Warning: this review contains spoilers.
First impressions: Before i got into this show, I’d heard it was one of the best horror anime ever to come out of the anime medium. Not only that, but and it has a lot of thematic depth and grey morality and hearing that kinda got me interested. It's about a small town and there odd things going down with people dying by a mysterious sickness and there apparently sighting of the recently departed hanging around town at night.
Story,5/10
During a normal summer in the small rural town named Sotoba, all seems well. But after this new family has moved in there
...
has been Theses case of mysterious deaths that have Been happening in the village With people dropping like flies. the local doctor Toshio is trying his best to find the root cause of these deaths with the help of his best friend the local monk named Seishin While there investigating. Local City boy Natsuno Yuuki has this feeling that someone is watching him after the mysterious death of his best friend toru and his local stalker Megumi. So are these deaths caused by some mysterious virus or is something more sinister afoot. Well spoiler alert it's actually vampires. So to start off there is a general consensus in quite a few circles that anime and horror don't really mix well and feel that Shiki is no exception to that mindset, because even if it's a more realistic take on vampires in a modern setting. I wasn't really scared and the only reason I kept watching was that I felt was a small case of morbid curiosity to see where the story would go. Because at face value it has quite a bit going for it theme-wise as it talks about survival, criticisms of human society and the evils of humanity. Which honestly has been done to death already at this point in time and done better but I digress. Now I feel that Shiki does a great job of building up its story the first few episodes of Shiki are probably some of the best episodes setup wise and when I first originally watched this show I had this feeling of morbid curiosity as I wondered what was going to happen next, and shiki does a very good at pulling you in and getting you intrigued in a similar vein to Higurashi where you don't really know what's happening and your just along for the ride.
Now when it comes to the conflict between the humans and the Shiki which is the main focus, I feel from a collectivist standpoint both sides are pretty much as bad as each other in my viewpoint of morality, ethics and etc.
But from an individual standpoint i would say certain characters are more justified in their actions and behavior than others, because most of the people in this village are to put it nicely are assholes during life and during unlife. one of the villagers who becomes a shiki is actually a pedophhie who exclusively targets little boys and one villager who is so xenophobic towards outsiders to such a degree that she would even make the ku klux klan seem tolerant by comparison, so none of these people is innocent or clean as some people may think and it kinda takes away the moral ambiguity of the conflict as human/shiki seem to use this conflict to justfly there inhuman acts towards each over. Which causes the major underlying issues that I have with Shiki is that it tries to play off as an emotional series with deep themes to make it seem mature. but handling wise it's anything but, because it pretty much plays out like a slice of life/ soap opera with vampires and it not like I am against this more emotional driven narrative but the problem is it doesn't really work past a gimmick, when they try to expand upon the story you start seeing these big holes in logic, which evidently makes me not care about what happens.
Like to list a few examples of things not making sense, One of main themes of shiki is survival and the reason i bring this up is It was established that Shiki take at least a cup worth of blood per feeding until the person dies or becomes a shiki. yet why didn't the shiki just cycle through different people in rotation, because if your a shiki who doesn't want to kill humans then surely that's a more efficient way of survive with the added bonus of not having an angry mob after you. Because what's the worst that could happen? cases of mild anaemia popping up at random.
when I think about that's it kinda makes the grey morality conflict kinda Null and void and any drama that comes from it now feels forced and to make it worse. I have seen people trying to defend it by saying the shiki had no choice and the humans are truly evil for trying to defend themselves against the bloodsucking undead that will suck them dry.
Another example is the main villains the Kirishiki goal of making a vampire village so that shiki can have a home and not have to worry about humans, that all well and good but my question is how exactly is this vampire village going to work exactly if they don't have any blood. I know that people will say they can just kidnap people from other towns, But people will notice. For the basic reason, that soba doesn't the ecosystem to support such a village in the long run and to prove my point sotaba was a village with give or take 300 people and when the local shiki set up shop in the span of a few months they reduced the local population by half With an attrition rate like that they would have a better chance of making a vampire ghetto in a city than a village in the countryside.
Also even though they wanted to make this vampire village they seem to be doing things that are very counterproductive. because it's also established that Shiki can mind control anyone they have bitten, so why didn't the shiki just bite everyone and then mind control people to do what they want. Which is more safer and easier than killing people to build up this undead population. Because having a bunch of the undead running around at night is totally not suspicious at all?
The other little nitpicks i have is that this series, is that I wish it had more episodes because there are actually scenes that were cut out from this series and to add insult to injury the scenes that were cut out had a lot of background details. which takes away from the experience as a whole and makes it seems hollow.
I also feel that shiki supernatural elements are poorly defined as a result and also the fact the original source material never expanded upon it, like what makes a person rise up as a shiki or in some cases transform into super vampires with cheat mode enabled. The only thing we know about shiki is that they defy medical science along with other laws of nature and that only the special snowflake people get to rise up or if you're super special snowflake transform. Which translates to plot convince and plot holes as the definition of special is very vague and allows anything to happen.
It would have nice been if they had said that humans with certain personality traits, morals and life philosophies that aren't common or strays from the norm have a higher chance of becoming a Shiki because of X and Y reasons. That's would be more grounded and it also makes you think what kind of person are these characters really underneath all the surface level social interactions and obligations, but no we couldn't have depth or good writing. when you take away the creep factor and the horror element this series dose feel like twilight the animation.
Characters: 6/10
There are three Main Characters in this series, so I’m going to talk about each of them separately, rather than as a group. First main character, Natsuno Yuuki is this emo/loner teenager with a heart of gold, something I initially found slightly interesting and out of the main cast I could relate to him the most in some ways, but which disappointed me all the more, when he turned out to be, by far the weakest link out of all the series’ mains. Even though he’s most certainly better written than your usual highschool protagonist, outside of that, he isn't really that interesting, because of his lackluster handling. To add insult to injury, after 11 episode they kinda drop the ball on him and don’t give him the screen time he deserves afterwards, even though he continues throughout the story to play a big role. it like they didn't know what to do with his character so they decided to push him to the sidelines and also out of the main characters he is the one that gets the least development and fleshing out. he pretty much treated like background character after a certain point and I didn't really like it. Considering he had some potential because of what type of person he is and what happens to him in the series. but in practice, this potential wasn't fully realized.
Second main character Toshio Ozaki Who is very determined and serious about this job as the local doctor, as he will go through whatever it takes to make sure his patients are safe and healthy. even if he sometimes he comes of as rough around the edges And throughout the events of the series he goes through so much pain and turmoil because for once in his life he doesn't have the answers and he can't do anything to stop these mysterious deaths and the vampires behind it. In fact his inability to stop these mysterious deaths pushes him to the braking point of where the lines of human/inhuman really start to blur for him as a person Which was very interesting and asks the question for his character how far is he willing to go to protect the villagers at the cost of his own humanity. Which he learns the hard way and has to live with his actions for the rest of his days as he almost loses everything in his blind pursuit of justice which I find quite funny in a very tragic and ironic way because a doctor duty was to protect and save lives but now you have a doctor who is now destroying and taking the (un)lives of the former villagers he once tried to protect.
Now the last main character seishin Muroi who is the local priest and on off writer in the village. Who on outside seems like a pretty calm and well-natured guy basically he like the total opposite of the dr Ozaki. but underneath this calm exterior lies is a very deep rooted hatred for the village that has made him and his father life miserable because of the roles there were assigned to in their local community without any choice or anyway to escape from it and he also a person with a very bleak outlook on life which was created by his environment,Which probably makes him one of the more interesting characters in the series and also goes through some pretty nice development and fleshing out which was pushed along with his friendship with Sunako, who is probably one of few individuals that truly understands him . This relationship and the dr actions eventually leads to him having an a ultimatum forced upon him, He can give up his morals and save the village that he Hates or keep to his morals and pursue his only chance at freedom. Of course I am not going to tell you what choice he picked but his inner conflict to reach a conclusion was very interesting to watch and also does well from a thematic standpoint as one of the series other themes is how human society places roles on people and expect people to stick to those roles whether you want to or not.
So when it comes to side characters. I feel this series sufferers from the same issue that Tokyo ghoul had where they have a lot of characters with personalities and etc but not enough time is focused on them for character fleshing out or character development, and it doesn't really help when most of the supporting cast feels very distant and it hard to feel invested emotionally,especially when the horror element of the series is banking so much for you to care about these characters. why should i feel bad or care about characters that i don't really know. the only few characters i cared about was toru who becomes consumed with guilt after murdering his best friend who tried to help him or Ritsuko the local nurse who goes out of her way not to feed on anyone because she would rather die than willingly bring harm others so she could live and these characters are the most human and some of the more realistic characters in the series. But the other shiki didn't really consider the consequences of their actions until it was to late, like for example Megumi who like many of the characters were strong armed into becoming shiki yet she takes the whole vampire thing way too far. Like I understand that she has to drink blood to live and she kinda a bitch but does she really need to start enjoy killing people which also included her former loved ones like some demented sadist. I understand there was more introspection in the original source for her character, but it sure as hell isn't in this anime and I think it was quite needed. It would have been interesting to see considering what she becomes. Because there still things she cares about like her one-sided love/obsession with Natsuno, which showcases she's isn't just a heartless monster she just kinda a bitch.
Last thing I want to talk about is the kinda the main villain Sunako. Who isn't exactly evil per say she more like an anti-villain because nothing in her personality or actions really scream evil to me.The goal of having a vampire village so her kind could have a place to call home and not be threatened by humans is quite a noble goal and I am pretty sure lots of people would do the same if being put in her shoes and the humanity still with her is more fleshed out with her relationship and interaction with seishin. But the problem is that even though she lived for about 100+ she has the mental capacity and foresight of a small child and doesn't really understand what exactly she putting people through to reach those goals she’s similar to Peter Pan in that respect because she the girl that never truly grew up, And That's her character in a nutshell. she doesn't truly understand or feel anything for the victims of her actions because at this point her psychology is so alien and disconnected from humanity. but what I dislike is how they're trying to make her overly cute to make her seem more innocent than she actually is and It almost feels at times that they're trying to manipulate your emotions, When It comes to her character as a whole with this very dishonest presentation of her character.
