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Nov 5, 2022
Love All Play is lacking in about a hundred departments, but it managed to get a 3 rather than a 1, so I guess that's something.
Badminton is one of the few sports that are actually fun to watch in real life. It's fast-paced, interesting and it's played on such a small court compared to others (other than ig tennis, but tennis is dead boring for me to watch). I had high hopes for this. The only other badminton anime I've watched is Ryman's Club and even that was disappointing in the sport aspect. In fact, Run with the Wind, an anime about running, was
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more interesting and had higher quality overall.
Love All Play is predictable, boring and a copy of just about every other sport anime. Actually, that's just an insult to other better sports anime. It's a worse copy of them, I should say.
We have the same characters (personality wise and motivation wise), an injury almost every 5 episodes, a predictable plot, and way too many characters for a 24 episode anime. I couldn't even tell you what happened in those 24 episodes and I've literally just finished it. The pacing was off, the actual badminton scenes were boring and some of the characters are just plain dislikable. Forget being a copy of other characters, I've watched over 150 anime now, so seeing a tsundere, a "sunshine" main character, an over-energetic and aggressive character etc. is nothing new to me, but other anime still manage to make it work? They have to compete with God knows how many other anime, manga and animation that have the same characters, but even new releasing anime only anime are better.
This is a waste of time. I wouldn't recommend even trying it because it would just be a waste of 20 minutes. I watched all of it in order to write an accurate review, so I beg you listen.
But there are 3... decent aspects of the show (hence the 3/10):
1. In line with most of the new gen anime, Love All Play, unsurprisingly, has a crisp, clean animation style. It's pretty, the colours are bright, the character styles are cute ig. It's nice. (It does however fail in about every aspect when it comes to animating the actual sport - the angle at which every frame was at when they were playing was horrible for staying engaged)
2. The romantic subplot was better than the entire anime overall. In fact, it probably would've gotten more than a 3 if this was a purely romance anime with sport as the subplot.
And 3. It, thankfully, finished on a realistic note. I'll give it that. The MC doesn't take the win at the end of the first (and hopefully only) season: ACCURATE. Only plot thing they did right. Unless the sport anime is about a prodigy that always wins and we go through a journey where he loses for the first time ever, fine, that's different. But every single sport anime that starts with a decent/beginner sport player, aiming for the top, is required to lose once. No, at least twice. It's the standard. The struggle needs to be there. You need to taste defeat before winning because that's how everyone else at the top got through it. You get better by playing and losing against someone better than you. I don't care how many sports anime I watch, this is the only correct sequence when tackling this kind of development/journey. It's the only accurate one and the only one I will hold to realistic standards lol.
Though writing this now, I'm not sure whether Love All Play should get props for doing what is the expected thing to do in an anime about a character aiming to win.
Some characters were more interesting than the main character ngl. I was a fan of the one with glasses, who eventually became the brains behind the team and acting like a second coach. Now THAT, I would watch. Yusa was cringe. Mizushima was average and boring and at no point was I hoping he'd actually win (ik, sad). I didn't feel anything for any of the characters, the story didn't one engage me. It was just so lackluster.
But hey, at least it was easy to look at.
Don't watch this. There's always something else to watch. Beyond "calming" and "easy to watch", which I believe some people will describe this as, I can't think of a single sport anime that is meant to be or is calming. It's sport. It's going to have angst, struggle and ugly moments. It's meant to be difficult, overwhelming and rewarding. Especially if that's the main genre. Especially if the aim is to be at the top. Sport isn't mean to be in the same sentence as Slice of Lice unless it's a subplot. Love All Play is endlessly boring, repetitive and doesn't even scrape the surface of the word decent.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Oct 31, 2022
Great Pretender grew more charming the more episodes I watched. What first started as something I was vaguely interested in and curious about, ended up being a show I was both happy and sad to finish.
It really did grow on me.The last arc particularly was my favourite, but all the arcs in between were still entertaining.
While you're watching the show, slowly getting used to how they do things, just remember: if you think you've got it figured out... You don't. Great Pretender is stacked with plot twists, surprises and tricks. The VA's are superb, the animation style is very animated (shock) and colourful
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and just perfect for the mood of the entire anime, and the story just ties up nicely in a little bow.
The characters are likable, funny and at times, heartbreaking. There was a charm to Great Pretender that goes beyond being a swindler and having a good time being a modern day Robin Hood. I felt sad watching Cynthia sometimes. And I started to see Laurent in a different light afterwards. Everyone had their own baggage to carry, but that didn't stop them from getting the job done.
But I think most of all, when I started to get attached to how Edamura was being treated, I knew there was something silently being told. I knew it was wrong all things considered, but I really did waver there, hoping that Edamura would leave this life. That's where the "The VA's are superb" comment comes from. Edamura's VA was fantastic at portraying strong emotions, and I loved that even though the animation was artistic but simple, you could see the emotions portrayed on all the characters faces.
