Since it seems the vast majority of MAL reviewers have no understanding of the slice-of-life genre, I figured I'd throw in my two cents.
The standard definition of slice-of-life is the depiction of mundane events in entertainment media. The layman's definition is "an anime in which nothing really happens and it's just kind of relaxing to watch." There's no drama, no tension, and no overarching plot to speak of.
Kawaii dake ja Nai Shikimori-san is a cute series with characters who are refreshing in how kind and honest they are. Shikimori and Izumi are dating at the start of the series, which differentiates it from most anime
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Oct 3, 2016 Recommended Spoiler
<<WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS!!>>
Re:Zero -The Aesthetic Appeal- 2016 has seen a good number of entertaining anime. Shows like ReLIFE, Food Wars The Second Plate, Kiznaiver, Planetarian, Erased, My Hero Academia, Hey! My Name is Sakumoto, And You Thought There is Never a Girl Online, Flying Witch, High School Fleet, Heavy Object, and a number of other anime that I'm not going to name right now. The point is, a lot of really entertaining anime have come out this year. Among those anime is Re:Zero Starting Life in Another World. Re:Zero is an anime that exploded in popularity almost overnight, and I'm not saying this just ... because it's my favorite anime of 2016. I remember when I finished watching the first episode, which had been split into two parts, and then going onto facebook the next day and finding a facebook page already created. That in itself wouldn't have been shocking. However, this page already had over 30,000 likes. Since then, that page has expanded and now has around 160,000 likes. There are also two more pages that I follow, one of which has 155,000 likes and the other with around 60,000. If that wasn't enough, then there's also the fact that this anime has received more votes on Crunchyroll per episode within the first few days than any other series. This anime has been so hyped that I'm pretty sure it's already beaten numerous other popular series in terms of how many fans it's gained within a short time frame. The first aspect of the series that I want to talk about is the aesthetic appeal. Re:Zero is an anime that boasts some beautiful artwork and what I like to call animated cinematography. Throughout the series we're given numerous large, sweeping shots of cityscapes, landscapes, and various gorgeous locations all rendered in breathtaking detail. I was particularly impressed with the sunset shots, which seemed to be a favorite of this anime. There are many of them. What I enjoyed about these shots wasn't just how pretty they were, but how they showed us the size of this world. The world of Re:Zero is massive. I remember watching the first episode when Subaru is first sent to this Lugnica. We're given a kind of close up of Natsuki Subaru, and then it pulls back before shifting into a wide view of the capital city of Lugnica. Just looking at how wide and sprawling that cityscape is as it mixes with the viridian of the forest, and then you have that interesting view of the castle in the far distance was incredible. It was scenes like this that made me really think about how utterly massive this world must be. Another visual appeal of the series was how diverse Lugnica's people are. Throughout the series we're given more than just humans. There's lizardmen, dog people, cat people, and they're not just humans with cat ears. A fare few of them look legitimately like anthropomorphic animals. I even remember seeing one person who looked like an otter in priest robes and an alligator. Even the characters that you only see passing Subaru throughout various scenes gives the series a sense of their being a lot more to this world than the small story about Subaru and his misadventures. And speaking of Subaru, can I just say that I really like his character design. First, he's got these sort of narrowed eyes and slicked back hair, which are generally associated with thugs in Japan. It actually doesn't necessarily fit the “otaku stereotype” and has often made me wonder if his looks might be part of the reason he became a NEET. I feel like there's a backstory behind his appearance and how people back in his world associated with them. And, of course, we can't forget the tracksuit. The tracksuit is actually an Otaku stereotype in Japan. I don't know how true it is since I've never been to Japan, but I've read on several blogs that a lot people who fall under the Otaku/NEET/Hikkikomori stereotype wear tracksuits because it's easy to change into and out of, and these types of people generally never leave their house except to buy food. This is actually the reason I like seeing Subaru in the tracksuit. Thanks to how unique this anime is among other isekai anime, seeing this stereotype taken and used in a way that disregards most of what we expect from this genre makes his outfit stand out. That being said, if we're talking about main characters, then there's no way I can forget the heroine. From the moment Emilia was introduced, I was in love with her character design. Her unique appearance practically screams main heroine in all caps. First, she's the only character with silver hair. Her eyes are purple, but the pupils are green, which is an interesting artistic touch and makes me wonder if this has something to do with her status as a half elf. Speaking of half elf, Emilia really falls into that archetype with her short, pointed ears. They immediately stood out when I first noticed them, and there's a nice bit of asymmetry going with the added white rose that's asfixed to the right side of her hair, and the butterfly hair clip that's attached to her bangs on the other side. The flower is a lot more prominent, especially because the purple ribbon offsets the white rose, which is compliments her hair. Following her face, Emilia's introduction has her wearing a white dress with purple accents and some gold thrown in for color. I don't think I need to mention this, but the outfit really flatters her. From the very first glance, the outfit is designed to make her stand out. Furthermore, this isn't the only outfit that we see her in. Because this anime is about Subaru. Emilia isn't always seen since she's usually busy learning how to become a ruler. To make up for her lack of screen time, the director has her change clothes numerous times as a way to make her stand out more. I know some people who will debate this point, but I think it does a good job of that. I can always notice Emilia the moment she's entered a scene, and my eyes tend to track her even when she's not necessarily the subject of the scene. To top it off, Emilia is almost always seen with Puck, the cute mascot character who is actually likable. Puck is one of those characters who's cuteness as been maximized. He's like that adorable kitty you want to take home with you. In some ways, I might even call him a show stealer. What makes his aesthetic even more appealing is how he can transform into a huge ass monster that's anything but cute. There are numerous other characters who've been given a design that enhances the visual appeal and makes the anime shine. Rem and Ram are two such characters. They're maids and twin sisters. Now, maids are sort of a staple in Japanese culture. Maids often appear in anime and manga because they symbolize what many Japanese consider to be appealing in women: attractive, subservient, and cute. Rem and Ram are the characters who I feel were designed to encapsulate the “moe” character archetype. Unlike most anime, which have threadbare maid designs that are meant to be more sexually appealing, and are often worn on the character with the largest amount of cleavage, the designs on Rem and Ram are a bit more modest. They strike a decent balance between being sexy and being functional. I also like how they're contrasting Red and Blue hair and eyes make them stand out from each other. I feel like there was no expense spared when producing this anime. I don't even want to think about what kind of budget this series had. Not only was the diverse world and myriad of characters gorgeous to look at from every angle, but the animation feels incredibly fluid from the first frame to the last. While I did notice a few fudge ups with some visual effects, overall, I feel like this anime had some of the best animation I've ever seen. I think this sort of fluid animation can be seen best in the fight with Elsa. The magical effects actually looked real. When Emilia and Puck were shooting ice spikes at Elsa like fireworks at a festival, they looked like actual spears of ice being hurtled towards a target, and when they struck something, they actually created a freezing effect along the ground. Incidentally, this freezing effect was used to trap Elsa's foot. My favorite part of this battle was actually when Rienhard appeared. I really loved how they made Elsa jump around and run along the walls. The way the animators blurred and stretched her body to make it look like she was moving at super human speeds was an interesting visual choice, and when we were given a first-person perspective of her crawling along the walls like a spider monkey, it was creepy as fuck. Outside of the visuals, another key factor that I feel increased the aesthetic appeal of this anime was the music and how the directors used it. I'm not going to talk about the opening and ending themes yet, since I'll probably do those in a separate video. Instead, I'm going to talk about how this anime used music during its scenes to enhance the emotions that the director