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Sometimes a random dino in life is all you need.

This manga is pretty damn good and mixes in gyaru everyday life with basically anything, in this case, dinosaurs. The manga is not some kinda Family Guy thing where everyone forgets Brian is a dog until otherwise commanded to, it's literally just a dinosaur in the real world. Not so much actually doing dinosaur things like being a natural predator, but close enough to some degree. In return, you get a very chill world that's easy to enjoy, laugh at and feel attached to. It's just people and their dinosaur friends.

I am led to believe that ... many will not enjoy this manga as I did, but you shouldn't come into this, with this weird status quo expectation, that this is some kind of grand life changing story, maybe in this case, some Iyashikei never seen before. It's just some girl in one of the weirder sides of Japanese subcultures and the life she lives with her friend dino she met one night. It's really fun.

I sincerely yearned that I would enjoy this movie more than I did. Alas, you just can't have everything now, can you? Somehow though, this movie became something of a guilty pleasure.

I won't soothe the point here, this movie isn't technically good, and it is clear as day. Any human being watching this would have eyebrows raising at the wack, cheesy dialogue and question where these directors found the desperate salaryman who would now want to work as a voice actor on top of their already garbage job for that extra yen. I mean, seriously, you can be one of those people that likes everything, ... but this is not passing your innate detection ability to understand something is off. Nonetheless… there's something in Penguin's Memory that makes it worth the while anyway; in my case, even worth the praise a lot would be unwilling to give.

The plot is inherently entrancing, but the execution is mostly unengaging. It's fascinating, really. I felt the need to sleep the first time I tried to watch this, the second time was close, but I managed to prevail. I suppose the times in both cases were initially very late anyway, but I will leave it to you to decide how my case reflects your style. As the aforementioned stated, the dialogue is amateur, in addition to the unenthusiastic animation, disheartened delivery of every line and the somewhat haphazard jumps to suggest this was some kind of Disney musical on every occasion. It's just not good. However, the saving grace pulled a miracle and a half, balancing the tragic execution. The story is actually something enjoyable and a little unique. Mike, his PTSD, and his journeys all mix very well with each other when called for. When the scene sets and you know the clear intent of what is being relayed to you (found more so in the more philosophical and dramatic parts of the movie), you do get a reasonable and thoughtful section to consume and reflect upon. I suppose the dull voices masked in calmness do provide from time to time, but the whole movie doesn't work as a LOTGH type-beat dialogue or whatever has characters talking to each other as if it's just another day, especially when the scene is supposed to be heartfelt. Maybe cute penguins and the Vietnam War has bad chemistry.

I will say that this guilty pleasure doesn't come with bad OST, though; it's anything but. It wouldn't even be so unreasonable to have this OST in your top 10. I will admit that one upbeat song with the children was kinda wild, but most of the tracks here are impeccable, immaculate, and pure elegance. I am mostly speaking of Seiko Matsuda's Sweet Memories (it's one of those songs you can truly have on repeat without it being tiring), but the others aren't even bad at all. They work so well at conveying what the scene tells and can stand alone with zero issues. Hell, there's even some decent symbolism which is something else considering what was going on with the production value. Aside from that note, the music does have more meaning when you actively see where it is used; it's not something that is mastered a lot in anime for some odd reason. Penguin's Memory hits the nail on how to present with music, allowing for stylish moments to come basically on command. It's all in all a blessing. Begs the question, does time have to do with anything? This is the city pop era, after all. I'll leave that to you.

Try not to reject watching this after coming from the Club Penguin meme. Chances are you might not find it the most enjoyable thing in the world, many people do have a heart attack over anything before the year 2010, but I'd say this one is not that bad. If not the movie, then I'd recommend the commercials Suntory had using this movie and just find the OST on YT or something. You aren't missing out on a whole lot. To be honest, this anime might serve better to some as "some obscure stuff I came across", but I wouldn't use that label to describe it in its entirety. There is something legit going on with this movie, and it is enough to have my praise. You wouldn't have thought penguins, PTSD, and the Vietnam War would make a decent move.