Art:7/10
The animation is pretty decent and maintains a very consistent level of quality. Unfortunately, the backgrounds that match it leave a lot to be desired. One of the series’ greatest strengths is the way it occasionally changes the color scheme for certain scenes of tension to create an atmosphere that benefits them. This is by far the most effective visual element the show implements, as it adds a lot more energy to the series as a whole, which also helps you get through some of the slower parts. The artstyle is fine, but I think it's a bit too cartoony and over the top at times with the character’s expressions, which conflicts with the series’ dark and ominous tone. The artstyle’s greatest sin though is in the character designs. While not bad on their own, they’re probably the worst thing they could’ve picked for this show. I mean neon pink hair, purple eyes and hairstyles that look straight out of the 80s aren’t exactly the best thing for a horror show. I’m not even joking when I say there’s a character that looks like he has cat ears, making him perfect husbando material, but simultaneously impossible to take seriously. Details like this make the show lose all credibility as a serious show and instead make it look extremely silly and jarring.
Sound: 7/10
First off, the opening songs are alright to listen to on their own, but their pop and rock style doesn't really fit the type show that Shiki is. Even though the lyrics fit the series well, that still doesn't fix the fact that the openings don't fit the tone the series is going for. The ending songs while not really the type of music I’m more partial towards, fit the series way better because they’re more depressing and ominous tone. One notable nitpick is that the opening’s visuals spoil some major plot points, through painfully obvious symbolism. This is unfortunate as it serves to kill a lot of the tension and suspense that is crucial to such a show dead. The ost by Yasuharu Takanashi, who also worked on Fairy Tail, Naruto Shippuden and Sailor Moon Crystal is pretty decent both as a stand-alone and in context. It more often than not, does an incredible job at building up this creepy, eerie and dare I say subtle atmosphere that the show desperately needs. As a matter of fact, I had a member of my family listen to it and she said that it reminds her a lot of the atmosphere that permeates throughout the main body of acclaimed author Stephen King’s novels.
Sub and dub were alright I didn't really have any complaints about it.
Enjoyment: 6/10
I’m a big fan of more or less anything with vampires, social commentary, gray mortality and massive amounts of gore, so needless to say Shiki was right up my alley, despite the fact that I’ve seen series execute the same ideas it brings up better. Besides its basic element that appeal to me though, the ending 4-6 episodes contain some of the best unintentional comedy moments I’ve seen in quite some time. This for the most part, but not exclusively because it just somehow turns into a massive bloodbath, including a huge forest fire, people going on massive paranoia induced freak outs and acts of brutality and cruelty that rival Phantom Blood in that special hammy goodness that we all know and love. Thanks to these final episodes, I was stuck smiling with glee as the show’s cast would turn on each other like wild animals.
Overall: 6/10
Shiki is a very mixed bag for me. As a horror series, it's pretty standard for anime in how much it underplays the strengths of the genre. As a thought piece that delves into the diverse and opposing perspectives of the show’s cast for the purpose of blurring the lines of the common perception of morality, it only does so to a rather shallow degree. This is mostly due to the hamfisted nature of the show’s drama, that mostly just comes across as overplayed and pointless, with only the main characters and a few of the side characters aiding in stopping the whole thing from completely falling apart. If you're the type of person that doesn't like senseless gore and the comically pretentious execution of relevant moral dilemmas then you probably shouldn't watch this show. Nevertheless, as far as series with vampires go, Shiki isn't that bad relative to what other series have done with them and even though I have been quite negative about it, I feel that shiki is a fun ride and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants a good time waster.
Special thanks to my paid in Yugioh cards and slightly pissed editor, Lonecrit for his help on this project.
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Jan 15, 2018 Mixed Feelings Spoiler
Warning: this review contains spoilers.
First impressions: Before i got into this show, I’d heard it was one of the best horror anime ever to come out of the anime medium. Not only that, but and it has a lot of thematic depth and grey morality and hearing that kinda got me interested. It's about a small town and there odd things going down with people dying by a mysterious sickness and there apparently sighting of the recently departed hanging around town at night. Story,5/10 During a normal summer in the small rural town named Sotoba, all seems well. But after this new family has moved in there ...
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Aug 17, 2017 Recommended Spoiler
Warning: this review contains spoilers.
First impressions: So, when getting into this show, all I heard was that it’s about time travel between modern day Japan and Sengoku period Japan, half demons, pervy monks, romantic polygons, kittens that turn into a huge monsters, getting power ups with tooth swords and a villain that keeps coming back to life and summoning more monsters. Man, this show sounds like everything I ever wanted out of shounen. It seems like this’ll be the cream of the crop. What could possibly go wrong? Story: 7/10 So, our story begins in modern day Japan, where our main character, Kagome one day ... falls into her old family well, after some sort of crazy monster pulled her into it. After mentally recuperating from what had just happened, she then proceeds to climb out of the well. Upon climbing out of the well, she finds herself in a forest. After walking around for awhile, she finds a mysterious looking man, with dog ears pinned to a tree. During her investigation of the area, she finds a village, and also finds out that she’s in Sengoku period Japan. She finds out that the dog eared man is a half-demon, named Inuyasha, who long ago came to the village, to get the powerful shikon jewel, but was stopped by a powerful shrine maiden, who turns out to be his ex-girlfriend. While getting used to her situation, the village comes under attack by a demon who wishes to get the shikon jewel. During the attack, Kagome frees Inuyasha, out of desperation, to battle the demon and in the battle the village nearly gets destroyed and the shikon jewel gets split into multiple fragments, that get cast all over Japan(cause apparently, that’s what happens, when you fire arrows at magic jewels, they explode and send their fragments hundreds of miles away). So, to make a long story short, the both of them decide to start a journey across Japan, to find and gather all the pieces, before they fall into evil hands. On paper, Inuyasha is actually a very good shounen. It has the tone and it has the battles. Like most long running shounen though, it drags on for far too long and after a while, loses any sense of direction or purpose. It was quite good, for the first 30-50 episodes, there was adventure, demons slaying, samurai, good drama, actual stakes and some character development. The problem is that after that point, it played out its basic concept and the plot ended up constantly playing out the formula of “power up, chase the main villain, he escapes”. Even when it tried to add some flavor, with different characters and locations, it was still the same shit, over and over again. How many times do we need to be reminded of Inuyasha’s resurrected old girlfriend? How many times do we need to have the main villain send demons after the main cast? There is saying, that it's the journey that matters, not the destination. Fucking hell though, in Inuyasha’s case, it's the journey that kinda sucks and the destination that’s reached after way too long. Here’s idea, explore why are there no yoki living in modern day Japan, or address what's going to happen to the demon characters, when their human friends die and they decide to move on. That would’ve been ten times more interesting than what we got. It’s time to talk about one of the shows focal points, the romance between Inuyasha and Kagome. The foundation for their relationship was built very well, which I really liked. I have to ask this question though. Does it really take 190 episodes to drive home the point that these characters are in love with one another? They could have done it in half the time. I also feel that their relationship together was way too pitch perfect for my liking and I felt it was little unnatural, I’m not sure why though. The last thing I want to address is how insulting the ending is, on so many levels. Pretty much what happens is that after everything's been sorted and Kagome and Inuyasha are about to start their life together, Kagome, in so many words, says goodbye to Inuyasha. Inuyasha naturally questions her on why she’d do this, after confessing to him no less. She then turns around and gives the fact that she wants to finish highschool as her only reason. After this statement, she returns back to the modern day Japan, to finish high school. One two year time skip later and we see her graduating from highschool and returning back to medieval Japan, because now she has her certificate. Why do you need a certificate in medieval Japan, you're a women. It feels like some sort of forced feminist message, saying “hey kids, make sure to pursue your career and education, before your love life, even if it has no purpose to begin with.” Characters: 7/10 Kagome, our main character is possibly one of the worse female main characters I’ve seen in a show, to date. Now, before you get triggered in the comments section, let me explain the reason why. It’s not that I dislike her character, or what she brings to the series as a whole, but what bothers me about her is that she doesn't seem to have much in the way of a personality and as a result, she comes off as a bland Mary Sue. Her personality basically comes down the fact that she's the person who wants to help many people as possible. Besides that, she seems mostly unfazed about most of the stuff she sees and goes through, which is kinda jarring, when you think about the fact that she’s in the warring states period, one of the most bloody and brutal times in all of Japanese history. This was a time when entire families were wiped out and entire cities would be set on fire, and to top it all off, you’ve got demons running around, that can level entire armies or towns, with minimal effort. She’s basically in a meat grinder and I’d think that seeing this would make her act a little cynical or maybe express some level of appreciation for the circumstances of her birth, but nope, that doesn't happen. Thankfully, she does actually develop, as her world view gradually changes, over the course of the snow, when she learns that not everything can be categorized as purely good or evil and that you can’t always make the right decision. Aside from that though, when she’s compared to the other main cast members, or even the side characters, she just comes off as bland, because there isn't much reason for why she the way she is. In contrast to Kagome though, we have Inuyasha, who I’m so thankful he’s in this show, as he makes the show work for a number of reasons. He’s a hot headed, selfish asshole, with good reason too and I love him for it. Sadly though, because of Kagome, he loses his original edge and devolves into a generic shounen protagonist. When it comes to the side characters, most of them have decent personalities, characterization and decent development, some of my favorite examples of which being Sesshomaru, Inuyasha’s half-brother and Miroku, the pervy monk. One of the main reasons I really like Sesshomaru is because I’m a big fan of his particular type of character arc, which can also be seen with the character of Accelerator, from a certain magic index. In fact, when I think about it, I feel that Sesshomaru was the basic blueprint for accelerator, since they have very similar characteristics and both their character arcs revolve around a little girl and the main character’s actions. In contrast, the reason that I like Miroku is that he’s a pervert, who tries to tap every piece of ass he sees, while robbing people of everything that isn't nailed to the floor. Finally, it’s time for the main villain, Naraku. He’s probably both the high and low point of the series. As a main villain, he’s proactive and has a strong presence, but the problem is that he has a weak motivation, at best and is, for the most part, pretty predictable. After a point though, it becomes easy to predict what he’s gonna do and so he just becomes kinda boring. Art: 7/10 So, at the time this came out, the animation was most likely pretty good and in fact, it still looks decent today, although it hasn't aged well. Inuyasha’s animation gives it a gritty feeling, which fits the tone and nature of the warring states period Japan, that the series takes place in. The backgrounds look alright, but nothing to write home about. As for the fights, they look pretty decent, but I wish that they didn't end with the ever so popular wind scar as often. The art style has this retro shounen feel to it, which I quite dig. I’m kinda on the fence about the character designs, because on one hand, the demons look really