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Sep 26, 2016
TL;DR at the end
~Contains Spoilers~
Servamp is odd. Not the series itself, because it is by no means unique. Just the fact that it was actually published in a Josei magazine baffles me. Who thought it was a good idea?
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STORY: 2/10
What do you get when you add 'figthing for my freinds!!!1!!!' with vampires with a survival game? The answer is a clusterfuck of characters and battles with lame motivations who's names you can't remember due to horribly executed master/servant relationships. The plot is very hard to follow at points, but from what I did follow, it wasn't that good to begin with. The conclusion,
...
to top it off, is satisfying. Like, very satisfying. Almost made me wish that the series actually had something good earlier so I could've gotten at least a bit of enjoyment out of it.
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ART: 4/10
Servamp's art and animation just scream 'bland'. The animation seems to avoid any difficult character positions which looks weird at some parts. The art is colorful at the very least, but still feels dried up almost, like it sat in the sun for too long.
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SOUND: 4/10
For the most part, the voice acting, though half of them were annoying, were unique, and it helped the terrible characters become a little more distinguishable. As for the rest of it... well if you like heavy metal blaring in your ears, this is for you.
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CHARACTER: 2/10
The characters are frustrating to me. Mostly, because even if they are all VERY sexualized towards a female audience, some of them still look pretty cool! Kuro especially, and that lobster guy. Oh, and the piano kid. I don't have a reason to look up their names; the show didn't give me one. Despite some having alluring designs, they're motivations are so lame, it's hard not to laugh as they yell the way only anime characters can.
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TL;DR: 3/10
+Satisfying ending
+Some good character design
-Everything else
Servamp isn't worth your time, honestly. Even if you are looking for an anime exactly like this, Owari no Seraph outclasses it in every way. And THAT should say something.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Sep 25, 2016
TL;DR at the end
~Contains Spoilers~
Children are an interesting topic of discussion. Most people have their own general opinion on whether they're good or bad, annoying or cute, and worth the trouble or not. One of the things I like about Amaama to Inazuma is that it showcases both sides of children, and overall just comes of as really realistic. It feels like your witnessing the growth of a life. Or it would, if Tsumugi actually learned from her mistakes.
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STORY: 5/10
Originally, Amaama to Inazuma started out extremely entertaining. Comedy, drama, cooking, adorableness, the whole package was there. But then... it happened again. And again.
...
And AGAIN. Essentially, the show literally repeats the same formula for nearly every episode. By about the halfway point, it was boring.Tsumugi constantly having spats with her bratty friends, which in turn transforms her into a brat. They make food to cheer her up, she apologizes to her friends, all is well until next week. New characters are introduced along the way, but the core elements of the plot never change.
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ART: 4/10
The art and animation are just below average. Nothing worse you can say about it, it's not repulsive or anything. But it's definitely NOT good. The movement looks weird at points, and the art style is too fluffy and childish. It might have been the intention but it doesn't change the fact that it looks bad.
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SOUND: 7/10
The OP and ED are pathetic. They set the tone for the series well, sure, but they aren't pleasant to listen to AT ALL. Both aren't something you listen to more than once, if you even give it the courtesy. The OST is the same case, but it's completely different in context because it only plays in the background. It carries the mood instead of solely trying to set it. The sound effects are barely there and don't contribute much. Still though, that would have given sound an average score. So why the seven? Well, the reason I started the series in the first place is because two of my favorite voice actors voice the main characters. Needless to say, they did a fantastic job as usual. Tsumugi, as well, sounded REALLY good. It's stupefying that the staff went out of their way to get a child voice actor on board with the project. The supporting cast isn't as good or memorable, but the main characters have a fine footing all by themselves.
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CHARACTER: 7/10
Just having a good voice doesn't make a character good though. First off, I'll start by saying the character design isn't the standout part of this group. But that doesn't matter that much, honestly. Neither do most of the characters. They all exist to popularize Tsumugi and that's it. Unfortunately, the chance you'll get annoyed with Tsumugi is high, but that's exactly why the other characters exist. For every character that fails, they have a backup plan, and I appreciate that.