wanted you to feel. This anime is filled to the brim with a number of interesting instrumental songs. Going back to the episode where Subaru fights Elsa, the episode starts off with an almost off-time tune that enhances the increases the tension between Emilia, Subaru, Rom, and Felt when they're having a stand off. As the stand off continues, more instruments join the music to thicken that feeling of the scene reaching a potentially fatal conclusion. However, the tension soon fades when Subaru spots the flower on Emilia's clothing, which was given to her by the girl they had rescued together in a previous timeline. The music fades at just the right time. A mere instant after the music dies, Subaru spots Elsa getting ready to attack Emilia. The best example of how this anime used music was during the more psychologically damaging moments. I feel like the greatest example is in episode 18. Subaru wakes up after barely surviving against the White Wale. The music that's playing is an electric piano, and the tune has a melancholy feel, which contrasts with Ram's casual demeanor. However, this only serves to enhance Subaru's emotional distress, which you can see in his face. At one point, the instruments shift to what I believe is a violin orchestra, though don't quote me on that. At this point, Subaru tells Ram that Rem is dead and wallows in his own helplessness. At that moment, Ram asks Subaru, “Who is Rem.” The abrupt ceasing of music that happens here is almost jarring, and it really gives you this feeling where you can't help but wonder what's going on. This is especially true because the music starts a few seconds after this question, but the tone is different, darker, and it accompanies Subaru's increasingly desperate voice. Natsuki Subaru -The Hero You Never Asked For- Natsuki Subaru is the titular character of RE:Zero Starting Life in Another World, and he's one of those character who's very existence has sparked much debate within the anime community. Some people love him, claiming that he's realistic, while others hate him, perhaps for that very same reason. I don't think there's any denying that Natsuki Subaru is a great character. The fact that he sparks so much debate among fans proves that. But what makes him work as a character that gets so much attention? Why does he, out of all the tracksuit wearing Otaku who've been sent to another world, receive such high praise and loathing in equal amounts? Taking a look at the very start of the series, we immediately get a feel for what kind of person Subaru is. We watch him as he lazily, slothfully, reads a manga at a convenience store. We watch as his empty eyes flicker across the page and he mumbles to himself. Taking a look at him here, in his natural element, I feel like we have a clear view of Natsuki Subaru and what kind of person he is. What stood out the most to me during this sequence was how empty he seems. It's not the same emptiness as most light novel protagonists, who are no more than blank slates that are used as self-insert characters. He feels more like a soul who simply has nothing going for him, which is the general outlook that most Japanese people have of Otakus. When Subaru is suddenly transported to another world, he instantly recognizes what happened. Rather than panic, as would be the natural response of most people, Subaru seems excited. This is shown in his cringe worthy dialogue and over the top actions. He's not freaked out in the least. In fact, he seems to think of this as his chance to shine as “the main protagonist.” I've heard a lot of debate on the subject of Subaru's reaction, or lack there of, as some people have described it. Some people feel like Subaru's reaction was unrealistic because he didn't panic enough. However, I actually think Subaru's reaction is exactly what we should expect from someone like him. While it's not shown, from his general appearance, demeanor, and attitude, it's easy to see that Subaru is the kind of person who stayed at home watching anime and playing video games all day, only going out when he needed to buy something. In many ways, Subaru is the by-product of the media that he's consumed. What's more, there are numerous isekai anime out there, which I feel lends credence to Subaru's reaction to his new predicament. He's consumed so much of this media where regular Otaku's are sent to another world that not only does he realize what's happened, but he's become disillusioned enough to believe that being sent to another world somehow makes him special, that he's become one of the chosen few, and that he was sent here for a reason, and that this reason is because he's going to be the hero of this world. What makes his actions more believable is how Otaku view themselves. Everyone wants to be special. However, I feel like Otakus take this to another level. This is why so many anime that pander to Otakus feature tropes like overpowered main characters and harems. They're designed to empower and glorify Otaku culture. What makes Subaru different is that his existence doesn't glorify Otaku culture. Everything this guy does throughout the series is cringe worthy. Near the beginning, he spouts atrocious and arrogant lines that made me want to slam my face into a wall, because a facepalm wouldn't be enough to deal with the cringiness. In some ways, in many ways, Natsuki Subaru is the exact opposite of a traditional light novel protagonist. Instead of glorifying Otaku culture, he does the opposite by showing all of the worst traits that are often associated with Otaku. It's sort of like staring into a mirror and only seeing the things about yourself that you hate the most. Despite how cringe-inducing Subaru is, he does have some outstanding qualities, such as his desire and determination to help Emilia during the first arc. Even though his lines still made me facepalm, I really admired his determination and willingness to help, even though it was obvious that he was still afraid of Elsa. The fact that, in the end, he not only succeeded but also saved Emilia's life when Elsa tried to kill her with a surprise attack, has a much greater impact because it's something that I honestly didn't think he could do, unlike most light novel protagonists who only struggle when the plot demands it. During the next arc, we see more of Subaru and his ridiculously meta dialogue and poorly veiled anime references. By this point, I actually felt like his dialogue was kind of charming. I thought his attempts at wooing Emilia, who doesn't even seem to realize that Subaru is completely crushing on her, were cute. It helps that he and Puck got along great. Puck's added cuteness does an amazing job of softening Subaru's thuggish appearance and terrible lines. I almost feel like this arc served as a method of buffing Subaru's character up while also slowly breaking him down. In the beginning, Subaru works really hard to be useful and spends a lot of time with Emilia, even convincing her to go on a date with him. Then he dies. He goes to sleep and wakes up the next morning in the bed that he first woke up in, a bed that he hadn't slept in since the beginning of the arc, and the scars on his hands, which he gained from cutting himself while learning to cook, are all gone. Subaru's emotional paradigm slowly shifts from light hearted to darker. At first he tries to do everything over again, going under the assumption that he can figure out what killed him if he retraces his steps. This doesn't actually help, though. On the fifth day, the day where he was killed last time, Subaru decides to stay up all night and ends up suffering instead of just dying in his sleep. First, he's hit by some kind of strange nausea, which we later learn was caused by a curse. Then, when he leaves his room to seek help, he is brutally attacked and murdered by someone, though he never saw who. After this, Subaru decides to confront his attacker. This is the point where Subaru breaks. When he's killed and his life resets from his previous “save point”, Subaru decides that he doesn't want to be near anyone. He withdraws into himself and doesn't bother with all of the actions he took previously. He shuts himself away, convincing Beatrice to protect him. As a result of his actions, Rem is killed in his place, which makes Subaru realize that the person who cursed him wasn't Rem or Ram. Of course, at this stage, none of that matters because Subaru already irreversibly screwed up this time line. Subaru undergoes another shift during this episode. At the end, he kills himself to reset time by willingly leaping off a cliff. I'm not sure if this is stupidity or what, but since he has his Return by Death ability, I can't argue with the results. Subaru returns back to his previous save point and decides that the first thing he needs to do is win the trust of his new companions. We then watch a desperate Subaru as he struggles to earn Rem and Ram's trust. I can practically feel his desperation during this time. The way he ramped up his cringe-y Otakuness in a vain effort to endear himself to them was so well-done. It contrasted with the “thought speaking” that we hear the longer this went on. It wasn't until Emilia, who was already pretty worried when she sees how he's acting, allows him to release all of his pent up frustration and sorrow. This is the turning point in the arc, because the next few episodes are basically Subaru overcoming all of the obstacles that were presented to him. Thanks to Emilia, he earned Rem's trust, which enables him to find out what had cursed him. Then he earns Rem's affection by saving her in the last arc of this season. All's well that ends well, right? Wrong. In