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Oct 9, 2014
In a Nutshell:
Aldnoah.Zero holds a very special place in my heart, it really does. How one anime can so comprehensively screw up in every department, that actually matters, is beyond me. It is a feat not even the great Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate was able to achieve. So unmitigated is this disaster that I think its required viewing for anyone interested in knowing how NOT to write an anime. Everyone else would probably be better off watching boku no pico.
The Review:
Aldnoah chronicles a war that breaks out over the attempted assassination of the Martian princess, Asseylum, who was on a diplomatic mission to improve
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relations between the Terrans and the Martians. Tensions between the two factions had apparently been escalating ever since the last war, which purportedly took place 15 years prior the series. This is all the information we get before the anime becomes a tedious string of action sequences, interlaced with uninteresting conversations and nearly useless infodump sections. As a result, we learn barely anything about the political and economic conditions surrounding the conflict. But hey, who gives a damn if the plot is paper thin and has holes the size of Jupiter, as long as there are you have badass explosions, and a cast of high school students to boot!
The anime focuses on a handful of characters at the expense of all other aspects of the so-called war. So you would think the writers would put at least SOME effort into developing them, right? Heh, WRONG! In fact, Aldnoah has plot devices instead of 'characters.'The biggest problem with the cast is undoubtedly its size. There are simply way too many characters for a 12 episode show to handle properly. As a direct result, most of them end up being extras with no personalities whatsoever. Strangely enough, the 'main' characters don't fair any better. Inaho, the protagonist of this trainwreck, is the most lifeless individual I have seen to date. If he were to be replaced by one of the mechs, you would've have a really hard time telling the difference. This is helped by the fact that the apathetic idiot sounds as if he were voiced by a text-to-speech software. for someone labelled as the protagonist, Inaho doesn't really do much besides delivering exposition during battles. He doesn't even get into a relationship for god's sake! Even the most generic ecchi anime has a lead more human than this bag of bones.
The Martian side of things is even worse, believe it or not, when it comes to the character department. This entire faction seems to be comprised of disagreeable individuals, who are bent on starting a war with the Terrans. Moe Mars princess, (Asseylum) and Slaine, the Terran who was 'saved' by her, are apparently the only people who have a conscience. Asseylum is clearly the more annoying of the two. The anime tries to portray her as a pacifist, an angel among demons, if you will. This probably could've worked if the writers had bestowed her with an appropriate back story. But as it stands, she's a walking, talking, collection of cliches. Given the princess' fetish for Terrans, I fully expected a relationship to blossom between her and Slaine. But the guy is busy with plot device duties throughout the series, you see. His sole purpose seems to be accentuating the inhumane nature of the Martian gentry, by being repeatedly beaten and tortured. You actually feel sorry for him until you realize it's just too contrived to take seriously. The very notion that he suffers all this abuse right under Asseylum's nose is preposterous. Why couldn't the idiot just go and tell her about his misery. There is absolutely no reason for the dim-witted Terran to suffer in silence. Oh wait, there is, SHOCK VALUE!
Aldnoah zero is yet another series which squandered its potential because of lazy writing. It literally offers NOTHING of value in terms of plot and characterization. Not even the flashy visuals and catchy soundtrack can save this one from my shit list.
Reviewer’s Rating: 2
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Mar 25, 2013
Once in a while, there comes along an anime that claims to go against the industry's trend. An anime that claims to be unique in a time when the market is filled mostly with indistinguishable moe clones and so on. This is a very good marketing strategy for Psycho Pass if you ask me, especially given the gorgeous artwork and an exciting concept. In addition to this, it was touted as the 'next GITS'. Needless to say, I picked this up with VERY HIGH expectations. expectations which were about to come crashing down faster than you could say 'psychopath'.