Great Pretender is big. It's full of lessons, individual people's stories and a lot of fun. But it's also full of sadness, grief and longing. A lot is lost but a lot is gained all at the same time, and I think watching that in a show like this is ugh, so charming. That's the best word I can come up with to sum this anime up.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Oct 23, 2022
Call of the Night is.. interesting. It's visually very pleasing. The colours are the complete opposite of what you'd think the night would be like, but sometimes, there's a dark feel to it, and I honestly love it.
I'm just going to put it out there right now, but I don't care about applying real life logic and morals to a fictional piece of work. And I don't care how controversial that is. Anime is fictional, characters who are middle school children but don't LOOK it, will be something I'll always be able to look over. Learn to separate real life from fictional shows. If
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it was a "real" life TV show, I could see how that would be disturbing and difficult to separate, but this is Japanese cartoons.
NOW, moving onto the actual review.
Call of the Night is my type of Slice of Life. It's not actually categorised as that, but that was the vibe I got the entire time. SoL with supernatural and romance. I feel like a whole lot of nothing happens and at the same time, there is a plot. It was easy to watch, the animation is gorgeous, the characters are funny and have personality, and it was just a vibe.
It has deeper themes if you think about it enough, but the messages the anime is trying to send isn't that hard to pick out. The night is something untouched. It's full of mystery, quiet and yet liveliness at the same time. All the "normal", "good" people are in bed by the time the night fully rolls around, while you have full time working adults, wandering the streets, having a good time and just overall escaping from everyday life. Night time is both part of reality and yet a break from reality.
The anime perfectly captures this sense of the ordinary being boring. People get bored of everyday life. Of following the set standard of going to school every day, having meals at a certain time and resuming that routine every single day of your life. But nighttime is when it's all quiet. It's both normal and yet weird for people to be up past 2am. All the night owls are awake, doing the same thing "normal" people do in the morning. But it's just different because less people are up, the city/town isn't bustling, half the world should be asleep. I love it.
Don't even get me started on the vampire thing. It's a nice twist. I like Kou's character. It wouldn't really work if vampires weren't part of the mix, but it's very interesting to see a different take on vampires.
I did really enjoy this anime while I was watching, but truthfully, I'm harder to please than I was before. I didn't sit here and binge it all, but it was easy to watch and enjoyable (which is pretty much the bare minimum for me). If you're able to separate fiction from real life, enjoy pretty animation, and want to watch an anime that explores a character who wants to be part of the people who are up and around at night, this is your anime to watch.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Sep 18, 2022
Kids on the Slope is full of angst, jazz and all kinds of drama. It gives off the same vibe as Beck, but jazz style, and if you liked Beck, it's almost a given you'll like Kids on the Slope.
In just 12 episodes, Kids on the Slope has managed to pull off a jazz centred, teenage drama featuring multiple stories from about 4/5 different characters. On the second to last episode, it just clicked that this wasn't a 24 or 26 episode anime, and that somehow, it has managed to tie up the ending in a way I would've least expected.
I love the
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art style, I love the music, I love love love the developing friendships and relationships. It was a mixture of filler episodes that were focused on developing relationships, and actual storyline episodes that moved the story further. I was satisfied with the amount of music shown, appreciated the gritty feeling of the show and just overall loved how it panned out. The pacing was just right, and I was hooked form the start. I'll admit, my attention dwindled, but that's just because of outside factors, nothing to do with the quality of the story falling.
Bon and Sen get a special mention, for being my two favourite characters in the entirety of it. I like how the anime dealt with the problems and showcased them. It felt realistic and outrageous at the same time, but that's what I loved about it.
I gave it an 8 because while I wouldn't change a thing about it, I can admit that it just isn't that deserving of anything above an 8. The lessons you can take from this are deep, and you can apply to real life, but aside from the music which absolutely thrilled me, I've seen many other animes that tackle the drama of teenage life well and so my expectation for it is... very high. It was still very good and I hold this anime in high regard, but if it didn't have the music aspect, it would just be another angst-like, teenage drama anime. The music totally bolsters its score, just like how Beck would be lost without the music and 50% more drama.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Aug 15, 2022
A3 was surprising in the best way possible. It's everything I want from a SoL anime and more.
It's the right balance of story line and also that repetitiveness SoL aspect that requires minimal thoughts and commitment. It's easy to watch, relaxing, and best of all, I don't have to put much thought behind what's going on in the screen. So if you're looking for a calm anime to watch that you can slowly get through, this is the one.
