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Aug 31, 2018
As someone who loves Madoka Magica and Evangelion, Revolutionary Girl Utena should have been my favorite anime. After all, I hear so many online reviewers and professional critics sing various praises about Utena being an "Evangelion for girls" and Madoka's spiritual predecessor. While I can see why such comparisons would be made, I can also see that Utena is a unique, individual gem of an anime that stands well on its own. That doesn't mean that it isn't flawless however. Trust me, this show has a lot of flaws.
Like Madoka and Evangelion, Utena is a show with an emphasis on a lot of symbolism. And
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I mean, A LOT of it. This can be its greatest strength, but also its greatest weakness - depending on your own personal preference for symbolism. For those of you who enjoy the hell out of analyzing every word and image, you'll probably like Utena a lot. For those of you who prefer more straightforward plots, you might not. Me, personally? I can appreciate complex symbolism from time to time, but I detest having to sit down and analyze every single thing all the time. At first, the symbolism of Utena was overwhelming for me, and a lot of what was going on just flew over my head. (Thank Goddess Madoka that the YouTube comment section for the episodes I watched was full of intellectuals that actually understood everything.) I initially dropped it halfway. I'm so glad that I picked it up again, however!
Another thing I found to be irritating was the apparent use of recycled animation and dialogue for the duels and other scenes. The dialogue mainly consists of "YOU MUST REVOLUTIONIZE ZA WARDO", which gets old really, really fast. The duels always begin with the same repeated transformation scene. While it is incredibly pretty, it also gets just as old as hearing "YOU MUST REVOLUTIONIZE ZA WARDO" again and again.
The underlying story of Utena is a basic one: Utena Tenjou duels other students at Ohtori Academy for the Rose Bride, Anthy Himemiya. This story's telling isn't ordinary, however - this is where the complex symbolism comes in to expand upon the story's themes. Utena's themes are centered around relationships. This is exemplified in Utena's wanting to become a prince (not princess) to protect Anthy, as well as in Anthy's rather "uinque" relationship with her brother Akio. The character interactions are not what you'd expect. (Using letters since this is a spoiler.) You'd expect character A to lash out at character B for finding out secret X, but this is handled in more mature - albeit strange - manner. (Again, I don't want to give out spoilers. You'll have to watch to find out what I'm talking about.) For the overall story, I would've given it a 5/10...if I hadn't seen the ending story arc, that is.
The ending story arc (Apocalypse Saga) is by far one of my favorite anime story arcs. It wraps up the entirey of Utena in a beautiful, imaginative ending that I couldn't see being told better. This arc by itself boosted up my rating for Utena's story up to a 7/10, a well-deserved rating in my opinion.
The art and the sound are very good as well. I adore the opening theme, as well as the catchy song that plays during the beginning of the duels. (It actually made the transformations a bit more bearable for me.) The use of abstract imagery and shadow puppetry helps to give the show its own recognizable style, and I love it when anime utilizes different styles other than the typical big-eyed, shiny anime look. (Also, the character designs are so pretty! I want Utena's outfit!) That being said, the art does suffer from some flaws. I could never get used to how the eyes were drawn, and the quality of the animation doesn't age well. But overall, the art was fine.
Utena was a unique experience, to say the least. While I don't consider it to be one my favorite anime, I can recognize its merits and its influences on the shows I love. I recommend giving it a shot. If you find out its not for you, then at least watch the recap episodes and all of the Apocalypse Saga. (Yes, the Apocalypse Saga is just that good!)
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jun 25, 2018
Wonderfully drawn and well written, The Different Story is definitely a different story from much of the Madoka Magica manga universe. Quite frankly, it's a different story that I believe truly deserves 9/10 review.
I suppose my biggest issues with the manga universe of Madoka Magica mainly revolve around how mediocre and almost unlike the original anime it is. The signature dark atmosphere and nihilistic themes of Gen Urobuchi's screenwriting for the show doesn't really seem to be found in the manga, and much of the characters in the manga universe lack that special edge that made the original five girls stand out.
Luckily, this wasn't
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the case for The Different Story. The Different Story is certainly a different story in how it captures the spirit and style of the anime from which it was inspired by - for a manga spinoff, that is. The volume's dark tone was well done in a way that was not below subpar, nor overly pretentious. The storytelling was also executed fairly well, as it returns to much of the (wo)man vs. (her)self nature of the show rather than straying far from it.
The characterization was the selling point of this volume for me. I, for one, was glad that this manga decided to instead focus on the original five girls rather than introduce a whole new team. Since the anime didn't give her much screen time, I really liked seeing Mami get more time to grow and develop as a character. I also was really impressed with Kyoko's development from an inexperienced yet well-meaning magical girl who wanted the best for her family to a callous lone-wolf-type figure. The character dynamics between Mami and Kyoko were beautifully written, since neither of them seemed to be out-of-character at all.
