Date A Live Movie: Mayuri Judgment

From the very first episode in Season 1, Date A Live was definitely unique in its set-up. Using dates to save spirits from their misery is certainly a concept that you do not see often in the romance genre (except maybe The World God Only Knows? Just maybe?) and this was initially executed in a very interesting way. Where Date A Live goes wrong, however, is that, instead of coming up with something new, the writers choose to recycle the same generic formula once, twice, and now thrice.

“Formula? What the heck are you talking about? What formula is this?” you may ask. Nothing wrong ... with asking a totally legitimate question. And to answer: well, let us boil down exactly what happened in the past two seasons. Whenever a problem comes up in the form of a new character, tensions among various characters, or some kind of event, how do the characters resolve it? That’s right, a date. Something as simple as two people spending time together as a way to seal up the worst of the worst.

Does this happen once again in Mayuri Judgment? Certainly. But having Shidou go on six dates for the first 45 minutes of the movie was really unnecessary and dragged the plot on and on. Nothing spectacular come out of these dates, and we learned nothing new about the characters that we did not already know.

As for the climax itself, talk about messy, messy, messy. One thing that I kept asking was what the heck is the big-ball-of-doom doing there? The relationship between that and Mayuri’s presence is constantly hinted at during the “climax” battle, but it’s never fully explained and thus we end up taking it at face value.

Moving onto the characters themselves, there really isn’t any development at all. In the first and second seasons, dates were used as a way to forge and deepen the relationships between Shidou and the rest of the main characters. Since they are all now close friends, these dates don’t hold the same kind of meaning anymore, hence the little character development. Don’t get me wrong – the characters are definitely interesting – it’s just that they don’t really change at all.

One new character does come into the mix: Mayuri. But she’s just there with really no purpose for most of the movie – stalking around in the background, following the main characters around, with some hints here and there. When it’s finally her time to shine, she transitions into the plot inconsistently and poorly. In one moment, nobody but Shidou can see her, but all of a sudden in the next second everybody else can. All of this crammed into literally the last 20 to 30 minutes of the movie.

The only one character I was extremely disappointed with was Origami. She was completely a throwaway character in the movie who butts in randomly to challenge Tohka (as if we’ve never seen this happen in the previous seasons), and then removes herself from the picture once that is over. The movie could have just done well without her (although I’m sure the fans wouldn’t have liked that).

Sound and art are of high quality. The animation is by Production IMS so it is definitely high quality. The voice acting is also done well. I personally really like how Shidou changes his voice when he switches into his female counterpart. My only major issue is that sometimes the 3D graphics looked a little odd and incompatible with the bright, well-illuminated background, but otherwise from that, no complaints on that front.

So is this movie worth your time? Well if you’re reading this review and thinking about it, you’ve probably already enjoyed the first two seasons well enough so go right ahead. From a critical standpoint, however, I was pretty disappointed. Date A Live: Mayuri Judgment did not put itself ahead of the pack.

Overall Grade: D+

Author's Disclaimer: Please remember, this is my own personal opinion. I critique anime primarily on how the story is executed and how well-rounded the characters are. This review is not meant to target any other review but was intended to provide a more holistic analysis.

REVIEW
*May contain spoilers*

Story: 7.5/10
I was really hyped for this movie, being a date a live fan, but this movie gave me the impression: " thats it?" It wasnt really much, just shido going on dates again and the appearance of mayuri. She literally talked for only about 5 minutes before she basicallly dissapears.Before she appeared at the ending you can only get glimpses of her. IMO i was dissapointed in this movie. Action was really good though.

Sound: 9/10
Very good soundtrack, loved how they used season 1 opening song again, was fantastic during the action scenes.

Characters: 6/10
Seriously, if a movie is about a person, make sure ... they have enough screen time
P.S kurumi doesnt have much screen time in this movie :(

Overall: 8/10
Was overall a great movie as a harem fan, but story was pretty down the drain. Still a must watch for date a live fans!

In my opinion, Date A Live is the BEST ANIME for me! I just finished watch this on 1/12/2015! Soundtrack 10/10,Story 10/10,Character 10/10 !

I love Date A Live so much! Hoping for more season!

I love how the narrator narrates in the beginning of every episode! As for the soundtrack by sweet arms I Freakin Love Your Song in all Date A Live series,never gets bored! The character's design were outstanding maybe because I was so obsessed with it but for me it's perfect,the expression,design,colour and everything!

In this movie, of course everybody knows a new spirit is introduced as shown in the trailer ....I am not ... gonna say her name to prevent spoiler....but I gotta say she has the best spirit form outfit design I ever seen. The colour and her angel WOW! Blown mind XD.

Thank you for making Date A Live!

When I first heard a movie was being produced for Date a Live, I wasn't excited in the slightest. But they out did themselves this time.

Story:
If we watched Date a Live before, the story isn't amazing by any means but it is very enjoyable. Same goes for the movie, if you enjoyed the anime seasons, you will enjoy the movie just as much, if not more.

