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Having decided to watch this anime out of pure boredom, I didn't know what to expect. God, what a beautiful discovery. Black Jack turned out to be a fantastic surprise, a dark and dark series full of melancholy with an incredible protagonist. The plot of the episodes varies from episode to episode, as the latter are self-contained.

The story features Black Jack as the protagonist, a disbarred and unlicensed doctor who wanders the world in search of patients ready to spend crazy amounts of money to be treated. A fairly simple plot that develops with self-contained episodes. All different but with the common thread of our ... protagonist. The stories told in the episodes are all very interesting and well told, except for a couple, namely the first which I found a little too messed up and the eighth, definitely too strange. The rest of the episodes are iconic.

The characters are excellent: Black Jack is an exceptional protagonist. The recurring secondary characters are few but those are good too. The protagonist characters, however, of the individual episodes are all very interesting with different stories each time and which touch on very different and profound themes, such as mental illnesses or love.

I found the animation very enjoyable, despite the year of production. The art style and atmosphere are spot on with dark tones and episodes, especially the ones where Jack is alone, really dark. The soundtrack is very successful, with an excellent theme song and the right songs always at the right time.

Truly recommended, even for those who understand nothing about medicine like me because, although there is attention from that point of view, the episodes focus more on the plot itself rather than on the "medical" scenes. The episodes that flow quickly despite the 50 minute duration. Excellent anime.

This movie isn't for everyone; personally, in fact, I consider it the anti-film. In the sense that it is a dull, pessimistic, slow film that most would define as boring. The protagonists are apathetic and do nothing to change their situation within the film. Furthermore, every key moment, every twist or revelation is greeted coldly. Plus, the action scenes, especially for a war film, are very few. Essentially the anti-film. But that couldn't further from the truth. This is not the anti-film, this is the film. An absolutely incredible experience that will take your breath away and leave you speechless.

The story is about the Kildren, ... these boys created artificially and incapable of dying or aging who are sent to a battlefield to fight a "fake" war between two multinationals. War that takes place in a world of peace but whose aim is precisely to maintain peace and not to make man forget the horrors of war as well as to entertain them. In essence, the Kildren are cannon fodder sent to die and somehow resurrected only to be killed again and again and again... A sad and dark plot, very philosophical and profound. Narrated in a masterful way with ideas such as making each plot twist arrive in the most anti-climatic way possible, absolutely brilliant.

The characters are all expressionless, emotionless, unaware of the truth about their existence and they don't make you feel the slightest apathy for them as they are simple puppets built and manipulated by the strongest. Yuichi, the protagonist, is the exact opposite of a protagonist. Instead of fighting to find out who he is or where he comes from, he simply exists. He exists and is a puppet like the others. Only in the ending does he try to redeem himself with an extreme gesture and this leaves a glimmer of light which, in my opinion, is destroyed by the true ending in the post-credit scene. The characters, however, work. Their apathy and unawareness mixes perfectly with the sad and dark tones of the film. They involved me much more than many other characters in many other anime where, in theory, the characters are the strong point.

The animation is absolutely brilliant, visually it's one of the most satisfying experiences I've ever seen. A perfect use of CGI with the animations of the flying combats which are the flagship of an incredible technical sector. The tones and atmospheres are muted, making everything even more unique. Oshii does a masterful job of directing with some excellent ideas, such as using the subjective view for some scenes during the flying combats. The soundtrack is wonderful with the absolutely perfect main theme which, with its sweet tones, clashes with the atmosphere of the film but which, in reality, hides a lot of melancholy.

Must-watch for any fan of animated films, I can't believe there's so little talk about it. Do yourself a favor and watch one of the most atypical yet brilliant works ever.

