Atharil

First of all, I'll try not to swear too much. So, is'nt it always a sign of quality if an anime makes you have strong feelings about it? I think good animes are the ones that make you relate and be truly interested in the characters, loving some of them, hating some others, and Ichigo 100% certainly succeeds in these things. Okay, I have seen many echhi/harem animes and they all have their similarities, but never has the protagonist been even nearly as retarded as in Ichigo 100%. Usually ecchi boys have these problems like not being able to decide between girls, or thinking about sexand female parts for 99% of their time only to freak out if a girl gets close to them. They also tend to posess only one argument in a conversation, which is to repeat the girls name over and over: "Ni-ni-nishino-san?". Junpei-kun from Ichigo takes these problems to a whole different level. The main thing that annoys me in the setting is that all the three girls are shown as truly equal, and you really can't tell which one Junpei likes the most, as his opinions seem to change in split-second mode. In most of the other harem animes I've seen, you can tell the favourite girl of the protagonist even though he can't decide between her and a few others, but in Ichigo 100%, there really is'nt a main girl. Everybody can tell that in Rosario+Vampire, Moka-san is the one Tsukune likes, and the other ones are not nearly as important. But in Ichigo 100%, Junpei's favourite girl seems to always be the one he is not with at the moment. This leads to a situation where Junpei spends time with all the girls equally and hurts all of their feelings. For example, he first spends some great fan service -time with Kitaouji thinking only about Toujou. Then, leaving Kitaouji behind he meets Toujou only to begin thinking about Nishino, and of course hurting Toujou in the process. And all the time the viewer is wondering: "What the **** is wrong with this guy?". When Junpei finally ends up saying: "I love you, but I love others too!" and when he cried to his friend saying "I'm so unpopular", I was already carrying my laptop to the nearest industrial shredder. There was about a million situations where I was just staring at the screen of my laptop shouting "Answer her, you f****** retard!", shaking my whole computer in despair or watching with my eyes closed not being able to understand what he does to these girls. Okay, I've focused way too much on Junpei and his problems, but that's really the main thing I got from this anime. It's like the script writers have intentionally created a character, who you'd only want to beat up if you'd see him. Keitaro from Love Hina is a really good guy, Yukinari from Girls Bravo is okay, but Junpei really is someone I only wanted to hate. But well, this really is a decent anime. Really. The animation is quite good, most of the characters are cute, especially Toujou, and I like the school club setting, although it's pretty used nowadays. The ending theme is also quite nice. Eurodance and strawberries, what more can you ask? Overall, if you like to watch harem-anime thinking "I'd be way better a boyfriend for her, her and her", this one's definately for you! If you hate watching popular retards making girls cry, stay far far away from Ichigo 100% ^^ Whoa, maybe this genre is not for me :D