most anime, this would be the point where Subaru becomes the hero that everyone wishes they could be. Instead, Subaru takes a different turn, a more realistic turn. He becomes arrogant. It's no surprise. After facing off against such hardships, overcoming such hurdles, any normal person would become drunk off their own sense of self-importance. In some ways, this arrogance is deserved. However, Subaru shows us the worst and ugliest side of humanity's arrogance during the next arc, and it's here where I feel Re:Zero differentiates itself from other anime of the isekai genre. This arc introduces a new problem to the anime. We've already learned from Roswaal that Emilia is one of several candidates who are next in line for the throne. Subaru travels with Emilia under the pretense of thanking the people who helped him when he first arrived in Lugnica and having his magic gate, which he damaged during his fight with the Mabeast, healed. We can see at the beginning how Subaru's arrogance has gotten the better of him when Julius kisses Emilia on the hand and he responds with jealousy. However, it's not until Subaru muscles his way into the meeting where all of the king candidates are that we can see how low he's fallen. This fact is further emphasized when he accepts Julius challenge and gets his ass handed to him, and now comes the clincher. After being beaten by Julius, he is confronted by Emilia. Before this, he had actually made several promises to Emilia: He would not do anything reckless and he would wait at the inn with Rem. When Emilia asks Subaru why he decided to fight Julius, his answer is that he did it all for her, because she saved him and he's repaying her. The problem here is that Emilia doesn't remember saving him. The timeline in which Emilia rescued Subaru is already gone. The only one who remembers what happened is Subaru. Frustrated, drowning in self-importance and arrogance, Subaru goes off on Emilia, claiming that he's done so much for her, that she should be more grateful, that she should be indebted to him. Emilia agrees that she owes him a lot and decides to end things here. What we see after this is Subaru going through a downward spiral of denial and despair. Each episode becomes more and more hopeless as the tragedies that he faces escalates. Halfway through this arc, Subaru's mind even breaks and he becomes a vegetable. And just when you thought Subaru could not get any lower, he surprises you by showing us just how scumy he can be. I feel like this arc is showing us how low humans can become when they're back is against the wall. All of Subaru's faults are thrown into his face by the king candidates who he tries to make help him. It isn't until episode 17, when Subaru confronts Emilia after miraculously making it to the Roswaal estate, that he realizes just how little he can do, and it's not until episode 18, when he is killed by Pack after killing Emilia, that he realizes how little everyone else expects out of him. After being killed by Pack, Subaru is forced to confront all of the things that he ignored: his weakness, his inability to do anything, the fact that no one expected anything from him, and his own self-loating. I feel like this episode represents both the lowest and highest points of Subaru's evolution here. After having failed numerous times to become the main hero that he feels his owed to him in this world, he tries to convince Rem to run away with him. What makes this point so low is because Subaru doesn't love Rem. He loves Emilia. However, he's trying to convince Rem, a girl he doesn't love, to runaway with him as a consolation prize. Rem realizes this, of course, which is why she convinces him not to run away, but I'll get to that when I talk about Rem in another video. I've mentioned this before, but in a lot of ways, Subaru is the kind of otaku/nerd that many of us don't want to be. Having watched many light novel anime in my time, I wasn't used to seeing a character like Subaru, who isn't the glorified otaku protagonist that's special from episode 1. And as much as I loved seeing Subaru when he actually succeeds when everyone expected him to fail, I loved seeing him when he realized that he was nothing even more. In some ways, I feel like Subaru is less of a protagonist and more like an non playable character from a video game who suddenly became the main protagonist. He oftentimes finds himself in over his head, but he pushes through and succeeds even while he's annoying the crap out of everyone around him with his genre-savvy awareness and self-importance. It's these massive flaws mixed in with the few good traits that shine through that make Subaru one of the best and worst characters that I've ever seen. He is, in many ways, the hero that you never asked for. Emilia -Silver-haired Half-elf Heroines- Emilia is the main heroine and love interest of Natsuki Subaru, and I don't think anyone can deny her visual appeal. From her silver hair and purple eyes, to her outstanding dress, Emilia stands out among heroines in terms of how aesthetically pleasing she is. But beneath the surface of her pretty face and pointy ears lies the real reason she's the main heroine of Re:Zero. True to her role as the main heroine, Emilia embodies many of the traits that a lot of people find appealing. She's kind to everyone she meets, she goes out of her way to help people even when doing so wouldn't benefit her, and she has a forgiving attitude that makes her extremely likable. She's also socially awkward, has trouble expressing her feelings, and is incredibly naive, which makes her really cute. I feel like her very concept was made to epitomize the traits that people consider to be “main heroine” traits. In some ways, I actually feel like Emilia is more of a main character than Subaru, despite how this anime is about Subaru. I'd like you all to imagine what this world would be like if Subaru never showed up. If no otaku from another world suddenly appeared in Lugnica, what do you think this anime would be about? Chances are it would be about Emilia. The reason is because of the lofty goals, position, and expectations that have been placed on her within the series. We learn from Roswaal in episode 5 that Emilia is one of several candidates for the throne of Lugnica. During the time when Subaru is learning how to be a good servant, we're given occasional glimpses of what Emilia is doing. The times when we see her sitting behind a desk, writing on something or reading something, are placed in here to reveal that she's learning how to become a proper ruler. If Subaru had never entered the picture, I'm positive that this story would have been about Emilia as she tries to ascend the throne. But while this is certainly a lofty goal worthy of a main character, it's not everything that makes Emilia who she is, or what makes her shine despite getting so little screen time. Throughout the series we're given tiny glimpse of her personality. Whenever she's with Subaru and he's acting goofy, Emilia shows us a socially awkward side of her that, at first glance, seems like nothing more than a cute quirk. It isn't until much later that we learn that her inability to sometimes comprehend others or take their words at face value is because of a much darker reason. One of the scenes I would like to highlight for you all is just before Subaru dies for the first time after coming to Roswaal's mansion. Subaru is telling Emilia about all the fun things he's been doing, and how he went into the village that day and had to deal with all the kids and a dog biting him. He asks Emilia if she wants to go with him, but Emilia turns her head. She states that “it's not that she doesn't want to go with him, but that she might cause trouble.” This sort of scene continues throughout this arc. It doesn't seem like much at first. However, we were previously given a hint as to why she's so reticent to travel into the village with Subaru. It's at the end of part 2 episode 1 and the beginning of episode 2. In part 1 of the first episode, Emilia tells Subaru that her name is Satella, so naturally, Subaru calls her that when he catches up to her at the end of part 2. However, the time line from before has vanished, and so Emilia never gave him that name. He's shocked when she gets angry, but then she tells him not to call her by the name of the “jealous witch”. We learn later on that the “witch” is referring to a woman named Satella, who is one of the most feared and hated people in Lugnica's history. In episode 4, when Emilia confronts Subaru, Felt, and Rom, Felt is startled when she learns that Emilia is a half-elf. Her words in that episode point to another fact: Emilia looks exactly like Satella. If there's one thing that's popular among shounen anime, it's that we love to see our heroes as the “underdog”. There's nothing greater than watching someone who is supposed to be weaker suddenly triumph. There's a reason anime like Naruto, and more recently, My Hero Academy, are so popular. Oddly enough, Emilia embodies this shounen trait more than Subaru does. For her entire life, she's had to live with the hatred that comes from being not only a half elf, but someone who resembles the most hated person in history. When looking at her during the meeting where they introduce the king candidates, we can see that she's the underdog. No one wants her to win. In fact, I'm pretty sure that many of these people would be happier if she dropped dead. This is what makes her such an appealing main heroine. While Emilia is never given a whole lot of screen time, the bit of screen time that she's given is irreplaceable and does an excellent job of slowly revealing