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As a child, I probably watched the English version of this over 100 times. "Soaring" and "I'm Gonna Fly" are precious songs to me, to the extent I felt I'd tear up if I heard them again, and I did. I remember my mother would constantly quote Osono's lines about the pacifier. As odd as it may be to admit, Kiki is a childhood influence of mine; the first character in an anime I looked up to. She partly helped shape my personality as a child, and is a big reason why I talk the way I do to this day. As this child, I ... was completely changed by the world of Kiki's Delivery Service, and the purity of it's cast and personalities. Somewhere, my old VHS copy is still there, though I cannot play it anymore. Now, I got the chance to sit down and finally take a look at the original Japanese version of this after all these years. The differences are surprising.

Sitting down and watching this film again after all these years felt like sitting down during a reunion with an old friend. As much as I appreciate it, I was making fun of it also while watching it. I was treating this film more like a friend, as embarrassing as that is. Still, the differences are many, as I could not help but notice, considering that the film had been burned into my memory from all those years of watching it. The original is much more quieter. Maybe the Western attention span is that bad it needs more noise in dubs. The kids mention disco's, drink coffee, and at some point Kiki threatens her broom with death. Most surprising of all, is what the English version does with Jiji.

Because of my bias, I can't give this anything lower than a 10. I was too immersed and connected emotionally with it, and still am, that I can't go any lower. Still, all 10 out of 10's feel biased anyways.

Thinking about it now, Kiki's journey of leaving home at 13 to become a successful and independent witch feels a lot more dangerous. This could easily have turned into a dark story, as the fortune teller witch said: a lot can go wrong. Kiki is essentially throwing herself out into the wild city life as a minor and practically homeless. The city she happens to find appears to never have had a witch. She gets crushed that she doesn't feel she belongs, and the thought of failure and starting over in a new city felt hard for her to accept. It's not for certain, though it's implied by Bertha that witches are unfamiliar and more like legends there. Considering that, it's not surprising how everyone is shocked or scared to see Kiki for the most part. Seen as an anomaly, and asking permission to stay by asking random people for some odd reason, she gets outcasted. It gets even more ridiculous. She almost causes a bloody multi-vehicle car accident, evades arrest on broom, and becomes a fugitive. Sitting alone eating a sandwich she took, with her cat, and little money, the situation felt hopeless. If not for Osono, what could have happened? She's not Yabuki Joe, who could probably adapt to a jungle if he had to, though that unsettling feeling of isolation and hopelessness felt harsh to watch.

Not being used to the city life, Kiki even almost gets run over by a car, as she is not used to looking both ways. All she could do at the moment was window shop and wish about material possessions that seemed impossible for her to acquire, and feel frustrated by the stylish clothes of the street kids because she still had not accepted and embraced her weirdness. She meets a kid named Tombo that seemed as if he was an obsessed stalker that is into witches, though he actually means well. Kiki gets upset with him seeing as though she is very formal, and he isn't. Not only that, he was showing her off as something cool rather than human. After a few more frustrating interactions, she does decide to go to a party of his, despite that she was mad at him. Was she being nice? She was already talking about boyfriends, and looking out the window bored looking a bit envious of the couples passing by the bakery. Why not give him a chance? Regardless, it's also a good way to make friends since she had barely any at all at the time. Then there is Osono, pulling strings in the background for Tombo.

It's interesting now, considering Ubereats exists, that she takes up a flying delivery service. Hopefully this doesn't inspire someone to try to revive and probably ruin this film by modernizing it. The music is elegant and invokes emotions in me. Maybe the main theme repeats too much in the songs, though I was and still am charmed by it. Listening to the bittersweet end of "On a Clear Day..." fills me with elegance and makes my mind dance. To me, that's Kiki's theme song. I close my eyes, as it reminds me of my childhood and takes me into the world of this film with imagination. Then I have to pinch myself and reminds myself to stop taking cartoons so seriously.

Eventually, Kiki begins to lose confidence and direction in her life. Despite her and Tombo start to bond, she could not accept his friends because the one rich snobby one was among the group. Not only that, she was going through a depressive state; a sort of writers block, though with flying. All she needed was a reason to get her powers back, and she finds something out of misfortune that aids her in this way.

My only complaint is that there is very little closure in the end, despite there is an epilogue. I was left with a wide gap of emptiness from the lack of it. It doesn't feel like it reaches a meaningful conclusion. Not everything needs an answer, though you would think the climax of the film would lead to something more overtly intimate. Despite it all, this film will always stay with me and in my heart. It's become more than a part of my life, but a part of me.

Watching Birdie Wing: Golf girls Story after having just watched a lot of Gundam entries was a treat to see. Despite it’s about golf, it feels like a mecha series. It feels as if they are more trying to fight in mobile suits rather with golf clubs. There all sorts of cameos such as Turn A Gundam and Victory Gundam Gunplas did one of the characters is into, the characters can read each others minds like Newtypes, their golfing styles and strikes get ridiculously portrayed as exaggerated powers, both Amuro and Char’s voice actors are in this, and one of their protagonists is a fiery ... woman that resembles Tomino’s protagonists, especially Kamille.