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TL;DR: 6/10
+Unique, very unique story. Not a concept you've seen more than once, if ever
+Decent OST
+Great voice acting
+Overall Good balance of characters
-Story is repetitive
-Looks bad
-OP and ED are bad
Amaama to Inazuma is certainly an experience. It's definitely not a must watch all around but it certainly is for fans of slice of life. It does so many things right and yet so many wrong. In the end, good outweighs the bad, but not by too much. If nothing else, it should serve as a getaway from all the moe high school comedies that dominate today's lineups. Here's to more like it in the future.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Sep 23, 2016
TL;DR at the end
~Contains Spoilers~
Baseball is a great sport. It's the kind of sport that can be modified to fit the capabilities of whatever type of player is playing, something humans of all shapes and sizes can enjoy. However, when comparing it to other sports on TV, in most cases, the action is severely lacking. Summer 2016's 'Battery' takes boring to a whole new level.
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STORY: 3/10
Our protagonist, a cocky, arrogant brat who was already good at baseball before the show begins moves into a new town and joins the baseball team. He's a dick to everyone there, even his partner and brother. People don't
...
like him at first and go as far as whipping him but they all eventually grow to because he's good at baseball and had already created enough needless drama. They play a good school. The end.
I told you it contains spoilers right? Jeez, you shouldn't have started reading if you didn't want the whole plot explained, iiiidiot.
In all seriousness, Battery has no development whatsoever, and ends exactly where it started. Not ideal, especially for sport anime, but it has been proven to work before. In Battery's case, it does not. The only thing happening between point A and point B is a bit of baseball and drama created between Harada and friends. But that's how it's supposed to be. Boring as it is, Battery is down-to-earth unlike many other anime, and is a refreshing change needed every once and a while. While some people may disagree with me here, I think Battery was a very levelheaded show that was nice to just sit down and watch. For most people. though, it probably won't be your cup of tea.
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ART: 5/10
The thing that pushed Battery into the realistic zone was this. The animation isn't very good and, actually, the art isn't either. That said, it fits the style of anime and achieves exactly what it could within it's limits. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
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SOUND: 5/10
Seeing as there is barely any sound in Battery anyways, I had to dig deep just to hear it play... and was it worth it? Well... not really. Though they may be pleasant to listen to, the OST, OP and ED are just there because it would be weird if they weren't. The sound affects don't help that much, contributing virtually nothing aloft the norm. The voice acting then becomes the major factor in sound, which usually backfires if you rely solely on seiyuu to get into their roles. Battery didn't have this quandary. The voice acting is great for the main characters and the protagonist's family, and while lackluster side characters drag it down quite a bit, the vocalization is still amiable.
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CHARACTER: 3/10
Just like the voice actors and animation, the characters just feel like an excuse to drive the plot in a way to create as much drama as possible without straying from it's element of realism. Takumi Harada, our protagonist, is quite the querulous guy. He has an obsession towards baseball and is just a total jerk to anyone and everyone, even his own teammates, only agreeing with them when things go his way. There really is not much more to say that hasn't already been summed up.
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TL;DR: 4/10
+Very realistic
+Realistic art style
+Decent voice acting for the main characters
-No plot or character development
-Baseball is not a good TV sport
-Art and Sound are only sufficient not good
-Main character is annoying
-Side characters are boring
-Other main characters will argue with Takumi, but he eventually wins even if he's wrong
Battery is a good anime to kick back, relax, and just enjoy. But that's not the anime most people are looking for, especially in the sports genre. Even if you DID want an anime to kick back and relax to though, there are much better choices than this. Another one bites the dust.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Sep 19, 2016
TL;DR at the end
~Contains Spoilers~
The reviews for this show are far to generous. Even this one, is far to generous, and I haven't even wrote it yet. If you enjoy cliche shows, then that's fine. But it doesn't change the FACT that this anime takes itself way to seriously and becomes one of the hardest things to watch in anime history.
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STORY: 1/10
Though I will admit the timeskip episode stirred a slight bit of emotion inside me, a fraction of my fiber that harbors a forbidden love for this type of anime.... the rest of it had me throwing up inside my mouth. There is
...
a lot of character death in the series, which I can't understand why was a remotely good idea, seeing as I cared about two or so of the characters anyway. To make matters worse, for some reason, at least half of the episodes have some sort of sexual scene for LITERALLY NO REASON RELATING TO THE PLOT. IT MAKES NO SENSE. I haven't even gotten into the main plot yet. You know what, I don't have to: It's bad. Really bad. That's all you need to know.
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ART: 4/10
While Taboo Tattoo is left with some very satisfying fight scenes and magnificent shading and tone left by the animators, some of the scenes are just disgusting. I don't know how many times we've had to tell Japan that CGI DOESN'T WORK, and yet they've kept it up all these years... Though a minor problem, as these events are few, it's still extremely aggravating to watch. Though, like I said earlier, the art is good, the dark colors sometimes make it hard to see what's going on, which wouldn't be as much of a problem if the movements of characters weren't so choppy at times.