Let me commence the review
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of this miserable, god forsaken creation by explaining with the use of as few swear words as possible, the stupidity of this anime's excuse for a plot. The story is convoluted and too pretentious for its own good. In short, its sort of like the sentence which began this paragraph. As I said before, the concept is exciting, thought provoking even. So it comes as a huge disappointment that, instead of analyzing the effects of such a system on society in an unbiased manner, this anime opts to make it seem altogether evil and oppressive. Just how ludicrous the system is can be understood by watching the first episode. We see a rape victim almost killed for..well, being raped. Why would anyone shoot at an innocent rape victim? Why is being passionate about something likely to make you a criminal? Why does such an oppressive system exist in the first place? Your guess is as good as mine because these and many more questions are never answered and are left to the imagination of the viewer. Instead, the show spends several minutes every episode explaining things that are totally obvious like how people are living with a false sense of security. Its almost as if Urobuchi didn't want to touch substantial questions about the setting with a ten foot pole. He seems to have the characters engage in needlessly long conversations about everything under the sun just to avoid discussing the aforementioned questions. But I suppose the stupidity of characters deserves a paragraph of its own.
One of the biggest draws for me in GITS is the characters. So, when they said this was going to be the 'next GITS', I was expecting a cool protagonist like Kusanagi. But instead of someone competent and emotionally mature like the Major, we get Akane. She is the exact opposite of what you would expect from a half-decent police officer. Even if she's newbie, expecting us to believe that someone in her position would burst into tears on a whim is nothing short of insulting the intelligence of the viewer. The rest of the team is also inexplicably over emotional. These lunatics are like a rag-tag bunch of immature teenagers drawn from some high school drama rather than a well organized team of law keepers. Pretty much the same description applies to the antagonist, Makishima, who is apparently trying to expose the absurdity of relying on psycho passes. At least, that's what the anime wants you to believe. In actuality, he comes across as an emotionally challenged idiot who just uses people to amuse himself and cause destruction. What little character development there is occurs in sudden bursts and is the result of convenient writing than anything else. All in all, Psycho Pass fails spectacularly in this department as well.
This anime provides no food for thought to be sure. It does however, provide some awesome eye-candy. Production I.G has done an outstanding job of creating a detailed futuristic environment that fits the theme perfectly. The anime uses a wide array of colors to accurately convey the atmosphere in each scene. There are a few hiccups here and there, but these minor glitches are more than excusable given the overall visual quality. Character designs are similarly good looking. You will however come across a few shots in which characters look terrible, but these are far apart and pardonably few in number.
I wish I could sing praises about the audio as well, but there is nothing that really stands out. Sure, the voice cast delivers aurally pleasing performances and Yugo Kanno delivers some catchy tunes. But on the whole, this department seems quite lackluster compared to the visuals. It is however, by no means, sub par.
psycho Pass is an amalgam of the great and the abysmal. Unfortunately, it fails miserably in crucial areas such as plot and characters. So much so that not even the spectacular visuals can make up for it. In fact, its almost saddening that such stylistic visuals are wasted on telling a story which has neither substance nor a clear sense of direction. Characters who behave like emotionally challenged teenagers and lack any credible development only serve to mar an already horrible series. In the end, Psycho Pass doesn't do anything interesting with its unique premise and remains a frustratingly shallow experience throughout. I think I finally understand Urobuchi's nickname. He managed to butcher the series quite well.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Oct 23, 2012
Tthis anime is very much like it's in the respect that it doesn't make any sense whatsoever. The plot is broken and feels rushed to say the least. The score is lackluster and the characters are little more than boring stereotypes. Almost everything about this show screams 'average'. To be honest, I would've been happy if it was indeed average. But i was terribly disappointed.
The biggest problem with Senkyo is it's setting. it is simply put, laughable. Students control EVERYTHING in Takafuji Academy from staff appointment to budget management. in fact, there is no sane adult to be seen during the course of
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the entire anime. It really is preposterous to even assume that 17 year olds have the requisite knowledge to manage a large educational institution. As if this were not enough, the politics surrounding the student council elections is grossly exaggerated. Backstabbing, scheming and attempted murder are what this show considers 'real politics'. Wait a minute, did the writers forget that the story is set in a high school?
