'Star Driver' ~ Galactic Pretty Boy

We've already established that the Earth is best saved by Japanese schoolchildren, even if, or rather, especially if they need to pilot gigantic robots brought to Earth by another civilisation and equipped with weapons of mass destruction.

It's also clear that galactic problems are nothing in comparison with the problems people experience in their youth, such as love, friendship, school club activities, applying sunscreen on gilrs' backs...

Actually, the more girls - the better. Let's have more of them introduced in the middle of the story even if nobody saw it coming.

If singing voice actors are engaged, much attention is paid to theme songs, with the characters singing everywhere possible, including not only karaoke, but also beaches, school corridors, bus tops, and who cares where else. My personal suggenstion would be, however, not to make 3 out of 4 important songs just happy cute pop hits, so that you don't have to use the remaining one as your only option to add drama when necessary. My personal wish - start searching for decent opening and ending songs, or the art of anime music will be lost.

The final battle will easily fit one episode, with the decisive fight taking no more than 3 to 5 minutes, depending on the remaining budget. Why not turn on theme songs here again.

And at least one furry animal to accompany the story, remember.

There is something new established by 'Star Driver', though. Seems like you can be a Galactic Pretty Boy even if you're a girl. We live in the modern age, no discrimination, okay?

At least they didn't forget about the humour, that I do admit.

IMHO. Eureka 7 ~ how one realises their age

If only I were 10 years younger... I'd probably say 'Eureka' is the best anime in the world. This colourful futuristic world with different laws of physics, global catastrophe caused by an evil genius approaching, rainbow-like explosion that marks the renewal of the world, important moments emphasised with emotional music, but the best part being the charismatic characters of course... But in fact, nothing new and nothing I've never seen somewhere else.

Flow's usual 'heeeey here we go!!!' kind of opening song, optimistic rap or rock'n'roll, girls and boys whining to a guitar for opening and ending themes... Soundtrack that combines electronic and symphonic pieces... One impressive insert theme turns out to be a famous song I already know, and the other - the only listenable piece in the discography of a since disbanded group.

Young boys who find love and become brave to save the world by sheer willpower. Mysterious girls who will only smile to them. Adults who entrust these hero-boys with the fate of the world and are ready to sacrifice themselves to protect the young generation...

These things could only impress me 10 years ago when I knew much less of what anime can be like.

I mean, when you watch mecha, you don't ask why streets in all cities and even natural caves are wide enough for the giant robots to pass. You also never ask why there's a Japanese-style common bath in an aerial battleship. But you probably retain the right to ask why every new development looks like a convenient way out rather than a natural conclusion. And even all these wonderful colourful things can't hide just how much the creators were swaying between different versions of the ending, thrusting in one major event after another just because they'd changed their mind. In the end, they didn't even have enough screen time to show the future lives of the characters who were in fact the main attraction of the show. I'm sure many fans wanted to see what became of their favourite characters, not just the main couple, but what a disappointment for them.

If I were 10 years younger, I'd probably overlook all these things and give 'Eureka' 10 out of 10 in my exaltation, but 'Eureka' will have to be content with my less rapturous rating of 7. And the biggest part of it is because of these characters, and of course, their brilliant voice actors.

IMHO. Maoyuu ~ problems of modern education

It's sad when an anime turns out to be completely bad and not worth one's time, but it's also sad when it had potential but didn't live up to it.

This is what happens when you try to make a shounen-harem single-season anime series out of a history textbook, even if that history is a fantasy.

The start was almost good, not least because of the funny gap between the seriousness of the main characters' undertaking and their teenage clumsiness.

It also never hurts to have the creators self-conscious of what they do, and once in a century the silly puns and comments typical for ecchi anime sound fun not because they're fun as they are but because they are so intentionally made to be perceived as your typical ecchi comments.

The epic discussion on the fates of the world, philosophical contemplations on good and evil are easily tolerated when punctuated by out-of-the-blue anime-only developments.