Art:
It still doesn't look as polished as season 1's blu-ray edition, but it comes pretty damn close. You can tell they put a lot of effort in improving the art style from the horrendous looking season 2. However, I'm docking ... some points because during the last part of the movie the art suddenly shifted back into season 2 standards, and the action scene isn't very well animated or structured.

Sound:
The movie reuses a few tracks from both seasons and a couple of new ones. All of them sound amazing in the movie and fit the scenes quite nicely, the voice actors do a fantastic job voicing the characters, Mayuri's voice actor also does a great job at voicing her.

Character:
For once in the anime, we get a huge emphasis on the girls. Usually this is reserved for the visual novel games and the Ova, but finally we get moments with Shidou and the girls going on dates. Hence Date A Live.

Enjoyment:
For those of us who got burned after watching season 2's horrible pacing and animation, this movie will heal that wound and reignite the flames that season 1 had started. Everyone I was watching with laughed at the hilarious scenes shown in the movie, and the dates themselves got us a few laughs too.

Overall:
If you love Date a Live, this is a must watch. The movie recaptures what season 2 lost and tries desperately to be as good as season 1, and it succeeded in many regards.

This movie has really, really great ending of an Date a Live series.
I enjoyed it, I love it. No fun, this was something I never thought I would ever see. This was Amazing.
So, I just said its amazing and good ,but why it is good? Back to the review, shall we?
So, if you managed to saw every episode and OVA of DaL series (in chronological order) and then saw this you will be satisfied with whole series. I can assure you. I would be glad if there will be third season, in another words, it needs third season.

Story: 9/10
I had like zero expectation for ... this, because I just saw HAREM in genders and I was like: Oh great -_-. But, opposite is true. From first season, episode 3 I got addicted on this. Even if its not almost original but that doesnt matter. But the feels from some episodes/OVAs... damn.

Art: 8/10
Not the most greatest but it will do, its not bad and that is an +.

Sound: 10/10
10? Why 10/10? Because that opening songs are really good. I even downloaded them... Besides the opening, music/sounds are goodly instaled in it.

Character: 9/10
Well done, just well done. Nothing to say...

Overall I enjoyed it so much. How you could probably already know... I recommend it, to watch. If you will, its on you...

To summarise, a fairly satisfying ending to the whole series, although I do feel it could have been explained and expanded a bit more.

Story: 7
I feel like the story from the past two seasons seemed to work slightly better, the film was mainly comprised of Shido going on dates with everyone, which I suppose nicely rounds off his relationships with everyone, I suppose merely to keep all fans happy, although I do feel that it was rather forced, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. I did enjoy the ending, but I feel that poor character development let it down a little. I was slightly annoyed about ... the lack of answers towards the end, like "Who created the spirits?" and "Where do they really come from?", but hey I guess some things are just left to be wondered...

Art: 8
Fairly standard artwork in this one, cant really complain, although, like I have said before in my season 2 review, it could be a tad crisper and sharper, but I'm not going to be a miserable bastard and mark it down for it.

Sound: 7
I'm a fan dub, and I did watch the first 2 season and OVAs in dub; going into the same story with sub was a little strange, and since I am obviously lacking in the Japanese language department I cant really judge the voicing, but it sounded okay.

Character: 6
It was okay, I mean there's not much say about the development of all the other characters since there has been 2 seasons where that has been done nicely. So with the introduction to Mayuri, I thought the idea of her existence was a strange twist to the story, although unexpected, I like her as a character but without any real development I couldn't really scope her angle if you get what I mean.

Enjoyment: 7
I did like this movie, but not quite as much as the seasons previous to it.

Overall it was good. I mean like it could have better, but of course there's always room for improvement in anything, The ending; although it seems like everything is all good, did leave me hanging on quite a few important questions, but not all questions get answered I suppose. Nonetheless this was well worth the watch and suitable ending to a very good series!

*May Contain Slight Spoilers*

Date A Live came back for another installation into the Anime Series this time with a movie. Date A Live Mayuri Judgement was overall a pretty good, relaxing movie to watch considering that I am tired as fuck today. All of the dates were very enjoyable to watch and all the girls were extremely fucking cute on their dates!

The story is what you would expect of Date A Live, dating. They spend the whole pretty much first hour going through each of the characters dates. Considering they only have about an hour and twenty minutes to throw this all together it does ... feel extremely rushed with each date lasting about 10-15 minutes max.

Also the ending were they had their fight it felt really rushed and seeing Mayuri dissappear had little impact towards me in the feels department. This is to be expected however since she doesn't talk at all throughout the movie until the ending. She is just seen as quite honestly a stalker who is following Shidou everywhere, even his own house.

I was quite disapointed with the story being so rushed and also lacking in content. I made you think "is that it?" by the end of the movie.

The soundtrack they used was abesolutely beautiful and I also liked how they added the season 1 opening at the end during the fighting scene. It really fit into the fighting scenes but my personal favorite song was the song played during the end credits "Invisible date" was the name.

The art was good as you would expect with the movie. I really loved how Tohka's new Spirit looked and the touch with dual wielding added a little bit of coolness to the movie I guess.

