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What if…

What if there’s something that you could see with your bare eyes in which normal people can’t with theirs? What if these things were microscopic microbes? What if everything around you is filled with microbes? What if when eating you saw these microbes, what will you do; will you still eat it or not? What if you’re going to a place and you saw all these microbes floating everywhere, will you still proceed? What if a person approached you and you saw that he is covered in microbes; can you still act normally? What if you took a shower, brushed your teeth, put on some clean clothes, done all the hygienic measures you could do but still, microbes are everywhere surrounding you, will it make you uneasy knowing that you already did all what you could’ve? What if you’re very sleepy but you saw microbes lying on your bed, would you ignore this and still sleep comfortably or will you rather stay awake? But what if these microbes are not those occult-looking microbes you normally see in science classes, instead they are cute and adorable pet-like creatures, would it freak you out or will it be fun?

For the answer, go look for an electron microscope or better yet, just watch Moyashimon.

Moyashimon is the story of Tadayasu Sawaki, a freshmen university student who is taking up Agriculture. Since he was a child, he has this weird ability to see microorganisms with his bare eyes. As the incoming heir to a family business, he was sent to a university specializing in Agriculture, little that he knows that this university life would turn out to be an “un-normal” one just like he is.

Studying in a university normally includes living in a dormitory, a couple of mischievous juniors, a lover, an eccentric professor, and of course, there would always be fun. If you’re a college or a university student, you could surely relate to this, well, that is if it was normally. Because in Moyashimon there’s an inclusion; and that would be the not-so-normal everyday life that rotates around microbes.

With a total of 11 episodes, Moyashimon is all about the lives of our characters. It is about a boy who can see microorganisms. It is about the not-so-normal university life as an agriculture student. It is about a weird professor. It is about an S&M doctorate chick. It is about two juniors who have a debt of 10,285,000.00 yen without including the tax. It is about stealing genetically modified vegetables. It is about sake. It is about the fermentation process. It is about culturing different classes of microbes. It is about how cute and funny these microbes are. It is about a weird school festival. It is about a bunch of fake aphrodisiac. It is about a trap and a yuri. It is about everything you wouldn’t find in a normal university. It is random.

Moyashimon in all 11 episodes is pure funny randomness. Though random as it may look, unlike other comedy anime, Moyashimon had its characters developed charmingly and it is in this area where Moyashimon truly stands out from all the generic comedies out there. The characters where nowhere near generic and they even have unique character designs that totally differentiates them from the usual characters. The characters are: Sawaki, a short guy or “midget” as his friend call him who can see microorganisms; Professor Itsuki, a very eccentric laboratory instructor; Hasegawa, the professor’s assistant who is into S&M but becomes “childish” when drunk, as what she have said; Yuuki, a childhood friend of Sawaki who is very mysterious and is into sake; Kawahama and Misato, two juniors who are geniuses when it comes to microbes and the fermentation process but are idiots with everything else; Oikawa, an obsessive-compulsive who is into older guys; Mutou, a former beauty pageant winner who is the president of the “UFO Club”; and of course, it wouldn’t be complete without the microbes gathering around Sawaki and their leader A. oryzae which is basically used to brew yeast. As you can see, Moyashimon with its characters is a light-hearted world filled with fun and microbes.

If the idea of microbes somehow scares you, in Moyashimon, microbes are represented by cute chibi creatures which are well structured depending on its features (i.e. bacilli is oval and long, etc). Though some microbes are harmful as they are branded, they themselves admitted that they don’t want to cause harm instead they just want to interact with humans thus they always have that huge grin on their faces. They vary in colors too for easier identification. In the opening song, 3-D microbes were shown which is very cute especially the part where A. oryzae swings his head. In the anime itself, they are often seen floating and riding the shoulders of Sawaki presented by the same but now 2-D animation. In the ending song however, they have the same structure still but is now represented by cute clay models. Simply put; bacteria have never been so adorable.

If the microbes are so cute, then you should hear the soundtracks. Accompanied by the said microbes are the opening and ending songs and it really really really fits the jolly and light-hearted atmosphere of Moyashimon. The beats, the music, and the vocals is extremely good and there’s nothing that could be more of fitting than the song “Curriculum” by Sarasa Ifu. As good as the opening song is the ending song. The techno and very catchy beats of the song “Rocket” by POLYSICS accompanied by the cute actions of the microbes is very very catchy which could easily make a listener smile. The two are simply one of the best in the history of anime soundtracks. Try to listen and let’s see if you won’t be swaying your head like A. oryzae with the beat.

Moyashimon is at its best, very funny. Watch the first episode and within five minutes you’ll already be laughing and it doesn’t end at that, it will grant you a lockjaw for being insanely funny with its randomness for 11 episodes. Might it be the microbes or the actions of the characters, it will always keep you entertained. There’s no dull moment in Moyashimon that even the opening and ending songs are also packed with fun. Moyashimon is that jolly.

Randomness fun as Moyashimon might be, it isn’t all about mindless comedies, but in all seriousness, it is very informative with the certain explanation on processes and information about a microbe. It even has an extra segment called “Microbe Theater” in which a certain microbe that was introduced during the anime will be further looked onto. A must see for those taking up microbiology or even just to those who are interested in learning more about common microorganisms.

However, if there’s anything wrong with Moyashimon is the fact that it doesn’t have a season 2. I’m sure fans that have watched this have always craved for more. Only the creators didn’t comply and that would be the only wrong decision made in Moyashimon. But still, it is very good. And for an 11 episode anime, I am very satisfied with what it presented. Only if there’s a season 2 then it would be satisfaction guaranteed but heck this is already good as it is so why look further? Moyashimon is simply learning while having fun. Give Moyashimon a chance and I’m sure that it won’t fail you.

Who would’ve thought that microbiology could be so much fun?
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Incest – this theme is somewhat what’s “in” these days. Several titles made great use of this theme that led to their fame such as Kiss x Sis, Yosuga no Sora, and the well-known (and overrated) Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai or shortened as OreImo. Another anime which of the same theme hopes to grasp fame as well to join its onee-chan or imouto predecessors which is entitled Onii-chan no Koto nanka Zenzen Suki Janain Dakara ne!! or simply Onii-chan or Ochinko or Crap or Turd or Trash or “Whatever You Call This Garbage, I Don’t Care.”