The ending by Arai Akino with her ethereal voice, being a nice counterbalance for the generic shounen-anime energetic song with female vocals, also contributed to the fantasy atmosphere.

I even found myself fascinated by how the development of the world is viewed by our main character, Demon King.

However, the further into the story the more the pace of the series is disrupted. It starts when the creators decide to put a whole year of the characters' lives into one episode #3. Then, in the span of 12 episodes we follow, or at least are supposed to be following, several wars and conflicts, both real and economic, developments and deaths of several major poleis, forming of alliances and church dissents, era-changing inventions such as printing and arbalests, all taking place within only several years.

I don't know if the creators meant this anime as a way to attract students not interested in history otherwise, but Maoyuu looks like a perfect ad: hey do you know there's a new version of a history course, this time with boobs and first-rate voice actors.

Maoyuu constantly doubts whether it's a fantasy shounen or a textbook. Where previously shounen characters would be admiring opponents' new techniques, Maoyuu's characters are amazed at...

And when the swaying gets too strong, there's bound to be resonance, which, in its turn it bound to increase the swaying even more. By the last episode, hardly any character gets enough time to be fully presented, new characters and directions appearing even as the last episode is approaching its 20th minute, and the series end up in a peaceful harem interaction while the world's fate stays undecided.

There are cases when I wish a book was made into an anime, but this is the first time I thought I'd be happy if Maoyuu was a proper book rather than a single-season shounen harem.

p. s. Reviving my 'how to learn Japanese' column, I highly recommend to stay away from Maoyuu if you're still in the early stages of learning the language. At least for me, Maoyuu became a source of an infinite despair because of my sheer ignorance of all the Japanese lingo pertaining to economics, politics, warfare and such.

ate a full plate of baked potatoes with chicken, took some sweets from the cupboard

Koshimizu Ami. 168 cm, 48 kg. this is what I must be aiming for

to watch or not to watch, that is the question

with Koshimizu, Fukuyama, Sawashiro, Saitou Chiwa, Touyama Nao and Kamiya in the voice cast and Arai Akimo performing OP/ED, I thought this might be a rare jewel among the sea of commercial mainstream

and then something prompted me to learn about the director

since when am I so interested in directors? I already know that one good anime in some director's list does not guarantee the following would be as good...

but this case is actually vice versa... if Takahashi-san has only made several mainstream series, frequently dealt with harem and ecchi, and is known for two incest stories, what will he make out of 'Maoyuu Maou Yuusha'?

my humble opinion on 'Letter Bee' ~ a sad shounen

the more I think of my 'reviews', the less I understand whether they are for people who have already watched the anime or for those who have not. if for the former, then why do I write recommendations in the conclusion? if for the latter, then why do I insert so much spoilers? the answer seems to be simple - being the egocentric person I am, I write in order to put my own head in order, and therefore, no practical sense is t be found in my posts like this, moreover they are unnecessarily long

plot and characters 
first of all, I do not separate the OVA 'Light and Shadow' from the rest, since the OVA was remade into ep. 17. both OVA and episode are good, thought there are a few differences, but from now I am going to speak about the TV

Tegamibachi starts as a typical shounen. naive - perhaps this is what many would think of it at first. yeah, 7-year old Lag is behaving like a teenager, 12-year old Lag is almost a young man, 14-year old Zazzie is as if he were a grown-up - and we are supposed to believe this is all right, and also believe all of them are for real. and this line of Niche

made me worry whether she would turn out to be just one more capricious main heroine who is constantly getting angry with the main character shouting '... no bakaaa!', especially when Niche's seiyuu is Fujimura-san, who voiced such girls several times
I almost see how people throw tomatoes at this anime and shout - 'cliches! stereotypes!', and they would be right sometimes. who else but a person with a Russian surname could be the mayor of the city in the North covered in ice...

