Freaktana A Major Disappointment

RipDelight This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Janis One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Tweekums When Shinichirou gets a job as a housekeeper he doesn't know what he is letting himself in for! He starts working for Sakuya Shimazu and she is the 37th head of the Shimazu family and it is her job to eliminate unwanted creatures. Shinichirou accidentally releases one such creature, a cat-girl who he names Tamako. Shinichirou has a magical skill known as the 'eyes of truth' which enables him to learn the true name of any magical being he kisses and knowing a magical being's true names gives one power over them. He learns that Sakuya's true name is Isuca but she isn't the only Isuca in the series; a mysterious girl of the same name turns up and threatens Sakuya and those close to her leading to a series of magical battles.It seems that every season there are several anime series involving a boy with a harem of female friends taking part in magical battles; to such an extent that one occasionally forgets which plot goes with which series! Thankfully this series has a few distinctive features; Tamako being the most noticeable; she is a cute and amusing character even if she is only the third most important of the protagonists. Early on things are more comedic but as the series progresses things become more serious. The animation and character designs are pretty good and the battles are exciting… even if the final battle is somewhat marred by a censorship-shadow that is there to hide some completely unnecessary clothing damage! Overall this is a fun, if somewhat run-of-the-mill series; it's not must see but it passes the time well enough.These comments are based on watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles.