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Jun 27, 2015
One of the more bizarre series I've ever watched; I'm actually surprised I finished it tbh. This is going to be a hit or miss for some people; either you are interested in how anime is made or you aren't.
I was pretty indifferent going in, but I'm actually glad i stuck it out. For starters, there isn't much of a story here, its a semi-realistic look into how anime is made from the perspective of our lead Production staff member, Aoi.
It starts by throwing you into a whirlwind of terminology and the hectic pace of office life in a rather small production company.
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After the first few episodes it became quite apparent that this really was a true slice of life; comparable to Bakuman but without many of the fun quirks and fantastical drama and elements.
Like i mentioned above, there isn't much story, but the premise centers around five female friends who vowed to work in the anime industry in highschool, fast forward a few years and most of the members have jobs and the naive dreams have somewhat faded with the reality of modern work life setting in. Shirobako does a great job of setting up a pretty dismal view of life for an anime staffer: tons of overtime, lonely studio apartment, mountains of stress, endless workloads, etc. While the overall tone is qutie cheerful, made so by our main heroine, the setting is pretty stark.
The art isn't really the most amazing, but sometimes it really blows you away when they want to show off. Sound was pretty forgettable but had alot of range and fit nicely for a slow moving slice of life with minimal setting.
The strongest part by far were the characters; this would be a horribly boring show without the quirkiness and diverse personalities that filled the series. There's plenty of character progression, regression, and internal strife to go around, if you're into that sort of thing. And not to mention the many hurdles and pitfalls that many of the characters need to overcome.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Mar 2, 2015
This manga has defeated me and i will stop reading it now. I'm not very good with depressing material, but the intensity and mood this sets is unlike anything i've ever seen or read.
The story is about two middle aged friends who live in a crime infested city filled with abnormal humans, some of which are very powerful. Not shounen type powerful, but very strong / hard to kill. The focus is on the two main characters who do odd jobs for the local mafia type gangs, from bodyguards, to delivering packages. Early they meet a prostitute doing tricks
...
on the street for her pimp and they bring her in as a secretary.
There aren't time warps or ancient dragons, its just raw ghetto style depravity all around them. It sets an incredibly bleak tone which just ramps all they way up the more your read. There's a bit of politics, a bit of action, a bit of SoL, a bit of almost everything, but there's alot of raw intensity and suspense that tries to strangle you after every page you turn. It's so suffocating, that it's masterful.
The art is bleak, with hard lines and minimal background, but it works incredibly well with the story. It flows so well that thinking back, its like i was watching an anime or movie.
The characters are very interesting and deep, with background stories that get told often but quickly and succinctly, and they're told in clever ways so that it doesn't feel forced out of nowhere. It's just like the right time for you to learn about certain things.
And that leads me to the pace, probably the best I've ever seen for what the story is. I don't see how it could be done better. It's like a perfect ramp that at chapter 34 continues to peak steadily.
And finally, if you looked at my individual scores, you'll see I rated the enjoyment at a 3. B/c i didn't enjoy this at all, i thought i was going to have a heart attack. It's so bleak, brutal and unflinching in its cruelty and realism, its extreme in its believability. There isn't much suspension of disbelief here, it catches you quickly and you believe it, which is why it has an incredible impact, a disturbing impact. Obviously some people are going to love this, but the cup is just too heavy to lift to my lips.
I strongly recommend it if you are into hardcore mafia type stories. But let me leave off with saying that, this isn't gore porn or death smut and i cringe away from it b/c its extreme in the content, i had to put it away because of the setting and mood it creates. It's just so heavy and haunting, i'm sure i'll be back, but not for quite awhile, probably until i hear it ends. And I'm sure i'll be dreading reading the conclusion.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Feb 26, 2015
What can be said that hasn't already? It was an absolutely amazing ride, it was refreshing in a way i never really expected.
I would consider the constant barrage of negative reviews to be a superb level of butthurt that i enjoy.
AgK is a story about assassins taking down the bad guys. That's all you really need to know about the story. It's gutsy, gory and amazingly fast paced. It reminded me alot of SnK, and i think they were trying to recapture the magic that story had.