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SOUND: 4/10
The opening theme, wile cliche'd, is still good. The ending as well. It doesn't matter though, I was too busy crying manly tears for all the poor headphone users out there who forgot to minimize their volume before the episode. I don't know who thought it would be a good idea to use ear rape as an explosion sound effect, but if the motive was to drown out the OST and voice acting completely, then, well, it worked
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CHARACTER: 1/10
The only characters I remotely liked were the comedy relief characters. The rest were abominations of cliches and I'm glad most of them end up perishing in the end. That's all I can say without completely blowing up in a rage fit about how atrocious these characters are.
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TL;DR: 3/10
+Decent fight scenes
+Decent color
+Decent OP/ED
+Decent comedy relief characters
-Everything else
Taboo Tattoo is... no. I have no words. If you've ever seen an anime before, and if you don't adore cliches, then I can't recommend this to you.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Sep 19, 2016
TL;DR version at the end
~Contains Spoilers~
New Game! surprised me. At it's core it was just another moe slice of life with yuri vibes, but as an anime fan, it's not commonplace to reject this as long as it stands enough on it's own, and New Game! does just that.
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STORY: 7/10
We've had plenty off anime about video games. Too many, in fact. But it's because of those anime that many gamers have shifted communities, and this all leads up to why New Game! is genius: it stars the two things stereotypical anime fans love most: cute girls and video games! I'm not interested in game design
...
or anything like that, but I can say I was consistently entertained throughout the entirety of the show with only a few moments that I said 'Really, this AGAIN?' However, that didn't stop me from being bored at parts. The plot moves slowly, and while this may be intentional to further emphasize the realism, it's not what anyone was looking for in the series to begin with. To top it all off, the ending was anti-climactic. I mean, yes they released their game and all, but instead of feeling like the ENTIRE SERIES ended, it just felt like another episode ending.
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ART: 5/10
The art and animation are nothing to write home about; they live up to passable quality and that's about it, honestly. Though I will say I absolutely love the bright colors and light shades, I can't help but think that it made the series look a little too much like baby's threw up rainbows on the screen.
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SOUND: 5/10
Again, they're passable quality. I can't say the OST is remotely memorable in the slightest, and thought the opening and ending theme are pleasant to the ear, they're most definitely a temporary obsession, which in my case has already begun to fade. The sound effects, as well, are standard, and the voice acting... well all the characters sound exactly like they're supposed to...
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CHARACTER: 3/10
See, one of the great things about series that feature a group of characters with almost equal screentime is that everybody can pick one to like. New Game! is the same way, except that none of the characters leave an impression. Instead of all of the characters being memorable, like Baccano, NONE of them are. Which is a shame, because I love Aoba's design.
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TL;DR: 5/10
+Interesting and unique story concept
+Cute artstyle
+Fitting OP/ED
+Some good character design
-Slow paced
-Anticlimactic
-Below average OST
-Forgettable characters
New Game! achieved exactly what it wanted to do, it told it's story and I applaud it for that. However, lots of forgettable aspects to it hold it back from breaking into the 'good' range, and it falls into the slew of countless other anime that just didn't make the cut for above average. As I stated in the beginning, it was better than I thought, but I didn't have very high expectations to begin with.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Sep 18, 2016
TL:DR at the end
~Contains spoilers~
Have you ever thought about what it would be like if all the kids you babysit were hot bishie airheads who made penis jokes and periodically break up with you because of reason's shallower than the kiddie pool at your local country club? No? Good, then you're normal.
The author of Hatsukoi Monster clearly is not.
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STORY: 1/10
Exactly what you would expect from a shoujo story, the only difference being that the parts you can't stand (ex. melodrama, breakups, jealousy, stupid comedy) are magnified by a tenfold. Other than a couple laughs due to the absolute ridiculousness of making 5th grade boys look
...
like college students, and the author's deluded dream of pedophilia becoming legal, the story has absolutely nothing to offer. It will turn away even the biggest fans of the genre.
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ART: 3/10
See, the thin I hate about shows like these is that they usually get very good art and animation, which could have gone to much more deserving series.. Luckily, Hatsukoi Monster wasn't gifted with good art or animation. It's very colorful, and the palette gives it a childish look, which I think they were going for, so that's good. But everything else is subpar at best.