cool, but on the other, the humans look boring and feel more like background characters. Sound: 6/10 I like the first opening song, but I couldn’t care less about the rest of the opening and ending songs. I think the soundtracks are decent and on point, most of the time. There isn’t much that’s worth me going out of my way to listen to, but there are some good tracks that are worth a listen. This isn’t surprising, as the OST was done by Kaoru Wada, who’s also done the OST for samurai 7. I feel that both the sub and the dub have their strong points. The dub did a very good job of capturing the personality of Inuyasha and Sesshomaru, while Inuyasha’s sub version sounds like the Japanese voice actor for Goku, from dragon ball Z, which I find very bothersome to listen to. By the same token though, I feel that the sub captured Naraku better than the dub, because in the sub he feels more intimidating and scheming, which fits his character well. Enjoyment: 6/10 So, I’m a big fan of demons, samurai and anything that involves massive amounts of action, so naturally, I did enjoy Inuyasha, to a point. While I found it to be a very interesting and an overall fun ride, wish it was shorter and maybe didn't go in circles. Maybe if it took some more liberties and mixed it up a little, I would have found it more enjoyable. Overall: 7/10 Conclusion: I think Inuyasha is a pretty decent shounen and I recommend it to anyone who Iikes demons, time travel, Sengoku period Japan and the like. All things considered though, there are shounen that have done similar things to this show, except better. Yu yu hakusho did the whole demon and spirit world thing better and had morality ambiguity as a bonus. Fullmetal alchemist or One piece have also done the whole adventure thing better. For everything this series is good at, there is another series that’s better at it. I guess if you're new to anime, then Inuyasha is a good shounen to start with, but if you're into more mature series or want more depth, then it’s best to go somewhere else. Special credit to my unpaid and slightly pissed editor, Lonecrit.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jul 22, 2017
Re:Creators
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Mixed Feelings Preliminary
(17/22 eps)
Warning this review may contain spoilers First impression, so my first thoughts going into this show if I have to be honest I was going in completely builed the only thing I have hard is that it's like fate zero and there character like izyea from durarara. So I went in with pretty low expectations because this has been quite hyped and in my experience it's better to ignore the hype and go see a show like this from a more impassual mindset in order to reach a clear conclusion as a critic and also not have my enjoyment factor be bogged down ... by high expectations which this show would probably never meet in a million years. Story, 5/10 So by dear readers have you ever thought what would happen if say your favorite characters from anime, manga, light novels eta came to life in the real world. If you have ever pondered this question then I have some good news for you Because Re creators answers it in a very generic way. they fight because of reasons to numerous to name. Are story begins with bland main character Sōta Mizushino which for the rest of this review I am going to call seasonal anime kun. Who though events that are complicated to explain. pretty much what happens is main character goes into an anime. a character from that anime he watching becomes real and there a magical girl who wants to destroy all of humanity with fictional characters because for various reasons and seasonal anime kun teams up with more fictional characters that just want to go home and leave humanity in tact. I seriously do question what kind of drugs these people are on to come up with this shit and I also must ask where can I get this stuff from. So re creators is what happens when you mix meta writing, a bunch anime stereotypes and lots of drugs. when these elements are mixed together they create an unholy spawn of satan which as been born from the entropy Of a medium that's already on it last legs. Because in all honesty this is probably the most absurd idea for a plot I have seen in quite a while but I will give them props you thinking outside the box a bit. But at the same time the idea of popular Japanese media becoming real because reasons and there fighting each other for a multitude of reasons. It feels like a less coherent version of fate stay night because it has an almost similar concept and plot beat. Because it dose have those philosophy and morality charged battles that fate stay night and other shounen battle titles are famous for having and there enough background plot to keep you slightly interested to the conflict itself. But I ask myself this question and ask this to my readers as well. What else is there to this story than just a death battle and the background plot of these characters adapting to life in the real world. Well nothing really much because the story itself feels like a badly written fan fic by a weebo high on crack and hyped up for the next battle shounen tournament arc. And even if the battles and the slice of life elements are interesting to an extent. But it gets bogged down because The story and plot itself has this odd obsession with pseudo Japanese nationalism and otaku pandering. Which takes away any kind of deepth this story could actually have. But at the same time I shouldn't expect much from a show is pretty much a battle royal with popular Japanese media as fighters. Because though out the series itself they show case how effective the Japanese government was able to sort this shit out very quickly, while also organizing counter measures to stop the evil media characters at bay. And for some reason this show sounds like it's sightly jacking itself off of how it's only poplar Japanese media that's coming to life in the real world and only the otakus can help stop this crisis. Even most of the dailong is taking about the Japanese government or a bunch of otaku pandering shit like how great anime and manga is. It's comes off like some weird hybrid of fate stay night and gate. Except it's taken the worse aspects of those series and quantified it ten times over. Like say what you must about psudo philosophy battles of fate stay night. But at lest those came from a psudo historical context because King Arthur was a chick apparently and even if it was psudo. they at lest built apon and tried it make it interesting. But with re creators is just taking basic character stereotypes who come from completely different worlds and giving them a basic moral alinement. Then give the viewer slight information why they are like this and they just run with it. And to me it's just Comes off as lazy and poorly written because it doesn't really leave much of an impression on me. And This is a battle royal story and I wasn't expecting much from it anyway. but good dam when there no action this story is boring is hell. Like 3/4 of the show is just talking and info dumping and it just so many episodes are wasted on just banter and info dumping. Most of the time it isn't even relevant and just wastes episodes. Just so much dead time like in honesty they could have finished this is about 15 episodes not 22 episodes . Especially with the recap episode we had which isn't needed because people already now what's happened especially because characters will bring it up anyway. So story wise re creators is a cluster fuck of ideas that have been done better before and there are shows similar to it that are better. Characters, 6/10 Main character seasonal anime watcher kun is possibly the most blandest character I have ever seen to date and that's saying something. Because the only thing that he has as a character is that he very shy and likes drawing and that's the extent of his character. He just another self insert character that you will forget in a week in fact I have to keep reminding myself that he actually exists. He feels like a background character that just given the main character role because the writers couldn't think up any decent characters. Even if they explained why he important to the story it doesn't really matter because he doesn't do anything he is just passive as fuck mostly and when I see him on screen I keep on getting PTS flash backs from guilty crown main character shu who was also a Passive. The side characters are a whole lot more interesting than the main character, Well actually to be more precise the fictional characters are the ones who are interesting. Even if they are basic stereotypes at lest they have personally and actually do something. And one thing that surprised me is how they react to there situation. Like one example is that during a huge battle where one of the characters involved was a magical girl and after the fight was finished. She brakes down mentally because she comes from a very idealistic world where the concept of collateral damage or people being hurt And in pain Isn't really a concept she used to and when she sees the destruction around her that she herself has helped cause she just collapses on the ground and brakes down. And while watching this scene I thought that was And another thing which was quite interesting is that the characters themselves are developing more character traits the longer they stay in the real world because there getting exposed to things they never experienced before or haven't experienced yet and there not confined by the limitations of the respected story's they have come from. Which is interesting because these characters or these versions on them have become slightly different and been apart from there world's for so long that they are starting to become there own entity outside there place of origin. The other side characters who are quote on quite real are boring as fuck and I do t care about them in the slightest. And are mostly used for info dumps or react how normal people would react in those situations. The main villain that I am going to call evil magical girl. Pretty comes off more As a edge-lord/ emo hybrid. Because all she talks about is sadness and pretentious monologs about Creation and how she will get revenge for her creator. Because her creator killed her self and thats the rest of humanity fault that happened apparently. So she wants to make every one feel the sadness and dispaer like her creator did In Her last moments alive. And I can understand the reason behind getting revenge for the person that your creator and gave you life. But at the same time her reasoning behind it comes of as petty and childish. It basically this. " I suffer so I make the rest of the world suffer with me " That's pretty much all the reason behind it. The character interactions I find interesting to a point. But after a while they become repetitive and boring. And I stopped caring after a while. Art, 7/10 The animation looks pretty decent and flows quite organically. The backgrounds look decent as well. Art pretty is good as well like there a few parts where shits a little off model or things get a little blurry. Now the fight scenes are quite flashy and don't exactly hate it. but it would be nice to have some battles that don't just boil down to using flashy gimmicks to win. like it would be nice to see more difference in combat abilities that aren't about the super natural powers or big robots with hyper beam canons that blow up half a city block. I actually quite like the characters destined because there quite varied and remind me of quite a few different shows which I quite liked the trip down memory lane. Sound, 6/10 I really like a first opening because I find it it quite engageing ans gets me hyped for each ep. The ending and other op and ending sounds alight,but for me it isn't somethings I would go out of my way to listen to. The ost is pretty good, if you liked sword art online or guilty crown ost I think you might like the ost for re:creators. Because there quite similar in music and beat to it. The ost and music was done by Sawano, Hiroyuki who has worked on music and ost for series such as guilty crown, kill la kill and zombie Lon. Voice acting was on point, nothing really sounded out of place to be. Enjoyment, 5/10 Well I enjoyed the ride for what's it's worth and I was engaged enough to actually pay attention and not get bored. But after a while as the story continued I keep on losing interest and honestly I keep watching it even though the novelty of it wore off completely after 11 episodes Because I wanted to write this review. And it's continuing more than it actually has to. Because honestly the could have finished this story in about 15 episodes and it would be be ok. Like I probably prefer fate stay night over this. But at lest a got a great drinking game out this show. because everyone time someone mentions the Japanese government or anime and manga you take a drink and if you do that you will be shit faced by ep 3 or ep 5 depending on your alcohol tolerance Overall, 5/10 If you like shows like fate stay night or future diary then you probably like this show, Because as far as shounen battle series all things considered it not exactly bad it's just another very average and slightly overhyped show. And it's definitely not the modern classic that some people hype it up to be because in a few years time this show will be forgotten like most shows of it elk. If your looking for something with more substance and depth and not just just cool fights. then probably better off just stick with fate stay night or watch hunter X hunter or yu yu hakusho.