Unfortunately it fell flat on its face, so there are legitimate criticisms
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to be made, although i won't be making those. I feel like people have been too heavily influenced by what actually unfolded to give those criticisms the proper weight. I also think that those criticisms don't actually affect the show as a whole, nor should they.
At first i though that AgK should have been stretched out through two seasons, i realized that the pace is what put this one over the top and allowed it soar above its shortcomings. If you look at it objectively, rarely has a story been so well executed with a strange sort of dread, shock and appeal that i can't really find anything like AgK.
The fact that the characters aren't fleshed out as many people believe they should is actually a strength imo. It's a story driven animu that doesn't back down from being what it is and stays true right up until the last episode. Seeing the intense struggle not laid out for the viewer in exposition was very odd, but very refreshing. What some may call weakness, i see as a fine opportunity to fill in the blanks yourself. The fact that you know what's coming but still don't expect it is jarring yet masterful at the same time. You want it to be one thing, but it never is, like the cold touch of reality. And because of this, I rate this show very highly.
Not just anything can pull this off the way they did. Entertaining, dreadful, endearing, funny, over the top ridiculous, silly, enlightening and clever all in the same package coming at you at 100 mph, i can't help but feel that this had, perhaps, a kind of unique magic that won't be seen for awhile.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Feb 14, 2015
Ouroboros, a snake eating its own tail. Most Ouroboros i've seen are depicted as a single snake, but perhaps in Japanese derpology there are two. And this series uses the twin Ouroboros to spin a fine yarn and it masters the use of duality throughout its pages.
This manga, like my score and review, is squarely aimed at readers who enjoy detective stories. If you don't like the catch and repeat, episodic nature of some of this, then you may as well hop of the paddy wagon. Ouroboros is a little different than many of the detective stories i've read before, it
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uses a very clever but surprisingly refreshing hook. Two main characters, essentially (although it largely revolves around the detective), one is ofc a detective, the other is yakuza. Together they seek to find clues to solve a murder of their sensei 15 years ago.
But that's not where the duality ends, the manga swings from extremely cruel and dark to lighthearted and fun. They don't censor much, nor do they pull punches on the crimes. It can get quite disturbing, but the realism is appreciated and fuels the ability to engage with the story, characters and setting.
As i mentioned earlier, the story is largely episodic but its always going in the right direction towards the main story and it does so at a slow but steady pace, which i really like. They don't give much away too early and give you just enough for it to stay relevant and fresh while keeping you engaged.
The art is very good but not amazing. It's got a nice consistency that you expect and hasn't dropped in quality yet. It's not stark and empty but also not too busy. The character designs are not typical shounen tropes, but goes for a mix of manga/realism that i dig.
The two main characters are the best part imo, both are extremely badass but not Gary Stu's. Going for the realiism angle creates limitations, and these can be seen when things don't always go according to plan. Ryuzaki, the Detective, is a goofball one minute, and ultra violent badass who won't hesitate for a second to pull the trigger and blow some scumbag's head clean off. Danno Tatsuya aka tat-chan, is the Yakuza who's far more calm cool and collected. His character is quite cold and distant, and ofc he's not afraid to pull the trigger either. You would probably expect the characters, at some level, to be better fitted to the other's occupation, but this yin yang harmony just plays out even more interestingly the way it is.
Overall, this is by far one of the most engaging manga i've read that doesn't stoop to ridiculous tropes or powerups. There fantastical elements within it, but they are scattered amongst the cold hard reality of crime and the grittiness of the underworld these characters play in. I don't think it's fair to say it does everything perfectly, but I think it excels in sheer enjoyment because it delivers what you want, when you want it. Some human scum gets caught doing some form of evil, he's getting raped by the legal system or getting put in a body bag. The correct and proper response. They aren't making friends with trash.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Feb 9, 2015
May contain minor spoilers, will leave out story spoilers.
I'd like to sum this up at the beginning, but don't want to give it away just incase you haven't seen it.
The story was actually the best part, in a sense. Needless is about people who have supernatural powers called fragments that allow them to do wild shit. The first 7 episodes of this are amazingly badass, it really sucks you in and the story just takes off quick and runs full steam ahead. I can't really elaborate on the story without giving too much away, but a group of Needless go take on
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some badasses early and it starts off chalk full of potential. the rest will be below.