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SOUND: 3/10
Though Hatsukoi Monster wasn't blessed with good art, it was blessed with some AMAZING voice actors. Not all of them, mind you, and some of the characters' voices are annoying, even the ones that aren't intentionally meant to be annoying. That said, some of the voices help to bring the otherwise flat characters to life, and was probably my favorite part of the show overall. Other than that though? The opening and ending theme are hopelessly bad and the sound effects were no standout.
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CHARACTER: 2/10
Oh god. This has to be THE most intolerable character cast I've seen in a while. The only characters that didn't make me want to break my screen were Kanade, Mafuyu, and Gin. Before that though, lets talk designs.
If you had looked up bishie template, colored the hair all the colors of the rainbow with microsoft paint and then told your editor to slap a couple of accessories on each of them, I don't think I would have noticed the difference.
On second thought, that's probably what they did...
Personality-wise, most of them are just recreations from your typical reverse harem/shoujo story, from evil megane to trap boy to sis-complex older brother. And then the rest of them are just fifth graders cracking penis jokes like nobodies business. Though it was funny at first, it just becomes idiotic after the first couple times. And this is coming from a GINTAMA fan! However, I will say that Gin, Kanade, and Mafuyu manage to show a bit of personality, and are at least consistently amusing to view.
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OVERALL: 2/10
TL:DR
+Some good voice acting
+ Some likeable characters
-Ridiculous plot
-Filled with tropes amplified to become ever worse
-Bad art
-Not memorable OP/ED, or OST
-Terrible character design
-Most characters are annoying
Hatsukoi Monster is an immature pile of garbage that can only be enjoyed if you are as immature as it's characters and humor. Nothing wrong with that, it's just not for me.
Maybe next time, try falling in love with someone your age.
Reviewer’s Rating: 2
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Sep 18, 2016
TL:DR at the end.
~Contains some spoilers~
Now I'm nowhere near as good of a reviewer as some of the people on this site. I don't have a massive vocabulary and great sense of humour like ZephSilver, I'm not able to consistently write well with unique hooks over and over again like Stark700, and I certainly am not as experienced as the living legends like Archaeon, TheLlama and Veronin. So usually, when I look to write a review, I check theirs first. to look for things to include in mine. However, when I looked for their opinions, I was dismayed to see that none of them
...
HAD one yet. (At least at the time of writing this. Please note the time of writing and submission date are different.) Because of this, I was able, for the first time in a long time, to form my very own opinion, with no influence from the ratings or anyone else.
Unfortunately, Re:Zero quickly became the next SAO. The fanbase split drastically into two halves: those who loathe it and those who are convinced it is the second coming of Jesus, both of them providing wholly preposterous reasoning as to WHY they did. Honestly, at the core, they're both right, it's just that nobody can cooperate with each other and meet at the middleground.
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STORY: 7/10
What makes Re:Zero as popular as it is is the inclusion of two popular tropes in the industry, while still managing to make it feel fresh and innovative. At first, it seems like a standard 'Isekai' themed anime... until the brutal slaughter scene at the end of episode one. This is where I was hooked. No light novel adaptation so far had managed to surprise me in the slightest, up to now. I thoroughly enjoyed the world building and neural warfare for the first couple of episodes. I only had one minor complaint: it's so slow. I mean, REAAAAALLY slow for a portion of the series. Don't get me wrong, the climaxes were beyond compare, but seeing traverse through the exact same setting with only minor changes was boring. This problem preceeded to bother me until the arc that kickstarted Re:'s popularly: Subaru's psychological breakdown.
Emilia's rejection of Subaru, and his constant denial of help by other characters is fantastically executed. It emphasizes one of the central points of the series, and personally, my favorite part: Subaru may be the main character of the story, but the world isn't going to treat him that way. It's an element of realism that not many other series can pull off, never mind a LIGHT NOVEL adaptation. At this point, I had become an avid Re:Zero fan. I eagerly awaited the next episode and would watch it ASAP. However, by episode 17, I was worried. Subaru's torturing had gone from a legitimately depressing atmosphere to just torture porn. Any character who died would be alive by the next episode due to Subaru's constant rewinding. I had even become skeptical of the author's well being. Like seriously bro, stop killing my waifu. You got a gore fetish or something? And just when I thought my fondness had ended, when all hope had dissipated... Episode 18 aired.
I don't care how much you despise the series, saying episode 18 was bad is just ignorant and immature. The confession of Rem, Subaru's characterization coming together, and just how realistically the romance was handled is something I don't think I've seen in any anime - ever. THIS was the climax. THIS was the turning point. Loving the series was no guilty pleasure to me anymore. I had a legitimate reason.
