Kaleido Star

Alternative Names: It has none, as far as I know
Genres: Slice of Life, Fantasy, Comedy,
Number of episodes: Well, that's a bit difficult, 'cause there are 2 seasons, and three ova's...
The two seasons have a total of 51 episodes, season one has 26 episodes, and season two, the restTheme Songs: (from http://www.animenewsnetwork.com)

Theme Songs:

Opening Theme:

#1: "TAKE IT SHAKE IT" by Sugar (eps 1-13)

#2: "Yakusoku no basho e" by Chihiro Yonekura (eps 14-26)

#3: "Tattoo Kiss" by r.o.r/s (eps 27-51)

Ending Theme:

#1: "real Identity" by Sugar (eps 1-13)

#2: "Boku wa kokoni iru" by SOPHIA (eps 14-26)

#3: "Escape" by r.o.r/s (eps 27-50)

#4: "Yakusoku no basho e" by Chihiro Yonekura with Kaleido Stars (ep 51)

Characters:
Sora Naegino:
Sora wanted to join Kaleido Stage after seeing the show with her parents when she was little, which was the last memories of her parents... Years later, she goes to audition, but is too late, and received a scolding from the main star, Layla. But the boss of Kaleido Star let Sora perform in a actual performance, and short thereafter she joins the actual stage. She makes two good friends, and works hard for her goals, which makes people respect her. However, she has no basis, and can only do hard maneuvres, and never had to learn how to heave a good balance and so on... Still, she goes for it!
Layla Hamilton:
Layla is an accomplished performer. She has a very stubborn character who always gets her way. But she came to have respect for Sora, since she takes risks which nobody else takes, and works always her very best. Layla is the daughter of Mr. Hamilton, a wealthy hotel chain owner; he would prefer Layla to be an actress and is frequently trying to push her into doing so, he actually never saw a real performance from her, because he always works. Towards the end of the first season, Layla starts to see Fool and she becomes Sora's partner for a important maneuver. While training in the Grand Canyons, both Layla and Sora start to gain each others trust and become good friends. While performing the great Mystical Act, Layla's arm becomes so severely injured that she cannot perform on Kaleido Stage again. In the second season, she becomes a Broadway actress and her new partner is a producer by the name of Cathy. She visits Sora many times and they still share that special bond. 
Mia Guillem: 
Mia was born in Holland and is a close friend of Sora's. In the second episode, Mia accepts Sora's presence on the stage after Sora attempts to perform the Golden Phoenix. Later in the series, Mia becomes passionate about writing the scripts for Kaleido Star's performances; she has a keen interest in introducing literature into Kaleido Star's acts.  
Anna Heart: 
Anna is also good friend of Sora's. She, like Mia, comes to accept Sora after the second episode. Anna is talented in many areas and frequently plays more serious parts. Anna truly wishes to perform comedy and usually tries to get Mia to write comedy into her parts. Without succes ;). The request is almost always denied. In season two she gets paired up with two girls that find her extremely funny and help her with her comedy acts for the shows.
Yuri Killian:
Yuri, like Layla, is an experienced performer, yet he's deeply traumatized by a terrible tragedy. His father, Arlon Brass, died attempting the Mystical Act, and he never forgave Kalos for letting his father die. So he takes revenge.  In the second season, Yuri helps Sora get into the Circus Festival in Paris. He appears to be a bitter rival of Leon's, and feels that he is responsible for the death of Leon's sister, Sophie who was a lot like Sora in many ways.
Fool, Spirit of The Stage:
Fool is the mysterious spirit of the stage. He is about the size of an action figure, and appears as a type of jester or clown. Fool is invisible to everyone but those who are destined to do great things on the stage and/or whose heart is completely dedicated to the stage. However, Fool is a pervert who tries many times throughout the series to see Sora, and sometimes her friends, naked (usually by suggesting that they should take a shower). Sora is quick to prevent Fool from peeking in any given situation by trapping him somewhere or rebuking him forcefully, most often in a comedic, slapstick fashion.
Sarah Dupont:
Sarah is the main singer of Kaleido Stage from the United Kingdom, as well as the building manager for the dorms where everyone lives. Many want Sarah to sign on a record label because she is so gifted in singing, but she stays true to Kaleido Stage. She is an avid fan of martial arts, and frequently proposes bizarre alternative methods to help Sora achieve her objectives.
Ken Robbins:
Ken is the stage manager for Kaleido. He used to want to perform onstage when he was young, but claims to have a weak heart and decided that it was best to be backstage. Ken also greatly admires Sora, in many respects, and seems to have a huge crush on her, but never has the guts to confess his feelings for her. Though it would appear that everyone else is aware of his feelings for her, in one instance even trying to help him confess to her.
Kalos Eido:
Kalos is the head manager and boss of the entire Kaleido Stage and gives Sora many helpful pieces of advice throughout the anime. Before Kaleido Stage, Kalos was a stage magician and acrobat and used to perform on the street with Sarah and Andy; their past relationship is rather vague. Kalos founded Kaleido Stage with the money he got from the insurance company after he injured his fingers during an audition for a spot in Las Vegas.
=>In the second season, there are many more characters, but you will find those out later...

