Back to BattleTiki's Profile BattleTiki's Profile

seasoning n fox review (only 12 plus years late)

Story- If you hear that an anime is about some merchant trying to earn money while accompanied by a wolf deity in the 1400's-ish you may have some pretty low expectations. In the case of Spice and Wolf (which of course has that premise), my expectations, any many others, were completely blown out of the park. Spice and wolf did a beautiful job making such a concept work so well with the world and characters, especially considering how dialogue heavy the story could get. Though of course, there were some unfavorable parts of Spice and Wolf. For ... instance, I wish that more of the world was explained. Or that holo's objective had more progression. Though, some of that will get resolved in season two, and even more in the light novels/manga. Spice and Wolf probably won't be for someone who likes lots of action scenes or the like. For while there are some, the story is mostly dialogue based.

Art- Has that older anime look. Some people may not like it, but I feel that in general the style has aged quite well.

Sound- Amazing opening song, tight fitting ost. Couldn't really ask for more.

Character- I really appreciate that in Spice and Wolf they don't overwhelm you with a large amount of characters. Instead, the story is mostly focused on the main two protagonists relationship progression over the course of their journey. Even the side characters have good personality types that really fit in and add to the show.

Enjoyment- Personally, I loved Spice and Wolf, with it now being one of my favorites. But again, Spice and Wolf is not for everyone. With it's historical setting, slow pace, and lack of action, you may need to open your mind a bit if you are not accustomed to this type of story telling.

tl;dr/ Overall- 10. Spice and Wolf is honestly a great series that defied all my low expectations. It's not for everyone because of it's slow storytelling style and dialogue heavy scenes, but the characters are great and the plot is solid. Open your mind a bit and you have the possibility to really enjoy Spice and Wolf along with the world that comes with it.

story- The basis of Take On Me is Rikka and Yuuta "eloping" (not like that idea has ever been used before *cough* Toradora *cough*). And like season two, the idea of Rikka changing into a more stable person was almost carried out. In the end however, there was no change in their relationship (new memories made is not progression) and there was no change to Rikka's character. The amount of money and freedom these 17/18 year old kids had was unrealistic at best making the story seem all the more absurd.

Art- It's great. A lot of effort and time was put into the art ... of chuunibyou. If the story and characters were as good as the art, Take On Me would truly be a masterpiece.

Sound- It's an ost. Nothing that will blow your mind, but does fit quite well with the story.

Character- As stated before there was no development. What's worse is that it was dangled before your eyes only to be snatched away for no reason. Sure, the show is about chuunibyou, but that means that getting over chuunibyou should be a part of the story and characters as well. Rikka and everyone close to her (namely Yuuta) will have a hard time throughout their life if she stays the way she is.

Enjoyment- Honestly I had a great time laughing at my screen because of the absolutely horrible writing of this movie. Like seriously, who thought this was a good idea? Who made the script and thought it would actually produce anything remotely good. But just because I think It's hilarious that this turned out so bad, it doesn't change the fact that it was unenjoyable, had no progression, and was utterly unoriginal and unmemorable.

tl;dr/ overall- 3. Take On Me feigned character progression, has numerous plot holes, and is uneventful. The only good things going for it are the art and sound quality. I wouldn't personally recommend this as there are countless better made romantic movies.

Note: Sorry this is a bit harsh.

Note- This is a harsh review but it's not to rile people up.

Story- As far as I'm concerned there was no real story. They added another chuunie that liked the main character in order to make a love triangle of chuunibyo. Completely unoriginal plot, cheap tear factors, Obvious "twists", no character progression, etc.

Art- Great art like season 1. Obvious that a lot of effort was put into it

Sound- Okay

Character- I've seen reviews saying that there was character progression this season. Nope. First, Rikka (main character) still hasn't found a balance between chuunibyo and real life, or gotten over it all together. Also, the two ... main characters relationship had virtually no progression. I spent around 5 hours watching the second season to amount to, "WoW wE hoLD haNDs NOw!!" They didn't resolve any troubles they had, and the other love interest didn't get resolved either. Again, they used cheap tactics to try and spark emotion in the viewers. It's a shame. I believe that Chuunibyou deserved a second season, because the first one was great. But season 2 completely ruined it.

Enjoyment- I found myself constantly getting angry at the screen. Oh there's another time Rikka got depressed because Yukka talked to literally any other girl. Oh wow, they almost kissed but were interrupted again. Yes of course the new character was needed, she added like 30 seconds of backstory to Yutta. Chu2ren is completely cliche and has no depth. Probably best suited for 12 year old girls.

tl;dr/ Overall- 4. My lowest score for a show yet. Completely cliche, has no character development, boring, etc. On the bright side it has nice animation and an okay ost.

Story- Chuunibyo has a surprisingly solid story. It's not for everyone, but taking the time to watch is worth it. At it's core, Chuunibyo a story about how hard it is to grow up. And I feel that it did a nice job integrating the characters and the other aspects of the show with this idea.

Art- Very good use of colors. No new art style, but you can tell that a lot of effort was put into the animation and art of chuunibyo.

Sound- Fitting sound track and opening. Blends with scenes well enough.

