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Mar 30, 2022
(Review may contain spoilers)
Jujutsu kaisen has become one of the most prominent and arguably one of the best action shounen series in recent times. It has great animation, great fight choreography, a solid story and enjoyable characters. I went to watch the Jujutsu kaisen movie on premier day with a friend of mine and later rewatched it with 2 other friends. I loved the TV anime series so naturally I was looking forward to watching it, but did it reach my expectations?
Story: The movie is essentially a prequel to the TV anime series, with events in the movie taking place a year before Yuji enrolls
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into Jujutsu tech. Considering that none of the main trio from the series wouldnt appear, I was intrigued into the main core of the series and how it would advance forward. The prequel movie is about the student under the name of Yuta Okkotsu who has been cursed by the dead spirit of his childhood friend Rika, who died after a car incident, and his main purpose is to break free free of the curse to let Rika rest in piece, and also to assure the safety of the people around him. In a sense, the movie has a similar structure to the first few episodes of the anime series; Main characters suddenly enrolls into Jujutsu tech to accomplish a certain goal, gets missions with one of his classmates (in the movies case being Maki, Inumaki and Panda), etc. It's not really a copy and paste of anime series structure to movie structure, but it may seem familiar when watching the film. Especially since the last part of the movie is a straight-up war. Albeit not complex, the story is easy to digest and allows the audience to comprehend how the events flow, and for a 4 chapter manga prequel, the movie does a great job at adapting the source material. I found its pace flawless and not rushed in any instance. One complain I could anticipate hearing is that the story overall may see generic to some fans as it's a shounen, however, if you don't mind indifferent ways of storytelling you will find it entertaining.
Art: Mappa has proved us in recent times that its animation capabilities reaches the heights of the likes of Ufotable and Kyoto Animation, and it definitely proves their outstanding ability in this film. While its animation and art may not be as exquisite or fluent as the Demon Slater's movie's animation, the animation here was top notch, with the fights looking super crisp. All the fights were treated right in terms of choreography and they were all a pleasure to watch. My only gripe I'd that some far away shots may not look as great, but that's a minor issue.
Sound: The Jujutsu kaisen anime series has one of my favourite anime soundtracks of all time. It's super intense and all the tracks are entertaining to listen to, but the movies soundtrack may surpass it in some aspects. The music in the movie may not be as intense as the series ost due to lack of EDM, but it does take a more cinematic approach, since, obviously it's a movie., but a lot of it is unique as it perfectly matched the atmosphere of the movie in where certain soundtracks play. Furthermore, the ending songs are perhaps the best songs in the JJK series thus far, along side op 1. Although it nay not be as hype, the movies soundtrack is really addicting and a pleasure to listen. Heck, I'm even listening to it while writing this review.
Characters: As I mentioned earlier, the prequel takes place a year earlier than the anime events, meaning theres not any sort of revolvement regarding Yuji, Megumi and Nobara. Instead, it centres around the new character Yuta, Maki, Inumaki, Panda, and Gojou. Yes, Gojou is in the movie. All of you can fangirl now all you want. In all seriousness the characters were handled pretty well. The senpai were probably given more attention in the movie than they did in the anime (even though they were still played an important role in the main series), and they were given ample screentime. We also see the return of Nanami and the Kyoto team members, and although they werent a significant part of the movie, it was still cool seeing them again. I really like how they handled Yuta in the movie. He progressed from an amateur when it comes to fighting and an insecure person to a much more competent fighter, reaching the levels of the senpai trio or even beyond that. I would love to talk more about his progression but I'll rather not spoil more than I have already.
Overall: Going back to my question at the start, did it reach my expectations? Abso-FREAKING-lutely yes! I had read the prequel manga around a year ago and It was a fun read, but the movie exceeded the manga in all aspects (except sound cus duh books dont make sounds, unless you hit them :p). If you are a fan of the jujutdu kaisen anime fan and got time to spare, this movie is a must watch! I hope you'll get to enjoy it like I did.
(PS: Go listen to the ed songs performed by King Gnu. They outdid themselves in those releases)
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Sep 7, 2021
So me and the boys were spending a movie together and after a bit of voting we decided to watch a mysterious film that peaked my interest: The boy and the beast. Contains two words that normally dont go well together but strangely enough, it all changed when the fire nation attacked. Hop along as we dive deep into what makes this film so special in contrast to its other competitors that also released in Summer 2015.