That being said, when I would sit down to watch it, I'd end up bingeing at least 4 episodes out of pure enjoyment. The story
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is enjoyable, the characters are fun and easy to get attached to and there's 4 different troupes meaning I'll have 4 sets of 5 different characters I'll be able to learn about. If that's not a win idk what is. I like that every character is different, with their own quirks and personalities. I like the drama and I like that the acting aspect isn't that technical.
The animation style is pleasing but simple. The colours are bright and the tone of the anime is almost always happy and uplifting. And it's safe to say the last episode had me in tears. Tears of happiness, but tears nonetheless.
I'm excited to see what A3 season 2 holds, but season 1 so far was a massive hit for me, and it just got better the more episodes I watched. Totally recommend, solid 8/10 and would honestly probably watch again after some time.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Aug 1, 2022
Itazura na Kiss was definitely a journey. It's a story with a lot of flaws, don't get me wrong, but if you take a step back and look at all 25 episodes together... it's a solid 8/10 for me.
I don't know how many romance animes out there actually see the story through to the end AND in one season, mind you, but this one does. For reference, I've watched my fair share of romance anime, but of the ones I've watched this is the only one that does what I said. So, this automatically boosts Itazura na Kiss up in rating because we get
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to see proper character and relationship development. From teenager to adulthood. High school, college and a job. GETTING the guy.
Romance wise, I'll admit a couple scenes had me squealing like I was the one experiencing it. The pacing of everything that went down was easy to follow and not too slow or fast. The characters are likable and annoying at the same time. But they're consistent throughout and that's something that kept me entertained and attached throughout.
BUT, there really is a lot wrong with it. While I shipped the main couple about... 75% of the time, maybe even less, the rest of the time, I was wondering whether Kotoko really intended to stay the entire time. It all ties up nicely and thankfully, Naoki gets a smidge better towards the end, but the amount of things wrong with how he treated her is... well, way too many. In other words, the relationships portrayed through this anime is mostly about "pushing" and choosing one person and sticking to them for as long as it takes. Which, could be worse, but in reality this anime showed a pretty ugly side of this one sided love even DURING a relationship and I wasn't a fan of that.
But like I said, take a step back. It's easy to remember this is just an anime. Take the good "lessons" and sides of it and acknowledge that the bad are fictional, but look at it overall. I truly enjoyed it. The obstacles that the couple went through didn't feel repetitive and the character and relationship development that comes out at the end is worth it. This is definitely a must-watch if you're big on romance anime and that's simply because you'll get something out of it. You'll FINALLY see a romance anime go further than confessing, or sit through 25 episodes laughing, squealing or getting mad, one of them.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jul 5, 2022
I wish I had watched this straight rather than broken up, but as it was a seasonal anime and I was infinitely curious, I couldn't help myself and started with barely any episodes aired. Bearing that in mind, Dance Dance Danseur was charming, emotional and thought-provoking.
It is not without its negatives, especially when considering other people's reviews/comments on it. But as a whole, it is a solid 9/10.
Without going too in-depth, this sport anime tackles many different themes following well... sport, specifically ballet. Expectations, family, support, talent, disappointment, friends, individuality, abuse, so, so many different themes and things goes on throughout the 11
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episodes, I'm actually surprised thinking about it. Most short running anime don't tend to excel at telling a story with this many episodes, but a rare few do and this is definitely one of them.
We have character development, relationship/friendship development, a genuine progression of a story and i guess what you'd call, a "lesson learnt" type of story. In an 11 episode anime. With a well-paced progression. It hits all story-telling aspect stuff a lot of people are critical on.
And on top of that you have likable, wonderfully flawed characters (Junpei), gorgeous animation, and there is something about the colour pallette and overall character design that is both stunning and charming. It also helps that the ED is super catchy. I'm not one to watch ballet, but as I've found with anime, as long as the story-telling and pacing is good, alongside decent characters, it doesn't matter about my personal interest in it in real life.
In short, watch it. It will hold your attention the entire way through and if it doesn't, well, I can also understand why. I will admit I'm a sucker for sunshine, clumsy and over-the-top main characters like Junpei. They just *have* what it takes. And they're the MC, it's their story, of course the story will be centred ultimately around their success and journey. But I'll give it props for shining a light on this natural talent vs hard work trope that always shines whenever done properly in any spore genre. It's unfair, you can't take your eyes of those naturally gifted, it's not the same and so many other comments. But it's true. And this anime explores this idea in both subtle and obvious ways.
I.E. I recommend it. I'll be back for a *proper* review in a years time. But all that needs to be known is that my enjoyment is a solid 10/10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jun 8, 2022
Having watched 2 seasons now, I have a pretty good grasp of Kuroko no Basket. I've watched my fair share of sports anime, and my favourite will probably always be Haikyuu for many, many reasons. And hearing that Kuroko was comparable and some would even say better than Haikyuu, I knew I'd eventually get around to watching this.