Despised

Never thought I'd be writing a review for the Ecchi genre. I'm not really the Ecchi type, although there are times I might watch them. I'm more of an action/supernatural/horror type, so let me say this first before continuing: If you're a real Ecchi fan, and all you're looking for is Ecchi, you may not find exactly what you're looking for with this series. Don't get me wrong, there is plenty of it (probably much more than it sounds), but even for the occassional watcher like myself; it didn't feel like it was the real foundation for this series. It does seem to cater to bothguys and gals as its mostly based on relationship. Either gender may actually find appreciation for it. If you're looking for some huge story to open up later like the typical shounen series where there is normally some much bigger plot, you probably will not enjoy this as much, if at all. I think I happened to watch this one at JUST THE RIGHT TIME, as I felt very satisfied with how it went and how it was written. Story/Plot: 7 Where's the story? You're looking at it. It's pretty much as the Synopsis says and what the genres indicate; your typical harem (although there's so much more to it). Why a 7, though? This series wasn't created for pure story conception, but is based more on character development and the character and story development compliment each other nicely. As far as I'm concerned, it couldn't have been handled any better, and it was handled rather nicely. It does navigate through the end of Middle School on into High School years, so there is some of that story progression taking place, although a lot of the story advancement is through plot devices; not the kind that leave plotholes, however. Art/Animation: 6 It's not a secret. This series isn't as visually tantalizing as a lot of the others out there, especially with the ones from the same year. A very visually pleasing anime is always a big plus, but the quality here doesn't hurt it, either. It didn't seem like this production was given that big of a budget, and its a real shame because it could have looked a lot nicer. The art and animation that was used does suffice given the fact it's not really ABOUT how good the art, or animation was. Sufficient enough for me. Sound/Music: 8 I found the music to be very.. "fun". This is strange for me, seeing as how I'm not the typical kind of guy to really "like" anime music, although I'm coming around to it. The OP for this is simply awesome. It provides a lot of good memories and tends to help me remember a lot of those great times I had in my school days. The voice actors on this (japanese) were awesome, as well. I didn't once feel that a voice was out of place, and they pulled everything off quite nicely. Characters/Character Development: 7 This is where the main basis for this series lies: in it's characters. All of the characters are the types you might be able to find in just about any series, but not necessarily in one as fluent in relationships as this series is. The characters fit with this genre-type, most definitely and not one character is the exact same as the other, so there is plenty of diversity and differing interests and personalities. It's very interesting to see how relationships strengthen, or crumble a bit with certain actions throughout this series, as well. Enjoyment: 8 I enjoyed this series a lot. It was worth my time. If anyone has ever found themselves in similar 'situations' that take place in this series, you'll probably appreciate it just as much as I have, if not more. There were many times that I laughed until I drooled (I know it sounds gross, just emphasizing how funny it was). A lot of the comedy was based off embarressing types of occurences, but it certainly wasn't limited to just that. It didn't need some long drawn out story to please me, either. I was grateful for that, but I truly wish there was much, much more to it, or a sequel. That would make my day. Overall: 7 It's a fair rating and it does represent how I enjoyed it, while still being a critic at the same time, however there really isn't anything rather negative to say about it. I think I'll go as far to claim that this series is truly underrated in probably a lot of circles, and this rating certainly doesn't overrate it, either. By the time you get to the end, you'll probably feel a sense of satisfaction coupled with regret for not catching it sooner, and perhaps the urge for more. If you came across this review and decided to give it a try, awesome. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did, and if not; sorry. Suggestion I'd suggest watching this series, but also the other OVAs and such that are paired with this series. Jump Festa 2004 seems to mark the "end" in most respects, although it was produced before the series, itself. Watch Order 1 Episodes 1-9, Ichigo 100% TV Special 2, Episodes 10-12, Jump Festa 2004, DVD Animation OVAs. OR Watch Order 2 Episodes 1-9, Ichigo 100% TV Special 2, Episodes 10-12, DVD Animation OVAs, Jump Festa 2004. ________________________________ Addendum (03/09/12): I no longer use the scoring format this site offers and have not for some time. I do not consider a "10" to be in existence and have long since downgraded many of what I've scored to reflect this way of thinking. I have chosen to keep this review slated at an "8", although my list may begin to reflect this change regarding this title specifically in the future. If I ever find some time to heavily edit, or entirely rewrite this review after rewatching this title in its entirety I will do so in order to bring its scoring up to date. It may change based on how I feel about it after seeing it again, or I may feel strongly about it in the same way and keep the score as-is. I believe I can write something much better, but I still agree with the way this review was written as it presents a direct opinion and straight-forward evaluation while being completely devoid of unnecessary plot outlines, or spoilers. And that was my goal and sole purpose for penning it. Around the time period of 11/12/07 there were very few reviews on this site compared to today and many of them offered a little too much information and had become summaries instead of perspective so I stand by that decision. If something can pull your attention and force you to share how you felt about it, I believe it's our duty to do so. ________________________________ Scoring updated: 7/5/2012