but very soon after the beginning I realised I need not have worried. seemingly grown-up main characters still stay children

the general image of the world where the events are taking place is deliberate and even sophisticated. actually I decided to watch Tegamibachi because I read that the world reminds of XIX-XX century Europe and this is true to some extent

but I must say honestly we do not get to see much of that XX-century-Europe-ish design
as for characters, I found myself torn apart by thinking who is the character I sympathize with the most, as my usual strategy is to find one or a couple of favourite characters and pay attention only to their story. this strategy failed, and I felt huge sympathy and/or respect towards absolutely all the characters. probably, this is mostly the mangaka's achievement, though

the story development has a nice pace which doesn't make you feel the anime is hurrying towards its end, and doesn't make you feel bored, either. so-called 'fillers' like season 1 ep. 19 'Ill Letter Bee and the girls' were not looking like fillers but rather contributed to the general flow of the story and even if we can use the word 'filler' then it will have positive connotation, because this 'filling' was necessary - there must be peaceful days, too, do you not think so?
another important point is that all peripeteias and twists and turns of the story were properly designed. they do not create the feeling that I hate the most in any fiction - when you see clearly that this or that episode or moment is dictated not by the logic of the story, but by the author's whim. for example in season 1 ep. 15 while the long talk between Frank, the elopers and Lag was taking place, I was afraid I might have the usual question all the spectators have in such cases - why don't they do something but just stand and listen? however, I notice a wise move on the part of screenplay writers - Niche couldn't interfere because she was busy with collecting Lag's bag which fell from the rock. the fact that it fell may also be considered as necessary to move Niche away and make her unable to help, but the falling itself is not unrealistic, while her standing near and doing nothing would undoubtedly be
I would also note the wise use of all the characters. in other words - nothing and nobody odd. Maka helping in the battle with Cabernet is good. Vincent Alcott who was thought to be an untalented writer takes notes of everything that happened during the battle and creates a bestseller which Lloyd reads in the last minutes of the last episodes. brothers Signal and Signales turn to be more than simple gatekeepers. and Lloyd himself exceeds the 'understanding boss' and shows a great deal of courage and involvement
being so full and detailed, the story is interesting. yeah, really interesting and intriguing. this is a rare thing. Tegamibachi is an adventure which appeals to your heart and your brain equally, making you both think of your own life and the world we live in, and also - sympathize with and worry about the characters, who have been dear to you right from the start. Tegamibachi is the case when you just cannot stop watching because you long to know what comes next. nowadays people often say 'this anime's attraction is not that it makes you want to watch the following episodes one by one, but the one that slowly gives you graduated pleasure' and consider it to be the right kind of charm, but I do think thrilling, breathtaking story is no less wonderful
and this story is flavoured with humour. this humour is actually a dangerous thing making you feel relaxed and sure that everything would be the same throughout all the episodes

and special moments like coming to a very strange forest

or Connor making a delivery of erotic magazines

 and special episodes

and themes embracing the whole story in the person of, for example, Niche

and Steak, and some others

and praiseworthy is that the authors understand that some ideas may seem ridiculous

but do not get washed away by the funny episodes. they become more and more rare as the story continues. I said, the characters become dear and make you worry, and this does not apply exclusively to the main ones. if you didn't cry in moments like this

then you are probably made of stone...
actually, being the crybaby I am, together with Lag and Sylvette, I spent most sad and touching moments exactly like this

and finally, Tegamibachi is not a typical shounen because 'tis... too serious, especially when you do not expect it

what I went through emotionally while watching the series is hard to describe with words. how many times I cried is impossible to count. how painful 'twas to watch the last episodes is something I would not wish even my worst enemy to understand
you know what? I sincerely believed in an absolute happy end with 'happily ever after' until the last several moments before the last episode ending 'Perseus' started. I believed Gauche's heart would come back. then I believed he would throw away everything and live with his family and friends. then I thought even if he would not 'throw away everything' he and the other 'unable to become spirits' would stay in Yuusari. I believed Lag would get to Akatsuki and change the world. or something like that. I was waiting for a relief but all that I have left is hope. I expected to see shounen adventure, but I got drama
Tegamibachi exceeds the level of typical shounen, but is it an entirely good thing? I doubt. if I am to accept the anime as 'tis, taking its ending as the end, and ignoring the fact that the manga is not finished, then the anime's ending is not even in the least satisfactory, as it leaves too many things unexplained, from not-so-important matters, such as the photo of Jacob and Sandra Gobeni's photo with a child, to urgent problems, such as prof. Thunderland's experiment on returning the lost hearts back, and up to global ones, such as what was the meaning of the Day of Flicker, and why the guy on the airship heard a lot of voices crying 'mother, mother' when the flicker happened, and why Lag's mother was taken to the sun, and how did Gauche get to see her, and in the end - what is Lag, if he is not human. to some extent we can guess and speculate, but proper explanation was never provided. and of course, the greatest disappointment is that we do not get to see how the characters live after that, because we are not that dumb to believe that Lag is going to continue cheerfully his Letter Bee duties, Connor - bring up his child(ren) with Sunny, Zazzie - take care of local cats, and Aria - do the paperwork at Bee Hive as if nothing had happened. this incompleteness almost breaks me now that I finished watching the series today at 2 o'clock in the night, and all that I was thinking about while going to sleep, waking up in the night, getting up in the morning, having breakfast, washing the dishes, drinking tea - was Tegamibachi, more precisely, I was trying to deal somehow with what is called 'cognitive dissonance' scientifically, but in reality is a pain somewhere inside that makes you feel empty and unable to do anything else but to try to get rid of it

music

I could not actually believe 'twas really Ryou Kunihiko-san who made the OST until in ep. 2 short harpsichord and flute melody played in the background while Lag and Gauche were trying to catch a lizard. then I listened attentively and recognised his perfect style. at first one might think - if he is familiar with 'Emma' OST - that Ryou-san is cut for composing music reminding of classics and suitable for arranging a 19-century-Europe-like setting, but I was pleasantly surprised to hear he wrote some very memorable and unusual tracks. some of them reminded me of Scudelia Electro greatly, because there are not - well at least I do not know - many composers able to use electro in such a masterly fashion. especially Scudelish are 'Heavy-Metal Enemy', 'MA-KA', 'Attack', but my favourite electro here is of course 'Lightning'
the only frustrating thing is that again - like in 'Emma' - not all of the melodies used as background in the series are released as soundtrack. for example, 'Lightning' has a very dark, somewhat ambient arrangement used several times in the second season during scenes about Reverse, like when memories of Jeel are shown in ep. 19. also, several very sad instrumentals (for example, the one playing at the background of Lament when Lag came to pick up Connor and Sunny) along with classical pieces (like that Aria was playing on her violin) were not released at all. the only  good news is that a track called 'friendship' which was used in ep. 15 of Reverse (when Lag and Gauche went together for a delivery) was recently uploaded onto Ryou-san's official website, and though 'tis not meant for downloading, it can be downloaded easily with the help of some application (I personally use Firefox plugin called download helper)
OPEDs are not too impressive, I must confess, but on the other hands - they are all slightly above average. should they have been just a bit more plain I would call them worthless, but surely all of the songs are not mediocre ones, and apparently the best songs of respective artists were chosen as OPEDs, because Suga Shikao's and HIMEKA's discographies didn't impress me that much, and surely absolutely mainstream Stereopony is not a unique band famous for their original style. however, as OPEDs the songs are good, and I watched OPEDs without skipping them several times, which is unusual for me. in other words, the atmosphere was respected

