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Feb 27, 2017
This show reminds of the feeling I had when I watched FLCL for the first time, mixed in with shades of watching my first Ghibli movie. It was a little strange, but strangely awesome.
The art is quite clean and everything in this show was very well animated with nice art and character designs. The small cast of characters were all enjoyable. Nothing about this show had blatant fan service of any sort.
The story is not the emphasis here but is really a means to an end in order to show the fruits of this studio's labor. To
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present their abilities in creativity, music (which was excellent might I add), art, and animation. The story was presented with just the right tone of maturity as well.
It is a perfect example of why I still watch anime today. The capability to portray a surreal fantasy setting story about dragon tooth dentists, while simultaneously conveying subtle underlying themes surrounding the significance of life. None of it really made sense and the show doesn't go into depth about explaining any concepts or about what's going on. Instead the focus is on the presentation of story events rather than the semantics of it all. All of this mixed in with a small amount of war & action... It looks nonsensical on paper, but it really worked out wonderfully.
Although there was just simply not enough time to become invested due to the show being only 2 episodes long, I'd say for the time allotted, it did a great job doing its best.
Simply put, it was a joy to watch. Very original, highly creative, short, soothing, sweet, and inconclusive, leaving perhaps room for more content in the future. Considering the level of high quality put into these 2 specials, I hope more will come.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Dec 16, 2016
My initial assumptions at face value for this show was that it was going to be your standard, typical shounen-type of anime with cutesy girls and big tits flopping everywhere in a fantasy adventure setting with a cliche story. I was pleasantly surprised at how wrong I was because it was actually really good quality, I would say this is really one of the better shows I've watched in a while.
Strong points
1) The music in this show is really good, it's so well done that it was immediately one of the things I noticed the most while watching, and that usually
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never happens early on. All in all every situation and scenario was backed up by some impressive music.
2) The main plot of the story actually has some suspense and mystery that keeps you wanting to watch more with each episode, it is very consistent throughout the show and the pacing is really excellent. It was fresh and entertaining throughout each episode, with a good balance of some light-heartedness mixed in with an overall serious and mature tone carrying out the main script. No cheap gimmicks or stupid nonsensical scenarios digressing from the progression of events, nothing embarassing or shameful really being presented here (despite some character designs which I'll briefly mention later...).
3) The anime was executed very well and this is its strongest point. I have to say I was really impressed by the way critical events were presented. All of the fight scenes were high quality and were really original and well choreographed. They were creative and entertaining with some solid animation, which even implemented some CGI! Even simple stand offs were backed with heavy dialogue because the stakes behind each conversation were suspenseful. Even the romantic aspects of this show were done very well and it was extremely well implemented and subtle. It was "intelligent." The conversations that occurred throughout the show really had some substance. The script writing and mono/dialogues were really excellent at times. One can definitely tell that the entire 12 episodes was written and carried out meticulously to provide one quality package, even at times highlighting small details shown in previous episodes.
4) Some of the characters were actually well done in terms of character development and uniqueness (and some were very generic). They were all presented well and each one had a clear sense of character & individuality. Each had a fair amount of evenly distributed screen time as well.
-Small note but there is also some small amount of film editing done here at times as well. It's really not that big of a deal, but just thought I'd like to point that out because I can appreciate those small details. It just adds to the flavor that there was a certain amount of effort put into this show and gives a sense of atmosphere to anyone curious about the quality of presentation.
Weak points
1) The premise leading up to the main plot of the story is really really weak. It's a typical, cliche-like background story of heroes fighting evil, but that's only used as a setting. Surprisingly enough, the focus of the entire show is something much more complex, sinister, and surprisingly entertaining, at least for this 12 show period.
2) The clothing for Nashatania & Fremy was really distracting, so much so that I have to list this aspect as a weak point. I would even go as far to say, if all the character designs in this show were a little more appealing, desirable, inspiring, and original in my eyes, this would have been an easy overall 8 instead of a 7 in my book. That's how much it bothered me at times. It's even stranger because really there is literally no blatant fanservice in this show, it's just an issue with those two character's models. It's weird because the show takes itself and everything which occurs throughout seriously, but because of those two designs in particular it made me feel more detached to what was going on than I actually wanted to be since everything else was done so well!
3) Out of all 7 characters, really only a few of them were interesting. Hopefully there will be a 2nd season which either strengthens some of the weaker character's developments, or either introduces new and interesting characters.
In the end this is how I felt after watching. To sum up my feelings, this show has so many strong points but is minorly flawed due to the show's poor choices in overall character designs and models. I really felt there was too strong of a contrast here. If we're talking about just presentation and execution of the show though, there's really no shortage of good quality here. Even though the overall story is really bland and uninspiring, it speaks volumes for the quality in the way the actual show was presented in terms of execution. One of the better shows out there, which left me wanting more.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Aug 30, 2016
The visual & audio appeal in this movie is off the charts. The CGI is mind-blowingly amazing while the story offers nothing deep or surprising.
There is a crap-load of jam-packed action scenes occurring at least every 10 minutes throughout. I'm talking like a Kraken on an AIRSHIP fighting teleporting knights, or Pacific Rim scale battles while ANOTHER dragon ball like battle is happening between two people WHILE at the same time the two GIANTS are fighting eachother... INCEPTION!
Seriously though, don't go in thinking there is a great & meaningful story to be told here. Although, I can gladly say
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the story of Nyx (the MC) was presented in a mature and refreshing manner. It avoids typical cliches or cringe-like moments common in fairy-tale like stories.