The plot doesn't do anything to ameliorate the boneheadedness of the setting . in fact there is almost nothing apart from the dull politicking to the plot. of course, it is dull because it isn't done right. We don't see Oojima making valid points to support his cause, instead we see him giving supposedly inspirational speeches while forgettable music plays in the background. To be fair to the anime, it is worth mentioning that it does bring to the fore serious issues such as student harassment. But it doesn't go anywhere with it. No solutions are provided to the problems the show points out. I'm inclined to believe that the writers never even tried to come with any solutions. This is because the show turns into a lame thriller around the 10th episode. It seems as if all the drama was placed there just so that the anime could avoid discussing the more serious issues that it had brought up.
Most of Senkyo's characters are boring one-dimensional stereotypes of the worst sort. There are several females surrounding the protagonist as is to be expected from a harem. But only two of them are worth writing in any detail about. Chisato, the childhood friend is probably one of the most self-centered, whiny and psychologically unstable females in anime I've had the misfortune to witness. Unfortunately, she is the main heroine of the show. It really is a shame because Satsuki, Chisato's competitor and Oojima's political rival is so much better than her in every conceivable way. Satsuki's back-story although cliched, is incomparably better than chisato's, which is laughable to say the least. Speaking of back stories, did I mention that they are the only form of character development there is? And to be absolutely honest, these little splashes of character development feel quite prefunctory and often have no bearing on the plot whatsoever.
The art, animation, ost and voicework are all pretty average. Nothing much to write about here.
Some people might excuse the myriad flaws of this horrendously blighted excuse for an anime due to the fact that it is a mainstream harem. But there are a lot of mainstream anime out there with a more cohesive plot and better fanservice.
Reviewer’s Rating: 2
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Jul 11, 2012
Note : This review is for seasons 1 & 2.
Romance, comedy and fantasy. Three of the most overused elements in anime. Making a series which seems familiar while successfully avoiding the cliches that riddle the rom-com genre is almost unthinkable. Yet, that is exactly what Spice and Wolf does.
The story is set sometime in the middle ages when the human civilization was still using metal currencies. This is a fact that the viewer is made painfully aware of during the first 'arc'. I say 'painfully' for a reason. Since Lawrence is a merchant, there are a lot of technical concepts and terms relating to medivial
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mercantilism. This can make the plot hard to follow at times. But it is masterfully crafted to produce the atmosphere of the setting nonetheless.
The area in which the anime excels however, is character development. The protagonists in this series unlike most rom-coms feel human. They are not some random characters who fall for each other on first sight. The chemistry between Holo and Lawrence improves gradually.in a very satisfying manner. one can easily perceive the character
growth by simply observing the way they communicate with each other. While their interactions are very satisfying, it is Holo who really brings this anime to life. Her mischievously regal nature is quite apparent thanks to sugar-coated admonitions and a convoluted manner of speech. In this respect, her moe character design is very misleading. My only
complaint about this centuries old goddess is her debauchery, which seems a little uncanny for a 'wise' wolf. But it is for the most part, excusable.
The voice-acting and ost are excellent. I haven't watched the original Japanese version, but the English dub is exceptional. Palencia Brina amiably captures the subtleties of Holo's personality. Tatum J. Michael also does a very good job as Lawrence. Given that this series has a western feel to it, watching the dub would be apt. The ost has a collection of delightful tracks which sound fittingly medieval and are a pleasure to listen to. It is unfortunate that the music does not receive as much emphasis as it should.
The visuals are by no means extraordinary, but they serve the series adequately. The character desigins are likewise
done very well. Holo's design is particularly captivating, it is the perfect blend between a human and a wolf, quite unlike the cat eared women I have become accustomed to seeing in anime.