Overall it was a pretty good movie but I believe that if they had made this an T.V adaptation they could have fleshed out the good points of the arc much better and had a less rushed story since they would have much more time to work with.

This movie is a much watch for Date A Live fans, now all we have to do is wait for the new season to come out!

The Trashy Harem Movie I Have Been Waiting For Has Finally Arrived.

The movie started off strong with an opening song and Yoshino losing her mind with glow sticks. At that point (about 1m30s into the movie) I realized that this show was made for the fans and I was right. The fan service level was easily 9000+. The movie kicks off with the announcement of 6 dates with the main girls. Let the date begin. Shit is about to hit the fan and Shidou is tasked to save the world in the only way he knows; make all the women happy! There was some cute ... ideas in the dating part and silly jokes. Did you like Shidou cross-dress for Miku? You get more of it. There are cameos for all the minor characters, some more major than others, and they make you smile because they live up to their personality.

After the dates end, the action begins. Not that kind of action that you are thinking of you pervert. Remember Shidou takes being harem-gay to a whole new level. Ricky Martin and Elton John enjoy pussy more than Shidou. There are more explosions and action in this movie than you Facebook page this 2016 election year.

Shidou the hero embraces his inner Emiya Shirou and goes full suicide mode to save the girls in a dramatic ending. When a certain girl dies; it is more sad than when Ash Ketchum let his Butterfree go.

The only unbelievable moment in the whole series continues in this movie. 6 girls all like the same guy and they all get along somehow. This is the only thing I will call bullshit on.

In the end, Tooka dress-up makes up for any flaw in this movie and it is a must-watch for any fan of the series.

COME ON SEASON 3! We are only half way through the Light Novels and We need more!

No spoilers, just opinions :D

I really enjoyed watching the original Date A live when it first aired. The second season was not as good but this film, Mayuri Judgment, just disappointing to me. Being that the original Date A Live aired a couple years back I was probably less aggressive towards the cliches of this series, but watching this film now has made me wonder why I ever enjoyed Date A Live; has it always been like this?

The story takes place after the events of Date A Live II so all the previous characters will appear in this film. The new character(s) is developed ... poorly for a 2 hour movie. The art is the same tier as the previous series so no complaints there. It has a bit of "service" for the fans of each girl in the series. Finally, it pulls a completely fresh plot that forces action scenes and juggles it around with a dash of bad pacing.

Why is it the highest rated in MAL out of the Date A Live series? I'm not sure. Do I recommend it? Nope. Unless you must see more Date A Live. I personally think Date A Live II concluded fine without the movie. 4/10 on my book.

Date A Live: Mayuri Judgement is the sequel to Date A Live II and was released in August 22nd of 2015 and ran for 1 hour 12 minutes (72 minutes) and was once again produced by the same studio that did Date A Live II and the Encore OVA, Production IMS. So what did LA think of this anime film?. Before LA answers this let's first look at the premise, well Shidou our main protagonist sees a huge sphere in the sky in which only HE can see, later the Ratatosk group analyze this huge sphere and tells Shidou that he must go on a ... date with his right now current harem to remove this huge threat from the sky, that's right, the bulk of this movie is Shidou going out on consecutive dates with each of his haremette members Tohka, Yoshino, Miku, Kotori, Yuzuru and Kaguya. The thing is, although the movie spends the bulk of the movie fleshing out these haremette special dates for each of the harem members, LA can sorta see something from this, it's really fleshing out these characters in which some of them didn't get in the anime series, mainly being Kaguya and Yuzuru who gets this effect on LA. The dates have each of their haremette's theme added to it that adds to fleshing out the haremette in questions personality and behaviour, some even making nods to the original series, LA's favourite date would have to Kaguya's, Kotori's and Tohka's but especially Kaguya's (LA didn't know whether it was Kaguya's voice actor ''Maaya Uchida'' or for the fact that they fleshed out one of the Yamai Twins and made her a 3-dimensional character instead of "''Ohh she's one of the Twins''" with her date). Now the series' title is ''Mayuri Judgement'', who's Mayuri?...well she at first comes in a certain points of each of the 6 dates as a "mysterious girl" and she obviously has a connection to the huge sphere in the sky. Well LA can tell you that Mayuri voiced by ''Sora Amamiya'' without spoilers ends up with the same "''anime film with a new character exclusive to the film''" syndrome many anime films have and LA by the time it lead to the huge climactic battle knew this was gonna happen. On speaking of the battle, there is only ONE battle in this 1 hour 12 minute anime film and it's GLORIOUS, with Shidou's harem fighting the "huge sphere" in the sky that turned rogue (ohhh...LA would have never guessed the huge sphere was bad), nonetheless the climactic battle is something to watch in this film alone. The animation done by Production IMS is adequate due to the either fanservice scenes to the quiet moments of the film to upping the ante when it comes to the huge climactic battle, the animation was decent overall and had no hiccups or errors LA saw. The voice acting on the other hand, if you like hearing squeaking haremette characters fawning over their dates or when their on dates respectively especially from Miku voiced by ''Minori Chihara'', Yoshino voiced by ''Iori Nomizu'' or some of the other minor characters in general. So back to LA's question from before, ''what did LA think of this anime film?''...well it has the same trappings as any other anime film with a new character brought JUST for the film itself, however with little flaws it has and how the bulk of the film is the dates that flesh out the majority of the harem AND gives a one huge climactic battle for the finale. LA doesn't hate it per say, but LA doesn't love it either, it's most definitely better than Date A Live II as it doesn't goof around (as the dates ALLOWS them to goof off and it's a PART of the anime film's plot). Date A Live: Mayuri Judgement by all means isn't a terrible film, it could do worse, but for a self-contained anime film from a supernatural slice of life comedy harem anime series...LA wasn't expecting TOO much from this film, but LA still enjoyed it as a fan of Date A Live and as an anime film in general. If you want to see Date A Live II done better, then this film is the best bet.