One should be able figure out the premise of the story fairly quickly. Less time is spent explaining the intricacies of the world and instead, more time is about putting you inside it. It forces you to experience it through the eyes and life of Nyx, who's simply a badass.
There was so much crazy stuff happening all the time in most of the action scenes, it was almost comedic at some points, seriously. Anyways, just pure action and entertainment throughout, while simultaneously presenting the beginnings of FF15 in a stylish fashion.
Let's just now hope that S-enix can deliver and retain the quality in FF15 this time around, far gone from the days of the S-soft era...
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jun 22, 2016
This was one of those shows I've always browsed past when looking for anime to watch. I thought the story would be nonsensical and a cheap gimmick to show T&A but decided to give it a shot, and man what a great show!
Never did it cross my mind that I would be interested in this show since I'm in my 30s, and on the surface all I thought was "It's shounen, it's about cooking, and has ecchi." I'm definitely not new to anime as it's been a part of me since childhood, but I'm not on obsessive levels about it either.
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I try to watch shows objectively, and I'm more interested in the entertainment & production value of shows, or uniqueness/novelty of plots.
With that being said, shokugeki no soma reeled me in with its characters of all things. This show is all about feel good moments which you can expect in most shounens.
I can appreciate the MC not being OP, or overcoming challenges with just sheer will power, or having the "one of a kind character with unique abilities that are different than everyone else" trope. Since the MC is just a normal guy, he puts in constant effort in order to stand on par with the "elites." The MC has lived his modest life unembellished by surroundings influences and thrives through his own love of cooking. He wins some battles, loses some battles, makes hilarious mistakes, but gradually walks through life together with his friends behind great resolve. The MC is firmly grounded in his roots as an individual and stands by his own beliefs. His friends and piers admire the way he approaches his own life in general, which pours out through his cooking as well. This is the underlying theme of the show.
The cooking aspect of the show is really only used as a medium to fill content with, and even still with that being said you can see that the creators of this show make an honest effort to show the audience fresh & interesting cooking content.
Out of all the familiar anime plot tropes of conquering challenges, falling in love, playing sports, surviving death games, winning supernatural action fights, or psychological thrillers, this show chose cooking. There is an infinite amount of future content within this medium, which makes me happy. I really fell in love with this show despite a GREAT reluctance to even watch the first episode.
It's funny because I'm sure many would pass this show as "food porn with ecchi girls," but honestly, the ecchi elements are done very tastefully, YES PUN INTENDED. No but seriously, every ecchi moment is done in satirical way to depict how epic the food created is. It's used very cleverly and sometimes it legitimately makes me LOL in my room. It's not used in an overtly perverted manner to show striped anime panties.
Download worthy song from the show: Song of Hope (Vol 2 OST). One of my favorite songs EVER.
Favorite character: Megumi. She is an awesome character throughout, even to the point of making me remember my highschool days of shy girls who were strangely attractive through their sincerity IRL. It's hard for a show to make me feel that way, since falling in love with characters is not really something I focus on when watching anime, but this show managed to do that. The only other character that currently comes to mind that really makes me fall in love with them from an attractive perspective as a guy would be someone like Isshiki Iroha from SNAFU.
All in All a fantastic show with tons of content which genuinely keeps you hooked because of the challenges and characters presented within the show, while simultaneously remaining true to the shounen title.
Highly recommend this show for anyone, even if you hate cooking. It's surprisingly excellent.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Feb 5, 2014
This anime is beautiful, I don't really know how else to describe it.
Even after watching the entire series the second time through, It's difficult to articulate my thoughts about watching this. The quality put into each show is amazing, as I believe it was released monthly, with each episode spanning around 45 minutes. Katanagatari does a good job telling a folktale-like story which is compelling and intriguing. It takes place in a post-Sengoku era, aka the post-"warring states period" in Japan,according to wiki.
It's a story about the journey of two people, who were perhaps destined by fate, to travel together and
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collect 12 unique swords which each contain mysterious power, be it benign or supernatural. It focuses on their adventure traveling together throughout Japan and the mysterious encounters they undergo among the people who either foster or are hunting these swords simultaneously. Underneath the surface of their journey, there is an underlying love story and a gradual development of character between the pair. It is progressed with each successive encounter throughout the show, which is done is a very stylish and majestic manner.
This show is extremely charming. The style is unparalleled, and is befitting to the mini-culture portrayed throughout the show. I can understand the art being a hit or miss with some, but personally it was like looking at beautiful art.
It is not an action packed show filled with meticulously animated fight scenes, although there are plenty of badass moments. It is just a simple story that is filled with memorable moments via a well written script. I remember vaguely reading somewhere that this was based on a light novel. Either way, while watching the show I definitely felt like I was reading a good book rather than watching a generic show. There are strong but subtle emphases of destiny, history, geography, and japanese culture in this anime. Furthermore, the show is paced well as each sword is generally obtained per episode, in various ways which all lead to finding to resolve to fight.
In conclusion, this anime is amazing, and is definitely in my own personal top 10, maybe even top 5 I've ever watched so far.
Three things I love about this anime:
1) The music. There were probably only 1 or 2 times where I felt the music did not suffice, or was apropos. Other than that, the music is top notch. It gives you the feels. It's unique, I would bet some are made with some pretty old-school instruments specific to Japan. Violins, are also a welcome in any show.
2) The love. This is a great love story. It's the type of love where it develops & changes the character's perspectives within the show gradually. It's done tastefully and with class.
3) This show is very memorable. It is a stand alone story with a conclusive end. There will be moments where you will get immense feels, accompanied with amazing music feels at the same time. If by the end of the show you don't get any feels, you are most definitely a robot.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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