Zexcs, a studio known for their epic creations were the geniuses behind this masterpiece. They were the ones behind Da Capo, Chuu Bra!!, many more known titles, and now this. These guys would be most deservingly entitled as “Harem Gods.” Only I’m being sarcastic as because Onii-chan doesn’t stray away from the usual crap. Not really usual, as it is something that is much worse.

Onii-chan along with some other titles (i.e. Green Green) is basically one of the reasons why I despise harems. Only with Onii-chan, it went beyond human capacity and broke those limits which ignited a resting flame within. Forgive me but I need to say it directly. Onii-chan is the worst pile of disgusting stinking piece of rabid mongrel defecate I’ve seen for a while. You might be saying that I simply can’t appreciate the ingenious humor and erotic fanservice of this “crap they dare call anime” as to why I’m hating it. No, it is just that sickening.

Oh Onii-chan, if you were to be awarded, I’d award you for being the only anime that was able to piss the hell out of me. Annoying? Somewhat. Frustrating? Where’s the CHAINSAW?!

Onii-chan has a total of 12 episodes, and for being able to complete that painfully agonizing struggle, I could now call myself a fully pledged masochist. This crap is the story of a boy and his little sister who is acting a little more “unfamily-like.” After some events, it was revealed that the girl was not his biological sister. As the girl was ridiculously aiming for a taboo relationship with his brother, she now felt disheartened but later on realizes that it is actually to her advantage as it is now legal and alright for them to do perverted stuff as well as getting married. After this, the goal for the ultimate harem for Onii-chan was set.

What I’ve said was actually a major plot twist of the story but as a major plot twist, it was revealed quite early. Early as in say, a few minutes into the first episode? After that, what would happen next won’t take a rocket scientist to figure out and I think you already know that. Correct! Nothing but crap, and loads more of crap.

Onii-chan is like a giant hot pot were all the tropes of other harems were put in, mixed up, and were randomly scooped by the choice of the director. Tropes that include going to the beach, going to the festival to watch fireworks, going to the movies while being stalked by someone, being left alone in the house with another girl and some other nonsensical piece of bull crap. Random the events were, there was actually no proper sequence as all the episodes are unrelated making it look episodic. Only that if one character appeared in this episode, he/she will most likely appear in the next one thus you’ll know that you’re watching it correctly.

As the episodes were all random, the events too presented in the episodes were all totally messed up. One moment is that he is here with some guys, and next thing you know it, he’ll be with the girls running around a different area. Teleportation maybe? It is as if that nothing happened and all were just written in thin air. This could be because the production team needed to fill in the remaining time which is 20+ minutes. If you don’t believe me, see episode 9.

Any anime even misguided ones all needs an ending and my, what a generic and stupid ending that was. It was an everlasting harem where none of the ostriches got picked. Nothing was resolved. Nothing was known of the little sister’s intentions. Nothing happened really. It became a happy ending, and an idiotic one at that. All of these happened because Onii-chan is a victim of poor storytelling. Seriously, the director needs an epic kicking on his nads to make him realize that what he’s done is nothing but a stacking pile of stinky dung.

The characters? Those are characters?! Those were more like hollow shells who walk and talk. All of them were perverted that is true, but is there anything more about them? I guess none. The main male character was a pervert and nothing more. His harem was a bunch of girls that only has different hair colors. If you look at them as a whole, they act just the same. The little sister type, a girl who has twintails and is not even a tsundere, and a perverted BL reader who falls not into basic archetypes, as archetypes still have personalities but rather as cardboard cut-outs. This crap also has its side characters who are pretty much the same as the mains. They pop up from place to place and not much is known about them except that the girls were the supportive friends of the little sister, and the boys were somewhat a co-member of this group called “The Legendary League of Perverted Virgin Losers’ Expedition Team” or something like that. It is just pathetic because there is absolutely zero character development; way to go Zexcs.

If the characters weren’t enough to make you puke, the character design is just as dreadful. The characters here have a serious illness that needs immediate medical intervention. All of them are thin, malnourished, or most likely to be anorexic. In one episode, there was even an event that showed that the main character has a bulging belly thus he looks like he has kwashiorkor. Eww. The legs and the arms were abnormally long which looks awful. Remember that I’ve been mentioning “ostrich?” That is because the characters here look like a bunch of horny ostriches. Long legs, a slightly leaning butt, yes, they are ostriches. As well as the backgrounds, they were rather very simple and generic. There’s nothing that is even worth mentioning with regards to its art. Well, that is expected from a low budget TV show.

What about fanservice scenes? Fanservice scenes you say, but if looking at enraged cats and a stupid-looking penguin would be what you call “fanservice,” then this contains a lot of them. Oh so those were actually censors? I’ve heard though that the DVD/BD will be uncensored. Hooray! Not. Who’d be turned on by looking at a bunch of ugly ostriches? The zookeeper maybe. Nice job Zexcs for ripping off your fans; I really applaud your ingenious tactics of money making. Seriously, this show shouldn’t have “ecchi” tagged on it, it should be “cats and penguins” instead.

One thing that I actually liked about this crap was it made me laugh once; and what a short laugh that was. The “comedy” genre of this crap should be changed into “tragedy” instead. Tragedy that you’ve wasted 6 hours for this piece of crap to finish, and to think that that 6 hours were filled with blood, sweat and tears as it was the struggle to overcome a huge pile of manure that is called “Onii-chan no Koto nanka Zenzen Suki Janain Dakara ne!!”

Onii-chan is also as I’ve said is somewhat annoying. The voices of the perverted ostriches were annoying that I think my eardrums were ruptured. This actually made me want to tear the characters’ larynxes for them to effing shut up. All of them have high-pitched voices including the males that sounded like metal grinding with each other which is very irritating.

Onii-chan doesn’t have any redeeming features. Even with its background music and with its opening and ending song, which was I think sung by a teenage girl inside a bathroom; is very generic. Generic J-Pop song, yeah, yeah, yeah! Shut up. And the soundtracks. They sound as if they were directly looted from an eroge.

The enjoyment that I got from Onii-chan would never be beaten by any anime. It made me want to punch someone, grind my teeth, scratched my head, and a lot more actions signalling frustration from someone that is clearly enjoying. The enjoyment that this show could give you could never be matched, it is simply one of the best. Of course, this is because I am sarcastic.