Satoshi Kon has done it again. After the wonderful Perfect Blue, he gives me another incredibly strange experience. Strange in the best sense of the word. This Paranoia Agent, like Perfect Blue, has a fairly normal incipit: Sagi, a young graphic designer, is attacked by a boy armed with a baseball bat. Later many other people are attacked and two detectives, Ikari and Maniwa, are tasked with finding the culprit. Simple, right? Well from here, everything starts to go to pieces. And Satoshi Kon does it again. It combines fact and fiction, reality and fantasy in an experience very similar to a psychedelic trip. A ... story, like Perfect Blue, which begins normally but which, as the episodes progress, takes us on an introspective journey into Japanese civilization and into the minds of the protagonists, creating a truly special experience.

The plot is simple but then starts to take a lot of twists until it becomes almost unthinkable. Where we can't distinguish reality from fiction. Each episode is not self-contained, but rather, in each episode a story is told about a different character whose underlying theme is Shounen Bat, the boy armed with a baseball bat. There are many criticisms of modern society: the high standards of the society that wants you as a sort of perfect puppet and that follows a path already written by inhibiting your true feelings, as in the case of Harumi's story. People's morality is called into question, as with Hirukawa. A policeman who, due to debts with the mafia, is forced to become a thief. The common thread that binds the characters is this sense of precariousness, where everyone is close to hitting rock bottom, and when they do, Shounen Bat is there waiting for them. But does Shounen Bat exist or is it just the result of paranoia? Is Shounen Bat really an elementary school boy who goes around hitting people with a bat or is it just a way for people to escape their mediocre existences? And if it exists, in this last described form, who created it? These and many are the questions and themes covered by the anime. Truly incredible.

The characters are incredible, they all have great characterization and their stories are incredible. My favorite is definitely Maniwa: I absolutely loved the evolution it undergoes in the series. From a novice policeman, reduced almost to an extra to the only one who did not fall victim to a sort of mass hysteria that hit the city and, consequently, the only person who can fix things. I also found Detective Ikari to be a great character.

The animation style and the background are of excellent quality and enrich the mystery of the plot, as in Perfect Blue.

Paranoia Agent is a great anime, which does not reach the peaks of greatness of Perfect Blue also made by Kon, but which still offers a truly unique and unrepeatable experience.

One of the most hilarious anime I've ever seen. The story is about Souichi Negishi, a boy living in Tokyo and the leader of a heavy metal band called Detroit Metal City (DMC). The boy, in the group, plays Johaness Krauser II, a sort of demon who kills and rapes anyone. This character, however, clashes with Negishi's true personality, that is, a shy and kind boy, with a passion for pop music. Negishi will therefore have to try to live while maintaining a constant balance between his two lives. Needless to say, because of this, some totally crazy situations will be created. The dark humor ... of the series and his eccentricity make it an absolute must-watch with over the top and nonsensical situations that always manage to raise a smile.

The story is quite easy to understand and in the episodes we see Negishi's daily life, between his commitments as Krauser II and his private life where he tries to make his crush fall in love with her. In each episode, two different stories are usually told and each episode is self-contained.

The characters are excellent, Negishi is an excellent protagonist and even the secondary characters are incredibly fun.

I really liked the animation, different style from what I'm used to but still nice to see.

An anime not for everyone but which, for obvious reasons, should not be taken seriously and indeed the anime itself is aware of being a parody of the metal world with the total exasperation of concepts such as: "All metal singers are Satanists" or things like that. The humor is brilliant and the gags within it all work. Furthermore, it also lasts very little, just 12 episodes of around 14 minutes each. In short, Detroit Metal City is an experience that you will rarely have to relive and which, therefore, I recommend to everyone.

An incredibly beautiful anime that, unfortunately, I hear very little about. Rainbow takes us to a defeated and destroyed Japan after World War II where a group of young men, in order to survive, commit a series of crimes that will land them in a reformatory, where they will experience hell but in the end they will be able to get out and to make a new life despite the adversities that a group of young delinquents may encounter in everyday life. Put like this, Rainbow's story may seem trivial, but I assure you, that couldn't be further from the truth. Indeed, it is much ... more than the few lines that I wrote. It's a story of revenge, love, brotherhood where you try to look for the good even in the places where you least expect it and you try to survive in a ruthless and disgusting world.