The rivalry between Eve and Aoi reminded me many times about Joe and Rikiishi from Ashita no Joe. Eve is a underground golfer who gambles high stakes in golf challenges for money. To her, she isn’t a golfer, but someone how only hits a ball with a stick for money. Aoi is incredibly adorable, though her appearance is deceiving because she is the type to crush you with her smile during games: the innocent tyrant. Such as with Joe and Rikiishi, the two become rivals, lift each other up with inspiration, and make a promise.

To say this is just another golf anime, is to be dismissive. I could not find a single unlikeable character in this series. Despite that it doesn’t have huge production values, you can feel the passion that went into this. the plot twists are ridiculous and always entertainingly hilarious in just how absurd this anime can get. It’s not meant to be taken so seriously considering that many of the players, especially Eve, often bend reality with how they play their golf. Despite the over the top episodes, the main protagonists make it clear and meaningful what their motivations and goals are as they develop.

Eve feels as if she were a mixture of Yabuki Joe and Kamille Bidan. She gives me the same feel as they do. Her childhood was rough, and traumatic. To survive and support her friends that became her only family, she helped some of them get out of the terrible things they had to do to make it, by picking up golf only as a means to make money. To her, she could care less about this sport, and she didn’t even consider herself a golfer. Because of her upbringing as a golf mercenary and strict training, she developed a quick temper, and shows no fear in the face of her enemies and when she is in danger. She supports the thrill of life endangering gambling, and embraces an informal and violently free spirited way of life that does not believe in bowing down or compromising. As a golfer, she doesn’t realize it, but she is paving her own path towards going pro. Her philosophy fascinates me because she is an oasis of uncrushable determination, confidence, all while being very confrontational and predatory with others. She does mean well, however.

Still, Eve is not a one dimensional character. This anime is the story of how she comes to love golf. She starts to open up as a character, and slowly begins showing a softer and more friendlier side. This is all because she met Aoi. Aoi’s skill as a talented golfer woke up something in Eve, and she began going as far as to start taking golf seriously in order for her to be able to challenge Aoi.

The series focuses a lot more on Eve, though there is still a bit to say about Aoi. Her parents were both famous golf prodigious who own a golf club brand. They raised her since the age of 3 as a golfer in order for Aoi to inherit their skills. Aoi became a force to be recommended with, despite her charming, innocent, and constant smile. As a result, she got bored of her 12 year old winning streak.

She runs into Eve one day, and for the first time in her life, felt the rush of finally meeting a good enough threat and rival, and it gave her life and motivation. She came to absolutely admire Eve’s golf, and desperately followed her and demanded they make a promise to challenge each other. Her caddy, who is by the book and very strict, doesn’t support this as she sees Eve as a wild animal, and sees no good in Aoi associating with her.

There are times where Eve and Aoi get separated, and you can see their rivalry build up as they can’t focus when apart. They need each other. Their golf needs each other. And the serious likes to play with how close they are becoming.

Behind the scenes, there’s mafia activity going on. The stakes run high as assassination attempts get made, and gambles between mafia bosses who use golf players as pawns and toys to bet on. Many times, the bets involve the players putting their lives or bodies on the line. Eve is going down this tragic path. On the other hand, there are those who already experienced this life that don’t want Eve to suffer the same fate.

The music, of course, hits well when it tries to uplift scenes were the players use creative moves to try and strike the ball towards the green. It can be a bit electronic, jazzy, and many fun insert songs get used throughout.

Coach Amuro is determined to make these two go at it. At the same time, there is something tragic he is hiding about himself, and time is running out.

Leo is a mysterious man who showed up one day and taught Eve his golf when she was young. Personality wise, he is essentially Char Aznable if he were to become a golfer instead of a Zeon soldier.

Luckily, a second season of this will appear for the 2023 winter anime season. That’s quite a while. I look forward to seeing just how much more ridiculous this hilariously entertaining this anime can get. I always appreciate the power of sports anime to be able to fascinate an audience and to get them to like their sport of focus, even if the viewer has no interest or even hostility towards the sport beforehand.

With only twelve episodes, Spy x Family's plot and characters feel almost too premature to review at the moment. Despite that Twilight's mission consists of political corruption and spy missions, and is the most interesting part of this series for me, it disappointingly waters it down to the point there doesn't feel as if there is anything really interesting to say. And this is considering everything else, such as Anya's moments that reduces this to a kids show many times. Even anime like K'On! can give me more depth and motivation than Anya making funny faces all the time, which constantly left me with my ... eyes half open at how repetitive and not funny it became for me. If Anya being cute and making funny faces makes this a masterpiece, I just can't comprehend, and am confused about the type of yardstick that is being used to rate this series. Her constantly explaining what the characters are thinking could add to the development of Twilight and the hollow husk of character that is Yor, though it sometimes felt like constantly vomiting useless information.