In conclusion, I would recommend it to everyone who wishes to escape the hustle and bustle of mainstream anime and immerse themselves in an imaginative world with colorful, yet surprisingly realistic characters. This is an anime which you are bound to enjoy regardless of whether you like rom-coms or not. Keep in mind however, that this an incomplete series.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jul 11, 2012
This is one of the best movies I have watched to date period. The story starts off like your average romantic comedy, with the protagonist being coaxed into doing something strange for a girl. But the movie soon leaves this well-worn path and wanders into uncharted territory. It is an accurate depiction of the consequences of over-reliance on the internet. The backdrop against which the major portion of the story is told, a traditional Japanese household with an amusing and slightly annoying cast of characters, is as interesting as the core concept. It is very hard to pick a single favorite from this excellent cast,
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but if I have to do so, I'll pick Jinnouchi Sakae. The portrayal of the 89-year old fascinated me (although it IS a bit unrealistic).
This movie is a visual treat, this is especially true with the world of OZ, whose backgrounds are rendered in full 3D. The real world on the other hand does not offer much eye candy, this is primarily due to the rustic setting and is not a bad thing at all. But where the movie really shines is in the department of character design. The monster in the screenshot above should be enough proof.
The audio, although good, isn't up to par with the visuals. The English voice acting is ok for the most part, but I suggest watching this subbed. The music isn't much to speak of either, there was only one track that made me go 'wow' in this movie.
Now it is that part of the review where I point out all the flaws. But frankly, other than the predictable ending and a few sticky plot points (teaching martial arts over the internet?!) I can't really find anything to criticize.
In conclusion, Summer Wars is a movie with a unique concept, flamboyant visuals and an entertaining cast of characters. Its minor flaws can be easily overlooked and shouldn't deter anyone from enjoying this light-hearted tale.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jul 11, 2012
Memories.....quite a weird name if you ask me. It is the name of a not-so-weird 1995 anime film produced by Katsuhiro Otomo. The movie's based on three of his manga short stories : Magnetic Rose, Stink Bomb and Cannon Fodder.
Now, each of the these three 'episodes' has its own setting and flavor. So, I'll deal with them them seperately.
Magnetic Rose
The first and best of the three in my opinion. Magnetic Rose is set in the distant future, a time when earth will most probably require a space garbage collection agency. At the beginning, it seemed a lot like cowboy bebop. But, as it progressed, the
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story became very surrealistic and a little disturbing. but the thing that sets this story apart from most Sci-Fi stuff I have read/watched is the human element. This is a very down-to-earth story with a lot of thrust just where it is required. Oh and its scripted by Satoshi Kon and the music's by Yoko Kanno. Two of my favorite people from the anime industry.
Stink Bomb
This is a complete 180 from the gloomy atmosphere of Magnetic Rose. its set in the present and revolves around Tanaka Nobuo, a lab technician who mistakenly swallows some experimental pills leading to some truly laugh worthy moments. While this is not completely original, it is one of the better japanese comedies I've seen to date. That said, I thought it fell short of the brilliance of Magnetic Rose. But a good watch nonetheless.
Cannon Fodder
To be honest, I don't know what to think of this one. Cannon Fodder is apperently set in an alternate universe in which people are waging a perpetual war against an unknown enemy. The episode chronicles the daily life of a typical family living in the presumeably unheathy environment. In all honesty, I was unable to comprehend the intentions or the message that the writer might have wanted to convey. On top of that, Cannon Fodder lacked personality to the extent that its execution felt sort of mechanical. Disappointing.
Closing Comments
So, we have a brilliant piece of work which gets steadily worser as it progresses. but this is by no means a bad movie. The first two episodes are well worth your time. But I couldn't help feeling that it hadn't realized its true potential. In conclusion, Memories is a suitable watch for a lazy sunday afternoon.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jul 11, 2012
Let me begin by saying that this is one of the better ecchi anime I have seen to date. Most aspects of it are above average to say the least. However, there's no denying the fact that the anime could've been much better if it had avoided some frustrating cliches.
