Review on Ayashi no Ceres...

Ayashi no Ceres is an anime that had been recommended to me a number of times, and when i finally got my hands on it, i decided to watch it. Now i can see why Ayashi no Ceres was Such a Recommended anime... I Finished iT in ONE DAY!!! The Whole Series Finished on the 2nd of January 2007, while i'm writing the review on the 3rd... =)

Info on Ayashi no Ceres from AnimeNFO.com...
Title : Ayashi no Ceres
Japanese Title : 妖しのセレス
Other Names : Mysterious Ceres, Unearthly Ceres, Ceres Celestial Legend
Total Episodes : 24
Genres : Fantasy, Action, Adventure, Love-Romance
Year Published : 2000
Studio : Studio Pierrot

What Ayashi no Ceres is about...
Based on the manga by Yuu Watase (the same Mangaka as Fushigi Yuugi), Aki & Aya are twins, Aki the elder brother, while Aya being the younger sister. They lived their normal happy lives. On their 16th Birthday, They are called to their family home to have their Birthday Celebrated. They were wrong thinking it was a Birthday Party, it was really a test, which Aya was found to possess the reincarnated spirit of the Angel in a Particular Legend they knew about.

Aya found herself immediately isolated from her beloved & Happy Family, seperated from her twin brother, her parents, and not even knowing what is going on, Aya is hunted by her Family. A Very sad 16th Birthday, All these were Destined & Fated, Now What will Become of Aya & Aki? Will they ever Clear Her Name? Will they ever Reunite?

Characters...
There are MaNy Characters in this anime, but i shall put the 2 main characters...

Aki, the Elder brother, & Aya, the Younger Sister are Twins. They definitely did NOT have a Very Nice 16th Birthday... What will become of these Twins?

My Review on the Anime, Ayashi no Ceres...
Note: Ayashi no Ceres contains some nudity & quite Bloody Scenes. Similar to Elfen Lied, but less... If you can't stand the sight of nudity, the blood or gore, you might want to close your eyes in some of the episodes of this anime.

Ayashi no Ceres has Decent Animation. The animation is quite detailed, though never reading this manga before, but ever Reading Fushigi Yuugi, another of Yuu Watase's works... Knowing the style of art, i think that the animation and character design are very well done & quite decent. Though the animation looks really bad when comparing it with modern animes like Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu. Still, the slightly old animation style is quite fitting for this anime as it deals with history and legends quite a bit.

The OP song, "Scarlet" was very nice. I Liked the melody & i think that it is very suited for this anime. though i didn't really enjoy the First Ending theme. Most of the episodes either ended in sadness or in mystery, and a lively Rock Music comes up and quite spoils the mood. Similar to Elfen Lied, which coincidentally had a very unfitting Ending theme... Other than that, I have to say, The Seiyuus were REALLY GOOD & they Did a very GooD JoB... =)

About the Story...Since the anime started, the storyline of Ayashi no Ceres moved very quickly. Yes, So Quickly that i found myself watching another episode each time the episode ended. Comparing to the normal slow-paced shojo animes that i watch, i felt like the pace of the storyline in Ayashi no Ceres, was like watching 2 episodes in 1, making it felt like i must have watched about 50 episodes of a normal anime, just because the Plot moved Very Fast, & So Many Things were Told in a Brief amount of time. Every Episode was Exciting & I Couldn't stop Myself from watching the next episode each time. However, the flaw of having such a fast-paced storyline was the comedy couldn't really be enjoyed. For Me, i was still in my On-the-edge-of-the-seat mood, & a Joke comes up, and i couldn't enjoy the comedy cause i was still in that mood, even though the jokes were quite original and would be funny.

Ayashi no Ceres is a VERY Meaningful Anime, even though it dived into history & Legend & Magical Beings, the Relation of all those and humans made the Whole Anime very Meaningful & Understandable. There were also many understandable conflicts being put in this anime. For example, Getting Stuck choosing the Right Guy when Both Guys are Nice, Sincere & Honest, & Trying to Get Back Together with your Family after going through ALL THat Aya has gone through, Etc. etc. There were a lot of Character development going on as well, & Many Different Point of Views, & A LOT OF EMOTIONS...

i'm finding it very hard to explain my opinions of this anime.

Well, Many Things Happened Very Quickly in the 24 Episodes of Ayashi no Ceres, & some details might be too quick for the viewer to have understand or heard, but in my opinion, I think the Story was Really Well-Made, and Very Complete, leaving no Plot-holes that i can think of. With Full of Suspense, Excitement & Surprises, I Always Found myself on the Edge of the seat, Always Hoping the Characters can Survive Each Time & Can have a Happy Ending in the end. Ayashi no Ceres was NOT Cliche at all, & in my opinion, I think Ayashi no Ceres was ReaLLy Well Made & Well Planned.