Even Damien feels like a character that has more depth than Yor. Despite that he is a young stuck up rich kid, he has enough sense to respect Anya when she helps him, which is admirable. I actually felt very excited to see where Yor was going to go. She's voiced by the only thing I liked out of Demon Slayer (Shinobu, who has been disappointingly left out of the anime), and her being an assassin, hiding under an already fake family, and having to struggle to hide it, made me wonder all the possibilities in how they can make this interesting and fold out. I was dreaming too idealistically, however, as Yor mostly stood in the background, and constantly made me question her intelligence. At least they somewhat tried to show her assassin side. They should have tried to develop her character more, and shown more of her missions. Even the studios didn't try to do anything with her with some meaningful anime only content. It's a missed opportunity to salvage her character. There are some anime, like Legend of the Galactic Heroes, that can take characters like Dusty and Poplan, who have a small presence in the novels, and bring them to life, rich in character, by enhancing them with lots anime only content, in a way that it doesn't ruin the source material. Yor should have had this treatment.

The simplistic and episodic approach this has leaves me with little to say about it, plot wise. The finale was just another cute moment, which did nothing to end this on a better note from where it was before. Despite that Wit Studio and Cloverworks were involved here, there are hardly any moments that really excelled in animation. Not only that, they get drowned out by the amount of slide shows, CGI crowds, and zoom ins into doors, while characters explain to me, again, something I've already heard several times, or that is obvious. The animation feels stiff; Yor looks like an insect sometimes, as if she was secretly an ant queen experiment gone wrong that escaped.

Like Komi Can't Communicate, the comedy is what salvaged this for me. Unlike Komi's anime, which burned itself out eventually, Spy x Family remained consistently and cleverly funny. Twilights very serious mission is absurdly approached, as the master spy can barely hold a fake family together, and though he can pull all sorts of incredible talents as a spy, is faced with his greatest challenge of being a father and husband, that puts him often at wits end. Anya can be adorable, and funny, though I look for something more meaningful in anime besides funny faces and cute moments with toys. It's clear she took over the anime as the most popular part of it. I can't comprehend it. Everyone looks for different things in anime, I suppose, and that's fine.

I understand that this is very popular, and that's a bad thing. I understand that anyone saying something negative about this will get outcasted. Nothing is perfect; even one's favorites. Still, all these nearly perfect consensus scores on multiple anime websites are all irrelevant to what the individual thinks. Don't depend or rely on them as if they are the bible, because letting people with different tastes rate, manipulate scores, and allowing to tell you what to like and not like is absurd. The only way you'll know if you are going to like something is by watching it yourself. Relying on them makes you miss out on potentially good shows. I have to face the fact that plenty of my recent favorite seasonal anime will be buried and forgotten. It doesn't mean that I am wrong, and that I have a questionable taste. Everyone is different and not one person has the objective taste; it doesn't exist.

The second part of Spy x Family coming up has great potential, in my opinion, to be significantly better. Maybe they will fix Yor's character, maybe they will stop trying to be dependent on cute Anya moments to make the series, maybe they can add more depth to Twilights' mission, and some real danger. Or maybe this is just another funny goofy show that I just can't relate to.

Part 1 of Kyoukai Senki was agonizing to get through, and moved slower than a turtle in pacing. None of the characters seemed very likeable or properly developed, and the limited production values ruined it's commitment to 2D animation. The constant slideshows, and long dragging still frames that zoomed in and out during conversations felt very disappointing. The fights were not given any justice in how brutal they were supposed to look, and the lack of detail is frustrating. Between this starting and finishing, I also watched many of Tomino's Gundam series, from the original, Zeta, ZZ, and Char's Counterattack, to Victory Gundam. Kyoukai Senki ... is a droplet of water compared to the ocean that any of those Gundam entries are in comparison to it. Gundam ruined it even more for me by giving me higher standards for a series of this genre. Even now with modern mecha, Megaton-kyuu Musashi, that rarely anyone bothered to watch, is significantly better, and is a series that I would recommend (second season is coming in Fall 2022).

Kyoukai Senki felt like a severely watered down war story where the staff couldn't kill off any of it's main cast. Maybe it was an issue with risking being too dark. When a side character dies, the main cast get depressed each time and it's annoying. They could of at least done something such as in Victory Gundam where the feelings of loss are effectively and horrifyingly expressed, instead here it's constantly seeing Amou, Shion, and Gashin sit by a tree together looking as if someone stole their lunch money. Amou is the frustratingly emotional, delicate flower protagonist that I despise to see in anime like this. He would get killed immediately if he was in any Gundam series I've seen. Anything this series tries to do fails in comparison to how Gundam did it. The music is forgettable.

One of the biggest mistakes this series makes is that it reveals many of the characters motivations at the very end, and leaves them undeveloped and sort of behind the scenes throughout almost the entire series. This biggest fault here is their management of Brad's character. He rarely does anything, and is constantly smiling behind the scenes and acting as if he is two steps ahead of everyone else. I kept wondering, "why is he like this?" "When is he going to actually do something instead of just smiling at monitors and people every episode?" At the very end, they do explain what he was up to. The pay off felt great, but for all the wrong reasons.