OPEDs
I would also praise most of the OPEDs in terms of how they were directed and designed. note how all the songs were chosen to fit the ideas and story of Tegamibachi
'Hajimari no Hi' - 'The day of beginning' - has lines like 'I wanted to run out of this town' which reminds of Lag leaving Campbell, and 'without knowing where to head so that we find our future, we were running together with you' and other lines hinting on Lag and Niche's travelling together
'Hatenaki Michi' - 'Endless Road' - is just centered on the theme of journey and finding someone who is dear with lines like '
'raburetaa no kawari ni kono uta o.' means 'Instead of a love letter, this verses' - even though this songs is likely to be just an average love song by an average j-pop young girl, it can be viewed differently if applied to Tegamibachi. allusion to letters conveying feelings is obvious, such as the first line - 'I wonder if you'll understand if I write it in a paper, I wonder if you'll see it if I make it into words' which describes brilliantly Lag's anxiousness when he was trying to write his message to Gauche to put it into the red message bullet. the chorus part starts with 'Even if I call your name again and again, my voice wouldn't reach you, but now that I recall your turning around to me, smiling, your face was so bright that I cast down my eyes'. and what stroke me most was the last line of this opening - 君がいないんだ - which originally would be translated as 'you are not here', but taken separately from the rest of the text can also mean 'you do not exist'. and those words are sung exactly when the opening animation ends in this frame↓

'Hikari no Kioku' which means 'Memories of Light' already hints on the other central theme of this work - light and memories. the most touching lines for me are 'even if you lose the sight of tomorrow in the times of change, even if your heart is taken from you, I want my feelings to reach you, that I want your memories of chasing that while light not to be broken and stay as they were on that day' - is it not the cry from Lag and others to Gauche?'A little magic' or 'chiisa na mahou' says 'gathering all the words I want to say to you, I use some magic and send them to where you are'
'wasurenagusa'  means 'forget-me-not' and this is already enough for making it a perfectly fitting song which breaks my heart every time I listen to it - 'because we met I feel this pain, because we met I see this dream. if we never met, I would never love this much. please do not forget me ever. this forget-me-not blooms for you', and the second chorus - 'because we met I cry this much, because we met I see this sky. if we never met, I would not be who I am now. I will never forget you. in my heart forget-me-not blooms'
the only time I felt uncomfortable was when 'yakusoku' OP began in season 2 and I was thinking 'hey, what's with this OP? the picture seems to be all wrong and fails to fit the song absolutely!' - however, starting with ep. 18 the picture changed and WHAT CHANGE 'TWAS!!! one of the most beautiful opening videos I have ever seen, following the song's tempo and rhythm and providing all kind of pictures, wisely made OP
'one-sided feelings...

 ...a wish that is ready to disappear...

 ...surely become a promise binding me and you, it seems so to me'

and the last ending... you can read the translation if you need


graphics
there seems to be a problem in Studio Pierrot - they make beautiful scenery

and pay attention to the colouring

and draw beautiful close-up freeze-frames, or frames where only a few objects are moving

and sometimes use the manga-like graphics

but they make mistakes in drawing smaller objects - why does not Gauche's scarf here fall down by the force of gravitation but makes this strange curve?

finally, seiyuus
this paragraph I write the last because there is not much to say. all the seiyuus were good, including both the main characters and the minor ones. Fukuyama was predictable but credible. Sawashiro-chan really surprised me with the high level of her skills of voicing a boy. Fujimura-chan surprised me that her Niche was not like Misaki from 'Maid-sama' or Ayano from 'Kaze no stigma'. that Koshimizu-san is good I already know, but this time she created with her voice a very calm woman, which was an image different from what I have heard so far. Kishio Daisuke as Zazzie and Suganuma Hisayoshi as Connor seemed good but not outstanding to me until I suddenly realised - 'twas during the scene when the Bees were having dinner at Sylvette's home - what great work and skill it takes to create such realistic characters with realistic behaviour and intonations. even Nana Mizuki whom I do not like very much did a good job. I also noticed a number of experienced seiyuus with pleasant voices such as Largo Lloyd's Konishi Katsuyuki, Sandra's Yamashita Ayaka, Niche's elder sister's Koyama Mami, Jiggy's Nakai Kazuya, Hunt's Chiba Susumu, Sarah's Komatsu Yuka and many others