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Jun 12, 2017 Mixed Feelings Warring this review may contain spoilers. First impressions, so my first impressions is. That this is about a bunch of supper powered human looking aliens fighting it out in a city wide battle torment in order to reach paradise with there master. Sounds fucking cool and I want to see what they do with it. Story, 6/10 One day while two time college entrance exam failure minato is walking in depression from his lastest failure of try's to get into college of his dreams. While in dispear an extra thick shrine maiden falls from the sky and lands on top of him ... named musubi. During this encounter he finds that musubi being chased by a two women dressed in s&m outfits who are shooting lighting out of there hands. During there escape minato finds out that musubi is something called a sekirei, Which is are this group of 108 strong super power human like aliens that have been looked after by the local corporation (which are mostly comprised of hot milfs, thick as fuck school girls, pretty boys that make your hart go doki doki and the odd trap and loli.) Apparently the main character has been chosen against his will to take place in a city wide death torment called the sekirei plan where sekirei and there masters called ashikabi (which are certain people who attract sekirei almost like a magnet because of reasons I will dive into later) Fight it out for the ultimate prize. which minato now finds himself involved in the fight for his life in quest for this ultimate prize so afterwards he can continue his normal life and also live in peace with musubi. So sekirei if you couldn't tell is another one of those battle harems which is quite common especially now a days. which I haven't got the biggest love for anymore being completely honest here because of how oversaturated the genre has been in recent years. But battle harem aspect aside I would probably say that sekaikei is probably one of the better battle harems out there not because it's deep, complex or any thing like that. But more on the line of it has a simple story that's it's wants to tell and it sticks to that story to the every end faults and all. which is why I wound call it the everyday man of the battle harem genre because it try's to have a few themes about friend ship and comradey which it portrays in quite a straightforward manner and its not a defftive that the main character going to win just because he has a few more sekirei in his team than some of the over contestnice Actually when I boil it down its plot to it's most basic stature and think about it sekirei pretty much plays like a Pokemon game except the Pokemon are hot human like aliens. (Maybe they should have run it by the slogan "gotta to fuck them all") But I digress. So has far as storyline and content is consured Sekirei has a basic plot which follows the formula of. Main character gets involved in drama or some shit while this tournament goes on in the background. which most of the time involves a girl who got problems and after that shit or drama is done. he gets another sekirei added to his ever growing team which the story will repeat this process about six for times which kind of gets old really fast it's the usual thing In harems there a male lead and a bunch a girls with problems which the main character solves using his dick. Except in this case the problems that come up wasn't always an external problem sometimes it was more a of an internal thing Which made the confits slightly interesting and I did want to see where they would go with them. one example of one of the drama or problem I found interesting was when the character Homura who is a male sekirei stating to get attaced to are main character and before you think that is a one of those characters finding out about there sexual orientation it's nothing like That because it's reveled that hormura has a unique biology in the sense that he can't actually control what gender he is or his power to a certain extent. And it's not the fact he falling for a dude or Turing into a women because of his body reaction to the main character that's the main cause of his problem it's apart of it but what really bothers him is the fact he has no control over his own destiny and is pretty much a play thing to the winds of fate which he tries to fight against. Which I thought was pretty interesting idea even though afterwards when the problem was fixed they kind of played it off for gags which got less funny every time they brought it up like how meny times you you have to show that hormura is slightly embarrassed because he having homo lust for the main character. The after we get though about 2/3 of the story. We finally get into more off this battle tournament and more focus on the history of the sekirei. So the actual tournament it's self isn't bad as far as tournament arcs are considered. Because in this point in time main character actually has more of a reason to why he wants to win because before he just wanted to win in order to be with musubi. But now he wants to use the prize to revive all the sekirei that has fulling at this tournament and reverse some of the damage it has caused on others around him and also keep it out of hands which could lead to the death of most of humanity. Which is kinda a generic reason but it's better than not taking this thing seriously which he was doing before and it doesn't follow the usual main character fights everyone with his team and beats everyone and wins. It's more along the lines of he unofficially won because of events outside his control and people just kinda went with it and to be honest if the tournament keeped on and continued on officially to its ending pretty sure the main character would have lost most of his team and might of won by the skin of his teeth. the action all right and there enough background and side plot to make the battles have more impact not just in the case of who wins the gets the ultimate prize but also from a character perspective as well which was good to have. Now just before the continent with the characters and what not I would like to mention that the history of the sekirei was slightly interesting and is another reason why I call this the Everyman of battle harems. Because it's reviled that sekirei have been on are planet before of corse in yee olden times and that the ashikabi are people who are descended from sekirei and human breeding with each other. Which is why I think this is the Everyman because any one could be a ashikabi from a rich politician to a homeless man because as long as they have sekirel blood in them they are able to be in this battle tournament. Of course one problem I do have is that they don't really explain much about where the sekirei come from because the information we are given is that they came from outer space and that there are ships full of sekirei that are possibly underground waiting to be found again. So my question is what are they and who made them because they look and act Human and they are can also breed with humans without much difficulty. Are they are race that similar to humans and they found are planet on accident or where they made by some other alien race for god knows what and where sent here to mate with the local population. Guess we never will know but that just was a little nit pick I wanted to bring up. So I guess my pros are that's slightly better written than some harems story's out there and it's doesn't try to over stay it's welcome. It's not amazing like golden boy or high school dxd story wise but it's not a harem I would forget in a week I would probably forget it in a year. I think my cons are is that some of the drama the story brings up becomes pointless at times and brought up for gags after they solve the problem. Which I didn't like because it took some of the inpact out of those problems. Like for example what I meanion before with Homura when his problem started to become a run on gag which is didn't like to much. Characters 6/10 The main character minato is another on of those bland harem protagonist that are a dime a dozen. He just the nice guy who though the events of the series becomes slightly more manly and take charge of the situations he is in. I kinda which that he wasn't like this because some of the other side characters have a more distinct personally and are more extreme in there beliefs and morals I just wish he wasn't just the nice guy that every likes and some people dislike because of his somewhat fence attitude. Side characters are probably slightly more interesting but most of them are still the usual tipcle character you find in most story's but I give credit they didn't feel like cardboard cutouts because there as enough characterzion to make them stand out slightly but enough for me to say of that's him/her personality Some characters that where slightly better written and had more of a personality that's its bothered me less than usual. One example of this is Hayato Mikogami a character when we fist meet him comes of as a extremely childish rich person who pursues his wims and interests with no thoughts to who it will effect what's so ever and also thinks this tournament is a a game. As a series continues on we find at that even though he is rich and all the freedom in the world it doesn't take away the fact that he is very lonely and has no one who really understands him but that all changed when he meet the sekirei and now he isn't lonely because he has people who accept him for who is and nothing more. Interestingly enough a lot of the other major players in this tournament have that similar dynamic where they come off as assholes but though the interactions with there sekirei this isn't exactly the case. While on the topic of the sekirei I think the relationships that sekirei have with there ashikabi are slightly interesting because it's pretty much a mix of best friend, lover, or just loyal servant even though I feel that the relationships themselves kinda progress way to fast like there are even some ashikabi who are dating there sekirei with plans are marrying them in the future even if they known each other for about a month or two. But the reason for that could be that ashikabi and sekirei have a spiritual bond which allows the understand each other in a deep way I guess. Art, 6/10 Artwork is decent most of the time except for a few panels that look a little un focused or panels that look amazing. The backgrounds look alright although when there doing there fight scenes and shit gets destroyed the background dose a ver sub par job at show casing the level of destruction that going on around them. The fight scenes themselves are alight but the fights don't really flow every well and most of the battles are son using the special attack to finish the fights instead of basic hand to hand combat which we do get but its only every now and then. I like the characters designs for some of the characters, Most of them are the sekirei character designs which look very nice and are easy on my eyes. Enjoyment, 5/10 When I first watched the anime and read the manga of this. I liked it quite a bit it's was a show to me that I would watch every now and then to pass the time if I was bored or wanted a quick chuckle. Now a days it's still has that effect to an extent but it isn't the series I would go back to every now and then for enjoyment it's become more a once in a blue moon enjoyment for me. I will probably won't ever read it again unless I feel like taking a trip down memory lane. As far what I enjoyed about it Well I liked the fights and I thought the story as entertaining enough even if it was basic as fuck and every dated by today's standards.Character interactions where slightly more engaging than I thought they would be. So I guess I enjoyed this manga for slightly going over the expectations I had for it. Overall, 6/10 So if your a person who enjoys harem and people fighting I would recommend you give this manga a shot. It's not as good is high school dxd, golden boy or Rosario vampire but it ten times better than most generic battle harems with school and teenagers. It's a good time passer. If your not into harem or you want something with a bit more serious stay away But it's not like anyone pays attention to what I say anyway so why do a bother. If you want a good tournament battle and not getting it here probably go watch or read any of the fate stay night series or the dark tournament arc from yu yu hakusho.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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May 27, 2017
Eromanga-sensei
(Anime)
add
Mixed Feelings Preliminary
(9/12 eps)
Warning this review may contain spoilers