So far, it's not. Don't get me wrong, it's very good, and has consistently received a high rating from me over the past 2 seasons and 2 OVAs, but it feels repetitive.
Firstly, you could make a drinking game out of how many surprised faces the characters
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make when someone pulls an outrageous move or shows a new skill. It happens in almost every single game. While at times it's definitely reasonable and makes it even more hype, the pacing of each match just seems so off. 10 seconds left on the timer = 5 minutes of the episode. 4 seconds left on the timer = 2 minutes of slowed movements, about 20 seconds of dribbling and thinking etc etc. It throws the pacing off and makes the climax feel so much further away when in reality, it should be 4 seconds away.
I don't have many complaints about the way the story is paced in general. Pacing of the matches is... mediocre, but the general "we lost a big match and are now winning because of the defeat" storyline is expected. The 2nd season was full of surprises though, so I'll give them that. Not to mention, I was still constantly at the edge of my seat thinking 'no way would they lose this, they've already lost the first time around' as reassurance.
In terms of characters, they're pretty standard. Still very likable, but once you've watched like 5 sports anime, you've pretty much watched all of them character wise. That's not to say they're bad, just that there's no new character tropes you should expect. As a first timer, or someone new in anime, I don't see how this wouldn't be totally enjoyable considering I still enjoyed them, even after knowing about 10 different characters with the same personality.
Aomine and Kise might just be my favourite characters though. There's definitely certain parts of the matches that are insane. Match ups like Aomine and Kise (unfortunately not in this season, but in S1) easily put my enjoyment through the roof, and the unpredictability of the Zone definitely adds to the story.
I'm curious to see how S3 will pan out, but aside from some noticeable flaws, Kuroko no Basket is worth watching. It might fall short of some people's expectations, but I've been bingeing it for the past few days out of curiosity and interest. That's not to say it's anywhere near a 9 or 10 for me though, unfortunately. I like prodigies as much as the next guy, but basically having super powers clash with basketball wasn't something I thought would be all that good. I was half right.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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May 8, 2022
Ryman's Club was just the right amount of episodes and the perfect mix of sport and.. well, lessons. I'll admit, it's your typical sport anime, with life lessons and character development and tense moments. You'll find the same character tropes and the same kind of drama.
But, it still does it well. In just 12 episodes you'll find that you actually like pretty much every single character. They speed run some things and at times it'll feel rushed, but the attachment was still there. There were some moments I wouldn't have been able to predict even if I tried, so it kept me guessing until
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the end.
Watch enough sports anime and you'll pretty much have watched all of them. But that doesn't take away from the enjoyment of good, well-developed ones. Ryman's Club feels like it's targeted at an older audience. Just slightly. The work-play balance is a pretty clear theme. Although understandably, the anime does teeter towards play a lot more. But you might find that you're watching this at just the right time, when you think you've moved past things you had a passion for and "grown up". You'll find characters at totally different life stages and totally different situations, that it does make it slightly different to other sports anime.
It's a solid 8, maybe just shy of a 9. Highly recommend, and hopefully there's a season 2. The ending definitely hinted at one.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Mar 30, 2022
As one of the first anime I've watched where I've read the manga beforehand, I was not disappointed. I'll admit, I'm a sucker for Gojou and Marin's dynamic and that's why I was so excited to see it animated.
But for anime-only people, or maybe even manga people who wish to watch it, it is most definitely worth it.
If there's one way to describe the relationship dynamic between the two main characters, it's down to earth. It's a slow burn, natural kind of friendship that I sincerely hope will hit romance, as where I'm up to rn, it is yet to. But they're fun
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to watch and I'm rooting for them so hard that idec that I know everything that's gonna happen in the anime, having read it.
It's an anime that develops a friendship between two people who help each other in their passions and hobbies. Marin, who is open, easily excited and just a ball of positive energy. The perfect counterpart to sensible, driven and quiet Gojou. Marin does the job of bringing Gojou out his shell and introducing him to her world of cosplay, and Gojou gives Marin all the creative and cosplay outlet she desperately wanted.
And that's essentially what it's all about. While many nitpick the fan service, I don't have many complaints about it in all honesty. It's unnecessary in some, but Gojou's a 15 year old boy who's had NO experience with girls. And he's a NORMAL one, not some creepy, typical trope type personality you'd find in anime. And Marin is attractive, undeniably so. Put those two together and well, this is what you get. Again, some shots are definitely unnecessary but little accidents happening and Marin's teasing to get a reaction out of Gojou is not unbelievable nor unrealistic in the slightest.
Otherwise, I'd highly recommend this. The animation is gorgeous, the characters are likable (the main characters are so down to earth I love them) and the slow burn is just perfect.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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