So first of all, its shit. Dont watch this film. Trust me I watched it with my mates and these lot made the film tolerable for me because that
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disasterpiece was living garbage worth almost 2 hours. Like seriously lets analyse this closely. You have that bastard kid who lives alone for no good reason because he didnt want his mom to scold him for playing on his Wii U too long or something I dont remember and somehow he transports to another world after being hit by the truc-wait wrong anime-
I MEAN, after walking through an alleyway to avoid some cops. I hate this move. Like, how did he even magically transported there? They never gave any sorts of explanation of how it happened and it really bothered me. It seemed like an excuse for the plot to get moving but in fact it was a nuisance. Then he meets his furry master, his name started with "Ka" I dont remember and he just took the kid with him??? Wtf??? That guy was clearly somewhere in his 20s while that kid was 9. That sets a bad example on younger kids when they their interactions especially when "training". That just promotes pedophilia and the worst part is, they live together for 8 years. 8 YEARS!!! That kid must have lost his virginity during that time period, but anyways he returns to the other world for reasons never explained and decides to study for university after meeting some chick. Like. Bruh. He was training for almost most of his life, developing his skills, just got them to become useless in the moment he picks up a book in the library. It sets a bad example on how we should utilise our time and is to overall a very unnecessary plotline. I will say tho. The kids father? Best character in the film BY FAR. His development literally involves him leaving his child to get some milk only for him to return when the kids becomes a man. That was awesome and their interactions were super emotional. I hate that they barely showed him at the end of the movie tho. That was such a dick move. Fuck you Studio Chizu! Let's talk about the music. Yeah it wasnt very poggers. You can tell that when you're ear bleeding from the horribly music sounds. Seriously why did they decide to make a remix of Prelude in C# minor? They made a masterpiece garbage. Shaaaame. And the animation? Not so good, theh should have putted all the budget on the dads minimal movements. If they did I would've considered rating this film a 2/10. At least the heroine was good. She had very huge momma milkers that me and the boys wanted to suck on. Heck I think one of them actually masturbated everytime she appeared. I also really enjoyed her whole plot with the penguins, where she and the young boy were investigating on the mystery of the penguins appearing when the heroine dropped a cola can towards the sunlight, which eventually lead up to her being the manifestation of the powers relating to the penguin myster-Oh wait wrong film that was Penguin highway-
Reviewer’s Rating: 1
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Aug 13, 2021
After recently rewatching the whole of Pokemon XYZ, I decided to also re-watch one of my favourite pokemon films to come out, Hoopa and the Clash of Ages. I haven't really seen many reviews posted on mal about this movie and surprisingly enough the positive voices about this film are absent in this scenario, so I'm going express my own viewpoint of the pros and cons, as well as a general idea of what the movies.
(Considering that this is one of my favourite pokemon movies, I apologise in advance if theres bias present on this take)
Story: When you look at how deep the
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iceberg goes down for this circumstance, it doesnt fall very deeply. The plot is pretty simplistic as well to an extent for pokemon standards, Ash stumbles across another mythical pokemon with a somewhat tragic backstory with his friends, and tries to recover it from it's dark self. Not very groundbreaking to be fair, but is that a bad thing? Not at all. Not every story necessarily requires a unique motif to stand out from other media works. The actual events that occur are really enjoyable, such as the character being introduced to Hoopa, how they get to know its past, and the climax of the film, and although I said the plot might seem simplistic, from my perspective it's better than a lot of pokemon movies. The interesting take about the story though is that the original Hoopa has to face off against its shadow, and in order to assist them, they both summon different tyles of legendaries, resulting in a Legendary vs Legendary battle, and I gotta be honest. That was freaking epic, and one of the bigger highlights of the movie. My short problem with it, which applies to the whole movie in general, is that it was a little too short. On average movies are around 1 hour and 30 minutes. This movie was 1 hour and 15 minutes (18 minutes if you count the ending theme song). While it's not a short movie by any means, it could've definitely benefited if it was 10-20 minutes extra. The legendaries fighting one another was great, but in a few instances it also felt short, so it could've been improved dramatically if they gave those fight scenes a few extra minutes, and the story might have been a better experience for some. However overall, despite this pronounced issue, the story aspect is appreciable and deserves a chance.
Art: Art and animation were obvsiouly very good and consistent, and made the fight scenes a lot more exciting than I would expected. Really liked the backgrounds and how it presented Desser city (which aesthetically looked beautiful and probably one of my favourite areas in the series),a and the 3d camera was a great inclusion as well. My small nitpick is that the cgi in a few objects and some pokemon during the legendaries fight looked iffy, but thankfully it wasnt overused.
Sound: While not too memorable, the music was great as well, considering that the XY ost is pretty hype a lot of the times. Some of the exclusive ost from this film have a sort of reggae sound in them, which catches the idea of a few Indian-type similarities portrayed in this movie (Hoopas design, how people used to dress up in the city and keep the city original was crafted), and most importantly the ending theme song SLAPPED and is one of my favourite pokemon themes of all time (English ending song is also pretty nice and has a 90s/2000s feel to it).
Characters: Obviously you have the main gang of the XY series, as well as the inclusion of Hoopa and 3 more characters that took care of Hoopa. Oh, and Team rocket. Yeah those guys. Their addition in the movie was pretty bad overall, and it doesnt help that they were very irrelevant characters in this story overall. But at least we wouldn't have to bother with their nuisance a lot like we usually were in the main series. Speaking of irrelevance, I definitely thought that Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie needed more moments in here. Of course they weren't badly treated like Team Rocket, in fact they were very likeable as always, but they were quite underused to aan extent, but gratefully they played an important role towards the second half trying to revive the bottle, so they weren't useless at all. Moreover, Ash was a very inspirational role model as always, trying to help Hoopa with its general issue of passing through its rings, and had a very sweet moment towards the end. Additionally, the caretakers of Hoopa were great and their backstory with Hoopa was pretty enjoyable as well, especially the fact that they gave Hoopa a new meaning to family, which effectively allowed Hoopa to develop inside. And we've got Hoopa, who is rather a quite disliked by the community with how annoying they found it, and while I dont completely disagree with them, Hoopa wasnt as annoying as they made him out to be, and it wasnt really in your face either. Though I will admit, his childish personality isnt the best to get along with and the team could've done better at positively emphasising his character overall.