“Onii-chan no Koto nanka Zenzen Suki Janain Dakara ne!!” or “An Epic Piece of Turd” is a bad way of passing time. There are more decent titles out there which have better storylines and a fair amount of fanservice scenes which include the likes of Yosuga no Sora, Kiss X Sis and others. I suggest you watch those than watching this decomposed maggot haven.

“An Epic Piece of Turd” or whatever it is called is only recommended to those who wanted to build a colossal and an immeasurable hatred towards cats and penguins.
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What if the manageress of a high school baseball team had read Drucker’s “Management?”

This is the question imposed at the very beginning of the anime and is at the same time its very long original title. As it might look as a form of endorsement for Peter Drucker’s book of Management with baseball fans as the primary target, it’s not all about boring philosophy as there’s something much more to it. So what would really happen if someone who doesn’t even have a slight bit clue about management read about a book of it? Want to know the answer?

Say hello to Moshidora.

First of all for baseball fans, don’t expect too much dirt-hugging and some over-the-audience ball hits because you might just get disappointed. Moshidora’s theme is baseball no doubt but what it really wants to present is the essence of team building and human interrelationships; baseball was just used as a channel to express all these. Although it is does not contain as many ball movement as what other baseball anime could present, it still has its fair share of running and batting which could get somewhat exciting at times; though most of the time predictable, it is still fun to watch.

The story of Moshidora rotates around a girl who hates baseball. Hating baseball ironically, she is actually the manager of a high school baseball team as the replacement of a sick friend. Here she’ll meet different kinds of people with different problems and as their manager, she’s the one in-charge to fix all these. Here she’ll use the Drucker’s book as a guide to each and almost every problem that she faces. It has a lot more talking and crying and is undoubtedly somewhat very dull and boring at the beginning, but given some time and when it gets going, there’s just no stopping.

Moshidora has a huge cast of characters but not all are to be named and to be remembered necessarily. Given the number of people in a 10 episode anime, it is very unlikely that character development is mastered however, with the various situations that the characters face, they act as if they were real humans and not as other variations of anime stereotypes. As real as the characters are, of course the situations that they meet are also common human problems in which the way that they respond is logically humane. They deal with problems by consultation, cheering others up or by facing troubles head on as a whole team and of course with the manager as the center. I might sound like a genderist here but most of the male characters are rather dull or just so plain that made them look boring. Nonetheless, the female characters are there to back them up which made them look more interesting than what they should’ve been. Not minding other features of Moshidora, the characters alone would be enough to get it going. However, if there’s something that bugs me about the characters would be the fact that they are too over dramatic in which calling them “emo” would be an understatement. They cry and despair at almost everything but aside from being too emotional, there’s nothing more that I could hold up against them. They are too realistically human in a way that even calling them as anime characters would sound unfair.

Albeit the character interactions are very human, the designs are not. Character movements are very minimal; most of the time, they’ll just be standing there not moving except their mouths. Sometimes when from afar, the facial borders would change and would look more angular. The background too isn’t really something spectacular. Although it is light and refreshing, it is just too plain that it looks like simple sketches added with some watercolor palettes and some colored pencils. Most of the scenes too look like picture clips in which the camera just does the trick by scrolling through it might be vertically or horizontally. Even when they are playing baseball, some scenes look like it was already shown a couple of minutes ago. Basing with what I have said, it’s very obvious that the company went cost cutting with its production.

As the animation definitely needs some more time thinking through, the music of Moshidora is just eargasmic. The opening song entitled “Yume Note” of Moshidora is just “wow.” Even if listened to repeatedly, I could never get bored by listening to that very adorable voice and light xylophone strikes. It is no surprise as the owner of this lovely voice Azusa is already reaching fame because of her two very cute opening songs for AmagamiSS plus this. Compared to the ending song, the latter is not bad but it seems somewhat generic. The background soundtracks however are very energetic and lively. From simple upbeat tunes to parade trumpets, all is very lovable. Not to mention that the main characters’ seiyuus did an awesome job portraying their roles. Well, from two hardworking seiyuus namely Kana Hanazawa and Youko Hikasa, this is to be expected.

As the story goes, Moshidora does not waste any time by presenting scenes or introducing characters for some random entertainment. No, it is a very straightforward anime. All events that happen in Moshidora are all part of the plot development. Given at the very beginning that it might look too campy, try to watch a few more and it transmutes from bad at the beginning, to average at the middle, and to good at its ending. With the characters’ powerful standpoint in Moshidora, no wonder that the ending though a bit too dramatic is still great.

Overall, I think you should just watch Moshidora. It is a relaxing and a down-to-earth anime that could put smiles and a positive outlook in the lives of everyone. It is just 10 episodes so why miss the chance? And for a 10 episode anime, it sends its message to its viewers clearly. If you miss out on this one, I suppose you'll be forever haunted by a question like this:

“What if I an anime enthusiast who is reading this right now have watched Production I.G.’s Moshidora?”
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All people may he be the president of a powerful country to a homeless living under a bridge, all of them underwent the stage of childhood. As a child, what more could there be but to play, have fun, and enjoy. Theory has it that childhood is the time where the use of imagination is vast and wild. Imagination, though only by your mind is in fact very powerful that it could create your own world and as a child of course, this includes the silly imaginary friends, a scary supervillain, and some super cool powers. But what if you were given the chance to visualize it all and to feel that all of this weren’t just your thoughts but was something very close to reality? What if there’s this certain device in the form of a pair of “glasses” to provide you another world where you can see and feel that all of this is real and alive?

Welcome to the world of Dennou Coil.

Dennou Coil might sound or look too much of a children’s show but no, don’t drop it just yet. Dennou Coil tackles issues regarding reality and friendship with utmost subtlety and sublimity. Even if the main casts are a bunch of 6th graders, Dennou Coil can be loved by younger and older viewers alike as it faces its problems while not being too childish nor being too serious. Sure there are a lot of entertainment scenes mixed up with some good moral values aimed more specifically at children, but give it some more time to grow and you will see the fruits of it.