more about her and the hardships she has to face. I think it's because she's had to constantly deal with the hatred of others that she comes to appreciate Subaru, and it is also what ultimately helped drive a wedge between them. During the last scene of episode 13, when Subaru tries to justify how he broke his promise to her, Emilia tells him that she thought he was going to be different, that he would treat her the same way he treats everyone else. I could almost feel Emilia's heart shattering with those words. When someone has been scorned their whole life, the only thing they want is to be treated the same as everyone else, especially if the circumstances for that scorn are beyond their control. However, it's this moment that reveals something else about Emilia's character. Throughout this entire moment, I feel like everything Emilia did was for Subaru's sake instead of her own. Subaru kept pushing himself because of her, kept getting injured because of her. In the end, she decided that it would be better if she cut ties with him. If they were no longer associated with each other, then maybe Subaru would stop hurting himself for her sake. Of course, it's not as if Emilia is perfect. I'm sure that a part of her reason for pushing Subaru away was for her own sake. It's not easy seeing someone push themselves so hard for you when you can't understand why. At the same time, I feel like Emilia's kindness is almost at the level of a martyr, which partly caused by the fact that Emilia doesn't believe she deserves to be happy. These two facts, the fact that Emilia is more concerned about Subaru than herself, and the fact that she doesn't believe she deserves happiness, are expanded upon later on. When Subaru returns to the Roswaal estate and tries to convince Emilia to leave with him, she doesn't understand and therefore won't go with him. Subaru then goes off on a rant. When he finishes, rather than getting upset, Emilia asks “Why are you crying, as if you're in such pain?” This tells me that she realizes Subaru is suffering, even if she doesn't understand why. Rather than just assuming that he was yelling at her, she recognizes that the person he was yelling at was, in reality, himself. That he was telling himself that nothing he did would make a difference. What makes this moment so impactful is how, even though Emilia is stressed from being a kind candidate, she still shows concern for Subaru. One of the few things I didn't like about this series was how little screen time Emilia received. I would've liked to see more of what she was doing while Subaru was being traumatized and suffering. That said, the few glimpses we're given are enough for me to confirm that she's also been suffering in her own way. During the time where Subaru is gone, Emilia spends her days alone in the mansion or trying to convince the villagers that it's not safe and they should come up to her mansion where they will be protected. The villages scorn and refusal to listen, combined with the fact that Subaru is no longer there to keep her company, leaves Emilia depressed. For those of you who've watched the closing theme song of the second half, you'll see what I'm talking about. During the closing theme, we're shown a cartoonish version of what Emilia's life was like after cutting ties with Subaru. Later on, we're also given flashbacks that show the villagers turning her away when she tries to rescue them. Of course, there is also the fact that everytime Subaru came to the mansion during episodes 14, 15, and 16, Emilia has been killed by a cult that wants her dead. Even if we didn't see her death, it's easy to realize that she likely suffered a great deal before dying. The final point I'd like to make in this segment is how Emilia is a badass. We don't see this very often because she only fights twice, once against Elsa and once more when the Witch's Cult attacks, but she's actually pretty freaking strong. Sure, she's got Pack on her side, but Puck actually didn't do much outside of the beginning fights with Elsa, and he only gave Emilia a little bit of aid when she fought against one of Betelguease's fingers. Whether you like Emilia or not, I don't think there are many people who will deny that she has all the makings of a main character. Rem -The Maid Every Man Wants- One of the greatest surprises in Re:Zero, for me at least, was the sudden popularity with Rem. Granted, it's not hard to understand why she became so popular, but when she was first introduced, Rem didn't have much of a presence. In fact, Ram had a lot more screen time than Rem did. It wasn't even until episode 7, where we learn that Rem was the mysterious person who killed Subaru in a previous episode, that she really rises to prominence. To see why Rem is so popular, I believe the first thing we need to look at is just what Rem is. She's a maid. This might not seem like a good reason, but maids have become an exceedingly popular aspect of otaku culture, not just in Japan, but in the US as well. Maid cafes started to really explode in Japan during the early 2000s, and since then, the appeal of maids has gotten to the point where there are now several maid cafes in the United States. What makes maids such a huge hit among fans depends on who it is. For women, I believe it's the cute outfit. Let's face it, the frills and fluff on a maid uniform is pretty darn adorable. There's a reason maid's symbolize Japan's love for moe. For the man, it's because maid's represent the ideal woman. They're supportive, they're loyal, and they're subservient. A maid basically lives for her master or mistress, and after Subaru saves her life in episode 11, Rem becomes what many men consider to be the ideal maid. Another thing that must be considered is how much we learned about Rem during the last half of the second arc. Rem has a tragic backstory that appeals to people. It pulls at their heart strings and makes you want to root for her. I think the fact that she was originally seen as the lesser of the two sisters made her feel a bit more flawed. She wasn't this perfect maid right from the start, she didn't have this impeccable talent. She cultivated it after her village was burned down and her sister lost her horn. In some ways, Rem becoming such a perfect maid was done in repentance for what happened to her sister. She believes it's her fault that Ram lost her horn and therefore her powers. To make up for this, she has strive to become as perfect as possible. I don't know if I could call this a form of self-punishment, but I can say that she's definitely beating herself up over this. Of course, this actually brings up another point of appeal for Rem. She's a demon, and what's better than a cute demon maid who kicks ass? Rem not only has the maid appeal that everyone loves for one reason or another, but she's also really strong. Just watching as she demolished those mabeasts during episodes 10 and 11 was incredible. Seriously. What's not to like about a maid who can toss around a spiked ball and chain like it was a chew toy? Beyond her general appeal, I feel what really made her so loved was how much screen time she got. Going through the anime after Subaru rescues her, it's easy to see that Rem is in almost every scene that Subaru is in. You always see her. Even when she's not the focal point of that particular scene, she's there in the background, as though her role was the silently support Subaru. This point about her supporting Subaru is also made clear during the many scenes in which Rem expresses her belief that Subaru is special. During the time when Subaru's mind had broken after seeing the villagers near the Roswaal manner slaughtered, Crusch asked Rem why she would give her life for a man like Subaru, and Rem's answer was “Because he is special.” And that's probably the greatest appeal to Rem. At a time where Subaru was sinking into despair, Rem was the one holding him up. People like it when they have others support them. It's a part of human nature. Therefore, it's only natural that people would flock to Rem, who's willing to support Subaru regardless of the personal cost to herself. Her devotion towards Subaru is second to none. She literally gives her life for him several times throughout this series. The most stunning example of Rem's devotion is shown during the same seen that probably caused a number of viewers to drop the series. It's during the time when Subaru tries to convince Rem to run away with him. Rem looks really happy that he would ask her this, but at the same time, she at the same time, I feel like she knows that Subaru wouldn't be happy because he's abandoning what made him seem so strong to her in the first place. Ultimately, it was her support that made him choose to stick around. Of course, it was Subaru's statement about loving Emilia that had many US Rem fans up in arms, but I'm not going to get into that. It shouldn't come as a surprise. Rem's devotion has made her number 1 in the hearts of many—even if she still isn't number 1 in Subaru's heart.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Sep 20, 2016
Heavy Object
(Anime)
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In a world where the various nations have been fractured by war, a new power comes into play, one that has changed the very face of war. Objects. Mechanized monstrosities that look a lot like a Death Star with a shit ton of guns attached to their hull. These Objects have become synonymous with war, changing the rules of engagement, turning what had once been a serious and deadly affair into something more closely resembling a board game. This is one of the most serious, thrilling, and brutal anime ever.