Art was very good for its age, the sound was a little too 80's - 90's rage metal for me, but it wasn't totally out of place. The voice acting was actually fitting as well.
This show has a bit of a weird feel, on one hand it doesn't take itself too seriously, constantly breaking the fourth wall, but on the other gets a little deep for an action fighting anime. The comedy keeps it afloat early and had me rolling at times.
The characters start off strong, but then becomes are major weakness about half way through.
**minor spoils**
The progression is just too ridiculous. It starts off so strong you start wondering where this is going and then after 9 or so episodes it just stagnates. The characters are caricatures of caricatures. it's got the classic samurai 7 feel to it, gathering the team, all with strong and weak points. But ultimately the supporting cast were completley irrelevant. They may have well just left them out since they really just got their asses kicked at every opportunity.
when i said the story stagnates at around the midpoint, it's not hyperbole. MC and crew get trapped in a room for like 9 episodes getting their asses kicked by weak characters and progressively fight stronger characters and the formula repeats until you're sick of it. The character progression is almost non existent for anyone. It focuses heavily on the antagonists, which is something i don't really like, and no matter how villainous the antagonists, it becomes obvious there will be no serious resolution. At least they could have held that card closer to the end to dampen the dissapointment.
at the end its the antagonists giving the motivational speeches and teaming up, which literally makes no sense. the motivations of the antagonists are so flimsy that you cannot possibly reconcile it meaningfully. You would think throughout the numerous heinous acts committed they may have questioned their role, but ofc they save that shit until the end, which just left a bitter taste.
The ending turned into pure DBZ, with so many twists that i subconsciously reached for imaginary nausea pills.
To sum this up, it starts off really strong, with interesting plot, characters, and potential and ends with a trainwreck.
The actual main character is a weak boy who plays literally no role, in fact i still have no idea what his role was throughout the entire show but he garnered so much screen time I felt his value would be revealed by the end. It wasn't. He served no purpose other than to recap episodes. If you can shut your brain off and watch it for the moments of parody, there is certainly something here. But the tone is so confused that you can't call this a comedy or parody, you just have to call it a clusterfuck.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Sep 9, 2014
I checked the recommendations for One Outs after I finished it and saw this show in the list. Never heard of it before, but it definitely surprised in a positive way.
ETU is a football (soccer) club that has gone through a number of different coaches, none of which produced any good results, in fact it was one disaster after another. ETU went from a storied team at its height, to a fringe club barely keeping up in the league play with its all around defensive play.
One of the new managers decides to hunt down one of ETU's last star players in England based
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on some rumors he had heard about his coaching prowess. It turned out that the former player, Tatsumi, was indeed a force in England. After an invitation to return to his old team, the story of the ETU Giant Killing begins.
From the title, you should be able to tell this is an underdog story of a small club on the verge of total collapse being hoisted up to its former glory. Although, it isn't nearly as dramatic a turn as One Outs, the team is slowly brought together throughout the 26 episodes to places that seemed hard to fathom early on.
Tatsumi, the new head coach, is a bit of an eccentric, perhaps even a genius. But no one really knows what he's thinking, and it doesn't necessarily become obvious. The charm of the show is in seeing how the Tatsumi deals with all the challenges he faces. And its definitely not easy.
The story is solid, even realistic in its approach, any real fans of soccer will most likely appreciate the inner workings of the struggling football club. They really do face off with giants in the football world, and while it often doesn't go to plan, the ride it takes you on is no less interesting.
The characters were the highlight, in fact, i would say this is mainly a character driven plot. so many of the team have their personal battles they wage on the pitch and that's what keeps you engaged.
The art was different, although not bad, it can be a little jarring to someone not used to the character designs. It grows on you, but the animation doesn't do much to back it up. It's not sloppy or weak, its rather consistent, but its nothing special.
The negatives here is the pacing, its all over the pace, sometimes games last half an episode, other times they span multiple episodes and i'm not sure that was done out of importance. The schemes that Tatsumi comes up with aren't really highlighted well, so its not as if you're glued to your seat watiing to see what comes next. The similarities to One Outs are there, but they are nothing alike. Tatsumi isn't really mysterious so much as he is eccentric; and he loves going all in on things even though alot of it is calculated, the realism doesn't allow for it to play out in ETU's favor as often as you'd think.