Another obvious thing that might turn viewers off would be its animation as the character designs tend to look so childish but still, if you know for yourself that you can tolerate seeing those faces for a whole 26 episodes, then I gladly suggest that you continue watching. Even for those who were fended off by the character designs, I still suggest that you continue watching as you don’t know what you’re missing here. These character designs reminded me of a specific anime movie that was Spirited Away in which the animation was simple but yet very effective. Even the black hairballs in the said movie make an appearance here in the form of Isako’s “Mojo” pets. As the characters might look too simplistic and well, too round, the backgrounds and the non-living instruments are done with precision and great detail. From, transparent laptops to the “Satchii” reformatter, all are very futuristic but not as eye distracting as what other cyber anime would present. Even with its lighting and fog effects, all are done well that even the scary scenes would really take effect and remember that this is a show that is very much directed to children.

What added to the animation were the use of the beautiful soundtracks and sound effects. Dennou Coil uses a wide variety of tunes that ranges from light and calm to something very dark and eerie. As this might be the case, even if there was a huge list of tracks being used, it doesn’t feel messy and is actually good as it is. Same with the sound effects, it really adds to the mood of the scene whether it wanted to be sweet and lovely or something mysterious and scary. As good as the soundtracks were the opening and ending songs. Both were done by Ayako Ikeda and I must say it is that good. The opening sets off a mysterious atmosphere while the ending sets a dramatic outro and both are very good in doing so. The seiyuus too did a solid and a very good job with portraying their characters as children; and even if they were a bunch of gradeschoolers, their voices were not too high as to be something that is annoying. Well, for being perfect in those aspects, it is no surprise that the story is as good as it is.

At first, things might seem very confusing and some of it might not look like it’s making any sense at all but given some time, as it has a slow pacing, eventually, all will be cleared up. Dennou Coil on its first half presented what its world is like. These episodes introduces Dennou Coil’s fundamentals. Most of these are the introductory for the characters, the urban legends, the evil entities, and anything that doesn’t fall between those lines. All things that happen in Dennou Coil have a reason. Unlike most anime that includes cybercities that could either be cool or mysterious, Dennou Coil’s is more childish and has a cutesy feel to it but don’t be fooled, for a child-like cybercity, it has something much more to it and could even be deeper than what other cyberpunk anime could present.

As the setting might be somewhat futuristic, the characters however is still standing on their two feet grounded on reality which makes all of them very believable despite the world they are in. Dennou Coil has a medium cast of characters, not too many or not too few, and these characters are all introduced for them to be a story player and not just for some comic relief. As the pacing might be slow, gradually through the character interactions and through some flashbacks, they slowly develop their personalities making them real enough. Not only the human characters play a valuable role here as even the smallest automaton was given a definite task to portray. Eventually, these characters annoying or not, wimpy or not, cool or not, will grow on you making them impossible not to love.

As the story goes on, it went on a momentary break at the middle as there were these episodes that could be called “fillers” by some people. As these might be lengthening the story, I don’t think these episodes were actually fillers but instead they served for the development of the characters and for the introduction of the events that will happen in the story later on. As I have said, I believe there were no fillers existent in Dennou Coil as all of the events here happens for a reason.

Dramatic as some scenes might be, it really feels believable and real as the character interactions were neither contrived nor forced. As well with its humor, it doesn’t pack a heavy load of it but still, it manages to deliver what it wanted with a meek smile or a bit of chuckles. Even for a child-friendly show, it also has scenes that look entirely creepy accompanied by great sound effects which add to the feeling. Dennou Coil might not sound too deep or intriguing but on how it amazingly delivers its themes, it is just something that is overly ground-breaking.

The latter half of the anime now focuses on the solutions of the problems that were presented in the earlier half. While solving the puzzles of the mysteries Dennou Coil presented, bit by bit it picked up its pacing. The 26 episodes of Dennou Coil was used perfectly in which it wasn’t dragging nor rushing. It’s just perfect as it is. Although it ended quite softly, the struggle to get there were packed with heavy and memorable bangs all throughout.

Overall,
Dennou Coil can be sweet when it needs to.
Dennou Coil can be funny when it needs to.
Dennou Coil can be scary when it needs to.
Dennou Coil can be thrilling when it needs to.
Dennou Coil can be dramatic when it needs to.
Dennou Coil can be childish when it needs to.
Dennou Coil can be mature when it needs to.
Dennou Coil can be a masterpiece when it needs to… and I’m glad it did. read more

This is not a series, this is a twenty minute OVA and wow, what an experience that was. It is impossible to experience angst, sorrow, joy and enlightenment in a mere third of an hour but Mars of Destruction amazingly pulled it through. I’ve never been so moved in my entire life. Mars of Destruction is definitely a must watch.

The story? The entire synopsis is the story. No need for further explanation, it’s all there.

Animation? Cars being blown up, decapitated chick’s head, girls with guns, and not moving characters! All that you’ve ever wished for an anime to present, you can actually see here.

Music? This is what you call music! Beethoven’s compositions and some random manly moans! Ahhhhh! Orchestra music while chicks are firing guns. This is where the anime shines. Where could you ever see this ingenious combination? Only available in Mars of Destruction!

Characters? Yeehaw! This is what modern anime characters should be like. Mars of Destruction has the epitome of character creation. Never will you see one in your entire life that could move you into tears or that could make you bursting into laughter. The decapitated chick was the best character in my opinion. Awesome characters are just awesome.

Enjoyment? Never had I watched a twenty minute anime that made me laughing for the wrong reason. If I had to rate the enjoyment, it would be 10000000000/10. Best anime of the century, or even the millennium, or most fitting would be FOREVAARRR!!

What? Watch this? OF COURSE!

……

If ever you wanted to experience the day that you’re now in your death bed and while looking back at your life, you’ll eventually question yourself, “Why did I watch that fucking 20 minute piece of garbage?” read more

Brought to you by the creators of the total nerve-wracking, mind-breaking, bone-chilling anime entitled Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, here comes Studio DEEN with another rare piece of work but now in the story of a girl who can’t control her powers that damages electrical gadgets known with the title of Code-E; but only lightyears away to being as ground-breaking as the former.

To accurately review Code-E, let’s do this by doing it the old fashioned way; by separating the good from the bad.

THE GOOD:
The best feature of Code-E would be in its sound department. First off, the seiyuus did their job impressively well; from being a total annoying spoiled brat to a hippy computer geek father, all the voices behind the characters really fits their personality. Another would be the calm and light relaxing tunes played as soundtracks of the anime, all these fits the mood of the atmosphere. The ending song too with a bit of sentimental touch reminds the audience what a rom-com shoujo anime is all about. However, the opening music as it did not contain any vocals although very good as well, utmost sounded like something you’ll likely hear in Lupin III making it more fitting for a mafia-related anime such as the one mentioned and not for a sci-fi shoujo anime. Setting this issue aside, the music in Code-E is undeniably the best part of it.