I'm being serious here. I'm serious, damn it! Joking aside, this series does have some intense moments. It's ... basically a modern action series that centers around Qwenthar and Havia, a student who's studying to become an Object engineer in order to get rich and a blue blood noble who's trying to succeed as the head of his family. Much of the story revolves around them fighting Objects, defeating Objects, and making crass jokes about porn and boobs. One of the aspects that I really enjoyed about this series was the concept of Objects. As I mentioned before, Objects are basically massive constructs that take the basic mecha idea and turn it on its head. These are nothing like Gundams. Objects are basically large spherical weapons of war. With heavy armaments, armor that can withstand even a nuclear explosion, and the ability to devastate everything in their sight, it is said that only another object can defeat an object - well, at least until Qwenthar and Havia come along. The anime follows a series of arcs, with each arc being dedicated to Qwenthar and Havia fighting against a variety of Objects. Each Object that they fight is different from the last, with different weapons, a different configuration, different strengths, and different weaknesses. Not only does the anime showcase how each Object is unique, but it also does a good job of maintaining a certain level of suspense by having Qwenthar try to figure out how to defeat each Object. While you pretty much know that he's going to win in the end, you still have to wonder about how he's going to do it. In this regard, the anime does an excellent job. One area where I feel the anime doesn't do as good a job is in the relationships between some of the characters. While I dig the bromance between Qwenthar and Havia, I felt like the relationship between Qwenthar and Milinda was stagnant. Milinda is the Objects pilot. Dubbed Princess, her role in the anime is as the stoic yet badass female pilot of the Object known as the Baby Magnum. However, you don't see much of her. Sadly, it seems her role is basically to battle other objects and then be a fan service girl for the rest of the time. One thing I hated about their relationship is how oblivious Qwenthar is. I get that the oblivious trope is a big thing, but there's only so much dense main character that I can take. Everyone except for Qwenthar is aware of her feelings, but lord curse us if the main character ever gets a brain and realizes it as well. Now, Frolaytia Capistrano is one of the characters who I feel was actually done well. She's a badass commander who doesn't take other people's shit and has a sadistic side. I think what makes her such an appealing character is that she's confident. She doesn't hesitate to make decisions that she feels are for the best, and she's also not afraid of using her looks to get her way. While there are a number of times where she's shown in a sexual light, I think it fits her character as the badass but sexy commander. I also like how, rather than simply putting up with Havia's blatant sex jokes, she fires them back. She can shoot the shit with the best of them, isn't afraid of getting down and dirty, and knows how to use assets to get her way, both on and off the battlefield.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Sep 17, 2016
Kamisama Hajimemashita
(Anime)
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So, recently, I've been getting into some older anime—and when I say older, I don't mean 90s anime. I just mean they're anime I missed a few years ago.
Kamisama Kiss is the story of Nanami Momozono, who, in the English dub is voiced by my favorite VA, Tia Ballard. Nanami's father has just run away from his massive gambling debt, and Nanami has been evicted from their apartment. Alone and without a home, Nanami seems like she's about to give up, but then she finds a man who's stuck in a tree after having been chased there by a dog. Nanami rescues the man, and the ... man, after hearing her story, tells her that she can stay at his place and kisses her on the forehead. Little did Nanami know at the time that the place where that man lived was actually a shrine. She also didn't know that him kissing her forehead wasn't just some fatherly-ish act. We soon learn that Nanami has become a land god. The man who kissed her forehead is named Mikage, and he was the previous land god who lived at this shrine. It's during Nanami's first trip to the shrine that we meet the love interest. Tomoe is a fox yokai who served as Mikage's familiar. He's none too pleased when, instead of Mikage showing up, it's Nanami. When he learns that she is the new land god, he becomes furious, stating that no weak and frail human girl could ever become a land god. He then leaves, claiming he's done being Mikage's pet. Something that struck me about this anime was that it's very shojo. The beginning part of this series reminds me of how most shojo anime go. You've got the girl who is down on her luck in some manner, and then you have the standoffish male love interest who treats her like crap. This is a typical plotline within the shojo genre. Fortunately, this story deviates very quickly from what I consider to be standard shojo plots. After Nanami has a run in with a hag yokai, she manages to bind Tomoe as her familiar. Tomoe then undergoes a near miraculous transformation. He cooks, he cleans, he even helps teach Nanami about what her duties are going to be as a land god. Of course, he still has moments where he makes fun of her, but it doesn't have the same harshness that other shojo anime have. One of the aspects about this anime that I enjoyed the most was its humor. Now, I enjoy laughing. I'd rather be laughing than crying any day. However, few anime manage to truly make me laugh. I might smile on occasion, but only the seriously funny anime can make me bust a gut. Kamisama Kiss is not an anime that makes me laugh. However, the humor it has does bring a smile to my face. I enjoyed watching the comedic dynamic between Tomoe and Nanami. It's always funny when Tomoe does something kind for Nanami, which makes her think he must really care for her—until she notices the evil eyes he's giving her. The constant jokes are also what I think served to elevate this series above other shojo anime with similar plots. While Nanami has become a land god and must do her best to learn her duties, she is also a teenage girl, and, being a teenage girl, that means she also must go to school. One thing that's interesting about Nanami is how her peers see her. It seems as if everyone knows about her dead beat dad and that she's poor as dirt. During her first day back at school after becoming a land god, Nanami meets Kurama... no, I don't mean that Kurama. I mean this Kurama. Kurama is a popular idol that all the teenage girls adore—sort of like a less disgusting, chuunibyo version of Justin Beiber. He has large, black wings on his back, which he claims are there because he's a fallen angel. In truth, he's actually a crow tengu—a legendary creature that takes the firm of a bird of prey. In the Shinto religion, they are thought to be either a god or a yokai. He first treats Nanami like crap. Naturally, because all pop idols are douchebags. However, after learning that she's the land god, Kurama tries to get back on her good side so he can eat her powers and become the next land god. We're probably lucky he was thwarted by Tomoe. I mean, if our main heroine had died, we wouldn't have much of an anime, would we? Later in the series, Kurama ends up falling for Nanami, for the same reason most females end up falling for a harem protagonist. I'd like to say that Kurama helped form a strange love triangle between him, Nanami, and Tomoe, but the truth is that several more men fall for Nanami. I suppose you could say there's a small case of reverse harem in the series. Saying that, the only person who Nanami has eyes for is Tomoe. I really do pity all the other guys in this series. Well, not really, but you know. I have to say, this anime had both good and bad qualities to it. I enjoyed how it differentiates itself from the shojo genre, and I enjoyed the stylized art. The art has the same feel as anime like Fruits Basket and Kimi ni Todoke. At the same time, the animation was pretty standard. There was nothing really special about it, and I feel like they cut a lot of corners of the animation during its production. Perhaps my biggest issue is how the series itself is incomplete. The manga series that Kamisama Kiss is based on has been completed, but the anime seems to have ended without finishing. This gives the series an incomplete feel that leaves me wanting. As fun as the anime was, the ending itself was unsatisfying. I still believe this anime is worth watching, even if you aren't the shojo genre. Its got a decent amount of humor, the romance is sweet, and while I can't relate to Tomoe because I sometimes feel like he's too perfect, Nanami is a very relatable character.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Sep 17, 2016
Akatsuki no Yona
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Yona of the Dawn is one of those anime that can appeal to both male and female anime fans. While there are a lot of those, most shojo anime don't often appeal to the male demographic because, well, a lot of them are like chick-lit—an abbreviation of literature who's demographic is, well, chicks.
