A Brief Review - xxxHOLIC

xxxHOLIC is a series about Kimihiro Watanuki, a boy who can see spirits.  One day, he wanders into a witch's shop and is told that she can grant his wish to never see spirits again by working in the witch's shop part time.  The series centers around Kimihiro, the witch Yuuko, and Kimihiro's friends Doumeki and Himawari. 

While this anime is based on CLAMP's manga of the same name, it doesn't have much in terms of continuity.  Most episodes have a self-contained story, and there is no crossover with Tsubasa like in the manga.  There is hardly any character growth, but the supernatural stories are interesting.  The characters are also intriguing, although I do wish there was more growth. 

Music - the opening theme is the best of the bunch, although there is also some very good creepy background music that fits the series quite well. 

Overall, this series did not give me anything immensely satisfying, but I am hoping that will change in the second season - xxxHOLIC:Kei.  The first season gets a 3/5 from me.

A Brief Review - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Gamecube)

The Legend of Zelda series is definitely one of the most iconic in the video game world.  Twilight Princess, the 13th game to be released in the series, originally came out in 2006, and there were two versions of the game - one for Gamecube and one for Wii.  I have not played the Wii version, so I am reviewing my experience playing the Gamecube one, the last 3D Zelda game that features a left-handed Link.

This game is beautiful in every way.  Even my brother's gripes about Midna didn't bother me.  The story is gripping, the characters and scenery exquisitely detailed, and the music varied and interesting.  There were complaints that this game's soundtrack was not orchestrated, but I still think they did a fine job with it.  The only complaint I had was that I thought the ending felt a bit rushed - otherwise, this is an excellent game that owes its success to Ocarina of Time (there are so many references to it in here!).

5/5 from me.  This is only the third Zelda game I have played and beaten, and I look forward to more in the future.  (The other two are Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask.)