Animation-wise, Code-E contained crisp and clear backgrounds. From a calm and peaceful park to the busy streets of the city, all were done with great detail. As well as the lightings; it was never too bright or too dark to be distracting. As with regards to the background, Code-E is simply in par with the animation of the other anime within its time. However, as good as the background might be, the character designs though I just can’t seem to put my finger on it, felt so flat. They all felt so dull and all really looked generic. There were no special designs to distinguish them from other anime as they really seemed like copies from their archetype counterparts in other anime. And also, what I think that made the characters look less appealing was the disappearing nose. When looked from the side, their nose appears, but when looked head on this instantly disappears like magic! Well, must be prosthetics or something. And the school uniforms look less attractive than what they should have been and the boys’ specifically looked like it was directly looted from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya thus a minus for lack of originality; however, these are not really important as these are all minor issues compared to the bad – the story.

THE BAD:
You know why this anime blows? Because of that synopsis. The synopsis is so precise that it all stated what would happen from beginning to the end. So what am I basically saying? I am saying that from the first episode until the last one, there was no plot movement. For easier visualization, Code-E is like observing ants in a formicarium. These ants do what they do best which is living their everyday lives as normal ants would. Though still, it would be better to observe ants as they do still have a sense of direction, unlike the characters of Code-E who doesn’t. And no, this is not some slice of life that could be compared to Lucky Star as comparing it with the mentioned anime could be definitely considered a crime.

To further elaborate, we were introduced with a character that has an unknown special ability that causes disturbance to anyone who’s using electrical devices. Well for everyone’s sake, this unknown ability was never given any information even at in the end as to why it ever existed.

If the cause was never discovered, so what?

That’s exactly it. Each and every episode was dedicated for the discovery of this unknown phenomenon and even at the ending it was still not revealed. For audiences’ sympathy, it tried to change its look to a melodrama with the last episode’s very last minute. That’s just a pathetic excuse as the creators couldn’t fit a simple answer to this in a twelve episode anime with a never moving story. Oh did I mention the pacing wasn’t slow as there was really no story movement? Oh right, I already did. It was like watching a wannabe sci-fi that ended up being an extremely boring and random slice of life. Nothing new with regards to the plot up to the tenth episode was introduced, that is except for a number of insignificant characters. As to why these characters were introduced, the anime didn’t say so. The creators were probably thinking that it would be fun to introduce some no sense of direction characters for some poor comic relief.

So to further describe these (in)significant characters, let’s look at their personalities. All of the characters as displayed by their character designs also fell into their basic archetypes; the female lead is a clumsy scaredy-cat glasses-wearing girl. She also doesn’t know how to express her feeling just like all the female leads out there. Wow that’s really new. And the side characters are also too generic and this includes the annoying science geek who is the partner of the female lead, the highly arrogant ojou-sama, the cool and mysterious tall classmate, and a poor imitation of a wacky duo from Pokemon – the Team Rocket. Even though they might be generic, it could still be used for the better as some anime filled with stereotypes even became good at the end but guess what, there was completely no attempt for further development of the characters leaving all to be very unappealing and unlikeable. Yes, there was absolutely no character development within the span of 12 episodes. So what were they doing? Nothing. They were all just introduced to walk around just like mindless zombies without a sense of direction with regards to the plot.

Still, every show as it has its protagonist will always have a villain. This villain was introduced at the final quarter of the anime. As to why this villain was introduced, the anime didn’t said so. The creators must be having some serious fun introducing random characters eh? After some irrelevant lines by the nameless evil doer; the villain who just popped out like a zit, immediately disappeared; just like a zit.

Also another way to describe this anime is it is like a Magician’s Hat. Why? It randomly picks up stuff just for the viewers to be amused or entertained leaving lots of events look irrelevant with regards to what’s really happening. Hence, it also took a turn of events at the end as what would a magician would do to fool people as the whole anime eventually became a drama. And even so, the drama of this anime is just bad as it is. It all looked so forced as there was never a deep interaction with the characters making it all look so cheesy. “I love you” – yes you can say that to anyone for them to save you, unless you want to die.

So what’s Code-E all about? I think it’s about some science stuff explained by some nerdy high school boy in which Nickelodeon kid shows would probably be a better way in gaining some knowledge. But before I forget, this has a sequel too which is entitled “Mission-E.” But judging from this anime that took an abysmal nosedive, I doubt that it could be brought back by any redemption. Still, I would gladly recommend this for those who are feeling so gutsy and masochistic to see what an ass filled with hemorrhoids look like. Though I’m not really expecting it to have a higher score, I’m actually surprised that I’ve rated it so.

So here, a solid ONE, just because ZERO is nonexistent on the score sheet. read more

When Dragon Crisis! is mentioned, what would immediately come into your mind? I’m guessing anything with the likes of an adventure game like Dungeons and Dragons to the dragon with balls in Dragon Ball Z. But let me tell you straight, that’s not going to happen. Dragon Crisis! is not about slaying dragons or running through castles to gain hidden treasures. No, it’s all about moe, harem and... Rie Kugimiya.

Dragon Crisis! started out by presenting viewers that it was about some Lost Precious that needs to be obtained because these are rare artifacts yadda yadda blah blah blah. You don’t need to listen because what you’ll see in the introductory episodes with regards to the plot are lies. What Dragon Crisis!’ focus is the main male character Ryuji.

Yes, Dragon Crisis! = Ryuji.

As the title might be enthralling as it seem, the topic about the so called Lost Precious was quickly shoved away and now the actual main point of the story is for Ryuji to capture all the hearts of the girls she encounters to make the ultimate harem with all the supernatural out of this world beings. It includes a moe dragon, a sexy secret agent onee-chan, a tsundere werewolf and of course, it wouldn’t be complete without your clumsy normal girl. These girls don’t really need further introduction as they are the same archetypes from other harem anime you’ve seen except with the additional features such as the fox tail or dragon wings. On the other hand, Ryuji is not your annoying wimpy kid as he is over-powered. He is a LEVEL 10 Breaker for god’s sake. But one question. What is a breaker, and a level 10 for most? Duh, who cares?! As long as Kugimiya is here nobody cares!