Oh boy! A Date a Live movie. I can't wait to see more Origami in it!
"about a movie later"
Well, someone is getting fired over this.

There are maybe TWO characters we like in the Date a Live series and only ONE we actually care about. The first one we like is the Time-Girl, and the second one of course is ORIGAMI, the white haired human (shut up VN player) girl that's socially awkward, loads of fun and pretty cute in her own way. After them there is CHAOS. A whole bunch of filler characters we could easily do without and who wouldn't be missed if they ... disappeared. So... Whoever had the idea of a movie about the main character going on a date with every girl BESIDES Origami deserves to be fired, simple as that.

It doesn't really go anywhere after that either. There's a small subplot about a new girl (oh who gives a crap about "spoilers") being formed from the pent-up stress of the other spirits, but she only interacts with people for about 5 minutes at the end of the movie and everything else is just filler. The protagonist also has an over-exaggerated response to her disappearing besides barely knowing her that can really push the wrong buttons for you and the movie ends.

Not much to say about it, the 20-30 seconds we got of Origami were fun (actual good humor), the rest was pretty much crap.

*Minor Spoilers Ahead*

I began watching the series a few weeks back after a friend's recommendation due to the upcoming 4th season and was caught off guard by how much I enjoyed this movie, even as someone new to the series.

Story: 8/10
To put it one way, the movie felt like a feature-length episode of the anime, which I personally loved—with a basic but fun premise of the protagonist Shido, taking each of the spirit girls on individual dates while also slowly unravelling the mystery behind the mysterious spirit Mayuri and the concentrated low-level but potentially-dangerous-if-left-unchecked ball of spiritual energy hovering ominously in the sky above ... his home city. I would have liked to see more of Mayuri, but I guess her lack of screen time does make sense since, in universe, she was sent down to observe Shido and the rest of the spirits.

Art: 8/10
Overall, Production.IMS did an excellent job on the art style, seeming to lean more towards the first season's more uncomplicated but crisp art style as opposed to the second seasons' art style. However, the overuse of subpar CG, some of the backgrounds looking messy or blurry at times, and the proportions of some characters' faces and eyes changing from scene to scene bring the score down a bit. Overall, though, a great effort.

Sound: 10/10
An excellent soundtrack overall, bringing back some of the tracks and OST elements from the previous two seasons, one notable addition being the season 1 opening, while also adding in new songs to help flesh every scene out and really immerse you into the movie as a whole with all tracks sounding spot on and complementing the scenes quite nicely. The voice actors also do a fantastic job reprising their roles, a special mention to Mayuri's voice actor, who managed to fit right into the even while only appearing for a short time.

Characters: 9/10
The movie mostly follows Shido and the six spirit girls from the previous seasons. With Mana, Kurmin, Origami, The Ratertosker crew and all the other side characters you have come to know and love popping up for gags, cameos, help Shido and the gang out or progress the film's story. With the addition of the movie-exclusive addition of Mayuri helping to round out the roster and bring attention to the overarching storyline of the movie.

Enjoyment: 9/10
Overall, I really enjoyed the film, the gas with the side characters in the background were fun to follow as well as the antics that Shido and the spirits got up to one the dates gave me a few laughs at times or were just downright wholesome *couch* *couch* Yoshino's. I also appreciated how as someone new to the series, they didn't throw in details or references that only a seasoned reader of the light novels would catch, so It didn't feel like I missed out on anything.

Overall: 9/10
If you enjoyed the previous seasons of Date a Live, this is a must-watch. With the Side-story base, feature-length and movie budget, helping to create a film that is basically a showcase of the best the series has to offer so far with some new additions to showcase what else the series potentially has to offer.

TLDR: if you enjoyed the previous seasons of the anime, it's much of the same with some new additions to showcase what else the series potentially has to offer.

Just finish the movie today. Kindly to leave a review here. Sorry, but i think i will spoil something.

Story (6/10)
So I think the story a bad develop. Well i just say that i have guess the storyline. The ending is too simple, but it's still make me want to cry. The date is interesting like usual thought they don't show ecchi so much.