The story starts off with Yona, a spoiled princess who's used to getting her way and doesn't like her fiery red hair. I have to be honest, I didn't really like her character at the start of the anime, but I can't deny that they did a really good job creating her. Yona ... acts exactly as I would imagine a spoiled princess would. She's carefree and worries about the most trivial of matters. She's stubborn and likes to have her way. At the same time, Yona isn't a bad person. Yona has two friends at the start of this series. Soo-Wan and Hak. Soo-Wan is Yona's cousin, and the person she's in love with, while Hak is her bodyguard and a general in the Kou Empire's army known as the Lightning Beast. During the first episode, Soo-Wan kills Yona's father, and he almost kills Yona. It's only thanks to Soo-Wan's help that she manages to escape with her life and flee the castle. What sets this anime apart from other shojo series is first and foremost, the story itself. Typical shojo anime generally involve three things: a high school setting, a lot of teenage drama, and a romantic pairing. While Yona of the Dawn does have it's fair share of drama, it's not the kind you'd find high schoolers dealing with. This is like a political drama with moments of intense action and humor to relieve the tension. Also, while there IS romance, it's not the kind of high school romance that's so typical of a series like this. Out of all the characters in the series, my favorite is definitely Hak. He's just one of those characters that you can't help but want to get behind. He's strong, has a sharp tongue, and a strong sense of duty. I was really impressed with his loyalty to Yona. Despite how often he pokes fun of her, you can see how much he cares about her as well. The dialogue between Yona and Hak is also something I enjoyed a lot. Dialogue is always a tricky issue. In a lot of anime and TV shows, the dialogue tends to sound forced, as if they were reading lines from a script—which they are, but when someone sounds like they're forcing out words, you can really tell. The dialogue in Yona of the Dawn is smooth and flows easily. It doesn't sound forced, especially when it comes to the conversations Hak and Yona have. Having a childhood friend myself, I can tell you that the good-natured teasing is something that we do. Saying that, my childhood friend isn't a girl, so all of the heavy romantic undertones that can be found during certain scenes feels a bit off to me, but I can accept it because of their close relationship. What really surprised me about this anime, outside of my much I enjoyed it, was the animation. While shojo anime aren't poorly animated, I feel like many of them are lacking when it comes to fluid animations. This is generally because the highest focus isn't on the animation but on the romance. Yona of the Dawn is one of the better animated series I've seen. I was especially impressed by the fight scenes, which I felt were incredibly well choreographed. However, where this anime really shines isn't the animation, the artwork, or even the story. It's the development of Yona as a person. At the beginning of this series, Yona is your stereotypical spoiled princess. Through the course of the series, she goes through a series of hardships, starting with the murder of her father and the betrayel of her beloved Soo-Wan. By the end of the series, Yona is almost unrecognizable from the spoiled girl that she had been at the beginning. Her metamorphosis from weak little girl to strong female protagonist is one of the most well-done examples of character development I've seen. Something to take note of in this anime is that all of the characters are fairly likable. There was no one that I truly hated. Even the antagonist of the series, Soo-Wan, is someone who I can't find myself outright disliking despite what he did at the beginning. If there was one issue I'd take with this series, it's that it's incomplete. There are more loose ends than Yona has split ends, and the main issue, the plot that this entire anime revolves around, was never resolved. Now, I understand that the manga is currently an ongoing series. Even so, I hate it when I watch something that doesn't have a conclusive ending because it always leaves me unsatisfied. Since this was one of the anime that I really enjoyed watching, seeing such a unresolved ending was particularly hard. That's all for today's review. Remember to give this video a thumbs up if you enjoyed it. If this is your first time watching me, then please be sure to subscribe to my channel. And finally, if you have any thoughts, opinions, or advice that you would like to share, feel free to leave it in the comments section below. I hope you enjoyed this video, and I'll see you all next time!
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Sep 17, 2016 Recommended
I think 2016 has been a great year for anime. We've had a number of excellent series come out, including the second season for Shokgeku no Soma and a new season of D. Gray-Man. However, while we've had a lot of good anime, there were still a lot of bad anime. Fortunately for everyone involved, New Game is one of those anime that is actually highly entertaining despite not sounding all that exciting.
So, the premise for this anime is pretty basic. You've got Aoba Suzukaze, who, immediately after graduating from high school gets a job with a video game company. Now, I'm not gonna go ... into how unrealistic this is, nor am I going to harp on about how someone who doesn't know how to model would never get a job in character modeling. While this is unrealistic, I don't think it necessarily matters, and to me, it doesn't take anything away from the series. Like most slice of life anime, this show doesn't have any real plot. It's basically giving us the daily life of Aoba as she works at creating a video game with her fellow game developers. For the main cast outside of Aoba, you've got Hifumi Takimoto, Yagami Kou, Ijima Yun, Shinoda Hajime, and Tooyama Rin. Perhaps not surprisingly, all of these characters are girls, and all of them are exceedingly cute. Each member of the cast seems to represent a different life-style. Hifumi is an excellent character modeler, but she's very shy around people and doesn't like to talk much, though she's apparently super friendly when texting. Ijima is sort of like the loli of the group. Not only is she short and young-looking, but she wears classic lolita clothes and has a tea set that she sometimes breaks out during work hours. Shinoda is the enthusiastic and always moving animator. She strikes me as highly athletic, and Tooyama Rin is the hard working and respectable art director. All of them have a personality that vastly differs from the other, which sometimes leads to comedic missunderstandings. My favorite character of the series, however, has to be Yagami Kou—and no, it's not just because she likes to wear nothing but a pair of panties while she's sleeping. Yagami is probably the most interesting of the group outside of Aoba, and I would say she's even more interesting than our main character. She's always staying late at the office to get her work done, which makes her seem very dedicated to her profession. She lives, eats, and breaths character design. However, for as hard working as she is, she has some really odd quirks and seems super lazy about things like her appearance. Of course, the biggest of those quirks is that when she sleeps at the office, she doesn't like to wear pants. Like I was saying before, a lot of the anime is based on these characters interacting with each other and causing some comedic misunderstandings. A great example of this was in episode 5, where Rin and Yagami were working late. The topic of their conversation somehow ended up on how Yagami always sleeps in her underwear. Yagami said that it's a lot more comfortable and that Rin should try it. Rin refuses. However, after Yagami falls asleep, Rin wakes up and decides to see what it's like. Naturally, Yagami wakes up to find Rin without pants on and teases the hell out of her. This sort of interaction is what makes this anime so worth watching. Yes, there isn't much of a story, but not every anime needs to have a story to be enjoyed. It's the little things, the small details, and the every day interactions, that make it such a fun show to watch. Something else that I want to discuss is the artwork. Now, I don't usually talk about the art because I honestly don't care very often. Artwork in anime has become pretty generic these days thanks to studios like A-1 pictures, who you'll probably know as the people that produced such anime as Sword Art Online and Asterisk Wars. The artwork for New Game is incredibly cute. The colors for the characters are all very bright and vibrant, and their eyes are large and have a reflective quality that makes them seem more expressive than most anime characters. This also gives them an innocent appearance, which is used to further highlight the nature of this anime. The nice use of vibrant colors for the characters and plainer colors for the background serves to emphasize what this anime is about and makes the characters pop out more. There are also times where the world around our characters will disappear to be replaced by sparkles and various colorful backgrounds. This enhances the cuteness to “oh, my god too much fluff!” levels. While that can sometimes detract from a story, in this case, I feel like it merely highlighted what this story was about. One thing you'll notice as you continue watching this anime is that there are no male characters, and there shouldn't be. First off, this anime isn't a romance. It's just an anime about cute girls doing cute things. Second, part of the charm to this anime are the various yuri moments that happen between our characters. The perfect example of this is actually the first meeting between Aoba and Yagami. When they stand face to face for the first time, Aoba blushes, the background changes to one of vibrant rainbows, and a heart suddenly pops up between the two. There are numerous moments similar to this one, which helps set the tone and mood of the series. If there was one failing of this show, it would be episode 6, which is the episode that doesn't involve Aoba working with her colleagues. I understand that the purpose of this episode was to show what everyone's life was like outside of work. However, compared to the other episodes, where I got to enjoy watching all of the cute and funny moments between Aoba and her co-workers, this one didn't have the same level of humor. That said, it does help introduce Nene, Aoba's best friend who becomes a part-time worker as a game tester, so I guess you could say this episode was sort of like an introduction episode. All that said, the biggest question on everyone's mind—at least, I hope it's the biggest question on everyone's mind—is whether or not New Game is Worth watching. That would be up to you. I personally found this show a joy to watch. If watching an anime that's about cute girls doing cute things is something you like, then this show is definitely for you.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Aug 30, 2016
Gakusen Toshi Asterisk
(Anime)
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The Asterisk War was a bit disappointing. It's not that this anime was terrible so much as it was unmemorable. Even though I only finished watching it about a week ago, I can't remember the names of any of the characters; what they were like, what they wanted to accomplish, or why they were even in this anime to begin with. I think the biggest problem for me was that another anime had come out with almost the exact same theme - magical high school - but the other anime was better, which made my enjoyment of this anime wan.