What an expensive beer advert.

[Old Review]

Teekyuu Review - Part 2S
Informative Review

It's basically just restoring the brain cells of Teekyuu. The stories aren't too absurd and whilst it still maintains their humour, it is a little more condensed here. What's left is just some average day in the life of Teekyuu episodes.

1st episode is about Marimo at the dentist getting her teeth fixed. In a Teekyuu manor. There's a doctor/dentist you learn a little about to add to. 2nd episode is about Yuri getting to work as a shrine maiden due to some accident she had caused. The old lady there is a little something too. All in a Teekyuu ... manor.

Audiovisuals are the same as they were in the season directly related to this.

Would watch it if you are a deadset completionist, there's not a lot with this special, but it is there I guess.

[Old Review]

Teekyuu Review - Part 2

It's comedy. Again. Fast comedy. Somehow the plot flows as it usually would in a normal anime. I didn't even expect there to be someone reasonable here to my surprise. The only difference is that this is fast. There seemed to be an absurd number of references to other major names in this real world. Makes you think, that Teekyuu is reality?

Mappa is still pulling the same visual beauty, so you can expect there to be the same wacky gimmick that you'd be surprised such cannot tear the insides of itself with such speed. Also dumb art for the funny ... moments. The voicing is something that is obviously a magnum opus with lines you cannot possibly hope to catch.

So. Teekyuu. Again. Is nothing about tennis. Just some funny stupidity that makes fun of a little more than you'd expect. Featuring tennis.

10/10. "Smoke Teekyuu every day, people."

[Old Review (written way before upload time, opinions may not be the same)]

Teekyuu Review - Part 1

Comedy is funny. But comedy isn't for everyone. Since there are different branches. Teekyuu falls into parody. And usually, dedicated parody anime is good. Very good. Great. Masterpiece.

There is no need to talk about the plot, no need to talk about characters, no need to talk about art, no need to talk about sound. Because they are all irrelevant from what is a ton of random events, speed through at just the right speeds to understand what is happening whilst concurrently not grasping everything, understanding that this parody is ... done well. Usually resulting in laughter.

Teekyuu is not to be taken seriously. It is a dumb anime, about girls and tennis (when it feels like talking about tennis), that thrives off its stupidity making for some hilarious moments, with its abrupt changes within each episode making you think, "I see. God is real."

10/10. "Smoke Teekyuu every day, people."

Rating: 7/10

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It's good. Just not for very conventional reasons. Having read through other people's thoughts and feelings on this short, it has become apparent to me that there is obvious room for interpretation of the true intentions of the writers behind the scenes.

I wasn't the most focused on this short in all honesty, whilst some of it has to do with my own faults in how I behave, from what I did gather, I do believe that the execution did not live up to a great standard. It's good, but not good enough. Anyway, this whole meandering through the woods and following the birds' ... stuff seems to be plastered with nothing meaningful behind them other than beautiful images. I suppose beautiful things look nice, but some meaning attached to them would have made for a more pleasant experience. It could just be that I very much had the entire meaning of this short fly well over my head but I doubt it a little on the notion there was no apparent connection between half the small things that go on here aside from the very obvious things like the interactions and the birds changing colours. Something like that.

Anyway, the art here is really something else, and if nothing else about this is top tier, then I would say that you should just go have a look at this for the art. Fluid, detailed, good colour compliments and gradients and whatever is needed to make an animation good, because it's all good at the end of the day here. One may even go as far as to see what else Wolf Smoke Studio has to offer after watching this. I suppose shorts like this have the time and efforts that allow them to be so properly produced, but that shouldn't be used to undermine the efforts. It's all gorgeous.

Maybe I need to brush up on my media comprehension skills. I was a little mixed on this so I can't say this is entirely worth the watch, but who doesn't like good-looking images? Give it a go and see what conclusion you run into.