Art (7/10)
Like usual the art is so beatiful. But, I notice that Shido's face is kinda weird. The proportion is kinda weird, definetily. The studio also have a new design clothes of the spirit that are refreshing my eyes.

Sound (9/10)
I CAN'T RESIST SWEET ... ARMS FOR SUREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Character (7/10)
The character scene is equal except for Tohka, Kurumi, and Origami. Tohka is the main girl (?) so it's alright. But, Kurumi only appear only for 4-5 minute. It's make me so sad.

Enjoyment (5/10)
How can I enjoy without Kurumi on here? LOL
Well, something that make enjoy is when Kurumi scene. But, Kotori and Miku scene is also enjoyable. But the fighting scene is to bit for me so i can't enjoy a fight so much from the movie.

Overall (7/10)
I was hype for the movie because i thought Kurumi will have more scene. But it's so far from my expectation. But, still the date is enjoyable. That why the overall is good. Ahahaha.. I'm so sorry for the Kurumi word spam.

Okay, first of all: There WILL be spoilers, as the main aspect I focus on this review is the story, if you haven´t seen the movie yet, don´t read this review.
I really enjoyed Date A Live I+II, because of the unique concept, and as the series progressed, it just got better in my opinion. There was one thing I noticed, but it didn´t really annoy me, the following, always repeating steps: New spirit lands, new spirit is uncontrolable, shido saves her anyway, the spirit becomes part of his harem.
I hoped for something unique in the film, but the first 45 minutes are basically wasted, shido ... goes on 6 dates, that are completely irrelevant for the story, although they effect Mayuri after all, I just didn´t see the sense in putting 6 dates in the film, you could do that in the anime, or an OVA or something, but this is wasted time for the story. Mayuri herself, categorized as "main character" doesn´t even say a word, until about minute 45. She stalks shido for some reason, but that didn´t really hype me, it just got annoying after some time.
The actual "showdown" with Mayuri and her angel Kerubiel doesn´t have any sort of buildup, Kerubiel randomly starts attacking everybody, and in the end, Mayuri disappears, and you know what? I was not sad at all when Mayuri was gone. She was designed really good, but... yeah, that is basically everything I like about her, she was there for some reason, and soon after, she was gone again, there wasn´t even any character development for her, I don´t even know why shido cried, when she disappeared... I would be super sad, if Tohka, Kurumi, or either Kaguya or Yuzuru disappeared, because they had at least some sort of character development, Mayuri was just... lame in my opinion, sorry.
The Art in this movie is great, I like the style, very detailed, just like in the series. When they animated Kerubiel in the movie, they tried to make something new, and it totally worked, Kerubiel and his attacks all looked really awesome. The sound was pretty much perfect, always some nice background tunes, that make your emotions exactly how they should be in every scene, really can´t complain about anything right there.
The story disappointed me, just the story in this movie, everything else was great. The movie was still not bad, I enjoyed it, but not as much as the anime series.

**May contain spoilers**

Date A Live: Mayuri Judgment is to say the least... average.
A common problem I see when it comes to these kind of movies is that the movie original character isn't developed very well and that's exactly the problem with our movie's character: Mayuri.

Story: 5/10
I don't really want to go into too much detail so I can refrain from posting spoilers but it's basically this:
A huge orb of energy happens to appear in the sky that only Shidou can see. Now as per the usual Date A Live tradition he must go on dates with spirits! All this happens while he is trying to ... figure out the mystery behind the mysterious girl that frequently appears before him.

Mayuri's character was honestly handled very badly and the ending was predictable and felt forced. If you want us to feel bad for a character you have to give that character some actual screen time and dialogue which this movie did not do.

Art: 8/10
I really like Mayuri's character design. There's not much I can say regarding the art and animation because there's not much to really say about it other than it's good; much better than what we got out of season 2.

Sound: 7/10
There's a lot of reused music from the original series but that honestly doesn't bother me too much. Overall the music was pretty nice and I have no complaints regarding it.

Character: 5/10
OH BOY. This movie needs to get it's shit together regarding its characters.
While I enjoyed how each of the spirits got ample screen time by each going on dates with Shidou they decided to neglect giving screen time to the one spirit that should matter: Mayuri. She spends more than half the movie randomly stalking Shidou and doesn't get any spoken lines until near the end to the point she feels like a flat character.

Oh, did you guys want some Kurumi screen time in this movie? She's here and she does absolutely nothing. She just casually observes everything that's going on and that's it other than this one scene where she speaks to Shidou, although it has no importance to plot and it's very brief.

Enjoyment: 6/10
For the most part I enjoyed this movie. It's Date A Live so I wasn't really expecting much but I at least expected to enjoy it which I very much did.

Overall: 5/10
Despite the movie being called "Date A Live: Mayuri Judgment" the titular character Mayuri isn't that apparently important to plot apparently since they decided to give all the movie's screen time to all the other spirits.

So, should you watch this movie? If your Date A Live fan then yes, but if you hate Date A Live or found it mediocre then you might as well not bother with this movie.

“The heart of one wavers when you least expect it.”