The plot, essentially, is divided into two parts: the first where our protagonists live in a reformatory and try to survive the abuses of Ishihara, a corrupt and sadistic guard, and the director of the facility, the pedophile, Doctor Sasaki, with the hope of meeting again once they leave and making their dreams come true. The second, however, shows the life of the protagonists once they leave the reformatory and how the traumas and teachings of the past return and how they are trying to start a new life. A simple but perfectly narrated plot that teaches many values.

The characters are all excellent: the 7 boys at the center of the events are all extremely appreciable characters with excellent characterizations and fantastic background stories. The secondary characters are also excellent. Personally my favorites are Sakuragi and Joe. But even the villains are no exception: Ishihara and Sasaki are two wonderful villains, rotten and evil to the core, truly easy to hate. And, in particular, I appreciated the narrative arc completed by Ishihara: from a sadistic and corrupt guard to a crazy, drug-addicted man who isn't even worth killing.

I found the animation to be of excellent quality as well as the soundtrack. I particularly liked the opening theme.

An amine that I hear too little about and that should be taken more into consideration when we talk about the greatest anime of the last 15-20 years. A true hidden gem.

This anime was a great discovery, a true hidden gem that I'm happy I was able to find. Colorful deals with very important themes such as depression, suicide or self-discovery through a brilliant narrative and with an incredible hardness but at the same time sweetness.

A film that is divided into two parts: the first hour and the second hour. The first hour is among the saddest things I've ever seen where, due to the protagonist's constant mistakes, we are faced with heartbreaking situations. But in the second part, the protagonist, Makoto, undergoes a profound change and thanks to the help of his first friend, he ... manages to repair the negative situations that he himself had created.

The plot has a very interesting premise and I loved this sort of two-part film that I explained in the previous paragraph. I also found the final twist really successful.

The characters are quite good, especially the protagonist, Makoto, who undergoes a nice evolution. Maybe I would have given a little more space to secondary characters who ultimately, in one way or another, play a fairly important role in Makoto's story. But it's a small thing.

I liked the soundtrack, with the right songs at the right time that made some scenes really beautiful.

Even the animation, despite some pretty bad CGI, is more than excellent. Furthermore, the CGI is only used a couple of times so it isn't very noticeable.

The themes covered are truly profound and I appreciated the underlying message regarding people's lives which does not just have one color but can have more.

Truly recommended.

First of all, I haven't read the manga so I won't be able to make comparisons between Miura's manga and this first adaptation from 1997 but I can only talk about the latter as I've only seen this one. I honestly didn't know what to expect from this anime: a friend of mine who was a fan of the series had advised me against seeing this adaptation as it wasn't at the level of the manga but after reading a lot of positive reviews, I took courage and dove into this adventure of 25 episodes and now, after finishing it, I can say I made ... the best choice. Because this anime turned out to be one of the most beautiful anime I've ever seen.

The plot is incredible: very profound meanings are dealt with but never in a banal or obvious way. The story progression is excellent and the storytelling is exceptional. The final episodes have an incredible narrative crescendo and the non-finale is absolutely iconic.

The characters are the strong point of the anime: the three main characters are all fantastic and the secondary characters, although never stealing the show, are all pleasant. Griffith immediately became one of my favorite villains of all time: a sociopath with delusions of control but at the same time endowed with great charisma who manages to use whoever he wants as he pleases and has no qualms about exterminating thousands of people to achieve his goal.

I found the animation excellent, even though it dates back to 1997, it remains at very high levels. The gloomy and dark atmosphere also makes everything magical.

I also found the soundtrack very pleasant, even though I don't like the OST at all.

A real shame that this anime didn't have a worthy sequel due to mediocre adaptations like the one in 2016 or the film trilogy, which although not bad doesn't continue the events narrated in this first adaptation.

One of the best dark fantasy anime ever created, a true gem. Although it differs greatly from the original work, I appreciated it very much and recommend watching it to everyone.

