi scenarios and over the top situations.
When They Cry
Summer 1983, Keiichi Maebara is a newcomer to the small town of Hinamizawa. Despite being new, he quickly makes new friends with group of girls that make up a game club in school. Life for him and his friends seemed normal and happy. However, a dark secret looms under the tranquil village of Himezawa. Every year, at a summer festival dedicated to the god Orishiro-sama, one person dies and another mysteriously disappears. At first they don't think much of this superstition, but as the festival comes ever nearer, strange and horrifying events befall Keiichi and friends. What is the darkness that simmers below the surface of this small town? Have the dark secrets of the town cursed young Keiichi and friends? If so, who will die and who will disappear forever?

Main Characters

Keiichi Maebara: A newcomer to Hinamizawa, his friendly nature gives him no trouble in making friends. Being new, he has no knowledge of the curse over the town. As time progresses, however, he begins to slowly learn about the curse through his friends. But will his new found knowledge be too late to save his friends or himself?
Rena Ryuuga: Moved to Hinamizawa a year before Keiichi, she is somewhat new herself. She is obsessed with cute things and often goes to the town dump to scavenge for things she considers cute. She totally believes in the curse and tends to become unstable if someone makes fun of it or doubts its validity.
Mion Sonazaki: Class president, her tomboyish personality tends to make her the defacto leader of the group of friends. She is the heir to the Sonozaki Family (one of the three great families of Hinamizawa) and is privy to the all the underground happenings of the town. Despite her strong nature, she has a feminine side that she usually hides from everyone. Mion usually keeps her hair tied up in ponytail.
Rika Furude: Despite her youth, she is the acting head of the Furude Shrine. As such, she is loved by everyone in town and usually has a active role in the summer festival.
Satako Hojo: She lost her parents and brother to the curse, and suffered abuse by her stepparents. As such, she is considered cursed by the townspeople and often experiences their hatred in public. Now living with Rika, she finds strength and love from her new group of friends.
Shion Sonozaki: Mion's twin sister, she lives in another town due to certain arrangements made by the Sonozaki family so that she won't have to worry about the intricacies and duties of her family's stature.  She has a warmer personality than her sister and manages Hinamizawa's little league baseball team.  She also works part time at a restaurant called Angel Mort which is also the first place she met Keiichi. She usually lets her hair loose with and ties bow on the back.

Why I like it:  I'm very jaded. A lot of things that will normally disturb other people rarely affect me; it takes a lot to hit my shock threshold. The last time I had a 'what the fuck?!?' moment was when I watched the movie Suicide Club. That soon changed when I watched When They Cry. The anime starts unobtrusive enough by presenting the plot as a simple slice of life anime about a small town group of friends. As the story progresses however, it slowly becomes more and more twisted until it reaches a horrifying and unexpected apex. The characters also change in the same way. At first they seem nothing more than a bunch of school kids with no bigger problems than their next big test. As the story progresses, they begin to change as paranoia, dementia, and rage sets in. I first noticed this type of transition style in the movie Audition and this anime uses it perfectly. The way the story begins in a innocent, happy way makes the darker ending all the more disturbing.  When They Cry also uses a unique style of story telling. It tells a the story in sets of arcs that run parallel to each other with a focus on a different main character. When They Cry begins with story focusing on one character and ends with that character's actions affecting the outcome of himself/herself and friends around him/her. After the end of one arc, another begins in the next episode from the start with another character as the main focus. It also ends with each main character having a different outcome from the previous arc.  Hence, the overall story is a series of 'what if' scenarios that retells the curse of with different main characters a different, unique endings. This reminds me greatly of those Japanese dating sims, except with a horror twist. Another little add on that this anime has is that in every arc, a small amount of information about the mystery about the town is revealed. This has the viewer guessing after every arc and leaves them waiting for the next arc to gain that little bit of info of the puzzle.

