Tactics

A very engaging story where the mythology of Japan and of course the obligatory element, friendship, are intertwined. You may read on some sites that it's shōnen-ai, but don't be fooled, it has nothing to do with that genre – unless you count the fact that Kantarou is taken in his arms when his winged servant Haruka "carries" him. As I mentioned before, there is mythology here, and there is a lot of it, yet it is not a distraction; if you want to know more details about the various games, incantations, or "monsters", definitely give it a listen. I also liked the music, often a bit invisible, as it was played the old way at times. It's just a shame that it actually ends with "find more in the manga", which I would have liked to do, except that I got the unfortunate feeling that it wouldn’t translate into that dusty English either... so we actually get a kind of half-assed ending that you might find satisfying, but you know that you'd get a lot more exorcism if the anime kept going :-) móii, I watched the whole thing in one sitting, so it kept my attention, although sometimes some of the characters – especially the female contingent – annoyed me. Bottom line, a better 3 stars. And why for a better 3 stars when it actually looks like I had fun-fun-fun? Because it didn't answer the question I've been holding onto the entire anime: "Where did Kan-chan get that scar?", so if you're waiting for the same answer, take it from me, you won't get it. (02.01.2010)