Summary: Sora joins Kaleido Stage, which she loves with all her heart, but it is not so easy to survive there, and she encounters many problems, but she also makes good friends, and works very hard in Kaleido Stage. Her parents want her to come home, because they're worried, people with grudges, and all those things come together, and every episode has an end to a problem, and sometimes also a next problem. Because Sora is different from the other people, people are often surprised by her, but she always gains their trust in the end. After the first season, she loses her goal a bit, and does a lot of competition with May, but in the end, she withdraws from the competition, and makes her own goal...

My view: A very good serie, certainly worth the time watching it. It encounters a lot of problems, and a lot of solutions, but it isn't one of those series where you can see what's coming, not at all, to be precise. And that's one of the things I like so much about it. You can watch it over and over again, but it's never boring, and I laughed a lot while watching it. Not much series can do that kind of entertainment, but it did make me a bit envious, what they can do with their bodies...
Rating: 9
Images:

Sousei no Aquarion

Alternative Names: Genesis of Aquarion, AQUARION, Holy Genesis Aquarion
Genres: Mecha, Romance, Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Drama
Number of episodes: 26
Theme Songs: Opening Songs:  "Genesis of Aquarion" by Akino
                                                "Go Tight!" by Akino
                        Ending Songs:    "Omna Magni" by Yui Makino
                                                "Koya no Heath" by Akino
                                                "Celiane" by Gabriela Robin
Characters:

•  Apollo: After the Great incident he has nothing, not even a name... He meets Baron, who becomes his best friend and ally, and he's the one who gives him a name. When he loses his friend, Apollo wants to do everything to save him, so he gets on a machine, named Aquarion, and destroys an enemy. Now he's one of the persons to be able to ride Aquarion and he comes to the Academy, so that he can ride the machine and save his friend. Over the time he makes new friends, and learns about his past life, as Apollonius... He's a smart guy, although he is like a beast sometimes...
• Silvia: Due to her bothercomplex, she has still no boyfriend. She is searching halfheartedly for her love from her previous life, but wants to belief it's her brother, so she doesn't really search. Then she finds Apollo, who is able to call her past life out, and looks different to the world. Still, her brother remains the most important thing in her life, and she gets jealous if he is with Lihua, but that's slowly beginning to change...
• Sirius: Silvia's brother. Beauty and grace are really important to him. He doesn't really speak his mind, but more poetic... He hides a big secret, that no one knows... Also, does he like Lihua?
• Pierre: Plays soccer. Also, he is a true ladykiller, but has a big hole in his heart...
• Lihua: Has always misfortune, and uses misfortune as her excuse for things that go wrong... She doesn't trust herself, but still tries her best. Sirius is very important to her
• Toma: Tenshi. He loved Apollonius, but Siren took him away from him, and he was unable to bear that... Now he still tries to find the soul of Apollonius, and wants to kill him?

Summary: from wikipedia:

Eleven years before the start of the series, a disaster only referred to as the "Great Catastrophe" destroyed/devastated significant parts of the world and killed off many of its inhabitants. Along with the disaster came the appearance of the Shadow Angels (堕天翅 Datenshi^?), winged beings with unexplainable powers who do not die of old age. They have been in slumber for twelve thousand years in their city of Atlandia (アトランディア Atorandia^?) and have technology so advanced, it may be defined as very nearly magic. The Shadow Angels began invading human cites on Earth to harvest human beings, dubbing them as "the wingless ones", like cattle. The Shadow Angels extract the prana (プラーナ purāna^?, life force) from the harvested humans to serve as energy and nutrition to them, but also to feed the legendary Tree of Life (生命の樹 Seimei no Ki^?). The Shadow Angels facilitate their harvesting via giant, floating harvesting machines called harvest beasts (収穫獣 shūkakujū^?) which are guarded by giant mecha called Cherubim Soldiers (ケルビム兵 Kerubimu Hei^?). They are sentient, yet there are times when they are piloted by Shadow Angels.
Ordinary weapons prove ineffective against the Cherubim, but a human expedition under the leadership of Gen Fudou eventually excavates three very technologically advanced fighter planes. Gen Fudou disappears, but an organization called DEAVA (ディーバ Dība^?, Division of Earth Vitalization Advancement) takes over the research of these machines, called Vectors (ベクター Bekutā^?), trying to identify how to use them. The three Vectors are colored mostly in white and are shown as the green Vector Luna (ベクタールナ Bekutā Runa^?), the blue Vector Mars (ベクターマーズ Bekutā Māzu^?), and the red Vector Sol (ベクターソル Bekutā Soru^?). DEAVA discovers only people with special powers called Elements (エレメント Eremento^?) can control the Vectors and, ultimately, unite the three to form a giant fighting robot with three transformations that is capable of beating the Cherubim. This machine and all its forms are called Aquarion (アクエリオン Akuerion^?).
During the first sortie to fight a Cherubim by uniting the Vectors into a transformation of Aquarion, DEAVA encounters 15 year-old Apollo, who seems to be the reincarnation of a Shadow Angel named Apollonius, also known as the "Solar Wing", who betrayed his Shadow Angel brethren for his love of the human warrior Seliane: They become convinced of this when he single-handedly unites the Vectors into Solar Aquarion and defeats the Cherubim.