Character- Again, there was a surprising amount of character progression. ... All the characters got a fair amount of screen time and backstory. And the two main characters (Rikka, Yutta) had developments as people, and progression in their relationship. I thoroughly enjoyed watching how the characters interactions would play out. Definitely one of the strong points of the show.

Enjoyment- For the most part I thoroughly enjoyed Chuunibyo. It was able to fit quite a lot into one season and left me feeling satisfied.

tl;dr/overall- 8. Great characters, a nice story, memorable opening and good ost. Above average art, etc. Chuunibyo manages to spice up the Slice of life/romcom genre for much viewer enjoyment.

Story- The idea behind Boku Dake ga Inai Machi (erased) is one that really connected with me. The idea of time travel has been messed around with time and time again, but Erased manged to make it interesting and new. I personally don't enjoy the end but it's not really for any valid reason.

Art- Not anything especially unique, but does have a nice opening and a unique-ish eye type.

Sound- Re:Re is a very fitting opening for Erased. The rest of the OST fits in nicely too. The music flows seamlessly from scene to scene so that it just blends into the show.

Character- I wish that ... some of the supporting characters had more depth to them, but that being said, most got a fair bit of story. The main characters were all interesting and well thought through as well.

Enjoyment- Once I started watching I couldn't stop. Erased is a story that always keeps you wondering what will happen next. Very enjoyable for the most part.

tl;dr/overall- 9. There's really not much I could find to dislike about Erased. It has a solid plot, good characters, a nice soundtrack, etc.

Note: People have complained about how the time travel isn't explained, but I feel that it's better unexplained. It isn't necessary for the story and leaves it up to the viewer for interpretation.

tl;dr/ Overall- 9 Angel Beats is a classic with many strong points such as interesting character personalities, a great ost, and a well thought out story. However, the biggest downside is the rushing of plot and character backstories due to few episodes.

Story- I feel that Angel Beats had a very good story, and was carried out well for the most part. Seeing as how the show only got 13 episodes the plot was definitely rushed, but it was carried out very well for what they had to work with. Though something that was not done well was the mood shifts. When Angel Beats ... tries to change from a bittersweet/sad moment to a comedic moment it usually is done in places that could/should of been left as is.

Art- For being a fairly old show, the animation isn't that bad. The fight scenes were all pretty boring to watch and should of had more work put into.

Sound- I doubt many people forget the Angel Beats soundtrack after they hear it. The music is very fitting for the show and the scenes at hand, almost always flowed smoothly between parts, and sounded great.

Character- The characters were hit the hardest by the lack of episodes. The characters backstories are the biggest part of Angel Beats plot. But only 5 got episodes done on them out of a group of around 20. It felt like everyone but the main characters were just there for the sake of being there. Besides the lack of some character stories, the characters the show did do episodes on felt very fulfilling. Each character, main or not, had a unique and interesting personality.

Enjoyment- I had a lot of fun watching Angel Beats. I was unsure during the first few episodes, but once I got into it I couldn't stop watching. There are elements of most genres so it might make a good starter anime. Even with all it's flaws, Angel Beats is a must watch.

Sidenote for people who watched the show- (semi-spoiler) I thought the inclusion of the shadow demons was stupid. It had the purpose of forcing the Battlefront members to choose whether to leave or not and I get that, but there could of been so many other ways to do that.

Story- I thought that Aishen Qiaokeli-ing had a interesting story idea. It at least tried to be unique from other harems. Personally I thought that it was still a bit bland, but it wasn't as bad as others.

Art- I liked the character designs and how colorful the show was. But it lacked in a unique style and any mob personalization. Good overall.

sound- It was interesting to hear Chinese in anime as opposed to Japanese, but the use of music and voice actors were all really mediocre.

Character- pretty interesting character idea's. It felt like it was kind of shallow, but eh. It wasn't horrible.

Enjoyment- ... This was my first Chinese anime so I took some extra enjoyment from that. But aside from that aspect, Aishen Qiaokeli-ing is just like an ordinary harem. I got bored at parts but in all I didn't feel like I wasted time watching this anime.

tl;dr/ overall- 7. Its a chinese harem. Don't expect anything great, but taking a day to watch is worth it.

Story- It's a harem. There is only so much you can do with this type of genre. I felt that the story was kind of bland and didn't really catch the viewers attention. I often found myself sighing and hoping it would get interesting again. That being said, there were points that peaked my interest and made me want more.

Art- Nothing special. I liked the color pallets of the quintuplets, but no new art style or anything.

Sound- Its sound. The characters matched their voice actors and the use of music during scenes was good.

Character- I was disappointed with the character progression. I felt like ... there was a lot of diversity between the sisters but it wasn't utilized. And the main character had virtually no progression whatsoever. I get that that's part of his character, but it was just to much nothing.

Enjoyment- Boring at times, but like most harems, you eventually get invested in the story and feel some sort of drive to finish.

tl;dr/ Overall- 7 for being interesting at parts but really average in every sector

Edit: I rewatched and thought it was marginally better than the first time I watched it. I highly recommend the manga if you even somewhat liked the anime.