It should have ended there. Once the main story is back on track and Subaru can actually make rational decisions (a surprise to all of us), the newly arranged allied force rallies and departed on a journey to defeat the white whale. I found this arc to be a bit boring, and maybe even cliche'd, something I'd been proud that the series had avoided. The next arc was the last of the current TV series, and my expectations were high; and alas, I was let down. The ending may try it's best to be climactic, but it can't disguise the fact that Subaru really didn't 'develop' as a character at all; he just went back to the way he used to be, and it doesn't change the fact that Re:Zero's story is nowhere near complete.
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ART: 6/10
Not much to say here. The art and animation are both fine, they have standout moments but they also have terrible ones. The amount of positive moments outshine the negative ones, thus 6/10.
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SOUND: 8/10
Re:Zero's soundtrack usually isn't mentioned when listing it's favorable aspects, which is really quite a shame. the first opening theme sounds like a traditional opening song to a light novel, having a couple standout moments where the song repeats itself to remind us of the show. Just because it's common though, doesn't make it bad. The first ending and second opening are really where the series shines though. Myth and Roid adjust to the tone of the series so well. They handle most of the insert songs as well, which are also fantastic. The second ending is also great and is probably my favorite of the four theme songs, it's a shame it doesn't get discussed as often. The voice acting is good, really good. Especially the characters of Subaru, Emilia, Rem, and Betelgeuse being the standouts. Most of the voices are rather average otherwise, but perhaps it's because the four listed get more screentime. The sound effects are also great. They can range from creepy to weird, and some will have you craving to hear them again and again.
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CHARACTER: 7/10
Now this... THIS is the part where the fanbase is probably the most conflicted. And with good reason. Before that though, lets talk about designs. The designs that drove people away from the series in the first place. Subaru's design isn't very unique compared to the countless other 'isekai' protagonists. He's just your happy go lucky track suit protagonist with a funky hairstyle. Emilia is well designed, but not memorably designed. And the rest of the characters after that... aren't well designed OR memorably designed. Besides maybe Betelgeuse. Hard to forget that ugly mug. Personality-wise the characters aren't very unique either... but that brings me back to point 1. The characters are supposed to be bad, they're designed TO BE cliche'd. And the author puts an element of realism in each of their personalities to make them stand away from the archetype. I think it worked, a portion of the supporting characters, but not all of them (Looking at you, Wilhelm.). It wasn't all bad, though. Rem's confession was immensely different then an anime confession I've seen in the past, which goes to show how mature this author can write a character. So WHAT HAPPENED with Subaru?! At first, he begins like just about every other protagonist ever: 'Durr hurr I played video games, jokes about magic and me being the hero', and that was fine. At least then, he was likeable. Then the author torments him, turning him into a narcissistic prick who is utterly dissatisfactory to watch. Again though, this is all intentional. Subaru was still a decent character at this point. So what drove him to the bottom of the barrel in my eyes? The last quarter of the series was supposedly him after he had gotten over his psychological trauma, but honestly, there really isn't a noticeable change in him. He just reverted to what he used to be before the tormenting. That's not character development! If you reaaaaaaally wanted to stretch you could argue that Subaru has become more heroic, but the change is so slight I don't even think it matters.
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OVERALL: 7/10
TL:DR
+Innovative way of combining popular tropes
+Good worldbuilding
+Animation and Art have more positive than negative moments
+It sounds great all around
+Majority of the characters feel realistic, namely Rem and Emilia
-Slow paced
-Just torture porn for pieces of it
-Incomplete story
-Some of the characters (Namely Wilhelm) are just bland
-Subaru's development feels fake
Oh and I almost forgot
+Re:tards. This is the funniest insult to come out of the anime community I've ever seen. I just wish I came up with it first! Bravo forums, bravo.
Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu isn't the messiah the fans praise it as. But it's not a complete garbage pile like the haters would like you to believe either. With the massive popularity and controversy of the show, you can sure as hell expect a season two to be right around the corner, and who knows... maybe it'll get better, maybe it'll get worse.
See you in a couple years, Re:tards.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jul 19, 2016
With the recent boom of time travel anime, Steins;Gate was bound to rise in popularity, as the founder of this new mini genre. It had been a little over a year since I'd watched Steins;Gate, and seeing as I wasn't the biggest fan of Boku Dake ga Inai Machi I decided to rewatch Steins;Gate to see if it still lived up to my expectations. Unfortunately, it didn't. It went beyond them.