Rating: 8/10

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Butter Chicken is an MV that I have a pleasant (and healthy) addiction to. A euphoric wave of epic vocals and fluid visuals, unlike many others before it, has led me to praise it and listen to it on end seldom of any fatigue. The concept matches, but the expectations are not met in a literal sense. There is no apparent Butter Chicken here, but all the imagery and connotations fit well together regardless. As mentioned, it is all fluid and the entire MV promotes this harmonic union between the simple things in life and the celestial wonders of the universe. All crafted with ... this seemingly brittle pastel texture. I don't know what implications would come from there, but maybe it isn't too far off from, I suppose, a wholly ingrained idea.

The music is magical and enticing, there is simply no escape from it once it is processed inside you. You come back wanting more, maybe like the taste of Butter Chicken… Whatever it is, OOHYO's voice is not to be underestimated here, I'd imagine it would be somewhat plausible to imagine a few would go seek more of what she has made. It's amazing.

Now, I have to say that this is probably my favourite OOHYO song, so whilst I don't believe she has made it better than this exquisite piece, that isn't to say that there isn't any good remaining out there too. A talented artist I would encourage people to take more a look at (I mean, there are other MAL entires on her songs too).


"I named this song ‘Butter Chicken’ because I started working on it the day I made Butter Chicken Curry for the first time. But this song is not about the food, it’s about discovering meaning and joy in something that many people overlook the value of - something cliched, trivial, or even stupid." - OOHYO

I will put out there that I don't exactly know every theme of this story, or what exactly the messages were. Whether that is up for individual interpretation or predetermined is something else I will not know for the time being. I am simply here to give my thoughts on what I have seen.

I saw a beautiful and artistic story on a moderately relatable institution and arc we may have gone through in life. School and friends. Mukougaoka Chisato wa Tada Mitsumeteita no Datta is a story about Chisato trying to reach her friends after being in an unfortunate incident.

It all comes across as ... a coherent piece of art conveying relatable and important feelings well enough to give these characters strong humanity and room for clever ideas in their radius. What we have here is not just some cheap take on school-related works; it is an innovative material that has the power to class itself in its own category of works, fusing art and themes well enough to obtain the standard of what makes good shorts so impressive. I liked what I saw for the most part, from the writing of the story and what could slide into the many frames to create this sophisticated message, to just the fluid dynamics of the art, even for something as old as this. It's very impressive.

That's all I have to really say with this. It's not a traditional MV, but it is still something I would recommend people spend the time having a look at.

There is literally already a well-made review on this OVA already, but since I was in the middle of writing a lot of reviews in one go at the time, I felt inclined to write something on this OVA anyway. I will make this a short informative review.

This OVA follows Kanade in some more ludicrous choice-making nonsense, only this time in a VN dating sim-type game. We have roles allocated as usual, from what you'd expect of these games: Kanade - protag, Nozomi - main heroine, Yuuouji - yankee, Yukihira - alien space ranger, Chocolat - well, Parfait. Basically, everyone who isn't Kanade is a ... choice in this harem.

It's a fun little short and something I found as a pretty cool and imaginative idea to extend on the whole concept that NouCome had for itself. No real reason to not watch it if you are a fan of the series, why not take the extra content just because it is?

But I mean, at least watch it for the ending reference…

ERABE!
1. Yes, I liked the series and will watch this for the end reference.
2. No, I hate this series, the ending will make it worse… .-.

6/10.

(TLDR review below, as usual, thanks for reading c:)

Everything you do is based on some kind of choice (discluding reflexes). Subconsciously choosing which path to take on, big or small. Imagine that being made apparent with a twist of being always bombarded with asinine decisions.

Enter NouCome.

It's your choice from here, but you have to choose one.

1. Continue reading.
2. Discontinue reading.
... 3. Look at the score, agree with it, and click helpful vote (the most recommended and most popular choice these days).