Overall: With that said, was Hoopa and the Clash ages a bad movie? Hell fricking no! Sure, it has a few annoying aspects that held it back from being amazing to some peoples perspectives, but I do think those opinions were a little exaggerated to a certain degree, which may have contributed to their blindness of the many pros this film provided. Not to mention, the pros heavily overshadow the cons from my experience of the film, so it dkesnt hold it back from me rating it a high score. It's not a masterpiece by any means, but it sure is an amazing and enjoyable ride.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jul 5, 2021
Man. Chainsaw man hit too different than I expected it to be. I think a great way to describe this series in one sentence is "Wait, this is in Shounen jump?!". I dont have much of an introduction as I would usually do so let's just jump into it. (I may have to put some minor spoiler to deliver some of my points, but I'll try to keep it to a minimum)
Story: When you first get introduced to it, the concept isn't that complex. For starters, we have Denji, a destitute and a 16 year old teenager who's decided to take part in devil hunting
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in hopes of managing on successfully paying off his fathers debt before he was proclaimed to have committed suicide (though if you're a manga reader you actually know the truth behind this little detail). However, after being tricked one night and getting chopped into pieces by zombie devils, Pochita (Denjis pet) fused with Denji to acquire the hidden powers of the "Chainsaw devil" and after the events of that night, he gets picked by the mysterious lady called Makima and is taken into the Public safety organization where he would perform different devil hunting missions with other members of the organisation.
From that summary alone it might not anything too groundbreaking or compounded. However that perception changes shapes as you keep absorbing the narrative. When you hit a specific stop; a specific moment (it might be different based on people's preferences), the feeling that comes to mind is....pain. Pure, chaotic, perplexing pain, that is hard to take grasp of. Chainsaw man isnt yout typical shounen like MHA, Fairty tail, Naruto, etc. Chainsaw man differentiates itself from other artistic works, and that's based on its complex themes it tackles. You come across frequent sufferings of characters, You come across the sheer pressure they weight upon their shoulders from the overwhelming dangers of their devil hunting jobs, You come across supernatural and bizzare elements that shouldn't exist in normal conditions. You come across people....dying, people dying left and right, as they sacrifice themselves or make themselves suffer just to see another day due to how treacherous their situation is. I think the best way to cope with this is to adopt the same mindset you had with Attack on titan (well, if you've watched/read aot of course) because if you get too attached to certain characters, you will get mentally fucked up, especially after chapter 81. One of the themes I want to touch upon however, is the theme of living life. Within a specific arc, Reze discusses with Denji about his circumstances and comments on how unusual for Denji, a 16 year old boy who should've been in school, is cursed with experiencing the dark side of the world. Before he got his chainsaw powers, Denji had to live in poverty with Pochita as he was paying off his fathers debt, and due to this he lived in a small apartment, barely making money and only eating a slice of bread for breakfast. This is tragic. If this was reality, you would've become suicidal at that point, or even earlier on. However, on the last discussion between Reze and Denji, a point on the story where Denjo has gained shelter and new friends, Denji responds with "I'm living the best life", emphasising the theme that, even if there are lows in life, there are also going to be highs, and considering the fact that people die left and right in this series, one of the messages Fujimoto wants to convey to the reader, is for him/her to appreciate what they and the people around you, because even in real life, they could split out any second, and that.....hits hard, way more than it should do. The experience of countering those perplex elements is not easy to comprehend, and because of the lack of full understanding of those elements I don't possess the ability to fully convey them into words, so what I have to say is, if you read chainsaw man, you will understand what I mean.
Art: Now this is an interesting topic in case with Chainsaw man, and that's because the art style...isnt too polished. An intelligible way to describe it is that contains an "unfinished" feel into, with character expressions looking silly at times and body proportions being a bit off. It's quite a simple art style in a sense, but does that mean it's bad? Heck no, sure it's not as profound as MHA's art style to an extent, but you quickly get used to it, and I think it's very easy to enjoy it. Conversely, the fight scenes have very detailed art work behind them which helps convey the gore and chaos behind specific fight moments, especially when Fujimoto mixes distinct choreographies in those fights, which differentiates them from other fights. A good set of examples of fights with clever artistic choices are: Chainsaw man vs Bomb devil, Chainsaw man vs Katana devil rematch and my favourite one and probably the most intense one is Chainsaw man vs the revived versions of the past devils Denji fought in previous events. I mean, heck, Denji literally gets smashed into space, rips his heart out , falls back into earth with sheer force from air resistance and its still able to fight brilliantly. And man, the art work in that fight was straight up extraordinary.
Characters: I sort of touched upon the characters on the story section to help deliver my points, but there are numerous enjoyable characters that have all their unique personalities and speech manners, as sometimes a few characters speak like little kids with colloquial language, whereas others are more mature in their speech. There are wonderful characters who match those details accurately such as Himeno, Kobenis car owner, Reze, Kishibe and so many more, but this is more profound in this series dynamic trio, Denji, Power, and Aki, who are all one of the best characters. Aki had a traumatizing experience with devils from a young age due to his encounter with the Gun devil, and since then he held a grudge and a sense of revenge for devils until he met Denjo and Power, where he started living with them and little by little, he started appreciating the joy of having friends who sympathise and care about you. Power is a devil man who was abandoned and held a sense of hatred for humans , only having sympathy for her cat Nyaoko. When first introduced, she wa also immature, childish, and a bit arrogant, as she always placed herself above others in terms of "power" (and no that's not a pun). In contrast, we later see a weaker side of her after the confrontation with the Darkness devil in hell. She becomes more fragile and traumatised by the experience, that she was feeling agitated that the Darkness devil could've been behind her any second, and therefore required Denji to play the role of her bodyguard, followed by a moment of Denji and Power being in the bath and looking at each other with emotional drained expressions, and this build up becomes more heartbreaking after the events of chapter 81. The most interesting case here is Denji. As I depicted earlier, he is not the typical dense shounen protagonist, and instead has lived through abnormal circumstances, with both this parent figured absent from his early childhood. After gaining shelter and buddies, he successfully achieves one of his dreams to live comfortably and eat slice of bread with numerous flavours, as one of the things he said he wished to do towards Pochita. Unfortunately, after a couple of chapters he begins to feel empty, even though he secured what he wanted from earlier on, so he begins to give birth to a mindset of achieving goals in order to keep himself motivated, and his goal is to....feel some boobs. I know I know it sounds silly but it's also vital to the plot I promise. When he achieves that goal with a girl he recently met, he feels.....empty. He doesn't feel as happy as he expected, and that's due to the lack of emotional intimacy. From there, Denji continues to be part in different events and after seeing people die, he begins to feel like he's losing his humanity or that he doesn't have a heart, which is later disproved by Makima after a touching moment between the two, and finally, Denji learns that intimacy with a person you've been longer with is more important and substantial than superficial relationships, and thats where Denji, a destitute who lived in unnatural circumstances, conveyed elements of realism, and that's one of the beautiful things about chainsaw man.