This is true as sadly, none of these characters were given enough time to mature as the story kept on introducing one character after another making some characters look insignificant. Even some single episode villains don’t really make sense as their true motives and backgrounds weren’t looked through thoroughly. But then again, who cares?! As long as Kugimiya is here nobody cares!

Also, a lot of happening in this anime were very inconsistent. As I’ve said, the premise introduced that it was going to be a hunt of those “rare” Lost Precious; and then it immediately became a matrimonial controversy after that, and what I really find ridiculous is that these Lost Precious, being “rare” as they are, were being carried by every Tom, Dick and Harry that appears. All problems in the story were immediately faced with a resolution leaving out a lot of stuff as if it was nothing. Eventually, these events all led to the creation of the ultimate harem meant for Ryuji.

The story, as inconsistent as it may seem, is in fact too generic. How many times did I see a girl falling from a tree with her skirt open landing on the main protagonist? Only a hundred times I guess. After this, some untangling and the main protagonist now finds his self plunged on the girl’s boobs. Other is the main feature of a harem; how many times did we already see a girl transfer into his school not only that, but in the same class as well. Not to mention that the personalities of all the characters are too 1-dimensional.

The only thing that I was really looking forward to in Dragon Crisis! was the ending. The ending was the best part of the anime but not because it is exciting or satisfactory, but because this is the event that puts a stop on this nonsense.

The issues regarding the story weren’t really solved and were just easily pushed back like nothing happened. The humans hate dragons controversy was still left in the dark; the mission about the Lost Precious was easily forgotten; why dragons exist is still in question; and most of all, what is really the significance of a breaker? There might be a season 2 to give enlightening for those but seeing how this ended, I doubt.

Still, the best feature of Dragon Crisis! could be its art. The moeness of the designs of the characters would make anyone want for more. Also, lightings and smooth animation as well very precise backgrounds were very well used. Sadly, the animation couldn’t just back up the horrible storyline.

Regarding the music; I don’t know why but I really was attracted to the ending song. I find it quite… unique. But all others; Meh, all the soundtracks and even the opening song looked like it was directly plagiarized from some eroge. But talking about the seiyuus: Rie Kugimiya, Hiro Shimono, Yui Horie, Hiroshi Kamiya et al. did a job well done with this rare piece of crap. Instead of being the tsundere that the tsundere queen Kugimiya is known of, she now goes dere dere without the tsun; a rare piece indeed and could have been used properly if only the storyline was more accurate.

Overall, Dragon Crisis! had all the resources needed to make one great anime but disappointing enough that it was all wasted. Still though, if you want to experience asking yourself “What the hell did I just watch?” then this is definitely the anime for you.
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Vampires – they are a group of elite, cool, handsome, romantic, gentle bloodsucking super strong beings. Hence everyone wants to be one… Oh sh– this isn’t about Bella and Edward. This is Shiki.

Shiki brings back the long forgotten thought on how vampires should be. No sparkling skin when bathing the sunlight, no romantic vampire pick-up lines, no uber cool vampire only moves, and definitely no fangirl squeals. Shiki is all vintage. And by vintage I mean, scared of sunlight, fears being pierced by a wooden stake through the heart, and most of all, dies when the head is cut off. The latter two is obvious as even a real human would die by that but the first one very much relives your old-fashioned vampire fiction. But still, this is not what makes the vampires of Shiki unique. In here, vampires too act as human beings but are only active in the night, they have an insatiable hunger for blood making them a real threat to humans, they still retain their human emotions and thinking after becoming one, but most of all, they fear humans just like how humans fear of vampires. Lame vampires you might say. But this is where Shiki shines; it redefines the norms.

Minutes into Shiki and I was reminded of a certain anime which mostly resembled a certain setting, and it was the goric-lolita anime Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. Shiki takes place in an unlikely stage, a quiet and peaceful village in the middle of nowhere where modernization haven’t likely reached yet, just like Hinamizawa in Higurashi. Though even if the place was so ruralized, to my surprise, people here thinks very city-like and doesn’t believe in superstitions as much. When shoved in the face with superstitious beliefs like the dead has risen, the villagers here would laugh thinking that some few screws are loose. Gradually, these villagers would be tiring and too annoying to watch making Shiki play with your emotions easily as you might find yourself indulged with the story even to the point where relief would occur when a character that annoys you badly dies. And I got to admit, I fell victim to one of those.

Shiki has a very slow pacing and a very predictable and linear storyline in its first half. Remember your usual horror movies where one side character does something stupid or heroic for the sake of someone leaving his/her guard open? Of course next thing will happen is death. Shiki has a simple plot at the early episodes and it goes like one sacrificial lamb after another until all are gone while the main characters are trying to put the pieces together in solving what really is happening. Though repetitive as it gets, was it boring because of the recurring scenarios? Hardly. I know the events kind of gets old and used but nevertheless, the thrill and suspense you’ll get from this anime is never disappointing.

Shiki has two different views of the story which merged later on. This was from the rugged doctor Toshio and the cold kid Natsuno. And with that, the stagnated style of storytelling with its earlier episodes, the story now moves forward to something much deeper and exciting.

And some episodes later…

I was in shock of what this anime became into. At first it was about the main characters fighting for survival and looking for a clue on how to defeat these occult beings which was very linear but then it became a massive… (See for yourself!) With the last few episodes, a lot of drama scenes were implied and some even left a message to think about. Ironically, for a very unrealistic anime which includes the occult, these messages could not be only applied within Shiki but in the real world itself making viewers to think and analyze. Only downfall of this is not all the points were clear especially with the Cain and Abel reference.

While leaving statements to conceptualize, the ending definitely left viewers an impression that season 2 might come. I’m not really satisfied with the ending though, as certain vital events in the story were flawed. Still, I very much enjoyed the most of it.

What made this story compelling was the entire huge cast of characters that Shiki has. Shiki has 4 main characters whose backgrounds and ulterior motives when looked individually weren’t explained thoroughly, but when gathered up together including with the side characters, Shiki becomes one amusing freak show. Still though, I really think that some characters especially the ones less of importance for this instance, the side characters could have been properly used if they were looked deeper into. With not enough explanation as to why these characters are doing this or that, it eventually led to the confusion on which side is right and which side is wrong. Having its cons, it also had its pros as this became an instrument for Shiki to manipulate easily the viewers’ emotions.