My verdict: A well worth it anime that shocks like a horror movie and leaves you guessing like good mystery. A new add-on to my top ten favorite anime.
Manga

Anne Freaks
A mixture of emotions has enveloped Yuri Kitagawa.  Fear, confusion, and exhaustion pound Yuri like a hammer as he haphazardly buries his dead mother in a shallow grave.  He killed her, God help him, he killed her.  His fear soon becomes panic when he is realized he is being watched by a girl as he covers his mother's cold corpse. To his surprise, the girl doesn't run away in shock, but comes closer and starts giving advice on how to more effectively dispose of the body to hide his crime. Her name is Anna.  Unbeknownst to Yuri, this first encounter will pull him into her world of violence, murder, and terror. Yuri, along with the orphaned Matsuba, must know join Anna in a path of vengeance to destroy a terrorist cult and to find the hidden truth that binds them and the cult together.

Main Characters

Anna: Daughter of cult leader Todo, she escapes the group at a young age. Trained to kill at a young age, she is now on a quest to kill her father and destroy the Kakusei group (the cult) by any means possible.
Yuri Kitagawa: A shy high school age boy who blames himself with the death of his domineering mother. Due to the help of Anna, he is able to cover up her murder without being implicated with the crime. Though he has joined Anna in her quest for revenge, Yuri is often unnerved by the violent way Anna solves problems.
Mitsuba Maezona: Somewhat of a delinquent, he first meets Anna and Yuri when his parents were murdered by the Kakusei group. The later joins their quest when he finds out he was adopted and his foster parents actually kidnapped him from the cult when he was a child. He now follows Anna to find the truth about himself and revenge for his death of his parents.
Moe: A doctor and cult dissenter, he was the one who saved Anna from the cult. He finds a job with the mob which is where Anna learned to kill with efficiency. Moe has a close bond with Anna helps her and her friends her her quest for revenge.
Kunita: A former cult member turned priest, he helps Anna and friends from time to time. Though he is committed to destroy the Kakusei group, he objects to Anna's violent methods to achieve their goal.
Inspector Nakashima: Head of the Kakusei case, she uses any means necessary in order destroy the cult. She hunts Anna and friends due their violent methods and their mysterious connection to the Kakusei Group.
Sergeant Shono: An idealistic member of the Juvenile Affairs Division and a faithful mother. She believes all children should be protected and cared for despite their past crimes. She often butts heads with Inspector Nakashima when it comes to the issue of Anna and her friends.

Why I like it: Anybody watch Silence of the Lambs? The main attraction to that movie was it how delved into the psyche of a serial killer. What made him tick? What, if anything made him different from anybody else who can be deemed sane? I always had a fascination with serial killers because many were not as antisocial and weird as most people tend to believe. Yes, there were those killers who were often off the wall (like the Son of Sam), but there were many more who would have seemed like normal charming people (like Ted Bundy) to the everyday public. Anne Freaks interests me because it presents a killer in a most unlikely way, a high school age girl.  In most scenes in the manga, Anna jokes and bitches like any other girl would at her age. But when a problem arises, she takes extreme and disturbing actions to resolve the issue.  For example, in a scene where Yuri is getting beaten by school yard bullies, the bullies suddenly become drenched with a liquid from above. The bullies realize it was Anna who threw the liquid from a pedestrian bridge above them. The bullies where ready to beat on Anna until they realize the liquid they were covered in was gasoline and Anna was holding a lighter with a calm and disturbing smile. What fascinated me the most of this manga was Anna mannerisms in all situations.

Like Hannibal Lector, she does not change her demeanor when she kills. The only emotion she ever showed was slight annoyance, slight surprise, or other similar reactions usually when interacting with Yuri. This gives the violent scenes a more unsettling atmosphere when the reader sees that strange calm smile Anna has as she brutally murders her victims. I also like Yuri's character because he is caught between his feelings for Anna and his discomfort with Anna's actions. Yuri's struggle made me wonder if this is how a person who loved a real serial killer do. Will the normal person stay will their killer love, or will they eventually betray him/her? The other characters are all deep and very well written, they tend to add more to the story enriching the plot instead of just being sounding boards for the main characters to interact with.

My verdict: A very good manga with a deep characters and very interesting moral dilemmas most people fear to approach.