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I have no idea why the rating is so low. The series is exactly as it appears, a show following a series of male idols between 35-45. They come from all walks of life, some with kids, some without. The premise is all about never having to give up on your dreams, no matter the age. It's decently animated for the budget, well-paced, the characters are likeable and the topics are relatable. No anime of the season here, but a very relaxed slice of life that reminds us what life is about. It's definitely not a 6! Each episode is only around 10 minutes, so ... its a perfect binge for a quiet weekend.

I recommend if you like slice of life, if you are over the age of 25 and feeling a bit lost in life, if you enjoy CBDCT anime, or if you juist want to quickly check off a 24 episode series.

Hello! Are you a female curious about if this series will satisfy you? Tired of only seeing male-perspective reviews? Wondering if this will tap into your inner psyche? Continue reading to find out!

Story 5/10
Rape is something many females fantasize about. Being completely held down and dominated, forced to experience intense pleasure through the night. A man wanting you so much that he literally cannot resist getting aroused?? Sounds amazing right? Nah. This hentai is completely lukewarm, not committing in either direction. If the title is going to be 'please r word me...' I mean....you would expect that to be the focus right?? Nah. Pathetic. ...

Animation 7/10
Budget is high here but it's nothing special and definitely not interesting. Same for voices. Just mediocre.

Minor spoilers ahead//

The reviews for this anime have been all over the place. It seems there's a big divide between casual viewers and BL lovers that will forgive bad writing for the sake of fanservice. Let me try to be a somewhat unbiased voice.

**Note**: My rating is definitely taking the fact that the bar for BL is very low, into consideration. Had this been a romance between a hetero couple, the rating would be lower. However, bl anime has been notorious for promoting non con, pedo, flat out rape, assault and just general terribleness for 40 odd years, and this anime completely avoided ALL ... of that. Ignoring that this is a huge issue that's rarely addressed, would be a detriment to the entire genre. With that being said, let's jump in.

Story: The story is probably the weakest aspect of Umibe no Etranger. I see many reviews saying the story is hard to follow without having read the manga, which I personally didn't find to be the case. It was a fairly simple plot to follow, struggling author and newly orphaned 17 year old meet, with one 3 year time skip. They make the time skip pretty clear in the anime.

Bits and pieces of exactly why Shun is upset with Mio are skipped, but these plot points are streamlined into one overarching theme of fear of rejection and wanting Mio to have an unbothered life. It would have been much better as a full 120-130 minute film instead of 60, but I still found it easy to follow (the manga is also very short so reading it isn't much of a hassle.)

Certain points are moved around in the movie, introduced later or earlier than the manga, and I found these to be an improvement. From an anime only standpoint however, there are some bits that can come across as slightly confusing to some, but only slightly. I will say though, if you plan to read the manga as well, I would read it afterwards as I like how some things are revealed in the movie.

The plot isn't overdone, there isn't too much angst to the point where you get frustrated, but just enough to keep the story interesting, and the backdrop is a gorgeous and nostalgia seascape that only serves to delight. Some serious issues re homophobia and healing from trauma are tackled, which is much needed in the BL community. Solid 7/10.

Art: The art is gorgeous. Movie budget for the win. Vivid colors, lens flares, clean lines, beautiful animation. I had to rewatch just to take in the art. Also a lot of adorable cat moments.

Sound: Nothing much to say here. The ending song is lovely and fitting but there isn't much music throughout.

Character: We get a lot more characterization of Shun as the openly gay writer that has already had to face ridicule in his life, vs Mio, but both characters still feel fleshed out and 3d. Mio's characterization is especially fitting for his young age.

Enjoyment: If you're into BL, this is going to be a delightful watch for you. If you're into soft romances, same answer. Nothing about this story disappointed me, and I appreciated the explicit focus on consent as well as flipping a few BL tropes on their head (I won't say which, but if you watch you'll know exactly what I'm talking about).

Overall: There is so much that is refreshing about this movie, the scenes themselves, the bright and vivid characters, the distinct lack of tired and problematic BL tropes, replaced with pure love. This one is definitely for all of us that have waded through Loveless, Junjou Romantica, Okane no Gai, Sensitive Pornograph etc etc etc, all in hopes for something wonderful. A MUST watch for any BL fan. And highly recommend regardless.

My personal score is a 10 just from pure happiness that the genre was blessed with something pure, but an 8 is the score I give for the sake of an objective review.

[Light Spoilers ahead]

One week family is an adorable, light read. You won't find any non-con, typical seme uke roles, struggles with sexuality or any of the typical BL tropes that I'm sure many of us have come to hate. Instead, you'll get pure sugar and feels. I'll start by saying I HIGHLY recommend it for anyone that's a fan of BL, if you have an hour to kill, sit back and savour the wholesomeness that is One Week Family.

Story: The premise is basic enough, a tv actor that struggles to get along with kids is made to live with his 5 year old costar ... and the costars manager for a week. Typical family shenanigans and romance ensues.

Art: Really crisp, beautiful lines, the art style is really pleasing. The kid character is adorable and the two mains, Kei and Ren, are nice to look at.

Characters: Being only 6 chapters, there isn't much depth of character, but we still get a good feel of our main cast, enough to resonate with their stories.

Enjoyment: It's a 10 for me, I was smiling ear to ear the entire read.

If you're looking for a sweet, short read, look no further! You won't regret the time spent on this little manga. Really hoping it gets adapted at some point, all I could have wanted was for it to be longer!! So good.