Character designs however, seeing that this was set in a remote village, looks fancier than usual and somehow reminds me of a certain shounen anime. Well if you don’t mind seeing those faces for 22 episodes, then you should definitely continue watching. However, flashy as they may look, the vampires are amazingly very creepy. Pitch-black eyes, very pale skin, and sometimes could remind me of the movie “The Ring” because of those Sadako-like movements. Disappointing though that somewhere past the middle, these vampires could be taken less seriously as they now become less creepy and yes… more shounen. Regardless, the dark lightings and the blurriness of certain scenes were very well used that even these not so creepy vampires became scary than what they should have been.

What also added to Shiki’s success are the voices behind each character. They very well expresses the characters’ emotions but sadly, not all of these seiyuus were properly used because of the very large cast of character it has. And Shiki also has Gackt… who only had a few forgettable lines. Despite that, Shiki has a marvelous way of delivering scenes, may it be dramatic or scary. These includes the evanescent “ha-“ voices, the creaky sounds, or the soft nostalgic tunes. The 4 theme songs however, didn’t really appeal to me as I find them too generic. And I think there’s something horribly wrong with the vocals of the first ending. Still though, you can always skip these as these are very minor with regards to what Shiki has in store.

Shiki might be very predictable when on the earlier episodes but it never gets dull, trust me. Seeing that the looks are very shounen-like, it could even scare you right off your seats. Although I could not ignore the fact that Shiki as a straightforward anime has some events that could be easily questioned but still, it doesn’t distract much from the enjoyment that this anime could give.

Simply put, Shiki is one emotional rollercoaster ride that is definitely not to be missed. Though it could have been something much better.

And, might I suggest wearing headphones while watching this anime?

(Spoilers)
A certain list of events I find that need questioning:
• I’m sure that vampires can fly as I’ve seen Nao flying when visiting her mother in the hospital, but how come with the last episode neither a single vampire tried to fly?
• Weird that some vampires gasp for air and I remember Nao doing so as it was told that they do not breathe.
• Another is how did Natsuno become a jinrou when he was bit by Tooru – a vampire?
• Lastly, I thought it takes about 3-4 days to become a vampire or jinrou, but how did Seishin immediately woke up after dying just moments ago?
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Ergo Proxy is not your typical cyberpunk anime. For more, it doesn’t rely on heavy gun-fighting action scenes to grasp viewers’ attentions instead it uses mind-break and a very intriguing strange and dark atmosphere in a post-apocalyptic world. Though a post-apocalyptic world is something that is not new or could even be said overused, Ergo Proxy’s is fluid and very well thought out.

Ergo Proxy stands out among other cyberpunk anime as this one is a truly original and is very unique as it takes on René Descartes’ very famous philosophical statement which is “cogito ergo sum” and views it on different perspectives. “Cogito ergo sum” means “I think, therefore I am” is basically the main theme of the anime. The whole world of Ergo Proxy itself is based on this theme while questioning and taunting the said philosophical statement. Everything was built along with those lines while the story revolves around the characters who were searching for self-actualization over the course of 23 episodes.

Ergo Proxy has a very fast pacing which could indeed get you hooked for about 10minutes into the show. It started off with Re-l Mayer investigating cases of “AutoReivs” (Android-like companions) being infected with a virus called “cogito.” This “cogito” virus is a dangerous virus for humans as this “AutoReivs” once infected with the virus comes to a realization that they too have a heart thus leading to human-like emotions which could in turn lead to trouble as they now tend to act on how they feel but not on how their masters command them to. After some investigations, while at home, Re-l saw a word written in blood that stated “awakening” and was approached by an entity called a “PROXY.” A lot of these intriguing scenarios will be shed light upon as the story progresses. Interesting right? See episode 2 as I’m sure you’ll instantly get hooked.

Ergo Proxy presents different but very realistic problems including politics, ways of life, beliefs, and the search for one’s true self. Treading along the anime, these issues will be faced with subtlety and precision without ever being dragging. Though its pacing is very fast, some might be surprised as at the middle of the anime, somewhere past around 13 episodes, it went to a complete halt as it now focused on the changes that are happening with the characters. We now see Pino’s journey for self-actualization, Vincent’s search for the truth, and Re-l’s changing feelings for the ones around her. These episodes are not entirely focused on the characters though; some contains bags of clues about the reality of Ergo Proxy while some are just placed there to add to the length or simply called fillers. Though these episodes might be fillers, you wouldn’t immediately recognize that they are, as these fillers have a knack of making your brain burst out leaving you thinking for hours about what really happened; but even if you’ve managed to solve what was the episode about, it wouldn’t change anything as these fillers were totally irrelevant to the main point of the story.

After some episodes that contain complete mindfuck which in turn made the story stagnant, Ergo Proxy now picks up on what it has left for the grand finale. If there was anything that I could really complain about Ergo Proxy, it would be the ending. For a total mind-breaking anime, I couldn’t ignore that some loose ends were still loose and some missing links were still missing. It actually felt like the anime was saying that it’s up to the viewers to figure out what happened about this or that; well for a total mindfuck anime, maybe it is really trying to do that. But still, it doesn’t hinder the thrilling rollercoaster ride I got from this anime.

What I absolutely find fascinating in Ergo Proxy is the gradual development of our three main characters. As I’ve said, Pino is in a journey of self-actualization and being infected by the cogito virus, this slowly transforms Pino from an emotionless companion-type AutoReiv to something that is more if not, realistically human. Vincent on the other hand, is in search for his true self as it was stated that he was brainwashed and is now on his way looking for answers. At first, I honestly thought that Vincent was a major wimpy guy, but he turned out to be one of the coolest male leading characters out there. As the story goes along, he gradually changes as the truth about him are unveiled. Lastly, Re-l is not your typical bad-ass girl who wields dual pistols and can shoot anyone with her eyes closed. No, she is your normal snobbish lady who gets scared, weak and is worth protecting; only thing is she’s really courageous or more like stubborn. After some realizations and some great revelations, you will notice her gradual change of heart regarding everyone around her. All of these traits make them look very real as humans which made me really admire Ergo Proxy as this is a hard one to pull off considering that the setting is in a post-apocalyptic world.