Conclusion: Honestly it's still hard to grasp my true and more accurate feelings about Chainsaw man, but I think it's okay. Fujimoto's writing made me happy, worried, deep in sorrow, and curious about the upcoming events of his extravagant work. He definitely separates his work from.others works from shounen jump, and the others are usually deliberately more simplistic for young people to easily enjoy, but I dont think crafting a divergent story is a negative thing. In fact, I would go on and say that Chainsaw man is one of the best mangas I've ever read, and that special after taste it gave through a roller coaster of emotions should never be forgotten. Looking forward to part 2, and as per Fujimoto's words, "See ya".
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Mar 15, 2021
Mushoku tensei is the brand new isekai that has been released into the deck of other isekais and fantasy shows this winter. Despite it being another isekai adaptation, Mushoku tensei has successfully built a promising reputation and earned the title of "The Grandfsther of Isekai", due to the fact that it popularised the isekai trends that we still see today. Since I had no knowledge of its existence up until now, I was really inquisitive on understanding why exactly, and let's just day that the anime did not disappoint.
Story: As I mentioned earlier, Mushoku tensei is an isekai where the MC gets hit by truck
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in an attempt to save some highschoolerd after getting kicked out of his house. From there he gets reincarnated in another world as a baby raised by a foreign family in his eyes, and for the first few eps we get to experience the protagonists development as he becomes accustomed with his family and building new bonds with others like Roxy and Sylphie. The approach was brilliant as the story becomes a bit slow at the start to slloe time for us viewers to get comfortable with consuming the narrative, which isn't necessarily a good or a bad thing, more so a subjective view. Furthermore, for an isekai tha utilises familiar trends, Mushoku tensei feels heavily refreshing from both world building and character developments (which I'll touch in a moment). It crafts a very careful and attracting atmosphere as well as likeable characters that it definitely dkesnt feel like another generic isekai you would see nowadays. In short, if you appreciate general world building in other cliche isekais, you will definitely enjoy this one.
Animation: I have two words to describe it. FUCKING. GORGEOUS. The cinematography, backgrounds for world building and the movement of the characters are increasingly and consistently blowing my mind. Even though it is 11 eps so far, the animation has managed to surpass its limits in every aspect of cinematography which is something that most shows fail to accomplish. For the studios first anime project, they have done fantastic so far.
Music: For an isekai set in medieval times, the music has been in uniform with its music usage throughout the series. There are many tracks that fit the mood and you will at least like one of them. I really find the usage of the opening theme intriguing as instead of animating a video for the OP, they input the song on a montage of scenes that take place in the story, an amusing feature that should be done more often imo. My personal favourite music is the OST from the first teaser which manages to heighten my hype for it, and a perfect choice for a teaser to attract viewers.
Characters: This is one of Mushokus tenseis strongest points. Even if some of the characters have very apparent flaws, like Paul being a complete scum in some moments, all of the characters are likeable and caring for each others. Their interactions dont feel out of place and whether it'd be a serious or comedic moment, you can tell they genuinely try to help out at times and being content with each others
The main focus I want to tackle on in the character section which is a topic that has brought some uninvited criticism to the table is the main character, Rudeus. When he gets reincarnated as a baby he still has the mental age of a 34 year old, which is approximately the age he died in the real world. Moreover, before he died he was very Percy as a character playing only hentai games at home, which contributed to his repulsive personality as he often monologues about girls private parts, which might sometimes make them feel uneasy, for instance the maid. A lot of people might not appreciate this choice of personality imputed to the MC, however, I would argue that it's a better choice for him to be pervy instead of instantly becoming a kind hero from the moment he gets reborn, and that's because it adds to the realism of the show. If you got reborn you wouldn't suddenly change your character in a moments time, so it's natural for Rudy to still maintain his perviness. Moreover, Rudy is also not necessarily a bad person. It is his shity events with people at school that shaped up his pathetic character before he dies, and it is apparent in the show that it haunted him to an extent. However, what I really love is that Rudy develipd as a person and character the more he spends time in this world. As the story progresses you will notice that Rudy decides to take life more seriously, as well as proportionally having less pervy moments, which isn't to say there parents at all, but its reduced; this change adds to the appreciation of Rudy's character and shows how well crafted he is in terms of realism.