NouCome is an unprecedented anime that takes daily routines to an outrageous degree, very literally, resulting in a relatively funny anime that would fit the generation it resides in. I'm not one to snipe "generic" anime and present them from the head as the disease that intoxicates this medium. Whilst NouCome takes this unique premise and falls victim to standards of its origins and generation every now and then, one has to steer clear of the clouds and draw vision to the fact that it is one of the better anime of its time, something to not take too lightly.

The thing that makes this anime good is mainly execution. This is ridiculous, from Amakusa's social life being scorched to something unrecognisable to the other weirdo girls in this show, there's a good mix to play around with and create a ton of funny situations for a wide magnitude of reasons. Slipping over banana peel = le comedy 100? Or maybe some absurd cringe choice like stripping in public. It is so asinine, so wild, it shouldn't work, but it does because that's how wild this whole situation is. Some common harem tripe like this shouldn't have humour like this that exponentially makes it better, but imagine if you were in that situation? (assume no deconstruction plot no one asked for too.) It would be a ridiculously unbearable life, for anyone. It's really good stuff made by someone who seems to have some understanding of how people work, I suppose in this case it is more of a comedic legend, but either way, still very good on this team's behalf.

If the earlier paragraph didn't give it away, there's not actually a lot of substance to this anime; it is an unfortunate fate given the number of times this anime opens doors to something potentially well worth the time than just silly antics continuously for 10 episodes. Is it the curse of being a light novel? Was it the standards at the time? It's disheartening this anime would not break out of the mould, but it is what it is. It's also slightly annoying to hint at going on potential tangents in the plot only to not do anything about it, or in other words relating to this anime, literally go back to square one. As if change = new episode idea, nothing more, nothing less. Maybe down the line, if this anime were to continue, this cemented reality would be false, but I wouldn't know and I don't have intentions to continue reading as of this moment. What can I say though? Despite the unwanted leftover taste, the changes that arise every now and then are still pleasant to see. I guess it depends on your tolerance.

The characters in this anime are what you would expect of your typical harem cast and main character. They are nothing special, but the atmosphere they reside in makes for a somewhat special time, which is why the content is so loveable. I say this all, but these characters actually do a decent job at, well, being people. As strange as it sounds, Yukihira, Yuuouji, and Chocolat have more to them than just being some cardboard harem girls. They felt particular ways, want particular things, and have some story to them (more true for Chocolat, but that's a given). Whilst it doesn't suddenly give them free tickets to live rent-free in you, one would still have to respect the time given to elaborate the personality of these characters more than to just poop them out as in done elsewhere, everywhere for the most part. You average viewer may not care too much, but I won't go out of my way to lambast these girls unfairly.

The production here is very much so as you would expect, however, I noticed no apparent flaws with Diomedéa's work. From what I recall, there was no rushing and everything was clean. It's pretty standard stuff; nothing amazing to see here. The same is also true for the soundtrack, seiyuu, and all the other audio stuff. Nothing more, nothing less. Everything was really just centred around the story really.

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TLDR Review:

Story - 7: Good original story that isn't entirely bad. Also has some meaningful moments that come up every now and then; just doesn't nothing with them in the long run.
Visuals - 7: Decent enough for their time. Looks clean too.
Audio - 6: Basic whatever you usually get.
Characters - 7: Characters that aren't just "harem girl" full stop. Have some life to them.
Enjoyment - 8: It's very funny and this humour doesn't die out so fast.

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That's all I have to really say about NouCome. It is enjoyable, very enjoyable. Having a look at the old comments I have made on this anime, it is apparent I enjoyed this quite a bit. It should be noted that it is not a dauntingly hard task to make me laugh though; this anime was clever in its jokes, however, so it is nothing too box standard, even for its time, but those jokes crop up as a little treat that every now and then. I would recommend this anime to all looking for a nice and fast harem series that doesn't demand too much. Again, nothing special, but who cares, if you are here for some fun, and some potential reflection on a comical premise in reality, then NouCome awaits you.

Also, best girl is Yukihira.