The last thing I shall comment on is the art. The art style is well drawn and very expressive when it came to showing the emotions of the characters. The Witches, however, aren't nearly as impressive and Nightmare-inducing (bad attempt at a joke) in the manga as they were in the anime. Although I hear many fans saying how much they prefer the art of the manga than the art of the anime, I must admit that I like both styles equally.
In other words, The Different Story is a worthy installment to the canon of Madoka Magica, and is a must-read for any and every Madoka Magica fan out there. I highly recommend it to anyone who was disappointed (as was I at one point) with other Madoka Magica spinoffs. Kudos Magica Quartet!
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jun 25, 2018
I recall watching (and loving) the anime adaptation of this manga back when I was a young and socially awkward nerd in fifth grade. But now after reading the entire manga, I can conclude that the Chobits manga is in fact far superior to the anime.
CLAMP manages to write a beautiful love story contained within these eight volumes. There is absolutely no filler within these volumes, which was something that the anime adaptation had far too much of (especially in the first half). The romantic development between Hideki (the male protagonist) and Chi (his lady android love) is remarkable, and actually managed to move me
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(which rarely happens to me in almost every romance I've seen). Aside from the development between the two main protagonists, I also found myself genuinely moved by the interactions and relationships of the supporting cast. I also appreciated the somewhat philosophical bits dealing with love and technology.
(And also, Sumomo wasn't as unbearable in the manga as she was in the anime, and I think that alone is deserving of a full star.)
The artwork is also a merit of this manga. CLAMP doesn't overdo it with details, but also doesn't make their art too bland and lacking.
Some may be turned off by the fan-service (there isn't TOO much, but still some), but I would highly recommend reading all eight volumes regardless.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jun 25, 2018
At one point in our lives, we have all stumbled upon a work of fiction that tries too hard to be inspirational or depressing. These works are the media equivalent of the weird kid in the back of the classroom who tries too hard to be all edgy. Kotoura-san is a prime example of such a work of fiction, as it tries far too much to take itself seriously and ultimately fails at trying to resonate with its audience.
Let's first start with Kotoura-san's greatest sin: its piss poor writing. Good gracious Madoka, was the writing terrible for this show! As I've mentioned in the beginning
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paragraph, the show tries to take itself too seriously. Basically, the show is centered around the life of the titular character, Haruka Kotoura, who can read minds, and is endlessly suffering because of how her powers alienate her from her peers who are pretty freaked out by her ability. Now, this premise isn't too bad by itself - the show's execution and direction of it is, however.
First, there is the first half of the first episode. In the first nine minutes alone, we are forced to endure Haruka's painful childhood, which is basically just such unnecessary sympathy fodder for the sake of making the audience pity the heroine. I will admit that these few minutes were what initially drew me into the show, and therein lies the problem. As soon as you pick it up, Kotoura-san immediately tries to lure you into its nonexistent story with forced angst and melancholy. Throughout each and every episode, drama is forced on an annoyingly constant basis. While it was intriguing the first few times around, it sure got old by episode three. There was also an abundance of what I call "plot twist abuse". The plot twists in Kotoura-san were only included just for the sake of having plot twists. In other words, they were only written into the story as feeble attempts at finding a hook for the viewers, and boy, did it fail.
By the way, what the actual hell was up with that brief pseudo-murder-mystery arc near the series' end? The entire arc and introduction of its characters was completely unnecessary to the overall plot, and was only put there to create more stupid drama. I especially hate how it was resolved. This arc was a prime example of "plot twist abuse", and was ultimately, the worst part of the plot.
Now, let's move on to the characters. I couldn't find myself to care about them as much as I would have liked, and ended up hating half of them. Let's talk about the main characters first.
Haruka's whining about her mind-reading and being a burden on her friends became more annoying with the story's progression, and I found myself caring less for her boyfriend, Yoshihisa Manabe, who I used to like as a character. I did find Yoshihisa to be an amusing character at the beginning, but soon saw him for what he actually was: a cardboard, two-dimensional anime love interest who has no real personality beyond his "nice guy" demeanor and perverted sex fantasies about his lady love. (Oh boy, what an original personality for a character!) Muroto Daichi (one of our protagonists' friends) was probably the character I hated the most. He was one of those oh-I-wear-glasses-and-I'm-really-quiet-and-cool boys that you'd find in cheap romantic shoujo manga. (Thank fucking Monika this series wasn't centered around him.) He's incredibly boring to watch, and is unforgivably oblivious to how his childhood best friend (Yuriko Mifune) totally has the hots for him. (I personally think that she should have better taste.) How is it even possible for a human being (even one in an anime) to be so dense!? (Reminds me of my sixth grade crush, but that's a story for another time.) Speaking of Yuriko, she was rather slow to develop as a character. She doesn't exactly feel or show any sort of remorse for what she does with Haruka at first until the very end, but I felt as though it was just too late to pull off such a big change in such a small amount of time. There is also Hiyori Moritani, who serves as the antagonist of the first few episodes and basically resents Haruka for how close she is with Yoshihisa, her childhood crush. (Damn, this anime really loves playing on the "unrequited childhood crush" trope.) She does eventually befriend the others after some apologizing and all that fluffy crap. To be honest, I rather enjoyed her character slightly more than the others, but she still comes off as rather flat to me, especially with that sudden 180 in being one of the most horrible characters in the anime to suddenly being Haruka's BFF.