Overall: In short, Mushoku tensei is an isekai for people who are tired of isekais. It does everything right that others (well not all) dont. Animation, cinematography, direction, character development, world building, etc. As a result, Mushoku Tensei is able to climb up the contenders list for best isekai out there alongside with other beasts like Re:Zero for instance. It is an incredible enjoyable and unique experience that you dont want to miss out on.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Feb 22, 2021
There is no denying that over the last 2-3 years upon its global premiere, Bunny girl senpai has certainly attracted a considerable amount of fans, whether that'd be from the very misleading and inaccurate title, or the actual plot it provides to the audience. One thing's for certain: Bunny girl senpai is NOT about bunny girls. How shocking. Not PLOT for you degenerates. If it doesnt have sexy and valuable fap material, what makes the story distinct from other shows and its fake name?
The story takes place in modern time in a highschool setting where there is a mysterious phenomenon that lingers around people with
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specific struggles or issues, whether they developed them recently or in the last: Adolescence syndrome; a mysterious disorder that its said to develop and grow through abnormal experiences rumoured on the internet to be caused by sensitivity and instability during adolescence. The highschool setting is a perfect llace to install this disorder, as teenagers in real tend to be exposed to bad mouthing, cyberbullying,
and other personal problems. This phenomenon can take shape in several ways as proven from the events of the anime. Wounds and cuts could appear in different parts of your body out of nowhere, a person could develop memory loss, or switch bodies with another related person stuck with the same struggles etc. Albeit supernatural, the syndrome has been explained a few times through bs explanations of quantum physics and quantum mechanics (a technical device that has been abandoned later on the series) The story is constructed by several mini arcs focusing on each female character who develops adolescence syndrome, and the protagonist, Sakuta Azusagawa, tries to help each girl undergo their personal issue they've been struggling with in order to escape from the disorder. On paper it sounds cliche, but the way the creators have structured the events makes the show seperate itself from your standard generic show.
The animation has been handled by CloverWorks, and despite being a relatively new studio, the animation has been handled very well, with the characters expressing flow movements and the art being very consistent with characters expressions, and the art sometimes increases tension through certain scenarios. Even in moments where the animation could've been just a couple of frames long, the animators put extra effort into those scenes and that alone makes me appreciate the work put behind the project.
The sound is one of my favourite aspects about this show, and it's not just the flawless voice acting that adds on the intensity the characters experience within their arcs, but the music took a special space in my heart. The unique sounds and melodies the composers chose to incorporate within their music creates a variety of moods they can express. The comedic music is fun to listen, but osts like "Persistent" induce an encapsulating and unique experience just through their gentle and sweet melodies alone. I don't have to discuss on it, but my message is that Bunny girl senpai has very unique and enjoyable osts to listen to.
The characters are arguably the inclusion that makes the story and its arc so compelling and intriguing to watch. We are introduced to the main character, Sakuta Azusagawa who is basically a loner character that reads the atmosphere and refuses to follow it, very similar to Hachiman from Oregairu, however he is a very fun character to tackle as he can say the most perverted things with very serious expressions, and the repetition of those moments mde me chuckle a lot. Additionally on the roster we have what it seems to be contenders for overall best waifus. You have Mai, the girl introduced with bunny girl suit, her blonde and sexy imouto (her little sister), Tomoe, a seemingly stereotypical flat chested girl, Futaba, shared in two different flavours and Kaede and Shouko who have arguably the most dramatic and depressing arcs in the whole series. What captures my attention about those characters however, is their interactions and how they are exposed to Adolescence syndrome. Through their conversations we are shown their fears and problems they have been exposed to the syndrome, and I really respect the protagonists persistence in trying to save them. He goes through a lot emotionally which you would understand if you finished the last couple of eps, but despite times like these, he doesnt let go of his responsibilities and makes sure he completes and succeed in helping the others struggling from their personal problems in an attempt to cure them from the supernatural phenomenon, creating an astounding set of characters with their own personalities that guarantees that you will at least like one of them.
Overall, this series does remind me a bit of Monogotari, as the context of a Male protagonist trying to support and save a set of females characters from their source of suffering is quite identical, but the way thr author has written the events and characters does help seperate them from the monogatari characters (for better or worse), and instead tries to use the influential factors to write a compelling and amusing narrative to consume. Would it be considered a masterpiece or as a good as its influences? Maybe not, but Bunny.girl senpai creates human like atmospheres in a way that are not convayed as often in anime, and as a result makes for an enjoyable world to experience and watch. Don't be tricked by the title, it is different in the surface and its subtext.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Feb 5, 2021
With Winter 2021 being stacked with such promising premises, I was able to stumble across a series that I never expected to invest myself hours in consuming its narrative, including switching from the anime to the manga because of the accumulated impatience I received from this series. Horimiya. A series which is metaphorically like a fish in an ocean. Another romance, slice of life manga among its foundational genre. At first glance, it may seen like tour generic, unoriginal romance manga in a stereotypical setting for its genre; A Male and female lead in a high school background. But you may be wondering. What makes
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Horimiya special that manages to separate itself among the other romance anime/mangas
Horimiya is a wholesome and heartwarming story, introducing us to the main leaders of the series, Hori and Miyamura, who "meet" each other by accident outside of school time, and from there their interactions as characters physically, and emotionally develop to make each other better people, with the support of the rest of cast which is equally as great as the main face of this manga. One way HERO, Horimiya's author, ceases to amaze me with this story is how he controls the flow of the story. Horimiya as whole doesnt feel rushed or slow either. Rather it could be argued that it's a mix of both, with the early Horimiya stages providing numerous time lapses but as it continues, more events and occasional interactions happen in a short amount of time, and that really captivates me. It doesnt waste 200+ chapters to have the main couple confess and call it quits from there (I'm looking at you Nisekoi). Instead, HERO decides to shift to a bigger focus of the cast as the narrative progresses and provide individual short "story arcs" for a lot of them kn an attempt to intrigue the reader and controlling them to absorb more of this spectacular piece of fiction.