The story and politics are mostly elementary and not very interesting to talk about. The cast is fighting to restore Japan. That's it. As they go to war and try to win a revolution to gain it back, there's a lot of dirty politics going on between the factions. Ghost, who was the most interesting and amusing part of Part 1, is reduced to a toy for Brad, and doesn't go anywhere for almost the entirety of the second part. I would have liked to see if he was an AI like the ones the trio have. Their last ditch effort to have Ghost do anything at the end felt hollow. I much preferred how in Part 1, Ghost was this fearsome force with an AI that was constantly analyzing and countering it's enemies with it's high intelligence. They built up it's new form in this second season as something even more wicked, though the way Amou deals with it during their disappointingly anti-climactic final fight is just laughable.

It's tragic that the episode that left the biggest impression on me is the plotless one where they had a birthday party for the AI. Up until that episode, the Pokémon rejects were annoying to me. It took me a long while to come to appreciate Gai. He felt like a convenient plot device and hack for Amou to help him win his battles.

Of what I did enjoy, were mostly 4 characters. Brad, as pathetic as his execution as a character was for most of it, always remained the most interesting character because of what he was really up to in the war. Misuzu, their engineer, is the one who created the AI, and constantly struggles to come up with upgrades for their weapons. She's mostly glued to a computer and spends the rest of her time explaining. She still seemed likeable as the one who is in the lead of determining the overall technological advancement of the war. Lastly, the only dynamic and characters that I felt were the best ones for me came to be Shion and her AI, Nayuta. They have a fun dynamic where Nayuta is in love with her, and treats her as he is a servant and her a princess. Shion was nearly abandoned in part 1, and didn't really go anywhere in Part 2 besides being a supportive force to help Amou in battle. There's still a charm to her, as she is the only main character I could tolerate from the trio. Gashin is too annoyingly bitter, and felt like even more of a background character in Part 2.

At least, the last 2 episodes bring some kind of redemption. Despite that they still overtly show it's problems as a series, they were intense and finally bring answers and closure to my headaches from all the previous episodes. Overall, this series was doomed from the start, and the ending was anti-climactic and as generic as they come. The slide show epilogue was very disappointing to see. As I said before, if you want to watch a modern mecha series that is out right now that is worth your time, go to Megaton-kyuu Musashi instead.

After watching the original Mobile Suit Gundam, Ideon, Zeta, ZZ, and Char’s Counterattack, next came Victory Gundam. I wondered how Tomino and the staff would approach this, seeing as though they’d have to bring something new to the table. I was not disappointed, and impressed with the amount of fresh ideas that were poured in. This is the culmination of his work up to this point, as it follows a similar story behind a prodigy pilot, and is a critique of war as in the original, has some comedic moments that reminded me of ZZ, and mystery as in Ideon.

Taking place several decades after Char’s ... Counterattack, the Earth Federation is now under attack by the newly emerging Zanscare Empire. They use old execution methods, such as the guillotine, to send a message of fear into the public, and want to take over space. Their religious leader is not a bad person, though others in the upper crust of leadership have different intentions and use for her. Also leading them among the ace pilots if Chronicle Asher, who despises the corruption of the Earth, and though he is part of this wicked Empire, his motivations are for the best of mankind.

Uso Ewin is the young protagonist, who finds himself in the beginning forced into the war, and becomes Chronicle’s rival as a result. Uso himself stands out on his own compared to previous Tomino protagonists, such as Amuro, Cosmo, Kamille, and Judau. As the others, he is critical of war, and also critical of himself. The war in Uso’s head feels more brutal than the war on the battlefield at times. One of Uso’s greatest strengths, is his improvisational and unorthodox style of combat. It is amusing and fascinating to see how creative he gets with the Victory Gundam, and resorts to many brilliant strategies that often perplex his opponents. It’s a breath of fresh air that deviated from keeping the fighting repetitive and predictable when compared to the earlier works.

The large cast of characters grow to love each other, and struggle together to defeat the empire. One by one, many begin to take up the Gundam. Shakti is Uso’s childhood friend, and often worries not just about the war, but about Uso as well. She sees the effect war has on him, and worries that he will be consumed by it and lose himself.

Uso becomes the hope against the empire. The adults, as shameless and useless as they are, are self aware that mere child is fighting the strong fight for them. As Uso struggles, the war continues to expand with all sorts of wonderful new ideas, that make Victory great and unique on its own. By the end, I placed it in my current top 5. There is also something else that Victory Gundam does that makes it it’s own. It’s what I have not mentioned yet. It’s own unique interpretation of something Tomino is known for doing in his work.

Victory Gundam Deeply and emotionally breaks it’s own characters. Uso painfully learns what loss means, as he sees his precious friends obliterated, often in needless ways. There are times you’d think he’s had enough and is ready to check out, but he keeps going. There are many episodes that focus on his tragic feeling of loss. Characters don’t just appear for the sake of it and die, there is meaning and value behind their circumstances and choices that leaves an impact on the viewers. The effect on the viewers can invoke bleak feelings of depression at times from how morbid Victory Gundam can be.