At one point in this anime I thought, "Among the seasons of Hajime no Ippo, this is the one I liked the least." And in some respects it is like this. In fact, I consider the animation and characters to be of a lower level than the first two seasons but this third season of Hajime no Ippo has within it two of the best narrative arcs of the series and one of the best fights. So I consider it on the same level as the second season. The second season was constant in its beauty while this season has some absurd peaks and therefore ... I believe that the two things compensate each other.

The plot remains of an excellent level with excellent pacing and rhythm and good narration. Aoki's arc at the beginning of the season and Nekota and Kamogawa's origin story at the end make this plot sublime.

The animations are very similar to those of the second season and therefore pleasant but I felt like they were slightly inferior to those of the previous one.

The characters remain one of the series' greatest strengths: all extremely likable and with interesting stories. However, even in this case I felt as if this third season was slightly below the level of the previous ones in this respect. Characters like Sendo or Mashiba go from being important to only making appearances that aren't too important. I missed a great villain, like Hawk or Mashiba in the first season. Sawamura is a good character but he didn't leave me with much.

The mix between comedy and drama remains excellent. Nothing to say, Hajime no Ippo continues to make me laugh like no anime before but at the same time continues to take my breath away and excite me in its dramatic scenes like only a few anime have done before.

Obviously the ending leaves me wanting more and I hope, one day, to be able to see a fourth season.

Three seasons that have flown by, a magnificent experience that I will always carry in my heart. Best anime I've ever seen, for consistency and quality.

Despite not reaching the peaks of greatness of the first season, this second season of Hajime no Ippo still remains excellent in many ways. Something was missing to make it truly special but, unlike many other second seasons of other anime, it remains at great levels throughout its duration and leaves you with a great desire to dive straight into the third season.

The story, despite the usual clichés, remains at excellent levels with a more direct and rapid narrative that flows very well.

The characters remain the strong point of the anime: those introduced in this second season leave their mark and the arcs of the ... characters present from the beginning evolve greatly. Bryan Hawk was an excellent villain and Yamada's return was fantastic. Only note: Kimura's "waste". After the excellent performance in the OVA where he faced Mashiba, in this season he returns to being a marginal character and does nothing interesting.

The soundtrack, in my opinion, has even improved compared to the first season. Especially during the fight scenes, very high levels are reached.

The mix between drama and comedy also continues to work very well, with heartbreaking stories and episodes interspersed very well with other lighter and funnier episodes.

I found the animation good but slightly inferior to that of the first due to less fluidity. Nothing too serious, though.

A great follow-up to the first season which is very enjoyable but does not reach the heights of the memorable first season.

By far one of the most engaging and beautiful anime I've ever seen, perhaps the best.

The plot is a bit predictable at times, as are the dialogues, but most sports anime are like that, indeed considering that Hajime no Ippo was one of the first great anime about sports we could say that it set the tone and paved the way for all those clichés that we take for granted today. However, it remains a perfectly told story, excellently constructed with tear-jerking moments and incredibly engaging from start to finish throughout its 75 episodes.

The strong point of the anime are the characters: all extremely likeable, ... deep, with exciting stories and satisfying endings. I personally have a lot of trouble remembering the names of anime characters, even anime that I loved, but for Hajime no Ippo I think I could list all the main and secondary characters with ease because of the great impact they left on me. I still think that Eiji Date is one of the best characters in anime of all time.

The animation is impressive, especially in the fight scenes. Many of today's anime come nowhere near the greatness achieved by Hajime no Ippo and should learn a thing or two about creating engaging and engaging fight scenes, as most of the ones we see in this anime are.

The soundtrack is wonderful and it too, like the animations, excels especially the fight scenes.

The mix between comedy and drama is perfectly balanced: we go from very sad moments to hilarious situations with ease, without anything being forced. Personally I'm not a big fan of the type of comedy proposed by anime but on more than one occasion I laughed out loud watching this anime. By far, the most fun I had watching an anime in my life.
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The pacing of the anime is excellent and the 75 episodes weigh nothing, on the contrary, they go by as a pleasure.

Best anime that I've ever seen.