As for the characters, they are equally as captivating as the story. HERO successfully does this by making each character within the main cast is distinguishable visually and narratively, with each one of them possessing their own traits and flaws that makes them realistic unlike some generic characters in a harem show, and with those traits HERO is perfectly able to craft comedic moments between individuals, which marks for a high tier comedy as some of the interaction made me chuckle a lot.
Additionally, the start of Horimiya revolves around the main face of this romance. Hori and Miyamura. The main thing I like about these characters is how they treat each others as individuals and as a couple, as well as hie they tackle each others insecurities. At the start they are introduced as people who want to hide a side of them. At school Hori is presented a nice, pretty and popular girl who presumably had a couple of boys fall in love with her, but outside of school she shifts from a very popular girl to a mother-like figure, as she dresses blandly and managing most of the houses chores due to her parents being away ta work, as well as taking care of her little brother, Souta, and apparently she is quite conscious of this side of her and tries to hide it from everyone else. Moyamura on the other is a clean contrast to what Hori achieved in terms of characteristics. He is not popular, he is a loner, he doesnt have any friends before the main storyline apart from one individual from his middle school days and as a result, those negatj e characteristics make him an overall insecure character, with him questioning if for example Hori contains any positive opinions towards him.
By adding those special and unique characteristics in their character tropes they are.able to explore each others hidden personalities, and through this, they are able to achieve and craft their own form of intimacy, and this is explored beyond through the later parts of the series.
For the enjoyment aspect, as I implied earlier, comedy is one of Horimiyas main story foundations that holds and stables the narrative all together, and through the silly, realistic and charismatic tropes and shinanigans, HERO is able to construct a very enjoyable piece of art that distinguish itself with other boring comedy anime that fails to impress its reader. Moreover, character relationships and moments dont feel forced or milled out at all, and instead are preserved as natural moments that would the reader if those ttoes of interactions occur in real life or only in fiction
As for the art, although it is a bit stellar in its early stages, it drastically improves in my opinion and through the progression of the art style, it adds to the heartwarming nature of the series. Yet, despite this the background paintings/drawings arent as superb, as the backgrounds can seem copy and pasted from other shows, and a lot of panels just having characters in a blank picture, but I think the overall character drawings make up the artistic flaw to an extent, and they also add to the unique aspects of some characters, as some of the moan cast have different coloured hair, which is an interesting artistic choice
Concluding, Horimiya kicks aside stereotypical slice of life/romance cliches, and uses its generic setting to create something personal and intimate; This series gives off unique vibes that are not specifically seen a lot in the sea of romance, and as a result Horimiya stands at the top of the flood of romance alongside other competitors such as Kaguya sama and Oregairu. Furthermore, though the realistic traits of this series, Horimiya is able to single handedly make the slice of life genre from around decent to beyond the anime genre tier. If you're starting with this series as your first series in slice of life or romance, it might open doors to other narratives to explore and enjoy. What are you waiting for? Do me a favour and read Horimiya. I'm sure you wont regret it!
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jan 1, 2021
**THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS**
"My disappointment is immeasurable, and my day is ruined" ,encapsulates the reputation the 3rd season of Index has formulated over the past 2 years since its initial release. I started the story through its anime replica 2 weeks ago at the time this review has been posted, and I accumulated a deep interest into the franchise, so naturally being aware of the 8 year gap between season 2 and season 3, I was thrilled to see the differences in quality between the two, however, this season has proved that we shouldn't take its situation into fave value just because of hypothetical
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improved quality in story telling and visuals
Story: The Toaru series overall contains a very intriguing story, mainly because of the elements it toys with and utilizes them to build its geographical setting and narrative purpose. Unfortunately, the way the has chose to adapt the source material into 26 eps is a complete joke by some, including me to an extent. Unlike the other seasons, the story is fairly rushed, and as a result it leaves a lot of plot holes open and doesn't bother to fix them, which ruins the way we consume the narrative. The content itself is really good, as it continues right after season 2, but the production team clearly didnt show enough love to it. To point out a few examples, some arcs, like the Battle Royale arc and DRAGON arc that are 3 eps, involve a lot of characters perspectives into the play, to the point where it's difficult to process what's going on, considering that the material itself can be a pain to analyse, not to mention it skips a lot of important details and skips character interactions, with one shot having the character on that location and right after, transporting the character in a brand new area . It's not an impossible task to comprehend what's going on, but the speed it's going is the embodiment of 100 miles per minute, showing how it doesnt leave room to breathe in between. Because of this, arcs such as the DRAGON arc are made from good original story parts into trash. In contrast, despite this issue, all the arcs can be fairly enjoyable and some others are just as good as precious arcs, such as the early arcs. One thing I want to point out, which is an aspect I really like is the geography of season 3. Unlike past seasons, this season takes place in many locations, from Academy City, France, London, and Russia. It isn't a huge deal, but the changd in atmospheres makes the content more intriguing and creates greater anticipation of what's to come. Overall, the story is not bad, but it could've been a lot better if they chose to slow down the pace it adapting the source material.