I was really hyped for this movie, after the epic saga that was Date a Live and Date a Live II. Like all great franchises, the high point of their reign over people’s minds and desires is usually with a feature-length movie that would feature our main hero(s) (Shido Itsuka in this case) on the big screen. So how well does Date a Live the Movie: Mayuri’s Judgement fare amongst other movies in the market? Does it stand out as an underappreciated gem considered over that Pixar movie? Does it bomb and leaves the viewer crying ... for a refund? Let’s find out!

Sound (7/10)

Some familiar music cues (including my favourite – named Cycling) from the anime can be heard here, but most of the soundtrack is fitting enough in its use. Three songs, “Date A Live” – a reprise of the original anime’s theme song, “Invisible Date” – played during the ending credits – and another song performed by Minori Chihara right before the title appears - can be heard playing. They are all nice hits, and they seem appropriate contextually. While it doesn’t stand out, it intertwines with the scenes well enough.

Visuals (8/10)

The visuals are identical to the anime, combined with 3-D computer graphics imagery on the villain. Everything looks generally okay, with attention to detail quite impressive, though watching it in a cinema makes the visuals look kind of washed out. I think they should have done more for it to fit the cinema screen, because it just does not look very crisp. Other than that, with rich colours, good animation, and appealing artwork, what’s not to like?

Storyline and Enjoyment (9/10)

The story follows our 16-year-old Shido Itsuka, as he continues his dating life – yes, literally a life where he dates girls known as Spirits – earning her trust and then sealing off her Spirit powers by making lip-to-lip contact with each other. In the movie, a new girl is born simply from converged Spirit powers, named Mayuri. She follows along Shido – albeit as a thought-of mirage - as he goes on more dates with our other established heroes, attempting to weaken a mysterious sphere emitting Spirit powers that Shido previously sealed off. Eventually, the build-up leads to an epic fight, as the judgement of Mayuri – who deemed Shido as competent in Spirit-uality (or something like that, I can’t exactly remember) – conflicts with Cherubim’s, which inflicts great damage on the city. Now, the Spirits must team up to defeat him.

While the fanservice was indeed played – and to quite a large extent – it was moderated. It was portrayed through Shido’s dates, with throwbacks to past events part of the appeal. This plays a gigantic part to the enjoyment, because this is where the average Date a Live fan will shake in his seat, yet the newcomer to the franchise will wonder what all the fuss is about. Still, however, the movie has its moments which both sides will laugh and cry at, including the ending, and a few other parts.

Overall (8/10)

A must-watch for fans of the franchise, Date a Live the Movie: Mayuri’s Judgement will not disappoint. With the same charming visuals that graced the TV series and original video animations, epic storyline to continue from the enchanting second season of the TV series, and immersive sound which proves that technology isn’t everything, Mayuri’s Judgement is a joy to watch. It will, however, alienate newcomers to the franchise, so if you haven’t seen the anime series or read the light novels, stay away.

THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS.
This is my first review, so it's probably really bad. But I just had to write it seeing that the other reviews right now are praising this pile of trash.

As a Date A Live fan, this was a movie I was patiently waiting for for over a year now, and I finally got to watch it yesterday. Now I want my time and money back.

STORY - 2
Date A Live so far has been: girl appears, Shidou intervenes, Shidou and said girl's relationship develops, girl's powers are sealed, repeat. This was a formula that has actually worked so far in the series ... and it was actually quite enjoyable to watch. But despite the name of the movie being Mayuri Judgement, only the last twenty minutes or so of the movie was actually dedicated to Mayuri. The first half of the movie involved going on dates one by one with every girl other than Mayuri, and throughout the movie it felt as though Mayuri was just a background character in what was supposed to be a story arc dedicated to her. Not only this, the vast majority of the movie was fanservice catering to fans of the series and also included many scenes which only serve to remind you of events that occurred in the two seasons of the anime. In the twenty minutes or so of actual plot, everything happens so suddenly that you can't make any sense of why any of this is going on in the first place. Not only that, the story of this movie is completely ignorable and it was written in such a way that it has no significance to the actual story of the series as a whole. It felt like it was merely an extended spin-off OVA. What you'd expect from a theatrical movie release is completely non-existent here.

ART - 5
The low budget of the movie is easily shown by the art and visuals of the movie. While the transformation sequences looked pretty nice and the CG in the final battle was top notch, everything else looked below subpar.

SOUND - 9
I would give this a 10 if not for the absolutely horrid song in the beginning of the movie. The background music is lovely and as expected from Date A Live and fits very well in context to what is going on at the time. I've been listening to the soundtrack pretty much all day since I watched the movie. The ending song Invisible Date is absolutely wonderful.

CHARACTER - 5
The main girl of the movie (Mayuri, as it was SUPPOSED to be), barely got any screen time at all. The character development between Shidou and her and also her character could have been fleshed out in the 72 minutes that the movie ran for but since she only actually spoke to Shidou in the last 20 minutes or so, it felt extremely forced and rushed, and her character ended up being pretty much a blank canvas with a bunch of words quickly written over it. As for the other characters, we have the same old characters from the anime so it's pretty self-explanatory.

