Genre: Shoujo, Comedy

Mendol is the story of three teenage girls who have made many unsuccessful attempts at auditioning to become pop idols. One day they witness a crime and find themselves on the run for their lives. An eccentric producer agrees to help them but the catch is they have to hide their identities and debut as a boyband. How long can they keep their secret before they’re found out?

This show is nothing but teeny bopper cute, from the three girls to their relationships with the other people in their pop idols lives (strangely their families are never shown though, which would’ve been more interesting I reckon). Despite their life threatening situation, the main suspense was about the girls trying to keep their secret identities. Fans of genderbender type anime would probably like this as their is a bit of identity crisis going around the various characters, from the trio, to their interesting producer, to the so-called romantic entanglements they got into. One particular relationship reminded me alot of the movie starring Amanda Bynes, She’s the Man, as a young man falls in love with one of the trio and starts questioning his own sexual orientation. Sure, there’s other dorama such as Hana Kimi but at least HK had more plot and characterisation to it. I tell you that was a parody of shounen-ai type fan service if anything. The surprising bits were the references to f/f relationships. Like the producer and her assistant, why on earth was there unbashed bdsm reference in a teenager’s show I have no idea. I just cannot fathom out what kind of audience this show was catering to.  There were plenty of this a certain group of audience would like and plenty of others the same people would find somewhat squicky… which is why I used the word spoof earlier, because it was just so random. I highly doubt it was meant to be serious in any way (although it was interesting going behind the scenes of how an idol group is debuted, it’s no walk in the park, they were practically busking at first). Even though I’m not a fan of yuri, I have to admit the cutest relationship was the one between Kai and Rei.

Still, it was an entertaining romp no less. Plus the songs were not bad, I like the one in the opening sequence. I think they’d have made a better girl band because their pseudo-masculine voices were rather strained. If there’s a special ‘x-years in the future’ ep I wouldn’t mind watching it just to see what happened.

Skip Beat! (anime)

[Rating: 8/10]

Genre: Shoujo, Comedy

Kyoko Mogami is an ordinary teenage girl who discovers that Sho Fuwa, the childhood friend she has a crush on is only using her to do his dirty work. Sho is an upcoming pop idol who aims to make it to the top of the charts. Angered by his deceit, Kyoko decides to show him up by entering showbiz and beating him at his game! Will she succeed?

Skip Beat is awesome, not even for me to give it a perfect score but I definitely recommend it~ Based on the manga (and quite a good adaptation at that!) the characters couldn’t have been animated better. The dialogue and comic timing is sharp and witty, there will be something in every episode that makes you laugh, want to facepalm in exasperation, and feel for Kyoko’s misadventures that usually turn out all right in the end. The biggest appeal to me is that all the main characters are not stereotypical shoujo characters, they all have pretty solid characterization and back stories. Even though I this Sho is a bastard, at times I couldn’t help but feel a little sympathetic for him. I’m a huge Ren x Kyoko shipper and hope that there is a second season or that they’ll at least end up together in some way in the manga (which is still ongoing). It also presents the hardwork, stress and tensions going on behind-the-scenes of the seemingly glamorous world of acting and celebrities in a pretty realistic light. The voices behind the characters carry some big name talents such as Miyano Mamoru (Sho) and Katsuyuki Konishi (Ren) as the two main male leads, everyone’s talents complimenting each other nicely.

A great anime which has the potential to hit it off with many anime fans as while it is a shoujo anime for girls, the romance is not played up and doesn’t take center stage. It is more of a coming of age show (on Kyoko’s part) and an ‘insider’s’ look into the entertainment industry in Tokyo.

Neo Angelique Abyss: The Second Age

[Rating: 6/10]

Genre: Shoujo, Fantasy

The land of Arcadia is plagued by the Thanatos, demons which suck the life out of all living things. They are led by Erebos, who plans to destroy Arcadia can only be stopped by the power of the entity known as The Queen. Enter Angelique, an innocent schoolgirl who has a unique healing gift. She catches the eye of a mysterious aristocrat who claims she has the power to stop Erebos and the Thanatos for good.

Well, while this is meant to be a ’6 month later’ continuation from the first season (which I have yet to see), it was easy enough to understand without any prior knowledge. It was pretty straightforward and predictable. The best thing about it were probably the art and the voice acting. The character designs were very pretty, the best I’ve seen in a shoujo series, and the guys didn’t look too girly. And the voice acting was good in the sense that the characters all had rather pleasant sounding voices, so watching the anime was quite relaxing. I was quite glad the heroine, Angelique was not whiny, because whiny damsel-in-distress heroines are annoying. While she was pretty cliche, at least she took initiative and had some backbone despite not being a great fighter. The final battle was rather anti-climatic though given the kind of show they can’t really have much violence or a more mature atmosphere. My favourite of the guardians was Nyx, although I’d say he’s more of the solitary leader rather than part of the group. Loved his character design and his voice. I’m tempted to follow his seiyuu (voice actor), Touru Okawa except he’s not really in any shows I really want to watch lol. It was a decent effort, and I wonder if I should just watch the first season to understand the context.

Mei-chan no Shitsuji

[Rating: 6/10]

Genre: Shoujo, Romantic Comedy

Mei is a simple girl enjoying her life with her schoolmates and helping out with her family’s little ramen shop. But all that changes when one day, a man appears at before her and claims that she is the heir of the rich and influential Hongo family, and he is her butler! She is forced to transfer to the prestigious St. Lucia Academy where all the students are filthy rich and have their own personal butlers as well! Mayhem and adventure ensues as Mei tries to adapt to this new world most girls only dream about, and has to quickly filter her friends from her foes as someone seems determined to stop her from succeeding the Hongo line.

Predictable but still packed in enough to keep me watching. It was like watching a trainwreck, only it was funny. It was the manga and a couple of the cast members that made me decide to watch it, but alas even some wonderful actors could not save it. Not that it was terrible but it could have been so much better. Lucia (or Shiori) was one of the most annoying and detestable characters I’ve ever come across. She’s like a psychotic bitch in a wheelchair, and why is she in a wheelchair when she can stand and walk? I know she’s supposed to be somewhat weak of body, but still… And her butler, Osamu… I didn’t like him at first but in the end I was abit confused at whether to still dislike or pity him. Mei was pretty likeable for a main character but I was a little peeved that she forgave Lucia so easily! Why do shoujo heroines have to have such pure hearts of gold? Even though I prefer mercy to vengence, I’d still be somewhat peeved at someone who tried to kill me repeatedly, and Mei for a good part of the show was more or less willing to hand over the Hongo title if Lucia had just came out and told the truth! Shibata, as a friend said, was probably the sanest person in that loony bin, though I can’t seem to get into Sato Takeru despite liking his character. I found Rhito quite disappointing, although I do love Mishima Hiro’s acting, but drama Rhito was kinda pathetic, although I suppose you can’t blame the guy for being put in such a difficult position. I wish he was more confrontational though… a bit too broody I guess? (though that might not be the right word) My favourite mistress/butler pairings were Miruku/Daimon, and Izumi/Kiba (slowly becoming an Iwasa Mayuko fan), though the former in a non-romantic way, since Miruku is a kid. And I’d have loved to see a little more about the twin Hongo butlers, Sakon and Ukon. They could have potential side-story development lol.