My view: A heart-touching story, but is hard to follow. I had to see it two times, to get the story right, but still, the emotions came right to me... Also, the songs are very good, I know the first opening song by my heart, so everytime I watch this anime, I sing with nice fake (is this really english? :$) But it's certainly worth watching :D

Rating: 7,5

Images:

Chrome Shelled Regios

Alternative Names: Kokaku no Regios
Genres: Fantasy, Adventure, Post-Apocalyptic (wikipedia; Apocalyptic fiction is a sub-genre of science fiction that is concerned with the end of civilization due to a catastrophe such as nuclear warfare, pandemic, alien invasion, impact event, cybernetic revolt, Technological Singularity, Dysgenics, supernatural phenomena, Ecological disaster, resource depletion or some other general disaster. )
Number of episodes: 24
Theme Songs: Opening Song; ''Brave your truth'' by Daisy x Daisy
                        Ending Songs; ''Yasashii Uso'' by Chrome Shelled (and with characters)
                                             '' Ai no Zuellni'' by Chrome Shelled (and with characters)
Main Characters: Layfon Wolfstein Alseif, Nina Antalk, Felli Loss, Sharnid Elipton, Kalian Loss, Leerin Marfes, Mayshen Torinden, enz...
Summary: The world is after attacks from filth monsters not safe anymore, and the whole worlds lives in city's that can walk. Nobody goes outside of the cities, unless you're trying to get yourself killed. In the Academy City of Zuellni, Layfon Alseif is hoping to start a new life and forget his past. However, his past has caught the attention of Karian Loss, the Student Council President and Nina Antalk, a Military Arts student and Captain of the 17th Platoon, who instantly recognizes his abilities and decides he's the perfect candidate to join her group. He joins, and meets all kinds of different people, and makes friends. However, a dark secret keeps following him...
My view: It is a hard anime, and it is full of mysteries that are in the end still not clear, but it is clever, and plays with human nature and emmotions. The ending was not what I excepted, but I certainly enjoyed it. It's worth watching it xD
Rating: 8,0
Images:

Battle Girls: Time Paradox

This is a really recent serie, of last season to be exact. And I really really really enjoyed it :D :D
In short it's like this: Yoshino Hide, an average teenager, finds herself mysteriously transported to a land that appears to be Feudal Japan, albeit in an alternate world made up of entirely females. She ends up encountering the feudal lord, Oda Nobunaga, and helps on her quest to gather the pieces of a Crimson Armor that will help her conquer the land. From: Wikipedia
So, now you know the story xD
The story derived from Japanese History in the Sixteenth Century. Only this isn't about men, but about women xD
Also, the story doesn't exactly follow the history, but it hás the same characters...
An example; in Japanese History kills Akechi Mitsuhide > Oda Nobunaga,
                                               kills Hashiba Hideyoshi > Akechi Mitsuhide
In the Anime is nobody killed, well nearly, and Mitshuhide tries to kill Oda Nobunaga, but that's because she thought that Hideyoshi would steal her lord away xD
The Opening and Ending themes are quite fun, but I like the opening theme the best. It has power and spirit, and de ending theme is a bit, how do you say it, dull. But still fun xD
Themes: Kagerou [heatwaves] and Atsuki Ya no Gotoku [A flaming arrow comes]. Genres: Comedy, Historical fantasy
Number of Episodes: 13 
My Rating: 7,5 
Images:

Hideyoshi

From left to right: Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, Mitsuhide

Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne

The first Anime I'm going to review is Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne.
This anime is one of my favorites :D
So... let's get started ;)

The story is about Maron Kusakabe, who is the reïncarnation of Jeanne d'Arc. Her task is to transform into a phantom thief to collect beautiful pieces where demons in hide. She gets help from a angel (tenshi) named Fin. Her best friend, Miyako Todaiji, tries to hunt her down with her father, who is a detective, for Kaitou Jeanne steals all the precious items in the city and she wants to be a detective, just like her father. Miyako and Maron live in the same apartement complex, which is called Orleans (that's in the story of Jeanne d'Arc a important place xD) but Maron lives alone, and Miyako lives together with her parents. The story begins when a new boy comes to live in the apartment, Chiaki Nagoya, causing Maron anger (he sort of hits on her) and Miyaki to fall in love with him. A short time later Kaitou Jeanne is troubled by Kaitou Sinbad, who tries to capture the demons and art before her...
The story continues by following the personal life of Maron and the demons she captures.

The story has 24 episodes, and the manga has 7 volumes. The Manga has a different ending than the anime, you could say the anime is somewhat more extreme, with more pain and such, and the manga is longer, and has in my opinion a better end, more cute xD

The anime is really drawn well, the expressions are really clear, and the movements don't look unnatural. The voices fit too... I just adore the characters, they're so mystical at times, but you feel like you understand what they're going through :D