ENJOYMENT - 6
There were some pretty enjoyable and really funny scenes throughout the movie, not going to lie. The entire ordeal of Shiori was absolutely hilarious. But everything that was supposed to be relevant to the plot was terrbily done. I'd give it a 3 or 4 if not for the enjoyable comedy in this movie.

OVERALL - 5 (rounded down from 5.4)
Honestly, I'm probably just salty over how it's called MAYURI Judgement but I got anything but Mayuri. Here's hoping it was just a quick cash grab for a proper season three.

When it comes to anime movies, content within them is usually something of an issue. Due to constrained time windows, anime movies have to be able to eloquently tell a story in full if they want to be successful. Likewise, when it comes to movies that are based off of series' that are well known, keeping the theme and feel of that series while also telling a story also comes off as part of the list of issues that has to be taken into consideration. (Then there're those recap movies, and we are not going to talk about those ones.) So, ... an original story for the Date a Live series, is Mayuri Judgment.

Story: Back in the world of DAL, we are thrusted back to Tenguu City, the place where our main protagonist of the DAL series, Shidou is given yet another dilemma regarding Spirits, otherworldly spirits that bear the power of angels and, through the magic of harem anime, can only be sealed and defeated peacefully with the power of a kiss. Now, with the looming threat of a gigantic sphere in the sky looming over the city in a crater he calls home, he must once again go on a date with all of the girls that he has previously conquered in order to avert the ball of energy that rises high in the sky. (Trust me, it makes a lot more sense in the movie than it does here.)

Like its parent story, Mayuri Judgment has what I can only describe as the same story basis as the rest of the series up to this point (Meaning, seasons 1 and 2, or everything up to Miku Truth, if you're reading the LN.) which is a lot of dates. Hey, it ain't called Date a Live for nothing. As the movie is practically all dates for the entire hour and twelve minutes that this movie is, the movie comes equipped with its own doubled edged sword.

Since the entire series is basically just dates with the main girls of the series, anything that really has anything to do with Mayuri, the title spirit of this particular movie, is really next to nothing. And that's really the biggest kicker. Because the movie is set up in a way where her importance only really comes in later, anything that has to do with her really has no weight on the movie as a whole. You don't really get much if any quality time with her and it really kicks the idea of having a movie based around her, even if the explanation given does make sense in context to the series.

On the flipside, since the show focuses on the dates with six of the main girls in the series, a lot of character refreshment or moments really shine through. With each date, the personality of each girl featured shines through and gives each of them a little bit of time devoted to them. Each date is reflective of each girl's personality complete with their own individual quirks and is honestly just a nice refresher for getting back into the series. Plus, you get a really nice fight scene at the end with all of those wonderful, wonderful character designs.

In the end, DAL Mayuri Judgment is a double edged blade to itself. It doesn't feature the title girl of the series all that much within its entire runtime, leading to a rather rushed and somewhat cliched end. Yet, even so, what we do get is return characterization, showing us most of the girls one by one on who they are, what their quirks are, and what this series has to offer.

Overview:
+ Refresher to the series
+ Dedicated moments for the majority of the returning cast
- Barely features or devotes time to the title character
- Rushed and unsatisfactory end

Characters: Honestly, there really isn't much to say about the characters. All but Mayuri are returning cast members so there really isn't much to say about them. As I have stated before, most of the 'harem members' of the series (i.e. Tohka, Kaguya, Yuzuru, Miku, Kotori, and Yoshino) have devoted time to them since they all go on a date with Shidou individually.

And then we have the real kicker, Mayuri. Mayuri herself is someone who appears 17 times in the movie before saying her first goddamn line. (I counted; I know this to be true.) There really isn't much to her character than to be a plot device. There isn't much characterization about her (if any) and just feels flat. There honestly isn't much to say about her simply because everyone only meets her for about 10-20 minutes at what is basically the end of the whole movie, and that's during the epic fight scene.

Overview:
+ Return of the old cast in good form
+ Focused moments for the girls of the series
- Zero characterization on the title character

Art: Like its previous iterations, Mayuri Judgment was produced by Production IMS. Coming with that studio comes along the beautiful artwork for the Date a Live series. Complete with all of the beautiful and well designed Astral Dresses and well produced art, Date a Live never ceases to bring forth consistent quality and visuals.

In addition, for this movie in particular, IMS created a CGI monstrosity known as Cherubim, and, despite my usage of the word 'monstrosity', it's actually rather nicely made. Despite being made from CG, Cherubim fits with what is going on with the scenes that it's in and showcases just how stunning this series can look when it wants to. (Oh yeah, and Tohka gets a new design, and it's really nice.)

Overview:
+ Good, consistent art
+ CGI thing looks and fits well with what is going on

Sound: When it comes to DAL, the soundtrack is an aesthetic that really shines for the series. With previous seasons having songs sung by bands like Sweet Arms in addition to really nicely composed battle music, Mayuri Judgment brings a good chunk of those tracks back during sections of the movie.