conclusion
the beginning and the last episodes are as if from different worlds. probably, most stories are like this, if only they are not stories for little children or meaningless merciless shoujo for drooling
by the end of the day the sadness and dissatisfaction with the anime ending that were tearing my chest apart are slightly subsiding and I with a cooler head I can make a conclusion
one must bear in mind that if he decides to watch the anime, he will watch a screen version of several volumes of manga for a while, but considerable difference is reported to be noticed approximately in the middle. and since there seems to be no plans for season 3, 'Tegamibachi' anime as 'tis now can be considered only as a very-big-slice-of-the-characters'-life ending in nothing, which does not allow to name it a 'full-fledged' story
if this is ok with you and you can ignore this aspect, all the other aspects would bring you enormous amount of pleasure. they make Tegamibachi an example that many others must follow. as you see, I cannot, so this pleasure is almost crossed by the void that the ending left

my humble opinion on 'Ashita no Nadja' ~ make me unsee it

there are a lot of spoilers - though I highly doubt anything can be spoilt in this anime by telling/showing something about the plot... >___<

there were two proper reasons for me to start watching this anime - Saiga Mitsuki voicing one (oh I am sorry, two) of the main characters (this fact being an impulse to want to watch) and the fact that the story takes place in the time and place I am interested in (this fact being an impulse to download and watch immediately). however, after I started watching, I realised only one of those two remained. guess which one? of course Saiga-sama

plot and story

the first several episodes were of a priceless importance to me. now I know there is one way to determine whether the anime is for children or not - I only need to try watching it without subtitles. the second reason why this anime is supposed to be for children is the simplicity of the plot and ideas conveyed. I am not saying those were hollow or lacked depth, I am only saying that everything looked like a fairytale taking place in reality

this simplicity sometimes got on my nerves greatly. I just couldn't close my eyes to the fact that Nadja would start singing and everybody stopped crying or quarreling immediately

...or that under the impression of Nadja's kindness Rita regained her ability to speak - and more than that, after she could speak, even her personality changed
...or that the characters spoke naturally to all the people in different countries, but didn't know what 'mamma mia' means
...or that Nadja learnt flamenco in a couple of days only after remembering her orphanage (and how did it help her? I didn't get it)
...or to a battle with pirates with cancan as an accompaniment when little children and women win over old sea wolves... o___O
'twas not even a half of the episodes I watched when I already got tired and decided simply to skip episodes or at least moments that didn't impress me
one should be prepared to see things like this

and SD and funny faces

and other features. of course, one of my favourite characters is 'Obaba' Anna. her genki-ness and positive attitude attracted me, but more than that I adore her slyness and ready wit

though there were other enterprising characters like an old man selling 'Jeanne's cement' in the place where Jeanne D'Arc lived...

'tis also praiseworthy that the authors paid attention to the epoch and places some characteristic items like the Art-Nouveau paintings on the wall here. who cares that the paintings were the same in every house they visited?

were there other kinds of episodes at all? yes, there were - sometimes, as if the director and screenplay writer were different, the episodes were not the fairy-tale-happy-end ones, and looked much more realistic. I could probably say I wish there were more episodes like this... if not for the fact that I actually don't approve this way either. the real end of those storylines came only several episodes later, or even before the very end of the anime, so the structure is pretty interesting and unusual, but what frustrates me greatly is the fact that still no moral or conclusion (or just something) could be drawn from those episodes
in the end, one may wonder why I didn't drop it long ago. there was only one thing that made me go on - oh, but have I ever mentioned how I love Saiga-sama? every time her characters appeared I forgot everything and listened to her magnificent voice
romance is an important point here. it exists, yes, but please don't forget that this is a very strange kind of shoujo. to put it mildly, I saw nothing special about this average IEE heroine Nadja
oh but really, is she not just a typical 'canon' heroine? always 'genki', but immediately turns into a crying damsel when it comes to pitying other people, or into a maiden in love who can't even understand which guy she loves...