As Uso fights, he shows what I love about Tomino protagonists. Too many times, main characters are cowards that rarely ever grow or go anywhere. I can understand why. Instead of being a pathetic excuse of a main character for people to relate to, Uso is a character to aspire to be. Uso carries the fire of the protagonists before him, and fights in such a brave manner that it’s inspiring to watch. I always appreciate the short, passionate, and blunt comments Tomino protagonists make as they fight, and their analysis and realizations of war that give the viewers much to think about. Uso is also on the search for his parents. This leads to an interesting connection between him and his Gundam, that is very similar to the connection between Shinji and his Eva-01 unit from Neon Genesis Evangelion.

As the war rages on, there is an interesting focus on love on the battlefield, all too tragic to the reality that many times our significant others don’t make it. Victory Gundam interprets this as painful as it will come to show.

As Uso fights, and tries his best to overcome the reality of war, he becomes the new Newtype prodigy. As he fights on, the other characters grow with him. Some for better, and some for worse. Some characters, such as Katejina, fascinate me with some of the most interesting writing and twists.

Uso has the same curse that Yang Wen-li has from Legend of the Galactic Heroes. They are both outright critics who despise war, and yet, they appear to be as if they are the best suited for it because of their skills. Uso, however, gets put in situations where he could almost be genocidal, and the most kill hungry protagonist I’ve seen in Gundam thus far. There are times he loses control. Times he gets ahead of himself. Times where he kills, and starts enjoying it too much.

Despite this, You cannot carry out fundamental change without a certain amount of madness. In this case, it comes from nonconformity, the courage to turn your back on the old formulas, the courage to invent the future. Besides, it took the madmen of yesterday for us to be able to act with extreme clarity today. Uso is one of these madmen. To the extent that he resists his enslavement is the extent to which he is free.

As much as the soldiers try to arrest the people on Uso’s side, and try to blame them, it’s clear that Individuals do not create rebellions; conditions do.

The new mobile suit designs in this add to how unsettling this series can get, and it can get very unsettling. Many of the enemy mobile suits look like insects, in such a way, that they look intimidating; almost as if they were organic. At one point there is a centipede type mobile armor, and a giant serpent type. It feels as if this had to inspire the maverick designs in Rockman x3. Still, I appreciate the demonic like presentation in the designs of many of the mobile suits in Victory Gundam.

The animation does have some problems. There are a few odd slideshows that remind me of the production issues in Super Dimension Fortress Macross. There is reused animation that was very noticeable to me during the re-watch. Because of the lack of shading, some of the characters’ noses can look strange. Overall, however, the art and animation is very enjoyable, satisfyingly expressive, and horrifying when it needs to be.

The soundtrack is fantastic. The usual tracks played during battles and build ups are iconic, and can really help in setting the tone. The insert songs help make some of the best moments in Victory Gundam. If you are looking for a great finale, the last 2 episodes of this series ascend it to a different level.

Something about Victory Gundam that is interesting is it’s approach with Newtypes. Yes, you should watch the previous Gundam entries before this. If you don’t you’ll miss the history, context, and breakdown of what the Newtypes are. That is because this series never explains what they are. As a result, those viewers not familiar with the older entries may get confused on what a Newtype is. For viewers like me that did the homework and learned the history with the older Gundam entries, I felt a lot of appreciation for what this series does with Newtypes. Towards the end, it becomes even more important to know the context, as Newtypes start emerging everywhere.

To me, Mobile Suit Victory Gundam is a dark, yet beautiful story that is surprisingly hopeful despite the reputation this has with some viewers. It's tragic to see Western anime websites and viewers hold almost no regard to it. To me, this shows that Tomino, and the staff, were able to take Gundam and take it somewhere new in a wonderful way. At this point in Gundam history, and as much as he may not agree with it, to me, Victory Gundam is Tomino’s victory.

Last season, I worried that this series would burn itself out soon with repetition, as any time I look up the long manga series for this, there's usually frustration found with where it is going. I haven't read the manga. As a result, I can't personally comment on it, though I can tell this early on with season 2, that the story is annoyingly dragging itself as a romance, and falling apart. The progression in this 2nd season, plot wise, is like a spider trying to crawl out of a bathtub. The anime staff, for all they are, is the little kid that is trying ... to help it get out, but lets it slip back down each time.

The comedy, when it works, is all that can somewhat salvage this. The early episodes were very funny, and made this at least entertaining and funny at times. Towards the end, I stopped laughing almost completely. The songs got old since they keep recycling them in a way that it was noticeable to me. The anime ran out of steam with it's humor by the end. Early on, I felt the 100 friends journey for Komi was going to be a character development disaster, and it turned that way. Trying to rush at the end by manifesting people who were never there, and giving them flat personalities only hurt this. The author seriously trying to go with this goal for Komi was a mistake. Look at all the wasted potential for Tadano and Komi. Important events, like those holiday events, when they'd get nervous and look into each others eyes, and Valentine's Day, were all wasted as they are still nowhere romantically. The repetitive formula that they are going to get somewhere but don't, got stale and old since last season. Neither are willing to take that step forward, and it's drags to the extent it's irritating. If you are looking for romance, this is not the series to look for that in.