I believe that the production value of this anime is high as the animation was fluid and the backgrounds were simply amazing. From the desolated wastelands to the deserted cities, all were done with accuracy. Sometimes though, I think the lighting is somewhat of a bother as it tends to be too dark that you’ll have difficulty seeing what’s really happening. Character designs however were very human-like and if you’ve seen Witch Hunter Robin, it is very much the same. But there were also inconsistencies as sometimes, when looked from afar, the facial structure of the characters becomes distorted. Nevertheless, the animation was really good leaving you wanting for more.

Pino’s character design however was so adorable and lovely that no one could ever ignore her cuteness. Though this is not a comedy anime, sometimes you’ll find yourself smiling and even touched for the cute things she does. Often too that Pino’s character is matched with the dramatic scenes of this anime that you could even feel a small aching on your chest.

What made this successful was Pino’s seiyuu Akiko Yakima. She portrays her lines very well which fits the cute attitude of Pino. And I’m not saying that Pino has the only voice acting that was good, in fact all of the voices behind the characters were astounding. Not to mention that the opening and ending song were very good which weren’t J-pop but rather alternative English songs. The opening song (kiri) sets a thought-provoking environment while the ending song (PARANOID ANDROID) finishes what the opening has brought forth. The background music during scenes is good in setting the mood if it is meant to be thrilling or meant to be dramatic. And who could ignore the amazing use of background silence? Rarely could you see an anime that uses silence and be excellent with doing so.

Overall, Ergo Proxy is a very unique anime that could give you one hell of a ride all the way through. If it weren’t for the unneeded fillers and a much clearer explanation of things, then this would be something phenomenal. It is a true brain-twister that will leave you puzzled for hours just because of some certain events. If you’re into mentally challenging anime, then this is definitely for you. I certainly enjoyed it and much likely that you will too.

Just to summarize things:
Ergo Proxy = MINDFUCK read more

2010 wasn’t really a great year for animes. If you’ve noticed, most of the genres in this year would be the: very clichéd moe-gags; the once you’ve seen it, you’ve seen them all harem; the amazingly ridiculous PLOT (if you know what I mean) and fanservice; and the de-braining existence of mindless comedies. Amongst all these genres, the hailed “best” and probably most overlooked anime of this year would be a mind-twisting dark comedy which was The Tatami Galaxy.

The Tatami Galaxy runs with different arcs for each episode with a total of 10 arcs. These arcs keep on repeating but with different twists and circumstances. By this type of story-telling, it could often be compared to the “Endless Eight” of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (2009) and the total mind-blowing Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. Though it might be used as a comparison, the three titles are entirely different. In The Tatami Galaxy, the same situation arises but with the existence of tons of different options in which it could provide a different ending for each arc; in Haruhi, all scenarios were the same but Kyon just need to realize something to break through the endless cycle which in turn could get very annoying; and the difference from Higurashi is, instead of preventing something from happening with the efforts of everyone around, The Tatami Galaxy is trying to make things happen by yourself… and it doesn’t involve killing lolis.

The Tatami Galaxy is being told in how the main protagonist perceives his world. He is the focus of the story and is also the narrator himself. Having the main protagonist as the narrator, depending on the circumstances and situation, he could be extremely biased and most of the time uses exaggeration in describing things. By running through parallel worlds, the anime looks on the different angle of events, like what could have happened if he chose this over that and the other numerous possibilities. All the 10 arcs will always start the same but with immediate options that were presented these greatly affects the outcome. Sometimes, some events that are entirely irrelevant to the current arc are seen but then it will be shed light upon on some other arcs as to why such a phenomenon occurred. These events are also used to fill out the missing links in each and every arc leading to a grand conclusion.

The main character of The Tatami Galaxy didn’t state his real name all throughout the span of 11 episodes thus he calls himself “Watashi.” Being the main character, he is also the narrator himself in which kind of reminds us of Kyon (Haruhi) but a lot better and is absolutely not a total killjoy. Unlike your usual high school life setting, The Tatami Galaxy is set on a college stage. Watashi is a college student that goes with the flow of his surroundings; in which other people are a great factor. One of these great factors or if not the main reason why this happens is the guy who was described by Watashi having a youkai-like face, Ozu. Ozu is a mischievous student who is your typical trouble-maker. He bullies the weak, sucks up to the strong, a backstabber, doesn’t care as long it’s fun, has low grades, hates vegetables and etc. He is the most hated guy of Watashi but also his best friend. Being a college student, Watashi also has his campus crush who is Akashi. Akashi is the strict and no-nonsense type of girl but also has a cute side to her as she is easily scared by the presence of moths. Some more important characters are the Fortune Teller who always runs away with Watashi’s money, the campus heartthrob but who has a creepy fetish Jougasaki, the “Master” man-user Higuchi, and the drunkard dentist Hanuki. Through the different arcs, the characters reveal their different facet except for Ozu which is pretty much linear as he remained to be the usual boisterous youkai that Watashi believes him to be. Though near the end, a revelation will be known as to why he acts that way. These people greatly affect what is happening and unless Watashi doesn’t find content with his 2 years in college, the time loops will always occur thus leading to another arc and story.

The humor of The Tatami Galaxy mainly runs on the narration and the conversation that Watashi does with the other characters. By any chance that you’re wondering what is with the “weird” art, it is actually used to describe how Watashi sees things. The art is done as simple and twisted as it could be so that in other arcs were Watashi’s views are different, it could be easily changed and adapted. The theme songs of this anime are done by Asian Kung-Fu Generation and by the one who sang the Arakawa Under the Bridge’s opening, Etsuko Yakushimaru. Surprisingly, Koinu to Ame no Bīto by AKFG is not as J-Rock as their other anime songs which fits as an opening song of this anime perfectly while Kami-sama no Iu Toori by Etsuko Yakushimaru is simply awesome. It is so haunting yet so catchy that will leave you craving out for more.

There were no dull moments in The Tatami Galaxy as you might often find yourself focused on to know what’s going on because of the rapid narrating of Watashi. Being monotonous and very fast, it helps in getting more attention and kills any boredom that makes it always interesting. But by this, you really need to focus and some people might stop and pause a lot of times if you’re not a fast reader and could not understand Japanese.

Overall, The Tatami Galaxy is one great anime but sadly is overlooked by some. Honestly, there could possibly be no wrong in this anime just the fact that not all would appreciate it as it mostly appeals to those who like to think while watching which mostly consists of the older age group. But if you’re a fan of dark comedy with a brain-twisting plot, you should just go and watch this now.
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