at first sight, her romance is full of rose petals and sparkling stars - just like a usual shoujo must be

though... did you notice how Keith was whipped in a very fanservice-ish way? did you believe this was a really necessary detail?
and I have to admit that sometimes the direction was unexpectedly good in the episodes where Francis or Keith appeared. I liked a lot the structure of the episode about Granada with nice 'camera angles' and a bit strange but attractive dialogues

and also tricks like this

however, what I felt after those episodes was not an absolute bliss. something inside told me that there is a contradiction... my intuition and my experience, probably, but first of all - my imperturbable sense of balance. if 'Ashita no Nadja' were an average shoujo for young schoolgirls, that would be ok, but this feeling lasted only up to ep. 8 - after that, each new episode was completely different from the previous. this one is a comedy about searching for a treasure, and suddenly this one reveals all the sins of the aristocrats of those days... this one is a romantic fairy-tale and that one suddenly ruins it all. dear people from Toei, I considered your studio one of the best in creating classical shoujo, and non-shoujo, too, but could you please determine whether you do a normal shoujo or not?
what became the last straw is the fact that in the manga there was no Keith and therefore Francis was the Black Rose. the manga story seems to be much more like a shoujo is supposed to be. though this means being plain, I would rather see that kind of story, because this would at least make some sense. yes, it would, and the idea about two brothers does not

music

from the beginning I was quite skeptical about the music. the OP theme is performed by Honda Minako-san, one of my favourite singers ever, but the song itself is boring and sounds like an average 'genki' one. the ED theme performed by Nadja's seiyuu - Koshimizu-san - was the same, but even cuter. I dislike songs like this, so I was disappointed. and I was even more disappointed when I heard Koshimizu-san singing a capella - her voice turned out to be even worse that it seemed from the beginning. on the other hand, I've heard seiyuus with much worse voices chosen to sing an a capella insert songs, so I have to admit Koshimizu-san is not the worst seiyuu-singer ever
however, the background music and insert songs redeem for this fact completely. I especially adore the episode about travelling musician Raphael, or the constantly repeated waltz - on balls, in the orgel, etc., but other themes were also beautiful. well, in the end I never bothered to download the OST. listening to music from the anime I dislike is a rare thing for me

seiyuus
did I mention that I started watching because of Saiga-sama??? I can repeat many times how much I love her voice but now I am not happy that she did her job in 'Nadja'. her voicing Jing is forever my favourite
other seiyuus were ok, though the most memorable got only minor roles, like a young woman Simone whose necklace was stolen by Kurobara in the end - voiced by Araki Kae-san, which surprised me, or Carmen, or a young boy in Italy who wanted to give the brooch to his granny, etc. perhaps I can praise Orikasa-san as well, her singing voice was nice, though I cannot say she impressed me a lot with her speaking

graphics

well there were two types of pictures - static backgrounds looking pretty good and detailed

 and sometimes tasty 'close-ups'

sometimes I adored the level of details and accuracy

but sometimes you know... the unnecessary 3D was unbearably odd and rough

and the characters were very, very simply drawn, with minimum lines and colours and shadows

conclusion
logic that I will never be able to perceive. in the end, can't we simply acknowledge that Nadja is a girl who can't understand her own feelings, but while gathering a huge harem (I counted 10 guys, can you count more?) - never bothered to understand their feelings fully? moreover, am I, the spectator, supposed to admire this heroine?

and the guys... to mention only the two main ones - Keith was probably able to see dozens of other girls to choose among. Francis had Marianne by his side who always admired him and knew him very well. I only cannot understand... why did they both - and many other people - fall for, or at least were enchanted with, such a good-for-nothing girl....?
there were a lot of good points - some I mentioned, some I probably forgot already, but the absolute epic fail in creating the main heroine simply made them all 'null and void'

p. s. Saiga-sama... why did you agree to take part in this anime... I wish you never did...  make me unsee it all
p. p. s. and Engrish is killing me again...