One of the greatest feats of Steins;Gate is it's rewatchability. Perhaps the biggest complaint about Steins;Gate is that 'OMG THE FIRST HALF OF IT IS SOOOO BORING'. Actually, I can agree with that. It
...
was confusing and it WAS pretty boring. On the rewatch, though, my opinion changed drastically. Even watching through Steins;Gate a second time, knowing what happens, it feels like you're watching a remake, because you discover even more secrets and can appreciate easter eggs that Steins;Gate slips in to reference later events in the story. Moving past the first half, things here are what make the series what it is. The humor used in the previous episodes (Which is hysterical, by the way) is dwindled down to be replaced with more serious storytelling. Death, plot twists, and character development all arise, and the story goes down an intense path describing the risks and consequences of time manipulation. It's a titan of enjoyment, almost everything about it screams YES! And boy, did it pay off. Steins;Gate is easily one of the most popular anime to date, and it's popularity is only rising as of late.
Unfortunately, Steins;Gate wasn't gifted with the mind-blowing animation of other popular series. Not that it's bad, per say, but it doesn't live up to the rest of the series. Or so I had initially thought. On the rewatch I discovered that watching with a more open mind showed how the animation really isn't as bad as first glance would like you to believe, and the art is quite incredible for a 2011 series. However, if you can't see it on the first run through, the chances of someone liking it enough to rewatch it decrease, so unfortunately this isn't really that much of an advantage. Regardless, the color pallette and creative character design make this a good looking show.
Now maybe I'm oversensitive to sound. Usually for me it's either a 10/10 or a 1/10, or at least relatively close to that. Maybe Steins;Gate's BEAUTIFULLY COMPOSED soundtrack isn't as good as I thought.
.
.
.
Oh who am I kidding? Steins;Gate's soundtrack is the epitome of anime sound. It makes every scene twice as dramatic and fear-inducing. Intensity is seriously jacked up whenever they play a soundtrack, as if it weren't good enough already. To cope with this, the voice acting is phenomenal, and is the only anime I know of that has both of the most well-liked seiyuu of all time in main roles. Okabe and Mayuri are amazing, enough said. I'll get to that later though. Back to your headphones, the sound effects are another thing that sold the series for me, probably because you won't hear them in any other series. Not that they're fantastic, but they are an attempt to be different, which I really appreciate. Now for my favorite part: the opening and ending themes. If you've heard them you probably don't even need to read this section. Warning: fanboy incoming.
DO YOU EVEN UNDERSTAND HOW GOOD HACKING TO THE GATE IS?! WELL?! DO YOU?! I BET NOT, BECAUSE ONLY THE SONG ITSELF IS GOOD ENOUGH TO UNDERSTAND IT'S OWN GOODNESS! I DON'T CARE IF THIS DOESN'T MAKE SENSE, WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK WE ARE?!
Ok, got that out of the way. My anger management therapist couldn't make it today, I had to get it out somewhere (Ok, I know I'm not funny ;-;). In all seriousness, Hacking to the Gate is one of the most iconic and memorable opening themes, and unlike most others, is actually great. The ending theme, to top it off, I feel is superior to the opening theme and is one of the most underrated endings themes ever. Both fit perfectly with the intense sci-fi feel of the series, while also not being too over the top. There truly is close to nothing wrong with how Steins;Gate sounds.
Probably the only part where I negatively contrast with the wide opinion on this series is character. To be more specific, one character in particular: Makise. Before you go ape because I badmouthed your waifu, here me out. We can all agree that Makise has red hair right? Ok, good. Well can we all agree that she's just a typical tsundere with a few genius moments that just happened to be placed in the right anime as the lead heroine and get a ton of fame for it? Yeah, I didn't think so. But that's honestly what I thought of her. And the rest of the lab members, too. Even Mayuri... and my god I love Mayuri. but all of the female lab members (counting Ruka, who even knows with hi-... it?) are just characters designed to match up to every kind of otaku fetish there is. Daru, too, I guess might be an attempt to be relatable. However, like I was saying earlier, it's because they are placed in this anime that they gain such fame. And, even though I kind of do, I don't say it completely out of malice, if that makes any sort of sense to you. It's because these characters are placed in such a fantastic world that they are able to surpass the average trope. Not saying that they stray TOO far from it, enough to make you forget their roots, but they do it enough to at least feel innovative, something I, and the fans, greatly appreciate. But there's still one character I have yet to talk about. Okabe Rintarou is one of the best protagonists a visual novel adaptation has ever seen, if not the best. He's up there with the greats in protagonists in general, as well. He just oozes creativity, from his design to his goofy quirks to how he reacts in dangerous situations. I don't have anything but praise for this eccentric mad scientist. Sonuvabitch.
