I'm a big fan of the serialized Horimiya manga by Square Enix. This anime is adapted from the original webcomic though, and it seems not much thought has been given to actually *adapt* it from a medium such as that to a TV format.
Obviously, three episodes are not enough to cover the whole storyline, and so we're left with a bit of a bittersweet/cliffhanger-y ending. The whole adaptation probably doesn't make that much sense without at least some knowledge of the source material (the way the Sengoku-Remi-blame-game against Hori goes down, for example).
Don't get me wrong, it's still the same story, and it's still sweet
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Jul 27, 2017
Ano Ko ni Kiss to Shirayuri wo
(Manga)
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Ano Ko ni Kiss to Shirayuri wo starts like a shoujo ai high school version of Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san in some regards, with the essentially superhuman genius Kurosawa constantly teasing the decidedly Tsundere Shiramine. (Hermione Granger and Shiramine would probably be best pals.) But then the next volume is about a different couple. And the volume after that is about yet another couple. There's certainly hugs, and kisses, and hand holding all around, but I haven't really felt a deeper connection with any one of the characters. I feel like since about chapter 30, and the start of Kurosawa's "search for something she actually
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Jul 2, 2017
Cross Road
(Anime)
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So, anybody watching this in 2017 will immediately think one thing after watching this short: "So *this* was the beginning of Kimi no Na wa, huh?"
City boy and country girl, kept apart by distance, yet with their lives strangely interwoven, searching for something that had been missing until now in their lives. It's the exact same shots from the later movie as well, only this time it's for a 2 minute commercial for the Japanese Online Cram School Z-Kai. Art and sound are pretty good, but, on account of it being that very 2 minute commercial, obviously there's not much to be said about "story" or ... 
Apr 16, 2017
Yagate Kimi ni Naru
(Manga)
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Compared to many other yuri series out there -- you know the ones, full of fan service or extremely high on the melodrama or the will-they-won't-they -- Yagate Kimi ni Naru's most outstanding characteristic is definitely its well-developed characters. Apart from the first two chapters, which feel a little bit rushed, because they just want to set up the story, it's also incredibly well paced.
Both main character bring their own interpretation of love to the table, fundamentally and diametrically opposed -- Touka, who's fallen hard for Yuu, and knew immediately and now wants everything out of their relationship that normally goes along with such. Yuu, ... 
Jan 7, 2017
Hotarubi no Mori e
(Anime)
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This was entirely too short, pretty stock characters and a pretty stock story with a little twist. But the overall enjoyment, while it lasted, compares well with the very best of romcoms.
For such a small project, for the adaption of a really short manga story, this was a stunning display. Even though it's a pretty stock story, you'll get drawn in easily. Even though they're stock characters, they're both nicely done. The narration by Hotaru didn't grate on my nerves nearly as much as most other narration does. The music was good as well. This movie made me continuously smile for a solid 40 minutes, ... 
Jan 3, 2017
The artwork of Vagabond is simply outstanding. Inoue Takehiko understands exactly how to fully capture the reader in his brush strokes that change to an insane degree depending on in-story situation. I have never seen anything that comes even close in leading the eye along the gorgeous artwork. Even if you don't care at all about the characters or the story, the art alone would make it worthwhile to read this work. The in-story calligraphy is nothing to sneeze at either.
The story roughly follows Yoshikawa Eiji's take on the life of Miyamoto Musashi, undoubtedly one of the the greatest swordsmen to have ever lived. The ... 
Dec 31, 2016
WWW.Working!!
(Anime)
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To be honest, I wasn't much into the original Working (dropped it after a few ep), so I was a little surprised that the spinoff was able to to catch me with its stories.
First of all: this anime is weird. It's far from the weirdest out there, but at least the scene change whenever they're meeting St. Valentine reminded me of stuff like Yuri Kuma Arashi. The characters are caricatures of their own idiosyncrasies more than anything. And those idiosyncrasies just seem more natural and at the same time more over the top than in the original Working. Obviously, it lends itself to hardcore shipping, ... 
Dec 30, 2016
Byousoku 5 Centimeter
(Anime)
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A nice story, with decent, though not great animation, a forgettable soundtrack, likeable characters ... it should all be so easy, shouldn't it? But the enjoyment to drama ratio, for me at least, went much too heavily into drama for drama's sake territory. Half the movie you're on a constant emotional tearjerker streak, and I usually don't enjoy those if they serve no purpose.
A movie is supposed to tell a story, and terrible things obviously *can* happen, but usually those should further the plot. Here, the plot just seems based on one sob story giving way to the next. If you compare the love story ... 
Dec 24, 2016
Hinamatsuri
(Manga)
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Hinamatsuri is easily my most favorite manga and I don't get why it's relatively unknown in the community. It's slice of life with pretty good humor about a Yakuza basically adopting a girl with psychokinetic powers from the future/another dimension (?) - we haven't really reached a full explanation yet. The setting and the characters are each funny in their own way. I'm usually particularly drawn to Hina's own storyline, as well as Nitta's and Mishima's. Anzu's isn't that great, but still passable in its own way.
The setting doesn't reset at the end of a chapter, and there's multiple chapters with references to events 30 ... 
Dec 23, 2016
Fune wo Amu
(Anime)
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Starts out strong, mostly because of the character's love for their respective callings, which drive the whole story. And they're all portrayed in a way that makes these callings really believable (think opposed to how overdrawn the average sports anime's protagonists are into their respective sports). The first few episodes are really enjoyable like that, but then right down the middle, this anime certainly slumps a little.
The art is fair, but I've seen better even for short anime on a budget. The music is okay as well and captures the mood, but it's entirely forgettable. I guess it redeems itself a little towards the end and ... |