Art: The quality overall has pros and cons. To start with the pros, the drawings are noticeably better than previous seasons, which is expected from a 2018 anime. Also, whoever made those background designs deserves a metal. The backgrounds are fucking gorgeous and one of the best in the series. Finally, some of the cgi implemented is pretty good. Although it's bad at some points, the CGI fits with the environment in certain occasions. Contrastingly, the cons are a different matter. Although the art style has improved, the animation doesn't follow that trend. There are a lot of fights where the animation is deficient, and as a result ruins those fights, and finallises them as underwhelming. Some fights however have good use if the animation, for example, Accelerator vs Kakine from the Bottle Royak arc, where both mostly battle mid air, where the 2d animation is mixed with the 3d buildings. This mix is utilized really well and makes the fight extremely pumping and unique; although some fear this use of animation choice, JC Staff has showed that it can succeed in that medium when it tries.
Music: To put it simply, I adore the music. It reinforces the kind of atmosphere the series gives and is consistent in doing so. The opening themes in Season 3 are impressive and some of the best ops in the entire franchise. The ed themes dont scream "Amazing", but the are nice relaxing songs, considering the VA of Index songs both if them. The OST is pretty great as well, as the techno music and dubstep direction they were going for depicts the scientific side of the world the Toaru series is based in.
Characters: Just like the story, characters are another controversial point the toaru fans bring up. To give you an idea of the reasons, season 3 introduced wayyy too many characters than it needed to, especially in the first half. Arcs such as the Battle Royal arc, with the introduction of different teams, and the Britain arc introduce too many characters at once, to the point where it becomes a full time job to keep track of all those boys and girls, especially when perspectives are constantly changing character to character. Because of this, characters ,such as Misaka, who have a great potential to shine, dont get enough screentime, and other characters such as Toma Kamijou, the main character of the Index series, feel undeveloped. However, there are some characters that are established really well in this season, with my favourites being Hamazura and Accelerator, with both undergoing an evolution into their character traits and learning to change as people and their perspectives. Hamazura transforms from an annoying pussy to a hero by following the ideology that Toma Kamijou has taught him in season 2, and Accelerator developing from a killing psycho to a caring character who learns the value of protecting other people instead of exploiting them for power. If you give the characters a chance, I'm sure you would appreciate some of them
Conclusion: With all the cons that I bestowed and described, you might be wondering, why I gave it a 7/10, and the reason being that toaru season 3 doesnt feel completely different to its ancestors. When you put it into action, Season 3 is no more than a procrastination of a school project, but the season still explores familiar characters, such as Toma, Index, Misaka, Accelerator, and still bases Academy city as its main core of the story, even though some arcs take place in different geographical locations. At the end of the day, it is a rushed and uncared project that didn't receive a lot of love from watchers, due to the unfeeling commitment the production team has put, but if you care about the series as a whole, I suggest giving a go, but you should lower expectations in order to appreciate it more
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jun 2, 2020
[WARNING:MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD, I WOULD RECOMMEND WATCHING THE MOVIE FIRST BEFORE READING THIS REVIEW]
Kimi no na wa. An anime movie claimed to be one of the best anime movies of 2016 and in all anime in general. It is the 9th highest rated anime on MAL, so it definitely shows, and it wouldn't be possible without one of the best anime directors, Makoto Shinkai. Surprising I never watched Your name, whilst knowing the massive praise it received over the years, up until yesterday. Just like his previous works, Kimi no na wa exceeded expectations by a lot of people, and I can definitely (sort of)
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see why (to an extent). This is going to be my longest review since compared to the other anime I made reviews on, this one is different, and please forgive me if I get any facts wrong while I'm here.
Story 7/10: Of course the main foundation of successful animes is of course the story (it depends on the genre of course but that's a story for another day). Unfortunately, because of it's high praise, I had my hopes a bit too high (and dont worry this isn't a negative review). The concept is fairly simple. It focuses around the main characters Taki and Mitsuha who are both in their youth for 95% of the movie. Suddenly a strange phenomenon randomly occurs and it causes the main characters to switch bodies. After moments of Taki and Mitsuha finding out the truth behind Mitsuha's town, they try to stop a meteor from annihilating the town. This concept was really interesting and it kind of made me excited to continue watching this movie, however, there was a factor that had a significant impact on my thoughs of the movie was the story structure. Let me mention one thing, this type of story structure is different. Kimi no na wa doesnt have your typical story writing to like seeing in your favourite shounen/shoujo, if that's the case the reason I was disappointed in the story was because the story structure was different? No, it's pretty natural for me to feel mixed about "new" things and it's fine as long as you put some thought into them, and that's what I did. This movie has a very messy story structur, it feels inconsistent, and it leaves a few plot holes open.
What is this strange phenomenon that is responsible for the switching bodies incident? Why is Mitsuha and her 2 friends still alive after we saw the meteor crush the town near the end of the movie? Ok you could argue about what happened for the 2nd point, but plot holes such as those still had me mixed about the story and more overly the praise it received. Is it bad that it di5achieve on answering those questions and leaving plot holes open? Not particularly, I think of the strange phenomenon as a plot device in order for the story to move forward (which reminds me of the ability the MC from Erased had, it was never explained nor mentioned, but without it we most likely wouldn't had Erased ever happen. Additionally, because of how time events were structured, i didn't feel emotional about the characters actions, which is a thing I was highly expecting to feel about. I think it over did it on this section, but what I'm trying to say is that while it's not bad, the story could've been done much better.
Art 10/10: Of course I have to give this section a 10/10. Shinkais works are also known for their breathtaking art and animation and I completely agree with them. I dont really have much to say since it's a pretty repetitive point, but I will say that Kimi no na wa has one of the best animations of all time and if you're a sucker for breathtaking art in anime or art in general, Kimi no na wa is an absolute must watch.
