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This anime tries hard to be funny, but it isn't. None of its gags land, instead coming across as annoying. Specifically, the running gags, such as:

* The Binkan the Salaryman gag
* The Kim Jong-il and North Korea gag
* The use of real-life images of animals and Sakura depicted as a white guy gag (The white guy's face is Thomas Romain, known for creating Code Lyoko)
* The "pipiru piru piru pipiru pi" chant gag

Furthermore, the plot of this show is nonsensical and remains unresolved by the end of the second OVA, leaving lingering questions about its bizarre storyline. Nevertheless, if you have a weird sense of ... humor, there's potential for enjoyment. It's not a snoozefest, but it's not a good anime, either.

Kakegurui is a high school comedy anime disguised as a gambling anime. Filled with eccentric and psychotic characters, one notable aspect is how the show sexualizes its characters, depicting them experiencing intense pleasure akin to orgasms during gambling moments. Even the show's outro doesn't shy away from this boldness, featuring closeups of the main character's ass and boobs, which seem to be for comedic effect. In essence, Kakegurui is more akin to Prison School's unrealistic premise than a gambling anime with high stakes.

However, Kakegurui is nowhere near as funny as Prison School, and worse yet, its gambling aspects have zero stakes. The main character, Yumeko, ... is overpowered and wins almost every gambling match, practically making the stakes zero. Yumeko only ever loses if they want to lose. Overpowered characters and winning with asspulls are entertaining in other anime, but in Kakegurui, it's lame because the story is too repetitive. They never add in slice-of-life, school, or romance-centered episodes. Every single episode is a gambling match. By the second season, the story starts getting too repetitive and predictable.

Still, even with Kakegurui's flaws, I did enjoy the first season of Kakegurui - enough so - that I gave it an 8. I say it's worth checking out, but expect the story to get repetitive. Also, the second season is worse because they stop showing Ryouta and instead introduce bland, one-note characters, which is why I'm giving this "Mixed Feelings," even though the first season is an 8.

Pet Shop of Horrors is an episodic OVA series, with each story being reminiscent and likely inspired by Aesop's Fables. I came into the show thinking it would be generic vintage trash, but I was pleasantly surprised at how good each episode was. Episode one is decent but a bit unbelievable. Two and three are the best, and four is the worst but still solid.

The only real problem with the show, in my opinion, is its four-episode runtime leaves plot points unanswered, which are supposedly only answered in the manga. Despite this, I still enjoyed the anime, and haven't personally read the manga. However, there ... are a few other problems, such as the dated animation and Detective Leon's English dub voice actor being mediocre. Still, I didn't see them as a massive problem.

Overall, I recommend Pet Shop of Horrors. If you come into it expecting a collection of enjoyable short stories, you'll enjoy it. However, if you're expecting an anime that resolves all its plot points in a four-episode series, you won't like this anime.

Shinsekai Yori is a slow-burn anime with a decent payoff by the end of the series. However, for some reason, I find myself unable to rate the series any higher than a 7, and upon further assessment, there are some faults in Shinsekai Yori. Foremost, its characters are lacking, and I didn't connect to any of them. Some argue that the show is more about telling themes and ideas. Yet, bland characters can be unengaging to viewers such as myself and make you ask, "Why should I care about the outcome of this story?"

Moreover, I found the animation wasn't the best out there. In one ... of the first few episodes, there are scenes with still images, which destroy the suspense. Then, in the second half of the show, they implemented poor-looking CGI. The CGI submarine stands out as looking awful. The action isn't good either, and there's not much.

In all, I don't have that too many complaints about Shinsekai Yori. It's not a bad show by any means, but I did find it boring, which isn't a legitimate criticism but rather a personal preference. Maybe if I initially knew this would be a slow-paced show, I would have liked it more. However, I also did find it boring because it repeats themes I've already seen in other anime - for example. Shiki.

I recommend watching this show only if you've bought into the world and characters in the first few episodes. Otherwise, you should drop the show.

Texhnolyze presents a slow and dark journey through a dystopian world. The first episode sets a tone of bleakness and confusion, alienating most viewers with its sparse dialogue, slow pacing, and dated animation (only available in 480p). However, the following episode has much more dialogue and the pacing does eventually gain momentum several episodes later.

One surprising aspect of Texhnolyze is its influences from Western culture. Drawing inspiration from sources such as Christianity, the Bible, Friedrich Nietzsche, Plato, and Edward Hopper's paintings. Additionally, parallels with Ghost in the Shell are evident, as both explore the darker implications of technological advancement and share similar aesthetics.

Still, even though ... Texhnolyze is reasonably well-written, I can't recommend this anime. It's the slowest anime I've ever seen even when it does pick up momentum, and I never cared for any of the characters. With people mentioning how depressing this anime can get. I was expecting to feel the same way I did with the End of Evangelion. Yet, I never felt any despair or emotional connection at all.

Some fans of Texhnolyze claim that criticizing the slow pacing of the anime isn't a valid criticism. However, if the slow pacing of a show takes away the engagement of the viewer, then it is a valid criticism, which this show does. Compare Texhnolyze to similar anime, Serial Experiments Lain and Angel's Egg, and it's much longer and has horrible video quality in comparison. My criticism is not based on "I think this anime is slow because I find it personally boring." Rather Texhnolyze is legitimately too slow narratively. There's a reason it never got a true Blu-ray release or is widely available.

I'd only recommend this anime to people who like the Silent Hill-esque atmosphere. Or for those who like analyzing shows and feeling like geniuses for understanding the show's philosophy.