The staff looked as if they had a lot of fun making this. They tried what felt like everything to try and boost the source material. From wasting the budget on eraser flicking battles and exaggerated details to mundane things the character do, to it's episodic and multiple skits like approach, it felt mostly hit or miss. There might be a skit that wasn't as good, which makes it feel like it wasted half the episode. Sometimes, none of the skits felt entertaining enough, and they tried to make up at the end with a Komi and Tadano moment that of course goes nowhere. Even Najimi, who I felt was among the more entertaining characters, started to get annoying partly in constantly getting in between Tadano and Komi.

The only characters that I came to enjoy by the end were Katai and Yamai. Katai, because his friendship with Tadano that gets often accidentally played out as a gay relationship is absurdly funny in how they executed it. Yamai, because her sickly obsession with Komi is amusing to watch just how far she'll go to get noticed and have her way.

Komi is still frozen in character development, and the constant bug eyed shrieking got old long ago. She's become the bojji of her genre. If this series wanted to use her as someone with a communication disorder, it would help to get her to overcome that as soon as possible to inspire the viewers who can only somewhat relate, as she is often portrayed as the perfect woman; impossible to reality. Still, they won't, as this has to reach 100 friends total, and it's only a quarter of the way there as of now. Tadano is still nothing more than a nice guy who doesn't realize how good he has it, and what he can have if he'd have the manhood to reach out for it.

This didn't motivate me enough to want to read the manga. If there is no season 3, I'm done with for the most part. Season 3 feels like it will just continue to drag, and force the staff to come up with as many more production techniques to try and act like a defibrillator for the dragging plot.

I'll be a bit biased about this anime. It is the most relatable series to me. I felt close to Eiko as we both are nobodies trying to be somebody. I've gone through so many hardships and victories with what I am trying to do, and can understand where she is coming from. Sure, her character development did not go the way I wanted it to, because they developed her singing more than her character, though I still appreciate what she stands for. I got pulled into this series because the opening exploded on the internet. Yes, it's great. Though to say it's the best, ... means one would have to explore anime openings, as there are many that I feel are significantly better (Texhnolyze and Steins;Gate comes to mind). It's a really catchy song. I would say that this anime had a strong beginning, weak middle, and strong end.

The beginning of Kongming and his stratagems seemed really unique. You have an ancient Chinese tactician that gets thrown into the underground clubs of modern Japan. He finds an aspiring singer, and uses his art of war to try and help her rise as a star. One would think this makes no sense, and yet this story makes sense of it. Previously, I had been disappointed with P.A. Works with The Aquatope On White Sand, though they really pulled through with this one.

With every fail, I felt that. Eiko really tried her best, and as I said, it was all too relatable to me. Kongming is a character too likeable to not like. Graceful, humble, intelligent, and so supportive, there isn't anything not to like about him. Sure, it seems odd he just clicked with everything. Still, it's because he mastered the skill of adaptation. Even the opening felt like one of his stratagems and a breaking of the fourth wall, as it pulled lots of viewers in.

In the middle, the series sort of betrays what it promised. The focus shifts to Kabe. I noticed that this really divided the viewers, though it's mostly because some people are too biased about rap to try to enjoy it. Looking closer, I did find Kabe's focus the weakest part of the series. Looking at his rap, trying to rhyme with "yeah," and nonsensical sounds put me off. He didn't feel like a strong enough character and arc to make up for the absence of Eiko and Kongming. There was a lot of outcry that Kongming was being pushed into the background, and that his stratagems that made the series where pushed away. The middle is the weakest part. Also, the animation is inconsistent, and often resorts to slideshows. Other times, the series skips important moments, and it's painfully overt when it does that.

The last 2 episodes had me in a rollercoaster of emotions. There is the rivalry between Eiko and the other singer. I think the way it was executed, fleshed out, and made to come full circle was really inspiring and touching. It's about being yourself as an artist. To not be so hollow and fake to just do what sells. Don't go by the book, write your own. As an aspiring content creator, Eiko really moved me. As cliche as "be yourself is," hardly anyone follows that advise. It will always bear repeating. The so called antagonists do take a while to appear. Still, I was in tears by the end.

The beauty of progress and success floored me. I won't lie I was cheering Eiko on. Her singing "Be Crazy For Me" in a small club to a small audience made me think. Someone with so much passion and talent can't be held down like this forever. Being sincere and daring to push forward has it's benefits. If someone has a gift in what they do, the potential is great, though don't let the corporate world of whatever you do take you over. This is her story.