Ayashi no Ceres also does a good job in trying to make you cry, by watching the characters develop, & letting you understand all the Different Characters' Qualities & Faults & Flaws, & The Close Bonds & Relationships between them all, & When finally a tough situation happens to the characters, all the emotions and thoughts going through their heads were ToTaLLy UndersTanDaBle!!! Ayashi no Ceres did quite a good job in Showing the Viewer all those Great Moments, & thus, Making this anime Quite Emotional & Some might Cry Buckets.

Ayashi no Ceres is simply, a Very Human Anime... I can't seem to explain it any further than that. With Many Emotions of Love, Jealousy, Hatred & Bonds... Happiness & Sadness... Ayashi no Ceres is a GREAT ANIME!!!

So Let's get to the rating... =)

My Rating...
9


Animation: 8
Comment: Decent & Good, the old but quite smooth animation style is fitting for this anime...

Music/Sounds: 8.5
Comment: I Liked the Sounds, but didn't really like the First ED theme, the Seiyuus did a vERY GOOD JOB!!!

Story: 9.5
Comment: Fast-paced, & containing some comedy which lightens up the usually-serious mood. Like i said, The Story, i have to say is Very Complete, leaving no Plot-holes i can think of, & FuLL of Suspense that I was Constantly on the Edge of my Seat, Hoping the Best for a Happy Ending... The Story is Very Well Made & Well Planned. =) But somehow i can't give it a 10... probably because the anime was a bit too fast-paced for me to enjoy some of the comedy... x(

Characters: 10
Comment: THE BEST ASPECT of this Anime, Containing Very Relatable & Understandable characters, they each have shown their problems & have shown development and ways of solving their problems. The Characters were Very well made & each have done a GooD Job, showing each and everyone have their Qualities & Flaws. After watching the end, You'd Even Think about trying to Forgive the Big Bad Guy. =)


Tear Factor:

Comment: Mind you, this anime gets Very Emotional, Expecially when you grow attached to the characters after watching them develop, and understanding their qualities & Human Faults, Ayashi no Ceres Excels quite well in making you Emotional & Cry...

Comedy Factor:

Comment: Yes, Ayashi no Ceres has some Good Comedy, but like i said,sometimes i couldn't enjoy the comedy because i was still in my on-the-edge-of-the-seat mood...

Excitement/Suspense/Surprising Factor:

Comment: DEFINITELY FULL OF SUSPENSE & EXCITEMENT!!! I'm glad i didn't read the Manga first, cause it would probably have spoilt me, but Ayashi no Ceres was TOTALLY FULL OF SUSPENSE, & EXCITEMENT, Especially Boosted with the Fast-moving Pace of the Storyline. I always found myself on the Edge of the Seat, Always Hoping that the Characters can Survive each time & Can have a Happy Ending. I do not think this anime is cliche at all, as it seemed like there were many choices or things that could happen to each character.

Meaningful Factor:

Comment: OH MY GOSH, Ayashi no Ceres TOTALLY Excels in this Factor. as i said, Ayashi no Ceres is a VERY Human Anime, with Extremely Relatable & Understandable Characters, Situations, & Conflicts, they bring you into their point of views which is Understandable & Able-to-Relate to As WeLL!!! I'm ABSOLUTELY AmAZED by The Way the Story of Ayashi no Ceres was made...

Overall, Ayashi no Ceres deserves its popularity, & I Recommend it myself to those who are looking for a nice Emotional Anime, which will bring you to another person's/being's/creature's Point of View of Humans, Human Faults, & Human Feelings...

Click Here to See Legend...

Screenshots...
Okay, So I'll just add ONE Screenshot from the anime as i can't exactly think of any good ones to add...

A Cheerful Scene between the Twins, Aki & Aya... It's nice to have such a nice Family... =)

I don't have to repeat myself about how Good Ayashi no Ceres is... So if you're into Emotional animes, GO & WATCH IT IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY!!! =)

Note: Mmm... I've read a couple of other reviews on AnimeNFO.com in which quite a number of them said they puked, seeing the forced feelings, emotions and storyline of Ayashi no Ceres, So you might probably puke like them, but i accepted all of the emotions,plots and situations, and i quite liked Ayashi no Ceres at its Whole, i didn't even think that the emotions and stuff were Forced. So this review might be bias-ed because of that...

Till my Next Review...
JoeL Un... x)