In addition, the movie introduces a new, original ED song for the credits called 'Invisible Date' sung by Sweet Arms. Similar to the other OP/ED tracks of the series, this track bears in resemblance to them by having a majestic and overall nice tone to the song that is what I consider to be very memorable. (And that's not just because I have listened to the song several dozen times.)

Overview:
+ Return of tracks from the series
+ New track that holds up the standard for music in this series

Personal Enjoyment: Alright, Date a Live is a series I really, really, really, really, really, really like. Really. It's a series that combines some of my favorite genres in anime complete with an intriguing story and nice aesthetics. I could go on and on, so to shorten it, I like this series a lot, and seeing a movie for it, an original one might I add at the end of the second season made me squeal. (Not really, but yeah...kinda.)

Did I like this movie?

Yep. I enjoyed it. The rushed end didn't bother me cause stuff like that is standard fare for this series (still not forgiving the 10 episode runtime of season 2) and honestly, because it's just more of Date a Live, I can't not say that I despised it. Because the movie was basically just Date a Live in a nutshell, there really isn't much criticism based off of my personal feelings simply because that is what the series is about.

What didn't I like about this movie?

The biggest gripe is Mayuri. You introduce a new character that's in the title of the movie, is supposed to play a main part in the movie, and it listed as a main character. And ya don't use her. See anything wrong here?

Would I recommend this movie?

Honestly, if you're as big as a DAL fan as I am and don't really give two shits about the flaws, then what are you still doing here reading this? GO! GO YOU FOOLS! On the other hand, if you're someone who has watched DAL and isn't as gung-ho about the series, then watch it if you want to. As mentioned before, it's basically DAL, it's got the same plotline, same characters, and is really just a refresher for the series before season 3. (Which at the time of this review, I hope happens.) So really, this movie is just to service the fans of the show. But when has that ever really been a bad thing, eh?

Plays like a feature-length episode and while I enjoyed the first 3/4, the last 15 minutes drag. This is definitely a character piece, although Kurumi gets very little screen time she is always a joy to watch, Miku managed to make me laugh which I didn't expect, the twins are excellent with my personal favourite, Yuzuru, getting lots of screen time. As for Tohka, well I can't fault her, she's brilliant.

The story was a step down from the previous series but the animation is still just as consistent as ever.

Overall enjoyable but the ending does drag a little, nevertheless RECOMMENDED.

It's pretty good, a snap above the original anime seasons for sure, barely reaching an 8/10 when factoring in my enjoyment and 6/10 or so otherwise. However, it does reuse the exact same formula once again, which is quite boring. It's exactly like the anime seasons and I guess the arcs in the novel. It starts with lighthearted comedy with no real plot or anything and all of a sudden, we're met with a somewhat explosive ending with a lot of drama and sometimes tragedy. As usual, the drama and tragedy is very unnecessary, even to the point of being something of a detriment since ... it doesn't fit in well with a story like this that doesn't have anything resembling a solid or serious plot/story. It's pretty much a new anime season compressed into one roughly third of the usual length, around 4 episodes in length instead of 12.

It's once again quite enjoyable almost solely because of the character interactions which are lovely. There's obviously flaws, but they're not as notable as in the main anime thanks to the short duration. I feel like it's definitely worth watching it, especially if you liked the original anime seasons.

On a side note, I felt like the art/animation was a fair bit better than the original anime, especially notable in the fight at the end, might have something to do with both that it was made later than than season 1 and 2 and that it was a movie rather than an anime season, so I guess more time and resources might've went into it. Oh, and the mc is as much of a disappointment as usual as well, all he can do is shout and throw his selfish emotions around everywhere when things doesn't go his way, acting like a baby. He endangers both himself and those around him without caring one bit or considering the situation and his own limitations. Sometimes I have this sadistic desire of wanting to see people close to the mc dying thanks to his reckless decisions and immaturity, or wanting him to die and witness the pain, grief and destruction it would wreak upon everyone around him as he watches in spirit form or whatever. Maybe that'd wake morons like this up. People like him just shouldn't be put into drama/tragedy situations, let him be a romcom slice of life type protagonist instead, that's where he belongs. It's just notable in the last 20-30minutes though where things hit the fan. Urgh, so incompetent yet has such a big mouth, if it wasn't for his planet-sized plot armour, he'd be dead a million times over, EVEN with the help of all the girls he surrounds himself with. He might as well stay as shiori("female" version of the mc when he crossdresses), maybe he'd actually be useful and have some powers to back his bullsh*t up if he was a female in this anime/novel, since, for some reason, only girls can fight here. Well, the mc will probably be able to use other spirits powers later on, but he shows no desire to learn how to do so even while knowing he has those powers and having used them before, although he does use them more and more often while trying to rush towards his own death in his attempt to sacrifice himself while knowing perfectly well he has no powers to do anything(but this self-sacrifice behavior obviously triggers the girls to power up and save him, wow, so damn bad I cringe at the mere idea). Pathetic mc. He's nice whenever combat or drama of any kind is involved.