Lastly, there are the secondary characters, who were the characters that I hated the most. There is Aki Tsukino, who I utterly despise for creating an entire useless and needlessly dark story arc (I'm referring to the pseudo-murder-mystery arc, of course). Then there is Haruka's creepy grandpa who pervs on her relentlessly, and for some reason, Haruka doesn't call Child Protective Services. (What is it with anime and incest?) Oddly enough, I didn't hate Haruka's mom as much as I thought I would. Don't get me wrong, she still needed better development when it came to reconciling with her daughter at the very end, but she didn't annoy me as much as everyone else. (Really enjoyed that scene of her kicking Yoshihisa, to be honest. Maybe that's why she's my favorite.)
Moving on from the show's main issues, I also have a few more qualms with the series. Much was left to be desired in the shows' music and art. The soundtrack of Kotoura-san was fairly adequate. It wasn't horrible, but it was just generic and ultimately forgettable. The same could be said for its art style. At best, the artwork is mediocre and derivative of other works in the genre. These visual and musical factors are also great flaws that bring down the show as a whole, since none of it was able to make Kotoura-san stand out from similar titles.
I had high hopes for this anime, I really did! But unfortunately, it just failed on so many levels and barely left an impact on me as a casual fan of anime. Long story short, Kotoura-san is uninteresting, emotionally manipulative, and not worth much consideration.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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May 7, 2018
Disappointing and overhyped, Citrus is an incomplete mess that failed to live up to its potential. Yes, I know how it sounds like I hate this anime just by opening my review with that, but that isn't (entirely) the case. The truth is, my feelings towards Citrus are rather mixed. It didn't exactly offend me as much as other FAR worse shows have (referring to SAO, of course), but I just can't help but be disappointed by the overall show.
One of my biggest gripes with the show is its writing. At times, the writing can be quite solid and give a lot of emotional depth
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to the situation being presented. But most times, the melodrama is quite forced and eventually just gets tiring to keep up with.
The one thing I hated the most about the writing (and about the whole show, actually) was the nonconsenual elements. These acts serve no purpose to the overall plot, and seem to have just been included to grab the auidence's attention. That being said, it makes the show (particulary the first half) so uncomfortable to watch. Had these elements not been present, I probably would've enjoyed Citrus a bit more.
Another big issue I had with Citrus is its characters. I won't exactly get into detail with the side characters, but I will say that most of them were boring, and the ones that served as the antagonists for a brief while were quite annoying. The characters I will be discussing in further detail are the starlets of our show: Yuzu and Mei Aihara.
Yuzu Aihara is probably one of the best protagonists I've encountered in the little amount of romance anime I've seen. Throughout many times in the shows, she proves herself to be an emphathetic character in how she interacts and cares for others. Despite this however, she also has her flaws, as she can be arrogant and a bit of a jerk at times. This actually made her more realistic and relatable to me, and I really liked her as a character. I just wish I could say the same for her goth girlfriend.
Mei Aihara is a dull, and overall, unlikeable character. She barely has any personality aside from staring with a constant deadpan expression and an adherence to filial piety. The little personality she does have is that of an awful, manipulative molester. I was hoping that I would grow to like her as the story progressed, but I just ended more sick of her character by the end of twelve episodes.
Even as someone who has taken half a year of chemistry in high school, I could tell that there was practically no chemistry between the two at all. Their whole relationship dynamic is unhealthy (as it all began with the aforementioned nonconsensual elements) and feels terribly forced. It's incredibly hard to care about a love story when one of the characters is unlikeable, and that is exactly the case with Mei Aihara. The only reason for them being an item is because the story says they have to be an item, without any justifiable (or healthy) cause. What does Yuzu see in this girl that makes her even worth pursuing? The obvious answer is nothing, and its a shame that Yuzu couldn't see that as well.
Aside from my long and incoherent rambling on the story and characters, I would also like to briefly discuss the sound, art, and my enjoyment.
The art is lovely. Even for all the girls in uniforms, each of the characters have a fair amount of design that distingusihes them from each other.
The sound is fairly decent. I didn't care much for the opening, but I kind of like the ending theme.
Overall, I have mixed feelings towards this show. I can't say that I liked it, but I won't exactly say I hated it either. (Though it may seem that way.) Had it done some things better (like a more even narrative and better characterization for the side characters and Mei) and done away with some others (removing the nonconsensual elements, for example), I would've enjoyed it a bit more. At the end of the day, I just wish that Yuzu could've gotten a healthier relationship. She deserves better than Mei!
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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