Yoru no Kurage wa Oyogenai

I find it weird how this anime is not getting a lot of attention, despite the idea that the anime has a pretty vague premise, so any form of hype for this original work is pretty mild, but after seeing an amazing job they did with Oshi no Ko and looking at this one, I had to try and figure out if it was worth the shot. Sure, I got a bit iffy with the title but after a few episodes, I seriously want people to watch this anime. It's one of the anime where the staff did a stellar job in almost all of ... the core aspects of a good show, writing, tone, narrative, visuals, and characters.

I think one of the difficult parts of making an original anime is that you need to have a strong first impression and provide something worth watching so viewers can stick around and watch till the end. It takes a lot to make a good first episode and certainly is not easy to do. The atmosphere the anime is going for is urban, vibrant, and lively, further amplified by the setting of Japan's most popular nightlife area, Shibuya. The staff working on this does a great job of portraying that along with establishing characters that make sense to the setting they made, it's not random arbitrary characters that are meant to repeat one-liners and quips every time they take screen time, they are characters that are made in mind with the atmosphere and act accordingly to what they should be in the circumstances the writers established in. You wouldn't want absent-minded characters just speaking cutesy things in a supposed rekindling talent plot, right? You wouldn't also want an extremely positive character that just gets a bit sad for a few minutes and then gets happy like nothing happens, right?

I don't think I have to say this out loud, but it's pretty obvious that the visuals are lock-on tight when the production is from Doga Kobo and it has continued to deliver in this case. There's less of that moe fanservice and the facial features of the characters are more natural to look at unless you're not okay with different colored hairs, but even then, I think it's almost impossible for Doga Kobo to disappoint in terms of character designs and visuals.

One of the best parts that the anime is doing is that it establishes characters with an internal conflict and they all are trying to improve themselves, just like how the synopsis said. The anime understands characters need to have a starting point in their life and they all need to strive to make that jump, it's practically an anime that shows the journey of cute teenage girls rekindling their lost talents, but looking at how the staff has managed to produce it, I'd say there's a solid chance for it to be a great original anime, joining into the GOATs of original anime.

My case is that you should try to watch it. It may be vague, yes. But the staff did a great job with what they managed to establish in a few episodes and going forward, I can see in a positive light that it will get better from there.

This short review was written after watching the first three episodes of "Jellyfish Can't Swim in the Night" (2024).

Now this anime is what I call tasty. The animation is excellent (although nothing out of the ordinary, let's just say not the level of the heights of Friren or the first season of Jobless Reincarnation), you can feel some pretty good art-direction, especially in the first episode, every line of dialogue in the script actually works for something, instead of creating an unnecessary filler, the personality of the characters are clearly seen from the very beginning, instead of them being dull dummies, filled with exposition.

The ... plot is extremely melodramatic, "chizzy", if you will, however it is competent. You can easily lay out where and how the creators are trying to beat this or that emotion out of you, each component of the story is so carefully calibrated that you won't be able to undermine it. I can only accuse Medusa of being overly "artificial" in its structure. Theoretically the themes this anime speaks on should be close to me, but it still was not able to win me over completely. Maybe this plot is too naïve for my taste or, perhaps, I’ve watched too much anime in my lifetime. It's hard to say for sure.

I would say that it is objectively well-made ‘musical band’ type of anime (even if it causes some doubt on my part), perfectly hitting the emotional hits. I can safely recommend it to everyone who would like to enjoy some heartwarming and sentimental story. I think it will go well with the same people who, long time ago, liked "Ya Boy Kongming!" (2022) and "Bocchi the Rock!" (2022), but I could be mistaken.

In general, this anime is about creative people of all sorts, be it artists, singers, writers and the last, but not least influencers on the internet and all the rest. This whole anime is driven by a certain idea. It was created for the sake of art, not for the sake of a soulless money maker and it clearly shows. This is even, despite even the above-mentioned "mechanical" accuracy of the content. In conclusion, this is the main reason why it's pleasant to watch it, even if you didn't manage to fully get behind the main idea.

I’d say it’s a solid 8/10.

YoruKura is a harmless, cute, and easily digestible anime. I liked the theme and vibe for sure, but was disappointed by the screenplay of first three episodes.

YoruKura chose a topic that belongs to this era: the dual identity in virtual and real world. The main characters, who were not happy with their mundane life, acquired new identities through the internet as creators. "If I become someone different, will I get a chance to shine?" This is a topic with so much to explore, yet the first three episodes told the stories of four characters at a surprisingly fast pace that merely scratch the surface. As ... a viewer, I barely had enough time to get to know the characters yet, but was forced to experience their roller-coaster emotion journey: discontent for unremarkable life - emotional for intensified conflict - upbeat for friendship and bright future; and all of these happened within 20 minutes.

Admittedly, it is an energetic and chic “cute girls doing cute things" anime, much like Shibuya at night. Perhaps it’s a representation this era - everything is light and airy, from interpersonal relationships to conflicts. Audiences wouldn’t mind.