The thing that struck me the most about this anime is how similar the setting is to Neon Genesis Evangelion. Humankind under threat of invasion by otherworldly beings of alien origin, some kind of top-secret technology that allows them to combat the unknown threat and even conspiracies to top it off. It has NGE written all
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over it thus far. But this is where the similarities end and, cracks begin to appear. To begin with, I do not think an anime with such a serious theme should have had as much ecchiness as Freezing did. This is a minor complaint though and shouldn't affect the experience much if you've decided to pick it up after seeing the 'ecchi' tag as I did. The second and the biggest problem is that the plot veers wildly off course after the introduction. One doesn't witness epic battles for survival. No, the viewer is instead treated to squabbles between the female protagonist (Satellizer) and other random Pandora. Given the backdrop of the series, this is an odd decision on the part of the producers. That said, the plot does manage to recover partially towards the end. It may be too little too late for some, but I personally liked the cliffhanger ending. If only the plot and setting were bolstered by not-so-weak characterization, maybe this anime would've stood out of the crowd.
The characterization is probably the weakest link in Freezing. In fact, it's downright frustrating. To the extent that you might be inclined to drop the series solely because of it. Let's talk about Satellizer first. She is the only character who receives some semblance of development during the course of the series. This by no means implies that she is tolerable as a character. Satellizer is irritating, period. She comes across as a tsundere of the highest order at the beginning (first few minutes of the first episode). Now, that impression is destroyed as soon as it is created by none other than Aoi Kazuya, the male protagonist. He has a sudden urge to hug her because she resembles his late sister, a legendary Pandora. This effectively sends Satellizer's reputation as the 'Untouchable Queen' down the drain. Thereafter, she transforms into this cute, shy insecure high school girl whenever she comes into contact with Kazuya. This, frankly speaking, is downright pathetic and a pain to watch even after the flashback to her distressing past. The chief reason for this is her 'I will not lose' personality. Under normal circumstances, this is supposed to be something admirable. But it's obvious that this is only a facade and she requires Kazuya to bail her out of tough situations. So, what happens when it's all done? You guessed it, she acts all feminine, says something like 'I didn't need your help' and makes a hurried exit from the scene. Satellizer does change during the course of the series though, in fact, she's the only one. But it comes after eleven episodes of utter stupidity. In other words, it doesn't amount to much.
Aoi Kazuya is another entity that I would like to discuss in detail. But I'll keep this one brief. Basically, he's your idealistic hero who doesn't take 'no' for an answer and is obsessed with becoming Satellizer's Limiter, probably because of his sister complex. Kazuya's okay for the most part, but it has to be pointed out that his tendency to deliver long, emotional (mostly uninspired) speeches can get irritating. Also, he has some kind of mysterious power which makes his Freezing a lot stronger at the right time. Personally, I'm not a big fan of characters with 'hidden potential' who come through for others in the nick of time and that too, recurrently. Personal views aside, Kazuya doesn't receive any development AT ALL. This is unfortunate as he is one of the leads in this show. The rest of the cast is composed solely of extras. Even Rana Linchen, Satellizer's rival, is just that and doesn't serve any other purpose. But as strange as it may seem, she is actually better than either protagonist in many ways. This is one of those rare anime in which the supporting cast is apparently far better than the protagonists. Don't ask me why though, I have no answer. Overall, this is one of the worst assortment of characters I've seen in any anime.
The art and animation are pretty well done for the most and manage to portray action scenes quite nicely. It's nothing revolutionary, but it's more than adequate for an ecchi anime. The same goes for the character designs. They're ok, albeit a tad generic.
The audio on the other hand is slightly disappointing. The voice cast does a pretty good job, but, none of them really stand out. One gripe I have about with regard to this is that most of what Satellizer says to Kazuya after about five episodes is annoying. Almost every dialogue is delivered in an irritating hesitant tone and has numerous pauses which are quite unnecessary. The soundtack is average, but manages to get the job done.
