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Mar 28, 2018
Osomatsu-san's second season is not offensively bad or even bad at all: I can't say it didn't manage to entertain whenever I sat down to watch it every monday. But with every new episode, it felt like something was lacking, like something from season one was lost.
To start with, the move from two or more "scenarios" per episode to episode-length "scenarios" feels like a misstep. With season one, sketches never became too tedious (outside of fan-least-favorites like F6) because of the fact that they were not the length of the entire episode. When a sketch ended, it felt like it was because the premise has
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been exhausted and the show can now move on to something else.
By having entire episodes dedicated to one sketch, some flaws that were in the writing previously become much more evident, and things become a lot more tedious. It wasn't until season 2 that I realized that whenever a joke was made about one Matsuno, a similar joke had to be made about every other brother before the show could move on. If this happened before, it became very obvious now, and if I didn't think a joke was funny once, it certainly wouldn't become funny after hearing it five more times.
Even episodes with more than one sketch had a similar feeling of tediousness, that the joke was simply going on way longer than it needed to go. The sketch involving Choromatsu and Ichimatsu had a promising premise, but at some point the one joke that the sketch, that they are uncomfortable being alone around each other, was just being repeated over and over again by the end. Maybe this aspect of the show has always been here, but if that's the case then it only got worst.
Another complaint I have is that the show at times feels like it is resting on its laurels when it comes to episode scenarios compared to season one. It often relies on interaction between the brothers to be enough for a sketch, when season one offered a lot more than that. Season one utilized the side characters very well, especially Chibita, and in this season, while he still is a great character, side characters were relegated to being vehicles for more inter-Matsuno banter and one-liners. There was no "Iyami's Counterattack" this season, no "The Karamatsu Incident", no "Jyushimatsu Festival".
If there's one thing the show does right, is that it actually manages to provide some good characterization for the sextuplets. For one thing, Karamatsu has actually become more self-assured in terms of not becoming the punching bag for the other five, often being allowed to get in his own insults and comments. But we also see his insecurity towards needing to do everything for his brothers in order to feel validation. Osomatsu is also given some much needed depth in the second to last episode, an aspect of his character that has been hinted at before but never completely explored until then, and the episode right after doesn't immediately erase all of it! These characters are very easy to turn into vapid stereotypes of their actual personalities, and there are instances where that does feel like the case, but more often than not they are consistently written with care, or at least as much care an irreverent sketch comedy show could have.
That's what keeps the show watchable for me: it still cares. Episodes like "Iyami in the Wind" and the two final episodes show that despite how flippant, bitter, and absurd the show is at times, there is something very genuine at the center of it, keeping the tradition of the 1988 series alive (and perhaps the writing of the original manga as well, although I have not read any of it so I cannot say for sure). Maybe the writing quality has been worsening, but I can tell that no one has given up, which gives me hope that if there is a third season, perhaps the writing staff could fix their flaws and create something as good as what I remember season one being.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Jan 23, 2018
It is very easy to be cynical about "Baja no Studio". It's a pretty obvious attempt from KyoAni to create some new mascots while also endearing its audience to a very idealized, twee version of the animation studio, hoping that it will lead to the audience being endeared to the actual studio as well. The main character makes cute and endearing comments about the different people in the studio, the project they are working on, and his innocent affection towards them in the cutest possible voice and the cutest possible expressions.
In a way, "Baja no Studio" is like a trick that the people behind
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it are playing on the viewer. But a trick is not successful if it is not executed well, and for the most part, "Baja no Studio" is a very well executed trick. A very simplistic narrative about a hamster trying to save his toy duck friend while also dealing with the studio's latest project coming to life is supported by great animation and designs on both the main characters and the supporting staff characters. It's not some kind of mind blowing revelation, but it executes its premise and purpose well in the time span it is given. It's a showcase of KyoAni's technical strengths in a cute little package I can't help but like. It may be manipulative, but it is some very well done manipulation.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Nov 22, 2017
Made in Abyss is a show that is immediately appealing to any anime fan. It's art and animation outclasses everything that has come out this year, its score is unique and elevates some of the best moments of the show, it has the aesthetic of a lost classic square-enix game, and the premise is one that immediately overwhelms the mind with possibilities about what could happen in the abyss. The premise is then supported with genius bits of world-building and clues about the true nature of the abyss, where it gives the viewer enough information to understand the world of Made in Abyss while still
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being surprised at every major event.
As I was watching this show this was all immediately clear from the first episode. On all technical fronts, this show was a marvel. But part of me worried that this show may only have its appeal in its technical mastery. The greatest appeal that an anime can have for me is in its emotional core, not just in what is the most obvious, but the second layer that it works on. I think about Space Patrol Luluco, a crazy over-the-top series that ends up delivering a very genuine message by the end. Or Redline, which decides at the end of a beautifully animated, almost 40 minute race of mind-blowing proportions, that the entire movie was about the power of love and somehow pulls it off.