I really did enjoy the show, the things they did right outweigh the negatives by a large margin, although i'm not sure this is a show for everyone. You have to try it and see if it fits
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Aug 29, 2014
After watching all the available episodes of Haikyuu! i needed something similar and fast. So i remembered that people were super high on this basketball show, and i sort of regret watching it directly after Haikyuu!
The problem is that even though i'm trying not to compare the two, i'm doing it anyway, and i'm finding a number of things lacking.
KnB is about highschool kids playing basketball, its a super quick starter, you watch a few episodes and then you're in a full on tournament where the protagonists are fighting for their life to beat teams that are probably better. So its an
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underdog story, at least the first season. The basketball is not realistic, none of what you see would ever happen, the characters are too specialized, even though the show admits that basketball is a game for all rounders (and ofc tall people).
But don't let that take away anything from it, without these sort of 'shounen' elements, the show probably wouldn't be nearly as much fun. And the bottom line is that the show IS fun. That doesn't mean there aren't some weaknesses though.
The first and most important issue is that the characters have no discernible weaknesses. That's not to say they don't have weaknesses, but its not highlighted in any meaningful way. Outside of the blue haired main character and the bench warmers, everyone is strong. Really strong; and then you have the freak athletes. While the MC's struggle thorughout the show, it isn't like they are on a weak team, its just most teams are stronger. Perhaps b/c the Seiren team is a newly founded basketball club.
The issue i have with this approach is that the character development suffers outside of the court. Most of the interaction outside of the court revolves around basketball as well. So you aren't watching a character mature as a person, but as a player.
I think that ultimately hurts some elements of the drama, but it isn't a coffin nail.
The original japanese voice overs are really good, the art is a lacking in a few areas, but the show is cranked up to max on the intensity dial, so that the art and music are almost an after thought. When it comes to the games, KnB exceeds in almost every way.
There isn't much of a story here, outside of championship level team looking to win a championship, but the way it delivers is incredibly good. I think they missed some opportunities to expand the characters off the court, but at the end of the day, that isn't why you should be watching.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Aug 22, 2014
Seinfield was a long running SitCom in the US, beloved by a large number of people, it had no plot, no aim, no overarching point to it.
Personally, i never liked Seinfield, the sort of situational humor, revolving around mostly dialogue, is something that I'm just not that into. I think we can draw certain obvious parallels between Seinfield and BwTgS.
One of the biggest differences, imo, is that BwTgS actually made me laugh.
BwTgS is about two losers who have no frens, one loser has an imaginary fren, who she is caught talking to like a lunatic. B/c these weirdos click on an
ethereal level,
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they decide to start a club for other losers who don't have any frens. Thus the club is formed, and throughout the show more and more weirdos show up, and yep, you guessed it, by the sheer proximity these weridos slowly become something like frens. The end.
The strength of this show is certainly the comedy, but i would say its moreso the slice of life. The setting is nice and relaxed, the colors are bright, lines are nice and clean, animation is smooth, nothing assaults your eyes or ears, no birds are flying out of anyone's eyes. The reason i say SoL over comedy, is that i wouldn't tell anyone, "BwTgS is an hilarious comedy, watch it." There is more meandering in between school life, inter-club relationships, and a little bit of a mysterious past.
The big downside to this show, imho, is the ruthlessness of the girl with the imaginary fren. She basically treats this dumb, rich girl like trash the entire show. I'm not sure if that's a fetish type thing in Japan, but it gets tired, alot faster than the time it takes to reach the last episode. Substantial time is spent watching these bitches argue, cry and run away from each other. The arguments are a little too realistic for my taste, i think there is a fine line to cross in dialogue; i'm sure some people will appreciate the realism in the arguments, but for me it was a little awkward, although to be fair i'm probably not the typical target audience and i don't really enjoy listening to women argue.
The romance is a fairly strong thread that gets pulled on during the course, but *****Mild Spoiler Alert********
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the way they handle it was about 90 degrees from anything i expected. They built it up just to let it fall. I was more than a little confused to say the least.