First impressions, so I didn't really now what to expect, This being written by the some person who did Oreimo. I didn't have the most high of standards for this. Based on the premise I expected it to be more incest baity. Which don't get me wrong it still is, It just less incest baity than it's predecessor. But that isn't exactly saying much, ... When take into account the whole step brother and sister making erotic story's thing. Story, 5/10 So in latest incest bait of the season. Are story begins with Main character masamune a high school student, who is above average erotic light novel writter. Who writes not just As a hobby but also to take care of his step sister sagiri who is a hikikomori. But things are not looking great for masamune as he is currently in the middle of writers block. Which is preventing him from coming up with the next flaptastic idea for a light novel. But not all things are grim as masamune mysterious illustrator ero manga sensei still stands by him even though they never met before. One day he decides to watch a live stream done by ero manga sensei for the first time ever. Only to find out that ero manga sensei is actually his step sister. So after he goes up to her room to confirm it. The two decide to work together more closely in order to make a great light novel series, Which I expect more than just creative juices flowing I order to make it. So the storyline line is pretty much them working together as a team. To make the next big hit in the light novel world. at first glance it looks like a very vanilla, copy and paste ,seen it done before multiple times kind of story. Which don't get me wrong it is exactly as i described. Because a story about two siblings who where kind of distance from each other and then they slowly start developing a closer bond with one another though a hobby or etc. Is not original or thought provoking in the slightest. In fact I can list off at lest 10 shows I have seen with a similar concept. And if I am being completely honest I don't think that this show as the ability or writing behind it to push it beyond a vanilla story, at lest for me. Because it doesn't have the maturity like for example koi kaze dose or the sexualized over the top nature like kissxsis dose. It pretty much dips it toes in the water with out making much a splash. Which on the plus or negative side Depending on your preference. we probably won't get a incest is wincest ending, Which I couldn't care less about if they go down that route or not. But being a brain child from the person who oreimo, I won't hold my breath. If they do. But enough an there relationship together we will dive into later. I think the whole light novel industry backdrop is interesting and it cool the see some of the work that goes behind making light novels. Kinda like bakuman except in this context it was for manga. But unlike bakuman which did some sort of a criticism on the manga industry, Ero manga sensei doesn't want to even though it could. In fact it kinda praises it a bit to much, Which I feel is a little dishonest. Considering some of the Shade that happens from time to time. Now I know I kinda Been bitching about what this story could have been instead of talking about what it is and how dose it fair with others of it kind. And for what it is its very average. So it's a vanilla show, the whole brother and sister team making a light novel together is cute and slightly endearing. And a whole lot better to watch than Oreimo sibling duo being assholes to One another. Because that shit becomes a boring very quickly. So it's not exactly braking any new ground in any way, But at the same time it's not done in a way where my critic side would rip it to sunder and send it to review hell. I think my positives story wise is that. It's simple and straightforward, and it honest with what it is. It's also pretty tame fan service wise, Well tame for me I guess because from what I have heard though the grapevine that some people think the fan service is a little to much. But for me personally watching the likes of high school dxd and hentai has pretty much made me mostly immune to most levels of fan service to the point it's doesn't seem the phase me much any more. So take the fan service thing with a grain of salt. It's a positive and a negative for me. But this is just word to the wise. But the big negative I have with the story is that it has elements that could make it a little better, If it wanted to use them. It's one of those cases where a show on it own it fine but has ideas and elements that could make it a whole lot better than it already is. Which is the main problem I have with quite a few slice of life series in general. Most slice of life series on paper have some interesting ideas , but in practice is very lack laster at best. Because most of the time they relay on the common tropes for there plot beat. instead of going outside the box a little. So Eromamga sensei for me is It's like meat lovers pizza but it forgot the meat. Characters, 5/10 Main character masamune is very cookie cutter personality wise, There really isn't much of a personality there. From what I seen he seems like a normal high schooler who has a passion for writing light novels. his passion for light novels gives him a little depth, but he still cardboard cutout character who I have seen many times before. But he's a lot better than the main character from oreimo I say the lest. Which isn't really saying much, but when it comes to basic characters like him there not much to work with. His step sister sagiri is a lot better than I thought she would be, Personally wise she just the shy girl who stays inside way to much for her own good. Which is something I have seen meay times before, so I wasn't exactly hyped for her character type. But I thought her whole ero manga sensei was slightly interesting. Because at first look you wouldn't exactly picture her as a person who would be involved in ecchi and hentai related things. It's funny to see this shy girl drew erotic art work. And I find that difference between her real life and online life really interesting and relatable. Because everyone has a online and real life persona that are slightly different form each other and i think that pretty relatable especially for the younger generations who are online quite a bit and have these online personas. Which I am just a sucker for. Now before I talk about the side characters, I would like to mention that the relationship between masamune and sagiri is way better than the relationship in oreimo, Because there actually good reasons for why masamune actually give a shit or care about his step sister. Unlike in oreimo where they just live together and they slightly share common interests and for most part have this love/hate relationship and the main character just gets involved in shit because he has nothing else better to do. But in Eromamga for example, Main character parents are dead so he doesn't have much of family except his step sister. Some one needs to pay those bills and they share a common interest together. So they have a better reason to have this closer relationship together and it actually has a objective which is to make light novels together. Unlike oreimo which was mostly episodic crap. So side character are also kinda cookie cutter was well. There also cardboard cutouts as well. But there not as bland as I expected them to be. They have some slight quirks about them which makes them stand out a bit more, But it still feels very one note. Like for example there a girl who dresses up like a elf and plays piano naked and another girl who's in middle school who likes dick or something along those lines. If you take away those quirks they become the usual tsudare and genki girl. One character that slightly broke this mold was another character who writes light novels like are main character dose, Except she more extreme in her passion of reading and writing than are main character is. In fact when they first meet she kinda comes off like she hates the main character guts and they kind of come into conflict. But it turns out she like a super fan of the main character light novel series and wishes it would continue. Because it was a book series that she enjoyed to her very core. I thought that was interesting, It didn't last for long though and it didn't have much build up. But I thought it was nice to have this. Another thing I want to meanion that some of the characters seem a little to innocent especially those who are involved in erotic shit. Art, 6/10 Animation is alright it's very smooth and well polished. Backgrounds are Average at best, some scenes they look like they been painted on. Artwork looks good, lots of pretty colors which I liked. Because it not in your face about it. Even though in some scene it was a little to bright. They could tone down on the color filters a bit. Art style is generic light novel shit. Character designs are fine. There less sexualized than I thought they would be, But it would just be that the person who did these character designs hasn't got much of an idea for erotic art. Sound,6/10 Shockingly I actually like both the opening and ending song, There very happy go lucky tunes. Which go well with the show and I enjoy listening to them. But there not music that I would look for or download on my computer to listen to them bye themselves. Sadly there not much of an ost. In fact the ost is the opting and ending sougs. So probably not worth mentioning who did it anyway. Voice acting for sub was fine for the most part. Don't have anything positive or negative to say about it. Enjoyment, 5/10 I liked the whole idea behind it and some of the characters are slightly funny. And some scenes made me lol a bit. But it didn't really go beyond just a time passer for me. I will probably forget it in a week after finishing it. And that all she wrote. Overall, 5/10 If you liked oreimo you will probably like this. Because it pretty similar to it in almost every way except it isn't trying to go for the lets Not label all otaku culture as a bad thing. Any well experienced anime fan will probably forget it in a week, Because at the end of the day it isn't do much that hasn't been done before.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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May 10, 2017 Mixed Feelings
warning that this review may contain spoilers
First impressions, so stardust memory’s aka the prequel to zeta gundam which is one of my favourite in the uc time line so far. In till I watch thunderbolt or origins because I have heard there really good So I kind of went into this except something that’s somewhat decent, It was going to explain some of the details that we didn’t see between the first gundam and zeta. Which I was very happy to find out about, Because zeta didn’t really go into that much depth of how the titans came into power. It was ... very vaguely explained. So hoping to get some questions I had answered. Sadly it didn’t really deliver on it. Story, 5/10 3 years after the one year between the earth and Zeon forces had ended and peace has been maintained. A darkness from the past is starting to come forth, as a rouge Zeon group named delaz fleet has risen from the shadows in order to finish an old score with the earth forces and to have Zeon rise again. Meanwhile In a military base in Australia a top secret project is under way. The creation of two new prototype gundam units, The zephyranthes and the physalis are under way. The delaz fleet finds out about this and plans a attack in order to get the new gundam units. But during their attack they only mange to take the physalis gundam which is now being piloted by the a man known as the nightmare of Solomon. The only man standing in his way is main character kou who is a training pilot. who while in the attack manged to keep the zephyranthes gundam out of Zeon hands. But to make matters worse the physalis gundam contains nukes. So join kou and his crew as there race ageist the clock begins to stop major war from braking out. So the basic story line or plot is pretty much main character and crew mates involved in a game of cat and mouse between military factions. Trying to get this gundam unit back. Which as a standalone story for a gundam show is all right, Because it takes itself serious enough and it’s still sticks to the theme of war is hell, And the other themes that gundam is well known for. And they have the main charter getting used to active military service and all the things that come with it. There also a nice little romance as well, Between the main character this engineer chick That I felt was alright handed alright. So its above average. (Even though I still question the logic behind putting top secret project and nukes in all honesty Isn’t exactly the most well defended base they could have picked, and of course it was the Australians the dropped the ball) So any way as a standalone story it all good but sadly that also where its biggest weakness is and my biggest gripe with this show is. Because this is supposed to be a bridge between the first gundam and zeta gundam. A prequel / sequel and in that context this show is horrible at that aspects if one looks at it through the lens of this is a prequel / sequel. Because let’s just say that continuity isn’t exactly this show strong suit. In fact the events that take place in this show don’t really have much to connection to what happens in zeta or any relationship to first gundam wants so ever. Most of the things that happen in this show don’t even come into play. In fact the only thing connecting this to zeta is that though the events of the story at the end. we find out what trigged the titans forming and we see a few characters from zeta showing up for a quick scene or two. It’s almost like the story came alive and a punched you in the face just for watching and completing it So while I on the negative train I might as well mention that this story is kind of forgettable and isn’t bringing anything new to the table. What I mean by that is that this story as a whole is like a copy and paste of ever theme that the uc time line gundam has ever had. Like the war is hell, freedom for the spacenoids and etc. Which on the basic level is ok, but when I think about it isn’t doing much with those ideas and themes. It mostly being used as basic favouring because. These ideas aren’t really being explored or a new point of view being brought to the table. Which is sad because they could have come up with something new or fresh but they didn’t. Now you can argue and say that because this is a prequel / sequel they didn’t exactly have to do anything with those ideas or that those themes and ideas are not the main focus of the show and at the end of the day This is side story. Which just takes place in the same universe. But this was made quite a few years after zeta came out. I would think that they could come up with better ideas with the time they had or even a better plot for that matter But