This is a very complex anime. Watch it before looking anything up about it or reading any reviews. If you have seen it or don't care for spoilers, do continue.

Going into Rebellion blind, I felt anticipation and excitement to see the continuation of Homura's struggle. That's because I wanted to see the best for her and Madoka. Then I remembered what exactly it is that I am watching, the reputation it has, and decided that as much as I would like a happy ending, there is a really good chance that this is not going to give me that. I at least felt hope by ... the end of the television series with Madoka, but this film crushed it. It gave me what I wanted, though it twisted it into something so evil that I no longer desired it. This film destroyed everything I found beautiful about Madoka Magica, and that was the point. In the end, I don't mean that in a bad way.

I gave up during this film. I decided that to really appreciate this, I have to embrace the approach of the staff. I decided to be open minded about the bleakness of Madoka Magica, and accepted it, that this is going to terrify me, and it did.

I already thought Sayaka suffered enough, and this film decided to push the harshness even more. Seeing Mami again was great, though through a misunderstanding, she had to get involved in needless conflict that frustrated me. Homura's character became so horrifying that I was shocked just how far the writing pushed it. Yes, she loves Madoka, though with this, I almost wished she didn't by the end.

Understandably, not everything needs a happy ending.

I wanted to give this a perfect score, and I made a mistake rating this right after watching it. I have to let the high of the first time experience wear off first, in order to look at this more rationally. I did have some issues with this. This film does not reward you for thinking; it punishes you. I made many faces, paused several times, and felt my sanity slipping away in trying to understand what was happening. Still, you don't need all the answers in a story. That's what makes our interpretations, such as fan theories possible, and fun to read, as it nurtures our imaginations. Regardless, the plot in this film is so convoluted, that I can barely explain it. I can feel what it wants to tell me at times, I just can't explain it properly at this time.

As I watched this, it just felt too happy at first. I kept wondering what Urobuchi is going to do to torment me this time.

The production value of this film is amazing, as I thought it would be. There's a full cast character transformation scene that left me breathless, bizarre scenes that looked very good, and the charm of it's beautiful background art and surreal artwork throughout. The music once again did wonders for me, and took me to places I didn't necessarily want to go to during the absurd moments.

There was a point I wanted this film to stop. The feelings of hope I had were irreversibly destroyed. The precious moments all felt fake now. After the credits, My jaw dropped one more time because the damage to my psyche was still not finished. Even now, hours later, I feel empty. And yet, this is fine. I can appreciate a story like this; it's bold. It's hard to explain, but the feeling this film left me with reminds me of how the magical girls here learn to want the darker side of emotions. I don't like how this film made me feel, but I felt a sense of satisfaction overall from the execution of it.

With the new movie coming. I know I'll have to brace myself. The hopeful me that found inspiration in the TV series is gone, and we will all be at the mercy of the new movie, once it's finally out, to intensify our already barely bearable trauma.

Lately I've been watching old anime I had forgotten about. I would encourage the same for you. I think that, sometimes, one can't really appreciate a series or film when they are too young, and that they could always see it in a different and hopefully better light years later. It took me several years to really appreciate Paranoia Agent, and now it's Madoka Magica's turn. It feels as if I was no longer the person I was when I first watched this. Age is a hard thing to think about. Even now I feel I should have started doing anime analysis so much sooner. ... Still, I think I started at the best time; I would have known even less what I was doing back then, and I have finally reached the most productive point in my life now. Despite this, I confess I still get distracted too easily many times.

With every rewatch, Madoka Magica got closer to my heart, and I saw something new about the pain of the characters each time. I found this peculiar, though wonderful. Because as dark as Madoka Magica is, it shows you hope in the end, even if you lose your very best friend.

With Sayaka, I felt a connection with the emptiness and frustration of her emotions. To let loose and get carried away to the point you lose yourself. To lose the one you love despite having a chance, because you've become crushed by what you have become. In the end, I sympathized with her because she managed to realize the error in her ways, and show some redemption in eventually coming to accept her misfortunes before parting ways.

As I tried to look critically at Homura, I thought I had her figured out and was right mostly because there were more than enough hints to make it obvious. Once it is revealed about her past, it makes all the little pieces of hints I saw from the earlier episodes fit together. Her pain became understandable, and all more tragic. It felt so much more painful on the rewatch, because now the viewers know for certain where her oddness and mysterious pain is coming from.

Mami, of course, is involved with what shocked the viewers back in the day. I looked at the archives on the day that episode aired, and the reactions were explosive, as one would imagine. The staff, however, were not finished yet, and showed her later in the series, just to the horror of the viewers that she'd mentally break down and become homicidal, at least because she probably felt it was for the better of the girls then to live on as these hollow shells they call magical girls.

I don't know too much about the magical girl genre. As a result, I thought this was what they were all like. Sure, this isn't the only dark type of magical girl series, though this one is really known for getting darker and darker, as it famously drove this hard into the viewers.