The anime starts off stereotypically enough: ... New boy comes on campus, a napkin flies from a window, boy finds napkin and uses magic to fly up to the window, where he discovers the half-naked tsundere love interest in the process of changing. The beginning of this anime is so similar to Chivalry of a Failed Knight that I'm astonished they were made at the same time. However, where Chivalry distinguishes itself within the first episode, Asterisk pulls a cliche. Yes, the main character decides to do the Blush & Stutter (patent pending), then the half-naked tsundere decides to do the tsun act. From the moment this anime began to the moment it ended, I could predict everything that would happen with at least 75% accuracy. The only reason my accuracy wasn't 100% was because several side characters were introduced, and even then, most of the side characters were completely predictable after their introduction. What's more, all of the harem members - sorry, I mean, all of the female characters - are so static and boring that I couldn't root for any of them. There was only one character that I liked, and she wasn't introduced until the halfway point. I could pretty much pick out which trope these characters were, too. It's not like the director did anything to distinguish characters in this anime from every other anime of this genre. You've got the tsundere love interest, the kuudere loli who happens to be the harem protagonist's best friend, the himedere, and the flirty blond with hair drills. This is pretty much how I remember these characters, not by their names, but by their tropes. And while I don't normally compare anime in my reviews, I really have to. Compared to Chivalry, where I can remember the names of all the main characters, Asterisk's characters are completely flat and uninteresting. Following what starts off as a typical high school magical harem, we're given more cliche's in the form of an overpowered main character whose power has been sealed so he doesn't seem so overpowered. Supposedly, his sister sealed his power for... reasons. I don't know what those reasons are, as they are never explained in the anime, but I'm guessing they're plot reasons. His sister must have realized that having an overpowered main character would make for an uninteresting story, and so she decided to seal his powers away. What's his face main protagonist can only use his powers for five minutes before he falls unconscious, which happens to be another overpowered character cliche. Yes, I'm being serious. Every overpowered character falls unconscious at the end of every battle so they don't seem as overpowered, like having them fall unconscious afterwards makes the battle seem like it was oh-so-difficult. It's a standard cliche that's done to death in anime like this. Now, while there was a lot that disappointed me in this anime, there are some things that I did like. First, the artwork is very colorful and clean. In terms of art style, I think this is fairly top notch. The animation is also smooth. I never saw any real problems aside from the special effects used for spells. Those seemed a bit out of place, and I could tell they were CG, but I can forgive that. Also, while I think the battles in Chivalry were way better, I don't have any complaints about the fight scenes here. With how fluid the animation was, the sword fights in Asterisk were great fun to watch. It was actually the art and animation that kept me watching this. All that being said, this anime wasn't terrible. I think if it had come out before Chivalry of a Failed Knight did, I would have enjoyed it for what it was. Anyone who's into this genre will certainly enjoy watching it, and I hope that anyone who watches it finds it entertaining. Artwork: 9/10 Animation: 9.5/10 Sound: 5/10 Characters: 2/10 Story: 5/10 Personal Enjoyment: 3/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Aug 30, 2016
Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry
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Chivalry of a Failed Knight is by far one of my favorite series to have come out in recent times. This is a series that, in spite of its sorta cliche'd storyline, breaks many tropes and actually does a good job of developing characters and further telling an excellent story. While there is at least one anime this season that, storywise, could be considered better, in terms of pure personal enjoyment, this is the best.
The story itself is nothing new. It's about a young man named Ikki Kurogane, who attends a magic school where people battle using blazers, weapons formed from the soul, or something. ... The magic high school cliche has been quite popular recently, and anyone watching this anime would feel that this story is a stereotypical light novel adaptation. I've even heard snobs who call themselves anime critics claiming that this anime is "light novel trash" because its an adaptation. Of course, most of those people completely ignore the fact that most anime is adapted from something, whether it's a manga or a light novel - and they all have their cliches. The story begins when Ikki, after doing his daily morning exercise, enters his dorm room to find a half-naked girl changing. Rather than blushing and stuttering out apologies, Ikki does what any good gentleman would do to make a girl feel less uncomfortable: Take of his own clothes so they're even. This is the first of many standard cliche's that are broken in Chivalry of a Failed Knight, and is one of the reasons I love this anime. I love how the main character's not some dweeb who follows standard harem dynamics. Ikki Kurogane is the only protagonist I have ever seen who's done this, and for that reason, he instantly became one of my favorites. Following Ikki Kurogane, you've got Stella Vermillion, the princess to a small Kingdom who needs strong magical knights to protect themselves. Stella is, to put it bluntly, adorable. She starts off with a typical tsundere feel. However, the more you see of her, the less tsundere she becomes. In fact, rather than a tsundere I'd say she's a normal girl who happens to have some minor tsundere traits. And when she does show off her tsundere side, she's usually more dere than tsun, which is what makes her so adorable. Furthermore, unlike most tsunderes who deny her feelings and become unstable and violent for no reason, Stella doesn't deny anything. I like how she's able to talk about her feelings, rather than simply go, "B-baka! It's not like I want to be with you or anything!" Honestly, the standard tsundere traits get old, which makes her a more than welcome character. While the story itself is nice, one of my greatest pleasures, and the reason this ranks as my top anime for 2015, was watching the growing relationship between Stella and Ikki. You almost never see a couple in anime who officially become a couple. Most of the time, the couple will dance around each other for the entire season, and when the season ends, you're left scratching your head wondering if they're a couple or just a tsukkomi duo who have a thing for each other. Not so here. In Chivalry, Ikki and Stella are the OTP. I don't even have to ship them! These two ship themselves! This is the only anime to have satisfied my desire for a good romance between the two protagonists so completely. Everything else about this anime is pretty decent. The artwork is surprisingly nice, though not the best. I actually enjoy the artistic style and liberties taken throughout this anime. The person who made this must have been a woman, too, because their sense of fashion is impressive. I can't see a dude being so attentive to clothing. Furthermore, the animation is well-done. It's not amazing, but it's good enough that I didn't see any errors with the sequences or massive problems, like characters moving outside of their base models. The fight scenes, in particular, were quite stellar, and I enjoyed watching how the battles in this played out. This anime does have its fan service, but the fan service is very mild and doesn't come around very often. The fan service was also tasteful enough that people who don't like it could probably tolerate it. I actually thought some of the moments were cute, especially since, aside from the first moment where Ikki walks in on Stella while she's changing, almost every single fan service-y moment was instigated by Stella herself - which is just another reason I like Stella so much. Like Ikki with his, "I saw you naked, so I'll let you see me naked," attitude, Stella breaks away from traditional tsundere tropes and becomes more than what her archetype dictates. Overall, this is my favorite anime of the season, and if it ever gets a season two, you can be sure I'll watch it. Artwork: 9/10 Animation: 9.5/10 Sound: 10/10 Characters: 10/10 Story: 10/10 Personal Enjoyment: 10/10 Total: 9.810
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Aug 30, 2016 Recommended
Hello everybody! I hope you've all been having a fantastic day, because today, I'm going to talk about what is probably one of the cutest anime you'll ever see. A show about MMOs and the girls who play them. A show who's name is so long I do not feel like saying it, but will anyway. Yes, I'm going to talk to about netoge no yome wa onnanoko ja nai to omotta, or And You Thought There is Never a Girl Online? God that was a mouthful.