Luckily, this emotional core (can't come up with a less pretentious phrase) becomes clear in a big way for Made in Abyss. There is a moment in which things become very clear for both the main characters and the viewer about the true nature of this show: there are stakes and there are consequences. As appealing as the premise is, it is also one in which danger is not only constantly present, but leaves real damage that threatens the lives of the main characters greatly. The truth is the premise was always a very cynical one: going into an abyss that is an extremely dangerous hazard for the sake of collecting artifacts for money and fame, and specifically forcing children to do so for their orphanage. It is only after the moment mentioned above that the show drives the point home and continues to do so all the way until the last episode.
Made in Abyss does not wallow in this sort of attitude, though. It is not "dark" for the sake of being "dark". It instead treats it as a reality that needs to be accepted. But Made in Abyss cares deeply about its characters, just as deeply as they care about each other. Riko and Regu only have each other, and each has been through so much that the idea of losing one another is enough to cripple them for significant amount of time. And their friendship is one with a real foundation, having been developed for months off-screen after first meeting each other. Each provides something valuable to the other, they work best together, and you root for both of their well-being not only for the sake of the show but for their sake as well.
In that way, Made in Abyss is about hope in a hopeless place, about facing harsh reality while knowing the chances of success are low. Optimism will only get you so far until insurmountable forces knock you down, and from their you must rely on whatever strength you have left as well as the strength and kindness of others. Even then, nothing is easy, and everything feels like it is out to get you. But in then end, you pull yourself back up every time until you're dead. It something that most would consider hopeless, but considering you've gotten this far, it is beautiful in a way.
For this reason, Made in Abyss manages to not only be a technical marvel, but also a genuinely beautiful and engrossing story on top of that. It feels like the kind of anime that immediately makes its presence known as more than just another season favorite. Whether or not it gets a second season, it is an anime that I will come back to again and again for the incredible achievement it is.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Oct 21, 2017
The joy I get from watching "Dracula:Sovereign of the Damned" is the same I feel watching "The Room" or the best parts of "Garzey's Wing". To me it is the best of all the famously "so-bad-it's-good" anime because it is consistently so (specifically the dub, the most ideal way to watch).
My problem with watching bad anime or movies is that a lot of times it's just actually bad rather than enjoyably so, and at some point it's just an hour wasted. But this 1980's interpretation of the Dracula story is so ridiculous and over-the-top throughout and becomes a delightful sight to witness.
In this movie, Dracula
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pretends to be Satan because he hates Satan, and steals a beautiful women who was meant to be a sacrifice for Satan and then falls in love with her. The story from there mostly involves Dracula constantly whining about being Dracula and performing more and more ridiculous acts in the hope of not being Dracula, only to start performing even more ridiculous acts in order to be Dracula again.
Meanwhile, a group of completely inept Dracula hunters follow Dracula around and eventually both God and Satan get involved and the shenanigans continue from there.
All the comedy comes from both the absurdity of the entire plot as well as the nonsensical dialogue and hilarious voice acting from the dub, which once again is the only right way to watch this. Something to watch with friends while making fun of it, and honestly way better than "Garzey's Wing" in terms of being a bad anime. Also, if you think I spoiled too much in this review, I promise you I did not reveal any of the best parts.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Oct 2, 2017
In "Space Patrol Luluco", the emotions and love of a middle school girl is the strongest and most important thing in the entire universe, and the only people who would oppose this statement are cruel villains who live to see others in pain. Honestly, there's too many stories about characters having to put aside their emotions and see things as they are, get over themselves and do the right thing. This is treated as a good thing, as being mature and leaving behind childhood things, both in fiction and in real life.
But "Luluco" makes a point to show that a strong enough conviction, passion,
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and love can change the way the world works, it can make it so that we can save the people we love and can conquer any evil. This is presented with no irony, no caveat or anything. Even if its not realistic, "Luluco" allows it to be in the biggest and loudest way possible. It gives hope to the viewer, hope that what seem like naive and insignificant feelings are not actually those things, and should instead be held in high regard, treated just as seriously as whatever it is people "should" worry about.
The show accomplishes all this as a series of short episodes, being the natural evolution of Trigger's "Inferno Cop", that evolution being "make it a little longer, and make it sincerely". In a way, it's a celebration of what Trigger is, not only in its crossovers, but in its passion, its sense of humor, its entire attitude. If someone ever wanted to understand what Trigger is and what makes it special, I would point to "Luluco".
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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