Sound 9/10: Of course I cant forget about the music either. I particularly really enjoyed the music and Shinkai did an absolutely amazing job with implementing music to certain scenes to reinforce the impact of the specific scene and it was nicely utilized to convey emotion into the main characters and their situation. For the main themes we have RADWIMPS for the performance/composition, these themes I think are more towards to the rock music, since the band also plays rock music, it might sound a bit worrying because of the type of story we are introduced, but that's not the case, I particularly liked the fact that some of the music were rock because it emphasized on the main characters youth, and it would probably make you reflect on your school life and the times you had spent with your friends, and I was really pleased to get this feeling from the music, and that's coming from someone who enjoys music in general, so keep an eye for the amazing soundtracks that will bless your ears with joy.
Characters 7/10: This is also one of the weakest points of the movie. To first start with the Pros, the characters are nowhere near to bad characters, I actually quite enjoyed them interacting with each other, which furthermore made the movie more delightful to watch, and I liked how the side characters, even though they weren't important, expressed care towards the main characters and it made me cogitate on the fact that not all characters need to have a great character development to be considered "good" characters. Now with the cons, and this reflects towards the main characters and it corresponds with the last point stated on the story, specifically how time events were utilized. To explain it simply, the movie gives 20 minutes at the start to introduce to the characters and their relationship state, as well as their in the world. I wont complain too much about this point since it's a movie but the characters and relationships felt rushed. They didnt feel like they had enough development (I'm currently referring to Taki and Mitsuha) for me to care about their backstories and their motives. It made me feel that the main characters lacked motivation and it made me question why they cared so much about each other at that high level of "love", even though it's not something I like thinking about, thus just like the story, I didnt feel really emotional towards both main characters to most extent (I quite understood why Taki felt desperate about Mitsuhas death but the way Shinkai portrayed it with the time events didn't quite help.
Overall 8/10: In conclusion, did Kimi no na wa exceed my expectations like million of anime fans? Maybe to an extent, with the conveyance of animation and music creating a further impact on the story, however, the story and characters suffered in exchange, and to clarify, I dont hate the story and characters, in all actuality it's the opposite, but it couldn't definitely be done better if they had more time. So to be honest I do understand where the praise is coming from. It's a unique story compared to the generic shounen and isekais Japan has been feeding us with. If you want to experience a completely different story, make sure to check it out. If you're not particularly a fan of confusing narratives, then watch it but dont get your hopes too high.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 6, 2020
After season 2 was announced to be delayed until summer, I feel into deep depression. I really love the Re:zero series and I wish we had more content. Fortunately, the new OVA/Movie blu-ray released a few days ago and finally got to watch it, but is it good?
Story 9/10: This ova takes place before Emilia met Subaru and the others. We get to find out more about Emilia and how she lived her daily life away with barely any social interactions from anyone, aside from Puck (and maybe you can count the market guy from the village). The thing is that at the time, everyone
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hates Emilia because they think that she's a witch, which is a reason why she lives alone. Additionally we get to find out more about Puck and how he met Emilia. Overall the story is really great, however, you need to keep in mind that this OVA only gives a glimpse of Emilia's past, and moreover doesn't answer major things, such as why Emilia is treated like a witch, but it does answer a few minor stuff in case you're wondering, such as why Puck calls Emilia his daughter.
Art 8/10: I really liked the art and how White fox utilized it to convey the atmosphere of different scenes. An example in particular that I liked is the use of the red colouring in the ice, in order to portray a horrific atmosphere. Speaking of ice, if you're a fan of ice powers, you're going to love this OVA. White fox did an incredible job in animating the ice powers and other stuff, such as the spirits and mixture of red and blue fire. The animation was pretty good in some scenes, however, I felt like it was lacking in the fight scenes and there's barely any action on the first half of the OVA so I was expecting better when it came to the fights, but it doesn't have a huge impact on the enjoyment of the ova, so I guess it's fine.
Sound 8/10: The OST was pretty great overall and I liked how it was utilized in the appropriate scenes and atmospheres. The ending theme was also great as it is a relaxing song, which fits in the atmosphere and surroundings of the OVA to an extent, with Emilia living a silent life without having much social interaction
Characters 10/10: There's barely a cast of characters in the ova as the main cast is Emilia and Puck (and a few other minor characters), but I feel that's the reason why I gave this section a 10/10. It gave Emilia and Puck more time to express their emotions and thoughts. My favourite of course is Emilia. After I finished the ova I completely agreed with Subaru complimenting her. Even due to her conditions, Emilia is such a kind soul, and that's demonstrated in her repetitive actions. Even if all the villagers hated her, she still showed care about them (which is further proved later in the OVA), and I really loved her at the end of the OVA where she got to express her feelings in front of the evil spirit and Puck. Puck is also an amazing character. He is aware of Emilia's conditions, and instead of being scared or running away, he sticks by her side all the time. I really liked how they handled Pucks internal monologue in the text flashing to show his feelings. Even though we got like 4 secs to read them, it was pretty cool and it reminded me of the monogatari series. At the end, Puck also gets to express his emotions in front of Emilia, which made me to respect him even more.
Overall 9/10: This OVA was great and it was a great opportunity to learn more about Emilia and Puck ans their place in life, even though it was a small glimpse of their past. If you're a hardcore re:zero fan or a fan of the anime in general, I highly recommend to watch this OVA, it will make you have more respect for both Emilia and Puck
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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