Alas! That's not really the point, the show is a tiny roller coaster that goes 2 mph, if you're into wild rides, you might not want to stand in line. If you like the chill, dialogue heavy, self conscious cliche's and SoL, you will probably find more than enough to enjoy.
Ultimately i think it failed to follow through on the premise, it didn't lean enough on comedy to call it a comedy show, there wasn't enough story to make it a "must-watch-next-episode type of show. But it's undeniably solid, interesting and the dynamics between the characters and their relationships and how they progress is the juice that's worth the squeeze.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Aug 13, 2014
Sekirei is actually a pretty generic show in terms of plot, characters, story, and art. The ecchi and harem aspect can immediately put people off. With those things in mind, this is by far one of my most favorite hidden gems in anime that i've found.
b-b-b-but you gave its a 7?? Yes i did, that's b/c the anime isn't finished; there are two seasons and many rumors about a third. This is also the first anime that has made me pick up the manga. If the story were complete, or at least if there were more episodes, this would get
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a 9 from me.
Sekirei is about a game played in a large metropolitan city with humanoids (mainly females) having strange abilities that go around battling one another trying to find an ashkabi (mainly male) for them to latch onto and battle for/protect. Its like a giant battle royal with wild fight scenes and an enormous depth of back story.
What makes Sekirei unique is how well its executed, the characters, while largely generic fit perfectly with the setting and context of the game, and there are many different types of characters that surround the MC, alot of them are very powerful. It makes for an exciting dynamic. The anime is almost a SoL though, as it doesn't really take off into crazy town until the second season, but i found that it kept me wanting more and more and more. After each episode the show just got better and better. the progression was almost perfect.
There are some drawbacks however, namely the MC is a pussy. What makes this even slightly tolerable is that there is a very slow progression to his character and while he is often aloof, naive, shy and stuttering, he isn't a sniveling, groveling weakling that just makes you hate his guts.
There's also a fair amount of ecchi with tits and red faces popping up in almost every episode. It isn't Highschool DxD level, but there's no doubt they are catering to the fanservice crowd. Thankfully it doesn't really get in the way, as most of the fanservice scenes serve multiple purposes to further the character development or the plot.
Even with the individual elements being somewhat generic, the way their are positioned makes the show particularly unique and especially interesting. I've watched my fair share of animu, this is one of those shows that really grabbed my attention from the start and never let me down. And generic works to make the characters relate-able and interesting early and b/c of this its very easy for them to break their mold and surprise the viewers.
If you can handle some ecchi and are looking to be thoroughly entertained, can't do much better than Sekirei, it has a little bit of everything without being overbearing.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Aug 13, 2014
I'm going to write an unbiased review.
this show is a f****** masterpiece.
What you need to know is that the MC in this beauty is OP as F***.
He is the God of Date Sims. He has the ability to play 12 games at once, he doesn't need to sleep, he doesn't need to eat, ok he needs to do both, but that's just reality tugging him back into what he refers to as "a crappy game."
If you would have told me 1 year ago that I would be watching and reviewing a romance/comedy/SoL show, i would have right high kicked you. Never mind
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that now,
The story you can read in the synopsis, its a little wacky but they sell it well and the first episode is so good it sets the tone for the entire season. On the surface the show is goofy, aloof and maybe even pedestrian, i can assure you it has substantial depth, but more importantly the first season is amazingly fun.
The art is solid all the way through, nothing breathtaking, but nothing horrible either. The OP and ED aren't my cup of tea, but the background music fits the mood perfectly thorughout the show.
The characters are probably the best part, aside from my glowing review of the MC, the supporting cast are all very strong, except one, who can be kinda annoying, but like all events, annoyance can be turned into endearment, so says the Date Sim philosophy.
The best part, and as a person whose hobby is writing (not editing, shoo grammar nazis shoo!!), must be the writing. Never a wtf moment that isn't perfectly well thought out, it delivers on the dialogue, it delivers on the plot(s), it delivers in the payoff. The infamous "kiss scene" in romance genre is like the Kamehameha in action anime. In this show, they are interchangeable. That is how awesome the climaxes are.
Check it out, its keeps you off balance so well I think its a show that breaks across genres and sucks you in.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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