So, is Steins;Gate worth the watch? Well, I'm sure you've already read the overall rating, but just to clarify, the answer is YEEEEEEEES. This is the kind of anime you only see once in a decade, so it's certainly not something to be missed, or to be put on hold either. I beg you, push through the confusion and I guarantee you satisfaction, even if it's just from the opening and ending themes. El psy congroo everyone.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jul 14, 2016
I think it's safe to say at this point that the hype train for this show is dead. I still see it in numerous favorite sections, but I can't find any more Kayo themed profiles or people screaming on the forums that it was AOTY. What surprises me, though, is how Boku Dake ga Inai Machi was able to hold it's place in the rankings. This has plenty of negative feedback as well as plenty positive, but to me, I didn't really see it as a topic for discussion in the first place. It was an average anime that just happened to be produced well
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and for this reason gained explosive popularity.
For me, the first problem with Boku Dake ga Inai Machi, as many others have already stated, is that it's listed under the mystery genre, when it's quite honestly obvious who the killer is right from the start if you payed enough attention. It's made even more evident when there really isn't any other suspects for who the killer could be. However, I don't believe that to have been the main focal point of the story from the start. What really was meant to captivate the viewer was the exhilarating twists and turns of the plot, and anticipating what could happen next. Even this ended up being more of a weakness than a strength though. Not because these routes were uninteresting, but because they weren't explored enough. Despite them being entertaining nevertheless, I believe it set the bar too high, and during the episodes I felt myself dissatisfied, possibly even BORED, until the cliffhanger kicked in, and that ending song... OH MAN DAT ENDING SONG. Without getting too off topic, the story is weak in most aspects though not quite pathetic, and it definitely emitted some strongly positive vibes in those first couple episodes.Those same positive vibes, however, are what made it's fall in the second half even harder.
A-1 pictures are one of the more well known anime studios, because of the massive amount of shows they put out, and because of how most of them are terrible. One of the few things that aren't ranted on about usually is their animation style. Sword Art Online would be a great example of what their animation can do when the directors and staff for the episode are just right. Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso may or may not have the most beautiful art style out of any anime ever. Even anime from the same season (Hai to Gensou no Grimgar) was gifted with a beautiful landscape and character design. Boku Dake ga Inai Machi... wasn't as lucky. What I find strange is the craze over 'OMG GUYSH CAN YOU BELIVE THE SCREEN NARROWS WEHN SATORU IS KID NO WAYAY'. Uh, that really doesn't change anything besides making it easier to animate... the character design, also, is a major turn off. It may have improved from the original manga, at least, but it's still nowhere near impressive. Maybe there really is some deeper meaning to the animation, or maybe it is legitimately above average, and effort was put into it. But, I didn't see it with the first glance, and there really isn't any point if you can't.
I would consider myself a Yuki Kajiura fanboy. I'd go as far as to watch an anime I wasn't even relatively interested in just to hear her composing skills at work. However, even I have to admit that she isn't perfect. For the last couple years I feel her talent had been on decline because of how similar everything sounds. No matter how much you like a song, you WILL get tired of it eventually. So, even though I love her work more than my own life... I can't usually give it more than a 9/10. Keyword in that sentence being USUALLY. For every SAO and Fate/Zero there will always be a Madoka and a Boku Dake ga Inai Machi. Wow, that feels weirder than I thought putting Boku Dake in that sentence. But it is true. Boku Dake ga Inai Machi is her best work in a long time, with the chiming sounds and soft melodies giving Boku Dake ga Inai Machi the boost it needed to make it a mystery story. However, what shone even brighter than the soundtrack were the opening and ending themes. The opening theme is a phenomenal buildup to the show with it's odd sound effects and unique voice acting. The ending, almost as to 1-up it, does the same thing but twice as well, becoming one of my all time favorite ending themes. The voice acting is great as expected from renowned seiyuu. On the topic of seiyuu, Satoru's seiyuu is an interesting case. He was hired specifically for his inexperience and yet sounds totally experienced. I'm neutral as to whether this is a good or bad thing.
Speaking of Satoru: what is UP with him anyway? What was the point of making him how he is? He's like a failed attempt to be both relatable and cool. I can't really pinpoint anything interesting about him whatsoever, design, personality-wise or through any of his actions and interactions. Hinazuki is just a kuudere that gets the development a kuudere normally does. Nothing really specially, but at least she's not a harem character. There is one thing that sets her apart though: that gorgeous red coat. The contrast of it on the snow she's repeatedly portrayed on is eye candy, bringing out the best visuals the show has to offer. None of the side characters really stand out, but there are a couple notable ones like One Punch Girl (Manager deserved it) and Super Mom. The rest are just there to advance the plot, my favorites being Generic Abusive Mom and Headphones kid, that do almost literally nothing but people like them anyway.