As the episodes brutalized me, I wondered where Madoka, and her wish would fit into all this. I thought it was clear that she'd be the positive, and optimistic message to pull Homura and the viewers out of their misery, and she was the one to do that. I feel hopeful despite what happened, and will be immediately watching Rebellion after finishing this video.

I was considering watching Rebellion and including that content into this video. On the other hand, I have to try to not burn myself out. An artist I know told us that he tried too do too many things as a musician and revolutionary. As a result, they were putting out a lot of material, but never excelled in any of it because it was too much. I don't want to make that mistake.

If this series taught my one thing at first, it was that I would not want to be a magical girl, if given the choice, as in Estab Life, as an example. If it brought me another thought, it's that even while knowing all this, individuals, such as those, as Kyuubey said, would sometimes, and rarely, still use these powers to become revolutionaries, and to change humanity by advancing civilization with their powers before their unfortunate end as this magical girl. On the contrary, I don't want to be a coward. To also help inspire me, Madoka would come to exist. She used her powers not just for the betterment of humanity, but for the betterment of magical girls. As dark, brutal, and hopeless as something like this series may seem, it shows that there will always be someone who has hope, and passion for us, that will find a way to subvert what was thought to be impossible, and find a way to help advance us to the next level. Impossible is a word that at most just holds us back. To Madoka, she knows the true meaning of being a revolutionary, to not leave anybody behind, and that it is the most honorable way to be live. She knows well, that we can't live on our own. We are all fish of the same pond. If the pond goes, we go. We can't pretend we can escape and live our own lives in peace, because this peace will run out, it always does. Looking at it this way, the way the staff tried communicating this hope, I would instead decide to not be a coward, and would now pick up the wand, if I had the choice to. Such as in Texhnolyze, this is a dark series, that at the end, and at best, inspires.

This new adaptation will forever be cursed by it's superior 80s version. What the staff wanted to do here is to give Die Neue These a life of it's own. As a result, the immense amounts of anime only content in the 80s adaptation, and the changes they made, are absent here. That's why it feels so empty to me, who hails the 80s adaptation of Legend of the Galactic Heroes as one of the greatest political wonders in anime, and second in my own taste, only to Ashita no Joe. And this is not a bad thing about Die Neue These's approach. It's just ... much more faithful to the novels.

Take the 80s OVA series. You can see the obvious Kai influence from Mobile Suit Gundam in their own version of Poplan. It's even the same voice actor. There's Noburo Ishiguro's comedic style from Macross's influence. The love triangle between Jean Robert Lap, Jessica Edwards, and Yang Wen-li was given immense amounts of extra content from the same people that worked on romances also from Macross and Orgus. Their depictions of war are brutal from their influence from Mobile Suit Gundam, Ideon, Macross, and Space Battleship Yamato. Many of the staff even worked on some of those. As a result, the 80s version of Legend of the Galactic Heroes was blessed with staff who had made the classic space operas. It's a culmination of all this talent from the 70s and 80s; a product of it's time. They tried to improve the novels as much as they could, and even boosted Dusty with a much more heavier presence than in the novels. The character designs, though suffers from it's original animation, are still beautiful and tell you a lot about the characters. It was a passion project that didn't even air on television.

Die Neue These abandons most of this. It had a rough start. The earlier episodes before Collision were rough. They watered down the politics, the music was laughable, the character designs an insult to the characters and 80s version viewers, the battles lost their fangs and brutality in execution, they cheapened out on the melee battles, the CGI looks like it has no heart put into the ship designs, and it felt like slideshows to my absolute frustration and disappointment. Even as a stand alone, it was doing nothing for me.

With Collision, the improvements have been major. This adaptation is getting better and better as it goes. I actually have hope for it now. I'll always be mentally scarred from the character designs, but I have to say that Collision was very enjoyable and made me stop cursing at the staff.

Seeing all these characters again has been an emotional journey. Watching Reinhard burn with his ambitions, Oberstein's Machiavellian brilliance and truth that no one can debate, Kirchei's struggle to be a strong moral force, and Yang Wen-Li's humble political analysis and leadership as a talented tactician, is inspiring to see. There are so many wonderfully written characters that I could go on and on about all of them. I don't want to waste too much of your time, however.

With Collision, Ruenthal and Mittermeyer's friendship gets fleshed out. For me, it was the inquiry episode I was anticipating, and it didn't disappoint me. I'll never get tired of Yang Wen-Li bravely putting parasitical politicians, like the ones in our world that claim to be leading us, in their place. Rupert's cunning was introduced, and Rubinsky playing space chess with the Empire and Alliance is always amusing to watch. What I do appreciate about Collision are the new things it's doing. For example, Oberstein's humane side is shown more by putting more focus on his dog, and how he gathers intelligence behinds the scenes.

It feels surreal to be alive during a new adaptation of this series. Even though it's mostly ignored where I live, even by seasonal addicts, it's still special to me because it's a strong story. The series goes on to critique democracy and defend the Empire's autocracy. Democracy can be led by corruption, and an autocracy can find hope in a just ruler. The politics are always wonderful to think about and discuss. It's really still just the beginning.