We begin our story with a young woman confessing her love to the man of her dreams, only to ... get shot down. Don't worry. This is all happening online. Fortunately for us, our young heroine isn't quite ready to give up. When her confession is rejected, she decides to go for broke. (Add video audio). That's right, Ladies and gentlemen, she figures that if he's going to reject her confession, then they should just get married. I really have to hand it to Project No. 9. When they first created this series, I didn't think it was going to amount to much. My thoughts were along the lines of, “oh, this is just gonna be another Sword Art Online or Log Horizon.” Don't get me wrong. I don't dislike either of those anime, but I didn't think this series was going to contain anything original. I have never been so glad to be wrong. While I wouldn't say And You Thought There is Never a Girl Online? Brings anything new to the table, I feel like there are enough original twists on used tropes that I didn't get bored with the series. In fact, I enjoyed myself far more than I thought I would. The story follows Hideki Nishimura, an open otaku who spends a lot of time playing the net game, Legendary Age. He, along with three other people, have formed a guild within the game called Alley Cats. His other companions are Schwein, a confident swordsman with a weird catchphrase; Apricot, a mage who spends a lot of money buffing his items and weapons, and also the leader of the Alley Cats; and finally, Ako, his loving in-game waifu. One day, Apricot decides that they should meet each other IRL. When Nishimura goes to the meeting place, he is shocked to discover that not only are all of the people in his guild women, but they all go to his school. Coincidence? Of course not. The plot devicing is strong in this one. Despite my joke, I really enjoyed this series. I don't think there was a single episode that I watched where I wasn't smiling. I was greatly impressed by the humor. All of their jokes were not only well timed, but they were also funny. I'm not lying when I say that the humor found in here was probably some of the best I've seen in a while. The only anime that was funnier was KonoSuba, but it would be exceedingly difficult to beat that series when it comes to RPG gamer jokes. There were two jokes that I found particularly outstanding. The first was when Ako decided to quite school due to a misunderstanding. Hideki goes to her house to talk to her, but he ends up meeting her mom first. He's then given a key to Ako's room. He goes up to Ako's room and they talk for a bit. We hear some bumping noises in the background, followed by Hideki telling Ako that he's coming in. Ako tries to stop him, but he doesn't listen, and then unlocks and opens the door. Ako is practically naked. Now, walking in on a girl while she's naked is an anime trope that's been done to death. In fact, having this trope is almost like a right of passage for generic harem anime. What made this scene funny was how they subvert the trope by putting an original twist on it. First, the door is locked. In anime, whenever the main character walks in on a girl when she's either changing or taking a shower, the door is always unlocked. I'm not sure why this is. Maybe the girl's just don't think the main character is capable of opening doors, or maybe it's just a poorly disguised plot device to show some censored boobies. Whatever the case may be, I like how the door is locked here, and the main character unlocks it and enters anyway. The second subversion of the trope is Ako's reason for being naked in the first place. She likes to feel free and uninhabited when she's in her own room. What makes this interesting is that there are actually people who are like this. In fact, when I'm at home, I generally don't wear much, and sometimes I don't wear anything. The last subversion of the trope is when Ako tells Nishimura that she's ready, and he opens the door again, only to discover that, rather than putting her clothes back on, she has taken what little she was wearing off. While this has been done before, what made me laugh was how Ako feels like it's a perfectly normal response because they're married in-game. The other joke that I liked was the pee joke, and I don't think I need an explanation as to why I found that funny. While the comedy in this anime is often hilarious, this series is not without its more touching moments. There are many instances where the characters deal with real life issues, and while some of these problems are exaggerated or overemphasized, I think a lot of people, gamers especially, can relate to the quandaries these characters face. I was particularly interested in Ako's problem. Ako is a person who has trouble separating reality from the video game. In fact, the entire premise for this anime is that Ako is so absorbed by the game world that she assumes what applies in the game also applies in real life. A good example of this is how she thinks Nishimura is her husband IRL. Not only does she think they're married in both reality and the game, but she even calls him by his in-game name of Rusian when they aren't playing, thereby informing everyone that when she looks at Nishimura, she doesn't see Nishimura but Rusian instead. Outside of Ako and her reality issues, my next favorite character is Akane Segawa. I'll admit that a part of me likes her just because her voice actress is Jad Saxton. I've loved her voice overs since she played Suzuka Dairenji from Tokyo Ravens. However, I also feel like Segawa's character is the strongest personality wise. Unlike the other members of her guild, Segawa is a hardcore gamer who wants to have a reputation in school as a normal high school girl. It's like she wants to deny the part of herself that loves net games, but she can't give them up, which is why she turns down every boy who confesses to her. Having a boyfriend would mean less time to game. Aside from Akane and Ako, the other four characters to note are Nishimura Hideki, Kyo Goshoin, and the two supporting characters Nanako and Yui. While none of these characters are bad, I felt like they didn't have as strong of a personality as either Akane and Ako. That said, I still had loads of fun watching them. Kyo, who plays Apricot in the game, is the daughter of a wealthy family. She spends crap loads of real money buffing her in-game weapons and armor. She's also the spearhead for the get together, and the one who forms the net game club so they can hang out at school. Meanwhile, Hideki is technically the main character. I say technically because he gets the most screen time, but in truth, Kyo, Ako, and Akane also play pivotal roles in the series. Aside from the cute story, the anime isn't anything especially spectacular. I do appreciate the artwork, and the animations were good enough that I certainly won't complain. That said, while the artwork was lovely, this series isn't going to win any awards for it's animation. It was just okay, and honestly, I don't think it needs to be anything other than okay. Where this anime really shines isn't with its animation and artwork, but with its characters. For people who enjoy playing video games, and especially online games, it's easy for you to feel a sense of kinship with these characters. Aside from all of them being very likable, they also make me think of myself when I went to high school. For those of you who love video games, I would highly recommend giving this series a watch. You can watch it in either subtitles or dubbed. While I usually prefer subtitles to dubbing, I honestly prefer the dubs for this anime. I believe the VAs had a really strong showing here, and the jokes made more sense to me dubbed than when I had to read subtitles.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Oct 18, 2015 Recommended
Is it just me, or do the Japanese love giving their anime over-the-top, overly long, ridiculous titles. I Couldn't Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job is the story about a young man who went to an academy where people trained to defeat the Dark Lord. Unfortunately, the Dark Lord was defeated before he even graduated and the academy went under. Destitute and in need of money, Raul Chaser reluctantly gets a job working for a magic appliance retail store. Months later, another person also begins working there - the Dark Lord's only daughter, Fino Bloodstone. Can't you just smell the
...
recipe for disaster here?
This is one of those anime that I feel is underrated. Sure, it's not the best. In fact, most of it is downright cliched. However, I think this anime understands that it's a cliche and doesn't pretend to be something else. The humor, while seen in every ecchi anime series, is well-done and over-the-top. The ecchi is, well, ecchi. There's not much that can be said there. This is an anime that has plenty of boobs for young men who want fan service to enjoy. While I'm sometimes sketchy about ecchi, this anime is of the ecchi genre, so pandering to fan service actually works here - unlike some of the other anime I have watched. The animation is okay. Honestly, I've seen better, but I've seen worse as well. This is a middle-tier anime, where the animations aren't terrible, but not amazing to the point where you're thinking, "wow! The animation is so flawless, and the frame rate is amazing!" I will admit, though, that I do like the artwork. It's sort of standard, but it's still nice. The girls, in particular, are well designed. I suppose that's only natural, since this is an ecchi anime. No one's gonna want to watch an anime about boobs and nude scenes if the female's weren't hotter than sin. Despite this being an ecchi anime where most of the plot is, um, well, PLOT, this does have a somewhat interesting story. It also makes you wonder. What happens to the people who tried to become a hero but, due to unforeseen circumstances, never got the chance? This story deals with a new, intriguing aspect to heroism and Dark Lord slaying that I haven't seen before. Raul Chaser is a man who dreamed of defeating the Dark Lord and becoming a hero, yet now he's stuck working at a retail store because none of the vaunted, Dark Lord slaying abilities he has are useful in anything but, well, Dark Lord slaying. Now he has to deal with the fact that he's essentially wasted several years of his life learning how to become a hero in a world where heroes aren't needed. To make matters more interesting, one of his co-workers happens to be the daughter of the Dark Lord that he wanted to kill, which adds a new dynamic to the story. Aside from Raul Chaser, Fino Bloodstone, and Ahri All-A, none of the characters are really touched upon. This isn't as bad as it sounds. Like I said. This is an ecchi anime. Literally. It's genre is ecchi. In an anime where the story is merely an excuse to deliver boob scenes to the audience, character development isn't that important. I was honestly surprised that these three actually received the development they had. Raul and Ahri deal with what it means to live in a world where their skills are no longer needed, and Fino is dealing with the fact that she's a demon, the daughter of the Dark Lord, living in a world that she doesn't understand. While the plot never gets very deep or complex, sticking with mostly comedy and slapstick humor, the way these aspects are pulled off is well-done.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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