Boku Dake ga Inai Machi gave signs of being a terrible anime straight from the start, but it also let out extremely positive vibes. It's a great showcase of how anime can take different paths and end up being terrible or fantastic. I don't think Boku dake ga Inai Machi is as bad as I put it out to be, and a portion of the flaws mentioned are hard to pick out unless you pay serious attention. It's a mediocre show but an enjoyable one nevertheless.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Jul 1, 2016
Mod Edit: This review may contain spoilers.
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"The journey is the reward" - Steve Jobs
In some cases, plot armor works to help the anime. Ansatsu Kyoushitsu is one of these rare examples. Sure, we know what's going to happen. Sure, it's the greatest moment when the entire show builds to it's climax and then it explodes into a colorful rainbow of nostalgia and emotion. But it can't wash away all the screw ups of the show in the past, right?
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STORY: 8/10
Thankfully, Ansatsu Kyoushitsu rarely screws up, but even if it had, most of it would have been forgotten with the climax to top all climaxes. Ansatsu
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gets most of it's praise from how unique it is, and I won't argue with that. It's a very strange concept that almost makes you forget it's a shonen at points. ALMOST. Being a shonen isn't necessarily a bad thing, though. It just means that it's prone to the flaws of shonen - arcs that are inferior to others. Again, Ansatsu pretty much blows that out of the water though. None of the arcs are inferior to others, which I feel even works against it at a point, when the final arc was just as exhilarating as one from the halfway point. And, most of the arcs follow a common pattern in shonen - bad guy shows up, minor struggle, you beat him, the next bad guy shows up, slightly larger struggle, you beat him, boss shows up, big struggle, you beat him, recovery episode. Which brings me to the ending. From the very beginning, straight out of episode one, you had been waiting for the death of Koro-sensei. The moment was just as filled with sadness as everyone had predicted, it wasn't surprising at all. But looking in the episode discussion, you don't find anybody complaining, even the manga readers were impressed with how well it was handled. In conclusion, Ansatsu is creative, but not quite groundbreaking.
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ART: 5/10
Lerche isn't a very famous studio, and even if you had heard of them before, it probably wasn't for their mind boggling animation and more likely for their screw up of Daganronpa. When the original season first aired the animation was still pretty mediocre, but it hasn't improved since then, and the animation around it has, which has made it even more underwhelming. Both the art and animation are bad.
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SOUND: 6/10
The first opening theme screams average to me. It sounds like I've heard it before, kind of thing. The endings are slightly better but still, 99% of people won't care to remember or even listen. But every once and a while, there is an theme song that completely outclasses the rest, the one people remember the show for. Bye Bye Yesterday is one of the three openings I've listened to so many times in a row I got tired of it. Usually it's one or two, but with this one it was probably 20 - 30. That's insane. Actually, I'm amazed I was able to, writing that down. It may seem unbelievable, but it was THAT good to me. The soundtrack gets completely ignored because most of the openings aren't spectacular, which is such a shame because the innovative soundtrack is one of the show's best features. Some of it feels a little out of place, like it should be in a mystery show, but it's still great nonetheless. The average sound effects are made up for by the highly praised seiyuu that voice the characters. Koro-sensei and Karma, in particular, are voices that I could put to the face blindfolded. Ansatsu has it's ups and downs in the sound department.
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CHARACTER: 5/10
Really, Koro-sensei is the only character that I felt was good. He works really well as the series mascot, but if that wasn't enough, he was also hard not to love. Despite this, I can see why others consider him to be annoying. The other main character, Nagisa, is pretty average for a main character. Acts-weak-but-is-actually-the-best-in-the-class kind of thing. As for the supporting cast... well, this is why Ansatsu is so praised. All of them get their own little development arc, which seemed forced to me. On top of that, the characters really are just templates, design and personality-wise. Just because the show does a good job at featuring them all doesn't necessarily make them good characters.
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OVERALL: 6/10
Ansatsu Kyoushitsu is definitely show that was meant to for you to not expect anything at all, and then take the viewer by surprise. Did it take you by surprise? Or did you like it anyway? Feel free to comment on my profile and tell me what I did wrong with this review, I'm always up for feedback. Thanks for reading!
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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