I'm picky about movies. A lot of the time, movies that most people think are incredible, fall totally flat for me. I don't feel any of the things I'm told I should. I find this frustrating, because I'd love to feel those emotions people talk about when they refer to these movies. Sometimes, I like a film okay, but they're forgettable. Rarely, I'll like a film a lot, and remember it fondly when I think about it.

Perfect 10's are in a league of their own, I don't remember the last *true* 10 that I watched. I don't remember this feeling of being so awash ... with emotion, wrecked till my mind is blank, inspired, crushed, devastated and hopeful all at once, moments where I have to stop and remind myself to breathe, but also that not breathing is totally okay.

I want to start by saying this review is not going to be well thought out or unbiased, I'm writing it while sitting fresh in the juices of my tears and emotions. Obviously, the movie is ranked very highly, so another review harping on how great is it won't be special. But I have to, anyways. It's just that good.

I can understand if you don't like this movie. Maybe it was too hyped, not what you expected? Maybe you found the pacing a little slow? If you watched it and you're reading this review with disdain, wondering what the big deal is--trust me, I get it. I've been there. I'm always there. But if this is you, I urge you--- just watch it again.

The story is perfect. No cliche's to be found, and it deals with some really heavy subject matter while still managing to pace itself brilliantly. It's a simple enough story line, but presented masterfully and in a way that captures the viewer from the first minute. This film did an incredible job at translating the manga into on-screen magic.

The art and sound are both beautiful, the level you would expect from a well-budgeted feature film. Beautiful line work, fluid movements, and a great soundtrack. No complaints, but that's not where the true prowess of this film comes from.

The true and ultimate level of perfection is in the characters. Anime, in my opinion, finds both its strengths and weaknesses in it's characters. Often flat, recycled and easy to understand--even the seemly complex characters with a ton of backstory still manage to be simple in so many ways. They never feel like real people. The characters of this movie have a wide and varied range of true, raw, human emotion. They do things, confusing things, good things, bad things, things in between; they react, they're kind, they're awful. they're really real. Don't expect everyone to be tied up and presented neatly with a bow, because, just like real life, sometimes things don't have a reason. Sometimes people don't even understand why they themselves do what they do. And that's okay. That's life. I loved every single character, each for their own reasons.

Enjoyment is a tricky question. Lots of parts, I didn't enjoy. I was filled with sadness and anger and pain, and had to pause a bunch of times (I'm so happy I didn't see this in a theater). This is a film about human character and emotion, and can be interpreted SO many ways depending on your personal story. That's why it's so great. That's why you can watch it again and again and learn something new each time--something I will definitely be doing, for a long time to come. I'm so happy this movie exists, because I didn't know how badly I needed it. I hope you can watch it, fill your heart up to the brim with exactly what you need, and end with the same level of enjoyment I did.

If not, well...
Just watch it again.

Saw no reviews so I thought I would take a stab at it. These four, two minute shorts come with the DVD of Okane Ga Nai. They're all very light, cute, and include the same characters from the main story. I liked them because they gave a different vibe than the main anime--which is dark and heavy.

The art, sound and characterization is all the same as in the main series, so, not much to comment on there. Enjoyment I gave a 7 because they're cute, give a little bit more insight into the relationship and day to day lives of the characters, and made me ... smile. Nothing much else to it.

Ok I'll admit it, I was quick to judge. I didn't like the first episode because it felt like it was going to be a super heavy lolicon because of emphasis on Popura's shortness and Takanashi's love of well...children. I meandered through the first couple episodes, all grumbles and eye rolls.

Somewhere around episode 3 or 4 I started enjoying things, as other characters got involved, like Takanashi's family, which is great, and Inami in general, who I think is a great character. By episode 8, I was fully invested and loving it, forgetting all of my initial worries.

All in all I thought it ... was a good slice of life in the end, not earth-shattering, but fun to pass the time, with enough characters that you'll find at least one to like. A good filler show for chill summers.

This anime is a masterpiece. It's original, beautiful, honest, and gut-wrenching. Please watch it. If you're into yaoi, if you're not, it doesn't matter, it deals with love in its purest form and it's wroth watching.

Anime don't usually make me emotional, and I certainly didn't expect this one to. But from the beautiful music to the moving dialogue, the story moves fluidly through the episodes, separate but they all come together in the end. You won't regret watching it, so just do it.

Warning: Feels, feels everywhere.

This anime tried very hard to cram a lot of a complicated plot into a short OVA. One would think this would result in a very fast-paced show, but it still manages to crawl at a snails pace.

This isn't an anime that you should watch without reading the manga. If you've read the manga, it's nice to see some aspects (SOME) come to life (kind of) in an anime. As a stand-alone, it leaves you with more questions than answers.

They should've just not called it a shounen-ai and cut that one scene because it does nothing for the anime but throw you for a ... loop (they were dating????). If you're going to cut out such a big plot point, might as well cut the entire thing.

If you're looking for yaoi, look elsewhere. If you're looking for an amazing, intricate plot, same.

And if you're used to the quality of animation the 2010's have to offer, it will be a little painful trying to watch this. My eyes hurt at the 144p.

I haven't seen the anime this OVA is coming after, but if you have played the game and you want to see animations of the bad endings, this is the place to come to. If you like horror and yaoi mixed together, come here.

If you watched the anime hoping for it to be BL like the game, but you were sorely disappointed and wondering where all the L went, it's here, so come here.

If you like yaoi come here, unless you hate blood (then don't come).

If you want a riveting plot, no, leave, quickly.