Freezing isn't a bad anime by any means. In fact, it has an interesting setting and more than adequate back-story for an ecchi anime. But it fails to use that solid foundation to its full potential. Weak characterization and an uninteresting plot prevent it from being one of the best products in it's genre. despite everything I have said, I still think it's a good pick for anyone looking for mindless ecchi action. Freezing has a lot of content to satisfy perverted minds.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jul 11, 2012
This is an anime I picked up on a whim, I'm glad that I kept my expectations low. Every aspect of this show is average, though that can be an understatement with regard to certain elements. Let me elaborate.
To begin with, Ao no Exorcist's story is nothing to write home about. As can be gleaned from the synopsis, it is your typical shounen with a reckless underage hero who is tasked with saving the world from (literally) all evil. Candidly speaking, the 'demon-who-is-oblivious-to-his-true-identity' archetype to which the protagonist belongs is overused. However, this is not to say that the story is 'bad'. It just ends
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up being a little too predictable and fails to create a lasting impression.
The rest of the characters also fall into well defined archetypes. For example, there is Yukio, the nerdy younger brother of the protagonist, the wise father Fujimoto and the usual bunch of tsunderes, tough guys, weaklings and the like. The only character who stands a little above the rest is the buxom, Kirigakura (yes, she is used for fanservice). In some situations, she is the only voice of reason among the often over-emotional cast. But as is the case with most shounen anime, being audacious when there is no apparent need for the same is considered admirable. A trait which I find very irritating. Not helping matters is the fact that only the protagonist is developed during the course of the series. That too, in a very predictable manner. It is very clear from the beginning that Okimura Rin is the demonic savior of humanity All in all, this is an average cast with passable group dynamics.
As for the art and and animation...well, they are hit and miss at best. There are some slick action sequences which are animated with very good particle effects. Alongside these is some truly horrible CGI. For example, there is one scene near the end in which insect-like demons explode through an opening in the ground. The whole thing is done in CGI and you can actually see the difference in frame rate between the 3D and 2D portions. This renders the whole scene a broken feel. The character designs are more consistent and generally well done. The blue flames that surround demonic characters lend them an imposing presence.
Aurally, Ao no Exorcist is pretty good. The Japanese voice cast does an an almost flawless job. My personal favorite is Rina Satou , as Kirigakura. The soundtrack is also good, although it isn't as emphasized as it should be in the series. I especially liked the second ending 'Wired Life' by Meisa Kuroki.
Ao no Exorcist is by no stretch of imagination what I would call a good anime. Sure, it has its moments, but they're too far apart and disjointed from each other to amount to anything. Add to this, the visual inconsistencies and the under-emphasized OST. One can deduce that it had a lot of potential. But in the end, no aspect of the anime creates enough of an impression to make it worth your while. Unless of course, you are a hardcore fan of of the shounen genre or are relatively new to the medium
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Mar 2, 2012
This anime seems like your typical romantic/slice of life anime and in most ways, it is. Take for example, the totally coincidental manner in which the protagonist, Hayasaka Yukari, is singled out by the eccentric group of fashion design students, or the fairly cliched cast of characters. the thing that sets it apart though, is the development of the protagonist. She makes a gradual and plausible transition from an unmotivated high school student to a professional model. While this is very satisfying to watch, it is ironic that the overall experience is somewhat dampened by the LACK of character development.
Most of the
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characters other than the protagonist and her boyfriend have shallow personlities and are nothing more than mediocre supports. Sure, you find out a little bit about their pasts by the end of the show, but nothing that's revealed gives them any extra personality. This is one series which could've used at least 4-5 episodes more to develop all of the members of thee cast properly. however, if you can overlook the lack of character development, the story is very well done.
The animation and character designs are very well done. The same goes for the soundtrack, especially the opening and ending themes.
So, would i recommend it?Well, its a tough call, the cast felt like a random assortment of characters with no real personalities to be honest. But at the same time, the development of the protagonist is very realistic. The same goes for the plot as well. If you like slice of life anime with very realistic plots and are interested in fashion, this series should be on your watch list. Even if that is not the case, you should consider watching this at some point. It isn't extraordinary by any stretch of imagination, but it is greater than the sum of its parts.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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