they just gave us the same shit in different rapper. Characters 5/10 The main character kou was ok. He this kind of chill dude who has a thing for tech. who thought out the course of the series becomes more hardened the more he experiences real combat. Which I thought was nice because it added some depth to his character. Because in the beginning of the series I really couldn’t put heads or tails on what his personality is . He felt very hollow to me. Which is a problem for me, Because most gundam main characters usually have a more notable personality or some sort of back story. Like for example Domon kasshu or kamille bidan, Who have a more memorable personality. Side characters are all right, They did the roles they had well. They had nice banter I guess that I enjoyed watching It’s just personality wise, But aren’t really memorable. They just feel like carboard cut-outs to me. Which is a thing I am sick of saying but it’s very true. The only thing that stood out for me character wise was the romance between kyo and Nina. Which far as anime romances wasn’t bad because I have a bit of chemistry together Which was nice, but I guess my only nick pick is that there relationship feels a little dry and forced to me. Because there relationship together progress at quite the fast rate. Like one ep she slightly has the desire to see what type of person kyo is and then the next ep talking about feeling and shit. Its feels unnatural to me. Although it could just be that this series only had a 13 ep so they didn’t have time to pad out there relationship. Art 6/10 The animation looked alright. It could have been better though. Because there are a few parts where the animation takes a bit of a dip down wards in quality. The backgrounds look all right and add a bit of grit to it. The battles are alright in animation wise because I have a very naturel flow about them. But on the bad side there not exactly the most fun to watch. Art style is fine was well. The charter designs are fine. Just the standard shit that we have all seen before I really do like the more up dated mech designs for the older models, Because they don’t feel that clunky anymore and feel more like well-oiled war machines. Sound 6/10 I really like the first opening song and the other opening song and there ending themes are very boring to me and don’t really stand out that much. I would have gotten more enjoyment if I listened to paint dry. But at the same time I see why people might like these, But for me there just crap. Ost was quite nice, Better than I thought it would be. Some very good tracks in there. They fitted very well and was on point But nothing I would gone out of my way to listen to by its self. The ost was done by Urakami, Yasuo, Who has worked on shows like, Project arms and gundam seed. The dub was alright and so was the sub. I liked both. Enjoyment 5/10 As far was enjoyment goes. I enjoyed this show for what it was, But my enjoyment doesn’t go beyond that point. For me was one of those one timer experiences. Because this is something I would not watch again. Overall 5/10 If you like gundam or basic Mecha shows and just want a quick one timer then check this out. Because its aright as a whole, But it doesn’t really go beyond that point. But at the same You could just was easily skip this series because it doesn’t really add much to gundam as a whole. if you want something that stands out more or in fact isn’t so basic and done to death. Watch something else.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Apr 5, 2017
Noein: Mou Hitori no Kimi e
(Anime)
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Warning this review may contain spoilers.
First impressions, When I was first getting into this show I really didn't know what to expect. Based on the premise it's sounded interesting enough. A show about quantum physics, different dimensions and meta physical concepts. It's one of those thing which gets my interest. But you know because a show has these concepts doesn't mean it will be good or bad. So I was went into this which very natural stance when getting into this title. ... And for the most part I thought it was decent. Story, 7/10 In a alternate future dimension an epic battle is battle is takeing place, Between the dimension named la cyma and the dimension known as shangri la who hell bent of destroying all dimensions. There only hope is the dragon torque and the group of warriors known as dragon Calvary. They find the dragon torque in a young girl named haruka who lives in a dimension just like there before there dimension went to shit. But any way haruka meets one of the dragon calvary named karasu who is actually her friend yuu from this alternative future. Events happen where karasu and the rest of the dragon Calvary reach a conflict of interest and karasu goes rouge to protect haruka from both the forces from la cyma and shangri la. Now normally I would go intill more details which I try to but I don't want to spoil everything and plus it also tricky to focus in more with a story that more about the meta physical context than what's actually going on. If I where to put in detail what exactly is going on. Most of the episode count is mostly slice of life with nearly middle school aged kids and a few people from the alternative future, with a plot built around sci fi elements involving inter dimensional travel, warping realty, multiverse theory, and a bunch shit about quantum physics which I am not very well studied in and is the back ground plot of some sort of experiment going on which will probably fail. What mostly takes place this these parts is karasu fighting other members of the dragon calvary and a mysterious being known as noein , karasu getting into conflict with this dimension version of him who kind of a bata male and haruka learning more about the dragon torque and its powers while hanging out with her friends including some of the people from the future. Which at face value seems rather basic and simple and seems kinda boring, But there more than meets the eye with this story. There a few layers to it which you can pick up on if you pay attention. It not as deep or thorough provoking as something like ergo proxy or Shinsekai yori if I being honest. But it dose have depth I assure you so you not going to be completely bored with it as long as you pay attention and understand some of the concepts there bringing up. The last few episodes is mostly about shangri la and the being known as noein and his reasons for trying to destroy all dimensions. Which I will not spoil because I think it's better left unseid. But what I will say it that's portray the power of love In a very twisted way and Also has a bit of Nihilism thrown in the mix which is always fun. And I thought was quite good and fit what the show as about. So just to run down my overall positives. Even though the ending dose kinda end up as a time rest with if you guys know I kinda have a negative basis about. But at lest it sticked to its on concepts and didn't go completely up its own ass. I also think it's quite interesting of how grounded the story is because the main character harka pretty much has the power of Deus Ex Machina in a sense and I really like how it isn't used to solve every problem that happens, Which is good because we have some slight tension. But sadly this has quite a few problems. The pacing is quite slow, If you not a person who slightly patient you going to get bored with it really fast. Which didn't bother me that much. But I pretty sure the reason for that was because it keeped me slightly interested and if not interested in physics or any else of the elk you just going to stale quite fast, Especially because they throw so much techno bable at you. Which for the life of me I don't know what is actually the real stuff there talking about or some stuff they made up. Which being a viewer really dose throw people though a loop especially me who like I seid before isn't really studied in this subject. And I biggest problem with it is that this entire plot is buildet around the main character haruka, Well actually it more accurate to say that it's built around the existence which is haruka. Because main story line that is happening because she exists. Not any fault of her own. But her existence is pretty much the main reason why shit is actually happening. Which when I think about it's feels quite cheap like I understand why they did it and I can actually appreciate it. But at the same time I feel it removes some of the depth this could of have. Also this story is very much a one watch only kind of show. Because once you pick up on everything there isn't much point to go back. So rewatch value isn't the best. Because shows likes ergo proxy or Shinsekai yori which you can watch a few times and still pick up on something new you missed. This story doesn't have that and it's kinda sad. Characters, 6/10 The main character haruka is pretty much a normal outgoing girl, Who slightly a tomboy. She isn't exactly a deep character. But she fun and she actually acts her age and reacts how most kids would act in the situations she being put in. Like she doesn't understand all the ends and outs of what exactly is going on. All she knows is that shit happing and she involved in it some how. Also now I am on the subject of shit happing I going to talk about my basic thoughts on the relationship between haruka, yuu and karasu. Because it think it very interesting the thing they have together. karasu is basically a alternate future version of yuu who been though a lot of shit and has matured over the years and in the world he is from haruka is dead and he blames himself for that. And he meets this dimension version of haruka which is basically like his haruka but years in the past and he basically protects her to make up for the fact he couldn't protect his haruka when she needed it the most When it comes to yuu he kinda of a bata male even for middle school kid standards. And who got a very overbearing mother. He isn't standing up for himself or trying to get this shit together. And though his and karasu interactions he Learns to grow more of a back bone. And he relies that he is actually in love with haruka and that when push comes to shove he has to protect her. Side characters As a whole there fine, characters who are kids actually act like kids. The characters who are adults or teens act the age. They all of slight personally. But the problem is that they all start out of like 2 dimensional cardboard cutouts and stereo types. Like you have the fucking psycho or the chick who likes you but won't actually tell you they like you. But on the plus side some of them get some slight development and fleshing out. Go yay I guess. But is mostly because of the characters relations that interaction than anything else. Which is fine not complaining for anything. Art, 6/10 The animion is fine it looks alright, But they could have done better. Especially because in 2005-2006 there was shows that look amazing even now. So it's aged kinda badly. But at the same time it adds a little grit to it. The back ground looks like that been painted on, I don't have a problem with it because I like. Plus there quite of different things like a badly wrecked city or a came relaxing town. Also the fight scenes look very cude and unfocused, The characters when there fighting and they moved go fast it has this thing where characters look very out of focus and have all this cell shading around them and it looks like the scenes where 3/4 done when they did them. The character designs I like, Karasu looks like a mysterious badass and the kids look like actual kids. I also like the thing that reminds me of kagune from Tokyo ghoul. Which the characters from the future have when there about to use there powers. It Looks cool. Sound, 6/10 Op and ending songs where fine didn't hate or like them. My thoughts where basically ok this exists and it's not my thing. But the ost was a lot better. It was on point and added atmosphere. And me personally I think it worth a quick listen to. I was enjoying them. Not enough to go out of listen to them buy themselves, But more as the thing that goes with the show itself. The ost was done by Masumi Itō, Who done the ost for flip fappers and dragon maid. The sub and dub of both fine. But I like the dub more because there more effort and punch put into it. Plus I really like a karasu sounds in English. It sounds like a brooding badass and yuu just sounds like a bata male with no spine. Enjoyment, 6/10 Well I enjoyed this show because it's not every day I come across something that try's to provoke some thought and explore concepts such of meta physics, different dimensions, and other things that kind of put me though a loop. Which is probably better, When comped to some over hyped as shit title that people overthink to much and try and make it sound deeper than it actually is. So I guess I enjoyed this show honesty of the content it gives to you. Overall, 7/10 When I think about this show isn't for everyone it's more of the type of show that people who wants somethings smarter or like sci fi elements in there shows will probably dig. So if you into shows like ergo proxy , lain, or Shinsekai yori. This of probably a show you may like and may want to check out. But at the same time this show is quite old and very dated in quite a few aspects. And if you more into flashyness or the petty colours. Then probably stay away unless you want to try and branch out a bit. Because if you want to get into more out there titles or just want something a little smarter this is probably a good place to start. So in that regard it a good entry level show.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Mar 30, 2017 Mixed Feelings
Warning this review may contain spoilers.
First Impressions, So I first found out about this manga by watching it anime adaptation, Which wasn't bad per say but I wanted to see the source material for the more compeled story and Also I think of the idea of a vampire who doesn't exactly fit in with the normal vampire society in a way and shares a bit more of a connection with humans. I think is sorta interesting. ... Story, 6/10 The story is about a vampire named karin who lives with her family. But unlike most vampires she can walk in the day light with out problem, Eat human food with not much hassle and the biggest thing is that she gives blood to people instead of takeing it, Thing go pretty well in till she meets Kenta Usui who has just transferred to her school. Being in his presence triggers a increase in her blood at rapid rate which becomes massive nose bleeds with blood everywhere. It turns out that usui has her blood affinity, Which is basically a certain personality trait or feeling That each vampire has a likening to just by instinct. So Karin try's to stay away of usui which doesn't work because there also next door neighbors. Eventually he finds out her vampire nature and he decides to keep her secret and promises her family that he will look after her in the day time and they start becoming fast friends. The first half is mostly about usui and Karin developing friend ship together which is slowly becoming love but we haven't got to that point yet and the issues that go with it. Which is for the most part was the usual shit, Like for example the problems that could come up with a vampire and a human in very close proximity with each other. Like I am monster kind of thing or that karin at times can't control her vampire urges. If you seen stuff like vampire knight or twilight it's that kind of thing. But take away the emo mallow drama. Because there one part where see actually nearly dies because usui going though a famliy issue with his father which triggers a reaction which nearly kills her. Her family try's to keep them apart doesn't work and they solve the problem and they realize there feelings for one another and start becoming a couple. Other than that there not much else to talk about expected a few back ground plot things like usui mother trying to find work, Karin older brother being an asshole and over bearing father and having to lie about your true nature to your grandma. But it quite nice having that slow build up to there relationship, Even if it isn't the most interesting or original in any way. It actually mangers to get the feels aspect right which I will give credit where credit is due, But they could have tried to make it more interesting. And the background plots some times felt like every unnecessary filler at times. But I did like the inclusion of how vampires can actually have a positive impact on humans depending on what emotion or felling that gets there interest. The second half is them being a cute little couple together, getting along and building a future together. While Karin family trying to find out if there have been other vampires like her at all in history. Things go quite well Intill a half human half vampire moves into town and gives a slightly cynical prediction of the future of there relationship because human and vampire relationships generally don't end the most happy, Especially because mostly children that are born from those relationships are stile and most of the time they especially hate their vampire parent or the whole race in general. Which isn't exactly good for a young couple to hear about. Eventually this leads to Karin getting kidnapped by sied half vampire family because we find out that Karin is a rare breed of vampire which pops up every now and then and has the power to save the vampire race from it's almost certain demise as vampire birth rates are very low. How is that Karin will be forced to give blood to vampires in till she can't any more without killing her and then will be raped in till she gives birth so there be another one so they can repeat the cycle a new. Even though they technically don't have to go that far with it to get the results they want. Just before I continue I was quite impressed with this concept, The idea of how far you're willing to go in order to save your race from out was quite interesting and ingenious actually when I look back on it. I mean you could write an entire novel based on this concept alone, probably now over thinking this part more than i originally intended to. But I just wanted to state for the record that putting this in was a good idea and should be given a pat on the back for effort. But sadly it came to little to late and it was around 10-15 chapters intill the manga ended. So it kinda phones it In. So after these slightly fucked up events Karin is put in a state where she isn't exactly a vampire any more she actually more human than ever now because of reasons I don't want to spoil. So her family comes to a very painful choice to removes karin memories of them so she can live happily as a human with usui and not have to be dragged down by vampire society and the things that come with it. With usui being the only one who knows the truth. Which is quite the bitter sweet ending, Because the happiness that was made for them was done at a great personal cost. Which did for some reason spark a reaction out of me. So I guess it did it job in that respect. But there was a few problems I did have, Like for example and I don't like being at anime adaptation in manga reviews But in the anime there quite a few episodes where they where hanging out doing school stuff and Karin vampire issues come out is pubic and hi jix follow. What I am trying to say is that in the anime they gave more detail in the beginning of there relationship together and i feel for the manga that was I missed opportunity. Also I wished they went into more depth about the vampire world and some of it's history. Because from what we know the reason why quite a few vampires are in Japan in because a half breed outed most of the vampires in Europe to the local religious institutions. And I would like to know the reason why that half breed did it. Because those actions nearly put vampires in the grave for good. Characters, 6/10 Karin as a character is ok. She has a simple personally which is done well. She basically very lively and some times a little clumsy at time. But nothing to deep or out there as far as personally goes. But I did like her whole trying to find a place to fit in and be happy which was nice to see. Usui at first glance he kinda looks like a thug at time. But is actually quite smart also quite a friendly person, Although he may be at times rough around at times. But what made me slightly interested in him is that, He this person who is livening almost on the bottom rung and who dream is to work hard and get himself in a better place economically. Which I feel is very relatable to most people out there today and I myself personally can relate to this as well. The side characters. Most of them are kind of forgettable and kinda basic. Which is fine. But the only characters that stood out to me was usui mother or Karin brother or little sister. Because they where probably on page more but also because they had I bit more to do with the story. Like Karin younger sister Anju for example. Who keeps an eye on her sister but also takes part in some of the more human activities that Karin dose. And you kinda feel bad when her vampire powers become fully developed that she can no longer take part in any of those things with her sister or hang out with any of the human friends she has made. But what I really liked about is that it basically says that no matter how much you like the human world as a vampire one day you will have to walk away from it and leave it behind for good. Which I thought was very interesting even though they didn't go much in depth about it. Art, 5/10 The art is fine it's manageable to say the less. There are a few planels that do look nice when compared to the rest of the manga. The backgrounds could use a lot of work because some of the back grounds need more focus. It has quite the cartoony cute style to it, It a bit to flashy for my taste. But at the same time it's very good that showing the emotions of the characters. So it that regard I actually quite like it. The character designs I am not the biggest fan of. It's just the design make it kinda hard to take these characters seriously when something actually serious is going on. Enjoyment, 6/10 I guess I enjoyed it for what it was. Because it's very basic and to the point. Plus I found it quite relaxing at times and I thought some of the elements the manga had where slightly interesting. Also after re reading this I felt that my enjoyment is a lot more lesser than the first time I read this or watched the anime version which isn't exactly perfect. But I had more fun with it back then. But at the time I was getting into anime and manga. So maybe it just the effect of getting more experience into the medium as a whole. Overall,6/10 After thinking about it I do feel that this is probably a good recommendation for those who don't really have much experience with the anime or manga in general. So it's a very good entry level manga. If you want to chill out and watch a basic romance play out. But for those who are quite a bit of experience you are going to be slightly bored with it and probably won't waste you time watching it. Unless you just want something very basic.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Mar 16, 2017
Gankutsuou
(Anime)
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First impression, so one day while I was looking for something interesting and different. I happened to come across this anime which I found out was based lightly on a very old French novel. So when first going into this I was kinda expecting some sort of mystery show about this count and who he is and what not, but as it continues it become increasingly more exciting and engaging as it continued. When it starts becoming a story of revenge and on the side very interesting 19th century French politics. In fact the first time I watched it I almost watched ... half of it before I knew that 2-4 had actually passed. Story, 8/10 In my quest to find high quality anime which has taken me all though the stars, And after years of looking I had found it in the mysterious individual known as the count of monte cristo who had almost like magic cast a spell on me that made me interested In his mysterious ways. Just like the way he did with the main character Albert on that fateful night on the moon. This is probably one of the most sophisticated revenge story's I have ever watched in anime or actually in any media so far. Because It's just handed with such elegance and finesse and it is way far apart from it's more edgy counterparts when it comes to revenge story, But back it the actual content. The story at first is mainly focused for at lest 14 - 16 episodes the main character and his developing friendship with this mysterious count. Which I found very interesting to watch. Not just the relationship itself, but how they use it to explore a lot of the politics and various people. Which I found very interesting, Because in quite a few media I have watched they quite often have rich people as evil villains with nothing redeeming about them. But here it shows you that maybe being on the upper crust isn't exactly is happy as you might expect or that because your rich doesn't mean your don't have your own problems to deal with. Which I really liked because it being A lot more honest about it and also the culture side of it was also quite interesting also. But back into more detail about my thoughts on albert and the count friendship, What I think it really interesting and cool about it, Is that in a way the count is a mentor figure in a way for Albert, Because at the time he doesn't know what exactly he wants to do with his life and the count comes along as his friend and gives him advice and even helps the main character find his way. Which is cool to watch. Even though later you find out that the count was kinda taking him for a ride in order to get his vengeance on certain people. So while I am one the revenge topic, Which is mostly kicked into over drive after episode 16 and beyond intill the story ends. Which at first i kinda forgot at first because it wasn't shown that much at first and was more paying attention to the politics and the drama and mystery element. But when I look back and think about, It was slowly built up and also very well foreshadowed. Of course as it goes along it becomes more noticeable that there is something going down. Which I kinda got wind of around ep 6. How the revenge plot was done was very cool to watch, Because it like the spider web level plan here. With the count slowly spinning his webs and as time goes by the flys start getting trapped in the web and then at the right moment he goes for the kill. So I guess my overall pros for the story is that, It has very good paceing, Nothing is don't to fast or to slow it just gets that sweet spot very well. It very maturely written and quite sophisticated. Has a interesting setting, But kind of which more things where explained more. And while I am one that topic I think my major problem which this series. Is at the ending episodes it goes Michael bay on everything, Like shit blowing up, choas everywhere, space ship battle in the city with robots, Which I don't exactly hate or think it doesn't make sence. But it dose take away the sophistication the story had up to that point. The last thing I need to address is that the setting doesn't get as fleshed out as it should have. Like for example there this other factions called the empire which we know little about. And also they also talk this prince Character quite a bit and they never showed us or gave us any episodes about him. Even though he was important to the plot. So just some minor things I noticed. Characters, 7/10 Main character Albert was ok, He kind of this naive rich kid who doesn't know what he wants to do in life. Which was interesting and quite a few people can relate to that feeling of not having a porpase in life. But I did find him very inoreing at times, Especially with his very naive personally. Which leads him in lots of situations that could have been avoided with he had a more Little street smarts, Even if he a rich kid he shouldn't be this clueless to what could happen while he out and about. Like there one time where he basically is hanging out with this chick and he gets jumped by a gang and kidnapped and it turn out the chick he was with was also involved in it as well. Then there the other time where the count very clearly explains to him in great detail of how he used him as a tool to get his revenge and there friend ship was basically a lie. After all that He actually considers the count his friend and even try's to save/ stop him. I mean why this person who you thought was a true friend has back stabbed you and still want to go back to him. I guess you can call it noble that he stills cares deeply for his friends, But at the same time would you really still consider some one a friend if your did somethings like that to you. Now time to talk about the count, Which is probably one of my favorite anti heroes. He has a very interesting personality, He like this very classy gentleman who has this dark side about him. His back story Was also very interesting. and just the way he dose things and conducts his busses is just so malicious and well thought out. And even though his relationship with the main character was kind of a lie, I feel that deep down he did actually care about him and that he maybe didn't like the fact that he has to back stab this person in order to get his revenge. But he knew it has to be done. Side characters, Most of them are some what interesting and they personalitys. They some of them get there little development and flashing out. I think what's really cool about all the characters over all is that for the most part they feel real and you can understand the reasons for what that done and how to react to certain situations. Like for example the judges wife Héloïse Villefort who try's to poison her step daughter and husband not because she hates them exactly , it was more about her son not getting what she felt he deserved and also because I feel she isn't exactly getting the attention she needs and wants as well. If you get my drift. Or another is the character Maximilien Morel Who kinda an outsider to the whole high society cultural equation. But what really interesting about him is that he the outsider looking in and he can see the down sides and the up sides of the under crust that he is slightly a part now. And he calls them out on anything that seems bull shity. But I feel at the same time, Feel they made the characters that the count wants to get revenge on quite worse as people. There done in such a way that the more you Lauren about them the more your likely to say fuck these people and let the count carry out his plan. Which I wasn't exactly pleased about they could have made it a bit more gray. Art,7/10 Animation looks very good even for the time it came out it looks very nice. Backgrounds are quite cool. Has a really interesting art style to it, Every thing looks like a work of art, Even the outfits have these very crazy patterns and all this over shit. That just very colorful to look at. It also most the taken a pattern or somethings from the real world into the anime which I think is really cool. The character designs also look very interesting, I especially like how the count looks Sound, 7/10 Both the op and ending songs are very nice to listen to, But personally I didn't exactly like them. But I do feel they are worth checking out even if they're didn't exactly click with me. Ost was great as well, Wasn't exactly the best but it sounds quite nice to listen to, and if your fan of more classical music then you will probably like this as well. The music and ost as done by these people , Koji Kasamatsu,Reiji Kitazato and Jean-Jacques Burnel. When I look up Koji Kasamatsu I see that one of things he did was work on the sound for the berserk movie. When it comes to Reiji Kitazato it seem like there nothing much he done from what I can see, Just did music on a few out there series which really aren't that important to name. And this dude named Jean-Jacques Burnel, Who was in a band called The Stranglers which came around during the punk rock phase of music in London in the 70s and is actually still active today. Which is quite interesting. So if you have head of this guy and the band he apart of. Then you might like the music more than I did I guess. Enjoyment, 7/10 What I think I really liked about this anime is that it's basically got everything that got me originally got be into anime in the first place. it's intelligent and doesn't try to be more than what it is, Which translates to being pretentious. I also found it such an engaging watch, It's everything I asked for in an anime all rolled into one. So I really enjoyed this show as a whole. Overall, 8/10 I fell this is quite the hard show to recommend to people, Because it's the type of show that requires a certain person or a mindset to watch and appreciate it for what it is. So if your into the more classical like story's or you want try out more high quality shows. Probably check this out, But you have to make sure you know exactly what your in for. Because I feel that most people who are into anime and I know this is a bit of generalization. But your average anime fan isn't going to find this interesting or fun for that matter. It's the type of show that more for a mature and experienced viewer ship. So if into more flashy shows or are new to anime probably stay away for now and when your ready watch it at your own pace and also at your own risk of being very bored.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Mar 10, 2017
White Album
(Anime)
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Mixed Feelings
Warning this review may contain spoilers.
First impressions, way back before I never started reviewing I was chatting to a friend of mine who did a visual novel walkthough that this anime is based on and recommended me to watch the show. Going into it I didn't have that high hopes or expections, Because I had herd very mixed opinions about the show from some quick research I did. I was kind of thinking at the back of mind ok I watching a show about an idol relationship with this one dude and there is a harem involved so how. The bar was kind of lowed. Quick side note, I will ... cover both seasons of this anime, Because for some reason they decided to spit the story into two seasons, So to save me time and you time I am just going to do cover both seasons at once. Story,6/10 The plot of white album starts out with are main character Tōya who is in this relationship with this up and coming idol named yuki. So I was thinking while watching this, This is ether going to probably be about them growing apart more as time passes by or this is going to do a little bit of criticism about the Japanese idol industry. Because In real life I have herd about some things about the Japanese idol industry and if there true or not it's a little worrisome to say the lest But back on topic. The story kinda dose a bit of both but manly focused on the first thing I mentioned. Which is fine, Because it isn't exactly as forced as you think it would be. Because are main character Tōya ends up getting involved in all these other girls issues and some of them just want to get really close to are main protagonist if you catch my drift. While yuki is working quite hard and doesn't have much time to spend with him. Plus it doesn't help that there setting is in the 1980s when cell phones aren't are main stream as they are now a days or that her not being around and with other chicks kind of sniffing around isn't really the best thing for a relationship. And speaking of girls sniffing around I felt that the harem aspect was a little forced in some respects. Like I can understand Some of the characters reasons for why they like him, For example yuki or his child hood Friend haruka. Because that makes sense in the context of what there are to each over. But I what really makes me go through a bit of a loop is why exactly dose the manger chick or that other idol who worked for a different company kinda show interest in him, Like the same friend who told me to check out this show pretty much explained it like this. It because there using him as kinda a escapeism from life or something like that. Which I can kinda see that. But at the same time it's explained in such a vague way which first time around I didn't really pick and second time around I can see that but I feel there more to it than that or maybe I am just over thinking it. One thing which I thought was interesting is that we get quite a bit of background plots, Like we get a side story about the main character and his relationship with his dad which was sort of interesting. We also get this one dude trying to back mail people and shit like that and we also have a few scandals here and there. So at lest we have something here that isn't just harem and romance. Which over all I was quite happy this was here. I think my overall pros about the story is that it's handled maturely enough and there some part when there where kinda subtle of what going on, But I feel it could just me confusing subtlety for vagueness. But when I think about it could easily be a mix of both actually. But I guess the quite a few nitpicks That I have is. For one this show try's to build up to things like the black mail and scandal things which I talked about before. But the problem is that the fizzles away so quickly and I don't think that was the intention behind it but I feel they didn't know how to capitalize on it ether. Like back for the black mail thing for a bit. One of the people involved basically sold to the person he was black mailing the negatives for the photos he was using to back mail her. So basically he sold the only thing he could have used to get more money from her, Especially because after that the photos had been destroyed or something along those lines. Also same thing with the scandal or the main character sleeping with other chicks, Like it hints that something going to happen but doesn't or isn't really handed the way it should have been. While I am on the drama topic it doesn't leave much of an impact. Which is kind of sad because it seems like they tried. So this story is pretty much we have some ideas but we not going all the way with them. Characters, 5/10 Main character toya is kind of bland and basic, The only thing I got from him is that him and his dad have some issues and that he seems to sleep around a bit. Which was a little stand out. But not that interesting or noteworthy. Side characters are kinda basic as well, I thought some of the drama was slightly interesting, Like the girl that the main character is schooling has these issues with her mother and the child hood friends who for while couldn't play tennis because she hadn't gotten over her older brother death. Other than that nothing that really got my interest. And I really hate having to say that. The character interactions where fine, But nothing really much to write home about. Art, 6/10 The animion is above average at best, The backgrounds are kinda mah. The art has this very dim and almost depressing look to it. Like most of the scenes looks really dark even when it day time in the those scenes. And also the art style at times changes into this water paint look. Which I quite liked. Character design look pretty average. Sound, 5/10 Both the op and ending songs really didn't my interest, Like they sounding quite genetic to me. I guess they sounded nice but it didn't really click with me personally. Even some of songs they actually did when the idol characters where doing a song or somethings like that. It also really doesn't stand out that much. The ost was the better thing out of this, Because it had a nice classical piano tracks that sounded quite nice and fitted quite well with the series. And this is coming from a person who isn't really a big fan of classical music. The ost was done by Fujima, Hitoshi, Who has done music and ost for dog days if any one herd of that show. Enjoyment, 5/10 As far as enjoyment goes this was probably one of more average show enjoyment wise. Like I enjoyed the drama and all that shit. But like a seid before it kinda just fizzles away. Which really put a damper on my enjoyment. But overall it was an ok time passer for me. But I do wonder what I could have just as easily skipped this show for something more enjoyable. Overall, 6/10 If you like story's about Japanese idols then maybe you will like this. It isn't exactly bad but it not really amazing ether. You not going to miss much you skip this show and watch something else. If you don't like these kinda by the books romance shows them probably avoid this at all costs.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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